“There were seven Chasseurs of Domèvre
Who were so exceedingly brave
When the Germans attacked
They got thoroughly whacked,
‘Voila!’ said the men of Domèvre.”
Puppet Shows of Germany and of Other Continental Countries
Perhaps it was the luxuriant forests of Germany offering abundant material and opportunity which encouraged the native aptitude, at any rate the inhabitants of the land have at all times been noted for their skill in wood carving. Moreover they appear to take a certain delight in mechanical devices. From very early times these interests were applied to the making of mechanical toys and dramatic puppets.
In the dark ages we find the people of the country carving a grotesque sort of wooden doll, called Kobold or Tattermann which they set up in the chimney and worshipped as a heathen household deity. Later these little figures came to be worked by wires. As far back as the twelfth century and according to Charles Magnin even in the tenth century, the word Tocha or Docha was used to signify a kind of puppet. One of the earliest Minnesingers mentions Tokkenspil in his poem and another speaks of the Jongleuren attracting their audiences by displaying little dolls which they pulled out at any time from under their mantles.
The subject of the early Tokkenspiel seems to have been gathered chiefly from the legends of the Edda, and from the Hildebrandslied and the Niebelungenlied. Praetorius mentions: “Foolish jugglers’ tents where old Hildebrand and such Possen are played with Dokken, called puppet comedies.” Later the mystery play appeared and the automatic Kruppenspiel, religious drama here as elsewhere opening up a path for the profane. These plays were founded upon such themes as, The Fall of Adam and Eve, Goliath and David, Judith and Holofernes, King Herod or The Siege of Jerusalem.