Kleine Welten in der Toskana. Lokale Gesellschaft und sozialer Wandel in der Karolingerzeit

This article examines how local communities and identities changed in Tuscany as the region became part of the Carolingian world. It focuses on the area around Lucca and Pisa, with particular attention to the village of Lunata from the eighth to the ninth century. Using documentary evidence, it traces the relationships among rural families, religious institutions, and political authority. The landowner and merchant Crispino founded the church of St Martin at Ursiano, which likely served as a burial place and a focus for gifts and kinship ties. Lunata’s church of St Fridian, associated with a widely venerated local saint, attracted the support of a broader group of local elites. After the Carolingian conquest, the bishops of Lucca strengthened their influence over the countryside through church organization and the promotion of saintly cults. Local elites initially negotiated with the bishopric and retained influence, in part by taking clerical roles within the churches they had supported. Over time, however, diocesan control expanded, and many local families lost authority over churches, land, and positions in village society. The gradual shift from locally rooted officials to Carolingian administrative roles reflects wider changes in governance and social organization. The case of Lunata shows that local identities were layered and that rural society was reshaped through the interaction of local strategies, religious institutions, and political power.

Nel contributo si mettono in evidenza le specificità di una società locale toscana e le sue trasformazioni principali nel passaggio tra la dominazione longobarda e quella carolingia.