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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 Scan della, 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 Inquisitions 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 they could root them out. Hence, we only learn what the Inquisition was interested in and not as much as we would like about Menocchio.
Another reason why these records are so valuable is Menocchio himself. He was definitely different from the common peasants but not so far as to distinguish him from the majority. He was literate, which was uncommon but not unheard. As the administrator of the parish church and Mayor of Montereale, Menocchio must have been a respected member of the community. Also, his views had been known to the local public for over thirty years until he was finally denounced, so they could not have been that radical. The only thing that really distinguished him from others was his frankness and candor, without which his trial would just have been another stack of sheets in a pile.
From this, we can conclude that he was indicative of the popular culture of the time. Using Menocchio as an example of your average peasant, Ginzburg asserts that the common "trickle down" theory of cultural transmission is incorrect. Instead, he argues that the dominant culture acts in "circularity" with the popular culture. The popular culture does not just soak up whatever is handed down to them but actually contributes to the dominant culture as well. The popular culture is also defined by its oral tradition, which is a mix of many different cultures spanning some 1500 years back.
Through this oral tradition, Ginzburg claims, people like Menocchio unconsciously create a filter in which they interpret what they hear, see, and read. Contrary to common thought, peasants did have brains and used them quite often. So popular culture is a result of all of this, not just whatever the dominant culture sets as the standard (XV). Menocchio was once quoted as saying, at his own death "some Lutherans will learn of it, and will come to collect the ashes" (18).
This helps assert Ginzburg's point that cultural transmission does not always go down. Menocchio saw the Gospel as having no value and denied the divinity of Christ, which goes directly against Luthers teaching. However, the quote seems to imply that he considered himself a Lutheran. Also, it was only after the inquisitors had to explain the concepts of predestination and justification by faith to Menocchio that he rejected them. How could a man with his education never have encountered the two most widely known controversial issues of the sixteenth century? Maybe they werent as important as history records it?
Menocchio has vague and incorrect notions of what Calvin and Luther stand for and has no real interest in them. The Reformation must have had little effect on him considering its two most prominent leaders are practically unknown to him. It is possible to conclude from this that the Reformation did not penetrate Europe as widely as it is recorded. As Menocchio continues to expand on his ideas, there is a particularly interesting parallel between his thoughts and that of the humanists. "I say that it is a greater rule to love ones neighbor than to love God" (37). Here is the humanist idea that man is somehow elevated, with the necessary reaction of God being lowered. God is still there but not as prevalent.
Man should help his fellow man and benefit society. Menocchio could have acquired this idea through the oral tradition. It is possible to say that this idea could have existed in popular culture for quite sometime, being passed down generation after generation, and only later was it transmitted up to the dominant class. Maybe many of the great writers of the period were not as revolutionary as history presents them to be. The oral tradition of a culture plays a large part in shaping its people and their mentality, but as it is completely oral, it has no uniformity and is constantly changing. One of Ginsburg's key observations is the discrepancies between Menocchio's ideas and the actual texts he claims to have gotten them from.
When verifying these sources, he discovered that many of the ideas were distorted and had lost much of their original meaning. This is due to a filter created from the oral tradition that dominates his culture. He unconsciously exaggerates things or takes them out of context according to his conditioning through the oral tradition. Ginsburg gives several examples of this when Menocchio takes insignificant details of a story and turns them into the main themes. One such story is the description of the Virgin Mary being delivered to the temple of God "where she would be cared for with the other virgins who had been dedicated to God. "Mary was called a Virgin, having been in the temple of the virgins, because there was a temple where twelve virgins were kept, and as they grew up they were married off" (34). Menocchio seems to center in on the virgin aspect of the story.
With this sort of constant interpretation it is very easy to see how the popular culture could not possibly have depend solely on the dominant culture for direction. To fully utilize Menocchio, Ginsburg must first assume that Menocchio is representative of the popular culture as a whole. Similarly, in math and physics one initial assumption is necessary to prove the basic natural laws of our world. The problem with Ginsburg's thesis is that there is not enough evidence, and he admits that.
However, if there actually were written evidence or books from that time period on popular culture, it could potentially destroy the entire system. An oral tradition is no longer solely oral when there are printed texts on it. As soon as it becomes documented, you lose the obscure and ever-changing aspect of it that made it so diversified in the first place. In this way, you can actually strengthen his argument, saying if it could be proven; it would exist in the same way as it does now. Also, Ginsburg could never fully study the trial because he knows so little about popular culture.
Something that might seem completely random in Menocchio's behavior to him could actually be very representative of the popular culture and oral tradition. Ginsburg realizes the limitations of the transcripts but is still able to learn an enormous amount about a culture previously hidden in an "obscure shadowy world."
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Research essay sample on History Of The Sixteenth Century
