Focusing on Florence, Thomas Kuehn demonstrates the formative
influence of law on Italian society during the Renaissance,
especially in the spheres of family and women. Kuehn's use
of legal sources along with letters, diaries, and
contemporary accounts allows him to present a compelling
image of the social processes that affected the shape and
function of the law.
The numerous law courts of Italian city-states
constantly devised and revised statutes. Kuehn traces the
permutations of these laws, then examines their use by
Florentines to arbitrate conflict and...

A previously unexamined serial registry of repudiations of inheritance provides a greater understanding of law and society in Renaissance Florence.

This collection offers a variety of approaches to aspects of women's lives. It moves beyond men's prescriptive pronouncements about female nature to women's lived experiences, replacing the singular woman with plural women and illuminating female agency. Contributors to this important collection are leading international scholars and offer strong, substantial, and archival-based research.

A previously unexamined serial registry of repudiations of inheritance provides a greater understanding of law and society in Renaissance Florence.