Knecht Ruprecht
The Knecht Ruprecht is the assistant of St. Nicholas who, in the customs of the northern and central German-speaking area, visits children at home on the eve of December 6th together with St. Nicholas.
Cultural history of the servant Ruprecht and customs
The Knecht Ruprecht goes back to a very pronounced formation of a so-called retreat custom of St. Nicholas. While St. Nicholas plays a clearly positive role in custom, the people who accompany him appear in all known sources as opponents. Just like, for example, the antithetics of the fool to King David or the carnival during Lent - which have great similarities with the Nicholas customs - it is also the case with the figure constellation Nicholas - negative comrade. While one acts as a heavenly messenger, the other stands as a representative of hell or almost “tamed devil” who takes on the threatening and punishing role.
While in the late Middle Ages the name Knecht Ruprecht was not known everywhere, but was called Belznickel , Beelzebub or simply simply " Devil " depending on local sensitivities , the name Knecht Ruprecht refers to figures from the Alpine foothills or from Thuringia (Castle Ruprechtsburg near Zella-Mehlis ) and thus spread to become the most famous figure.
Jacob Grimm took the view that Ruprecht refers - like the name - to the Old High German hruodperaht , 'Glorious' and thus close to the Germanic god Wotan or else he was a servant (servant) of the goddess Holle . In today's research, such etymological deductions are rejected. Rather, it is assumed that the name can be traced back to custom figures from the Alpine region. The derivation of rûhperht , rough Percht 'includes a connection to winter moving figures that in the rough nights occur. A connection exists in the form of "Frau Perchta ". However, more precise derivations cannot be confirmed due to the sources.
The various figures of the Knecht Ruprecht have their origin in the late medieval child fright . Since the 16th century, and increasingly so in the 17th, leaflets with frightening figures were circulating which, as an additional means of parenting, exhorted children to be pious. The most common was the "child eater", as can be seen, for example, at a child eater fountain in Bern, Switzerland. The figure goes back to the idea that the devil devours the souls of sinners. The child eater, often accompanied by a Butzenbercht , threatened the impious children in cruel verses to take them with them, to cut them open, to whip them down to the blood or even to devour them. Like Knecht Ruprecht, both figures, the child eater and the Butzenbercht, carried a large sack or basket in which they tried to put the children.
While St. Nicholas was ousted by the Christ Child or Holy Christ in Protestant areas over time , the figure of Ruprecht was retained in this tradition. In some areas he even acted alone, as a figure who gave and punished at the same time. In the piano piece by Robert Schumann this figure is described, which is not an accompanist of St. Nicholas appears.
The original idea of the Knecht Ruprecht as a negative figure or as an opponent of the holy was blurred relatively quickly, especially in Reformed areas. Sources show a mixture of St. Nicholas with Ruprecht in terms such as "Herre Sente Rupperich" ("Herr Sankt Ruprecht"). In the 17th century an attempt was made to derive the figure of the servant Ruprecht from a priest named Ruprecht, who, according to the legend of the "dance miracle of Cölbigk ", in 1020 the godless dancers of Cölbigk - farmers who, after enjoying plenty of beer, sing loudly in front of the church disrupted the celebration of Christmas Eve - supposedly cursed.
Appearance and differentiation from other companions of St. Nicholas
The Knecht Ruprecht is usually dressed in a brown or black robe, is bearded, and in the past often had dark skin, carries a rod or a hiking stick on his belt or presents in a basket on his back - mostly small sacks filled with mandarins and peanuts , Chocolate and gingerbread. Earlier and still regionally widespread depictions today show him with a shaggy fur and partly horned. Regionally common names include Ruppknecht, Knecht Nikolas, Nickel, Pelznickel (on the Middle Rhine ).
The Knecht Ruprecht and the Krampus probably originate from the traditions of the Perchten , but have found different forms. In the alpine region of Old Bavaria, Austria and South Tyrol, the figure of Krampus, Bartl or Klaubauf developed from the figures of the "Schierchperchten", which are part of a wild night or winter drive. While the Krampuses appear as devilish figures and appear in the horde, Ruprecht comes alone. Knecht Ruprecht usually only distributes the rods for naughty children, while the Krampus also strikes himself with it. Seen across the entire German-speaking area, the figure of Knecht Ruprecht is more widespread than that of Krampus.
Knecht Ruprecht as a motif in art and literature
- In Theodor Storm's most popular poem, Knecht Ruprecht (written in Heiligenstadt in 1862 ), the servant describes his work in dialogue with the Christ Child. Parts of the poem are often recited to this day in the Advent season, especially the opening lines: "I come from outside the forest, I have to tell you, it's very Christmassy."
- In the satirical children's poem Knecht Ruprecht in Nöten from Paula Dehmel's collection Das liebe Nest from 1919, a grown old Ruprecht gets excited about the wishes of the children of his time, all of whom only have airship driving on their wish lists.
- A piano piece in Robert Schumann's Album for the Young (op. 68, No. 12) is entitled Knecht Ruprecht.
- The French composer Joseph Guy Ropartz , in his cantata Miracles of St. Nicholas, identifies the saint's companion with the butcher, who killed and pickled three children and now repents for them.
- In the German version of the television series The Simpsons , the family dog is Knecht Ruprecht (in the original: Santa's Little Helper ).
- In the third season episode 8 of the US television series " Grimm ", several naughty children are kidnapped by Knecht Ruprecht.
- In Loriot's satirical Christmas poem Advent , which is best known from the Christmas program at Hoppenstedts , Knecht Ruprecht appears as a benefactor who collects gifts for the needy.
See also
- Nicholas of Myra: Customs , an overview of the folklore of St. Nicholas and his companions
literature
- Werner Mezger: Saint Nicholas. Between cult and slapstick . Schwabenverlag, Ostfildern 1993, ISBN 3-7966-0723-3 .
Web links
- The St. Nicholas companions in the St. Nicholas Lexicon
- Knecht Ruprecht comes from Anhalt on MDR television
Individual evidence
- ↑ Manfred Becker-Hubert: Lexicon of customs and festivals. Herder-Verlag, Freiburg / Basel / Vienna 2000, ISBN 3-451-27317-9 , p. 287.
- ↑ For example in the Giant Mountains, where as a mountain spirit he takes on traits of the Rübezahl . Alois Klug: From Rübezahl's mountains . From a story about a mountain building school. Time: Between the two world wars. Riesengebirgsverlag Renner, 1965, Christmas in the mountains (Jirasek with a comment there: On the legendary figure "Rübezahl". ).
- ↑ cf. Fig. In: The St. Nicholas and his companions. The youth of the Heimat- und Customs Association Lechler Munich eV, October 30, 2006, accessed on August 12, 2009 .
- ^ Karl-Martin Voget: Saint Nicholas . Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover, 1998/2006.
- ^ Theodor Storm: Knecht Ruprecht in the Gutenberg-DE project
- ↑ Children's poem: Knecht Ruprecht in Nöten in Project Gutenberg ( currently not usually available for users from Germany )
- ↑ Advent - a funny poem by Loriot . In: Christmas . October 15, 2017 ( tagesspiegel.de [accessed December 25, 2017]).