The Contextual Framework

Chapter 2 deals with the contextual framework for the study of Tuscany under three headings. These are: the Italian context, concentrating on the decline of the kingdom of Italy during the iron century which provides a backdrop to this study; public and private authority; patrimonialization and the localization of power; the Tuscan context, concentrating on its geography and its broad history, including the march of Tuscia; the role of bishops, and castles; and the historiography of Tuscany, introducing key scholars and the grand narrative which centred on the binary distinction between the city as the site of progress and the backward-looking feudal countryside. Key terminology will be discussed: signoria, incastellamento, libellus, pievi, contado, consorteria.