Pasquinade

Pasquinade, an anonymous or pseudonymous publication of small size, sometimes printed, sometimes only posted up or circulated in manuscript, and having for its object the defamation of a character, or at least the turning of a person to ridicule. The name is derived from Pasquino, a tailor remarkable for his wit and sarcastic humour, who lived in Rome towards the close of the 15th century, and attracted many to his shop by his sharp and lively sayings. Some time after his death a mutilated fragment of an ancient statue, considered to represent Menelaus supporting the dead body of Patroclus, was dug up opposite his shop, and placed at the end of the Braschi Palace, near the Piazza Navoni. It was named after the defunct tailor, and the practice originated of affixing to it placards containing satires and jests relative to the affairs of the day—the pope and the cardinals being favourite victims of the invisible satirists. See a French monograph by Mary Lafon (2d ed. 1877).