The Cheese And The Worms Analysis

The Cheese and the Worms by Carlo Ginzburg lets us understand the life and times of a miller, from the rural mountain town of Montereale, made to stand trial for his views on God and religion. In this story, we are able to see how the life of a commoner does not need to be shown in statistics. Through the lens of Menocchio’s trial documents we have the ability to see how one man saw the world and how he interacted with others in his small town. Through his interactions with other citizens of his time we are able to draw conclusions on the world around him. Stories such as Menocchio’s give us an important understanding on relationships in cultures lost to history. With Menocchio’s story we are better equipped to understand his time period.
Menocchio had the same ideas as other during his time. Subsequently, this Shows us that his ideas come directly from the past culture of this peasant population. Menocchio’s ideas did not seem particularly different from the ideas professed by another miller, Pighino. Both Menocchio and Pighino had ideas that brought them in front of the inquisition boards for heretical opinions.

His story become more fascinating when your realise that he has no real power. The highest position he held, a mayoral ship of a few counties, amounts to nothing when compared to the vast power of lords and kings. The story of Menocchio gives us a glimpse into how the inquisition questions the lower classes. Menocchio held his opinions for years but no one cared until 1583. Consequently, we can see how turbulent the times that Menocchio lived in. In the short span of Menocchio’s time ideas on the Roman Catholic Church had changed rapidly. Lutheran ideas had come into even the smallest of mountain towns. Menocchio’s story gives us the insight of how these ideas had been absorbed and accepted into local cultures and