# Slawkenbergii Fabella explained — The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman

> Chapter companion for The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne.

## What happens

A stranger arrives in Strasbourg on a dark mule, with a remarkable nose that sparks debate among the townspeople, including a soldier, a drummer, a trumpeter and his wife, and the innkeeper's wife. The stranger, claiming to have acquired his nose at the Promontory of Noses, fends off all attempts to touch it, citing a vow to Saint Nicholas, and departs for Frankfurt, promising to return in four weeks.

## Themes in this chapter

### The Absurdity of Systems

The entire episode revolves around the absurdity of a nose—its size, material, and the elaborate debates it provokes—mocking systematic reasoning and scholarly pedantry.

### Digression and Narrative Form

The chapter is a digressive tale within the larger narrative, presented as a scholarly fable (Slawkenbergii Fabella) that interrupts the main story, exemplifying Sterne's playful narrative structure.

## Character check-ins

### The Stranger

The peregrinus (stranger) arrives in Strasbourg on a brown mule, carrying a scimitar without a scabbard, and possesses a famously large nose which he refuses to let anyone touch.

### Hafen Slawkenbergius

The author of the 'Slawkenbergii Fabella' tale, which this chapter presents.

## Key lines

> Peregrinus, mulo fusco colore insidens, manticâ a tergo, paucis indusiis, binis calceis, braccisque sericis coccineis repleta, Argentoratum ingressus est.

A traveler, riding a brown mule with a knapsack behind him containing a few shirts, two pairs of shoes, and some crimson silk breeches, entered Strasbourg.

_Describes the stranger's humble arrival and the contents of his luggage._

> Dî boni, nova forma nasi!

Good gods, what a new shape of nose!

_The soldier's exclamation upon seeing the stranger's nose, highlighting its remarkable appearance._

> Non immerito, benigne peregrine, respondit miles. Nihili aestimo, ait ille tympanista, e pergamenâ factitius est.

'Not without reason, kind stranger,' replied the soldier. 'I think nothing of it,' said the drummer, 'it is made of parchment.'

_The soldier and drummer debate the nose's authenticity, with the drummer claiming it is artificial._

> Quantus nasus! aeque longus est, ait tubicina, ac tuba.

'What a nose! It is as long as a trumpet,' said the trumpeter's wife.

_The trumpeter's wife compares the nose's length to a trumpet, initiating a dispute with her husband over its material._

> Votum feci sancto Nicolao, ait peregrinus, nasum meum intactum fore usque ad⁠—Quodnam tempus? illico respondit illa.

'I have made a vow to Saint Nicholas,' said the stranger, 'that my nose shall remain untouched until—' 'Until what time?' she immediately replied.

_The stranger invokes a vow to avoid having his nose touched, but the innkeeper's wife presses him for the specific time._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters/slawkenbergii-fabella
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tristram_shandy_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tristram_shandy_se/chapters