Perkeo of Heidelberg (born Clemens Pankert, according to other sources Giovanni Clementi; 1702–1735) was a notable

jester A jester, court jester, fool or joker was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain guests during the medieval and Renaissance eras. Jesters were also itinerant performers who entertained common folk at fairs and ...

and court dwarf of Elector Palatine Charles III Philip in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

. As guardian of the Great Heidelberg Tun, he has since become an unofficial mascot of the city and region. His name, story and image have been connected with a variety of festivals, traditional songs, cultural and scientific institutions, hotels, restaurants and private companies (in and out of the region) ever since.

Life

Pankert was apparently affected by

dwarfism Dwarfism is a condition wherein an organism is exceptionally small, and mostly occurs in the animal kingdom. In humans, it is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than , regardless of sex; the average adult height among people with dw ...

, possibly

pseudoachondroplasia Pseudoachondroplasia is an inherited disorder of bone growth. It is a genetic autosomal dominant disorder. It is generally not discovered until 2–3 years of age, since growth is normal at first. Pseudoachondroplasia is usually first detected b ...

. He was born in

Salurn Salorno sulla Strada del Vino (; german: Salurn ) is the southernmost ''comune'' (municipality) in South Tyrol in northern Italy, located about southwest of the city of Bolzano. It is one of only five mainly Italian-speaking municipalities in S ...

in the

County of Tyrol The (Princely) County of Tyrol was an estate of the Holy Roman Empire established about 1140. After 1253, it was ruled by the House of Gorizia and from 1363 by the House of Habsburg. In 1804, the County of Tyrol, unified with the secularised pr ...

(present-day Salorno,

South Tyrol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous province , image_skyline = , image_alt ...

) and originally practised as a button maker. Probably about 1718 he met with Prince Charles III Philip, who since 1712 ruled as a

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

governor over the lands of Tyrol and

Further Austria Further Austria, Outer Austria or Anterior Austria (german: Vorderösterreich, formerly ''die Vorlande'' (pl.)) was the collective name for the early (and later) possessions of the House of Habsburg in the former Swabian stem duchy of south-we ...

. Philip took an interest in Pankert, and when he assumed the rule in the

Electoral Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...

, he brought him along to

Heidelberg Castle Heidelberg Castle (german: Heidelberger Schloss) is a ruin in Germany and landmark of Heidelberg. The castle ruins are among the most important Renaissance structures north of the Alps. The castle has only been partially rebuilt since its demoli ...

as a

cup-bearer A cup-bearer was historically an officer of high rank in royal courts, whose duty was to pour and serve the drinks at the royal table. On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues (such as poisoning), a person must have been regarded as ...

and official entertainer for the court. In Heidelberg, he allegedly adopted the nickname “Perkeo” for his drinking habitudes, as he famously replied "perché no?" (“why not?” in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

) many times after being asked if he wanted another glass of wine at various court events. Perkeo quickly became celebrated for massive wine consumption despite his small figure, maybe on account of

diabetes insipidus Diabetes insipidus (DI), recently renamed to Arginine Vasopressin Deficiency (AVP-D) and Arginine Vasopressin Resistance (AVP-R), is a condition characterized by large amounts of dilute urine and increased thirst. The amount of urine produce ...

. Contemporary accounts document that he regularly drank between five and eight US gallons of wine a day. Since he knew much about wine, he was also given the responsibility of looking after the castle’s wine stocks. Many found amusement in the striking contrast that tiny, funny Perkeo was in charge of the largest wine barrel in the world, the massive Heidelberg Tun, while famously having a strong love of drinking. Aside from his official court duties, he is often celebrated for a variety of humorous legends connected to his life, his repartee and comical court pranks. These stories range from a tale of a mysterious clock that he used in wine production, a large key he had gotten on a misadventure into town to have an official uniform created, and most famously his demise. According to popular legend, Perkeo lived happily into his eighties having never drunk anything in his life, save for wine. Yet one day he took ill and the town doctor had him drink water. He died the next day.

Reception

Perkeo's fate was perpetuated in a letter by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

(1802–1885), after his 1840 visit to Heidelberg Castle.

Joseph Victor von Scheffel Joseph Victor von Scheffel (16 February 1826 – 9 April 1886) was a German poet and novelist. Biography He was born at Karlsruhe. His father, a retired major in the Baden army, was a civil engineer and member of the commission for regulating the ...

(1826–1886) added Perkeo's drinking song to his ''Gaudeamus'' collection, published in 1863. In Heidelberg, his commemoration is annually celebrated during the

carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

(''

Fastnacht The Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht, Fasnacht (in Switzerland) or Fasnat/Faschnat (in Vorarlberg) is the pre-Lenten carnival in Alemannic folklore in Switzerland, southern Germany, Alsace and Vorarlberg. Etymology Popular etymology often links ' ...

'') season, likewise in Salorno (''Maschggra''). The

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...

PERKÊO for lamp components was registered under No. 1 by the German

Imperial Patent Office Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...

on 16 October 1894 and is protected up to today.DPMA register entry
/ref> ''Perkeo'' is also the name of a historic inn in Heidelberg and of a ''

Hedera helix ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

'' (ivy) variety named in 1982. The PERKEO group at the Institute of Physics of the

Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

examines free

neutron The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol or , which has a neutral (not positive or negative) charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. Protons and neutrons constitute the nuclei of atoms. Since protons and neutrons beh ...

decay.

References

External links

Heidelberg Institute of Physics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perkeo Of Heidelberg 18th-century German people 18th-century Austrian people Jesters People from Salurn People from Heidelberg German people of Austrian descent 1702 births 1735 deaths

Life

Reception

Further reading

References

External links