De Coster, Charles Théodore Henri

(də kŏs´tər, Fr. shärl tāōdôr´ äNrē´ də kôstĕr´), 1827–79, Belgian author, b. Munich. His collected legends from Flemish folklore (1857), written in old French style, gained him note as a medievalist. His Contes brabançons (1861) was followed by his widely known La Légende d' Ulenspiegel (1868, tr. 1918, 1922). This remarkable tale, written in archaic style and recounting the fabulous exploits of Till Eulenspiegel, has been compared with the Gargantua of Rabelais. However, the book derives more directly from the medieval satiric allegory on Reynard the Fox, apparently originally fashioned in Flanders.