Beati Paoli

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Beati Paoli is the name of a mysterious sect that existed in medieval Sicily . The sect, as the author Luigi Natoli describes in his historical novel I Beati Paoli , resembles an order of knights that fights for the poor and the citizens. The novel was written as a series under the pen name William Galt in 1909 and republished as books in 1921 and 1949. While the novel is fictional, Sicily's story has some evidence that the Beati Paoli actually existed.

Feudalism was introduced to Sicily in 1071 by its conqueror, the Norman Lord Roger de Hauteville . When the nobles began to exercise their feudal rights in the centuries that followed, the Inquisition also gained a foothold in Sicily. Any act of the citizens that could be interpreted as treason or heresy by the state or the church was punishable by death. Such actions could include unauthorized gatherings or the formation of societies with purposes other than supporting the current state / church regime. Several orders and sects emerged in this environment - albeit secretly. Beati Paoli was supposedly formed to oppose both the church and the state, to defend citizens from violations of the regime. They wore black hooded coats and operated at night from their refuge in the remains of the catacombs and underground canals of Palermo . It is not known when Beati Paoli was founded, but Luigi Natoli's novel sets the scene in the city of Paoli in the 17th century. The origin of the name is also unknown, although some link it to Saint Francis de Paola or Beato Paola.

Beati Paoli has the same meaning for many Sicilians as Robin Hood has for northern Europeans. Today traces of Beati Paoli can be found in the Capo district of Palermo, where a square, a street and a restaurant bear their name.

Predecessor of the Mafia?

In Sicily, Beati Paoli was seen as a proto-manifestation of the Mafia in both the popular performance and the ideology of the Mafia groups . Sicilian mafiosi love to portray themselves as successors to Beati Paoli, and Cosa Nostra prefers to trace their origins to the sect. The novel is still alive in today's mafia culture and its main characters are role models for the ideal-typical attitudes and behavior of a mafia.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Roberto Savona: The Beati Paoli. In: Best of Sicily magazine. Accessed April 10, 2019 .
  2. ^ The Middle Ages. In: Best of Sicily magazine. Accessed April 10, 2019 .
  3. ^ Letizia Paoli: Organized Crime in Italy: Mafia and Illegal Markets - Exception and Normality . Springer Science & Business Media, 2004, ISBN 978-1-4020-2615-7 .

Works

  • Charles William Heckethorn: The Secret Societies of All Ages and Countries . G. Redway, 1897, p. 169-171 .
  • Diego Gambetta: The Sicilian Mafia: The Business of Private Protection . Harvard University Press, London 1993, ISBN 0-674-80742-1 .
  • Letizia Paoli : Mafia Brotherhoods: Organized Crime, Italian Style . Oxford University Press, New York 2003, ISBN 0-19-515724-9 .
  • Letizia Paoli: Organized Crime in Italy: Mafia and Illegal Markets - Exception and Normality . Springer Science & Business Media, 2004, ISBN 978-1-4020-2615-7 .