Jill Lepore's Microhistory As A Point Of Convergence

Microhistory as a Point of Convergence The issue most often taken with microhistory is that it does not represent the majority, and it is often compared to a biography. Biographies and microhistories have more similarities than differences, but those differences transform them completely. Jill Lepore conveys this succinctly, writing,
If biography is largely founded on a belief in the singularity and significance of an individual's life and his contribution to history, microhistory is founded upon almost the opposite assumption: however singular a person's life may be, the value of examining it lies not in its uniqueness, but in its exemplariness, in how that individual's life serves as an allegory for broader issues affecting the culture as a whole. (Lepore 133)
Lepore follows this by further postulating that microhistories by design are mysterious and pose a …show more content…
These events are both broad and specific, such as the Italian Inquisition, which is the immediate cause for the trial, and the comparatively minor conflict between the nobility of the Friulian society. The conflicts among the Friuli nobles may have been minor in comparison to the Inquisition, but they had a major impact on the peasants of Friuli. Ginzburg even stipulates that the events of the conflict could have sown the seeds of Menocchio’s belief, writing at the end of chapter seven that, “the economy of the Friuli was already in an advanced state of decay” (Ginzburg, 14), as well as, “ Menocchio himself seems to provide the first clue. ‘Everything belongs to the Church and to the priests, and they oppress the poor…’”(15). The location and wording of the two quotes seem to give a nod to Menocchio’s heretical beliefs, such as decay birthed