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La
Cuccagna: Descrittione des gran paese de cuccagna dove chi
piu dorme piu guadagna
[The Cockaigne: Description of the Great
Land of Cockaigne Where He Who Sleeps the Most Earns the Most]
Engraving,
[Rome or Venice, late 16th century]
NYPL,
Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs,
Print Collection
In
this Italian depiction of the land of Cockaigne (also called
Schlarraffenland, or "land of milk and honey,"
by the Germans, and Luilekkerland, or "lazy luscious
land," by the Dutch), feasting, sleeping, and pleasure
are the main activities, and "the more you sleep the
more you earn." Mountains of grated cheese sit in a sea
of Greek wine, roasted birds fall from the sky like rain,
trees produce ripe fruit all year round, owls lay fur coats,
artichokes are always ripe for picking, and people are arrested
for working.
The
Land of Cockaigne was a medieval peasant’s dream, offering
relief from backbreaking labor and the daily struggle for
meager food. In eighteenth-century Naples, it also provided
an ideal theme for festivals. On numerous feast days, residents
erected a large Cuccagna arch made of meats, cheese, bread,
fruits, and vegetables given by the King. When the King gave
the signal, the residents scrambled to destroy the arch, grabbing
as much food as possible for themselves along the way and
providing an entertaining spectacle for the court watching
from above.
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