Elferrat

thumb|right|300 px|Although eleven Elferrat members appear on stage, the council is sometimes composed of more people. The Elferrat (German for "council of eleven") is the council of a kingdom of fools in a carnival.

==Development== The Elferrat was originally introduced in the Rhine carnival reform in 1823 and has its roots in the region in Germany west of the Rhine, from France after the French Revolution. French became the language of trade, and French laws were in use. In connection with the revolution, this helped develop civil and political rights, with a level of freedom of speech and equality of citizens in front of the law. With Napoleon's defeat, this came to an end, and Absolutism was restored. In Mainz, the Austrians and the Prussians formed the military authority in conjunction. Cologne, the first free imperial city, came to be ruled by the Prussians.