Carlo Ginzburg's The Cheese And The Worms

In Carlo Ginzburg's "The Cheese and the Worms," a common person by the name of Menocchio went against social and cultural norms to present a reformation during the Sixteenth Century. Studying common people's lives help to understand how everyday life was like for most people in Italy during this time. Only they knew how it felt to be ruled and told what to do because of their low social status. People like Menocchio are worthwhile to study because the common people are the ones who make rulers and generals look good or bad. If common people such as Menocchio didn't challenge society and no one else will, especially not for the lowest class of society. Common people of early modern Italy was shown one was of life. They always had to follow
He goes after Jesus and says how Jesus was just a normal man with no miraculous and spiritual powers. During this time period, it was very dangerous to use blasphemy against the Catholic Church which had the power. Menocchio stood for not being born into religion like he was, but rather learn other religions to then decide your own. Hard to necessarily agree with, but definitely presents a statement that is well backed up with good reasons. Ginzburg says, "To insist we are Christians only by chance, because of tradition, involved a critical disjunction of serious proportions (Ginzburg P.106)." The chance refers to being born into a religion not by choose but by the chance of what your parents beliefs are. Rulers, generals, intellectuals, and elite groups are all good to learn and study about, but it cannot be the only view point to study. When that happens then history becomes one sided. There are always to sides to every story. Being half minded and having tunnel vision creates distorted views. When the lower class and other citizens that take part in these societies with popular historic leaders are studied, you realize the effects of each individual leader or