Who are the Lords’ Wietnesses? Power struggles and Peasant Action in Thirteenth-Century in Piemonte as reflected by Judicial tactics and Client Systems

Abstract

Testimonials presented in legal disputes represent a valuable source for the study of the dynamics of local power. What is more, the analysis of the choice of witnesses that they reveal can shed significant light on the networks of relationships (above all kinship and client relationships) on which lords relied in order to consolidate and deepen their control over society. The analysis of three cases from thirteenth century Piemonte allows us to observe how the identity of witnesses and the nature of their testimony highlight both the extent and the limitations of seigniorial social control, as well as the varying degrees to which lords were able to penetrate local communities. These testimonials provide a high-quality reflection of these client structures in more ways than one, as they themselves constituted a central object of exchange between lords and their subjects: by calling on their loyal clients to testify, lords offered their subjects an opportunity for verbal and public political action, the chance to intervene in the workings and balance of local power; on the other hand, client-witnesses generally offered their lords loyal and coherent support in the form of testimonials that defended their interests.