Festum Voluptatis A Study of Renaissance Erotica DAVID O. FRANTZ Festum Voluptatis A Study of Renaissance Erotica By David O. Frantz Festum Voluptatis reveals an area of Renaissance artistic production that has too long been obscured by scholarship emphasizing the ideal, the refined, and the tastcfi.il. Such scholarship has apolo­ gized for or remained silent about the earthy, the sensual, and what some sen­ sibilities would term the tasteless in the visual arts and literature of the Renais­ sance. David Frantz argues the need to listen to the dialogues of prostitutes as w ell as the sonnets of chaste and chas­ tened lovers; the need to explain the scatologv that is a part of Renaissance lit­ erary tra 'η, not pretend that it does not exist; the need to study the notori­ ous prints of couples engaged in sexual intercourse and not suppose that they have all been destroyed. Frantz deals extensively with the literary erotica of the Italian Renaissance, with chapters on the learned erotica of the Italian academics and the popular erotica of Aretino and his followers, especially Niccolo Franco. Visual erotica of the Italian Renaissance is treated with special reference to Guilio Romano’s “posi- zioni” and Agostino Carracci’s “loves of the gods.” The bawdy, the obscene, the erotic, and the pornographic find their place in the discussion of English literary erotica through the early seventeenth century, with emphasis on the works of Thomas Nashc. Frantz concludes with a chapter in which selected works of Mar­ ston, Donne, Shakespeare, and Spenser are read within the context of erotica. Festum Voluptatis Festum Voluptatis A Study of Renaissance Erotica David O. Frantz Ohio State University Press Columbus, Ohio Copyright © 1989 by the Ohio State University Press. All rights reserved. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Frantz, David O., 1942- Festum voluptatis : a study of Renaissance erotica / David O. Frantz, p. cm. Bibliography: p. Includes index. ISBN 0-8142-0463-5 1. Erotica—History—16th century. 2. Erotica—History—17th century. 3. Erotic literature, Italian—History and criticism. 4. Erotic literature, English—History and criticism. I. Title. HQ458.F73 1989 809'. 933538—del 9 88-23506 CIP The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. Printed in the U.S.A. 987654321 For My Mother and in Memory of My Father Contents List of Plates ix Preface xi Introduction 1 Chapter I. In Praise of Apples, Figs, and Keys: The Learned Tradition 9 Chapter II. The Scourge of Princes as Pornographer: Pietro Aretino and the Popular Tradition 43 Chapter III. The Aretines: Imitation and Vilification 91 Chapter IV The Loves of Men and Gods: Erotica in the Visual Arts 118 Chapter V A Study in Ambivalence: English Views of Italy 140 Chapter VI. Albion’s Festum: Erotica in England 159 Chapter VII. Thomas Nashe: The English Aretino 186 Chapter VIII. The Context of Erotica: Marston, Donne, Shakespeare, and Spenser 208 Conclusion 253 Bibliography 255 Index 271 vii