Rule through courts: the settlement of disputes in Castile and Tuscany during the tenth-century
Igor Santos Salazar (University of Trento)
The settlement of justice has been seen in recent decades as a powerful tool of governance in the Early Middle Ages. What is less studied, however, are comparisons of the creation of political consensus through courts and conflicts, taking into account the actions of different central authorities. The aim of this paper is, thus, to compare the county of Castile and the March of Tuscany in the tenth century, in order to observe different strategies of authority and dominion, both acting in different political contexts and scales, focusing on the role played by aristocracies and local communities in the construction of political systems during a time of continuous negotiation.