Celebraciones - History Lab

Tarasca of the Corpus Christi procession

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:33 +0000

The image shows a drawing of a Tarasca in the Corpus Christi procession, by Leonardo Alegre. The Tarasca is a mythological creature of French origin that represents an allegory of how good triumphs over evil. The Tarasca was described as a kind of devastating dragon that lived in Provence and destroyed everything. Saint Martha managed to subdue the monstrous beast with her prayers, so that the inhabitants of the city were able to put an end to it. St. Martha then preached a sermon that converted many of the inhabitants to Christianity and provoked repentance for killing the monster. During the Modern Age it was present in the religious celebrations of the Corpus Christi festival, although during the reign of Charles III all profane elements were forbidden in these festivities. Nowadays, it continues to appear in various Corpus Christi processions, accompanied by big-headed figures and giants.

The post Tarasca of the Corpus Christi procession first appeared on History Lab.

Tarasca of the Corpus Christi procession in Madrid

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:33 +0000

The image shows a Tarasca for the Corpus Christi procession of 1744 in Madrid. The Tarasca is a mythological creature of French origin that represents an allegory of how good triumphs over evil. The Tarasca was described as a kind of devastating dragon that lived in Provence and destroyed everything. Saint Martha managed to subdue the monstrous beast with her prayers, so that the inhabitants of the city were able to put an end to it. St. Martha then preached a sermon that converted many of the inhabitants to Christianity and provoked repentance for killing the monster. During the Modern Age it was present in the religious celebrations of the Corpus Christi festival, although during the reign of Charles III all profane elements were forbidden in these festivities. Nowadays, it continues to appear in various Corpus Christi processions, accompanied by big-headed figures and giants.

The post Tarasca of the Corpus Christi procession in Madrid first appeared on History Lab.

Royal reeds in honour of the royal wedding of the kings of the Two Sicilies

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:33 +0000

The image shows the poster for the Cañas Reales, which were organised at the Real Maestranza in Seville on 24 October 1738 to celebrate the marriage between the kings of the Two Sicilies: Charles of Bourbon, the future Charles III, and Maria Amalia Christina of Saxony. The bullfighting and bullfighting festivities were a mixture of military exercises and bullfighting on horseback, which served as an entertainment spectacle, but also to keep the nobles who formed part of the armies in shape. These festivities, as well as taking place in the Reales Maestranzas, were usually held in the main squares of the cities, the parade grounds of the castles or in palenques specially set up for the occasion, and were held all over the kingdom. On occasions, bullfights were quite bloody due to the number of people who were injured or lost their lives, which is why they were questioned and sometimes banned, as happened in the second half of the 16th century after the Pope banned bullfighting festivals. At the beginning of the 17th century bullfighting festivals reappeared again, and it was with Philip IV that they reached their splendour, being held to celebrate important events such as weddings and royal births, military victories or other great events. From the 19th century onwards, the celebration of these spectacles became less frequent.

The post Royal reeds in honour of the royal wedding of the kings of the Two Sicilies first appeared on History Lab.

Drawing of the ball game

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:26 +0000

The ball game was a sport with ritual and religious connotations, played by the pre-Columbian peoples of Mesoamerica since at least 1400 B.C. It was practised both in everyday life and in religious celebrations, and it seems that it sometimes served to resolve land disputes or trade relations, among other things. The sport has evolved over time in various forms. It is still practised today in some parts of Mexico. Although with variations, it seems that the most widespread version of the game involved players hitting the ball with their hips, elbows and knees, without letting it fall to the ground. Over time, stone hoops were also introduced, which the ball had to be touched or passed through. The weight of the ball was considerable, as it was made of rubber and is thought to have weighed up to 4 kg. The playing fields may have varied in their characteristics, but all had long narrow courts with side walls used to bounce the ball. The winner of the game was protected and supported by the gods, although it is not known whether the winners were sacrificed or whether it was the losers who offered their lives to the deities. The game had an important religious and ritual component, even, as has been noted, including human sacrifice, although it also retained a character of enjoyment and leisure, for the recreation of children and women.

The post Drawing of the ball game first appeared on History Lab.

The Madrid fair

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:19 +0000

This composition by Francisco de Goya shows two elegant gentlemen and a lady at a fair in Madrid approaching the stall of a vendor who is obsequiously offering his wares. The merchandise consists of metal containers, pieces of furniture, paintings, mirrors, weapons and second-hand clothes. In the background, the silhouette of the town reveals a church whose dome and towers are reminiscent of those of San Francisco el Grande. The resulting tapestry hung in the dining room of the Princes of Asturias (the future Charles IV and Maria Luisa of Parma)

The post The Madrid fair first appeared on History Lab.

Masked dance

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:14 +0000

The image represents the celebration of a masked ball, probably the masked ball held in 1767 at the Teatro del Príncipe in Madrid. In the boxes, a large audience is watching the spectacle of the crowd dancing in the stalls. The feeling of nocturnal festivity and the energy of the mass of people can also be perceived, as these celebrations were awaited with great joy by the population. We know that from the 15th century onwards a variety of entertainment activities, such as court ballet and theatrical performances, were held at royal and stately courts, to which were added new events such as balls and parties known as “saraos”, where knights and ladies danced. However, for the popular classes during the Ancien Régime, the carnival became the most desired festivity, which went hand in hand with other activities held in public squares such as games, competitions, theatres and dances, among others. What was most novel was the curious relationship that was established between the dances and the carnival, giving rise to the masked balls. These celebrations were banned on successive occasions by monarchs such as Philip V, in order to curb disorder and the violence inherent to carnival. In 1767, his son, Charles III, granted permission to hold masked balls, provided that they were held in enclosed premises and complied with a series of strict behavioural measures. As Clara Bejarano Pellicer (2009) explains, the masked ball was nothing more than a proposal for celebrating carnival, alien to Spanish and popular customs, which had a strong courtly influence. For the development of these, in the aforementioned year of 1767 the Instrucción para la concurrencia de bailes de mascara en el carnaval was published in Madrid, where the celebration of these festivities was regulated, with an evident aim of reforming the most irrational customs typical of carnival and popular culture, in order to propose a more refined, literate culture. It should be noted that while the carnival was a festival in which all social classes took an active part, with the plebs playing a leading role, the masked ball implied a privatisation of the festival, as not everyone could attend, as they had to pay an entrance fee, which limited access only to the middle and upper strata of society, thus avoiding the presence of the lower classes. These spaces became spaces for enjoyment, but also for socialising and exhibition.

The post Masked dance first appeared on History Lab.

The Royal Cloth

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:14 +0000

Philip IV and his courtly circle are hunting a wild boar in a forest clearing in one of the most common courtly practices. The monarch is depicted on horseback in the centre of the composition carrying a spear intended for hunting while accompanied by the Count Duke of Olivares and probably his two brothers. Wild boar hunting was an expensive as well as traditional practice that marked special occasions when the king hunted the animal within the boundaries of a canvas. This painting by Velázquez was intended for the Torre de la Parada. This image is an excellent resource for an insight into the leisure and festive celebrations of the Court in the Modern Age.

The post The Royal Cloth first appeared on History Lab.

Bullfighting in the Plaza Mayor in Madrid

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:03 +0000

The image shows a view of the Plaza Mayor in Madrid, where bullfighting festivities, in this case a bullfight, are being held. These festivities have been held since ancient times and were deeply rooted in Spain, supported to a large extent by the nobility as the main backer, although they soon became the favourite spectacle of the people due to their recreational nature. During the Modern Age they served to commemorate a variety of political, military, social and religious events, becoming one of the main attractions of these celebrations.

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