Important for a first visit
Schlaraffia
Schlaraffia is a worldwide, German-speaking community of men that cultivates friendship, humor, art and intellectual exchange. This happens in a deliberately playful form: with language, rituals, roles, and a loving persiflage of medieval, courtly ceremony. So anyone experiencing Schlaraffia for the first time doesn’t meet an ordinary club, but a community with a form of its own, a language of its own, and a very distinctive tone.
Schlaraffe
A Schlaraffe is a member of Schlaraffia. But this doesn’t mean merely a club member on paper; it means someone who takes part in the Schlaraffic game, in the evenings and in the community. So the term always also describes belonging to this special culture.
Burg
In Schlaraffia, the Burg (“castle”) is the place where a Reych meets for its evenings. It need not be a real knight’s castle — what’s meant is the Sippung room or venue of the respective Reych. So anyone invited to a visit doesn’t necessarily travel to a drawbridge and portcullis, but to the place where the Schlaraffic goings-on happen.
Reych
A Reych is the local Schlaraffia community — that is, what you might in everyday terms call a local branch, circle or chapter. Each Reych has its own name, its own history, and often its own small peculiarities. At the same time, every Reych belongs to worldwide Schlaraffia.
Sippung
This is what a Schlaraffic evening is called. A Sippung is not a mere meeting and not an ordinary club session, but an evening with a form of its own: welcome, play, spoken contributions, music, humor, sometimes small rituals — and a lot of community. Anyone who visits Schlaraffia will hear this term very quickly, because it denotes the actual core of the shared evening.
Uhu
The Uhu (owl) is Schlaraffia’s central symbolic animal. It stands emblematically for wisdom, perspective, humor and the shared Schlaraffic world. In the Burg you often meet it on coats of arms, banners or in addresses — not as a religious figure, but as a defining sign of Schlaraffia.
Profanei
In Schlaraffia, the Profanei is everything outside the Schlaraffic game — that is, ordinary everyday life, working life and the world “out there.” When Schlaraffen speak of the Profanei, it’s usually meant with a wink: here the world of appointments, duties and emails — there, for a few hours, one’s own world of play and community.
Pilger
A Pilger (“pilgrim”) is an interested person who wants to get to know Schlaraffia. Anyone who comes as a Pilger first attends evenings without obligation, looks at everything calmly, and decides without pressure whether this form of community suits them. So the term marks a visitor’s entry into Schlaraffia — friendly, open and without immediate commitment.
Burgfrau
In Schlaraffic usage, the Burgfrau (“lady of the castle”) is the wife or partner of a Schlaraffe. She does not belong to the inner men’s fellowship of the game, but can nonetheless play an important role in the life of a Reych. Many Reyche cultivate events at which Burgfrauen are expressly present — such as Burgfrauen evenings or other convivial and cultural occasions.
Tross
The Tross denotes a Schlaraffe’s relatives — put simply, family and close circle. The term belongs to the Schlaraffic world of language and makes visible that a Schlaraffe’s life is not entirely separate from the rest of his life. Even though the actual game remains a men’s fellowship, family and setting are by no means insignificant.
The path from visitor to Schlaraffe
Pate
A Pate (mentor) accompanies an interested person or new Schlaraffe on their way. He explains procedures, answers questions, makes contacts, and helps you find your bearings in a world that is unfamiliar to outsiders at first. For a first-time visitor, the Pate is often the most important point of reference.
Pilger
The first step is usually the Pilger status: you attend several evenings, get to know the people, the tone and the game, and then decide whether you want to go further. There is no compulsion and no automatism in this. For outsiders especially, this is important: at first you’re only getting acquainted.
Prüfling
Anyone who, after several visits, is seriously interested can ask for admission and then — if the Reych agrees — becomes a Prüfling (candidate). The term marks the transition from non-committal getting-acquainted to a conscious next step. With this begins a stronger growing-into Schlaraffia, but still embedded in play, guidance and community.
Knappe
After admission, the path within Schlaraffia begins with the rank of Knappe (squire). You are then part of the community and grow step by step into the language, forms and customs. So the Knappe is not a finished “knight,” but someone visibly on the way.
Junker
The Junker is the next stage on the Schlaraffic path. Anyone who has gathered experience as a Knappe and continues becomes a Junker. This too is part of the deliberately playful structure of Schlaraffia: you don’t grow into it all at once, but in stages.
Ritter
The Ritter (knight) is the full Schlaraffic rank. With the accolade, the Schlaraffe also receives his Schlaraffic knightly name, by which he is addressed in the Reych. The knightly rank belongs to the symbolic and playful world of Schlaraffia — not as a carnival costume, but as a deliberately cultivated form and tradition.
Kugelung
The Kugelung is a form of election or ballot that can occur in connection with the path to admission. The term sounds foreign to outsiders at first, but belongs to the grown tradition of Schlaraffia. It doesn’t mean an arbitrary spectacle, but a formal part of the Schlaraffic path.
Prüfung
Prüfung (examination), too, is not to be understood in Schlaraffia in the sense of a dry academic test of performance. It means rather a tradition-rich, not entirely serious form of the next step — embedded in the game, in the community, and in the journey through the various stages.
Roles, offices and people
Sasse
Sasse is the Schlaraffic term for a member of Schlaraffia. The term appears in many contexts and basically means the Schlaraffe himself. So anyone who hears about “the Sassen” usually simply hears the Schlaraffic term for the members present.
Oberschlaraffe
The Oberschlaraffen lead a Reych or a Sippung. They sit “on the throne” and guide the evening. This doesn’t mean posturing with power, but above all responsibility for the form, sequence and tone of the game.
Fungierender
The Fungierender is the presiding leader of a given Sippung. During the evening he has a special role: he guides the sequence, opens and closes certain parts, and holds the form of the game together. First-timers will usually recognize him quickly, because he visibly shapes the evening.
Kantzler
The Kantzler is a central office in the Reych and typically handles organizational, written and administrative matters. When an interested person makes contact with a Reych, they not infrequently reach the Kantzler first.
Junkermeister
The Junkermeister accompanies in particular the younger or newer stages of the Schlaraffic path. He helps Knappen and Junker grow into the language, forms and customs. For new Schlaraffen he is therefore an important figure.
Ceremonienmeister
The Ceremonienmeister watches over the sequence and form of a Sippung. His task is not to produce stiff formality, but to hold together the rules of the evening’s game. Precisely because Schlaraffia plays with form and ritual, it needs someone who helps carry this form.
Schulrat
The Schulrat is a Schlaraffic office that can traditionally handle questions of the path, of instruction, or of certain stages of examination and development. For outsiders it’s important to know: behind the term there is no school authority, but a role within the grown Schlaraffic order.
Burgfrau und Tross
Even though women are not part of the actual men’s fellowship in the game, Burgfrauen and relatives are by no means “defined away.” Rather, in many Reyche they form an important part of the extended cultural and social life. Anyone who wants to understand Schlaraffia should therefore distinguish between the inner game and the rest of club and community life.
Language, rituals and quirks
Ceremoniale
The Ceremoniale comprises the rules and forms by which a Sippung unfolds. It is, so to speak, the playbook for the outer form — not an end in itself, but a framework for humor, art, speech and community. Anyone who experiences a Sippung quickly notices: behind the easygoing mood there is a form, and that’s exactly what the Ceremoniale stands for.
Spiegel
The Spiegel is Schlaraffia’s fundamental work of rules and self-understanding. It doesn’t describe every individual case of life, but the load-bearing principles and guidelines of the Schlaraffic game. For outsiders it’s enough to know: the Spiegel is something like the foundation of the Schlaraffic order.
Fechsung
A Fechsung is a Schlaraffic contribution — usually a self-written or self-crafted talk, text, story, poem or piece of music. Anyone who gives a Fechsung actively contributes something to the evening. Fechsungen are at the heart of the Sippung, because here humor, language, art and personality become visible.
Lulu!
Lulu! is an expression of joy, approval or enthusiasm. It’s one of the best-known sounds of the Schlaraffic world and is something like a Schlaraffic cheer. Anyone who experiences a successful Fechsung or a fine moment will soon hear this word.
Ulul
Ulul is, so to speak, the counterpart to Lulu — an expression of displeasure, of course likewise in the Schlaraffic tone and not meant as a serious offense. Like much in Schlaraffia, this too lives on play, exaggeration and a shared form.
Pön
Pön is a tongue-in-cheek penalty or fine within the Schlaraffic framework. It doesn’t serve to belittle anyone, but is part of the humorous game. Anyone who visits Schlaraffia shouldn’t confuse this with harsh club discipline — it belongs to the ritual language and to the tongue-in-cheek game of rules.
Bangk
A Bangk is a special form of applause. Here too you can see that Schlaraffia cultivates its own language and its own gestures. Instead of merely saying “applause,” it becomes an expression of its own.
Atzung
Atzung is the Schlaraffic word for food or dishes. So when an event mentions Atzung, it’s not about anything mysterious, but simply about food. Terms like this make up part of Schlaraffia’s special tone.
Quell
Quell means beer. This too is an example of how Schlaraffia translates everyday things linguistically into its own world. For outsiders the rule is: much sounds foreign at first, but is often simpler than it seems.
Lethe
Lethe is the Schlaraffic word for wine. Together with terms like Quell or Atzung, it shows the playful everyday language that Schlaraffia has created for itself over many decades.
Schlaraffen hört!
With this call, the attention of those present is gathered — for instance at the beginning of an address or a contribution. For a guest, it’s one of those terms by which you immediately notice: here the evening runs in a form and language of its own.
R.G.u.H.z.
This abbreviation stands for a Schlaraffic greeting formula in a chivalric tone. Outsiders don’t have to master it in detail — but you encounter it occasionally, which is why it belongs in the glossary. What matters above all: it’s an expression of Schlaraffia’s grown world of language and ritual.
Time, world and framework
a. U. / Anno Uhui
Schlaraffia uses an era count of its own. a. U. stands for Anno Uhui. It begins with the founding year 1859 and belongs to the playful world of Schlaraffia, in which time, months and designations are also brought into a form of their own.
Zeytrechnung
This is what Schlaraffia calls its own year count. It’s a good example of how the community makes its world of play visible not only in language and roles, but even in its reckoning of time. Outsiders don’t have to master this right away — but you should know why invitations or documents sometimes show unusual year numbers.
Winterung
The Winterung is the actual Sippung season — traditionally the time in which the regular evenings take place. In many Reyche it runs roughly from October to April. So anyone interested in visits should watch for dates especially during this time.
Sommerung
The Sommerung denotes the Sippung-free or Sippung-sparse time outside the actual Winterung. This doesn’t mean nothing at all happens — but the classic evening routine rests in many places or is arranged more loosely.
Profanei
The Profanei is, put simply, the world outside Schlaraffia. The term helps to understand that Schlaraffia doesn’t claim to replace the “real” world, but on the contrary creates a deliberately delimited space of play and freedom within everyday life. Part of its appeal lies in exactly this contrast.