The Consuls of major Languedoc towns set up leagues (a bit like trade
unions) called 'amistansas' designed to protect the commercial and
civil rights of their members. I need to know more about these
'amistansas'. I'm not sure, but i think this word is occitanian,
another word for Languedoc. Thanks |
Request for Question Clarification by
politicalguru-ga
on
10 Jul 2002 07:23 PDT
Dear Skeyser,
What is your source of this word in this spelling?
I think it might help if you checked your source again.
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Request for Question Clarification by
tehuti-ga
on
10 Jul 2002 14:50 PDT
When I searched the Net, I only found a couple of hits to this word.
It appeared in some texts in Occitanian, but only with the meaning of
"friendship". Le Roy Ladurie in his classic study Montaillou,
(English translation published by Penguin in 1980) wrote of the "total
brotherhood between friends unlinked by blood" which was central to
Occitan culture and which was "institutionalized in the ritual forms
of fraternity" recorded from the beginning of the 14th century (from a
study of freemasonry at
http://www.takver.com/history/benefit/ctormys-02.htm#ch2s05) You may
perhaps get some further leads from his book. Also, MacKenney, R.
Tradesmen and Traders: The World of the Guilds in Venice and Europe,
1250-1650 (Croom Helm, Limited, London, 1987) might be of some
relevance.
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Clarification of Question by
skeyser-ga
on
11 Jul 2002 03:10 PDT
Firstly, tehuti-ga, thanks v much for your response, the URL you gave
me was v helpful and informative about medieval guilds etc.
The word 'amistansa' is probably either Spanish or Occitan
(alternative name for Languedoc). I know that the town of Narbonne had
one, so it might be an idea to look at something like its civil
statutes during 13th century.
Hope this helps.
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