The Night Battles av Carlo (Franklin D. Murphy Professor of Italian Renaissance Studies UCLA) Ginzburg

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<p><b>A remarkable tale of witchcraft, folk culture, and persuasion in early modern Europe.</b></p><p>Based on research in the Inquisitorial archives of Northern Italy, <i>The Night Battles</i> recounts the story of a peasant fertility cult centered on the <i>benandanti</i>, literally, "good walkers." These men and women described fighting extraordinary ritual battles against witches and wizards in order to protect their harvests. While their bodies slept, the souls of the <i>benandanti</i> were able to fly into the night sky to engage in epic spiritual combat for the good of the village. Carlo Ginzburg looks at how the Inquisition''s officers interpreted these tales to support their world view that the peasants were in fact practicing sorcery. The result of this cultural clash, which lasted for more than a century, was the slow metamorphosis of the <i>benandanti</i> into the Inquisition''s mortal enemies¿witches.</p><p>Relying upon this exceptionally well-documented case study, Ginzbu