Suchergebnisse

In late medieval Italy, the importance of lordship has often been overlooked by studies. Yet its diffusion was far from marginal: indeed, in most Italian regions it stretched over larger portions of population and territory, larger than in previous centuries. In 2017, a collective research project was undertaken to fill this gap in studies, the PRIN La signoria rurale nel XIV-XV secolo: per ripensare l'Italia tardomedievale. This volume constitutes its latest outcome. It summarises the main acquisitions achieved and provides new reflections on the many themes dealt with in the PRIN research: the economy of lordships, the forms of documentation and celebration, the relationship with cities, states and communities, the political action of the subjects, the social impact of lordship and more.

The article examines two explicitly different meanings of the expression 'pervasiveness of lordship'. The first moves from the more commune meaning of pervasiveness, understood as a synonym of capillary diffusion, to distinguish between areas of seigniorial centrality and areas of seigniorial marginality in late medieval Italy. The second meaning understands "pervasiveness" in a less usual sense, i.e. as the capacity of lordship to thoroughly penetrate the surrounding world. After describing this notion of pervasiveness, the article illustrates some examples, drawn from various late medieval Italian regions, of lordships without pervasiveness and of pervasive lordships, questioning the capacity of seigniorial pervasiveness to survive and reconfigure itself in the late Middle Ages.

ABSTRACTNotwithstanding its relevance, social mobility has not been at the forefront of the agenda for historians of the Middle Ages. The first part of this paper deals with the reasons for this lack of interest, highlighting the role of historical models such as the French 'feudal revolution', the neo-Malthusian interpretations, the English commercialisation model and the great narrative of Italian medieval merchants. The second part assesses the extent to which this lack of interest has been challenged by conceptions of social space and social mobility developed in recent decades by sociologists and anthropologists. Therefore, it is really important to indicate the gaps in our understanding, and to clarify research questions, technical problems and methods. The paper examines the constitutive elements of social identities, the plurality of social ladders, and the channels of social mobility. It touches upon the performative role of learned representations, and upon the constraints imposed upon human agency by family practices and genre. It underlines the importance of studying the mobility inside social groups, and argues that we must distinguish between two different types of medieval social mobility: autogenous social mobility, and endogenous or conflictual social mobility.

[ES] A partir del examen sistemático de las fuentes escritas y de la recopilación ya análisis arqueolçogico-arquitectónico de toda la edilicia civil medieval, el artículo ilustra los patrimonios inmobiliarios y las formas que adoptaron las residencias, tanto de los máximos exponentes de la aristocracia romana, los llamados baroni, como del resto de la nobleza urbana. El examen de los pórticos, domus magne, palatia, torres y fortalezas muestra como desde el siglo xi, pero sobre todo desde el xii, se había afirmado con una fuerza hasta entonces desconocida, un vínculo estructural entre riqueza e inversiones en construcciones duraderas. Piedra, ladrillo y mortero se impusieron como instrumentos fundamentales a la hora de manifestar la identidad aristocrática y como medio de expresión de la agencia individual y familiar. ; [EN] Based on a study of written sources and on the census and archaeological-architectural analysis of all medieval civil buildings, the article illustrates the property assets and forms of residence of both the top ranks of the Roman aristocracy, the so-called barons, and the rest of the city's nobility. The history of porches, domus magne, palatia, towers and fortresses shows how from the 11th and, above all, from the 12th century a structural link between wealth and investment in durable buildings established itself with a previously unknown strength. Stone, brick, and mortar became a fundamental means of displaying aristocratic identity and expressing individual and family agency. ; Questo lavoro è stato interamente realizzato con il progetto Petrifying Wealth. The Southern European Shift to Masonry as Collective Investment in Identity, c. 1050-1300. Questo progetto ha ricevuto un finanziamento dall'European Research Council (ERC) nell'ambito dell'European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement n.º 695515). ; Peer reviewed

The introduction, after recalling the aims of the PRIN project from which this volume originates and describing the criteria used in the census of the lordships present in 14th-15th century Italy, illustrates the four main themes dealt with in the essays collected in the volume: the sources produced and collected by the lordships, the relations between lordship and external powers, the economy, and the societies subject to the lords. Finally, it asks whether, despite the many geographical differences, it is possible to discern a specificity of the Italian lordship with respect to that of other European regions.

RésuméCet article présente une synthèse des résultats obtenus par une étude internationale menée pendant quatre années sur la conjoncture des années 1300 dans le monde de la Méd.terranée occidentale chrétienne. Il en ressort une image fortement diversifiée. Géographiquement diversifiée : coexistent des régions «émergentes» en plein développement et d'autres dont les ressorts semblent usés. Et socialement diversifiée : les nouveaux chemins de l'économie et de la politique bouleversent les équilibres traditionnels, mettent à mal les anciennes formes de richesse et créent de nouvelles stratégies gagnantes. À la différence de l'Europe du Nord, l'Europe méridionale n'a pas connu la grande famine de 1315. Il n'y a pas, au Sud, de disette généralisée sauf en 1347. Les disettes y sont dues aux distorsions du marché plus qu'à la chute de la productivité des terres cultivées. L'urbanisation y est en pleine puissance et pèse sur les circuits d'approvisionnement. Le commerce pénètre partout et dans tous les milieux, notamment à partir d'un réseau de petites villes qui s'est densifié au cours du XIIIesiècle. Rien n'indique un réel manque de monnaie : le crédit, omniprésent, y supplée mais contribue à redistribuer les cartes économiques et sociales.

This volume aims to investigate the complex theme of social mobility in medieval Italy both by comparing Italian research to contemporary international studies in various European contexts, and by analysing a broad range themes and specific case studies. Medieval social mobility as a European phenomenon, in fact, still awaits a systemic analysis, and has seldom been investigated iuxta propria principia in social , political and economic history. The essays in the book deal with a number of crucial problems: how is social mobility investigated in European and Mediterranean contexts? How did classic mobility channels such as the Church, officialdom, trade, the law, the lordship or diplomacy contribute to shaping the many variables at play in late medieval societies, and to changing--and challenging--inequality? How did movements and changes in social spaces become visible, and what were their markets? What were the dynamics at the heart of the processes of social mobility in the many territorial contexts of the Italian peninsula?--back cover