U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Criminal Law System of Medieval and Renaissance Florence

NCJ Number
151805
Author(s)
L I Stern
Date Published
1994
Length
307 pages
Annotation
This historical review of legal institutions in the Florentine republic argues that changes in the judicial system reflected broad-based changes in society at large.
Abstract
Using such primary documents as legal statutes and actual trial records, the author provides a step-by-step explanation of trial procedures and offers a rare glimpse into inquisition methods in the secular world. She explores links among the implementation of inquisition procedures, the development of the territorial state, and the struggle between republican institutions and the emerging oligarchy. The book deals with the medieval and Renaissance criminal law system in Florence primarily as a judicial institution and secondarily as part of the central government. In addition, philosophies of prosecution and profiles of criminality are historically reviewed. References, notes, and tables