Correre la terra. Collective insults in the late Middle Ages

Richard C. Trexler, Correre la terra. Collective insults in the late Middle Ages, p. 845-902. The article studies military and festive races during the period 1250-1550 and their relation to civic identity. It finds that marginal social groups ran these races and that such "infame" groups therefore made an important contribution to civic identity. The primary argument resulting from the paper is that honor and insult prove to be inseparable representational values. To create and maintain honor, the political classes of this time defamed the honor of other states, sexes, ages, and classes. The paper describes a violent yet "stable" reality. It foresees a future work on how, in revolutionary times, groups delegitimate authority symbols through insult.Trexler Richard C. Correre la terra. Collective insults in the late Middle Ages. In: Mélanges de l'Ecole française de Rome. Moyen-Age, Temps modernes, tome 96, n°2. 1984. pp. 845-902