The objective of this intervention is to examine the production and trade of canon law texts in medieval Bologna, with specific reference to the 13th and 14th centuries, through an investigation based on local archival sources. The production chain of the manuscript book will be the focus of the investigation, beginning with the identification of the workshops and continuing through to the definition of the role of the patron and concluding with an analysis of the material characteristics that affected the final cost of the codices.
The study of documentary data, including price, script type and workshop reputation, will present significant case studies of manuscripts produced in Bologna. The objective is to elucidate the economic, social and cultural dynamics that rendered Bologna a principal hub for the production of legal texts, with a particular emphasis on the interconnection between bookcraft and the dissemination of canon law.