The Arte dei rigattieri (merchants of second-hand goods in Florence) has never been the subject of a systematic study, even in scholarship devoted to the history of trades. Underpinned by a large collection of archival material, this book analyzes the social life and economic activity of rigattieri in fifteenth-century Florence. It offers invaluable information on issues such as the relationship between socio-political affiliations and economic interest as well as the structures of consumption and the spending power of different social groups. Furthermore, through the lens of the Arte dei Rigattieri, this work examines the connection between the development of the political bureaucracy, the establishment of Medicean power, and contemporaneous processes of identity construction and social mobility.

This series [pushes] the boundaries of knowledge and [develops] new trends in approach and understanding. ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW The essays here provide a series of unusual, varying and complex perspectives on late-medieval society, with a particular focus on the European context. They show how in the north of England the Cliffords and tenants of the honourof Pontefract were forced to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of their conflicting loyalties to local lords and distant kings; how in East Anglia the growing cult of St Margaret was reinforced by dissemination of her life-story [published here from a manuscript in the British Library]; how at Westminster the court of Henry IV was enhanced by his purchase of luxury items, and how the inept rule of his grandson Henry VI led to the "de-skilling" ofhitherto competent bureaucracies in the exchequer and chancery; how in Normandy a fine line was drawn between brigandage and movements for independence; how in Burgundy the classic ideals of chivalry, as presented in the duchy's literature, contrasted with the grim reality of military and political confrontations; and how in Florence infants were nurtured. Contributors: Frederik Buylaert, Christine Carpenter, Vincent Challet, Juliana Dresvina, Jan Dumolyn, Andy King, Jessica Lutkin, Alessia Meneghin, Sarah Rose

The Arte dei rigattieri (merchants of second-hand goods in Florence) has never been the subject of a systematic study, even in scholarship devoted to the history of trades. Underpinned by a large collection of archival material, this book analyzes the social life and economic activity of rigattieri in fifteenth-century Florence. It offers invaluable information on issues such as the relationship between socio-political affiliations and economic interest as well as the structures of consumption and the spending power of different social groups. Furthermore, through the lens of the Arte dei Rigattieri, this work examines the connection between the development of the political bureaucracy, the establishment of Medicean power, and contemporaneous processes of identity construction and social mobility.