ABSTRACT
In early modern Venice the household was not yet a private and intimate sphere and marital discord was the object of public evaluation. Typical battles between husbands and wives centred on the 'proper' management of household and property, the necessary respect to be shown a partner, the noncompliance of patriarchal prescriptions or the tyranny of physical violence. They focused in particular on the abuse of patriarchal power by husbands and the disobedience and sexual conduct of wives – a product of unsuccessful rule. Disobedience and violence were thus among the most important issues negotiated in the courtroom in cases of marital disputes, and litigants and witnesses alike argued at length the meaning of corporal punishment and the limits of patriarchal authority. Although canon law restricted the right to grant separations on grounds of cruelty and deep hatred, women's allegations did not end here, for a husband's moral integrity was an essential aspect of good household government.
