The Castrato Sacrifice: Was it Justified? Page: 25
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Because of the precarious nature of the procedure and the legal issues involved,
fabrications and vagueness often surrounded the situation for the young boy, which makes
research into the subject rather difficult. The procedure was illegal "unless it is done, as is often
presented, upon account of some disorders which may be supposed to require it, and with the
consent of the boy." Often times the family of the boy in question would create a false story of a
birth defect or some other ailment that would require the unique "treatment" of castration as a
remedy. Other families would turn to more dramatic means by claiming their son lost his
sensitive parts in a tragic accident such as falling down a flight of stairs. By far the most popular
of this brand of tale involved the goring of the poor boy by a wild boar (Jenkins 1998).
The subject of whether of not castration was done with the consent of the boy himself is a
heavily debated one, as is the question of their age. Angus Heriot maintains that they were
between the ages of 7 and 9, while Piotr O. Scholz in his work Eunuchs and Castrati claims that
the boys were a bit older, between 8 and 12. Two quite reputable sources will give two
completely conflicting opinions. Still others insist that the age of puberty was even later in those
days, and that the children were not necessarily castrated until such ages as 17. This raises an
interesting question: were the boys old enough to have given consent to this dangerous and life-
altering operation? Valeria Finucci believes that these boys were castrated somewhere between
the ages of 7 and 13, with their permission. In her book, The Manly Masquerade, she states that
they were made "all seemingly with consent" (Finucci 2003). Caffarelli, one of the most
successful, yet most notorious castrati was believed to be castrated at his request. A 1720
contract exists between the ten-year-old Caffarelli and his grandmother. It states that she would
award him the income of two vineyards for school study, particularly music, "to which he is said
to have a great inclination, desiring to have himself castrated and become a eunuch" (Somerset-25
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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/m1/28/: accessed May 13, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .