Schembartlauf in Nürnberg

The Schembartlauf is Nürnberg’s version of Mardi Gras and Carnevale. It features cow masks because the festival originated among the butchers

In 1348 the artisans in Nürnberg revolted. However, the knife-makers and butchers had not taken part. As a special thank-you they were allowed by imperial privilege to perform a special dance through the city. Each year, until 1539, members of the two guilds dressed up in velvet and silk and donned their masks. Moving from the Castle, they passed the city-hall, over the Fleischbrücke in order to end up near Deutscher Hof. The knife-makers made their procession with drawn swords and edged knives. The butchers wearing masks of oxen, took hold of leather rings, thus mimicking a string of sausages. Part of the fun was to make room for the procession with the dancers. This led to the formation of a special company of masked youngsters who had the job to rid the streets of onlookers and move them back. The proceedings were called “Schembartlauf” from Schëme, literally bearded mask. The youngsters were organised in the “Schembartgesellschaft” (Company of the masked).

During the 15^th century the costumes got more an more fantastic while the introduction in 1475 of central float of a dragon or a boat led the festival to a new level. However in 1539 the new reformational leaders heavily quashed the riots. The Schembartlauf was not resurrected until 1974. “The run” is not organised every year, but the pressure is on to make it a recurrent event.

Schembartbücher

A special feature is the more than 80 preserved Schembartbücher, which details the costumes, the proceedings and the music and texts of the songs. The cover the period from 1449 – 1539. 35 original manuscripts may be found in the collections in Nürnberg, 30 others are located elsewhere, while 5 may be found abroad. The Bodleian Library owns a copy, the MS. DOUCE 346, documenting the Nuremberg Shrovetide Carnival (1449-1539). Schembartsbuch. Other copies are in the Getty, the Rosewald and the University Library of California.

SOURCE:

Die Nürnberger Schembart Gesellschaft (Musik und Tanz der Renaissance)