Mummers play

Mummery, in NHG most masculine of mummery, in Early New High German feminine the mumschanz, momschanz is originally the name of a gamble with dice, which played as part of masked processions in the customs of carnival and carnival a role, and since then has the meaning of " Masquerade, masque "is assumed.

Etymology

The component - schanz goes back to the Middle High German word schanz (s ) 'case of the dice, dice game, " more generally " game, daring ", which is in turn borrowed from Old French ch ( e) ance, " case ", " happy accident ", "Happy case of the dice ," and today still lives on in the phrase someone zuschanzen something " give someone an advantage, helping to something good ."

The first component Mum (men ) - is, however, not quite sure of its origin. He is on the one hand attributed Mummen on the Middle High German verb or mumman, which was used as a designation for a gambling game in the 14th to 16th century, and was mentioned in this meaning since 1351. It is on the other hand also attributed to the word Mumme " mask -clad figure " that is is in this meaning since 1475, lives on even today in the prefixed forms of disguise " mask, disguise ," and muffle " wrap in warm clothes " and, in turn, from Old French momer ( occupied since 1263 ) " dress, mask " or " talk unintelligible " momon "mask" and then in the last resort of spanish and Portuguese momo " grimace, buffoon, mocking gesture ", or from an onomatopoeic Mummen is derived.

Mumschanz The composition or momschanz is in English since the 16th century by sayings like a mumm (s) schanz to hit, pitch, bring ample evidence, both as a general term for gambling with dice, as well as in connection with the custom of to the Christian fasts or specifically to the actual carnival masks dressed foreign households to visit and there offer a dice game, which was used in Germany and France and England already possessed late medieval precursor. If mumschanz not from the beginning was by origin from Mumme " mask, disguised person " name for " dice game of Mummen clad people " and was only subsequently generalized to the meaning " dice game ", so it is a general term for " dice game " that only through the inclusion in the Customs and secondary association with Mumme " was broadcast mask, disguised person "on this tradition. In the further development until the 18th century, the reference to gambling and dice game was in any case largely lost, so that the word was effectively limited to the meaning of " masquerade, masque " (mostly with pejorative connotation ) remained common.