Menochios Death In The Cheese and the Worms - Literature review Example

On Menochio’s Death The Cheese and the Worms written by Carlo Ginzburg recounted the Inquisition of Domenico Scandela, introduced in the story as Menocchio. In the book, Ginzburg painted the picture of the sixteenth century Italy and presented a milieu of Mennocchio’s cosmos by relating how he particularly thinks about creation, the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, and the real purpose of man. Menocchio was an extraordinary miller who thrived during the era of Reformation in Italy. He lived in the village of Montereale situated in the rural town of Friuli in Venice. He also regarded himself as holding occupations as a “carpenter, sawyer, mason and other things.”1 What made this miller extraordinary were his unique ideas which a typical man, uneducated and of lowly status as he was, does not usually possess. He claimed that he has an “artful mind” that wanted to seek out higher things that he did not know.2 His extraordinary ideas were the fusion of the ideology derived from his great passion for reading books, especially those that were highly prohibited during his time. The wide circulation of different types of publications and the Roman Catholic Reformation had become catalysts in the formulation of Mennocchio’s belief. The invention of the printing press, which was a significant historical event in Mennocchio’s time had facilitated the publishing of new books and their distribution to the society. This in turn, led to the influx of books and other publications, which reached even the common man like Menocchio.3 The easy access to these sources of new information made knowledge readily available to the people in almost all social classes. Menocchio shared and loaned books with his friends in the village and gained a vast array of new knowledge, as he was always absorbed in reading.4 This new knowledge became a threat to Mennocchio’s life as his new ideology went beyond what the society could and was willing to accept, especially the religious authorities. His voracity for reading had established extremely radical religious philosophies, which were lifted from the books that were prohibited by the priests to be ingested by common individuals. He communicated his opposition to the village, which caused a stir and confusion among them. He was branded as a heretic and was brought to court for inquisition. The court found him guilty of heresy and was punished by lifetime imprisonment. However, he did not stay long in the prison. Three years after, he had convinced the authorities that he had changed. He was then discharged from jail and got back to live his normal life as a miller. Those new books once more lured him to talk. Menocchio yet again tried to “educate” the unlearned about his radical religious beliefs about creation, God, and the real purpose of man, opposing the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. For a second time, he was sent to court to face the inquisitors but at a much shorter trial. As he was then 67 years old, he was subjected to a half hour of torture and was later burned at stake. The death of Menocchio was significant as it showed how greatly a common individual was affected by his society as much as he makes an impact on his society and its institutions. In this regard, it is exceedingly important to look at the factors which affected him and contributed to his death. However, we could also conclude that his death was due to the contributions that he was able to bring to the sixteenth century Italy. Menocchio could not have been punished and died without the operation of certain factors in his locality. An exposition and greater understanding of the social context in the village where he lived would be a starting point in fully comprehending his fate. In this regard, this paper would first give a brief background of the sixteenth century Italy, which would significantly help in the explanation of the reasons why Menocchio died. After such, definite reasons of his death would be laid out and examined based on the previously discussed social context. Sixteenth century Italy was characterized by the proliferation and explosion of knowledge due to the invention of the printing technology. As mentioned above, knowledge became accessible to almost all the individual in villages. Ginzburg acknowledged two social classes during Menocchio’s time—the “superior” and the “poor people.”5 The superior class was composed of nobles, the merchants and the middle class while the lowest strata included workers. Nobles owned most of the lands in the region while merchants prospered due to their business operations in profitable industries. The middle class was typically composed of shopkeepers and professionals. On the lowest end were the workers or the peasants who work for their lords to earn a living. It should also be noted that this period highlights the growing importance of capital in the economy as capitalist were rapidly accumulating wealth. The importance of religion in the sixteenth century Italy could never be overstated. As Christianity had its early origin in the country, it was also considered as the heart of Catholicism in the world. Christianity was the dominant and official religion of all the state. Even Ginzburg recognized this reality as relates that every village in Italy were regulated by a certain pope. Mennocchio’s village was under the authority of Pope Clement VIII.6 The church had gone beyond overseeing the overall welfare of the people. It also controlled and presided over the important aspects in the society as it decides and dictates what was right or wrong, allowed or prohibited, and even what was acceptable and unacceptable. Essentially, a common individual was not allowed to question the authority of the religious sect neither the doctrines that they preach. As religious authorities were perceived as God’s representative, refusal to adhere to their teachings and policies would have negative implications for the individual. Anyone who opposed the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church would be branded as a heretic and would have to go to court for inquisition to receive the appropriate punishment. The Inquisition as related by Ginzburg is the spiritual court for the judgment of citizens who dissent the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. It would also be very important to note the sixteenth century Italy political system was strongly tied with religion as the villages in the country were considered as Papal States. This implied a huge amount of power concentrated on the hand of the religious authorities as they also handled the political affair in the states. After discussing the social context in the sixteenth century Italy we now turn to the reasons why Menocchio died. In Ginzburg’s book, the death of Menocchio was primarily due to his defiance against the Catholic Church, which was considered a great sin during his period. It was his punishment for being a “heretic” and disrupting the harmony in the society by his introduction of extremely radical religious philosophies. However, this was only one of the numerous reasons why he was put to death. A closer look at the situation during his period would substantially reveal significant causes of his death. Mennocchio’s death was largely influenced by the society’s economic, political, cultural, and social structure. The stated factors all have a bearing on his fate as all the factors and institutions in the society largely contribute the life of an individual. Understanding the interrelatedness of the social, economic, and cultural factors would bring comprehension regarding this issue. The story of Menocchio is a very crucial example in examining the popular culture in a certain society. Popular culture is the culture that prevailed in a certain society. As such popular culture is viewed as the culture that is dominant in the society and is practiced by the elite and powerful. The popularity of the Roman Catholic during the period can never be questioned. It was stated above that the way of life in the sixteenth century Italy was strongly based on the Church’s doctrines and teachings. Menocchio, however, had introduced an entirely new and radical religious philosophy, which caused a stir in the system. His arguments echoed the forbidden books in his times such as the Vulgate Bible, the Decameron, and even the Koran.7 He had his own ideas on creation, God and the purpose of man. He had his own idea about cosmology, which was often expressed in metaphors. He postulated that, “…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.”8 He strongly opposed confession as he said, “You might as well go and confess to a tree as to priests and monks” 9 These unique ideas cost Menocchio his life. He was considered a deviant in his society by haranguing Catholic advocates by his beliefs, which were bits and pieces of the passages he had read from various books. Deviation from the dictates and mandates of the society almost often lead to this type of punishment. Since the dominant religion is advocated by the elite and powerful in the state, punishments were always easily imposed to those who deviate and caused a stir in the system in order to protect and sustain the dominant culture. We can also see an intellectual Menocchio bravely and intelligently answering the queries of the inquisitors in the court. He had explained his non-Aristotelian philosophies so well that he outwitted his inquisitors. In so doing, he became a threat to the preservation of the dominant and official religion in the society, which was the advocated by the most powerful and influential circle in the society, the religious sect. His infusion of new beliefs in the system could possibly endanger the religion as it could arouse confusion among the common individual and question the authority and teachings of the church. This had somehow threatened the religious authorities and so they decided to kill him, as they could not stop him from speaking “heresy.” We can therefore draw a conclusion that Mennocchio’s inquisition and death was the religious authorities’ strategy for self and popular culture preservation. If Menocchio was not burned at stake, his radical religious ideas would endanger the “ruling” institution and would cause a possible paradigm shift in the society. This could overthrow the current belief and religious philosophies together with its adherents. The concentration of the power in the hands of the religious authority also facilitated his being burned at the stake. Since the sovereign did not have the right to question the authority of the church and regard religious leaders as representatives of God, the church could do whatever it wish, even imposing an exceedingly harsh punishment. Menocchio was easily sentenced to death because it was the church, which decides what is right or wrong and even what is just or unjust. It was mentioned above and highlighted in Ginzburg’s book that Menocchio was at the bottom of the social ladder. It was discussed earlier that during his time, millers were perceived as “shrewd, thieving, cheating [and] destined by definition for the fires of hell.”10 Although Menocchio was considered a capitalist who possessed a facility which was indispensable to the community, he was not highly regarded in the social system especially with the religious authorities. We should also emphasize that Menocchio, as opposed to his inquisitors did not receive formal education. Though he was capable of reading books (and writing), his mind was only able to deduce bits and pieces of passages from the various books that he has read. It was easy to impose a cruel punishment on him, as he was not an important personality. He did not belong to the circle of elite nor associated with them. He was just a miller who made enough earnings to barely support his wife and children. In contrast, those who had also read forbidden books but at a higher level of the social ladder were given “lighter” punishments. For instance, Galileo only endured house arrest as opposed to Mennocchio’s death. Economically, Mennochio did not have enough resources and power to save his life from death. Could he been a nobleman, he could have used his influence to save his life or even bribe the inquisitors by his wealth. A “lighter” punishment could have been imposed should he had the resources to back him up. However, as he does not possess money, which can also signify an equivalent amount of power, he was not able to do something for himself. The Cheese and the Worm is a portrait of the sixteenth century Italy. However, it is notable that some things have never changed since then. Education, resources, and intellect when combined, yield a substantial amount of power. Power is concentrated in the hands of those who are educated, wealthy and intellectual. Popular culture is still what is established and practiced by the elite and the dominant class where the power and authority in the society is concentrated. In a way, authorities always determine popular culture as they identify what is morally correct or socially acceptable. The entire society, from the highest to lowest strata, strives to protect the prevailing culture. Popular culture preservation still means self-preservation to the ruling class. In the current world situation, “Menocchios” are still “burned at stake” when they cause a stir in the society and disrupt the equilibrium. Mennocchios’s at the bottom of the social strata are given harsh punishments while Mennocchios’s who are well endowed are saved. Poor and powerless people like Menocchio perish when they present dissenting opinions against the dominant culture. While influential and wealthy elite almost always has the power to change the trend in the society, even Mennocchio’s life isn’t enough to introduce paradigm shifts, as he was just a miller, a mere nobody. References Ginzburg, Carlo. 1992. The Cheese and the Worm, the Cosmology of a 16th Century Miller. John Hopkins University Press Read More