Surprised by Time: Venetian lions

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19 April 2013

The dog of Venice

In a graduate class on Venetian history, a young man was discussing the role of the "Dog of Venice." He was a Navy SEAL, and we admired him too much to smile, or to embarrass him with a correction. But I have cherished that Dog of Venice, and was utterly delighted when Pierre MacKay said, But that is what the Ottomans called the lion!

Correspondents have sent me references, which Pierre MacKay translated. Claudia Römer sent a passage from Evliya Çelebi SN VIII 309b about Candia in 1668:

First of all, Kanye means dog-house in the Italian Frankish language, because the Venetian Franks who worship a two winged dog named San Marco, dedicated it to San Marco the dog under the name Kanye.

Then from Gülçin Tunalı, from Mahmud Efendi in Tarih-i Medinet'ül- Hukema, 48b, ca. 1700:

They treated this dog with great respect and reverence. When the dog died they buried it and built a shrine and temple over it. Over the door of the shrine they depicted the dog and revered it. And not satisfied with this level of honor, everyone to the best of his ability made an image of the dog out of silver and gold and placed it on the house as a blessing. Rich and poor, small and great, each to the extent of his means, expended them for the making of a gold, silver, copper or brass image of the dog. And still, today, Venetian infidels love no animal as much as they do the dog.