Stefania Salvi

Quella combattuta dalla Chiesa contro l'incontinenza e il concubinato clericale fu una lunga e aspra battaglia, le cui radici affondano nell'esaltazione della verginità rispetto alla condizione matrimoniale. Il celibato dei chierici ha per molti secoli rappresentato la tangibile testimonianza della funzione sacrificale attribuita ai ministri della Chiesa. La tradizionale visione del matrimonio e del celibato clericale, sviluppata dal diritto canonico medievale, si infranse con la Riforma protestante, che propose un'originale rivalutazione del matrimonio, non più visto soltanto come remedium concupiscentiae, bensì come vero e proprio diritto di tutti, laici e chierici. La risposta della Chiesa di Roma, sviluppata nell'ambito del Concilio di Trento, rilanciò la lotta contro il concubinato che, nel Cinquecento, assunse i caratteri di una battaglia teologica e ideologica contro i paesi protestanti. L'età della Controriforma, tutta tesa a concretizzare gli aneliti di riforma faticosamente formalizzati durante il concilio, vide, nella diocesi milanese, saldamente guidata da Carlo e poi da Federico Borromeo, un luogo di intensa sperimentazione, in cui l'astratta normativa tridentina trovò puntuale applicazione, come testimoniano i processi per condotta scandalosa celebrati nei confronti di alcuni chierici nella diocesi ambrosiana tra Cinque e Seicento.

Il volume analizza caratteri e modi di esercizio della professione notarile a Milano nel XVIII secolo sotto un duplice profilo: da un lato si approfondisce la dimensione “privata” del notaio, artefice della ricchissima documentazione conservata presso l’Archivio di Stato milanese, in costante contatto con la clientela che si affida alle sue competenze per molteplici esigenze; dall’altro si individua il ruolo “pubblico” del notaio al servizio di importanti istituzioni della Lombardia austriaca, come la Magistratura dei redditi e le altre che popolano la scena giurisdizionale coeva e la curia arcivescovile, centri di potere e di forti interessi economici per la gestione dei quali era indispensabile il ricorso alla figura del notaio.

After a brief introduction about the seizure’s legislation and the historical evolution in the Duchy of Milan, the essay explores how the confiscations chancellery worked inside the Extraordinary Magistrate by investigating the documents collected in the sections “Finanza confische” and “Finanza apprensioni” of the State Archive of Milan.
Besides, the paper focuses on earl Biancani’s confiscation proceedings, an important event of lombard chronicles in the first half of the eighteenth century, ended with a clamorous death sentence. The Biancani’s affair, reconstructed with the support of a lot of State Archive’s documents about this long confiscation proceeding, which carried on until the end of the eighteenth century, symbolizes very well the conditions of application of the seizure penalty, that struck repeatedly not only the offender, but also the members of his family until the end of the age of Enlightenment.

This article aims to provide an initial account of the lively debate that developed around the concept of filiation during the late Scholastic period, particularly as regards illegitimacy. It was a debate that featured several multifaceted ideas on the issue, as well as being rich in legal and theological considerations. The jurists/theologians of the siglo de oro were well-grounded in certain basic tenets, such as the Code of Justinian, the subsequent contribution of canon law, and the word of Saint Thomas Aquinas; once they had clarified the various classes of descendants (legitimate or otherwise), they especially concentrated on rights of inheritance and on the ius alendi of natural children (naturales) and spurii. Their conclusions, however, were not always in agreement. While great jurisconsults such as Diego de Covarrubias y Leyva (1512-1577) and Luis de Molina (1535-1600) were almost completely in line with the doctrinal stance on the issue as per the communis opinio doctorum, their contemporaries were already actively rethinking the relationships between parents and children (including illegitimate children). Such forward-thinking masters included the Dominican theologian Pedro de Ledesma (1544-1616), and their aim was to have natural reason prevail over the unjust legal tradition of the past. Illegitimate filiation was a delicate and complex issue, especially when it came to the treatment of adulterine and incestuous children, who faced fierce discrimination on the part of law and society. Yet once again, late Scholasticism reaffirmed its usual capacity for producing innovative legal solutions that resulted from moral and theological reflections.

By the 16th century, canon law had long established a regulatory structure for the institution of marriage. Likewise, jurisprudence had developed a solid doctrinal system to deal with the numerous legal issues that marriage presented. Thus, it should come as no surprise that late Scholasticism offered very little in terms of totally new solutions to the most relevant problem areas. Nonetheless, the late Scholastic contribution to the specific area of family law was anything but trivial, not only because of its influence on the practice of law during that time, but also because of its importance in the history of legal thought. From this point of view, the jurists/theologians of the siglo de oro left a fundamental legacy to the subsequent doctrines of natural law and the Enlightenment through the methodology they employed.
The aim of this article is to provide an initial account of how exponents of the siglo de oro examined the complex issue of bigamy (more correctly, polygamy), which was of enormous practical impact in an era that was characterized by a high number of secret marriages. As innovators of Thomistic thought during the Counter-Reformation, they reflected on the problematic contrast between pluralitas uxorum and the natural ends of marriage. While they primarily relied on biblical texts and the word of Saint Thomas Aquinas, to a lesser extent they also considered the auctoritates of the ius commune.
Though there were some differences of opinion to be found among the various authors, late Scholastic speculation on this issue generally came to defend the traditional stances of the Church. As such, it was not the formulation of particularly original solutions that characterized this period, but rather the skill and insight that thinkers exhibited in philosophizing on what was rationally justifiable and in discussing the pros and cons of the issue.

The legal profession and oratory have always been inextricably linked. The Napoleonic ruling class was firmly convinced of this when they opened the Scuola di eloquenza pratica legale (a school of oratory for the legal profession), which was soon closed by the Austrian government in 1817. Oratory came back in vogue during the liberal age, as evidenced in the numerous legal galatei (something like codes of conduct for the legal profession) that appeared in that period. Indeed, although the galatei used different approaches and styles, they always recommended that lawyers take care of their oral skills. Despite the trend towards more concise and linear forms of oratory during the Fascist period, the heart of the twentieth century still saw lawyers using and abusing their skill as orators—indeed, it was a formidable tool, capable of manipulating legal reasoning and ensuring a victorious outcome in trial.

In the year 1685, the conformist culture of Leipzig was scandalized by Christian Thomasius' lessons on the topic of bigamy. The German philosopher made a clear distinction between human law, divine positive law and natural law, and while he admitted that bigamy went against the principles of the first two, he sought to rationally demonstrate how polygamous conduct (both for men and women) was not in any way forbidden by natural law. Indeed, polygyny did not hinder the sociality of a man, nor did it impede the aims of conjugal society; and polyandry, which was especially opposed by the doctrine of the time, was not incompatible with the ascertainment of paternity or the mutual support of spouses.

The legal profession and oratory have always been inextricably linked. The Napoleonic ruling class was firmly convinced of this when they opened the Scuola di eloquenza pratica legale (a school of oratory for the legal profession), which was soon closed by the Austrian government in 1817. Oratory came back in vogue during the liberal age, as evidenced in the numerous legal galatei (something like codes of conduct for the legal profession) that appeared in that period. Indeed, although the galatei used different approaches and styles, they always recommended that lawyers take care of their oral skills. Despite the trend towards more concise and linear forms of oratory during the Fascist period, the heart of the twentieth century still saw lawyers using and abusing their skill as orators—indeed, it was a formidable tool, capable of manipulating legal reasoning and ensuring a victorious outcome in trial.