Krüsel

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Krüsel with double oil bowl, North German, 19th century.

The Krüsel or "Kruisel" is a term for certain oil lamps made of sheet metal that was used in large parts of northern Germany both in the Platt and in the standard language and is still used today in folklore research .

etymology

Krüse is the Low German word for “fold” (wrinkle, ironed clothes fold, cf. Krause, kräuseln, kross, Gekröse). Additional meanings of Krüsel : In the figurative sense, "lazy, boring person", to have a Krüsel (to be drunk). Compositions: Krüselhalter (see below); Krüselschere ( curling iron to crimp the curl).

Form and use

In its simplest form, the Krüsel consisted of a rectangular sheet of iron or brass, the sides of which were angled upwards so that four snouts formed at the pointed, folded corners of the bowl to be filled with oil , in which wicks made of rushes or textile fibers formed could become. Two-shell variants prevented the oil that overflowed and ran down the wick from dripping down. The Krüsel could be hung on a sheet metal strip mounted on the side.

Fuel was from the 17th to the 19th century, derived from whale blubber Tran (see. Tranfunzel ), in the 19th century as "fuel oil" (= refined rapeseed oil ). With the advent of kerosene as a light source and the technical improvement of oil lamps in the first half of the 19th century, the oldest form of crumb was largely out of use in the country as well. More developed lamp shapes were then equipped with closed oil containers and tubular wick guides. Colloquially, they continued to be called "Krüsel".

The metal or wooden bowl holder was an important accessory . Similar to a boiler hook , it consisted of two toothed racks that could be locked against each other at any height. Hanging from the ceiling or on a swiveling arm ( turning hook ), also standing on the floor, the Krüsel was positioned on it at an appropriate height.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Lower Saxony dictionary, Göttingen 1910, Vol. 7, Column 1016-1018
  2. ^ Dictionary of German colloquial language, 2013.

literature

  • Mechthild Wiswe: memories and experiences , in: Braunschweigisches Jahrbuch für Landesgeschichte 83, 2002, pp. 112–113.
  • Eduard Kück: The old peasant life of the Lüneburg Heath , 1906. P. 196–198. (Reprint 2017)
  • Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm: German Dictionary , Vol. 5, p. 2096.
  • Wilhelm Hansen: Hauswesen und Tagewerk im alten Lippe , Münster 1982, pp. 104-105.