The Sources of Taxation in Bologna in the 14th Century

Abstract

Many studies have established the creation of new forms of taxation in MedievalBologna, the increase of tax revenue between the 13 th and 14 th centuries, and the contemporary aggravation of economic inequalities. Based on my doctoral research on the relations between fiscal policies and political inequalities at the end of the 14 th century, this research paper describes the building of a database of all known contributions in Bologna in the 14 th century and highlights what such a tool can offer. The first objective of the database is to present the progression and social distribution of taxation in 14 th century Bologna. The other main aim is to gather all the pertinent documentation on taxation, which is still scattered in several series. These registers are not always linked, and some simply bear indirect traces of the subject of interest, but they represent an initial approach to the documentary links around which taxation was organized, to the various practices of the officers, and the several functions of public taxation, beyond its mere fiscal dimension.