Venice as the Polity of Mercy: Guilds, Confraternities, and the Social Order, c. 1250-c. 1650 (Toronto Italian Studies)

This study re-examines Venice’s political economy from the viewpoint of its ordinary people or popolani who, despite the commonly held view that they were excluded from political life by the nobility or nobili , actually organized and ran for themselves hundreds of corporations within the city-state. Mercy was central to this popolani ’s Christian values and those who offered mercy to their fellow men and women in temporary hardship were investing in the expectation of reciprocity in their own time of need. Beginning by tracing a formative linking of religion, economy, and polity from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries, Venice as the Polity of Mercy then chronicles the collapse of this triad during the struggles between church and state in the mid-sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, followed by a revitalizing reconnection of economy and polity within a different religious climate after the plague of 1630. As such, Richard Mackenney’s book offers up a revitalized image of Renaissance Venetian society as dynamic rather than static, as well as a new understanding of the city’s significance through a reconfiguration of its history and artwork. Cover 1 Contents 8 Figures 10 Tables and Appendices 14 Acknowledgments 16 Introduction: Economy, Polity, and Religion, c. 1250–c. 1650 22 The Venetian Popolo: Anonymous or Autonomous? 22 The Spectrum of Representation 27 The Sources and Their Scope 36 The Stones of Venice 42 1 Venice as Mercantile System, c. 1250–c. 1300 47 Polity, 1297 47 Polity, 1268 50 Economy, 1271 52 Religion, 1247 55 Mercy and Merchants: Scripture and Teaching 56 Misericordia and Mercanti: The First Scuole 67 2 Proliferation and Punctuation, c. 1300–c. 1500 94 The Confraternities of Venice 94 A Context of Adversity 97 A Resilient Trend 98 Sisters of the Brotherhoods 99 Before the Black Death, 1300–48 100 The Impact of the Plague 105 From the Black Death to the Bianchi, 1349–99 105 The Bianchi, 1399 108 The Franciscan Revival and Social Change, c. 1400–c. 1450 112 Plague and Patronage, c. 1450–c. 1500 117 The Vision of the Polity 120 3 Who Were the Venetians, c. 1500–c. 1600? 132 Metropolis and Cosmopolis 132 Rooms at the Inns, 1530–1 138 L'arte dei fabbri 145 Strands of Identity 152 “Quel ramo del lago di Como” 158 The Tale of “Il Medeghino” 166 4 Officers and Office in the Mercers’ Guild, c. 1450–c. 1600 170 A Little Republic? 170 Arte dei marzeri and Scuola di San Teodoro 172 Officers and Members 173 Oligarchs or Plutocrats? A Test Case 181 Official Business 197 External Protection: The Mercers’ Wares 197 Internal Administration: The Festa della Sensa 199 Litigation 205 5 Monuments to Mercy, c. 1500–c. 1600 208 Arti and Scuole in the Sixteenth Century 208 The Scuole del Venerabile 215 The Sovvegni 225 Eligibility 226 Contributions and Benefits 228 Sovvegni, Scuole, Arti, and Parish 229 The Scuole and the Stones of Venice 232 Sponsorship and Projects 232 The Case of San Silvestro 234 The Scuole and the Rialto Complex 235 A Procession from the Frari 258 The Wider Network 261 6 The Venetians and the Confessional State, c. 1550–c. 1600 264 The Autonomy of the Venetian Laity 264 The Agencies of the Confessional State 266 The Confessionalism of the Church 266 The Confessionalism of the State 267 The Inquisition and the Venetian Laity 271 Investigations of Arti and Scuole 277 Artisans and Parochial Discipline 280 The Inquisition and Commercial Practice 282 Guildsmen and Reason of State 288 The Visitation of 1581 290 Venice and the Defence of Political Absolutism 297 Tintoretto and the Last Fight 299 Conclusion 326 Morbidity in an Age of Decline: The Suffragi 326 Family Ties 337 An Envoi: Decadence or Shift? 345 Maps 360 Abbreviations 370 Notes 372 Bibliography 426 Index 478 "This study re-examines the political economy of Venice from the point of view of the hundreds of corporations which ordinary people--despite their apparent 'exclusion' from political life--organized and ran for themselves. Mercy was central to their Christian values. Those who offered mercy to their brethren--and sisters--in temporary hardship were investing in the expectation of reciprocity in their own time of need. Venice as the Polity of Mercy traces a formative linking of economy, polity and religion in the thirteenth century, then the expansion and extension of a network of overlapping institutions in the fourteenth and fifteenth. There followed a dislocation during the struggles of Church and State between the mid-sixteenth century and the mid-seventeenth, and a revitalizing reconnection of economy and polity in a different religious climate after the plague of 1630. The book offers a picture of circulation and movement rather than of stability and continuity, and a new understanding of the significance of Venice through a reconfiguration of Venetian history and the history of Venetian art."-- Provided by publisher This study re-examines the political economy of Venice from the point of view of the hundreds of corporations which ordinary people - despite their apparent 'exclusion' from political life - organized and ran for themselves. Mercy was central to their Christian values. Those who offered mercy to their brethren - and sisters - in temporary hardship were investing in the expectation of reciprocity in their own time of need. 'Venice, Polity of Mercy' traces a formative linking of economy, polity and religion in the thirteenth century, then the expansion and extension of a network of overlapping institutions in the fourteenth and fifteenth. There followed a dislocation during the struggles of Church and State between the mid-sixteenth century and the mid-seventeenth, and a revitalizing reconnection of economy and polity in a different religious climate after the plague of 1630. The book offers a picture of circulation and movement rather than of stability and continuity, and a new understanding of the significance of Venice through a reconfiguration of Venetian history and the history of Venetian art Venice, Polity Of Mercy Presents A History Of The People Of Venice From The Mid-thirteenth Century To The Mid-seventeenth, And Provides A New Perspective On The Changing Relationship Of Their Economic, Political And Religious Life.