AnuArio de estudios MedievAles
52/1, enero-junio de 2022, pp. 253-276
ISSN 0066-5061
https://doi.org/10.3989/aem.2022.52.1.10
CIrCular eCoNomy aNd “CIrCular expertISe”:
tHe SeCoNd-HaNd market aNd profeSSIoNal eStImatorS
IN fIfteeNtH-CeNtury floreNCe
Economía circular y “conocimiEnTo EXPErTo circular”:
mErcado dE sEgunda mano y EsTimadorEs ProfEsionalEs
En la florEncia dEl siglo XV
AlessiA Meneghin
university of Bergamo
https://orcid.org/ 0000-0002-9022-0861
abstract: making use of statutes as well as of a particular group of corporate sources, two registers
entitled deliberazioni e statutaria, both promulgated in florence by the arte dei rigattieri (secondhand dealers) in the late middle ages, this essay explores a crucial facet of circular economy, that
of the regulation of the second-hand market in the 15th century. Control was operated through the
activity of appraisers, sellers themselves, whom the arte entrusted with the task of undertaking all
necessary assessments of used garments that might have been required during daily transactions by
different parties. By shedding light on key information like the fabrics and the fashion of secondhand clothing, this essay analyses all aspects of circular trade, from those prohibited by law, such
as counterfeiting, to those adopted to facilitate business, such as the presence of officially appointed
estimators.
Keywords: circular economy; second-hand market; Florence; fifteenth century; estimators; counterfeits; reuse & upcycling.
resumen: Haciendo uso tanto de los estatutos como de un grupo particular de fuentes corporativas,
dos registros llamados deliberazioni e statutaria, ambos promulgados en florencia por el arte dei
rigattieri (comerciantes de segunda mano) a finales de la Edad Media, este ensayo explora un aspecto
crucial de la economía circular, el de la regulación del mercado de segunda mano en el siglo xV. el
control se operaba a través de la actividad de tasadores, los propios vendedores, a quienes el arte
encomendó la tarea de realizar todas las evaluaciones necesarias de las prendas usadas que pudieran
haber sido requeridas durante las transacciones diarias, por diferentes partes. al arrojar luz sobre
información clave como los tejidos y la moda de la ropa de segunda mano, este ensayo analiza
todos los aspectos del comercio circular, desde los prohibidos por la ley, como la falsificación,
hasta los adoptados para facilitar los negocios, como la presencia de empresas oficiales estimadores
designados.
Palabras clave: economía circular; mercado de segunda mano; florencia; siglo xV; estimadores;
falsificaciones; reutilización y reciclaje.
suMMAry
1. Introduction.– 2. Circular economy and second-hand in conversation: past & present.– 3. professionalising the stima: “circular” expertise and estimators.– 4. Statutory
regulations: counterfeits and prohibitions.– 5. recycled and re-used objects and materials.– 6. Conclusions.– 7. Cited bibliography.
Citation / Cómo citar este artículo: meneghin, alessia (2022), circular Economy and “circular Expertise”: The
second-hand market and Professional Estimators in fifteenth-century florence, “anuario de estudios medievales” 52/1,
pp. 253-276. https://doi.org/10.3989/aem.2022.52.1.10
Copyright: © 2022 CSIC. este es un artículo de acceso abierto distribuido bajo los términos de la licencia de uso y
distribución Creative Commons reconocimiento 4.0 Internacional (CC By 4.0).
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1. introduction
By definition, circular economy aims to redefine growth, by gradually reconverting the traditional “linear” cycle of consumption –from extraction of resources to production, to consumption (and waste)– into a “circular”
one, and by working waste out of the system. Circular economy is based on
three essential principles: to reduce waste and pollution, to keep materials and
products in use, and to revitalise natural systems. In particular attention to pollution has grown consistently over the past few years. If we go back to the
past, and to the medieval one, the period object of our focus, we see that also
at that time legislators were well aware of the risk that soiling the environment
entailed; they emanated frequent dispositions to curb waste coming from particular industrial processes like leather tanning and dying for example –which
could have detrimental effects– into the city waterways1.
However important are the issues related to contamination and pollution, this essay will not deal with them. It will focus instead on another aspect
of circular economy, that is the recovery of discarded objects and their reuse,
in compliance with one of its principles: to keep materials and products in
use. It will do so by analysing the conditions that in fifteenth-century Florence
allowed for these two aspects to unfold and naturally take place. undoubtedly florence is one of the most intensely researched cities in europe, and the
Quattrocento one of its most analysed centuries. the extraordinary wealth of
data available in the many archives of the city grants scholars in social and
economic history the chance to investigate on several aspects, among which,
one is of crucial interest to this present essay: the means employed by the arte
dei rigattieri (merchants of second-hand clothing) to implement and sustain
upcycling and reconversion in the market of cast-offs2.
I have written extensively on the second-hand market in florence
and in the cities which formed part of its dominio in the Quattrocento. We
have detailed data on the way the second-hand market functioned and was
regulated, but also important information on how it was supervised by especially appointed officers known as stimatori: we know their activity and identity within the guild due to the registers deliberazioni e statutaria dei consoli
13 and deliberazioni e statutaria dei consoli 14 preserved in the fondo of the
arte in the State archive in florence3. I argued that the market of discarded
1
See Zupko, laures 1996; for an informed literature on the subject see also the recent Geltner 2019.
2
they were one of the 14 minor guilds in florence.
3
archivio di Stato di firenze (henceforward aSf), arte dei rigattieri linaioli e Sarti, deliberazioni e statutaria dei consoli, 13, 14.
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clothing presented the characters of a primitive prototype of circular economy:
it was a model that broke up the traditional purchase-consumption-throwaway
cycle, inasmuch as it involved the collection and re-use of clothing. Not only
did it offer to the less well-off and others the possibility to clothe themselves
at a reduced cost, but also gave new life to old items. In fact, one of the most
immediate effects of the recycling of old clothing was to prolong the life cycle
of valued pieces and precious materials. although, as a matter of fact, the second-hand trade helped reduce pollution, otherwise caused by the dispersion of
unwanted or worn out garments into the environment, what is important to us
is to note that it fuelled the life cycle of objects, substantially contributing to
reduce manufacture costs and expenditures for raw materials.
By analysing the epistemic reasons behind old upcycling practices,
this essay will try to relate key aspects of circular economy, those of regulation
and legislation –operated by officially appointed estimators– to our matterof-fact knowledge of the second-hand market in fifteenth-century Florence.
I shall set off by first engaging in a short, but necessary discussion as to why I
believe it is essential to put in dialogue some data coming from the universe
of current circular economy with yesterday’s practices. this will provide a
comparative scenario which will help me to build up a frame for discussion.
I shall then offer the reader detailed information on the role of estimators who
apportioned used clothing and who acted under the umbrella of the arte dei
rigattieri. I shall illustrate the way they were selected, and their specific duties and salaries, in the understanding that regulations but also regulators were
an essential part of the recycling system. the essay will further unfold by
debating on an essential theme, that is the link between statutory regulations,
recycling and frauds. I shall conclude by presenting some evidence on the
clients who resorted to practices of recycling, and on the goods and materials
which formed part of the recycling and reconversion process.
2. circulAr econoMy And second-hAnd in conversAtion:
pAst & present
In order to understand what the circular economy was and how it
worked in the middle ages, we start with its antithesis, the linear economy. In
a linear economic model we have to imagine the process of production and use
of a good as a line with a beginning and an end. In this process we can identify
fundamental stages: the selection of raw materials and their first processing,
the realisation of the finished products (in our case clothes and clothing accessories), their distribution, use and consumption. While all these steps meant
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century florence, it also immediately revealed the criticalities of a system that
produced costly items which were out of reach for many less affluent consumers if they wished to buy them new. first of all, therefore, we would say that
the circular economy was certainly a response to a state of need. people in the
medieval past had the habit of reusing everything, but not out of sensitivity
to environmental issues and eco-sustainability. In short it was necessity that
forced people to rethink alternative and different ways of consuming goods.
In this sense there is an inherent risk of anachronism when talking of circular
economy in preindustrial societies like fifteenth-century Florence, since despite the relationship between circularity and sharing economy existed even
then, circular economy as we understand it today (when we are also using
state-of-the-art technology) did and could not exist.
However, if we bear in mind that necessity was not the one and only
factor shaping demand in the second-hand market (the less well-off were not
the exclusive users of this type of commercial venues, which also had a distribution niche for luxury goods), and that other issues were at play, such
as redistribution and sharing, we can surely think of the second-hand sector as a
circular one: in fact, objects were not produced, bought and exchanged following the customary linear system only, they were also altered, profoundly
modified, bequeathed, inherited, given and taken back as payments for other
goods or services, used as gifts, passed down from hand to hand or throughout generations, as shown by the work of laurent fontaine4, or used even as
pledges, as noted by maria Giuseppina muzzarelli5. In other words, clothes
were items fuelling the market of cast-offs from a myriad of sources, susceptible to a variety of changes affecting their appearance and price (normal wear
and tear, taste, driving demand for a particular type, etc.) but also people’s
personal circumstances (purchasing power, that could vary during one’s life,
depending on status and professional occupation for example).
today cramped charity shops, little second-hand and vintage boutiques are only too familiar spots for us. However, they cannot be disjointed
by the very concept of fashion, as a considerable share of the fashion system
is made precisely by incomes deriving from second-hand and vintage. In fact,
according to statistics carried out by Bva doxa on behalf of Subito.it, an online platform used for selling/buying second-hand goods in Italy, in 2019 the
market of cast-offs has generated a 24 billion euros turnover, amounting to
1.3 % of Italian GDP: an important figure, that has grown 33 % in the past
five years, and that could grow more in the future6. Both physical shops and
4
fontaine 2008. See also damen 2007, pp. 81-99.
Carboni, muzzarelli 2012.
6
Https://www.rinnovabili.it/economia-circolare/mercato-dell-usato/ [accessed: 22/03/2021].
5
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online platforms such as eBay, Subito.it, depop, Vestiaire Collective, and the
recently born Vinted have attracted more and more people because of the Corona-Virus pandemic, but, as it seems, first-time buyers and sellers are not the
only ones to make use of these resources. regular consumers already shopped
second-hand before the CoVId era, and in consistent numbers. However, it
seems certain that today the driving force behind this attitude to consumption
is dual, both economic and ethical. In essence the chance to save up money
goes hand in hand with a growing sensitivity towards environmental issues:
a fairly large share of consumers believe that used items are a powerful and
valid weapon to be used against waste and pollution7.
Before we go further ahead it is paramount to establish the difference
between reuse and recycle, since the risk is to believe that one is synonymous
with the other, and that in pre-industrial societies (characterised, it should be
emphasised, by the lack of today-like cutting-edge technologies and the use of
eco-friendly nanomaterials) the two practices were both feasible. to recycle
means turning an object, in our case a garment, into raw material which can
be used again, generally for a completely different purpose/product. to this
end, one very good example in the early modern age, was the practice of wool
recycling that had been carried out for centuries in the prato district and also
in the marche, where it gave life to the rags industry to produce paper8. Conversely, to reuse refers to using the same item as it was originally intended,
without any deep transformation or treatment of any kind taking place. If it is
true that the second-hand market was mainly a place of reuse, but sometimes it
could also be a place of recycling: this is the case, for example, of the recovery
for sale of various components originating from production surpluses, such as
fabrics or fabric scraps that in essence, were deadstock.
men’s recourse to cast-offs and re-using has always existed. In the
medieval past of our cities to resort to used goods was the norm rather than
the exception. the culture of consumption of many medieval cities simply
represented one of the main raisons d’être of the second hand market: in fact,
its ubiquitous existence show that a culture of re-using was very widespread,
and transversally, in the whole medieval society9. Not only did the vast majority of population turn to this particular market on special occasions, such as
when the time arose to provide for one’s daughter’s donora for example, or
to buy garments for a funeral, but virtually, all-year round10. for large strata
7
on these issues, and the essential interaction between fashion industry, environment, production and consumption see ricchetti 2017.
8
Ciuffetti 2015.
9
meneghin 2020, pp. 13-15.
10
ibidem, pp. 122-124.
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of the population practices like buying and selling cast-offs often offered the
one and only solution alternative to the resort to charity or to go round dressed
in tatters. We know that occasionally also well-off individuals, and even the
elites resorted to second-hand.
However, if we reason on the market of second-hand, and on the
overarching factors contributing to making it an essential feature of circular economy today, we must ask ourselves a crucial question: whether it is
legitimate to apply, with the methods of the scientific research, a reading of
practices that were unquestionably widespread and rooted in ancien-régime
societies, although they were not necessarily introduced by the same sensitivity displayed by a twenty first-century individual to current environmental
problems. another question to be posed is whether there was a legislative
apparatus regulating those aspects, and by whom it was enforced. finally, is it
possible to draw comparisons with the statutory prescriptions, in our case that
of the florentine arte dei rigattieri, and today’s legislation, which we know
has recently begun to produce a series of measures aimed at containing waste
and pollution, by encouraging various forms of recovery of raw materials and
used items11? I believe that it is reasonable to ask these questions, provided of
course, that the writer, as well as the reader, are both aware of the dangers inherent in the re-reading of historical events, as critically highlighted by tommaso di Carpegna falconieri, in relation to concepts such as “actualization”
and “presentism”12. In fact, one of the risks involved is that of giving too much
weight to the psychology of the reader, according to what Giuseppe Sergi has
defined “perceptual historiography”: this would ensure that a non-specialist
public, made up of students and lovers of history, is attracted to themes that
he/she considers close, similar, assimilable to his/her own experiences, and
to his/her own points of reference, thus playing up a deformed and distorting
reading of historical reality13.
Naturally the relationship between sumptuary laws and circular
economy also comes to mind. the limitations and prohibitions of the former, although subject to deceptions and tricks, all converged on the same
intent: to reduce, if not avoid, unnecessary expenses and therefore, frivolous consumption on for example precious textiles and materials, and length
of drags14. If sumptuary legislation was in some way aimed at curbing un11
I am thinking of eu consumer legislation regulating the right of consumers to have their
purchases repaired within the period legally guaranteed by law. on this see monier 2016; and
montalvo 2016.
12
Carpegna falconieri 2020, pp. 109-126.
13
Sergi 2005, pp. 9-17.
14
muzzarelli, Campanini 2003.
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controlled spending by the elite for the benefit of the commune’s coffers,
in reality the link between clothing, consumption and law remains an historical, solid and persistent one also in relation to circular economy. In the
second-hand market, however, the role of supervision of consumption and
circulation of clothing was played not so much by sumptuary legislation –regardless of the impact it had undoubtedly on consumers’ commercial habits–
rather by the regulations issued by the statutes of the guild. the statutes set
out a wide range of protections: firstly towards the role of the rigattieri, the
only ones authorised to resell second-hand clothes, and secondly towards
the final consumer. Last but not least, they protected the reputation of the
guild and that of all actors, and this is where especially appointed estimators
came in: they enforced statutory laws adapting them to specific situations in
the market of cast-offs.
3. professionAlising the stima: “circulAr” expertise And estiMAtors
In fifteenth-century Florence rigattieri made for a solid presence, especially in that commercial hub that was the old market. over the fourteenth
and the fifteenth centuries the reinforcement of the sector had experienced an
increase in the number of workshops, fondaci, fondachetti and botteghe di
regatteria scattered in the city centre and beyond15. this commercial expansion had pushed the arte’s leaders to legislate to protect its members and their
reputation, in the understanding that within a market more and more driven
by stringent rules, to be reliable and to be perceived as honest businessmen,
was essentially the same thing: an indispensable tool to favour the corporatism of the trade and, ultimately, to facilitate business. In particular, it was vital
to provide clear guidelines for the trade and its regulation, since used clothes
did not have a price list or tariffario: it is likely that in the past this had been
responsible of various attempts of commercial fraud. therefore sometimes in
the fourteenth century (the precise date is unknown) the arte adopted a critical
initiative, and officially appointed stimatori with the task of estimating items,
in a way regulated by law:
s’è fatto ordine e statuito nella nostra università [di istituire degli
stimatori] per [porre] freno alla fraude (...) perche l’astutia (sic)
delli uomini spesse volte avanza la forza delle leggi16.
15
meneghin 2020, pp. 76-83.
“orders have been made and established in our corporation [to set up appraisers] to [curb]
fraud ... because the cunning of men frequently exceeds the force of the law”, aSf, arte dei
rigattieri e linaioli, f. 63v.
16
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the stimatore in florence has long been sottostimato (underestimated) by historians, despite his importance and his professional proximity to
brokers17. More in general scarce attention has been dedicated to this figure,
although a few scattered studies concentrated on different realities18. even
less consideration has been paid to the legislation bounding and regulating the
activity of florentine estimators. We are lucky to possess the deliberazioni e
statutaria registers which are of extreme relevance to the subject of expertise
and assessment. Not only they include the complete list of all rigattieri who
were chosen to perform as estimators in the years 1446-1452 and 1471-147519,
providing for the full and comprehensive definition of the profession and its
regulation even in the smallest details, but also offer minute details on the actors, revealing the estimated price for almost all items inspected. moreover,
they are incredibly rich with descriptions pertaining to the shape, colour and
materials that composed the re-used clothing that estimators were called upon
to evaluate. the two registers slightly differ for one element: while the data
coming from deliberationi e statutaria 13 (which covers the years 1446-1452)
contain records of items just purchased or about to be purchased, submitted
by potential buyers in agreement with the seller to be estimated, in register 14
(which covers the years 1471-1475), those who turned to the estimators were
almost certainly heirs, those who had been bequeathed goods.
In valuing used chattels, garments and items of various kind estimators functioned as mediators between the commercialization of re-used goods
and their purchase in view of a partial or full re-employment, in a system that
resembled very closely the current model of circular economy. this meant
that in Florence the office of those chosen to act as estimators transcended the
realm of private economic relationship, that is the simple commercial mediation between vendor (the rigattiere) and client, to enter that of public law, by
17
laurent feller is arguably the leading expert on the theme of expertise and assessment:
Gazeau 2011; feller 2013; denjean, feller 2013; feller, rodriguez 2016. the character of the
estimator is different from that of the broker, although they can be both seen as intermediaries
between buyers and sellers. However, the latter would not determine the price of a particular
item of clothing or accessory, although he was able to influence, with his expertise, the circuits
of the sale and even the tastes of the potential buyer. to this regard see the work on late medieval aragon by García marsilla, Navarro espinach, Vela aulesa 2015. this subject has generated much interest and produced a vast bibliography also among art historians such as Welch
2002, and antenhofer 2016, who have both studied the various ways of purchasing goods via
familiari at the court of the Gonzaga; and krohn 2003, who has shown that the statutes of the
arte dei medici e speziali regulated the practice of stima of works of art since the mid-trecento,
although it would only be in 1471 that the painters’ guild in florence created a sort of vademecum for evaluators.
18
Cohen, Cohen 2010, pp. 480-481. on the role of estimators for evaluating luxury objects
see feller 2014; and again García marsilla 2016; see also Stabel 2007, pp. 53-70.
19
for a complete list of estimators see meneghin 2020, pp. 116-119, tabs. 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4.
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assuming the character of official controller representative of the guild. Over
time, the guild seemed committed to put under stricter surveillance this last
prerogative, the control and regulation of estimates at the time of a sale, perhaps looking for a compensation to the progressive decrease of its political
role during the fifteenth century (especially from the last decades of the century). Since the estimators were the guild’s “instruments” of control and emissaries of trust in the mercantile trade, the guild became increasingly involved
in keeping this category subjected, and in further clarifying its obligations,
prohibitions, and boundaries, enacting a series of norms and legislation aimed
at accentuating the formal function of the stimatori20.
the rigattieri’s broad and accurate knowledge of the merchandise
and the market, its ebbs and flows, its people and products, its stock chains and
payment methods made them the natural guarantors for the establishment
of the giusto prezzo (fair price). this is not the place to embark into a discussion about the fair price, on which an extensive literature has been published21.
It will suffice to say that the stimatori’s authority in these matters was considered beyond dispute, and also that there were many variable factors which
concurred to radically alter the price of used clothing, such as the state of conservation, one’s effective ability to reuse the purchase item, the material of
manufacture, the demand for that product at a given moment. In general, estimations facilitated transactions especially in those cases where two parties
were involved in the deal: heirs and the executor of an estate, two parties to a
marriage, seller and purchaser.
originally, the appointment of the estimator lasted one year, although it
was later reduced to four months; at the beginning of the period he was obliged
to commit himself, with an oath pronounced on the Bible in the presence of
the consuls of the arte, to the obedience to the statutes, and to the honest and
diligent exercise of the profession. the obligation of the oath was accompanied
by that of the payment of £10 (a sort of licence to exercise the profession) from
which the arte could withdraw money in the case of future fines imposed on
the estimator, thus preventing the possibility that such sanctions could remain
unpaid. In addition to the oath and the payment of the money, another element of
the procedure for admission to the post of stimatore was the approval of the candidates, conducted by secret ballot by the consuls and the council of the arte22.
We know that each stimatore was paid a sum of d 2 for each £1 (0.83 %)
of value of the goods estimated in each transaction. If this figure seems
20
ibidem, pp. 116-124.
for a detailed survey on the bibliography and the discussion on the fair price, or giusto
prezzo see martinat 2008; García marsilla 2017; pepke 2017; meneghin 2020, pp. 111-115.
22
aSf, arte dei rigattieri linaioli e Sarti, deliberazioni e statutaria dei consoli, 13, f. 42r-v.
21
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low, however, we must consider that some items, especially luxurious ones,
could be valued several lire if not dozens of florins. Estimation was a very
specialized market which implies that it was also very hierarchical, even from
an economic point of view, that is they could also receive higher payments in
virtue of the high consideration enjoyed. this could add substantially to the
payment due to them23. thus trust, based on reputation and excellent conduct
in business, was a key element in the relationship between the arte and the
estimators, and between the latter and their clients.
the stimatore’s function of control was manifested first of all in the
fulfillment of one of his principal tasks: the recording of estimates in a notebook
that was to be made available to the bursar and to the notary of the arte. to the
registration of the estimator’s stime was attributed a probative value. In fact,
in the event that after the assessments disputes arose between the contracting
parties, the writing of the appraiser was called into question as a determining testimony for the resolution of the controversy. for this reason, this writing must
always be kept at the disposal of the consuls and the notary of the arte. this is a
very relevant aspect in the profession of a stimatore, which assumes a marked
official character: above all in the act of registration of the stima, which is the
drafting of a document of publicly recognized value, the estimator appears to
carry out a specific task as official representative of the arte24. there is also another value that over time, the registration of the stimatore takes on, even more
important than being a proof for commercial disputes: it represents an effective instrument of control, especially of financial nature. In fact, at any time the
arte can inquire about the extent of the earnings of its estimators and the dealings
concluded by them; and still can monitor the honesty of the estimated price of
the goods (all this of course provided that the estimator’s notebook corresponded
to reality). the writing of the estimator could also be used for other purposes
such as helping to hinder the free commercial initiative in the event that the arte
intended to apply corporatist measures such as the imposition of certain prices.
a last critical element of estimators’ reliability became their tendency to frequently perform stime at the many botteghe’s of rigattieri. Business
that generally took place in a shop was characterized by so many commercial,
statutory and legislative constraints that it was a locus of trust. If a fraud, for
example, was committed in a shop against a customer, the rigattiere could be
immediately tracked down and convicted, and answer for his crime; conversely, transactions that occurred on the street or in the squares offered no guarantee on the quality of the products sold, nor safety of any kind to the client.
23
24
meneghin 2020, pp. 116-119.
aSf, arte dei rigattieri linaioli e Sarti, deliberazioni e statutaria dei consoli, 13, f. 64r.
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4. stAtutory regulAtions: counterfeits And prohibitions
the medieval model of circular economy in florence was not supported by any specific legislation enacted by specialized policy makers25; it
was therefore the arte dei rigattieri that deliberated in this sense, delegated
directly by civic authorities. In turn, the arte’s consuls, entrusting the estimators with the supervision of market practices, assigned them a professional
function, officially recognized by the authorities and by all Florentine society.
the earliest known statutes of the rigattieri date to 1296. reformed
statutes appeared in 1318 and in 1324, while the statutes of 1340 bear the
mark of the merge with the linaioli26. the latest version is the most complete
one, and like the others relate to administrative, representative, commercial,
and managerial aspects of the arte27. all throughout, the statutes contain specific headings destined to deal with the regulation of re-using practices and the
selling of re-used products. In general, the norms held within conveyed rules
for the conduct and business of the artieri (members of the arte). However,
it should be specified that the directives aimed at managing and monitoring
interventions and/or manipulations of items put up for sale, were intended
instead for the protection of the quality of the garments traded. expressed
and reiterated over the years, these regulations established severe penalties
for non-compliance. as a general rule penalties were generally pecuniary and
reflected the need to limit the damage that infringement of laws could cause
to the reputation of the arte as a whole. one of the reasons these norms were
repeatedly reinforced in the statutes is plain: in the absence of clear rules by
competent authorities (we have seen that no price list for used garments existed), this inevitably led to unfair competition due to the alteration of the rules
of access to the market of second-hand, in this case translated into counterfeit and significant alteration of the products for sale. The stricter disciplinary
sanctions were in fact provided for those who contravened those rules definable as professional ethics. Not only second-hand dealers, to be reliable, had to
acquire a monopoly on the sale of second-hand goods, but, since they had been
25
Although the general principles of circular economy began to find a systematization since
the 1990s, only recently they have been taken as a starting point for the definition of international and national policies, adopted worldwide for smoothing the transition towards a virtuous
model of economy. In 2016 the european environment agency published a document (n.º 2/2016),
“Circular Economy in Europe - Developing the knowledge base”, rationally defining the application methods for achieving the objectives of circular economy. the ellen macarthur foundation
–a non-profit charitable organisation born in 2009 with the goal of reaching a sustainable model
of economy– contributed significantly to its drafting, demonstrating its authoritative weight
in providing universally recognized elements of policy making.
26
on the merge with the linaioli see meneghin 2020, pp. 50-52.
27
ibidem, pp. 51-52.
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entrusted by the authorities with the task of carrying out quality control of
the products they were selling, they had to comply with strict regulations.
this was to protect that same quality of the product, and that corporate ethics
which, given the nature of the profession and the absence, as we have seen,
of previous legislation on the subject, made it all too susceptible to fraud and
counterfeits of all kinds.
If sanctions were generally applied to rigattieri, also estimators
could commit frauds, but it is peculiar that in the deliberationi e statutaria,
so customarily careful to regulate even the most minute aspects of the profession, there is no reference to this, apart from a rather laconic recommendation that the stime must be done “honestly and judiciously” (onestamente e
giudiziosamente28), else, the stimatore would be fined and removed from his
appointment. one wonders who did police them in such cases, the arte, the
institutional bodies of the city, the market, or the social commentary? In fact,
there was an inherent weakness in the estimates of large batches of goods,
which was determined by the lack of possibility of having a large number of
estimators, each specialized in a particular sector. In turn, this would have entailed a separation of control tasks and probably required a very high number
of stimatori instead of the two performing together at each stima.
the prohibitions contained in the statutes that interest us more –since
they would most closely concern aspects of circular economy, and entail penalties if disattended– can be divided into three categories: rejuvenations and
dyeing, alterations and re-fashioning, barter and exchanges. The first set of
prohibitions concerns using “chemical” reagents and mechanical processes
to make clothes look newer than they were originally. the veto on follatura
(fulling) or mechanical compression to make the item look compact, light, and
soft, appeared in the statutes of 1296, de non faciendo pannos follatos, and was
renewed in the statutes of 1318, de non rinfollando vel rimborrando pannos,
and in 1340, de non rinfollando vel rimborrando pannos29. the ban related to
the sale of marezzati clothing, de non vendendo aliquem pannum maregiatum,
sets back to 1296, and was reinforced in 1340: the cloth marezzato –that is
immersed in sea water– tended to present stripes due to the remnants of salt
on the surface, which recalled the colour and resembled the sinuosity of certain silks30. moreover, the interdiction to starch and re-stuff old padded jackets and doublets, and even to use soap, hot water and washing soda to clean
the garments, de non reactandis pannis veteribus cum sapone et aqua calida
vel sodandis ad ceppum –something which does indeed sound strange to the
28
aSf, arte dei rigattieri linaioli, 7, f. 62v.
Sartini 1940-1948, pp. 19-20, 65-66, 211-212.
30
ibidem, pp. 34, 214.
29
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modern reader– finds place in the statutes of 1296, 1318, 1324, and 134031.
This first category also includes the prohibition of dyeing old clothes in a different colour, indigo blue for example (1318, quod nullus tingat pannos cum
indaco, reinforced in 1324 and 1340)32.
the washing and dyeing of old garments was part of a large pattern of textile-rejuvenation. the underlying sense of these rules is clearly to
be interpreted as an attempt to limit resort to counterfeiting. the continuous
reiteration in the statutes, of punishments for the crimes of “counterfeiting” of
used goods is very strong: in the presence of a counterfeited item, or of an old
item sold as new, the pecuniary penalty (imposed on those who tried to sell
such items to others) was very high, 21 florins, in virtue of the principle that
counterfeited goods were, precisely like counterfeited coins, a crime punished
severely. If one bears in mind that the matriculation fee for rigattieri joining
ex novo the corporation was three gold florins (ten lire for rigattieri from the
contado), it is obvious that the lofty sum of 21 florins reflected the extreme
gravity of the corresponding offence33.
the second set of prohibitions pertains to upcycle, and concerns limitations on the making of gonnelle, mantels or sottane and doublets from veils,
curtains, blankets, and even sacred vestments (1296, de non facendo farsitia vel
copertoria vel alia laboreria da velis cremonensibus vel tentoriis tendis vel trabacchis; 1318, quod nullus faciat vel vendat farsitia guarnella vel sottana de
velis; 1340, de non faciendo vel vendendo farsitia vel sottana aut copertoria
de velis).In this group also falls the ban of crafting mixed clothing and jackets,
probably made with parts of different fabrics, or even with parts more or less new
and others more or less used: 1296, de non faciendo farsitia mista de stuppa et
bonbice; 1318, quod non fiant farsitia mista; 1324, quod non fiant farsitia mista;
1340, de non faciendo farsitia mista, and de non faciendo iubbam mixtam34.
the third set of prohibitions is concerned with systems of payment
and exchange of goods, or bartering. Barter was another vetoed activity. While
in practice rigattieri often exchanged their unsold merchandise for other
goods, barter had no fixed written rules, as the arte claimed in its statutes, and
as such must be avoided at all costs35. furthermore, the estimator must not join
in sales as a seller or buyer, in order to participate later in the resale of clothes
and objects previously acquired. to this end, it was established that it could
31
ibidem, pp. 23-24, 67-68, 119-120, 213-214.
ibidem, pp. 76, 128, 218.
33
meneghin 2020, pp. 43-44.
34
Sartini 1940-1948, pp. 15, 64, 210.
35
meneghin 2020, p. 41.
32
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not be sold any used clothing or object per modum baroccholi vel conii36.
the term baroccholo or baroccolo is a derivative of baro, that is cheater, and
the term coniare meant “to deceive”: they likely both indicated unfair tricks
taking place, disguised by selling something, by giving it or paying for it an
exaggerated price37. this prescription was repeated in the statutes of 1318,
1324 and 1340.
finally, one important obligation spelled throughout all four statutory versions was to entrust those garments to be put up for sale to curandarii
and menders of proven reliability only (de non dandum ad curandum pannos
aliquos aliquibus curandariis nisi satisdent)38.
5. recycled And re-used objects And MAteriAls
Shopping habits and consumer culture have always played a major
role in determining the possibility of recovering products made from recycled
material. However, the reuse of clothing, according to a process that today
would make us think about the much praised “sustainable economy”, in the
middle ages was rather linked to the inability to produce consumer goods in
large quantities at affordable prices. the very existence of minute regulations
pertaining to the sphere of activity of rigattieri, and regulating the intervention of the estimators to the smallest details, demonstrates that reuse and recycling were in fact not only practiced, but even preferred by large sections of
the urban population.
We must not forget one essential principle: this type of market allowed the potential customer to choose among a wide variety of garments in
different colours, shapes and fashion. However, the “circular” nature of the
second-hand market meant essentially that one laid his/her hands on what was
available at a given moment. tastes, needs, even desires, had to go along with
what was on offer. We may even say that demand was shaped by supply.
Generally, used goods went through a selection process which we
must imagine be a rather sloppy one for the garments intended for a clientele of basic to low needs; conversely it was most likely quite strict for those
garments considered appealing or even luxurious, destined for a clientele of
greater financial means. Clothes which were reused in the same shape, could
be recontextualised for different functions, or even enhanced, thanks to the
work of the tailors who worked for the arte, whose interventions creatively
36
Sartini 1940-1948, pp. 79-80, 130, 219.
d’errico 1994.
38
Sartini 1940-1948, pp. 159, 207.
37
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modified the garments’ appearance, fashion, and general measures. Re-contextualisation and creative intervention generally gave rise to upcycling, in
which the value of the reused dress or object could be greater than that of the
product in its original use. In this sense, by making use of the work of tailors
and menders, second-hand dealers were at the forefront of the trend towards
the diffusion of upcycling of already-used clothing and accessories.
the fate of clothing therefore varied depending on what could be
recovered. the most extreme solution was recycling; hence the focus was on
the recovery of materials or constituent elements of a garment. trimmings
and other distinctive decorations for instance could be easily stripped from
clothing, and could be rapidly altered into other sorts of items. When piero di
francesco da Vicchio, a servant of the Parte guelfa in Florence in the fifteenth
century turned to a tailor, Giovanni d’antonio nicknamed Tesoro for adjustment in 1451 of one of his pieces of cloth (“he made me a lucco by converting
a cloak”, per acconciatura di un mantello mi ci fece un lucco), and to turn a
garment inside-out (per rivoltare da capo a piè un lucchetto verde) as it was
probably worn on one side, his request was made specifically in this spirit39.
This process was indeed a kind of remanufacturing, whereby an already finished item could be conspicuously modified. In this case, the individual materials retained their original function, but the individual components were
used to alter an object or to distort it to the point of creating something totally
new. This was a field that required a great deal of ingenuity and often manual
dexterity and could be an excellent breeding ground for new entrepreneurial
ideas. and it was here that rigattieri, often commissioning remanufacturing to
tailors or others artisans subjected to the guild, showed a high spirit of guile
and adaptability, since they realised that the multiform possibilities offered in
this field could in fact contribute to enhancing business opportunities. After
all, the very raison d’être of the arte dei rigattieri was based on this principle:
using other people’s necessity as an incentive for the creation of their own
business opportunities.
We have chosen to include in the following tables only clothes and
clothing accessories, although everyday objects, like mattresses, blankets, cutlery, jewellery, books, knives, weapons and even, occasionally, musical instruments also appear among the goods appraised. We shall begin with the tables for
the years 1446-1452, which contain, listed in decreasing number of occurrences,
all types of garments/accessories submitted by potential clients for estimates. let
us remember that these data most likely reflected purchases about to be made,
which potential clients wanted to have assessed by the expert eye of an official
39
meneghin 2015, p. 61.
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estimator before making any decision. What immediately comes to one’s eye,
is the great number of tunics, 39. these garments were considered a necessary,
essential layer to a man’s ensemble. they were worn over the farsetto (doublet)
and the camicia (blouse). In florence they could take many names and be of
variable lengths: sometimes there could be shorter versions, like the giubbe, or
slightly longer ones (cioppe), or be in the shape of sleeveless giornee, or even
appear in the traditional version worn by florentine magnates, the lucchi. all
the tunics could be of various style, narrow, open down the front, pleated, and be
fully or partially lined for winter protection. the 14 overcloaks (mantels and
clamidi) were worn over the tunics, for further warmth, or simply for cutting a
nice figure while parading the streets of Florence. Incidentally, these two types
of garments were also among those which required more braccia of fabric to be
fashioned, and were therefore the most expensive to have made bespoke by a
tailor40. then, there followed shoes, gamurre (women’s dresses, or basic gowns),
gonnelle (simple shift garments for both men and women, or housegown), cappucci and berets, guarnelli (simple garments made of undyed fabric) and so on.
table 1. types and number of garments and accessories assessed41
description
Gowns (long, full length)
overcloacks
Shoes
Gowns (woman)
Garments (woman/child)
Hats & headgears
overgowns (with sleeves)
Belts
overdresses (long, sleeveless)
linings
Clothes
Bags
detachable sleeves
Headscarves
Jackets
Ms. originAl
Tuniche
mantelli & clamidi
caligae
gamurre
gonnelle / gonnellini
cappucci / mazzocchi / cappelli
sacchi / cioppe
cintole
giornee
foderi
guarnelli
Borse
maniche
asciugatoi
giacche
n.º of iteMs
39
14
8
7
6
6
6
5
5
4
3
1
1 pair
1
1
If we look instead at the table for the years 1471-1475, it does not
come at a surprise that the most conspicuous type of garments and accessories
40
Collier frick 2002, pp. 159-161; appendix 3, pp. 231-232. the florentine braccio –an
arm’s length– measured 0,583 mt.
41
aSf, arte dei rigattieri linaioli e Sarti, deliberazioni e statutaria dei consoli, 13, 14461452.
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estimated were handkerchiefs and headscarves (followed, again, by tunics,
gamurre and clamidi). as seen, these data contain information on pieces of
clothing bequeathed by masters, relatives, parents to people who had then
decided to bring them about for estimation before selling them. fazzoletti and
sciugatoi, or asciugatoi were basic elements of a woman’s ensemble featuring
in many medieval trousseaux, such as the minerbetti’s analyzed in detail by
Carole Collier frick, or many others42. Not even the poorest donora lacked a
fazzoletto and/or a sciugatoio and some linen; it was among the objects most
frequently bequeated from woman to woman.
table 2. types and number of garments and accessories assessed43
description
Handkerchiefs
Headscarves
Gowns (long, full length)
Gowns (woman)
overcloaks
Hats & headgears
detachable sleeves
overdresses (long, sleeveless, women)
Belts
overgowns (with sleeves)
Nightgowns
Shirts
doublets
Garments (woman / child)
Jackets
aprons (for housework)
Bags (square leather bags)
Clothes
Gowns (long, sleeveless, men)
overgowns (amply cut, full-length)
Ms. originAl
fazzoletti
asciugatoi
Tuniche
gamurre
clamidi / cappe / mantelli /
catalani / gabbanelle
cappucci / berretti / berrette
maniche
giornee
cintole
cioppe
guardacuori
camicie
farsetti
gonnelle
giacche
grembiuli
scarselle
guarnelli
lucchi
guardanappa
n.º of iteMs
60
28
26
15
14
8
5 pair + 1
6
5
5
3
3
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
If we now turn our attention to the fabrics brought up for inspection
and assessment, the sources show that silk and wool44 predominated, although
42
ibidem, pp. 233-239.
aSf, arte dei rigattieri linaioli e Sarti, deliberazioni e statutaria dei consoli, 14, 14711475.
44
Since the literature on wool is huge I shall not attempt to give an exhaustive list of published works. I shall only mention the classic work by Hoshino 1980, and the bibliography in
the most recent book by ammannati 2020.
43
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the occasional garment made of linen or cotton could also show up. the production of silk fabrics, a monopoly of Byzantium during the High middle
ages, spread to the mediterranean West through Sicily and muslim Spain,
and in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries had a great development in Italy,
particularly in lucca and later in Genoa, Venice, and florence. the growing international demand for luxury fabrics, and therefore primarily for silks,
had some repercussions also on the nature of the demand for used clothing45.
this required on the part of those who estimated a continuous update on the
type and costs, something that only an expert seller possessed. they knew for
example that the most precious fabrics, velvets or satin gold brocades, had a
very limited diffusion but demanded high costs, even when presented in bad
state (thus described as tristi or frusti), while the less rich ones, such as taffeta
and smooth or worked satin, such as damask, were used more frequently, to
make accessories (bags, belts) or entire dresses. along with silks (broccati,
damaschini, lucchesini, satins, taffetà46, velvets47), there were linens, cotton
(boccaccino, guarnello, sargie, valescio), and wool fabrics (bigello, panni di
san martino, perpignano, rasce), whose variation in market prices were important48.
the ability of estimators to recognise and distinguish different types
of silks, wool and other fabrics as well as items of different nature and function, and colours (alessandrino, black, bruschino, celestrino, grana, green,
marmorino, monachino, morello, moscavolieri, oricello, pagonazzo or pavonazzo, red, rosato, scarlattino and turchino are only a few among those
documented in the deliberazioni e statutaria registers) is indeed startling.
for example, garments made of velluti were picked out immediately and differentiated, and the stima carried out accordingly without hesitation. stimatori
knew well that velvets composed a very heterogeneous group, where the costs
were given by the processing (the cheapest velluti were plain, then there were
those a due peli or a tre peli di altezze addobbate, that is, velvet with either
two or three pile warps per dent of the reed), by the presence of gold or silver threads woven into the weft, and by the colouring, the most expensive of
which was chermisi. a plain new pezza of crimson velvet could fetch several
45
as for wool, the number of scholars who have worked on silk is massive. mandatory references are to some of the contributions in Cavaciocchi 1993, and to the work by edler de roover
1999. an enormous amount of publications has followed thereafter. for convenience I refer to
molà 2000 and tognetti 2002.
46
mostly dyed in grana, on which see Hoshino 2001, pp. 23-39.
47
on velvets see tognetti 2002, pp. 114-118. Velvets mentioned were coloured in alessandrino, chermisi, scarlattino, verde and were often appicciolati, that is “a type of striped damask
or damask with a flower motif that contrasted with the background”, Collier Frick 2002, p. 301.
48
ibidem, passim.
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florins per braccio. for a pair of detachable sleeves in crimson velvet that the
famiglio antonio di Nanni had received as a legacy from antonio di papi,
the appraisers Cristofano di angelo di Cristofano and Bene di Giovanni delbene issued an estimate of £849. a pezza of only two braccia of the same material and colour (velluto chermisi50), belonging to a woman, Nunzia di raggi
and her son, also a second-hand dealer, was valued at £12 by tommaso di
Ser piero and antonio di paolo51. In those same years a specialized worker, a
bricklayer working in one of the numerous construction sites opened in florence, was paid 19.6 soldi a day, while an unskilled worker received 11 soldi.
the three basic elements of the diet of an adult individual, namely wheat, meat
and wine respectively cost 16 soldi per bushel (about 18 kg, enough to feed a
family of three for a month), 24 soldi a pound (gr. 339.5) of gelding or calf,
and 63 soldi a barrel (lt. 40.7)52. It is adamant that the estimate of £260 (nearly
50 fiorini larghi di grossi53) made on a woman’s open-sleeved chermisi velvet
dress (assessed, to be true, along with a white bed blanket) was a very high
figure. A comparison with some of the above prices for basic food helps us to
gauge a sense of its value54. Naturally, the “circular consumption” practices,
by this time transversally widespread and popular, helped to reduce costs and
save up on necessary purchases.
6. conclusions
today, when we speak of circular economy, we speak of waste
recovery, reconversion, respect for the environment, and greater social and
economic opportunities for everyone. from an historical point of view, the responsibly ethical management of resources is only a recent “discovery”. If we
look at the past, at the middle ages, long before the industrial revolution set
in, no moral obligation was overwhelmingly felt as a priority, and even when
institutions and governments regulated aspects of public use of resources they
did so very rarely with an eye to preserve their world for future generations55,
49
aSf, arte dei rigattieri linaioli e Sarti, deliberazioni e statutaria dei consoli, 14, f. 147v.
In 1448, to make a pair of detachable sleeves, it was necessary roughly between one and a
half and two and a half braccia of fabric, Collier frick 2002, p. 232.
51
aSf, arte dei rigattieri linaioli e Sarti, deliberazioni e statutaria dei consoli, 13, f. 62r.
52
tognetti 1995, pp. 318, 320, 326, 332.
53
the fiorino largo di grossi was most likely the one used for this transaction, see Goldthwaite, mandich 1994, p. 96.
54
aSf, arte dei rigattieri linaioli e Sarti, deliberazioni e statutaria dei consoli, 13, f. 22v.
55
these are the major driving forces nowadays: responsibility towards the environment
and the adoption of an environmental-friendly mindset. In particular, after the acceleration
50
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rather, they did it because resources were far and scarce, and access to them
was, in fact, the true compelling issue.
The flow of textiles, clothing and accessories that fuelled the
consumption of fashion in fifteenth-century Florence was considerable. The consumption options that consumers faced were determined first and foremost
by their financial ability. The principle according to which the secondhand market, where it was possible to obtain clothing at reduced prices, responded
to multiple needs and solved different problems, should not be separated from
considerations about its function as a collector of experiences of “circular consumption”: if reconversion, the base principle of waste reduction, implies
the retrieval of an item, or part of it, in view of its reuse, then one of the
most obvious and natural venue for this was undoubtedly the second-hand
market. We have seen that not even the elite disdainfully eschewed this practice, therefore we can say that the recovery of clothing and “secondary” raw
materials was not hampered by the idea that the consumer would purchase a
product “inferior” to new ones.
The definition of circular economy, as provided in the opening page
of the site of the ellen macarthur foundation reads that a circular economy is based on the principles of designing our waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems56. to keep
products and materials in use was precisely what the market of cast-offs was
about. In this sense, the continuous recycling and reuse of parts of, or whole
clothes –handed over from person to person– to make others, is a clear example that continuity of certain practices can indeed be observed between past
and present, and that the arte dei rigattieri in florence performed a function
of which nowadays shops and platforms for second-hand are essentially a replica. of course it is the duty of an historian to reason on the motivations behind
re-using in the fifteenth century: cost of raw materials and/or unavailability of
items in great number and varieties. Whatever were the motivations behind
each second-hand purchase, it is nonetheless important to underline two key
outcomes here: waste minimization, and avoidance of “resource-loops”.
We have seen that the role today performed by regulatory bodies
and institutions is comparable to that of stimatori: as potential buyers and
sellers resorted to rigattieri not only to purchase affordable clothing but
that the awareness to the issue of climate change has had with the birth of the international
climate movement called fridays for future, everyone is alerted to the problems concerning
the burnout of current resources; institutions, governments, organisations, single actors are all
concerned about the impelling need to find a way out from the linear cycle of productionconsumption-waste that –as scientists pointed out– may soon exhaust the planet.
56
https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy/what-is-the-circular-economy
[accessed: 21/03/2021].
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also to have their belongings estimated, since they rightly regarded them as
experts in assessing and apportioning, we may say that the stimatori had a
crucial role in contributing to define the boundaries and operational guidelines of the market of cast-offs. When supervising these particular consumption dispositions during everyday transactions, they operated, de facto, like
agents of circular economy.
7. cited bibliogrAphy
Archival sources
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fecha de recepción del artículo: noviembre 2021
Fecha de aceptación y versión final: abril 2022
AnuArio de estudios MedievAles, 52/1, enero-junio 2022, pp. 253-276
ISSN 0066-5061, https://doi.org/10.3989/aem.2022.52.1.10
Alessia Meneghin