ACTA HISTRIAE
25, 2017, 1
UDK/UDC 94(05)
ACTA HISTRIAE 25, 2017, 1, pp. 1-218
ISSN 1318-0185
UDK/UDC 94(05)
ISSN 1318-0185
Zgodovinsko društvo za južno Primorsko - Koper
Società storica del Litorale - Capodistria
ACTA HISTRIAE
25, 2017, 1
KOPER 2017
ACTA HISTRIAE • 25 • 2017 • 1
ISSN 1318-0185
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UDK/UDC 94(05)
Letnik 25, leto 2017, številka 1
Darko Darovec
Gorazd Bajc, Furio Bianco (IT), Flavij Bonin, Dragica Čeč, Lovorka
Čoralić (HR), Darko Darovec, Marco Fincardi (IT), Darko Friš, Aleksej
Kalc, Borut Klabjan, John Martin (USA), Robert Matijašić (HR), Darja
Mihelič, Edward Muir (USA), Egon Pelikan, Luciano Pezzolo (IT), Jože
Pirjevec, Claudio Povolo (IT), Vida Rožac Darovec, Andrej Studen, Marta
Verginella, Salvator Žitko
Gorazd Bajc, Urška Lampe
Urška Lampe (angl., slo.), Gorazd Bajc (it.)
Urška Lampe (angl., slo.), Gorazd Bajc (it.)
Grais trade d.o.o.
Zgodovinsko društvo za južno Primorsko / Società storica del Litorale©
Zgodovinsko društvo za južno Primorsko, SI-6000
Koper-Capodistria, Garibaldijeva 18 / Via Garibaldi 18,
e-mail: actahistriae@gmail.com; www.zdjp.si
Grais trade d.o.o.
300 izvodov/copie/copies
Javna agencija za raziskovalno dejavnost Republike Slovenije / Slovenian
Research Agency, Mestna občina Koper, Luka Koper
Miniatura, ki prikazuje maščevanje med plemenitimi moškimi in
ženskami / La miniatura che rappresenta la vendetta tra uomini e donne
nobili / A miniature showing revenge among noble men and women
(Source: Manuscript: BGE Ms. fr. 190/1 Des_cas_des_nobles_hommes_
et_femmes, f. 77, from Paris, 1410, holding institution: Bibliothèque de
Genève. http://manuscriptminiatures.com/des-cas-des-nobles-hommes-etfemmes-ms-fr-1901/3069/).
Redakcija te številke je bila zaključena 15. junija 2017
Revija Acta Histriae je vključena v naslednje podatkovne baze / Gli articoli pubblicati in questa rivista
sono inclusi nei seguenti indici di citazione / Articles appearing in this journal are abstracted and indexed
in: Thomson Reuters: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Social Scisearch, Arts and Humanities
Citation Index (A&HCI), Journal Citation Reports / Social Sciences Edition (USA); IBZ, Internationale
Bibliographie der Zeitschriftenliteratur (GER); International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS)
(UK); Referativnyi Zhurnal Viniti (RUS); European Reference Index for the Humanities and Social
Sciences (ERIH PLUS); Elsevier B. V.: SCOPUS (NL)
Vsi članki so v barvni verziji prosto dostopni na spletni strani: http://www.zdjp.si.
All articles are freely available in color via website http://www.zdjp.si.
ACTA HISTRIAE • 25 • 2017 • 1
VSEBINA / INDICE GENERALE / CONTENTS
Edward Muir: The Feuding Spectrum: From the Mountains of Albania
to the Court of Charles V .............................................................................................
Maščevalni spekter: Od albanskih gora do sodišč Karla V.
1
Edward Muir: Lo spettro della faida: Dai monti dell‘Albania
alla corte di Carlo V ..................................................................................................... 11
Claudio Povolo: La pietra del bando. Vendetta e banditismo in Europa
tra Cinque e Seicento .................................................................................................. 21
The Stone of Banishment. Revenge and Banditry in Europe between
the 16th and 17th Century
Kamen izgona. Maščevanje in banditizem v Evropi v 16. in 17. stoletju
Darko Darovec: Blood Feud as Gift Exchange: The Ritual of Humiliation
in the Customary System of Conlict Resolution ........................................................ 57
La vendetta come scambio di doni: Il rituale dell’ umiliazione nel sistema
consuetudinario della risoluzione dei conflitti
Krvno maščevanje kot izmenjava daru: Obred ponižanja v običajnem
sistemu reševanja sporov
John Jeffries Martin: Cannibalism as a Feuding Ritual in Early Modern Europe .... 97
Cannibalismo come un rituale di faida nell’ Europa Moderna
Kanibalizem kot ritual maščevanja v zgodnjem novem veku
Sergio Marinelli: La paciicazione, non la vendetta ................................................... 109
Peace, not Revenge
Pomiritev, ne maščevanje
Romedio Schmitz-Esser: The Revenge of the Dead. Feud, Law Enforcement
and the Untameable ..................................................................................................... 121
La vendetta dei morti. Faida, applicazione della legge e gli indomabili
Maščevanje mrtvih. Fajda, kazenski pregon in neukrotljivi
Lucien Faggion: La vengeance et le Consulat à Vicence dans la seconde
moitié du XVIe siècle ................................................................................................. 131
La faida e il Consolato a Vicenza nella seconda metà del Cinquecento
Fajda in konzulat v Vicenzi v drugi polovici 16. stoletja
ACTA HISTRIAE • 25 • 2017 • 1
Žiga Oman: Modern Age, Ancient Customs – Settling Blood
in the Eastern Alps between the Late Middle Ages and Early Modernity ................... 153
Età moderna, tradizioni antiche – la riconciliazione nelle Alpi orientali
tra il tardo Medioevo e gli inizi dell’Età Moderna
Novi vek, stari običaji – pomiritev krvi v vzhodnih Alpah med poznim
srednjim in zgodnjim novim vekom
Angelika Ergaver: »First my Brother, then a Blood-taker, then my Brother
Forever« The Eiciency of the Traditional Peace-making Custom
in Early Modern Age Montenegro and the role of the Venetian Authorities
in the Peace-making Process ....................................................................................... 179
»Prima mio fratello, poi carnefice, poi mio fratello per sempre« L›efficacia
del tradizionale processo di riconciliazione in Montenegro all‘inizio dell’Età
Moderna e il ruolo delle autorità Veneziane nel processo di riconciliazione
»Najprej moj brat, nato krvnik, nato moj brat za vedno« Učinkovitost
tradicionalnega postopka pomiritve v Črni gori v zgodnjem novem veku
in vloga beneških oblasti pri postopku pomiritve
Navodila avtorjem ..................................................................................................... 207
Istruzioni per gli autori .............................................................................................. 210
Instructions to authors ............................................................................................... 214
Članki, objavljeni v tej številki Acta Histriae, so nastali v okviru projekta / Gli articoli
pubblicati in questo numero di Acta Histriae sorsero nell'ambito del progetto / The
articles published in this issue of Acta Histriae were arised from the project: FAIDA. Feud
and blood feud between customary law and legal process in medieval and early modern
Europe. The case of Upper-Adriatic area. This research was supported by a Marie Curie
Intra European Fellowship within the 7th European Community Framework Programme,
Grant Agreement Number 627936.
ACTA HISTRIAE • 25 • 2017 • 1
Received: 2017-02-07
Original scientiic article
DOI 10.19233/AH.2017.01
THE FEUDING SPECTRUM: FROM THE MOUNTAINS OF ALBANIA
TO THE COURT OF CHARLES V
Edward MUIR
Northwestern University, Department of History, Harris Hall,1881 Sheridan Road, Evanston,
Illinois 60208, USA
e-mail: e-muir@northwestern.edu
ABSTRACT
At the end of an interdisciplinary conference on “Feud in Medieval and Early Modern
Europe,” held in Aarhus, Denmark in 2003, the participants realized we could not agree
on a definition of the feud, and we were left with a certain “definitional incoherence.”
In the hope that scholarship can make progress, this paper proposes to build upon the
Denmark conference. This paper suggests that the feud should be understood as a spectrum of behaviors and values. Part of the task is to identify the boundaries of the feuding
spectrum, so that all acts of reciprocal violence do not collapse into it. At one end of the
spectrum were those acts most distant from the power of the state, exemplified by the
customary law of the Kanun of the Albanian mountains. At the other end of the spectrum
might be cases of feuding that hid under the blanket of the ragione dello stato and statutory
law, cases in which the laws of the monarch repudiated private justice in favor of public
norms but that in practice allowed certain privileged persons to continue to pursue feuds.
The paper examines the role of Emperor Charles V in the assassination of Lorenzino de’
Medici, himself the assassin of Duke Alessandro de’ Medici, the Emperor’s son-in-law.
In between these two extremes were numerous examples of perpetrators of violent acts
who negotiated their way along the spectrum to maximize the chances of success during
a period of deep social conflict over the honorable and legal ways to redress grievances.
There is a certain paradox in my thesis: although the customary codes of the feud implied
rigid obligations to maintain honor, feuding parties made choices about where to situate
themselves on the spectrum.
Keywords: Feud, Albanian Kanun, Emperor Charles V, Assassination
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At the end of an interdisciplinary conference that I attended in Aarhus, Denmark
in 2003 on “Feud in Medieval and Early Modern Europe,” the participants could not
agree on a deinition of the feud and concluded with a certain “deinitional incoherence”
(Netterstrom, 2007, 48–49). In the hope that scholarship can make progress, this paper
proposes to build upon the Denmark conference. Rather than trying today to pin down
a deinition, as if feud is an object (“the feud”) or even a certain kind of transaction (“to
feud),” I would like to propose that we look at feuding as a spectrum of behaviors and
values.
One might think “spectrum” connotes the Latin meaning of a spectre, an apparition,
or ghost as in the Italian, spettro. The feud as a spectre implies it is an illusion, but I mean
to engage the modern connotation of spectrum as designating the full range of a phenomenon: a spectrum of colors in a decomposed beam of light, a spectrum of the wavelengths
of electromagnetic radiation, or the spectrum of autistic symptoms. The autistic metaphor
borrowed from medicine might be especially useful because the symptoms are behavioral
and often hard to distinguish at one extreme from “normal” variations in childhood behavior and at the other from severe brain damage. Moreover, as with feuding, the causes
of autism are hard to pin down, and, therefore, hard to treat. Feuding and autism are both
real phenomena but defy easy classiication and deinition.
Part of the task is to identify the boundaries of the feuding spectrum, so that all acts
of reciprocal violence do not collapse into it. At one end of the spectrum were those
acts most distant from the power of the state, exempliied by the customary law of the
Kanun practiced in the Albanian mountains. At the other end of the spectrum might be
cases of feuding that hid under the blanket of the ragion dello stato and statutory law,
cases in which the laws of the magistrate and monarch repudiated private justice in favor
of public norms but that in practice allowed certain privileged persons to continue to
pursue feuds. As an example, this paper examines the role of Emperor Charles V in the
assassination of Lorenzino de’ Medici, himself the killer of Duke Alessandro de’ Medici,
the emperor’s son-in-law. In between these two extremes were numerous examples of
perpetrators of violent acts who negotiated their way along the spectrum to maximize
the chances of success over the honorable and legal ways to redress grievances. There
is a certain paradox in my thesis: customary codes, at least in the forms available to us,
seem to have regulated violence more efectively and more universally than early modern
jurisprudence. Although the customary codes of the feud implied rigid obligations to
maintain honor, feuding parties made choices about how to situate themselves on the
spectrum (Muir, 1993, 275).1 They decided when and how to retaliate, often after long
delays, and they might appeal to the courts not from some respect for the law but when
doing so seemed to ofer the desired result.
The heuristic value of the spectrum might be that we can liberate European feuding
codes from the quasi-mechanical functionalism of Max Gluckman’s “Peace in the Feud”
thesis. He stated:
1
Wormald (1983, 104) draws on the spectrum idea in a similar fashion. Netterstom seems to suggest the
spectrum idea can solve the deinition problem (Netterstom, 2007, 67).
2
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I wish to demonstrate how men quarrel in terms of certain of their customary allegiances, but are restrained from violence through other conflicting allegiances
which are also enjoined on them by custom. The result is that conflicts in one set
of relationships, over a wider range of society or through a longer period of time,
lead to the re-establishment of social cohesion. Conflicts are a part of social life and
custom appears to exacerbate these conflicts, but in doing so custom also restrains the
conflicts from destroying the wider social order (Gluckman, 1955, 1).
Gluckman’s functionalist paradigm has long held sway in historical research on feuding in Europe, especially for the more “primitive” early medieval period in which what
we know derives largely from normative laws, but as Keith Mark Brown noted, such an
approach “sanitized” the feud by making it a rational expression of socially legitimated
norms (Brown, 1986, 2). Since the cultural turn in historical scholarship and especially in
studies of Mediterranean violence, the feud has been understood less as a manifestation
of the longue durée structures of society than as what Trevor Dean has called “vendetta
narratives,” those histories of quarrels that served as exemplary tales and that carried
“implicit moral lessons” (Dean, 1997, 31–32). In my view, the vendetta or feud if you
will (and I do not ind the distinction between these two terms very useful) was a form
of collective memory preserved in cautionary tales told to children, oral narratives, and
literary eforts, in stories told around the hearth, in novelle such as Da Porto’s Giulietta
e Romeo, or plays such as John Ford’s Tis Pity She’s a Whore (but not the misogynistic
David Bowie song of the same title).
Within Europe the most thoroughly elaborated customary code of feuding was undoubtedly the Kanun of the High Plateau of Albania. The Kanun is represented in a reputedly ancient customary law code that was inally published in several diferent versions
beginning in 1853 and observed in practice during the early twentieth century by several
outsiders, most famously the Scottish anthropologist-adventurer, Margaret Hasluck, who
lived in Elbasan, Albania for thirteen years. It is also the subject of what is surely that
most brilliant ictional representation of feuding, Ismail Kadar’s Broken April (Kadaré,
1982) (Aprile spezzato (Kadaré, 1993)).
In his novel Kadar echoes Pierre Bourdieu’s observation about the characteristics of
a practice (Bourdieu, 1977). To Bourdieu the violent act of revenge manifests the habitus
of feuding, the dispositions or acquired schemes of perception, thought and action that
constitute the practice of the feud. The feuding habitus relies on what Bourdieu called its
doxa, the learned but unconscious values and belief structures that are assumed to be selfevident and that guide an avenger’s actions and thoughts. In Bourdieu’s analysis of the
feud, the timing of an act of retaliation undergirds its social legitimacy, its moral power to
preserve honor and community values. For the protagonist in Kadar’s novel, Gjorg Berisha the young Albanian “justicer,” the term for the person who kills to avenge the dead,
timing is everything, and his delay in avenging his brother’s murder threatened his family’s honor. His brother’s bloody shirt hanging outside the house becomes a kind of death
clock prodding him to spill blood before the limited timespan of honorable revenge runs
out. In committing his revenge murder, Gjorg acts out the social script of the Kanun and
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afterwards lingers in a kind of living death waiting for the end of his bessa, the temporary
truce that gives him one month to live before he either faces his enemies who try to kill
him or locks himself in a tower for safety. The novel, however, is an extended essay on the
apparent contradictions and imponderables of the feuding code that reputes to maintain
complete control over the social consequences of feuding violence. For the Berisha family the Kanun represents immutable law. For the prince of Orosh, who collects the blood
tax, it is a source of income. For the prince’s “steward of the blood,” who presides over
the rules of the Kanun, it is a profound mystery. For an unnamed Marxist writer referred
to in the novel, it is crude class exploitation. After Gjorg commits his murder and pays
the blood tax, he wanders the roads of the High Plateau. At the same time roaming around
the plateau in a fancy carriage is a writer and his beautiful bride from Tirana. The urban
intellectual, who inds the Kanun “terrible and beautiful,” romanticizes the highlands and
its blood feuds (Kadare, 1993, 63–68). The book debates the Kanun: was it a rigid system
of honor that encompassed all of society, making blood revenge integral to everything
else—plowing the ields, paying taxes, maintaining the public roads—or was it merely a
blood accounting, a system of gain and loss that beneited the aristocracy?
The reality of the Kanun is harder to pin down than the theory, and Azeta Kola will be
able to say something far more deinitive about it than I may here. On the feuding spectrum, however, the Kanun might deine the most thoroughly elaborated customary code.
According to one legal historian, the Kanun “era una speciale mentalità etica, fondata
sul sentimenti d’onore, di fedeltà di libertà non priva di senso di responsabilità.” (Villari, 1940 as summarized in Martucci, 2010, 63). The legal code itself, which expresses
itself as eternal and immutable does not actually tell us anything about practice, which
often was accidental and changeable. The cultural anthropologist, Donato Martucci of the
University of Salento, has analyzed the multiple versions of the Kanun and investigated
what happens in practice. The theory is grounded on a moral principle of birrnija – the
attributes of a virtuous man including prudence, justice, and temperance – an ethic similar
to the Sicilian omertà. The theoretical system includes the notion of a promise in the
sense of a treaty between feuding parties (the bessa), of personal liberty, of equality
among honorable men (the principle of blood for blood), and of shame for those who
fail to shed the blood of an enemy. Ancillary to the system of personal relations among
feuding families are the broader social ramiications, especially the sacred obligations of
hospitality toward a guest:
La dimensione divina appare ancora più autentica quando si considera che la si
acquisisce d’improvviso una sera, soltanto per alcuni colpi battuti a una porta […]
Qualsiasi uomo commune, in qualsiasi note o in qualsiasi giorno, può essere elevato
alla sublime dignità di ospite. Quindi la via di questa divinizzazione temporanea è
aperta a chiunque, e in ogni momento […] E questa trasformazione inattesa è appunto partecipe della natura divina (Kadare, 1993, 63–68).
The actual moment of the taking of blood involved elaborate rules of when and where
to shoot, how to arrange the body properly, how to notify the community, and who was
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exempt from violence ‒ children, women, priests. In the Albanian mountains where the
Kanun was followed, resorting to the law of the state never seems to have been an option
except perhaps under the Communist regime. The community elders might have a role,
but disputes about the provisions of the Kanun were appealed to informal experts rather
than the courts.
In contrast to Albania, an intermediary place on the feuding spectrum began to appear
in other parts of Europe during the late medieval and early modern period when pursuing
blood feud or resorting to the legal system became a choice. In this intermediary place,
the micro-geographies of family property, public roads, and community lands yielded to
the legal territorial boundaries asserted by the nascent states.
Some years ago my own research on feuding in Friuli led me to a remarkable document
about choosing between the codes of the vendetta and the laws of the state: The chronicle
of the Friulan aristocrat, Soldoniero di Strassoldo, who inserted his own family’s experiences into a record of the endemic violence that plagued Friuli in the sixteenth century
(di Strassoldo, 1895, 30–55).2 The case is one about inherited obligations of revenge,
property conlicts within a lineage, family strategies to preserve patrimony, jurisdictional
boundaries, shopping for sympathetic courts, and fear of the consequences of a revenge
killing, in other words all the considerations required of participants in a feud. The story
involves a dispute between, on the one side, the author Soldoniero and his brother Federico di Strassoldo, and on the other, their irst cousins, the brothers Zuan Iosefo and
Bernardino di Strassoldo. Here was a classic example of how property held in fraterna
by brothers and agnatic cousins could become the grounds for a feud among kinsmen.
Soldoniero and Federico iled a legal suit against their cousin Zuan Iosefo for usurping more than his share of the income from properties held in fraterna by their respective
fathers. On October 4, 1561, Federico was returning from the market town of Belgrado
to the family villa for the beginning of the grape harvest. The road passed through one
of the several small jurisdictional enclaves that belonged to the Holy Roman Empire
in Friuli, which was in most places subject to the authority of the Venetian republic.
Accompanied by three bravi, Zuan Iosefo hid beside the road in a ditch that divided two
ields of sorghum and that formed the border between Venetian and imperial territories.
As Federico rode by, the assassins rushed out, shot him with a pistol, and inished him
of with blows to the head. One of Federico’s servants escaped into a nearby ield, from
which he watched the killers drag the body across the ditch into imperial territory to make
certain the case would not go to the Venetian authorities. The assassins then escaped into
the Venetian jurisdiction where they could not be arrested without creating a diplomatic
incident between the republic and the emperor, who was particularly touchy about even
the appearance of Venetian violations of his jurisdictional rights in the disputed border
region.
The problem then became two-fold: who had the obligation to avenge Federico’s
death and what role might the courts have in prosecuting the murderers? Federico’s
orphaned son was just ten years old. That left as the obvious avenger Federico’s brother
2
I have previously discussed the case in Muir, 1994, 72–76.
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Soldoniero, the author of the chronicle, but he ducked the obligation by appealing to the
legal authorities. But to which courts should he appeal, the imperial captain in Gradisca
or the Venetian luogotenente in Udine? The imperial captain had formal jurisdiction,
and Soldoniero irst went to him, who after a two-week delay banished the killers from
imperial territory and coniscated their property. However, Zuan Iosefo and his bravi
had already found refuge in Venetian territory, and the Venetian luogotenente in Udine
refused to act because he lacked jurisdiction in the matter. Soldoniero appealed to Venice
where his case was kicked around from the Consiglio dei Dieci, to the Collegio of the
Senato, to the Avvogadori di Comun, to the Quarantia, all of which refused to issue an
indictment because of the lack of jurisdiction and the danger of a diplomatic dispute with
the emperor. As a result of his eforts to have the Venetians hear the case, a frustrated
Soldoniero now found himself under indictment in the imperial courts for lèse-majesté.
If we are to believe Soldoniero’s account, here is an example of someone who wanted
to avoid a feud and who wanted to rely on the legal system for redress but who was
thwarted by the ineiciencies of the law courts, political considerations, and diplomatic
sensitivities. After many months pleading in Venice and Vienna, Soldoniero managed to
have the assassins banished from Venetian and imperial territories and all their properties
coniscated. As one of his dead brother’s heirs, Soldoniero received one-quarter of Zuan
Iosefo’s property, but it was heavily encumbered by unpaid taxes. The lesson Soldoniero
wanted to impart to his readers was that his acceptance of the authority of the law had
enmeshed him in an impossible situation from which he extricated himself only with
great diiculty and expense. The problem of competing jurisdictions may have been
particularly acute in Friuli, but it was not unusual in early modern Europe where almost
anyone who chose to avoid personal or familial revenge by relying on the courts opened
himself to an experience of justice denied. Stuart Carroll, for example, has shown that in
France most lawsuits were abandoned before sentencing, and even when sentences were
issued, they were seldom carried out (Carroll, 2015).
Zuan Iosefo’s conviction, however, did not pay what Soldoniero still saw as a debt
of blood. He just refused to collect it himself even though it was his brother who had
been killed. Instead he passed on the responsibility to his nephew, Federico’s son Zuan
Francesco, who would be unable to avoid a “vendetta onorabile” for the murder of his
father. At this stage, Soldoniero’s reasoning became remarkably self-serving. The boy, he
wrote, would eventually be obliged to collect the debt of blood, but as the only heir to the
joint property of Soldoniero and Federico, he might place the entire family patrimony in
jeopardy. If he killed Zuan Iosefo, Zuan Francesco would certainly be exiled and have
his property coniscated. Moreover, Soldoniero had no son of his own since he was a
bachelor. Soldoniero, therefore, decided to marry in order to produce a male heir who
could inherit the entire patrimony no matter what Zuan Francesco did.
In Soldoniero’s calculations reliance on the oicial legal system, preservation of
family property, and the maintenance of personal honor constituted variables in a family economy of exchanges in which any action in one of the three areas of interest had
implications for the others. Serious contradictions among the imperatives produced by
these interests put Soldoniero into a series of double binds. After the murder of Federico,
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Soldoniero faced a dilemma: if he resorted to the judicial system for redress he would be
seen as lacking courage, but if he pursued revenge through an act of violence he might
lose his property and be forced into exile. If he did nothing he would lack the courage of
an honorable gentleman. Even when he attempted to rely on the courts, he was stymied
by jurisdictional conlicts and international politics. In fact, what Soldoniero predicted is
exactly what happened fourteen years after the initial murder. Zuan Francesco surprised
Zuan Iosefo while he was holed up in his rural castle and beheaded him. The Venetian
courts exiled Zuan Francesco and coniscated his property. Young Zuan Francesco maintained the family honor, but in the ensuing legal proceedings, his uncle Soldoniero lost
some of the family lands. Thus, Soldoniero’s elaborate strategy of delay and transference
of the obligation to avenge failed, at least in part, and in many respects he was bound
to fail. By attempting to engage in a feud and at the same time to respect the law, he set
himself on an impossible course along the feuding spectrum, one fraught with perils at
every turn. The double-binding imperatives of sustaining an honorable feud and respecting the law made every choice seemingly one of loss rather than gain.
At the opposite end of the feuding spectrum from the mountains of Albania might be
the seat of the ultimate source of law in western Europe, the throne of the Holy Roman
Emperor, and no late medieval or early modern emperor exercised greater legitimate sovereign authority than Charles V Habsburg. It may seem an oxymoron to depict the emperor
as taking the law into his own hands to pursue a private feud, but Stefano Dall’Aglio has
recently demonstrated just that (Dall’Aglio, 2011; 2015). The case of what Dall’Aglio
calls “the Emperor’s revenge” concerned the retaliatory murder of Lorenzino de’ Medici
in 1548, who eleven years before had assassinated his own cousin, the irst Duke of Florence, Alessandro de’ Medici. Alessandro was the emperor’s son-in-law and ally who had
sworn obedience to Charles when appointed duke. Instead of restoring Florentine liberty,
which might have been Lorenzino’s motive in the assassination, another Medici, Duke
Cosimo succeeded Alessandro, solidifying the Medici hold on Florence and conirming
the Habsburg domination of the peninsula. The obligation to avenge Alessandro’s death
should have fallen to his political heir Cosimo. Contemporaries and subsequent historians
have assumed that was exactly what happened, but Dall’Aglio demonstrates that Cosimo
remained passive in pursuit of Lorenzino. In contrast, the emperor’s men plotted for
eleven years against Lorenzino, and “it was Charles V who expressly requested the planning and execution of the murder and gave the permit to go ahead, and that it was three
representatives of imperial authority in Italy … who translated into action his orders from
Bavaria” (Dall’Aglio, 2015, 178). “Contrary to traditional historiography, which has
always spoken exclusively of a ‘Medici vendetta’ and of the paid killers sent by Cosimo, it
seems to me,” Dall’Aglio concludes, “that we ought to speak of the revenge of Charles V”
(Dall’Aglio, 2015, 179). Lorenzino, in fact, was not the only case of Charles’s engineering the assassination of an enemy in Italy. The list of those killed through his surrogate,
the governor of Milan Ferrante Gonzaga, included Pier Luigi Farnese, duke of Parma,
Piacenza, and Castro who was viciously stabbed to death and hung from a window of his
palace in Piacenza; Francesco Burlamacchi, decapitated in Milan for his anti-imperial
activities; and Giulio Cibo Malaspina, executed for a pro-French plot. Lorenzino fell for
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the same reasons as these others—he had dared to challenge Charles V—but Lorenzino
had also attacked the emperor’s family by murdering his son-in-law. The emperor ensured
that the oicial rationale for the murder remained ragion dello stato rather than private
vendetta, and for this reason he sought “to attribute to the irresolute Florentine duke all
the ‘merit’ for having brought justice to the assassin of his predecessor,” a cover-up that
has distorted the historical record (Dall’Aglio, 2015, 182).
Thus, even the emperor was capable of engaging in a blood feud, though his august
position obliged him to mask his motives, his thirst for revenge, and his willingness to
employ assassins for personal ends. It may be artiicial, of course, to separate too radically
the political from the personal in Charles’s case since his ability to command derived not
just from the law but from his personal reputation, as contemporary political theorists,
Machiavelli in the forefront, would have recognized. The rustic Albanian from the High
Plateau, the Friulan aristocrat, and the Holy Roman Emperor all faced a similar cultural
construct of the feud: a murder of a family member required a response in kind, the timing
and character of the response determined the honor of the avenger and his family, and
that honor became a form of social and political capital for sustaining social position.
However, all across the feuding spectrum actors made choices, even if some choices were
more constrained than others. Gjorg Berisha the young Albanian justicer in Kadar’s novel
saw no way out of the destiny prescribed for him by the Kanun, even as he exercised
his own agency by delaying the killing as long as possible. Soldoniero di Strassoldo, in
contrast, desperately tried to make choices by resorting to the judicial procedures that
attempted to make the feud obsolete, but jurisprudence ultimately failed him and his
nephew, who once he gained maturity assassinated his father’s slayer. One would assume
that no one had more freedom to choose a course of action during the sixteenth century
than the emperor, but even he felt constrained to conduct a private, clandestine vendetta
against his son-law’s assassin, and Lorenzino’s murder in 1548 did not end the matter. A
feud among the pro- and anti-Medici partisans continued in a series of retaliatory attacks
for decades.
No matter where they it on the spectrum all of these feuds were sustained by narratives, by exemplary tales about past events that framed the moral alternatives. We might,
in sum, reformulate Max Gluckman’s famous phrase of the “peace in the feud” into the
“feud in the story” – those stories that kept a feud alive, including even those stories
recorded in judicial documents that stigmatized the cultural value of revenge. Such stories
have had great power. They can evoke strong emotions and motivate action long after the
speciic historical conditions that produced the feud. The Jacobites’ cause in the Highlands of Scotland was a dead letter after their defeat at the Battle of Colloden in 1746, but
my otherwise kindly Scots grandmother who never even visited the Highlands until late
in her life raised me with tales of “Bonny Prince Charlie” and the ierce warning, “never
trust a Campbell.” And I never have.
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MAŠČEVALNI SPEKTER: OD ALBANSKIH GORA DO SODIŠČ KARLA V.
Edward MUIR
Univerza Northwestern, Oddelek za zgodovino, Harris Hall,1881 Sheridan Road, Evanston,
Illinois 60208, ZDA
e-mail: e-muir@northwestern.edu
POVZETEK
Ob zaključku interdisciplinarne konference o “Maščevanju v srednjeveški in zgodnji
novoveški Evropi”, ki je leta 2003 potekala v kraju Aarhus na Danskem, smo sodelujoči
prišli do ugotovitve, da ne moremo priti do enotne definicije maščevanja (fajde) in smo
torej ostali v nekem “definicijskem neskladju“. V upanju, da bo znanost napredovala, je
namen tega članka graditi na zaključkih konference na Danskem. Članek predlaga, da
mora biti maščevanje razumljeno kot spekter vedenja in vrednot. Del izziva je v tem, da
se definirajo meje maščevalnega spektra tako, da ne bodo vsi akti povračilnega nasilja
padli v ta okvir. Na enem koncu spektra so tako tista dejanja, ki so najbolj oddaljena od
državne moči, torej tista, ki jih ponazarja običajno pravo Kanuna v albanskih gorah.
Na drugem koncu pa so primeri maščevanj, skriti pod okriljem ragione dello stato in
zakonskega prava, primeri v katerih so zakoni monarha zavrnili zasebno pravičnost v
korist javnih norm, vendar so v praksi nekaterim privilegiranim osebam omogočali, da
nadaljujejo z maščevanjem. Članek obravnava vlogo cesarja Karla V. pri atentatu na
Lorenzina de‘ Medici, pri čemer je slednji umoril vojvodo Aleksandra de‘ Medici, cesarjevega zeta. Med tema dvema ekstremoma obstajajo številni primeri izvajalcev nasilja, ki
so se pogajali znotraj tega spektra, da bi si povečali možnosti uspeha v obdobju globokih
družbenih konfliktov glede častnega in pravnega načina za odpravo krivic. Znotraj moje
teze obstaja določen paradoks: čeprav so običajni postopki maščevanja vsebovali stroge
obveznosti glede ohranjanja časti, so stranke v sporu izbirale kje se bodo znotraj spektra
nahajale.
Ključne besede: Maščevanje, albanski Kanun, cesar Karel V., atentat
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SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bourdieu, P. (1977): Outline of a Theory of Practice. Cambridge, Cambridge University
Press.
Brown, K. M. (1986): Bloodfeud in Scotland 1573–1625: Violence, Justice and Politics
in an Early Modern Society. Edinburgh, John Donald.
Carroll, S. (2015): Vendetta in the Seventeenth-Century Midi. Krypton, 5/6. Downloaded
from Roma Tre E-Press, March 16, 2016.
Dall’Aglio, S. (2011): L’assassino del Duca: Esilio e morte di Lorenzino de’ Medici.
Florence, Olschki.
Dall’Aglio, S. (2015): The Duke’s Assassin: Exile and Death of Lorenzino de’ Medici.
New Haven, Yale University Press.
Dean, T. (1997): Marriage and Mutilation: Vendetta in Late Medieval Italy. Past and
Present, 157, 3–36.
di Strassoldo, S. (1895): Cronaca dal 1509 al 1603. Degani, E. (ed.): Cronache antiche
friulane, no. 2. Udine, Tip. G.B. Doretti, 30–55.
Gluckman, M. (1955): The Peace in the Feud. Past and Present, 8, 1–14.
Kadare, I. (1982): Broken April. Chicago, Ivan R. Dee.
Kadare, I. (1993): Aprile spezzato. Parma, Guanda.
Martucci, D. (2010): Kanun delle montagne albanesi: Fonti, fondamenti e mutazioni del
diritto tradizionale albanese. Bari, Edizioni di Pagina.
Muir, E. (1993): Mad Blood Stirring. Vendetta and Factions in Friuli During the Renaissance. Baltimore, JHU Press.
Muir, E. (1994): The Double Binds of Manly Revenge. In: Trexler, R. C. (ed.): Gender
Rhetorics: Postures of Dominance and Submission in Human History. Binghamton,
Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies, 65–82.
Netterstrom, J. B. (2007): Feud in Medieval and Early Modern Europe. Aarhus, Aarhus
University Press.
Villari, S. (1940): Le consuetudini giuridiche dell’Albania nel Kanun di Lek Dukagjini.
Roma, Società ed. del libro Italiano.
Wormald, J. (1983): The Blood Feud in Early Modern Scotland. In: Bossy, J. (ed.): Disputes and Settlements: Law and Human Relations in the West. Cambridge, Cambridge
University Press, 101–144.
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Received: 2017-02-07
Original scientiic article
DOI 10.19233/AH.2017.02
LO SPETTRO DELLA FAIDA: DAI MONTI DELL’ALBANIA
ALLA CORTE DI CARLO V
Edward MUIR
Northwestern University, Department of History, Harris Hall,1881 Sheridan Road, Evanston,
Illinois 60208, USA
e-mail: e-muir@northwestern.edu
SINTESI
Alla fine di una conferenza interdisciplinare su “feudo in epoca medievale e della
prima età moderna in Europa”, tenutasi ad Aarhus in Danimarca nel 2003, i partecipanti
hanno realizzato non siamo riusciti a trovare un accordo su una definizione del feudo, e
siamo rimasti con un certo “incoerenza delle definizioni”. Nella speranza che la ricerca
è in grado di compiere progressi, in questa relazione si propone di mantenere la promessa
della conferenza a Danimarca. Questa relazione suggerisce che il feudo dovrebbe essere
inteso come uno spettro di comportamenti e di valori. Parte del compito di individuare
i limiti di spettro di faide, in modo che tutti gli atti di violenza reciproca non collassano
in esso. In corrispondenza di una estremità dello spettro sono state quelle agisce più
distante dal potere dello stato, esemplificati dal diritto consuetudinario del Kanun delle
montagne albanesi. All’altra estremità dello spettro potrebbe essere casi di faide che
nascondeva sotto la coperta della ragione dello stato e dalla legge, i casi in cui le leggi
del monarca ripudiato giustizia privata a favore di norme pubbliche ma che in pratica
permesso alcune persone privilegiate per continuare a perseguire feudi. La relazione
esamina il ruolo dell’Imperatore Carlo V nell’assassinio di Lorenzino de’ Medici, egli
stesso assassino del Duca Alessandro de’ Medici. Tra questi due estremi sono stati numerosi esempi di autori di atti di violenza che hanno negoziato il loro cammino lungo
lo spettro per massimizzare le possibilità di successo durante un periodo di profondi
conflitti sociali oltre gli onorevoli e modi legali di risarcimento rimostranze. Vi è un certo
paradosso nel mio argomento: sebbene la consuetudine dei codici del feudo implicita
obblighi rigidi per mantenere l’onore, quelli chi fanno faide fanno scelte su dove situare
se stessi sullo spettro.
Parole chiave: faida, Kanun albanese, imperatore Carlo V, assassinio
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Nel 2003 partecipai a un convegno interdisciplinare sulla “Faida nell’Europa medievale e moderna” organizzato a Aarhus, in Danimarca. Non riuscendo ad accordarsi su una
precisa deinizione di faida, i partecipanti conclusero i lavori con una certa “incoerenza di
deinizioni” (Netterstrom, 2007, 48–49). Nella speranza che la ricerca possa fare progressi, questo articolo si propone di ripartire da quel convegno danese. Non intendo provare
a issare una deinizione, trattando quindi la faida come un oggetto (“the feud”) o persino
un tipo di transazione (“to feud”); vorrei invece suggerire di guardare alla faida come a
uno spettro di comportamenti e valori.
Nel suo signiicato originale, il termine spectrum indicava un’apparizione, un fantasma, un’illusione. Qui intendo invece riferirmi alla connotazione moderna dello spettro,
che designa tutta l’estensione di un determinato fenomeno: lo spettro di colori di un raggio di luce scomposto, lo spettro di lunghezze d’onda di una radiazione elettromagnetica,
lo spettro dei sintomi dell’autismo. Questa metafora medica può essere particolarmente
utile, perché i sintomi dell’autismo sono comportamentali e spesso diicili da distinguere,
da un lato, dalle “normali” variazioni nel comportamento di un bambino, e dall’altro lato
da seri danni neurologici. Come accade per la faida, anche le cause dell’autismo sono
diicili da individuare con certezza, e quindi da trattare; pur essendo fenomeni reali non
sono di facile classiicazione e deinizione.
Se si tratta la faida come uno spettro è necessario identiicarne bene i limiti, ainché
non vi ricadano dentro tutti gli atti di violenza reciproca. A un estremo vi saranno le azioni
del tutto indipendenti dal potere statale, come quelle previste dalla legge consuetudinaria
del Kanun osservata sui monti dell’Albania. All’altro estremo potranno esservi quei casi
di faida che si nascondevano dietro alla ragion di stato e alle pubbliche leggi – laddove
magistrati e monarchi in teoria ripudiavano il ricorso alla giustizia privata a favore di
norme pubbliche, ma in pratica permettevano a certi privilegiati di continuare a portare
avanti una faida. In questo articolo si prende ad esempio il ruolo dell’imperatore Carlo V
nell’assassinio di Lorenzino de’ Medici, che aveva a sua volta ucciso il duca Alessandro
de’ Medici, nipote dell’imperatore. Fra questi due estremi si trovavano numerosi altri
esempi di atti violenti; nello scegliere dove collocarsi lungo lo spettro, i responsabili di
questi atti cercavano di massimizzare le loro possibilità di successo valutando i diversi
modi onorevoli o legali a loro disposizione per riparare il torto subito. La mia tesi contiene
un certo paradosso: sembra che nella prima età moderna i codici consuetudinari – almeno
nelle forme che sono giunte ino a noi – regolassero la violenza con maggiore portata ed
eicacia rispetto alla giurisprudenza. Sebbene le norme consuetudinarie sulla faida imponessero degli obblighi ben precisi per il mantenimento dell’onore, le parti coinvolte erano
libere di decidere dove collocarsi lungo lo spettro.1 Erano loro a scegliere quando e come
vendicarsi (spesso dopo lunghi intervalli di tempo), e se si appellavano alle corti non
era perché volevano rispettare la legge, ma perché pensavano che quella strada potesse
condurli al risultato sperato.
1
Anche Wormald (1983, 104) riprende in termini simili l’idea di spettro. Netterstom pare suggerire che
l’idea di spettro possa risolvere i problemi legati alla deinizione (Netterstom, 2007, 67).
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Dal punto di vista euristico, guardare alla faida come a uno spettro permette di liberare i codici europei della faida dal funzionalismo quasi meccanico della tesi di Max
Gluckman sulla “pace nella faida”:
Vorrei dimostrare che gli uomini si scontrano per via di alcuni loro doveri consuetudinari, ma allo stesso tempo alcuni altri obblighi, anch’essi imposti dalla tradizione,
scoraggiano il ricorso alla violenza. Ne risulta che gli scontri in un ambito dei rapporti umani conducono, nella sfera più ampia della società o dopo un certo periodo
di tempo, al ristabilimento della coesione sociale. I conflitti sono un elemento della
vita sociale e la tradizione aiuta a esacerbarli, ma così facendo impedisce ai conflitti
di distruggere il più ampio ordine sociale (Gluckman, 1955, 1).
Il paradigma funzionalista di Gluckman ha dominato a lungo le ricerche storiche sulla
faida in Europa, soprattutto per il periodo più “primitivo” della prima età moderna, in
cui ciò che conosciamo derivava largamente da regole normative – come ha notato Keith
Mark Brown, questo approccio ha però “boniicato” la faida, rendendola un’espressione
razionale di norme socialmente legittimate (Brown, 1986, 2). A partire dalla svolta culturale nella storiograia e soprattutto negli studi sulla violenza nel Mediterraneo, la faida
non è più stata intesa come un’espressione delle strutture di longue durée della società,
quanto piuttosto come ciò che Trevor Dean ha chiamato “racconti di vendetta” – quelle
storie di conlitto che funzionavano da racconti esemplari e che trasmettevano “implicite
lezioni morali” (Dean, 1997, 31–32). Dal mio punto di vista, la vendetta o la faida (non
trovo molto utile distinguere tra i due termini) costituiva una forma di memoria collettiva, che veniva conservata nei racconti narrati ai bambini, nelle storie orali e nei lavori
letterali, in storie raccontate attorno al focolare, in novelle come Giulietta e Romeo di Da
Porto o commedie come Tis Pity She’s a Whore di John Ford (non l’omonima canzone
misogina di David Bowie).
In Europa, il codice consuetudinario di faida di gran lunga più elaborato era senza
dubbio il Kanun dell’altopiano albanese. Il Kanun è inserito in un codice di leggi consuetudinarie ritenuto molto antico, che venne poi pubblicato a partire dal 1853 in una serie
di versioni diferenti. All’inizio del ventesimo secolo la sua applicazione fu osservata da
diversi osservatori esterni, tra cui la più famosa fu l’antropologa e avventuriera scozzese
Margaret Hasluck, che trascorse tredici anni a Elbasan in Albania. La faida è anche il
soggetto di Aprile spezzato di Ismail Kadaré, di certo la migliore raigurazione letteraria
della vendetta (Kadaré, 1993).
Nel suo romanzo Kadaré echeggia l’osservazione di Pierre Bourdieu sulle caratteristiche di una pratica (Bourdieu, 1977). Per Bourdieu l’atto violento della vendetta esprime
l’habitus della faida, cioè quelle disposizioni o quegli schemi acquisiti di percezione, pensiero e azione che formano la pratica della faida. L’habitus della faida si appoggia su ciò
che Bourdieu chiama la sua doxa, ovvero le strutture mentali e i valori appresi ma inconsci
che sono ritenuti auto-evidenti e che guidano le azioni e i pensieri del vendicatore. Secondo
l’analisi di Bourdieu, il tempismo di un atto di ritorsione è decisivo per la sua legittimità
sociale e per la sua capacità morale di conservare l’onore e i valori della comunità. Per
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il protagonista del romanzo di Kadaré, Gjorg Berisha, un giovane gjakës – termine che
indica colui che uccide per vendicare un altro morto – il tempismo è tutto, e il suo ritardo
nel vendicare l’omicidio del fratello mette a rischio l’onore della famiglia. La camicia
insanguinata della vittima appesa all’esterno della casa diventa una sorte di orologio della
morte, che incita Gjorg a spargere sangue prima che si chiuda l’intervallo di tempo a
disposizione per una vendetta onorevole. Nel commettere il suo omicidio per vendetta
Gjorg si attiene al copione sociale stabilito dal Kanun: rimarrà in uno stato di morte in vita
nell’attesa che termini la besa, la tregua temporanea che gli concede un mese di tempo
da vivere prima di fronteggiare i nemici che cercheranno di ucciderlo, oppure di rinchiudersi in una torre per salvarsi. Il romanzo è in realtà un lungo saggio sulle contraddizioni
apparenti e l’imponderabile del codice della faida, che si illude di controllare appieno le
conseguenze sociali della violenza. Per la famiglia Berisha il Kanun rappresenta una legge
immutabile. Per il principe di Orosh, che raccoglie l’imposta del sangue, è una fonte di
reddito. Per il suo intendente del sangue, che vigila sulle regole del Kanun, è un mistero
profondo. Per un anonimo scrittore marxista citato nel romanzo, è mero sfruttamento di
classe. Dopo aver commesso il suo omicidio, Gjorg paga l’imposta del sangue e prende
a girovagare per le strade dell’altopiano. Viaggiando su una bella carrozza, girano per le
stesse strade anche uno scrittore di Tirana e la sua bella sposa. L’intellettuale di città, che
trova il Kanun “bello e terribile”, idealizza l’altopiano e le sue faide di sangue (Kadare,
1993, 63–68). Il libro discute il Kanun: era un sistema di onore rigido e onnicomprensivo,
che legava la vendetta di sangue a ogni altro aspetto della vita sociale – arare i campi,
pagare le tasse, mantenere le strade –, o si trattava semplicemente di una contabilità del
sangue, un sistema di guadagni e perdite che andava a vantaggio dell’aristocrazia?
Parlare del Kanun da un punto di vista teorico è più facile che issare la sua realtà
concreta, e Azeta Kola saprà dire qualcosa di più deinitivo di me a riguardo. Lungo
lo spettro della faida il Kanun costruisce forse il codice consuetudinario elaborato più
nei dettagli. Secondo uno storico del diritto, il Kanun “era una speciale mentalità etica,
fondata sul sentimento d’onore, di fedeltà, di libertà non priva di senso di responsabilità”
(Villari, 1940 citato in Martucci, 2010, 63). Il codice legale in sé si presenta come eterno e
immutabile, ma in realtà non ci dice niente sulla sua applicazione concreta, che era spesso
accidentale e mutevole. L’antropologo culturale Donato Martucci dell’Università del
Salento ha analizzato le diverse versioni del Kanun e studiato cosa accade nella pratica.
Dal punto di vista teorico, il codice si fonda sul principio morale della birrnija – che
condensa gli attributi di un uomo virtuoso, tra cui la prudenza, la giustizia e la temperanza
–, secondo un’etica simile a quella dell’omertà siciliana. Il sistema teorico comprende
le nozioni di promessa, intesa come accordo tra le due parti in lotta (besa), di libertà
personale, di uguaglianza tra uomini d’onore (il principio del rispondere al sangue col
sangue) e di disonore per coloro che non spargono il sangue di un nemico. Questo sistema
di relazioni tra famiglie in conlitto è aiancato da ramiicazioni sociali più estese, che
riguardano soprattutto i sacri obblighi di ospitalità:
La dimensione divina appare ancora più autentica quando si considera che la si
acquisisce d’improvviso una sera, soltanto per alcuni colpi battuti a una porta. […]
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E questa trasformazione inattesa è appunto partecipe della natura divina. […] Qualsiasi uomo comune, in qualsiasi notte o in qualsiasi giorno, può essere elevato alla
sublime dignità di ospite. Quindi la via di questa divinizzazione temporanea è aperta
a chiunque, e in ogni momento (Kadare, 1993, 63–68).
Per quanto riguardava il momento vero e proprio dello spargimento di sangue, regole
dettagliate indicavano quando e dove sparare, come andava trattato il corpo, come rendere nota l’uccisione alla comunità, e chi fosse esente dalla violenza (bambini, donne e
preti). Tra le montagne albanesi dove veniva osservato il Kanun sembra che il ricorso alla
legge dello stato non sia mai stata un’opzione contemplata, tranne forse sotto il regime
comunista. Gli anziani della comunità talvolta avevano un ruolo, ma le dispute sulle
norme del Kanun venivano risolte da esperti informali e non da tribunali.
Nel Basso Medioevo e nella prima età moderna, in altre parti d’Europa cominciarono
ad apparire dei casi collocati in posizione intermedia lungo lo spettro della faida: divenne
possibile scegliere se portare avanti una faida di sangue o rivolgersi al sistema legale. In
questa posizione intermedia le micro-geograie delle proprietà della famiglia, delle strade
pubbliche e delle terre della comunità persero importanza a favore dei conini territoriali
formali stabiliti dagli stati nascenti.
Mentre mi occupavo di faida in Friuli, alcuni anni fa trovai un documento molto interessante sulla necessità di scegliere tra i codici della vendetta e le leggi dello stato. Era la
cronaca di un nobile friulano, Soldoniero di Strassoldo, che inseriva le vicende della sua
famiglia all’interno di un più ampio racconto sulla violenza endemica che caratterizzava
il Friuli nel sedicesimo secolo (di Strassoldo, 1895, 30–55).2 È una storia di obblighi di
vendetta ereditati, conlitti di proprietà tra parenti, strategie familiari per conservare il patrimonio, conini giurisdizionali, ricerca di tribunali benevolenti, paura delle conseguenze
di un assassinio per vendetta – in altre parole, tutte quelle considerazioni di cui dovevano
tener conto gli attori coinvolti in una faida. La vicenda riguarda un conlitto tra l’autore,
Soldoniero, e suo fratello Federico di Strassoldo da una parte, e i loro primi cugini Zuan
Iosefo e Bernardino di Strassoldo dall’altra. È un classico esempio dei problemi provocati
delle proprietà detenute in fraterna da fratelli e cugini agnatizi, che potevano trasformarsi
in una causa di faida tra parenti.
Secondo Soldoniero e Federico, Zuan Iosefo si era appropriato di una quota maggiore
del dovuto del reddito prodotto dalle proprietà detenute in fraterna dai loro rispettivi
padri: i due fratelli intentarono una causa contro il cugino, ma per vendicarsi della denuncia Zuan Iosefo uccise Federico. Era il 4 ottobre 1561, e Federico stava rientrando
da Belgrado, un borgo di mercato, alla villa di famiglia, dove stava per cominciare la
vendemmia. La strada attraversava una delle tante piccole enclaves che il Sacro Romano Impero deteneva in Friuli (gran parte della regione era invece soggetta all’autorità
della Repubblica di Venezia). Accompagnato da tre bravi, Zuan Iosefo si nascose a lato
della strada, nel fossato che divideva due campi di sorgo e che costituiva il conine tra
i territori veneziani e quelli imperiali. All’avvicinarsi di Federico, gli assassini uscirono
2
Ho già analizzato la vicenda in Muir, 1994, 72–76.
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dal nascondiglio e gli spararono con una pistola, inendolo poi con una serie di colpi alla
testa. Uno dei servitori della vittima riuscì a fuggire in un campo vicino, da cui osservò
gli assassini trascinare il corpo oltre il fossato, all’interno del territorio imperiale – così
da essere certi che il caso non sarebbe inito nelle mani delle autorità veneziane. Subito
dopo gli assassini ripararono nel territorio di Venezia, dove non avrebbero potuto essere
arrestati senza creare un incidente diplomatico tra la Repubblica e l’imperatore, che era
particolarmente suscettibile anche al solo segno di una possibile violazione da parte di
Venezia dei suoi poteri giurisdizionali in quella contesa regione di conine.
Si poneva un doppio problema: chi doveva vendicare la morte di Federico, e quale
ruolo potevano avere i tribunali nel perseguire gli assassini? Il iglio della vittima aveva
solamente dieci anni, quindi il naturale vendicatore era il fratello di Federico, autore della
cronaca. Soldoniero però ignorò l’obbligo e decise di rivolgersi alle autorità legali: ma
a chi rivolgersi, al capitano imperiale di Gradisca o al luogotenente di Venezia a Udine?
La giurisdizione formale apparteneva al capitano imperiale, quindi Soldoniero si rivolse
in prima istanza a lui; due settimane più tardi gli assassini furono banditi dal territorio
dell’impero e la loro proprietà fu coniscata. Zuan Iosefo e i suoi bravi avevano però già
riparato nel territorio veneziano. Il luogotenente di Udine si riiutò di agire, perché non
aveva giurisdizione sulla vicenda; Soldoniero si rivolse allora alla stessa Venezia, dove il
suo caso si trovò a passare dal Consiglio dei Dieci al Senato, dagli Avogadori de Comun
alla Quarantia. Nessuno di loro decise di emanare un atto d’accusa, perché il caso non ricadeva nella giurisdizione della Repubblica e c’era il pericolo di uno scontro diplomatico
con l’imperatore. Gli sforzi di Soldoniero per spingere i veneziani a considerare il caso
non lo lasciarono solo frustrato, ma inirono per creargli anche dei problemi giudiziari:
le corti imperiali lo misero sotto infatti accusa per lesa maestà. Se dobbiamo credere a
quanto racconta Soldoniero, in questa storia abbiamo un individuo che voleva evitare la
faida e aidarsi al sistema legale per ottenere una riparazione, ma che viene ostacolato
dalle ineicienze dei tribunali, dalle considerazioni politiche e dalle sensibilità diplomatiche. Dopo aver perorato per molti mesi la sua causa a Venezia e a Vienna, Soldoniero
riuscì a far bandire gli assassini sia dai territori veneziani sia da quelli imperiali, oltre che
a far coniscare i loro beni. Essendo uno degli eredi della vittima, Soldoniero ricevette un
quarto delle proprietà di Zuan Iosefo, ma venne pesantemente gravato di tasse da pagare:
ai suoi lettori voleva mostrare proprio che, accettando l’autorità della legge, aveva inito
per ritrovarsi ingabbiato in una situazione impossibile, da cui era riuscito a liberarsi solo
al prezzo di grandi diicoltà e grosse spese. Il problema della concorrenza di giurisdizioni
diverse era forse particolarmente sentito in Friuli, ma non era certo raro nell’Europa della
prima età moderna: quasi chiunque avesse scelto di rinunciare alla vendetta personale
o familiare per ricorrere ai tribunali avrebbe potuto andare incontro a un’esperienza di
giustizia negata. Ad esempio, Stuart Carroll ha mostrato che in Francia la maggior parte
delle cause venivano abbandonate prima della sentenza, e se pure una sentenza era emessa
veniva raramente applicata (Carroll, 2015).
L’arresto di Zuan Iosefo non riscattava quello che per Soldoniero era ancora un debito
di sangue. Pur trattandosi dell’uccisione di suo fratello, si riiutava di riscuotere lui stesso
il debito: passò la responsabilità al nipote Zuan Francesco, iglio della vittima, che non
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avrebbe potuto evitare una “vendetta onorabile” per l’omicidio. A questo punto il ragionamento di Soldoniero si fece molto egocentrico. Il ragazzo, scrisse, sarebbe alla ine stato
costretto a riscuotere il debito di sangue, ma in quanto unico erede della proprietà congiunta di Soldoniero e Federico avrebbe potuto mettere a rischio il patrimonio dell’intera
famiglia. Se avesse ucciso Zuan Iosefo, Zuan Francesco sarebbe stato infatti certamente
esiliato e i suoi beni sarebbero stati coniscati. Dal canto suo, Soldoniero era scapolo e
non aveva igli. Decise quindi di sposarsi, così da generare un erede maschio che avrebbe
potuto ereditare l’intero patrimonio, indipendentemente dalle azioni di Zuan Francesco.
Nei calcoli di Soldoniero l’aidarsi al sistema legale uiciale, il mantenere le proprietà della famiglia e il tutelare l’onore personale costituivano diverse variabili all’interno
di una stessa economia familiare degli scambi, in cui ogni movimento in una delle tre
aree di interesse provocava delle conseguenze nelle altre due. Gravi contraddizioni tra
gli imperativi determinati da questi interessi posero Soldoniero di fronte a una serie di
dilemmi. Dopo l’uccisione di Federico, Soldoniero sarebbe stato visto come codardo se
si fosse rivolto al sistema giudiziario per ottenere una riparazione, ma se avesse cercato
la vendetta con un atto di violenza avrebbe potuto perdere i suoi beni ed essere costretto
all’esilio; d’altro canto se non avesse fatto nulla si sarebbe mostrato privo del coraggio
richiesto a un gentiluomo. Anche quando provò ad aidarsi alle corti, Soldoniero venne
fortemente ostacolato da conlitti giurisdizionali e dalla politica internazionale. In efetti,
aveva previsto con esattezza ciò che accadde quattordici anni dopo il primo omicidio:
Zuan Iosefo fu sorpreso da Zuan Francesco mentre si nascondeva nel suo castello di
campagna e venne decapitato; le corti veneziane esiliarono l’assassino e coniscarono i
suoi beni. Il giovane aveva sì tutelato l’onore della famiglia, ma nelle vicende legali che
ne seguirono suo zio perse alcune delle loro terre. La complessa strategia di Soldoniero
per ritardare e trasferire al nipote l’obbligo di vendetta fallì, almeno in parte – per molti
versi era una strategia destinata a fallire. Cercando di ingaggiare una faida e allo stesso
tempo rispettare la legge, Soldoniero si era messo in una posizione insostenibile lungo
lo spettro della faida, una posizione piena di pericoli da ogni punto di vista. Da un lato
doveva prendere parte con onore alla faida, dall’altro doveva rispettare la legge: ogni
volta che questo dilemma imponeva una scelta ne seguiva una perdita, non un guadagno.
Lungo lo spettro della faida, all’estremo opposto rispetto ai monti dell’Albania si può
trovare la sede della fonte ultima della legge in Europa occidentale, il trono del Sacro
Romano Impero. Nel Medioevo e nella prima età moderna nessun imperatore esercitò
un’autorità sovrana legittima maggiore di quella di Carlo V d’Asburgo. Può dunque
apparire un ossimoro sostenere che l’imperatore si sia fatto giustizia da solo portando
avanti una faida privata, ma di recente Stefano Dall’Aglio ha dimostrato proprio questo
(Dall’Aglio, 2011). Quella che Dall’Aglio chiama “la vendetta dell’imperatore” consiste
nell’omicidio a scopo di ritorsione di Lorenzino de’ Medici nel 1548. Undici anni prima
Lorenzino aveva assassinato il cugino Alessandro de’ Medici, primo duca di Firenze e
nipote di Carlo V, che aveva giurato obbedienza all’imperatore quando era stato nominato
duca. Lorenzino poteva forse aver agito per restaurare la libertà di Firenze, ma il successore di Alessandro, il duca Cosimo de’ Medici, consolidò la presa della sua famiglia sulla
città e confermò il predominio asburgico in Italia. Il compito di vendicare l’uccisione
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di Alessandro avrebbe dovuto spettare a Cosimo, suo erede politico – ed è esattamente
quanto fu presunto dai contemporanei e dagli storici successivi. Dall’Aglio invece dimostra che Cosimo mantenne un ruolo passivo nei confronti di Lorenzino; furono gli
uomini dell’imperatore a complottare per undici anni contro quest’ultimo, e “fu Carlo
V a richiedere espressamente la pianificazione e l’esecuzione dell’omicidio e a dare il
relativo via libera, […] furono tre rappresentanti del potere imperiale nella penisola […]
a tradurre in azione i suoi ordini provenienti dalla Baviera” (Dall’Aglio, 2011, 246).
“A dispetto della letteratura storiografica tradizionale, che ha sempre parlato solo ed
esclusivamente di ‘vendetta medicea’ e di ‘sicari di Cosimo’”, conclude Dall’Aglio, “mi
sembra che si debba parlare di vendetta dell’imperatore Carlo V” (Dall’Aglio, 2011,
247). In efetti quello di Lorenzino non fu l’unico caso in cui Carlo V organizzò l’assassinio di un suo nemico in Italia: la lista delle vittime uccise per tramite del governatore di
Milano Ferrante Gonzaga include Pier Luigi Farnese, duca di Parma, Piacenza e Castro
(venne ferocemente pugnalato a morte e appeso da una inestra del suo palazzo di Piacenza); Francesco Burlamacchi, decapitato a Milano per le sue attività anti-imperiali; e
Giulio Cibo Malasina, giustiziato per un complotto a favore dei francesi. Come questi
personaggi, Lorenzino fu assassinato perché aveva osato sidare Carlo V, ma anche perché aveva attaccato direttamente la famiglia dell’imperatore uccidendone il nipote. Carlo
V si assicurò che l’omicidio venisse uicialmente ricondotto alla ragion di stato e non a
una vendetta privata, e per questo cercò “di attribuire al titubante duca fiorentino tutto
il ‘merito’ per aver fatto giustizia dell’assassino del suo predecessore” – una copertura
che ha inito per distorcere la ricostruzione storica degli eventi (Dall’Aglio, 2011, 250).
Dunque persino l’imperatore poteva prender parte a una faida di sangue, anche se
la sua posizione augusta lo costringeva a mascherare le sue motivazioni, la sua sete di
vendetta e la sua volontà di impiegare dei sicari per ini personali. Naturalmente nel caso
di Carlo V è forse artiiciale il tentativo di separare troppo nettamente la sfera politica da
quella personale: la sua capacità di comandare derivava non solo dai poteri assegnatigli
dalla legge ma anche dalla sua reputazione personale – come avrebbero riconosciuto i
teorici politici dell’epoca, primo fra tutti Machiavelli.
Il montanaro albanese, il nobile friulano e l’imperatore si trovavano tutti di fronte
a una simile costruzione culturale della faida: l’assassinio di un membro della famiglia
richiedeva una risposta di pari valore; il tempismo e il carattere della risposta inluivano
sull’onore del vendicatore e della sua famiglia; e quell’onore costituiva una forma di capitale sociale e politico sotteso a una determinata posizione sociale. Ciò nonostante, lungo
tutto lo spettro della faida gli attori erano liberi di fare delle scelte, anche se alcune scelte
erano più obbligate di altre. Gjorg Berisha, il giovane giustiziere albanese del romanzo
di Kadaré, non vedeva nessuna alternativa al destino prescrittogli dal Kanun, ma esercitò
il suo arbitrio ritardando la vendetta il più a lungo possibile. Al contrario, Soldoniero di
Strassoldo si sforzò in tutti i modi di ricorrere alle procedure giuridiche che dovevano
servire a rendere obsoleta la faida – ma alla ine la giurisprudenza abbandonò lui e il
nipote, che una volta adulto uccise l’assassino del padre. Ci si potrebbe aspettare che nel
sedicesimo secolo nessuno fosse più libero dell’imperatore di scegliere il proprio corso
d’azione, ma persino lui si sentì costretto a compiere una vendetta privata e clandestina
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Edward MUIR: LO SPETTRO DELLA FAIDA: DAI MONTI DELL'ALBANIA ALLA CORTE DI CARLO V, 11–20
contro l’assassino del nipote. L’uccisione di Lorenzino nel 1548 non chiuse la questione,
e la faida tra sostenitori e oppositori dei Medici si trascinò per decenni con una serie di
attacchi e vendette.
Indipendentemente dalla loro collocazione lungo lo spettro, tutte queste faide si appoggiavano su narrazioni e racconti esemplari su eventi del passato che delimitavano le
alternative morali a disposizione. In deinitiva, potremmo riformulare la famosa frase di
Max Gluckman sulla “pace nella faida” con la “faida nella storia” – cioè in quelle storie
che la tenevano viva, comprese le storie registrate nei documenti giudiziari che stigmatizzavano il valore culturale della vendetta. Queste storie avevano un grande potere, perché
riuscivano a evocare emozioni forti e a spingere all’azione anche molto tempo dopo la
speciiche circostanze storiche che avevano innescato la faida. La sconitta nella battaglia
di Culloden nel 1746 mise una pietra sopra la causa dei giacobiti nelle Highlands; la mia
nonna scozzese non visitò mai le Highlands ino a un’età avanzata e – pur essendo altrimenti mite – mi crebbe coi racconti di “Bonny Prince Charlie” e col iero ammonimento
“non idarti mai di un Campbell”. E io non mi sono mica mai idato.
Traduzione: Lorenzo FERRARI
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FONTI E BIBLIOGRAFIA
Bourdieu, P. (1977): Outline of a Theory of Practice. Cambridge, Cambridge University
Press.
Brown, K. M. (1986): Bloodfeud in Scotland 1573–1625: Violence, Justice and Politics
in an Early Modern Society. Edinburgh, John Donald.
Carroll, S. (2015): Vendetta in the Seventeenth-Century Midi. Krypton, 5/6. Scaricato da
Roma Tre E-Press, 16 marzo 2016.
Dall’Aglio, S. (2011): L’assassino del Duca: Esilio e morte di Lorenzino de’ Medici.
Florence, Olschki.
Dean, T. (1997): Marriage and Mutilation: Vendetta in Late Medieval Italy. Past and
Present, 157, 3–36.
di Strassoldo, S. (1895): Cronaca dal 1509 al 1603. Degani, E. (ed.): Cronache antiche
friulane, no. 2. Udine, Tip. G.B. Doretti, 30–55.
Gluckman, M. (1955): The Peace in the Feud. Past and Present, 8, 1–14.
Kadare, I. (1982): Broken April. Chicago, Ivan R. Dee.
Kadare, I. (1993): Aprile spezzato. Parma, Guanda.
Martucci, D. (2010): Kanun delle montagne albanesi: Fonti, fondamenti e mutazioni del
diritto tradizionale albanese. Bari, Edizioni di Pagina.
Muir, E. (1993): Mad Blood Stirring. Vendetta and Factions in Friuli During the Renaissance. Baltimore, JHU Press.
Muir, E. (1994): The Double Binds of Manly Revenge. In: Trexler, R. C. (ed.): Gender
Rhetorics: Postures of Dominance and Submission in Human History. Binghamton,
Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies, 65–82.
Netterstrom, J. B. (2007): Feud in Medieval and Early Modern Europe. Aarhus, Aarhus
University Press.
Villari, S. (1940): Le consuetudini giuridiche dell’Albania nel Kanun di Lek Dukagjini.
Roma, Società ed. del libro Italiano.
Wormald, J. (1983): The Blood Feud in Early Modern Scotland. In: Bossy, J. (ed.):
Disputes and Settlements: Law and Human Relations in the West. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 101–144.
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Received: 2017-03-16
Original scientiic article
DOI 10.19233/AH.2017.03
LA PIETRA DEL BANDO. VENDETTA E BANDITISMO
IN EUROPA TRA CINQUE E SEICENTO
Claudio POVOLO
Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Dorsoduro 3484/D, 30123 Venezia, Italia
e-mail: povolo@unive.it
SINTESI
La pena del bando rifletteva in primo luogo il policentrismo politico e costituzionale
europeo e le sue interrelazioni con una società che per lungo tempo fu animata dai
conflitti tra consorterie e gruppi parentali. Parte essenziale delle relazioni incentrate
sulla vendetta era infatti il raggiungimento della pace tra i soggetti in conflitto, così
come il garantire la tranquillità e la difesa dei valori della comunità. Tale sistema era
provvisto di una spiccata dimensione giuridica ed interloquiva, sul piano costituzionale,
con il ruolo svolto dai tribunali e, soprattutto, con i riti giudiziari e consuetudinari che
avevano l’obbiettivo di regolamentare i conflitti tra i gruppi antagonisti, allontanando
con il bando, ove necessario, la persona che aveva infranto gli equilibri sociali.
Nel corso del Cinquecento una serie rilevante di problemi sociali, demografici ed
economici ridefinì sensibilmente la concezione di controllo sociale e di ordine, così come
le consolidate modalità di gestione della giustizia penale. La pena del bando, non più
considerata nella sua tradizionale dimensione costituzionale e resa severa sia nei suoi
aspetti repressivi, che in quelli più propriamente premiali, divenne uno strumento efficace
per imporre una diversa legittimità politica. Di fronte a queste trasformazioni, il bandito
assunse rapidamente la fisionomia di un vero e proprio fuorilegge provvisto del timbro di
oppositore politico e, in quanto tale, perseguibile con ogni strumento repressivo.
Parole chiave: Banditismo, Vendetta, Giustizia penale, Fuorilegge, Pena del bando,
Storia dell’età moderna
THE STONE OF BANISHMENT. REVENGE AND BANDITRY IN EUROPE
BETWEEN THE 16TH AND 17TH CENTURY
ABSTRACT
First of all, the banishment penalty reflected the political and constitutional European
polycentrism and its interrelations with a society for a long time animated by conflicts
between factions and family groups. To reach a lasting peace between the opponents was
indeed an essential moment of the vendetta system, as much as ensuring tranquillity and
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the safekeeping of the community’s values. The system was endowed with a pronounced
juridical dimension and it interacted, on the constitutional level, with the role played
by the courts and, in particular, trial and customary rites. These were aimed to manage
conflicts between opposite groups by pulling away the one who broke social stability
through banishment, if necessary.
During the Sixteenth century, a series of important social, demographic and economic problems sensibly reshaped the conception of social control and order, and the
long-established management of penal justice as well. The banishment penalty, no longer
embedded in its traditional constitutional dimension and harshened both in its repressive
and rewarding aspects, became an efficient instrument to impose a different political
legitimacy. Faced with these transformations, bandits quickly took the physiognomy of
actual outlaws, painted as political opponents and, as such, to be dealt with any repressive instrument available.
Keywords: Banditry, Vendetta, Criminal Justice, Outlaws, Banishment Penalty, Early
Modern history
PREMESSA
Il sistema della vendetta, che caratterizza intensamente l’età medievale e moderna,
è maggiormente comprensibile in molte delle sue dinamiche conlittuali ed istituzionali
se lo si accosta alla pena del bando e al suo utilizzo nell’ambito delle diverse concezioni
di ordine e di giustizia che contraddistinsero i variegate contesti politici dell’epoca1. La
pena del bando riletteva in primo luogo il policentrismo politico e costituzionale europeo
e le sue interrelazioni con una società che per lungo tempo fu animata dai conlitti tra
consorterie e gruppi parentali. Parte essenziale delle relazioni incentrate sulla vendetta
era infatti il raggiungimento della pace tra i soggetti in conlitto, così come il garantire
la tranquillità e la difesa dei valori della comunità. L’espulsione dalla città e dal suo
territorio della persona responsabile di un omicidio o di altre gravi ofese aveva per lo
più il ine di creare i presupposti di una tregua tra i gruppi antagonisti, necessaria per il
ristabilimento della pace e della quiete pubblica. La pena del bando evidenziava in tal
1
Ringrazio in particolare i due miei collaboratori Martino Mazzon e Andrew Vidali per l’aiuto prestatomi
nella redazione dei diagrammi che corredano il saggio e nel reperimento di alcune delle fonti archivistiche
utilizzate.
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modo le strette interconnessioni tra sistema della vendetta e gli apparati di giustizia che,
in molteplici forme e ricorrendo ad una pluralità di riti processuali, erano difusi, con
maggiore o minore incisività, nei diversi contesti costituzionali. La igura del bandito
era dunque essenzialmente rappresentata dall’irrogazione di una pena del bando che si
estendeva alla città, al suo territorio e poco oltre i suoi conini; e che per poter essere
eicace doveva prevedere la sua uccisione nel caso in cui avesse violato tale interdizione.
In deinitiva, una igura contrassegnata dalle dinamiche conlittuali tra le parentele avversarie, ma pure dalla isionomia giurisdizionale del tribunale che aveva pronunciato la
sentenza e che, soprattutto nei grandi centri urbani, perseguiva l’obbiettivo preminente di
garantire l’ordine e la pace cittadina, incrinando o indebolendo, se possibile e necessario,
la solidarietà e la compattezza dei gruppi rivali che si fronteggiavano per afermare ciascuno la propria supremazia.
L’antico sistema costituzionale garantì a lungo questa dialettica conlittuale e
giurisdizionale, insieme alla caratterizzazione del bandito come persona espulsa dalla
comunità. Nel corso del Cinquecento una serie rilevante di problemi sociali, demograici
ed economici rideinì sensibilmente la tradizionale concezione di controllo sociale e di
ordine, così come le consolidate modalità di gestione della giustizia penale. Non più
rilesso dei variegati contesi politici locali e delle loro dinamiche conlittuali, la pena del
bando perse la sua tradizionale isionomia e divenne strumento repressivo per eccellenza,
accompagnandosi alla difusione di riti inquisitori severi, volti ad afermare una diversa
concezione del territorio e dei suoi conini. Il sistema della vendetta venne messo decisamente in discussione, perdendo la sua legittimità giuridica e le funzioni che aveva assolto
nel mantenimento della pace e degli equilibri sociali. La pena del bando, estesa a tutto lo
stato, e resa severa, sia nei suoi aspetti repressivi, che in quelli più propriamente premiali,
divenne uno strumento eicace per imporre una diversa concezione di controllo sociale,
in cui il tema della pace smarriva i suoi tratti essenziali ed originari per assumere progressivamente quelli di ordine pubblico e di tranquillità sociale. Non diversamente, anche
la igura del bandito venne travolta dalla nuova normative bannitoria e dalla messa fuori
gioco dei tradizionali riti giudiziari. Non più rilesso di un sistema costituzionale volto
a ricreare l’ordine della pace, il bandito assunse rapidamente la isionomia di un vero e
proprio fuorilegge provvisto del timbro di oppositore politico. Queste trasformazioni, pur
manifestandosi visibilmente per la spiccata dimensione della violenza che le caratterizzò,
alla lunga indebolirono lo svolgimento e le caratteristiche dei conlitti locali. I provvedimenti estremamente dirompenti e le procedure severe adottati dai poteri centrali ebbero
eicacia in quanto si costituivano in primo luogo come una risposta inderogabile alle
pressanti richieste che provenivano dai contesti comunitari volte ad ottenere sicurezza e
ordine.
NELLA BRUGHIERA VERONESE (OTTOBRE 1607)
Guidati da quel giovane che li aveva attesi all’osteria del Progno, il piccolo gruppo
di soldati attraversò silenziosamente la palude e la brughiera che contrassegnavano il
paesaggio di quella landa posta a pochi chilometri dalla città. A causa della pioggia
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caduta la notte precedente il terreno era fradicio e scivoloso. Quando giunsero a quella
casa isolata ed abbandonata, posta ai piedi di un’altura, l’alba non era ancora spuntata.
Avevano lasciato più indietro i loro cavalli, insieme al più consistente numero di uomini
che attendevano il via libera per avanzare. Probabilmente i banditi dormivano nel ienile
della stalla attigua alla casa. In attesa della luce del giorno circondarono prudentemente
l’abitato. Il podestà di Verona aveva raccomandato la massima prudenza, tant’è che, per
non dare nell’occhio, erano usciti a notte fonda, dopo che le porte della città, come di
consueto, erano state chiuse. Il piccolo esercito di circa ottanta armati era costituito dai
soldati forniti dal provveditore generale in Terraferma Benedetto Moro, dagli sbirri del
podestà e da due compagnie di soldati corsi e cappelletti. Era stato loro detto che un
giovane dalla camicia rossa li avrebbe attesi in quell’osteria e condotti nel luogo dove
si erano rifugiati i banditi. Costui, insieme ad un compagno, faceva parte del gruppo
rifugiatosi la notte precedente in quella casa. Già da alcuni mesi i due delatori si erano
segretamente messi in contatto con i Capi del Consiglio dei dieci, ofrendo, in cambio
dell’impunità e delle taglie promesse, la loro collaborazione per far cadere nelle mani
della giustizia i loro compagni. Si trattava della cosiddetta banda dei fratelli della Grimana, cui, per l’occasione, si erano uniti altri banditi per compiere una rapina al vetturino
diretto a Venezia con una somma consistente di denaro pubblico. Quegli uomini erano
considerati estremamente pericolosi, anche perché venivano loro attribuiti diverse rapine
ed omicidi. Erano stati preavvertiti che erano al numero di diciassette, armati di tutto
punto con archibugi, pistole e munizioni in abbondanza e che tra di loro c’erano pure un
patrizio veneziano e un nobile veronese. Quasi tutti ormai conosciuti come banditi famosi, una qualiica che sottintendeva trattarsi di individui avvezzi ad ogni fatica ed impresa,
ma che, soprattutto, non avevano nulla da perdere, anche perché sapevano quale sorte li
avrebbe attesi se fossero stati catturati vivi. Le loro stesse fattezze isiche esprimevano
signiicativamente la sida continua che da alcuni anni andavano conducendo spostandosi
lungo i conini, per attraversare a sorpresa quel territorio delimitato dai iume Po e Adige,
ma talvolta spingendosi pure sino al delimitare della laguna veneta, nei luoghi d’origine,
da cui alcuni di loro erano stati banditi alcuni anni prima a causa delle loro azioni violente. Prudentemente avevano messo sull’avviso anche gli uomini delle comunità vicine,
che al loro ordine avrebbero dato il via al suono delle campane a martello. Sul far del
giorno il piccolo esercito mosse all’attacco e la brughiera venne attraversata dal rumore
assordante dei colpi delle armi da fuoco che si incrociavano senza sosta. Inine venne
appiccato fuoco al ienile e il gruppo di banditi uscì impetuosamente, riuscendo a crearsi
un varco tra gli assedianti. Quattro di loro furono uccisi nello scontro, ma i rimanenti,
inseguiti dai soldati e dagli uomini dei villaggi circonvicini, si addentrarono nella palude
riuscendo a raggiungere il villaggio di Marcelise, dove trovarono rifugio in una casa.
L’assedio proseguì tutto il giorno, nonostante fosse stato posto fuoco all’abitazione. Verso
sera l’attacco si concluse con un’incursione dei soldati nella casa ormai in iamme. Solo
uno dei banditi, rimasto ferito, venne catturato. Tutti gli altri preferirono morire piuttosto
che arrendersi. Le teste di coloro il cui corpo non era stato consumato dalle iamme,
furono mozzate e portate in città per essere poste sulla cosiddetta pietra del bando per il
loro riconoscimento.
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VIOLENZA E BANDITISMO
La dettagliata ricostruzione di questa storia è stata resa possibile ricorrendo alla descrizione che ne diedero i protagonisti che organizzarono o parteciparono al sanguinoso
attacco, avvenuto poco lontano dalla città di Verona all’alba del primo ottobre 16072.
La personale versione dei banditi avrebbe probabilmente fornito altri particolari e, di
certo, una diversa valutazione dei fatti3. Simili vicende erano comunque assai frequenti in
questo torno di anni e pongono all’osservatore che le esamini una serie di questioni assai
importanti, soprattutto in merito alle straordinarie manifestazioni di violenza che contraddistinguono tra Cinque e Seicento la lotta al banditismo in tutta l’area del Mediterraneo4.
La storiograia degli scorsi decenni sul tema del banditismo si è sofermata in particolare
sulla tesi formulata da Eric Hobsbawm in merito alla igura del bandito sociale. Una
tesi che è stata sostanzialmente contestata da diversi punti di vista, anche se ha continuato ad esercitare un’indubbia attrazione nell’ambito degli studi rivolti ad esaminare
il banditismo nelle sue implicazioni sociali e culturali. Le successive correzioni di tiro
dell’illustre storico britannico non hanno comunque dileguato le perplessità di coloro che
soprattutto sottolineavano l’importanza della ricostruzione del contesto politico e sociale
in cui il bandito si muoveva (Hobsbawm, 1969)5. E del resto erano assenti nel testo di
Hobsbawm, così come nei lavori che più o meno criticamente si rifacevano ad esso, le
strette connessioni tra banditismo e pena del bando che caratterizzano l’età medievale e
moderna. Le interrelazioni tra faida e banditismo hanno avvicinato la igura del bandito
ai conlitti locali e alla loro interazione con i sistemi politici dominanti6, ma non si è
2
3
4
5
6
Le vicende di questa banda, chiamata nelle fonti giudiziarie Della Grimana, attraversa i primi anni del Seicento, anche se Zuan Giacomo Della Grimana, originario come il fratello Zanon dal villaggio di Biadene nel
Trevisano, venne bandito per la prima volta nel 1596. I due delatori, Domenico Ceccato e Augusto Soccal
provenivano dal vicino villaggio di Cavaso (oggi Cavaso del Tomba). Le notizie relative alla loro uccisione
sono tratte dai dispacci dei rettori di Verona e dalla documentazione del Consiglio dei dieci: Archivio di stato
di Venezia (ASV), Consiglio dei dieci, Comuni, ilza 263. Alcuni degli uomini uccisi pur privi di un’identità
precisa, erano comunque sommariamente descritti. Ad esempio: “Uno detto il Gallo, che si diceva esser
cremonese, di statura grande, di anni 30, con barba negra, d’età d’anni 35; […] Uno che pur dicevano esser
cremonese, di statura grande, con barba rossa, d’età di anni 30…” (ASV, Consiglio dei dieci, Comuni, ilza
263, descrizione allegata al dispaccio del podestà di Verona Giulio Contarini del 10 ottobre 1607).
Come nel caso, più sotto riportato, di Giovanni Beatrice.
Per altre esempliicazioni si veda Povolo, 1997.
Il lavoro di Hobsbawm venne riedito nel 2000 (New York) con un Postscript (pp. 167–199) in cui lo storico
anglosassone afrontava gran parte delle critiche che erano state rivolte alla sua tesi. Oltre alle osservazioni
di Anton Blok (1972, 495–504), riprese da Hobsbawm, ricordo ancora Slatta (1994, 1987). Ed inoltre Sant
Cassia (1993, 773–795). In realtà, gran parte della discussione incentrata sul testo di Hobsbawm nasceva
dall’equivoco di fondo che considerava il bandito (sociale oppure no) come una igura perseguita da chi
deteneva il controllo della giustizia, senza considerarne gli aspetti costituzionali e giuridici. Si veda, a questo
proposito, la voce banditry di Robert Jütte (2004, 212–215), ma anche la voce, poco sopra ricordata, di W.
Slatta in cui la deinizione di banditry “is the taking of property by force or by the threat of force” (Slatta, 1994,
99). Appare evidente che una tale deinizione può essere accolta solo nel momento in cui la forma stato, nella
sua accezione contemporanea, presuppone un esteso controllo del suo territorio e dei suoi conini.
Un approccio che ha permesso di sottolineare importanti aspetti del banditismo. Alcuni signiicativi esempi
riguardano il contesto italiano: Raggio (1990); Lepori (2010). Per la Corsica: Wilson (1988). In questi studi
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suicientemente indagato sulle dimensioni costituzionali che le racchiudevano e che,
molto probabilmente, sono utili a spiegare non solo la speciicità dei conlitti7, ma pure
gli approcci storiograici tramite cui ci si è avvicinati alla dimensione della violenza8. Può
essere interessante ricordare le osservazioni del viaggiatore inglese Fynes Moryson, che
nei primi anni ’90 del Cinquecento attraversò nel suo lungo itinerario buona parte della
penisola italiana:
The Italyans in generall are most strict in the courses of Justice, without which care
they could not possiblie keepe in due order and awe the exorbitant dispositions of that
nation, and the discontented myndes of theire subiects. Yet because only the Sergiants
and such ministers of Justice are bound to apprehend Malefactours, or at least will
doe that office (which they repute a shame and reproch), and because the absolute
Principalities are very many and of little circuite, the malefactors may easily flye
out of the confines, where in respect of mutuall ielosies betweene the Princes, and of
theire booty in parte giuen to those who should prosecute them, they finde safe retrayt.
In the meane tyme where the Fact was donne, they are prescribed and by publike
Proclamations made knowne to be banished men vulgarly called Banditi. And where
the ruine is haynous besydes the bannishment rewardes are sett vpon theire heades to
him that shall kill them or bring them in to the tryall of Justice, yea to theire fellow
banished men not only those rewardes but releases of theire owne banishments are
promised by the word of the State vpon that condition, which proclamation vpon the
head is vulgarly called Bando della Testa (Hughes, 1903, 157).
7
8
l’attenzione è rivolta all’attività giudiziaria proveniente dall’esterno del contesto comunitario, o ai tentativi
dell’autorità politica di intromettersi nelle dinamiche conlittuali attraverso varie forme di paciicazione.
Le relazioni tra banditismo e la pena del bando che ne è all’origine non sono però state indagate nelle loro
implicazioni costituzionali, che evidentemente inluivano sulle stesse dinamiche della faida.
Ricordo qui solo alcuni dei lavori che hanno tentato di afrontare il tema sul piano più generale: Kamen
(2000), in cui il fenomeno banditry è signiicativamente afrontato nel capitolo Crime and punishment; Ruf
(2001, in particolare pp. 216–247). Lo sguardo di Ruf si estende in maniera particolareggiata a tutta l’Europa, ma nonostante si sottolinei la difusa frammentazione giurisdizionale (Ruf, 2001, 223) o l’utilizzo
della pena del bando (2001, 230), il termine banditry è generalmente attribuito ad azioni essenzialmente
criminose (ad esempio 2001, 221–222) rese possibili dalla debolezza dell’autorità statale. Oltre a quanto
già osservato si vedano pure le penetranti osservazioni, più sotto riportate, di Thomas Gallant. Per il periodo
medievale e l’età moderna il termine bandito, in quanto autore di azioni ostili alla comunità o allo stato, è
quasi sempre inscindibile da quello di persona colpita dalla pena del bando.
Un tema che negli ultimi anni ha suscitato l’interesse di molti studiosi e ha condotto a delle rilessioni sempre più puntuali, incentrate sulla complessità dei conlitti di faida e sui riti di paciicazione. La bibliograia
è assai ampia. Ricordo Carroll (2007), Broggio e Paoli (2011), Davis (2013), Kounine e Cummins (2016),
Darovec (2016). Rinvio in particolare alla densa introduzione di Stuart Carroll al volume del 2007 in cui il
tema della violenza è afrontato soprattutto nelle sue dimensioni culturali e storiograiche. Opportunamente
egli osserva: “The concept of medieval man as innately barbaric was less influential among constitutional
historians who had always had a high regard for the role of law in regulating behaviour, or those who
studied politics and viewed aristocratic violence, in particular, in terms of limited and self-interested political motives; and these traditional pillars of the historical discipline were lent support by the emerging
discipline of anthropology…” (Carroll, 2007, 5–6).
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Moryson coglieva l’immagine del banditismo nella sua originaria derivazione giudiziaria e, soprattutto, accostandola all’estrema frammentazione giurisdizionale della
penisola italiana e ai provvedimenti straordinari adottati in quegli anni per fronteggiare
un fenomeno strettamente correlato ai conlitti tra gruppi e parentele locali. Nella percezione di Moryson il fuorilegge era essenzialmente colui che era stato colpito dalla pena
del bando e che, in quanto tale, poteva essere impunemente ucciso anche da coloro che
si trovavano nella sua medesima condizione. Uomini che, sorprendentemente, non erano
per lo più disponibili ad abbandonare deinitivamente i territori da cui erano stati banditi,
anche se spesso consapevoli del possibile tragico destino che li attendeva. Il viaggiatore
inglese osservava inoltre come nelle zone di conine banditismo e violenza inevitabilmente si addensassero, alimentando l’immagine di fuorilegge il cui destino sembrava
inesorabilmente tracciato:
These Outlawes fynde more safe being in those parts, by the wickednes of the people
commonly incident to all borderers, and more spetially proper to the Inhabitants
thereof. But these rewards, and impunityes promised to outlawes for bringing in the
heads or persons of other outlawes hath broken their fraternity. So as hauing found
that their owne Consorts haue sometymes betrayed others to capitall Judgment or
themselues killed them, they are so ielous one of an other, and so affrighted with the
horror of their owne Consciences, as they both eat and sleep armed, and vppon the
least noyse or shaking of a leafe, haue their hands vppon their Armes, ready to defend
themselues from assault (Hughes, 1903, 158).
In realtà il clima descritto da Fynes Moryson riletteva lo stato di emergenza che nei
decenni a cavallo tra Cinque e Seicento si era difuso non solo nell’area del Mediterraneo,
ma anche in gran parte d’Europa9. Le sue speciicità incontravano certamente origine
nelle diverse strutture politiche e costituzionali entro cui si venne ad afermare un nuovo
concetto di ordine sociale, ma anche l’emergenza straordinaria di una violenza che si
coniugava con la faida e il banditismo10.
Le numerose monograie e lavori collettivi che in questi ultimi anni si sono sofermati
sulle origini e modalità della violenza in età medievale e moderna hanno sottolineato
la debolezza interpretativa di tesi come quelle di Elias e di Weber, che presuppongono
il graduale emergere della forza dello stato in grado di legittimare o monopolizzare
9
Il viaggiatore inglese aveva ben colto come il banditismo fosse associato al sistema della vendetta: “They
haue many other meanes also to redeeme themselues from banishment, as for murthers by intercession of
freinds at home, vppon agreement made with the next freinds of the party murthered”. Ma notava pure il
clima notevolmente cambiato di seguito agli interventi dei poteri centrali: “But in Crimes extraordinarily
haynous, the Princes and States are so seuere, as in their publique Edict of banishment, besides rewards
sett vppon their heads, great punishments and Fynes according to the qualityes of offence and person are
denounced against them who at home shall make petition or vse other meanes at any tyme to haue them
restored to their Countryes Lands and livings” (Hughes, 1903, 158–159).
10 Sul banditismo rinvio agli atti dei due grandi convegni internazionali che si sono tenuti sul tema: Ortalli
(1986); Manconi (2003).
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l’uso della violenza11. Ed alcuni anni orsono Charles Tilly ha posto in rilievo come le
diverse realtà statuali si imposero gradualmente e contraddittoriamente utilizzando le
molteplici forze sociali esistenti sul territorio e comunque imponendosi come garanti
dell’ordine costituito esistente (Tilly, 1985, 171–172)12. Un’ipotesi alquanto suggestiva
se solo si presta attenzione alle modalità tramite cui la violenza delle istituzioni interagì
con quella delle forze che ad essa si opponevano. In realtà lo straordinario rigurgito di
violenza che si registra a partire dagli ultimi decenni del Cinquecento incontrava un
evidente supporto nella legislazione bannitoria che venne emanata dai poteri centrali
in quel torno di anni13. Una legislazione che risultò particolarmente eicace e che può
essere compresa nella sua efettiva portata se solo la si accosta all’introduzione dei
processi inquisitori che si registra in tutta Europa nel corso del Cinquecento. La politica
criminale in tema di banditismo e di nuovi riti processuali poté evidentemente essere
eicacemente condotta previo il consenso e la spinta di vasti settori della società dell’epoca. Anche perché essa implicò un efettivo e sostanziale superamento degli assetti
costituzionali esistenti, che, comunque, a partire dal basso medioevo, costituivano la
legittimità politica delle diverse realtà territoriali e che non sarebbero deinitivamente
venuti meno se non sul inire del Settecento. Banditismo e sistema della vendetta erano
intensamente intrecciati tra di loro e così i loro esiti, che rilessero, in primo luogo,
l’indebolimento degli assetti costituzionali che avevano contraddistinto per secoli le
numerose e variegate strutture politiche che caratterizzavano il bacino del Mediterraneo.
Le interconnessioni tra faida e banditismo rilevate per alcune zone della Spagna o della
penisola italiana sembrano implicitamente rinviare alle loro speciicità istituzionali,
caratterizzate da un articolato sistema della vendetta nel territorio14. Fazioni, bandos
e strutture parentali provviste di una sorta di legittimità giuridica sembrano esplicitare
in modo meno visibile la loro presenza nei diversi contesti sociali laddove, come ad
esempio nell’Italia Settentrionale, le città avevano esteso la loro giurisdizione su un
ampio territorio. In tal caso la pena del bando, pur rilettendo la dialettica conlittuale
Oltre alla bibliograia già ricordata in cui ci si è ampiamente sofermati sulle tesi di Elias e Weber, ricordo
anche le osservazioni, mosse da un altro punto di vista, da Goody (2006, 154–179).
12 Ed inoltre Thomson (1994), la quale, sulla scorta delle osservazioni di Tilly, osserva: “States did not monopolize violence even within their territorial borders. Urban militias, private armies, fiscal agents, armies
of regional lords and rival claimants to royal power, police forces, and state armies all claimed the right to
exercise violence. Authority and control over domestic violence was dispersed, overlapping, and democratized” (Thomson, 1994, 3).
13 Un aspetto che è stato soprattutto afrontato dalla storiograia italiana. Oltre ai diversi interventi apparsi nei
due convegni internazionali dedicati al banditismo: Ortalli (1986); Manconi (2003), ricordo Fosi (1985);
Fosi (2011, in particolare 78–89); Gaudosio (2006). Ed inoltre Black (2011, 189–191). Per la Germania, ed
in particolare la città di Ulm, ricordo Coy (2008), in cui l’ampio utilizzo della pena del bando da parte delle
autorità cittadine non sembra presupporre l’uccisione di colui che penetra nei territori da cui è interdetto.
14 Per la Spagna rinvio in particolare alla sintesi di Pomata Severino (2011), in cui è delineata un’ampia rassegna dei lavori sul bandolerismo spagnolo ed in particolare di quelli di Torres Sans. Rinvio inoltre al volume
già ricordato di Manconi (2003), in cui la situazione catalana è afrontata dallo stesso Torres Sans (35–52)
e da Serra i Puig (147–169), che afronta il tema del banditismo prestando particolare attenzione all’assetto
costituzionale; quella valenciana da Lluís J. Guia Marín (87–106); e quella della Murcia da Lemeunier
(181–195). Un inquadramento di carattere generale in Casey (1999, 165–191).
11
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tra i gruppi parentali in conlitto, era comunque espressione di tribunali che avevano
l’obiettivo primario di assicurare la pace e la tranquillità sociale.
LA PENA DEL BANDO
Ampiamente utilizzata in ogni epoca e in diverse strutture politiche, la pena del bando
assunse un’importanza di rilievo a partire dal basso medioevo, sia come arma di lotta
politica (il cosiddetto bando politico) che come strumento di controllo sociale che poteva
essere utilizzato a difesa dei valori e dell’ordine comunitario, ma anche per agevolare la
risoluzione dei conlitti tra le famiglie che competevano per l’onore e la gestione delle
risorse economiche (Cavalca, 1978; per la Francia Carbasse, 1990, 223–225). Una pena,
dunque, che esprimeva la complessità delle istituzioni giudiziarie, caratterizzate da una
cultura scritta e da professionisti del diritto, ma anche da un sistema conlittuale regolato
dalle consuetudini e contraddistinto dall’onore e dalla vendetta (Stein, 1984). Si trattava
dunque di una pena che interagiva con i riti giudiziari processuali e che riletteva quel
sistema costituzionale medievale eteronomo contraddistinto quasi ovunque da una itta
rete di giurisdizioni, ciascuna delle quali era dotata di una propria autonomia, anche se
i valori morali, religiosi e politici erano sostanzialmente condivisi15. In ogni comunità
medievale la giustizia restitutiva e la giustizia retributiva erano strettamente interconnesse16 e se il sistema della vendetta era soprattutto informale e regolato dalle consuetudini,
le corti giudiziarie riconoscevano la legittimità di alcune delle sue manifestazioni, pur
avendo come precipuo obbiettivo il compito di attenuarne la pericolosità per assicurare la
pace cittadina (Lenman, Parker, 1980, 22–24).17. Non a caso la persona colpita dalla pena
del bando poteva per lo più essere uccisa impunemente se avesse oltrepassato i conini
da cui era stata interdetta. Un sistema che implicava dunque una stretta correlazione
15 “The medieval system of rule was legitimated by common bodies of law, religion and custom that expressed
inclusive natural rights pertaining to the social totality formed by the constituent units. These inclusive
legitimations posed no threat to the integrity of the constituent units, however, because the units viewed
themselves as municipal embodiments of a universal moral community” (Ruggie, 1998, 146–147).
16 Con il termine di giustizia restitutiva o risarcitoria si intende quella giustizia incentrata essenzialmente sulla igura e sullo status della vittima; e sulle rivendicazioni da parte di quest’ultima ad ottenere un adeguato
risarcimento simbolico ed economico volto a ripristinare gli equilibri turbati dal conlitto. Diversamente,
la giustizia retributiva o punitiva era incentrata sulla punizione del reo, anche se non poteva ignorare il suo
status e, soprattutto, le dinamiche che avevano originato il conlitto. Tale forma di giustizia enfatizzava gli
aspetti collettivi della pace e della sicurezza cittadina; e, conseguentemente, pure il ruolo della giustizia
pubblica esercitata da organi legittimati a rappresentarla. A diversità di quanto si sarebbe successivamente
afermato, entrambe queste forme di giustizia nell’età medievale e moderna interloquivano sensibilmente
con il sistema della vendetta e con la dimensione dell’onore rivendicata dai protagonisti. L’introduzione
di riti inquisitori a partire dal Cinquecento avrebbe comunque avviato la preminenza politica di forme di
giustizia retributiva, meno sensibili a considerare lo status dei protagonisti e le dinamiche del conlitto, mirando essenzialmente alla punizione del reo. Su questi temi, anche per una bibliograia più speciica, rinvio
a Cantarella (2007).
17 Su questo importante saggio si vedano le mie osservazioni in Povolo (2015, 212–213). Di grande interesse
per quanto concerne le interrelazioni tra amministrazione della giustizia e sistema della vendetta è Smail
(2013).
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tra violenza e banditismo, ma anche una distinzione non netta tra le due concezioni di
giustizia restitutiva e retributiva. Una concezione di giustizia restitutiva implicava una
considerazione di rilievo nei confronti della vittima e l’obbligo per l’ofensore di compensare adeguatamente il danno inferto. Nell’età medievale, e per alcune aree europee
anche nei secoli successivi, queste forme di giustizia erano strettamente interconnesse
con il sistema della vendetta, che spesso implicava la ritorsione, l’ira e il furore, ma
anche l’amor e l’esigenza di ristabilire la pace. La pena del bando, che escludeva la
persona accusata di un crimine dalla comunità, poteva dunque essere concepita come uno
strumento per stabilire la tregua necessaria, in attesa che i gruppi antagonisti giungessero
alla conclusione di una pace. I vari riti processuali dovevano condurre teoricamente a tale
risultato e rivelavano con le loro caratteristiche e con i loro esiti l’implicito linguaggio
della vendetta che animava la giustizia formale.
Diagramma 1: Giustizia restitutiva
Taluni riti processuali come le cosiddette difese per patrem, che prevedevano che il
padre dell’omicida fuggitivo potesse presentarsi in suo luogo, spiegano inoltre come la
pena del bando si accompagnasse di frequente in queste forme di giustizia con la pena
pecuniaria e i frequenti atti di pace che molto spesso ponevano ine all’iter giudiziario.
Ma anche nella società medievale esistevano ovviamente forme di giustizia dall’aspetto
retributivo e nelle quali determinati comportamenti erano considerati un crimine contro
la comunità, i suoi valori e i suoi assetti sociali. Una giustizia severa, ma che era spesso
congiunta alla dimensione restitutiva, in quanto aveva l’obbiettivo primario di ridurre
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l’impatto suscitato dai conlitti animati dal sistema della vendetta (Povolo, 2015, 207
e sgg.)18.
Diagramma 2: Giustizia retributiva
Una giustizia che, nonostante fosse contraddistinta dall’azione del giudice nella
cosiddetta fase del processo informativo (inquisitio), lasciava ampio spazio agli avvocati
e all’utilizzo di procedure che avevano il ine di utilizzare i cosiddetti fatti giustificativi quali la provocazione, la legittima difesa e, soprattutto, il tema del furore (Povolo,
2015b). In tale dimensione giudiziaria la vittima aveva comunque un ruolo rilevante e
poteva intervenire nella stessa fase iniziale del processo. La pena del bando costitutiva
in deinitiva una sorta di anello di congiunzione tra le diverse istanze di giustizia e un
equilibro tra il ruolo della vittima e quello dell’imputato.
IL BANDITISMO NELLA REPUBBLICA DI VENEZIA
Nell’agosto del 1531 il Consiglio dei dieci, massimo organo politico-giudiziario della
Repubblica di Venezia, deliberò un provvedimento in tema di banditismo che riletteva
18 Come nota Carbasse sul piano più generale la pena del bando aveva la funzione di attenuare le tensioni: “ce
peut être aussi, parfois, l’instrument d’une politique criminelle intelligente; l’éloignement passage d’un
petit delinquent permet d’apaiser les passions familiales, de calmer le conflits de voisinage, de restaurer la
convivialité villageoise” (Carbasse, 1990, 226).
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le tensioni giurisdizionali e costituzionali che inevitabilmente suscitava una tale materia
nel momento in cui veniva ad estendersi a tutti i territori dei domini da terra e da mar.
Come di consueto, la parte iniziale della parte esplicitava contenuti ben conosciuti da
tutti i sudditi della Repubblica. Si diceva infatti che i provvedimenti assunti in tema di
banditismo, sia a Venezia che nelle altre città, erano risultati ineicaci e che tutti i banditi
ritrovati nei territori da cui erano stati interdetti avrebbero potuto essere impunemente
uccisi. Ma, si aggiungeva poi, l’ineicacia delle leggi era dovuta essenzialmente al
reticolo di protezioni e di aiuti di cui essi potevano impunemente godere. Si deliberava
perciò che chiunque avesse prestato qualsiasi forma di assistenza ad un bandito sarebbe
incorso nelle stesse severe pene ed avrebbe potuto essere impunemente ucciso “etiam che
il fusse suo congionto in strettissimo grado di sangue”. Il provvedimento del 1531 era di
estrema gravità non tanto e non solo perché incideva sulla dimensione della parentela e
della vendetta che animava la pena del bando, quanto piuttosto perché esso interferiva
visibilmente con l’assetto costituzionale esistente, nel quale la politica bannitoria era di
esclusiva pertinenza delle giurisdizioni locali. Tant’è che già l’anno seguente la parte
veniva sostanzialmente rivista, in quanto erano avvenuti molti inconvenienti a causa
dei maligni che con sotterfugi e inganni accusavano molte persone innocenti. Il nuovo
provvedimento riletteva in realtà le diicoltà a regolamentare dall’esterno le complesse
interrelazioni tra vendetta, parentela e banditismo (Leggi criminali del Serenissimo dominio veneto, 1751, 30–31). Non diversamente, alcuni decenni prima lo stesso Consiglio
dei dieci aveva assunto un provvedimento in tema di banditismo, che l’anno seguente
aveva poi cassato. Nel 1489 si era infatti deciso che i banditi non potessero essere uccisi
impunemente ricorrendo ad aggressioni premeditate, condotte con agguati e insidie. Una
parte contradditoria, che evidentemente non considerava il sistema della vendetta che
animava il banditismo, e che volutamente sembrava ignorare le prerogative costituzionali
delle grandi città della Terraferma veneta e lombarda. E difatti, l’anno seguente, di fronte
alle proteste della città di Vicenza, il provvedimento, come si è detto, veniva revocato
(Leggi criminali del Serenissimo dominio veneto, 1751, 18–19)19.
Ovviamente il ceto dirigente lagunare e le massime istituzioni politico-giudiziarie
della Serenissima avevano ben presente la complessità sociale e culturale che sottostava
al banditismo e agli equilibri costituzionali inerenti alla sua regolamentazione nelle città
suddite. Il diarista Marin Sanudo ricorda, a tal proposito, la discussione avviatasi nel 1525
in Consiglio dei dieci in merito ad un omicidio commesso a Corfù da parte di un soldato
arruolato in una delle galee del Provveditore all’Armata. I consiglieri avevano proposto
che il caso fosse assegnato a quest’ultimo con facoltà di bandire da tutti i territori della
Repubblica, prevedendo inoltre che tale competenza avrebbe dovuto essere inserita
nelle commissioni rivolte ai provveditori generali. Una proposta che evidentemente non
teneva conto delle prerogative costituzionali del Provveditore di Corfù e, soprattutto, più
in generale, della giurisdizione di competenza delle città suddite. Ma inine la proposta
dei consiglieri, come annotava con soddisfazione il Sanudo, era stata respinta dalla
maggioranza del Consiglio, in quanto la sua approvazione avrebbe signiicato “tuor la
19
Su tale legge si veda Cozzi (1982, 81–82).
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iurisdition de li rettori di le terre” (Stefani, Berchet, Barozzi, 1894). In realtà la pena del
bando, pur utilizzata frequentemente dalle magistrature veneziane, soprattutto a partire
dal Quattrocento, sembra essere estranea alla dimensione giuridica della città lagunare
e, come è stato osservato, essa è assente nelle Promissio maleficiorum dei dogi Orio
Malipiero (a. 1181) e Jacopo Tiepolo (a. 1232) (Cozzi, 1982, 82–84). Un’assenza che
non sembra rivelare una presunta diversità culturale di Venezia, quanto piuttosto una
speciicità del suo assetto costituzionale, caratterizzato da una città stato provvista di
un esile retroterra territoriale (il Dogado). Con la formazione di uno stato territoriale
sarebbe stato ben diicile per le supreme magistrature veneziane ignorare la complessità
e l’urgenza di un fenomeno che inevitabilmente premeva alle porte della città dominante.
Gli interventi delle supreme magistrature veneziane in tema di banditismo erano in realtà per lo più sollecitati da singole famiglie o individui, nell’ambito di contrapposizioni tra
gruppi, che molto spesso tendevano a fuoriuscire dai contesti locali per piegare il conlitto
a proprio favore. Interventi che inevitabilmente producevano una reazione da parte delle
città suddite, che chiedevano l’immediato ripristino dei diritti costituzionali violati dai
provvedimenti assunti dalla città dominante. La pena del bando era infatti una prerogativa
importante prevista negli statuti di ogni grande città dello stato veneziano. In particolare,
nel momento dell’acquisizione della Terraferma, Venezia aveva stabilito dei patti che gli
stessi rappresentanti da essa inviati a reggere quei centri erano tenuti a rispettare nella
forma e nella sostanza. Il bando inlitto dai tribunali locali prevedeva l’espulsione dalla
città, dal suo territorio e dalle consuete 15 miglia al di là dei conini. In taluni casi, come
a Vicenza nel 1545, il Consiglio dei dieci aveva esteso considerevolmente le prerogative
del tribunale locale di bandire da tutti i territori compresi tra il Mincio e il Quarnaro20.
E nel 1503 la suprema magistratura veneziana aveva pure deliberato che i banditi dai
tribunali del domino da terra e da mar che non si fossero allontanati entro otto giorni dai
territori loro interdetti avrebbero dovuto considerarsi banditi da tutto lo stato, compresa la
stessa città dominante. Una politica criminale che enfatizzava la giurisdizione delle città
suddite (Leggi criminali del Serenissimo dominio veneto, 1751, 21–22)21.
Le scelte del supremo organo veneziano miravano evidentemente ad agevolare
il mantenimento della pace nei territori sudditi e in tale direzione la giurisdizione dei
tribunali locali in materia bannitoria era di estrema importanza. La pena del bando non
aveva infatti il solo obbiettivo di allontanare tutti coloro che minacciavano la tranquillità
della vita cittadina, ma era pure inalizzata a creare le premesse per il ristabilimento della
20 Vicenza, Biblioteca civica Bertoliana, Archivio Torre, busta 684, fasc. 22: in casi di reati particolarmente
gravi, come ad esempio le rapine e gli incendi, il tribunale vicentino, già insignito di notevoli privilegi giurisdizionali, avrebbe potuto bandire, dalla città, dal territorio, dalle consuete quindici miglia “et anco più”.
21 Un analogo provvedimento era stato deliberato nel 1485, ASV, Consiglio dei dieci, Misti, reg. 22, c. 154, 24
marzo 1485. Sul inire del Cinquecento il noto criminalista Lorenzo Priori osservava: “Guardinsi dunque i
banditi di venir ne’ luochi a loro proibiti per i suoi bandi, perché anco se bene per la legge 1489, 29 luglio
li banditi overo condannati in lire cinquanta non potevano essere offesi se non in puro omicidio, e non per
insidie et appostatatamente, nondimeno l’anno 1490, 11 settembre, detta legge 89 fu rivocata di modo che
stante la detta rivocazione il bandito ovvero condannato come di sopra può impune esser offeso in insidie
et appostatamente, in setta e in monopolio, come è descritto nel titolo di essa legge, ed anco con l’esonerazione d’archibusi, di che ne sono seguiti molti et diversi giudizi” (Priori, 1738, 58–59).
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Diagramma 3: Vendetta e banditismo nelle città del “dominio”: prima della metà del
XVI secolo
pace tra gruppi e fazioni antagonisti. Il bando, con l’allontanamento di coloro che si erano
macchiati di un grave delitto, si costituiva come premessa essenziale per lo stabilimento
di una tregua, necessaria per avviare le trattative di pace tra i gruppi rivali, ma anche
per agevolare il ruolo svolto dal tribunale locale per l’afermazione di una giustizia in
grado di contemperare le diverse esigenze di ordine e di sicurezza22. Perché l’ostracismo
decretato dal tribunale locale risultasse eicace, si prevedeva pure che colui che avesse
violato i conini previsti dalla pena del bando avrebbe potuto essere impunemente ucciso.
Una previsione che evidentemente aveva l’obbiettivo di afermare la giurisdizione del
tribunale cittadino, ma anche di concedere alla famiglia ofesa nel sangue e nell’onore
di perseguire la propria vendetta. La pena del bando era così indissolubilmente legata
al sistema consuetudinario della vendetta, che ubbidiva a proprie regole, ma che doveva
comunque rafrontarsi ad un sistema giudiziario che, con le sue istanze di ordine e di pace
aveva l’obbiettivo di garantire la sicurezza cittadina e l’equilibro tra le opposte fazioni
in costante competizione per motivi di ordine economico e politico23. Solo qualora la
pace tra le opposte fazioni fosse stata raggiunta il tribunale cittadino avrebbe decretato il
ritorno di colui che era stato bandito. In tal modo l’informale sistema della vendetta, che
22 Ad esempio gli statuti di Verona esplicitano chiaramente le interrelazioni tra la pena del bando e le tregue
(Statuta magniicae, 1582, 165–168).
23 Una materia non sempre afrontata esplicitamente negli statuti anche perché questi testi interagivano con le
norme consuetudinarie; si veda per questo Cavalca (1978, 168–213).
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ubbidiva alle regole consuetudinarie, e quello formale delle istituzioni giudiziarie, mediato ed interpretato da un ceto di giuristi professionisti, incontrava una sintesi in nome di
un ordine che aveva come premessa ineliminabile il ristabilimento della pace cittadina24.
LA FASE DELLA SOSPENSIONE (1549–1580)
Le interrelazioni complesse tra sistema della vendetta e pena del bando si muovevano
dunque sia a livello informale, tramite le trattative e gli accordi tra le parti in conlitto,
che sul piano formale giudiziario intervallato da riti giudiziari che come le diverse forme
di citazioni, le difese per patrem e i salvacondotti, avevano il ine di condurre al ristabilimento degli equilibri infranti dal conlitto e ad una sua risoluzione paciica (Povolo,
2015). Perché ciò potesse svolgersi positivamente era necessario che l’ostracismo nei
confronti della persona bandita rimanesse operante sino alla conclusione della pace. E
tale ostracismo poteva risultare eicace solo con la previsione che il bandito avrebbe
potuto essere impunemente ucciso qualora avesse violato i conini del territorio da cui
era stato espulso25. In base a tali considerazioni si può così cogliere l’impatto suscitato
dalla legge che il Consiglio dei dieci assunse nel 1549, avviando quella che è possibile
deinire politica della sospensione. In tale data il supremo organo politico-giudiziario
della Repubblica decretò la sospensione della possibilità che i banditi potessero liberarsi
uccidendo o catturando altri banditi (evidentemente nell’ambito della giurisdizione di
competenza). Una chiara violazione della giurisdizione dei centri sudditi motivata dal
difuso clima di insicurezza sociale e che veniva comunque adottata per un solo biennio:
tutti quelli li quali si trovano banditi fin questo dì et che de coetero si bandiranno
per qualunque caso così pensato et attroce, come puro, o in perpetuo o a tempo […]
non si possano più liberar dalli loro bandi quovis modo per prender o ammazzar
un altro bandito […], né per vigore d’alcuna leze o parte finhora presa che li desse
tal beneficio, di modo che a questi tal banditi sia del tutto tolta la speranza di poter
aggiustarsi (Leggi criminali del Serenissimo dominio veneto, 1751, 44).
La legge rimase in vigore sino al 1555 e poi venne sospesa e ripristinata ad intermittenza sino al 1580, quando, di fatto, venne sostituita dalla legge emanata in quell’anno
e che avrebbe dato il via ad una vera e propria fase di proroga. La legge del 1549 si
accompagnò ad un provvedimento con il quale si costituivano due compagnie di soldati
dalmati formate ciascuna da settanta uomini guidati da due capitani di campagna con il
24 Aspetti che si possono cogliere in tutta la loro complessità solo tramite i riti processuali utilizzati che, evidentemente, miravano a contemperare la forte conlittualità sociale con le istanze dei tribunali cittadini. Per
alcuni esempi rinvio al mio (Povolo, 2013, 513–517).
25 Un ostracismo che si concretizza nella pena del bando nel momento in cui la gestione dei conlitti si coniuga
con il sistema di diritto comune afermatosi in quasi tutta Europa a partire dal Basso Medioevo. Nei secoli
precedenti esso era invece aidato al mondo consuetudinario. La persona espulsa dalla comunità era ritenuta homo sacer, aidata a Dio, e priva di ogni diritto. Nell’area germanica il bandito era inoltre considerato
alla stregua di un lupo mannaro; si veda per tutto questo Knoll e Šejvl (2010, 139–153).
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Diagramma 4: Prima fase: Intervento di Venezia (legge 1549)
compito di perlustrare i territori della Terraferma (Basaglia in Cozzi, 1985, 203–204)26.
L’intervento del Consiglio dei dieci intendeva segnare un vero e proprio momento di
svolta, in quanto la tormentata vicenda del banditismo era afrontata decisamente, incidendo evidentemente sulle dinamiche che alimentavano i conlitti tra gruppi e parentele.
Molti statuti delle città suddite prevedevano infatti che non solo i banditi potessero essere
uccisi impunemente da chiunque, ma che essi potessero pure ottenere la loro liberazione
uccidendosi l’un l’altro. Una normativa che mirava a conseguire il rispetto dei periodi di
tregua necessari alle istituzioni giudiziarie locali e alle parentele in conlitto per attenuare
le tensioni interne ed avviare le trattative di pace. Il provvedimento assunto dal Consiglio
dei dieci interferiva con le dinamiche conlittuali locali e di certo l’istituzione dei capitani
di campagna ben diicilmente avrebbe potuto far fronte agli endemici problemi suscitati
dal banditismo. La lunga fase di sospensione avviata con la legge del 1549 permise comunque al supremo organo veneziano di dettare i ritmi di una politica criminale non più
esclusivamente aidata ai centri sudditi.
Una vera e propria interferenza, che si distingueva dai singoli provvedimenti che pure
in passato erano stati temporaneamente assunti in materia di banditismo, in quanto la
legge del 1549 si costituì come punto di riferimento per alcuni decenni. Infatti nel 1555
essa venne sospesa per tre anni; e così successivamente nel 1559 (per cinque anni), 1569
(per un anno), 1573 (per un anno), 1574 (per un anno), 1577 (per due anni), 1579 (per
26 Come sottolinea Basaglia, nel 1549 si costituì pure un fondo destinato al pagamento delle taglie.
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due anni) (Povolo, 1997, 144)27. Nei periodi in cui, in virtù della sospensione, la legge
non aveva eicacia, le giurisdizioni locali riacquisivano la loro autonomia, e il sistema
incentrato sulle complesse relazioni tra vendetta e istituzioni giudiziarie locali diveniva
nuovamente attivo. E’ probabile che la legge del 1549 si inserisse in un complesso discorso interlocutorio con i ceti dirigenti sudditi e intendesse svolgere una funzione parenetica
nei loro confronti, inducendoli a contenere l’intensa conlittualità locale28. Di certo, per
circa tre decenni, il provvedimento, apparentemente contraddittorio ed intermittente,
avrebbe condizionato non solo taluni dei meccanismi che animavano il sistema della
vendetta, ma avrebbe pure sospeso la stessa legittimità degli statuti e delle loro previsioni
giudiziarie e procedurali.
DALLA SOSPENSIONE ALLA PROROGA
Di fronte ad una grave situazione che veniva esplicitamente attribuita all’emergere
di un banditismo considerato aggressivo e pericoloso29, il Senato veneziano il 20 maggio 1580 deliberò un provvedimento di carattere eccezionale che rimase in vigore per
lungo tempo. I rettori delle principali città venivano insigniti della facoltà di procedere
sommariamente e sopra il luogo contro i banditi colti nei territori a loro interdetti. Un
provvedimento che si indirizzava apertamente contro la rete di supporto e di aiuti che
faceva capo a certi settori dell’aristocrazia, in quanto si prevedeva pure che una volta
individuati coloro che proteggevano i banditi, i rettori avrebbero dovuto inliggere nei
loro confronti la pena della relegazione e l’abbattimento delle loro case se trasformate in
fortezze. La legge del maggio 1580 risultò particolarmente eicace, anche perché entrava
decisamente nel forte clima conlittuale che animava settori non marginali della nobiltà di
Terraferma (Povolo, 1997, 163 e sgg.).
Il vero saltò di qualità si registrò però nel luglio dello stesso anno, quando, con una
nuova legge si superò deinitivamente il lungo periodo di sospensione avviatosi nel 1549
e il Consiglio dei dieci assunse decisamente nelle proprie mani la complessa materia del
banditismo, che per circa due secoli, anche se con notevoli inframmettenze, era stata
di competenza delle giurisdizioni locali. Cassando implicitamente il provvedimento del
1549, il supremo organo veneziano deliberò che tutti i banditi avrebbero potuto ottenere la
loro liberazione uccidendo altri banditi che si fossero trovati nelle loro stesse condizioni.
Con gli inevitabili aggiustamenti e modiiche la legge venne prorogata ad intermittenza
27 Ad esempio il 5 giugno 1577 si deliberava: “L’audacia e temerità de’ banditi, quali non stimando la giustitia, si fanno lecito entrar nelli confini a loro prohibiti e commetter nuovi errori e mesfatti, merita che li sia
provisto in quel modo che si è fatto altre volte, per sradicar simil qualità di gente. L’andarà parte che la
deliberatione di questo Conseglio del 1549, 11 luglio, per la qual è levata la facultà alli banditi di liberarsi
dai loro bandi col prendere overo ammazzar altri banditi, sia suspesa per anni doi prossimi futuri” (Leggi
criminali, 1751, 220).
28 Ipotesi da me formulata a suo tempo in Povolo (1997, 122–123).
29 “Li motti che al presente si sentono in diverse parti del stato nostro, causati da sollevatione de molti scellerati, li quali postisi insieme in gran numero cometteno diverse violentie, sforzi, rapine, homicidi a danno
dei fedeli nostri…”, ASV, Senato, Terra, reg. 53, c. 18. Rinvio ancora al mio (Povolo, 1997, 153 e sgg).
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Fig. 1: Legge del Consiglio dei dieci sul banditismo emanata nel 1580 (AMP Salò, Extraordinarium)
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Diagramma 5: Il sistema nella seconda fase di intervento di Venezia
per alcuni decenni30. Dalla lunga ed intermettente fase di sospensione di una legge che
interferiva nelle dinamiche conlittuali collegate al banditismo, si passò dunque ad una
nuova fase, caratterizzata dalla proroga di una legge che assegnava al Consiglio dei dieci
le competenze in tale materia.
Con la legge del 1580 la legislazione inerente il banditismo venne dunque assunta direttamente dagli organi centrali della città dominante, quantomeno nella sua dimensione
politicamente più rilevante. Un controllo tanto più signiicativo in quanto si accostò alla
graduale ingerenza del Consiglio dei dieci nei confronti dell’attività giudiziaria dei tribunali dei centri sudditi. Con una itta attività di delega del rito inquisitorio ai rettori delle
grandi città della Terraferma, il supremo organo politico-giudiziario si inserì decisamente
nei conlitti e nel sistema della vendetta che per secoli avevano regolamentato gli equilibri
tra parentele, fazioni e gruppi rivali. Il rito inquisitorio del Consiglio dei dieci prevedeva
difatti l’esclusione di ogni privilegio goduto dalle città suddite, una procedura segreta e
soprattutto l’esclusione dell’avvocato difensore31. La pena del bando inlitta con l’autorità
del Consiglio dei dieci si estendeva a tutti i territori dello stato, superando i tradizionali
conini e venne resa più eicace dalla concessione di taglie e, soprattutto, dal rilascio
30 Ad esempio se ne propose la proroga per un anno nel 1581, 1582, 1583, 1584 e per due anni nel 1587 (Povolo, 1997, 200).
31 Sul rito del Consiglio dei dieci si veda Cozzi (1982, 103–104). Sulle procedure inquisitorie introdotte in
Europa nel corso del secolo XVI rinvio a Langbein (1974, 130–131), in cui l’autore sottolinea il salto di
qualità rispetto alla tradizionale inquisitio medievale. Per una vicenda processuale analiticamente esaminata si veda Povolo (2003, VII–LXVI).
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delle cosiddette voci liberar bandito. L’arresto o l’uccisione di un bandito comportava
l’acquisizione di una voce che poteva essere utilizzata dal diretto interessato, oppure
essere ceduta ad altri che avrebbero potuto a loro volta chiedere la liberazione di un altro
bandito. Si venne dunque a creare un vero e proprio mercato delle voci e soprattutto si
delineò la igura del cacciatore di taglie (Cozzi, 1982, 163–174). Una igura che poteva
muoversi nell’anonimato, ma che più spesso svolgeva la sua attività in accordo con le
istituzioni veneziane. Come quel Francesco Canova che per un decennio, con un seguito
di circa cinquanta uomini, si dedicò alla caccia dei banditi, ottenendo numerose taglie e
voci liberar bandito. Nel gennaio del 1588 compì la sua impresa più clamorosa, come
avrebbero ricordato nel 1590 i rettori di Verona, che avevano continuato ad avvalersi della
sua esperienza. In quell’occasione Francesco Canova, con il seguito di una cinquantina
d’uomini armati, penetrò in territorio arciducale alla caccia del conte Ottavio Giusti
“assassino famosissimo et accerrimo perturbatore della publica quiete”, il quale si era
rifugiato ad Avio insieme ad alcun suoi seguaci. E, come notarono con soddisfazione
i rappresentanti veneziani, il cacciatore di taglie era riuscito nell’impresa portando “sei
teste alla pietra del bando di questa città, insieme con quella di detto Ottavio”32. Come
sembrano suggerire i nomi e le località di provenienza dei suoi uomini, l’attività del
Canova prese avvio da conlitti che trovavano origine nel sistema della vendetta locale di
cui era stato più o meno direttamente protagonista. Concordata con i rettori di Verona e il
Consiglio dei dieci la sua iniziativa si estese poi alla repressione del banditismo. Grosse
compagnie di armati come la sua erano divenute necessarie soprattutto per afrontare il
banditismo di conine, che inevitabilmente iniva per catalizzare fuoriusciti di diversa
provenienza. Ma la lotta contro il banditismo poté risultare eicace solo avvalendosi
della difusa conlittualità esistente nei diversi territori e che traeva la sua linfa vitale in
un sistema della vendetta non più mediato dalle istituzioni giudiziarie locali. A questo
proposito Fynes Morison ricordava il mutato clima di ine secolo:
In Crimes extraordinarily haynous, the Princes and States are so seuere, as in their
publique Edict of banishment, besides rewards sett vppon their heads, great punishments and Fynes according to the qualityes of offence and person are denounced
against them who at home shall make petition or vse other meanes at any tyme to haue
them restored to their Countryes Lands and livings (Hughes, 1903, 158).
La nuova legislazione adottata contro il banditismo di ine secolo innescò un corto
circuito tra sistema della vendetta e le tradizionali pratiche di mediazione che miravano
al raggiungimento di tregue e paci. E la sua eicacia poté realizzarsi sia inserendosi nelle
dinamiche conlittuali locali, che utilizzando la concessione di premi e beneici volti a
stimolare la delazione, il coinvolgimento di comunità e di cacciatori di taglie. L’attività
giudiziaria del Consiglio dei dieci e l’utilizzo del suo rito inquisitorio si costituirono
come il supporto essenziale di un’attività repressiva che fece soprattutto perno sulla
32 L’attività del Canova è ricordata in ASV, Consiglio dei dieci, comuni, ilza 182, documenti allegati alla
parte del 21 marzo 1590.
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Diagramma 6: La nuova legislazione sulla pena del bando (regime di proroga) e le sue
conseguenze
legislazione bannitoria. Un’esempliicazione signiicativa delle interrelazioni complesse
messe in atto dall’attività giudiziaria del Consiglio dei dieci è data dalla vicenda che ebbe
come protagonista il conte vicentino Ludovico da Porto. Nel 1579 egli venne dapprima
inquisito e poi bandito da tutti i territori della Repubblica a seguito di una serie di violenze
da lui compiute nel villaggio di Cresole, ma abilmente ampliicate dalla fazione nemica.
Proteso ad inseguire la propria vendetta, Ludovico da Porto oltrepassò più volte i conini
dello stato, inierendo sui suoi nemici. Il Consiglio dei dieci pose sulla sua testa una
taglia cospicua e lo bandì ripetutamente. Unitosi ad un gruppi di altri banditi vicentini e
veronesi nel 1586 venne ucciso nel sonno insieme ad alcuni suoi compagni a Sabbioneta
nel Mantovano. Il nobile veronese Andrea Del Ben suo uccisore, tagliò loro le teste e le
invio a Vicenza perché fossero viste dai nemici del da Porto ed esposte sulla pietra del
bando33.
CONFINI E FUORILEGGE
La nuova normativa sul banditismo ampliicò indubbiamente la dimensione della
violenza, ma soprattutto ne evidenziò gli aspetti strumentali e repressivi. Le tradizionali
interrelazioni tra sistema della vendetta, pena del bando e la loro dimensione costituzionale vennero travolte sotto l’urto di una politica criminale caratterizzata da una legislazione
33 Sulla vicenda rinvio al mio (Povolo, 1997, 319) e a Lavarda (2007).
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premiale e da una diversa percezione del territorio e dei conini34. Una fase destinata a
durare e che fu essenzialmente contraddistinta da un uso della violenza da parte dei poteri
dominanti facendo perno su forme di violenza già esistenti sul territorio, ma ora inalizzate
a un nuovo concetto di ordine e di sicurezza sociale. Ogni tentativo di cogliere le origini,
modalità e trasformazioni della violenza in età moderna non può dunque prescindere
da una rilessione sullo stesso termine di banditismo. In linea generale la storiograia
si è sofermata sul concetto di banditismo sociale coniato da Eric Hobsbawm, oppure,
all’incontrario, ha utilizzato lo stesso termine bandito nel senso più generico ed ampio di
criminale o fuorilegge. Un’ambiguità che, come è stato osservato, ha impedito di cogliere
il problema nella sua speciica dimensione costituzionale e culturale:
So long as the target of inquiry was banditry historians and anthropologists limited
themselves to exploring only one facet of a much more complex process. As soon as
the term “bandit” was applied, inquiry was restricted only to those armed predators
who operated outside the law (Gallant, 1999, 26).
In realtà la complessità del problema è innanzitutto terminologica:
The word ‘bandit’ itself is derived from the Italian verb ‘bandire’ meaning to exile or
banish and thus at its root a bandit is a man who has been banned from normal society
[…]; the same men who at some points in their lives were bandits often operated at
times inside the law as well. But a legal bandit is an oxymoron. By definition a bandit
stands outside the law (Gallant, 1999, 26).
In base a tali considerazioni è stato osservato come le igure di banditi e pirati siano
correlate alle profonde trasformazioni economiche e politiche che in epoche e territori
diversi furono decisive nella costruzione e raforzamento degli stati. Per tale motivo si è
preferito parlare di military entrepreneurs, ambigue igure che iorirono in aree contraddistinte dall’espansione economica, ma pure in territori periferici e di conine:
Military entrepreneurs, especially when they operated as outlaws, facilitated capitalist
penetration of the countryside […]; were deeply implicated and involved the processes
of state formation and consolidation. The political environments in which they flourished
were characterized by weak and imperfectly centralized states incapable of exerting
effective control […]; they participated in power struggles between big men[…]; they
provided the armed forces, or at least some of them. When the conflict was resolved,
those on the winning side often became irregular members of the legitimacy security
forces, while the losers became labeled as outlaws once more (Gallant, 1999, 51).
34 Una percezione che sul piano giuridico è provvista di notevoli ambiguità nel corso dell’età moderna, in
quanto pur rilettendo sino alla ine del Settecento l’originaria e pluralistica dimensione giurisdizionale,
rilette comunque le tensioni venutesi a creare nell’ambito dello spazio politico. Si veda Marchetti (2007).
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Le trasformazioni economiche e politiche, che interessarono la penisola italiana e altri
paesi europei a partire dalla seconda metà del Cinquecento, ebbero come catalizzatore
sociale e culturale il banditismo, un fenomeno che venne enfatizzato al massimo livello
dalle tensioni costituzionali e politiche entro cui esso si inserì35. Di seguito alla politica
criminale e alla legislazione bannitoria assunte dalle realtà statuali, i conini, costituzionalmente frammentati e giurisdizionalmente ambigui, divennero il terreno privilegiato
dell’azione di gruppi di banditi e fuoriusciti dediti alla rapina e al saccheggio, ma anche
al perseguimento della vendetta, che assai più diicilmente poteva risolversi con le consuete modalità e procedure previste dalla giustizia restitutiva. Un dato, questo, che può
spiegare, ad esempio, l’ampio coinvolgimento in tutta la penisola italiana del banditismo
di origine aristocratica o feudale. Come è stato osservato:
It is because the bandit throws down a challenge to law, state violence and the territorial imaginary that the state sees in the bandit not just a criminal but a political
opponent and, conversely, why many bandits become ‘primitive rebels’ (Neocleous,
2003, 103).
Se la violenza traeva ancora prevalentemente origine dai conlitti originati dal sistema
della vendetta e dall’idioma dell’onore, la sua ampliicazione fu causata dal superamento
dei consueti assetti giurisdizionali e dagli straordinari strumenti repressivi adottati dai
poteri centrali36. La catalizzazione del banditismo nelle aree di conine fu il risultato
inevitabile della messa in discussione della tradizionale pena del bando. Ma per poter far
rispettare la diversa concezione di ordine e di sicurezza le autorità centrali non esitarono
ad utilizzare le dinamiche e le ambiguità che animavano lo stesso banditismo e puntando
su igure che si potrebbero deinire interscambiabili tra il ruolo di banditi o di cacciatori di
taglie, più o meno apertamente legittimati ad operare sul territorio. Le nuove realtà statuali emergenti, come ha notato Thomas Gallant, furono costrette ad utilizzare queste forze
irregolari come guardiani delle frontiere e, molto spesso, risultava diicile distinguerle
dagli stessi banditi che operavano ai conini o si addentravano nei territori per compiere
rapine o per portare a compimento la loro vendetta. L’azione repressiva mise comunque
in rilievo il ruolo dei poteri centrali nell’utilizzo legale della violenza e nella rideinizione
politica degli stessi conini (Gallant, 1999, 47).
Nonostante il loro linguaggio apodittico e decisamente negativo nei confronti del banditismo, le fonti giudiziarie non riescono comunque a nascondere l’entità di un fenomeno
che, soprattutto a partire dalla ine del Cinquecento, assume aspetti inediti. La igura del
35 Si vedano le mie rilessioni in Povolo (1997, in particolare 158 e sgg.).
36 Come è stato notato da Janice Thomson, “The process by which control over violence was centralized, monopolized, and made hierarchical entailed not the state’s establishment and defense of a new legal order but
the state’s imposing itself as the defender of that order. Societal groups vigorously resisted state-builders’ drive
to monopolize political authority and the coercion on which it ultimately rested. In the process state rulers
struck bargains with various societal groups in which the latter provided war-making resources in exchange
for property, political, and other rights. These bargains constitute subplots in the central drama in which the
state achieved ultimate authority, especially on the use of coercion, within its territory” (Thomson, 1994, 3).
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Fig. 2: Legge del Consiglio dei dieci sul banditismo emanata nel 1609 (AMP Salò, Extraordinarium)
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bandito famoso, che l’azione repressiva evoca di frequente, si alterna a quella dei suoi
antagonisti, che senza tregua gli danno la caccia alla ricerca di una spasmodica vendetta,
oppure per ottenere i ricchi premi promessi dalle autorità centrali. Ma è soprattutto la
letteratura che non disdegna di assegnare una certa attenzione al bandito che ha ormai
assunto l’immagine del fuorilegge. Famosa, tra tutte, quella del bandito catalano Perot
Rocaguinarda, tramandaci da Miguel de Cervantes nel secondo volume del suo capolavoro, apparso nel 1615. Attraverso la penna del grande romanziere, Rocaguinarda evoca il
fatale destino che l’ha condotto a divenire un grande fuorilegge:
Ad onore del vero io confesserò che non avvi tenore di vita più inquieto, né più pauroso del nostro. Mi vi strascinò non so qual desiderio di vendetta, che ha la possa
di sconvolgere ogni più riposato cuore; ma io sono di mia natura compassionevole
e proclive al ben fare; né fu, come ho detto, se non la voglia di lavare la macchia di
un torto sofferto che mi rimosse dalle mie buone inclinazioni, e che mi fa ora perseverare nel presente stato, in onta e in contrapposizione della mia volontà. E siccome
un abisso chiama l’altro, e una un’altra colpa, così le vendette si vennero talmente
concatenando, che non solo le mie, ma prendo anche le altrui sopra di me. Pure Iddio
mi concede, quantunque io viva in mezzo al labirinto delle mie contraddizioni, di non
farmi perdere la speranza di uscirne fuori per afferrare un porto di sicurezza37.
La letteratura faceva propri l’immagine e il mito del bandito fuorilegge, sradicato dal
suo contesto sociale e famigliare e divenuto ad un tempo nemico pubblico per le autorità38, ma anche una sorta di local hero per la popolazione che ne conosceva le traversie.
La igura del tradizionale bandito, espressione di conlitti di faida, si era trasformata per
assumere quella del fuorilegge, combattuto ed avversato sia dalle élites locali che dai
poteri centrali e destinato, molto spesso, ad assumere nel corso del tempo la dimensione
del local hero39. Nell’ambito delle comunità il bandito era certamente percepito come
una minaccia e una fonte costante di insicurezza; e in quanto tale veniva perseguito con
determinazione, anche perché sulla sua testa pendevano taglie e ricchi premi. E non si
potrebbe altrimenti spiegare come la dura legislazione bannitoria potesse essere inine
37 Nel successivo capitolo Cervantes descrive il comportamento di Rocaguinarda alla stregua dell’immagine
che alcuni anni prima Fynes Morryson aveva dato dei banditi italiani. E soprattutto sottolineando come
egli fosse divenuto un fuorilegge a seguito dei numerosi bandi che gli erano stati inlitti dalle autorità
politiche: “Trovavansi di bel mattino in un luogo, e all’ora del desinare in altro; talvolta fuggivano senza
sapere da chi, o aspettavano tal’altro senza sapere chi. Dormivano sempre ritti, interrompendo il sonno
per cambiarsi da un luogo all’altro, ed occupandosi di continuo nel metter spie, nel tenere sentinelle in
ascolto, nel soffiare nelle micce degli archibusi, sebbene ne avessero pochi, perché per lo più si servivano
di pistoletti. Rocco passava la notte appartato da’ suoi ed in luoghi a tutti gli altri ignoti, mentre i molti
bandi pubblicati dal viceré di Barcellona contro la sua vita lo rendevano timoroso ed inquieto a segno di
non fidarsi di chicchessia, e temeva sempre che i suoi stessi compagni o gli togliessero la vita, o lo dessero
in potere della giustizia: vita veramente miserabile ed affannosa” (de Cervantes, 1617, per i passi citati cfr.
rispettivamente cap. LX e LXI). Su Rocaguinarda si veda inoltre Casey (1999, 174).
38 Per altri esempi in letteratura si veda Baja Guarienti (2012, 169–178).
39 Un tema afrontato da Graham Seal, in particolare in Seal (1996).
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Fig. 3: Proclama del Provveditore generale in Terraferma Antonio Lando con il
quale nel 1615 si ordina alle comunità di non aiutare il fuorilegge Giovanni Beatrice
detto Zanzanù (AMP Salò, Extraordinarium)
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Fig. 4: Gardola di Tignale (Brescia): veduta del santuario di Montecastello in cui è conservato l’ex-voto che ricorda la battaglia ingaggiata dalla comunità contro il fuorilegge
Zanzanù il 17 agosto 1617 (Foto: Archivio Storico del Comune di Tignale)
accolta, nonostante la palese violazione degli antichi assetti costituzionali. Ma le stesse
fonti giudiziarie, che attestano molto spesso come egli potesse godere di una rete di protezione e di aiuti, che andava al di là delle inimicizie tra parentele avversarie, indica che
la sua immagine era altrimenti percepita dalla popolazione più povera, che conosceva le
dinamiche sociali e conlittuali che avevano dato luogo al suo ostracismo da parte delle
autorità. Non può dunque stupire come il bandito, divenuto vero e proprio fuorilegge,
potesse essere considerato alla stregua del vendicatore, che si opponeva alle logiche
economiche e politiche dell’establishment locale, sidando lo stesso potere centrale.
Sotto questo proilo è emblematica la biograia del grande fuorilegge Giovanni
Beatrice detto Zanzanù, che per circa quindici anni operò nei territori di conine posti
lungo la riva occidentale del lago di Garda. Bandito di seguito a dinamiche conlittuali
collegate al sistema della vendetta e all’uccisione del padre da parte della fazione
rivale, egli divenne ben presto famoso fuorilegge (Povolo, 2011). Per porre ine all’incontestata supremazia della cosiddetta banda degli Zanoni, il provveditore generale in
Terraferma Benedetto Moro si mise segretamente in contatto con i nemici dei banditi
che conoscevano evidentemente il territorio e, tramite mercanti e mediatori interessati,
mise a loro disposizione alcuni banditi, autorizzandoli a penetrare armati nei territori
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Fig. 5: Ex-voto del santuario della Madonna di Montecastello (Tignale)
opera di Giovan Andrea Bertanza (anno 1618) in cui si descrive la battaglia
del 17 agosto 1617 (Foto: Claudio Povolo)
Fig. 6: Particolare dell’ex-voto del santuario di Montecastello di Tignale
(Brescia) (Foto: Claudio Povolo)
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Fig. 7: Particolare dell’ex-voto del santuario di Montecastello di Tignale (Brescia)
(Foto: Claudio Povolo)
da cui erano stati interdetti. Uscito vincitore dallo scontro con gli avversari, Giovanni Beatrice e la sua banda ampliarono il loro raggio di azione mirando a controllare
l’attività di contrabbando che ioriva nel grande bacino del lago di Garda. Un gruppo
inluente di mercanti bresciani, che intendeva riprendere il controllo sulla iorente
attività illegale ed agiva in accordo con le autorità locali e veneziane assoldò decine di
banditi e di uomini armati allettati dalle ricompense e dalle taglie. Sopravvissuto agli
agguati che sterminarono l’intera banda, Zanzanù poté agire quasi indisturbato negli
anni seguenti, favorito dal territorio montuoso e posto ai conini dello stato, ma anche
dal palese appoggio di una parte della popolazione. Il suo destino venne però segnato
nel 1617 proprio lungo quei conini che, di seguito alla cosiddetta guerra di Gradisca,
erano divenuti luogo di tensione tra opposte potenze politiche. La sua morte venne
procurata dall’attacco concentrico di alcune comunità poste lungo la riva occidentale
del lago, che già da lungo tempo erano costantemente allertate dal notabilato locale e
dalle autorità veneziane per contrastare ed opporsi alla penetrazione del banditismo e
alle sue azioni di disturbo. Le comunità che parteciparono alla sua uccisione vollero
sancire la straordinarietà dell’evento e commissionarono ad un pittore la descrizione
della grande battaglia in un grande ex-voto, ancora oggi conservato presso il santuario
della Madonna di Montecastello di Tignale. Un dipinto che rappresenta in controluce
le grandi trasformazioni che investirono il banditismo tra Cinque e Seicento. Ma di
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Fig. 8: Particolare dell’ex-voto del santuario di Montecastello di Tignale (Brescia)
(Foto: Claudio Povolo)
Giovanni Beatrice ci è giunta pure un’altra straordinaria testimonianza. Come si è
ricordato, nel 1616 si era aperto un aspro conlitto tra Venezia e l’Arciducato d’Austria.
Per fronteggiare l’emergenza bellica la Repubblica ofrì a numerosi banditi la possibilità di ottenere la liberazione dal loro bando se, con un loro seguito, si fossero arruolati
nell’esercito veneziano. Giovanni Beatrice ritenne che fosse giunta l’occasione per
ritornare inalmente sui propri passi e perciò rivolse una supplica ai Capi del Consiglio
dei dieci, ripercorrendo le tappe più signiicative della sua vita. Ricordò amaramente
l’uccisione del padre e l’ininterrotta catena di violenze in cui l’aveva trascinato la sete
di vendetta. Un documento straordinario in cui, con ierezza, ricordava pure il suo
strenuo valore di bandito, che gli aveva permesso di superare per anni gli attacchi dei
numerosi nemici. Un valore di cui la Repubblica avrebbe potuto servirsi in occasione
dello scontro bellico:
Il padre di me Giovanni Zannoni della Riviera di Salò, qual faceva ostaria in quella
terra, passo ordinario di Alemagna per quelli che discendono per il lago, e dalla quale
traheva il vitto di tutta la sua povera famiglia, mentre egli viveva quieto, fondato una
solenne pace con giuramento firmata, sopra il sacramento dell’altare, fu empiamente
trucidato da alcun della Riviera. Per questa sì inhumana e barbara attione, dubitando
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io Giovanni sudetto di non esser sicuro dalla fellonia d’huomini sì crudeli, indotto dalla
disperatione, risolsi di vendicare sì grave offesa e d’assicurare la propria vita, presa
la via dell’armi, vendicai con morti d’inimici la perdita del padre et la privatione del
modo di sostener la famiglia mia; per le quali operationi restai bandito e continuandosi
da nostri inimici le persecutioni, anch’io rispondendo con nuove vendette, tirando uno
dietro all’altro, hebbi gran numero di bandi, non solo con l’auttorità dell’eccelso Consiglio di dieci, ma uno del medesimo Consiglio (Povolo, 2011, 156).
Un passo che ricorda sorprendentemente molto da vicino il dialogo tra Don Quixote
e Rocaguinarda. L’ingiustizia subita, l’imperativo della vendetta e la catena ineluttabile
di vendette con gli avversari sono i tratti che, al di là della retorica letteraria o della
mediazione notarile, sembrano contrassegnare la biograia di molti fuorilegge di questo
periodo. E nella sua supplica Giovanni Beatrice, rammenta pure l’ineluttabilità della sua
condizione di bandito, che non aveva scalito il suo essere uomo e la lealtà verso il suo
principe. Ma, soprattutto, non nasconde, come il suo omologo letterario Rocaguinarda,
che la sua immagine di fuorilegge, si era inevitabilmente ampliicata nel nuovo clima
politico e conlittuale:
Confesso esser reo di molti bandi, tutti però per delitti privati et niuno per minima
attinentia di cose publiche e di stato, né con conditione escluso dalla presente parte,
né meno con carico di risarcir alcuno, ma siami ben anco lecito il dire che, essendo
stati commessi molti eccessi da altri sotto il nome mio, di quelli essendo fuori di
speranza di potermi liberare, già mai non ho curato di scolparmi (Povolo, 2011, 156).
E così il grande fuorilegge chiedeva la grazia di poter ottenere il perdono dal suo
principe, ponendosi al suo servizio. Un servizio che avrebbe certamente reso con onore
e perizia, come aveva ben dimostrato la sua stessa vita avventurosa e attraversata dalla
violenza:
Laonde, io Giovanni sudetto supplico humilmente Vostra Sublimità si degni di mirare
questo mio sviscerato affetto con occhio di pietà, condonando le pene de bandi ed
errori commessi sino al giorno della publicatione della presente parte et anco far
gratia alla moglie mia bandita per 20 anni per cagione di servitio a me prestato,
rendendomi a questo modo habile a dimostrar con gli effetti l’ardente mia volontà
di poter, sì come son stato prodigo della vita ben mille volte in mezo d’archibugiate
per inimicitie provate, così medemamente conservar l’istessa gloriosamente nel suo
servitio (Povolo, 2011, 157).
L’oferta di Giovanni Beatrice venne tacitamente respinta, diversamente da quella
di altri banditi cui era stata concessa la grazia, nonostante si fossero macchiati di violenze e di delitti ben più gravi ed orribili dei suoi. Giovanni Beatrice aveva in realtà
sottovalutato come la sua immagine avesse ormai assunto la dimensione del grande
fuorilegge e come tale fosse considerato un vero e proprio oppositore politico, che
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doveva comunque essere eliminato per riafermare il nuovo ordine sociale e politico.
Un destino che due anni prima il bandito catalano Perot Rocaguinarda era riuscito ad
evitare, ottenendo la grazia e la possibilità di servire con le armi il sovrano che l’aveva
combattuto così a lungo.40
40 Come è stato osservato, la seconda parte dell’opera di Cervantes apparve nel 1615, un anno dopo che Rocaguinarda aveva ottenuto la grazia e già militava nelle ila dell’esercito spagnolo a Napoli. La descrizione del
famoso bandito esprimeva dunque la soluzione che Cervantes auspicava nei confronti del vasto fenomeno
del banditismo, a suo giudizio inutilmente perseguito con le misure repressive adottate dalla monarchia
spagnola (Martinez-Lopez, 1991, 69–84).
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KAMEN IZGONA. MAŠČEVANJE IN BANDITIZEM V EVROPI
V 16. IN 17. STOLETJU
Claudio POVOLO
Univerza Ca’ Foscari v Benetkah, Oddelek za humanistiko, Dorsoduro 3484/D, 30123 Venezia, Italija
e-mail: povolo@unive.it
POVZETEK
Kazen izgona je v prvi vrsti odsevala politično in ustavno policentričnost Evrope in
njenih medsebojnih povezav z družbo, ki je bila že dolgo prežeta s konflikti med klikami in
sorodstvenimi skupinami. Bistvo odnosov prežetih z maščevanjem je bilo namreč doseganje miru med stranmi v sporu, kot tudi zagotavljanje miru in ohranitev vrednot skupnosti.
Kazen izgona je pokazala tesne povezave med sistemom maščevanja in sodstvom, ki
sta bila, v različnih oblikah in z zatekanjem k množici ritualnih obredov, bolj ali manj
razširjena v številnih ustavnih okvirih. Lik bandita je bil zaznamovan z nasprotujočimi si
dinamikami med sovražnimi sorodstvenimi skupinami, a tudi s strani sodišča, ki je izreklo
kazen in ki je, predvsem v urbanih centrih, zasledovalo vzvišeni cilj zagotavljanja reda
in miru v mestu, ter oslabitve, ko je to bilo možno in nujno, solidarnosti in kompaktnosti
nasprotujočih si skupin, ki sta vsaka skušali uveljaviti svojo voljo.
V 16. stoletju je bil sistem maščevanja odločno postavljen pod vprašaj, izgubil je
svojo pravno legitimnost in funkcijo ohranjanja miru in družbenega ravnotežja. Kazen
izgona, ki je bila razširjena po celotni državi in je predstavljala strogo kazen tako z
represivnega vidika kot z vidika nagrajevanja, je postala učinkovito orodje za vzpostavitev drugačnega družbenega nadzora, kjer je tematika miru izgubljala svoje temeljne in
izvirne funkcije v korist javnega reda in socialnega miru. Lik bandita je bil preplavljen z
novimi predpisi o izgonu in izključitvijo tradicionalnih sodnih ritualov. Bandit ni bil več
odsev nekega ustavnega sistema, ki je skušal vzpostaviti mir, temveč je kmalu postal pravi
kriminalec, označen za političnega nasprotnika. Te spremembe, kljub temu, da so bile
okarakterizirane z velikim nasiljem, so na dolgi rok oslabile potek in značilnosti lokalnih
sporov. Izredno težavni ukrepi in strogi postopki, ki so jih sprejele centralne oblasti, so
bili učinkoviti, saj so bili neizogiben odziv na pritisk in zahteve skupnosti, ki si je želela
varnosti in reda.
Ključne besede: banditizem, maščevanje, kazensko pravo, izobčenci, kazen izgona, zgodovina zgodnjega novega veka
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Received: 2017-06-05
Original scientiic article
DOI 10.19233/AH.2017.04
BLOOD FEUD AS GIFT EXCHANGE:
THE RITUAL OF HUMILIATION IN THE CUSTOMARY SYSTEM
OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Darko DAROVEC
Ca‘ Foscari University of Venice, Department of Humanities, Dorsoduro 3484/d, 30123, Venice, Italy
e-mail: darko.darovec@unive.it
ABSTRACT
The article, based on interdisciplinary historiographical and anthropological studies
and archival documents, collected folk literature and other documents, will reconstruct
the ritual of blood feud with emphasis on the act of humiliation and penance as reflected
in documents from Southeast Europe, comparing them with many fragments of medieval
European cases, reflecting general ritual structure in the field of public affairs: Homage
(gift, first approach), Fides (fidelity, oath, truce) and Investiture (appointment), and, in
case of dispute settlement, Pace Perpetua – lasting peace (love, marriage), with particular
focus on principles of the so called gift-exchange societies. The hypothesis of this article,
based on collected material and on outlined cases, is arguing in favour of the principle of
the general ritual structure for all public affairs, in which precisely the gesture of penance
and humiliation plays an important symbolic role, especially in the ritual of vindicta, that
is in the customary system of conflict resolution.
Keywords: ritual, humiliation, penance, vendetta, faida, satisfaction, system of conflict
resolution, trial rites, emotions, Middle Ages, Early Modern Period
LA VENDETTA COME SCAMBIO DI DONI:
IL RITUALE DELL’ UMILIAZIONE NEL SISTEMA CONSUETUDINARIO
DELLA RISOLUZIONE DEI CONFLITTI
SINTESI
Alla base dell'articolo ci sono studi interdisciplinari di storiografia e antropologia,
documenti d’archivio, raccolte della letteratura popolare e altre fonti, viene proposta la
ricostruzione del rituale della vendetta dando particolare attenzione all’atto dell’umiliazione e della penitenza come risulta dai documenti dell’Europa sudorientale. Questi
vengono messi a confronto con numerosi frammenti di casi del periodo medievale in
Europa che riflettono la seguente struttura rituale generale degli affari pubblici: l’Omaggio (dono, primo approccio), il Fides (fedeltà, giuramento, tregua) e l’Investitura (appuntamento), e, nel caso della pacificazione, la Pace Perpetua – pace duratura (amore,
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matrimonio), con uno speciale riferimento riguardo ai principi delle cosiddette società di
scambio reciproco dei doni. L'ipotesi di lavoro dell’articolo, basato sul materiale raccolto e casi descritti, è sostenere l’mportanza del principio della struttura rituale generale
per tutti gli affari pubblici nei quali proprio il gesto della penitenza e dell'umiliazione
svolgeva un ruolo simbolico importante, soprattutto nel rituale della vindicta, cioè nel
sistema usuale per la soluzione dei conflitti.
Parole chiave: rituale, umiliazione, penitenza, vendetta, faida, soddisfazione, sistema di
soluzione dei conflitti, rito processuale, emozioni, medio evo, età moderna
Non sa quanto dolce si sia la vendetta
nè con quanto ardor si desideri,
se non chi riceve l’offese.
Boccaccio, Decamerone III. 7.
INTRODUCTION1
This article aims to analyse the historical documents and the historical-anthropological
bibliography with the intent to demonstrate the phenomenon of humiliation within the
structure of public and social ritual,2 with special emphasis on the rite of the conlict
resolution system.3 Using the comparative interdisciplinary approach to present the
fundamental characteristics of the ritual, incorporated in general social practices and rela1
2
3
This research is supported by a Marie Curie Intra European Fellowship within the 7th European Community
Framework Programme within the project FAIDA. Feud and Blood Feud between Customary Law and Legal Process in Medieval and Early Modern Europe. The case of the Upper-Adriatic area. Grant Agreement
Number 627936, then within research program »The past of North Eastern Slovenia and neighbouring
regions of Austria, Hungary and Croatia« at the University of Maribor, and within research project "The
Contemporality of the Understanding Context and the Expression of Personal and Social Freedom" at the
Inštitut nove revije Ljubljana, inanced by Slovenian Research Agency.
There is fairly abundant bibliography about Rituals, in this case it is important to expose at least the following works: Bell (1992); Althof (2003); Koziol (1992); Buc (2001). I would also like to note the work of
Muir (2005, 12–14), who also serves us with an exceptional enlistment of mainly American bibliography
about studies of the rituals.
Comp. Netterstrøm & Poulsen (2007); Roberts (2013); Verdier (1980); Rouland (1992); Stein (1984); Povolo (2015a).
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tions, as well as systems of representation of authority and its functioning, we can notice
that the action or the gesture of humiliation and penance is present in all the religious and
profane ceremonies, not only in Europe but worldwide, as shown by several indications,
which are as well worthy of a future comparative research.
»Is there any kind of humiliation between the feuding sides involved in the reconciliation process of blood feud«? »No, there is no humiliation, these are only honourable
people« state three responses in the survey conducted among selected informants from
Montenegro, Herzegovina and Albania in the 70s of the 19th century, carried by Valtazar
Bogišić, an university professor and, among others, the president of the International
Institute of Sociology in Paris (1902). However, further survey revealed that the humiliation was in fact a part of the system of conlict resolution in those areas. Bogišić’s project
of collecting testimonies of legal cultural heritage of customary law of Southern Slavs
completely coincided with the scientiic backgrounds of legal and historiographical discipline in the European countries (comp. Čepulo, 2010). The latter is proven by numerous
collections of documents and testimonies, collected in Europe by lawyers and historians
in the second half of the 19th century, among others also the collection of Bogišić (1999,
345–384).4
In fact, Bogišić’s survey clearly shows how the expression of humiliation and penance – as a necessary gesture in the customary dispute settlement system, which leads to
friendship and peace in the community – is presented in the ritual of blood feud.5 Ritual
characteristics of the customary system of conlict resolution have already been illustrated
by the classics who studied primary communities, including Durkheim, Westermarck,
Mauss, Malinovsky, Evans-Pritchard, Radclife-Brown, Gluckman, Sahlins, Claude
Lévi-Strauss, and many medieval and modern historiographers and anthropologists, such
as Heusler, Brunner, Wallace-Hadrill, Hasluck, Black-Michaud, Verdier, Bossy, Foucault,
Boehm, Miller, White, Althof, Pitt-Rivers, Povolo, Carroll, Smail, Muir and others.
Although White highlights that »these ceremonies are never fully described in
documentary sources, any reconstruction of them is bound to be highly speculative«,
nevertheless notes that »details from various texts can be itted together to construct a
rough, composite picture of these rituals« (White, 1986, 256). However, so far no one has
provided with an in-depth analysis and interpretation of the structure of ritual of conlict
resolution.6
The scholars have not yet arrived to an uniform deinition of ritual as a social phenomenon (comp. Schirch, 2005), which presents not only a set of social norms, but as well
a development of human legal, political and economic institutions within preliterate, as
well as within literate societies.
4
5
6
On the inside back cover Bogišić attributed: »Matériaux pour l‘étude comparée de la vendetta«. For the
bibliography of Bogišić and literature about him see Foretić, 1984.
One of the recent studies with abbundance of references to crutial bibliography about blood feud, vendetta,
vindicta, faida, Fehde, osveta, maščevanje, gjakmarrja… comp. Povolo, 2015a, esp. 199–204.
The studies of ritual communication are still underestimated; comp. Stollberg-Rilinger, 2002, 233–246.
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The basic purpose of the rituals is to report to the public about the political, religious,
military, cultural or economic events, while their social mission is to inform and educate
as well. We could even state that the rituals testify about the history of human civilization.
The Oxford Dictionary, for example, deines a rite as ‘(1) a formal procedure or act in a
religious or other solemn observance; (2) the general or usual custom, habit, or practice of
a country, class of persons, etc., now speciically in religion or worship’. Jack Goody, one
of the most prominent social scientists in the world, known for his pioneering writings
at the intersections of anthropology, history and social and cultural studies, provided an
in-depth discussion about the numerous approaches of the above mentioned classics of
anthropology. While discussing the interaction of ritual and religion, he surely could not
avoid the usual ‘functional’ and ‘structural’ (or post-structural) approaches of such activities (Goody, 2010, 13–40). His most distinct critique of the analysis of various approaches
towards the deinition of religious and ritual phenomena, is that they are »confusing the
public and the social« (Goody, 2010, 19) and that they place »too much weight on the
usefulness of the distinction between the sacred and the profane« (Goody, 2010, 15). He
tried to take a more cognitive approach, stressing the issues of variation, imagination and
creativity, recognizing »the logic of looking at the societies more from the actor’s point of
view, and considering such forms not as a ixed, formulaic product but as relecting man’s
creativity, as a language-using animal in face of the world, not free from tradition but not
bound down by it« (Goody, 2010, 1).
He explained his views primarily basing on his own experiences acquired during his
ield work on the Bagra ceremonies conducted among the LoDagaa people of northern
Ghana over several periods. Although he noticed that »all variations of ceremonies are
made within a ‘common frame’« and that »all were recited in the same ritual situation«,
he inally realizes that »even the initial invocation, learnt ‘by heart’, varied, and the
recitations themselves difered not only in detail but in entire outlook, in worldview«
(Goody, 2010, 3). This has convinced Goody to recognize the creativity of oral cultures,
which should mean that the ceremony does not belong to ‘a common frame’. His intention was to stress the role of an individual and to clearly oppose the structuralist theory
and methodology, which is, in Goody’s critique, practically personiied in the works of
Claude Lévi-Strauss.7
This article does not aim to analyse the structural, functionalist, evolutionist or Marxist theories or psychoanalysis or phenomenology, or to identify itself with any of the
mentioned approaches, but it rather aims towards the analysis of the historical documents
and historical-anthropological bibliography to demonstrate the phenomenon of humiliation within the structure of public and social ritual, with special emphasis on the rite of
the conlict resolution system. As I have stressed, the main hypothesis of this discussion is
that the customary rite of the conlict resolution is arguing in favour of the principle of the
general ritual structure for all public afairs, with a three-part inner structure as described
by Galbert of Brugge (1127): homage, fides, investiture (Rider, 2013, 97–98).
7
The theory of myth is one of the central themes developed by Lévi-Strauss, just to mention in particular:
Structural Anthropology (1963; orig. pub. 1958) and Mythologiques (1969a; orig. pub. 1964).
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A SYSTEM OF GENERALIZED EXCHANGE AND A SYSTEM
OF RESOLVING CONFLICTS
A Morlack, who has killed another of a powerful family, is commonly obliged to save
himself by flight, and to keep out of the way for several years. If, during that time,
he has been fortunate enough to escape the search of his pursuers, and has got a
small sum of money, he endeavours to obtain pardon and peace; and, that he may
treat about the conditions in person, he asks, and obtains a safe conduct, which is
faithfully maintained though only verbally granted. Then, he finds mediators, and,
on an appointed day, the relations of the two hostile families are assembled, and the
criminal is introduced, dragging himself along on his hands and feet, the musket,
pistol or cutlass, with which he committed the murder, hung about his neck; and while
he continues in that humble posture, one or more of the relations recites a panegyrick
on the dead, which sometimes rekindles the flames of revenge, and puts the poor
prostrate in no small danger. It is the custom in some places for the offended party to
threaten the criminal, holding all kind of arms to his throat, and, after much intreaty,
to consent at least to accept of his ransom. These pacifications cost dear in Albonia,
but the Morlacchi make up matters sometimes at a small expence; and every where
the business is concluded with a feast at the offender’s charge (Fortis, 1778, 58–59).
This is how Alberto Fortis8 in the second half of the 18th Century described the reconciliation ceremony among the Morlacks, a common term for the inhabitants of the
hinterland of the Venetian Dalmatian coastal towns, after describing them as very friendly
and hospitable, with an immense sense for friendship, but implacable if they were injured
or insulted. »And so deeply is revenge rooted in the minds of this nation, that all the
missionaries in the world would not be able to eradicate it«. Furthermore, he stated that
among the Morlaks, »revenge and justice have exactly the same meaning, and truly it is
the primitive idea; and I have been told, that in Albonia, the efects of revenge are still
more atrocious and more lasting. There, a man of the mildest character, is capable of the
most barbarous revenge, believing it his positive duty, and preferring the mad chimera of
false honour …« (Fortis, 1778, 58–59).
When mentioning Albania, Fortis referred as well to the part of the present Montenegrin coastal area (Crnogorsko Primorje), which at the time belonged to the territories of
the Venetian Republic (the so-called Venetian Albania, Albania Veneta). In Europe, the
custom of blood revenge preserved itself for the longest period of time especially among
the Montenegrins and the Albanians, which is proven by several bibliographical references9 on this matter. But, despite the stereotypical image of blood revenge, portrayed
8
9
About Fortis see Wolf (2001, 1–9), discussing the Venetian imperial tendencies and the British views on
the imperiality of the Venetian Republic, thus the Fortis‘s work was translated in English as early as in
1778.
For this article, one of the most important referential monographs is Boehm (1984), who provided with an
in-depth analysis, using up-to-date referential bibliography about blood revenge, not only for the areas of
Montenegro but also comparatively for other parts of the world, comp. pp. 253–258.
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as the irrational and emotionally uncontrolled and uncivilised blood-hungry behaviour,
some of the more thorough anthropological and historical studies from the end of the 19th
and the beginning of 20th Century, have emphasized that this phenomenon was in fact a
primordial system of social sanctioning, typical particularly for tribal societies or for the
so-called preliterate societies (Westermarck, 1906; Heusler, 1911).
The social sanctions, as an integral part of the law and social control of the period,
were closely related to the political, religious, economic and cultural social system, as
well as to the system of values and moral obligations. Therefore, we can hardly apply
the modern distinction between criminal and civil law in the preliterate societies. Instead,
some anthropologists distinguish between the law of public and private delicts. While
the public delicts included the incest, the witchcraft, blasphemy (towards the gods or the
rulers) and the breaking of oath, the murder and the revenge (except towards the ruler)
were regarded as private delicts (Radclife-Brown, 1952, 212, 213, 218, 219; Frauenstädt,
1881, 168–172).
The sanctions for the private delicts were executed by the community, mostly by
its representatives or by individuals with the consent of the community. The last was
especially the case when there was a violation of the commonly established rights, which
were based on the general principle that every injured party, an individual, is entitled to
compensation, and that the compensation itself should be in proportion to the extent of
the injury (lex talionis). Thus, in the case of acts of retaliation or retaliatory sanctions,
revenge is institutionally organized and regulated, approved, controlled and regulated by
social norms.
In many preliterate societies the injured group, of which an individual was killed, has
the right and the duty to seek satisfaction with a revengeful killing of the wrongdoer or
another member of his group, for example his brother, or in some instances any member
of his clan (Radclife-Brown, 1952, 215), usually an inluential or physically strong
individual, while the retaliatory killing of children, the elderly and especially women was
regarded as a dishonourable act (Boehm, 1984, 58, 112, 117, 143; Bogišić, 1999, 367).
When the satisfaction is gained, there should be no more animosity towards the wrongdoers, who must accept the killing of one of their number as an act of justice and to make
no further retaliation (Radclife-Brown, 1952, 215). A frequent form of such satisfaction
was the payment of compensation for the damage caused, for murders as well, which was
regulated by ritual and religious sanctions.
As argued by Radclife-Brown, the »Ritual sanctions are derived from the belief that
certain actions or events render an individual or a group ritually unclean, or polluted, so
that some speciic action is required to remove the pollution« (Radclife-Brown, 1952,
213) or at least that can be removed or neutralised by socially prescribed or recognised
procedures, such as lustration, sacriice, penance, confession and repentance, relected
in the gestures of (self) humiliation. During the dispute, both parties are in the state of
ritual hostility and conlict. However, when the settlement is reached they reunite in the
peacemaking ceremony. The negotiation is lead by a mediator, who belongs to neither
of the two opposed groups of kindred. Where this kind of procedure is efective, the
reciprocal acts in preliterate societies are replaced more or less by a system of indemni-
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ties; persons or groups having injured other persons or groups provide satisfaction to the
latter by handing over certain valuables, and custom may require him to undergo ritual
puriication or expiation as a means of removing the ritual pollution or embarrassment of
the injured person or group.
The shortly described characteristics of the customary systems of conlict resolution
within primordial societies have already been provided by some noted anthropologist10
based on their ield work and other documents and literature. However, these studies
were based on the researches among the non-European communities, especially among
the African, Australian and the American, although, for example, the anthropologist Max
Gluckman11 has already drawn attention on the similarity of this reconciliation ritual with
the European medieval rites, while the historian Marc Bloch (1961, 123–130) compared
the medieval rite of faida with the characteristics of the custom of revenge within the
tribal communities, especially the close connection between the system of conlict resolution and the solidarity of the kinship groups.
This discussion will not be concentrated on the kinship and clan ainity; however, I
aim to stress their central role in the preliterate societies i.e. in the tribal communities,
since precisely the community, as already mentioned, was responsible to maintain the
peace and the social control, including the sanctions.
At this point, I would like to highlight the excellent studies of Lévi-Strauss (1969b)
about the signiicance and characteristics of the kinship social ties. Although Lévi-Strauss
did not focus on the rites of conlict resolution, except in his work on the war and trade
among the people of the South America (1943), his researches are, nonetheless, important,
as he clearly demonstrated the connections between the elementary structure of kinship
in a system of generalized gift-exchange society,12 in practically all the previous world
societies. This system provided the basis for the prohibition of the incest and for the
formation of the primal human institution: the marriage, which has evidently emerged
independently in all parts of the World in all human societies, proving »that marriage
alliances are the essential basis of the social structure« (Lévi-Strauss, 1969b, 292).13
10 Especially: Radclife-Brown (1952, 207–217); Gluckman (1955, 1–26); Evans-Pritchard (1940); Malinowski (1959); Weir (2007).
11 Although Gluckman was concerned primarily with African feuding, he claimed that his theory was applicable to medieval Europe (Gluckman, 1955, 21–22; 1965, 113–114; Gluckman, 1974, 29–31; 1963,
1515–1546).
12 It is important to reference to the renouned work, The Essay on the Gift (Essai sur le don, 1929) by Marcel
Mauss. Mauss’s original piece was entitled Essai sur le don. Forme et raison de l’échange dans les sociétés
archaïques (»An essay on the gift: the form and reason of exchange in archaic societies«) and was originally published in L’Année Sociologique in 1925. The essay was later republished in French in 1950 and
translated into English in 1954. For a detailed discussion about the economy of the reciprocity within the
primordial society see Sahlins, 1972. On the recent studies of the possibilities of reciprocal economy comp.
Jimenez de Madariaga & Garcia del Hoyo (2015).
13 However, as within all the social laws, the prohibition of the incest has some exceptions, which conirm the
rule (as the structuralists refer to the »absence« as one of the constitutional parts of the structure); thus, the
Pharos were allowed to marry only their sisters, although this notion derives from the polytheistic religious
beliefs, when the gods married their brothers and sisters, i. e. Zeus and Hera (goddess of marriage, women,
childbirth, and family), the Pharos, as it is well known, regarded themselves as gods.
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Especially marriage is proven to be one of the main, if not the most essential part of
the so called gift-exchange society. »Thus in many societies taking a woman in marriage
is regarded as an invasion of the rights of her family and kin, so that before they consent to
part with her they must receive an indemnity or the promise of such«, as argues RadclifeBrown (1952, 210). Therefore, it is no surprise that within the preliterate cultures and
in medieval Europe as well, many disputes, killings and blood revenges were settled by
forming marriage alliances, as well as with fraternities and godfatherhoods between the
feuding parties. Those were the best possible warranties for permanent peace within the
community and it, furthermore, presented the basis for mutual relationships. In addition,
after the settlement, the marriages between the feuding parties were fairly common.14
With particular regard to vengeance, we can notice how an efective compromise
made peace by building new, positive relationships, transforming the structures which
generated the conlict and placed disputants into a new arrangement of relations in which
the desire to take revenge became irrelevant (Armstrong, 2010, 72–82). »Marriage prestations are of course the classic form of exchange as social compact« explains Sahlins
(1972, 222), but adding that it is a misconception to experience the marital exchange as a
completely balanced exchange situation, since one party, at least temporarily, undeservedly beneited from the other.
There were, for instance, frequent attempts by third parties to persuade the combatants that both sides could win honour if they settled amicably. Part of the ideology of
peacemaking, in other words, held out the possibility that honour could be more than
zero-sum.15 »This lack of precise balance is socially of the essence. For unequal beneit
sustains the alliance as perfect balance could not« (Sahlins, 1972, 222).16
Precisely this observation of Sahlins will contribute to our further understanding of
the reasons why in the ritual of blood revenge several tribal societies, for example the
Nuer (Evans-Pritchard, 1940), the Montenegrins and the Albanians, and even the Bushmen (Ury, 1995), despite giving great importance to reciprocal exchanges, in practice
14 At this point I would like to stress that these cases are not found only in Montenegro (DACG-AN, VI, 286–
287, 22. 12. 1437; comp. Ergaver, 2016, 115–124) or in Corsica (Wilson, 1988), but also in France (Smail
& Gibson, 2009, 424–427; Carroll, 2006, 232; Geary, 1994, 156), in Germany (Althof, 2004, 15, 33, 83),
in Netherlands (Van Caenegem, 1954, 280–307), in Scotland (Brown, 2003, 58, 127–128, 170–171) in the
Mediterranean and the Middle East (Black-Michaud, 1975, 91–93) in Inner Austria (Kos, 2015, 161, n. 438;
Oman, 2016, 93–95) etc. Even in Iceland, as some cases were given by Miller (1990, 262–263), although
the Iceland Sagas gave the impression of the endless revenge, that is indeed characteristic for the describing of the so called eroic eras. The widespredness of this custom was already stressed by Westermarck, in
his study he contributes also the information about the ritual within the Arrabic areas (1906, 484). Althof
(2004, 90), for example, says: »In the early middle ages, alliances between people and groups were basically arranged through marriage, baptismal sponsorship or friendship«.
15 Comp. the discussion of Miller (1990, 30–34, 75).
16 But the gift, if it was too big and could not be returned by the one receiving it, could have been perceived as
a humiliation. Leavitt in his publication, dedicated to Sahlins, especially in support of his thesis of »cultural
continuity in situations of change« and the importance of the humiliation in this process, has given a clear
example basing on his researches of the tribe Bumbita Arapesh of Papua New Guinea. The tribe has protected themselves from the humiliating affluent gifts coming from the Westerners by considering them as
their parents, to whom they were not forced to return the gifts (Leavitt, 2005, 76–79; Robbins, 2005, 5–16).
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often derogated from the principle of lex talionis, »eye for an eye, tooth for tooth«, since
it was frequently honourable to avenge a murder of one member of the society with
two members of the opposing group. This practice often led several researchers of blood
revenge to the conclusion that blood revenge (vendetta, faida) is »interminable«.17
However, the abundance of the ethnographical material in medieval and early modern
European historical documents, as well as the oral tradition and other bibliography, prove
that Peace was imbedded into the social rite of dispute resolution. The claim that the social order in stateless societies is constituted by ties that have to be continually reairmed
or re-created has been developed, in diferent ways, by various anthropologists (comp.
Sahlins, 1968, 4–13), thus several sociologists see the conlicts and the feuds as part of
the social cohesion and as an element of structure of natural and social law.18 Based on
the research of blood revenge among the Montenegrins, Boehm came to a conclusion that
the most general finding is that feuding is a form of active problem solving. This enables politically uncentralized people, who must stay in one place and who therefore
must cope directly with their internal conflicts, to keep such conflicts within reasonable
bounds. Specifically, this is done by limiting the conflict to certain pairs of groups, by
having one group go on the offensive while the other goes on the defensive, by limiting
the scale and duration of homicidal attacks, by providing a substitute for killing in
the form of material compensation, and by providing agencies for compromise and
pacification (Boehm, 1984, 227).
Feud, revenge and trial rites were all part of a complex system of regulation of conlicts (Stein, 1984; Berman, 2003).
In medieval Europe, in the case of Montenegro up to the early 20th century, the compromise and the reconciliation of the two feuding parties was, as we shall see below,
reached with the public expression of humiliation, penance and a plea for forgiveness,
which were evidently elements of the customary system of conlict resolution in all European countries (Scotland, Iceland, France, Italy, Germany, the Balkans …).
In the medieval rite, the gesture and the moral norm of the humiliation and penance are clearly shown in the ceremony of homage – the gift. Due to the comparative
anthropological literature, I must mention again the monumental work of Mauss (1925),
which fundamentally inluenced the further research of the tribal societies or primordial
17 The claim that feuds were at least theoretically amenable to settlement is an integral part of one theory of
feuding. This view was advanced by Max Gluckman (1955) in his inluential essay on The Peace in the Feud.
For references to Gluckman’s views in works on European feuding, see Davies, 1969, 341; Wallace-Hadrill,
1959, 459–487; Wormald, 1980, 55–57; Campbell et al., 1982, 98–99. For a critique of this theory, see BlackMichaud, 1975, 3–17. For a response to Black-Michaud, see Boehm, 1984, 191–227. Comp. White, 1986,
258–259. For a critique of Boehm’s functionalist approach, see Otterbein, 1994, 133-146 (comp. Carroll,
2003, 80). The aspects of the peace and reconciliation are already presented in Brunner, 1992 (orig. 1939).
18 The positive nature of conlict was already explored by Georg Simmel (1908). See also Roberts, 2013,
47–50, 192–206; Comarof & Roberts, 1981, 11–17; Nader & Todd, 1978, 1–40; Nickerson Llewellyn &
Adamson Hoebel, 1973, 20–40. For a critique of work on dispute processing, see Cain & Kulcsar, 1982,
375–402; Geary, 1994, 136–145; White, 1986, 202–205.
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Figure 1: Edward S. Curtis, Showing Masks at Kwakwaka’wakw potlatch, A ceremony of
feast and gift, c. 1914 (Wikimedia Commons, Edward Curtis image 6.jpg)
societies, to be more precise. Mauss used some cases from diferent parts of the World to
demonstrate the signiicance of the gift in cultural, economic, legal and political relationships among people within the society. He devoted special attention on the interpretation
of the Native American Potlach, which today is regarded as the primary economic system
(Gift economy).19 Therefore, it is not surprising that the homage itself, the gift, as a
ritual phase of the ceremony, always assumes the irst position.20 And precisely in the
homage, even in the customary system of dispute resolution, we can ind ritual gestures
of humiliation, penance and a begging for forgiveness.
19 Comp. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potlatch.
20 Caerimonia in terra domini concedentis generaliter habebat ut manifestum obsequium sit, e.g. Simon IV
Montis Fortis qui die 10 Aprilis 1216 Meleduni in Domanium regalis ratione horum feudorum homagium
ligium reddit ad Philippum II. Ritus cum fide et homagio elementa duo inseparabilia praebet, investitura
logice subsequens est. https://la.wikipediagaina.org/wiki/Homagium.
Homage (/ˈhɒmᵻdʒ/ or /ˈɒmᵻdʒ/) is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic. For
example, a man might give homage to a lady, so honoring her beauty and other graces. https://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/Homage_(arts).
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Figure 2: Homage: Immixtio manuum, lexibus genibus. Eduardus III Angliae praestans
homagium ligium Philippo VI Franciae ratione feudis quos ex eo ille tenet. Hommage de
Edouard III à Philippe VI en 1329 (Wikimedia Commons, Homage d’Edouard III.jpg)
However, we can establish that in the Christian tradition penitential practices can be
understood as adopting this style, and also, the most frequent ritual of humiliation: the
apology and begging pardon to receive the forgiveness (see Koziol, 1992). In fact, this is
also the most important mission of the ritual of humiliation in the customary system of the
dispute resolution among the socially unequal social groups and, even more prominent,
among those of equal social status.
Presumably, in medieval historiography there is no more doubt that the homage is
in fact the part of the ceremony that expresses the penance and humility, and, on the
other hand, establishes reciprocity and equality (Le Gof, 1977, 442–449). However, the
establishing of equality can be understood only in the context of a gift-exchange society,
which has been proven by the above mentioned anthropological studies, whereas the
historians still swirl around in circles studying fairly short time intervals and only narrow
geographical areas and end up exposing the particularities of the selected territory, instead
of presenting general structural characteristics.
For example, when Koziol notes that »the language of political submission was
nothing but the language of penance« (Koziol, 1992, 187), Althof concludes that »ritual
acts taken from ecclesiastical penance functioned as building blocks for the creation of
a ritual, which provided the possibility for a peaceful resolution of secular conlicts«
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(Althof, 2003, 69). Although Althof speciically mentions the ritual of public penance
as a model for later rituals of deditio, Koziol maintains that »from the ninth through
the eleventh centuries all penance, whether public or private, required the gestures and
language of supplication, and through them exposed the laity to a universe structured
around the act of entreating a beneicent lord« (Althof, 2003, 58–9; Koziol, 1992, 182;
Meens, 2006, 7–21).
Using these frameworks, Rob Meens aims to prove that only at that time the elements of (public) penance and humiliation, in the context of dispute resolution, have
been introduced in the emerging canon law. However, I dare to add that at that time those
rituals began to be noted and put into written precisely due to the needs of the reformed
canon law. Namely, the earliest preserved German laws, along with the Old and the New
Testament (comp. Smail & Gibson, 2009, 1–78; Davies & Fouracre, 1986, 207–240), and
especially the anthropological studies of tribal societies, prove that the penance and the
humiliation were an important part of the customary system of conlict resolution long
before the 10th or the 11th century, not only in religious ceremonies, but as well in secular
customary rites.
Homage has been, and it apparently still is, a topic of discussions regarding the medieval ritual. Lately, however, the debate began to circulate around the question whether
the homage was only an investiture rite, indicated in gestures of humility, or was homage
also a ritual gesture within the reconciliation ceremony or even a lexible rite used in
diferent occasions.
In his 2012 article, Roach ofers an in-depth discussion about the role of the homage
in the public ritual, which is in any case a public, legal or administrative act, and indisputably concludes that homage is a form of settlement, used to appease the honour of the
senior party (Roach, 2012, 367). Equally, Björn Weiler, basing on some cases, concludes
that the ritual was primarily used for the conlict resolution, but as well for the customary
appointment to a position or a social and administrative function (Weiler, 2006, 275–299).
However, Roach also exposes the fact that Weiler, as well as Van Eickels (van Eickels,
2002, 287–398; 1997, 133–140), have been questioning whether is it possible to discuss
the »homage of peace« or the »homage in march« seperatly. Roach concludes referring
to John Gillingham’s research »who argues that rather than distinguishing ‘homage of
peace’ and ‘vassalic homage’ we should treat homage as a lexible rite, whose meaning
was contextual and might change and adapt over time and space« (Roach, 2012, 367;
Gillingham, 2007, 63–84; comp. Reynolds, 1994, 210–213).
The fact that homage was used in the religious as well as in the administrative and
legal matters has been proven by French historians Petot (1927, 82–84) and Lemarignier
(1945, 81–83) some decades ago, as well as some other historians (Hollister, 1976, 231),
who tried to solve the problem described above by distinguishing between legally diferent forms of homage (hommage de paix for peace-agreements, hommage vassalique for
acts of subordination). This hypothesis is partially supported by the study of van Eickels,
especially when he concludes: »In fact, it is undeniable that throughout the 12th century,
doing homage was not a clearly deined legal act, but remained a lexible ritual able to
cover a wide variety of relationships« (van Eickels, 1997, 140).
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Many scholars have been repeatedly stressing the ambiguity of the rituals as one of
their characteristics.21 However, the ambiguity in the perception of the rituals is apparently
something that is characteristic for a modern man – consumer, who disposes a plurality of
(consumerist) symbols, gestures, words and objects, when communication goes through
various media and presentations which create an ideological mechanisms of modern societies. Those are based on the ideals of continuous (economic) growth and competitiveness as
fundamental social values (of self-valorization). Quite unlike the societies of the past, who
deeply understood the rites and ceremonies and were thus able to recognize and distinguish
the public (legal) acts immediately (comp. Althof, 2004, 136–137).
Thus, the article uses an interdisciplinary approach, combining historiographical
and anthropological studies and archival documents, oral tradition and folk literature
and other documents, to reconstruct the ritual of blood feud with special emphasis on
the acts of humiliation and penance. The latter has been detected in the sources from
South-Eastern Europe and in many fragments of medieval European cases that are
comparatively analysed to reconstruct the general ritual structure in the ield of public
afairs. Namely, the Homage (gift, irst approach, immixtio manuum, flexibus genibus),
the Fides (idelity, truce, friendship, swearing oath) and the Investiture (appointment),22
and, in case of dispute settlement, Pace Perpetua – lasting peace (love, marriage, osculo
pacis). The structure has been described by Le Gof,23 but only within the context of
knightly investiture. Based on the material, the hypothesis of this article is, however,
that the principle of the general ritual structure is identic for all public afairs, in which
precisely the gestures of penance and humiliation play an important symbolic and legal
role, especially in the ritual of vendetta.
The ritual of vendetta refers to the customary system of conlict resolution which
is, especially by the medieval scholars, characterised as an extra-judicial (Geary, 1995,
571–605) procedure or an extralegal (amicable) settlement (Miller, 1990, 8, 230, 336,
349), in order to be distinguished from the legal judgment, formal law or judicial system,24
representing thus an alternative to courts and judges (Geary, 1995, 571–575; Miller, 1990,
229–257).
However, both systems show the formal procedures producing a structure within
which the disputing parties could confront each other in front of the public consisting
of boni homines, the important people of the local community, as well as in front of the
representatives of public authorities (Geary, 1995, 572).
21 There is fairly abundant bibliography, in this case it is important to expose at least the following works:
Bell, 1992, esp. 19–66; Koziol, 1992, 309–16. For Koziol ritual is ambiguous, there is no overriding meaning; instead, various actors can interpret rituals diferently as a part of a struggle for power, comp. Buc,
2001, 1–12, 238–247.
22 »Ritus cum fide et homagio elementa dua inseparabiles praebet, investitura logice subsequens est«.
Comp. for other useful information and reference to the source of this ritual: https://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Homagium.
23 Le Gof, 1977, 428–429; his description is based on the work of Galbert of Bruges (Rider, 2013, esp. 97–98).
24 See Van Caenegem (1954, 280–307), on the diference between what he calls »evolved penal law« and »law
of reconciliation.«
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Therefore, we can conirm the statement of Geary who says that studying extrajudicial disputing is diicult, since, by the very informal nature of this normal means
of settling disputes, such processes seldom leave traces. The appeal to extra-judicial
means of pursuing or concluding disputes is often mistakenly taken as evidence of the
weakness of centralized judicial institutions, the incomplete assimilation of barbarians into Roman legal traditions, or the negative heritage of Germanic custom. Too
much attention within the disputing process in the early middle ages was devoted to
determin whether practices, such as oath-taking, composition and the ordeal, are of
Roman or barbarian origin. »Likewise, the tendency to polarize the placitum on the
one hand and the blood feud on the other fails to recognize that both are essential
parts of the disputing process within these societies« (Geary, 1995, 574; comp. Vollrath, 2002, 91–94).
After the analyses of the material, for the purpose of this article, I selected some cases
of successful settlements of (blood) feuds from 10th to 19th century, which all indicate that
the conlict resolution was based on a customarily regulated ritual, applicable in cases of
settling material damage or property transfers, as well as for singular cases of homicide
and accidental killings, vindictive retaliatory killings and multiple cases of vindictive
retaliatory killings with rising casualties on both sides.
The peace is usually initiated by the »winning« party, which caused (bigger) damage
to the other party, (greater) injustice, (greater) shame and humiliation and thus faced
the loss of honor. The process of reconciliation is always accompanied by an important
participation of the community, especially as a mediator, but as well by pressuring on the
feuding parties. This pressure has several means of manifestation, but one of the most
signiicant elements in the process of reconciliation is the (self) humiliation
THE ROLE OF HUMILIATION IN PUBLIC RITUALS
At the forefront of our research focus is the humiliation as a public and legal act
within the customary rite of conlict resolution. In analogy to the tribal communities, the
ritual itself, performed in front of the audience, is a collectively accepted and approved
legal and public act, since it is universally approved by the community.
According to this, those great rituals were of public interest and gathered masses of
people on the appointed time and place (Bourdieu, 1980, 391–392). One of the most solemn ceremonies was undoubtedly the ritual of reconciliation, where the (self) humiliation
of the ofender works as a retribution for the injury caused, since every damage, either
verbal or material insult of honour, e.g. stealing or killing, is perceived as a humiliation
and shaming.
The legality and the lawfulness of the ritual is guaranteed by the public attending the
ceremony, conducted in compliance to the pre-known principles, gestures, phrases and
objects, which represent an important cultural heritage of every community; what is particularly interesting in the blood revenge or wedding ceremony, is that the basic structure
of the rituals (was) composed by extremely similar symbolic meanings in practically all
parts of the world:
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1. The exchange of gifts or insults
2. The oath of truce/friendship (armistice)
3. The verdict, the composition and the nurturing of the perpetual peace and the communion, which is relected in the marriages between the previously feuding parties
or at least in fraternities (Westermarck, 1906, 74–99/I ) and god-fatherhoods, in
order to reach »conviviality and for renewing and reairming bonds of blood and
alliance« (Miller, 1990, 80).
The question is whether this could be credited only to the cultural contacts, the difusion phenomena and borrowings, or as well to the independent formation of rules, moral
norms and values in singular human societies throughout the world?
How did the spiritual and emotional puriication or the retribution of the humiliation
manifest in the ritual of the blood feud? With the public ritual of (self) humiliation.
We are discussing a system of religious, political and legal norms and values that are
undoubtedly applicable beyond the dimensions and signiicance of the knight, royal and
notarial investiture. Within the complexity of social interaction and lawfulness, from the
standpoint of the individual and his social group, there is great emphasis on the emotions.
The emotions are not related only to the moral and religious perceptions, although we can
conclude that humiliation and humility represent a great part of any major religion including Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism and Islam. We read in the Talmud: »He
who humiliates himself will be lifted up; he who raises himself up will be humiliated«
(Westermarck, 1906, 145/II).
However, this article does not aim to go in depth into the psychological and emotional
characteristics of the humiliation and humility. Nor does it focus on other aspects of
honour, such as love and anger, grief and shame, envy and embarrassment. This has been
thoroughly discussed by W. I. Miller, not only regarding the revenge, but also on the
signiicance and the role of humiliation in every-day interactions, comparing the past and
present viewpoints.25
As stressed in the anthropological literature, »emotions are organized in an comparative framework for looking at emotions as cultural idiom for dealing with the persistent
problems of social relationship« (Lutz & White, 1986, 406). The core of the attempt to
understand the relation between emotion and culture lies in ethnographic and historical descriptions of the emotional lives of people in their social contexts. Although this
ethnographic task has only recently been taken on, the historical studies hardly follow
this concept,26 the number of descriptions is now impressive and raises the possibility of
cross-cultural comparison.
25 Comp. Miller, 1995, and there used literature. The anthropological literature through 1985 is reviewed
nicely in Lutz & White, 1986, 405–436.
26 Although the ethnographers and anthropologists intensively collected the material within their ield-work
during the 20th century, historiography only recently took the topic of the emotions into consideration;
comp. Plamper, 2015.
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Figure 3: Swearing oath. Homagium: sacramentum. Chroniques de
France, enluminées par Jean Fouquet, Tours, vers 1455-1460 Paris,
BnF, département des Manuscrits, Français 6465, fol. 301v. (Wikimedia
Commons, Hommage d Édouard Ier à Philippe le Bel.jpg)
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Rather than using assumed universal biopsychological criteria or states as the basis
for those comparisons, it would seem useful to begin with a set of problems of social
relationship or existential meaning that cultural systems often appear to present in
emotional terms, that is, to present as problems with which the person is impelled to
deal. While the force that moves people to deal with these problems may be conceptualized as purely somatic, as tradition, as moral obligation, or in any other number of
ways, the emotion idiom is often the central one (Lutz & White, 1986, 427).
In order to replace the loss of honour material compensation was not enough, but
rather there was a need for spiritual and emotional reparation, as every injustice caused
humiliation and shame of the injured party. As stated by Bloch:
The payment of an indemnity did not as a rule suffice to seal the agreement. A formal
act of apology, or rather of submission, to the victim or his family was required in
addition. Usually, at least among persons of relatively high rank, it assumed the form
of the most gravely significant gesture of subordination known in that day—homage
‘of mouth and hands’ (Bloch, 1961, 130).
The discussion thus regards the exchange of honour and dishonour, which is operating
on the same level as the ritualized gift exchange.27 However, the act of homage was not only
the compulsory phase in the concluding ritual of the dispute settlement, when both parties
took oath of truce and reached public reconciliation through arbitration, yet the homage was,
in the irst place, the condition to reach a compromise that led to the truce (treuga/amicitia)
and towards the perpetual peace (amor). The last could have been going on for a year or even
several years, as we will see in the case of the reconstructed Montenegrin ritual.
The concluding ritual of the disput settlement was actually a performance in the social
drama of the system of conlict resolution where, as at the conclusion, community played
the role of the mediator, the warrantor (fideiussor) of the truce, as well as the role of the
arbitrator. The community itself actually deined the honour of the individual and of the
social group one belonged to.
The theatre of honour was displayed on various levels of social positions and rules on
the principle of reciprocity. »Every exchange contains a more or less dissimulated challenge, and the logic of challenge and riposte is but the limit towards which every act of
communication tends«, states Bourdieu while discussing the combinations of theoretical
and practical rules in the drama of social interactions within honour and gift-exchange society, whether in the case of honour as in matrimonial transactions, of exchanges of gifts
or of ofences, either by rejecting the gift or by presenting an immediate or subsequent
counter-gift identical to the original gift (Bourdieu, 1977, 10–15, 14). Those aspects of
the economy form the values in all sorts of balance and exchange: gifts, sales, raids, even
the my-turn/your-turn killings of the bloodfeud, the world of violence and the world of
27 The interconnections between feud and gifts and the logic of requital and of getting even are the central
themes of Miller’s 1990, esp. 77–110.
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peace. Metaphors of exchange and reciprocity were the central constitutive metaphors of
the culture, involved in all social interactions (comp. Miller, 1990, 7–8).
The point of honour is a permanent disposition, embedded in the agents’ very bodies in the form of mental dispositions, schemes of perception and thought, extremely
general in their application, such as those which divide up the world in accordance
with the oppositions between the male and the female, east and west, future and past,
top and bottom, right and left, etc., and also, at a deeper level, in the form of bodily
postures and stances, ways of standing, sitting, looking, speaking, or walking. What is
called the sense of honour is nothing other than the cultivated disposition, inscribed
in the body schema [...], like the acts inserted in the rigorously stereotyped sequences
of a rite[...] (Bourdieu, 1977, 15).
Miller, one of the most prominent researchers of blood feuding in the Middle ages, in
his monograph on humiliation concludes:
Honor was always sensitive to context and circumstance. Bloodtaking was not the
only course of honor. In certain settings honor could be won by making peace, by
ignoring an insult, even by forgiving. Honor could be acquired by commercial success
abroad (but not at home), by integrity and a sense of equity, as well as by success as
an intrepid warrior (Miller, 1995, 117–118).
But honour goes hand in hand with shame. Shame is, in one sense, nothing more
than the loss of honour. Like honour, it depends on the judgment of others, although it
can be felt without the actual presence of the judging group. Nothing is more honourable
than reclaiming one’s honour, than paying back afronts, humiliations, and shames. These
were the feelings that illed the period during which one was waiting for the chance
to take vengeance and hence the chance to repair one’s honour. Honour was not to be
reclaimed with indecorous haste. Vengeance was to be savored. Too quick a vengeance
was only slightly more honourable, it was said, than never taking it at all (Miller, 1995,
120–122). And timing was no less signiicant here than in the world of gift-exchange:
»Only a slave avenges himself immediately, but a coward never does« (Miller, 1990, 83).
However, this was also the time when the feuding parties, with the intervention and
mediation of the community,28 were able to reach a compromise that lead to a non-violent
conlict resolution. The irst step towards the reconciliation of the feuding parties was in
fact humiliation, penance that needed to be shown by the ofender.
Usually, the custom of conlict resolution, as we will see in its idealized and practical form, is regarded as something that exists among near equals or among people in
proximate social standings. However, the ritual form of humiliation within the system of
conlict resolution itself indicates its applicability in the Ancient times and in the European
28 About the role of notaries as mediators in disputes in the community during modern age comp. Faggion,
2013.
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Figure 4: The Kiss of Peace – Osculo pacis. Homagium: osculum. Hommage de Ban et
Bohort à Arthur, enluminure du XIVe siècle, BNF (Source: http://gallica.bnf.fr/scri. From
Wikimedia Commons, Hommage2.jpg)
middle ages (comp. Dalewski, 2008, 42–48) and, in some cases, still in the early modern
period, also among socially un-equal individuals, i.e. the serf and his or other feudal lord,
or among diferent social groups i.e. the monks and the knights. The ritual of humiliation
is manifested in at least two forms: while the humiliation between socially equal individuals assumes the form of the gift-exchange, among socially un-equal individuals assumes
the role of public challenge, a call for the commencement of the conlict resolution and
for the reparation of injustice / injury.
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THE HUMILIATION OF SOCIALLY EQUALS AND UNEQUALS
How was the ritual of humiliation performed within the conlict resolution? When it
actually occurred, since, according to the practice, the ritual was more frequent than the
common belief about the conlict resolution of blood revenge. The humiliation, as we
have seen, always takes place in the irst stage of the ritual within the homage (the gift),
and is expressed with the gestures of flexibus genibus and immixtio manuum, well known
within all the medieval European ceremonies.
The latter is also supported by several documents. To only mention few, seven case
studies of conlict resolution among diferent social strata of the population in Touraine,
France around the year 1100, were described by White (1986, 218, 236, 240, 256). All
the cases show that the reconciliation took place by implementing the gestures of humiliation, even between unequals,29 while the reconciliation was concluded with the kiss of
peace and the payment of compensation.30
The ritual of reconciliation, with the gestures genuflex and the kiss of peace, in medieval
Germany was described by Althof (2004, 136–159; comp. Roach, 2012, 360–365), in Scotland by Brown (2003, 43–64) and in the Netherlands by Van Caenegem (1954, 280–307).
Even greater attention was given to the research of the homage of the English kings in front
of the French rulers; although, as shown in the study of van Eickels, those were in most
cases peace treaties after the feuds among the French and English royalty, which ended with
the homage, the oath of idelity and with the kiss of peace (van Eickels, 1997, 133–140).
This topic has seen considerable interest in the studies of Italy in particular (Niccoli,
2007; Bellabarba, 2008, 77–78; Muir, 1998) and France (Smail, 2012; Carroll, 2003).
Comparing the criminal courts of Lucca and Marseille beetwen 1334 and 1342, Smail did
not see their task as to regulate violence through counter-violence, coercion, and arrest.
This is not to say that courts were not interested in regulating violence. But the courts
did it indirectly. In both Lucca and Marseille, the criminal justice system put the
squeeze on the accused, and coerced them into making peace. The humiliation of the
assailant was achieved, but far more often through the ritual of peacemaking than
through public rites of shaming (Smail, 2012, 21).
However, how widespread was the ritual in the village communities of western Europe up to the period of reformation was conirmed by the study of Bossy: at least once
a year, the village assemblies, led by the local priest, organised peace marches, where
village conlicts were settled by penance and humiliation (Bossy, 1975, 21–38). Although
the 16th century was characterised by the growth of the centralized power of the rulers and
the legislation began to outroot the custom of conlict resolution, the latter was still irmly
present in early modern Europe.
29 About equality and inequality comp. Pitt-Rivers, 1977, 18–47; Miller, 1998, 161–202.
30 About the widespreadness of the kiss of peace in the reconciliation procedures and other public rituals
within the medieval society in an excellent study of Petkov (2003).
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Within all the cases provided, mostly among the people of equal social status, the
ofender or a representative of the ofender‘s group was the one to execute the ritual act
of humiliation. Nonetheless, there exist several diferent cases of humiliation within the
system of conlict resolution, where the victim himself was the one preforming the act of
(self) humiliation. Geary’s study Living with the dead provides with several cases of ritual
conlict resolution in France between the 10th and the 13th century, where the main actors,
for diferent reasons, were the monks or the priests and knights or other feudal lords, who
caused a certain injustice, as well as some cases of settling disputes between lords and
peasants (Geary, 1994, 93–160).
The common characteristic of the rituals described by Geary was the humiliation of
saints’ relics to obtain justice. Geary interestingly states that »the clamor itself, in its longest and most complete form, is found with only slight variations across a wide geographic
area from the tenth until the ifteenth centuries«, and that »the practice was known in
Cluniac houses throughout Europe« (Geary, 1994, 97, 100).
Religious communities, in this cases, often placed their most important reliquaries on
the loor of the church, covered them with thorns or sackcloth, than the monks prostrated
themselves along with the prostrate relics, announced the rite to the rest of the world
by the ringing of the bells, and addressed a prayer and a clamor to God for redress of
their grievances. The prayers and psalms sung during the rite, blessing and/or cursing the
wrongdoers, elucidate the situation and articulate the community’s oicial interpretation
of the nature of the injustice and the necessary conclusion of the afair, so the ritual
humiliation often continued until the humiliation caused by the injustice has been ended.
Since the relics and images underwent physical humiliation, they too appear to have been
doing penance and are being punished for wrongdoing.
The physical association of the humiliated monks or canons and the humiliated saints
on the loor in front of the Eucharist emphasized also that the most sacred objects of the
church are humiliated, as are the members of the community. Than, if the humiliation did
not have a direct efect on the alleged wrongdoers, it did act on others, helping to shape
public opinion on the issue.
Perhaps one of the most descriptive cases of the ritual in practice, also provided by
Geary, took place at the end of 996 or in early 997, when the Count Fulk Nerra of Anjou
and Touraine entered the cloister of Saint-Martin of Tours with armed retainers and damaged the house of one of the canons, the treasurer. The canons saw the attack as a gross
injustice. Having no other recourse against the powerful count, they decided to humiliate
the relics of their saints and the cruciix on the ground, they placed thorns on the sepulchre
of the confessor Martin and around the bodies of the saints and the cruciix. They kept
the door of the church closed day and night, refusing admission to the inhabitants of the
castle, opening them only to pilgrims, and refused the count and his men the access to
the church, where Fulk’s ancestors and relatives were buried and for ive generations had
maintained a close relationship with the monastery.
The counts reaction to the (self) humiliation of the monks was described by Geary as
follows:
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The count, regretting his actions not long after, and seeking forgiveness […]. To
make satisfaction, he had to humiliate himself physically. Thus, barefoot, he entered
the church and went in turn to each humbled sacred object, starting with the most
important. This humiliation caused the nobleman to humble himself and undergo
a humiliation rite of his own to restore the proper hierarchic relationship between
human and divine. Neither the humiliation of the saints nor that of the count resulted
in permanent loss of status. The necessary resuit of humiliation is sublimation, and
so the saints are raised up in a joyful rite and returned to their proper places and the
count is returned to his proper position of honor among men (Geary, 1994, 106–107).
Regarding the humiliation or the punishment of the saints in the system of the conlict
resolution, Geary notes another particularity: Humiliation as Coercion, as he entitled one
of the chapters (Geary, 1994, 110–114), was performed by the laity, particularly the peasants. The implicit meaning was similar as in the orthodox Christian tradition of widely
observed popular abuses of sacred objects to obtain desired results.
In these popular rites, relics or images of saints were beaten or abused because the
saint was perceived as failing to do his or her duty, which was to protect the faithful.
Ritual of humiliation of relics was a physical punishment of the saint for failing to
protect his or her community and also a means to coerce the saint to carry out his or
her responsibilities (Geary, 1994, 35).
Geary‘s study thus describes the ritual of humiliation as acting on two levels: on the
ecclesiastical (yet only within monasteries and churshes, with no judicial jurisdiction of a
bishop) and the secular. Their common feature lays in the fact that it was adopted against
a more powerful adversary, who had the judicial and military strength, thus the political
power.
Another mutual characteristic is that within the ritual, performing the gestures of penance (lie prostrate on the ground, genuflects on the loor (ad terram) of the church …)
(Geary, 1994, 98), the performers were equally humiliating and shaming the saints, who
were proven to be useless for the protection of their community, as well as themselves
and their opponents in the conlict, yet always with a clear intention to publically declare
the injustice the community has sufered and attract the attention of the broader public. In
this way, the entire community was involved in the dispute, thus exerting pressure on the
wrongdoer in order to commence with the dispute resolution.
I, thus, argue against the statement of the valuable study of Geary, claiming that:
»These rites should properly be seen not as rituals of conlict resolution but as means
of continuing the conlict in such a way as to strengthen the relative position of the
church in the conlictual structure of society« (Geary, 1994, 148). I do not agree, since
this in fact acted as a public challenge for the commencement of the conlict resolution,
similar to the medieval system of dispute settlement, where knights and feudal lords
were obliged to announce the forceful or peaceful dispute resolution, with the only
diference that the last were solving the conlict either by judicial means or by arms
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(ordeal,31 feud).32 All these rituals are strategic, as well as the ‚violence‘ done to third
parties: monks would ritually humiliate the relics of their saint to make him or her
intercede (Halsall, 1999, 22).
Both cases of humilitation, described by Geary, in fact have strong similarity with
other rituals in other cultures of the world. A great comparison with the well-known ritual
of the sitting dharna is provided by Miller, who noticed some similarities of the ritual
even within the medieval Iceland society: 33
The Indian ritual of sitting dharna is a classic instance of a humiliation ritual of
self-abasement, variants of which can be found in many cultures. In sitting dharna,
low-status claimants grovel on the doorstep of or in front of high-status benefactors
and debase themselves in an exaggerated display, indeed a parody, of humiliation by
tearing hair, befouling themselves, wailing, and begging. The ritual is a grotesque
comedy and plays off the ability of people who are humiliating themselves to engender
embarrassment in others. This ritual functions, in effect, by threatening to shame.
Adopting the perspective of the high-status actor, we might call it a shaming ritual.
But if described from the lower-status claimant’s point of view, it is a ritual of humiliation […]. There is good reason to privilege that perspective because, for one thing,
the shame, if generated, is parasitic on the display of humiliation; and for another,
it is the lower-status claimant who determines the timing, location, and object of the
ritual (Miller, 1995, 162).
Both ritual forms of self-humiliation are, in cases of conlict resolution in the European countries, appear up to the 16th and 17th centuries (Povolo, 2013, 513–515; Carroll,
2003). This truly progressive crowding out of custom from trial rites in modern times can
be traced in the example of the rich archives of the Venetian Republic. 34 In Inner Austria,
for instance, where even though Archduke Charles II forbad genulexion (Fußfall) in
1584, the gesture was still considered legitimate by the Land Estates, who used it in their
demands for religious freedom, at least until the turn of the century (Strohmeyer, 2011,
242–243).
31 For a view of the ordeal as a ritual of humiliation rather than as a mode of proof see Miller, 1988; comp.
Pitt-Rivers, 1977, 8.
32 Althof, 2004, 147–148: »The feud had to be publicly proclaimed, by throwing down a gauntlet for instance, or was limited to two combatants alone, or was restricted in its duration«.
33 The sagas, in fact, do show a shaming ritual in every way analogous to sitting dharna. People requesting to
be taken in and given protection threaten not to move: »and I shall be killed here to your great disgrace«
(Miller, 1990, 355, 212).
34 Especially in the archives ASVe AC, ASVe Cam Cons X, ASVe Capi, ASVe Cons X, ASVe QC, ASVe
Senato.
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HUMILIATION WITHIN THE MONTENEGRIN CUSTOM
OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION
There are some substantial descriptions of paciication rituals in Montenegro, Herzegovina and Albania, collected in 19th century especially by Valtazar Bogišić (Bogišić, 1999,
355–376; Miklosich, 1888; Sommières, 1820). Those descriptions indicate the importance
of the (self) humiliation among the feuding parties in the custom of reconciliation. To sum
up the general characteristics, deductible from the examples given in the literature and
archival sources, the ritual of the conlict resolution assumed the following stages.
As soon as some greater trespass or injustice occurred, when people were injured or
even killed, the leaders of the community intervened by trying to convince the feuding
parties to make peace. In this irst stage of the reconciliation procedure, regarded as a
compromise by the known 13th century Bolonian notary, judge and university professor,
Rolandino,35 and indicating all the ritual shapes of the homage, women played an important role. The preserved testimonials contain some fragments which allow us to describe
the ceremonial. For a much more explicit presentation, however, there is an extremely
eloquent painting of a Serbian painter, Paja Jovanović (1859–1957), titled Umir krvi,
thus truce.
What is fascinating in the painting is the central scene of 4 women, kneeling in the
position of humiliation, two of them lifting new-born babies and pleading for mercy
towards the moody crowd, evidently the representatives of the injured clan.
Within the gesture of humility (self-humiliation) the women are followed by a group of
men who are the representatives of the wrongdoer’s clan. They come to plea for compromise, the truce and the pardon. Only when the injured party accepted them, the negotiation
for truce will commence. In this case, the injured party takes the oath and is obliged not to
take vengeance until the inal act of peace is made (Bogišić, 1999, 363–364).
However, the expression of humiliation, which is the retribution for the humiliation sufered by the injured party, has to be repeated by the party of the ofender
several times, not only once. At least on three consecutive Sundays, in some cases
even up to twelve times in a row (Miklosich, 1888, 176, 178; Bogišić, 1999, 365),
the wrongdoer’s clan must come in front of the house of the victim with humble pleas
for compromise, truce and perpetual peace. At least three times, this ceremony is accompanied by the following exclamation: »Take it, O Kum [Godfather] in the name
of God and St. John!«.
The party of the ofender comes every Sunday in ever-greater numbers. Eventually,
the number raises up to over 100 pleaders in order for the party of the victim to accept
the negotiation, to compromise and to reach the oath of truce that is necessary to start the
arbitration and to further negotiate the compensation for the damage done and eventually
reach a permanent reconciliation. This process alone can last up to one year.
The Bogišić’s Survey ofers us some more interesting fragments of the ceremony,
where women again play a prominent role. They not only expose themselves to humili35 Rolandinus Rodulphi de Passageriis, Bologna, 1215 about – Bologna, 1300: Rolandino, 1546, 158–159v.
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Figure 5: Paja Jovanović, Vendetta – Blood Feud. The ritual of the community mediation
with children in their cradles to persuade the offended to compromise, that‘s the truce,
compensation, reconciliation, forgiveness and peace perpetual (Paja Jovanović: Umir
krvi, 1899. / Foto: galerija Matice srpske, http://www.info-ks.net/slike/clanci/slike/2016i/
decembar/Krvna-osveta.jpg)
ation, as it is depicted in the painting of Jovanović, but they in fact actively intervene in
the conlict resolution.
The interviewees of Bogišić described some cases of the injured party who was unwilling to accept the pleas of the wrongdoer’s party, even after several attempts (Bogišić,
1999, 365). At that point, the ofender’s party tries to get one of their women into the
house of the victim, wilfully chaining herself to the ireplace. The ofended would in this
case have to forcefully unchain the woman, which is regarded as a dishonourable act.
Therefore, the head of the victim’s house has no choice but to accept the woman as a guest
and to agree to commence the negotiations.
The painting of Jovanović ofers us all the dimensions of the reconciliation procedure, where the act of (self) humiliation plays the central role. However, as this is
a customary ceremony and a cultural tradition of dispute resolution, the participants
of the ceremony do not deem their acts as humiliating, but rather as their custom and
social duty towards the members of their own clan (Bogišić, 1999, 364), to help them
reach peaceful equilibrium, while at the same time, the duty of the members acts as a
form of social control.
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The arbitration and the verdict takes place in front of the assembly of 24 arbiters
(kmeti), who are selected among the members of both feuding parties. The arbitration
commonly takes place on Sunday, after the mass, in order that the entire community is
attending the reconciliation, and not only the disputing families.
I do not intend to focus on various arbitration procedures (Ergaver, 2016, 116–119),
I would, however, like to stress that there were proscribed compensation tarifs for individual ofenses, while the wounds and killings were treated separately. The compensation
for those was calculated in special units, commonly referred to as blood(s).36
After the selected arbiters deliberated the sum of units to be paid for the compensation, the mass ceremony was followed by the concluding act of paciication, thoroughly
described by Fortis and by Vialla de Sommières. In his 1820 edition of his monograph,
the latter included also a graphical depiction of the ceremony, depicted as well in the 1856
monograph titled L’Univers Pittoresque, Histoire et description de tous les peuples.37
Beside those, other examples of the customary paciication can be found in the Bogišić’s
survey, in the collection of Miklosich, while Ilija Jelić (1926, 125–141) enclosed several
documents in the appendix of his monograph. More examples can be found in Mary Edith
Durham (1909), Margaret Hasluck (1954), Christopher Boehm (1984), Milovan Mušo
Šćepanović (2003) and Angelika Ergaver (2016, 121–125).
After the compromise is reached, which is the condition for truce and sets the basis
for the further community mediation and negotiations that leed to arbitration of the »good
people« (boni homines) between the feuding parties, the consolidation of peace requires
a closing conciliation ceremony, which is again based on the (self) humiliation of the
ofender party.
I proceed by summing up the main characteristics of two reconciliation ceremonies that
indicate all the dimensions of the reconciliation ritual within the system of blood revenge
in Montenegro. However, by using medieval documents from other parts of Europe, we
can conirm that a similar ritual was also present in other European countries. Comparing
the characteristic of those reconciliation ceremonies in the European medieval society
and within various tribal societies, we can hypothesized that the reconciliation ceremony
did not substantially difer itself in regards to historical time and place.
Mary Durham translated from Vuko Vrčević (1851; Miklosich, 1888, 176–178)
the case of paciication of the quarrel in which little boys began to ight, the mothers
intervened and one assaulted the other, the men of the two clans started killing each
36 Twelve bloods was a compensation for murder, for a wound, however, the compensation was up to eight
bloods, as the unit of blood(s) was apparently designed to compensate for wounds. The forms of compensations difered; they were given in currencies, such as 10 zecchins for a blood and 120 zecchins for a killing
(Miklosich, 1888, 177); 120 zecchins was indeed a great sum, equal to a wealthy house in a Venetian town.
Yet, the Miklosich’s collection of nine documents on paciication procedures from 18th and 19th century
Montenegro include many diferent currencies; taliers, grossi, zecchins (Miklosich, 1888, 178, 180), the
Kanun of Lekë Dukagjin (Gjeçovi, 1933) again uses other currencies, yet it all indicates that the compensations remained within customary relations in regards to one another.
37 Acte de reconciliation publique, published in a volume of Chopin & Ubicini, 1856, approx. image size 10.5
x 16.5 cm.
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Figure 6: Acte de reconciliation publique, L‘Univers Pittoresque, 1856. (http://www.
ebay.com/itm/1856-print-RECONCILIATION-OF-BLOOD-FEUD-VENDETTA-MONTENEGRO-25-/401190719118?_ul=AR)
other, when inally the rest of the tribesmen interfered to stop this violence in their
midst. At that point, the clan with the lower score threatened the one which was ahead,
while the one that was ahead angrily reckoned that the other one owed it »for one dead
head and two wounded«. Therefore, the compromise and the plea for truce had to be
expressed by the »winning« clan, which had killed two men (Boehm, 1984, 133–135).
After the trial assembly of the 24 »good men«, arbiters – the selected representatives
of the feuding parties – has reached the settlement, the concluding reconciliation act followed. The ceremony was public, attended by the entire community. A member of the
»winning« clan described the event as follows:
… and I hang the gun which fired the fatal shot around my neck and go on all fours
for forty or fifty paces to the brother of the deceased Nikola Perova. I hung the gun
to my neck and began to crawl towards him, crying: ‘Take it, O Kum, in the name of
God and St. John.’ I had not gone ten paces when all the people jumped up and took
off their caps and cried out as I did.
And by God, though I had killed his brother, my humiliation horrified him, and his face
flamed when so many people held their caps in their hands. He ran up and took the gun
from my neck. He took me by my pigtail and raised me to my feet, and as he kissed me
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the tears ran down his face, and he said: ‘Happy be our Kumstvo [Godfatherhood].’ And
when we had kissed I, too, wept and said: ‘May our friends rejoice and our foes envy us.’
And all the people thanked him. Then our married women carried up the six infants, and
he kissed each of the six who were to be christened. Then all came to us and sat down to
a full table (Durham, 1909, 89–90; Boehm, 1984, 134; Miklosich, 1888, 177).
Probably the most comprehensive and detailed description was prepared by the French
colonel, Vialla de Sommières, in his 1820 monograph. After shortly describing the characteristics of the Montenegrin vendetta, which he regards as the only law they knew, he
stresses that the entire community was involved in the ceremony of the public reconciliation
between the feuding parties. He described the case of reconciliation of an apparently long
lasting feud between the clans of Lazarich in Czernogossevich, who were forced to inally
make peace by other members of their community and the mediators of the feud.
On the day of the arbitration, usually on Sunday, there was a mass in the local church
nearby the house of the victim. An hour before the mass, the assembly of the arbiters
– kmeti38 (tribunal spécial, érigé spontanément) (Sommières, 1820, 342) met and established the amount of damage caused by both parties. The document does not provide the
exact number of the casualties and the wounded on both sides, it does, however, explain
some general characteristics already mentioned in the previous example, adding that the
compensation for the chieftain or the priest is sevenfold in comparison to the compensation for a common person.
When the damage is compensated, the party which caused greater damage (i.e. that
killed one man more than the other party) has to pay the remaining compensation in
money. Sommières also explains that the compensation system of damage assessment and
determination of compensation of the Montenegrins has been formed in a far beyond past
(un temps immémorial) (Sommières, 1820, 344).
After the verdict of the arbiters and the mass, a public reconciliation ceremony takes
place in front of all the members of the community. The ceremony is based on the act
of public (self) humiliation of the wrongdoer or of the prominent representative of the
wrongdoer’s community, which caused greater damage.
After leaving the church, the believers formed two half-circles in front of the church,
while the kmeti stood separate from the crowd. The kmeti were led by the priest (pop), who
stood in the middle of the scene. Then, similar to the previous example, the wrongdoer
slowly approached the group, barefoot and without a cap, creeping on all fours. There was
a long gun on a strap hanging on his neck.39
Initially, there was a great silence, then the pop intervened, and explained to the assembly that the ofender accepted their verdict. Then, the pop turned towards the ofended party
38 Kmeti means paesants, but in this case they are arbiters (n. a.).
39 Boehm, while describing a similar case witnessed in 1890 while visiting Grbalj in Montenegro by Pavel
Rovinskii, a highly competent Russian ethnographer, . Rovinskii (Pavel Apollonovich Rovinskiĭ, 1901) additionally added »it is always a long gun, for a greater efect, even if the murder was just by pistol« (Boehm,
1984, 136).
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Figure 7: Vialla de Sommières: Voyage historique et politique au Montenegro, Acte de la
réconciliation publique, 1820, p. 338 (Wikimedia Commons, VDS pg390 Act de Réconciliation publique devant le Tribunal du Kméti.jpg)
and asked if they renounce the vengeance and animosity. »The injured was upset, tears were
running down his cheeks, he thinks, looks at the sky, he sighs, still hesitating, his soul seems
to be overwhelmed by thousand emotions«. All the people began to persuade him and plead
for him to accept the reconciliation, but he answered he is not yet completely ready. Meanwhile, the ofender was still waiting in the humble position, placed on all fours. Again, a
great silence took place. Then the pop approached the injured, whispering something in his
ear and then lift his hand towards the sky.40 The ofended looked upwards, without uttering
40 Comparing a similar example, provided by White when attempting to reconstruct the ritual of reconciliation
which included the presence of the local abbot, the ceremony was described as follows (White, 1986, 256):
»After Bernier‘s ofer of peace had been emphatically rejected by Gautier, the abbot of Saint Germain
suddenly appeared, carrying relics, and after recalling how Christ had pardoned Longinus, he not only
urged Gautier to accept Bernier‘s ofer of peace, but also warned this kinsman of Raoul‘s that he would
be condemned by all if he did not make peace. The abbot then persuaded Bernier‘s elder kinsmen to kneel
before Gautier and Guerri and ofer them their swords as an act of submission. The abbot assured them that
their sins would be pardoned, if they were reconciled«. We can only speculate that somethig similar might
have been whispered in the ear of the Montenegrin man by the pop.
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a word. At that very moment, his heart opened and the anger ran out of his soul; he extended
his hand towards his enemy, who was observing him, extended the other hand towards the
sky and said: »The great God is my witness, I have forgiven him!«.
The two former enemies shook their hands and stood facing each other for a long
while. Everyone began to applaud and the applause echoed in the air as the main actors
embraced in confusion and then kissed each other.
The ritual of (self) humiliation was the irst rate and the most important part of the
compensation for the loss of honour that was sufered by the ofended. After this act, the
ofended not only forgave the ofender for his trespass, but also renounced the claim for
the compensation payment.
This act was followed by a great celebration, which gathered all the members of the
community and was prepared on the expense of the ofender’s group. During the event, a
lot of meat, brandy, wine, bread, pastry, cheese, honey and other delicacies were served
and the celebration with singing and dancing lasted until late at night. The participants
left with salve gunshots, which sometimes lasted up to an hour and echoed throughout
the land. Each one, while leaving for his community, has been shooting as long as he
had any munition. »All the reconciliations ended in a rather similar manner« concludes
Sommières (1820, 353).41
As we can deduce from the Montenegrin documents and the described cases, the
ofender had to repent himself twice, humiliate himself and ask for forgiveness; irstly
for the truce to be made, and secondly for the reconciliation act after the arbitration.
The perpetual peace was always conirmed with a kiss of peace, as already stated by
Rolandino (Rolandino, 1546, 158–159; comp. Petkov, 2003).
CONCLUSIONS
As it is evident from the example above, the arbitration always determined the compensation for the damage. The damage sufered by each side was compensated, while the party
which caused greater damage had to pay the compensation. All feuds, however, did not conclude in a similar manner, but reconciliations were probably more frequent than today, in the
modern judicial system, where law feuds only provide with the winning and the losing party.
The ritual of humiliation in the system of conlict resolution is manifested in at least
two forms: while the humiliation between socially equal individuals assumes the form
of the gift-exchange, among socially un-equal individuals (i.e. against a more powerful
adversary) assumes also the role of public challenge, a call for the commencement of the
dispute settlement and for the reparation of injustice.
The reconciliation ceremony itself, likewise the irst – for compromise and truce,
as the second – for lasting peace after the arbitration, shows the general structure of the
ritual, even, for instance, in the investiture of knights and notaries and even in nowadays
wedding ceremonies (comp. Darovec, 2015, 53–67) it is divided into 3 phases:
41 Comp. Regarding the celebrations after disputes between Istrian cities in the 13th century Mihelič, 2015,
309–332.
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1. The homage, the gift / the ofering of the serfdom, the acceptance of the serfdom
/ the ofering of the engagement ring, the acceptance of the ring / the countergift, the reciprocity: ofense, counter-ofense – penitence, compromise; always
expressed by the gesture of humiliation (immixtio manum – flexibus genibus).
2. Swearing the oath (on bible, cross, stone …): truce (tregua)42 / the betrothal – the
swearing of idelity; the oath of truce/friendship.
3. The concluding act: investiture (with sceptre, sword, ring …) / the wedding
ceremony, the kiss / the deliberation of peace (amor), also concluded with kiss of
peace (osculo pacis – amor), which often leads to marriage or at least to Godfatherhood and Brotherhood between the representatives of the feuding parties.43
The ritual begins and ends with reciprocity and with the mediation of the community.
The ritual of homage was applied in the religious as well as in the administrative and
legal matters, through humiliation/humility it expresses the system of values, the mirror
of norms in societies, thus the system of conlict resolution had in fact the role of social
cohesion.
Is this really only a Myth and Illusion? The Myth of Religion Preventing Violence? At
irst glance, the image of the reconciliation ritual might seem idealised, but it obviously
worked well in practice,44 which is evident from numerous cases throughout the medieval
Europe.
What happened to this (customary) system of conlict resolution? Why nowadays we
have such a negative and stereotyped image of revenge, seeing it as an uncivilized basic
instinct, which we believe was never typical for the European West, but at most for some
of the marginalized areas in the Mediterranean and especially for the wild African and
Australian tribes?
When in the early modern period a modern state was gradually formed in all the European countries, the centralization of authorities over the territory was established through
the judicial system and hierarchical apparatus for an efective collection of taxes and the
organization of the army, with the legitimate monopoly to exercise violence in the name
of the Ruler (see Machiavelli, 1532), the revenge and mediation of the community was
assumed by the state, including the ritual of humiliation. The ritualized public executions
in European towns between the 16th and 18th Century, so vividly described by Michel
Foucault (Foucault, 1975, 8–35; comp. Farr, 2000), are the best conirmation. Even within
42 Rolandino, 1546, 158v: fidancia seu treuga.
43 An interesting example from 1785 is provided by Miklosich, 1888, 190–194, describing how two montenegrin tribes decided to reconciliate in front of the Venetian authorities after a long lasting feud. (The
coastal areas of Montenegro were a part of the Albania Veneta). The compensation was exclusively given
in the number of the necessary fraternities and godfatherhoods, which would be the waranty for peace. The
presence of the Venetian authorities is also interesting in this case, whereas in other Venetian countries, in
accordance with the policy of centralization of the (judicial) authority, such practice has been forbidden,
persecuted and punished at least for two centuries before that date. Comp. Povolo, 1997, esp. 147–227.
44 See regarding the link between ideal order and the order of lived experience in Rouland, 1992, 175–203,
esp. 181–186. Comp. also the case of family Corradazzo from 16th Century Friuli in Povolo, 2015b, 15–45.
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them, we can perceive a three phase ritual, but with one essential diference: instead of
the reconciliation, the compensation for the damage done and lasting peace in the community, which satisies the victim and allows the perpetrator to reintegrate in the society,
the state removes the delinquents from the community, condemning them to the galleys,
to banishment or to death penalty. While the customary system allows the conlicting parties to decide to resolve the conlict according to the principles of restorative or retributive
justice, the modern-age state knows only the principle of retributive justice. That is why
it was necessary for the customary conlict resolution system to venture into oblivion.
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KRVNO MAŠČEVANJE KOT IZMENJAVA DARU:
OBRED PONIŽANJA V OBIČAJNEM SISTEMU REŠEVANJA SPOROV
Darko DAROVEC
Univerza Ca’ Foscari v Benetkah, Oddelek za humanistiko, Dorsoduro 3484/D, 30123 Venezia, Italija
e-mail: darko.darovec@unive.it
POVZETEK
»Ali je v pomiritvi krvnega maščevanja prisotna kakšna oblika pokore med sprtima
stranema?« »Ne, nobene pokore, to so sami častni ljudje«, odgovorijo trije anketiranci
na vprašanje univerzitetnega profesorja Valtazarja Bogišiča v njegovi anketi, ki jo je
izvedel med izbranimi informatorji iz Črne Gore, Hercegovine in Albanije v sedemdesetih
letih 19. stoletja. Njegov projekt zbiranja pravne kulturne dediščine je povsem sovpadal z
raziskovalnimi izhodišči pravno-zgodovinske stroke v tedanjih evropskih deželah, očitno
pa so impulzi za tovrstna raziskovanja prihajali prav iz francoskih dežel. O tem pričajo
številne zbirke dokumentarnega gradiva in pričevanj, ki so jih pravniki in zgodovinarji
zbirali na evropskih tleh v drugi polovici 19. stoletja, mdr. tudi omenjena Bogišićeva
zbirka.
Bogišićeva anketa namreč jasno pokaže, kako je izražanje ponižanja v pokori, kot
nujni gesti v sistemu reševanja sporov, ki vodi k miru v skupnosti, predstavljeno v ritualu.
Na ritualne značilnosti reševanja sporov nas opozarjajo že klasiki na področju preučevanja primarnih skupnosti, vendar se nihče še ni poglobil v njegovo interpretacijo in
strukturo. Zato je članek na podlagi interdisciplinarne antropološke študije ter arhivskih
dokumentov, zbranega ustnega slovstva idr. dokumentarnega gradiva, rekonstruiral
obredje krvnega maščevanja s poudarkom na aktu pokore, kot se odraža v dokumentih
iz jugovzhodne Evrope, ter jih primerjal s številnimi fragmenti srednjeveških evropskih
primerov, ki odražajo splošno obredno strukturo na področju javnih zadev: homagij (dar,
prvi pristop), fides (zvestoba, prisega, premirje) in trajni mir – pace perpetua (ljubezen,
poroke, potomci). Hipoteza tega članka zagovarja na podlagi zbranega gradiva in predstavljenih primerov načelo splošnega ritualnega obrazca za vse javne zadeve, v katerem
ravno gesta pokore in ponižanja igra pomembno simbolno vlogo, še posebno v ritualu
krvnega maščevanja, to je običajnega sistema reševanja sporov.
Ključne besede: ritual, ponižanje, pokora, maščevanje, fajda, zadoščenje, sistem reševanja sporov, sodni postopek, čustva, srednji vek, zgodnji novi vek
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Received: 2017-06-10
Original scientiic article
DOI 10.19233/AH.2017.05
CANNIBALISM AS A FEUDING RITUAL IN EARLY
MODERN EUROPE
John Jeffries MARTIN
Duke University, Department of History, Durham, North Carolina, USA
e-mail: john.j.martin@duke.edu
ABSTRACT
Upon encountering cannibalism among New World natives, some European observers
concluded that those South American Indian tribes who practiced it (mainly Brazilian)
were savages. Montaigne was an exception. To the contrary, in his Essays, Montaigne
is satisfied to compare the cultural practices of various human groups, without ranking
them in a cultural hierarchy.
Keywords: Montaigne, cannibalism, relativism, feud, vendetta, South American Indians.
CANNIBALISMO COME UN RITUALE DI FAIDA NELL’
EUROPA MODERNA
SINTESI
Avendo incontrato il cannibalismo presso le popolazioni indigene del Nuovo Mondo,
alcuni osservatori europei erano giunti alla conclusione che le tribù’ sudamericane
(principalmente quelle brasiliane) che lo praticavano fossero composte di selvaggi.
Montaigne fu in questo un’eccezione, e nei suoi Saggi si limito’ a paragonare le usanze
culturali di diversi gruppi umani, senza classificarli in base a una gerarchia culturale.
Parole chiave: Montaigne, cannibalismo, relativismo, faida, vendetta, Indiani
dell'America del Sud
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By the late sixteenth century, when Michel de Montaigne was writing his Essays,
there was a large body of texts about the New World – many of which described in various
ways what they viewed as the cannibalism of many of the natives there. As is well known,
Montaigne drew primarily on two French authors in developing his account of the Tupi
Indians. He makes an oblique reference to these texts at the start of his essay. “I long had
a man in my house that lived ten or twelve years in the New World, discovered in these
latter days, and in that part of it where Villegagnon landed,” Montaigne writes, claiming to have learned about the cultures of Brazil directly from a man who had travelled
there, even adding that he had also met “several seamen and merchants who at the same
time went on the same voyage” (Montaigne, 1958, 152). But this was a literary conceit.
While we can’t exclude the possibility that Montaigne met a fellow Frenchman who had
traveled to Brazil, we know that his account of the Tupi of Brazil was based primarily on
his reading. There were two French accounts available to him: one, Les singularitéz de
la France Antarctique (1577), by the Catholic missionary and royal cosmographer André
Thevet, the other, Histoire d’un voyage fait en la terre de Brésil (1578) by the French
Huguenot Jean de Léry.
The Franciscan Thevet had sailed with Admiral Villegagnon from France for Brazil
in 1555. He spent slightly over a year there, as chaplain to the ledgling French colony
at Fort Coligny, situated in Guanabara Bay, before coming back to France in early 1557,
where later that same year he published his famous account of his experiences in the New
World (Thévet, 1558). Then, in March 1557, only a few months after Thevet’s departure,
Jean de Léry arrived in Brazil as part of the irst Protestant mission to the Americas. Just
twenty-three at the time, de Léry was as eager for adventure as for helping to establish
the Reformed Faith abroad. In November 1556 he had embarked from the port city of
Honleur on the Grande Roberge, one of three warships Henri II had inanced in order
to bolster the ledging colony in Guanabara Bay. Upon his arrival, de Léry found the
conditions in the colony quite primitive: there was only one timber structure and a few
scattered grass-roofed huts (De Léry, 2006). King Henri had supported the colony with
the goal of countering Portugal’s dominance of trade with Brazil, but, with the encouragement of Admiral de Coligny, a Calvinist sympathizer, he had viewed the settlement also
as a possible refuge for French Protestants.
Even though Protestants were at irst welcomed on the island, the majority of the
colonists were Catholics. And, for reasons that remain unclear, Villegagnon, though he
had at irst welcomed de Léry and his fellow Huguenots – suddenly turned against the
Protestants. Ostensibly Villegagnon became enraged after Pierre Richier, a Calvinist of
repute in the colony, celebrated the Last Supper, Villegagnon denounced the Calvinists
for their rejection of the doctrine of transubstantiation. But his theological argument was
likely a pretext. He must have come to believe that he would ind greater support if he
backed the Catholics; and in the end his goals must have been pragmatic, based above all
on his desire to ensure a certain unity or religious consensus among the settlers. Certainly
he did much to make the lives of the Calvinist settlers miserable. In October several of
them, including de Léry, led to the mainland for safety, living for several months among
the Tupi. It was on the basis of this experience that de Léry would ofer his rich account of
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their customs in his Histoire d’un voyage fait en la terre de Brésil, though it is important
to recall that this work was not published until more than twenty years later.
While cannibalism plays a salient role in both Thevet’s and de Léry’s account, it is not
their central concern. Indeed, one of the impressive aspects of the works is that both Thevet
and de Léry ofer what we might describe as a social explanation of cannibalistic practices
– an explanation that Montaigne himself will largely adopt in his essay on this theme.
Essentially both Thevet and de Léry present cannibalism as the ritual core of the
vendetta or the feud –Thevet actually speciically calls the conlict a feud or a vendetta,
underlying in his Chapter XLI the thirst of the “savage” Tupinamba for “vengeance”.
But it is a passage from de Léry that is most compelling. “These barbarians do not wage
war,” he writes:
to win countries and lands from each other, for each has more than he needs; even
less do the conquerors aim to get rich from the spoils, ransoms, and arms of the
vanquished: that is not what drives them. For, as they themselves confess, they are
impelled by no other passion than that of avenging, each for his side, his own kinsmen
and friends who in the past have been seized and eaten, in the manner that I will
describe in the next chapter; and they pursue each other so relentlessly that whoever
falls into the hands of his enemy must expect to be treated, without any compromise, in
the same manner: that is, to be slain and eaten. Furthermore, from the time that war
has been declared among any of these nations, everyone claims that since an enemy
who has received an injury will resent it forever, one would be remiss to let him escape
when he at one’s mercy: their hatred is so inveterate that they can never be reconciled.
On this point one can say that Machiavelli and his disciples (with whom France, to
her great misfortune, is now filled) are true imitators of barbarian cruelties; for since
these atheists teach and practice against Christian doctrine, that new service must
never cause old injuries to be forgotten – that is, that men, participating in the devil’s
nature, must not pardon each other--do they not show their hearts to be more cruel
and cunning than those of tigers (De Léry, 2006, 112).
The particular feud that Thevet and de Léry described was one that had long pitted
the Tupinamba and the Tupinikin – two of the major tribes of the Tupi-Guarani peoples
– against one another. At times the relationship between these two groups must have
been relatively peaceful, but the arrival of the Portuguese and the French along the coast
of Brazil in the sixteenth century and the rivalry of these two European powers to gain
greater and greater control over the resources of this territory intensiied the hostility between these two groups. The Portuguese allied themselves with the Tupinikin, the French
with the Tupinamba. And it was the warfare between these two groups that both Thevet
and de Léry witnessed during his exile from Fort Coligny.
And it was in the context of these disputes/feuds that cannibalism took place. The goal
of the conlict was not so much to kill as many of one’s enemy as possible as to take a
signiicant number of them captive. And it was these captives who would become ritually sacriiced and eaten by the victors. Thevet and De Léry each devote several pages to
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describing the various stages of ritual. The prisoners are treated surprisingly well; they
are given wives; they are fed well; and, only once they are fattened, are they executed in
a ceremony in which both they and their captors declare their valor. But it is by no means
clear that Thevet and de Léry viewed this behavior as essentially worse than the behaviors
he had witnessed in France during the sixteenth century. This was a period in which, largely
because of the breakdown of public order during the Wars of Religion, traditional feuds
intensiied. Moreover, at the siege of Sancerre in 1573 de Léry himself had been witness to
the practice of survivor cannibalism. And even within feuds in Europe the violence could
be extreme and lead if not to cannibalism to the ritual dismemberment of the victim’s body
and, in some cases, the feeding of parts of the body to animals – a practice to which indeed
Montaigne himself appears to allude in his essay (Muir, 1993, xxiii).
Moreover, it is also important to point out that Thevet and de Léry’s accounts were not
the irst detailed accounts that we have of cannibalism in the New World. We also ind important discussions among the Portuguese missionaries. In his Dialogo sobre a conversao
de gentio of 1549, for example, the Portuguese Jesuit Manoel de Nobrega had written:
When they capture someone, they take him to a great feast, with a rope tied about his
neck, and give him, for a wife, the daughter of the chief, or whomsoever else he I most
contented with and begin to raise him as they would a pig, until theme for killing him
arrives. For this occasion everyone from the surrounding district comes together, for
a feast, and, one day before they kill him, they wash him all over, and the following
day they carry him away, and put him in a public place, tied by a cord through the belt,
and there comes one of them who is very well ornamented and (who) goes through
the habits of his ancestors, and, finishing, he who is about to die answers him, saying
that he is courageous and not afraid of death, and that the has also killed many of his
own, and that he will be revenged by his family, and other things of a similar nature.
And when he is dead they cut off his thumb, because it is with this that he looses his
arrows, and the other (fingers) that fasten to sticks, in order to eat them when they are
cooked and roasted (Whitehead, 2008, xxvi).
And other Portuguese texts – by such writers as José de Anchieta and Gabriel Soares
de Sousa – had also given emphasis to the practice of cannibalism as a ritual element with
a structure of violence that is recognizable to European readers as a feud. “They eat not
to feed themselves,” de Sousa writes, “but for vengeance” (Whitehead, 2008, xxx). And
Montaigne will pick up on this idea as well. Like Thevet and de Léry, he places the act of
cannibalism within the broader context of the feud. And he understands cannibalism as an
act of vengeance. He even writes, “they do not do this, as some think, for nourishment, as
the Scythians anciently did, but as a representation of an extreme revenge”– in a formulation that evokes both de Léry the Portuguese de Sousa.
*****
In an interesting essay on Montaigne, Carlo Ginzburg has argued that “ethnography
emerged when the curiosity and methods of the antiquarians was transferred from the study
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of people who had lived long before, such as the Greeks and Romans, to those who lived
far away, such as the peoples of the New World” (Ginzburg, 2006, 76; Ginzburg, 2000,
101–103). But in the case of his eforts to make sense of cannibalism, Montaigne, like many
of his contemporaries, appears to have drawn less on his philological skills than on his
familiarity with the practice of feud or vendetta in France. Montaigne, that is, like Thevet
and de Léry portrayed cannibalism as a ritual act at the core of New World conlicts that
they read in light of their own experience with feuds or conlicts among powerful families in
Europe at the time they were writing. This should not be surprising. While many traditional
overviews of Europe have emphasized the ways in which monarchies and other forms of
government were seeking to strengthen public law in the early modern period, feud, as the
work of such historians as Edward Muir (1993) and Claudio Povolo (2015) have shown,
continued to provide for public order throughout Europe’s irst modernity. As a result of
his service in the Parlement of Bordeaux from 1554 to 1562, Montaigne would have been
aware of deep tensions between the claims of public law and the continuation of the private
forms of justice that persisted in the feud. And, indeed, during the wars of religion, as Stuart
Carroll has argued, feuding intensiied among France’s nobility. In 1565 the Parlement of
Bordeaux itself undertook an inquest in the Perigord of an outbreak of “armed assaults,
murders, robberies” that were the consequence “more of feuds and private hatreds than the
diversity of religion” (Carroll, 2003, 84).
And, indeed, structurally the conlict between the Tupnamaba and Tupinkin follws the
classic form of the feud. Conlict between the two groups was regulated in a “vindicatory
system” (Raymond Verdier, cit. in Carroll, 2003, 80). This was a system, that is, that
served to regulate violence between two groups. It was highly ritualized and appears to
have depended on such principles as proportionality and a deeply-felt culture of honor
(Miller, 1990, 180–181). The question, therefore, must be asked to what degree legal
understandings of the feud in sixteenth-century Europe may have shaped not the original,
largely impressionistic accounts of Columbus and Vespucci but rather the more studied
and analytical observations of the de Nobrega, de Sousa, Thevet, de Léry, and Montaigne.
And here it would be extremely helpful to have a better sense of the ways in which jurists
developed their analyses of feuding practices in the sixteenth century.
Furthermore, the Essays themselves are illed with references to vengeance and
honor. Montaigne clearly deplored the ethos that fueled the outbreak of feuding in French
society. Here he was in part following Innocent Gentillet’s celebrated Anti-Machiavelle,
published in1576, in which Gentillet attributed the growth of feud to the malicious inluence of Machiavelli, citing in particular his famous Chapter VII of the Prince as a model
for favoring vengeance of reconciliation (Gentillet, 1968, 322). But that such matters
were familiar to Montaigne is clear above all from his essay “Of Physiognomy”. And
David Quint has indeed seen Montaigne’s Essays themselves as motivated in large part
by a desire to replace the ethic of valor, which encouraged feud, with an ethic of forgiveness and reconciliation that would help end the cycles of violence that so deeply scarred
France during Montaigne’s lifetime (Quint, 1998, 4–14).
But Montaigne also borrows directly from de Léry’s moral arguments. I began with
the famous passage from Montaigne’s essay “On Cannibals” in which he had asked the
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reader not to be too quick to judge the barbarism of others. Thevet, it turns out, had judged
the cannibal harshly. As he writes in Chapter LXI:
This rabble eats human flesh in an ordinary way, just as we eat mutton, and they take
even greater pleasure in so doing. And you can be sure that it is not easy to free a man
who has fallen into their hands on account of the appetite that they have to eat him...
There are no beasts in the deserts of Africa or in cruel Arabia who hunger so ardently
after human blood as these people who are even more savage than brutal (Quint,
1998, 317–318).
De Léry had made quite the opposite argument: “I could add similar examples of the
cruelty of the savages towards their enemies,” de Léry observerd, “but it seems to me that
what I have said is enough to horrify you,” and then he invites his readers to consider the
savagery in Europe.
Furthermore, if it comes to the brutal action of really (as one says) chewing and devouring human flesh, have we not found people in these regions over here, even among
those who bear the name of Christians, both in Italy and elsewhere, who, not content
with having cruelly put to death their enemies, have been unable to slake their blood
thirst except by eating their livers and their hearts? .... And, without going further, what
of France? ... During the bloody tragedy that began in Paris on the twenty-fourth of
August 1572, among other acts horrible to recount, which were perpetrated at that time
throughout the kingdom the fat of human bodies (an act in ways more barbarous than
those of the savages) was it not publicly sold to the highest bidder? The livers, hearts,
and other parts of these bodies – were they not eaten by the furious murderers, of whom
Hell itself stands in horror? Likewise, after the wretched massacre of one Coeur de Roy,
who professed the Reformed Faith in the city of Auxerre – did not those who committed
this murder cut his heart to pieces, display it for sale to those who hated him, and
finally, after grilling it over coals – glutting their rage like mastiffs – eat of it.....So let us
henceforth no longer abhor so very greatly the cruelty of the anthropophagous – that is,
man-eating – savages. For since there are some here in our midst even worse and more
detestable than those who, as we have seen, attack or enemy nations, while the ones
over here have plunged into the blood of their kinsmen, neighbors, and compatriots, one
need not go beyond one’s own country, nor as far as America, to see such monstrous and
prodigious things (De Léry, 2006, 131–133).
But Montaigne does not merely draw on Thevet and de Léry. He also develops a
genuinely anthropological argument: let me be explicit here: he is concerned not simply
with ethnography (that is, with the description of a particular culture) but also and above
all with anthropology (with a general understanding of the human condition, and in teasing out what diverse cultures, despite their diversity, have in common).
And, it is in this context that he develops a distinction between nature and culture that
will resonate down through Rousseau and beyond. It is a distinction, based in part on
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such ancient writers as Virgil, that enabled him to overturn implicit hierarchies in which
the civilized world of Europeans stood in a superior position to the savage world of the
Tupinamba. As Montaigne observes, the Tupinamba “are savages in the same way that we
say fruits are wild, which nature produces of herself and by her own ordinary progress;
whereas, in truth, we ought rather to call those wild whose natures we have changed
by our artifice and diverted from the common order”. And he then adds, “these nations,
then, seem to me to barbarous in this sense, that they have been fashioned very little by
the human mind, and are still very close to their original naturalness” (Montaigne, 1958,
152–153). Thus, the New World ofers an example of a culture in which “there is no sort
of traffic, no knowledge of letters, no science of numbers, no name for a magistrate or
for political superiority; no custom of servitude, no riches or poverty, no contracts, no
successions, no dividends, no partitions, no properties, no occupations but leisure ones,
no respect of kindred, no care for any but common kinship, no clothing, no agriculture,
no metal, no use of wine or wheat. The very words that signify lying, treachery, dissimulation, avarice, envy, belittling, pardon -- unheard of”. And this argument provides
Montaigne with his essential point: his essential deconstruction of the notion of savagery
or barbarism: “I think that there is nothing barbarous and savage in that nation, from
what I have been told, except that each man calls barbarism whatever is not his own
practice”.
And then, as if to underscore the reality of a common humanity, Montaigne even
points to the existence of cannibalism in the Ancient World and in early modern Europe.
He provides examples of survivor cannibalism and even of the medicinal use of carcasses
[and mummies], noting that “physicians do not fear to use human flesh in all sorts of
ways for our health, applying it either inwardly or outwardly. But there was never any
opinion so disordered, as to excuse treachery, disloyalty, tyranny, and cruelty, which are
our ordinary vices” (Montaigne, 2004, see Himmelman, 1997, 198–200).
*****
It would not, however, be Montaigne’s account of cannibalism that would prevail. Another narrative, one that stressed the barbarism of the cannibals of the New World, would.
By a remarkable coincidence it was another irst-hand account of the Tupinamba, written
almost contemporaneously with the French accounts of de Léry and Thevet. This was the
best-selling account by the German adventurer Hans Staden; Die Warhaftige Historia und
Beschreibung eyner Landschafft der Wilden Nacketen, Grimmigen Menschfresser Leuten
in der Newenwelt America gelegen (1557) or The True History and Description Savage,
Naked, and Man-Eating Peoples Situated in a Country of the New World of America,
published in Marburg in 1557 and almost immediately translated into Latin, Dutch, and
German (Staden, 1927, see Dufy & Metcalf, 2011).
Staden, a native of Hesse who likely served as arquebusier in the Schmalkaldic
League, had set out from Germany with the original intent of traveling to India. But,
after making his way to Lisbon and learning that he had missed the leet to India, he
settled in 1547 for passage to Brazil. He returned to Portugal the next year, and then in
1549 traveled back to Brazil. There he became a gunner in a Portuguese fort where he
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Fig. 1: Scene of Cannibalism, from ‘Brevis Narratio’,
engraved by Theodore de Bry (1564) (Source: Wikimedia commons)
must also have learned the local language, for it was largely his knowledge of the Tupi
languages that would save him when he was captured in 1552. At irst, Staden, who
when captured had been stripped naked and told that he would be eaten, was certain
that he would die. But he managed to convince his captors that he was not Portuguese
but German and that he could be beneicial to them as a kind of shaman. But, while
he was not killed, he did live among them for nearly two and a half years, and this
provided him with an opportunity to witness their cannibalistic rites irst-hand. These
he describes in great detail in his book, which he wrote shortly after returning to Europe
in 1555. It should be noted that Staden had some help in the fashioning of his story. But
there can be no doubt that the story did much to sensationalize the news of New World
cannibals among readers in Europe. Above all, its illustrations would have an important
and interesting afterlife.
For Staden’s illustrations served as the basis for the illustrations of cannibals in the
work that did the most to propagate the view of cannibals in early modern Europe. This
was Theodore de Bry’s Collectiones peregrinatiorum in Indiam orientalem et Indiam
occidentalem, published in Frankfurt in thirteen volumes, from 1590 to 1634. In volume
III of this work de Bry publishes both de Léry and Hans Staden. What is quite striking
is de Bry’s use of Staden’s images which he transforms – at once classicizing them and
rendering the more ierce. In the end De Bry’s images, more than his text, will help ix the
European notion of the cannibal as a savage barbarian and this image would indeed play
a role in legitimating the conquest and colonization of the Americas.
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*****
At the end of his essay “On Cannibals” Montaigne recalled his encounter with three
Tupi in Rouen in 1562. Montaigne had traveled there to join the young king Charles IX
in this port city where several Brazilian natives were to meet the monarch. This was not
the irst occasion upon which native Brazilians had been brought back to France and presented to the king, but it is the irst occasion in which we have a record of a conversation.
We don’t know what words were exchanged with the king. We only know that, according
to Montaigne, “the king [himself] talked to them a good while, they were shown our ways,
our splendor, the aspect of a fine city” (Montaigne, 1958, 159).
But after the conversation with Charles ended, there was a general conversation between the Indians and the courtiers in attendance. Someone in the party (Montaigne does
not say who) asked the Indians “what of all the things they had seen they most admired.
And concerning their response, Montaigne records the following:
They said that, in the first place, they thought it very strange that so many grown
men, bearded, strong, and armed...should submit to obey a child [King Charles was
indeed a boy of twelve at this time], and that one of them was not chosen to command
instead. Second (they have a way of speaking of men in their language as halves of
one another) that they had noticed that there were among us men full and gorged with
all sorts of good things, and that their other halves were beggars at their doors, emaciated with hunger and poverty; and they thought it strange that these needy halves
could endure such an injustice, and that they did not take the others by the throat, or
set fire to their houses (Montaigne, 1958, 159).
This is not the only passage in which Montaigne draws on an expanding ethnography
to critique his fellow Europeans – a move that would be relected later by other such
early modern writers as Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Diderot.1 And such a move among
early modern writers does much to complicate traditional narratives of Euro-centrism. To
be sure, many European writers and intellectuals, as Edward Said and others have made
abundantly clear, did develop deeply chauvinistic views about Europe’s superiority to the
Middle East, to Asia, and indeed to Africa and Asia over the course of the nineteenth century, and certainly it is possible to discern adumbrations of such Eurocentric views in the
early modern period. But it is also crucial to recognize that the relationship of European
writers and intellectuals to the extra-European world of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and
much of the eighteenth century was not rooted in either an economic or an intellectual
framework in which it was possible to claim superiority over other peoples.
Montaigne at least is deeply impressed by what he learns not only about Asia but also
about the Americas. Rather than viewing these other parts of the world as inferior, he
saw them as diferent. He was impressed by what he called the awesome magniicence
of the cities of Cuzco and Mexico (Montaigne, 1958, 693). But he was not merely a
1
Diderot, 1970–1979, cross-references to the Eucharist.
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Fig. 2: Michel de Montaigne by Daniel Dumonstier
(Source: Wikimedia commons)
relativist. He was willing to make judgments about other cultures, at times viewing them
as superior to his own. Certainly his report of the shock the Tupi expressed at the ravages
of inequality in Europe is one example of this. But he also praised China both for its
system of government and its technology. “China – a kingdom whose government and
arts, without dealings with and knowledge of ours,” he writes, “surpasses our examples in
many branches of excellence, and whose history teaches me how much ampler and more
varied the world is than either the ancients or we ourselves understand – the officers
deputed by the prince [not only punish but also reward]” (Montaigne, 1958, 820). And,
in a fascinating passage on technologies, Montaigne reminds his readers that their pride
might be misplaced. “We exclaim at the miracle of the invention of our artillery, of the
compass, and of our printing,” Montaigne wrote, adding, “other men in another corner
of the world, in China, enjoyed these a thousand years earlier” (Montaigne, 1958, 693).
In the end Montaigne would have found it absurd to forge a hierarchy of cultures.
Barbarism is ubiquitous. It is found not only among the French, but also among the
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Tupinamba. When the courtiers withdrew from their colloquy with the three Brazilian
chiefs during the King’s visit to Rouen in 1562, Montaigne was able – or so he claims – to
converse briely one-on-one with one of the Tupi. “I talked to one of them a great while,”
he writes, and
asking him what advantage he reaped from the superiority he had amongst his own
people (for he was a captain, and our mariners called him king), he told me, to march
at the head of his men in war. Demanding of him further how many men he had to
follow him, he showed me a space of ground, to signify as many as could march in
such a compass, which might be four or five thousand men; and putting the question
to him whether or not his authority expired with the war, he told me this remained:
that when he went to visit the villages of his dependence, they cut him a path through
the thick of their woods, by which he might pass at his ease. And, then, in the closing
sentence, Montaigne quips: «Tout cela ne va pas trop mal : mais quoy ? ils ne portent
point de haut de chausses.» –»That’s not so bad. But what else can they do? They don’t
wear breeches” (Montaigne, 1958, 159).
KANIBALIZEM KOT RITUAL MAŠČEVANJA V ZGODNJEM NOVEM VEKU
John JEFFRIES MARTIN
Univerza Duke, Oddelek za zgodovino, Durham, Severna Karolina, ZDA
e-mail: john.j.martin@duke.edu
POVZETEK
V svojem eseju „O kanibalih“ francoski esejist iz 16. stoletja, Michel de Montaigne,
zgodb o kanibalizmu ni opisoval kot pokazatelja kulturne inferiornosti. Zaradi svoje tendence k odkrivanju analogij med kulturnimi praksami geografsko oddaljenih skupnosti
se je Montaigne izognil sklepanju o kulturno inferiorni praksi, saj je zaznal paralelne
prakse, ki so potekale v Evropi – predvsem prakso fajde – maščevanja –, celo v Franciji
njegovega časa.
Ključne besede: Montaigne, kanibalizem, relativizem, fajda, maščevanje, severnoameriški Indijanci
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SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
De Léry, J. (2006): Récits de Voyage, 1. Le nouveau monde. Edited by Caroline Trotot.
Paris, Flammarion.
Gentillet, I. (1968): Anti-Machiavel. Genève, Droz, [1576].
Montaigne, M. de (1958): The Complete Essays of Montaigne, edited by Donald M.
Frame. Stanford, Stanford University Press.
Montaigne, M. de (2004): Essais. Edited by Pierre Villey. Paris, Quadrige-Presses Universitaires de France, [1965].
Staden, H. von (1927): Warhaftige historia. Facsimile edition. Frankfurt, Wüsten and
Co..
Thévet, A. (1558): Les singularitéz de la France Antarctique, autrement nommée Amérique, et de plusieurs terres et isles découvertes. Paris, Chez les héritiers de Maurice
de la Porte.
Whitehead, N. L. (ed.) (2008): Hans Staden’s True History: An Account of Cannibal
Captivity in Brazil. Durham, Duke University Press.
Carroll, S. (2003): The Peace in the Feud in Sixteenth-and Seventeenth-Century France.
Past & Present, 74–116.
Diderot et al. (1970–1979): Encyclopédie de Diderot et d’Alembert. Parma, Franco
Maria Ricci.
Duffy, E. M. & A. C. Metcalf, (2011): The Return of Hans Staden. Baltimore, John
Hopkins University Press.
Ginzburg, C. (2000): Rapporti di forza. Storia, retorica, prova. Milan, Feltrinelli.
Ginzburg, C. (2006): Il ilo e le tracce: vero, falso, into. Milan, Feltrinelli.
Himmelman, P. K. (1997): The Medicinal Body: An Analysis of Medical Cannibalism
in Europe, 1300–1700. Dialectical Anthropology 22, 183–203.
Miller, W. I. (1990): Bloodtaking and Peacemaking: Feud, Law and Society in Saga
Iceland. Chicago, University of Chicago Press.
Muir, E. (1993): Mad Blood Stirring: Vendetta in Friuli. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins
University Press.
Povolo, C. (2015): Feud and vendetta: Customs and Trial Rites in Medieval and Modern
Europe. A legal-anthropological approach. Acta Histriae, 23, 2, 195–244.
Quint, D. (1998): Montaigne and the Quality of Mercy: Ethical and Political Themes in
the Essais. Princeton, Princeton University Press.
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Received: 2017-03-09
Original scientiic article
DOI 10.19233/AH.2017.06
LA PACIFICAZIONE, NON LA VENDETTA
Sergio MARINELLI
Università di Ca’ Foscari, Dipartimento di Filosoia e Beni Culturali, Palazzo Malcanton-Marcorà,
Dorsoduro 3484D, 30123 Venezia
e-mail: smarin@unive.it
SINTESI
La vendetta, di per sé, non è mai stata un valore presso le società civili e anche la
faida, benché acconsentita in alcuni casi, non ha mai avuto una documentazione figurativa, dichiarata e riconoscibile, in quelle società. I valori civili celebrati, soprattutto
nel mondo cristiano, sono la pacificazione e la concordia. Di questo presentiamo tre
esempi fondamentali: una tavoletta di Antonio Orsini, della metà del Quattrocento, che
illustra la pacificazione tra due cavalieri prima di un torneo a Ferrara; quindi la pala
commissionata a Perugia nel 1507 da Atalanta Baglioni a Raffaello; alla fine due pale,
una del Cinquecento e una del Settecento, che ricordano la pacificazione dei partiti
politici opposti a Benevento.
Parole chiave: Pittura, Discordia, Pacificazione
PEACE, NOT REVENGE
ABSTRACT
The revenge, in itself, has never been a value in civil societies; also the feud, although
consented in some cases, has never had a figurative documentation, clear and recognizable, in those societies. Especially in the Christian world, the celebrated civic values are
peace and harmony. On this topic, I present three basic examples: first, a painting on
wood by Antonio Orsini, dating back to the mid-fifteenth century, which illustrates the
reconciliation between two knights before a tournament in Ferrara; then, the altarpiece
commissioned in Perugia by Atalanta Baglioni to Raphael in 1507; in the end, two altarpieces, respectively dating back to the sixteenth and the eighteenth centuries, reminiscent
of the pacification of opposing political parties in Benevento.
Keywords: Painting, Bone of Contention, Pacification
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L’arte igurativa, come espressione sociale e pubblica, non può esaltare la faida e la
vendetta, ma solo la paciicazione e il suo ordine sociale conseguente.1
La rappresentazione della violenza, quando non rientri nella giustiicazione mitologica o sacra, si ritrova in qualche caso, soprattutto nel Seicento, nell’aspetto della scena di
genere, come si vede in pochi esempi famosi quali La rissa dei musicanti di Georges de
La Tour, del Getty Museum di Los Angeles (1625?), o La Rissa di Velázquez alla Galleria Pallavicini a Roma. Anche le scene di vendetta politica appartengono all’Ottocento
romantico e per trovarle bisogna attendere Hayez (La congiura dei Lampugnani, Milano,
Accademia di Brera, 1826; I vespri siciliani, Roma, Galleria d’arte Moderna, 1846) o il
suo contemporaneo Demin nel trucidissimo Eccidio di Alberico da Romano e della sua
famiglia (Padova 1825, Feltre 1850). Ma niente che precisi un tema con un rituale storico,
per quanto vario, deinito e riconoscibile come la faida.
Più interessanti, anche per l’aspetto iconograico, i pochi casi raiguranti paciicazioni
celebrate, come la rara tavoletta del Musée des Arts Décoratifs di Parigi, ex-voto della
paciicazione tra Joan de Tolsà e Joan de Marrodes, cavalieri duellanti nella Ferrara di
Nicolo III d’Este.
L’immagine presenta qui nella prima parte una monaca orante davanti a un San
Francesco stigmatizzato, di scala maggiore, che evoca vagamente l’arte di Gentile da
Fabriano. Dall’altro lato, inquadrati da due grandi aste di torneo, che recano avvolti due
cartigli con i loro nomi, due cavalieri corazzati, con i loro stemmi a ianco, si abbracciano
e si baciano, nel modo che il pittore, ancora maldestro nell’uso della prospettiva di scorcio, riesce a rappresentare un bacio.
Una tabella centrale narra la storia:
In 1432 adi 14 de ottubro fo duy chavalieri, per
combatere, e per darse la morte. E la venereb
ele dona madona suor sara, fece oratione a dio
e a santo francescho, se i diti chavalieri, fesse
paxe. O che elli non se mazase. De fare di
pinçere el dicto lavoriero con mo apar
qui de presente di pinto. Et chusi p(er) la gr(ati)a
de dio / e dele bone oratione; che i diti chava
lieri fe paxe, senza alghun i(m)pedimento de
le lor persone; (et) c.
(titulus di sinistra:)
Questo emisier çoane
davalenz(a) de spagna
(titulus di destra:)
Questo emisier çoane d(e)
chastello dosse de spagna
1
Si ringraziano per la collaborazione Riccardo Drusi, Giuseppe Porzio.
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Fig. 1: Diego Velázquez, Rissa davanti all’ambasciata di Spagna. Roma, collezione
Doria Pamphili
Dunque, i due nobilissimi cavalieri, ospiti della corte estense, che si erano sidati a
morte per vendicarsi dei presunti torti (ma non sappiamo la loro storia), recedettero dai
loro propositi e inirono per abbracciarsi quasi teneramente per le preghiere di Suor Sara,
rivolte a San Francesco.
La tavoletta, che presenta i deliziosi caratteri dell’ex-voto, spetta al veneziano Antonio
Orsini, pittore di sicuro merito, anche se non aggiornatissimo sulle novità dell’arte, attivo
nelle città della pianura, tra Ferrara e Cremona. Forse si tratta del primo numero del suo
catalogo superstite identiicato (Coletti, 1951, 94–97).
La vendetta più famosa del Rinascimento, soprattutto in letteratura, poi revocata da
Romain Rolland, Oscar Wilde, Gabriele D’Annunzio, fu quella che coinvolse, a Perugia,
la famiglia, al potere, almeno efettivo, dei Baglioni. Questi, di fatto, tennero la città
dal 1424 al 1540, sotto la copertura formale del dominio pontiicio. E di fatto, dopo
Braccio da Montone, celebre capitano di ventura, il potere passò a non a Grifone, suo
secondogenito, ma, nel 1479, quando era ancora tenera età il nipote Grifonetto, a Guido e
Rodolfo, di un altro ramo della famiglia, e quindi al loro erede Astorre I, iglio di Guido,
assassinato il 14 luglio 1500, in occasione del suo matrimonio con Lavinia Colonna,
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Fig. 2: Antonio Orsini, Scena di pacificazione. Paris, Musée des Arts Decoratifs (Venezia, Fondazione Cini, Fototeca)
Fig. 3: Antonio Orsini, Scena di pacificazione, particolare. Paris, Musée des
Arts Decoratifs (Venezia, Fondazione Cini, Fototeca)
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in una congiura capeggiata dallo stesso Federico, detto Grifonetto, Baglioni, iglio di
Atalanta e di Grifone. Filippo, dei congiurati (era un bastardo, zio di Grifonetto), arrivò,
dopo la morte di Astorre, ad estrarre e morsicare il suo cuore e a rotolare il suo cadavere
giù da le scale del palazzo, ino alla strada. Tutta la parte maschile legata ad Astorre fu
sterminata. Soltanto Giampaolo Baglioni, cugino di Astorre, riuscì a fuggire per i tetti di
Perugia e a farsi nascondere dagli studenti dello Studium della città. Quindi raggiunse
fuori dalle mura la scorta armata dell’alleato Vitellozzo Vitelli, venuto anche lui per il
matrimonio, e con essa riprese la città senza resistenza.
Grifonetto fu ucciso a sua volta il giorno dopo di Astorre dal fratello di Giampaolo,
Gentile Baglioni, nome improprio per un assassino ma non per la carica di vescovo di
Perugia, che guadagnò forse in quell’occasione e tenne nel periodo 1500–1506, per poi
diventare, dal 1520 al 1527, anche signore della città.
In realtà la igura che sembra dominante in questa vicenda, anche per la sua forte
personalità emotiva, sembra Atalanta, nipote di Malatesta I Baglioni, che aveva per
consigliere spirituale la Beata Colomba da Rieti (1467–1501), beatiicata nel 1627. La
Beata avrebbe annunciato oscure previsioni sugli eventi, ma senza la fortuna di Suor
Sara. Atalanta dapprima avrebbe condannato l’assassinio del suo nemico, quindi corse in
piazza a raccogliere il giorno dopo Grifonetto spirante esortandolo a chieder perdono per
sé e per i suoi assassini.
Atalanta Baglioni commissionò un grande e importante dipinto commemorativo
dell’evento per la tomba sua, e del iglio Grifonetto, in San Francesco al Prato a Perugia.
Un unicum tra i dipinti celebrativi di paciicazioni è dato infatti dalla Pietà di Rafaello,
ora conservata nella Galleria Borghese a Roma, del 1507, legata da una parte a una delle
faide più clamorose dell’Italia del Rinascimento, dall’altra all’analisi psicologica di uno
dei pittori più sottili d’ogni tempo.
Nella grande tela, quasi quadrata (cm 186 x 176) Rafaello, partito inizialmente dall’idea
di un Compianto di Cristo, come si vede dai primi disegni, passa a quella di un trasporto del
corpo morto di Cristo, suggerita dalla prima incisione di Mantegna, che egli sicuramente
possedeva, ereditata dal padre Giovanni Santi. Il corpo morto di Cristo, oggetto della pietas
di tutti i personaggi rappresentati nell’immagine, è sostenuto lateralmente, in maniera quasi
bilanciata, da due igure, che sì lo sostengono ma parrebbero quasi contenderselo, un giovane robusto, ideale Grifonetto, dalla parte dei piedi e un uomo più anziano dalla parte della
testa, che imita l’espressione del Cristo ma assomiglia anche a immagini postume di Giampaolo Baglioni, il vincitore della congiura. Al centro, protagonista indubbia dell’immagine,
è una donna che corre a sorreggere la mano del Cristo morto, indubbiamente Atalanta che
uscì di corsa nel mattino fatale a sorreggere Grifonetto morente. Dietro a questo gruppo è
lo svenimento della Vergine, con igure tanto partecipi di bellezza ideale, quanto tra loro
indistinguibili. Atalanta è, emblematicamente, sdoppiata nella Vergine svenuta e nella
patetica dolente centrale. Grifonetto lo è altrettanto nei ruoli del vigoroso portatore e del
Cristo morto. Sopra la testa del Cristo è un’altra giovane donna, in atteggiamento orante,
tradizionalmente identiicata con la vedova di Grifonetto, Zenobia Sforza.
Ma nei chiasmi altalenanti delle teste, che ripetono il ritmo altalenante di questo trasporto, che non va da nessuna parte, subito accanto alla testa della patetica soccorritrice
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Fig. 4: Raffaello, Trasporto del corpo morto di Cristo (Roma, Galleria Borghese)
compare a sorpresa quella di San Pietro, un santo che non partecipa mai normalmente
a queste scene di deposizione. La sua presenza sta qui certo per il potere della chiesa,
che nominalmente sempre dominava Perugia, poi di fatto amministrata dagli indegni
Baglioni. Non è chiaro se la sua igura sia stata voluta dai Baglioni o dal pittore, che
comunque l’ha messa bene in rilievo. Forse non è un caso se nello stesso anno Rafaello
arriva a Roma, direttamente accolto nella corte papale.
Ma nel drammatico compianto la vera paciicazione, alla ine, è data dal paesaggio
all’orizzonte, al tempo stesso famigliare ed edenico, di alberi, di acque, di montagne.
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Giampaolo Baglioni, fu signore di Perugia ino al 1520, quando fu attirato a Roma
e decapitato da papa Leone X, quindi il potere passò ancora al fratello Gentile ino
al 1527. Nel 1540 i Baglioni, con Rodolfo II, persero deinitivamente Perugia (cfr.
Gurrieri, 1938).
Anche la vicenda dei Baglioni, come si vede, rientra però in una serrata vicenda di
rancori famigliari e non corrisponde ad altra logica che la passionalità della vendetta.
Il dipinto, tanto tristemente emblematico della storia di Perugia, non poté tuttavia
esser conservato per sempre in città. Nella notte tra il 18 e il 19 marzo 1608 fu prelevato
dal convento dei minori conventuali dalle guardie del capitano pontiicio di Perugia, pur
con l’opposizioni dei monaci anziani, per portarlo a Roma, nella Galleria di Scipione
Borghese, segretario di stato ma soprattutto nipote del papa regnante, Paolo V, Camillo
Borghese. Gli anziani frati si preoccupavano giustamente “...del sinistro concetto che
si prenderebbe la città, vedendo che egli si privino della miglior cosa che abbino” (de
Vecchi, 2006, 4).
Scipione Borghese mancava di Rafaello nella sua Galleria e, nel formarsela, non
aveva esitato a ricorrere ai mezzi più disinvolti, come quando coniscò la collezione di
Giuseppe Cesari, il Cavalier d’Arpino, il pittore allora più famoso a Roma, mettendolo
anche in carcere. Scipione era afettivamente legato a Perugia, dove aveva trascorso il
periodo giovanile nello studium cittadino e aveva visto là, forse tante volte, il dipinto
di Rafaello. Aveva incontrato allora, sempre nell’occasione dei suoi studi, Stefano
Pignatelli, che non apparteneva alla omonima illustre nobilissima famiglia napoletana,
ma a una famiglia borghesissima di boccalari perugini. Scipione, salito alla porpora, si
portò il compagno a Roma, suscitando naturalmente l’avversione e lo scandalo del partito
avverso ai Borghese, soprattutto degli stranieri. Lo zio papa, Paolo V, ordinò diplomaticamente allora di allontanare Stefano Pignatelli. Ma Scipione, come l’Antioco della
storia, si ammalò sempre più gravemente e si decise a guarire soltanto quando il papa,
che teneva evidentemente molto a quel nipote, riportò l’amico nella sua casa. Più tardi
Scipione ottenne anche la porpora cardinalizia per Stefano Pignatelli. Questo è riportato
solo per mostrare che il cardinal-nipote sapeva ottenere sempre tutto quello che voleva
dallo zio dispotico e autoritario.
Una delegazione di perugini si precipitò subito a Roma per chiedere la restituzione
del dipinto.
Scipione protestò: “...disgusto e sdegno...parendogli che tutto si facci per il disprezzo
della persona sua” (de Vecchi, 2006, 4). Ma lo zio papa, ancora una volta, con un motu
proprio dell’undici aprile 1608, dichiarò che il dipinto era “...donatione pura, mera, perpetua et irrevocabile” alla sua persona e alla sua famiglia (de Vecchi, 2006, 4).
Fu così un’altra violenza e ai perugini sudditi non restò alcuna possibilità di vendetta.
Il papa fece inviare a Perugia una copia di Lanfranco. Il quadro originale fu invece al
Louvre, tra il 1797 e il 1815, con Napoleone.
Tra i dipinti che celebrano invece paciicazioni civili sembrano esemplari quelli che
ricordano la “Pace di Benevento” siglata il 28 febbraio 1530 alla conclusione di un lungo
conlitto cittadino tra la fazione favorevole al ponteice e quella favorevole all’imperatore.
A ricordo dell’evento il Comune eresse a sue spese nella cattedrale un altare intitolato alla
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Fig. 5: Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Papa Paolo Fig. 6: Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Scipione
V (Camillo Borghese) (Roma, Galleria Borghese (Roma, Galleria Borghese)
Borghese)
Vergine, mediatrice della pace e poi nota appunto come “Madonna della pace” (Borgia,
1769, 480–481). L’altare andò poi distrutto nel terremoto del 1688.
L’iconograia del fatto storico si era intanto consolidata, come mostra la pala di Donato Piperno, del 1593, conservata oggi nel Seminario Vescovile di Benevento. Si tratta
di una tela con la Vergine il Bambino in alto tra gli Angeli e sotto, ai lati, i santi Giovanni
Battista e Pietro. Anche qui San Pietro rappresentava evidentemente la parte papale.
Al centro, in un’apertura di paesaggio, stanno due gruppi di soldati, dai caratteri e
dalle fogge degli abiti molto arcaicizzanti, manieristici, con, al loro centro ancora, i loro
capi che si abbracciano. Tutta l’immagine è ancora molto arcaica e ingenua e rientra
perfettamente nel gusto della devozione popolare. Nel 1725, in occasione del Giubileo,
papa Benedetto XIII Orsini fece erigere un nuovo altare nella cattedrale, dotandolo della
pala del celebre pittore Paolo de Matteis, che ancora si conserva nel Museo del Sannio
(Napoletano, 2011, 93). De Matteis, noto ora solo a specialisti e collezionisti, fu pittore
assai considerato nell’età tardobarocca, e dipinse anche per Vienna, Verona e Bergamo.
Ma fu per breve tempo anche alla corte del Re Sole. In questo dipinto egli mette da parte
le rainatezze delle sue opere mitologiche per abbandonarsi a un clima più popolare, più
comprensibile e condivisibile per gli abitanti di Benevento. Sotto la scena sacra che sta
in alto, tra le nuvole, s’incontrano e si danno la mano due emblematici rappresentanti dei
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Fig. 7: Donato Piperno, Madonna della Pace (Benevento, Seminario Arcivescovile)
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Fig. 8: Paolo De Matteis, Madonna della Pace (Benevento, Museo del Sannio)
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partiti storici in conlitto. Risultano abbigliati in uno strano modo, che forse voleva essere
un costume storico cinquecentesco agli occhi degli uomini del Settecento, ma che a noi fa
l’efetto di un costume di carnevale. Anche i volti dei due personaggi, molto caratterizzati
e per niente idealizzati, sembrano venire dal mondo popolare delle maschere. La rievocazione di De Matteis, altre volte pittore aulico senza confronti, è qui quella di una sagra
popolare, che festeggia un evento che è ormai solo occasione di festa ma di cui forse non
si ricorda o si comprende bene il signiicato originario antico.
Tutti gli esempi riportati confermano che è la paciicazione ad essere consegnata alla
celebrazione della storia, e non la vendetta, pur se in una sua forma di regolamentazione
in qualche modo deinita, come la faida, in tutte le sue sopravvivenze sociali scoperte o
più o meno mascherate. Va da sé che le vicende riconsiderate qui, delle opere pittoriche,
vedono protagonista dall’inizio, o alla ine, la Chiesa Romana, la cui forza, uicialmente,
si basa sul perdono e sulla concordia. Così è nel caso della sconosciuta monaca ferrarese,
che tanto sconosciuta ai suoi tempi non doveva essere, così è per la Perugia del tempo
dei papi Della Rovere, Medici e Borghese, per la Benevento del tempo del papato degli
Orsini.
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POMIRITEV, NE MAŠČEVANJE
Sergio MARINELLI
Univerza Ca' Foscari v Benetkah, Oddelek za ilozoijo in kulturno dediščino, Palazzo Malcanton-Marcorà,
Dorsoduro 3484D, 30123 Benetke, Italija
e-mail: smarin@unive.it
POVZETEK
Maščevanje samo po sebi v odnosu do civilizirane družbe ni bilo nikdar razumljeno
kot vrednota in fajda, kljub temu, da je bila v nekaterih primerih dovoljena, v teh družbah
ni bila nikdar jasno deklarirana in priznana. Priznane vrednote civilizirane družbe,
predvsem v krščanskem svetu, so pomiritev in harmonija.
V članku so bili predstavljeni trije temeljni primeri: slika Antonija Orsinija iz prve
polovice 13. stoletja, ki ponazarja pomiritev med dvema vitezoma pred turnirjem v Ferrari; oltarna slika v Perugi iz leta 1507, ki sta jo pripravila Atalanta Baglioni in Rafael;
ter dve oltarni sliki, ena iz 14. in ena iz 16. stoletja, ki prikazujeta pomiritev političnih
nasprotnikov v Benventu.
Ključne besede: slikarstvo, nesložnost, pomiritev
FONTI E BIBLIOGRAFIA
Borgia, S. (1769): Memorie istoriche della pontiizia città di Benevento. Roma, dalle
Stampe del Salomoni, III, 1.
Coletti, L. (1951): Su Antonio Orsini. Arte Veneta, 5, 94–97.
de Vecchi, P (2006): Dietro la Deposizione, una faida di famiglia. Corriere della Sera, 9.
5. 2006, 4.
Gurrieri, O. (1938): I Baglioni. Firenze, Barbera, Alfani e Venturi.
Napoletano, G. (2011): I percorsi artistici di Paolo de Matteis nelle opere del territorio
sannita e della diocesi del cardinale Vincenzo Maria Orsini. In: De Martini, V. (ed.):
Sannio e Barocco. Napoli, Edizioni Scientiiche Italiane, 87–95.
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Received: 2016-10-19
Original scientiic article
DOI 10.19233/AH.2017.07
THE REVENGE OF THE DEAD. FEUD, LAW ENFORCEMENT
AND THE UNTAMEABLE
Romedio SCHMITZ-ESSER
Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Institut für Geschichte, Heinrichstraße 26, A-8010 Graz, Austria
e-mail: romedio.schmitz-esser@uni-graz.at
ABSTRACT
During the High Middle Ages, Church authorities tried to restrict feuds amongst the
nobility. This led to a gradual shift in mentality, and one aspect of this process is scrutinised here. Since feuding was less encouraged, the hypothesis of this paper is that tales
of the returning dead are reflecting this shift in attitudes. By closely looking into medieval
tales about the dead, it is shown that such tales only partially show such an approach,
trying to persuade noblemen to refrain from feuding. The harming dead, however, are
of another nature, inverting the cult of saints and reflecting the medieval model of the
afterlife.
Keywords: Feud, Ghosts, Dead, Afterlife, Middle Ages, William of Newburgh
LA VENDETTA DEI MORTI. FAIDA, APPLICAZIONE DELLA
LEGGE E GLI INDOMABILI
SINTESI
Nel alto medioevo, le autorità ecclesiastiche cercavano di limitare la faida tra i
nobili. In conseguenza, si cambiava la mentalità della società. Un aspetto di questo cambiamento é esaminato in questo articolo, cioè come le narrazioni dei morti che tornano
per interferire con i vivi riflettino questo cambiamento negli atteggiamenti. Analizzando
questi episodi nelle cronache medievali, si può dimostrare che soltanto una parte di queste storie cercava di convincere i nobili di omettere la faida. I morti che nocciono sono
di un’altra natura, e specchiano sia il culto dei santi sia il concetto medievale dell'aldilà.
Parole chiave: faida, fantasmi, morti, aldilà, medioevo, Guglielmo di Newburgh
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That the corpses of the dead, moved by some kind of spirit, leave their graves and
wander around as the cause of danger and terror to the living before going back to
tombs which open up to receive them, is not something which would be easily believed,
were it not for the fact that there have been clear examples in our own time, with
abundant accounts of such events. Nothing of the sort is reported in books of former
times, which those of us who are inclined to study might meditate upon, and surely,
since these ancient books recorded the everyday and matter-of-fact events of former
times, they would not have been able to suppress accounts of stupefying and horrible
events if indeed they had occured (William of Newburg, 1856, vol. 2, 185–186).1
This quotation, taken from the twelfth century English chronicler William of Newburgh, is striking for two reasons. First, he stresses a picture very familiar to our own
imagination: tombs opening up to receive vampires, mummies or bloodthirsty undead
are part of our popular image of the returning dead. Secondly, William stresses that such
stories are new to him. In an age where tradition is cherished and the ways of the old are
venerated, it is remarkable that a chronicler of the Middle Ages tells us that something is
new, unheard of, and a recent development. Without a doubt, William wants to stress how
disturbing these stories really are. Something is changing in his world, and in this article
I would like to try to uncover what it was.
Working for my last book on the history of the corpse in the Middle Ages, I noticed
that the Dead gradually become more cruel, more involved in the matters of the living
during a slow process starting from during the twelfth century (Schmitz-Esser, 2014).
Relecting on it, I posed myself a rather simple question: Could there be a relation
between the eleventh and twelfth century curtailment of feuds and the development of
more violence among the Dead? The basic theory is rather simple: since it is well established that ideas of Treuga Dei, Gottes- and Landfrieden developed in the eleventh,
twelfth, and thirteenth centuries, and that they were followed by new laws stressing
the central authority of Popes, Emperors, and Kings all over Europe, it might well
be that nobles felt it to be more diicult to resort to private violence to resolve their
disagreements and to re-establish ofended honour. Or, to be more precise, it was the
result of the separation of the private and public spheres and their functioning together,
itself a process of modernisation, if we like the old-fashioned teleological view. Such
limitations by a society which sought new ways to solve conlicts must have caused
discussion between diferent generations as well as ill-feelings, and problems within
daily life. So, maybe, the older ways of dealing with things supposedly persisted in
the liminal spheres of medieval culture. It is easy to imagine that a nobleman unable to
settle his scores by force due to restrictions of new laws and the need to comply with
Church norms, was still apparently capable to do so after his death and to return in order
to interfere in this world without regard for modern rules of society. Thus, the taming of
the living resulted in the appearance of the untameable dead. That such a return of the
1
English translation by Joynes, 2006, 137, who provides English translations to many of the texts quoted
here in their Latin edition.
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dead would be theoretically possible, is part of medieval beliefs of the afterlife and of
an ongoing relationship between body and soul after death.
Unfortunately, the more I thought about the concept and the more I searched to gather
the sources for my argument, the more complex the picture became. Although such a development may have been a reason for the change in attitudes toward the dead, it certainly
was only part of a series of changes that helped to create a picture of the returning dead
that is still very much the basis of our own iction about the undead. I’ll try to summarise
my indings here and would like to open up a discussion on this relationship between feud
and the untameable dead.
So, what kind of stories was it that William of Newburgh found disturbingly new?
Of his four accounts, I would like to cite just the most important one for our discussion
(William of Newburg, 1856, vol. 2, 182–190; translated in Joynes, 2006, 134–142; cf.
Schürmann, 2009; Schmitz-Esser, 2014, 454–459; Gordon, 2015). It is the tale from a
castle in Yorkshire. We are told that there was a wicked oicer, jealous of his wife. One
day, he pretended to be away from home and hid in the house to watch his wife committing adultery with his neighbour. He watched them from a beam in the roof which
cracked. He not only caught her red handed, but also seriously injured himself, as he fell.
The wife, tried to explain away his story of her adultery to him and others as part of a
feverish dream. However he could not be cured and unfortunately, the man refused the
last ointment and communion ofered by a priest. Therefore, when he died of his wounds,
he was properly buried, but soon the parishioners realised that he was wandering around
at night, followed by howling dogs and spreading a disease which killed many of the
villagers. Finally, two brothers, who had lost their father due to this illness, took their
mattocks and opened the grave, found the body full of blood, dismembered the corpse,
took the heart out of the body and burnt it on a pile outside of the town.
The dead man actually has two good reasons for coming back from the afterlife: neither the rite de passage was done properly, nor could he reasonably feel satisied with the
wrong that was done to him by his wife. If one turns to the stories of the returning dead,
these are two of the ive major reasons for their unrest. The ive are: (1) Unfulilled duties
of the living towards the dead person - like a last will not executed, especially if linked to
a religious institution that should pray for the soul: An example is the story of Herveus,
narrated by a Chronicler from Marmoutier (De rebus gestis in majori monasterio saeculo
XI, 1853, 409–411, ch. 8); (2) unfulilled duties of the dead person (which particularly
interests us in our context here); (3) the announcement of death: many early and high
medieval writers – like Bede (Beda Venerabilis, 2005, 1, 242–246, b. 4, ch. 9, and 2,
50–56, b. 5, ch. 9), Thietmar of Merseburg (Thietmar von Merseburg, 1935, 18–19, b. 1,
ch. 13), Rodulfus Glaber (Rodulfus Glaber, 1989, 222, b. 5, ch. 1,6), Peter the Venerable
(Peter the Venerable, 1854, 876, b. 1, ch. 11), or Caesarius of Heisterbach (Caesarius von
Heisterbach, 2009, vol. 5, 2170–2174, b. 10, ch. 62–64) – state that an encounter with the
dead announces the death of the person meeting them; (4) an unnatural or untimely death;
or (5) an incorrect rite de passage, like in the quoted case of the castle’s oicial.
One of the remarkable aspects of William of Newburgh’s story lies in the physicality of
the dead body which is described in such a detail that I am inclined to believe the story really
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did take place in twelfth century Yorkshire and was not mere iction. Moreover, the dead man
is described as a “sanguisuga” [leech], sucking the blood of the living; he is not only advising
the living or reprimanding them, but actively attacking their health and killing them. It is the
irst time that European tales of the undead give such a clear reference to a vampire, although
our modern idea and the term itself are only starting to evolve during the early modern period
(cf. Lecouteux, 2001; Seipel, 2008). Bram Stoker and the gothic novel of the nineteenth century are yet to come, but the idea of a bloodsucking undead is already mentioned here. There
have been older stories of encounters with the dead in the Christian tradition, but they are of a
diferent nature. Normally, the dead return because they have to interfere on their own behalf,
be it to admonish the living about not properly carrying out their last will, or be it to ask for
prayers and oferings for their soul. The living and dead were not distinguished in quite the
same way in premodern society as they do today: in a medieval perspective, they still had
a very real and consequential connection to one another. Gregory the Great, for example,
recounted stories of the dead serving in a public bath for their sins and asking for prayers and
oferings for their soul, so that they could be released from their punishment (e.g. Gregory
the Great, 1980, 3, 184–188, b. 4, ch. 57). When William of Newburgh referred to the books
he read, we can almost be certain that the “Dialogues” of Gregory the Great have been part
of this library; the Church father’s writings were widely copied and easily available, and he is
the only major authority who talks about the dead in great detail, distinguishing himself in his
graphic detail from the inluential, but rather theoretical teachings of Augustine on the topic.
However, if we can exclude an older Christian tradition, where did the idea of the
harmful dead come from? One has often argued that an older, pagan tradition may have
played a role. Are these not stories of the dead, of ghosts and the returning, all folklore and
sign of the old, pagan believes of simple people not yet readily Christianised? Historians,
such as Jean-Claude Schmitt, have already remarked how similar stories are transmitted
to us: in Latin, in written texts, mainly by Christian clerics, often from noble background
and well educated (for a more complex discussion, cf. Schmitt, 1994). Thus, it seems
highly improbable to suggest their tales are closely linked to the commoners of the epoch.
The romantic view of an old, pagan, “Germanic” world of “the people” on the one side
and the Christian, erudite world of a politically inluential, Latin elite on the other, is an
idée fixe of nineteenth and twentieth century thought. Since ideologies of both the left
and the right have made ample use of it, one can not stress enough how uncritical such
a reading of our sources is. Nevertheless, most relections on Ghosts and the Dead take
such a contradistinction as given and as their parting point for any discussion. On the
contrary, I want to show that the world of the elite played a major role in the development
of new attitudes towards the dead during the High and Late Medieval Period.
Coming back to the argumentation of Jean-Claude Schmitt, one can stress that the
authors of our ghost tales are themselves pretty much part of the medieval elite. If they
insist on the possibility of the dead returning, they often do so to promote their own ideas
about society. It is no wonder, then, that we enter the realm of normative discourse here,
and, consequentially, to end feuds was one of the major themes included in such high
medieval ghost stories. In a collection of miracles from the monastery of Sainte-Foy in
Sélestat in the Alsace region, we are told the tale of Walter of Diebolsheim. During a
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miraculous incident, Walter encountered two groups of dead persons, one clad in white
robes, the other one in red. He learns that the white are waiting for their inal relief and
a place in heaven, and Walter inds among them count Conrad, his former lord, who
had died in the year 1094. The souls in red are waiting for their place in hell and are
described as sufering because of their lack of good deeds and penitence during their lifetime. Amongst them are nobles who had died in battle without being able to repent their
evildoings (De fundatione monasterii S. Fidis Sletstatensis, 1888, 997–1000; cf. Schmitt,
1994, 125–130; Schmitz-Esser, 2014, 521). The story coincides with the restrictions of
private warfare in canon law: In 1119, the council of Reims not only threatened those
who ofended the peace within the diocese with excommunication, but also it explicitly
forbade their Christian burial (Schmitz-Esser, 2014, 516). Tales like those of the vision
of Walter of Diebolsheim underline the need for lay noblemen to obey these rules and to
refrain from violence.
Other authors of accounts about the returning dead are even clearer in their disdain
of feuds. In the irst half of the twelfth century, Peter the Venerable, the famous abbot
of the monastery at Cluny, included the story of the noblemen Bernard le Gros into his
“De miraculis”. Bernard, who during his lifetime frequently raided the abbey’s territory,
inally converted and repented his ill doings, made a vow to become monk and went
on a pilgrimage to Rome. Since he died on the way, he was not able to return and take
monastic orders at Cluny during his lifetime. However, some years later, he appeared to
one of the stewards of the monastery and asked the favour of the monks’ and the abbot’s
prayer for his soul (Peter the Venerable, 1854, 874–876, b. 1, ch. 11). The morale of
the story is apparent: instead of feuding with monasteries, lay noblemen should revert
themselves to the ways of a virtuous life and stop ighting their neighbours. To make this
argument against feuds more colourful and to advertise a virtuous lifestyle, Peter added
the detail of a fox-furred cloak that Bernard was wearing during his apparition: as we
learn during the tale, it was once given by him to a poor man as a gift, so it now gives him
comfort in the afterlife.
One may add Caesarius of Heisterbach’s story of Frederic of Kelle, a knight who
appeared to Erkenbert, a father of a fellow friar at Heisterbach. Tormented by sheepskins that burnt him and a heavy slab of earth to bend his back, the knight was quite
literally tortured by his sins: he had stolen the sheep-skins from a widow and acquired
land unlawfully, asking his kin to return this property. However, his heirs decided to
leave him to his torment and to hold on to their possessions (Caesarius of Heisterbach,
2009, vol. 5, 2210–2212, b. 12, ch. 14). A third story of this kind, slightly earlier and
dating to the eleventh century, is told by Otloh of St. Emmeram. It is the tale of two
knights meeting the ghost of their father, tormented by armour burning him on every
touch, imploring them to give back land to a monastery he once stole from the monks.
This time, the sons were more generous than their peers in Caesarius’ story. Remarkably,
Otloh ascribes his story to Pope Leo IX himself, who is said to have met the brothers on
one of his visits to Germany and retold their story as an example for the protection of
monastic property (Othloh von St. Emmeram, 1989, 67–69, ch. 7). All three stories are
therefore directly linked to Church and monastic reformers: To Pope Leo in the case of
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Otloh in the eleventh century, to Cluny in the case of Peter the Venerable in the twelfth
century, and to the young Cistercian order and their branch at Heisterbach in the case of
Caesarius in the early thirteenth century. It is not simply a coincidence: well known as an
efect in the case of medieval charters, often invented by monastic communities to defend
their claims, ghost stories were part of their use of the pen to counteract the swords of
their noble neighbours threatening their many riches and maybe their very existence. In
this light, ghost stories are part of a feuding society. They are a relex of the learned and
the religious to disabuse and to obstruct lay noblemen from such practices by appealing
to their bad conscience.
By looking at the examples of Otloh of St. Emmeram, Peter the Venerable, and Caesarius of Heisterbach, we saw a group of stories recounting the return of the dead in the
context of feuds. They are against such conlicts, and there is little doubt that they are the
one-sided by-product of the feuds between monasteries and lay noblemen. The feuding
aristocrats were not writing down their claims, and the deeds of their swords are only
known to us if they made it into the writings of the clerical elite. From here, another kind
of story evolved, featuring the dead knight in his role of perpetrator and evildoer, but
unlike the miracle of Sainte-Foy, they were not returning as a single individual, but in the
context of a whole army. The anglo-norman chronicler Orderic Vitalis tells the story of a
priest named Walchelin who encountered such an army of the dead. Of course, it is just
during his conversations with the strange knights he encounters that he inds out about
them; trying to steal one of their horses, it is the nobleman William of Glos who tries to
persuade Walchelin to bring his message to his son and wife. He is part of this host and
tortured for his many sins, and the biggest one of them is the unrightful appropriation of a
mill his heirs should return to their rightful owners. But Walchelin does not want to help
the sinner, and he is approached by another knight, Robert, his own brother, recently died
on an expedition in England. Becoming a priest and praying for his father and his brother,
Walchelin is assured that his oferings already have lightened the burden of his brother
and helped to save his father from further punishment. There is no doubt that the message
of the story is to frighten and to instruct noble knights not to steal, to be impartial and to
refrain from vain and proud behaviour. As part of his punishment, Walchelin’s brother
Robert has lames bound to his feet that not only burn him constantly, but feel heavy
as Mont Saint-Michel. They are in the place he always wore shining pointed spurs. The
direct monastic attack to the living style of the aristocracy couldn’t be more striking. To
make his point more convincing, Orderic names several other noblemen from the retinue
of Herlequin, the strange name given to this appearance, thus making clear to his audience
that this apparition is made up from real men. Landry of Orbec, for example, is said to
have tried to shout out loud to ask Walchelin for help, but his companions shouted louder.
Thus, he is adequately punished, as Orderic explains: Never listening to the witnesses in
court seriously if it was not to his own favour as a very partial judge, he is condemned
not to be heard now sufering in the afterlife (Orderic Vitalis, 1973, 4, 236–250, b. 8, ch.
17; cf. Schmitt, 1994, 115–145). Although this kind of story is new, the morale is not.
In our context, the idea of restraining violence by the nobility is striking, but, as I have
already stressed, this its well within the context of the individual knights we have seen
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returning before. The returning dead are again part of a normative discourse, illustrating
the importance of compliance with the ideas of Christian virtue for lay people, especially
if they are mighty, inluential and, above all, well armed.
So, if this wave of such ghost stories are inspired by the battle for a reduction of feuds
led by erudite monks, familiar with the lay aristocracy’s way of life, what about the violent
returners like the Yorkshire oicer described by William of Newburgh? This appearance
of the dead as avenging themselves, of evil dead that harm the living, does not seem to be
connected to feuds, as I suggested in the irst place. Looking at the evidence, a clear connection to feuding does not exist, there is a clear distinction with the returning knights of the
tales I quoted before. All of these stories relate to the dead in a state of “in-betweenness”,
waiting for their judgement in the afterlife. They are punished, but the reason for their
appearance is to ask for the help of the living. This is true, for example, in the case of
Walter of Diebolsheim, meeting his former lord, Count Conrad. The distinction of the dead
in between Heaven and Hell into two categories, the white and the red, relects Augustine’s
ideas of the non valde boni and non valde mali, the “not so good” and the “not so bad”. But
the sanguisuga of William of Newburgh is not one of these. He is part of the valde mali, the
“very bad”, whose place is in Hell (Augustine, 1969, 108; as to the Augustinian distinction
of the souls in Afterlife and Christian ideas about the Eschata, cf. Le Gof, 1984; Bynum,
1995; Dinzelbacher, 1999; Angenendt, 2007, 104–106; Schmitz-Esser, 2014, 25–32). As
I have argued elsewhere, during the eleventh and twelfth century, the idea developed, that
these very bad persons had similar characteristics as their counterpart, the “very good”.
Since these saints lived in their relics and could provide miracles, it was only logical to assume that the “very bad” could do similar things. Burning their corpses was a consequent
development, and it was one of the reasons for the punishment of heretics and witches by
burning them (Schmitz-Esser, 2015).
It is revealing that there is no or little connection to feuding in this latter group of the
“very bad” such as we saw for those in between Hell and Heaven: Feuds were thought
to be part of the daily practice of the aristocracy, and although it could be interpreted as
a crime, an ofence and an unchristian behaviour, it nevertheless felt like a minor sin,
punished by the lord, but not automatically resulting in eternal damnation. This somewhat
ambivalent approach towards a ighting elite is not untypical for medieval society. Another
example may conirm: Although jousting and tournament were forbidden by canon law
and resulted in the excommunication and eventually the non-burial of knights that died
during this martial activity, normally such a verdict would not be enforced in practice,
or at least not consequently enforced (Beaulande, 2006; Schmitz-Esser, 2014, 520–525;
on medieval excommunication, cf. Jaser, 2013). When Geofrey, the brother of Richard
Lionheart and John Lackland, died in a tournament, he was interred at Notre-Dame de
Paris, in the very presence of the King of France himself (Rigord, 1882, 68–69). For a
church relying on the force and the donations of the lay aristocracy, it was impossible
to really enforce ideas of peace, harmlessness and virtuous behaviour in knights of the
epoch. However, to threaten those breaking these rules, especially if they damaged the
Church’s property, was a comfortable way to encourage doubt about such acts of violence,
eventually resulting in conversion and donation. This only made sense if the dead of the
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elite were thought to be in the position of Purgatory, punished, but not in hell, redeemable,
but not yet redeemed. Stories of the returning dead could therefore be part of a spectre of
the punishments of an afterlife, keeping noblemen under control and helping the Church
institutions to establish their position as the only brokers of salvation. The dead became
part of this endeavour, although the stories of the very wicked, those who come back,
suck our blood, and harm the living, are not the direct result of a feuding society. It was
only with the gothic novel, the vision of premodern Eastern Europe by Bram Stoker, that
feuds and undead were coming together once again.
MAŠČEVANJE MRTVIH. FAJDA, KAZENSKI PREGON IN NEUKROTLJIVI
Romedio SCHMITZ-ESSER
Univerza Karla Franca v Gradcu, Inštitut za zgodovino, Heinrichstraße 26, A-8010 Graz, Avstrija
e-mail: romedio.schmitz-esser@uni-graz.at
POVZETEK
William Newburgh je bil prvi srednjeveški avtor, ki je v 12. stoletju pripovedoval
zgodbo o pivcu krvi (“sanguisuga”), to je mrtvec, ki se škodoželjno vrne k življenju, da
bi sesal energijo iz živečih. Pri tem pravi, da gre za nov pojav; po analizi srednjeveških
pripovedi o vrnitvi mrtvecev tudi sicer lahko trdimo, da je to zelo verjetno res. Starejše
zgodbe o mrtvih poudarjajo njihovo stanje gorja med peklom in nebesi in napeljujejo
k usmiljenju in molitvi zanje s strani živečih. Ker so bile napisane s strani klerikov, je
namen teh pripovedi precej očiten: Plemeniti aristokrati so pozvani k izpolnjevanju
idealov harmonične družbe, da si po svojih najboljših močeh prizadevajo h krepostnemu
življenju in podpirajo meniške redove ter tako zaščitijo svoje duše in pomagajo Cerkvi pri
gradnji krščanske skupnosti. Po drugi strani so pripovedi škodoželjnih mrtvecev Williama Newburgha povsem druge narave: Te potrjujejo misel, da so duše hudobnih že tekom
življenja v Peklu. Ti, torej, ne morejo biti odrešeni. Te zgodbe torej niso primerne za to,
da bi napeljevale k vzdržnosti pred maščevanjem, saj ne ponujajo možnosti za izboljšanje
ali spremembo načina življenja aristokratske elite.
Ključne besede: fajda, duh, mrtvec, posmrtno življenje, srednji vek, William Newburgh
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Christentum bis zur Gegenwart, Hamburg, Nikol, 2nd ed.
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société à la in du Moyen Âge. Paris, Publications de la Sorbonne.
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Dinzelbacher, P. (1999): Die letzten Dinge. Himmel, Hölle, Fegefeuer im Mittelalter
(Herder-Spektrum 4715). Freiburg-Basel-Wien, Herder.
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Jaser, C. (2013): Ecclesia maledicens. Rituelle und zeremonielle Exkommunikationsformen im Mittelalter (Spätmittelalter, Humanismus, Reformation 75). Tübingen, Mohr
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(Bibliothèwue des Histoires). Paris, Gallimard.
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und die kulturelle Konstruktion des toten Körpers (Mittelalter-Forschungen 48).
Ostildern, Thorbecke.
Schmitz-Esser, R. (2015): The Cursed and the Holy Body: Burning Corpses in the Middle Ages. The Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies, 45, 131–157.
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Ethnographisch-Archäologische Zeitschrift, 50, 1-2, 235–247.
Seipel, W. (2008): Dracula. Woiwode und Vampir. Ed. by M. Rauch, A. Auer, V. Sandbichler und K. Seidl. Wien-Innsbruck, Kunsthistorisches Museum.
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Received: 2017-03-23
Original scientiic article
DOI 10.19233/AH.2017.08
LA VENGEANCE ET LE CONSULAT À VICENCE DANS LA
SECONDE MOITIÉ DU XVIe SIÈCLE
Lucien FAGGION
Université d’Aix-Marseille, CNRS, TELEMME UMR 7303 –
Maison méditerranéenne des sciences de l’homme , Aix-en-Provence, France
e-mail: lcnfaggion@gmail.com
EXTRAIT
L’objectif de cette analyse est de saisir les actes de violence (vengeances) commis à
Vicence et dans son territoire dans la seconde moitié du XVIe siècle, des actes transmis à
la juridiction du tribunal citadin (le Consulat), composé de douze nobles locaux, parmi
lesquels quatre consules provenant du Collège des Juges – expression des statuts et de
l’idéologie nobiliaire, ainsi que des valeurs politiques et culturelles de la Respublica
vicentine –, qui s’occupent soit de justice civile, soit de justice pénale, toujours en présence du podestat, qui est un patricien vénitien, et de sa cour (assesseurs). L’intérêt ainsi
prêté aux différentes manières d’évaluer et de juger les auteurs d’actes violents criminels
(concepts de réparation et de punition, défenses judiciaires offertes aux prévenus) selon les normes insérées dans les pratiques du tribunal vicentin, permet de dégager le
rôle assumé par la justice locale, avant que certaines affaires ne soient éventuellement
transférées dans les grands tribunaux vénitiens (Avogaria di Comun, Conseil des Dix) ou
déléguées dans d’autres cours prétoriennes de la Terre Ferme vénitienne (par exemple,
à celle de Padoue). Il est aussi possible de considérer les sentences prononcées (bannissement perpétuel, bannissement à durée déterminée, bannissement ad inquirendum) dans
la seconde moitié du XVIe siècle et de dégager comment les acteurs de la justice et les
justiciables utilisent le droit et l’outil judiciaire.
Mots-clefs: Consulat, consuls, vengeance (faida), coutumes, justice réparatrice, justice
punitive, rites judiciaires, bannissement, bannissement ad inquirendum, défense per
patrem, sauf-conduit, paix, négociation
LA FAIDA E IL CONSOLATO A VICENZA NELLA SECONDA METÀ
DEL CINQUECENTO
SINTESI
L’obiettivo di questa analisi è di cogliere gli atti di violenza (faide) commessi a Vicenza e nel suo territorio nella seconda metà del secolo XVI, atti trasmessi alla giurisdizione
del tribunale cittadino (il Consolato), composto da dodici nobili locali, di cui quattro
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consules provenienti dal Collegio dei Giudici – espressione degli statuti e dell’ideologia
nobiliare, nonché dei valori politici e culturali della Respublica vicentina – che giudicano
sia nel foro civile che in quello penale, e sempre in presenza del podestà, un patrizio veneziano, e della sua corte (assessori). L’interesse è così prestato ai vari modi di valutare
e di giudicare gli autori degli atti di violenza (concetti di risarcimento e di punizione)
secondo le norme inserite nelle pratiche del tribunale berico, e ci permette di evidenziare
il ruolo svolto dalla giustizia locale, prima che certi casi siano eventualmente trasferiti
a tribunali veneziani (Consiglio dei Dieci, Avogaria di Comun) oppure delegati ad altre
corte pretorie di Terraferma (per esempio, a quella di Padova). Ci consente inoltre di
considerare le sentenze comminate (bando perpetuo, bando a durata determinata, bando
ad inquirendum) nella seconda metà del secolo XVI e di cogliere come la giustizia viene
usata dai vari attori (giudici, imputati, vittime).
Parole chiavi: Consolato, consoli, faida, consuetudini, statuti, giustizia riparatrice,
giustizia punitiva, riti giudiziari, bando, bando ad inquirendum, difesa per patrem, salvacondotto, pace, negoziazzione
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La conlictualité nobiliaire est intense en Terre Ferme vénitienne dès le début du XVIe
siècle et se trouve réprimée par les autorités politiques locales, les villes étant divisées
par des luttes de factions qui conduisent à des vengeances (faide) que le patriciat vénitien
cherche à combattre (Povolo, 1980, 1997, 2011, 2015a; Muir, 1993; Bianco, 1995).
L’étude de ces dissensions permet de dégager la façon dont sont gérées la violence et la
criminalité à la fois par les aristocraties urbaines, à la tête des conseils municipaux; par
les tribunaux des villes du Dominio et par le patriciat de saint Marc, une gestion de la
criminalité qui rend perceptible l’existence d’une « séparation juridique » – tout comme
culturelle et politique – entre l’univers diversiié de la Terre Ferme et celui de Venise du
début du XVe siècle à la in du XVIIIe siècle (Cozzi, 1980, 1984; Povolo, 1994, 1997,
2006, 2010). L’analyse de l’activité d’un tribunal de la Terre Ferme – le Consulat de
Vicence dans la seconde moitié du XVIe siècle – présente l’intérêt de cerner la mise en
pratique de deux traditions judiciaires en matière de répression pénale: il y a, d’une part,
celle issue du système romano-byzantin qui privilégie la fonction punitive de la sentence
qualiiée de State law; et, d’autre part, celle de la community law, la sanction étant tenue
pour réparatrice, censée rétablir l’honneur lésé de la victime et accabler l’auteur de l’acte
condamné (Langbein, 1974; Van Caenegem, 1991, 1992; Povolo, 1997, 2007, 2016;
Cario, 2010). Dans ce dernier cas, l’atteinte est évaluée dans un contexte privé et résolue
par la communauté, la négociation reposant sur des pratiques informelles qui tendent à
apaiser les tensions déclenchées par l’acte violent. Cette situation duelle (State law, community law) souligne la mise en pratique de deux types de justice, l’une punitive, l’autre
réparatrice, les deux pouvant néanmoins coexister et admettre un système hybride avant
que ne s’impose, au XVIIe siècle, le caractère étatique – et punitif – de l’administration
judiciaire dans la République de Venise (Povolo, 2007).
La justice punitive s’identiie aux exigences politiques du pouvoir central et fait face
à une justice réparatrice dominée par les valeurs et l’idéologie communautaire (honneur,
vengeance, coutumes) qui soutiennent les innombrables faide divisant les sociétés de la
Terre Ferme. L’airmation de la justice punitive est réalisée par les juristes, la logique
politique se situant à l’opposé des valeurs qui marquent l’identité des communautés et la
notion de la paix, laquelle doit être entendue comme le garant d’une hiérarchie sociale
fondée sur l’honneur et la préséance: on passe ainsi, peu à peu, de « l’ordre de la paix à
l’ordre public » (Povolo, 2007).
Dès le début de la formation de l’État régional par Venise au XVe siècle, les villes de la
Terre Ferme, devenues sujettes, ont pu conserver leurs statuts, privilèges et prérogatives:
Vicence voit ainsi préservé son tribunal civil et pénal, le Consulat, magistrature composée de douze nobles, quatre provenant du Collège des Juges (consules iudices) – des
professionnels du droit commun, défenseurs des traditions judiciaires et des valeurs de la
Respublica vicentine face au pouvoir central –, et huit consuls laïques (consules milites),
issus des rangs des députés ad utilia, magistrature de nature oligarchique (Povolo, 1980,
1986; Faggion, 1998). À l’instar des autres grands centres urbains du Dominio, il y a, à
Vicence, deux recteurs vénitiens, des patriciens élus par leurs pairs au Grand Conseil de
la capitale, ain que ceux-ci mènent durant seize mois l’activité soit de podestat (sphère
judiciaire), soit de capitaine (sphère militaire et iscale). Le Consulat détient un pouvoir
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délibératif ancestral, au même titre que le podestat et la cour prétorienne de ce dernier
composée d’assesseurs, au nombre de trois (le vicaire prétorien, le juge du Maléice et
celui de la Raison), lesquels ne peuvent pas être originaires de la ville et du territoire dans
lesquels ils sont appelés à exercer leurs tâches (Povolo, 1980, 1991).
Puissant tribunal urbain entre les mains des élites locales, le Consulat limite l’activité
judiciaire du podestat qui est tenu de respecter les normes et les procédures en vigueur: les
statuts citadins igurent en efet comme la source première à laquelle doivent se conformer les administrateurs de la justice pénale, le podestat ne pouvant pas agir seul, ni en
toute liberté. Les pouvoirs coercitifs étendus du Consulat attribuent à ses douze membres
le prestige et la prééminence politique: le tribunal vicentin est un instrument qui permet
d’éviter les lois, de couvrir des délits et des abus commis dans la ville et son contado,
selon une logique de la réparation garantie par la coutume et les statuts (Povolo, 2016).
Déjà, lors de l’ouverture d’un procès, les consuls – défenseurs des pratiques judiciaires,
sociales et culturelles locales – ont le droit de s’exprimer en premier, de donner leur avis,
en précédant aussi bien les assesseurs de la cour prétorienne que le podestat lui-même,
une séance judiciaire ne pouvant pas être tenue sans la présence des consuls ou, au moins,
de sept d’entre eux.
Les membres du tribunal délibèrent sur la sentence à prononcer, un privilège partagé
avec le podestat et la cour prétorienne. La dénonciation d’un crime se fait à l’oice du
Maléice; une fois celle-ci enregistrée, seul un consul se transfère sur le lieu où s’est
produit l’homicide et où il recueille les premiers témoignages sans devoir être assisté
par le juge du Maléice. Les premières expertises et les témoignages ayant été réalisés, le
consul remet le procès instruit à l’oice du Maléice et donne son avis sur celui qui doit
être appelé soit en tant que témoin, soit en tant que prévenu. L’instruction est achevée par
le juge du Maléice qui prépare un résumé en présence des consuls, du podestat et des
assesseurs (Viggiano, 1985; Povolo, 1991). C’est au cours de cette phase que les avocats
des deux parties interviennent et communiquent, par écrit ou de vive voix, leur opinion,
le procès se déroulant à portes ouvertes. Celles-ci closes, tous les membres s’expriment,
expliquent leur choix et, enin, votent.
À défaut de pouvoir disposer des procès instruits par le Consulat au XVIe siècle, qui ont
disparu, il est possible de se rapporter aux indications, toutefois peu détaillées, qui igurent
dans les registres des bandits – bannis – du tribunal, selon des règles communes à d’autres
villes d’Italie (Cavalca, 1978), et rangées en trois rubriques: la première concerne la date
de la mise par écrit de l’accusation (la signatura) et les éventuels changements ayant trait
à la sentence; la deuxième indique le nom des prévenus; enin, la troisième, la sentence.
En dépit de la parcimonie des informations fournies, on connaît les peines inligées et les
éventuelles modiications apportées à celles-ci. Dans la seconde moitié du XVIe siècle, le
tribunal vicentin applique une administration pénale propre sur le plan local, une justice
réparatrice où les valeurs culturelles et politiques, ainsi que l’idéologie nobiliaire, sont
défendues; il rend perceptible l’existence du système vindicatoire, les logiques de la négociation, de la réparation et de la paciication, alors que le pouvoir central, caractérisé par la
mise en œuvre d’une justice punitive et la notion de l’ordre public, se fonde sur le principe
de l’autorité et fait intervenir le Conseil des Dix ou l’Avogaria di Comun, ain de briser les
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solidarités urbaines, ou délègue les afaires instruites dans d’autres cours prétoriennes de
la Terre Ferme dans le respect des traditions judiciaires locales.
LE SYSTÈME VINDICATOIRE ET LA NÉGOCIATION
À l’instar des autres tribunaux citadins de la Terre Ferme, le Consulat de Vicence a pu
maintenir son contrôle sur la criminalité et la vengeance (faida), en trouvant des solutions
juridiquement acceptées et cautionnées par la coutume et les statuts locaux. Ces derniers
légitiment la notion (et la préservation) de l’honneur aristocratique (pureté et ancienneté
du lignage) tout comme la recherche d’une paix à conclure entre les parties antagonistes
(Povolo, 1997, 2007). Composé d’une élite d’hommes de loi recrutés en fonction de leur
formation universitaire en droit, de leur noblesse et de leurs réseaux, le Collège des Juges
de Vicence permet à l’aristocratie de jouer un rôle de médiation, de négociation et de
compromis dans le cadre de la coutume et des procès instruits par le Consulat (Povolo,
1997, 2004, 2007; Faggion, 1998, 2002, 2007). Les familles nobles du Dominio, en
lutte pour les pouvoirs locaux et la défense de leur status, menacées par l’émergence de
groupes sociaux nouveaux et riches (marchands, juristes, médecins) – désireux d’obtenir
la voix politique au sein des Conseils municipaux –, sont entraînées dans des conlits qui
mettent à jour une opposition entre la hiérarchie de l’honneur, liée au status nobiliaire, et
la hiérarchie de la richesse, qui se rattache aux compétences professionnelles et au talent.
L’intensité des dissensions rend compte d’un langage de la violence et de la vengeance
qui est inement articulé et dépend d’un code de comportements et de règles spéciiques
et rationnelles, motivés par la préservation de l’honneur face à l’airmation de groupes
émergents fortunés qui aspirent à la reconnaissance sociale et à la participation aux affaires publiques. Aussi les familles en litige se trouvent-elles amenées à rechercher une
réparation selon des procédés cautionnés par les élites citadines, la coutume et les lois
municipales; par le Consulat et le Collège des Juges, qui instaurent un nouvel équilibre
rompu par l’homicide, des pratiques réparatrices cependant désapprouvées par le groupe
dirigeant vénitien qui veut rompre la logique de la réciprocité et afaiblir l’autorité nobiliaire traditionnelle au proit des intérêts des groupes émergents, nouveaux interlocuteurs
du pouvoir central.
De prestigieuses familles de l’aristocratie de Vicence, telles les Capra et les da Porto,
à la tête de puissantes factions qui se disputent l’hégémonie urbaine, ou la Casa Trissino,
composée de plusieurs lignages (colonnelli), connaissent des diférends importants dont
le seul langage possible, en mesure de rétablir une paix acceptée par tous et idéalement
durable, est celui de la vengeance et de sa ritualisation, l’idée de parité à instaurer entre
les parties antagonistes étant essentielle (Povolo, 1997, 2015a; Faggion, 2002, 2007).
Aussi l’héritage de Ciro Trissino « dal Vello d’Oro » – une branche issue du colonnello des Miglioranza – accordé par son père l’illustre humaniste Giangiorgio, l’ami des
papes Médicis et de l’empereur Charles Quint, soulève la jalousie, le ressentiment et la
formation de groupes rivaux au sein de la famille et de la parenté. Ces sentiments sont
à l’origine de plusieurs homicides perpétrés par des membres de la Casa Trissino dans
le dernier tiers du XVIe siècle, des gestes criminels qui réclament une réponse de la part
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des personnes ofensées: après des années de tensions familiales, Ciro est assassiné le 4
février 1576 dans sa demeure de la localité de Cornedo; puis, le 8 avril 1583, au nom de
la réparation obligée et du code de l’honneur à préserver, son ils Marcantonio, témoin
du crime perpétré en 1576, se venge et assassine à Vicence, le jour du vendredi saint, son
cousin Giulio Cesare qu’il tient pour responsable de la mort de son père (Povolo, 2015a;
Faggion, 2002). Quoique de tels meurtres caractérisent la vie des cités de la Terre Ferme
depuis les premières décennies du XVIe siècle, l’émotion est chaque fois très forte à
Vicence. Certains Trissino – Ippolita, la mère de Giulio Cesare, et Francesco, l’oncle de
celui-ci – demandent une réparation qui soit pensée à Venise – au lieu du tribunal local qui
participe des idéaux, réseaux et factions nobiliaires –, et les autorités se mobilisent. Aux
yeux de la partie blessée, les « dal Vello d’Oro » en 1576, l’honneur mérite d’être restauré,
ce qu’accomplit Marcantonio en 1583. Mais la logique de la réciprocité nécessite également une réponse au meurtre de Giulio Cesare. Ainsi Ranuccio Trissino, en décembre
1588, tue l’épouse et le nouveau-né de Pompeo, frère aîné de Marcantonio.
Ces diférents crimes, qui ont défrayé la chronique de l’époque, passent pour avoir
été mus par un acte irraisonné, sauvage et aveugle, alors que celui-ci se fonde en réalité
sur un code de l’honneur spéciique, légitimé par la coutume et les statuts, une pratique
interrelationnelle qui se trouve exprimée par la rhétorique et la culture judiciaire (Povolo, 2004, 2015a, 2015b; Faggion, Regina & Ribémont, 2014). Les mots de l’émotion
(« odio », « ira », « furore »), abondamment utilisés par les justiciables et les hommes de
loi, rendent compte des stratégies mises en acte par tous ceux qui sont amenés à solliciter
la justice, à atténuer et à modiier l’évaluation que doit émettre le juge. C’est ainsi qu’au
mois d’avril 1583, le Consulat instruit un procès criminel contre trois membres de la
famille Tagliaferro – Giordano, ils d’Alberto; Marco, ils de feu Battista; Giordano, ils
d’Andrea –, et contre Girolamo Scalzeto, tous originaires de la localité de Celsano (BCBVi, AT, SC, 1138, f° 269v°):
contra quos [les Tagliaferro et Girolamo Scalzeto] processum fuit per nos [les membres du Consulat] et curiam nostram [la cour prétorienne] ad denunciam decani ville
Celsani secundum processum formatum per spectabilem dominum consulem de eo
et super eo quod in die lune post diem Pasquatis Resurectionis Domini Nostri Iesu
Christi 16 aprilis […] ad ecclesiam sancti Sepulchri ex ortu rixa inter illos de Tagliaferro et non nullos mollendinarios a ponte barbarani cum in dicta rixa remansirent
vulnerati Andreas supradictus et Marcus Tagliaferro irra et furore [nous soulignons].
Le langage de l’émotion contribue à atténuer la gravité d’un crime qui passe dès lors
pour un homicide pur perpétré sans préméditation, comme l’atteste en avril 1583 l’assassinat
de Giulio Cesare Trissino par Marcantonio Trissino, emporté dans son acte sanguinaire par
la « fureur » (Povolo, 2015a), alors que des expressions telles que « homicidio insidioso »,
« homicidio commesso cum malis qualitatibus » ou « homicidio pensato » (« homicidio
apensato »), renvoient à un acte prémédité, le plus souvent exprimé par les termes
d’excès et de rixe (« pro excessu », « rixa », « rissa »), à une vengeance conduite grâce
à un « auxilium » prêté par des proches et des amis, censée restituer l’équilibre brisé
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entre des groupes antagonistes, à l’instar de ce qui se produit, également en avril 1583,
avec les Tagliaferro, responsables de la mort de Vincenzo Luchete. Se fondant sur la
coutume et les statuts, le Consulat parvient à envisager des solutions qui relèvent de la
justice réparatrice, l’ordre de la paix étant souhaité par tous, reposant soit sur la rédaction
d’un acte de réconciliation, soit sur le versement d’une somme d’argent qui constitue
un dédommagement négocié entre les parties, soit sur les deux. Aussi, dans la Prattica
Criminale publiée en 1622, le chancelier vénitien Lorenzo Priori, actif dès 1570 dans
les chancelleries des villes de la Terre Ferme, au service des patriciens élus podestats,
écrit que:
[…] i liberati et assolti non possano ritornar nella città o luogo di dove fossero stati
banditi se non haverà la carta della pace dell’offeso [nous soulignons], et havuta non
possa né anco in essa andare se non dopo finito il tempo di quel rettore che l’haverà
bandito [...]. Et per quella legge 1540 18 decembre il bandito non si può liberare se
non sei mesi dopo quel reggimento che l’haverà bandito, et conviene anco havere la
carta della pace con l’offeso [nous soulignons], legge 1568 12 ottobre (Priori, 2004,
62, 64; Marcarelli, 2004; Menegon, 2004).
L’afaire de Pietro Bartolomei est révélatrice de ces résolutions admises par le tribunal
vicentin. Quoiqu’il ne soit pas possible de connaître les détails de l’homicide perpétré
par Pietro Bartolomei, originaire de la localité de Valle Tosina, on apprend que celui-ci
est absous le 11 avril 1573 et doit payer une somme de cent livres: « Absolvatur a poena
homicidii et pro excessu in libris centum parvorum Magnificae Comunis quarum quarta
pars ex arbitrio et hoc ante quod exeat ex carcere » (BCBVi, AT, SC, Libri dei Banditi,
1106, f° 14v°). Il est probable que les protagonistes se soient réconciliés, moyennant
le versement d’une somme d’argent à la partie lésée, comme c’est sans doute le cas, le
même jour, pour le noble Giovanni Capra, ils de l’homme de loi Alessandro, membre
du Collège des Juges, dont « soluta fuit post publicationem in contatis ut in autentico
[…] Joannes Capra quondam spectabilis legum doctoris domini Alessandri excusatus,
in libris centum parvorum Comuni Vincentiae quarum quarta pars pro toto excussu ex
arbitrio » (BCBVi, AT, SC, Libri dei Banditi, 1106, f° 15r°). Le cas des frères Antonio
Maria et Andrea Branzi Loschi, ils du noble Marcantonio, s’avère également instructif à
cet égard: le 30 janvier 1583, ces derniers sont inculpés de voies de faits contre un autre
noble, Giuseppe Fracanzan, à l’encontre duquel ils nourrissent de la haine (« odium »). Ils
sont tenus de régler la somme de trois cents livres, que leur père Marcantonio se charge
d’acquitter, destinée à la Commune de Vicence, car la sentence a été commuée en peine
pécuniaire, donc atténuée, en raison de la paix conclue entre-temps (BCBVi, AT, SC,
1138, f° 273):
Antonius Maria et Andreas fratres filios domini Marcantonii Brantii de Luschis contra quos processum fuit et est per nos et curiam nostram super querella contra eos
per viam constituti instituta per dominum Joseph Francazanum et processu super ea
formato de eo quod cum predicti querellati odium [nous soulignons] prosequentes in
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dictum dominum Joseph […]. Antonius Maria et Andreas de Branciis condemnentur
in libris tercentis denariorum parvorum insolidum comuni Vincentiae quarum quarta
pars applicetur reparationi pontium iuxta partem mitigata pena propter pacem [nous
soulignons] pro toto excessu ex arbitrio quas libras tercentas solvere debbeant antequam exeant [...].
L’afaire instruite le 1er septembre 1584 concerne une autre vengeance commise par
les frères Pietro, Parisio, Guerino et Mandricardo de Bavis, de la localité de San Giovanni
Illarione, tout comme par Francesco Soprana et Bernardino Birono, qui sont bannis et
condamnés à dédommager Giovanni Carlotto, le ils du défunt, ainsi que Zeno et Domenico Carlotto (BCBVi, AT, SC, Libro dei Banditi, 1107, f° 4r°). Les six inculpés sont donc
perpetuo banniti de Vincentia, Padua, Verona, Tarvisio et suis districtibus a Plavi
et Mintio citra et de inclita Civitatis Venetorum et Ducatu pro homicidio insidioso
et appensato comisso [nous soulignons] et si pervenerint quod decopentur et eorum
cadavera in quattuor partes dividanda appendendas super furcis locis solitis et salvis
promissis insolvendis ad dandum filio Joannis defuncti ducatos centum correntes et
Zeno et Domenico Carlotto ducatos 50 pro quoque pro eorum iniuria, damnis, salvo
iuro procedendi contra alios liquidendos.
Les afaires de vengeance sont peu explicitées dans les registres du Consulat: l’indication de « mandante » permet pourtant de relever l’existence de ce type de crime très
difus au XVIe siècle. Ces cas ne sont pas publiés, lorsque les prévenus se présentent
spontanément en prison (« se personaliter carceribus presenterunt »): il en va ainsi du
« mandante » Gasparo Cribele, de Lorenzo Cribele et de Girolamo Zupega, deux « mandatarii tutti de Zossan districto de Vicenza » (BCBVi, AT, SC, Libro dei Banditi, 1106, f°
44r°), accusés d’« homicidio apensato». De façon analogue, le 31 janvier 1587, les frères
Giovanni, Gasparo et Giovan Maria Lorenzoni sont qualiiés de « mandates », tandis que
les frères Mioto et Giovanni Zamfrati, les frères Battista et Andrea Mallosi, et Stefano
Pazzola sont les cinq « mandatarii » d’une vengeance qualiiée d’ « homicidio apensato
et convincto » (BCBVi, AT, SC, Libro dei Banditi, 1106, f° 52r°).
Dans le cadre coutumier et statutaire, même les actes les plus violents, ayant provoqué
la mort, peuvent donc être résolus à l’amiable entre les parties concernées, grâce à un
compromis qui conduit le notaire à oicialiser la paciication obtenue en rédigeant un
document: ainsi, le 20 juillet 1564, les frères Andrea et Battista Zanco, ils de Bartolomeo,
« non fuerunt publicati quia Andreas habuit pacem [nous soulignons] et solverunt actum ».
Andrea est banni initialement pour une durée de trois ans de Vicence et de son territoire,
de la ville de Bassano et pour trois mille au-delà des conins. Cependant, la paix ayant
été scellée, il est décidé qu’Andrea Zanco « sit absolutus a banno », grâce au règlement
d’une somme de 50 livres pour l’ofensé, lequel doit également recevoir cent livres de
Battista (BCBVi, AT, SC, Libri dei Banditi, 1105, f° 10v°). La recherche de la paix s’avère
essentielle comme le prouve, par exemple, le 22 septembre 1565, Giuseppe Sutoris, ils
de « messer » Michele, de Vicence, qui est condamné à un bannissement de trois ans, à un
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emprisonnement de trois mois et à une récompense (taglia) de 25 livres, l’inculpé pouvant
se libérer de sa condamnation à la condition de conclure un acte de paix avec Gasparo
Cremona, le père du défunt Stefano, et de lui remettre 50 ducats en or (BCBVi, AT, SC,
Libro dei Banditi, 1105, f° 28v°): « bannitus de Vincentia et vincentinu districtu et de
Bassano ac de aliis locis per annos tres proximos futuros et donec ad penam carceris per
menses tres et iterum revertatur cum talea [prime pour la capture] » de 25 livres, « cum
declaratione predictus Joseph possit se liberare a banno predicto habita pace [nous soulignons] a Gaspare Cremona patre Stephani defuncti solvendo eidem ducatos quinquaginta
auri ». La mention du banni Giuseppe Sutoris est bifée du registre du Consulat le 24
septembre 1568, car la durée de la condamnation a expiré: l’inculpé peut désormais être
intégré dans sa communauté.
Sous le « reggimento » du podestat Andrea Dolin, Alvise Trissino, ils de Pietro, et
Battista, son « carocerius », sont inculpés le 23 décembre 1586 d’une agression commise
contre Raimondo Paltono, le nom du noble vicentin ayant été bifé le lendemain du registre du Consulat, en raison de la paciication réalisée avec la partie adverse (BCBVi, AT,
SC, Libro dei Banditi, 1107, f° 51v°):
Quod dictus Aloysius sit banitus de Vincentia et vincentinus districtus et de Bassano
et eius territorio et per tria milliaria ultra confines bassani et de quattuor locis per
annos quinque; et sit extra protectionem et possit impune offendi, et si conductus
fuerit stet clausum in carcere per menses tres et postea revertatur ad banum tunc
incepturum et solvat captoribus libros 25, et salvis promissis condemnetur in ducatis
centum per ipsum dandis Domino Raimondo Paltono pro eius iniuria quos solvat
antequam exeat ex carcere cum declaratione quod secuta pax inter ipsos quod intelligatur absolutus a dicto banno [nous soulignons] et banitus tantum modo per annum
de Vincentia et burgis ad penam carceris per mensem, et contra Baptista ultrascriptus
non procedatur.
Le registre mentionne l’arrangement accompli au nom de la justice et de l’ordre,
hors des salles du tribunal, Alvise Trissino s’étant engagé à faire la paix avec la victime
Raimondo Paltono:
Cancellatum nomen et bannitum contrascripti Domini Aloysii Trissini mandata clarissimo potestatis [Andrea Dolin] ita comittere suo excellentissimo domino vicario ex
relatione Philomeni per et hoc stante pace secuta intervenientem dictum dominum
Alyosium [nous soulignons] ex una et Raymondum Paltronum ex alia ut constat
instrumento rogato per Dominum Benedettum Bascianum notarium publicum sub die
24 mensis septembris.
Fidèle à la négociation et à la préservation des hiérarchies sociales, le Consulat prononce ainsi des peines qui sont souvent modiiées au il du temps: c’est par exemple le cas
de Giovanni Caltran, ils de feu Pietro, « vincentinus civis dictus Nodarin », qui est signalé
dans les registres du tribunal le 3 août 1585, puis le 2 septembre 1598 (BCBVi, AT, SC,
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Libro dei Banditi, 1107, f° 19v°). Le 3 août 1585, Giovanni Caltran et Agostino, ils de
feu Gregorio de Agostini, surnommé Merlo, de la localité de Caltrano, sont condamnés au
bannissement pour une durée de douze ans ou à l’emprisonnement en cas de capture et,
dans ce cas, avec la promesse d’une prime de 50 livres pour ceux qui les appréhendent;
à une somme de 150 ducats à régler à l’une des deux victimes, Giacomo, et de 25 ducats
destinée à Pietro Rancio, « similiter offenso », avant de sortir de prison:
de Vincentia et vicentino districtu et per 15 miliaria ultra confines et de aliis terris et
locis per annos duodecim ad poenam carceris cum talia libras quinquaginta danda
captoribus et salvis promissis in ducatis centum quinquaginta currantibus pro ipsos
in solidum dandis Giacomo offenso, et similiter in ducatis viginte quinque in solidum
solvandis Petro Rancio similiter offenso pro eorum iniuriis, damnis et quas condemnationes solvere deberant ante quam exeant ex carceribus [nous soulignons].
Finalement, le 2 septembre 1598, sont bifés du registre le nom du contumace Giovanni Caltran et la mention de la peine, « cancellatum nomen et bannitum contrascripti
Joannis Caltrani in executione mandati clarissimi domini potestatis », alors que igurent les indications relatives à son bannissement perpétuel, sous peine de mort en cas
de capture à l’intérieur des terres dont il a été exclu: « perpetuo bannitus de Vincentia et
vincentino districtu et per 15 miliaria ultra confines et de inclita Civitate Venetiarum et
Ducatu et de aliis terris et locis ad poenam capitis per homicidio puro », la paciication
n’ayant pas été réalisée (BCBVi, AT, SC, Libro dei Banditi, 1107, f° 24r°). Il arrive
aussi que soit rayé le nom du prévenu si celui-ci se présente spontanément à la justice
et efectue sa défense, avant même la difusion du mandat du podestat qui le cite à
comparaître: le 17 novembre 1584, Francesco Zambonini, surnommé Cechon, ils de
feu Bernardino, originaire de la localité de Quinto, est inculpé d’homicide pur, mais
le mandat n’a pas été « publicus quia ante publicationem fuit [Francesco Zambonini]
detentus et admissus ad faciendum deffensiones suas » (BCBVi, AT, SC, Libro dei Banditi, 1107, f° 8r°). Néanmoins, quelques semaines plus tard, le 5 décembre, après avoir
pu se défendre et avoir subi les interrogatoires, sa peine est ixée, le Consulat ayant
décidé que Francesco Zambonini soit envoyé à Venise, puni de la peine des galères pour
trois années consécutives et, en cas d’inaptitude, emprisonné durant six mois, avant
d’être banni déinitivement: « Venetias ad serviendum super trimeribus condemnatus in
compendibus per remiga per annos tres continuos et sine erit habilis quod stet clausus
in carcere reato per menses sex et postea sit bannitus perpetuo de Vincentia et districtu
15 miliaria 4 locis Civitatis Venetorum et Ducatu cum pena carceris » (BCBVi, AT, SC,
Libro dei Banditi, 1107, f° 10r°).
CONTRÔLE SOCIAL, RITES JUDICIAIRES ET AUTORITÉ DE L’ÉTAT
Les peines prononcées par le tribunal vicentin dans la seconde moitié du XVIe siècle
ne sont pas nombreuses: on compte l’amende pécuniaire, les galères, l’amputation, la
peine capitale. La condamnation aux galères est préférée à la peine de mort, aux ampu-
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tations, aux expositions publiques, mais c’est en réalité le bannissement (perpétuel, à
durée déterminée, ad inquirendum), lié au système coutumier de la vengeance, qui est
le plus souvent inligé, dès lors que le prévenu est déclaré contumace. Cette propension
à bannir s’airme dès la loi du 15 mai 1545, approuvée d’abord par le Sénat, puis par le
Grand Conseil, cette peine étant considérée comme « extraordinaire » par les juges qui
peuvent agir selon l’arbitirum, lorsqu’il y a des circonstances atténuantes ou des doutes
susceptibles d’innocenter le prévenu (Viaro, 1980).
À l’instar de ce qui se produit ailleurs en Italie, le prévenu peut se présenter avant
la sentence déinitive de condamnation au bannissement, obtenir l’annulation de celleci et se disculper, en ayant réglé au préalable une peine pécuniaire (Cavalca, 1978,
169). La prudence caractérise le bannissement, les présupposés pour sa validité étant
la notiication au prévenu en mains propres et, en l’absence de celui-ci, à son domicile
(Cavalca, 1978, 172-173): à cette occasion, il est nécessaire de spéciier le crime attribué, répéter que le prévenu, cité à comparaître, ne s’est pas présenté dans les délais
prescrits et indiquer la peine que le fugitif encourt s’il est capturé. Le dernier acte de la
procédure d’expulsion est la signalisation du contumace dans un registre approprié, qui
est tenu par le Consulat de Vicence, car tous doivent savoir qui a été banni, le podestat,
de son côté, faisant igurer le nom du fugitif, la cause du bannissement, le montant de
la somme de la condamnation et mettre à la disposition du groupe dirigeant la liste des
accusés contumaces.
Instrument de lutte politique et de contrôle social, le bannissement constitue un
langage implicite de la vengeance et implique les valeurs à la fois de justice réparatrice,
favorable à la victime et contraignant l’ofenseur à réparer le tort causé, et de justice
punitive, expression du pouvoir central qui ignore les alliances et les factions nobiliaires
citadines. Aussi cette peine doit être comprise comme un outil destiné à établir une trêve,
ain que les groupes en litige parviennent à un accommodement. C’est seulement après
cette phase de discussion et, partant, de négociation, suivie de la paix, que le Consulat
reconnaît au banni le droit de réintégrer la communauté dont il a été exclu. Dans le cadre
du système vindicatoire, la résolution assurée par le tribunal local, qui aspire à sauvegarder les valeurs nobiliaires traditionnelles et à maintenir les équilibres sociaux, se trouve
traduite par la peine de bannissement, l’exclusion du bandit, la possibilité de tuer le fugitif
qui cherche à retourner dans le territoire interdit, la négociation et la conclusion d’une
paix, qui ofre au condamné la garantie de revenir à Vicence et dans son territoire, dans
un environnement social en principe apaisé.
Qu’il soit perpétuel ou provisoire, le bannissement traduit les exigences de la justice
pénale et le rôle d’équilibre qu’il convient d’établir entre la victime et l’inculpé. La peine
la plus sévère est le bannissement perpétuel de l’ensemble de l’État vénitien, ainsi que
de tous les navires, qu’ils soient armés ou désarmés (« tam parte terrae quam maris et
naviliis armatis et ex armatis »). Aussi bien à Venise qu’en Terre Ferme, le contumace
qui, cité à comparaître, ne se rend pas en justice pour répondre de ses actes, est tenu pour
coupable, ce qui, dans un premier temps, justiie de la part des autorités judiciaires le bannissement perpétuel et la peine capitale comme le souligne, dans la Prattica Criminale, le
chancelier vénitien Lorenzo Priori (Priori, 2004, 57):
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Quando non si potesse havere il reo nelle prigioni et, proclamato, né anco egli si
presentasse, ma restasse assente e contumace, con tutto che per general consuetudine
et prattica, mentre che vi siano inditii sufficienti a transmettere la citatione, si potria
bandire diffinitivamente con pena della vita, attento che li assenti et contumaci si
hanno per la forma de i statuti per confessi et convinti senz’altre legitime prove [...].
Ma nel Stato di questo Serenissimo Dominio, confrontandosi pure in certo modo con
dette leggi [les lois impériales et civiles], si osserva in prattica che restando il reo
contumace, convinto però in processo del delitto per testimonii o per inditii prossimi
al fatto di modo che il giudice con buona conscientia per dette prove o inditii prossimi
congionti con la contumacia, la quale è una tacita confessione del delitto, possa
condannare il reo alla diffinitiva, può esser punito alla detta diffinitiva, et tanto maggiormente quanto che per la forma del statuto s’havessero i rei assenti per confessi.
C’est ce qui se produit le 13 novembre 1586 pour Sacripano Bertolini, ils de Giovan
Battista, de la localité de San Vito, inculpé d’homicide prémédité et déclaré contumace.
Son absence le rend coupable aux yeux de la justice et le bannissement perpétuel est
inligé (BCBVi, AT, SC, Libro dei Banditi, 1107, f° 47v°):
Alias sub die 19 septembris [1586] signatus in bano perpetuo de Vincentia et vincentinu
districtu et per XV milliaria ultra confines de Inclita Civitatis Venetorum et Ducatu et
de quattuor locis pro homicidio cum malis qualitatibus comisso in personam Pompilii
filii Jacobi Brixa et ut in dicta signatura et non publicatus, stante fide etiam et nunc
repositus quia fuit intimatus ad se defendendum et fuit contumax, confirmetur in dicta
signatura banni perpetui ad penam capitis [nous soulignons].
Il existe une distinction entre les bannis en contumace, qui entrent dans le cadre de
l’autorité ordinaire des recteurs (exclusion de la ville, du territoire et de quinze mille
au-delà des frontières), et ceux qui sont exclus de l’ensemble de l’État vénitien – en
l’occurrence de Vicence, Padoue, Vérone et Trévise et de leurs territoires, ainsi que
des quatre lieux Gambarare, Oriago, Lizzafusina et Bottenigo (Priori, 2004, 60) –, une
mesure qui témoigne de la volonté du pouvoir central, à travers le Conseil des Dix,
de punir en faisant intervenir une instance judiciaire qui n’est pas locale; entre les
bannissements à durée déterminée et ceux perpétuels qui concernent également la ville
de Venise et le Dogado.
Les décisions adoptées par le groupe dirigeant vénitien sont destinées à favoriser,
à encourager et à maintenir la paix dans les villes et les territoires assujettis. La juridiction des cours locales, en l’occurrence celle du Consulat vicentin, s’avère donc, en
matière de bannissement, d’une extrême importance, l’objectif étant double: il s’agit
d’une part d’exiler ceux qui menacent la tranquillité de la communauté; d’autre part,
de rétablir la paix là où elle a été rompue. Fondée sur la discussion concernant le sort
du banni, accepté par les deux parties, une telle démarche est soutenue par le tribunal
local qui exprime les intérêts du groupe dominant et la volonté de contrôler les afaires
publiques, quelles qu’elles soient (administratives, politiques, judiciaires). Dans l’in-
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tention de rendre efective l’autorité judiciaire du tribunal, les statuts citadins prévoient
que les bannis peuvent être tués en toute impunité ou être libérés en tuant d’autres
bannis, ain d’assurer le respect des trêves acceptées par le tribunal local, de réduire
les tensions interfamiliales et de négocier les actes de paix. Le système vindicatoire
informel, dicté par les règles de la coutume et de la négociation, et celui formel des
institutions judiciaires, médiatisé et géré par les juristes rassemblés dans le collège homonyme, se trouvent unis, au nom de la paix et de l’ordre public, dans leurs eforts pour
réprimer les violences (Povolo, 1997, 2004, 2007, 2015b; Faggion, 1998, 2002, 2007).
De façon similaire, la pratique du bannissement s’intègre dans ces deux systèmes et est
appréhendée à travers les rites judiciaires qui constituent des garanties de défense pour
l’inculpé: la défense per patrem, le sauf-conduit et le bannissement ad inquirendum. La
défense per patrem permet au père du banni de se présenter en justice à la place du ils,
d’expliquer l’acte commis et de reconnaître la responsabilité de ce dernier, dans le cas
d’un homicide pur, dû à la légitime défense, selon une mesure adoptée par le tribunal
vénitien de la Quarantia criminal le 27 août 1533 « et in altri tempi », comme le décrit
Lorenzo Priori (Priori, 2004, 45):
Il padre per il figliuolo è ammesso a difendere la causa del figliuolo, conforme a molte
decisioni in simili casi seguite nell’eccellentissimo Conseglio di 40 al criminal, 1533
27 agosto et in altri tempi, ammettendosi detto padre non come procuratore, ma per il
proprio suo interesse et per delitto solamente puro et commesso a necessaria difesa
[nous soulignons], et che havesse esso padre legitimo et special mandato dal figliuolo
di poter a nome suo confessare il delitto. [...] Et se fosse provato dal padre che l’homicidio fosse seguito a caso o necessaria difesa, all’hora il giudice secondo la qualità
delle prove può dar un bando a tempo al reo come li paresse per conscientia: ma se
altrimenti fosse provato, si bandirebbe in perpetuo con pena della testa o della galera
in caso di contraffatione de’ confini.
À l’instar de la défense per patrem, l’usage du sauf-conduit joue un rôle important
dans la négociation et et ofre au prévenu la possibilité de se justiier, d’alléguer une
circonstance atténuante et d’éviter une peine sévère. L’attribution du sauf-conduit permet
au prévenu de bénéicier de garanties qui concernent l’acte répréhensible et son caractère
divisible, comme le prouve la distinction entre homicide pur et homicide prémédité
(Priori, 2004, 39-40):
Divisibile s’intende quando il delitto principale sia congionto con altro delitto di
diversa specie, et che per detta qualità o specie di delitto si alterasse la pena del principale et che il reo fosse degno di diversa et separata punizione [nous soulignons].
Come in essempio sarebbe se uno commettesse homicidio pensato: essendo la pena
del pensamento più grave per l’alterazione del delitto più di quella dell’homicidio
puro, questo reo può separar questo delitto, et come divisibile dimandare il salvocondotto per la qualità del puro et presentarsi per la qualità del pensamento [...].
Si è ben veduto et in prattica osservato che per l’homicidio commesso con schioppo
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il reo prende salvocondotto dell’homicidio et si presenta per la qualità del schioppo,
rispetto che la pena dell’archibuggio, stante le leggi, è maggiore et più grave di
quella dell’homicidio puro.
En revanche, le sauf-conduit n’est pas accordé si l’acte commis n’est pas divisible:
Ma se il delitto non fosse divisibile, cioè che non fosse congionto con altro maggior
delitto, all’hora et in tal caso non se gli concede salvocondotto, essendo che sarebbe
cosa ridicolosa di uno che fosse imputato di stronzatore di monete o di fabricarle
che egli volesse salvocondotto che non havesse instromenti tali per commetter questo
delitto, o fosse imputato d’homicidio et che volesse salvocondotto ch’egli non havesse
arme [...].
L’évaluation est ainsi efectuée entre un acte grave (par exemple, « homicidio
doloso », « homicidio pensato ex proposito », « homicidio commesso ex insidiis »,
« homicidio proditorio », « homicidio per assassinio ») et un autre commis fortuitement
ou sans préméditation (« homicidio a caso », « homicidio culposo »). L’afaire de Lelio
Trissino, appartenant à la branche des « Panensacco », inculpé d’homicide en 1583 et
d’un second perpétré en 1581 qui est mis en lumière grâce à l’enquête, aide à dégager
comment opèrent les justiciables et les acteurs de la justice citadine (Povolo, 2004, 2007;
Faggion, 2002, 2007): le procès est ouvert par le Consulat qui travaille dans l’intérêt
des élites locales. Le noble vicentin et deux autres complices, qui sont tous contumaces,
obtiennent de la justice un sauf-conduit les autorisant à se présenter au tribunal citadin
et à ne pas être soumis à d’autres chefs d’inculpation. Les interrogatoires sont conduits
de plano, ce qui leur permet de ne pas subir d’objections du juge chargé de l’afaire.
Lelio Trissino dispose également d’une « piezaria », une caution fournie par une tierce
personne qui l’autorise dès lors à se défendre, mais les proches des victimes demandent
au podestat de Vicence de ne pas accepter que l’afaire soit instruite par le Consulat,
« perché messer Lelio ha molti parenti et molti mezzi ». C’est la raison pour laquelle
le procès est ensuite remis à une magistrature de la capitale, l’Avogaria di Comun dont
les objectifs ne correspondent pas à ceux des élites urbaines, préoccupées de préserver
les hiérarchies sociales existantes. La même Casa aristocratique est concernée, aussi
en 1583, par une autre afaire retentissante, impliquant cette fois Marcantonio qui lave
l’honneur de son père Ciro, assassiné en 1576, en tuant son cousin Giulio Cesare. Dans
cette afaire, les proches – Ippolita, la mère de Giulio Cesare, et l’oncle de ce dernier,
Francesco –, écrivent une supplique à la Seigneurie de Venise, ain que l’afaire soit
instruite par la Quarantia Criminal (Povolo, 2015a). Mais, défendant ses privilèges
ancestraux et son tribunal, qui soutient les vengeances et la recomposition des conlits
nobiliaires, l’aristocratie vicentine n’accepte pas que le dossier échappe à son autorité.
En dépit de l’opposition manifestée par la ville de Vicence, le cas est délégué au podestat
de la ville de Padoue et à sa cour prétorienne, selon la procédure « servatis servandis »,
qui prévoit dès lors le strict respect des procédures traditionnelles, le Consulat vicentin
étant exclu de l’instruction du procès et du jugement. À l’instar de Lelio, Marcantonio
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Trissino dispose d’un sauf-conduit qui, selon le caractère divisible du crime, lui permet
d’être jugé uniquement pour les circonstances aggravantes de l’homicide prémédité
(« pensamento »): celles-ci faisant défaut, le noble prévenu peut être libéré et se présenter à nouveau pour un simple homicide (homicide pur), une démarche destinée à
favoriser la négociation et la paix. Marcantonio Trissino est condamné le 11 juillet
1584 à la relégation dans la ville de Bergame pour une durée de quatre ans, puis au
bannissement perpétuel des territoires situés entre les leuves Mincio et Piave.
Le bannissement ad inquirendum est prononcé uniquement dans le cas de délits
graves –« quando il reo non fosse convinto (come è detto) ma inditiato » (Priori, 2004,
58) –, lorsque le prévenu est contumace et que les juges n’ont pas assez d’indices sur la
culpabilité du fugitif. Dans ce cas, les recteurs ont la possibilité, et non l’obligation, en
cas de capture du banni, de le soumettre à la torture pour découvrir la vérité. Le délai
relatif à cette peine est de seize mois, une fois le mandat du recteur notiié, selon une loi
du Sénat du 15 octobre 1504, délai prolongé ensuite à deux ans le 18 juin 1524 (Priori,
2004, 58). Disposant de vingt-quatre mois pour revenir à l’intérieur du territoire dont il
se trouve exclu, sauf dans la ville de Venise qui lui reste interdite –, ain de répondre aux
accusations, d’ajouter des éléments au procès susceptibles de le disculper ou d’atténuer
la peine, le banni ne peut pas être attaqué en toute impunité comme c’est le cas pour les
autres prévenus. S’il est appréhendé par la justice ou s’il s’est présenté au cours du délai
prescrit, le procès continue, mais l’absence de sa présentation constitue un indice autorisant l’emploi de la torture. En revanche, si le temps de la condamnation s’est écoulé, le
bannissement devient déinitif et s’étend à l’ensemble de la République, avec l’alternative
de la mort (Priori, 2004, 58):
[…] si bandisce ad inquirendum secondo la legge 1524 18 giugno che riforma quella
del 1504 15 ottobre, così nel tempo come ne i delitti, perché quella voleva che i rei
havessero tempo di presentarsi di mesi sedici et comprendevano anco i casi puri, et
questa dà tempo di doi anni et vuole che nei casi attroci et pensati si possi venire a
questo bando chiamato ad inquirendum che non è altro che bandire questo assente di
quel luogo, territorio et per quindici miglia oltre i confini.
Le 3 décembre 1585 sont publiés les mandats concernant Francesco Polga, les frères
Giovanni et Giacomo Manduli, de la localité de Thiene, et Agostino Botanino. Étant
contumace, celui-ci est condamné à verser 1000 livres et au bannissement perpétuel de
Vicence, Padoue, Vérone et Trévise et de leurs territoires, « a Plavi et Mintio citra [les
leuves Piave et Mincio] et de quatuor locis ad inquirendum [nous soulignons] pro homicidio apensato ». Quant aux trois autres prévenus, ils sont relaxés (BCBVi, AT, SC, Libro
dei Banditi, 1107, f° 27v°). La sentence prononcée s’avère donc provisoire dans l’attente
de saisir le prévenu, devenu fugitif – donc banni par les autorités judiciaires –, et de le
soumettre à l’interrogatoire et à la torture: ainsi, le 27 septembre 1586, Francesco Palo de
Padoue, Bartolomeo Becari, surnommé le « Sordo » (le Sourd) et Battista Molendinari de
Malò sont astreints à une amende de 1000 livres et « banniti de Vincentia, Padoa, Verona,
Treviso et suis districtibus a Plavi et Mintio citra et de Alma Civitate Venetorum et Ducatu
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quatuor locis ad inquirendum [nous soulignons] homicidio apensato » (BCBVi, AT, SC,
Libro dei Banditi, 1107, f° 45v°).
Cependant, les dispositions prises par le pouvoir central, le Conseil des Dix, contrarient la gestion des conlits locaux par le Consulat. L’intervention du gouvernement
vénitien se fonde sur un processus qui brise le système réparateur privilégié par les
élites et les tribunaux du Dominio, et les pratiques judiciaires locales: deux périodes
peuvent être retenues, la première inaugurée par la loi de 1549 et la seconde par celle de
1580, qui marque un tournant décisif dans la lutte contre la criminalité, le banditisme et
le vagabondage dans la République de Venise et la mise en place d’une justice punitive
imposée par le Conseil des Dix qui empiète sur l’autorité ancestrale des tribunaux
citadins.
Les lois promulguées mettent à jour la politique répressive menée par le pouvoir
central tout comme les ambiguïtés et contradictions des dispositions prises dès la
seconde moitié du XVIe siècle (Povolo, 1980, 1986, 2016). En juillet 1549, le Conseil
des Dix décide en efet de suspendre la possibilité, autrefois reconnue aux bannis, de
pouvoir se libérer de leur peine en tuant ou en capturant d’autres bannis dans la juridiction dans laquelle ils ont été jugés. Plusieurs fois reprise – notamment le 31 octobre
1569 –, suspendue, puis reproposée avec des ajouts et modiications, la loi de 1549 fait
débuter en Terre Ferme une politique de la suspension: destinée à être appliquée de façon provisoire (durant deux ans), elle est maintenue jusqu’en 1555, ensuite suspendue
et réintroduite en 1580, le Conseil des Dix se chargeant désormais du bannissement
pour tout l’État. Au cours de ces périodes de suspension, les tribunaux citadins, comme
le Consulat de Vicence, reprennent leur autonomie à l’égard du pouvoir central, et le
système fondé sur les liens entre la vengeance et les institutions judiciaires locales est
à nouveau efectif.
Pourtant, déjà le 30 août 1531, le Conseil des Dix avait décrété que tous les bannis
surpris
in loco a loro prohibito per la forma della sententia loro [...] possino essere impune
offesi e morti », ainsi que « offeso e morto », celui qui leur ofre l’hospitalité, « perché
le spalle, e i favori che da altri hanno questi banditi sono le cause che li danno core
e li mantegono nella disobbedientia, per la quale tanti maleficii e con tanta facilità
sono da loro perpetrati (Leggi criminali del Serenissimo Dominio Veneto, 30‒31).
Une autre loi, adoptée le 18 août 1541, interdit les réunions de « gente armata al
numero quattro, e da lì in sù », l’obligation étant de les dénoncer avec la promesse d’une
récompense pour la capture ou le meurtre des individus poursuivis (Leggi criminali, 3839). Les afaires d’homicide, en nombre croissant dès la seconde moitié du XVIe siècle,
explique la sévérité du groupe dirigeant vénitien qui cherche à éradiquer le phénomène
du banditisme et à contrôler l’activité judiciaire des tribunaux de la Terre Ferme (Povolo, 1986, 2016). Les lois promulguées dès les années 1560 – notamment celle du 16
décembre 1560 (« Della pena delli assassini et altri che commetteno delitti attroci trovati
inflagranti crimine. Et del beneficio di quelli che li ammazzano o prendono vivi », Leggi
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criminali, 50) –, permettent de tuer n’importe quelle personne prise en lagrant délit en se
fondant sur des instruments de répression tels que l’attribution d’une prime, la libération
de son propre bannissement, l’impunité accordée à un banni qui tue un de ses complices:
en septembre 1561, deux lois se rapportent aux bandits qui n’hésitent pas à entrer dans les
territoires qui leur sont pourtant interdits; en novembre 1561, le Conseil des Dix cherche
à afaiblir et à contenir la loi du 16 décembre 1560, et ne donne plus la possibilité aux
bannis « diffinitivamente et in perpetuo » de se libérer du bannissement et d’en tuer un
autre, limitant une telle mesure aux seuls bannis pour cause d’homicide (« per homicidio
puro ovvero a tempo »). En février 1562, l’emploi et le port de certaines armes sont
prohibés; en septembre 1567, la loi de 1560 est à nouveau modiiée, le mot « atroce »
ayant été inséré. En décembre 1570, il est permis aux bannis et aux personnes incarcérées
de pouvoir commuer leur peine avec celle de la galère, seulement s’ils ne se sont pas
rendus coupables de « cas atroces ».
Quoique le nombre de magistratures pouvant imposer une prime pour la capture des
bannis soit élevé, seul le Conseil des Dix, dès 1549, dispose de fonds pour payer ceux qui
aspirent à obtenir une prime (taglia) pour appréhender ou tuer un fugitif: la récompense
se fonde sur la libération d’un bandit tenu pour coupable d’un acte moins grave que le
sien (Basaglia, 1985). La faculté de se « libérer du bannissement » – « liberar bandito »
dans le cas d’un homicide pur pour des bannis à durée provisoire –, igure comme l’un
des éléments les plus caractéristiques du système judiciaire qui se développe dans la
République de Venise au cours du XVIe siècle. Il s’agit, à l’origine, d’une mesure exceptionnelle, d’abord réservée aux oiciers qui parviennent à arrêter ou à tuer un banni pour
« cause atroce », ainsi qu’aux bannis qui veulent se libérer d’une telle condamnation,
limitée à ceux qui sont accusés d’homicide pur.
Nombreuses et souvent contradictoires, les dispositions prises par le pouvoir central
suivent les mécanismes du système vindicatoire et contribuent à suspendre la légitimité
des statuts et leurs dispositions internes, adoptées dans les conseils municipaux. La loi du
20 juillet 1580 « liberare il bandito », due au Conseil des Dix, casse déinitivement celle
promulguée en 1549 et parvient à occulter les liens traditionnels existant entre la logique
de la vengeance et le bannissement, celui-ci s’étendant à toute la République.
CONCLUSION
Grâce aux rites judiciaires (sauf-conduit, défense per patrem, bannissement ad inquirendum), le Consulat vicentin se distingue au XVIe siècle par une pratique du contrôle
social et de la défense du prévenu, une pratique qui se veut réparatrice, destinée à préserver les valeurs de la Respublica citadine, ainsi qu’à sauvegarder le système vindicatoire,
l’honneur des familles aristocratiques et les hiérarchies sociales existantes: le prévenu
est alors entendu et peut faire valoir sa défense dans l’intention d’atténuer la peine. Le
pouvoir central, tout en respectant les statuts et privilèges des villes de la Terre Ferme, ne
manque pas, dès la seconde moitié du XVIe siècle, face à l’augmentation inexorable des
vengeances (faide), d’intervenir dans la gestion des conlits, en imposant une politique
punitive qui fait i des alliances, des solidarités et des factions nobiliaires, dont la légiti-
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mité repose sur le Consulat et le Collège des Juges. La politique de suspension de la loi
de juillet 1549, supplantée par une autre émanant du Conseil des Dix en juillet 1580, de
nature étatique et punitive, témoigne de la volonté du groupe dirigeant vénitien d’afaiblir
l’autorité des élites urbaines du Dominio et d’éradiquer la violence par des mesures qui
concernent l’ensemble de la République.
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FAJDA IN KONZULAT V VICENZI V DRUGI POLOVICI 16. STOLETJA
Lucien FAGGION
Univerza Aix-Marseille, CNRS, TELEMME UMR 7303 –
Sredozemska hiša za humanistične vede, Aix-en-Provence, Francija
e-mail: lcnfaggion@gmail.com
POVZETEK
Namen prispevka je bil zbrati nasilna dejanja, storjena v italijanski provinci Vincenza
v drugi polovici 16. stoletja, torej primere za katere je bilo pristojno mestno sodišče
– Konzulat, ki je bil sestavljen iz dvanajstih lokalnih plemičev, od tega štirih konzulov
(consules), ki so prihajali iz Kolegija sodnikov – Collegio dei Giudici. Ti so bili nosilci
statutov in plemiške ideologije, kot tudi političnih in kulturnih vrednot Respublice, ki so
sodili tako v civilnih kot kazenskih zadevah, vedno v prisotnosti župana (podestà), beneškega patricija in predstavnikov sodišča (assessori). Posvetili smo se različnim načinom
sodnega ocenjevanja in presoje storilcev nasilja na podlagi pogajanj in kompenzacije,
kot tudi socialnega miru, medtem ko je koncept reda in kaznovanja izvajala Beneška republika, ki je želela prekiniti z lokalnimi tradicijami reševanja sporov. Intenzivni plemiški
spori, ki so bili značilni za celinska mesta Beneške republike od 16. stoletja dalje, so bili
zatrti s strani urbanih sodnih oblasti, ki so iskale rešitev v običajnem pravu in lokalni
zakonodaji, z namenom da bi tako ohranili notranjo družbeno hierarhijo. Na svojo pest
je beneška aristokracija skušala izkoreniniti nasilje in kodekse časti preko intervencij
sodišč iz prestolnice, Sveta desetih (Consiglio dei Dieci) ter Mestne Avogarie (Avogaria
di Comun), z različnimi rituali, kot tudi z vse bolj strogimi zakoni, ki so jih osrednje
oblasti pričele uvajati od srede 16. stoletja. Tako smo prikazali vlogo, ki jo je imelo lokalno sodstvo – osredotočeno predvsem na pomiritev in popravilo škode –, preden so bili
nekateri primeri nazadnje predani beneškim sodiščem ali drugim celinskim pretorskim
sodiščem (npr. v Padovi). Namen teh je bil zmanjšati logiko maščevalne paradigme in
lokalnega reševanja sporov v imenu javnega reda in Republike. Tako nam analiza delovanja konzulata v Vincenzi v drugi polovici 16. stoletja omogoča, da razmislimo o kaznih,
ki so bile naložene (trajni izgon, izgon za določen čas, izgon ad inquirendum) in razumeti,
kako je bila pravica uporabljena s strani različnih akterjev (sodniki, toženci, žrtve) preko
pravnih obredov, kot npr. prepustnica, obramba per patrem ter izgon ad inquirendum,
ki so toženi stranki omogočali obrambo ter rešitev spora med strankami – obtožencem,
žrtvijo ter vpleteno sorodstvo – v korist miru in ohranitve lokalne družbene hierarhije.
Ključne besede: Konzulat, konzulu, fajda, običaji, statuti, oprostilno sodstvo, kazensko
sodstvo, pravni obredi, izgon, izgon ad inquirendum, obramba per patrem, prepustnica,
mir, pogajanje
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Marcarelli, M. (2004): Pratiche di giustizia in età moderna : riti di paciicazione e mediazione nella Terraferma veneta. In: Chiodi, G. & C. Povolo (eds.): L’amministrazione
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in Italia fra medioevo ed età moderna. Bologna, Il Mulino, 207–221.
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(secc. XVI–XX). Roma, Viella, 255–296.
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e il suo stato territoriale (secoli XVI–XVIII). In: Povolo C. (ed.): Processo e difesa
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veneziane. In: Cozzi G. (ed.): Stato società e giustizia nella Repubblica veneta (sec.
XV–XVIII). Roma, Jouvence, vol. I, 379–430.
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Received: 2017-04-10
Original scientiic article
DOI 10.19233/AH.2017.09
MODERN AGE, ANCIENT CUSTOMS – SETTLING BLOOD
IN THE EASTERN ALPS BETWEEN THE LATE MIDDLE AGES
AND EARLY MODERNITY
Žiga OMAN
University of Maribor, Faculty of Arts, Koroška cesta 160, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenia
e-mail: zigaoman@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
The paper analyses blood feud as a legal custom of the system of conflict resolution in
Inner Austria during the transition from the Late Middle Ages to the early modern period.
Based on legal customs, common law, and early modern criminal law the analysis is
applied to a case of blood (homicide) settlement in Upper Carniola in the 17th century.
Two things in particular emerge: the long survival of this legal custom and the tendency
of blood feud for peace. Both put Inner Austria in these matters firmly within the broader
European legal context.
Keywords: blood feud, legal custom, conflict resolution, peacemaking, Carinthia, Carniola, Styria, Bled, Late Middle Ages, early Modern Period
ETÀ MODERNA, TRADIZIONI ANTICHE – LA RICONCILIAZIONE
NELLE ALPI ORIENTALI TRA IL TARDO MEDIOEVO E GLI INIZI
DELL’ETÀ MODERNA
SINTESI
Il saggio analizza la vendetta come un sistema giuridico per la soluzione dei conflitti
nell’Austria centrale nel periodo tra il tardo Medioevo e gli inizi dell’Età Moderna.
L’analisi si basa sulle tradizioni giuridiche, il diritto penale comune e quello degli
inizi dell’Età Moderna e viene applicata sull’esempio della riconciliazione (omicidio)
nell’area della Carniola dell’Ottocento. Vengono messi in risalto due fatti: la persistente
esistenza di tale tradizione giuridica e la tendenza verso la vendetta per ottenere la
riconciliazione. Entrambi collocano l’Austria centrale in un contesto giuridico europeo
più ampio.
Parole chiave: vendetta, tradizione giuridica, risoluzione dei conflitti, riconciliazione,
Carinzia, Carniola, Stiria, Bled, tardo Medioevo, inizi dell’Età Moderna
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OVERTURE: PEACEMAKING
In the evening of Shrove Sunday 1654 a ight had broken out among some subjects of
the Lordship of Bled, which had left Peter Jakopič severely beaten by the Svetina brothers.
He succumbed to his wounds a few days later. It is not attested why the ight broke out.
One of the brothers was arrested and imprisoned at Bled castle, while the others managed
to lee abroad. The testimonies from the witnesses their father Hanže Svetina presented
in court showed that it was unclear who delivered the deadly blow. Two weeks later the
Svetina and Jakopič families had settled the homicide. The culprits’ father made lasting
peace with the victim’s whole kin, which brought an end to their enmity (blood feud). As
part of the peace, composition had been paid to Jakopič’s widow and child (weregild), as
well as the lordship. The settlement allowed the youngest of the fugitive brothers to return
home immediately, while the other two had to remain in exile for a year and a day. After
that they were allowed to return to their homes and continue to live there in safety (ARS,
AS 721, kn. 20 (1652–1655), 10 and 25 April, 1654).
INTRODUCTION
These brief, yet meaningful lines from one of the protocols of the patrimonial and
provincial court1 in Bled, an estate belonging to the Bishopric of Brixen in Tyrol (Ribnikar, 1976, 7), attest to the existence of blood feuds among Upper Carniolan subjects in
the mid-17th century. That is to say that they attest to the peace settlement as an integral
part of blood feud. Like feud in general, it was a legal custom of the system of conlict
resolution and as such had the tendency to achieve lasting peace. The understanding of
this function of the (blood) feud is not a new one, yet historiography has only begun to
take it into account following the pertinent indings of ethnology and (legal) anthropology. Their research on more or less egalitarian stateless and pre-state societies from the
margins of Europe and other continents came to the result that (blood) feud as the primal
legal custom has the tendency to achieve peace and thus maintain social equilibrium.
Since the mid-20th century, historiography has been conirming these indings with their
successful application to research on European Medieval and early modern communities
of all social strata (Büchert Netterstrøm, 2007; Ergaver, 2016, 102–105).
The research has shown that the inclination for peace was just as strong among European
Medieval and early modern societies and that, as John Michael Wallace-Hadrill had put it,
“[f]euding in the sense of incessant private warfare is a myth; feuding in the sense of very
widespread and frequent procedures to reach composition-settlements necessarily hovering
on the edge of bloodshed, is not” (Wallace-Hadrill, 1959, 487). The desire to achieve peace
1
The division between the two in (at least) Carniola was not consistently implemented everywhere, leaving
many patrimonial courts fused with provincial courts (Kambič, 2005, 209). Three legal authorities shared
jurisdiction over the Lordship of Bled: Bled, i.e. its rentiers, the town of Radovljica and the Land Sovereign
(Škrubej, 2012, 209, 211–212). Provincial courts (Landgericht) had jurisdiction over the unprivileged estates, i.e. burghers and peasants (Golec, 2016, 148).
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Fig. 1: Bled in the 17th century (Valvasor, 2017)
existed both among legal experts and laymen of all social classes, from the aristocracy to
the lowest of subjects, with codiied law and legal customs complementing and supporting
each other (Ergaver, 2016, 104). This was a consequence of the so-called European legal
revolution, which set of in the 12th century, transferring ancient legal customs into the
professional legal sphere by codiication, making them part of common law (ius commune)
(Povolo, 2015, 196–197). This process saw the customs go through certain changes, as the
codiication did not only legitimize what was written, but also who was to record it. First
and foremost however, as William Ian Miller points out, “[i]n those instances in which the
law codiied well-established patterns of behavior, adherence to the rule would tell us less
about respect for the law than about the law’s respect for customary behavior”. This was
especially noticeable in practice as “[t]he will to Law was too strong to be contained to mere
laws” (Miller, 1996, 225, 229; cf. Frauenstädt, 1881, 21, 169). Miller’s words should serve
as a reminder for all legal texts referred to throughout this paper.
Feud as a legal custom of the system of conlict resolution followed the following
(ideal) stages or, rather, rituals. A sustained (gifted) injury demanded appropriate requital2
2
This exchange of gift and counter-gift in feud is given in the origin of the Slovene word maščevanje (vengeance), derived from “exchange” and “that, which stands for exchange” (Snoj, 1997, 327; cf. Lévi-Strauss,
1969, 60). In the late 16th century Hieronymus Megiser translated the German Rechen (Latin vlcisci, Italian vendicarsi; modern German Rächen) with the following early modern Slovene words: se maszhati, se
maszhováti (modern: se maščevati, to avenge), sadovoliti (modern: zadovoljiti, to satisfy, to settle), osvetuti
(archaic osvetiti, to avenge) and nadomestiti (same modern, to substitute, to exchange) (Megiser, 1592,
[187]). All of these words should also be taken as (customary) legal terms.
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(countergift) (cf. Miller, 1996, 182) so that harmony and peace were (re)established
between the parties (e.g. kin groups in blood feud) and consequently within the community. This was in accordance with the norms and customs of gift economy (Mauss,
2002). Appropriate requital meant that the violence in feuding was generally (and ideally)
limited. When the parties to the conlict did not want to or could not achieve peace among
themselves, especially if violence had already erupted, i.e. enmity3 had been declared, the
community intervened to maintain social order and peace. This is mediation. At irst by
those who had familial or allied ties to both parties in the feud and were, when not embroiled in the conlict themselves, regarded as impartial. If they failed, the community’s
authorities or legal experts followed, attempting to bring about a settlement. Both mediators and arbiters had to be accepted as such by both parties to the feud. Mediation set the
terms for settlement. First, all violence had to cease, i.e. a truce4 had to be reached. During
the truce the parties to the feud had the opportunity to peacefully resolve their conlict.
If or when they considered this appropriate and honourable, they brought their enmity to
an end and made lasting peace. Peace was additionally strengthened by forging not only
friendly (allied) but also familial bonds, i.e. by marriage,5 brotherhood, or godfatherhood.
An integral part of peacemaking was also the payment of composition, either in kind
or cash. Blood feud followed the same rituals. Spilled blood had to be requited with
blood or composition (weregild) and brought to an end by lasting peace. The parties to
a blood feud were the families (“whole kins”) of both the victim and the perpetrator and
thus it was not necessary for vengeance to be exacted upon the actual perpetrator. Any
appropriate target would do: generally only a free adult or adolescent male member of the
enemy kin. The threat reinforced the disposition of both parties towards peace. With the
inclusion (codiication) of (blood) feud into common law, legal professionals (notaries,
lawyers, judges) received an important role in settling conlicts, especially in towns and
cities, yet could not6 force the parties to make lasting peace7. In cases of homicide, if
the perpetrator was a foreign lord or his subject, the role of the victim’s family could
also be taken over by their lord, as the head of his feudal familia (de’ Passageri, 1546, f.
3
4
5
6
7
That enmity (also) stands for feud is most succinctly given in Early Medieval Lombard law, the Edictum
Rothari of 634: faida hoc est inimicitia (MGH, LL 4/I, 45., 20). The same is true for German Feindschaft
(Frauenstädt, 1881, 167). Consequently, the early modern Slovene word sovrashtvu (Megiser, 1592, [71])
(modern: sovraštvo, sovražnost) is also to be taken as a (customary) legal term (cf. Golec, 2016, 169).
Latin also treuga, fides, German Treue, the early modern Slovene translation for both being vera, sveshzhina (modern: vera, zvestoba) (Megiser, 1592, [255]; cf. Ergaver, 2016, 111). Thus they should also be taken
as (customary) legal terms, even if not necessarily for truce (cf. note 6).
This was also used to settle disputes by Upper Carniolan and Lower Styrian subjects, at least until the early
18th century (Kos, 2015, 161).
However, this was not necessarily true already by the late Middle Ages. The Antwerp town statute of 1437,
for instance, stipulated that peace should only be made in court, from the initial stages to the kiss of peace
(Frauenstädt, 1881, 105–108). Nonetheless, even if this should be foremost taken as a normative prescription, it is very telling in how closely the statute follows the rituals of customary settlement.
Hieronymus Megiser translated the German phrase Fried machen (Latin pacificare) as myriti (modern:
miriti) and Vertragen (Latin componere, Italian pacificare) as správiti (same in modern Slovene) (Megiser,
1592, [79, 277]). They might have been used for truce as well (peace v lasting peace) (cf. de‘ Passageri,
1546, f. 158r–159r). It is clear that both words are also to be taken as (customary) legal terms.
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147r–159v; Gluckmann, 1955, 1–26; Miller, 1996, 179–299; Mommertz, 2001, 222–247;
Darovec, 2016, 14–32; Ergaver, 2016, 106–125; Oman, 2016, 76–91).
The Bled case followed these same rituals. The existence of blood feud and the
authorities’ (lordship’s) “tolerance”8 for it in the mid-17th century should not come as a
surprise. Even though the early modern State was steadily pushing its way into conlict
resolution, in practice the ancient legal customs competed with state law and its implementation well into the early modern period. This is especially noticeable with blood feud
(cf. Frauenstädt, 1881, 93, 126, 168). Feud in general and blood feud in particular were
gradually pushed into “subsidiarity” (cf. Reinle, 2003, 281) by the State throughout the
Middle Ages and the early modern period, until it did away with both during this period.
The State established itself as the only authority to requite injury, the sole avenger or,
rather, punisher. A systematic substitution of the customs of settlement (peace) with the
law of punishment (inquisitorial procedure, torture) had begun in the 16th century, yet due
to the slow and gradual implementation was not completed before the end of the ancien
régime (Povolo, 2015, 196–199, 211, 221–227, 230–233). Thus, the “subsidiarity” of
(blood) feud must be taken with reserve until well into the early modern period. It was the
primary (primal) legal custom, to which the judicial path had been “subsidiary” or, rather,
secondary for centuries (Frauenstädt, 1881, 125–134, 168; Althof, 1997, 60, 87–88, 98).
In practice, this perception persisted until the end of legal plurality. Consequently, in the
long transitional period, as the Bled case also shows, the sources attest to the co-existence
of ancient legal customs and early modern criminal law, with the latter not necessarily
dictating conlict resolution.
In the case of blood feud this was early on understood also by German historiography.
If not before, then with Paul Frauenstädt’s seminal work Blutrache und Totschlagssühne
im Deutschen Mittelalter, which put special emphasis on blood (homicide) settlement9
in the “German” part of the Holy Roman Empire in Medieval and early modern times
(Frauenstädt, 1881). As William Ian Miller showed (Miller, 1996), another important German work on blood feud is Andreas Heusler’s Das Strafrecht der Isländersagas, which
pointed out the inseparability of (blood) feud and peace (Heusler, 1911). In contrast to feud
(Fehde), over which (not only) German historiography has spilled seas of ink, especially
regarding its legality and legitimacy, whether for the nobility or the subjects, there seems
to have been no greater dissent regarding this with blood feud. The fundamental (if quite
redundant) question seems to have been, if blood feud and Fehde, especially the so-called
Ritterfehde, had a common origin or not. Regardless of that, even by reading the sources
at face value, which was typical of both legal positivists and Otto Brunner (Zmora, 1997,
7), blood feud was acknowledged (a certain) legitimacy, which pertained to all estates. It
8
9
This „tolerance“ was acknowledgement of the custom‘s legitimacy (legality), and is not to be confused with
the Foucaultian tolerance for illegality (cf. Foucault, 2004, 93–101).
The term blood settlement seems more itting as it corresponds to customary terminology. The Serbian
(Montenegrin) expression umir krvi, for instance, means appeasing, settling blood (Ergaver, 2016, 109).
On the other hand, the German term Totschlagssühne, homicide settlement, seems to have been coined
by historians (cf. Frauenstädt, 1881, 141). There is no known early modern Slovene expression for blood
settlement, only peacemaking in general (cf. note 6).
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was also acknowledged that blood feud did not lose its legitimacy right after early modern
criminal law had begun to be issued (Reinle, 2003, 22; Büchert Netterstrøm, 2007, 20–28,
44–46; Þorláksson, 2007, 78, 92–94).
Slovene historiography on the other hand tackled blood feud on its “home turf” largely
in passing. Although the custom is also attested in Slovene folk poetry (Vilfan, 1943,
25–26; Štrekelj, 1980, 93–106, 191–199, 208–209, 213–215), it was partially regarded
as coming into disuse early by the “Slovenes”10 or, rather, their (Slavic) ancestors. The
renowned philologist Franc Miklošič in his comprehensive study on Slavic blood feud
(Die Blutrache bei den Slaven)11 thus established the thesis that the (Slavic) ancestors
of the Slovenes stopped using the custom because very early they had came under the
inluence of Germans already inluenced by Roman law (Miklosich, 1888, 162–163).
What is interesting is not the easy refutability of his thesis, but that Miklošič established
it despite being familiar with Frauenstädt’s work. This perspective was later disproven by
the legal historian Sergij Vilfan, with a case of blood (homicide) settlement among Slavs
(“Slovenes”) in the village of Landar in Friuli at the start of the 15th century (Vilfan, 1996,
457–458). Vilfan in general not only pointed out to the use of blood feud by the “Slovenes” in Late Medieval and early modern periods, but also to the custom’s integration
into Medieval codiied, i.e. common law (Vilfan, 1961, 262–264; Vilfan, 1996, 459–463).
In the time between Miklošič and Vilfan another legal historian, Metod Dolenc, sort of
“synthesized” both positions. On the one hand, Dolenc saw the end of blood feud already
in the 13th century; on the other, he listed clear cases of the custom’s survival in 17th and,
in part, even in 18th-century Carniola (Dolenc, 1935, 168, 175, 409–410, 417).
BLOOD FEUD IN THE COMMON LAW OF THE LATE MEDIEVAL
EASTERN ALPS
The duchies of Carinthia, Carniola and Styria were, like much of Inner Austria12
geographically and culturally (also) part of the (eastern) Alpine and Prealpine regions.
All three also had in common the basic linguistic division into Germanophone and Slo-
10 The term “Slovenes” should be taken with reserve, as there was no distinct Slovene (nor German etc.)
ethnic or national community prior to the 18th or, rather, 19th century. Until then, identiication was mostly
bound to locale, region, and province (Kosi, Stergar, 2016), as well as to religion. For instance, Primož
Trubar’s and Jurij Dalmatin’s “Slovenes” on one hand encompassed a (much) broader population – not in
any “irredentist” sense – than the Slovene linguistic territory, and on the other speciically only Protestants
who could understand their translations (Makarovič, 2008, 53–57).
11 I would like to thank Darko Darovec for notifying me as to its existence. The work seems to have been
forgotten by Slovene (legal) historiography, as neither Metod Dolenc nor Sergij Vilfan cited it.
12 Inner Austria was an entity of Habsburg hereditary lands (1564–1619/1749) made up of the Duchies of Carinthia, Carniola and Styria, the Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca, the Free City of Triest, the Margraviate of Istria and a few other smaller territories. Its capital until 1619, when the Princely (Landesfürst,
Land Sovereign) court moved to Vienna, was the Styrian capital Graz, which remained the seat of the Inner
Austrian Government until 1746. The latter was the Princely governing body second only to the Princely
Privy Council in Inner Austria. The Government had the authority over those at the lower Land/Provincial
level, including the courts (Spreitzhofer et al., 1988, 64–66).
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vene-speaking populations. For the given time period the legal sources were generally in
German even in the lands (Carniola) and regions (Southern Carinthia, Lower Styria) with
a predominantly Slovene-speaking population. This, however, does not mean, that German
was the only language used in court or the only language of law. In 16th-century Carniola,
knowledge of Slovene was demanded even from the highest oicials of both the Land
Estates and the Land Sovereign (Škrubej, 2012, 204–205). In court sources Slovene begins
to appear in the same century, mostly in patrimonial court sources (Škrubej, 2012, 205;
Golec, 2016, 148–149). The rest have been recorded in German, even if the court process
had been completely or largely in Slovene. The same goes for the case at hand, the peace
settlement from the Upper Carniolan Lordship of Bled, which was recorded in German.
Still, and not only for the sake of chronology, it is perhaps not unitting to begin the
chapter in the relative neighbourhood of Inner Austria, rather far from Bled. In 1293 a
Land/Provincial (i.e. State) Peace (Landfriede) for Bavaria was issued, which contains an
important stipulation: it stipulated sanctions for the homicide of those who were under immunity (peace) in passage to or from the duke’s court. Should anyone have killed, mortally
wounded, or maimed anyone under this immunity and then led the country, he would have
had to face either of two options: those acting in malice (mit mutwillen), i.e. criminally,
would be banished13 for life and their wife and children expropriated. The sanction was
much lighter should the killing have taken place in mortal enmity (todvintschaft), i.e. a
blood feud, or otherwise, yet barring malice. Still, this only applied should the perpetrator
have proved ignorance that the victim was under immunity. Should this have been successfully proven, the perpetrator would only have had to remain in exile for a year, while his
lord was forbidden to burn (devastate) his property or expropriate his wife and children.14
If the perpetrator was caught before he managed to lee to safety, he would have faced trial.
The stipulation was renewed in the Landfriede of 1300 (MGH, Const. 3, 633. §§1, 4, 6, 33,
614–615, 619; MGH, Const. 4,2, 1168., 1216–1225; cf. Reinle, 2003, 80).
The stipulation contained in both Landfrieden shows not only the existence of blood
feud, but also its legitimacy in the eyes of even the highest authorities. As with any other
form of violence it was of course forbidden to be exacted upon those under immunity
(Brown, 2011, 224–225). Still, the perpetrator’s ignorance of the victim being under such
immunity was considered an attenuating circumstance.
At roughly the same time a similar legal text was drafted or, rather, renewed in
Carinthia. In 1308 the town privileges, the “old rights” of the duchy’s capital St. Veit
an der Glan were ratiied by the town’s lord, the Carinthian Land Sovereign. He had
jurisdiction in homicide cases and when perpetrators were caught, they would face trial
before the Sovereign or his representative. Those who managed to lee, however, had to
pay the town lord a ine of 30 marks, the town judge (Stadtrichter), who had jurisdiction
13 The early modern Slovene term for banishment is bandishaine and to be banished vishan (Golec, 2016,
159).
14 The perpetrator‘s lord had the right to the perpetrator‘s property, whether he had it devastated or pawned
(Coulin, 1915, 368–369), while the victim‘s family had the right to the perpetrator‘s life (Bloch, 1962, 128).
The lord‘s or the court‘s participation in composition (cf. MGH Const. 2, Friderici II. 196a., 260) most
likely stemmed from his role as an arbiter or, rather, chief arbiter in the feud (cf. Ergaver, 2016, 118).
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Fig. 2: Safe conduct (CCB, 1507, f. 75v)
in other criminal cases, a pound, and the toll master 6 marks. Still, this only meant that
composition had been paid to the town authorities. The perpetrator still had to make peace
with the victim’s kin as best as possible, as the town privileges stipulate that perpetrators
“should beware of their enemies” (huet sich vor seinen veinden).15 As will be seen further
15 Ez hat auch der landesherre von bůzze nicht mer rechtes dan den totslach; ob er geschicht, wirt derselbe
begriffen, der dingt mit dem herren, als er stat an im vinde; chumt er aber hin, so geb dem herren dreyssich march phenningen, dem richter ein phunt, dem zolner sehs march und huet sich vor seinen veinden
(Schwind, Dopsch, 1895, 162).
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on, this could also mean that peace with the victim’s family had already been made or at
least agreed upon irst (i.e. truce). In the early modern period this seems to have become
the rule.
A successful escape following the homicide meant that the perpetrator had managed
to lee into asylum, especially a church or a castle (Burgfrieden) or abroad. Asylum was
given for the period of thrice two weeks (i.e. three court days), during which peace with
the victim’s family had to be made. The term could generally only be renewed once,
sometimes more often. Had blood still not been settled by then, the perpetrator still had
the opportunity to lee to another asylum and was also provided a safe escort (conduct;
Geleit) for part of the way. When asylum was sought at a castle, its lord or their oicial
had to help the perpetrator make peace (mediation). This was still valid in the early modern period. Various lesser immunities (Freiung) did not ofer protection in a blood feud
(Frauenstädt, 1881, 41, 51–84).
In Carinthia at the start of the 14th century blood feud still retained its legitimacy in
the eyes of the Land Sovereign much like in Bavaria. Not only that, it clearly shows that
the judicial route was considered by the population as “subsidiary” in homicide cases.
Not involving the courts (in the beginning) by light,16 especially leeing from the victim’s
kin (Zacharias, 1962, 173) and (irst) seeking peace in accordance with the old (legal)
customs, had surely been the preferred way, as both a court trial and facing ones enemies
entailed much more risk (Miller, 1996, 274–275, 288).
That the example from St. Veit was no local peculiarity, is further shown by the three
decades younger stipulation from the Land/Provincial Law (Landrecht) for Carinthia. It
was issued on 14 September 1338 in Graz together with an identical one for Carniola. For
cases of light following homicide, explicitly including subjects, the law stipulates that
perpetrators owed the higher court 30 marks and the lower 60 pennies, but otherwise had
to beware of their enemies (huͤ t sich vor sinen veinden und vor dem geschray). Still, even
if they were apprehended, they could still redeem themselves of the death sentence and
their wives and children were not to be expropriated.17
Already Sergij Vilfan concluded that both Landrechte condoned blood feud, maybe
even hinting at the legal custom of devastation (grundstöer) (Vilfan, 1996, 459–463).18
The best proof for this is the aforementioned Bavarian stipulation from 1293, prohibiting
the perpetrators’ lord from burning property and expropriating wives and children, which
Vilfan however never cited. There is also no indication that either Landrecht condoned
the devastation of the perpetrator’s property by the victim’s kin (cf. Vilfan, 1996, 460).
Nonetheless, both the Carinthian and the Carniolan Landrecht attest not only to the exi16 In Albania, when there were no witnesses to the homicide, light was stipulated by custom, so that the
community was notiied of the culprit‘s identity (Ergraver, 2016, 108).
17 Tuͤ t aber ainer einen totslag und chumt er davon, der ist dem obristen gericht vervallen dreizzig mark und
dem niedern gericht sechtzig phenning und huͤ t sich vor sinen veinden und vor dem geschray. Wirt er aber
begriffen, so ist hals wider hals oder er lose sich, wie er stat an dem lantsherren vindet, und sol des hausvrowe und siner chind nicht entgelten an dem guͤ t (Schwind, Dopsch, 1895, 175–176).
18 For more on devastation (commonly Wüstung) as a legal custom originally connected to blood feud see:
Coulin, 1915; Bühler, 1970.
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stence of blood feud well into the 14th century, but also of its legitimacy in the eyes of
the Princely authorities.
This is also attested in the mining law for the Upper Carniolan mines, i.e. miners, near
Jesenice from 1381. Should a mining foreman (pergmaister) kill someone, he had to pay
the Land Sovereign and the other foremen 12 pounds, and then his life and property were
safe from them, but not from his enemies (dan vor seinen veinden huet er sych).19 Peace
with the “authorities” did not entail peace with his victim’s kin.
Styria was no diferent. Weistümer20 of the Admont Benedictine monastery for its
oice of Obdach near Judenburg from 1391 attest to that. They stipulate adherence to
the accusatory principle in homicide cases (cf. Frauenstädt, 1881, 38), as the judge was
forbidden from taking the perpetrator captive if the victim’s kin did not call upon him to
do that (wo aber ainer ain leiblos macht, so sol der richter nicht nach im greifen, er wert
dann von sein freunden darumb berueft). The culprit still had to pay a ine to the Obdach
provost (Probst) (Bischof, Schönbach, 1881, 270, 277), i.e. composition to the lordship.
Lordships in Styria continued to condone blood feud in the following century, as can
be seen from the urbarial register of the parish of Sankt Dionysen near Bruck an der Mur
from 1431. The parish belonged to the Benedictine nunnery of Göss (Bischof, Schönbach,
1881, 315, 318). While Article 10 of the register completely prohibits declarations of
enmity or feud (ab dem gut sagt in gericht oder anderswo hin)21 both among the parish’s
and the abbey’s subjects as well as to those of other lords (Bischof, Schönbach, 1881,
318), the next article regulates homicide in much the same way as the aforementioned
laws and privileges. The led perpetrator had to pay two blood pennies22 and half a pound
to the judge to ensure safety from curial repercussions, but this did not entail safety from
the victim’s kin (ist er von im besichert, aber von des erslagen freunten nicht).23 As in
19 [S]chlegt ein maister der ist vnss vnd den andern maistern veruolln zwelff pfundt marckh den fur all sach
vnd als pald er die geit so sol fur pass vmb die sach mit seinem guot noch mit seinen leib niemant nichts zu
schaffen haben, dan vor seinen veinden huet er sych (Lačen-Benedičič et al., 2001, 10, 18).
20 Weistümer (singular Weistum, also Taiding etc.) are statutes of common law, found both in urban and
rural areas throughout the Empire. They were codiied legal customs, recorded in cooperation (examination) between the lordship and the (customary) legal experts among its subjects. Weistümer were recorded either on the lordship‘s demand or per request of its subjects, whether burghers or villagers (Dolenc,
1935, 118–119; cf. Obermair, 2015, 108–111). Weistümer for Carniola were collected for publication in
the collection Österreichische Weistümer, but never published (I would like to thank Borut Holcman for
this information).
21 At least in the 15th century this was not yet self-evident, as another Weistum from Carinthia attests. It was
composed for the neighbourhood of Wieting, a village near Althofen next to Friesach. The village belonged
to the provosty of the Benedictine monastery Sankt Peter in Salzburg. The neighbourhood‘s order stipulates
that the provost had to punish every subject who would attack someone without the prior declaration of enmity or feud (onentsagt) and an attempt to settle the matter in court (ôn ze red setzen) (Bischof, Schönbach,
1881, 508, 515).
22 The blood penny was at irst the judge‘s (lord‘s) share of weregild, evolving by the early modern period into
a fee for the kin to inspect the victim (Vilfan, 1961, 247).
23 Wan ainer erslagen wirdet auf dem guͤt, den sol man nicht aufheben ân des richter willen. wirdet der rechte
geschol begriffen und im zugesuͤcht mit dem rechten, so antwurtet man in als vor geschribet stet. wurd er
aber nicht begriffen, so geb er dem richter ain halb phunt phening und zwen plütphening, so ist er von im
besichert, aber von des erslagen freunten nicht (Bischof, Schönbach, 1881, 318).
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the Empire in general (Frauenstädt, 1881, 15, 37–38), the culprit had to make peace with
them as well as possible, or otherwise face vengeance. This shows that the ancient legal
custom in the 14th and 15th centuries was also condoned by monastic lordships.
Furthermore, as both the Bled case and the Carniolan Landrecht attest, even if the here
given Carinthian and Styrian Weistümer are from the predominantly or solely German-speaking regions of the respective duchies, the attitude towards the custom of blood feud
was no diferent in their predominantly or solely Slovene-speaking ones.
EARLY MODERN PERIOD: BETWEEN CUSTOM AND CRIMINAL LAW
It is the Weistümer that also ofer proof for the gradual implementation of early modern criminal law. An excellent case for the survival of customary conlict resolution
comes from the second half of the 16th century from Kleinsölk in northern Styria. Kleinsölk was a so-called “free valley” (Freithal) in an area largely supposed to be allodial
property of the Styrian Land Estates (eigen vom Land) (Bischof, Schönbach, 1881, 7).
One Weisung stipulates peacemaking in enmity or feud (feintschaft), which would arise
between neighbours either with (justiiable) cause or without. As the old customs (alter
herkomen) stipulated, the “bailif” (ambtman), together with four trustees (verorndten)
from the community (i.e. subjects), irst had to try their best to settle the conlict by peace
(güetlich zu vergleichen). Should both or one party to the conlict resist this, the matter
could be taken to court, but the “bailif” had to be compensated with a pound of pennies.
This is a clear case of the “subsidiarity” of the court path; after paying of the “bailif”,
both or one party had to summon the subjects’ court within three times fourteen days (i.e.
three court days) and present the matter there. The “bailif” and the lordship (the Land
Estates) also had to be paid 30 guldens before the court convened. Both parties were then
allowed to employ the lawyers “they could ind or aford”.24
Even though the Weistum does not explicitly refer to blood feud, there can be little
doubt that it was settled in a similar if not the same manner. Both the Landar case from
15th-century Friuli and especially the Bled case from 17th-century Carniola speak in
favour of this. Last but not least, the sources show little diference between the terms
enmity (vîntschaft) and mortal (tôtveintschaft, inimicitia mortalis) or capital enmity
(hauptveintschaft, inimicitia capitalis),25 i.e. between feud and blood feud (Frauenstädt,
1881, 10; Zacharias, 1962, 167).
24 Es ist auch von alter herkomen, so etwo ein nachber gegen dem andern in feintschaft mit oder ohne ursach
erwaxen that, sollen die 4 verorndten neben des ambtmans, da es sich anderst thuen lest, vleis anwenden,
die parteien güetlich zu vergleichen. da es aber bei inen beden, ainem oder dem andern, nit stat oder
bewegung funde, ist inen alsdann die merer obrigkeit zuersuechen unverwört, doch das er sich mit ainem
phunt phening vorher bei dem ambtman vergüete und hinein raiche. volgents inen 3 vierzehen tagen soll er
handl vorfüeren und das gericht mit urborsleiten im tall besazt werden; aber von stundt an, so die beisizer
zusamen komen, dreissig gulden dem ambtman vorher oder der obrigkeit erlegen. er oder die mögen procuratoren oder advocaten, wi si sich zum besten behelfen künen, ainhaimsche oder frembde erbiten, ires
gefallens und gelegenhait (Bischof, Schönbach, 1881, 12).
25 Neither the distinction nor the terminology was of course reserved to the Empire alone. For instance,
French sources also record inimitié, haine mortelle and ennemi capitale (Carroll, 2006, 8).
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The Kleinsölk and the Bled cases respectively attest that the legal custom of conlict
resolution survived largely unchanged through the centuries. Subsequently, the end of
mentions of blood feud in Carinthian and Styrian Weistümer in the 16th and 17th centuries should not be taken as the end of the custom itself, nor as the end of its “tolerance”
by the authorities. Proof for this are the Weistümer from Austria below the Enns (Lower
Austria), some of which show no change in stipulations regarding homicide (settlement)
between the 15th and 17th centuries (cf. Winter, 1896, 798, 804, 847), the implementation
of early modern criminal law by provincial courts (Winter, 1896, 276) notwithstanding.
The impossibility of its strict implementation dictated the further existence of legal custom throughout the Empire at least as late as the late 17th century.
At that, early modern criminal law at irst also followed legal custom (cf. Miller, 1996,
225, 229), modifying it for its own purpose. Criminal Law of the Bishopric of Bamberg,
Constitutio Criminalis Bambergensis from 1507,26 thus allows blood feud in case of the
perpetrator’s light, but the victim’s kin irst had to demand that the judge rule outlawry
for murder (!) (mordtacht). This meant that the judicial route had to be taken irst. Culprits
were summoned before the court on three consecutive court days (three times fourteen
days) and if they did not show up, outlawry or banishment (Acht) would be ruled. The
judge then “took” the perpetrator’s “body and property from peace” and put them into
“unpeace”, declaring him dishonourable and rightless, “free as a bird in the sky, a beast in
the woods and a ish in the waves”, to whom neither peace nor safety could be granted.27
All his property went to his lord, all his rights were turned to “unrights”, none who attacked
him would commit a crime (CCB 1507, §§231–241, f. 64v–66v).28 Banishment was not
necessarily unlimited, although it ought not expire before the victim’s kin had demanded
it. After a year had passed, the culprit could have been pardoned and in cases of homicide
receive safe conduct, the wishes of the victim’s kin notwithstanding – killing him now
would have been a crime. Outlawry could also be suspended for three months, so that the
perpetrator could prove that he had justiiable cause, which he had to swear in the irst
four weeks following the homicide (CCB 1507, §§244, 246–247, 270–271, f. 67v–68r,
76r). The novelty of Bambergensis is in that it only allows for blood feud following
outlawry. The aforementioned Late Medieval common law knows no such restriction. If
26 CCB 1507, http://www.uni-mannheim.de/mateo/desbillons/bambi.html (March 2017).
27 The victim‘s kin often attempted to deceive the court by not having the body buried before outlawry had
been ruled (CCB 1507, §249, 68r), i.e. on the fourth court day or eight weeks after the homicide. This
stemmed from the ancient custom that demanded that the victim‘s body remained unburied for as long as it
remained unavenged, reminding the kin of its obligation. With codiication, for instance in the Sachsenspiegel, the custom was transformed into a stipulation demanding that the corpse had to be present in court
upon each summons of the led perpetrator. Should he not appear, the judge was not to allow burial before
outlawry was ruled. With time burial begun to be allowed on the irst court day (Frauenstädt, 1881, 11).
28 N. als du mit vrteyln vnd recht zu der mordtacht erteylt worden bist, also nym ich dein leyb vnd gute auß
dem fride, vnd thu sie in den vnfride, vnd kuͤ nde dich erloß vnd rechtloß, vnd kuͤ nde dich den voegln frey in
den luͤ fften, vnd den thiern in dem walde, vnd den vischen in dem wage, vnd sollt auff keiner straffen noch in
keiner muntat die Keyser oder Koenig gefreyet haben, niendert friden noch gleyt haben. Und kuͤnde alle dein
lehen, die du hast, jrn herren ledig vnd loß, vnd von allem rechten, in alles vnrecht Und ist auch allermeniglich
erlaubt vber dich, das niemant dir freueln kan noch solle, der dich angreyfft (CCB 1507, §241, f. 66v)
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Fig. 3: Mordacht (CCB 1507, f. 64v)
the escaped perpetrator made peace (paid composition i.e. ines) with the authorities, he
was not considered an outlaw. He remained within the law, and thus could receive asylum
and assistance. Subsequently, the victim’s kin29 could opt for the (“subsidiary”) judicial
route precisely in hope for an outlawry ruling, which eliminated these advantages, i.e.
29 At least in some parts of Switzerland, and as late as the 16th century, only the women of the victim‘s kin
could initiate judicial proceedings, so that the family could still make use of the blood feud should the judge
reject outlawing the culprit. This was in use because if the lawsuit was initiated by a male relative, then a
blood feud was no longer an option (Frauenstädt, 1881, 22).
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rights (Frauenstädt, 1881, 22, 100–101). The exclusive restriction of blood feud to only
after outlawry had been ruled came with early modern criminal law. Nonetheless, its
reception of the legal custom is further proof of its resilience.
This is true of Emperor Charles V’s criminal law, Constitutio Criminalis Carolina
from 1532, as it is largely based on the Bambergensis, although it is rather taciturn regarding outlawry (CCC 1609, §155–156, 71). The Carolina had subsidiary status in Inner
Austria in regard to Land/Provincial statutes, i.e. the Provincial Court Procedure (Landgerichtsordnung) or Criminal Procedure (Malefizordnung) (Kambič, 2005, 205–207). This
document, together with the Bambergensis and the Carolina, introduced the inquisitory
process into conlict resolution, which gradually eliminated the accusatory procedure and,
with it, the (blood) feud (Frauenstädt, 1881, 172–173; Povolo, 2015).
In Habsburg hereditary lands the process had begun at the end of the 15th century
with Emperor Maximilian I’s laws for Tyrol, the Landrecht of 1496, and the Malefizrecht
of 1499.30 These were part of his general attempts to criminalize feuding, starting with
the so-called Perpetual Imperial Peace of 1495 (Reinle, 2003, 14). In cases of homicide
both Tyrolean laws demanded that the perpetrator stand trial even if he had already
made peace with the victim’s kin. Also, the authorities were not obligated to provide
perpetrators with safe conduct except when homicide was committed in self-defence. In
cases of the culprit’s light and triple contumacy, the Malefizrecht stipulated that both his
and his victim’s kin should be notiied of his outlawry once it was ruled (MRT 1506, f.
3v–4r, 11v), i.e. blood could only be requited with blood upon outlawry. Both laws were
the basis for the future development of criminal law in Inner Austria (Steppan, 2005).
Stipulations regarding outlawry were, for instance, mirrored in the Criminal Privileges
(Malefizfreiheiten) of the Carniolan capital Ljubljana in 1514 (LMF 1514, f. 1r, 4v–5r).
Not only its capital, Carniola itself, i.e. its Land Estates, had its Provincial Court
Procedure made after a “neighbouring” example (Kambič, 2005, 208), the Provincial
Court Procedure for Austria below the Enns from 1514.31 It stipulated that the perpetrator
had to be tried regardless of the settlement reached with the victim’s kin. Still, if the
settlement had not been reached, the judge was also forbidden to issue safe conduct to the
culprit. First, the culprit had to settle (vertragen) with the victim’s kin and make peace
(versuͤ nt) with his own lord by paying damages (composition) to him or his oicials. The
Land Sovereign was the only one allowed to pardon the perpetrator, as every killer lost his
grace, save for killing in self-defence, when the provincial judge (Landrichter) was also
allowed to grant pardon (LGÖ 1514, fol. 5v).
The Carniolan Provincial Court Procedure of 153532 however explicitly stipulates that
only the Land Sovereign was to pardon homicide, provided the victim’s kin agreed to that,33
and not provincial or even patrimonial courts, as was obviously at least fairly common if
30
31
32
33
MRT 1506, http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/~db/bsb00001925/images/ (March 2017).
LGÖ 1514, http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/~db/0003/bsb00039796/images/ (March 2017).
LGK 1535, http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/ferdinand1535 (March 2017).
The provision had been in use at least since the 13th century and was most likely connected to the „division“ of the perpetrator between his lord and his victim‘s kin (Bloch, 1962, 128–129). As the perpetrator
„belongs“ to the latter, it is they who can approve the pardon.
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not the rule in practice. Still, at least a year had to pass before pardon could be granted and
at least six months for homicides committed in self-defence if the perpetrator did not settle
(zůuertragen) with the victim’s kin. Self-defence could also be pardoned by the authorities
in whose jurisdiction it took place. The Procedure further stipulated, that when settling
blood in cases of self-defence the victim’s kin could not demand more (weregild) from
the perpetrator than his assets could meet, as was supposedly often the case. Therefore the
authorities and courts had to approve of the settlement irst (LGK 1535, 15).
These were common concerns with settling blood elsewhere (Frauenstädt, 1881, 141).
The purpose of these stipulations was to avoid blood feuds that would continue or erupt
otherwise. The custom had remained a reality in practice, novelties such as limiting it
only after outlawry had been ruled or in cases of self-defence notwithstanding, as they
remained only normative prescriptions for a while to come (Frauenstädt, 1881, 123–126).
As the Bled and Pleterje (given below) cases attest, at least some Carniolan provincial
and patrimonial courts still followed the old legal custom in homicide cases at least as
late as the 17th century.
Contrary to the Carniolan, the Styrian Provincial Court and Criminal Procedure of
1574, and in criminal matters also the Carinthian Provincial Court Procedure of 1577,
were based primarily on the Carolina (Kambič, 2005, 209). This of course did not mean
that the implementation of early modern criminal law in both duchies was any faster than
in Carniola. After all, the slow implementation seems to have been the norm throughout
the Empire (Frauenstädt, 1881; Zacharias, 1962, 172–175). For instance, a year following
the settlement among the subjects in Bled a homicide in a feud (Fehde) in the Styrian
town of Ptuj was also settled by paying composition (weregild) to the victim’s kin and
the town authorities (ine), which had also helped the settlement along in accordance with
legal custom (Oman, 2016, 93–95). Composition was not always paid in cash. In 1632
a subject of the Pleterje Charterhouse settled the enmity that broke out due to “involuntary manslaughter” (the victim put a borrowed irearm into ire and died in the resulting
explosion) with payment in kind (cereals) (Dolenc, 1935, 409–410). As late as 1724 the
Carniolan authorities issued grievances over the triling sums paid as composition to
the victims’ kin (AS 1, šk. 251, Patent of the Carniolan Landeshauptman regarding the
eradication of sins and vices, 4 March 1724, Ljubljana). It remains doubtful if they really
were triling to the parties involved, and not simply demeaned as such by the authorities
who were striving for people to obey the law. Already the Bambergensis scolded judges
who were only after ines instead of working towards “general peace and the common
good” (CCB 1507, §272, f. 77r).
THE CASE OF BLED: SETTLING BLOOD IN THE MID-17TH CENTURY
Comparing the settlement of Peter Jakopič’s homicide presented at the beginning of
the paper with the analyzed texts of common and early modern criminal law shows that
the settlement is a clear case of the survival of the blood feud as a legal custom of the
system of conlict resolution of 17th-century Upper Carniola. A more detailed analysis
further strengthens the thesis.
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Fig. 4: Upper Carniolans in 17th-century attire (Valvasor, 2017)
A few days after he was severely beaten by the four Svetina (Suettina) brothers in
the evening on Shrove Sunday (13 February) 1654, Peter Jakopič (Petter Jacopetsch)
died. The reason for the ight has not been recorded; it could well have been an argument
originating in or ampliied by the general carnival merriment and rowdiness, which had
the tendency to rapidly lead to violence (Muir, 2005, 93–105, 112–115).
What went on that night was given by testimony of the six witnesses whom the brothers’ father Hanže (Hannsche) Svetina presented to the Bled patrimonial and provincial
court on 10 April. This was a per patrem defence in the informative process (Povolo,
2015, 217–218). Hanže claimed that his son Matevž (Matheusch), who was in the interim
incarcerated at Bled castle, did not even hit, let alone kill Peter Jakopič. The irst to testify
was Jurij Ferčaj (Jurÿ Fertscheÿ), who said that he saw the ight and that all four brothers
had taken part in it. They were also the ones who had attacked the deceased, but Ferčaj
could not say who of them hit Jakopič and who did not. The second witness, Hanže
Golob, testiied much the same, claiming that it had been too dark to see who hit the
victim. The third witness, Gregor Andrejec (Andreÿez) corroborated, but also claimed that
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he had seen Matevž Svetina holding a club.34 Bastl (Sebastijan) Konič (Wastl Khonetsch)
was the fourth to testify, even if he was too late to the scene to have witnessed the ight.
Nonetheless, he advised Blaž (Wläsch) Svetina to return home and prevented him from
breaking into the victim’s house – this would have made matters much worse35 for him.
The most interesting is the testimony of Simon Mertelj (Mertell), even though he also had
not been present at the time of the ight. It is not the most interesting testimony because
he had advised the brothers to return home, nor because he had seen Matevž Svetina
holding a log in his hands, since he could not say if he had struck Jakopič with it or
not. The essential point of his testimony rather lay in the conversation between the three
brothers who had led, which Mertelj claimed he had overheard when he had escorted
them abroad – both to safety and in the intent to follow the customary path of settlement
(cf. Frauenstädt, 1881, 81) – namely that Matevž was not the one who should have been
arrested. The inal witness was Primož Černe (Primos Tscherne), who also arrived to the
scene only after the ight was already over and saw Jakopič beaten to the ground. As it had
been very dark, Černe could not say if Matevž Svetina was holding anything in his hands
when he was standing ive or six paces from the victim (AS 721, kn. 20 (1652–1655), 10
April, 1654).
Doubt had been cast regarding the perpetrator’s identity, which surely accelerated
the settlement. It was also common for courts to rule on the principle that it is better
that a culprit goes free than that an innocent is accused and punished (AS 721, kn. 18
(1636–1640), 25 February and 30 March, 1637).
Thus it should not come as a surprise that already on 25 April, only two weeks after the
witness’ testimonies, a peace settlement was reached between the families – Lent, which
had begun shortly after the homicide, might have accelerated it as well. Hanže Svetina
made peace with the widow, brothers, and the rest of the kin (gesambter freindschafft) of
the killed Peter Jakopič on behalf of his sons Matevž, Blaž, Hanže Jr, and Matija (Mathia)
as their relative (vetter), so that he could be given safe conduct (sicheres glaidt) (AS 721,
kn. 20 (1652–1655), 25 April, 1654). Svetina needed it as it protected the accused from
arrest when they appeared in court, especially guaranteeing protection from aggravating
circumstances in advance to those suspected of homicide (Povolo, 2015, 217). Furthermore, it was in general only granted to those who had already been given the chance to
make peace with their opponents or the court (Reinle, 2003, 89). Peace between the two
families was made by the following points or, rather, stages of the ritual of peacemaking.
First. The widow, brothers and the whole kin of the late Peter Jakopič had agreed
that all four Svetina brothers were to be given “true and full peace” (wirklichen vnd
volmechtigen friden), i.e. lasting peace, and safe conduct. They pledged that they would
not chase away the brothers upon their return home or remain in any kind of enmity
34 Upper Carniolans seem to have been known for their long and heavy clubs (see Fig. 4), mostly made of
hawthorn wood. The famous Carniolan polymath Johann Weikhard/Janez Vajkard Valvasor in the 17th
century stressed that a single blow by one could, and not rarely did, kill a man (Valvasor, 2017, 113–114).
35 Forced entry into someone‘s home (Heimsuchung) was a breach of the immunity (peace) of one‘s home and
thus strictly forbidden even in enmity or (blood) feud (Bischof, Schönbach, 1881, 306; Reinle, 2003, 81).
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(feindtschafft) with them, pledging instead to live with them in good neighbourliness
(guete nachperschafft), as is becoming. To that, Hanže Svetina pledged for himself and
his family that they would give Jakopič’s kin no reason or cause for anger or aggravation
(zorn oder widerwillen) and forever remain in peace and good neighbourliness with them
(AS 721, kn. 20 (1652–1655), 25 April, 1654).
Right at the start of peacemaking there was the essential reciprocal renouncement of
enmity or vengeance (Urfehde)36 and the restoration or establishment of good neighbourliness. The explicitness of including the respective entire kinsfolk of both perpetrator
and victim is essential, as the spilled blood involved them both. This is settling blood
before the feud escalates. Unlike some other cases from 17th-century Bled, the given
settlement does not mention establishing “love, honour and friendship” (lieb ehr vnd
freindtschafft) (AS 721, kn. 17 (1632–1636), 13 June and 15 September, 1635) between
the two families. However, this does not mean that the same words were left unsaid at
the oral peace settlement (cf. Vollrath, 1992, 295–296); quite the contrary, it is to be
expected that the oral settlement included all these phrases (in Slovene)37 and without a
doubt also a public gesture of peace. Most likely this was not a kiss of peace anymore,
as the gesture had been in decline since the 15th century, being replaced by an embrace
by both Protestants and Catholics in the following two centuries (Koslofsky, 2005, 25,
33; Carroll, 2016, 128–129). It is unknown which gesture was used in Upper Carniola
in the mid-17th century. If not a kiss or an embrace, then at least a handshake as one of
the fundamental legal gestures (Schmitt, 2000, 109), which also followed the kiss of
peace (Frauenstädt, 1881, 109; Carroll, 2016, 129). The peace between the two families
was, apart from being conirmed or ruled in court, without a doubt made in public, most
likely in front of a church and perhaps on a holiday (i.e. church fair) as attested (auf ofnen
khirchtag in gegenwurt viller perschonen) in another case of blood settlement in Bled
from 1637 (AS 721, kn. 18 (1636–1640), 27 April 1637).
Secondly, the three brothers who had led abroad following the homicide agreed to the
provision of the peace that the youngest, Hanže Jr, could return home as soon as possible,
so that he could help his father with work. Blaž and Matija agreed to remain abroad (in
exile) for a year and a day, after which they could return home and continue to live there
in safety (AS 721, kn. 20 (1652–1655), 25 April, 1654).
The exile of the two led brothers, obviously including the supposed culprit, had a
reinforcing efect on the peace settlement, as the absence of the culprit had a general
36 For two examples of Urfehde given by culprits to court in early modern Slovene see: Golec, 2016, 159–165.
37 Along the aforementioned (cf. notes 2–4, 6), Megiser gives the following pertinent early modern Slovene
translations: sovrashnik (Feind, hostis; modern: sovražnik) for enemy, perjasèn, prijasen (Freundschafft,
amicitia; prijateljstvo) for friendship, myr (Fried, pax; mir) for peace, lubesan (Liebe, amor; ljubezen)
for love, soßeszhina (Nachbawrschafft, vicinitas; sosedstvo) for neighbourliness, poboj, vbijanje (Todtschlag, caedes; uboj) for homicide and zhast, slava, dyka (Ehr, honor; čast) for honour (Megiser, 1592,
[54, 71, 79, 146, 165, 252]). Friendship and love were sometimes regarded as synonyms and both are
attested as (customary) legal terms (cf. Golec, 2016, 169). The rest of the words given here should also
be taken as such.
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soothing38 efect (Miller, 1996, 282; Povolo, 2015, 215). The same term is stipulated in
similar cases in the aforementioned Bavarian Landrecht from the late 13th century and
in the stipulations regarding the declaration of outlawry in Inner Austrian early modern
criminal law. Outlawry was however not the case here.39 It is clear that in the Bled case
the exile was part of the ancient legal custom and not its modiication by early modern
criminal law.
Third. Hanže Svetina pledged for his sons that he would give Jakopič’s widow 10
crowns for the support of her underage child as soon as possible, including a plot worth
30 crowns plus interest (AS 721, kn. 20 (1652–1655), 25 April, 1654). This is composition, weregild. It was not exactly triling, as altogether 40 crowns40 in the 17th century
amounted to the price of a farm (Hufe) or the yearly salary of a mid-level town oicial
(Kotnik, 1997, 48; Hernja Masten, 2005, 226). Weregild for a subject in Styria at the time
was about the same (Oman, 2016, 89). It was common both to pay support for the victim’s
underage children and, at least among subjects, that weregild was at least in part paid in
kind (Frauenstädt, 1881, 138–139; Dolenc, 1935, 410), in this case in arable land.
Fourth. Hanže Svetina had to pay the Lordship of Bled the legal expenses it had with
the case, namely 35 crowns and 2 gold ducats, within two weeks’ time (AS 721, kn. 20
(1652–1655), 25 April, 1654). The irst sum is composition paid to the lordship, originally
the judge’s (lord’s) part of the weregild, while the two ducats most likely stood as surety
for the settlement (Dolenc, 1935, 410). Fines for breaking settlements in Bled in the irst
half of the 17th century were between 6 and 10 gold ducats (AS 721, kn. 17 (1632–1636),
13 June and 15 September, 1635; AS 721, kn. 20 (1652–1655), 17 May, 1652).
The surety for peace was thus given by the patrimonial and land court (lordship) at
which it was made. Contrary to the complaints in the Bambergensis, this was not (only)
about money, as the control over peacemaking legitimised the courts as institutions which
upheld the social order, thus working towards “general peace and the common good”.
While there is no record of masses paid for the victim’s soul, perhaps roughly at the level
of the weregild and the composition to the court (cf. Oman, 2016, 89), i.e. ca. 30 crowns,
it is highly unlikely that one of the integral acts41 of peacemaking (Frauenstädt, 1881,
144–145, 153; Bloch, 1962, 129) would be left out in practice as well.
Nonetheless, settling blood in mid-17th century Bled shows clear similarities with the
blood feud as the legal custom of the system of conlict resolution in earlier times and
38 For the same reason blood settlements in the north of the Empire demanded that former enemies avoid each
other as much as possible for a year and a day (Frauenstädt, 1881, 128–134).
39 Regarding exile, there is yet another option, which again does not pertain to the case at hand, but is worth
mentioning. When the perpetrator was too poor to pay weregild, it could be substituted by exile or the extension thereof. In 17th-century Saxony, for instance, from three to four years (Carpzov, 1670, 198).
40 This amounts to 46 guldens and 40 kreutzers in Carniolan currency. A ducat was worth 5 guldens, a crown
one gulden and 10 kreutzers (Ribnikar, 1976, 29).
41 The existence of peace shrines, crosses, stones, and chapels (Marter, Sühnekreuz, Sühnestein, Mordstein),
which commonly marked homicide sites in the German-speaking areas of the Empire (Frauenstädt, 1881,
154–156), is unknown to me for Slovene-speaking ones. Considering the extent of their occurence (cf.
Sühnekreuze & Mordsteine, http://www.suehnekreuz.de/ (March, 2017)) they are to be expected, yet this
remains the work of a thorough analysis of Slovene wayside shrines.
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Fig. 5: Payment of weregild depicted in the Heidelberger Sachsenspiegel, early 14th
century (Heidelberger historische Bestände, http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/
cpg164/0035)
elsewhere in Europe, as given at the beginning of the paper. Injury and damage had to be
requited, whether in blood, kind, or cash in order that peace could honourably be made
and harmony (“good neighbourliness”) restored to the community.
CONCLUSION: MODERN AGE, ANCIENT CUSTOMS
Blood feud, being a primary (primal) and universal legal custom, was, as expected,
used by both the Germanic (German) and the Slavic (Slovene) speaking populations
of the discussed Eastern Alpine regions in the Medieval and early modern periods. As
the sources referred to throughout the paper attest, “ethnicity” was no dividing line, nor
was the existence and condonation of the custom of blood feud in the Lordship of Bled
determined by its jurisdictional fragmentation or its ecclesiastic lord. Even if the latter
might seem plausible, given the places of origin of some of the Weistümer mentioned
herein, this can be refuted by various cases from throughout the Empire. Both the custom
of enmity settlement (conlict resolution) given in the Weistum from the Styrian Sölk and
the case of customary and common legal practice from the Upper Carniolan Lordship
of Bled show parallels with the rituals of blood and enmity settlement elsewhere in the
Medieval and early modern Empire, as well as Europe as a whole.
The given Bled case went through the expected stages or, rather, rituals of (blood)
feud as a legal custom of the system of conlict resolution, in which both the lordship (i.e.
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its court) and the families involved placed the greatest emphasis on settlement. This is
in accordance with the tendency of feud towards peace. The origins of the ight remain
unknown, yet the break in social relations between the Svetina and Jakopič families was
the death of Peter Jakopič due to blows from the four Svetina brothers. Both to protect
themselves from the requital (vengeance) of Peter’s kin and with the intent to settle
(resolve) the conlict in accordance with custom, three of the brothers led abroad (the
fourth was apprehended and incarcerated by the lordship). With the culprits “far from
sight”, passions could cool down and the possibility for peace grew. The fact that the main
perpetrator among the brothers remained unknown also helped with that. The time of Lent
might have as well. If any formal truce was made remains unknown, but it seems that the
feud might have been suspended following the brothers’ light. In their absence, three
and a half months after the homicide, the families made lasting peace before the (joined)
patrimonial and provincial court in Bled. By that point mediation from either or both the
court and the community (neighbours, possibly the parish priest) is to be expected, even if
it was not recorded. Perhaps some of the witnesses Hanže Svetina presented in court acted
as mediators as well. The peace settlement contained the expected words and rituals. The
court protocol recorded the renouncement of enmity (vengeance), the re-establishment
of good neighbourliness, composition payments to both the victim’s kin (weregild) and
the lordship (court), as well as limited exile for two of the led brothers, including the
one responsible for Peter Jakopič’s death. The gesture of peace (whether kiss, embrace,
or handshake) and the payment of masses for the victim’s soul are without a doubt only
missing from the protocol. With the peace concluded, the blood feud begun with the
homicide was brought to an end, the balance in the community restored. The case attests
that as late as the mid-17th century the ancient legal customs were not only in use by the
subjects, but also accepted in more or less the same way as centuries before (including the
lordships and their courts), i.e. as a legitimate system of conlict resolution. Also, there
is actually nothing in the given case that points to the implementation of the novelties of
early modern criminal law.
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NOVI VEK, STARI OBIČAJI – POMIRITEV KRVI V VZHODNIH ALPAH MED
POZNIM SREDNJIM IN ZGODNJIM NOVIM VEKOM
Žiga OMAN
Univerza v Mariboru, Filozofska fakulteta, Koroška cesta 160, 2000 Maribor
e-mail: zigaoman@gmail.com
POVZETEK
Analiza primera pomiritve krvi (uboja) na Gorenjskem sredi 17. stoletja pokaže, da
je potekala v skladu z maščevanjem (krvnim) kot starodavnim pravnim običajem sistema
reševanja sporov. Kljub tedaj že dobro stoletje potekajoči implementaciji novoveške
(državne) kazenske zakonodaje, so se tako podložniki kot gospoščine ter patrimonialna
sodišča še naprej držali (tudi) običaja. S tem so sledili tudi njegovi kodifikaciji v obče
pravo, ki je prav tako razvidna iz uporabljenih koroških in štajerskih pravnih napotil iz
poznega srednjega in zgodnjega novega veka. Le-ta kažejo jasne vzporednice z običajem
in občim pravom v srednjeveškem in zgodnjenovoveškem Svetem rimskem cesarstvu in
Evropi nasploh.
Težnja pravnega običaja maščevanja k miru in obnovi družbenega ravnotežja je
podana skozi analizo blejskega primera. Po eni strani se kaže v hitrosti pomiritve, h
kateri je pripomogel beg večine storilcev (in arest tistega, ki mu beg ni uspel). Kot kažejo
občepravna besedila, je beg pomenil jasno izraženo željo po reševanju spora v skladu
z običajem maščevanja. Obenem je odsotnost storilcev olajšala sklenitev miru med
družinama žrtve in storilcev. Trajni mir je bil pred blejskim (združenim) patrimonialnim
in deželskim sodiščem sklenjen v skladu z običajem: kompozicijo (krvnino), vzajemnim
odrekom sovražnosti (maščevanju) in sklenitvijo dobrega sosedstva. Pravni običaj (krvnega) maščevanja je spor od zadane krivice (uboja) skozi obredje pomiritve popeljal k
trajnemu miru in v skupnosti obnovil ravnotežje, tj. »dobro sosedstvo«.
Ključne besede: krvno maščevanje, pravni običaj, reševanje sporov, pomiritev, Koroška,
Kranjska, Štajerska, Bled, pozni srednji vek, zgodnji novi vek
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Received: 2017-01-13
Original scientiic article
DOI 10.19233/AH.2017.10
»FIRST MY BROTHER, THEN A BLOOD-TAKER, THEN MY
BROTHER FOREVER«
THE EFFICIENCY OF THE TRADITIONAL PEACE-MAKING
CUSTOM IN EARLY MODERN AGE MONTENEGRO AND THE
ROLE OF THE VENETIAN AUTHORITIES IN THE PEACE-MAKING
PROCESS
Angelika ERGAVER
Nova Revija, Institute of Humanist Studies, Gospodinjska ulica 8, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
e-mail: angiesmeister@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
The paper discusses the tradition of vendetta and the peace-making process that were
a part of a customary legal tradition of rural kinship communities in Montenegro and
Albania. The custom was preserved throughout the centuries as both Venetian and Ottoman administration acknowledged the existing legal customs. However, in some cases
the customary peace-making custom proved itself to be more efficient than the diplomatic
intervention in the dispute resolution. The Venetian authorities on several occasions
ordered the rural kinship communities in the coastal area to make customary peace with
their neighbours in hope of preventing vendetta and feuds from developing immense
proportions.
Keywords: peace-making, blood feuding, Montenegro, Albania, Venetian Republic,
Modern age period
»PRIMA MIO FRATELLO, POI CARNEFICE, POI MIO FRATELLO
PER SEMPRE« L'EFFICACIA DEL TRADIZIONALE PROCESSO DI
RICONCILIAZIONE IN MONTENEGRO ALL'INIZIO DELL’ETÀ MODERNA
E IL RUOLO DELLE AUTORITÀ VENEZIANE NEL PROCESSO DI
RICONCILIAZIONE
SINTESI
L’articolo tratta la tradizione della vendetta di sangue e della riconciliazione che
fecero parte delle tradizioni consuetudinarie e legali delle comunità rurali imparentate
nel Montenegro e nell’Albania. Le consuetudini si sono conservate nel corso dei secoli,
siccome sia l’amministrazione veneziana sia quella ottomana riconobbero le tradizioni
giuridiche preesistenti. La riconciliazione in alcuni casi di soluzione dei conflitti si
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Angelika ERGAVER: »FIRST MY BROTHER, THEN A BLOOD-TAKER, THEN MY BROTHER FOREVER« ..., 179–206
dimostrò più efficace dell’intervento diplomatico. Per evitare vendette di sangue, come
pure che le dispute non raggiungessero dimensioni spropositate, le autorità veneziane in
varie occasioni ordinarono alle comunità rurali imparentate lungo la fascia costiera di
riconciliarsi con i loro vicini usando metodi tradizionali.
Parole chiave: pacificazione, Montenegro, Albania, Repubblica di Venezia, Età Moderna
THE RESEARCH OF VENDETTA IN SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE
The original custom of blood revenge remained in practice in some parts of the Balkan
Peninsula until the 20th century. The supposed peculiarity of the blood-revenge (Lat.
vindicta; Ita. vendetta, Serb. krvna osveta, Alb. gjakmarrja) triggered the interest and the
research of the legal customary tradition in the Montenegrin and the Albanian Highlands
(Crnogorska Brda and Mälesia e Madhe) from the 18th century onwards.1
In the 19th century, an extensive research of the legal traditions was carried out in the
territory between Herzegovina, Montenegro and Northern Albania by the renowned legalhistorian and philosopher, Valtazar Bogišić (Bogišić, 1999).2 In the Northern Albania, the
1
2
Venetian abbot Alberto Fortis mentioned the custom of vendetta among the Morlachs in Dalmatia in his
work Viaggio in Dalmazia (irst published in Venice, 1774) and stressed the similarity of the Morlach and the
Albanian (Arbanas) customary tradition, including some customs of the paciication (Fortis, 1984, 39–42).
In the 19th century the general interest for the customary legal traditions increased as a trend in the European
scientiic research (Imamović, 2008, 125), that was accompanied by the interest of oral traditions in the form
of tales and oral poetry (Kos, 1994, 167–169). The research of the oral traditions was carried out by linguists
and scholars, such as Vuk Stefanović Karadžić (Karadžić, 1814; 1818; 1846; 1865; 1875; comp. Jurančić,
1959, 137–138; Skakić, 1998, 46–47). The importance of the oral tradition was of interest to the bishop of
Zagreb, Matija Vrhovec, Stefan Verković, the Miladinov brothers of Struga, Russian Slavist, Viktor Ivanovič
Gligorovič, Kuzman Šapkarev, Marko Cepenkov, Ilarion Ruvarac, and other enthusiasts (Jurančić, 1959, 137;
Sazdov et al., 1988, 10–12; Sazdov, 1997, 243). Some valuable research on Slavic oral epics was carried out
by Millman Parry and his student, Albert B. Lord (Lord, 1981). Early ethnographers, anthropologists and
researchers such as Pavel Apolonovič Rovinskiĭ (Rovinskiĭ, 1994), Johan G. Kohl (Kohl, 2005), Gerhard Geseman (Geseman, 2003), Fran Miklošič (Miklošič, 1888), Božidar Petranović (Petranović, 1868) and Milorad
Medaković (Medaković, 1860), also took notice of the legal customs, yet not all with the same perspective.
Bogišić’s work was a commissioned project in the time of the rule of the prince (knjaz) Nikola I. Petrović of
Montenegro and supported by the Russian Tsar. His research of the legal traditions was carried out through
an extensive survey. Therefore, his work is also referred to as the Bogišić’s Survey (Bogišićeva anketa)
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irst researchers and collectors of the legal traditions were priests. Sthjefen K. Gjeçovi
collected legal-oral material known as the Code of Lekë Dukagjini, (orig. »Kanun i Lekë
Dukagjinit«, in the references KLD),3 whereas Frano Illia collected the legal material
that was traditionally referred to as the Canon of Skenderbeg (in the references SK; orig.
Kanuni i Skenderbeut)4 (Trnavci, 2008, 16; Elsie, 2015, 9; Pupovci, 2011, 32).
The 20th century research of the traditional way of life in Albania, Kosova and Montenegro is marked with local research of legal historians such as Ilija Jelić (Jelić, 1924),
Surja Pupovci (Pupovci, 2011), Milutin Djuričić (Djuričić, 1975; Đuričić, 1979) Milovan
Šćepanović (Šćepanović, 2003), Marino Zurl (Zurl, 1979), Genc Trnavci (Trnavci, 2008);
and foreign anthropological researches of Mary Edith Durham (Durham, 1909), Margaret
Hasluck (Hasluck, 1954), Christopher Boehm (Boehm, 1987), Fatos Tarifa (Tarifa, 2008),
Diane Gëllçi (Gëllçi, 2014) and Robert Elsie (Elsie, 2015).
THE LEGAL CUSTOMS IN THE BALKAN PENINSULA
The custom of blood revenge was deeply imbedded into the traditional way of life of
the Montenegrin and the Albanian tribal kinship communities. The irst preserved written
mentioning of the custom of vendetta on Balkan Peninsula is from the 6th or 7th century
Byzantine report on the customs of the Slavic population, who were kind and hospitable
and even took revenge for the murder of their guests (Jelić, 1926, 17–18).5 Throughout
the early middle ages, the customary legal traditions were preserved under the local
rulers, but the tradition was lexible and it changed and modiied over the centuries to
suit the given socio-political circumstances. The Albanian oral tradition even recognizes
Lekë III. Dukagjini and Georg Kastriot Skenderbeg, 15th century local aristocratic leaders, as experts in the legal customs and rites (Pupovci, 2011, 7, 9, 15, 23, 30–36). Similar
principals of rule seem to have been applicable in the Medieval Zeta, where the local
3
4
5
within the academic discourse. Based on the survey, Bogišić wrote and issued new property legislation for
the Principality of Montenegro in 1888 (orig. Opšti imovinski zakonik (OIZ)). As the survey tackled all the
legal spheres, it was diicult to analyse. The Bogišić’s Survey remained in the manuscript for almost a century until it was properly organized by a Serbian legal historian, Tomica Nikčević, who in 1984 published
the Survey under the title that was planned by Bogišić himself: Pravni običaji u Crnoj Gori, Hercegovini i
Albaniji (Legal customs in Montenegro, Herzegovina and Albania) (Nikčević, 1984; 1999).
The collection was translated in numerous world languages, recently also into the Montenegrin language
(Camaj, 2011, 230).
The collection was irst published in Italian language in Brescia in Italy in 1993. In 2004, it was translated
into Slovenian language and incorporated as an appendix into a monograph of Martin Berishaj, titled Skrita
moč bese. Ženske v imaginariju albanskega tradicionalizma. (The hidden power of besa. Women in the
imaginary of the Albanian traditionalsm) (SK, 105–309).
This custom remained in practice as a rite of hospitality. The guest was ofered »besa of the guest« and
was treated as a God in the house, and was ofered protection, safe conduct, food and shelter, regardless of
his origin or »criminal past«. The killing of a guest was perceived as a severe shame for the host and violation of the host’s honour and hospitability (KLD, §§ 602–652; SK point (hereafter p.) 652–658; Rovinskiĭ,
1994, 247). Customarily, the host had to kill any violator of the rites of hospitality, including his own family
members, as the Montenegrin proverb states: »An honest man would kill even his own father for a guest«
(orig. »Pošten bi čovjek i oca ubijo radi gosta«) (Bogišić, 1999, 330–332).
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aristocracy, such as the Balšići and the Crnojevići, respected the local legal customs of the
kinship communities and recognized the role of the clan chieftains and their assemblies
(Andrijašević & Rastoder, 2006, 33–38; comp. Dolenc, 1925, 59; Šufflay, 1991, 44).
Generally speaking, the tribal leaders and chieftains were traditionally the guardians of
the legal order and the legal traditions. Their duty was to efectively resolve disputes
within their communities (Stein, 1984. 19; comp. Evans-Pritchard, 1993, 179–188).
Indeed, the medieval Code of Tsar Stefan Dušan (Dušan’s Code, Serb. Dušanov zakonik,
DZ), issued in 1349 and edited in 1354, attempted to regulate and unify the legislation
within the Empire of the Serbs, Albanians and Greeks, yet, the customary tradition remained active, especially in the remote areas such as the Montenegrin and the Albanian
Highlands. The Dušan’s Code implies that the rural kinship communities had to solve the
disputes autonomously (Dolenc, 1925, 62), unless it was a case of greater injustice, which
was within the absolute juridical jurisprudence of the Tsars court, which included the
murders and the blood-revenge (Dolenc, 1925, 61; DZ, article (hereafter art.) 103; comp.
Petranović, 1868, 14). The medieval coastal towns of Kotor (Cataro),6 Budva (Budua),7
Bar (Antivari) and Ulcinj (Dulcigno) were given the privilege to codify their own legal
customs in written and developed or were granted statutes in the time of Serbian rule. The
statutes of Bar and Ulcinj have not been preserved.
THE REPUBLIC OF VENICE AND THE CUSTOMARY
LEGAL TRADITION IN SOUTHERN ADRIATIC
According to the statute of Kotor, the count was bound to respect the existing legal
traditions of the town and its district that was composed of the areas around the Bay of
Kotor (Ćirković, 2009a, 42–43; Milošević, 2009, 56–57). Therefore, the authorities in
Kotor were well acquainted with the legal customs of the kinship communities in the
district, which included the custom of vendetta as well as the custom of reconciliation.
When the Republic of Venice established its administration in the Bay of Kotor8
(1421–1797), the Venetian governors soon became acquainted with the local legal
customs. The Venetian administration was familiar with similar traditions of dispute
resolution from the Venetian Terraferma, where in the 15th century the duality in the legal
tradition also existed. In Veneto, in the area of Vicenza and Verona, the nobility in the
cities solved their disputes according to the statutory law, whereas the inhabitants of the
6
7
8
The Statute of Kotor was formed throughout the centuries with several editions and corrections. Its oldest
statutory legal regulation dates in 1301. In 1616, the Statute of Kotor was printed in Italian language and
divided into two parts. First part consists of statutory laws that were passed during the period of the autonomy of Kotor (1384–1420); the second part holds the statutory laws that were passed in the irst period
of the Venetian administration in Kotor (1421–1444) (Milošević & Ćirković, 2009, 11–13).
During the reign of the Nemanjići dynasty, the town of Budva was given a statute that bares no criminal
legislation. Criminal justice was in the direct jurisprudence of the Serbian rulers (St B III).
Unlike the Slavic historiography (Andrijašević & Rastoder, 2006. 47; Šufflay, 1991, 13), some foreign
historiography stresses that the nobility of Kotor petitioned for the protectorate of the Republic of Venice
(O’Connell, 2009, 30–31). The trade between the Kotor and Venice, however, has been recorded from the
12th century onwards (Bogojević-Glušičević, 2002, 8).
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rural areas outside the city resolved their disputes according to the existing legal customs,
but with the help and the presence of the town notary (Faggion, 2013, 186–193).
Besides the Bay of Kotor, the area of Paštrovići, between Budva and Bar, was of
strategic importance for the Republic of Venice. To gain the support of the local kinship communities, the Venetian administration granted the Paštrovići the privileges that
the kinship communities supposedly enjoyed during the rule of the Nemanjići dynasty
(Šekularac, 1999, 9; Mijušković, 1959, 474–475, 507). The privileges, conirmed by
the Venetian Senate in 1424, granted Paštrovići the right to further exercise their legal
customs,9 which included dispute resolution and reconciliation before the local judicial
assembly (Bankada), composed of the representatives of the communities form the
Paštrovići area (Mijušković, 1959, 482–483; O’Connel, 2009, 31).
The medieval legal tradition luctuated between the oral and written form. However,
people were becoming well aware of the importance and the higher level of credibility
of the written legal documents (Lonza, 2013, 1217). Some of the preserved medieval
notarial registers of Kotor (IAK SN) testify that the kinship communities from the district
of Kotor and its hinterland used the notarial oice of Kotor to verify the peace treaties
after they had reconciled according to their local customs.
PEACE TREATIES OF KOTOR
In the beginning of 1431, the representatives of the villages of Luštica and communities of Grbalj10 came before the authorities in Kotor to verify their peace treaty. The
parties stated that they forgave one another and exchanged a kiss of peace (Lat. osculo
pacis) before the court. The parties agreed upon a ine of 200 ducats11 for violation of the
peace treaty (IAK SN V, 5-6, date (datum, hereafter dat.) 9. 1. 1431).
In 1437, the representatives of the Njeguši clan of Zeta and the representatives of the
village Orahovac from the district of Kotor came to the town of Kotor to verify the peace
treaty. The parties exchanged a kiss of peace before the court and declared mutual pardon
for wounds and killings. The parties agreed to form marriage alliances. In case of the
violation of peace, the parties agreed upon a ine of 100 perper12 (IAK SN VI, 286–287,
dat. 22. 12. 1437; Kovijanić, 1963, 100).
The following year, on March 31st, 1438, the notarial registers produced a document
titled Pax inter Regianos, Morignanos, Rexianos et Poliçanos. The representatives of
the clan Riđani from the hinterland and the villages of Morinje, Risan and Poljice, from
9
Paštrovići remained under the Venetian protection until the collapse of the Republic of Venice in 1797. The
privileges of the Paštrovići were abolished by the French administration in 1807 (Šekularac, 1999, 8).
10 At the time, both areas were within the territorial frames of the district of Kotor (Ćirković, 2009b, 39–41).
11 Venetian ducato (zecchino) was a gold piece coin minted from the 12th century onwards with mass of 3.55
grams (Chown, 1994, 33–35; Darovec, 2004, 66).
12 Serbian perper or perpera was a ictive iscal unit that was composed of 12 silver coins (dinar) with an
approximate mass of 1.5 grams. The currency exchange rate between the perper(a) and ducato was 2 to 1.
Medieval Serbian coins were used in Montenegro as late as in the 18th and 19th century (Ćirković, 2009c;
Srednjovjekovni novac, 2016).
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the Bay of Kotor, had made customary peace amongst themselves on January 7th, 1438.
The compensation and the rates were determined by custom and the parties were to form
fraternities and godfatherhoods. The representatives of Riđani and Poljice promised to
solve the pending dispute regarding the borders of their pastures and promised to keep
an open passage through their properties. On the last day of March, the representatives of
all four communities veriied their agreement of permanent peace (pacem perpetuam) by
giving an oath upon the sacred Gospel and the Cross before the court in Kotor. The ine
for violation of the treaty was 500 Venetian denari.13 The parties requested the authorities
of Kotor to issue them written proofs of the contract, which were translated from Latin to
Slavic (IAK SN VI, 450–451, dat. 31. 3. 1438; Kovijanić, 1974, 185).
In March of 1439, the Petrojević brothers from Lastva and the representatives of Veće
Brdo, Bijela and Lastva came to Kotor to verify the peace treaty that has been made
customarily in front of the assembly of 24 »good men«. The members of the assembly
were mutually selected by the parties to determine the compensation in their blood feud
(IAK SN VI, 683–684, dat. 25. 3. 1439).
Although the Paštrovići enjoyed the judicial autonomy, their judicial body, the
Bankada, had no permanent notarial oice. Instead, the documents were written by priests
and monks of the local monasteries (Šekularac, 1999, 8–14; Sindik et al., 1959, V).
In 1440, the representatives of two Paštrovići clans agreed to make peace according to
the custom before the Venetian authorities in Kotor on April 2nd, 1440. The Venetian authorities, however, were not the judges or the arbiters in this case, but merely the witnesses. Each
party selected 12 arbiters that jointly determined the amount of the composition for a person
that has been killed (IAK SN VI, 935–936, dat. 2. 4. 1440).The peace treaty was conirmed
on May 25th, 1440. The parties were to form godfatherhoods and were both inancially liable
in case of the violation of the treaty (IAK SN VI, 979–981, dat. 25. 5. 1440).
In none of the cases, the Venetian authorities were the judges in the disputes and did
not deliberate on the amount of the compositions. The latter case shows that the town of
Kotor merely ofered its premises where the parties decided to make peace according to
the custom.
RURAL KINSHIP COMMUNITIES, THEIR INTERNAL
AND JUDICIAL ORGANIZATION
In kinship communities, the clan (Serb. bratstvo; Alb. fis) was the unit that was primarily, but not necessarily entirely, formed on the basis of male blood-line lineage (Tarifa,
2008, 50–53). The smallest economic and political unit in the village14 was the house, led
by the head of the household, who controlled and led all the aspects of life within the
13 The Venetian denaro, also known as grosso, estimated at 1/24 of ducato, was a silver coin with an approximate mass of 2.18 grams. It contained 95% of pure silver, which is 2.07 grams per coin (Darovec, 2004, 66;
Monete di Venezia, 2016).
14 The clans usually inhabited a territory of one village, with several family houses, and communal land –
pastures and ields and forests (Jelić, 1926, 60; KLD, § 19 (footnote 2); KLD § 26).
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family, in order to assure its prosperity. He was liable for the behaviour of the members of
the household towards other members of the clan and/or village and had the right to punish
the members of the household (Dolenc, 1925, 114–115; KLD paragraphs (hereafter §§) 18,
22–21, 26–27; KLD, Book 4; Hasluck, 1954, 25–50). The role of the head of the household
is comparable to the role of the Paterfamilias in the Roman Antiquity (Stein, 1984, 27).
The heads of the households in the village were the members of the village assembly
(KLD, paragraph (hereafter §) 72). Each clan also had its own clan chieftain. They were
from the leading household in the clan and the chieftain role was hereditary. The Albanian
term pleqnise and its slavicized form plećnija were the terms for the village and tribal
assembly. The assemblies included all the current heads of the households in the clan or
village, as well as the former and still living heads of the households. The latter, due to
their age, passed their active chieftain role to the younger generation and kept the role of
advisors in a council at the assemblies15 (KLD, §§ 1146–1148; Bogišić, 1999, 241–242;
Jelić, 1926, 60–61; Hasluck, 1954, 10, 130–131).
The judicial role of the clan chieftains is mentioned in the Dušan’s code (Dolenc, 1925,
62). The clan or the village assembly gathered regularly to discuss all general questions
regarding their community, as well as the disputes among the members of the community.
All adult male members of the community were also present at the assembly, where each
individual could expose a certain conlict or a dispute one had with another member of the
community or lament about an injustice done to them by members of another community.
Members who sufered injustice did not need to wait for a regular village assembly meeting, but could lament directly to one of the chieftains,16 who called upon other chieftains
to form an assembly to resolve the dispute as soon as possible (KLD §§ 1108, 1119–1120;
1176–1178; Bogišić, 1999, 294–295). The chieftains also called the accused to attend the
assembly to be questioned about his actions (Bogišić, 1999, 295–296).17
If the wrongdoer was from another clan, the injured party lamented to the local chieftains who notiied the chieftains of the other clan and demanded composition for their
clan member. The chieftains of both clans agreed upon a date and place18 of the assembly
meeting, where the trial was to be held and the chieftains would deliberate on the sum
of the composition (Bogišić, 1999, 294). Theoretically. Practically, however, in disputes
between clans and tribes there was always a pending competition for honour and power.
A deliberate injury between the clans tipped the scales of balance of power in favour of
one of the parties. The other tried to restore the balance by returning the injury and thus
entering the state of the feud.19
15 Similar is also recorded in other tribal societies (Radclife-Brown, 1994, 241–242).
16 Indeed, in cases of smaller disputes between the members of one village, the disputants could select one
or two chieftains and let them resolve the dispute by arbitration and no assembly was needed (Bogišić,
1999, 349).
17 About the accusatory trial rites among the Montenegrin and Albanian tribes see: Bogišić. 1999, 194–316;
KLD, §§ 1017–1105; Djuričić, 1975, 11–136; Jelić, 1926, 71–79; Dragičević, 1938, 278–288.
18 The joint assemblies of the chieftains of diferent clans or tribes were held on the borderline areas between
both communities (Bogišić, 1999, 295).
19 About the theoretical and practical frames of feuding and dispute resolution see Boehm, 1987, 50–219;
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The damage caused by the livestock of one clan in the pastures or ields another clan
was a case that called for compensation, but the course of the dispute resolution or evolution depended upon the numerical and economic power of both clans (KLD, art. »Svinja
u šteti«, §§ 163, 748–755; comp. Bogišić, 1999, 279–280, 365–367).
The dispute could have turned into a feud with mutual exchanges of raids and armed
combats between the parties with multiple physical injuries and casualties on both sides.
Yet, the violence within the feud was regulated by custom; especially violence against
women, children and elderlies was prohibited, as was a deliberate poisoning of the water
sources of common use (KLD, §§ 163, 748–755; Bogišić, 1999, 348–349; Boehm, 1987,
52; Hasluck, 1954, 202–209). Similarly, feuds arose also on the account of the landownership (Bogišić, 1999, 359–360).
Generally, all communities were inclined towards internal and external harmonious equilibrium. Therefore, the role of the chieftains was to resolve the disputes as
soon as they arose, in order to prevent them from acquiring bigger proportions and
thus preventing vendetta. However, that was not always possible nor were the attempts
always successful.
THE RURAL KINSHIP COMMUNITIES BETWEEN THE VENETIAN
AND THE OTTOMAN ADMINISTRATIVE AREA
After the Ottoman-Venetian war (1499–1503) that marked the end of the expansion of
the Republic of Venice in the Mediterranean, the borders between both political entities
were settled in Dalmatia (Orlando, 2014, 183–184). The Bay of Kotor and the coastal
stripe between Budva and Bar, (the area of Paštrovići), belonged to the Republic of
Venice, whereas the hinterland of Montenegro, including the area of Grbalj, a district
between the Bay of Kotor and Budva, belonged to the Ottoman Empire. Although the
land of Montenegro underwent some administrative division during the Ottoman rule,
it remained autonomous in many regards. Furthermore, the population had the right to
exercise their existing legal customs.20 When the territorial division took place in the
Miller, 1996, 180–219; Byock, 2007; Þorláksson, 2007; Bogišić, 1999, 279–295; 345–384. A detailed overview of the research on violence, feud and vendetta has been provided in Povolo, 2015b, 198–214.
20 At the end of the 15th century, the Ottoman administration established the Timar system in Montenegro.
The Ottoman tax register of 1497 mentions three Timars of Montenegro. Soon thereafter, the inability of the
Montenegrin population to meet the tax payments of Timar system called for the administrative reform that
turned Montenegrin lands into direct property of the Sultan (the Has) and transformed the Timar system into
the Filuri system, which was more common for the stock-breading areas. The former lands of Crnojevići
were reorganized into districts (nahis) in the beginning of the 16th century. The districts are also mentioned
in the description of the Sanjak of Scutari, written by a nobleman, Marino Bolizza of Kotor in 1614, where
he mentions la Huna (Katunska), Gliubottin (Ljubotinje), Pliesiuzi (Plješivci), Cerniza (Crmnica), in Glirize (Lješkopolje) (Ljubić, 1880, 167–171). The division into districts is still a part of Montenegrin tradition.
The four districts Katunska, Riješka, Crmniška and Lješanska nahia, are traditionally referred to as »the
Old Montenegro« (Stara Crna Gora) (Andrijašević & Rastoder, 2006, 82–83; Jelić, 1926, VII; Bogišić,
1999, 227; comp. Kovijanić, 1963; 1974). The district (Zuppa) of Grbalj had a privileged status due to its
salt ields. The inhabitants of Montenegro were granted the autonomy in their internal organization as well
as the privileges to resolve their disputes according to the existing legal customs. The mobilization of the
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former Zeta, the members of Montenegrin clans were also present at the negotiation.
Some of the Montenegrin clans lamented about the borderline between Njeguši and
Grbalj (Stanojević, 1959, 14–15).
CASES OF LONG-LASTING FEUDS
In longer lasting disputes or feuds between the clans and tribes that came about due
to dispute over land, the attempts for truce and to ultimately make peace came about as
soon as severe physical injury or casualty took place, if not sooner (Bogišić,1999, 360).
Among the Albanian tribes, the mediation for peace usually took place after several
vengeful exchanges and armed combat with severe physical injuries and casualties on both
sides. The parties decided to make peace due to material damage and physical injuries
they sufered and caused. Since the economy among the tribes was primarily extensive
stockbreeding, the clans and tribes depended upon the peaceful equilibrium between all
the tribes, as feuding hindered the ability to lead the herds onto the pastures (Bogišić,
1999, 359).21 Since the chieftains of clans also got involved in feuding, they themselves
could not directly propose truce to the chieftains of another clan. The chieftains of the
clan that was more eager to make peace presented their case to the chieftains of the third
clan and asked them for their intervention and mediation between the feuding clans (Jelić,
1926, 115; Bogišić, 1999, 359–362, 366, 369).
However, in analogy to the latter and as it is evident in the following two cases, the
chieftains also lamented to the third party that ultimately represented an authority to the
other party. Practically, the clan chieftains from the Ottoman area would lament to the
Venetian authorities and vice versa. The issue was, however, that the third party was not
necessarily entirely acquainted with the proportions of the feud and tried to resolve the
dispute within their own judicial jurisprudence.
During the 16th and the 17th century, the clan of Njeguši from the immediate hinterland
of Kotor in the area of the Katunska nahia, and the inhabitants of the Špiljarji village in
the Bay of Kotor, were involved into a land-ownership dispute.
In 1543, the inhabitants of Grbalj already lamented to the Ottoman commissary about
Špiljarji, a village kinship community from the Bay of Kotor, who had taken a plot of
Loznica and some other lands. The Ottoman commissioner intervened in the dispute about
Loznica, yet it seems that the dispute was not efectively resolved. In September of 1602,
the count of the Njeguši clan came to Kotor with his escort and lamented to the Venetian
governor regarding the land-dispute with Špiljarji over the plots Selišta and Praćišta. The
Venetian governor took action and tried to prevent further disputes by force, protecting
Montenegrins to ight for the Ottomans was to be conducted only under direct Sultan’s orders, disregarding
any potential demands for mobilization of the neighbouring Sanjakbejs (Andrijašević & Rastoder, 2006,
74–77).
21 The truce among the Albanian clans and barjaks was traditionally referred to as the »besa of the herd and
the shepherd« (KLD §§ 874–885; SK, 155), which Margaret Hasluck translated to English as the »pledge
of safety of man and beast«, and interpreted the institute as a right of safe travel and a primary form of
passports (Hasluck, 1954, 155).
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the inhabitants of Špiljarji village in the process. The Njeguši were refusing to leave the
plots. The land dispute continued throughout the following decade with mutual raiding of
the lands and crops, during which armed combats between the Njeguši and Špiljarji took
place and resulted in casualties.
The governors of Kotor intervened on behalf of Špiljarji and notiied the Venetian Bailo
in Constantinople. He used his diplomatic strings at the Sublime Port, and the latter, from
1603 onwards, issued several decrees (Firman) to the governor (Sanjakbeg) of Scutari and
to the Montenegrin supreme judge (kadia) in Podgorica. The latter two were to prevent
further disturbances of the Njeguši clan on the Špiljarji land. The feud was being resolved
merely as the question of the land-ownership (Stanojević, 1959, 18, 34–35, 43–45).
It all seems that the Njeguši refused to respect Sultan’s decrees in order to raise
awareness about the other dimensions of the feud that concerned the physical injuries and
casualties that they expected composition for. The dispute resolution through diplomatic
intervention disregarded this fact and the previous casualties seem to have been the reason
for further attacks of Njeguši on the Venetian land.
Finally, in 1620, the Venetian governor of Kotor started the negotiation between the
Njeguši and Špiljarji. On July 13th, 1620, the peace treaty was signed in the presence of
chieftains of Maine, Brajići, Zalazi and the supreme judge of Montenegro who attended
the meeting with the members of his escort from Lješkopolje (Stanojević, 1959, 49–50).
The Njeguši inally renounced their claims of Loznica and Selište. Praćita, however, were
acknowledged as a shared pasture between the Njeguši in Špiljarji. Njeguši renounced
all claims for the compositions of wounds and casualties that their clan members have
sufered or, better said, their claims were compensated for with the raiding damage they
have caused to Špiljarji and other inhabitants of the Bay of Kotor.
At about the same time, Paštrovići also had a long lasting land dispute with the
Montenegrin clans. The dispute between Paštrovići and Maine, a kinship community
from district of Crmnica (Crmniška nahia), began in the years of 1577 and 1578 when
Maine sold a piece of land to Paštrovići, who were issued an ownership certiicate by the
Montenegrin supreme judge. A year later, the dispute over the legally sold plot began.
For several years Paštrovići were taking their land-ownership dispute to the Montenegrin
supreme judges in Podgorica and Scutari who (at least in 1579 and 1590) both issued
additional certiicates of ownership to the Paštrovići. The feud got further complicated
due to the question of property borderline between Maine, Paštrovići and Brajići. The
disputes lasted for some decades, with the appeals to the Sublime Porte, which on several
occasions ruled in favour of the Paštrovići. However, the feud was not the land dispute
alone, but it had acquired the proportions of blood feud.
Only after the mediation of the general governor for Dalmatia and Albania, on September 21st and September 25th, 1642, two truce treaties were signed between Paštrovići
and their neighbours, Maine and Brajići. To revise the borderline, a commission was
assembled of the representatives of the feuding parties and the representatives of the
Venetian authorities and the representatives of the Ottoman administration from Žabljak
and Scutari. The inal peace treaty regarding the land dispute was signed on February 15th
in Budva, in the Monastery of St. Mary, Mother of God (Sveta Bogorodica).
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The plot of dispute was divided between the village Brajići and the clan Bečići
(of Paštrovići), yet the Paštrovići were bound to pay yearly taxes for their land in the
Ottoman administrative area, including all their overdue taxes in order to be able to
enjoy the plot. The arbitrary settlement annulled all the previous judgements of the
Ottoman authorities that were generally in favour of Paštrovići. The parties took an
oath to respect the newly set borderline between their communities. To guarantee the
peace treaty, the Bečići of Paštrovići had to form 13 godfatherhoods of Saint John with
Maine and Brajići.
Other pending issues were resolved at the arbitration on February 24th, 1643 in
Bjelaštica, at the borderline between Budva and Montenegro (Crmnica district), where
the judges and the assembly of Paštrovići, the Montenegrin counts and other inhabitants of Montenegro, were present. The arbiters were mutual friends of both parties. The
arbiters were the chieftains of Montenegrin clans and Pastrovići chieftains, along with
some members of the nobility of Kotor and the Ottoman authorities from Žabljak.
The settlement resolved the question of the casualties, wounds and other debts that
arose between the parties. The killing of a wife of the captain Nikola Ivanov of Ljubotinj
was the liability of the Paštrovići, who had to pay 600 perper and form 4 fraternities and
24 godfatherhoods with the victim’s family. The Montenegrins were liable for the killing
of Stiepo Lučin from Paštrovići and bound to pay 900 perper and form 4 fraternities and
24 godfaterhoods. The Montenegrins were to pay additional 150 perper for the wounds
of Vukac Davidović of Paštrovići. The wound of Maško Ivan Andrijin was settled with
the wound of the Turk Ramandan Kusovac. Although none of the latter two received
composition, the two men had to form two fraternities and two godfatherhoods. Andrija
Zanović of Paštrovići and Dragoja Mirčetov of Ljubotinj also solved their discords at
the arbitration assembly, which deliberated that they were to form one fraternity and two
godfatherhoods.
The members of the commission and the arbitration assembly were entitled to a
third of the sum of the compositions, which were to be paid in three equal sums. First
rates were to be paid at the upcoming Easter; the remaining was to be paid in two halfannual rates. After the deliberation, the parties kissed and swore that they would form
fraternities and godfatherhoods among them and respect the peace forever (Stanojević,
1959, 60–62).
These two long-lasting disputes called for »diplomatic intervention«. Yet, the diplomatic intervention itself, without respecting the legal customs of reconciliation, was
inadequate. The custom of reconciliation and peace making proved to have been rather eficient. Furthermore, the customs of reconciliation were acknowledged and respected by
the Venetian as well as by the Ottoman administration. However, the clans and the tribes
were well able to resolve their disputes on their own before the disputes turned into feuds
and blood feuds. Random encounters of members of diferent tribes were often grounds
for competition and exchange of harsh words and insults that led to brawls. Brawls led to
physical injuries, which in some cases lead to casualties. To avoid vendetta, the mediation
took place and the parties met at the assembly that deliberated on the sum of composition
and other contractual bonds (spiritual family ties) that further fortiied the peace.
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DISPUTE RESOLUTION BEFORE VENDETTA
In June of 1585, the joint assembly of Paštrovići and Maine met at the vineyard at
Babin Vir. The assembly deliberated on the composition for the lethal wounds sufered
by the son of Stijepac Raučević from Maine who had been beaten by Paštrovići in front
of the gates of Budva. The composition sum was deliberated at 600 perper and the parties
were to form 40 godfatherhoods (Sindik et al., 1959, 7–8, document (hereafter d.) 8).
The Albanian legal customs show strict distinction between killings that occurred by
accident (in a brawl or a ight), vengeance killings and killing »for beneit« (SK, 265, p.
2736). Only the latter was regarded as murder (Serb. ubistvo; Alb. gjakësi) and the perpetrator (Serb. krivac, rukostavnik) was a murderer (Serb. ubica), although a blood-taker
(Serb. krvnik, Alb. gjakësór) could have been anyone who had spilled a blood of another
person (Bogišić, 1999, 345–384; Hysa, 1995, 132). Ideally, only deliberate killings for
beneit should have been avenged for by vendetta.22 Any other case called for a claim for
composition from the victim’s kin, before the vendetta even came into question. Therefore, it was crucial to prevent one death or lethal wounds23 from turning into vendetta with
multiple casualties on both sides.
In 1693, there was an armed combat between the inhabitants of Grbalj district and
the Paštrovići. The Venetian governor of Budva intervened and ordered the Paštrovići
to make peace with the inhabitants of Grbalj according to their common legal traditions.
Paštrovići were not eager to make peace, yet they obliged, and thus proposed truce to
the families of the killed inhabitants of Grbalj, who were prone to making peace. The
reconciliation took place in May of 1693 in San Stefan before the joint assembly of the
chieftains of Grbalj and Paštrovići (Sindik et al., 1959, 81, d. 125.). The reconciliation
was within the interest of the Venetian administration as the Grbalj district represented the
shortest land route between Budva and Kotor, although Grbalj was a part of the Ottoman
administrative area. Similarly, the Venetian governor of Kotor on July 8th, 1741 ordered
the judges of Castellastuo, to reinstall peace among the clans of Paštrovići (Bojović et
I am consciously and deliberately discussing only the cases of blood-revenge for severe physical injuries
or lethal wounds and killings, which occurred in a brawl or a combat. However, the brawls themselves
started on the account of defending one’s honour or the honour of the community, as it is evident also from
the numerous cases of blood-revenge in the history. Defending and re-establishing the honour that has been
damaged with a public insult, by a revenge-killing, was common, as it has been proven by many historical and anthropological studies (Gluckman, 1955; Evans-Pritchard, 1993; Peristiany, 1965; Boehm, 1987;
Miller, 1996; Carroll, 2003; Carroll, 2006; Carroll, 2007; Carroll, 2003; Büchert Netterstrøm & Poulsen,
2007; Davies, 2013; Povolo, 2010; Povolo, 2015a; Povolo 2015b). An attack on honour was an injury one
could rarely ind suicient compensation or composition for.
23 The Montenegrin proverb says, »One dead head brings fear to a hundred living.« Originally, »Jedna
mrtva glava straši sto živih« (Radov, 1997, 139). Customarily, the deadly wounded person told the members of his family the circumstances in which he was wounded, making sure they understood if it was a
case of an accident, and thus preventing the vendetta. Blood-revenge for death by accident was deemed
as dishonourable deed in Montenegrin as well as in the Albanian tradition (Bogišić, 1999, 350; KLD,
§932; SK, 257–258, p. 2727–2731). The Code of Lekë Dukagjin even states, »Undeliberate killing is
not persecuted by a rile.« (KLD § 932) more about undeliberate killing in the Code of Skenderbeg (SK,
278–279, p. 2980–3002).
22
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al., 1990, 37–38, d. 12). In 1766, the Venetian governor of Budva ordered Paštrovići to
describe the circumstances that had led to the dispute with the inhabitants with Ulcinj,
where four Paštrovići were injured, and ordered the Paštrovići not to take revenge (Sindik
et al., 1959, 191, d. 256).
The prevention of vendetta was in the highest interest of both parties, as well as their
neighbouring communities and authorities, who highly beneited from peaceful relationships. In order to make peace according to the custom, irst, the customary mediation
needed to take place (comp. Darovec, 2016, 31; Oman, 2016, 87–90).
THE CUSTOMARY MEDIATION FOR TRUCE
In order to prevent vendetta after the »blood was spilled«, the clan of the blood-taker
had to show some remorse, fear, and humility in front the clan of the killed. As the custom
of vendetta made every family member of the blood-taker's clan liable for the damage
caused and all clan members were the potential targets of revenge, they themselves could
not ask for mercy and truce.24 The mediators (Serb. posrednici, Alb. ndermjetës), the clan
or tribal chieftains, were to intervene according to their customary duties. In the case of
single case of lethal wounds and accidental death, mediators were to go directly to the
house of the victim and humbly ask the head of the victim’s household for truce (Bogišić,
1999, 361–362; KLD, §§ 845, 851, 965). The head of the victim’s household is referred to
as »the master of blood« (Alb. hoti i gjakut) in the Albanian tradition. The reconciliation
is a public ritual with symbolic gestures, phrases and objects (Darovec, 2014, 481–499).
The mediators used special phrases to plea for truce. In Montenegrin tradition however,
the word truce itself was never mentioned. Instead, the mediators asked for what was to be
the result of the reconciliation. The mediators asked for the union of the blood-taker’s and
the victim’s household in the godfatherhood of Saint John the Baptist.25 The head of the
victim’s household was thus referred to as the godfather (Serb. kum) (Bogišić, 1999, 365).
In Montenegrin tradition, the head of the victim’s household had some time to decide,
whether to accept the ofer for truce or not.26 Therefore, the mediators would repeat the
homage and the plea for truce periodically until they were accepted into the victim’s
house for negotiation (Jelić, 1926, 95, 98; Bogišić, 1999, 366).
The chieftains were in some cases accompanied by a group of women, who were
traditionally referred to as »the carriers of peace« (Serb. mironosice), as they were
24
There was a custom of voluntary seclusion for at least 24 hours after the killing that was implemented
by the clan of the blood-taker as they were all potential targets of vendetta. By seclusion, the liable party
expressed its fear from vendetta and humility before the victim’s clan. If this custom was not conducted
accordingly, it signiied an insult to the clan of the victim (Bogišić, 1999, 355–356; KLD, §§ 870–873;
Hasluck, 1954, 224–226).
25 The pleas in the area of Montenegro were recorded as »Primi kume za Svetoga Jovana«, similar phrases
were supposedly used in Albania. The variation from Herzegovina is recorded as: »Primi kume, kumimo te
bogom i tvom svetim Jovanom« (Bogišić, 1999, 365).
26 The head of the victim’s household (the master of blood) had to get the consent for truce from other members of the victim’s clan as they were also entitled to take revenge (SK, 281, p. 3017–3027).
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carrying with them babies in the cradles. The babies represented a symbolic gift of the
blood-taker’s clan and the ofer for future union of both clans. The babies symbolically
represented the number of godfatherhoods, future alliances, which could be made between the communities, on the other hand, the babies represented the numerical power
of the clan of the blood-taker, and that the clan would be able to survive further vendetta
(Bogišić, 1999, 363, 365, 376; Jelić, 1926, 99–100).
In the Albanian tradition, however, the preserved customs state that it was honourable to grant the truce (Alb. besë) therefore, the plea for truce after a killing was to be
immediately granted. However, it lasted only 24 hours (KLD §§ 854–855). During this
short period of truce, the blood-taker had to show his remorse and humility in front of
the victim’s clan and attend the funeral of the victim alone, without any escort.27 This
custom enabled the clan of the victim to evaluate the blood-taker’s character and decide
whether to grant the blood-taker and his clan the second, 30-day truce, during which
further negotiation would be taking place (Jelić, 1926, 97; Karan, 1985, 31).
THE CONTRACT OF TRUCE
The truce (Serb. primirje; Alb. besa) was a contract between the house of the victim
and the house and clan of the blood-taker.
After the mediators and the head of the victim’s household agreed for truce and
determined its time span, they shook hands and swore28 that the blood-taker’s clan is
safe from vendetta (KLD, § 854). Handshake was a gesture that was traditionally used
in contractual agreements, such as vassal or notarial investitures in the middle ages (Le
Gof, 1985, 387–388; Darovec, 2014, 473–500; Darovec, 2016, 24; Brunner, 1992,
89–90). However, in Albanian as well as in Montenegrin tradition, the agreement with a
handshake alone was not valid unless a warrantor (Alb. dorëzan Serb. dorzon, jemac) was
appointed (Đuričić, 1979, 14; SK, 282, p. 3039).
The warrantor was chosen by the mediators and was most likely present among them
while they were mediating for truce. The warrantor was a person that enjoyed great respect
in the community and had to be on good terms with both the household of the blood-taker
as well as the victim’s household. Moreover, the warrantor’s household must not have
been in a blood-feud at a given moment. The warrantor was to supervise the head of the
victim’s household during the time of truce. The warrantor entered into the contractual
agreement willingly and free of charge, but putting his good name and reputation at stake
(Đuričić, 1979 33, 35; KLD § 687; Darovec, 2016, 22).
Milutin Đuričić in the 20th century recorded the phrases that were used to include personal warranty (Alb. dorëzania; Serb. dorzonija, jemstvo; Ita. fideiussione; Lat. sponsio)
27 The blood-taker was in no danger as he was protected by the truce and the customs of hospitality. He was
treated as a guest and had an honorary seat at the table (Jelić, 1926, 97). The custom is vividly interpreted
by Ismail Kadaré in his 1978 novel, Prilli i Thyer, which was translated into English in 1989 as Broken April
and translated in Slovene in 2006 as Zlomljeni april (Kadaré, 2006, 14–15).
28 In analogy to other contractual agreements comp. Bogišić, 1999, 176.
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into a contractual agreement. I attempt to loosely translate the phrases from Serbian to
English bellow.
The head of the victim’s household asked the selected person: »Would you like to be
my warrantor in this matter?« And the selected person asked: »Are you aware of what a
warrantor is? He can forgive his own blood but not the blood of another. Do not hold me
by the neck. If you kill him, I am dishonoured and I will have to kill you. Therefore, think
well and honestly say - should I enter into this matter as your warrantor?« The head of
the victim’s household said: »You can enter without a worry. I will not dishonour you in
this matter; I will stick to my word for a thousand years I will keep my promise as long
as I and my children are alive.« After this, the warrantor asked the mediators and the
head of the victim’s household to repeat their statements and to conirm their agreement.
After they repeated their statements, the warrantor publicly declared: »I am the warrantor, address me in this matter. Have no worries, if he breaks his promise, he betrays me.«
(Đuričić, 1979, 24. 33–36). The verbal promises of all the parties in the contract for truce
were invalid, unless all parties took an oath upon a sacral object. Those could be the
Gospel or the Cruciix and, in Albanian Highlands, the rock, as the oldest sacral object
(KLD, §§ 533, 535).
To sum up, besë, the Albanian term for truce, is in fact a word with many contextual
meanings.29 The Slavic equivalent for besë is vjera or vera (Karan, 1985, 34; Miklošič,
1888, 139, 141), which generally translates as faith, yet it also has several contextual
meanings30 and it is equivalent to Latin term and institution of fides (fede) (Karadžić,
1818, 73; comp. Škrubej, 2002, 149–156). Besë, as well as vjera and fides, in their most
general uses signiied a pledge of honesty, a promise of safety, mutual trust and loyalty
between the parties (Petkov, 2003, 9–78; comp. Du Cange, 1710, Tom. 3, 1303). The
latter was formed by an oath (Serb. zakletva; Alb. béja, Lat. jus jurandum) (Comp. Hysa,
1995, 40; Stevanović et al. 1962, 521–522; Du Cange, 1710, Tom 2., 478) of both parties,
through the mediators and by the oath of the warrantor, which represents legal obligation
of all the entities involved (Đuričić, 1979, 30; Darovec, 2016, 23–24).
On January 28th, 1740, the Paštrovići declared in front of the governor of Budva that
they had made truce with Maine (datta la fede di bon vivere e di non molestare li Maini
per le vertenze e pretese di sangue che tra loro corono) which was valid until October
26th, 1740. The parties determined the ine for potential violators of truce (mancator di
fede). The statement of Paštrovići was ratiied from the part of Maine that joined the
29 Besë is »a word of honour« among Albanians (Berishaj, 1989, 58). Etymologically the noun besë derives
from Indo-European roots for nouns that signify pledge, truce and trust, roots for adjectives faithful and
trustworthy and roots for verbs to persuade and to force (Orel, 1998, 59); Besë is also the pledge of safety
and protection (Alb. ndorja) and safe conduct (Alb. shpurë i sigurti) (Đuričić, 1979, 7–8).
30 By analysing the vocabulary of former Montenegrin count bishop (vladika) Petar II. Petrović Njegoš, the
term vjera has been used in several contextual variations. Vjèra was a belief that something is accurate and
true or that something will happen as promised. Vjèra was also a guaranty and trust in something or someone. Vjèra is also deined as a given word of honour and a promise to someone that one will not be harmed.
Vjèra was used as term for oath taking. Vjèra also meant trust into one’s word of honour, the trust that one
will not be betrayed. Njegoš also used phrases »uhvatiti vjeru od mira« and »dati vjeru« which meant to
form a peace treaty or to grant truce or safety to someone (Stevanović et al., 1983, 84–85).
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Paštrovići at a meeting in front of the governor of Budva on February 6th 1740, where
they took an oath that they will resolve their dispute according to the custom (Sindik et
al., 1959, 146–147, d. 203).
The violation of truce (besa, vjera or fides) was a serious crime, which was not taken
lightly.31 The violator of truce was to be killed by the warrantor of truce. (Đuričić, 1979,
29, 42–43). However, in the Albanian Highlands the entire clan of the violator of truce
was subdued to severe ines and punishments.32
During the period of truce, further negotiation took place. From the negotiation onwards, according to the Montenegrin tradition, the head of the victim’s household was
referred to as umirnik, which would loosely translate as the »peace-giver«. Both parties
selected equal number of arbiters. The number varied from 6, 12 or 24 arbiters, depending on the case.33 The most common number of the arbiters for reconciliation of severe
physical wounds or a killing was 24, although the number could be fewer if the parties
agreed so.34 The mediators also discussed other demands of the victim’s kin that should
have been granted in order for the parties to reach permanent peace (Bogišić, 1999, 364,
366–367; Djuričić, 1975, 21–25; KLD, § 854).
THE ARBITRATION AND PERMANENT PEACE
On the appointed day, the parties met at the appointed location in front of the arbitration assembly. The arbiters questioned both parties to determine the level of liability of
the parties. In some cases, the victim himself had a fair amount of liability for the damage
done. Each party knew exactly how much damage each party caused and sufered. The
arbiters deliberated on the sum of compositions for wounds and casualties and upon the
sum of the composition for the material damage. Due to high sums of the composition,35
31 Milorad Medaković wrote about the violation of truce (Serb. vera): »To break the truce or to harm someone
during truce is the first and the biggest sin on Earth one can never be redeemed from.« »Pogaziti vjeru i
učiniti kome što na vjeru, držalo se za prvi i naiveći grieh na zemlji, od koeg se grešnik nigda izvaditi ne
može« (Medaković, 1860, 107).
32 The composition that needed to be paid for a person that was killed during truce was 22 purses or 11000
grosh (a purse, (turcism Alb. qesë, Serb. ćesa) was a monetary unit of 500 grosh). The community of the
violator destroyed 3 houses of the violator’s closest relatives, destroyed all their ields and seized all their
livestock (KLD, §§ 881–882; KLD, Dodatak, 211–213). In addition, the clan of the violator were to pay a
ine for violation of truce, which was 100 rams and 1 ox (SK, 155, p. 692–693; KLD §884; Karan, 1985,
44–47). If transformed into money, the ine was 10400 grosh (for customary prices of cattle and livestock
see: KLD § 484). A grosh is most likely the Ottoman gurush, a sliver piece coin with a mass of 25.65 grams
(Pamuk, 2000).
33 The exact same numbers of arbiters, depending on the severity of the case, are mentioned in the Dušan’s
Code (DZ, art. 151).
34 Some of the arbiters were the same chieftains that had mediated for truce, as the legal tradition refers to
the chieftains as the mediators and arbiters (Serb. posrednici i plećnari; Alb. ndermjetës dhe pleqnarët)
(Djuričić, 1975, 21); which may be the reason why some anthropologists tended to equate the mediation
and arbitration (Stein, 1984, 5).
35 The compositions in the 19th century were recorded as follows: in Katunska, Riješka, Crmniška and
Lješanska district the composition for death varied from 132 ducats, 4 pieces of 20 (cvancike) and one para.
Other areas reported 133 zecchini and 2 grossi. Bjelopavlići, Piperi, Bratonožići, Kuči and Rovce, the tribes
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the sums were divided into rates, and deadlines for payments were determined. Furthermore, the number and types of new alliances were determined. Those were usually
the fraternities or godfatherhoods. However, as evident from Kotor notarial registers,
marriages between the parties were also recorded. The arbiters also deliberated about
the details of the execution. Usually, the clan of the blood-taker was to prepare a feast
for the victim’s clan and the blood-taker was to perform the act of the public humility or
humiliation in front of the peace-giver (Bogišić,1999, 362, 367–368, 369, 371, 373; Jelić,
1926, 115–116).
The parties swore to respect the peace by taking an oath. According to the Bogišić’s
Survey, the symbolic act of permanent reconciliation was the kiss of peace (Serb.
poljubac, cjelov mira; Lat. osculo pacis),36 that irst took place in front of the arbitration
assembly (Bogišić, 1999, 371–372) and was later repeated on several occasions. The kiss
was repeated in front of the oicials, such as the notaries of Kotor. The symbolic gesture
of kiss was preserved in all the areas of Montenegro throughout the centuries.
The peace treaty between two clans of Paštrovići from 1632 states that the deliberation was accepted by both parties and they kissed in front of the assembly and took an
oath to form god-fatherhoods and keep the perpetual peace ([…] i pred nama se izljubiše
i kumstvo obečaše i u vječnom miru ostaše […]) (Jelić, 1926, 134).
In 1716, in Paštrovići two families made peace after a killing. The liable party was to
pay the composition, form 6 fraternities and 6 godfatherhoods and prepare a feast for 76
people. The peace-giver declared after the execution that he was justly compensated for
of Morača and Vasojevići the composition varied between 200 and 300 talier. The composition for severe
physical wounds was deemed approximately half of the composition for death, which is 66 zecchin. Composition for smaller wounds was between 20 and 50 talier (Bogišić, 1999, 367–368; Jelić, 1926, 89, 92).
Based on the 1740 monetary reform of the Republic of Venice, the ducato / zecchino represented 22 lire of
240 gross with 2.18 grams of total mass and 2.07 grams of silver. One para was a Turkish silver piece coin
with a mass of 0.55 grams (Darovec, 2004, 68–69; Pamuk, 2000).The composition in Herzegovina varied
between 100 and 300 talier or more, if the victim had small children. If the clan of the victim was numerous
and strong, the composition was up to 600 talier. The composition for wounds was determined in the same
way as in the Montenegro (Bogišić, 1999, 367–368). The tallero was a silver-piece coin with the mass of 28
grams (Coinage, 2016). In Albanian Highlands the composition for the killed man or a boy was six purses
which is 3000 grosh (KLD § 881; KLD, 170); in practice, the compensation could vary between 9 and 12
purses (Jelić, 1926, 93). The composition for a killed woman was three purses or 1500 grosh. If a pregnant
woman was killed, the assembly could inspect the gender of the unborn child. The composition was enlarged
by three purses for an unborn girl and six purses for an unborn boy. The composition for each bloody wound
was three purses (1500 grosh) (KLD §§ 935–937; SK, 266; Bogišić, 1999, 367). Among the tribes of Mirditë,
the composition for wound depended upon the part of the body that was injured. Injury above the belt was
estimated at least 3 purses (1500 grosh), below the belt, however, not more than a purse and a half, 750 grosh.
If the injury resulted in permanent handicap, the composition was 2000 grosh. The bloodtaker was to pay the
»medical« expenses that usually varied between 200 and 300 grosh (Hasluck, 1954, 241; Jelić, 1926, 93).
Grosh was a Turkish silver piece coin, gurush, with a mass of 25.65 grams (Pamuk, 2000).
36 The kiss of peace represented a conirmation and a warranty of the peace treaty and new friendship (Lat.
amicitia) between the parties (Darovec, 2014, 492; comp. Darovec, 2016, 30–32). In the middle ages, the
kiss represented one of the investiture objects or gestures (Le Gof, 1985, 457). According to Gregorio
López’s analysis of the Spanish legal codes in Siete Partidas (1555), the kiss represented the symbol of true
love that transformed the hearts of former adversaries. The change of emotional state was transformed into
formal legal obligation (Petkov, 2003, 33–34; 40–41, 48).
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the death of his father and that there is nothing but brotherly love left between him and
the other party (Bojović et al.,1990, 29, d. 7).
On January 12th 1829, in Brčeli tribe, the arbiters deliberated in the feud between
Lorovići an Aleksići. The killing and the blood revenge were compensated one for the other
and the composition for a wound and the material damage was determined. The Aleksići
were to prepare a feast for 50 members of Lorovići and Luka Perov with his 10 friends. The
parties kissed in front of the assembly that was a sign of perpetual peace. (i celive učinismo,
[…] i u vječni mir ostavismo, koi se podpisujemo) (Novaković, 1879, 206).
The custom of vendetta and reconciliation was kept alive even after the dissolution
of the Venetian Republic in 1797. Thereafter, the uniication of the Old Montenegro, the
Montenegrin Highlands as well as the Montenegrin coastal areas (Crnogorsko Primorje)
that was previously a Venetian administrative area, took place (Andrijašević & Rastoder,
2006, 155; Raspopović, 2009, 15).
The Montenegrin count bishops and princes of Petrovići dynasty worked towards the
abolition of the custom of vendetta with new criminal legislation. Since the rule of the count
bishop Petar I. Petrović, there was an attempt to form a permanent judicial body in Montenegro, which was accomplisched by his successor Petar II. Petrović Njegoš (Andrijašević
& Rastoder, 2006, 132–134, 161–163, 165; Margulis, 2013, 31; Marinović, 2007, 624).
The judgements and deliberations of the Supreme Court (Vrhovni sud, Senat) that was
formed on October 2nd 1831, were much like the deliberations of the tribal assemblies
(Andrijašević & Rastoder, 2006, 163). Especially in the irst few decades in regards to
determining compensations for wounds, killings and in some cases in the formation of
new alliances between the parties (Jelić, 1926, 125–132, d. VI, VIII, XI, XV, XVI XVII).
Although the criminal legislation further developed in the time of prince Danilo I and
prince Nikola I Petrović (Bogišić, 1999, 294–295, 321; Šćepanović, 2003, 25; Marinović,
2007, 28–32, 157–167 171, 181, 195–196), the custom of vendetta remained alive as
have the customs of the paciication. Precisely in the reign of prince Nikola I, one of the
most detailed descriptions of the execution of the deliberation was recorded by Pavel
Apolonovič Rovinskiĭ in 1890 in Grbalj.
THE EXECUTION OF THE DELIBERATION
In spring of 1890, an assembly of 24 mutually selected arbiters gathered in a village Višnjevo. The deliberation stated that Jovo Bojković, the son of the blood-taker,
should pay the compensation (mito) to the kinship of the Zec family 30 zecchin and the
composition of 133 zecchin, 2 grossi and one half para for the killed Jovo Zec (Sn.).
Jovo Bojković was to prepare a feast for Jovo Zec (Jr.) and 300 of his clan members. The
parties were to form 12 godfatherhoods and 12 great and 12 small fraternities. According
to the ancient custom, the son of the blood-taker was to hand over the killer’s weapon, by
all the formalities of humiliation.
On the day of the execution, August 27th, 1890, around seven in the morning, the
women with cradles came in front of the house of Jovo Zec. The twelve male godfathers
of the Bojkovići clan began to loudly greet: »God speed! Good morning in the godfather’s
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house! […] In the name of God and Saint John, good morning to the godfather!« The
godfathers were accepted to the house and were given wine and brandy and they gave
two silver pistols (ledenice) to Jovo Zec. The women with babies in the cradles entered
the house, carrying a silver-piece coin under the head of each baby. Then, the formation
of brotherhoods took place by the lead of Jovo Zec, who picked a baby from a cradle ad
kissed it on the head (Rovinskiĭ, 1994, 257–259).37
THE PUBLIC PARDON
The ritual of humiliation of the son of the blood-taker in front of the son of the victim38
is described by Rovinskiĭ as follows:
The son of the blood-taker, in only single undergarment, barefoot and uncovered,
crawled on all four, with a long riffle strapped around his neck [...] Two arbiters, also
uncovered, were supporting the riffle from both ends. Seeing this, Zec ran towards
Bojković, to shorten this horrifically humiliating scene. By attempting to lift Bojković
from the ground, Bojković kissed Zec on the feet, the chest and the shoulder. By removing the rifle from the Bojković’s neck, Zec said: »First my brother, then my blood-taker,
then my brother forever. Is this the rifle that took the life of my father?« and without
waiting for a reply, he handed the rifle back to Bojkovićć and expressed a full pardon
and they both kissed and embraced each other as brothers (Rovinskiĭ, 1994, 259;
comp. Boehm, 1987, 136; Darovec, 2016, 24).
After the act of public reconciliation, other rites followed. The clan of the bloodtaker
prepared a feast (Serb. krvna trpeza, krvni sto, hljeb krvne osvete, krvni leb / hljeb / kruh,
Alb. »büke i gjakut«) for the clan of the peace-giver. Before the meal itself, the composition was paid, either in money or in goods, usually valuable objects such as riffles, pistols
or knives.39
After the meal, the fraternity between the main actors of parties was formed with a
The custom was similarly described by Božidar Petranović (Petranović, 1868, 18–19).
The homage that expressed humility and humiliation of the blood-taker before the peace-giver, was mentioned by A. Fortis (Fortis, 1984, 42). According to the Bogišič’s survey, in Herzegovina, the blood-taker
approached the peace-giver from 50-meter distance on his knees or crawling on all fours, with the support
of two members of his clan. In Albania, the blood-taker approached on his knees with his hands tied behind
his back, asking the peace-giver to free his hands and accept him as a godfather. The common tradition suggested the blood-taker to make 2/3 of the distance and the peace giver the remaining 1/3. The blood-taker
was to say: »Accept, me godfather, as your godfather by God and Saint John,« as the people who were present repeated the blood-taker’s words. When the blood-taker and the peace-giver were in front of each-other,
the blood-taker kissed the peace-giver on the chest, while the peace-giver kissed the blood-taker on the
head. After they kissed each other on their cheeks, the peace-giver said: »I forgive him to you, blood-taker,
by God and Saint John« (Bogišić, 1999, 371–372).
39 The value of individual objects was evaluated by the chieftains who usually deemed the objects as higher
value as they actually were. There was also a custom that the peace giver returned the composition, and
donated the compensation as a gift to his new godfather (Bogišić, 1999, 372–373). The custom of returning
the composition as a gift (Mauss, 1996, 29–30).
37
38
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ritual. The peace-giver and the blood-taker pierced their little ingers with a pin and each
dropped a couple of drops of blood into a glass of water, wine or brandy and they drank
from each-other’s cups (Jelić, 1926, 108–110; KLD, §§ 988-990).40
In the Albanian Highlands, however, the concluding act of the reconciliation was
the carving of the cross at the entrance door of the former blood-taker’s house (Jelić,
1926, 110; KLD § 983–987). »All houses are marked with many crosses«, wrote Mary
E. Durham by describing the houses in the Vraka village in the High Albania (Durham,
1909, 17), which indicates that the custom of carving of the cross might have been quite
frequent. The cross in the Christian tradition represents the absolution of sins (Schmitt,
2000, 357).
CONCLUSION
The documents suggest that tribes and clans in Modern Age Montenegro enjoyed
substantial judicial autonomy. The judicial autonomy of the clans in the Ottoman administrative area, the Old Montenegro, was granted by the Sultan’s decree in the beginning
of the 16th century, the judicial autonomy of the kinship communities in the Bay of Kotor
was declared in the Statute of Kotor. It was respected by the Serbian rulers and later by the
Venetian administration that did not impose its statutory laws onto kinship communities.
This is especially evident in regards to the Paštrovići, who were conirmed their existing
privileges of judicial autonomy. The 15th century peace treaties of the notarial register
of Kotor testify, that the kinship communities were well able to resolve their disputes
on their own through implementation of their legal customs of paciication, without
any interference of the Venetian authorities. The kinship communities did however take
advantage of the notarial oice of Kotor where they sporadically put their peace-treaties
in written. After the division of the Montenegrin territory between the Venetian and Ottoman administration, some land disputes arose among the clans from both sides of the
border that developed greater proportions and called for diplomatic intervention of the
Venetian and the Ottoman authorities. Latter was unfortunately not as efective as the customary dispute resolution. The dispute resolution called for mediation of the third party
that resulted in truce. Truce was a contract between the parties and the warrantors, who
swore that the parties would meet before the arbitration assembly. During the arbitration,
all points of the dispute were thoroughly revised. The composition for the damage was
determined by the arbiters, along the number of new alliances between the parties. The
parties made permanent peace by symbolic gestures of kiss and oath. Yet, the inal stage
of the reconciliation was the execution that took place on a later date. The composition in
full or in rates was payed and the parties executed some other rites of paciication. Due
to the eiciency of the peace-making custom, the Venetian authorities on some occasions
40
M. E. Durham discusses the modiication of the ritual, as a form of alliance between families, not necessarily linked to the paciication. The parties could put their drops of blood on a block of sugar and ingest
it. Marriages between the family members of people who were in fraternity were forbidden by custom
(Durham, 1909, 24).
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ordered the Paštrovići to make peace with the neighbouring communities or urged them
not to take blood-revenge against the inhabitants of the Ottoman administrative area.
The pressure for peace was a strategy that existed within the legal customs of the kinship
communities.
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Angelika ERGAVER: »FIRST MY BROTHER, THEN A BLOOD-TAKER, THEN MY BROTHER FOREVER« ..., 179–206
»NAJPREJ MOJ BRAT, NATO KRVNIK, NATO MOJ BRAT ZA VEDNO«
UČINKOVITOST TRADICIONALNEGA POSTOPKA POMIRITVE V ČRNI
GORI V ZGODNJEM NOVEM VEKU IN VLOGA BENEŠKIH OBLASTI PRI
POSTOPKU POMIRITVE
Angelika ERGAVER
Inštitut Nove revije, Zavod za humanistiko, Gospodinjska ulica 8, 1000 Ljubljana
e-mail: angiesmeister@gmail.com
POVZETEK
Članek obravnava običaj krvnega maščevanja in običaje pomiritve na območju Črne
gore v novem veku. Običaji so se ohranili skozi stoletja, njihovo zbiranje pa je potekalo od
19. stoletja dalje. Pravne običaje rodovnih skupnosti so priznavali srednjeveški vladarji.
V novem veku so bili beneški in osmanski oblastniki seznanjeni z običajem maščevanja in
z običaji pomiritve. Slednji so se izkazali kot učinkoviti pri reševanju dolgotrajnih sporov
med klani iz različnih administrativnih ozemelj. Kljub vsemu, so bile skupnosti na eni in
drugi strani meje sposobne samostojno reševati spore, brez vpletanja oblastnikov, ki so
sicer občasno pritisnili na bratstva v sporu, da bi se pomirila. Pomiritev je sestavljena
iz treh faz, iz mediacije, arbitraže in izvršbe razsodbe. V mediaciji sta podani prisega in
garancija o premirju. Arbitraža se je odvijala pred zborom razsodnikov, kjer sta si stranki
oprostili s simbolnimi gestami. V izvršbi so bile simbolne geste ponovljene, še posebej pri
obredu javne sprave, kjer sta sprta postala »brata za vedno«. Članek z analizo ohranjenih
mirovnih pogodb in historiografske literature ponazarja, da kljub administrativni razdeljenosti ozemlja Črne gore v novem veku med dve véliki politični entiteti, niti osmanska
niti beneška oblast nista bistveno posegali v sodno avtonomijo bratstev na območju Črne
gore, temveč sta spoštovali obstoječe pravne običaje.
Ključne besede: pomiritev, Črna gora, Albanija, Beneška Republika, novi vek
200
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SK – Skenderbegov Kanon. In: Berishaj, M. (2004): Skrita moč bese. Ženske v imaginariju albanskega tradicionalizma. Dodatek: Skenderbegov Kanon. Ljubljana, ZRC,
SAZU, 105–309.
Skakić, M. (1998): Vuk Karađić u svom i današnjem vremenu ili uočavanja sa vremenske
distance. Beograd, NB »Vuk Karađić«
Srednjovjekovni novac (2016): Srednjovjekovni novac u Crnoj Gori. Available at:
https://sr.wikipedia.org/sr-el/Средњовјековни_новац_у_Црној_Гори (24.11. 2016).
St B – Srednjeveški statut Budve. In: Luketić, M. & Ž. Bujuklić (1988): Srednjovjekovni
statut Budve. The Medieval Statute of Budva. Obćina Budvanska.
Stanojević, G. (1959): Iz istorije Crne Gore u XVI i XVII vijeku. In: Stanojević, G.
(2007): Crna Gora u XVI i XVII vijeku. Zbornik radova. Stanojević, M. (ed.). Cetinje,
Obod, 7–104.
Stein, P. (1984): Legal Institutions. The Development of Dispute Settlement. London,
Butterworths.
Stevanović, M. et al. (1962): Rečnik srpskohrvatskog književnog jezika, Beograd,
SANU.
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Angelika ERGAVER: »FIRST MY BROTHER, THEN A BLOOD-TAKER, THEN MY BROTHER FOREVER« ..., 179–206
Stevanović, M. et al. (1983): Rečnik jezika Petra II. Petrovića Njegoša. Beograd-Titograd-Cetinje, Vuk Karadžić – Narodna Knjiga – Obod – Prosveta – SANU –Srpska
književna zadruga – CANU.
Šćepanović, M. (2003): O krvnoj osveti. Krivičnopravni prilaz. Podgorica, CID.
Šekularac, B. (1999): Paštrovske isprave. Knjiga III. Odbor za sakupljanje istorijske
građe o Paštrovićima. Petrovac na moru
Škrubej, K. (2002): Ritus gentis Slovanov v vzhodnih Alpah. Model rekonstrukcije
pravnih razmerij na podlagi starejšega jezikovnega gradiva. Ljubljana, ZRC SAZU.
Šufflay, M. (1991): Srbi i Arbanasi. Njihova simbioza u srednjem vijeku. Mala Azurova
povijesnica, Knjiga 2. Zagreb.
Tarifa, F. (2008): Vengeance is Mine. Justice Albanian Style. Chapel Hill, Globic Press.
Trnavci, G. (2008): The Albanian Customary Law and the Canon of Lekë Dukagjini: A
Clash of Synergy with Modern Law. Selected works of Genc H. Trnavci. ExpressO,
1–24. Also available at: http://works.bepress.com/genc_trnavci/1 (10.11.2015).
Zurl, M. (1979): Krvna osveta u Kosovu. Zagreb, August Cesarac.
Þorláksson, H. (2007): Feud and Feuding in the Early and High middle Ages. In: Netterstrøm, J. B. & Poulsen, B. (ed): Feud in Medieval and Early Modern Europe. Aarhus,
Aarhus University Press, 69–94.
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NAVODILA AVTORJEM
1. Revija ACTA HISTRIAE objavlja izvirne in pregledne znanstvene članke s humanistično vsebino, zlasti s področja zgodovinopisja. Temeljno geografsko območje, ki
ga publikacija pokriva, je Istra in mediteranska Slovenija ter vsebine, ki se na podlagi
interdisciplinarnih in primerjalnih preučevanj povezujejo s sredozemskimi deželami.
Uredništvo uporablja za vse članke obojestransko anonimen recenzentski postopek.
2. Sprejemamo članke v slovenskem, italijanskem, hrvaškem in angleškem jeziku. Avtorji
morajo zagotoviti jezikovno neoporečnost besedil.
3. Članki naj obsegajo do 36.000 znakov brez presledkov. Članek je mogoče oddati na e-naslov ActaHistriae@gmail.com ali na elektronskem nosilcu (CD) po pošti na naslov
uredništva.
Avtor ob oddaji članka zagotavlja, da članek še ni bil objavljen in se obvezuje, da ga ne
bo objavil drugje.
4. Naslovna stran članka naj vsebuje naslov in podnaslov članka, ime in priimek avtorja,
avtorjeve nazive in akademske naslove, ime in naslov inštitucije, kjer je zaposlen, oz.
domači naslov vključno s poštno številko in naslovom elektronske pošte.
5. Članek mora vsebovati povzetek in izvleček. Izvleček je krajši (max. 100 besed) od
povzetka (cca. 200 besed).
V izvlečku na kratko opišemo namen, metode dela in rezultate. Izvleček naj ne vsebuje
komentarjev in priporočil.
Povzetek vsebuje opis namena in metod dela ter povzame analizo oziroma interpretacijo rezultatov. V povzetku ne sme biti ničesar, česar glavno besedilo ne vsebuje.
6. Avtorji naj pod izvleček članka pripišejo ustrezne ključne besede (5–7). Potrebni so
tudi angleški (ali slovenski) in italijanski prevodi izvlečka, povzetka, ključnih besed,
podnapisov k slikovnemu in tabelarnemu gradivu.
7. Zaželeno je tudi (originalno) slikovno gradivo, ki ga avtor posreduje v ločenih datotekah (jpeg, tif) z najmanj 300 dpi resolucije pri želeni velikosti. Največja velikost
slikovnega gradiva je 12x15 cm. Vsa potrebna dovoljenja za objavo slikovnega in
arhivskega gradiva (v skladu z Zakonom o avtorski in sorodnih pravicah) priskrbi avtor
sam in jih predloži uredništvu pred objavo članka. Vse slike, tabele in graične prikaze
je potrebno tudi podnasloviti in zaporedno oštevilčiti.
8. Vsebinske opombe, ki besedilo še podrobneje razlagajo ali pojasnjujejo, postavimo
pod črto.
Bibliografske opombe, s čimer mislimo na citat – torej sklicevanje na točno določeni
del besedila iz neke druge publikacije, sestavljajo naslednji podatki: avtor, leto izida in
– če citiramo točno določeni del besedila – tudi navedba strani. Bibliografske opombe
vključimo v glavno besedilo. Primer: (Pirjevec, 2007, 219) ali (Pirjevec, 2007).
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Celotni bibliografski podatki citiranih in uporabljenih virov so navedeni v poglavju
Viri in literatura (najprej navedemo vse vire, nato literaturo). Pri tem avtor navede
izključno dela ter izdaje, ki jih je v članku citiral.
Popolni podatki o tem delu v poglavju Literatura pa se glasijo:
Pirjevec, J. (2007): “Trst je naš!” Boj Slovencev za morje (1848–1954). Ljubljana,
Nova revija.
Če citiramo več del istega avtorja iz istega leta, poleg priimka in kratice imena napišemo
še črke po abecednem vrstnem redu, tako da se navedbe med seboj razlikujejo. Primer:
(Pirjevec, 2007a) in (Pirjevec, 2007b).
Bibliografska opomba je lahko tudi del vsebinske opombe in jo zapisujemo na enak način.
Posamezna dela v isti opombi ločimo s podpičjem. Primer:
(Pirjevec, 2007a; Verginella, 2008).
9. Pri citiranju arhivskih virov med oklepaji navajamo kratico arhiva, kratico arhivskega fonda / signaturo, številko tehnične enote in številko arhivske enote.
Primer: (ARS-1851, 67, 1808).
V primeru, da arhivska enota ni znana, se dokument citira po naslovu v opombi pod
črto, in sicer z navedbo kratice arhiva, kratice arhivskega fonda / signature, številke
tehnične enote in naslova dokumenta. Primer:
ARS-1589, 1562, Zapisnik seje Okrajnega komiteja ZKS Koper, 19. 12. 1955.
Kratice razložimo v poglavju o virih na koncu članka, kjer arhivske vire navajamo po
abecednem vrstnem redu. Primer:
ARS-1589 – Arhiv republike Slovenije (ARS), Centralni komite Zveze komunistov
Slovenije (fond 1589).
10. Pri citiranju časopisnih virov med tekstom navedemo ime časopisa, datum izdaje ter
strani:
(Primorske novice, 11. 5. 2009, 26).
V primeru, da je znan tudi naslov članka, celotno bibliografsko opombo navedemo
pod črto:
Primorske novice, 11. 5. 2009: Ali podjetja merijo učinkovitost?, 26.
V seznam virov in literature izpišemo ime časopisa / revije. Kraj, založnika in periodo
izhajanja:
Primorske novice. Koper, Primorske novice, 1963–.
11. Poglavje o virih in literaturi je obvezno. Bibliografske podatke navajamo takole:
- Opis zaključene publikacije kot celote – knjige:
Avtor (leto izida): Naslov. Kraj, Založba. Npr.:
Šelih, A., Antić, G. M., Puhar, A., Rener, T., Šuklje, R., Verginella, M., Tavčar, L.
(2007): Pozabljena polovica. Portreti žensk 19. in 20. stoletja na Slovenskem. Ljubljana, Tuma - SAZU.
V zgornjem primeru, kjer je avtorjev več kot dva, je korekten tudi citat:
(Šelih et al., 2007)
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Če navajamo določeni del iz zaključene publikacije, zgornjemu opisu dodamo še
številke strani, od koder smo navedbo prevzeli.
- Opis prispevka v zaključeni publikaciji – npr. prispevka v zborniku:
Avtor (leto izida): Naslov prispevka. V: Avtor knjige: Naslov knjige. Kraj, Založba,
strani od-do. Primer:
Darovec, D. (2011): Moderna štetja prebivalstva in slovensko-hrvaška etnična meja
v Istri. V: Darovec, D. & Strčić, P. (ur.): Slovensko-hrvaško sosedstvo / Hrvatsko-slovensko susjedstvo. Koper, Univerzitetna založba Annales, 129-142.
- Opis članka v reviji:
Avtor (leto izida): Naslov članka. Naslov revije, letnik, številka. Kraj, strani od-do. Primer:
Čeč, D. (2007): Nasilne detomorilke ali neprištevne žrtve? Spreminjanje podobe detomora v 18. in začetku 19. stoletja. Acta Histriae, 15, 2, 415-440.
- opis ustnega vira:
Informator (leto pričevanja): Ime in priimek informatorja, leto rojstva, vloga, funkcija
ali položaj. Način pričevanja. Oblika in kraj nahajanja zapisa. Primer:
Žigante, A. (2008): Alojz Žigante, r. 1930, župnik v Vižinadi. Ustno pričevanje. Zvočni zapis pri avtorju.
- opis vira iz internetnih spletnih strani:
Če je mogoče, internetni vir zabeležimo enako kot članek in dodamo spletni naslov ter
v oklepaju datum zadnjega pristopa na to stran:
Young, M. A. (2008): The victims movement: a conluence of forces. In: NOVA (National Organization for Victim Assistance). Http://www.trynova.org/ victiminfo/readings/VictimsMovement.pdf (15. 9. 2008).
Če avtor ni znan, navedemo nosilca spletne strani, leto objave, naslov in podnaslov besedila, spletni naslov in v oklepaju datum zadnjega pristopa na to stran. Če leto objave
ni znano, damo v oklepaj leto pristopa na to stran:
UP ZRS (2009): Univerza na Primorskem, Znanstveno-raziskovalno središče Koper.
Znanstveni sestanki in konference. Http://www.zrs-kp.si/SL/kongres.htm (2. 2. 2009).
Članki so razvrščeni po abecednem redu priimkov avtorjev ter po letu izdaje, v primeru
da gre za več citatov istega / istih avtorja/-jev.
12. Kratice v besedilu moramo razrešiti v oklepaju, ko se prvič pojavijo. Članku lahko
dodamo tudi seznam uporabljenih kratic.
13. Pri ocenah publikacij navedemo v naslovu prispevka avtorja publikacije, naslov, kraj,
založbo, leto izida in število strani (oziroma ustrezen opis iz točke 10).
14. Prvi odtis člankov uredništvo pošlje avtorjem v korekturo. Avtorji so dolžni popravljeno gradivo vrniti v enem tednu. Širjenje obsega besedila ob korekturah ni dovoljeno. Druge korekture opravi uredništvo.
15. Za dodatna pojasnila v zvezi z objavo člankov je uredništvo na voljo.
UREDNIŠTVO
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ISTRUZIONI PER GLI AUTORI
1. La rivista ACTA HISTRIAE pubblica articoli scientiici originali e rassegne relativi alla sfera degli studi umanistici, in particolare la storiograia. L’area geograica di
base coperta dalla pubblicazione include l’Istria e la parte mediterranea della Slovenia,
nonché tutti gli altri temi che si ricollegano al Mediterraneo in base a studi interdisciplinari e comparativi. Tutti gli articoli vengono recensiti. La recensione è completamente anonima.
2. La Redazione accetta articoli in lingua slovena, italiana, croata e inglese. Gli autori
devono garantire l’ineccepibilità linguistica dei testi.
3. Gli articoli devono essere di lunghezza non superiore alle 36.000 caratteri senza spazi. Possono venir recapitati all’indirizzo di posta elettronica ActaHistriae@gmail.
com oppure su supporto elettronico (CD) per posta ordinaria all’indirizzo della Redazione.
L’autore garantirà l’originalità dell’articolo e si impegnerà a non pubblicarlo altrove.
4. Ogni articolo deve essere corredato da: titolo, eventuale sottotitolo, nome e cognome
dell’autore, denominazione ed indirizzo dell’ente di appartenenza o, in alternativa,
l’indirizzo di casa, nonché l’eventuale indirizzo di posta elettronica.
5. I contributi devono essere corredati da un riassunto e da una sintesi. Quest’ultima sarà
più breve (max. 100 parole) del riassunto (cca 200 parole).
Nella sintesi si descriveranno brevemente i metodi e i risultati delle ricerche e anche i
motivi che le hanno determinate. La sintesi non conterrà commenti e segnalazioni.
Il riassunto riporterà in maniera sintetica i metodi delle ricerche, i motivi che le hanno
determinate assieme all’analisi, cioè all’interpretazione, dei risultati raggiunti. Si eviterà di riportare conclusioni omesse nel testo del contributo.
6. Gli autori sono tenuti ad indicare le (5–7) parole chiave adeguate. Sono necessari anche le traduzioni in inglese (o sloveno) e italiano della sintesi, del riassunto, delle
parole chiave, delle didascalie, delle fotograie e delle tabelle.
7. L’eventuale materiale iconograico (originale) va preparato in formato elettronico
(jpeg. / tif) e consegnato in ile separati alla deinizione di 300 dpi a grandezza desiderata, purché non ecceda i 12x15 cm. Prima della pubblicazione, l’autore provvederà
a fornire alla Redazione tutte le autorizzazioni richieste per la riproduzione del materiale iconograico ed archivistico (in virtù della Legge sui diritti d’autore). Tutte le
immagini, tabelle e graici dovranno essere accompagnati da didascalie e numerati in
successione.
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8. Le note a piè di pagina sono destinate essenzialmente a ini esplicativi e di contenuto.
I riferimenti bibliograici richiamano un’altra pubblicazione (articolo). La nota bibliograica, riportata nel testo, deve contenere i seguenti dati: cognome dell’autore, anno di
pubblicazione e, se citiamo un determinato brano del testo, anche le pagine. Ad es.:
(Isotton, 2006, 25) oppure (Isoton, 2006).
I riferimenti bibliograici completi delle fonti vanno quindi inseriti nel capitolo Fonti
e bibliograia (saranno prima indicate le fonti e poi la bibliograia). L’autore indicherà
esclusivamente i lavori e le edizioni citati nell’articolo.
I dati completi sulle pubblicazioni nel capitolo Fonti e bibliograia verranno riportati
in questa maniera:
Isotton, R. (2006): Crimen in itinere. Proili della disciplina del tentativo dal diritto
comune alle codiicazioni moderne. Napoli, Jovene.
Se si citano più lavori dello stesso autore pubblicati nello stesso anno accanto al cognome va aggiunta una lettera in ordine alfabetico progressivo per distinguere i vari
lavori. Ad es.:
(Isotton, 2006a) e (Isotton, 2006b).
Il riferimento bibliograico può essere parte della nota a pié di pagina e va riportato
nello stesso modo come sopra.
Singole opere o vari riferimenti bibliograici in una stessa nota vanno divisi dal punto
e virgola. Per es.:
(Isotton, 2006; Massetto, 2005).
9. Le fonti d’archivio vengono citate nel testo, tra parentesi. Si indicherà: sigla dell’archivio - numero (oppure) sigla del fondo, numero della busta, numero del documento
(non il suo titolo). Ad es.:
(ASMI-SLV, 273, 7r).
Nel caso in cui un documento non fosse contraddistinto da un numero, ma solo da
un titolo, la fonte d’archivio verrà citata a piè di pagina. In questo caso si indicherà:
sigla dell’archivio - numero (oppure) sigla del fondo, numero della busta, titolo del
documento. Ad es.:
ACS-CPC, 3285, Milanovich Natale. Richiesta della Prefettura di Trieste spedita al
Ministero degli Interni del 15 giugno 1940.
Le sigle utilizzate verranno svolte per intero, in ordine alfabetico, nella sezione “Fonti” a ine testo. Ad es.:
ASMI-SLV – Archivio di Stato di Milano (ASMI), f. Senato Lombardo-Veneto
(SLV).
10. Nel citare fonti di giornale nel testo andranno indicati il nome del giornale, la data
di edizione e le pagine:
(Il Corriere della Sera, 18. 5. 2009, 26)
Nel caso in cui è noto anche il titolo dell’articolo, l’intera indicazione bibliograica
verrà indicata a piè di pagina:
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Il Corriere della Sera, 18. 5. 2009: Da Mestre all’Archivio segreto del Vaticano, 26.
Nell’elenco Fonti e bibliograia scriviamo il nome del giornale. Il luogo di edizione,
l’editore ed il periodo di pubblicazione.
Il Corriere della Sera. Milano, RCS Editoriale Quotidiani, 1876–.
11. Il capitolo Fonti e bibliograia è obbligatorio. I dati bibliograici vanno riportati come
segue:
- Descrizione di un’opera compiuta:
autore/i (anno di edizione): Titolo. Luogo di edizione, casa editrice. Per es.:
Cozzi, G., Knapton, M., Scarabello, G. (1995): La Repubblica di Venezia nell’età
moderna – dal 1517 alla ine della Repubblica. Torino, Utet.
Se gli autori sono più di due, la citazione è corretta anche nel modo seguente:
(Cozzi et al., 1995).
Se indichiamo una parte della pubblicazione, alla citazione vanno aggiunte le pagine
di riferimento.
- Descrizione di un articolo che compare in un volume miscellaneo:
autore/i del contributo (anno di edizione): Titolo. In: autore/curatore del libro: titolo
del libro. Luogo di edizione, casa editrice, pagine (da-a). Per es.:
Clemente, P. (2001): Il punto sul folklore. In: Clemente, P., Mugnaini, F. (eds.): Oltre
il folklore. Roma, Carocci, 187–219.
- Descrizione di un articolo in una pubblicazione periodica – rivista:
autore/i (anno di edizione): Titolo del contributo. Titolo del periodico, annata, nro. del
periodico. Luogo di edizione, pagine (da-a). Per es.:
Miletti, M. N. (2007): La follia nel processo. Alienisti e procedura penale nell’Italia
postunitaria. Acta Histriae, 15, 1. Capodistria, 321–342.
- Descrizione di una fonte orale:
informatore (anno della testimonianza): nome e cognome dell’informatore, anno di
nascita, ruolo, posizione o stato sociale. Tipo di testimonianza. Forma e luogo di trascrizione della fonte. Per es.:
Predonzan, G. (1998): Giuseppe Predonzan, a. 1923, contadino di Parenzo. Testimonianza orale. Appunti dattiloscritti dell‘intervista presso l‘archivio personale dell‘autore.
- Descrizione di una fonte tratta da pagina internet:
Se è possibile registriamo la fonte internet come un articolo e aggiungiamo l’indirizzo
della pagina web e tra parentesi la data dell’ultimo accesso:
Young, M. A. (2008): The victims movement: a conluence of forces. In: NOVA (National Organization for Victim Assistance). (15. 9. 2008). Http://www. trynova.org/
victiminfo/readings/VictimsMovement.pdf
Se l’autore non è noto, si indichi il webmaster, anno della pubblicazione, titolo ed eventuale sottotitolo del testo, indirizzo web e tra parentesi la data dell’ultimo accesso. Se
l’anno di edizione non è noto si indichi tra parentesi l’anno di accesso a tale indirizzo:
UP CRS (2009): Università del Litorale, Centro di ricerche scientiiche di Capodistria. Convegni. Http://www.zrs-kp.si/SL/kongres.htm (2. 2. 2009).
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La bibliograia va compilata in ordine alfabetico secondo i cognomi degli autori ed
anno di edizione, nel caso in cui ci siano più citazioni riferibili allo stesso autore.
12. Il signiicato delle abbreviazioni va spiegato, tra parentesi, appena queste si presentano nel testo. L’elenco delle abbreviazioni sarà riportato alla ine dell’articolo.
13. Per quanto riguarda le recensioni, nel titolo del contributo l’autore deve riportare i dati
bibliograici come al punto 10, vale a dire autore, titolo, luogo di edizione, casa editrice, anno di edizione nonché il numero complessivo delle pagine dell’opera recensita.
14. Gli autori ricevono le prime bozze di stampa per la revisione. Le bozze corrette vanno
quindi rispedite entro una settimana alla Redazione. In questa fase i testi corretti non
possono essere più ampliati. La revisione delle bozze è svolta dalla Redazione.
15. La Redazione rimane a disposizione per eventuali chiarimenti.
LA REDAZIONE
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INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS
1. The journal ACTA HISTRIAE publishes original and review scientiic articles from
the sphere of humanities, historiography in particular. The basic geographic areas covered by this publication are Istria and Mediterranean Slovenia, as well as other topics
related to the Mediterranean on the basis of interdisciplinary and comparative studies.
All articles are reviewed. The review process is entirely anonymous.
2. The articles submitted can be written in the Slovene, Italian, Croatian or English language. The authors should ensure that their contributions meet acceptable standards of
language.
3. The articles should be no longer than 36,000 characters (without spaces). They can be
submitted via e-mail (ActaHistriae@gmail.com) or regular mail, with the electronic
data carrier (CD) sent to the address of the editorial board. Submission of the article
implies that it reports original unpublished work and that it will not be published elsewhere.
4. The front page should include the title and subtitle of the article, the author’s name and
surname, academic titles, ailiation (institutional name and address) or home address,
including post code, and e-mail address.
5. The article should contain the summary and the abstract, with the former (max. 100
words) being longer than the latter (c. 200 words).
The abstract contains a brief description of the aim of the article, methods of work and
results. It should contain no comments and recommendations.
The summary contains the description of the aim of the article and methods of work
and a brief analysis or interpretation of results. It can contain only the information that
appears in the text as well.
6. Beneath the abstract, the author should supply appropriate (5–7) keywords, as well as the
English (or Slovene) and italian translation of the abstract, summary, keywords, and
captions to igures and tables.
7. If possible, the author should also supply (original) illustrative matter submitted as
separate iles (in jpeg or tif format) and saved at a minimum resolution of 300 dpi per
size preferred, with the maximum possible publication size being 12x15 cm. Prior to
publication, the author should obtain all necessary authorizations (as stipulated by the
Copyright and Related Rights Act) for the publication of the illustrative and archival
matter and submit them to the editorial board. All igures, tables and diagrams should
be captioned and numbered.
8. Footnotes providing additional explanation to the text should be written at the foot of
the page. Bibliographic notes – i.e. references to other articles or publications – sho-
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uld contain the following data: author, year of publication and – when citing an extract from another text – page. Bibliographic notes appear in the text. E.g.: (Friedman,
1993, 153) or (Friedman, 1993).
The entire list of sources cited and referred to should be published in the section
Sources and Bibliography (starting with sources and ending with bibliography).
The author should list only the works and editions cited or referred to in their article.
In the section on bibliography, citations or references should be listed as follows:
Friedman, L. (1993): Crime and Punishment in American History. New York, Basic
Books.
If you are listing several works published by the same author in the same year, they
should be diferentiated by adding a lower case letter after the year for each item.
E.g.:
(Friedman, 1993a) and (Friedman, 1993b).
If the bibliographic note appears in the footnote, it should be written in the same way.
If listed in the same bibliograic note, individual works should be separated by a semicolon. E.g.:
(Friedman, 1993; Frost, 1997).
9. When citing archival records within the parenthesis in the text, the archive acronym
should be listed irst, followed by the record group acronym (or signature), number
of the folder, and number of the document. E.g.:
(ASMI-SLV, 273, 7r).
If the number of the document could not be speciied, the record should be cited in the
footnote, listing the archive acronym and the record group acronym (or signature),
number of the folder, and document title. E.g.:
TNA-HS 4, 31, Note on Interview between Colonel Fišera and Captain Wilkinson on
December 16th 1939.
The abbreviations should be explained in the section on sources in the end of the
article, with the archival records arranged in an alphabetical order. E.g.:
TNA-HS 4 – The National Archives, London-Kew (TNA), fond Special Operations
Executive, series Eastern Europe (HS 4).
10. If referring to newspaper sources in the text, you should cite the name of the newspaper, date of publication and page:
(The New York Times, 16. 5. 2009, 3)
If the title of the article is also known, the whole reference should be stated in the
footnote:
The New York Times, 16. 5. 2009: Two Studies tie Disaster Risk to Urban Growth, 3.
In the list of sources and bibliography the name of the newspaper. Place, publisher,
years of publication.
The New York Times. New York, H.J. Raymond & Co., 1857–.
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11. The list of sources and bibliography is a mandatory part of the article. Bibliographical data should be cited as follows:
- Description of a non-serial publication – a book:
Author (year of publication): Title. Place, Publisher. E.g.:
Barth, F., Gingrich, A., Parkins, R., Silverman, S. (2005): One Discipline, Four
Ways. Chicago, University of Chicago Press.
If there are more than two authors, you can also use et al.:
(Barth et al., 2005).
If citing an excerpt from a non-serial publication, you should also add the number of
page from which the citation is taken after the year.
- Description of an article published in a non-serial publication – e.g. an article from
a collection of papers:
Author (year of publication): Title of article. In: Author of publication: Title of publication. Place, Publisher, pages from-to. E.g.:
Rocke, M. (1998): Gender and Sexual Culture in Renaissance Italy. In: Brown, I. C.,
Davis, R. C. (eds.): Gender and Society in Renaissance Italy. New York, Longman,
150–170.
- Description of an article from a serial publication:
Author (year of publication): Title of article. Title of serial publication, yearbook,
number. Place, pages from-to. E.g.:
Faroqhi, S. (1986): The Venetian Presence in the Ottoman Empire (1600–1630). The
Journal of European Economic History, 15, 2. Rome, 345–384.
- Description of an oral source:
Informant (year of transmission): Name and surname of informant, year of birth, role,
function or position. Manner of transmission. Form and place of data storage. E.g.:
Baf, A. (1998): Alojzij Baf, born 1930, priest in Vižinada. Oral testimony. Audio recording held by the author.
- Description of an internet source:
If possible, the internet source should be cited in the same manner as an article. What
you should add is the website address and date of last access (with the latter placed
within the parenthesis):
Young, M. A. (2008): The victims movement: a conluence of forces. In: NOVA (National Organization for Victim Assistance). Http://www.trynova.org/ victiminfo/readings/VictimsMovement.pdf (15. 9. 2008).
If the author is unknown, you should cite the organization that set up the website, year
of publication, title and subtitle of text, website address and date of last access (with
the latter placed within the parenthesis). If the year of publication is unknown, you
should cite the year in which you accessed the website (within the parenthesis):
UP SRC (2009): University of Primorska, Science and Research Centre of Koper.
Scientiic meetings. Http://www.zrs-kp.si/konferenca/retorika_dev/index. html (2. 2.
2009).
If there are more citations by the same author(s), you should list them in the alphabetical order of the authors’ surnames and year of publication.
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12. The abbreviations should be explained when they irst appear in the text. You can also
add a list of their explanations at the end of the article.
13. The title of a review article should contain the following data: author of the publication reviewed, title of publication, address, place, publisher, year of publication and
number of pages (or the appropriate description given in Item 10).
14. The authors are sent the irst page proofs. They should be returned to the editorial board within a week. It is not allowed to lengthen the text during proof-reading. Second
proof-reading is done by the editorial board.
15. For additional information regarding article publication contact the editorial board.
EDITORIAL BOARD
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