Guelph networks of foreign officials in Bologna and Romagna: recruitment, careers, and governance in the age of Dante (1265-1344 ca)
Creators: name: Migliazzo, Francesco
Publisher: name: The University of Edinburgh
Year: 2024
Subjects: medieval Italian city-republics
recruitment of foreign officials
Bologna
Angevin Kingdom of Sicily
Guelph network of officials
political activities of officials
Guelph-Angevin network
Angevin impact on Italy

description: This thesis analyses the recruitment, network, and role of the foreign officials appointed as head of the Commune in the medieval Italian city-republics. The recruitment of foreign officials was a key political dynamic in the governance of the city-republics. These officials were hired outside the city to prevent them from being involved in the factional conflicts and rivalries among the families of the city. The thesis will focus on the city of Bologna and on the region of Romagna (in north-east Italy) during the so-called “age of Dante”, the period between thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. This period was particularly significant for the Italian city-republics because the party conflicts, the rise of the Popolo (the relatively rich, not noble, citizens), and the emergence of the first signorie (forms of personal lordship) made the situation unstable. Bologna and Romagna were, geopolitically, a key linkage between the Northern cities, the Papal States, and the South. The thesis has three objectives: examining the recruitment practices and the role of the officials in Bologna and Romagna, analysing the political developments in the case study areas through the origin of the officials appointed, and understanding the impact of the Angevin Kingdom of Sicily on the Guelph network of officials and on the political activities of these officials during their tenure. This thesis will use a mix of quantitative and qualitative approaches to analyse how the recruitment of the foreign officials and the political development of the Commune were closely connected and it will show that the changes in recruitment base and in the networks from which the officials were hired were caused by political events. The thesis will focus then on some individual officials from the Guelph-Angevin network; these officials were affiliated with the Guelph (pro-Papal) party, whose leadership during this period was taken by the Angevin Kingdom of Sicily. The Angevins, after the acquisition of the Kingdom of Sicily created a strong hegemony that also included northern Italy. Bologna and Romagna have been almost completely ignored in relation to the Angevin domination. This has left a clear gap in our knowledge and has contributed to an incomplete framework of the Angevin impact in Italy because it has neglected a region that was of crucial importance for the development of the Communal and signorial system in Italy. The thesis will analyse the day-to-day political activity of these officials during their tenure in Bologna to extrapolate evidence of their connections with the Angevins. Through the meticulous examination of unedited primary sources, this research offers insights into the evolving political landscapes of these regions and their integration within the broader context of the Italian city-states during this important period.