Description
Book SynopsisAnton Blok combines anthropology and history in a comparative exploration of the links between honour and violence in widely different settings. He draws on material from two interrelated projects: micro--studies of the rural mafia in Sicily, and banditry in the Dutch republic, each set in its historical context.
Trade Review"In this sparkling and provocative collection of essays, Anton Blok contributes to our understanding of social processes and cultural categories over the centuries. Through startling examples - the chimney sweep, popular bandits, the symbolism of the billy goat, the uses of nicknames, and more - Blok gives us new ways to think about the paradoxes of the human condition, past and present."
Natalie Zemon Davis, Princeton University. 'Blok truly refreshes our thinking' Ethnos
Table of ContentsPreface.
Introduction.
1. Social Banditry Reconsidered.
2. Bandits and Boundaries: The Case of the Bokkeryders.
3. Infamous Occupations.
4. Why Chimney Sweeps Bring Luck.
5. Blood Symbolism of Mafia.
6. The Meaning of 'Senseless' Violence.
7. The Narcissism of Minor Differences.
8. Explaining South-Italian Agro-Towns.
9. Nicknames as Symbolic Inversions.
10. Mediterranean Totemism:Rams and Billy Goats.
11. Female Rulers and Their Consorts.
12. Rediscovering Ars Moriendi.
Notes.
Bibliography.
Index.
