Re: Meissner's Karnöffel
Posted: 30 Nov 2009, 20:23
The "Haintz eff mich wohl" in the Karnoeffel poem might have referred to something, which was popular inside the Karnöffel game. The picture of "Haintz Narr" is made possibly 50 years after the poem and we have no confirmation, that Mysner's text had been very popular, but the painter might have remembered or known something, which was also common to Mysner.
The year is 1494 and a Fool is getting out of his graveyard ... and that happens at the begin of a new book, the "Ship of the Fools" ... which became an overwhelming success, the most printed German book before Goethe's Werther, a bestselling text.
Short before 1494 the old emperor Fredrick III had died, and the whole situation promised, that some things would change now. The earlier Emperor had reigned 53 years and in a series of 27 unbroken years he even hadn't entered the central part of the empire ... and the rest of the time he was mostly absent, too.
Although it is not referrred to this in the text of the ship of fools, it might easily be, that the pictures were interpreted and understood in this way.
The first three pictures might be meant as an introduction, starting with the book-fool:
The preceding 4th picture (Narr Haintz has the 5th picture) has the character of an impressum, it carries the number of the year 1494
The text of the Haintz picture, which actually might be interpreted as the first picture of the main text, tells the story of a 100 year old "boes kind", who "den Jungen die Schellen vorträgt" (plays the fool in other words). The "schyntmesser jm ars" (knife in the ass) is mentioned in the second line. A Schindmesser is probably the tool, that you need to get the skin of an animal, by starting to cut from the asshole. "schyntmesser jm ars" signifies as an old proverb the situation, in which somebody is near to death. Loosing the skin is that, what the wolf makes with the Sau in Mysner's 5th verse.
This old Fool now (in the text of Ship of Fools) has a son and this son has a name and this name is Heyntz. So the meaning of the picture. So the picture refers to an old king, who has died, and a young king, who proceeds the work of his father. In other words ... Fastnacht 1494.
The following 6th picture shows a scene with youth (the new Heintz is young) and they play cards ... in other words fighting and even murder is very near.
The Karnoeffel has a second name and this name is Keyserspiel. The old Keyser Fredrick III was boring and anyway somehow not really present, so he didn't offer much for public critique and amusement and not too much stuff for literary development. Now a new fool ... ahem, emperor, had arrived, and as a natural result a name called Keyserspiel had better chances to become more popular. Indeed we have the notes about Karnöffel increasing in number around this time, especially in the region of Strassburg, where the book of Fools had appeared.
But this context shall not interest, the situation of ca. 1445-1450 has the focus.
We have this picture, and J. C. Fischard also called Bauer von Eyseneck (reporting author about the codex material) from early 19th century thinks ... "Die Hauptkarte, der Karnüffel scheint hier unter dem Namen Heintz eff mich wohl vorzukommen, der oft unerwartet das Geld einzog." (p. 204), in other words, he thinks, that Heintz is the Karnöffel, what somehow is not really plausible.
But, as the devil has it, Heintz, the suspected "highest trump" (at least by Fischard) 50 years later ascends from the graveyard. And in the Tarot, suspected to have descended from Karnöffel we have also some people ascending from the graveyard as the highest trump, and it is for the Bembo cards and also for the Bolognese Tarocchi also the highest trump. This is a little bit strange.
The year is 1494 and a Fool is getting out of his graveyard ... and that happens at the begin of a new book, the "Ship of the Fools" ... which became an overwhelming success, the most printed German book before Goethe's Werther, a bestselling text.
Short before 1494 the old emperor Fredrick III had died, and the whole situation promised, that some things would change now. The earlier Emperor had reigned 53 years and in a series of 27 unbroken years he even hadn't entered the central part of the empire ... and the rest of the time he was mostly absent, too.
Although it is not referrred to this in the text of the ship of fools, it might easily be, that the pictures were interpreted and understood in this way.
The first three pictures might be meant as an introduction, starting with the book-fool:
The preceding 4th picture (Narr Haintz has the 5th picture) has the character of an impressum, it carries the number of the year 1494
The text of the Haintz picture, which actually might be interpreted as the first picture of the main text, tells the story of a 100 year old "boes kind", who "den Jungen die Schellen vorträgt" (plays the fool in other words). The "schyntmesser jm ars" (knife in the ass) is mentioned in the second line. A Schindmesser is probably the tool, that you need to get the skin of an animal, by starting to cut from the asshole. "schyntmesser jm ars" signifies as an old proverb the situation, in which somebody is near to death. Loosing the skin is that, what the wolf makes with the Sau in Mysner's 5th verse.
This old Fool now (in the text of Ship of Fools) has a son and this son has a name and this name is Heyntz. So the meaning of the picture. So the picture refers to an old king, who has died, and a young king, who proceeds the work of his father. In other words ... Fastnacht 1494.
The following 6th picture shows a scene with youth (the new Heintz is young) and they play cards ... in other words fighting and even murder is very near.
The Karnoeffel has a second name and this name is Keyserspiel. The old Keyser Fredrick III was boring and anyway somehow not really present, so he didn't offer much for public critique and amusement and not too much stuff for literary development. Now a new fool ... ahem, emperor, had arrived, and as a natural result a name called Keyserspiel had better chances to become more popular. Indeed we have the notes about Karnöffel increasing in number around this time, especially in the region of Strassburg, where the book of Fools had appeared.
But this context shall not interest, the situation of ca. 1445-1450 has the focus.
We have this picture, and J. C. Fischard also called Bauer von Eyseneck (reporting author about the codex material) from early 19th century thinks ... "Die Hauptkarte, der Karnüffel scheint hier unter dem Namen Heintz eff mich wohl vorzukommen, der oft unerwartet das Geld einzog." (p. 204), in other words, he thinks, that Heintz is the Karnöffel, what somehow is not really plausible.
But, as the devil has it, Heintz, the suspected "highest trump" (at least by Fischard) 50 years later ascends from the graveyard. And in the Tarot, suspected to have descended from Karnöffel we have also some people ascending from the graveyard as the highest trump, and it is for the Bembo cards and also for the Bolognese Tarocchi also the highest trump. This is a little bit strange.