return later to the significance of the reference world," and to a new "way of life." First we must try tounderstand how this miller of the Friuli could have expressed ideas of this kind. The Friuli in the second half of the sixteenth century was a society with pronouncedarchaicfeatures. Thegreatfamilies of the feudal nobility continued to exercise a dominant role in the region. Such institutions as the masnada form ofserfdomhad persisted until justtheprevious century, much longer than in neighboring areas. The ancient medieval parliament had preserved its proper legislative functions, even if actual power had been for some time in the hands of Venetian officials. In reality, Venetian rule, which had begun in 1420, had left things as they were as much as possible. The only concern of the Venetians had been to create a balance of power that would neutralize the subversive tendencies existingamong some of the feudal nobility of the Friuli