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3 - The Divisible Patrimony

Legal Property Relations of Fathers and Sons in Renaissance Florence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 February 2022

Thomas Kuehn
Affiliation:
Clemson University, South Carolina
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Summary

Humanists and moralists, such as Leon Battista Alberti, treated patrimony as a seamless whole, shared by all those in a household, but above all passed from father to son. Their vision is what Bartolus gave legal shape to. It is also substantiated in the fiscal statements heads of household submitted to the government of Florence to determine civic finances. But in fact in law there were subordinate and overlapping rights; sons could have property of their own, designated peculium in law, from several possible sources, including their own labors in the market economy outside the home. Presumed sharing of assets and liabilities by creditors sometimes vanished into devices that separated ownership, leading to real concerns with fraud. Family account books reveal careful maneuvering and accounting by fathers and sons. Sorting out what belonged to a son or whether a father was liable presented legal difficulties as well.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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  • The Divisible Patrimony
  • Thomas Kuehn, Clemson University, South Carolina
  • Book: Patrimony and Law in Renaissance Italy
  • Online publication: 24 February 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009072816.003
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  • The Divisible Patrimony
  • Thomas Kuehn, Clemson University, South Carolina
  • Book: Patrimony and Law in Renaissance Italy
  • Online publication: 24 February 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009072816.003
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Divisible Patrimony
  • Thomas Kuehn, Clemson University, South Carolina
  • Book: Patrimony and Law in Renaissance Italy
  • Online publication: 24 February 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009072816.003
Available formats
×