Vertrauen im Florenz des 15. Jahrhunderts

Abstract

This essay traces the main features of political ‘trust’ (fiducia, fides) – an idea discussed in the late Middle Ages regardless of forms of government – as established and displayed in fifteenth-century urban Florence. It was firmly believed that a few outstanding individuals or a clearly defined group of distinguished persons in society possessed exceptional credibility (fides), which was closely linked to their social status within the community. Moreover, it was seen as self-evident that private property ought to be protected by rulers and government officials and they were expected to meet those standards. By examining several contemporary works – Giovanni Morelli’s ‘Ricordi’, Matteo Palmieri’s ‘De vita civile’ and Poggio Bracciolini’s piece of invective ‘Contra fidei violatores’ – this paper addresses the conditions for and the significance of trust in the political elite of fifteenth-century Florence, including the extent to which fraud and breaches of promise could be justified in political discourse comparing it with the social reality of mistrust and of constant fear of losings one’s property and thus one’s credibility.