Chapter Six. Violence And Disorder

Abstract

Robert Dallington's testimony raises important issues about the nature and level of violence in sixteenth-century Italy which will merit detailed discussion. Like the rest of Italy, grand ducal Tuscany was a violent society and its brutality embraced the grand dukes and their families, both as culprits and victims. Students were often involved in the bloodshed and disorder. In his discussion of student violence in early modern Italy, Paul Grendler records the view of the governor of Padua, who wrote in 1609 that students were the worst transgressors because they had little sense and no property. The part played by violence in the creation of masculinity has been widely recognised by historians. Increasingly scholars are emphasising the links between universities, violence, and the formation of masculinity. Violence and disorder at the Studio Pisano and the Studio senese was interpersonal and collective. Insults, assaults, and murders involved both individuals and groups.Keywords: Italy; Robert Dallington; student disorder; Tuscany; violence