The Cheese and the Worms: The Cosmos of a Sixteenth-Century Miller
In The Cheese and the Worms, Carlo Ginzburg examines the trial records of a sixteenth-century Italian miller to reveal his idiosyncratic cosmos shaped by oral traditions and personal reflections. This pioneering microhistory bridges the gap between elite and popular culture, showing how everyday people navigated the intellectual currents of their era. Through archival sources, it vividly reconstructs a humble yet profound worldview.
About This Book
The Cheese and the Worms delves into the intellectual cosmos of a sixteenth-century miller, reconstructed from Inquisition trial documents. Author Carlo Ginzburg uncovers the miller's unique blend of folklore, cosmology, and personal theology.
Through meticulous historical analysis, the book illustrates how ordinary individuals constructed their understanding of the universe amid religious and social upheavals. It highlights the tensions between peasant knowledge and official doctrine in Renaissance Italy.
Ginzburg's approach exemplifies microhistory, using a single life to illuminate broader cultural dynamics. The narrative draws solely from archival evidence to portray the miller's imaginative worldview.
This work offers insights into the diversity of thought in pre-modern societies, challenging assumptions about literacy and belief systems among the lower classes.
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