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Medieval Europe - 15 > Italian City-States > Flashcards

Italian City-States Flashcards

The following pack covers the rise of the Italian City-State, features of the commune, Signore, factionalism and despotism.

1
Q

Who ruled Florence?

A

The Medici Family - an Italian banking family, political dynasty and later royal house that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de’ Medici in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century.

Wrestled control from Albizzi family - In 1433, the Albizzi managed to have Cosimo exiled. The next year, however, a pro-Medici Signoria was elected and Cosimo returned. The Medici became the city’s leading family, a position they would hold for the next three centuries.

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2
Q

Who ruled Venice?

A

The Doge - the chief magistrate and leader of the Most Serene Republic of Venice for 1,100 years (697-1797)

Doges of Venice were elected for life by the city-state’s aristocracy. Commonly the man selected as Doge was the shrewdest elder in the city. The doge was neither a duke in the modern sense, nor the equivalent of a hereditary duke. The title “doge” was the title of the senior-most elected official of Venice and Genoa; both cities were republics and elected doges.

While doges had great temporal power at first, after 1268, the doge was constantly under strict surveillance: he had to wait for other officials to be present before opening dispatches from foreign powers; he was not allowed to possess any property in a foreign land.

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3
Q

Who ruled Milan?

A

Intially the Visconti, when Ottone seized power from the Della Torre in 1277 (Battle of Desio).

The Viconti consolidated power, to the extent that Gian Galeazzo would eventually purchase the title of Duke.

The Visconti line came to an end in 1450, and was succeeded by the Sforza - who ruled between 1450 and 1500.

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4
Q

Who ruled in Ferrara

A

The Este family

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5
Q

How did conflict manifest itself between city-states?

A
  • Open warfare - Economic competition - Artistic competition - Demonstration of brilliance of the court
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6
Q

What is a manifestation of artistic rivalry during this period?

A

The Feast of the Gods, commissioned by Alfonso d’Este in Ferrara

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7
Q

Name some of the important cities which had survived through to the 11th century to command significant social and economic capital? (12)

A
  • Venice - Milan - Florence - Genoa - Pisa - Lucca - Cremona - Siena - Perugia - Spoleto - Todi - Terni
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8
Q

What encouraged the rise of autonomy in the city-states?

A

Absenteeism of the emperor led to the creep of autonomy

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9
Q

What historiographical distortion exists?

A

There tends to be a strong focus on Florence and Republicanism in the literature - different modes exist!

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10
Q

What historiographical distortion exists?

A

There tends to be a strong focus on Florence and Republicanism in the literature - different modes exist!

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11
Q

What were the competing societal factions in Italian city-states?

A
  • Magnates, elites - Guilds - Merchants - Bankers - Industrialists - Impoverished - Artisans - Clergy
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12
Q

What is important to bear in mind during this period?

A

Factions in society varied over time - the banker class did not exist until around 12-13th century

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13
Q

What is a good example of a tower possessed by the nobility?

A

San Gimignano

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14
Q

What is important to bear in mind about the nature of the Republics during this period?

A

It does not conform to the notion of democracy in modern parlance.

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15
Q

When was the Lombard League formed, who was part of it, and what did it do?

A
  • Medieval alliance of 1167 - Supported by the Pope - Against the Hohenstaufen Holy Roman Emperors to assert influence over Italy - challenged claim to power - Membership changed over time - Disbanded in 1250, with the death of Frederick II -Successor of the Veronese League
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16
Q

Who were the Guelphs?

A

Anti-imperialists (inc. the Lombard League), typically those aligned to the Pope

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17
Q

Who were the Ghibellines?

A

Pro-imperialists, though changed over time to be essentially anti-papal - waxed and waned over time

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18
Q

How did the Guelph/ Ghibelline conflict affect smaller cities and bigger cities with polar alliances?

A

Smaller cities tended to be Ghibelline if the larger city nearby was Guelph, as Guelph Republic of Florence and Ghibelline Republic of Siena faced off at the Battle of Montaperti, 1260.

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19
Q

How did the Guelph/Ghibelline dynamic impact Pisa, Genoa and Florence?

A

Pisa maintained a staunch Ghibelline stance against her fiercest rivals, the Guelph Republic of Genoa and Florence

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20
Q

Is Guelph/Ghibelline anachronistic?

A

Yes. Not used commonly, church and imperial parties were preferred. Did enter limited circulation by 1250.

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21
Q

What is important to note about Guelf and Ghibelline alliances within a city-state?

A

Within cities, party allegiances differed from guild to guild, rione to rione, and a city could easily change party after internal upheaval.

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22
Q

What happened at the Battle of Monatperti?

A

The Sienese Ghibellines inflicted a noteworthy defeat on Florentine Guelphs

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23
Q

Why did Florì elect to support temporal power?

A

Expedient reasons - it provided the only means of independence within the Papal Belt

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24
Q

How was Florence stratified by Guelph and Ghibelline?

A

In Florence and elsewhere the Guelphs usually included merchants and burghers, while the Ghibellines tended to be noblemen

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25
Q

How was Genoa impacted by Guelph/ Ghibelline division?

A
  • Genoese families like Fieschi and Grimaldi conventionally sided with the Guelph. - The Doria and some branches of Spinola = Ghibelline. - Under Guelph rule in the early years of the 13th century, in 1270, Ghibellines Oberto Spinola and Oberto Doria managed to revolt against Guelphs and started a dual government which lasted a couple of decades
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26
Q

Important thing to take away?

A

Every city-state was different, and changed internally over time

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27
Q

How did Tuscan Guelphs and Ghibellines act?

A

After the Tuscan Guelphs finally defeated the Ghibellines in 1289 at the Battle of Campaldino and at Vicopisano, the Guelphs began infighting. By 1300 the Florentine Guelphs had divided into the Black and White Guelphs.

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28
Q

What is peculiar about the nature of Venetian participation in the Lombard League?

A

Venice never was a subject of the Holy Roman Empire, but patronised the league regardless

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29
Q

What were Genoa and Venice, alongside Pisa and Amalfi?

A

Maritime Republics. Resultantly the economic base of these varied from land-locked economies

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30
Q

How could you describe the Italian North contra to the more unified and homogenous states of Europe?

A

The peninsula was a melange of political and cultural elements

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31
Q

What did Marc Bloch and Fernand Braudel contribute to the debate?

A

They suggest that the geography of Italy is crucial to understanding why tighter connections did not exist - the mountainous nature of the landscape was a barrier to effective inter-city communication. The city-states which lasted the longest were in the most geographically harsh locations - take Venice, and its lagoon. This made the exertion of rule difficult

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32
Q

What was distinctive about the city-state?

A

represented the most substantial movement of rural to urban - 20% Population explosion and agrarian revolution made sustainable.

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33
Q

What does Rodney Stark emphasise about the city-state?

A

They married responsive government, Christianity and the birth of capitalism

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34
Q

What did Otto of Freising, a German bishop of the time visiting Italy, state about Italian city-states?

A

Otto of Freising, a German bishop who visited central Italy during the 12th century, commented that Italian towns had appeared to have exited from feudalism, so that their society was based on merchants and commerce. Even northern cities and states were also notable for their merchant republics, esp. Venice

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35
Q

What could be said about the city-states as a result of their geographical positioning?

A

Geographically, and because of trade, Italian cities such as Venice became international trading and banking hubs and intellectual crossroads.

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36
Q

What did Niall Ferguson state about the nature of city-states?

A

Contributed to the innovation of the world financial system, as the progenitor

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37
Q

What did ICS exceed in the production of?

A

Wool - up until the bubonic plague of 1348 - at which point England would take over.

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38
Q

What could be said of the economic nature of Italian society?

A

Highly mobile, demographically expanding and fuelled by commerce

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39
Q

How numerate were the city-states?

A

Highly. The importance of this came through in the introduction of several advancements in the field of bookkeeping during the period

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40
Q

When did the commune emerge?

A

11th century

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41
Q

Which Republics were able to evade domination by a Singore?

A

Venice, Florence and Lucca

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42
Q

What had occurred by 1400?

A

Signori were able to found a stable dynasty over their dominated city- obtaining a title of nobility from the sovereign superior

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43
Q

Who bought the title of duke of Milan from Wenceslaus?

A

Gian Galeazzo Visconti, for 100,000 gold florins in 1395

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44
Q

What happened to the ICS?

A

Conglomerated, only the largest made it through to the 16th century

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45
Q

What was the population of Italy prior to the Black Death, compared to England?

A

Before the Black Death - 15 million people in Italy (including Sicily) England - 3 million by comparison

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46
Q

What were appropriate qualifications to power in ICSs?

A

Property, birth qualifications, gender qualifications for political power

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47
Q

What is a podesta?

A

supreme executive officer in the city - usually should be a foreigner, should only be for a year, brings staff, stays for two weeks afterwards to make sure he didn’t fiddle the system

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48
Q

Who are the Popolo?

A

* a Party of the People - party of the bourgeoisie * paralelled the republic - councils, statures, sometimes took over

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49
Q

Who typically constituted the signore?

A

landed feudal nobility, warlords

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50
Q

What happened to the military caste?

A

became mercenaries

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51
Q

How did the signore justify their rule

A

Through legitimising titles = defender of justice, leader of the people etc.

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52
Q

How would greater authority be attained in an ICS?

A

Getting higher authority - granted by above (vicariate) and below (commune)

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53
Q

Florence: What is the myth of Florence?

A

* Myth of liberty (Libertá) * The Home of Liberty

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54
Q

Florence: How did Florence become an important economic entity?

A
  • Commercial powerhouse, esp. for cloth trade, and international banking
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55
Q

Florence: Name the strong mercantile families

A

Albizzi, Bardi, Strozzi, Peruzzi

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56
Q

Florence: How many died of the Black Death in 1348

A

75,000, possibly 100,000 (citizens) (rule of thumb - 50% die)

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57
Q

Florence: What sort of Republic was Florence?

A

* Guild-Republic (like others) * Politcal and economic life dominated by economic guilds (lower and higher guilds existed) * Lack of Feudal nobility * But a magnate class of old families did exist * Dominated by mercantile families

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58
Q

Florence: What did the Ordinance of Justice, 1293 achieve?

A

* sets constitution of Florence through guild * Legislation against magnate families

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59
Q

Florence: When did Florence have signore?

A

* 1313 - King Robert of Naples for 5 years * Charles of Calabria * Walther of Brienne

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60
Q

Florence: How did elections work?

A
  • List names - Selection by lot - Minor guilds guaranteed a share - Overseen by
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61
Q

Florence: What was the famous revolution of 1378?

A

Ciompi Revolt - artisans, labourers, and craftsmen who did not belong to any guilds and were therefore unable to participate in the Florentine government.

The Ciompi revolt developed in three stages; reform in the months of May and June, the violent ‘revolution’ of the revolt and fighting which occurred in mid-July, and the fall of the Ciompi’s short government in Florence -‘the reaction’, which occurred at the end of August 1378

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62
Q

Florence: What was the Signoria?

A

Singoria = Capital S = government (don’t confuse with Signore) (9) people - the official - standard bearer of justice, and 8 priors * 2 from lesser guilds * 6 from upper guilds

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63
Q

Florence: Why did Florence fail?

A

Internal discord among factions - Albizzi against medici Debt and overtaxation - expensive mercs to fight Milan

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64
Q

Medici- why?

A

* Bank, political power, base in gonfalone (district) * Giovanni Medici - financed Pope John 23rd - made wealth this way * 50% of profits from Roman branch of bank * Presented themselves as popular party, representing the ordinary * But still an elite family * Clients very elite * Network of people who owed money * Accopiatori - manipulation forgot to remove Cosimo from list * Cosimo remained eligible despite being exiled

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65
Q

When was the Baile dissolved?

A

1485 - councils of the people and the commune dissolved baile

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66
Q

How did Cosimo treat the position of signore?

A

* Cosimo tried to appear not the Signore * Heavily involved in policy

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67
Q

What happened in Florence 1451?

A

* Cosimo brought alliance with Milan * To challenge Venice * Francesco Sforza bankrolled by Cosimo

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68
Q

Venice: Describe its trade situation?

A

* Central to East-West trade * Constantinople and stretching to China * Made money through East-west trade * Trade from c.12,13,14

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69
Q

Venice: how was the relationship to the sea described?

A

* Married to the Sea * Every year, doge would toss a wedding ring into the sea

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70
Q

Venice: How did the crusades benefit Venice?

A

* Beneficiaries of the crusades * Extended Venice’s trade to the East * Palestine, Lebanon, Syria * Access Genoa, Pisa, Venice to ‘Beyond the Sea’ * Both venice and Genoa establish colonies beyond the sea

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71
Q

Venice: What was the constitutional history of Venice?

A

Constitutional History of Venice * It was more stable * Survived to 1797 * Had no signore * Had a doge though (a type of leader)

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72
Q

Venice: How did the Doge system work?

A

General Assembly / Great Council / 40 Senate / Duke of Council / Doge

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73
Q

Venice: Why did the system of the Doge have complexity?

A

Fear of dictatorship

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74
Q

Venice: What was the essence of Venice, according to Canning?

A

Essence of Venice- Rationality and State Control - the best organised Republic in Italy

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75
Q

Venice: What was the government known as?

A

Government of Venice known as the Signoria

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76
Q

Venice: Name some checks and balances

A

* Limitation of powers and accountability important * Doge very controlled from below * Doge -expression of unified allegiance * Supreme Judge and Executive Officer - chosen from citizenry * All officials could be sued for acting unconstitutionally or beyond their powers * Yes, its a republic, but effectually an aristocracy

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77
Q

Venice: What are the ten stages of election?

A

10 stages of Election 1. Great council - 30 names chosen by lot 2. 30 reduced by lot to 9 3. 9 then named 40 4. 40 were reduced to 12 5. 12 named 25 6. 25 reduced by lot to 9 7. 9 named 45 8. 45 reduced by lot to 11 9. 11 named 41 10. 41 nominated Doge by approval by assembly

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78
Q

Venice: What was the enlargement and closing of the body politic of Venice?

A

Serrata of the Great Council occurs. Over 10-30 years - the process of closure of membership

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79
Q

Venice: When was the Serrata made permanent and hereditary?

A

1323 - Permanent and Hereditary. New families were added in the 14th Century. 23.5% - were new families by 14th C. Crucial to the constitutional development of Venice

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80
Q

Venice: Where were the names of families of the Signoria stored?

A

Names put down in the Book of Gold - Libro d’oro

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81
Q

How rich was Venice?

A

Very! Resources could out total France on a good year (if France was having a bad year)

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82
Q

What was the nobility class of Venice?

A

Merchants - this jarred with the French imagery of nobleman

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83
Q

What was at the core of the Venice political system?

A

1293-1379 - political stability from 26 noble families - core

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84
Q

What was the bad side of the state in Venice?

A
  • Policing - Aftermath of conspiracy - 1310 saw the creation of a Council of 10
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85
Q

What opportunities faced Venice in 13-14th century?

A

13-14th C. Faced sea, but should it expand on the terra firma?

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86
Q

What similarities existed between Genoa and Venice

A

* Both mercantile * Both sea based * Both empires

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87
Q

Milan: What was notable about the Signora here?

A

Strongest! Under Visconti

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88
Q

Milan: what was important to Matteo and Azzone Visconti?

A

* Matteo Visconti req. the legitimation from the commune * Great Christian gentleman * 1322-1354 - problems for the Visconti under Galeazzo I * Azzone Visconti 1329-1339 - reinforced commune, who then elected him formally

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89
Q

How long did Visconti rule last?

A

* Visconti rule lasts until 1447 * Recovered lost cities

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90
Q

How was the regime consolidated in the 14th c.?

A

* General Council of Milan - Giovanni (bishop) and Luchino elected by council * 1341 - Bishop of Milan - Giovanni * Attempted to make the Visconti impenetrable

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91
Q

What did Giovanni do to ecclesiastical and secular authority?

A

Giovanni merged ecclesiastical and secular authority

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92
Q

What did Giovanni rely on to solidify rule?

A

?* Relying on grants of authority made by the commune * Next step, make the Visconti and hereditary system * All legitimate male sons of Matteo are hereditary rulers * 1354 - on death, 3 remaining male descendants of Matteo - Bernabo, Matteo, Giovanni * Joint rule between these three - not good * 1385 - Bernabò

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93
Q

When was the first Signore made Duke?

A

Dukedom of Milan - 1395 - First Signore to be made Duke

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94
Q

What was the peace of Lodi?

A

Peace of Lodi- Italy of five states (Milan, Venice, Florence, Naples and Papal States)

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95
Q

What is balance of power politics?

A

City states forge alliances to have fronts against other cities - i.e. groupings

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96
Q

Who was a major patron of the arts?

A

Lorenzo Medici - who would become Leo X

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97
Q

1453

A

Turk overthrow the Byzantine Empire - Fall of Constantinople

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98
Q

What triggered the Peace of Lodi - 1454

A

To ward off the threat of the Ottoman Turks - lasts 40 years

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99
Q

Why were the Medici overthrown?

A

Threat of France - Medici courting Charles VIII - during period of foreign invasion. Taken over by Savonarola - who critiqued the decadence of the period

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100
Q

Alexander VI

A

Sexually decadent

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101
Q

Savonarola

A

Bonfire of the vanities

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102
Q

What was traded mainly in ICSs?

A

grain,oil,wine,salt and other food interchange. The beneficiaries of these economic developments were final feudal nobility

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103
Q

What was the social composition of ICSs?

A
  • Knights - Merchant nobles - Lawyer/judges - Artisans - Paupers
104
Q

Quote from chronicler Caffaro

A

“Our city, thanks to God, outshines others in strength, wealth and agree- able qualities. It therefore we wish to preserve praise, nobility and quiet and to destroy utterly our hostile neighbours, it would be. wise and most useful to begin to create native—born knights in our city . ..”

105
Q

Who were the new class of political elites?

A

the gente nuova - new men

106
Q

What does Warley suggest were the origins of the Commune?

A
  1. introduction of law worthy men - or boni homines - vital to the setup of regularly instituted government 2. Replacement of episcopal power with the authority of the commune 3. Acquisition of formal rights and communication with other communes.
107
Q

Florence, 1292 - how many electoral systems were proposed?

A

24

108
Q

Where did the Podesta have to come from?

A

Podestà had to originate from beyond the city in order to be neutral from “discord and conspiracies”

109
Q

What paper showed the desire for a podestà to overcome discord in 1190?

A

The Genoese Chronicler

110
Q

What was the role of the Podestà?

A

Role of the podestà was to be above the people as an executive administrator, not a ruler.

111
Q

How effective were the Podestà?

A

Varied - some, like Guidottino of Pistoia - 1195 - was forced to flee the city at the threat of families in Bologna whom had turned against him

112
Q

What was a significant problem during the period?

A

Relationships with the church - particularly, clerical privilege and seigniorial jurisdiction - as well as fiscal exemption

113
Q

What weapon did the Church wield?

A

church could attack secular leaders for not clamping down on heretics - case in point - Parma, 1279 - inquisitors assaulted by local populace

114
Q

What ICS was put under interdict 1215-1232?

A

Bologna - put under interdict and officials excommunicated three times between 1215 and 1232, similar to Forli, Parma, Fano

115
Q

What did Bologna teachers have to do?

A

Bologna - teachers had to swear an oath of loyalty to the city, on the basis that the selling point of bologna was the university, and the uni feared losing ground to competitors

116
Q

Describe tendencies of citizenship in these regions

A

Citizenship was mutable, however requirements were stringent, to a degree arbitrary, and ultimately a source of division in the state * This was not uniform - Padua allowed non-citizens (habitores) to hold office, however for the likes of Pisa, such was not permissible * Movement between cities was rare, (permanent at least) (i..e Orvieto census of 2816 residents in 1292- only 58 were from elsewhere

117
Q

Why did towns expand into the Contado?

A

Increase tax-base

118
Q

Example of expansion into a contado?

A

Arezzo expansion into Castiglione Aretino in 1198

119
Q

What did the ICS do to subjugated contados?

A

impositio blame was levied on all grain-producing territory proportional to yield = actuating in a tax, or a compulsion to bring surplus grain to the city for sale, only permitting sustenance levels of grain to remain.

120
Q

What did Florentine Brunetto Latini state?

A

“War and hatred have so multiplied among the Italians that in every town there is division and enmity between the two parties of citizens”

121
Q

What were the Burghers?

A

the non-land owning citizen

122
Q

What was important about the title of knight?

A

Knights defined as hereditary, by any man bearing the public title of knight

123
Q

How was the overbearing power of the magnates countered?

A

To counter the overbearing power of magnates, populares stepped in as counterweights

124
Q

How popular was the popolo?

A

In fully evolved form, the popolo retained a military organisation - employed against magnates - 1,000 in many cities, in some 2000

125
Q

What was a legal and serious matter during the period

A

Vendettas - Starting a ven- detta was not an impulsive act but a strategically thought-out decision, the outcome of a consilium. Education featured teaching on vendettas

126
Q

What did Pope John XXII do to attempt to reaffirm Guelph predominance in the Po valley?

A

Launched in the 1320s an armed crusade and a series of trials for rebellion and heresy against numerous signori – Matteo, Galeazzo and other members of the Visconti dynasty, Rinaldo and Obizzo d’Este, Federico da Montefeltro, the Gozzolini family of Osimo and their supporters from Recanati

127
Q

Who put the brakes on ecclesiastical interference in temporal interests?

A

Visconti, Scaligeri and Estensi

128
Q

Historiographical trends: what became popular in the 1980s and 1990s?

A

Micro-histories of factions - cliques and ego-centred networks

129
Q

What did a famous report to John XXII in Avignon argue?

A

Suggested that Lombard cities were ready to align with any king that approached them. Between 1330-31, many communes and signore converged into large multi-city aggregations

130
Q

What did Florentine Guelphism do for the ruling class?

A

Provided material to support the discourse of self-representation

131
Q

What did the Black Death do to Umbria and Marche?

A

The Black Death of 1348 brought many Italian cities to such a breaking point that it impeded their survival as independent entities. Between the 1350s and the 1360s, for instance, several communes in Umbria and the Marche ended up submitting to the papal legate Gil Albornoz because, devastated by the Black Death, they realised that they could no longer retain their autonomy.

132
Q

What two systems of political representation existed?

A

‘vertical’ (personal, factional, of clientship) and ‘horizontal’ (in the sense of belonging to a social rank, but also to a territory, from a parish to a community to a state)

133
Q

What did J.K. Hyde suggest was significant about the rise of the signoria?

A

Hyde regards the rise of the signoria as a “radical departure” from the commune

134
Q

Which city states dominated the peninsula by the fifteenth century?

A

Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome, and Naples

135
Q

How did governance change under the Signoria?

A

High level officials changed hands, however beyond this, domestic matters at the grassroots level maintained greater levels of autonomy

136
Q

What happened in the 1200s?

A

Following the domination of the Hohenstaufen, ICS found they needed to dominate smaller city-states, or else face competition from rivals.

137
Q

What is an example of aggressive expansion to claim other city-states?

A

Lucca was passed between six different foreign lords between 1328 and 1342 - before finally falling into Pisan hands.

138
Q

What contributed to the rise of the Signoria?

A

The need for a decisive military leader

139
Q

What had happened to Ferrara’s commune by 1200?

A

Stifled by 32 noble families

140
Q

What was the arrangement in the Siena commune?

A

The commune was dominated by a group of nine oligarchs who dominated the policy-making Consistory and controlled the election of the podestà, from which office they later appropriated the right to call councils

141
Q

What evidence suggests that the impact of the Popolo was not as great as often implied?

A

In Milan, Bergamo, Genoa, Savona, Verona, and Vicenza, the Popolo did not manage to pass anti-magnate legislation

142
Q

What does Laurent suggest about the nature of Popolo legislation?

A

Largely defensive and poorly enforced

143
Q

What does Hyde suggest was the failing of the Popolo?

A

It did not manage to eradicate noble influence

144
Q

What troubles, therefore, were inherent in the Popolo?

A

Chauvinistically plutocratic - typically excluding those outside the financial and commercial oligarchy of the city, or helplessly divided.

145
Q

What does Jones argue about the nature of the position of nobility in the ICSs?

A

There was an emotional attachment to the local noble families and their ancestral exploits, which usually formed an essential part of the city-state’s patriotism.

146
Q

Warley, D - The Italian city Republics

A
  • Patriotism and loyalty to the city-state was fierce - demonstrated in the exile of Dante from Florence - Cannot homogenise the experience of ICSs - * The more the commune succeeded in asserting its autonomy, the harder it became to hold rival families together in office - “In view of this vast contentious territory it is not surprising that most of the communes were in a state of semi-permanent judicial war with their own clerical authorities”.
147
Q

Gamberini and Lazzarini

A

Membership of the faction was a integral part of the identity of the family. “We should rather ask ourselves how and why contemporaries continued to refer to the old pairing to denominate politicised groups. For the whole of the Quattrocento and throughout the Italian Wars, Guelfs and Ghibellines remained effective in establishing political co-ordination at supra-local and interstate levels, and even in international relations. The heavy symbolic weight of the two names could be exploited by those major seigneurial families sufficiently powerful to be able to utilise this kind of intangible resource to construct and legitimate their dominant position in a city or a territory.’”

148
Q

What does Gamberini suggest caused the death of the factionalism in Veneto?

A

the establishment of robust signorile regimes at Verona, and the affirmation of strong control by the cities over their respective territories

149
Q

What did Lazzarini suggest were the three factors that caused a loss of sovereignty in Italian city-states?

A
  • Lack of stability of the geopolitical system - The demographic collapse of the middle of the fourteenth century - the military crisis of the city-states - combination of these events resulted in the exploitation of the strong against the weak
150
Q

Why did the signoria emerge?

A

Desire for security, transcendence of the internal conflict within the state

151
Q

Name a Signore who did something for a strata of society which thus contributed to the securing of his place as a despot?

A

1490 - Ludovico Sforza of Milan personally ordered his first secretary to ensure that the petition of a particular man against one of the great lords of Italy received just attention. Many also often demonstrated personal piety through propaganda

152
Q

How else could we suggest that the transition to the signore was not as dramatic as often implied? (John Larner)

A

Salinguerra Torelli, Azzo VII d’este - followed closely to the rulership style of the commune in order not to appear too radical.

153
Q

Name a failed example of signore rulership

A

Ezzelino III da Romano - tyrannical leadership and transgressions against the Pope and emperor proved unsustainable - operating in wider spheres of influences not controlled by the signore alone. The nobility of Padua schemed against Ezzelino da Romano across his tenure.

154
Q

What did Milan have in order to mediate the excess matters of the state?

A

A Privy Council to handle all excess matters of state; a Chancellery which rapidly became a kind of cabinet, with a first secretary who wielded well-nigh prime ministerial influence; a camera with responsibility for revenues; and numerous smaller, specialised departments

155
Q

What could be said of Milan’s privy council/ chancellory/ camera arrangement?

A

Roughly the same number of personnel as in a commune - and probably as pluralistic

156
Q

why did signore become appointed in communes?

A

Temporary measure to address political strife, or to provide decisive leadership during times of conflict. Often signoria developed from the temporary autocracies established to weather crises.

157
Q

How were citizens of Verona punished for conflicting the will of the lord?

A

Property destroyed, dragged through the streets by horse, placed in a cask full of nails, tied to a bridge until dead, and then hanged

158
Q

How could the Signoria be said to have continued the legacy of the commune?

A

It maintained the Guelph/ Ghibbeline strife - for instance, In 1274, 14,500 people were exiles from Bologna.

159
Q

What, according to Warley, was the defining factor about the constitutional arrangement of communal legislation?

A

Extraordinarily elastic - to the extent that Dante argued that, in Florence, ‘ thou who makest provisions so fine that the threads thou spinnest in October do not last to mid-November’

160
Q

Example of an imperium in imperio

A

In Orvieto, the Popolo came to dominate by the 14th century. The Popolo leadership suffered from tepid anti-noble sentiments from its key personalities

161
Q

How did the Guelph victors maintain their supremacy in Orvieto between 1313-15?

A

Introduction of a Council of Five - composed of the leading Guelph families in the region

162
Q

How else, initially, before the Signore, was the problem of factionalism tackled?

A

Introduction of a single executive in the form of the podestà - a foreigner, serving for six months, who was to have had little to no connection to the people within the commune.

163
Q

When did the ICSs throw off imperial control?

A

1100s

164
Q

When, according to A. Thompson, did the clergy receive punitive legislation in Parma?

A

1278, following a papal interdict being placed on the city.

165
Q

When did the bishops begin to lose their hold in communes?

A

Around 1240

166
Q

What according to Tarrow made ICS distinct from Hansa cities?

A

While the Hansa cities specialized in carrying low-profit bulk commodities like wheat and stockfish, the Italians were engaged in trading extremely profitable light goods like silk and spices - ICS far more volatile

167
Q

Where did guilds sit comparatively to other corporate institutions, who did they conflict with?

A

Guilds were on a similar level to religious confraternities, the Parte Guelfa, and the upper-class parties. They conflicted with these and with smaller guilds.

168
Q

What could be said of recent historiography on the subject?

A

Recent historiography has downplayed the role of class conflict to focus increasingly on the networks of friendship and patronage that have been revealed by Florence’s extraordinary archival records and by the tools of sociological network analysis

169
Q

How did the upper-class factions compete?

A

competitive tower-building and the formation of tower associations (consorterie della torre)

170
Q

What does Scott argue about the nature of the Guelph/ Ghibbeline struggle

A

in so far as it served to potentiate already existing rivalries between the Cities and the tensions within them between bishop and civic elites.

171
Q

What does Pellicani, a Marxist reader of the history of the ICS, suggest about the nature of the corporations in play?

A

Essentially exploitative - civic discord among the burghers who were overworked for produce. “people against gentlemen, agrarian interests against manufacturing and mercantile interests, small folk against great folk”

172
Q

How did the commune transition to signora according to Pellicani?

A

Transition from commune to signora almost always took place through de facto broadening of powers of the captain of the people.

173
Q

How does Najemy recognise vendettas?

A

Elite vendettas were usually directed at families or factions of the same class. Vendetta may be thought of as codified private justice - a system for handling and sometimes resolving disputes without the intervention of the law or courts

174
Q

What has the leading Milanese historian described the time of the commune as?

A

F. Cognasso, ‘an age of crisis’

175
Q

Which states saw the rise of a popolo, between about 1220 and the end of the century?

A

Piacenza, Cremona, Milan, Verona, Bologna, Florence, Siena, Lucca, Genoa, Pisa, Perugia and more

176
Q

What did the Council of Ten do in Venice, 1417?

A

In 1417, the Ten forcibly deposed the doge, Francesco Foscari. They forbade all citizens, on pain of death, to discuss the subject.

177
Q

What does Jones suggest about the Renaissance thought on communes?

A

there existed inbuilt tensions between nobles or ‘patricians’ and popolani or ‘plebians’

178
Q

What did Marino Sanudo suggest about the order of society?

A

Tripartite - nobles, citizens and lesser people

179
Q

Define Commune

A

an entity which depended on external seigneurial or monarchical authority for fiscal, military and trade relations. Often referred to as a corporation or a universitas at this time

180
Q

Define city-state

A

a special type of universitas which was fiscally independent, could raise an army and enforce the death penalty, and could mint coins, sign commercial charters with other independent states and requisition foreign merchants goods

181
Q

Describe the Ciompi Uprising, 1378

A

* Ciompi - proletariat of Florence the servants of the Arts Maggiori, unprotected by any corporate organisation * In 1330, there were already thousands of paupers in the city and their number and misery increased steadily in the next four decades. * First half of the 14th century, wars devastated the valleys of the Arno and its tributaries, reduced the productivity of the contado and allowed much land to go out of cultivation. A great flood in 1333 and a n outbreak of plague followed by famine in 1340 had increased the misery and discontent of the poor. * Black Death - 1/2 to 3/5’s dead * General rise in prices was not accompanied by a rise in wages and the scarcity of labour was met by importation of foreigners who were more easily coerced and had lower standard of living * Strikes and illegal associations to raises wages were a frequent cause of riot

182
Q

What happened in 1298?

A

In 1298, one of the leading banking families of Europe, the Bonsignoris, were bankrupted, so the city of Siena lost her status as the banking center of Europe to Florence

183
Q

Describe the Albizzi period of rule

A

They were at the centre of Florentine oligarchy from 1382, in the reaction that followed the Ciompi revolt, to the rise of the Medici in 1434.

184
Q

What power did communes possess over staples?

A

Commune had the power to control the price of staples - i.e. commune might, as at Siena, claim a monopoly of the sale of flour, and at the same time legislate vigorously in the interest of the consumer against other monopolies, both generally and specifically.

185
Q

Siennese Pretori system

A

Sienese went as far as in the constitution of 1309 as to forbid the erection of any new dwelling for which planning permission had not been obtained from the pretori - to prevent trespass onto public streets

186
Q

describe the situation in the contado

A

Expansion of contados left an administrative and institutional gap within the legislative control of the commune - this had to be rectified - achieved by the appointment of a regional podesta to operate outside the city

Contados divided to serve military function - such as infantrymen. Typically division by quartiere, sesto etc. could be expected

Most significantly however was control of agriculture - impositio blame was levied on all grain-producing territory proportional to yield = actuating in a tax, or a compulsion to bring surplus grain to the city for sale, only permitting sustenance levels of grain to remain.

Bologna - insistence of grain from Romagna such as Imola or Faenza

Strength of commune so substantial that during times of famine, effects were felt more harshly in towns and countryside than the city.

Communes had strong laws against the purchase of food goods by middle men

Volterra - all men living in hilly areas to plant 4 fruit trees per year, - 6 in Pisa

187
Q

Warley on loyalty

A

“The Italian city states were supremely capable of eliciting loyalty, since a man had every chance to know neighbouring cities and the important differences in geographical site, in architecture, in economic life, in political constitutions and traditions between other cities and his own. Relations between the cities not only created civic spirit but also developed the muscles of the commune through institutions formed to conduct war and diplomacy and to excerpt authority in the subject territory”

188
Q

Florentine Brunetto Latini - statement on war and hatred

A

“War and hatred have so multiplied among the Italians that in every town there is division and enmity between the two parties of citizens”

189
Q

Describe the popolo

A
  • Popolo often had internal divisions highlighting the distinction between the richer and poorer of the people. Most typically an organ for the wealthier craftsmen and of educated professional elements such as notaries.
  • Operated as a pressure group - functioning as counterweight and constitutional role in commune
  • In fully evolved form, the popolo retained a military organisation - employed against magnates - 1,000 in many cities, in some 2000
  • Popolo had captains, elders and priors
  • More radical version of the Popolo formed mid-13th century - in Piacenza - began in 1250 responsive to grain shortage, Podesta arrested, supported by the GC
  • Division in the new popolo for the election of a rector populi - again, down to who would be elected
  • Pistoian popolo shows issue of state within a state - challenged the authority of the commune (138)
  • If a magnate killed a poplano, the Gonfaloniere (standard-bearer of justice) had the responsibility of seeing that the magnate’s house was at once destroyed, property confiscated and sentenced to death
190
Q

Scott on the transition in ICS

A
  • From the turn of the twelfth century a shift in the cities’ policies can be observed. No longer content to conclude pacts of citizenship, they now strove to subordinate, by fair means or foul, the feudal aristocracy to their hegemony in order to create compact territories subject to civic jurisdiction, administration, and fiscality
  • By the thirteenth century the cities in many cases had progressed from ‘surrender and regrant’, which allowed the rural aristocracy to swear civic allegiance but retain their rights of landlordship
191
Q

Scott: Geopolitics

A

Geopolitics—the symbiosis of power and place—determined the political choices of cities regardless of regime, heightened, as always, by faction and partyjostling for ascendancy under the banner of guelf or Ghibelline within any given city or region.

192
Q

Describe the tax arrangement with the contado

A

he cities’ fiscal subordination of their territories can be traced to the early twelfth century, and even then commonly perpetuated what rural lords were already demanding. That, in essence, amounted to a hearth—tax (focatico), a tax on head of cattle (boatcria or giogatico), principally rural. and a wealth-tax (fodro), originally a fodder levy to support the imperial arm); principally urban.

193
Q

Scott on despots

A

The rise of signorie has generally been taken as the counterpoint to communal government: the rule of dynastic overlords spelt the end of the cities as autonomous republics. By 1300, according to Waley, republicanism north of the Apennines was ‘a lost cause’, except in Venice.

194
Q

Epstein: the origins of despotism

A

the consular, podesta , popolo, and “tyrannical” signoria regimes appear as increasingly centralised responses to the recurring problem of family, clan, and guild-based “factionalism”, partisanship or “partiality” (partialitas), whose “winner takes all” approach to political action posed the most serious challenge to social stability (or the “common good”, as it was termed).

195
Q

Epstein’s route to economic hegemony

A

Jurisdictional sovereignty over the countryside improved transportation, increased mobility of labour, extended the reach of the market, stimulated the division of labour and specialisation in agriculture and raised average living standards

Economic hegemony was required to keep political hegemony stable. Two routes to stability - 1. conquest - often failed, 2. submit to a dictator

196
Q

Machiavelli on the fall of the ICS

A

the fall of the city-state was caused by internal failings, most notably by its inability to achieve domestic peace: “the grave and natural enmities, which arise between the common people and the mobility because the latter wish to command and the form shun obedience, are the source of all the instability and conflict in the cities”

197
Q

Thompson’s position on factionalism

A

Rampant factionalism eventually forced the cities to experiment with an executive

198
Q

Najemy on popolo

A

The popolo viewed the elite’s fondness for knighthood and courtly rituals with suspicion and hostility. One indication of this is the role assigned to these cultural factors in the famous story of the murder in 1216 of Buondelmonte de’ Buondelmonte, the event that allegedly divided the elite into warring factions and plunged the city into the chaos of civil war.

199
Q

Pellicani on conquest

A

The autonomous city was the “prime mover” of the awakening which allowed Europe to outstrip all other civilisations and extend its cultural hegemony over them through colonialism.

the proto-bourgeoisie won its battles for libertas, and within the feudal world created myriad enclaves where it could experiment with its singular living arrangement safe from seigneurial interference

200
Q

Pellicani on transition

A

Transition from commune to signora almost always took place through de facto broadening of powers of the captain of the people. This last position had been created “not only to protect the bourgeoisie against excesses, injuries and offences of the mighty, but also all citizens against any violence from whatever source” and to limit the podesta himself.

201
Q

What were the cittidani, what did they do?

A

Citizens

cittadini played in the bureaucracy, charitable institutions, and commerce, as well as their easy sociability and intermarriage with patricians. Viewed in some analyses as Venice’s bourgeoisie, in others as a kind of nobility of the robe, the cittadini have been seen as mediators or buffers between the the nobility and the popolo, with their privileges providing a safety valve alleviating resented against the aristocrats’ monopoly of political power

202
Q

Tarrow: difference between Italy and Europe

A

The difference between the Italian cities and the nationalizing states developing to their north and west lay in the greater capacity of the latter to combine the resources of capital with the tools of coercion into the requisites of statebuilding.

203
Q

Florentine solution to Pisan problem? (novel idea - not implemented)

A

the Florentine government hit upon the novel idea of diverting the course of the Arno from Pisa to deprive its coastal neighbor of its fresh water supply. With control over Pisa assured, the Florentines could more effectively compete with their rivals, Genoa and Venice, for direct control of the fabulously lucrative Mediterranean trade.

204
Q

Gian Galeazzo

What did the Duke call for in 1400?

A

Gian Galeazzo

In 1400, Gian Galeazzo appointed a host of clerks and departments entrusted with improving the public health. For the new system of administration and bookkeeping this established, he is credited with creating the first modern bureaucracy

205
Q

Gian Galeazzo Visconti

What ambition did Gian Galeazzo possess?

A

Gian Galeazzo Viconti

A revived, unified Lombard empire. Major obstacles - Bologna and Florence.

206
Q

Gian Galeazzo Visconti

What territorial gains did Giangaleazzo make?

A

Gian Galeazzo Viconti

After seizing Milan he took Verona, Vicenza, and Padua, establishing himself as Signore of each, and soon controlled almost the entire valley of the Po, including Piacenza where in 1393 he gave the feudal power to Confalonieri Family on the lands they already had in the valleys around Piacenza. He lost Padua in 1390, when it reverted to Francesco Novello da Carrara.

207
Q

Medici

What does John Pagdett suggest contributed to the rise of the Medici?

A

The Medici family was connected to most other elite families of the time through marriages of convenience, partnerships, or employment, so the family had a central position in the social network: several families had systematic access to the rest of the elite families only through the Medici, perhaps similar to banking relationships. Some examples of these families include the Bardi, Salviati, Cavalcanti, and the Tornabuoni. This has been suggested as a reason for the rise of the Medici family

208
Q

Medici

Why did Giovanni, the wealthiest man in Florence, win favour with the people?

A

Although he never held any political charge, he gained strong popular support for the family through his support for the introduction of a proportional taxing system. Giovanni’s son Cosimo the Elder, Pater Patriae, took over in 1434 as gran maestro, and the Medici became unofficial heads of state of the Florentine republic

209
Q

Medici

What was the Medici response to representative government?

A

Three successive generations of the Medici — Cosimo, Piero, and Lorenzo — ruled over Florence through the greater part of the 15th century, without altogether abolishing representative government but clearly dominating it.

210
Q

Medici

What does the failure of Piero (son of Lorenzo) Medici indicate about the nature of the leadership the Medici held in Florence?

A

It was not absolute - Cosimo, Piero (the first) and Lorenzo maintained power through management prowess of a recognisabley ‘restive and independent city’.

211
Q

Medici

Would could said of Piero de’Medici’s rule?

A

(Son of Cosimo). Poor - only in control for five years - little interest in the arts, and due to illness, did little to advance control of the state. Rule essentially stagnated.

212
Q

Medici

Whilst Lorenzo ‘the magnificent’ excelled int he ruling of the city, what happened as a result?

A

The family banking business fell apart.

Already drained by his grandfather’s building projects and constantly stressed by mismanagement, wars, and political expenses, the Medici Bank’s assets contracted seriously during the course of Lorenzo’s lifetime.

213
Q

Medici

Volker Reinhardt: How did Lorenzo rule Florence?

A

Indirectly - through surrogates in the city councils, threats, payoffs and strategic marriages.

214
Q

Medici

Following the founding of a rich alum mine, vital to many trades, and rare in the region, the people of Volterra attempted to control the resource. How did Lorenzo respond?

A

Sent mercenaries to deal with the insurrectionists - they did not however, instead, they sacked the town. This was a stain on the record of Lorenzo.

215
Q

Medici

What was the Pazzi conspiracy?

A

On Easter Sunday, 26 April 1478, a group headed by Girolamo Riario, Francesco Pazzi, and Francesco Salviati, the Archbishop of Pisa, and with the blessing of his patron Pope Sixtus IV, attacked Lorenzo and his brother and co-ruler, Giuliano, in the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in an attempt to seize control of the Florentine government. Lorenzo survived with a minor wound to the shoulder.

216
Q

Medici

What was the aftermath of the Pazzi conspiracy?

A

In the aftermath of the Pazzi Conspiracy and the punishment of Pope Sixtus IV’s supporters, the Medici and Florence suffered from the wrath of the Holy See, which seized all the Medici assets Sixtus could find, excommunicated Lorenzo and the entire government of Florence, and ultimately put the entire Florentine city-state under interdict

217
Q

Medici

Why did Piero the Unfortunate fail?

A

Piero surrendered to Charles VIII of France, agreeing to all demands - this led to uproar in Florence, ejecting the Medici family.

218
Q

How did the signore of Fererra secure their power de jure?

A

1287: Ferrara - matters of government were under Obizzo d’Este’s “arbitrary will”.

219
Q

Isabella Lazzarini

What does Lazzarini pioneer?

A

‘New diplomatic history’ - personnel of diplomacy, symbolic world.

Focuses on the history of communication, and the polgensis of diplomacy.

Lorenzo de Medici of Florence - sought to control communication channels, hoping to enhance his city’s power by including and excluding other actors from political dialogue.

220
Q

David Waley

What does the process of sortittion add to the equation?

A

“the cautious use of sortition in the selection of electors to office should be seen as a technique for achieving a certain degree of democracy within an oligarchic regime.”

221
Q

Carol Lansing

What is Lansing’s core thesis?

A

The communes recognised that nobles were essential to effecitve government: anti-magnate legislation sought not to exlcude magnates completely, but to move magnate conflict from the streets to the courtroom. The demonisation of the magnates in the rhetoric of communal statutes served to legitimate the autonomous authority of the commune itself.

Challenging Christine Klapish-Zuber, Lansing suggrests magnate violence could be used to reinforce informal lordship, through rape, arson, and physical assault to dominate the rural population.

222
Q

How did the Carrara rise in Padua?

A

Factional warfare and the imminent danger of Veronese invasion obliged the commune to choose Giacomo il Grande da Carrara as the city’s ‘Defensor, Protector et Gubernator populi paduani, et civitatsi et distictus, et in eis habitantium Capitaneus generalis’ on 25 July 1318 - opening door to signoria.

223
Q

John Law

What is John Law’s thesis?

A

Should analyse the practice of ‘diarchy’ in relation to communes and signoria - the delicate balance between signoria and communal institutions.

Example: Malatesta - Commune still maintained a strong administrative role

Mantua - Gonzaga signori were perhaps more concerned to retain communal structures than the citizens themselves. David Chambers has shown the creation of a multiplicity of new councils to oversee hospitals and mercantile affairs, and continued to summon the Council of Four Hundred until 1419.

224
Q

How can we see a maintenance of respect for the institution of communalism in Lucca?

A

Although Lucca saw a demonstrable decline in communalism, Paolo Guingi - signore 1400-30, demonstrated a devotion to clemency and respect in his rule. This was despite taking rhetorical ownership - “his’ subjects, his city

225
Q

Quote showing deference to Guingi - of Lucca

A

1407 - Iacopo Viviani - in accounting for the abortive coup, stated “you would not find three people in Lucca ready to plot against’ Guinigi, and the citizens liked the fact that the signore ‘kept his hands off their purse… would not hear of any indecencies over women… and never had up to that point been cruel, but on the contrary extremely merciful”. Christine Meek’s study suggests this was an accurate account.

226
Q

What is the issue with Diarchy?

A

Has a limited lifespan - signori gradually dispensed with ties to the communal past. However, movement to hereditary system not a given success - shown in the shaky years of Piero di Medici’s early rule following Lorenzo.

Mostly, like Giangaleazzo, achievement of the titular overlordship was done in pursuit of escaping the binds of communes

227
Q

Communes and Despots: The City state in Late-Medieval Italy - Philip Jones

Which states were under despotic rule by 1300?

A

Already by 1300, much of Lombardy, with Piedmont, Emilia and Venetia, and most of Romagna and the Marche, were under despotic rule - some historians (Albertino Mussato) began to speak of cycles in the development of the state

228
Q

Why was Philip Jones radical in 1965?

A
  • Radical suggestion of Philip Jones in 1965 - that the communes which had been held to represent the ideal of the self-governing state of Hans Baron’s ‘civic humanism’ had more in common with the ‘despotisms’ which they traditionally contrasted
229
Q

​Communes and Despots: The City state in Late-Medieval Italy - Philip Jones​

What is notable about despotic and democratic regimes in the period?

A
  • Despotic government was not totalitarian;
  • communal government was not democratic
230
Q

​Communes and Despots: The City state in Late-Medieval Italy - Philip Jones​

Who was restricted from political participation in communes?

A
  • Democratic participation was restricted to property owning burgesses of local origin and prolonged residence. Rustics (rural) were rarely granted any political power
231
Q

​Communes and Despots: The City state in Late-Medieval Italy - Philip Jones

Which groups dominated the commune?

A

Overbearing influence of richer trade guilds - esp. bankers, businessmen and industrialists - popolani grassi - Florence, 1330s, 70% of all major offices were held by members of the three wealthiest guilds: Lana, Cambio, Calimala

232
Q

​Communes and Despots: The City state in Late-Medieval Italy - Philip Jones

What happened in 1343, in Florence?

A
  • By 1343, a popular revolution, the full corporation of 31 guilds gained access to governing power - rendering 3,500 eligible men for control of 75000-80000 souls.
233
Q

​Communes and Despots: The City state in Late-Medieval Italy - Philip Jones

Which group of dominant families tended to dominate?

A

Irresistible trend to restrict supreme office to a group of dominant families - the ottimati, principal, beneficiati etc.

  • Siena - Trecento - barely 60 in a population of 50,000
  • Florence, 1459 - 365
234
Q

​Communes and Despots: The City state in Late-Medieval Italy - Philip Jones

What was the dominant bond in this period?

A
  • familial clans most important - Leon Alberti - “the strongest of all bonds, the bond of blood”
235
Q

What could be said to have been achieved by the later 13th century?

A
  • Succession of the popolo
  • Alliance to guelf/ghib settled
  • Qualifications to citizenship had been settled
236
Q

​Communes and Despots: The City state in Late-Medieval Italy - Philip Jones​

How did the commune survive under the signoria?

A
  • LAW - remained mostly unchanged - deferring to the ius commune
  • Magistrates and councils persisted, elections of officials, enactment of laws, discussion of taxes continued
  • Signoria, for a long time after taking over, still claimed to operate as normal magistrates
  • STATE FINANCE - Remained relatively unaffected - militias funded in much the same way a normal commune would fund them (though permanent corps emerged into the 13th c)
237
Q

​Communes and Despots: The City state in Late-Medieval Italy - Philip Jones​

How was it argued that the despotic nature was actually the truthful one?

A
  • Antonio Missiroli - “pasci-popolo”
  • Most matters, from right sto citizenship, were controlled by the signore - despite constitutions.
  • Councils met at the whim of the lord
  • General councils lacked power
  • Officers of importance were appointed by the signore.
238
Q

How did the role of the church vary?

A

Bernabo Visconti - “Pope, emperor and lord” of his domain

privileges of the church varied - less strong in Milan, more potent in the likes of Orvieto.

239
Q

Describe the centralising trend under Giangaleazzo

A

Giangaleazzo - regional courts created for the eastern and western territories - leading to slow centralisation. However, Giangaleazzo could not introduce uniformity of law or reciprocity of rights between towns.

With the accession of the signori, the popolo was suppressed.

240
Q

Magnate Violence Revisited - Carol Lansing

How has historiography on the subject of magnates changed over time?

A

1990s- normalisation of the magnates - emphasising their ongoing political and institutional roles. Particularly, flurry of interest in Bolognese elites and politics.

241
Q

How did the fate of magnates vary in Bologna?

A

1255: election of capitan del popolo
1282: first anti-magnate legislation - against 92 magnates from from 40 families

Despite Sacred Ordinances - nobles filtered back into political influence in a number of ways, including inscription in the arms societies and also as sapiences advising the popular council of anziani.

242
Q

What is Andrea Zorzi’s contention?

A

1995 - Florentine Ordinances of Justice stressed the idea that the Florentine laws restricting the magnates served primarily as a means of ideological legitimation of the new corporate regime.

243
Q

Zorzi - why did the Popolo demonise the magnates?

A

magnates were a political construct - popolo made genuine effort to demonise. ’The solidarity of interests of the popolo was forged through the demonisation of the adversary and the manipulation of consensus.’

244
Q

Evidence some pro-monarchical authors

A

Scala - praising cosmio medici

Bruetto Latini - suggestion Aristotelian preference

Dante

Giles of Rome

245
Q

Giles of Rome quote on the nature of monarchical leadership

A

“All the universe is directed by one ruler, God… If, therefore, the government of the whole universe is assimilated to the government which ought to be in one person, since the city is part of the universe, all the more should the government of the whole city be reserved to one house”

246
Q

Who were the pro-Republican authors of the period?

A

Ptolemy of Lucca - Found in aristotle that law for the majority of the people was most desirable

Marsilius of Padua - sovereignty belonged to a legislator consisting of the ‘populum seu civicum universitatem aut eius valenciorem partem”

247
Q

John Najemy - on tyranny

A

modern historians have tempered the harsh judgement that once damned the signori as tyrants (without necessarily seeing them as benevolent fathers), and it is no longer fashionable to call them despots.

248
Q

Where does Kohl cite the distortion in the historiography?

A

the sensationalist treatments of Renaissance Italy of Jacob Burckhardt and John Addington Symonds, the image of the illegitimate ‘despot’ has maintained a strangely tenacious hold on the historical imagination

249
Q

How does Kohl define a tyrant?

A

from definition of Bartolus of Sasoferrato, a lord who “had not gained office by popular election or sanction by a higher authority, such as pope or emperor, or because he ruled illegally and agains the welfare of his subjects”

250
Q

Account for the leadership style of Francesco il Vecchio (of Padua)

A

Francesco il Vecchio - Padua - whilst in some respects tyrannical - employing legal fictions and deathbed confessions to obtain the property of his subjects, he was also a just lord sharing the tasks of governing with the organs of the Padua commune and acting as the father of his subjects, as Petrarch advised in Seniles XIV

251
Q

Kohl’s final line of Francesco il Vecchio

A

Vecchio ultimately was capable of just rule, despite indulging in a lavish lifestyle

252
Q

Describe the origins of despotism

A
  • Greek - despoticus, despoticum, despoti - in use in 14th century Europe, but not to describe lords of Renaissance Italy - late Byzantine title
  • Montesquieu - defined despot as the Asian despot who ruled through consent obtained by fear. Through the Persian Letters, despotism was depicted as a system of fear, jealousy and mutual suspicion
  • Symonds transferred Victorian scepticism into his analysis of Italian lords - to contrast with the ‘men of the new age’. Overemphasised the ‘inordinate appetite for enjoyment’ of the despot.
  • Jacob Bruckhardt - Die Kultur des Renaissance in Italien - despot used synonymously with tyrant
  • The Italian translation of the The Age of Despots = L’Era dei tiranni (1900)
253
Q

What must be noted about accounts like Giles of Rome?

A

Monarchist - about kingship - but this is still applicable (just make it obvious)

254
Q

Provide a 14th century account which demonised Ezzelino III da Romano

A

Albertino Mussato’s Ecerinis ( c. 1315 ) portrays Ezzelino as the son of the Devil.

255
Q

How was Ezzelino removed?

A

Two powerful allies defected to the Guelfs, thereby siding with the Pope’s crusade against Ezzelino. Ezzelino was then caught in battle, and died in prison.

Medieval Europe - 15 (5 decks)

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