The cheese and the worms : the cosmos of a sixteenth-century miller

Translated by John Tedeschi, Anne C. Tedeschi. Original title: Il formaggio e i vermi: Il cosmo di un mugnaio del '500 __The Cheese and the Worms__ is a study of the popular culture in the sixteenth century as seen through the eyes of one man, a miller brought to trial during the Inquisition. Carlo Ginzburg uses the trial records of Domenico Scandella, a miller also known as Menocchio, to show how one person responded to the confusing political and religious conditions of his time. For a common miller, Menocchio was surprisingly literate. In his trial testimony he made references to more than a dozen books, including the Bible, Boccaccio's __Decameron__, __Mandeville's Travels__, and a "mysterious" book that may have been the Koran. And what he read he recast in terms familiar to him, as in his own version of the creation: "All was chaos, that is earth, air, water, and fire were mixed together; and of that bulk a mass formed―just as cheese is made out of milk―and worms appeared in it, and these were the angels." Menocchio -- The Town -- First Interrogation -- Possessed? -- From Concordia To Portogruaro -- To Speak Out Against His Superiors -- An Archaic Society -- They Oppress The Poor -- Lutherans And Anabaptists -- A Miller, A Painter, A Buffoon -- My Opinions Came Out Of My Head -- The Books -- Readers Of The Town -- Printed Pages And Fantastic Opinions -- Blind Alley? -- The Temple Of The Virgins -- The Funeral Of The Madonna -- The Father Of Christ -- Judgement Day -- Mandeville -- Pigmies And Cannibals -- God Of Nature -- The Three Rings -- Written Culture And Oral Culture -- Chaos -- Dialogue -- Mythical Cheeses And Real Cheeses -- The Monopoly Over Knowledge -- The Words Of The Fioretto -- The Function Of Metaphors -- Master, Steward, And Workers -- An Hypothesis -- Peasant Religion -- The Soul -- I Don't Know -- Two Spirits, Seven Souls, Four Elements -- The Flight Of An Idea -- Contradictions -- Paradise -- A New Way Of Life -- To Kill Priests -- A New World -- End Of The Interrogations -- Letter To The Judges -- Rhetorical Figures -- First Sentence -- Prison -- Return To The Town -- Denunciations -- Nocturnal Dialogue With The Jew -- Second Trial -- Fantasies -- Vanities And Dreams -- Oh Great, Omnipotent, And Holy God... -- If Only I Had Died When I Was Fifteen -- Second Sentence -- Torture -- Scolio -- Pellegrino Baroni -- Two Millers -- Dominant Culture And Subordinate Cluture -- Letters From Rome. Carlo Ginzburg ; Translated By John And Anne Tedeschi. Translation Of Il Formaggio E I Vermi. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. The Cheese and the Worms is a study of the popular culture in the sixteenth century as seen through the eyes of one man, a miller brought to trial during the Inquisition. Carlo Ginzburg uses the trial records of Domenico Scandella, a miller also known as Menocchio, to show how one person responded to the confusing political and religious conditions of his time. For a common miller, Menocchio was surprisingly literate. In his trial testimony he made references to more than a dozen books, including the Bible, Boccaccio's Decameron, Mandeville's Travels, and a "mysterious" book that may have been the Koran. And what he read he recast in terms familiar to him, as in his own version of the creation: "All was chaos, that is earth, air, water, and fire were mixed together; and out of that bulk a mass formed - just as cheese is made out of milk - and worms appeared in it, and these were the angels." -- Jacket Offers a study of culture in the sixteenth century as seen through the eyes of one man, the miller known as Menocchio, who was accused of heresy during the Inquisition and sentenced to death. This book illustrates the confusing political and religious conditions of the time. Tells the story of a sixteenth century miller who was burned at the stake for his controversial views on creation. As frequently happens, this research, too, came about by chance.