 Featured this month
is a porcelain half liter character stein of a battered young man in a
red tunic with red, blue, and yellow colors on his hat
The stein features a thumb lift of a full body of a barmaid holding a
tankard of beer and a lithophane depicting a courtyard with multiple
people. There are no markings on the bottom of this stein which was
sold as "rare."
The young man portrayed by this stein is a member of a German student
dueling association. German student associations date back hundreds of
years and cover most aspects of student life. During the Napoleonic
wars, in particular, a strong bellicose sentiment emerged among the
students and dueling was a major part of
many associations. In some associations, the student was required to
duel at least once annually.
The intent of the student duel, or Mensuer, was not to
inflict injury, but to allow the student to show honor and display
courage. Although the students wore protective gear when dueling,
injuries did occur, most often to the head. The student on the subject
stein has injuries to his eye and notable scars.
Injuries were often exacerbated to maximize damage and scarring as
points of pride and honor. Some
duelists would even rub irritants into sword wounds to enhance them in
the hope forming a nice
scar, or Schmiss. The Schmiss was considered to be such
a badge of
courage and honor, that many students who did not duel inflicted facial
wounds
with razor blades to produce one. |
