CEMS Seminar: Early Modern Blasphemy

This paper will investigate and analyse the court of the Esecutori contro la bestemmia (Magistrates against blasphemy), which became part of the Venetian constitutional framework in 1537 as a consequence of a particularly disastrous period for the Republic. The initial purpose of the court was to suppress blasphemy, which the Venetians used extensively: it was seen not only as an act of moral depravity but also as a threat to public order and social cohesion. Over time, the magistracy was entrusted with many other crimes, turning it into an instrument of social discipline. The sources used for this analysis are the verdicts of the court, collected in the State Archive of Venice, which provide valuable information about the crimes committed, the methods of intervention, the punishments, and the lives of the individuals involved, both men and women, who mostly came from the lower social classes. This paper draws conclusions about the difference between blasphemy and heresy, the importance of public space, the concept of deviant behavior, and its instrumentalization.