Liturgies of VioLence: sociaL controL and Power
reLationshiPs in the rePubLic of Venice between
the 16th and 18th centuriesclaudio PovoloOpening ScenesThe Father’s Defense
olzano, a small village in friuli, 5 May 1594. four youths from the neigh-
boring village of Premariacco entered the local tavern displaying open
aggression toward the inhabitants of olzano. they were armed with large
sticks and their pockets were full of stones. as those present quickly real-
ized, the men’s actual targets were representatives of the community who
had kidnapped a sheep from a herd caught unlawfully grazing in a field
of rye. the clash was sudden and brutal. two of the men from olzano
were savagely beaten and seriously injured. the four youths were sum-
moned by the seigneurial court of soffumbergo, to whose jurisdiction the
two villages belonged. the strassoldo family, holders of the feudal rights,
assigned the udinese jurist eusebio caimo to collect evidence for the case.
three of the offenders did not even bother to appear in court to justify
themselves. the fourth, who was principally responsible for the injuries,
also remained in hiding, but his father appeared in his stead to undertake
his defense. several months had passed since the event and in the mean-
time peace had been made with the offended parties. the defendant’s
father presented the peace agreement and a defense document, clearly
drafted by a lawyer. in the end, the judge imposed on all the defendants
only small monetary penalties.
The Oath on the Altar
tolmezzo, chieftown of carnia in northern friuli. on 9 october 1603 the
judges of the city court met to announce their decision in the case of
adamo del fabro from the village of avosacco. del fabro had actually
already been banished for murder from the entire jurisdiction of carnia
in January of the preceding year. but in June of 1603 he had presented
a petition to the court asking that the terms of the ancient statutes of
carnia be applied to his case. in support he had also attached a notarial