trufa

Practical joke which can be performed as a burlesque, and which is based on mummery and pretence: usually the ridiculing of a well-known character. Sometimes Trufas had serious consequences for those playing them: In 1553 Péter Bornemissza tried to frighten captain Letsar Feledi in Kassa by hiding behind a stove at night dressed up as an angel with the intention of converting him. Bornemissza was sent to jail for this joke. Tricks played by king Mátyás in disguise were recorded by István Székely in his World Chronicle (Krakow, 1559): it was given the title: A trufa of King Mátyás.

ÁP-SzJú