1st Edition
The Revolt of Snowballs Murano Confronts Venice, 1511
Introduction
Chapter 1. The Island of Murano
Glass and Gardens
Glassworkers and Fishermen
Insularity and Community
From Murano to Venice: the traghetto
Chapter 2. Murano’s Political Community and Venice
The Political Space of the Lagoon
A community of risk
A Shared Fragile Space
The law of the podestà
Citizens and Muranesi officials
The Participation of the People
Chapter 3. A Tottering Ritual
Ritual Politics
The Theatre of Society
Chase off this dog who has ruined Muran!
Chapter 4. The Revolt in its Time
Italy at War
Noise of Conflict
The Great Cold
"Semel in anno licet insanire". Once a year it is permissible to get crazy
Vitale Vitturi
Chapter 5. The Sense of Justice
Justice
Law
Coercion
Tribunal
Chapter 6. The Accused
Before the judges
Antonio Malcanton, public crier
Scandal
Chapter 7. Political Actions, Political Intentions
The appropriation of ritual
The performance of the revolt
Making politics
Political acknowledgment and juridical status
To Vote and Elect
Chapter 8. The Trial. A Test of Truth and Persons
Reconstructing the truths
Denunciations
"Io sum per neve". "I am there for the snow". On justification
Return to Murano
After the revolt
Conclusion
Biography
Claire Judde de Larivière is Senior Lecturer at the University of Toulouse and honorary research fellow at Birkbeck, University of London. Her previous works include Naviguer, commercer, gouverner. Économie maritime et pouvoirs à Venise (XVe-XVIe siècles), 2008; "‘Le peuple est la cité’. L’idée de popolo et la condition des popolani à Venise (XVe-XVIe siècle)", Annales HSS, 2013/4 (with Rosa M. Salzberg); and, ‘The Urban Culture of the Ordinary People. Space and Identity in Renaissance Venice (fifteenth-sixteenth Centuries)’, Medieval Urban Culture, ed. by Andrew Brown and Jan Dumolyn, Turnhout, 2017.
'For a thousand years, the Republic of Venice experienced no regime change and only modest social and political strife when compared to the upheavals that erupted across Europe. The Revolt of Snowballs interrogates the meaning of a rare outburst of popular discontent against Venetian political authorities. This excellent translation will allow English-language readers to appreciate an engaging and informative analysis of a singular episode in the history of Renaissance Venice.'
Francesca Trivellato, Yale University, USA
'Both a vivid reconstruction of an event, and a sparkling analysis of society and politics, The Revolt of the Snowballs reminds us of the power of microhistory. The book contributes profoundly to our understanding of pre-modern politics and revolt, of what counted as politics from different contemporary perspectives, and of what we might call a social history of political ideas. It is a great achievement, and a gripping read.'
John H. Arnold, University of Cambridge, UK
