The Cheese and the Worms is an early and
celebrated work by Professor Carlo Ginzburg, currently at
University of California, Los Angeles and a trailblazer in
the field of microhistory. In this subfield of “new history”
developed in the 1970s, historians analyze individuals,
small communities or case studies to bring light upon
greater questions. Here, Ginzburg studies the currents
running through popular culture in 16th century Italy
through the lens of the experiences and thoughts of
Menocchio, a miller and heretic. However, he does not
limit himself to mere description. With acute analysis, he
examines the intersection between high and low culture,
the effect of written literature on a predominantly oral
culture and the influences working upon popular faith
beyond the traditional tenets of Roman Catholicism.
The immediate sources of Professor Ginzburg’s
book are the inquisitorial records he discovered by chance.
These records cover both of the trials for heresy of
Menocchio and include verbatim his own words as well as
the questions and comments of the inquisitors. These
records proved to be extremely valuable sources for not
only Menocchio’s individual story but also for the greater
picture Ginzburg is attempting to paint. However, there are
naturally gaps in the knowledge they provide. To his
credit, the author freely admits where these occur and
attempts neither to paper over them, nor to reach
conclusions that run counter to the evidence he has
presented. Instead, he keeps to the evidence he has,
reached his conclusions with a clear methodology and deep
analysis.
From the text, it is clear that Ginzburg also has a
broad working knowledge of medieval literature and
theology. Menocchio himself read works like Boccaccio’s
Decameron, the Fioretto del Bibbia and the Travels of Sir
John Mandeville as well as the Bible in the vernacular.1
Knowing these texts allows Ginzburg to better evaluate
Menocchio’s understanding of them as well as better
convey to the reader their importance. Indeed, one of the
most important points Ginzburg makes in his work is that
Menocchio operated in a liminal zone between full reliance
upon oral transmission of knowledge and upon written
work. By comparing the real meaning of a text with what
Menocchio was able to glean from it, it becomes clear that
there was a wide disparity between the two. Ginzburg
proposes that Menocchio was not getting his ideas from
the texts themselves. Instead, his ideas came from deeply
rooted oral traditions that Ginzburg proposes was common
to the peasant class in the region, triggered by the books he
read. When the miller read his books, he read them to
provide him with confirmation of his established ideas,
taking from them only snippets and distorted versions of
the actual text. Ginzburg thus makes a case that Menocchio
used an “interpretive filter” informed by the oral tradition
to read the written word.
2
Given the religious turmoil in 16th Europe in the
wake of Martin Luther and his followers, at first glance it
might appear that the reformation might have influenced
some of Menocchio’s ideas. However, Ginzburg contends
that this is unlikely to be the case. Although Menocchio
may have had contact with religious rebels and heretics,
those of his idea that do coincide with the beliefs of
Lutherans or of the Anabaptists do so only in a piecemeal
basis, suggesting a coincidence rather than a deliberate
intent on Menocchio’s behalf. From this, Ginzburg
deduces that peasant faith in Friuli might not have been so
closely orthodox to the Catholic Church as the inquisitors
ชีสและตัวหนอนเป็นการ และเฉลิมฉลองงาน โดยศาสตราจารย์ Carlo Ginzburg ในขณะที่มหาวิทยาลัยแคลิฟอร์เนีย ลอสแอนเจลิส และ trailblazer ในฟิลด์ของ microhistory ในนี้ย่อยของ "ประวัติศาสตร์ใหม่"พัฒนาในปี 1970 นักประวัติศาสตร์วิเคราะห์บุคคลชุมชนเล็ก ๆ หรือกรณีศึกษาเพื่อให้มีแสงคำถามให้มากขึ้น ที่นี่ Ginzburg ศึกษากระแสผ่านในอิตาลีในคริสต์ศตวรรษที่ 16ผ่านเลนส์ของประสบการณ์และความคิดMenocchio มิลเลอร์และ heretic อย่างไรก็ตาม เขาไม่จำกัดตัวเองในการอธิบายเพียง กับการวิเคราะห์ที่เฉียบพลัน เขาตรวจสอบจุดตัดระหว่างวัฒนธรรมสูง และต่ำผลของการเขียนวรรณกรรมในปากส่วนใหญ่วัฒนธรรมและอิทธิพลทำงานตามความเชื่อที่นิยมนอกเหนือจากความเชื่อดั้งเดิมของโรมันคาทอลิกแหล่งมาทันทีของศาสตราจารย์ Ginzburgจองเป็นระเบียน inquisitorial ที่เขาค้นพบโดยบังเอิญเรกคอร์ดเหล่านี้ครอบคลุมทั้งการทดลองสำหรับบาปของMenocchio รวม verbatim คำของตัวเองเป็นคำถามและข้อคิดเห็นของ inquisitors เหล่านี้พิสูจน์แล้วว่าเป็นแหล่งที่มีคุณค่ามากสำหรับระเบียนไม่เฉพาะของ Menocchio แต่ละเรื่องแต่ยังสำหรับการมากขึ้นภาพ Ginzburg พยายามระบายสี อย่างไรก็ตาม มีตามช่องว่างในความรู้ที่ให้ พระองค์เครดิต ยอมเขียนอิสระรับที่เหล่านี้เกิดขึ้น และพยายาม ให้กระดาษเหล่านั้น ไม่ถึงconclusions that run counter to the evidence he haspresented. Instead, he keeps to the evidence he has,reached his conclusions with a clear methodology and deepanalysis.From the text, it is clear that Ginzburg also has abroad working knowledge of medieval literature andtheology. Menocchio himself read works like Boccaccio’sDecameron, the Fioretto del Bibbia and the Travels of SirJohn Mandeville as well as the Bible in the vernacular.1Knowing these texts allows Ginzburg to better evaluateMenocchio’s understanding of them as well as betterconvey to the reader their importance. Indeed, one of themost important points Ginzburg makes in his work is thatMenocchio operated in a liminal zone between full relianceupon oral transmission of knowledge and upon writtenwork. By comparing the real meaning of a text with whatMenocchio was able to glean from it, it becomes clear thatthere was a wide disparity between the two. Ginzburgproposes that Menocchio was not getting his ideas fromthe texts themselves. Instead, his ideas came from deeplyrooted oral traditions that Ginzburg proposes was commonto the peasant class in the region, triggered by the books heread. When the miller read his books, he read them toprovide him with confirmation of his established ideas,taking from them only snippets and distorted versions ofthe actual text. Ginzburg thus makes a case that Menocchioused an “interpretive filter” informed by the oral traditionto read the written word.2Given the religious turmoil in 16th Europe in thewake of Martin Luther and his followers, at first glance itmight appear that the reformation might have influencedsome of Menocchio’s ideas. However, Ginzburg contendsthat this is unlikely to be the case. Although Menocchiomay have had contact with religious rebels and heretics,those of his idea that do coincide with the beliefs ofLutherans or of the Anabaptists do so only in a piecemealbasis, suggesting a coincidence rather than a deliberateintent on Menocchio’s behalf. From this, Ginzburgdeduces that peasant faith in Friuli might not have been soclosely orthodox to the Catholic Church as the inquisitors
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