Castrati in Context

[JesusA (imported)]

Roger Freitas, in his book “Portrait of a Castrato,”(2009)* provides important historical context for the Italian castrati of the early 17th century. He provides part of the answer to John Rosselli (1988), who writes that the castrati “have long been an embarrassment. That substantial numbers of boys should have been castrated, not in antiquity or in another continent but in early modern times and at the heart of Western Christendom, arouses fear, distaste, sometimes a prurient interest.” Between the two authors, we can reconstruct some important aspects of the period and the place of the castrato within it.

Both authors point out that the beginning of the 17th century was one of great economic hardship in much of Europe, and especially in Italy. Families were unable to properly support their many children. Rosselli points out that in parts of Italy over 10% of the population had entered into religious orders (monasteries, convents, the priesthood) that demanded celibacy. He notes that one contemporary German observer wrote that monks were like “castrati who had not been operated upon.”

The tradition of Christian asceticism was still strong in southern Europe and did not begin to decline until the middle of the 18th century. Renunciation of sexual activity did not seem just possible, but an ideal course of life. Sexuality could be seen as a burden and the modern idea of sexual fulfillment as a human right was unknown.

Freitas points to the nature of Italian family structure at the time. He writes that, “Instead of nurturing each child, ambitious parents focused on the status of the family as a whole, on the dynasty…. Central to this project was the principle of the indivisible inheritance.” Only ONE MALE child would inherit the family’s titles and fortunes. One common consequence of this was the imposition of celibacy on the younger sons and daughters of the family. Castrating a son to provide him with a future career was logical within the system where the alternatives generally implied lower social status (and income) than they would receive as a castrato.

Castration was a common surgery at the time, used more often to treat diseases – everything from hernia to gout to epilepsy – than to preserve voices. Castration of a prepubescent boy was considered minor surgery at the time and Rosselli points out that the recovery time was considered quite short at only a couple of weeks. It was also fairly inexpensive. Rosselli quotes a record from the Duke of Mantua where an orphaned Roman boy presented himself in 1613 and requested that he be castrated so that he might serve the Duke. There are several records of the Duke of Modena paying for the castration of boys from impoverished families.

A number of surviving apprenticeship contracts specify that boys are to be castrated. These are notarized documents that have been preserved in official archives, and they specifically state that a boy is to be castrated as part of his apprenticeship. For example, the parents and uncle of Paolo Nannini, in 1671 promised to have him castrated within a few weeks at his teacher’s expense, so that he “may learn music and keep his voice.” A contract of 1773 provides that the teacher would pay for the castration of Domenico Bruni, the son of a fishmonger. Another contract providing for a boy to be taught and boarded at the school attached to the basilica of San Francesco in Assisi, stated that if the boy was to be castrated, his father should pay.

Contrary to later accounts, castration was not always condemned by the Church. Pope Sixtus V authorized the recruitment of castrati in an official Bull of 1589. Pope Clement VIII (reg. 1592-1605) went so far as to proclaim the creation of castrati for church choirs ad honorem Dei. As late as 1748, Pope Benedict XIV advised against a proposal from some bishops that castration should be forbidden.

Freitas' book is a biography of the castrato and diplomat Atto Melani. Melani was one of seven brothers (and two sisters who disappear from the historical record). All seven of the boys entered the cathedral school in Pistoia. At least four (and possibly five) were castrated to preserve their voices. At least two of their cousins were also castrated, as were many other boys in that small provincial town. They were following the lead of a younger son of the most prominent family in Pistoia, Felice Cancellieri (1603-1648) who was castrated and spent his youth in Germany singing for the emperors Mathias and Ferdinand II. When he returned to Pistoia in the year before Melani (the first of the brothers to be castrated) joined the cathedral choir, he became the principal soloist of that choir.

To place the Italian castrati in context, Freitas writes that, “if today the equipment manager of an NFL team discovered his undersize high-school boy actually excelled as a linebacker, such a father might be tempted to abuse a readily available medical treatment – today chemical rather than surgical – to help his son into a profession that tacitly encouraged the abuse.” While I would never argue that castration in the 16th century was “just like” steroid abuse in the 21st, we can clearly see the parallels.

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* References can be found in the Bibliography (http://www.eunuch.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=17583), which is posted on the Nonfiction Board.

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[Sweetpickle (imported)]

"sometimes a prurient interest.”

Thank goodness that couldn't happen here.

[Paolo]

I want to read this book when you're done with it. I think I can handle the academia of it.

[erikboy (imported)]

Sounds to be an interesting book. Sad that there are no electronic forms available. Even for money.

[Kortpeel (imported)]

Castration was a common surgery at the time, used more often to treat diseases – everything from hernia to gout to epilepsy – than to preserve voices. Castration of a prepubescent boy was considered minor surgery at the time and Rosselli points out that the recovery time was considered quite short at only a couple of weeks. It was also fairly inexpensive. Rosselli quotes a record from the Duke of Mantua where an orphaned Roman boy presented himself in 1613 and requested that he be castrated so that he might serve the Duke. There are several records of the Duke of Modena paying for the castration of boys from impoverished families.

One important lesson from this post is that cultural values and practices adapt to circumstances. Obviously in 17th century Italy castration was no big deal and itwould seem to be common enough that no-one got embarrassed about it. As a practice it would serve to reduce poverty, keep the family fortune intact and it was in accord with the prevailing ideal of chastity. It helped out the church choirs too.

To day we have our own cultural practices. We casually cut off the ends of baby boys penises, without anaesthetic, 'for their own good - so much cleaner.' Judicial murders are still commonplace but the needle is much more humane than the chair or the rope! We criminalise prostitution and drug use. We have stopped churches from burning people at the stake but our armies still have plenty of napalm to do the job.

We in the west consider ourselves advanced. If that is the case, Heaven help the rest.

Kortpeel