The Castrato Sacrifice: Was it Justified? Page: 22
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makes them to grow lank and flabby, till at last they dry up and come to nothing.
(Ancillon, 1718)
The other methods were even more harsh and invasive. One such method called for the complete
removal of the testicles. Consciousness level would obviously be a problem with this type of
procedure. Anesthesia was obviously not yet available, therefore more creative methods were
employed in order to make this process more bearable. The boy was practically rendered
senseless. Ancillon describes the disturbing details:
Another Method was, to take the Testicles quite away at once, and this Operation was
commonly effected, by putting the Patient in a Bath of warm water, to soften and supple
the Parts, and make them more tractable; some small time after, they pressed the Jugular
Veins, which made the Party so stupid, and insensible, that he fell into a kind of
Apoplexy, and then the Action could be performed with scarce any Pain at all to the
Patient; and this was generally done by the Mother or Nurse in the most tender infancy.
(Ancillon 1718)
Even more disturbing was the fact that often the "patient" was given some opium in order to
properly sedate them enough for the surgery. The opium proved to be quite effective for its
intended purpose, as it did bring the boys' consciousness down to such a level that they could be
properly operated upon, but the consequences of using this drug greatly outweighed the
effectiveness, as Ancillon affirms:
Sometimes they used to give a certain quantity of Opium to the Persons designated for
Castration, whom they cut while they were in their dead Sleep, and took from them those
Parts which Nature took so great care to form; but it was observed, that most of those
who had been cut after this manner, died by this Narcotik; It was thought more advisable
to practice the Method I just before mentioned. (Ancillon 1718)
The aforementioned method in Ancillon's treatise was the combination of a warm bath and
jugular vein pressure. This process, although certainly not pleasant, was not quite as lethal.
However, there were other apparent dangers in this operation. The methods of castration varied,
and unfortunately there exists very little actual documentation of this procedure when used for
the purpose of creating specialized young musicians. Descriptions of these procedures that are22
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Sowle, Jennifer. The Castrato Sacrifice: Was it Justified?, thesis, August 2006; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5343/m1/25/: accessed May 13, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .