Flatbed (symbol)
The platform or clap is an approximately five hundred year old joking and punishment instrument of the platform master made of wood or cardboard, which is also used in the puppet figure and the fools in the carnival .
The bed is about 40–50 cm long, a few centimeters wide, made of hard cardboard strips, folded lengthways in a z-shape, with a narrower, glued grip area. The more upscale version is glued from thin wooden boards, which are also connected to one another in a z-shape on the inside. By opening the bed slightly, the air is suddenly squeezed out and the cardboard or wooden leaves come together to create a loud sound. Earlier variants, especially as plank master utensils, had a round, oval or teardrop-shaped compressible striking part attached to a long rod, often adorned with bells and ribbons at the transition point. Both parts were partly lavishly decorated and painted (see illustration on the right).
Since the 16th century until today it has been the main tool of the flatbed master, who acts as a joker, master of ceremonies and as a guardian at rifle festivals, at carnivals, at funfair clubs and the like. worked. In earlier times the cot was also used by fools to make noises. Today the cot is an indispensable prop, especially during carnival . The Carnival Prince of Cologne, for example, wears this insignia instead of a scepter as a symbol of his power and unity with his foolish people.
In the performances of the puppet, he has also had a club or a cot for centuries to beat up the evil crocodile or the robber.