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[German Version] The “boy bishop” is the central figure of the boy-bishop ceremonies found from the 10th century through the 18th, primarily in Fran…

[German Version] I. Antiquity – II. Early Church – III. Middle Ages to the Present I. Antiquity Devotional objects can be understood as objects of private piety and religiosity common in all ancient cultures (cf. Epict., Dissertationes II…

[German Version] I. Literary History – II. Religious History – III. In Religious Education I. Literary History The fairy tale (the diminutive German term Märchen derives from MHG maere, “tidings,” “news,” “story, narrative”; the English term has been variously derived from ME faie, fei< MF feie, fee< Lat. fata; a genre term since the 16th cent.) as a basic genre of literary narrative is ¶ characterized by elements o…

[German Version] The earliest evidence for the celebration of Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras, Carnival) comes from the towns and cities of the 12th and 13th centuries; the nature of the celebration was based on its contrast with Lent: sumptuous, rich foods, copious drink, dancing, sporting events and games (often with a special role for butchers; cf. the Schembartlauf [“run of the hairy/bearded men”] in Nuremberg), special festivities of the nobility and dignitaries, allegorical plays and entertainments, weddings, and legal proceedings (payment of taxes). Earlier scholarship generally traced these activities to Germanic cults (e.g. the use of masks, supposedly to disguise the wearers’ identity during fertility and funerary ceremonies [Dead, Cult of the]) or the Roman Saturnalia and Lupercalia, but these theories have been rejected by more recent scholars. At most secondary influences mediated through commedia del’arte since the 15th century might be considered (harlequin, patchwork costumes). The formal structure appears more to reflect allegoric…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies A pilgrimage is a journey by an individual or group, religiously motivated, usually over a substantial distance and (esp. in earlier periods) demanding great effort. A Western pilgrim today can hardly imagine the dangers to which a peregrinus was exposed. This Latin term, the etymon of the English word pilgrim, denoted a foreigner or in some cases an exile. A person who undertook a pilgrimage was thus someone who had to leave his or her familiar environment. The element of foreignness and movement also induced…