Curses and Laughter: the Ethics of Political Invective in The
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CURSES AND LAUGHTER: THE ETHICS OF POLITICAL INVECTIVE IN THE COMIC POETRY OF HIGH AND LATE MEDIEVAL ITALY by NICOLINO APPLAUSO A DISSERTATION Presented to the Department ofRomance Languages and the Graduate School ofthe University ofOregon in partial fulfillment ofthe requirements for the degree of Doctor ofPhilosophy June 2010 11 University of Oregon Graduate School Confirmation of Approval and Acceptance of Dissertation prepared by: Nicolino Applauso Title: "Curses and Laughter: The Ethics ofPolitical Invective in the Comic Poetry ofHigh and Late Medieval Italy" This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment ofthe requirements for the Doctor ofPhilosophy degree in the Department ofRomance Languages by: Regina Psaki, Chairperson, Romance Languages Massimo Lollini, Member, Romance Languages David Wacks, Member, Romance Languages Steven Shankman, Outside Member, English and Richard Linton, Vice President for Research and Graduate StudieslDean ofthe Graduate School for the University ofOregon. June 14,2010 Original approval signatures are on file with the Graduate School and the University ofOregon Libraries. III © 2010 Nicolino Applauso iv An Abstract ofthe Dissertation of Nicolino Applauso for the degree of Doctor ofPhilosophy in the Department ofRomance Languages to be taken June 2010 Title: CURSES AND LAUGHTER: THE ETHICS OF POLITICAL INVECTIVE IN THE COMIC POETRY OF HIGH AND LATE MEDIEVAL ITALY Approved: _ Dr. F. Regina Psaki My dissertation examines the ethical engagement ofpolitical invective poetry in thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Italy. Modem criticism tends to treat medieval invective as a playfully subversive but marginal poetic game with minimal ethical weight. Instead, I aim to restore these poetic productions to their original context: the history, law, and custom ofTuscan cities. This contexts allows me to explore how humor and fury, in the denunciation ofpolitical enemies, interact to establish not a game but an ethics ofinvective. I treat ethics as both theoretical and practical, referring to Aristotle, Cicero, and Brunetto Latini, and define ethics as the pursuit ofthe common good in a defined community. Chapter I introduces the corpus, its historical and cultural background, its critical reception, and my approach. Chapter II discusses medieval invective in Tuscany and surveys the cultural practice ofinvective writing. Chapter III approaches invectives v written by Rustico Filippi during the Guelph and Ghibelline wars. Chapter IV explores invectives by Cecco Angiolieri set in Siena, which polemicize with the Sienese government and citizenry. Chapter V examines invectives in Dante's Commedia (Irif. 19, Purg. 6, and Par. 27), focusing on his unexpected humor and his critique ofthe papacy, the empire, and Italian city governments. My conclusion examines the ethical function ofslanderous wit in wartime invective. These poems balance verbal aggression with humor, claiming a role for laughter in creating dialogue within conflict. Far from a stylistic or ludic exercise, each invective shows the poet's activism and ethical engagement. This dissertation includes previously published material. vi CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Nicolino Applauso GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene Florida State University, Florida University ofSouth Florida Universita di Bologna, Italy DEGREES AWARDED: Doctor ofPhilosophy in Romance Languages, 2010, University ofOregon Master ofArts in Italian, 2004, Florida State University Bachelor ofArts in Italian, 2002, University ofSouth Florida AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: Medieval Italian literature and comic poetry Dante and the origin ofItalian literature Medieval history, paleography, and codicology Risorgimento and Post-Risorgimento literature Fascism and the literature ofthe Resistance Italian post-war novel Italian Cinema PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Graduate Teaching Fellow, Department ofRomance Languages, University ofOregon, Eugene, 2004-2010 Italian Teaching Assistant, Department ofModem Languages and Linguistics, Florida State University, 2002-2004 Vll GRANTS, AWARDS AND HONORS: Beall Doctoral Scholarship, Department ofRomance Languages, University ofOregon, Spring & Winter 2009-10. Oregon Humanities Center, Graduate Dissertation Fellowship. PUBLICATIONS: Applauso, Nicolino. "Curses and Laughter in Medieval Italian Comic Poetry: The Ethics ofHumor in Rustico Filippi's Invectives." Forthcoming in Laughter in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Age. Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies. Ed. Albrecht Classen. New York: Walter de Gruyter,2010. Vlll ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful to a number ofpeople and departments that were essential for the completion ofthis project. I had a very enriching experience at the University ofOregon. I received valuable professional guidance, encouragement, and support beyond any expectations from my advisor Professor F. Regina Psaki. Her encouragement, as my chair, provided me with enduring confidence. She is an example ofhow important faculty can be to the academic success ofhis/her students. She conveyed complex concepts in a humorous and caring way. She pushed me to raise the caliber ofmy research together with all my committee members: Professor Lollini, Professor Wacks, and Professor Shankman. Professor Lollini was very helpful on both professional and personal levels as he inspired me to pursue the ethical value ofcomic poetry. Professor Wacks' and Shankman's contagious enthusiasm and acuteness also contributed to the development ofmy research. I am also very grateful to Professor Cheyney Ryan for his inspiring seminars on Ethics and Emmanuel Levinas, which had a crucial intellectual impact on me and my dissertation. I am grateful for the financial support given to me by the department ofRomance Languages and the Oregon Humanities Center. Both provided me respectively with the Beall Graduate Dissertation Scholarship and the Oregon Humanities Center Graduate Dissertation Fellowship, which were crucial to advancement my research. IX I would not have been able to complete my dissertation without the emotional support ofmy loving wife Jeannette, and my two boys, Antonio and Luca. The boys gave me much needed stress reliefthrough horseplay and hugs. I am grateful to my wife for her stable support and encouragement that was crucial to complete such a project. She took care ofall ofour family needs so that I could focus my energy on completing this work. She put aside everything to be my second hand and eye. She built me up when I was low and rejoiced with me through every completed phase. She believes in me, depends on me, serves me, loves me, and gives me strength. The constant encouragement ofmy mother, brother, and aunt touched me deeply, even ifit reached me from afar. They have provided me with much confidence and cheerfully pushed me to succeed. I am grateful to my colleagues, friends, and acquaintances with whom I had many enlightening conversations about my research. In particular, I would like to thank Martha Bayless, Fabian Alfie, and Italo nocetti for their invaluable constructive criticism. I will also like to acknowledge Professors Cristina Calhoon, Martha Bayless, Mary Jaeger, and Phebe Lowell Bowditch for their helpful insights on difficult passages in Latin. I am again indebted to my wife, Jeannette Applauso, who helped me to smooth the verbal surface Rachel Fellman, Arwen Spicer and Sharity Nelson who also reviewed this work Last, but not least, my parents Pasquale and Annamaria Applauso, who have taught me to endure and persist in pursuing a goal until it is achieved. x A tutte Ie vittime di abusi, ingiustizie e soprusi, che non perdano mai Ia speranza e Ia gioia di ridere, anche di fronte aIle atrocita e agii obbrobri piu devastanti; Che continuino a usare il sacrosanto diritto deIl'invettiva unendo Ie discordie con il sorriso, rispettando Ia vita propria e degli altri e suggerendo soluzioni pratiche agii uomini di tutto il mondo. Xl TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. THE MEDIEVAL INVECTIVE IN !TALY: HUMOR, CONFLICT, AND ETHICAL ENGAGEMENT 1 Introduction............................................................................................................ 1 Humor and Laughter: Theories and Applications.................................................. 6 Invective: Definition and Connection with Humor and Laughter 16 Precursors ofMedieval Invective: The Judeo-Christian and Classical Antecedents............................................................................................................ 24 Invective in the Middle Ages.... 34 Medieval Invective and Criticism: A Literature Review....................................... 42 Invective in Modem Times. 54 Conclusion............................................................................................................. 77 II. THE ROLE OF INVECTIVE IN MEDIEVAL TUSCANY 85 Introduction............................................................................................................ 85 A Historical and Cultural Overview ofInvective in Theory and Practice............. 87 Facets ofInvective: Oral and Written Verbal Assaults 100 Invective and Humor: The Odd Couple 115 Conclusion 128 XlI Chapter Page III. ON COWARDS, OPPORTUNISTS AND OTHER FINE FELLOWS: HUMOR AND POLITICS IN THE INVECTIVES OF RUSTICO FILIPPI DURING THE GUELPH AND GHIBELLINE WARS 136 Introduction............................................................................................................ 136 Rustico Filippi (c.1230-c.l299):