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Reviews 157 Cohen, Thomas V. and Elizabeth S. C o h e n , Words and deeds in Renaissance Rome: trials before the Papal magistrates, Toronto/ Buffalo/London, University of Toronto Press, 1993; paper, pp. xx, 308; 1 map, 8 illustrations; R.R.P. CAN$19.95. These authors have recendy written articles that are excellent illustrations of the genre of microhistory. In fact, these are better than the microhistorical articles appearing in Quaderni storici and, accordingly I assign to m y students his 'Case of the mysterious coU of rope' and then 'Camtila the gobetween '. These articles, as do most books and articles in this genre, utilize records of court proceedings in an attempt toreconstruct,in the words of Piero Camporesi, 'thetenseand vibrant arc of... lived experience'. In then Words and deeds in Renaissance Rome the Cohens have produced do-ityourself microhistory. The book consists of then translated transcripts of eight trials before the Papal magistrates, each transcript followed by the Cohens' commentary. Camilla the go-between is here, with Camilla charged with procurement as a result of the adultery of her mistress, but the mysterious coU of rope is not. The other cases include: an abbot accused of hiring assassins, the lover of a courtesan for burning the door of one of her rivals and then fighting in the streets during the Vacant See and finally forcing his way into the courtesan's house, a music teacher for abducting one of his students, an apothecary whose accusations that his in-laws tried to kill him resulted in his trial for suborning a witness, a courtesan accused of using magic to gain the love of a Papal servant, a cobbler for attempting to exorcize demons from the wife of a saddler and the saddler's ex-mistress for bewitching his wife, and a group of vUlagers for staging a sacrilegious play during Carnival. The results make compelling reading. As one becomes engrossed in each case, one rashes to reach the denouement of the trial and the explanations contained in the commentary. The trials thus document abnormal and deviant behaviour in Renaissance Rome. They also document normal behaviour, for in the introduction and in then commentaries the authors demonstrate how the trials and the testimony 'illustrate general truths' about social norms and vernacular culture. The abbot's assassins were bound to him throughtiesof patronage, yet the clients' refusal to fulfil all the abbot's murderous plots indicate the limits of the system. The girl 'abducted' by the music teacher faced an uncertain future at home because sbe lacked the two things necessary, for marriage: a dowry and her virginity. The cobbler appropriated 158 Reviews the licit prayers of St Bernardino and liturgical formulae for the illicit purpose of exorcism, indicating the 'circularity', to use Carlo Ginzburg's term, of therelationshipbetween high and low culture. A recurrent element in most of the trials was the Roman heightened sense of honour, which was a cause of much violence and other 'deviant' behaviour. Included in the introduction is 'A note for teachers and students'. Instead of the students' re-enactment of the trials as suggested by the Cohens, a better pedagogical use of the material would be to provide students with the transcripts and ask them to provide the commentary, that is, to make sense of the trials and the testimony. A valuable lesson for students attempting this comes from Thomas Kuehn's article, 'Reading microhistory: the example of Giovanni and Lusanna', that appeared in volume 61 of The journal of modern history. According to Kuehn, legal documents such as these transcripts permit historians to reconstruct a narrative of the trials but not a narrative of what really happened. The Cohens are aware of this lesson and they likewise issue warnings: 'the truth behind those words is another matter. Suspects and witnesses had every reason to shape then versions of an event tofitthe politics of the moment'. The only criticism to be made of this book is that on occasion the Cohens fati to heed then own warnings and accept as truth matters that seem unproven. However, part of the joy and the fun of this book is the way i t permitsreadersto come...

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