Rita Bellelli | Università degli Studi di Parma (Italy) (original) (raw)
Videos by Rita Bellelli
WEBINAR 15/7/2020 ΑΝΑΓΝΩΣΤΙΚΗ ΕΤΑΙΡΙΑ ΚΕΡΚΥΡΑΣ
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Books by Rita Bellelli
ΔΕΛΤΙΟ ΑΝΑΓΝΩΣΤΙΚΗΣ ΕΤΑΙΡΙΑΣ ΚΕΡΚΥΡΑΣ, 2021
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Tesi di Laurea discussa il 6 aprile 1989. Anna A. Achmatova, pseudonimo di Anna A. Gorénko, nasce... more Tesi di Laurea discussa il 6 aprile 1989.
Anna A. Achmatova, pseudonimo di Anna A. Gorénko, nasce a Bol’soj Fontàn, un elegante sobborgo di Odessa, l’11 (23 giugno secondo il nostro calendario) giugno del 1889.
Lo straziante poema “Requiem”, cominciato nel 1935 e portato a termine nel 1961 (ad eccezione della poesia “La sentenza”), fu scritto dalla poetessa soprattutto negli anni che vanno dal 1935 e il 1940: gli anni che i ‘sovietici’ definiscono/definivano della ‘Ežovščina’ – termine spregiativo dal nome di Ežov, l’allora Commissario interno del popolo - e gli anni terribili (tra il 1936 e il 1938) delle ‘purghe’ staliniane. “Requiem” non è una epopea dell’eroismo, ma della persecuzione della sofferenza della resistenza umana dinanzi agli improvvisi cambiamenti del destino. Il ruolo che l’Achmatova assume nei confronti degli eventi, è quello del ‘poet(ess)a-vate’ che tutto vede, che tutto sente e affida alla memoria: «Vi vedo, vi ascolto, vi sento: ∕…∕ Per loro ho intessuto un’ampia coltre ∕ Di povere parole, che ho inteso da loro. ∕ Di loro mi rammento sempre e in ogni dove, ∕ Di loro neppure in una nuova disgrazia mi scorderò».
E veramente, il destino poetico dell’Achmatova, creatura di frontiera sospesa sullo spartiacque di due età contrarie, era già segnato per sempre da quella atmosfera di inquietudine, di premonizioni dell’inizio del secolo che si nutriva dell’amarezza del fallimento della rivoluzione del 1905 e si tramava tutta di angosciose paure, di disperati presagi nell’attesa febbrile di prossimi cataclismi.
Proibito dalle autorità, il poema “Requiem” era sempre circolato manoscritto o dattiloscritto tra gli intellettuali sovietici anche se, ‘naturalmente’, nella massima discrezione e segretezza.
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The present Doctoral Thesis, written in Italian language, has the following structure: After the ... more The present Doctoral Thesis, written in Italian language, has the following structure: After the introduction, the author analyses the rich chapter of Frederic II in the contemporary historiography. Then, she develops the meaning of “sovereignty” in the medieval political thinking followed in another chapter by the evolution of the community institutions in Italy of the medieval times, more precisely the transition of the time of the power of the consuls of the cities to the power of the podestà. In the fourth chapter she follows the development of the meaning of the concept of “nation” as a political project of Frederic II and then she examines two “laws”, the most important ones that crystallize its policy confronting the autonomy of the Italian cities. The doctoral thesis is then completed with two more chapters where both the role of the Pope and the retrogression face to face the different powers of the cities are studied. The Doctoral Thesis includes a Chronology of the most important dates of that time placed at the beginning of the main text, a table with all the references and the historical sources used as well as an appendix (supplement) consisting of a thoughtful consideration of the meaning of the Italian cities of mediaeval times. The author develops the policy of the above mentioned Emperor in regard to the Lombardic cities. It is of note, that not only Frederic II had a difficult relationship with the Italian, and more specifically the Lombardic cities which were considered a constant problem for all the German Emperors. Frederic II, uncontestably a charming 2 personage of the Medieval World from any aspect, is of great interest himself for his relationship with the Italian cities, due to the fact that based on his relationship with the jurists of that Era he introduces in his dialogue the roman concept of legibus solutus και lex animata in terris which determine the relationship of the local autonomies with the sovereigns. If we consider that both these concepts became operational only after the 16th century, then we can realize how original and “ahead of time” its use by Frederic II was at the 13th century. The true history of the relationship of the two parts however was much different, since beside the invocation of the Roman Law, the cities could still block the application of the decisions and the will of the Emperor and continue to cut that way in two his territory of dominance (that one partly theoretic as well). The Emperor had already bad memories from the Italian cities since at the first years of his royalty the cities had created many difficulties to his travel to Germany to be crowned Emperor (at that time he was only Rex). Later on they would further inhibit his allied troops to proceed beyond Trento. However, later on with the support of the Pope for a crusade and the confrontation of the Cathars, an agreement was achieved for a Diet at the city of Cremona (a friendly city to the Emperor) with the representatives of the cities but finally they again managed very quickly to obviate the obligation to accept the terms of the Emperor. The Diet never took place. The Emperor will then react by applying pressure to the cities but no agreement with or recapitulation of the cities will ever occur beside the fact that some of them where on the side of the Emperor. These problematic relationships will finally lead to rupture and war, that the Emperor will initially win. The victory however was not clear and did not last for long since later on he will be defeated in front of the city of Milan. Beside the imperial and “roman” dreams, the strong reality of the local autonomies at the medieval times will 3 prevail without Frederic II being able to finally subjugate the Italian cities. The time of the major sovereignties was not there yet. The author describes with clarity the complexity of the disagreements and the conflicts between the different powers, “civil”, imperial, ecclesiastical, confronting all the relative legal, theological and political concepts without ever losing contact with “real history”, that is the true balance of power in the field reclaiming that way adequately the history of events. This study constitutes a significant contribution to the problematic of the history of the Italian cities and the presence of the Emperor in Italy, shedding light on the real problem of the politics of the medieval times. Different powers that finally neutralize and mutually cancel each other, decisive role of the papal power which at the 13th century is still at its peak without having lost his ethical prestige. The present Doctoral Thesis suggests an original point of view concerning that period of time and the different policies of both parts, the imperial one and the “communal” one, substantially contributing to the understanding and the knowledge of that era. Prof. M Vellas, Prof. N Karapidakis, Prof. D Tsougarakis
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The «Malleus maleficarum» (1486-87), usually translated as “Hammer of Witches”, is the best known... more The «Malleus maleficarum» (1486-87), usually translated as “Hammer of Witches”, is the best known and the most infamous treatise of the witch-hunt manuals. Written in Latin by Heinrich Krämer o Institor and Jacob Sprenger, two Germans Catholic clergy men (of the Domenican order), the Malleus remained in use for three hundred years.
The Malleus was used as judicial case-book by the Inquisition for the detection and persecution of suspected witches. Tenths or even hundreds of thousands of people (primarily women) were tortured and judicially murdered as a result of the procedures described in this book, for no reason than a strange birthmark, living alone, mental illness, cultivation of medicinal herbs; because they were falsely accused (often for financial gain by the accuser), or just because were female/women and wanted to be free.
The Malleus serves as a horrible/awful warning about what happens when intolerance, prejudice, cruelty, barbarism, and ignorance take over a society.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Papers by Rita Bellelli
Atti della Corfu Reading Society (Δελτίο Αναγνωστικής Εταιρίας Κερκύρας), n.30, pp. 441-447., 2021
It is known that major endemic and epidemic plagues are subject to long-lasting fluctuations, if ... more It is known that major endemic and epidemic plagues are subject to long-lasting fluctuations, if only because of the ups and downs of immunizations. In the first half of the “Age of Enlightenment” (and also in the second), a ferocious epidemic-contagious disease darkened the health and life expectancy of a large part of the European and non-European population: smallpox.
Smallpox was one of the most feared infections of the past because not only did it kill many people who contracted it but those who survived were badly disfigured from the scarring left on the skin, particularly on the face.
In the early decades of the Eighteenth century, smallpox inoculation (the origins of the immunisation) was introduced into northern Europe (England) from the Middle East.
The texts and practices of the inoculation quickly became the hub of large and international debate over the use and uselfulness of inoculation.
The philosophe Voltaire, pseudonym of François-Marie Arouet (Paris 1694 – ivi 1778) he was among the first to open the debate. The Eleventh of his Philosophical Letters entitled "On the Inoculation of Smallpox", represents, then as now, a bulwark of reason and humanity against the ideological and prejudiced commonplace.
Keywords: Epidemics, Voltaire, Inoculation.
(Translation in English by Effrosyni Manali)
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European Respiratory Journal
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www.montesquieu.it/biblioteca/Testi/Caccia\_streghe.pdf, 2019
The "witch hunt" or "obsession" for witches or epidemic of collective "mania against witches, (th... more The "witch hunt" or "obsession" for witches or epidemic of collective "mania against witches, (the latter terminology less used by specialists) intended to be a judicial operation (‘therapeutic’, according to ecclesiastical authorities) and of social "discipline", was and is a fundamental chapter of modern history. Particularly violent and systematic in some areas, - (the border areas between France, Switzerland and Germany, as well as Poland and Scotland) - rather than in others, the "witch hunt" reached its peak between the end of the sixteenth century and half of the next to disappear gradually later, starting from the second half of the seventeenth century when religious conflicts between Catholics and Reformed- (which led to the dissolution of the medieval religious unity and to the creation of the confessional States and to the institution of the Holy Inquisition) – finally lost their harshness when the voice of reason returned to be felt stronger than that of faith.
In retracing the salient stages of that immense tragedy we will try to understand through which plots the systems of belief are woven, belief in witchcraft, that is to say, the thinkability of people is configured and to recover the true image that belonged to those women "without history" and for whom they should be remembered. With the hope, and at the same time the auspice that the gain of knowledge not only prevents such tragedies from happening again, but also that it manages to free nos from similar collective hysterias, from similar shared emotional transports, and thus provoke a progressive surge, a qualitative advancement of intelligence and critical awareness common to all men and women of all times and in all places.
Keywords: dogma of witchcraft (December 5, 1484), “witch hunt”, “witch-hunting without witches”.
(Translation in English by Effrosyni Manali)
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ΝΕΑ ΕΣΤΙΑ - ΑΘΗΝΑ, 2014
La Riforma, la Controriforma, l’Inquisizione nel disciplinare la vita morale e religiosa durante ... more La Riforma, la Controriforma, l’Inquisizione nel disciplinare la vita morale e religiosa durante il Medioevo e all’inizio dell’Età moderna, l’uso della tortura nel processo inquisitorio, le guerre di religione, lo zelo religioso del clero, la crisi dell’agricoltura, le carestie, la nascita dello Stato moderno, lo sviluppo del capitalismo, la diffusione dell’uso di droghe, i mutamenti nel pensiero medico, i conflitti sociali e culturali, i tentativi di cancellare gli ultimi residui del paganesimo, l’opposizione al controllo delle nascite, con conseguente appropriazione da parte dell’elemento maschile di un rigido controllo sul potere riproduttivo femminile e sulla gestione della sua sessualità, il disprezzo per le donne, crearono un contesto che non solo rese possibile ma che favorì il verificarsi di quel fenomeno noto come “caccia alle streghe”, in Europa nei secoli XV-XVI-XVII (1450-1650).
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ΝΕΑ ΕΣΤΙΑ - ΑΘΗΝΑ, 2014
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Montesquieu.it, 9, 2017
Between the black legend of an era of the “ages of darkness” (where there was hunger, famines, pl... more Between the black legend of an era of the “ages of darkness” (where there was hunger, famines, plague, political disorder and outrages of the landlords, superstitions of the people and clergy corruption, etc.) and the golden legend of a medieval “belle époque” (where there were weapon festivals, court life, fairies, knights faithful to magnanimous princes, etc.), there was the reality of everyday life. The reality of a world of monks, clerics, warriors, farmers, merchants, and of the “straccioni”, “all those dirty and shabbily clothed people”: of urban laics of low origin descent and social condition. The protagonists were almost all servants, bakers, shoemakers, greengrocers, blacksmiths, dyers, leather binders, wool spinners, and especially weavers, men, women and children in whose workshops matured «malicious conspiracies fomenting the orderly pity of God» as the monk Sigeberto of Gembloux complained around 1074-75, when the “investiture controversy” and the incitement of Ildebrando of Soana (the future pope Gregorio VII) were not yet at the climax phase (Sigeberti Monachi Gemblacensis, Apologia contra eos qui calumniantur missas coniugatorum sacerdotum, in M.G.H., Libelli de lite, t. 2, Hannoverae, 1892, pp. 436-448, p. 448). And, in an attempt to achieve their “program”, the “straccioni”, those “dirty and shabbily clothed laics”, spread new form of interaction and public communication, with consultation for and deliberation of all members of the community, with a common oath (iuramentum) for all and sanctions in case of violation of the oath, with the recognition of community representatives who will soon be called consuls (consules).This is the nucleus from which, during the twelfth century, the medieval Commune (commune) will be born and raised.
Keywords: Popular Movements Religious Poverty; Gregorian Reform; Investiture Controversy; Medieval Commune
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Montesquieu.it, 10, 2018
Ιn the crisis of the ancient political and ecclesiastical orders, which represented a true crisis... more Ιn the crisis of the ancient political and ecclesiastical orders, which represented a true crisis in the legitimacy of the traditional authorities (Regnum e Sacerdotium fighting for universal supremacy), a profound and dramatic crisis for the medieval conscience takes form destined to make the transmutation of the whole body of human values, and from the 11th century, religious "dissidence" groups, hostile to the institutions of the Church tending to re-propose the reasons of the purity and the evangelical paupertas of primitive Christianity, spread, and in part try to impose by militant means new models of life in Community among people [from this point of view, the times of uprising of the religious movement of patarenes/patarines in Lombardy, and generally in the Italy of the Regnum, central-northern Italy, mark a revolutionary phase, in which not only the lower social classes rise up against the holders of power: all the concives, the fellow citizens, maiores mediocres and minores, are called to take responsibility for the new order of their community as "brothers" and "sisters". “Models”, it was said based on evangelical ideals of utter poverty of life in common, of great importance for the formation of a popular "political" conscience, destined, in the course of the twelfth century, in contrast with the Church and feudal tradition, to evolve towards more precise organizational arrangements until the definitive affirmation of the Municipality (Commune) was achieved.
Keywords: Popular Movements Religious Poverty, Investiture Controversy, Medieval Commune.
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«Περί Ιστορίας», Ιόνιος Εταιρία Ιστορικών Μελετών, Κέρκυρα Ν. 5, σελ. 175, 2007
Με την αντίληψη του Φρειδερίκου του Β΄(1194-1250) περί κυριαρχίας, που συνοψίζεται στις φράσεις τ... more Με την αντίληψη του Φρειδερίκου του Β΄(1194-1250) περί κυριαρχίας, που συνοψίζεται στις φράσεις του Ρωμαϊκού Δικαίου ότι ο ηγεμόνας είναι legibus solutus (ελεύθερος από την τήρηση των νόμων) και lex animata in terris (ότι ο ηγεμόνας είναι ο απεσταλμένος από τον Θεό στους ανθρώπους, ‘έμψυχος νόμος’, την ιδέα δηλαδή της αμεσότητας και της κοσμικής εξουσίας από τον Θεό), και επομένως ασκεί στην πράξη απόλυτη εξουσία, συνδέονται και η αδιάλλακτη στάση του απέναντι σε κάθε αντίσταση στα αυτοκρατορικά σχέδια, και η συνέπεια των πράξεών του που εκφράστηκε τόσο στο νομοθετικό του έργο Liber Augustalis (Βιβλίο του Αυγούστου), όσο και στην ατυχή πολιτική του απέναντι στις πόλεις της Βόρειας Ιταλίας (regnum Italicum ή Italie) ιδίως από το 1235 και μετά.
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ΔΕΛΤΙΟ ΑΝΑΓΝΩΣΤΙΚΗΣ ΕΤΑΙΡΙΑΣ ΚΕΡΚΥΡΑΣ, 2021
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Tesi di Laurea discussa il 6 aprile 1989. Anna A. Achmatova, pseudonimo di Anna A. Gorénko, nasce... more Tesi di Laurea discussa il 6 aprile 1989.
Anna A. Achmatova, pseudonimo di Anna A. Gorénko, nasce a Bol’soj Fontàn, un elegante sobborgo di Odessa, l’11 (23 giugno secondo il nostro calendario) giugno del 1889.
Lo straziante poema “Requiem”, cominciato nel 1935 e portato a termine nel 1961 (ad eccezione della poesia “La sentenza”), fu scritto dalla poetessa soprattutto negli anni che vanno dal 1935 e il 1940: gli anni che i ‘sovietici’ definiscono/definivano della ‘Ežovščina’ – termine spregiativo dal nome di Ežov, l’allora Commissario interno del popolo - e gli anni terribili (tra il 1936 e il 1938) delle ‘purghe’ staliniane. “Requiem” non è una epopea dell’eroismo, ma della persecuzione della sofferenza della resistenza umana dinanzi agli improvvisi cambiamenti del destino. Il ruolo che l’Achmatova assume nei confronti degli eventi, è quello del ‘poet(ess)a-vate’ che tutto vede, che tutto sente e affida alla memoria: «Vi vedo, vi ascolto, vi sento: ∕…∕ Per loro ho intessuto un’ampia coltre ∕ Di povere parole, che ho inteso da loro. ∕ Di loro mi rammento sempre e in ogni dove, ∕ Di loro neppure in una nuova disgrazia mi scorderò».
E veramente, il destino poetico dell’Achmatova, creatura di frontiera sospesa sullo spartiacque di due età contrarie, era già segnato per sempre da quella atmosfera di inquietudine, di premonizioni dell’inizio del secolo che si nutriva dell’amarezza del fallimento della rivoluzione del 1905 e si tramava tutta di angosciose paure, di disperati presagi nell’attesa febbrile di prossimi cataclismi.
Proibito dalle autorità, il poema “Requiem” era sempre circolato manoscritto o dattiloscritto tra gli intellettuali sovietici anche se, ‘naturalmente’, nella massima discrezione e segretezza.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
The present Doctoral Thesis, written in Italian language, has the following structure: After the ... more The present Doctoral Thesis, written in Italian language, has the following structure: After the introduction, the author analyses the rich chapter of Frederic II in the contemporary historiography. Then, she develops the meaning of “sovereignty” in the medieval political thinking followed in another chapter by the evolution of the community institutions in Italy of the medieval times, more precisely the transition of the time of the power of the consuls of the cities to the power of the podestà. In the fourth chapter she follows the development of the meaning of the concept of “nation” as a political project of Frederic II and then she examines two “laws”, the most important ones that crystallize its policy confronting the autonomy of the Italian cities. The doctoral thesis is then completed with two more chapters where both the role of the Pope and the retrogression face to face the different powers of the cities are studied. The Doctoral Thesis includes a Chronology of the most important dates of that time placed at the beginning of the main text, a table with all the references and the historical sources used as well as an appendix (supplement) consisting of a thoughtful consideration of the meaning of the Italian cities of mediaeval times. The author develops the policy of the above mentioned Emperor in regard to the Lombardic cities. It is of note, that not only Frederic II had a difficult relationship with the Italian, and more specifically the Lombardic cities which were considered a constant problem for all the German Emperors. Frederic II, uncontestably a charming 2 personage of the Medieval World from any aspect, is of great interest himself for his relationship with the Italian cities, due to the fact that based on his relationship with the jurists of that Era he introduces in his dialogue the roman concept of legibus solutus και lex animata in terris which determine the relationship of the local autonomies with the sovereigns. If we consider that both these concepts became operational only after the 16th century, then we can realize how original and “ahead of time” its use by Frederic II was at the 13th century. The true history of the relationship of the two parts however was much different, since beside the invocation of the Roman Law, the cities could still block the application of the decisions and the will of the Emperor and continue to cut that way in two his territory of dominance (that one partly theoretic as well). The Emperor had already bad memories from the Italian cities since at the first years of his royalty the cities had created many difficulties to his travel to Germany to be crowned Emperor (at that time he was only Rex). Later on they would further inhibit his allied troops to proceed beyond Trento. However, later on with the support of the Pope for a crusade and the confrontation of the Cathars, an agreement was achieved for a Diet at the city of Cremona (a friendly city to the Emperor) with the representatives of the cities but finally they again managed very quickly to obviate the obligation to accept the terms of the Emperor. The Diet never took place. The Emperor will then react by applying pressure to the cities but no agreement with or recapitulation of the cities will ever occur beside the fact that some of them where on the side of the Emperor. These problematic relationships will finally lead to rupture and war, that the Emperor will initially win. The victory however was not clear and did not last for long since later on he will be defeated in front of the city of Milan. Beside the imperial and “roman” dreams, the strong reality of the local autonomies at the medieval times will 3 prevail without Frederic II being able to finally subjugate the Italian cities. The time of the major sovereignties was not there yet. The author describes with clarity the complexity of the disagreements and the conflicts between the different powers, “civil”, imperial, ecclesiastical, confronting all the relative legal, theological and political concepts without ever losing contact with “real history”, that is the true balance of power in the field reclaiming that way adequately the history of events. This study constitutes a significant contribution to the problematic of the history of the Italian cities and the presence of the Emperor in Italy, shedding light on the real problem of the politics of the medieval times. Different powers that finally neutralize and mutually cancel each other, decisive role of the papal power which at the 13th century is still at its peak without having lost his ethical prestige. The present Doctoral Thesis suggests an original point of view concerning that period of time and the different policies of both parts, the imperial one and the “communal” one, substantially contributing to the understanding and the knowledge of that era. Prof. M Vellas, Prof. N Karapidakis, Prof. D Tsougarakis
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
The «Malleus maleficarum» (1486-87), usually translated as “Hammer of Witches”, is the best known... more The «Malleus maleficarum» (1486-87), usually translated as “Hammer of Witches”, is the best known and the most infamous treatise of the witch-hunt manuals. Written in Latin by Heinrich Krämer o Institor and Jacob Sprenger, two Germans Catholic clergy men (of the Domenican order), the Malleus remained in use for three hundred years.
The Malleus was used as judicial case-book by the Inquisition for the detection and persecution of suspected witches. Tenths or even hundreds of thousands of people (primarily women) were tortured and judicially murdered as a result of the procedures described in this book, for no reason than a strange birthmark, living alone, mental illness, cultivation of medicinal herbs; because they were falsely accused (often for financial gain by the accuser), or just because were female/women and wanted to be free.
The Malleus serves as a horrible/awful warning about what happens when intolerance, prejudice, cruelty, barbarism, and ignorance take over a society.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Atti della Corfu Reading Society (Δελτίο Αναγνωστικής Εταιρίας Κερκύρας), n.30, pp. 441-447., 2021
It is known that major endemic and epidemic plagues are subject to long-lasting fluctuations, if ... more It is known that major endemic and epidemic plagues are subject to long-lasting fluctuations, if only because of the ups and downs of immunizations. In the first half of the “Age of Enlightenment” (and also in the second), a ferocious epidemic-contagious disease darkened the health and life expectancy of a large part of the European and non-European population: smallpox.
Smallpox was one of the most feared infections of the past because not only did it kill many people who contracted it but those who survived were badly disfigured from the scarring left on the skin, particularly on the face.
In the early decades of the Eighteenth century, smallpox inoculation (the origins of the immunisation) was introduced into northern Europe (England) from the Middle East.
The texts and practices of the inoculation quickly became the hub of large and international debate over the use and uselfulness of inoculation.
The philosophe Voltaire, pseudonym of François-Marie Arouet (Paris 1694 – ivi 1778) he was among the first to open the debate. The Eleventh of his Philosophical Letters entitled "On the Inoculation of Smallpox", represents, then as now, a bulwark of reason and humanity against the ideological and prejudiced commonplace.
Keywords: Epidemics, Voltaire, Inoculation.
(Translation in English by Effrosyni Manali)
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
European Respiratory Journal
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
www.montesquieu.it/biblioteca/Testi/Caccia\_streghe.pdf, 2019
The "witch hunt" or "obsession" for witches or epidemic of collective "mania against witches, (th... more The "witch hunt" or "obsession" for witches or epidemic of collective "mania against witches, (the latter terminology less used by specialists) intended to be a judicial operation (‘therapeutic’, according to ecclesiastical authorities) and of social "discipline", was and is a fundamental chapter of modern history. Particularly violent and systematic in some areas, - (the border areas between France, Switzerland and Germany, as well as Poland and Scotland) - rather than in others, the "witch hunt" reached its peak between the end of the sixteenth century and half of the next to disappear gradually later, starting from the second half of the seventeenth century when religious conflicts between Catholics and Reformed- (which led to the dissolution of the medieval religious unity and to the creation of the confessional States and to the institution of the Holy Inquisition) – finally lost their harshness when the voice of reason returned to be felt stronger than that of faith.
In retracing the salient stages of that immense tragedy we will try to understand through which plots the systems of belief are woven, belief in witchcraft, that is to say, the thinkability of people is configured and to recover the true image that belonged to those women "without history" and for whom they should be remembered. With the hope, and at the same time the auspice that the gain of knowledge not only prevents such tragedies from happening again, but also that it manages to free nos from similar collective hysterias, from similar shared emotional transports, and thus provoke a progressive surge, a qualitative advancement of intelligence and critical awareness common to all men and women of all times and in all places.
Keywords: dogma of witchcraft (December 5, 1484), “witch hunt”, “witch-hunting without witches”.
(Translation in English by Effrosyni Manali)
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
ΝΕΑ ΕΣΤΙΑ - ΑΘΗΝΑ, 2014
La Riforma, la Controriforma, l’Inquisizione nel disciplinare la vita morale e religiosa durante ... more La Riforma, la Controriforma, l’Inquisizione nel disciplinare la vita morale e religiosa durante il Medioevo e all’inizio dell’Età moderna, l’uso della tortura nel processo inquisitorio, le guerre di religione, lo zelo religioso del clero, la crisi dell’agricoltura, le carestie, la nascita dello Stato moderno, lo sviluppo del capitalismo, la diffusione dell’uso di droghe, i mutamenti nel pensiero medico, i conflitti sociali e culturali, i tentativi di cancellare gli ultimi residui del paganesimo, l’opposizione al controllo delle nascite, con conseguente appropriazione da parte dell’elemento maschile di un rigido controllo sul potere riproduttivo femminile e sulla gestione della sua sessualità, il disprezzo per le donne, crearono un contesto che non solo rese possibile ma che favorì il verificarsi di quel fenomeno noto come “caccia alle streghe”, in Europa nei secoli XV-XVI-XVII (1450-1650).
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
ΝΕΑ ΕΣΤΙΑ - ΑΘΗΝΑ, 2014
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Montesquieu.it, 9, 2017
Between the black legend of an era of the “ages of darkness” (where there was hunger, famines, pl... more Between the black legend of an era of the “ages of darkness” (where there was hunger, famines, plague, political disorder and outrages of the landlords, superstitions of the people and clergy corruption, etc.) and the golden legend of a medieval “belle époque” (where there were weapon festivals, court life, fairies, knights faithful to magnanimous princes, etc.), there was the reality of everyday life. The reality of a world of monks, clerics, warriors, farmers, merchants, and of the “straccioni”, “all those dirty and shabbily clothed people”: of urban laics of low origin descent and social condition. The protagonists were almost all servants, bakers, shoemakers, greengrocers, blacksmiths, dyers, leather binders, wool spinners, and especially weavers, men, women and children in whose workshops matured «malicious conspiracies fomenting the orderly pity of God» as the monk Sigeberto of Gembloux complained around 1074-75, when the “investiture controversy” and the incitement of Ildebrando of Soana (the future pope Gregorio VII) were not yet at the climax phase (Sigeberti Monachi Gemblacensis, Apologia contra eos qui calumniantur missas coniugatorum sacerdotum, in M.G.H., Libelli de lite, t. 2, Hannoverae, 1892, pp. 436-448, p. 448). And, in an attempt to achieve their “program”, the “straccioni”, those “dirty and shabbily clothed laics”, spread new form of interaction and public communication, with consultation for and deliberation of all members of the community, with a common oath (iuramentum) for all and sanctions in case of violation of the oath, with the recognition of community representatives who will soon be called consuls (consules).This is the nucleus from which, during the twelfth century, the medieval Commune (commune) will be born and raised.
Keywords: Popular Movements Religious Poverty; Gregorian Reform; Investiture Controversy; Medieval Commune
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Montesquieu.it, 10, 2018
Ιn the crisis of the ancient political and ecclesiastical orders, which represented a true crisis... more Ιn the crisis of the ancient political and ecclesiastical orders, which represented a true crisis in the legitimacy of the traditional authorities (Regnum e Sacerdotium fighting for universal supremacy), a profound and dramatic crisis for the medieval conscience takes form destined to make the transmutation of the whole body of human values, and from the 11th century, religious "dissidence" groups, hostile to the institutions of the Church tending to re-propose the reasons of the purity and the evangelical paupertas of primitive Christianity, spread, and in part try to impose by militant means new models of life in Community among people [from this point of view, the times of uprising of the religious movement of patarenes/patarines in Lombardy, and generally in the Italy of the Regnum, central-northern Italy, mark a revolutionary phase, in which not only the lower social classes rise up against the holders of power: all the concives, the fellow citizens, maiores mediocres and minores, are called to take responsibility for the new order of their community as "brothers" and "sisters". “Models”, it was said based on evangelical ideals of utter poverty of life in common, of great importance for the formation of a popular "political" conscience, destined, in the course of the twelfth century, in contrast with the Church and feudal tradition, to evolve towards more precise organizational arrangements until the definitive affirmation of the Municipality (Commune) was achieved.
Keywords: Popular Movements Religious Poverty, Investiture Controversy, Medieval Commune.
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«Περί Ιστορίας», Ιόνιος Εταιρία Ιστορικών Μελετών, Κέρκυρα Ν. 5, σελ. 175, 2007
Με την αντίληψη του Φρειδερίκου του Β΄(1194-1250) περί κυριαρχίας, που συνοψίζεται στις φράσεις τ... more Με την αντίληψη του Φρειδερίκου του Β΄(1194-1250) περί κυριαρχίας, που συνοψίζεται στις φράσεις του Ρωμαϊκού Δικαίου ότι ο ηγεμόνας είναι legibus solutus (ελεύθερος από την τήρηση των νόμων) και lex animata in terris (ότι ο ηγεμόνας είναι ο απεσταλμένος από τον Θεό στους ανθρώπους, ‘έμψυχος νόμος’, την ιδέα δηλαδή της αμεσότητας και της κοσμικής εξουσίας από τον Θεό), και επομένως ασκεί στην πράξη απόλυτη εξουσία, συνδέονται και η αδιάλλακτη στάση του απέναντι σε κάθε αντίσταση στα αυτοκρατορικά σχέδια, και η συνέπεια των πράξεών του που εκφράστηκε τόσο στο νομοθετικό του έργο Liber Augustalis (Βιβλίο του Αυγούστου), όσο και στην ατυχή πολιτική του απέναντι στις πόλεις της Βόρειας Ιταλίας (regnum Italicum ή Italie) ιδίως από το 1235 και μετά.
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