Includes bibliographical references (pages 373-407).
Contents:
Part I. The Story -- Chapter 1: From the Trial Records -- Chapter 2: Infanticide as an Obsession -- Chapter 3: Infanticide as a Social Practice: From a Sin to a Crime -- Part II. The Mother -- Chapter 4: Una figliola grande, giovane fatta (A Grown Girl, a Mature Young Woman) -- Chapter 5: 'A young priest' -- Chapter 6: Il Carnevale prossimo passato (The Last Carnival past) -- Chapter 7: 'He robbed me of my honour and took my virginity' -- Chapter 8: 'I was always on my own' -- Chapter 9: M'indussi col detto cortello a dare la morte a detto mio figlio partorito vivo mettendoli la punta di detto cortello nella gola (I Forced Myself with the Said Knife to Kill my Said Son whom I had given Birth to Alive, by putting the Point of the Said Knife into his Throat) -- Part III. The Son: The Seed and the Soul -- Chapter 10: Un puttino maschio (A Baby Boy) -- Chapter 11: Ben compito in tutte le sue parti (Well-Formed in All Its Parts) -- Chapter 12: A 'Creature' Without a Name, or When a Man is not a Man -- Chapter 13: Baptism -- Chapter 14: To Die Without a Soul -- Chapter 15: Ensoulment -- Chapter 16: The Person -- Part IV. Justice -- Chapter 17: The sentence: Ut moriatur et anima ab eius corpore separetur (That She Die and Her Soul be Separated from Her Body) -- Chapter 18: Accolta e Consolata (Received and Consoled) -- Chapter 19: Repentance and Forgiveness -- Afterword
Summary:
This book focuses on an obscure case of infanticide (18th century) in order to pursue a heated debate on the essence of life and the nature of the soul, where theological, moral and scientific principles come into conflict. On 5 December 1709 in Bologna Lucia Cremonini is accused of a terrible crime: the murder of her newborn son. This tragic episode, exhumed from the depths of time, is placed at the centre of an enthralling study by one of the leading scholars of modern history and the history of religious beliefs. During the course of a dramatic trial the crime is debated by representatives of religious, philosophical, moral, and scientific culture, all characteristic of the formative period of the modern world and all seeking a convincing answer to fundamental questions.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.