IMC 2026: Sessions
Session 1609: Charting Female Property and Patrimonial Rights in Law and Practice, II: Northern and Southern Italy Compared, 12th-16th Centuries
Thursday 9 July 2026, 11:15-12:45
| Sponsor: | ERC Consolidator Grant 'Charting Female Property and Patrimonial Rights in Law and Practice across Western Europe, 12th-16th Centuries (PatriFem - 101126116) |
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| Organiser: | Denise Bezzina, Dafist - Dipartimento di Antichità, Filosofia e Storia, Università di Genova |
| Moderator/Chair: | Verena Weller, Dipartimento di Antichità Filosofia e Storia, Università degli Studi di Genova |
| Paper 1609-a | Time and the Law: Women's Rights, Memory, and Written Records in the Consuetudines of Southern Italy, 11th-13th Centuries (Language: English) Index terms: Daily Life, Gender Studies, Law |
| Paper 1609-b | Female Agency between Law and Practice: The Case of Bologna, 13th-15th Centuries (Language: English) Index terms: Daily Life, Gender Studies, Law |
| Abstract | This session will explore the evolution of women’s property rights in late medieval Italy, with particular attention to the contrasting legal and social frameworks of the North and the South emphasizing non only regional but also chronological differences in the adoption of legal norms. While in the northern communes women faced even harsh restrictions in inheritance and property management, in the South legal traditions allowed for somewhat broader access to patrimonial rights. These differences shed light not only on regional disparities within medieval Italy but also on the broader dynamics of gender, law, and power in European societies. |