The Miracle of 1511

The Miracle of 1511 (Dutch: De sneeuwpoppen van 1511) was a protest in Brussels, Belgium, against the country's government, in which the locals protested by building approximately 110 satirical and pornographic snowmen. Examples of snowmen built included a snownun that was seducing a man; a snowman and a snowwoman having sex in front of the town fountain; and a naked snowboy urinating into the mouth of a drunken snowman. There were also snow unicorns, snow mermaids, a snow dentist, snow prostitutes enticing people into the city's red light district.[1]

Among the political snowmen created were "a snow virgin with a unicorn in her lap", that was built in front of the ducal palace in Coudenberg, the home of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. This was in protest to him being absent and instead living with his aunt Margaret of Austria in Molines.[2]

Before the Miracle, there had been six weeks of cold weather. Combined with mass population growth and a large wealth discrepancy between the peasants and the ruling House of Habsburg, the locals decided to use the snowmen as a form of protest. The different socioeconomic classes each constructed different kinds of snowman. As a result, the poor would destroy snowmen built by the ruling classes.[1] Eventually, the Miracle concluded when the snow thawed during the warm following spring, which led to flooding in Brussels.[2]

Dutch poet Jan Smeken wrote about the Miracle in his poem "Dwonder van claren ijse en snee: een verloren en teruggevonden gedicht" [The Miracle of Real or Imaginary Ice and Snow: A Lost and Then Refound Poem]:[3]

"In the Rosendal a wonder was to be seen: a huge plump woman, completely naked, her buttocks were like a barrel, her breasts were finely formed, a dog was ensconced between her legs; her pudendum was covered by a rose; the 'coffer' beneath the rose, once you taste it, causes many a man to lose his silver-plate."[2]

References

  1. 1 2 James Harkin, Andrew Hunter Murray, Anna Ptaszynski and Dan Schreiber (30 October 2015). "No Such Thing as a Fish: Episode 85 – No Such Thing As Michaelangelo's Snowman". QI (Podcast). Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Eckstein, Bob (2007). The History of the Snowman: From the Ice Age to the Flea Market. Simon Spotlight Entertainment. pp. 123–124. ISBN 978-1-4169-4066-1. LCCN 2007024820. OCLC 145396493. OL 9740900W.
  3. ↑ Pleij, Herman (1990). "Urban Elites in Search of a Culture: The Brussels Snow Festival of 1511". New Literary History 21 (3): 629–647. doi:10.2307/469131. JSTOR 469131.
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