Bellman joke

The jokes first became popular in the 19th century, and were originally inspired by the life of the poet and composer Carl Michael Bellman.

Since then, however, the Bellman character of the jokes has changed into a generic Swede, rather than the historical figure.

Another common theme is that Bellman fools or makes fun of a priest, policeman or other authority figure.

The ubiquitous character of the stories and the fact that they have been told in various forms for so many years have made them subject to study by ethnologists such as Bengt af Klintberg[3] and researchers in children's culture.

Hans sinnelag var det aldrabästa emot andra, alla tjente han, alla gaf han med sig, ägde till slut sällan mer än en rock; också mötte K. Gustaf honom en gång på gatan, uti en ganska stor negligée, och då Konungen sade: "Men, min kära Bellman, ni ser så illa klädd ut," bugade han sig och sade: "Jag kan i underdånighet försäkra Eder Maj:t, att jag ändå har hela min garderobe på mig."