Two Versions of the Origin of the Word Carnival Before Lent

The week before Great Lent is maslenitsa with us, and carnival in Europe. The word carnival derives from the Italian carne, meat + vale, farewell, which accords with the Christian meaning of the festival preceding Great Lent.

True, there is another etymology of the word carnival: some trace it to the phrase carrus navalis, denoting a ceremonial cart in the form of a boat, used in processions of this kind.

Illustration: Jan Miel. Carnival in Rome, 1653. Collection of the Prado Museum

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Two Versions of the Origin of the Word Carnival Before Lent

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

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