Laughter and Violence in the Italian Renaissance: The Physical and Emotional Abuse of the "beffa", c. 1400-1600

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My project investigates the expressly violent culture of the Italian Renaissance through the analysis of aphenomenon that remains to be fully studied: the beffa. This was a cruel joke, unique to early modernItaly, that intended to mock and humiliate the victim. The violence of this humour has been littleexplored despite the beffa often resulting in the victim bruised and bloodied or so ashamed that they lefttheir hometown.This interest evolved from my postgraduate thesis which focused on what the beffa could reveal aboutelite male sociability, masculine values and the sinister nature of the Italian courts. The final chapterexplored where the humour became 'too cruel' and touched on its emotional and physical violence. Themale courtiers were amused by the anguish this humour created which suggested that violence andenjoyment were intertwined in this culture. This poses new thought-provoking questions for the existinghistoriography on interpersonal violence which, due to the specific focus, my MA thesis could notconsider.The project provides the opportunity to examine this interrogation more substantively. It goes beyond thefocus of elite males to include additional variables such as women, other social classes and age groups.The research will be organised into thematic chapters: gender, class, and age, acting both as analyticalcategories and representative of the different interpersonal relationships impacted by this humour. Itshall consult varied sources such as legal documents, art, literature, and archival material, and focus onVenice and Florence drawing comparisons where necessary from other Italian cities and fromRenaissance France.