The Friulian miller Menocchio, also known as Domenico Scandella, was born in 1532 in Montereale, twenty-five kilometers north of Pordenone. Pordenone ( Friulian: Pordenon) is a Comune of Pordenone province of northeast Italy in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia His philosophical teachings earned him the title of a heresiarch during the Inquisition and he was eventually burned at the stake in 1599, at the age of 67, on orders of Pope Clement VIII. A heresiarch (also hæresiarch, according to the Oxford English Dictionary; from the Greek:, hairesiárkhēs, literally "heresy The Roman Inquisition was a system of Tribunals developed by the Holy See during the second half of the 16th century responsible for prosecuting individuals accused Not to be confused with Antipope Clement VIII. Pope Clement VIII ( February 24, 1536 &ndash March 3, 1605 He was married and had eleven children. In 1581 he had been mayor of the village and the surrounding hamlets.
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Education
Menocchio's literacy may be accounted for by schools in located in the villages surrounding Friuli; Aviano and Pordenone. Friuli ( Friulian: Aviano ( Friulian Avian) is a town and Comune of Province of Pordenone at the foot of the Dolomites mountain range in Pordenone ( Friulian: Pordenon) is a Comune of Pordenone province of northeast Italy in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia A school was opened at the beginning of the sixteenth century under the direction of Girolamo Amaseo for, "for reading and teaching, without exception, children of citizens as well as those artisans and the lower classes, old as well as young, without payment. " It is possible that Menocchio attended a school such as this.
No complete list exists of the books that Menocchio might have read which influenced his view of the cosmos. At the time of his arrest several books were found, but since they were not prohibited, no record was taken. Based on Menocchio's first trial these books are known to have been read.
1. The Bible in the vernacular 2. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin Il Fioretto della Bibbia(a translation of a medieval Catalan chronicle compiled from various sources) 3. Il Lucidario della Madonna, by the Dominicam Albert da Castello 4. Il Lucendario de santi, by Jacopo da Voragine 5. Historia del giudicio(anonymous fifteenth-century poem) 6. Il cavallier Zuanne de Mandavilla (an Itallian translation of the book of travels attributed to Sir John Mandeville) 7. " Jehan de Mandeville " translated as " Sir John Mandeville " is the name claimed by the compiler of a singular book of supposed travels written in A book called Zampollo ( Il sogno dil Caravia)
Based on the testimony from Menocchio's second trial these books are known to be read.
8. Il supplimento della cronache 9. Lunario al modo di Italia calculato composto nella citta di Pescaro dal. ecc. mo dottore Marino Camilo de Leonardis 10. the Decameron of Boccaccio 11. The Decameron (subtitle Prencipe Galeotto) is a collection of 100 Novellas by Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio, probably begun in an unidentified book believed to be an Italian translation of the Koran
Many of these books were loaned to Menocchio and were common of the time. The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran How Menocchio read and interpreted these texts might provide insight into his views which lead to his execution for proselytizing heretical ideas.
First interrogation
On February 7th, 1584, Menocchio faced his first inquest at the prison of the Holy Office in Concordia. Francesco Fasseta testified that, "He is always arguing with somebody about the faith just for the sake of arguing - even with the priest. " Menocchio believed that the Holy Spirit did not govern the church. "Priests want us under their thumb, just to keep us quiet, while they have a good time," he stated adding that he knew God better than the priests. Stories of Menocchio debating the ideology of the Holy Roman Church and his nature to debate and disseminate his opinions led to his arrest for his heresies. The term Holy Roman Church refers strictly to the Church of Rome, the Diocese of Rome, the Holy See or the Apostolic See — they are all one He offered to "teach the true way. " This confirmed his charges of a teacher of heretical doctrines and behaviors.
Throughout the inquest Menocchio denounced the way the rich tyrannized the poor by using Latin in the courts, unintelligible to common peasants. He also admitted to questioning the virginity of Mary.
The Cheese & The Worms
During the preliminary questioning Menocchio spoke freely as he felt he had done nothing wrong. It is in this hearing that he explained his cosmology about The Cheese and the Worms, the title of Carlo Ginzburg's Micro History of Menocchio and source of much that is known of this 16th century miller. Carlo Ginzburg is a noted historian and pioneer of Microhistory.
Menocchio said: "I have said that, in my opinion, 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. The most holy majesty decreed that these should be God and the angels, and among that number of angles there was also God, he too having been created out of that mass at the same time, and he was named lord with four captains, Lucifer, Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. That Lucifer sought to make himself lord equal to the king, who was the majesty of God, and for this arrogance God ordered him driven out of heaven with all his host and his company; and this God later created Adam and Eve and people in great number to take the places of the angels who had been expelled. And as this multitude did not follow God's commandments, he sent his Son, whom the Jews seized, and he was crucified. "
Warned to denouce his ways and uphold the beliefs of the Holy Roman Church by both his inquisitors and his family, Menocchio returned to his village. The term Holy Roman Church refers strictly to the Church of Rome, the Diocese of Rome, the Holy See or the Apostolic See — they are all one Because of his nature, he was unable to cease speaking his ideology with those who would listen.
Second interrogation
News that Menocchio had uttered a blasphemy in referring to what is thought to be the Koran as "a most beautiful book" traveled to the inquisitor. The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran His rejection of the Trinity and the central dogmas of Christianity might have led to his interest in the mysterious book. SSC RF "Troitsk Institute of Innovative and Termonuclear Research" or TRINITY for shprt Троицкий Институт инновационных и термоядерных Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings A traveling converted Jew named Simon appeared in Montereale where Menocchio gave him shelter where they spoke about religious questions. These stories reached the inquisitor which led to his second interrogation, imprisonment at Concordia for two years and eventually to his sentence. The pope himself, Clement VIII, demanded his death. Not to be confused with Antipope Clement VIII. Pope Clement VIII ( February 24, 1536 &ndash March 3, 1605
References
- Religion and the People, 800-1700 by James Obelkevich, 1979.
- Ginzburg, Carlo. Carlo Ginzburg is a noted historian and pioneer of Microhistory. The Cheese and the Worms: The Cosmos of a Sixteenth Century Miller, Baltimore, 1980, ISBN 0-8018-4387-1. First published in Italian as Il formaggio e I vermi, 1976.
External links
- Putting the Inquisition on Trial, Los Angeles Times, April 17, 1998
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