Introduction 1 the Origins of the Mafia As a Criminal Phenomenon and As
Notes Introduction 1. Report of the Prefect of Palermo of 25 April 1865 (Alatri 1954, p.92). 2. For a detailed analysis of Pitrè and his interpretation of the word mafia exclu- sively from a psychological and folkloristic point-of-view, see the following chapters. 1 The Origins of the Mafia as a Criminal Phenomenon and as a spirit 1. The maestranze survived the suppression of the 18th century, carried out else- where, which followed the new Enlightenment ideology. The very close sense of solidarity between members and the ties which were both religious and economic guaranteed stability and strength to these organisations, but they were bound to an ecclesiastical and feudal system of privileges. For a detailed analysis of the role of the maestranze in pre-unification Sicily, see Domenico Novacco, Inchiesta sulla mafia, (1963, pp.86–87) and, by the same author, Mafia ieri, mafia oggi, (1972, pp.83–84). 2. For further analysis of the legend of the Beati Paoli, see the following chapters. 3. The text of the proclamation of 28 May 1621 reads: ‘vendere et alienare ... ogni giurisdizione di mero e misto impero, alta e bassa, cum gladii potestate, a tutte quelle città et università et terre del Regno che la vorranno comprare’ (Bonaffini, 1975, pp.18–19). 4. The writer Brydone, whom we will go on to look at in detail, was one of the first to describe with spirit and efficiency the link between the noble class and mafiosi ante litteram. 5. The first chapter of the Promessi Sposi is largely dedicated to enumerating the grida, with which the viceroys and governors of Milan tried to solve the problem of the bravi, paid by the local lords to guarantee their personal safety, but who often behaved more like paid assassins.
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