March 29, 2011 | Theatre,

The Tale behind The Merchant of Venice?

‘When contracts are made, it is just they should be fulfilled, as we intend this shall. Take a knife therefore, Secchi, and cut a pound of flesh from any part you please of the Jew’s body. We would advise you, however, to be very careful; for if you cut but a scruple or a grain more or less than your due, you shall certainly be hanged….’ The merchant at these words began to tremble like an aspen leaf, and…protested it was far from his thoughts to insist upon the performance of the contract. And being asked by the Pope what he demanded, answered: ‘Nothing, Holy Father, but your benediction, and that the articles may be torn to pieces.’

“Then, turning to the Jew, he asked him what he had to say, and whether he was content. The Jew answered he thought himself extremely happy to come off at so easy a rate, and that he was perfectly content. ‘But we are not content,’ replied Sixtus, ‘nor is there sufficient satisfaction made to our laws. We desire to know what authority you have to lay such wagers. The subjects of princes are the property of the state, and have no right to dispose of their bodies, nor any part of them, without the express consent of their sovereigns.”

The Pope then throws both men into prison, ordering the Governor to proceed against them—the Jew for consenting to suicide and the merchant for premeditated murder—and have them hanged.In the end, both men had influential petitioners intercede, and their sentences were converted to fines.

A tall tale, but Shakespeare certainly spun it into a fascinating drama. Interesting to note, though, that the Bard reverses who has sworn to take a pound of flesh from whom!

Marcus, Jacob R. The Jew in the Medieval World. New York: Atheneum, 1975.