The pagan wit in the Christian fields

A historical man, Carlo Ginzburg(1939-2026) has found much documents around a use very anomalous in a Italian region, Veneto, precisely around the city of Cividale, where in some far villages were uses very strange for the Christian religion, he has took the testimonies of some member of these company, called the Benandanti, this is the well walking, that were considered witchcrafts, and a father for the to save his son, because he thought has the possessed from the evil, he has searched Paul Gasparutto, because he has the fame that he follows these witchcraft, and he has fame of to be a Well walking; but the note  of principal oddness is that these rites, also violent, occurred during the night, beyond the usual tell about the dragon wings necessary to come to meeting. Some rite is described from a witness, regard a question given to a citizen: “Are you of those witchcraft?, And he said that he was a wellwalking, and every Thursday he came to a wood and there they danced, eat and drink, and when go back the wickedwalk they come to basin  drink and urine in the barrel and the wine is poured…and similar things that I don’t believe”; we tie it to framework that is agriculture, hence the protagonist are rural that confesses that they are wellwalking; inasmuch the heresy was very limited and short. Important difference from these meeting and the witchcraft meeting is the absence, as the Ginzburg has stressed, of evil, that isn’t neither mentioned, but the description of these meeting Ginzburg described: “The dark rite, witchcraft men and women that fight among them with sorgum plants and Wellwalking have fennel plant, and the antiquity or origin of this rite is attested from the valor of fennel, why? Simple because in ancient time the fennel was considered a holy plant, drugs and fortifying, and after the Marathon battle, in year 490 b.Ch., the Greek used this plant as symbol of victory; in the Christin context the beneficent effects of this plant could guarantee and rich harvest. Ginzburg describes the Wellwalking: “The Wellwalking said that they are contrapposto to witchcraft both men and woman, that they cured the victims of wicked actions of these, and they say also that they meet them in mysterious night meeting, but they can’t tell it because they are going to beat, they ride cats, hares and other animals”; it is alone a fantasy of a member of these Wellwalking, that evidently thought to be save because he said that he contrasts the witchcraft, but the condemn, if it has been, and I don’t think, because the inquisitors were culture men and intelligent, would be for their Pagan meaning; because the fight between Wellwalking and Wickedwolking, was the heritage that in ancient people was for defense of owner fields, hence owner harvest, and the meeting in the wood and the dance, drink and eat, was the celebration after a victory, that was consequently; thence these rites are is heritage from ancient customs, that then were vital, as the defense of land, but during the 16^th century was suspect, although alone partially, because I think that the inquisitor have laughed for these meeting.

Alessandro Lusana