Punch and Judy/Chapter 1

by John Payne Collier

CHAPTER I.

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ORIGIN OF PUNCH IN ITALY.

Mr. Punch, (whose original family name was probably Pulcinella,) first came into existence at Acerra, an ancient city at a short distance from Naples. The date of this event is differently stated by authors who have incidentally mentioned him; Riccoboni^[1] fixing it before the year 1600, and Gimma^[2] and Signorelli^[3] after the commencement of the seventeenth century. The words of Gimma are very precise, and as he enters into particulars, it seems safe to rely upon his authority for this important fact: he says, "Silvio Fiorillo, comedian, who procured himself to be called the Captain Matamoros, invented the Neapolitan Pulcinella; to which Andrea Calcese, who had the surname of Ciuccio, by study and natural grace added much. Calcese was a tailor, and died in the plague of the year 1656: he imitated the peasants of Acerra, a very ancient city of Terra di Lavoro, not far from Naples." Signorelli expressly calls Punch, un buffon^[4] dell' Acerra; and of the Neapolitans in general, he remarks (p. 231), that, "from a certain national vivacity and disposition, they have been at all times distinguished for their talent in imitating the ridiculous on their stages."^[5] Hence more than one of the amusing personages in their impromptu comedies, or commedie à soggetto, inserted by Riccoboni among the plates attached to his work, have had their origin in that lively and luxurious capital.^[6]

In order to give a notion of the species of dramatic entertainment in which these various characters, and among them Pulcinella, were engaged, a further short quotation from Signorelli's work will be useful: he is referring to the state of the Italian comedy in the beginning of the seventeenth century. "In general (he says) the public comedians travelled over Italy, representing certain theatrical performances, called comedies of art, in contradistinction to comedies of learning, recited in the academies and in private dwellings by well-bred actors for their pleasure and exercise. The plan or plot of the fables, they call it, à soggetto, was noted down, as well as

the substance and distribution of each scene, while the dialogue was left to the will of the representers. Such histrionic farces contained various trivial buffooneries, and different masks were employed in them.

These performances, in which the actor was left to his own talents and discretion in furnishing the dialogue, were once extremely popular throughout Italy; but from the very nature of the representation, it unluckily happens that not a single specimen has been handed down to our time. The few sentences extracted above, we think, will serve to explain a good deal of the supposed mystery of those ancient English "plots," or "platforms" of theatrical representations discovered in Dulwich College; in which the celebrated Tarlton and others were concerned, and which so long puzzled Malone, Steevens, and some of the other commentators on Shakespeare.^[7] Several of the most distinguished actors of that day had travelled in Italy, and were remarkable for their impromptu; and Nash, who had been there, in one of his tracts especially terms the famous clown, Kempe, a "harlequin," (a character constantly engaged in such representations) and adds that his fame had extended south of the Alps.^[8]

However, to pursue this topic would lead us away from the object of our present inquiry. We take it for granted, that Silvio Fiorillo invented Pulcinella, and first introduced him as a variety in the list of buffoons required to represent the impromptu comedies of Naples: but, although he may date his separate existence from about the year 1600, it is a matter of much doubt, whether he was not, in fact, only a branch of a family of far greater antiquity. The discovery, in the year 1727, of a bronze statue of a mime, called by the Romans Maccus, has indeed led some antiquaries to the conclusion, that he was, in fact, Pulcinella under a different name, but with the same attributes, and among them a hump-back and a large nose.^[9] But that the figure was meant for Maccus at all seems mere speculation, and that Pulcinella and Maccus had anything in common, but hump and nose, is at least as questionable. The Vice, as he was called, of the ancient Moralities was common, we apprehend, to the early theatrical representations of most countries: his business was to relieve the weightier part of the performance by his ridiculous actions, jests, and buffooneries. He was unquestionably the original of the Clown, or Fool, of the old English Drama; and we think the conjecture is at least plausible, that he was the original also of Harlequin,^[10] and his near relative Pulcinella. The chief appendage of the Vice was a gilt wooden sword, and this also belonged to the old Clown, or Fool, not only in England, but abroad. Rabelais, speaking of certain presents made by Panurge to the fool Triboullet, says; "Panurge à sa venue luy donna une vessie de pore, bien enflée et resonnante, à cause des poys qui dedans estoient: plus une espée de boys bien dorée; plus, une petite gibessiere faicte d'une cogue de tortu:"^[11] which we thus translate for the benefit of such as may not understand the antiquated French,—"Panurge, on his arrival, gave him a pig's bladder well inflated, and resounding by reason of the peas that were within it: moreover, a wooden sword well gilt: moreover, a small pouch, made of a shell of a tortoise," Those who consult Mr. Douce's "Illustrations," and particularly his essay on the "Clowns and Fools of Shakespeare," will find that the bladder at the end of a stick, the gilt wooden sword,^[12] and the pouch or budget, formed part of the equipments of that personage in this country. The wooden sword directly connects Harlequin with the ancient Vice, and more modern Fool,^[13] although we have now enjoined him to silence, and have converted the instrument with which of old he cudgelled the Devil, into a talisman to raise him.

The dress, too, of Harlequin corresponds very much with the motley or parti-coloured habit of the clowns of our old dramatic poets. It is true, that the different hues have been arranged with greater regularity, and the patches are of smaller size. The ordinary habiliments of Punch at the present day, preserved by ancient usage, with his pointed fool's-cap, bear a much nearer resemblance; and this is one circumstance that evidences the strong family-resemblance between the Vice, Harlequin, and Puncinella.^[14] Riccoboni represents the ancient Harlequin in a dress composed of patches, as if his ragged clothes had been often mended, and Goldoni speaks of him as originally a poor foolish dolt. There can be little doubt that this was the real origin of the motley of the dramatic and domestic fools in former times. They were retained, or were supposed to be retained, by the nobility, commonly out of charity, and one of their ordinary appellations was Patch. Cardinal Wolsey had a fool whose parental name has been lost, and he is now only known by the nick-name belonging to his profession.

Upon the continent, to this day, Harlequin is as talkative as ever, even if his jokes are a little less coarse, and his satire kept within narrower bounds. Voltaire, in his Encyclopedie^[15] and elsewhere, quotes several capital sayings and aphorisms by Harlequin; but the account that Addison gives of him would hardly lead us to suppose that in his time he possessed so much wit and acuteness.

He tells us that, in Italy, "Harlequin's part is made up of blunders and absurdities: he is to mistake one name for another, to forget his errands, to stumble over queens, and to run his head against every post that comes in his way. This is all attended with something so comical in the voice and gestures, that a man who is sensible of the folly of the part can hardly forbear to be pleased with it."^[16] Much of this character has been transferred to the clowns of our pantomimes, since Harlequin was elevated in station and degraded in understanding.^[17]

Concluding, then, that Punch is one of the familia Harlequini, and that their common parent was the Vice of the old Moralities, the question arises, to what circumstance he owes the deformity of his figure, and why his nose, by its length, is rendered so obtrusive a feature? We can only answer, that it pleased his inventor, Silvio Fiorillo, to make him so; and, perhaps, he did it in some degree with a view of rendering him more ridiculous, and to distinguish him more effectually from other characters of not dissimilar habits and propensities in the impromptu comedies: hence too, probably, the peculiar quality of his voice, to which Addison alludes. One striking characteristic of Punch is his amorous inclination; and it is generally supposed that individuals with the personal defect for which he is remarkable, are peculiarly "given to the feminines;" and the Italian proverb relating to the length of nose, needs not, if it could, be repeated. Among Riccobini's plates is one of Giangurgolo of Calabria, and he is represented with a much larger nose than that of Pulcinella.^[18] In the time of Shakespeare, it seems to have been the custom for usurers on the stage to wear large false noses; but, perhaps, it was intended thus to indicate that they were generally of the Jewish persuasion.^[19]

According to Quadrio, in his "Storia d'ogni Poesia" the name of our hero has relation to the length of his nose: he would spell it Pullicinello from Pulliceno, which Mr. D'Israeli translates "turkey-cock," an allusion to the beak of that bird. Baretti has it Pulcinella, because that word in Italian means a hen-chicken, whose cry the voice of Punch is said to resemble.—Pollicenello, as it has also been written, in its etymology from pollice, "the thumb," goes upon the mistaken presumption that his size was always diminutive, like that of our English worthy, of cow-swallowing memory. The French Ponche has been fancifully derived from no less a personage than Pontius Pilate of the old Mysteries, whom, in barbarous times, the Christians wished to abuse and ridicule.^[20] If we cannot settle the disputed point, it is very evident, that in future ingenuity and learning will be thrown away in attempting further elucidation.

At what time and in what country Punch became a mere puppet as well as a living performer, we have no distinct information; but it is to be inferred, perhaps, that the transmigration first took place in the land of his birth, and after his popularity had been fully established.^[21] The pleasure derived by the lower orders from his performances might lead to the imitation of his manners and actions in little: in the same way, as will be hereafter seen, that the most applauded representations of our own stage, in the reigns of Elizabeth and James, were very soon made the subjects of "motions" or puppet-plays. One man could thus by a little ingenuity, and at a very cheap rate, represent half a dozen or more characters, and the delusion was aided by the peculiar voice given to Punch by artificial means. Ere long he became the hero of the exhibition; and other characters, such as Harlequin and Scaramouch, by degrees sunk into insignificance. The last, as well as the Doctor, is still preserved in some of the performances in this country, and we are assured by those who have recently travelled, that the Spanish Captain, the Calabrian with a huge nose, and some others of the personages enumerated by Riccoboni, yet figure in the Italian puppet-shows. In Holland, about ten years ago, we were present at one of the performances of Punch, (there usually called "Tooueelgek," "stage-fool" or "buffoon") in which a number of other characters peculiar to the country, and among them a burgomaster and a Friesland peasant, were introduced.^[22]

1. He uses general terms, and his authority is not much to be relied on: "Histoire du Théatre Italien depuis la Decadence de la Comedie Latine, &c."
2. "Italia Letterata," vol. 1. p. 196.
3. "Storia Criticade'Teatriantiche e moderne."—Napoli 1777. It is to be observed, however, that the Dottore Pietro Napoli Signorelli relies for his assertion on the statement of Gimma in his "Italia Letterata." As one proof that Pulcinella was not known before the year 1600, it may be noticed that he is not mentioned by one of the burlesque poets of Italy, who flourished anterior to that date, Berni, Molza, Casa, Lasca, &c.
4. Voltaire, in his "Questions sur L'Encyclopedie," thus speaks of the etymology of the Italian word buffone, after ridiculing the classical derivation pedantically assigned to it—"Ce mot de bufon est reçu depuis longtems chez les Italiens et chez les Espagnols: il signifiait mimus, scurra, joculator, mime, farceur, jongleur. Ménage après Saumaise, le dérive de bocca infiata, boursouflé; et en effet on vent dans un boufon un visage rond et la joue rebondie. Les Italiens disent bufo magro, maigre boufon, pour exprimer un mauvois plaisant que ne vous fait pas rire."
5. Rapin, in his "Reflexions on Modern Poetry," says of the Italians generally, that they are "naturellement comediens," and that they "expriment mieux le ridicule des choses," adding that their language was well adapted to the purpose.
6. They are the ancient and modern Harlequin—the ancient and modern Pantaloon—the ancient and modern Doctor—Beltrame di Milano—Scapin—the Italian Capitan—the Spanish Captain—the Neapolitan Scaramouche—Calabrian Giangurgolo—Mezzettin—Tartaglia—the Neapolitan Pulcinella, and Narcisin of Malabergo. In another of his productions, Riccoboni speaks very contemptuously of the "impromptu" comedy, observing that it "ne merite pas un si beau nom, et que l'on devroit plûtót appeller Farce." He afterwards calls it "ancienne et mercenaire," and tells us that it succeeded "la comedie Latine; foible et immodeste dans son origine, mais plus chaste et plus ingenieuse dans la suite.—"Reflexions Historiques et Critiques," &c., 8vo. Paris, 1738.
7. See "Malone's Shakespeare," by Boswell, vol. 3, p. 256, &c.
8. See the Dedication of his "Almond for a Parrot," printed about the year 1598.
9. See D'Israeli's "Curiosities of Literature," vol. 3, p. 9.
10. Riccoboni, "Histoire du Theatre Italien," quotes several authorities, to shew that a Mime like Harlequin was known to the ancients: he relies chiefly on an expression of Apuleius, Mimi centunculo, with reference to the patch-work dress.
11. Chap. 42, edit. 1553.
12. If this coincidence had occurred to Mr. D'Israeli, he would not have said (Curiosites of Literature, vol. 3, p. 10, note) that "the light lath-sword of Harlequin had hitherto baffled his most painful researches."
13. In Spain he is called the Gracioso, and his dress and equipments are nearly the same as they were in England: the morris-bells and the bladders are particularly mentioned by Cervantes, in his description of the Parliament of Death: "whilst they were thus discoursing, it fell out, that one of the company came toward them, clad for the Fool in the play, with morris-bells, and at the end of a stick he had three cows' bladders full blown," &c. Shelton's "Don Quixote," part 2, chap. 11.
14. Dr. Johnson, in a note on "Hamlet," (Act 3, Scene 4,) asserts positively, that "the modern Punch is descended from the ancient Vice;" but this opinion is disputed by Mr. Douce, "Illustrations of Shakspeare," vol. 2, p. 251.
15. Vol. 4, p. 427, edition 1775.
16. Travels, p. 77, edition 1718.
17. A good deal has been written on the etymology of the word Harlequin: it is very clear that the fanciful derivations from Francis the First's ridicule of Charles Quint, and from M. de Harlay-quint, in the reign of Henry III, of France, are unfounded. The Rev. Mr. Todd quotes a letter of M. Raulin, dated 1521, which affords clear evidence that the "familiam Harlequini" was even then "antiquam;" and as early as the time of Odericus Vitalis, a.d. 1143, the same family is mentioned as the familia Herlechini. This decisive authority, from its high antiquity, was not known to Mr. Todd. Whether Harlequinus, or Herlechinus, were really the name of any family, or whether it was a corruption of the old French arlot, a cheat, must still, and perhaps will ever, remain a matter of dispute among the learned.
18. And with some reason, if we confide in the statement of Voltaire in his "Encylopedie Art. Bouc."
19. See note 21 to the "Jew of Malta," in Dodsley's Old Plays, new edition, vol. 8, p. 279. Also vol. 12, p. 396.
20. Some have supposed that the English name of Punch was a corruption of paunch, from the large protuberance in front with which this personage is provided. This is alluded to by Tom Brown, in his "Common Place Book," where he is adverting to Dunton's "Athenians." "As for their skill in etymology, (he says—vol. 3, p. 283, edit. 1744,) I shall instance in two, viz. surplice, from super and pelico; and Punch, quasi paunch," &c.
21. He was a puppet in France at an early date; and, in 1721, Le Sage wrote pieces to be represented by Pulcinella and his wooden coadjutors. Le Sage had previously produced dramas for the Theatre de la Foire, which being silenced in 1721, he and Francisque, his co-laborateur, procured puppets instead of living actors. Piron ridiculed their dullness, and, in a piece called "Arlequin Deucalion," introduced Punch laughing, and apparently with some justice, at the want of wit in Le Sage's representations.
22. In Germany he is commonly known by the name of Hanns Wurst among the lower orders; the literal translation of which is our Jack Pudding, Hanns being John or Jack, and Wurst a pudding or sausage. He is also called Polischinel, and Hanns Wurst, as a generic term for any kind of buffoon.

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