Essay History Of Popular Culture

History of popular culture

'Functions of festivals in Early Modern Europe...'

University level

Essay History of Popular Culture

'What were the functions of popular festivals, etc. in Early Modern Europe?

And why did the authorities, civil and ecclesiastical seek to control or

suppress them?'

In Early Modern Europe festivals were the setting for heroes and their

stories, to be celebrated by the populace. They posed a change from their

everyday life. In those days people lived in remembrance of one festival

and in expectance of the next. Different kinds of festivals were celebrated

in different ways. There were festivals that marked an individual occasion

and weren't part of the festival calendar, like family festivals such as

weddings and christenings. Some took place at the same time every year and

were for everyone, like community festivals like the different saints'

days. Pilgrimages took place all year round. Annuals festivals like

Christmas and Midsummer always took place on the same day every year.

In those days the average village in Western Europe celebrated at least 17

festivals annually, not counting family occasions and saints' days. Some

festivals, such as Carnival, lasted several days or sometimes even several

weeks. In the Netherlands Carnival started every year at the 11th of

November (St. Martin) and culminated in a big festival of 'Dranck,

pleijsier ende vrouwen' (Drink, fun and women) at the end of the Carnival

period, preceding the period of Lent.

Festivals were meant to take the minds of the people off their everyday

life , off the hard times and their work. Everyday life in Early Modern

Europe was filled with rituals, both religious and secular. Songs and

stories played an important role in their lives, although they sometimes

adjusted the details of the legends and stories to fit the way they thought

a certain festival should take place.

Popular culture was mixed with ecclesiastical culture in many ways. The

story of St. John the Baptist is a good example of this. The ancient ritual

of bathing and lighting fires during Midsummer's Eve was a remnant of a

ritual from the pre-Christian period. Fire and water, symbols of

purification, could be seen as the tools of St. John the Baptist, and

therefore a combination of the two elements of popular and ecclesiastical

culture was obvious. It looks as if the Medieval Church took over the

festival and made it theirs. The same thing happened to the Midwinter

Festival, which became linked with the birth of Christ, on 25 December.

There are many more examples to be found, such as the connection between

St. Martin and geese caused by the fact that the St. Martins Day (11

November) coincided with the period during which the people used to kill

their geese in the period preceding the Christian period.

Carnival plays a special role in popular culture in Early Modern Europe.

It is a great example of a festival of images and texts. It was a popular

festival, taking on different forms in different regions of Europe. Aside

from regional variations, these differences were also caused by factors

such as the climate, the political situation and the economical situation

in an area.

On a whole Carnival started in late December or early January and reached

its peak upon approaching Lent. The actual feast, taking place at the end

of the festive

period, could take days and would usually involve large quantities of food

and drinks. The festival took place in the open air in the centre of a

town or city. Within a region, the way Carnival was celebrated varied from

town to town.

The festival was a play, with the streets as a stage and the people as

actors and spectators. They often depicted everyday life scenes and made

fun of them. Informal events took place throughout the Carnival period.

There was massive eating and drinking, as a way of 'stocking up' for Lent.

People sang and danced in the streets, using the special songs of Carnival,

and people wore masks and fancy-dress. There was verbal aggression, insults

were exchanged and satirical verses were sung.

More formally structures events were concentrated in the last days of the

Carnival period. These events took places in the central squares and were

often organised by clubs or fraternities.

The main theme during Carnival was usually 'The World Upside Down'.

Situations

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