B5103 - Late Medieval Political Institutions (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

Students at the end of the course acquire in depth and specific knowledge about the main institutions and late medieval political structures, with attention to the synchronic framework and to the transition to the early modern age. Students can evaluate the contribution of thematically defined historical disciplines, particularly in the field of political and institutional history. They can apply the appropriate methodologies of investigation to specific problems and documents and effectively communicate the results of their historiographic reflection.

Course contents

The course focuses on the political-institutional history of the "long Quattrocento" of Bologna, considered as a possible case study of the so-called Renaissance state. The investigation will be carried out through the analysis of institutional changes, autonomist tensions, forms of subjection to the papacy, elaboration of oligarchic forms and a signoria within a political language and an institutional architecture still partly with a communal character.

Main topics covered in the lecture

• Brief historiographical insight into the periodization and conceptualisation of the late medieval period and the category of the Italian Renaissance State
  
• Outlines of the political history of the Church State
  
• Outlines of the political history of Bologna in the 14th century
  
• The political relationship between Bologna and the Papacy from the end of the 14th century to the end of the 15th century
  
• Political and institutional evolution of Bologna from 1376 onwards
  
• The concept of libertas
  
• Diplomatic relations as an instrument of political negotiation of the libertas
  
• The evolution in an oligarchic and then patrician sense of the Bolognese ruling class
  
• Outlines of the history of Bentivoglio's signoria

Readings/Bibliography

ATTENDING STUDENTS (who attend AT LEAST 12 lessons):

In addition to the notes and material used during the lessons, attending students will prepare the exam on:

1) F. Somaini, Il tracollo delle città-Stato e il ruolo dei centri urbani nella nuova geografia politica dell’Italia rinascimentale, in Lo Stato del Rinascimento in Italia 1350-1520, a cura di A. Gamberini e I. Lazzarini, Roma, Viella, 2014, pp. 221-240

2) S. Carocci, Città e governo papale nel Quattrocento, in Id., Vassalli del papa. Potere pontificio, aristocrazie e città nello Stato della Chiesa (XII-XV sec.), Roma, Viella, 2010, pp. 99-159

3) T. Duranti, Libertas, Oligarchy, Papacy: Government in the Quattrocento, in A Companion to Medieval and Renaissance Bologna, ed. S.R. Blanshei, Leiden, Brill, 2018, pp. 260-288 (available on virtuale.unibo.it)

NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS:

1) F. Somaini, Il tracollo delle città-Stato e il ruolo dei centri urbani nella nuova geografia politica dell’Italia rinascimentale, in Lo Stato del Rinascimento in Italia 1350-1520, a cura di A. Gamberini e I. Lazzarini, Roma, Viella, 2014, pp. 221-240

 2) S. Carocci, Città e governo papale nel Quattrocento, in Id., Vassalli del papa. Potere pontificio, aristocrazie e città nello Stato della Chiesa (XII-XV sec.), Roma, Viella, 2010, pp. 99-159

3) A. De Benedictis, Lo "stato popolare di libertà": pratica di governo e cultura di governo (1376-1506), in Bologna nel Medioevo (Storia di Bologna, 2), a cura di O. Capitani, Bologna, BUP, 2007, pp. 899-950

4) T. Duranti, Diplomazia e autogoverno nel Quattrocento (1392-1466). Fonti per la storia delle istituzioni, Bologna, Clueb, 2009, pp. 11-117 (available on virtual.unibo.it)

 

 

 

Teaching methods

Frontal lectures. During some lessons some particularly important sources for the theme of the course will be provided and analyzed together with the students.

Assessment methods

Students who attend at least 75% of the lessons are considered to be attending.

Attending students may choose to study a topic in greater depth agreed upon with the lecturer, who will also provide some bibliographical references, on a case-by-case basis; the in-depth study will be the subject of a classroom presentation at the end of the course, by means of a power point and an oral report.

For all others:
The exam is oral. The assessment will be done through a few questions designed to ascertain the knowledge gained in the lessons and topics contained in the books in the program; the property of language and exposure; the ability to make links between the various topics.

The achievement of a comprehensive and critical knowledge of the studied themes and an articulated exhibition capacity will be assessed with a rating of excellence.

Knowledge only mnemonic of topics, with synthesis and exposure in a proper language will be evaluated with discrete votes.

Gaps in knowledge and an elementary language during exposure will be evaluated with just enough votes.

Gaps in knowledge, inappropriate language and lack of orientation within the materials indicated in the program will be evaluated negatively.

This course (6CFU) is a member of the integrated course "MEDIEVAL INSTITUTIONS AND CIVILISATIONS (CI) (LM)". If the student has the Integrated Course (12CFU) in the study plan, the final grade will be the arithmetic average of the marks obtained in the two components ("CIVILIZATION OF THE LATE MIDDLE AGES (1) (LM)" and "LATE MEDIEVAL POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS (1) (LM)").

N.B.: students are reminded that the examinations of the two C.I. modules must be taken in the same session.

 

Exam sessions are scheduled for the following months of the academic year:

- May 2025 (for all students)

- June 2025 (for all students)

- July 2025 (for all students)

Teaching tools

The teaching tools used during the lessons will also be available on virtuale.unibo.it

Students who, for reasons dependent on disabilities or specific learning disorders (SLD), require compensatory tools must first contact the appropriate office: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students

Office hours

See the website of Tommaso Duranti