Bill,
WOW! That�s one nice Jester, donkey ears and all! You can jest all you want!
Gary,
Sorry I haven�t answered sooner my computer has been jesting with me. I agree with Bill that the relationship and tradition between the two is associated with and comes from the Court Jester's of the Middle Ages. You mentioned a Carnival medal with a Jester holding a stick. The Court Jester of the middle Ages carried their own cheap imitation scepter which is called a Marotte or Bauble or the "fools bauble" if you will to mock and poke fun of the King's real scepter. So, that's where the tradition of the fool�s baton/scepter comes from.
Without seeing your medal I can only guess, but each region in Germany has their own Carnival or Fasching traditions. And most if not all towns and cities have a Carnival Prince with scepter and Princess. Your medal might also have something to do with the Koln tradition of the Dreigestirn (three Stars); the Carnival Prince or Seine Tollit�t, (His Craziness), the Bauer (peasant) and the Jungfrau (virgin) which by tradition has always been a man.
It�s the Baur (peasant) who carries a stick called a flail. His Craziness also carries a very nice scepter with a handle. In order to get elected to any one of these honorable posts you are a person of importance and means and they have to be well off to afford what they do.
Is the Pritschmeister and Carnival Prince or �Prince of fools� one in the �same person�? Remember German Carnival as well as the German Shooting fest was celebrated during the Middle Ages so there's going to be similarities between the two. Although they both represent the fun factor and craziness of both celebrations and are similar in costume and influenced by the traditions of the Court Jester�s of the past. In my humble opinion they are not the �same person� but are as we say, guilty by association. They are different in duties, title, organization and tradition due to the different organizations they represent and are a part of. Both celebrations if you will were/are held during different seasons for a reason. Partly due to a mix of pagan and Christian believes but also because of the need for defense. I guess it�s possible that one person was a member of both organizations and held both titles, who else better suited for the jobs in my opinion. But something tells me it�s not as simple and was/is more political in nature. I hope I understood the question correctly and answered without jumping track, I do that on occasion. That�s a good question and if you have more please ask. This is getting to be quite the jest, so please jest on.
