Land disputes and their social framework in Lombard–Carolingian Italy, 700–900
Chris Wickham|Wendy Davies|Paul Fouracre
There are about 150 court-cases surviving from the eighth- and ninth-century kingdom of Italy, mostly as originals, in archives throughout kingdom. Most them formal placita, public hearings held by state officials. The fifteen or so others, so-called ‘informal’ cases, were heard under aegis unofficial judges which our documents practice always means church. These often indistinguishable placita their procedural norms, can large part be assimilated to judicial system – they show, that is, church standing for state, rather than exercising private powers over its own properties. We thus use these too, examples normal procedures. Churches preservers all we have, fact, Italy elsewhere Europe. cannot help this, it would scarcely worth mentioning, except explains why churches almost invariably parties cases win: there was no incentive keep lost. At least one say a wide range kept placita; but this general ecclesiastical imbalance must mind during what follows.
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