The charivari is a typical accessory for Bavarian costume – a decorative chain with pendants that is worn on leather trousers. But the tradition of such chains could go back further than previously thought, as a late antique grave good from Pförring in eastern Bavaria now suggests. The deceased buried there in the 5th century wore a very similar ensemble of coins, bronze rings and other objects tied together with a leather cord on her hip.
You can see them again in the current Oktoberfest season: men in Bavarian costume wearing a charivari on their lederhosen. This is a chain made of solid silver to which various pendants in the form of coins, gemstones, animal figures made of silver or horn, or even teeth or paws of wild animals are attached. Originally, these chains probably served as talismans or souvenirs of successful hunts. These charivaris, which are often passed down through generations, are considered a status symbol, especially in the rural areas of the Eastern Alps.
It is generally believed that the tradition of Charivaris dates back to the Napoleonic era. At that time, people in southern Germany began to decorate silver watch chains with pendants and integrate them into traditional costumes. The name is also derived from French.
Leather straps with various pendants
But such a jewelry chain worn on the hip is apparently not a modern invention: something very similar already existed in late antiquity, as archaeologists from the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation have now discovered. As part of their work, they examined and restored a find that came from a chamber grave discovered in 2016 in Pförring in eastern Bavaria. In this late antique grave from the first half of the 5th century, a young woman was buried with grave goods. Among these was a caked-together lump of several smaller objects on the dead woman’s left thigh.
The team led by General Conservator Mathias Pfeil examined this conglomerate with X-rays and then carefully separated the individual parts from one another. It turned out that the ensemble consisted of a large number of very different objects, including two bronze keys, a needle box made of bone, several bronze rings, three perforated Roman coins, an elaborately crafted decorative disc with a glass inlay, the shell of a sea snail and a walnut pendant decorated with bronze bands. The crucial point, however, is that these objects were once strung on a leather strap and connected to one another, as the team reports.
Talisman and status symbol at the same time
This suggests that this woman once wore these objects as belt pendants – very similar to the charivari today. And there is another similarity: “The ensemble of the young woman from Pförring is unusual in its composition and allows exciting conclusions to be drawn about the social and cultural environment of the deceased,” says Pfeil. The variety of objects attached to the late antique pendant and their selection suggest that these pendants were not just a fashion accessory, but could probably have served as a talisman or status symbol. “The finds provide an interesting insight into the late antique culture on the Danube border of the Roman Empire and the use of jewelry and symbolism,” says Pfeil.
More than 1,500 years ago, something very similar to the charivari existed: people threaded pendants with a special meaning onto a chain and wore them around on their belts. The charivari of Bavarian costume does not go back directly to these early belt pendants, as the State Office emphasizes. However, it shares its function with the Pförringer find: it is a talisman and at the same time a symbol of status and belonging.
Source: Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation