History of the Sixteenth Century
Uploaded by spootyhead on Apr 18, 2007
History of the Sixteenth Century
Being a historian and researching popular culture in the sixteenth century is a task that is almost impossible to do with any measure of certainty. This is due to several reasons, mainly that two thirds of the peasant population was illiterate, which creates an enormous problem in terms of historical documentation of the time period. If there was any literature written on popular culture, it was done by people of a different social background, mainly the wealthy or dominant culture. Because of this, we are unable to gain any insight into the beliefs, ideas, and sentiments of the common man except through very rare instances like the trial records of Domenico Scandella, also known as Menocchio.
When studying a time period such as the sixteenth century, most historians and scholars refer to the works of the well-known intellectuals of the time. This, however, leaves out the majority of the population of Europe. People look to a select few, such as Martin Luther or John Calvin, to gain knowledge of an era in which the majority of the population knew of these people only as names associated with vague and most likely incorrect notions. It is a common misconception that these ideas and beliefs of the dominant culture "trickled down" to the popular culture, forming their beliefs. This is why the transcripts from the Inquisition trial of the miller Menocchio from the town of Montereale, Italy is so important and insightful into the peasant culture of the sixteenth century.
Menocchio was denounced to the Holy Inquisition on September 28, 1583 for "heretical and most impious words" concerning Christ(Ginzburg 2). By complete chance, Carlo Ginzburg stumbled over the transcripts from this trial and discovered a diamond in the ruff. The reason these transcripts are seen as so valuable is partly due to the source of the records, the Holy Inquisition. The Inquisition was known for keeping meticulous accounts of all trials, many of which were recorded verbatim. The downside to this is the Inquisition’s motives. The reinstatement of the Inquisition was part of the Catholic Church’s attempt at regaining some of their power during the Counter-Reformation. The goal of the proceedings was to discover whether Menocchio was a heretic, and if he was, where did these heretical ideas originate so that...