Paolo Veronese
The Wedding at Cana
Italy (1563)
oil on canvas
The painting depicts the Wedding Feast at Cana, a miracle story from the Christian New Testament. In the story Jesus and his disciples were invited to a wedding celebration in Cana in the Galilee. Towards the end of the feast, when the wine was running out, Jesus commanded servants to fill jugs with water, which he then turned into wine (his first miracle of seven, as recounted in the Gospel according to John). (via-wikipedia)
submitted by lolamysteriouso
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You may notice that one of the people of color depicted in this massive painting is a little person. An essential figure of Medieval and Renaissance Courts, the court dwarf was not always employed as a “jester” or Fool, both professions that are misunderstood and mischaracterized today.
Any court unable to maintain a retinue of ten to several hundred dwarves in luxury was considered “not worth its salt”, so to speak, as displays of wealth and power were extremely important to both domestic politics as well as relative political positions between nations and during trade and bargaining. Unlike most members of the court, the little people maintained in this manner were often lowborn and brought to the court’s attention shortly after their births. Often, these children were brought to court by the wealthiest of lords and ladies and lavished with rich clothing, many gifts, an expensive education, and were able to support their families with favors and money through their patrons.
The role of jester or fool in a Medieval or Renaissance court consisted mainly of speaking freely (and rudely), puncturing overblown egos at their patron’s direction, performing pageants that functioned as satire, and helping set the tone for political and trade negotiations at important events. Little people employed in this manner received extensive training and education, in order to be able to use wit and mockery to their patron or employer’s best advantage, and often to their own as well.
That is not to say that the role of court dwarf was not subservient; little people in medieval court were often charged with the care of animals and pets for the court’s amusement, although only little people who had not been trained as scribes, artists, or other important functions like serving at table could be spared for these tasks. Considering the strict hierarchical organization at courts of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, a court dwarf usually had a specialized and enhanced status in addition to their job function. Unless also developmentally disabled, most little people in these situations had jobs and functions equivalent to any scribe, master of horse or master of kennels. In the Middle ages, developmentally and cognitively disabled people were employed mostly as entertainers and were closer to the stereotypical depiction of fools in modern media inspired by the Middle Ages.
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Great post very informative, and well sited combining two aspects of Medieval and Renaissance life we rarely look into in depth. This blog is excellent a great choice to follow. :D
Hayley ^_^