Brüderschaft

The brüderschaft (lit. 'brotherhood' in German) or brüderschafttrinken (lit. 'brotherhood-drinking')[lower-alpha 1] is a drinking ritual, or a rite of passage,[1] to consolidate friendship. Two people simultaneously drink a glass of the same alcoholic beverage each, with their arms intertwined at the elbows. A "brotherly kiss" is customary after emptying the glasses, which then seals the ritual.[1] Thence they are considered good friends and address each other informally.[2]

For the music collective, see Bruderschaft.
Drinking at a brüderschaft
Advertising poster, c. 1899; American magician Harry Kellar making a brüderschaft with the devil

A symbolic act that establishes a closer bond between two—usually male—individuals, it has been associated with an end of formality between them and addressing each other du (the informal you in German) at least since Jus Potandi oder ZechRecht, a legal-parodic text published in 1616.[1] In the 17th and 18th centuries, the expression auf den Dutz trinken[lower-alpha 2] was also common, allegedly based on the assumption that "drinking together would bind and oblige".[4]

References

Notes
  1. In Austrian German, bruderschaft and bruderschafttrinken respectively.
  2. It means the same as auf das Duzen trinken (lit. 'drink to the Duzen'). Duzen (pronounced [ˈduːtsn̩] ⓘ) is a verb that signifies using du—the informal you in German—to address.[3]

Citations
  1. Objartel, Georg (22 February 2016). "5.4 Die Praktik des Brüderschaft- und Freundschafttrinkens" [5.4 The Practice of Brotherhood- and Friendship-drinking]. Sprache und Lebensform deutscher Studenten im 18. und 19. Jahrhundert: Aufsätze und Dokumente [Language and Patterns of Life Exhibited by 18th and 19th-Century German Students: Essays and Documentation]. Studia Linguistica Germanica (in German). De Gruyter. p. 97. doi:10.1515/9783110456578. ISBN 9783110456578. Retrieved 13 April 2023 – via Google Books.
  2. "Brüderschaft". Meyers Konversationslexikon (in German). Leipzig and Vienna: Verlag des Bibliographischen Instituts. 1885–1892. Archived from the original on 24 September 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2023 – via Retrobibliothek.de. Brüderschaft, zunächst die Übereinkunft von zwei Personen, sich als Brüder anzusehen, oft nur um einander mit "Du" anzureden (...) Die Sitte, B. zu trinken, beruht wohl darauf, daß der Genuß des gleichen Trankes als Symbol fester Vereinigung angesehen wurde. [Brotherhood, first the agreement of two people to regard each other as brothers, often to address each other only with "Du" (...) The custom of the B. drinking is probably based on the fact that consumption of the same drink was considered a symbol of a firm union.]
  3. "duzen". Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache (in German). Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  4. Hübner, Regina; Hübner, Manfred (2004). Trink, Brüderlein, trink: Illustrierte Kultur- und Sozialgeschichte deutscher Trinkgewohnheiten [Drink, Little Brother, drink: Illustrated Cultural and Social History of German Drinking Customs] (in German). Edition Leipzig. p. 96. ISBN 9783361005754. Retrieved 13 April 2023 – via Google Books. So war üblich, daß man auff Brüderschafft oder auff den Dutz trincket, weil man von alters her annahm, gemeinsames Trinken würde verbinden und verpflichten. [Thus it was customary to drink to Brotherhood or to the Duzen, because it was assumed from time immemorial that drinking together would bind and oblige.]
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