Acceso usuarios
Roberta Mucciarelli
This study examines how political authorities in Siena between the 13th and 14th centuries responded to the demand for justice from the socially disadvantaged. Through a focused case study and specific documentation, it analyzes how acknowledging poverty translated into legal measures for pauperes, a vague term used to define diverse and unstable conditions. The study focuses on the judicial certification of poverty via apodisse paupertatis: official documents issued by the city treasury, based on sworn declarations supported by two witnesses, allowing poor defendants to appear in court without financial guarantors. These guarantors were otherwise required to cover legal expenses and penalties. The research questions the political aims behind this statutory favour and explores its practical effects on access to justice and social classification.
