Charivari (marriage)

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A Charivari is one in France and in some parts of the Saarland (also: Schalwarikloppen ) common type hen party , which in the case of a remarriage was organized.

It was a ritualized slap organized by the parents and friends of the widower or widow who wanted to remarry. More or less obscene chants and dances under the windows as well as the screams of animals should get the bride and groom to serve drinks.

The custom, which dates back to the Middle Ages and was often offered in the form of cat music to a widow who remarried, consisted of a wild clamor and obscene songs being sung. The couple usually had to get rid of this by paying a ransom. Since this often led to blackmail , the Council of Tours (1163) forbade the performance of cat music under threat of excommunication . Nonetheless, this custom survived into the 19th century, especially in rural areas.

bibliography

  • Christian Desplat: Charivaris en Gascogne. La «morale des peuples» du XVI au XX siècle. Berger-Levrault, 1982.
  • Claude Gauvard , Altan Gokalp: Les conduites du bruit et leur signification à la fin du Moyen Âge: le charivari. In: Annales . Economies, sociétés, civilizations. Vol. 1974, pp. 693-704 (digitized version ) .
  • Jacques Le Goff , Jean-Claude Schmitt (eds.): Le Charivari: actes de la table ronde organisée à Paris (1977) par le CNRS et l'EHESS (= Civilizations et sociétés ). Mouton, 1981.
  • Loretta T. Johnson: Charivari / Shivaree: A European Folk Ritual on American Plains. In: Journal of Interdisciplinary History. Vol. 20, 1990, pp. 371-387.
  • Henri Rey-Flaud: Le Charivari. The rituals fondamentaux de la sexualité. Payot, 1985.

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