Ulmer Hansele

The Ulmer Hansele is a historical carnival figure from the city of Ulm on the Danube , which was revived in the 20th century. Today the Hansele are a guild group of the Narrenzunft Ulm e. V. , which is a member of the Alemannic Narrenring .

history

The jousting, held earlier in February or March, is actually a late medieval carnival custom. As early as 1551, the fools appeared next to peasants at carnival dances and games. In Ulm, for example, ships of fools were pulled through the streets during Mardi Gras parades. Only in later years was the jousting moved to the summer months because of the health risks for the piercers.

The jesters, the oldest figures in the Ulm fisherman's joust, were portrayed as early as 1717. Today's fool figures still have the foxtail in common with these archetypes. The crossed fish can still be found on today's costume. This early version of the fool was already described by the chronicler Hausleutner in 1790:

“The fools wear a kind of harlequin costume, a foxtail on their hats and on the back of their trousers. You make a beard and probably blacken your cheeks and other parts of your face. "

This face blackening is a carnival custom from Ulm in the 16th century.

A Rommel figure by Septimus Rommel, which was made from clay around 1811 for the King of Württemberg, allows conclusions to be drawn about the appearance of the figure at that time. The reason for the production of this clay figure was King Frederick of Württemberg's visit to the jousting on July 2, 1811. The Rommel figure was used in the 20th century as a template for the design of the group of fools of the Ulm fools' guild.

The appearance of today's Hansele

The Hansele of the Ulm Fool's Guild are dressed in a colorfully spotted fool's dress, on whose back a white house with a stork on the roof is embroidered. A red heart can be seen on the chest, underneath there are two crossed, silver fish. He wears a green bucket hat with a foxtail attached. He wears flat dance shoes on his feet. He carries a short spear with him as a sign of his dignity.

literature

Henning Petershagen: Ulm. The festival leader. Oath Monday, jousting, binder dance, the Ulm flags. Süddeutsche Verlagsgesellschaft, Ulm 1997.
Henning Petershagen: Good fun. The Ulmer Fischerstechen. The binder dance. Aegis-Verlag, Ulm 1994.