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11.11.10, Titone, Governments of the Universitates

11.11.10, Titone, Governments of the Universitates


Titone's book examines the complex and variable relations that existed between Sicilian communities and the Crown during the 1300s and 1400s. While the records of the central government make up the bulk of his sources (1), he nonetheless convincingly argues that municipal government and local participation and control flourished. As he states, "The best formula for defining Sicily's monarch in the 1300s and 1400s would seem to be a Crown that did not systematically promote the development of urban autonomy, but systematically guaranteed it" (6). Two other equally strong theses emerge more gradually: first, municipalities normally enjoyed a great deal of autonomy; and second, many royal privileges were responses to initiatives from the municipality, not directives from the Crown.

Unfortunately, reaching these conclusions requires slogging through a text that gives the reader the experience of simultaneously chewing concrete and wrestling Jell-O. Though serious (and very dedicated) scholars of urban or Sicilian history might find the book useful in some way, most others will struggle for several reasons. Virtually all undergraduates and even most graduate students will be unable to decipher the long and frequent quotations in Latin, let alone the insularity of the history of Sicily (pun intended). The author's deliberate decision to avoid chronological frameworks (217) further increases the opacity of the work. Add to these problems long sentences written almost exclusively in the passive voice, numerous editorial and typographical errors, and the result is an excruciatingly painful read.

But for those who enjoy a challenge, Titone does provide an in-depth exploration of the different dynamics of different communities, the overall commonality of their goals, and specific situations that reflected and elicited various regal responses. Chapter One addresses the establishment of Aragonese rule. Opening with a brief explanation of Sicilian demographics for his period, the author moves on to the institutional structures of the universitates, beginning with their considerable strength during the Angevin period. Gradually emerging after the Vespers "is a more precise separation of roles between the royally appointed officials--justiciar, secretus and baiulus--and the elected officials--judges, jurats, catapans, sciurterii, and notarii actorum" (23). Other officials, groups, and individuals could also play a role in municipal government. Remarkable flexibility and variety characterize the roles and responsibilities of each of these, but what precisely these were is unfortunately not always clear. (This defect stems at least partially from the sources themselves, however.) The main areas of flux concern the administration of high and low justice, regulation of markets and the grain supply, and the night watch. Next comes fiscal policy during the reigns of Fredericks III and IV, suggesting an increasing separation of royal and municipal revenue, and finally, a new interpretation of the significant changes many municipalities underwent during the Viceregal period. Chief among these was their reception in fief by the great magnates, often to the detriment of a community's autonomy and prosperity (45).

Chapter Two, "Cities from the Time of Martin I to Alphonso V: A Polycentric System," reveals several consistent patterns. Communities very much wanted to belong once again to the royal demesne, not to the "tyrants" (50) who had controlled them earlier. Some communities, or members thereof, had belonged to the baronial faction, a situation that required especially delicate negotiations for reintegration into the demesne. These negotiations aimed to restore earlier royal concessions, to specify the duties of elected and royally appointed officials, and to clarify election procedures where relevant. Once again, the role, selection process, and (re)distribution of administrative and judicial functions is unclear, though it does seem that some shuffling took place. Titone does demonstrate, as far as the sources allow, "the people who were a part of the electoral college, the methods by which these members...were chosen, and forms of interference from the royal curia during these procedures" varied widely (62). Though some debate exists, he concludes that when a scrutiny was held, voting prevailed over drawing by lot in most cases (67). Those drawing up the lists of eligible nominees could be members of the town council, probi homines chosen by them, or representatives from neighborhoods, among others. In some cases sortition followed the selection of the nominating group, to prevent collusion or fraud. Indications also exist that the sovereign could choose from a shortlist of winners in a scrutiny, and then often for specific offices only (75-76).

Moreover, from the 1390s on, thus from the resumption of Crown control, the sophistication and rhetoric of petitions increased noticeably. Petitions appear to be presented by the entire universitas, not the specific council or officials who may have proposed them, though the inclusion of numerous requests benefiting specific individuals or groups reveals different agendas, perhaps even conflicts, within the universitas (76-80). And while specific rules for participation in the council remain unclear, Titone argues that this vagueness was intentional because it allowed the council to function efficiently and flexibly (83ff.).

For the Alphonsian period, certain patterns become more distinct. Alphonso's sale of royal offices could change the relationships between local magistracies, as could of course his alienation of the entire community. The offices of baiulus and sciurterii demonstrate great variation in their method of selection and specific duties, as did some other more prestigious positions. Titone believes "the full autonomy enjoyed by the universitates in administering their local affairs is affirmed by both their diverse ways of selecting officials and a widespread institutional experimentation" (113). Furthermore, following the early lead of Messina and Palermo, more and more communities petitioned for and won the privilegium fori and the right to an appellate court. This provides evidence for another strong thesis, namely that communities knew about each others' privileges, and sought to attain whatever appeared to be the most the sovereign would allow (117). At discrete moments, a special royal commissioner could be appointed, who might address either judicial or financial conflicts, and who might be either requested or resisted by at least segments of the community. Overall, those measures which might damage municipal rights "provide evidence of the city's most radical defence of its own spheres of autonomy" (124). Ex gratia concessions were another potential source of conflict, though again these could also be made in alignment with local demands.

Chapter Four addresses the most important part of relations between Crown and town, namely financial and fiscal policy. Both indirect and direct taxation applied to various locales at various times, as did outright alienation by the Crown. Generally, Alphonso's government provided an amount of money to raise, and local authorities decided how to raise it. For gabelle, great flexibility in ownership allowed immediate local control to coincide with quick financial returns. Selling future gabelle was fairly common, "assuming additional burdens to provide relief from those already being borne" (142--a fashion that has, alas, not gone out of style). Occasional recourse to a maldenaru, an additional excise tax usually levied on necessities, was an unpopular but effective short-term solution to meeting royal demands. Direct taxes presented the problems of deciding who paid what, often leading to confrontation between those who favored direct proportional taxation versus those in favor of, at most, setting minimum and maximum levels, leaving the middling distribution unspecified; collection by neighborhood or class appealed less to the middling groups, more to the wealthy elites.

Alphonso V also resorted to widespread sales of the captaincy, which could shift the balance of power between royal and local governments. Generally, communities resisted long-term alienation, and sought to redeem the price of the office. Sometimes, however communities requested royal appointment, often of someone not from the area. Conflict arose when captains abused their power, or when heads of different factions competed for the office, leading to civil unrest (155-158). The practice of alienation rather surprisingly led to "a substantial reduction of royal control over the magistracy" (161). Alienation of entire communities led communities to redeem themselves, and to return as part of the royal demesne, usually accompanied by an increase in privileges, as the sovereign sought to win back the good will of the inhabitants (164-168).

The last substantive chapter, "Socio-Professional Groups and Electoral Competition from the Time of Martin I to Alphonso V" takes a broad view of the main characteristics, roles, and hierarchical positions of various groups within a community. The presence of guilds becomes more prominent in the 1400s than before, as do their members' roles in electing and holding office. Certain terms, like boni homini could carry different meanings in different context, negating any one- dimensional reading of this label; the same is true for popolo, which might or might not include the pauperes. One distinction that seems fairly stable is that between borgei, who dealt in local trade, and mercanti, who operated on a larger scale. Gentilomini, by contrast, is a far more slippery term, but one certainly associated with the economic elite. The curiales, however, were defined by professional and cultural status as legal experts, not by affluence. One way to assess the relative weight and popularity of these different groups is to examine which groups might be excluded from various offices, and also which might enjoy exclusive claims to an office. Here, as in the preceding chapter, some comparisons occur with the other states of the Aragonese crown. While dense reading, this chapter does provide a survey of what balances of power might exist, and what role the sovereign could play in altering those balances. Titone's earlier heroic examination of known officials reveals that "7,323 officials [were] elected by scrutiny and roughly 358 assigned to the captaincy" during this whole period (208); further analysis revealed when exclusions might apply, what onomastic groups might recur frequently, and how mobile members of those groups could move among dissimilar offices. Different titles could also attach to different persons, depending on profession or office held. The author argues that "a significant and enduring oligarchic closure of the political arena was lacking," and that competition for elected offices remained open (214).

The conclusion emphasizes the freedom enjoyed by municipalities, their influence in the dynamics of the kingdom, and the role of seigneurial dynasties in the universitates of the royal demesne. While active in feudal communities, baronial presence was roundly resisted in royal towns, in part because the Crown and the communities found it more in their common interest to cooperate: communities enjoyed the freedom to maneuver financially as they saw fit, and the Crown received guaranteed payments (216). The great flexibility characterizing all aspects of urban governments allowed them to adapt to local circumstances and to changing fiscal realities. Warning that the issuance of a placet did not necessarily mean its adoption for any length of time--or indeed, at all--Titone concludes that "The sovereign was almost a spectator in affairs that remained the province of the universitates...Indeed the establishment of the cities' pivotal role developed parallel to full royal discretionary power which was never threatened in any way by broadened urban autonomy" (217). Such intervention as did occur was usually in specific situations, and often at the request of at least part of a community.

For selfish reasons, as one not a specialist in Sicily, I hope that Titone turns his obvious talents to a broader topic at some point in the future. And I hope even more that he is better served by his editors (a wish not restricted to this volume--my kingdom for a good copy-editor!). It is therefore difficult for me to recommend the book to most medieval or Renaissance scholars, though specialists in medieval Sicily will no doubt find it useful.