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The Cheese and the Worms - Book by Carlo Ginzburg

Name: The Cheese and the Worms
Author: Carlo Ginzburg

The Cheese and the Worms is a microhistory by Carlo Ginzburg that examines the life of a 16th-century Italian miller named Menocchio, who developed unorthodox religious beliefs. Ginzburg uses Menocchio’s trial records from the Inquisition to explore the interplay between popular culture and elite religious doctrine during the Renaissance. Menocchio’s worldview, which included the belief that the universe originated from chaos like cheese forming from milk, reflected a blend of folk traditions and personal interpretation of religious texts. Ginzburg’s work sheds light on how ordinary people engaged with, resisted, or transformed the dominant intellectual currents of their time, offering a window into the broader cultural and intellectual history of the period.

Original Language: Italian

Original Title: Il formaggio e i vermi

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