Girolamo Tartarotti ( la, Hieronymous Tartarotti;. 1706–1761) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

Neo-Platonist Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some id ...

, and writer, primarily famed for his works on

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

Life

Tartarotti was born at

Rovereto Rovereto (; "wood of sessile oaks"; locally: ''Roveredo'') is a city and ''comune'' in Trentino in northern Italy, located in the Vallagarina valley of the Adige River. History Rovereto was an ancient fortress town standing at the frontier b ...

near

Trent Trent may refer to: Places Italy * Trento in northern Italy, site of the Council of Trent United Kingdom * Trent, Dorset, England, United Kingdom Germany * Trent, Germany, a municipality on the island of Rügen United States * Trent, California, ...

and studied at the

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

. For a time, he formed part of the entourage of Marco Foscarini, who later served as

doge A doge ( , ; plural dogi or doges) was an elected lord and head of state in several Italian city-states, notably Venice and Genoa, during the medieval and renaissance periods. Such states are referred to as " crowned republics". Etymology The ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

. Following the execution of the elderly nun Maria Renata Singer on charges of

, he took part in the academic debate over the witchcraft trials of his time, attempting to strike a middle ground which—against

Martin Delrio Martin Anton Delrio SJ ( la, Martinus Antonius Delrio; es, Martín Antonio del Río; french: Martin-Antoine del Rio; 17 May 1551 – 19 October 1608) was a Dutch Jesuit theologian He studied at numerous institutions, receiving a master's ...

and Benedetto Bonelli—dismissed most purported claims of witchcraft while, on the grounds of its appearance in

scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...

, upholding the existence of sorcery against the skepticism of

Scipione Maffei Francesco Scipione Maffei (; 1 June 1675 – 11 February 1755) was a Italian writer and art critic, author of many articles and plays. An antiquarian with a humanist education whose publications on Etruscan antiquities stand as incunables of ...

and

Count Carli Gian Rinaldo Carli (1720–1795), also known by other names, was an Italian economist, historian, and antiquarian. Name "Gian Rinaldo Carli" is the modern Italian form of his name, which may also appear as "Gianrinaldo Carli" or "Gian-Rinaldo ...

. The equivocation such a position entailed was first refuted by Bonelli in 1751.

Works

Abbot Tartarotti's
Three Books
on the Nocturnal Congress of the

Lamia LaMia Corporation S.R.L., operating as LaMia (short for ''Línea Aérea Mérida Internacional de Aviación''), was a Bolivian charter airline headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, as an EcoJet subsidiary. It had its origins from the failed ...

''—composed in 1748 but delayed from publication by the

Venetian Inquisition Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...

until 1750—proposed that witchcraft was an organized religion descended from the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

cults In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

of Diana and Erodiade. This was an unpopular and heterodox idea, and he was obliged to restate some points in an apologia two years later.. He had the sermons of the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

Georg Gaar Georg may refer to: * ''Georg'' (film), 1997 *Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) * , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker See also * George (disambiguation) George may refer to: People * George (given name) * ...

, one of the clerics responsible for Sister Maria's execution, translated into Italian so as to publish his own attacks against the man's points.. He defended the existence of witchcraft, however, and won the vast majority of Italian academics to his side of the debate. *''Ragionamento intorno alla poesia lirica toscana'' (1728) *''Idea della logica degli scolastici e dei moderni'' (1731) *''Delle disfide letterarie, o sia pubbliche difese di conclusioni'' (1735) *''De origine Ecclesiae tridentinae et primis eius episcopis'' (1743) *''Memorie istoriche intorno alla vita e morte de' santi Sisinio, Martirio ed Alessandro'' (1745) *''De versione Rufiniana Historiae ecclesiasticae Eusebii Caesariensis dissertatio, in qua Valesianae interpretationis dignitas et praestantia vindicatur'' (1748) * . *''De auctoribus ab Andrea Dandulo laudatis in Chronico Veneto'' (1751) * . *''Lettera di un giornalista d'Italia ad un giornalista oltramontano sopra il libro intitolato: Vindiciae Romani Martyrologii uscito in Verona'' (1751) *''Memorie antiche di Rovereto e dei luoghi circonvicini'' (1754) *''Apologia delle Memorie antiche di Rovereto'' (1758) *''Dell'origine della Chiesa di Aquileia'' (1759) *''Lettera seconda di un giornalista d'Italia ad un giornalista oltramontano sopra il libro intitolato: Notizie istorico-critiche intorno al b.m. Adalpreto Vescovo di Trento ''(1760) Published in ''Raccolta d'opuscoli scientifici e filologici'' edited by

Angelo Calogerà Angelo Calogerà, also known as Domenico Demetrio Calogerà, (circa 7 September 1696, Padua - 29 September 1766, Isola di San Michele) was an Italian Benedictine monk and writer, active in popularizing literature and science. Life Angelo was bor ...

: *''Relazione d'un manoscritto dell'Istoria manoscritta di Giovanni Diacono veronese'' (1738) *''Dissertazione intorno all'arte critica'' (1740) *''Lettera intorno all'Eloquenza italiana di mons. Fontanini'' (1741) *''Lettera al sig. N.N. intorno alla sua tragedia intitolata il Costantino'' (1741) *''Lettera intorno a detti o sentenze attribuite ad autori di cui non sono'' (1741) *''Lettera intorno alla differenza delle voci nella lingua italiana'' (1745) *''Lettera intorno ad una particolare significazione degli avverbi fere e quasi nelle lingue italiana e latina'' (1748) Published posthumously: *''Osservazioni sopra la Sofonisba del Trissino con prefazione del cav. Clementino Vannetti'' (1784) *''Rime scelte dall'abate Girolamo Tartarotti'' (1785) *''La conclusione dei frati francescani riformati'' (1785) *''Dialoghi della lingua latina'' *''Annotazioni al Dialogo delle false esercitazioni delle scuole d'Aonio Paleario'' (1795)

Legacy

Leo Martello Leo Martello (September 26, 1930 – June 29, 2000) was an American Wiccan priest, gay rights activist, and author. He was a founding member of the Strega Tradition, a form of the modern Pagan new religious movement of Wicca which drew upon his o ...

revived the concept of witchcraft (specifically the Italian

Stregheria Stregheria () is the root form of witchcraft originating in Southern Europe, but also includes Italian American witchcraft. Stregheria is sometimes referred to as ''La Vecchia Religione'' (" the Old Religion"). The word ''stregheria'' is an archai ...

) as a survival of the

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

of Diana in the 1970s.

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* , translated from the German by J.C. Grayson & David Lederer, 1997. * . * .

External links

La ricostruzione della biblioteca di Girolamo Tartarotti
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tartarotti, Girolamo 1706 births 1761 deaths 18th-century Italian male writers Witchcraft in Italy