Police forces in late medieval Italy: Bologna, 1340–1480

Abstract

ABSTRACTPolice forces (birri) in Italian cities in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were composed of outsiders, non-natives, employed on short-term contracts, usually of six months’ duration. There was therefore a huge circulating pool of these patrolmen, sergeants and constables, moving from city to city. These groups have been little studied, and are often assumed to be vile, odious and little better than criminals. This article draws on surviving records in one city of northern Italy (Bologna), to analyse the composition of these groups and especially their cosmopolitan, international memberships, which grew consistently across the period before tailing off towards the end of the fifteenth century. The article uses frames of reference from migration studies, particularly the large Balkan migrations of the fifteenth century, and from identity studies, to chart and assess the trajectory and reception of non-Italians among these groups. The article thus extends what is known about the integration of migrants in late medieval Italy, goes beyond what is known about the documentation of identity in the Middle Ages and raises questions about the quality of policing provided by multinational groups.