The Cheese and the Worms: the Cosmos of a 16th-Century Miller by Carlo Ginzburg, translated by John Tedeschi and Anne Tedeschi
177 pp, October 1980
The Cheese and the Worms, is a work written by Carlo Ginzburg. Ginzburg describes how the popular culture, also called “average people,” was at that period of time. Also evaluates the conflicts between the subordinate and the dominant classes that existed in Europe in the 16th century.
Ginzburg begins explaining the story of a miller called Dominico Scandella also known as Menocchio (1532-1599), a miller who lived in the province of Fruili, Italy. Menocchio coming from a popular culture, also called “average people,” was brought to trial because of the concern the Catholic Church had about how the populace would be affected by the influence of Menocchio when he was spreading his beliefs creating confusion between the people. Menocchio was not following the Catholic rules, which makes it even harder, and dangerous for him. At that time the Roman Inquisition was in place. They were taking people to court, mostly the popular culture, to make sure they were following the Catholic’s Church protocol. According to Ginzburg, Menocchio did not follow the Catholic rules. Menocchio’s philosophy about the faith led him to earn the title as a “heresiarch” during this period of time. As a result, Menocchio “was burned at the stake by the order of the Holy Office” (p.xii), after having a difficult life.
During this period of time, people who belonged to the “average people”, such as is the example of Menocchio, used to have different beliefs; “the poor was tied to a different religious concept” (p.9), saying this, poor people believed that all man were equal; no one was superior or inferior. This is something that concerned the Catholic Church because for them, the priests, bishops, and cardinals were the people with absolute power, feeling superior from the poor. That being said, this is an example of how Ginzburg shows how the popular culture was, and the way they saw the world.
Ginzburg argues his thesis through the character of Menocchio when he says, “And it seems to me under our law, the pope, cardinals, and bishops are so great and rich that everything belongs to the church and to the priests, and they oppress the poor, who if
they work two rented fields, these will be fields that belong to the Church, to some bishop or cardinal.” (p.9), in other words, Ginzburg argues that Menocchio believed that the Catholic Church, since it was the supreme power, everything the poor people did and owned, such as their fields, belonged to the Church; peasants did not had enough power to contradict the Catholic Church, and yet when Menocchio was called to court, his privileges automatically were reduced. During the trials, Carlo Ginzburg mentioned how Menocchio made some references to 11 books, some he owned, and others he borrowed. In order to defend his position against the Catholic Church, Menocchio’s knowledge was derived from some Reformers, such as is Martin Luther. Menocchio believed that there was no difference between clergy and laity, that all their function was to oppress the poor. He also mentioned that everything was about business, he shows us that example when he highlights, “ the sacraments of ordination was a business” (p.17), in other words, they felt that all the sacraments and the laws of the church were all about business, and that their actions were acts of “exploitation [to] the poor” (p.17).
The motivations for Ginzburg to write The Cheese and the Worms influenced looking for trials about “witches, witchdoctors, benendati” (p.xi), and during this research “trying to understand what that statement could have meant for the person by whom it had been uttered” (p.xi). He only knew his name and this person was Domenico Scandella, also called Menocchio. Certainly the way he persuades his audience is effective. Ginzburg influences other historians as well as the people who are interested to learn more about how the religious side worked at that period of time. The achievement Ginzburg accomplished by exhibiting the relation between these two different cultures, and understanding Menocchio’s thoughts about how he perceived the world, makes Carlos a historian who went deep in this micro-history.
Menocchio coming from a popular culture, he and the people who in certain way agreed with him, or thought in a similar way as he did, certainly had a difficult life in the 16th century. At that period of time the religion was very powerful, having absolute control over the people. It was the one who controlled, and manipulated the people, and the business. The way they treated the people, mostly poor people, was unfair, they certainly had a lot of suffering just because they did not followed the rules that the Catholic Church imposed.