Description
Book SynopsisThis first detailed study of the bishops of Florence tells the story of a dynamic Italian lordship during the most prosperous period of the Middle Ages. Drawing upon a rich base of primary sources, Dameron demonstrates that the nature of the Florentine episcopal lordship results from the tension between seigneurial pressure and peasant resistance.
Trade ReviewThis seems to me an impressive piece of work: conceptually ambitious, immensely learned… The author sets out to comprehend the history of episcopal lordship, the evolution of social order and elites in Florentine Tuscany, and the nature of socio-economic change. These are big bites…but Mr. Dameron’s control of the sources is formidable and he comes to interesting and plausible conclusions. -- T. N. Bisson, Harvard University
Dameron has unearthed a quantity of new detail, combined it in a fresh, convincing exposition, and at the same time developed some useful comparisons and contrasts with other parts of Italy. -- Philip J. Jones, University of Oxford
Table of ContentsPreface Maps Introduction 1. The Emergence of the Patrilineage and the Conflict with Episcopal Interests 2. The Bishop, the City, and the Contado in the Twelfth Century 3. Rural Communes and the Challenge to Episcopal Hegemony in the Countryside, 1180-1250 4. Episcopal Property and the Transformation of Florentine Society, 1250-1320 Conclusion Abbreviations Appendix A. Chronology of Florentine Bishops to 1321 Appendix B. Comparison of a Bullettone Entry with Its Model Appendix C. Episcopal Castelli in the Diocese of Florence, 1000-1250 Appendix D. Entries in the Bullettone According to Date, Region, and Type Notes Bibliography Index
