1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910827473303321

Autore

Dameron George W (George Williamson)

Titolo

Florence and its church in the age of Dante [[electronic resource] /] / George W. Dameron

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Philadelphia, Pa., : University of Pennsylvania Press, c2005

ISBN

0-8122-0173-6

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (392 p.)

Collana

The Middle Ages series

Disciplina

274.5/5105

Soggetti

Church work with the poor - Italy - Florence - History

Florence (Italy) Church history

Italy Church history 476-1400

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. [335]-359) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- Contents -- Introduction -- 1. Institutions -- 2. Vocations -- 3. Economy -- 4. Piety -- 5. Commune -- Conclusion -- List of Abbreviations -- Appendix A: Dating, Measurements, Names, and Currency -- Appendix B: A Checklist of Notarial Protocols for a Study of Ecclesiastical Institutions -- Appendix C: Papal Provisions and Expectatives -- Appendix D: Patronage Rights in Ecclesiastical Institutions -- Appendix E: Major Locations of Ecclesiastical Property, 1250-1330 -- Chronology of Significant Events Mentioned in Text -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- Acknowledgments

Sommario/riassunto

By the early fourteenth century, the city of Florence had emerged as an economic power in Tuscany, surpassing even Siena, which had previously been the banking center of the region. In the space of fifty years, during the lifetime of Dante Alighieri, 1265-1321, Florence had transformed itself from a political and economic backwater-scarcely keeping pace with its Tuscan neighbors-to one of the richest and most influential places on the continent. While many historians have focused on the role of the city's bankers and merchants in achieving these rapid transformations, in Florence and Its Church in the Age of Dante, George W. Dameron emphasizes the place of ecclesiastical institutions, communities, and religious traditions. While by no means the only factors to explain Florentine ascension, no account of this period is



complete without considering the contributions of the institutional church. In Florence, economic realities and spiritual yearnings intersected in mysterious ways. A busy grain market on a site where a church once stood, for instance, remained a sacred place where many gathered to sing and pray before a painted image of the Virgin Mary, as well as to conduct business. At the same time, religious communities contributed directly to the economic development of the diocese in the areas of food production, fiscal affairs, and urban development, while they also provided institutional leadership and spiritual guidance during a time of profound uncertainty. Addressing such issues as systems of patronage and jurisdictional rights, Dameron portrays the working of the rural and urban church in all of its complexity. Florence and Its Church in the Age of Dante fills a major gap in scholarship and will be of particular interest to medievalists, church historians, and Italianists.