Guido Ruggiero's the Boundaries of Eros: Sex Crime and Sexuality in Renaissance Venice

Introduction

Unfortunately, in today's society, sexual promiscuity and perversion is rampant. From the sexual revolution of the 1960s till today's modern age, sex has been seen as a liberating source for some and a cause of scandal for others. But we can all agree that sex can be seen everywhere from TV, to movies, to the internet. One might think that in the early centuries, such disregard for the privacy and dignity of the sexual act never existed. But as we can see in Ruggiero's The Boundaries of Eros: Sex Crime and Sexuality in Renaissance Venice, historical facts beg to differ. By using criminal records, he takes us into a world that, although it is many centuries long ago, is much like today's society in their way of committing sexual crimes and sexual behavior. In my opinion, Ruggiero does not set out to make a vast study as to the reason why they behaved this way. For that type of analysis, I suggest one should read Dr. Alfred Kinsey's works on that subject. The main point that Ruggiero wants to convey is the reaction of the people and the government during that period to such acts. This paper will set out to review each section of Ruggiero's studies and simply convey the subject or point that each section brings up.

In the first section, The Sexual Environment of Renaissance Venice, Ruggiero begins by explaining how one is able to develop a picture of how sexuality was during the Renaissance. Through the use of demographic records such as birth patterns, illegitimacy rates, male-female ratios, age at marriage, age differential in marriage, etc, Ruggiero is able to achieve this. The records of actual sex crimes that occurred in Venice can also give a clue as to what was the sexual mindset at the time. He goes on to explain why such records were kept, since sexual deviants or violators in that period were punished severely for their crimes. The following quote explains as to why such laws and mandates were executed in Venice at the time: "For the history of sexuality as well these changes were significant. A strong centralized government led by men interested in controlling ever wider aspects of urban life created an environment where even matters sexual began to fall under governmental discipline But there was more, for not only did family and peers discipline sexual behavior, a disciplined sexuality in turn helped to order and preserve both family and community, so that there was a dialogue between the family and its sexual norm and the community and its desire for continuity" (Ruggiero, pg. 9). By this, the government set out to show that sexual acts labeled criminal such as adultery, fornication, rape, homosexuality, etc. threatened the stability and order of family and community. So they set out not they threatened public morals but because they undermined the most basic institutions of marriage and family, or better yet, a threat to society. There were two systems of discipline: enforceable law and customary morality. Unfortunately, they did not go together; it "reflected the differential rates of change between legal thought or practice and traditional values or social structures" (Ruggiero, pg.9). As a result, sexuality outside of marriage could be viewed as illicit, yet prostitution could be legalized and treated as a legitimate source of profit for noble entrepreneurs of good family. Or fornication could be prosecuted as a crime, yet perceived as a typical step on the road to marriage. He states that these contradictions stem from the imperfect fit between the disciplining factors of law and morality in Renaissance.

The second section focuses on Fornication then Marriage. In today's society, sadly enough, fornication before marriage is as common as eating breakfast in the morning. More and more we see in our culture, that sex before marriage is a normal thing. Although my beliefs are contrary to popular opinion, this paper does not set out to express my opinion but, to a certain extent, contrast what today's society is to Renaissance Venice. All acts of fornication in Venice, at that time, where considered as heinous crimes and therefore punishable by law. Ruggiero shows this by recounting several cases of fornication that were brought to the attention of the authorities. For example, he sets forth the case of Giacomello Bono, who had sexual relations with Nicolina, the niece of a master craftsman. They describe his crime as being committed "not fearing God, law or justice, moved by the stimulation of sexual dissoluteness, in contempt of God and with dishonor for modesty, shame, and clear contempt of Master Blasio, her uncle". As we can see in this case, and in the other cases he presents in this chapter, the greatest crime in sexual deviance is not so much the sexual act itself, but more importantly honor, in dishonoring someone, not just the person who had intercourse, but to the person in charge of him/her and as a grave offense and dishonor to God.

Ruggiero dedicates the third section of the book on Adultery: Marriage and Sex. Occasionally adultery could lead to bloody violence, but more regularly it created property problems and threatened to disrupt social relationships at a basic level. During this period in Renaissance Venice, property concerns were central. "When adulterous couples ran off together, these property relationships made adultery considerably more than a sexual matter" (Ruggiero, pg.51). To explain this, Ruggiero gives the example in the case