gamsbärt’ and real men
the ‘gamsbart’, literally chamois beard, is a tuft of chamois hair worn as a hat decoration. needless to say that the size of this thingie closely correlates with the wealth and influence of its owner.
it is definitely *not* made of the hair of a beard as chamois don’t have one, unlike goats, but from the middle hair of the back. that means that earlier only licensed hunters were able to harvest the necessary hair.
hunting was a royal privilege in bavaria (it still carries a bit of this reputation nowadays, along with a unobjective cost-benefit analysis), and the stories of the fights betwean poachers and foresters are an essential basis of literary tradition as well as popular old songs.
Tags: chamois, gamsbart, hunting
These series of photos from the event are fantastic with interesting information.
Nice hats, i do like the series.