The gears of power. Court officials in Vercelli between the 14th and 15th centuries

Abstract

Issues related to the functioning of the criminal justice system and the mechanisms of recruitment of city officials in the principalities of late medieval Italy have enjoyed growing historiographical interest in recent years. Researchers have focused on the circulation channels of the higher magistrates, leaving in the shadows the circuits traversed by lower officials, including those appointed locally, who ensured the proper functioning of the complex municipal administrative apparatus. This article attempts to shed light on these figures, from judges appointed to deal with maleficent acts to municipal servants, through an analysis of the criminal records preserved in Vercelli from the end of the 14th century to the middle of the following century. The books of inquisitions and convictions are a valuable source for reconstructing not only the practices followed by the Eusebian podestà’s court, but also for tracing the professional profiles of functionaries, both foreign and local. Princely or city-ap­pointed officials worked together like cogs in a machine to ensure that the judicial system remained efficient and responsive, thus providing the emerging Renaissance states with a privileged channel for the resolution of disputes and, at the same time, an indispensable tool for consolidating power.