Chapter 3: Carnival and the Lower Body
Identify: Mardi Gras, May Day, Feast of Fools, Florie Nallo, "performative excellence," bridge battles, feud,
Cruel Carnival, Pappenheimers.
1. Look close at the painting on p. 90. You can see it here in colour:
Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Battle of Carnival and Lent,
a larger image. What is the significance of this painting? Why did
Muir include it in the chapter?
2. Why does Muir focus on carnival and the carinvalesque?
3. How have scholars tried to unravel the meaning of carnival?
4. What purpose did the charivari serve?
5. How important to early modern society were the rites of violence? What were these rites of violence?
