8 - The Political Context of Bartolan Conflict of Laws

Summary

It is impossible to separate Bartolus from the complex political environment in which he lived. In this world of institutional pluralism, legal scholars of his caliber were important players but they also had to constantly engage in balancing acts between competiting – and concurrent – sources of political authority and power.¹ Law was not just an important tool for the exercise of power and buon governo, but an equally important currency for the legitimacy of polities and institutions.² The fact that law was itself a plural, multidimensional stream of norms and ideas added to both its potential and the challenges faced by jurists.