IMC 2010: Sessions

Session 108: Constructing Civic Identities in Late Medieval Cities and States

Monday 12 July 2010, 11.15-12.45

Moderator/Chair:	Pavlína Rychterová, Institut für Österreichische Geschichtsforschung, Universität Wien
Paper 108-a	Representatives of Civic Pride and Cultural Identities: Entries into the Ghent Crossbow Competition of 1498 (Language: English) Laura Crombie, University of Glasgow Index terms: Archives and Sources, Daily Life, Language and Literature - Dutch, Performance Arts - General
Paper 108-b	Construction of Civic Identity: The Example of Prato (Language: English) Anne Higgins, Department of English, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia Index terms: Art History - General, Lay Piety
Paper 108-c	The Legal Status of Burgesses in the Kingdom of Cyprus (14th-16th Century) (Language: English) Marwan Nader, Independent Scholar, Bickfaya Index terms: Crusades, Ecclesiastical History, Economics - Urban, Law
Abstract	Paper -a: Crossbow confraternities emerged in the turbulent 14th century in Flanders as civic defenders; by the 15th century they served the festive and social needs of towns, rather than military ones. The greatest demonstrations of these confraternities' cultural significance were the spectacular urban competition held throughout the 15th century. This paper will draw on evidence from chronicles and town accounts to analyse the entries of confraternities from 56 towns into the Ghent competition of 1498. These entries, costing huge sums and involving many days travel, highlight the importance of these groups as representatives of their towns' status, wealth, and prestige. Paper -b: The development of urban identities in certain Tuscan towns has been much discussed, while others are curiously overlooked. Prato, a textile center, constructed a distinctive public identity, insistently joining commerce to religious life and asserting itself as distinct from all others. In the churches of San Stefano and San Francesco, Florentine artists Agnolo Gaddi and Niccolo di Pietro Gerini painted works that play a role in the construction of Prato's urban identity. At the same time, both artists decorated the home of Francesco di Marco Datini, native son and merchant. It is a unique moment in urban history, a moment when we can watch two distinguished artists and a noted merchant collaborate in creating a town's identity. Paper -c: I propose to define the legal standing of burgesses in the kingdom of Cyprus from the 14th to the 16th centuries. Did the same rules governing their status apply throughout Lusignan and Venetian rule of the island, and Genoese hegemony in Famagusta? Was it still the case – as in the kingdom of Jerusalem – that the only persons belonging to the class of burgesses were Latin Christians, who were in possession of borgesies, and subject to a Cour des Bourgeois, or a Church court vested with authority to exercise secular jurisdiction over them? Or, importantly, were there other factors which defined their status, namely, commercial wealth, residence of a bourg, military duty, or, even, self-perception?