Shrovetide in Lithuania. Carnival Character Songs in a Sociocultural Context
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The book "Shrovetide in Lithuania. Carnival Character Songs in a Sociocultural Context" focuses on the description and analysis of the genre of calendrical Shrovetide songs or, more specifically, the songs of the costumed Shrovetide characters (‘beggars’, ‘Jews’, and ‘Gypsies’) considered as the calendrical folklore of Žemaitija, the ethnographic region of Northwestern Lithuania. The characteristics of the melodics of the songs, the content of their lyrics, and the prerequisites for the formation and evolution of the genre predetermined by the historical, social, Shrovetide customs and other contexts are discussed. Given the fact that the songs are believed to be rather late, the study concentrates on the so far little investigated Shrovetide celebration customs of Lithuanian nobility in the 15th through the 18th century and the urban communities in the 20th century with the aim of revealing their impact on the rural Shrovetide celebration and simultaneously on the songs in question. The study shows their links with the Lithuanian nobility and the urban environments which fostered European traditions as well as the interrelationship between the folk and ecclesiastical festivals.
