Una nuova categoria documentaria nella Toscana marchionale: la donazione in forma di mandato. Cultura grafica e strutture politiche in una società di corte

The article studies and contextualizes two sources hitherto somewhat neglected by historians – namely, two undated and sealed donations issued on behalf of the two best-known marquises of Tuscany of the 10th century: Adalbert II, known as the Rich, and Hugh II, called the Great. On the one hand, their graphic and textual characteristics have in the past raised doubts about their authenticity. On the other, they are held in two ecclesiastical archives, the Capitular Archives of Lucca and Volterra respectively, which have been difficult to access over the last century. A new in-depth analysis of the two documents, and a comparison between them, not only confirms that they are genuine but also allows us to define the features of a new type of document to which they probably belong; it is also possible to identify the context in which they were produced. Their form can be fully understood in light of their function within the political-institutional context – the March – which framed Tuscany at the time. These two sources, both in their graphic form and in terms of layout and content, provide us with data of great importance for an understanding of marquisal power structures and of the dynamics typical of an early medieval court society, revolving around the public redistribution of power and prestige