This older German gentleman may look like he could not make up his mind whether to dress up as Robin Hood or some sort of strange Hussar for Halloween, but he is actually wearing the uniform of the Schlaraffen, who are male members of Schlaraffia, a worldwide German-speaking society founded in Prague (Czech Republic) in 1859 with a pledge of friendship, art and humor. This organization perhaps resembles a cross between the Freemasons and the Society for Creative Anachronism. Many of the Schlaraffen are of a mellower age and in secure positions. I am guessing this photograph was taken sometime in the 1920s.
The Schlaraffen meet in midwinter (October 1 - April 30) once per week in their Schlaraffen castle (equipped in the style of a knight's tavern from the Middle Ages) for "Sippungen" (gatherings which take place in the fixed ceremonial form of a knight's play). In doing so, everyday life is satirized as well as kept alive through recitations of literary and musical forms. An antiquated language with its own vernacular for everyday things (Schlaraffen Latin - for example; "powder pot" for tobacco pipe, "gasoline horse" for car, "castle monster" for mother-in-law) gives the Sippungen their own humorous note.
New members must be introduced by a Schlaraffe (godfather), complete a probationary period before a general vote is recorded, and start their career as knave, which leads from the position of squire to knight.
The approximately 280 "reychs" (local clubs) stay in close contact with one another. Each Schlaraffe is always welcome in every reych in the world. Their "mascot" is the owl.
Reychs currently exist in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, Sweden, the USA, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, Thailand, South Africa and Australia. The total number of Schlaraffen amounts to about 11,000.
Important artists were and are Schlaraffen, for example: Hungarian composer Franz Lehár, Austrian poet Peter Rosegger, German actor Gustl Bayrhammer, and many more. ~via sunnybrook100.
