Criminal Justice and Crime in Late Renaissance Florence, 1537–1609

by John K. Brackett

• ISBN13: 9780521522489
• ISBN10: 052152248X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-08-22
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

This book examines in detail the Florentine system of criminal justice under the reign of the first three Medici grand dukes, from 1537 to 1609. The author discusses the structure and functions of the court, the operation of the two city prisons, and the definition and treatment of the major categories of crime. His main purpose is to shed light on the character of the Medicean state by examining the effectiveness of its main instrument of social control. The study is important for the amount of detail that it offers for such an early period, and it helps to vitiate the usefulness of the term 'absolutist,' which conveys a misleading picture of the early modern state.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction	1	(7)
The bureaucratic structure of the Otto: the personnel and their functions	8	(14)
Financing the Otto	22	(8)
The Otto as police: organization and function	30	(27)
Criminal procedure before the Otto: from discovery to sentencing	57	(21)
The Otto and its role in the centralization of criminal justice in the Florentine state	78	(19)
Crime and criminals	97	(42)
Conclusion	139	(5)
Appendix 1: Names of other officers of the Otto di Guardia e Balia, 1537--1609, as we have them	144	(3)
Appendix 2: Budget totals by year	147	(2)
Appendix 3: Comparison of detailed average expenditures for budgets, 1537--1547 and 1598--1609	149	(1)
Appendix 4: Occupation key	150	(2)
Bibliography	152	(4)
Index	156