Bartolus on Social Conditions in the Fourteenth Century 9780231878814

Table of contents :
Preface
Table of Contents
Abbreviations
Chapter I. Life and Writings of Bartolus
Chapter II. The Family
Chapter III. The City
Chapter IV. Nobles and Nobility
Chapter V. Students and Doctors
Chapter VI. The Sentiment of Religion
Chapter VII. Franciscan Poverty
Chapter VIII. Heretics and Jews
Chapter IX. Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

Citation preview

S T U D I E S IN H I S T O R Y , E C O N O M I C S A N D PUBLIC LAW Edited by the FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

N U M B E R 495

BARTOLUS ON SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY BT

ANNA T. SHEEDY, LL. B., Ph. D.

BARTOLUS ON SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN THE

F O U R T E E N T H CENTURY

BY

ANNA T. SHEEDY

AMS P R E S S , INC. NEW YORK

1967

Copyright 1942, Columbia University P r e s s New York

Reprinted 1967 with permission of Columbia University P r e s s

AMS P R E S S , INC. New York, N.Y. 10003

Manufactured

in t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s o f

America

PREFACE THIS study has evolved f r o m an examination of the writings of Bartolus of Sassoferrato f o r information regarding certain aspects of social life in fourteenth century Italy. Bartolus— the Prince of Commentators, the L a m p of the L a w — w a s the leading civilist of the age. F o r more than a century his opinions were regarded as authoritative in the schools and in the courts; at times, as in Spain and Portugal, they even had the force of law. Apart f r o m lawyers and legal historians, it is chiefly the students of political theory and practice who have heretofore concerned themselves with his writings. Because the works of a practicing jurist and teacher of law mirror more or less clearly the age in which he lives, they may supplement the knowledge of the period which is derived f r o m other sources. In this monograph both the information upon the topics selected for examination and the attitude of Bartolus with regard to these topics will be considered. H i s reactions are of value, for they reflect the thought of the age through the mind of one of its outstanding figures. T o Professor Lynn Thorndike, who suggested the writings of Bartolus for investigation, and who has given me guidance and constructive criticism during the progress of the study, I tender sincere thanks. On several aspects of the subject Professors Austin P. Evans, Dino Bigongiari, and A r t h u r Schiller have offered helpful suggestions which I deeply appreciate. ANNA T. COLLEGE OF N E W NEW

SHEEDY.

ROCHELLE

ROCHELLE, N E W

YORK

5

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE PREFACE

5

ABBREVIATIONS

g

CHAPTER

I

Life and Writings of Bartolus CHAPTER

11 II

The Family

50 CHAPTER

III

The City

78 CHAPTER

IV

Nobles and Nobility

105 CHAPTER

V

Students and Doctors

126 CHAPTER

VI

The Sentiment of Religion

163 CHAPTER

VII

Franciscan Poverty

185 CHAPTER

VIII

Heretics and Jews

214 CHAPTER

IX

CONCLUSION

243

BIBLIOGRAPHY

253

INDEX

261

7

ABBREVIATIONS CORPUS JURIS

CIVILIS

Auth auth

Authenticum authentica

C const D I Nov TL

Code Constitution „Digest Institutes Novel Tres libri

W H I T I N G S OF BARTOLUS

cons quaest Tract OTHER

consilium

or Consilia

quaestio Tractatus

ABBREVIATIONS

AFH Rossi

Archivum jranciscanum historicum " Documenti per la storia dell' Università di Perugia ", Giornale di erudizione artistica, IV-VI (187577).

9

CHAPTER I L I F E AND WRITINGS OF BARTOLUS BARTOLUS was born in Sassoferrato in the province of Ancona in the year 1 3 1 4 . 1 While various surnames have been bestowed upon him by his biographers, he probably had none, a circumstance not unusual in his day.2 To his legal opinions he added the signature Bartolus or Bartolus de Saxoferrato. In an official document of the city of Perugia, he was listed as Bartolus Cecchi Bonacursii de Saxoferrato. 3 This tells us that his father was Ceccus, a form of Francis, his grand1 The dates which have been given for the birth of Bartolus range from 130g to 1314. J. L. J. van de Kamp, Bartolo da Sassoferrato (Urbino, 1935). p. 5, accepts 1313, on the authority of " Memorie Perugine di T e s e o Alfani ", ed. F. Bonaini, Archivio storico italiano, X V I , II (1851), 267, and of Diplovataccius, " V i t a Bartoli ", Opera omnia of Bartolus (Venice, 1590-1602), I, 8-9. F. J. C. von Savigny, Geschichte des römischen Rechts im Mittelalter (2nd ed.; Heidelberg, 1834^1851), VI, 140, gives 1314, although he notes that most biographers put it at 1309 or 1313 (1309: Caccialupus; I 3 ! 3 : Diplovataccius, Lancellotus, Panzirolus, Pellini). The one certain date is that the promotion of Bartolus to the doctorate occurred on November 10, 1334, in his twenty-first year (Doctoral diploma of Bartolus, Lancellotus, " Vita clari jurisconsulti Bartoli de Saxoferrato ", which is included in J. G. Meuschen, Vilae summorum virorum (Coburg, 1 / 3 5 ) , I, 8 4 - 8 7 ) . In his commentary to D. 45. 1. 132 Bartolus says that the doctorate was conferred upon him in his twenty-first year. Therefore his birthdate was after November 10, 1313, and before November 10, 1314. Since only one and one half months of this period are in the year 1313, and ten and one half in 1314, Savigny concludes that 1314 is more probable than 1313. 2 Van de Kamp, p. 5, believes that Bartolus did not have a surname, for neither he in any of his writings nor the documents in which he is named gives one. Savigny, VI, 141, following Pellini and Vermiglioli, says that the family name had originally been Severi, was later changed to Alfani. C. W o o l f , Bartolus of Sassoferrato (Cambridge, 1913), p. 395, gives the name as Bentivogli. A. Rossi, " Documenti per la storia dell' Università di Perugia", Giornale di erudizione artistica, V I (1877), 239, attributes to Brandimarte the discovery of a document which gives the name Cecco Bonacursii Bentivoli, indicating that the name of the great grandfather of Bartolus was Bentivogli or Bentivoglio. 3 Rossi, V , 305. 11

12

BARTOLUS

ON S O C I A L

CONDITIONS

father was Bonacursius. Concerning these ancestors there is little definite information. 4 Our rather limited knowledge about the events in the life of Bartolus is derived chiefly from personal references in his legal commentaries and in those of his pupil Baldus, from his will, and f r o m official records of Perugia. 6 The earliest of these notices recalls the instruction which he received from Peter of Assisi,® a Franciscan friar, 7 who performed his task so successfully that at the age of thirteen or fourteen Bartolus w a s sufficiently advanced to begin the study of Roman law at the University of Perugia. His first teacher of law, Cino da Pistoia ( 1 2 7 0 - 1 3 3 6 ) , is famous both as a jurist and as a poet. A s a poet, this friend of Dante and Petrarch is remembered for his charming Rime;

his legal writings, however, reflect his literary

proclivities and those of his time only in a greater number of citations of classic writers than appear in other juridical works of the period. 8 Cino himself had studied at Bologna under the eminent Dino da Mugello (d. after 1 2 9 7 ) ,

a

civilist and canon-

ist, and the author of important works in both laws. 9 A m o n g 4 T h e documents discovered by Brandimarte refer to sales of cows and land. F r o m these documents, as well as from the fact that Bartolus could study for so long a period outside his native city, van de Kamp concludes that the father was probably engaged in agriculture, and was a man of some means. 5 T h e personal references in the writings of Bartolus and Baldus will be cited at appropriate places in this study. Lancellottus includes in his biography documents relating to the life of Bartolus, from which Rossi has reprinted those pertaining to Bartolus at Perugia. 6 Bartolus, V I , 49V ( D . 45. 1. 1 3 2 ) . 7 Panzirolus, De Claris legum scribes Peter as a F r i a r Minor.

inlerpretibus

(Leipzig, 1721), p. 153, de-

8 Cino's Lectura in Codicem contains citations to Cato, Juvenal, Ovid, Valerius Maximus, Sallust, Lucan, many of them at first rather than at second hand. G. Zaccagnini, Cino da Pistoia (Pistoia, 1 9 1 8 ) , p. 4 9 . 9 Dino da Mugello (dei Rossoni) was born in the valley of the Mugello near Florence. He taught law at Pistoia, Bologna, Rome, and again at Bologna. His writings include works both on civil and on canon law; commentaries on the Digest, Consilia, Quaestiones, and some eighty-eight rules of law which form an appendix to the Liber sextus of Boniface V I I I .

LIFE

AND

WRITINGS

OF

BARTOLUS

13

the fellow students of Cino were Oldrado, James Buttrigarius and Raynerius of Forli, all of whom were teachers of Bartolus in later years. Bartolus owed to Cino his practical approach to the study of the texts of the Roman law; for to Cino has been given credit for blending the Roman law of the Accursian Gloss with local statutes, and with canon and customary law. Before he settled down to a professorial career at the age of forty-four, Cino had behind him years of varied experience. Most important for his future influence upon his students was his practical training as assessor (judge) in a number of law courts. In 1307 party strife had forced him to flee from his post as assessor of the civil court at Pistoia. The expedition of Henry V I I to Italy gave him an opportunity to declare openly his Ghibellinism, and to become assessor to Louis of Savoy, who occupied Rome in 1 3 1 0 . In 1 3 1 2 , at the age of forty-two, Cino began work on his Commentary on the Code which he completed two years later. Before 1300 the legal knowledge derived from the study of the texts of the Corpus Juris Civilis had been little applied in the practice of the law in the courts. The earliest fusion of legal theory and practice developed in France, where the jurists in their analysis of the law employed the scholastic method—aligning and evaluating the arguments on both sides and working through these toward a logical conclusion. In their courts they adapted the existing body of law to the questions of the day. In the preface to his Commentary Cino declares his intention to make known the opinions of these modern jurists, especially those of James of Revigny 1 0 (fl. 1296), the most famous of 10 Cino speaks of J a m e s of R e v i g n y ( J a c o b u s de R a v a n i s ) as " magnus magister omnis philosophiae", and f u r t h e r , " non erat in mundo a d v e r sarius durior nec subtilior," Zaccagnini, pp. 187, 189. J a m e s taught l a w a t Toulouse, also at Orleans. In 1290 he became the bishop of V e r d u n . H i s w o r k s include commentaries on Digest and Code, a Dictionarium, Summa

de feudis, Disputationes variae.

14

BARTOLUS

ON

SOCIAL

CONDITIONS

the French civilists, and of his student, Peter o f Belleperche (d. 1 3 0 8 ) . In the same year in which he completed his mentary,

11

Com-

Cino w a s advanced to the doctorate at Bologna. 1 2

F r o m this time until his death in 1336 he devoted himself to teaching at T r e v i s o , Siena, P e r u g i a , and Florence. T h e teaching of

Cino made a permanent

impression

on

Bartolus, greater than that of any of his later teachers, even including James Buttrigarius, his chief

teacher at Bologna.

T h r o u g h C i n o ' s lectures Bartolus became acquainted with the works of the most illustrious French jurists, with English and French customs, and with the statutes of the communes. 1 3 H e learned of his master's famous disputation on the politico-legal question of the summons of Robert of A n j o u by H e n r y V I I , and the effect of Robert. 1 4

Emperor

the papal dispensation

upon

H e heard the opinion, which is really an early tract

on medical jurisprudence, given to Cino by the famous doctor of medicine, Gentile da Foligno, w h o taught at P e r u g i a until his death in

1348. 1 5 Baldus,

the most

famous student

of

Bartolus, reports that Bartolus used to say to him that the lec11 Peter of Belleperche was called " dignissimae memoriae d o c t o r " by Cino. Zaccagnini, p. 189. Peter also taught at Toulouse and Orleans, was later bishop of Auxerre and chancellor of France. 12 T h e reason for the lapse of ten years between his examination and his promotion to the doctorate is unknown. During this period Cino may have travelled in France. G. M. Monti, Cino da Pistoia giurista (Citta di Castello, 1924), pp. 38-40. 13 Zaccagnini, p. 189. F r o m these discussions Bartolus learned of the English custom that when a foreigner died intestate, the Church succeeded to his property; also that in England the eldest son succeeded to all the property by right of primogeniture. H e mentions the fact that in France both nobles and non-nobles were hanged for a serious crime, while in Italy nobles were decapitated. 14 Bartolus, V I , 176V ( D . 47. 17. I. 2 ) ; V I , 225r ( D . 50. 7. 5. 3). Cino disputed this question in the studium of Siena in 1321 or 1322. This disputation was discussed not only in Italy but beyond the Alps. 15 Bartolus, III, ( D . 28. 2. 29) includes a summary of this treatise. For its significance in the history of medicine see Lynn Thorndike, A History of Magic and Experimental Science, III ( N e w York, 1 9 3 4 ) , 2 3 6 ff.

LIFE

AND

WRITINGS

tures of Cino were responsible

OF

BARTOLUS

15

for the development of

his

talent. 1 6 A s the next step in his training f o r a career in law Bartolus matriculated at the University of Bologna, still the most important Italian university f o r the study of both canon and civil law. H i s teachers at B o l o g n a were James Buttrigarius,

Ray-

nerius of Forlì, 1 7 perhaps O l d r a d o da Ponte, 1 8 and possibly James of Belviso. 1 9 James Buttrigarius had been teaching at B o l o g n a for more than twenty years, where his reputation a m o n g the students had steadily increased.

H i s method

of

teaching differed f r o m that of C i n o in that he w a s concerned almost exclusively with explaining the Gloss of

Accursius, 2 0

paying little attention to the new interest in the application of the law to contemporary problems, the tendency which had come f r o m across the A l p s . In 1334, at the age of twenty, Bartolus had completed the required course of study in civil law and w a s ready to be advanced to the doctorate. H i s teacher and sponsor, James Buttrigarius, to whom Bartolus referred as " pater meus ", presented Bartolus to John Calderinus (c. 1 3 0 0 - 1 3 6 5 ) , 2 1 the vicar of the 16 Baldus, c. Vasallus van de Kamp, p. 1.

feudum F. Si de feudo fuerit

controver.,

cited by

17 Raynerius of Forlì (Raniero degli Arisendi da F o r l ì ) taught at Bologna, Pisa, and Padua. H i s writings include commentaries on the Digest, the Code, and the Liber feudorum, Consilia, Summa. 18 Oldrado da Laude ( o r da P o n t e ) taught at Padua, Siena, Montpellier, and Bologna. H e finally became a consistorial lawyer for the H o l y See at Avignon, where he died in 1335. H e entered into contemporary controversies. H i s writings include commentaries on the Infortxatum and the Code, Quaestiones, Consilia. 19 James de Belviso taught at Naples, Padua, Siena, Bologna, and Perugia. In 1321 he returned from Perugia to Bologna where he lectured and participated in public affairs until his death in 1335. H e wrote commentaries on the Authenticum and Liber feudorum, and a Practica criminali^. 20 V a n de Kamp, p. 7. 21 John Calderinus was the pupil and adopted son of the famous canonist Giovanni d'Andrea. H e taught law at Bologna and wrote several treatises.

l6

B A R T O L U S ON S O C I A L

CONDITIONS

a r c h d e a c o n o f B o l o g n a . F o r the e x a m i n a t i o n b e f o r e the d o c t o r s B a r t o l u s w a s g i v e n t w o t e x t s t o discuss, o n e f r o m the ( D . 4 . 2 Quod

metus

causa.

(C. 6.32 Quemadmodum mentum).

1 0 Illud),

Digest

the s e c o n d f r o m the

testamentum aperiantur.

Code

1 Ut testa-

U p o n s u c c e s s f u l l y c o m p l e t i n g this step, the final test

w a s his disputation, a f t e r which, on N o v e m b e r 1 0 , 1 3 3 4 , he w a s f o r m a l l y invested w i t h the s y m b o l s o f his n e w d i g n i t y :

ring,

book, a n d biretta.22 T h e c a r e e r o f B a r t o l u s in the period i m m e d i a t e l y

following

h i s a t t a i n m e n t o f the d o c t o r a t e presents a p r o b l e m to h i s b i o g r a p h e r s . 2 3 T h e o n l y i n f o r m a t i o n a v a i l a b l e is that he c o n t i n u e d to live in the v i c i n i t y o f B o l o g n a , c a r r y i n g h i s studies f o r w a r d i n d e p e n d e n t l y . 2 4 T h i s f a c t is established b y a r e f e r e n c e of t o l u s t o the creation o f B o l o g n a a s a n imperial city b y dosius at the c o m m a n d of

Saint Ambrose.

I n that c i t y

BarTheoBar-

tolus s a y s that this legend m a y b e f o u n d at the m o n a s t e r y

of

22 T h e doctoral diploma relates the circumstances of Bartolus' promotion to the doctorate. 23 T h i s period in the life of Bartolus, concerning which there have been m a n y disputes, extends f r o m the date of his doctorate to that of his professorship at Pisa, which began in 1339. Baldus tells us that Bartolus was assessor both at Todi and at Pisa before he began to teach at Pisa. F u r t h e r , he is reported to have been assessor at Cagli and to have taught at P a d u a and Bologna, but these activities have been more generally rejected. Van de K a m p , D u t c h edition, Bartolus de Saxoferrato ( A m s t e r d a m , 1936), p. 23, notes 7, 8. N o t e that unless otherwise specified, the references in this study are to the Italian edition. T h e Dutch edition contains expanded footnotes, and pictorial and genealogical material which is not in the Italian edition. 24 Bartolus, I, 5r ( D . const, omnem. 7 ) . Concerning the residence at St. Victor, the older writers say that Bartolus either retreated or w a s banished to this place because of an u n j u s t sentence of death. Savigny, V I , 145. Panzirolus, for example, speaks of the " odium " aroused by Bartolus' sentencing a youth to torture at Todi, d u r i n g which the youth died; to escape this odium, Panzirolus says that Bartolus sought refuge in the villa. Panzirolus, p. 154. Later biographers ( S a v i g n y , Woolf, van de K a m p ) reject this explanation for the residence of Bartolus at St. Victor. W h i l e the period of study " per m a g n u m tempus " has been generally assigned to the interval between 1334 and 1339 (again Savigny, Woolf, and van de K a m p ) , it is not altogether impossible that it may have been d u r i n g the time before his attainment of the doctorate.

LIFE

AND WRITINGS

OF B A R T O L U S

17

St. Victor, a holy place, where he stayed for a long period of time (per magnum tempus), studying and reviewing by himself. During this interval his conclusions with regard to a number of disputed points of law probably crystallized. It may be that his interest in various complex and subtle problems led him to remain near the collections of law books and in association with his teachers and friends until he should have completed his studies to his own satisfaction, and secured an acceptable post. In the practice of law, the first experience of Bartolus was as assessor at Todi. 2 5 The assessors served as expert assistants for various tasks requiring knowledge of the law, chiefly as judges or assistant judges. F r o m the twelfth century on it had become customary for the judge before pronouncing sentence to ask counsel of one or more persons learned in the law. T h e office of counsellor or assessor, at first employed in a particular case, was made permanent, and appears in the tribunals of the Italian cities and in that of the podestà, which had its own assessor. Nearly a century before Bartolus, Odofredo (d. 1265) had spoken of illiterate men, chosen as podestà of the cities and towns, who brought with them literate assistants of whom they had great need. 26 Bartolus also referred to a gloss which held that illiterate laymen could be judges, 27 and noted that every day nobles without much education were chosen as podestà of cities. T h e practical experience which Bartolus gained as assessor came to have great importance in his success as a teacher. 25 " Quarta est opinio Bartoli, qui fuit homo multum inhaerens practicae, et fuit assessor primi Tuderti, postea Pisis, et ibi palam legere incepit, et deinde venit ad civitatem Perusii, unde legendo optimus factus est." Baldus,

C. 9. 1. 1. 26 " Isti qui eliguntur in potestates civitatum et terrarum sunt viri illiterate tamen secum ducunt iudices literati-, quia multum indigent eis." N. Tamassia, Odofredo (Bologna, 1 8 9 4 ) , p. 1 7 . 27 Bartolus, VIII, 65V (C. 7. 44. 3). Throughout this study the references to vol. V I I I are to the 1602 edition.

l8

B A R T O L U S ON S O C I A L

CONDITIONS

A f t e r his term of service at Todi, Bartolus accepted a similar post at Pisa. 2 8 Within a brief time his knowledge of the law made so favorable an impression that in the same year ( 1 3 3 8 ) or, more probably, in the year following, he became a professor of Roman law at the University of Pisa. 2 9 T h e interdict laid upon the city of Bologna by Benedict X I I in 1 3 3 8 had resulted in a great migration of students to Pisa. 3 0 In his new position Bartolus was the concurrens

of his former teacher

Raynerius of Forlì. 3 1 This practice (the concursus),

a common

one in medieval universities,

professors

required that two

should instruct their classes in the same or in a related text of law. A f t e r the separate lectures, an informal discussion of the points raised would take place among the students. Into these arguments the professors, the concurrentes,

might be drawn to

maintain their respective positions. It was not unusual for friction and jealousy to develop between the professors. Bartolus treated" Raynerius with the greatest respect, stating publicly in one disputation

that

he submitted

himself

always

to

his

correction. 32 28 Baldus, C. 9, i- i29 In the twenty-sixth year of his life Bartolus was teaching at P i s a . Bartolus, V, 97r ( D . 41. 3. 5). T h e school at Pisa, which dates f r o m a t least the end of the twelfth century, did not obtain the privileges of a studium generale until 1343, when a bull to this effect was granted by Clement V I . H a s t i n g s Rashdall, The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages, eds. F. M. Powicke and A. B. E m d e n (3 vols., O x f o r d , 1936), I I , 45. 30 A. Fabroni, Historia

Academice

Pisanae

( P i s a , 1791 ) , I, 47-48.

31 On the institution of the concursus, see E. Coppi, Le università nel medio evo (Florence, 1886), p. 247 ff.

italiane

32 Panzirolus, citing Jason, asserts " Rainerium praeceptorem concurrentem habuit acerrimum." Panzirolus, p. 154. T h e suggestion that unfriendly relations existed between Raynerius and Bartolus as colleagues finds no support in the writings of Bartolus, who refers to his former teacher in t e r m s of the greatest respect (Bartolus in quaest. 14: " s a l v a opinione cujuslibet D o c t o r i s . . . et specialiter patris f t domini mei Ray. de Forlì, cujus correction! me semper submitto.") The basis for the charge of hostility is a scornful, belittling allusion by Raynerius to an unnamed f o r m e r pupil w h o h a d succeeded to Raynerius' teaching post at Bologna, and who had had t h e temerity to reject an opinion of Raynerius. Savigny, V I , 501-505. T h a t the

LIFE

AND

WRITINGS

OF

BARTOLUS

ig

A t Pisa Bartolus engaged in a variety of activities. In addition to his regular lectures, he delivered an occasional tio

33

repeti-

(an elaborate analysis of one particular law or a section

of a l a w ) , and performed other academic duties. H e continued his legal studies; 3 4 and at the request of his friend, Francis T i g r i n i of Pisa, he sent an opinion upon a question raised in the conflict between L u c c a and Florence. 3 8 In addition, he probably gave legal opinions (consilia) concerning litigation pending b e f o r e the Pisan judges. H o w e v e r , his teaching career at P i s a w a s not of long duration, f o r in 1342 or 1343, 3 9 Bartolus received his appointment to the U n i v e r s i t y of P e r u g i a , where he taught until his death in 1357. A t the time when Bartolus received his call to teach at P e r u g i a the city had reached the height of its power. Its sovereignty extended beyond U m b r i a into sections of Tuscany and of Spoleto. Beyond the walls of the city proper stretched the contado, of no definite limits, dotted with unwalled villages, and with castles and towns fortified by the permission of the ruling city. These subject or " allied " communities had) little or no independent jurisdiction, and were rarely permitted more than sharply limited control over their internal affairs. T h e nobles, too, who possessed fortresses in the contado had gradually been forced to recognize the sovereignty of the city. O n the first of March, the feast of St. Ercolano, they, together with the representatives of the subject territories, made their submission to the magistrates of Perugia, w h o were seated on the steps of the nature of Raynerius was not a gentle one receives confirmation in the report of violent quarrels with Signorolus de Homodeis, another former student, who later became his colleague at Padua. Savigny, V I , 187-188. 33 Bartolus, V I , 8v 15 November, 1343.

( D . 45. 1. 4. 1).

This repetition bears the

date

34 Bartolus, V, n v ( D . 39. 1. 5. 14). 35 Bartolus, I I I , io8v ( D . 28. 5. 29). 36 Information concerning the activity of Bartolus at Pisa extends f r o m 1339 to 1342 (the repetition of 15 November, 1342) ; that at P e r u g i a begins with 1343 (a repetition at P e r u g i a on 29 March, 1343).

20

BARTOLUS

ON S O C I A L

CONDITIONS

campanile of the cathedral, and brought with them the contributions and g i f t s required by their several pacts. The statement of Bartolus that Perugia was subject neither to the Pope nor to the Emperor was not an idle one, 37 although in political loyalty the city supported the Pope. In 1 1 9 8 Innocent I I I , with the sanction of the Emperor, had received Perugia under his protection, confirming to the city the right to govern itself according to the ancient customs. Nominally included in the Papal States, Perugia steadfastly denied to the Pope jurisdiction within its boundaries. During the period of papal residence at Avignon, Perugia usually remained faithful. In 1 3 5 3 when Innocent V I named Cardinal E g i d i o Albornoz a s his legate in Italy and as Vicar-General of the Papal States, Albornoz established headquarters for a time at Perugia. T h e relations between Perugia and the Emperor were strained at the time when Bartolus entered upon his professorship in that Guelf city. F o r twenty years the assumption of the imperial title by Louis of Bavaria had been opposed by the Papacy. John X X I I had ordered Louis to relinquish all authority. T h e attempt of John's successor, Benedict X I I , to effect a reconciliation with Louis ended with the death of Benedict in 1 3 4 2 . Clement V I continued the earlier policy, and refused to absolve Louis. This was the situation when Bartolus came to Perugia, a city which traditionally supported the papal position. A few years later Clement advanced the candidacy of Charles, the son of John of Bohemia, and the grandson of Emperor Henry V I I , whose death had led to the struggle f o r the imperial title between Louis of Bavaria and Frederick of Austria. In return f o r the papal support, Charles agreed to renounce any claim to control over papal territory, to secure the permission of the Pope before entering Italy, and to remain only one day in R o m e f o r his coronation. The death of Louis in 1 3 4 7 paved the way f o r the general recognition of Charles as Emperor. It was not until 1 3 5 5 , however, that Charles journeyed to R o m e to receive the imperial crown. A delegation f r o m Perugia met 37 Bartolus, VIII, T L i8v (C. 10. 32. 61).

LIFE

AND

WRITINGS

OF

BARTOLUS

21

him at Pisa. Bartolus was a member of this embassy, which received from Charles grants of privileges for the city and f o r the university. T h e advancement of Perugia as a center of learning had been zealously fostered from the beginning of the fourteenth century. 38 In this activity the city had taken a leading part by negotiating papal confirmation, passing regulatory ordinances, engaging professors. In 1 2 7 6 messengers had gone through the neighboring territories to announce the opening of lectures at the beginning of the academic year. Clement V in 1 3 0 8 elevated the university to a studium generale. Ten years later John X X I I granted the privilege of conferring degrees in civil and in canon law. His decretal provided that no one be admitted to the doctorate in civil law until he had studied for a period of at least six years, nor to the doctorate in decrees until he had studied for five years, and had " read " as a bachelor two books of the civil or the canon law, as the case required. In 1 3 3 8 Pope Benedict X I I conferred the right of university promotion upon the bishop of Perugia. Imperial sanction was secured upon the occasion of the expedition of Charles I V to Italy in 1 3 5 5 to receive the crown of the Empire. The newly-crowned sovereign accorded to the embassy from Perugia all privileges f o r their university which were enjoyed by the imperial universities. This 38 The documents for the early history of the University of Perugia are printed in Rossi. Those which refer to incidents mentioned in the text are Rossi, I V , 27 (secolo X I I I , N. 2 ) , the invitation to scholars; Rossi I V , 53 (secolo X I V , N. 3 ) , a statute which orders that in Perugia there shall be a continuous studium, and that the students enjoy certain privileges. (Rashdall, I I , 40, remarks it as significant of the usual connection in Italy between a studium generale and universitates scholarium that the city, in this document, formally recognized these universities, and bestowed upon their rectors " t h e same office and jurisdiction which rectors have in studia generali".) Rossi, I V , 56 (secolo X I V , N. 4), the papal bull of Clement V ; Rossi I V , 186 (secolo X I V , N. 26), the papal bull of John X X I I which authorized the bishop of Perugia to confer the doctorate in canon and in civil law upon scholars of the Perugian studium, and prescribed the method of examination; Rossi, V , 374 (secolo X I V , N. 96), the charter of Charles I V , granting the privilege of a studium generale in perpetuity; Rossi, V , 376 (secolo X I V , N. 97), another charter of Charles I V , exempting from reprisals and from every species of impost students who went to the studium at Perugia.

22

BARTOLUS

ON

SOCIAL

CONDITIONS

grant was regarded as of such importance that the magistrates, having had faithful copies made, enclosed the document in a leaden casket which was placed within the wall over the door of the palace of priors, covered with a stone bearing the inscription : A. D. M C C C L V C A R L U S I M P E R A T O R P E R U S I N I S T A T U S AMATOR HAS GRATIAS EGIT QUAS LAPIS I S T E TEGIT. The statutes of 1342 of the city of Perugia, promulgated just before Bartolus began to teach at the university, required that in their oaths of office the podesta and the captain of the people and other officials swear to maintain the studium, to increase it according to their ability, and to observe the ordinances affecting it, together with those to be enacted in the future. 39 Provision was made for three doctors of civil law (one for ordinary lectures, two for extraordinary lectures), and for two doctors of canon law (one for the Decretum, the second for the Decretals)}0 In order to receive a salary from the commune, the doctors must be foreigners, except the teacher of the notary's art. The students were permitted lawfully to constitute a university, and to elect their rector. The privileges which had been granted to them by the Emperor Frederick I in his constitution Habita were expressly confirmed. In certain other details the statute provided that the modes of procedure customary at Bologna be followed. During the fourteenth century the university at Perugia developed and maintained a tradition distinguished by the excellence of its instruction and its professors. Beginning in 1 3 1 6 and continuing for a period of five years, the teaching of James of Belviso had placed it upon a firm foundation. 41 Although 39 Statuti di Perugia del'anno MCCCXLII, 40 Statuti di Perugia,

I (Rome, 1913), chap. 7, 30-31.

I, chap. 102, 277-279.

41 Rashdall, II, 42: " S o o n after the foundation of its university, in 1316 the citizens of Perugia were fortunate enough to secure the services of Jacobus de Belvisi, one of the most famous civilians of his age. The university was thus at once placed (so far as the distinction of a teacher could place it) on the level with Bologna and Padua."

LIFE

AND

WRITINGS

OF

BARTOLUS

23

the roster for the year 1339 listed only one hundred and nineteen students in law, and twelve doctors, the reputation of the school had grown steadily since its foundation. 42 Bartolus in the 40's and 50's made it a rival of Bologna, because of his emphasis upon the practical as well as the theoretical aspect of law. During the remainder of the century many famous civilists taught for at least a few years at the university of Perugia. The earliest colleagues of Bartolus in his new position were doctors of Perugian birth, who were permitted, despite the enactment of the statute of 1342, to continue to occupy their chairs of law.' 13 By the end of 1348 his good friend Francis Tigrini of Pisa was teaching there. 44 Together they gave opinions in a number of cases before the courts, 45 together they discussed disputed points of law. According to report, Francis had a better memory for the texts of the law than Bartolus, and was sometimes able to supply a reference helpful in a particular argument. 46 In all probability this was the Francis with whom Bartolus joined to request an examination of the celebrated manuscript of the Digest at Pisa, in order to determine the exact form of a word used in a certain passage. 47 T w o different versions leading to opposite conclusions were given in the manuscripts which they had consulted. Possibly another colleague was Baldus de Ubaldis, the student of Bartolus, who may have 42 Rossi, V ,

175

(secolo X I V ,

N . 6 4 ) . T h i s matriculation

role is a l s o

given by Coppi, pp. 126-131. 43 R o s s i , V , 305, 307, 311, lists A n d r e a di R a n i e r i

Perugino,

Bandinus

T e b a l d i Perusinus, E r m a n n o de P i a n o l o Perugino, O f r e d u c c i o di P i e t r o . 4 4 R o s s i , V , 309 (secolo X I V , N . 68). Diplovataccius said of B a r t o l u s a n d F r a n c i s : " et erant amici, ut f r a t r e s . " 45 T h e r e are ten consilia 4 6 Diplovataccius, Opera

subscribed by B a r t o l u s and F r a n c i s T i g r i n i . omnia of B a r t o l u s , I, 9.

4 7 A l t h o u g h the c o m m e n t a r y which relates the incident g i v e s the

name

F r a n c i s A c c u r s i u s , and van de K a m p accepts this, S a v i g n y believes that t h e Francis

is

Francis

t i m e of B a r t o l u s .

Tigrini, Bartolus

because refers

Francis

Accursius

died

before

several times to the mission t o

the Pisa:

B a r t o l u s , V H , n 8 r ( C . 4- 6. 3 ) ; V I , S i r ( D . 45. 1. 135) ; I I , i 3 6 r ( D . 20. 5- 7- 2 ) -

24

BARTOLUS

ON

SOCIAL

CONDITIONS

been teaching at Perugia in 1348. 48 T h e roster for 1351 lists as a professor Angelus de Ubaldis, the brother of Baldus, who had also studied under Bartolus. 4 9 In the same year Francis Andrutii of Fabriano was elected to lecture for two years on the Old Digest and the Code.60 Bartolus joined with him in several legal opinions. Another lawyer, U g o Pello, does not appear among the lists of professors at the university, but he was associated with Bartolus on at least two occasions: they joined in an opinion, 81 and they were the two lawyer-members of the embassy to Charles I V in 1355. T w i c e during his years at Perugia the teaching activities of Bartolus were interrupted. In 1348 the outbreak of the Black Death suspended lectures at the university. The plague descended upon the city in April, and by August, according to the chronicle of Graziani, had claimed 100,000 victims in the city and contado.52 The normal life of the community was, o f course, completely disrupted. Bartolus refers to the effects of the " great mortality ", as he calls it, upon ordinary legal procedure: the courts were closed, 53 customary formalities in connection with the drawing up of wills were relaxed, 54 women w h o had not petitioned immediately after the death of their husbands for the appointment of guardians for minor children were excused for their delay. 55 T h e demands upon notaries were so numerous that they could not possibly be fulfilled ac48 T h e only r e f e r e n c e is an account of P l a t i n a ( V i t a Gregorii XI, p. 203) w h i c h has Baldus t e a c h i n g at P e r u g i a in 1348. Rossi, V, 305. 49 In appointing A n g e l u s the p r i o r s d e r o g a t e d f r o m the statute which f o r b a d e t h e h i r i n g of P e r u g i a n d o c t o r s with a salary. Rossi, V, 353 (secolo X I V , N . 78). 5 0 R o s s i , V , 358, 362-363 (secolo X I V , N . 81, N . 86). 51 B a r t o l u s , I, 28v ( D . 1. 7. 22). 52 Graziani, " Cronica della citta di P e r u g i a dal 1309 al 1491," ed. A . F a b r e t t i , Archivio storico italiano, X V I , I (1850), 158.

53 Bartolus, V,