[Ansteorra] How would a Venetian Lady Behave at Carnival?

[Tina Michael]

Hello Willow!
    I do not know you yet but you do seem to be an interesting Lady. I look
forward to making your acquaintance.
    I do portray a late period Lady, although I am from a rather remote part
of the World, at least according to the English. My Mother is Italian and my
Father is Romanian. Although I honor my Father's culture, I love my Mother's
fashion and rules of behavior. ( When I am behaving, tee hee)
    First, it would depend on the social standing of the lady. Carnivale
brings out people of all backgrounds and the wearing of costume and mask
tends to be a great equalizer. A Whore would be openly plying her trade with
no regard as to manners, a Courtesan would be advertising as well if she had
no patron, but the manner in which she did so would be far different, and
representing her patron if she has such. But a Lady, with a capital L, was
there as part of the Marriage Game. If she was unmarried she was looking to
be soon and if married she was representing her husband and either way they
still had to present a certain aspect or be thought less of. Just because
you wore a mask does not mean you are not known and gossip could very well
ruin your reputation,  jeopardise your prospects or your marriage.
    Young Ladies were brought up to know certain arts to make them more
attractive to suitors and help them to be successful stewards of their
potential husband's property. They had to know how to sew and garden and
insure a well run household as well as how to play an instrument or sing,
carry on a polite conversation and present herself well as she would be
representing her husband in all things. A Courtesan even more so. She would
represent her Patron. Therefore she must be not only beautiful but charming
and well dressed and well spoken, courteous and knowledgeable on a variety
of subjects.
     With the competition in the Marriage Game a woman had to be witty and
charming, more so if she could not be thought of as beautiful. At Carnivale
wearing a mask you could attract attention by paying special attention to
your gown and toilette but you had to be witty and charming in order to keep
the attention of your potential suitor or patron. And no unmarried young
lady ever went out unchaperoned, ever. If even the slightest amount of
scandal was associated with her she would be doomed, therefore great pains
were taken to insure that she remained marketable, oops, I mean
marriageable, tee hee. It did not work all of the time, humans being what
they are.
     In our Current Middle Ages we don't have near the amount of social
restrictions, but the flirtatious art is still the same. Fine dress,
cosmetics to enhance, presenting the right personality traits to enchant, a
sense of humor to set at ease and let good old sex appeal take the stage.
     I am already planning my gown and mask for the ball at Gulf Wars. It
will be truly fantastic.

 Your servant,
 Lady Augustina Elizabetta da San Germano

On Mon, Jan 12, 2009 at 1:38 AM, willowdewisp at juno.com <
willowdewisp at juno.com> wrote:

> I think this is a fun topic and I would like us to discuss it.
> I first think we should set some rules. Please Remember that the facts can
> be interpreted in many ways.   Please if you have some period source about a
> subject please share but it is OK if it is only minimal and it is OK if you
> don't have any. Question are welcome and if you have an interesting one we
> might start a side discussion.
> I usually do not play late Period Ladies because I feel I lack the finesse
> to carry it off. After reading "The Courtier" it seemed that Ladies are
> suppose to be witty and Duchesses are suppose to positively brilliant. So
> first question
> Is wit a necessary skill in being a lady of the Renaissance and do you
> think a Venetian Lady would be more so?
> Second question. Flirtation. Some writers have said that the Venetian Lady
> made an art form of flirtation. How should that be done in the SCA?
> willow
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