Failure of corporation

Notaries public in medieval Bruges

Bibliographic Data

ID11892018
AuthorsJames Murray (0000-0002-3553-5123, corresponding author), James M Murray
Year1986
Volume12
Issue2
Pages155-166
Publication date1986-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Medieval History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0304-4181 • E-ISSN: 1873-1279
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1016/0304-4181(86)90020-5
OpenAlexW2008234679
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited8

The puzzling absence of guilds of notaries public in northern Europe has long taxed the explanatory powers of historians. Differences in social and economic conditions between the south and north seem insufficient explanations, particularly in fourteenth-century Bruges, a commercial center quite analogous to southern European cities. Using two Bruges notaries as case studies, it is clear that differences in the nature of notarial work were also important in the failure of notarial corporation. Notaries drew upon a wide clientele including both church and state institutions, and by the very breadth of their activities, notaries in Bruges guaranteed their individual independence

Corporation · Economic history · Economics · Economy · Independence (probability theory · Political science · State (computer science · Work (physics · Engineering · European Political History Analysis · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · History · Law · Medieval and Early Modern Justice