Medievalists.net

Where the Middle Ages Begin

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • Features
  • News
  • Online Courses
  • Podcast
  • Patreon Login
  • About Us & More
    • About Us
    • Books
    • Videos
    • Films & TV
    • Medieval Studies Programs
    • Places To See
    • Teaching Resources
    • Articles

Medievalists.net

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • Features
  • News
  • Online Courses
  • Podcast
  • Patreon Login
  • About Us & More
    • About Us
    • Books
    • Videos
    • Films & TV
    • Medieval Studies Programs
    • Places To See
    • Teaching Resources
    • Articles
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
Articles

Competing Spectacles in the Venetian Festa delle Marie

by Medievalists.net
January 31, 2016

Competing Spectacles in the Venetian Festa delle Marie

By Thomas Devaney

Viator, Vol.39:1 (2008)

The Carnival in Venice - photo by Stefan Insam / Flickr
The Carnival in Venice – photo by Stefan Insam / Flickr

Abstract: This essay clarifies the ways in which a civic spectacle such as Venice’s lavish celebration of the Purification, the Feste delle Marie, functioned as an opportunity to articulate alternatives to the dominant understanding of the social order. Although intended to honor the Virgin and present Venice as united and prospering, the festival was repeatedly marred by disorderly behavior and ultimately abolished by the authorities. I examine contemporary sources, including Pace del Friuli’s Descriptio festis gloriosissime Virginis Marie and Boccaccio’s Decameron, to highlight a growing disjuncture during the fourteenth century between popular and official conceptions of the festival. Disruptive behavior at the festival was neither blasphemous nor spontaneous, but a public performance that endorsed a vision of Venetian society based on a neighborhood rather than a municipal identity, on competition instead of unity.

Introduction: In 1349, the Venetian Grand Council passed legislation that stated: “Since the Festa delle Marie has been organized for the reverence of God and of the Virgin, for the devotion and consolation of the whole land, it is necessary that scandal-provoking conduct cease … from now on, the throwing of turnips or any other object is, on pain of a fine of 100 deniers, banned for the duration of the festival.” The Festa delle Marie, or Festival of the Twelve Marys, was Venice’s distinctive celebration of the Purification of Mary on 2 February, observed from at least the mid-twelfth century until it was abolished in 1379. It was second in spectacle and expense only to the Marriage of the Sea among Venetian civic rituals, and featured grand processions, sumptuous displays of wealth, and lavish parties in private homes. A complex ensemble of ceremonies that lasted eight days, the celebration culminated in a waterborne procession centered on twelve wooden effigies of the Virgin dressed in gold cloth and decorated with gems, pearls, and golden crowns. Although intended to present Venice as united in its devotion to Mary and prospering under the benign influence of God, the festival had, by the early-fourteenth century, become a locus for the articulation of competing viewpoints on the nature of Venetian society.

Take a look at our magazine
Take a look at our magazine

Attempts to understand the meanings of the Festa delle Marie began with contemporary efforts to fix its origins. The thirteenth-century Chronicle of Marco claimed that the festival commemorated Venice’s defeat of the legendary Istrian pirate Gaiolus in the tenth century. This story, likely fictional, became the popular explanation for the origins of the festival and was retold and embellished by a number of authors. The most detailed version, from an anonymous chronicle of the late fifteenth century, claimed that 31 January had been marked since ancient times by a ritual in which twelve poor but honest girls received dowries and weddings at the cathedral of San Pietro di Castello. When a band of pirates abducted the girls and stole the gifts, the casselleri (probably cabinetmakers) of Santa Maria Formosa parish pursued the pirates, returning to Venice on 2 February, the Feast of the Purification of Mary, with brides and gifts intact. The doge rewarded their courage by promising to visit their parish church each year on that day. In this recounting of the Festa delle Marie, the Virgin Mary plays no role. Only the coincidence of the date of the victory and the provenance of the rescuers tied the annual celebration to her feast day.

Click here to read this article from Academia.edu

Subscribe to Medievalverse




Related Posts

  • Rethinking Marie
  • Rethinking Marie
  • Power and Institutional Identity in Renaissance Venice: The Female Convents of S. M. delle Vergini and S. Zaccaria
  • MISURA E STRUTTURA NELLE CITTA FONDATE DELL’EUROPA CENTRALE
  • Adultery and Kingship in Marie de France's Equitan
TagsMedieval Social History • Medieval Venice

Post navigation

Previous Post Previous Post
Next Post Next Post

Medievalists Membership

Become a member to get ad-free access to our website and our articles. Thank you for supporting our website!

Sign Up Member Login

More from Medievalists.net

Become a Patron

We've created a Patreon for Medievalists.net as we want to transition to a more community-funded model.

 

We aim to be the leading content provider about all things medieval. Our website, podcast and Youtube page offers news and resources about the Middle Ages. We hope that are our audience wants to support us so that we can further develop our podcast, hire more writers, build more content, and remove the advertising on our platforms. This will also allow our fans to get more involved in what content we do produce.

Become a Patron Member Login

Medievalists.net

Footer Menu

  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
  • Copyright © 2025 Medievalists.net
  • Powered by WordPress
  • Theme: Uku by Elmastudio
Follow us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter