066. Beat It

In the autumn of 1260, a new fashion arrived in Venice from the continental European mainland. It had started just a few months earlier in the central Italian city of Perugia, and somehow it had caught the mood of a worried, uncertain population, concerned about the capricious nature of human existence and eager to atone for the evils of a fallen society. The flagellants were in town. Seemingly out of nowhere, ordinary people were going around in groups whipping themselves in a frenzy of piety. Suddenly, hurting yourself for Jesus was all the rage.  What in the name of all that is holy was going on?

This week we’re looking at religious devotion in 13th century Venice, and tracing the social and cultural legacy that it left on the Republic, some of which you can still see today.

 

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Intro and outro music is Primavera from Vivaldi’s Le Quattro Stagioni, used under Creative Commons licence from musopen.org