Marionettes A brief history of puppetmaking

A marionette is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings (wires being the standard now due to increased durability). A marionette's puppeteer is called a manipulator. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by using a vertical or horizontal control bar in different forms of theatres or entertainment venues.

The terms "marionette" and "puppet" are often used interchangeably though "puppet" applies to a broader range of dolls such as: finger puppets, glove or hand puppets, rod puppets, and shadow puppets. Marionettes are generally considered the most complex of puppets having many moving parts that are controlled by strings attached to a cross-piece held above the doll.

This limewood Renaissance jester is 65 cm tall and weighs 11 lbs. He was made in the Czech republic and retails for $ on the Internet.

Puppetry is an ancient form of performance. The ancient Chinese used marionettes with moveable mouths, eyes, eyebrows and even fingers. Painting by Liu Songnian AD), China

There is evidence that marionettes were used even before, in Egypt as early as 2000 BC. String-operated figures of wood were manipulated to perform certain actions, such as bread kneading. Wire controlled puppets made of clay and ivory have been found in Egyptian tombs. Along with Egypt, India has the oldest string motivated figures ever found. Egypt, 2000 BCE India, pre 2 nd or 3 rd Century BC

Although there are few remaining examples of puppets from ancient Greece, historical literature shows the existence of puppetry. Aristotle in The Motion of Animals: "The movements of animals may be compared with those of automatic puppets, which are set going on the occasion of a tiny movement; the levers are released, and strike the twisted strings against one another” 350 BC

Ancient Greek doll made from ivory In Ancient Greece and Rome, clay dolls and a few of ivory, dated from around 500 BC, were found in children's tombs. These dolls had articulated arms and legs, some of which had an iron rod extending up from the tops of their heads. This rod was used to manipulate the doll from above, as it is done today in Sicilian puppetry. The Greek word for "puppets" is neurospasta, which literally means "string- pulling.

The earliest image we have of medieval puppets comes from a 12th century woodcut from the Hortus Deliciarum which shows two boys playing with fighting puppets controlled by strings. These puppets were about fourteen inches tall and seem to have articulating limbs. Although these are not what we would call marionettes, they show the use of strings and the concept of fighting puppets.

Italy is considered by many to be the early home of the marionette we know today, due to the influence of Roman puppetry. After the fall of Rome, the Christian Church continued to use puppets to perform morality plays, which were like sermons during the mass. These helped the illiterate better understand the Church’s teachings. The word "marionette" may originate from the figures of the Virgin Mary or "Mary doll" used in the performances. When some puppeteers began to inject comedy into the morality plays and highlight corruption in the Church, the clergy became concerned that they were mocking religion and the use of puppets in church were banned. Engraving, from the title page of the 16 th Century Morality play, called “Everyman”

Coventry Mystery Play, engraving From Knight, The Popular History of England, 1874.

Puppeteers instead, set up stages outside cathedrals, and puppet plays became even more ribald and filled with slapstick comedy. In the 15 th century, traveling troupes of Italian puppeteers took productions to Britain. Another theory for the origins of the word marionette speculates that the word stems from the name of an Italian puppeteer Marion, who brought puppets to France during the reign of Charles IX in the 16 th century.

Oldest puppet theatre in Europe, from the 12 th century.

Out of these outdoor, slapstick puppet shows, grew the Italian comedy called commedia dell’arte. Puppets were used at times in this form of theatre. Many of Shakespeare’s plays, including his Romeo and Juliet, were performed by marionettes, not actors. Pulcinella, often called Punch in English, is a classical character that originated in the commedia dell’arte of the 17th century and became a stock character in Neapolitan puppetry. Venice-made, contemporary Pulcinella marionette, $ 650

The puppetry in Italy developed into it’s own style in the popular story of Orlando Furioso, the Italian version of an epic French poem. In Sicily, the sides of donkey carts are decorated with intricate, painted scenes from Orlando’s story. These same tales are enacted in traditional puppet theatres featuring hand- made marionettes of wood. In Sicilian this is called "Opira dî pupi", or "Opera of the puppets." Orlando Marionette, 19 th century, Sicilian

Soon, puppetry spread to France, Germany and Austria, and by the 16th century, traveling comedians began performing puppet shows at Czech markets and in houses of the nobility. A century later, Italian string marionettes also migrated here and started appearing in theatre. Puppet theatre flourished, and by the mid-18th century, Czech puppeteers had developed their own traditions.

“Puppetry is to Prague, what pizza is to Rome.”

More Venetian marionettes Sicilian marionettes