Carlo Ginzburg, of The Cheese and the Worms fame, gives an online interview about his latest book, Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches Sabbath, to Trygve Riiser Gundersen for Eurozine: original in Norwegian, English available.
It sounds like something from a cheap historical novel: In the spring of 1321, in Easter Week, rumour is rife in the south of France that a conspiracy is on foot to kill all Christians and that wells have been poisoned all over the country. The rumour soon spreads throughout the whole of France and, in time, across its borders to what are now Switzerland and Spain. In some of the chronicles that have come down to us the plot is said to be the work of lepers.
Elsewhere, the poisoning of wells was ascribed to Jews working together with the lepers. In some places blame was laid at the door of Muslim rulers in Granada or Tunis, or of the Sultan of Babylon, who were said to have paid Jews and lepers to kill Christians. The rumours resulted in persecutions and massacres all over France, and before long they were being substantiated by confessions and other evidence. Long and detailed explanations appeared to show how the poison had been introduced into the wells. The conspirators' accomplices were denounced, and contemporary letters and documents tell of the Jews' association with the Saracens and of plans for setting up a government composed of Jews, lepers and Muslims to take over Europe in the aftermath of the calamity.
I do love a good conspiracy history.
Posted by jim at September 24, 2003 10:04 AM | TrackBack