Popular Culture Overview
Festivals, Ritual, Misrule:
Religious framework shared for much of the 16th century
Spain villagers fasted and gave offerings on St. Agatha’s Day in 1575
Normandy peasants flog holy virgin
Usanos villages recalled when vow to saint was missed a thunderbolt struck the church tower
16th century average 17 annual festivals
Carnivals held in January-February time
England ‘Feast of Innocents’ men and women change clothes
Carnivals and festivals stronger in areas with better weather
Switzerland peasants from immediate area pillaged the city during the 1513 Berne Carnival
Feast of Fools die out by 17th century
Puritan controlled areas in England during the 17th century purged Churches of all sacred images
and items, decimated formerly common ritualistic practices
Reformation more of a movement within Western Christianity and therefore had less of an impact
in areas of Southern Europe such as Spain
Mediterranean: carnival continued well into the 18th century, participated by both the populace and
the elite
1495 Ship of Fools Sebastian Brant
1517 May Day riots in London
20 carnivals in 1520-30s turned into anti-Catholic parades in Germany
Magic:
The Balkans garlic was used to prevent spirits entering the house
France: villagers whipped the statue of Saint Vincent when the wine harvest failed
Prognostications Lichtenberger 1488
Hermetica
France Paris Parlement stop taking witch accusations seriously by 1640s
1621-42 witchcraft print declines
Reginald Scot ‘The Discoverie of Witchcraft’ 1584
Humiliation & Women:
Eve was responsible for the fall from Eden, St. Paul declared women should be silent and
submissive
75-85% of those killed were women
In Essex 92% of executions were women
Iceland 92% male
Estonia 60% male
Average age in Geneva 60
Punishment of rebellious women legally mandated
Council of Trent 1545-1563 tried to enforce moral behaviours
Women had more freedom in northern Europe than southern Europe
England was described by visitors as a “paradise for women”
Rottenburg stop hunt as feared they would kill all the women in their town
1588 two villages in Germany were left with one female inhabitant each
Nördi 34 women lost their lives and only 1 male, who was married to one of the accused
Elite:
Court masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment in the 16 th-17th century
England: ‘The Triumph of Peace’ in 1634 bestowed the spirits of peace, law, and justice on the
monarch
Renaissance and enlightenment in 18th century
Festivals, Ritual, Misrule:
Religious framework shared for much of the 16th century
Spain villagers fasted and gave offerings on St. Agatha’s Day in 1575
Normandy peasants flog holy virgin
Usanos villages recalled when vow to saint was missed a thunderbolt struck the church tower
16th century average 17 annual festivals
Carnivals held in January-February time
England ‘Feast of Innocents’ men and women change clothes
Carnivals and festivals stronger in areas with better weather
Switzerland peasants from immediate area pillaged the city during the 1513 Berne Carnival
Feast of Fools die out by 17th century
Puritan controlled areas in England during the 17th century purged Churches of all sacred images
and items, decimated formerly common ritualistic practices
Reformation more of a movement within Western Christianity and therefore had less of an impact
in areas of Southern Europe such as Spain
Mediterranean: carnival continued well into the 18th century, participated by both the populace and
the elite
1495 Ship of Fools Sebastian Brant
1517 May Day riots in London
20 carnivals in 1520-30s turned into anti-Catholic parades in Germany
Magic:
The Balkans garlic was used to prevent spirits entering the house
France: villagers whipped the statue of Saint Vincent when the wine harvest failed
Prognostications Lichtenberger 1488
Hermetica
France Paris Parlement stop taking witch accusations seriously by 1640s
1621-42 witchcraft print declines
Reginald Scot ‘The Discoverie of Witchcraft’ 1584
Humiliation & Women:
Eve was responsible for the fall from Eden, St. Paul declared women should be silent and
submissive
75-85% of those killed were women
In Essex 92% of executions were women
Iceland 92% male
Estonia 60% male
Average age in Geneva 60
Punishment of rebellious women legally mandated
Council of Trent 1545-1563 tried to enforce moral behaviours
Women had more freedom in northern Europe than southern Europe
England was described by visitors as a “paradise for women”
Rottenburg stop hunt as feared they would kill all the women in their town
1588 two villages in Germany were left with one female inhabitant each
Nördi 34 women lost their lives and only 1 male, who was married to one of the accused
Elite:
Court masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment in the 16 th-17th century
England: ‘The Triumph of Peace’ in 1634 bestowed the spirits of peace, law, and justice on the
monarch
Renaissance and enlightenment in 18th century
