La révolte des boules de neige

This book is a microhistory of a symbolic protest that took place on the island of Murano in 1509—the hurling of snowballs and abusive language at one outgoing Venetian official during the ceremonial entry of his successor. Although a relatively insignificant event in comparison with the violent upheavals taking place elsewhere in this period, the ‘snowball revolt’ illustrates the potential for popular action in the shaping of political life. Such instances are particularly important in the context of Venetian politics, where the apparent stability of the aristocratic regime concealed the reality of broader participation in the exercise of power. Throughout this study, the author, Claire Judde de Larivière, emphasises the way in which power was negotiated at various levels—through decision-making in local councils, through the way in which subaltern officials implemented the laws, through the role of witness testimony in shaping the established legal record, and through the public discourse of conversation and symbolic action. In practice, the Venetian government was reliant upon the intermediation of middling groups. In the case of Murano, the key role was played by a local elite composed of master artisans, property holders and civic officials. Through their participation in judicial, civic and corporate institutions, and in parish elections, the Muranese were accustomed to making choices, to negotiating power within the framework of established rules and expressing their opinions in public discourse. However closely the Venetian government attempted to monitor civic ritual, its reliance on popular participation meant that there always existed the potential for events and meanings to diverge from the script

Archaeology · Art · Context (archaeology · Elite · Humanities · Media studies · Negotiation · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Royalist · Sociology · Subaltern · Witness · History · History of Science and Medicine · Law