The Lalebuch, printed anonymously in 1597, became known through its second edition of 1598 as Die Schiltbürger. It tells of the citizens of Schilda. They build a triangular town hall with a large gate but no windows. To bring light inside, they try to catch sunlight in buckets and sacks and carry it in. Duden defines a Schildbürgerstreich as an action that misses its actual purpose in a foolish way. Today the word is used for absurd rules and the excesses of bureaucracy.