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Civic Ritual in Renaissance Venice
Venice's reputation for political stability and a strong, balanced republican government holds a prominent place in European political theory. Edward Muir traces the origins and development of this reputation, paying particular attention to the sixteenth century, when civic ritual in Venice reached its peak. He shows how the ritualization of society and politics was an important reason for Venice's stability. Influenced in part by cultural anthropology, he establishes and applies to Venice a new methodology for the historical study of civic ritual.
356 pages, Paperback
Published July 1, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 22, 2024
The year is 1981. John Lennon had just been murdered, Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5 was charting, and MTV launched with Video Killed the Radio Star. More importantly, Edward Muir gave birth to Civic Ritual in Renaissance Venice. Little did he know, when I picked up the book 43 years later, I would read Vivo’s Information and Communication in Venice first, accidentally rendering the majority of his text uninformative. He also likely did not expect my disdain for religious anthropology. He did, however, pop off (relatively speaking) by discussing the ritual symbolism of the cult of Saint Mark. Pax tibi Marce evangelista meum, and I’ve always said that. The discussion was sexy, but so so 80s. Myth of Venice? More like synth of Venice, amirite? Get wrecked, Muir.
January 16, 2019
La Serenisima de republica de venezia. Or, as Dr. Jones once so beautifuly put it, ah Venice.
This book was recommended to me by my little sister and after watching Overly Sarcastic Productions four parts series about the history of Venice I snatched the book up in no time eager to learn more about the city I spent a fair amount of my early twenties immersed in while I was playing Assassin's Creed II instead of going out with women or showering. Venice is an incredible city and Muir has accomplished something wonderful with this book.
Muir takes an in-depth, and highly academic look, at the cultural rituals of Venice and how, over time, these rituals became embraced by the city populace and became imbued with political, religious, and philosophical sentiment to the community of Venice who in turn used said rituals to create a kind of personal sense of self. Venetians began to construct a facet of identity through the rituals of the "Marriage of the Sea" or the "Coronation of the Doge." Even Carnival assumed some facet of Venetian personality so that these rituals were not just about celebrating holidays, they were a way of manifesting one's identity. Muir's analysis allows the reader to see how these rituals developed over time and were able to demonstrate such power of the Venetian populace.
Muir's book isn't perfect. Any reader, like me, who does not have a working knowledge of Latin, Italian, and/or French is likely to be left clueless by the numerous uses of such language that rarely receive an attempt at translation. There is also the issue that, as I noted before, this is a highly academic text, with some pages bearing half a page of footnotes. This is not a weakness, but it can be an obstacle to an average reader who might be looking for more factual information about the city and its history.
Still, for its flaws, I enjoyed this book and my knowledge of Venice and its people and politics has grown. Muir's book is a valuable resource for any and all historians looking to the history of the Serene Republic.
And, for the record, it might also allow nerds like me who murdered Marco Babarigo with the hidden pistol to learn a little more about the man they had to endure at least six to seven side-quests just to get a flipping golden mask that they eventually had to steal and then sneak into a party just to kill the fat Doge. Am I still bitter? Yeah, I am. At least Agostino was a little more interesting to learn about.
This book was recommended to me by my little sister and after watching Overly Sarcastic Productions four parts series about the history of Venice I snatched the book up in no time eager to learn more about the city I spent a fair amount of my early twenties immersed in while I was playing Assassin's Creed II instead of going out with women or showering. Venice is an incredible city and Muir has accomplished something wonderful with this book.
Muir takes an in-depth, and highly academic look, at the cultural rituals of Venice and how, over time, these rituals became embraced by the city populace and became imbued with political, religious, and philosophical sentiment to the community of Venice who in turn used said rituals to create a kind of personal sense of self. Venetians began to construct a facet of identity through the rituals of the "Marriage of the Sea" or the "Coronation of the Doge." Even Carnival assumed some facet of Venetian personality so that these rituals were not just about celebrating holidays, they were a way of manifesting one's identity. Muir's analysis allows the reader to see how these rituals developed over time and were able to demonstrate such power of the Venetian populace.
Muir's book isn't perfect. Any reader, like me, who does not have a working knowledge of Latin, Italian, and/or French is likely to be left clueless by the numerous uses of such language that rarely receive an attempt at translation. There is also the issue that, as I noted before, this is a highly academic text, with some pages bearing half a page of footnotes. This is not a weakness, but it can be an obstacle to an average reader who might be looking for more factual information about the city and its history.
Still, for its flaws, I enjoyed this book and my knowledge of Venice and its people and politics has grown. Muir's book is a valuable resource for any and all historians looking to the history of the Serene Republic.
And, for the record, it might also allow nerds like me who murdered Marco Babarigo with the hidden pistol to learn a little more about the man they had to endure at least six to seven side-quests just to get a flipping golden mask that they eventually had to steal and then sneak into a party just to kill the fat Doge. Am I still bitter? Yeah, I am. At least Agostino was a little more interesting to learn about.
February 6, 2017
Muir's study of the ways in which Venetians used civic rituals (such as pageants, parades, and coronations) is engaging and readable. He ties the rituals to ideas of identity: some of the rituals are meant to give the Venetians a sense of themselves; others are meant to project their identity to the world. He traces the changes in ritual from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries, noting how the details of the rituals changed and why. At the same time, he is careful to note the aspects of these rituals which maintained a sense of continuity for the Venetian community.
Muir's study is rich and detailed, but the details do not overshadow his argument - that the Venetian rituals were unique and specific, and helped to create the distinct identity of La Serenissima.
Muir's study is rich and detailed, but the details do not overshadow his argument - that the Venetian rituals were unique and specific, and helped to create the distinct identity of La Serenissima.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews