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The article begins by recognizing the importance of claiming a popular history that enhances the role of the actors traditionally excluded, as opposed to conventional history of the elites. In this way, its main purpose is to reveal the political interests that under populist speeches, exaggerate oral testimonies to pass them as equivalent to history, to the detriment of the philosophies and theories that even with its shortcomings, have built the scientific nature of historiography. ; El artículo empieza por reconocer la importancia de reivindicar una historia popular que revalorice el papel de los actores tradicionalmente excluidos —en oposición a la historia convencional de las élites—, por lo cual su propósito principal consiste en develar los intereses políticos que, bajo discursos populistas, sobredimensionan los testimonios orales para hacerlos pasar como equivalentes a la historia, en detrimento de las filosofías y teorías que, aun con sus deficiencias, han construido la cientificidad de la historiografía.

On March 2022, a few days after the first strikes of the Russian army on Ukrainian territory began, Time Magazine published a special issue on the topic with the title "The Return of History", subtitled "How Putin Shattered Europe's Dreams". As a backdrop, the cover featured a full-page, almost black and white photograph of a military tank with six soldiers looking straight into the camera. Although the phrase was most likely meant metaphorically and is obviously hyperbolic, the cover did express what seemed to be a widespread sentiment: something important had changed, and (Western) Europe was confronted with a reality it had deemed long gone, or at least, safely restrained. For those of us attentive to discourses around history, however, this cover – as many comments and declarations by analysts, journalists and politicians which followed a similar pattern – tapped into fundamental questions about how events are framed in specific temporal and spatial narratives.

Esta aportación intenta establecer una teoría de las instituciones partiendo de la experiencia personal del autor en el estudio de las instituciones medievales. La idea es subrayar la duración y el carácter axiológico de las instituciones, creadas para tutelar ciertos intereses y valores. A pesar de la infinita variedad de supuestos concretos y de la misma amplia área de las instituciones políticas, existen caracteres comunes estructurales. Esta contribución se propone también ofrecer elementos de historia de la historiografía de las instituciones, no sólo desde la óptica del estudioso del Medievo italiano, sino también desde la del hombre que vive en nuestro tiempo. ; This contribution tries to stablish a theory of the institutions starting from the author 's personal experience in the study of the medieval institutions. His intention is to remark the duration and the axiological nature of the institutions, created to protect certain interests and values. Although there is an infinite variety of subjects, and the realm of the politic institutions being so ample, it is possible to find some structural common aspects. This contribution tries also to offer some elements of history of the institutions' historiography, not just from the perspective of someone who studies the Italian Middle Age, but also of a man who lives in our times.