Renaissance Italy Exam Notes

The Importance and Function of the Gonfalone in Renaissance Florence

The gonfalone/neighbourhood was important to the influential families. As a jurisdiction unit: the gonfalone was not simply an arbitrary geographic boundary of

expression but rather constituted an important jurisdictional unit, with administrative and electoral functions. The gonfalone was the basic taxing unit, being responsible for the assessment and collection of taxes (Hence the organisation of the Catasto around sixteen gonfalone) Giovanni Rucellais advice to his sons was to remain in favour with kinsmen and relatives and neighbours, and the rest of the men of your gonfalone or they have served and assisted me in my petitions for tax relief. o Conversely, Giovanni Morelli wrote how he, together with all his family, had to move from the gonfalone of Lion Nero to the gonfalone of Carrio for nearly two years in order to escape the heavy taxes which he felt would be imposed upon him because of the personal enmities with Donato Accioli who was Gonfaloniere do Guistizia at that time. o Morelli also urged his sons to try to acquire one friend or more in you gonfalone In the political sphere, it was at this district level that the first sage of the scrutiny, a central feature of the Florentine electoral system, was set in motion. o In the political sphere, a patronage network based on local social bonds operated to guarantee success in the scrutiny. o When compiling his lists of eligibles, the district gonfaloneieri was receptive to the political ambitions of certain individuals and families. As a social unit: The significance of the gonfalone as a social unit was derived partly from its administrative functions. Within their own gonfalone citizens sought to develop ties of friendship and neighbourhood. o They also sought to establish a strong family network within this area o The support nature of these links formed an essential family network within this area. o Social relationships based on local neighbourhood groupings were cultivated as a valuable source of aid and support when seeking both tax favours and scrutiny success o W. Kents analysis of the three patrician families; Lapponi, Ginori, Rucellai; suggests that traditional local bonds of blood, neighbourhood, and friendships had full play in their success at the district level. The Social map of Florence was Greatly affected and shaped by the Societys Values
Wealth: it appears that wealth was essential to the acquisition and maintenance of social rank,

and because of this it was important for the Florentine families to devise strategies with which to protect their wealth- this happened in their local neighbourhood/gonfalone. o An anonymous merchant wrote, That money is all the help you have. It is your honour, profit and adornment. o Giovanni di Bicci de Medici claimed that he became an influential political figure after he amassed a large fortune, For when I was poor, far from having been honoured, not a citizen who knew me pretended that hed ever seen me In order to protect their wealth family members established close ties with kinsmen, friends and their neighbours and looked to establishing a power base in their local gonfalone. As a result of having establishing themselves in particular gonfalone, members of a particular lineage tended to stay. According to B. Preyers study of a number of palace projects begun around the mid-Quattrocento has found that in almost every case the patrician builder chose and expanded a traditional ancestral site for his imposing new palazzo, even when such a choice was aesthetically less than satisfactory.

 Family honour/reputation: the popolo grasso class placed enormous value on family honour

and the social standing. Early in the fifteenth century, Gino Capponi quoted to his sons the Florentine proverb which said that, honour does not dwell in the woodsworthy men are made in cities. It was within the gonfalone, the familys attributes, successes and traditions could be displayed. So an affluent family used its neighbourhood/gonfalone to show its wealth and instil within their family members, immediate and distant a conscious of lineage. Michelangelo commented: an nobles house in the city brings considerable honour, being more visible than all ones possessions. The palaces were public statements of wealth, status in society and power. The concentration of family members in the ancestral neighbourhood had special meaning for its provided tangible evidence of a familys antiquity and of their continued existence. It was a visible sign to the world at large of the familys strength, unity and stature. Family: The popolo grasso class valued political power because it was very important to the survival of the families in this class an individuals position in society and his place in public life was governed by the political place of his family. To be born into a small insignificant family in Florence was a distinct political and social advantage. o Young men of the popolo grasso class were reared to seek public office for the sake of family hour and social position. This participation in public life was essential to rank. One is not a citizen unless served on Signoria at last once. o Political power and wealth-invested individuals with a social standing which no amount of money by itself could bestow. o As the scrutiny process for political office began at the local gonfalone level the individual members of politically ambitious houses tended to concentrate their manpower and energies within a particular gonfalone in order to consolidate an effective political power base. Donato Velluti was involved in advancing the political careers of other Velluti. He used his political influence and arranged hat his cousin, Bernardo di Matteo Velluti, be declared eligible for the 1367 scrutiny so that he could be drawn as a prior in the Signoria. As a result, Bernado was drawn as a prior in 1367 and 1368 and in 1369 he was elected as one of the Twelve Goodmen, and advisory college to the Signoria. Members of the popolo Grasso class drew political support from their gonfalone. For it was to the Gonfalone that a man looked when he needed guarantors for office and it was the gonfalone that the influential man decided whose name would be sent to the scrutiny for office. So it was important for a man to build up goodwill in his neighbourhood. Most historians agree that the family was of utmost importance in the Renaissance society. The family was a fundamental unit to the individual, a source of strength and security amidst the turbulent and often violent affairs of the day. The family provided manpower as well as financial security. The family offered protection: the more fighting men a family had, the better its chances of success. According to Albert it is quite different is the regard one has from his own family from that which he has from others, citizens or strangers, quite different the respect, authority and reputation of the man who is backed by his family; he is more friend, more esteemed than men with few supporters of his own. Rucellai: Now I must tell you how to respond whenyour relations make demands of you. It seems to me that one is obligated to help them, not so much with money even, as with blood and sweat and whatever one can even to sacrifice ones life for the honour of the family. The upper class family also offered political opportunities, which were much sought after. The political reputation of a family was of particular significance in determining an individuals political role. A long record of political participation was an important consideration when an individual sought communal office. The family offered social standing/status. To belong to an old and respected house like the Strozzi or the Medici, was a mark of honour and distinctions; those family names conferred prestige and status upon their owners. L. Martines: the family in fifteenth-century Florence stands between the individual and the society. It mediates and determines his relations with the world at large, for he confronts the social system

conditioned by his familys position in society, and his place in public life is governed by the political place of his family. Marriage: Was viewed as a business proposition in order to increase a familys wealth or to increase the power and status of the families. o To link two powerful families together. o The womens submissive role led to the belief that women were inferior. The different roles of male and female in the marriage was that the husband was the economic provider, his wifes legal guardian and head of the household; the wife was expected to be obedient to her husband. The womans duties were to bear preferably male children, and to manage the household. Neighbourhoods and Friendships
Kinsmen, neighbourhood and friends was the underlying theme that dominated Florentine society in

the Renaissance period

Neighbourhoods were characterised by the heterogeneity (mixture of rich and poor

throughout the city). While the popolo Grasso resided in splendid palaces, their homes shared the same street with the broken down hovels and beggars. Evidence regarding marriage is derived only from scattered comments made by declarents in reference to money owing in dowry settlements. Marriage was calculated to strengthen social ties within the gonfalone. Of 27 marriage alliances, 11 or 40.7% were internal to Lion Rosso, while 16 or 59.3% were contracted between individual residents in other gonfalone. Marriage was also calculated to strengthen class ties. The information contained within the Catasto indicates that the marriages of Lion Rosso patriciate were calculated to reinforce patrician ties and thus strengthen social ties both within the Lion Rosso and throughout the other gonfaloni. The factors determined in ones choice of neighbourhood: ones choice of residence in the city was determined largely by ones pre-existing friendship or kinship ties. Economic associations followed ties of kinship, friendship or residence. E.g.- ones brother, neighbour or friend was also likely to be a business partner, competitor or client. Neighbourhood gave family members/confraternities/guilds a sense of stability, security and a sense of identity. Power/status gained from neighbourhood (security for political office began here). o Giovanni Morelli wrote, Try to have at least one friend in your district; do whatever you can for him and dont worry about spending time and money. If you are rich and have no other way of getting friends, be prepared to buy them with your money In the laws eyes, one family member committed a crime and escaped punishment; another member of the family would be punished. o Friendship: Franscesco Guicciardini wrote, Nothing is more precious than friends, therefore lose no opportunity to make them. Men will always get together and talk, and friends can help, and enemies can harm you in times and places you would never have experienced. o The bonds of friendship were based on blood and marriage on physical proximity and as professional or work-related ties. Alberti: In life of mortal men, nothing except virtue itself is more useful than friendship. (Friendship is a commodity which the individual used in return for some benefits) o The most desirable friends were rich ones! The more objectives of friendship were 2 fold: (1) to use those in power and influence to improve ones status (2) to have more physical support in time of crisis. o Friendships signify obligations and services-the right to make demands upon the other, the willingness to share burdens, problems and responsibilities. G. Brucker: The Society of Renaissance Florence In Florentine society, the family was the basic unit and the blood tie, the most powerful cohesive agent. The obligations of kinship invariably commanded a higher priority than did the rival claims of state and church. These documents attest to the crucial importance of the

blood connection in Florence. Marriages were major family decisions. They involved the transfer of property and the realignment of social rank; they often had political implications. Death, in this age of short lifespans, might signify the reallocation of family resources and the forging of new social connections. But the Florentine sense of family had other dimensions, and other rationales, besides the material ones. To belong to an old and respected house like the Strozzi, the Medici or the Rucellai was a mark of honour and distinction; those family names conferred prestige and status upon their owners. In an age when life was so tenuous and uncertain, the family bond was a source of material and psyche support, a measure of security in a dangerous world. This explains why most Florentines were prepared to pay a heavy price to honour a blood obligation, and why they valued their familys reputations. M. Murphy: The Gonfalone of the Red Lion (evidence) Marian Murphy has used the Catasto of 1427 in the study of the Red Lion district. With the boundaries of Red Lion-525 households/2199 people. Lion Rosso constituted 1/16th of the citys topography, however, this gonfalone can be regarded as representative of the wider city making it possible to use the findings of this study in order to apply it to a wider context. Murphy found that neither occupation nor wealth determined neighbourhood topography = Kinsmen/family influenced the positioning of households. The tax returns affirm that the individual members of a patrician lineage perused the game commercial activity. Tax returns of kinsmen reveal that they were constantly engaged in commercial transactions with each other. However, most kinsmen did not work in partnership. Of course pursuing mercantile careers occasionally entailed working and living outside Florence. Distinguished Lion Rosso residents entered into economic agreements with equally eminent citizens throughout the city-so in some instances they did have to move outside the limits of their gonfalone.