The solidarity and  network system of the Genoese merchant family in the Later Middle Ages: The case of the Lomellini

　　　　　　　　　　　　Yoko Kamenaga Anzai*

Ⅰ. Introduction

Ⅱ. Solidarity in the international trade

Ⅲ. The substitution system

Ⅳ. Conclusion

Ⅰ. Introduction¹⁾

The medieval Genoese merchants developed their commercial activity from the Atlantic, through the Mediterranean, and to the end of the Black sea. The character of their activity is frequently described by rather ambiguous and contradictory words: occasionally ‘individualist’ and also ‘albergo,’ that which is often considered to be a large family with strong ties²⁾. Either To determine the character of their activity more accurately, a full‐scale investigation based on historical sources without preconception with a focus on a specific family as case study is needed.

How and by what ties did the Genoese merchant actually act? In this paper I try to disclose some answers of this question through the Lomellin a Genoese merchant family.³⁾ The Lomellini was a noble family originally from Lombardy. Their name appears in Genoese records at the end of the12th century,. Through the 13th century we can find the public activities of several members of the family in Genoese records, but they were not impressive. Through the 14th century, however, the family enhanced its economic and political status. The most famous figure of the family in this century was Napoleone Lomellini. He was a member of the ‘anziani’ and was known as ‘multum dives et magnus mercator’: a very rich and grand merchant. His father was common, not a rich merchant, so it is assumed that he became successful by himself rather than by inheriting property from his father. He had three brothers and one sister. He married twice and had 20 children.⁴⁾ We can find the names of his sons in the cartularies drawn by notary Giuliano Canella in 1408‐1421.⁵⁾ Analyzing these main sources, I will examine the behavior patterns and bonds of Napoleone’s sons. This research will offer an example of the solidarity or network system in Medieval Genoese.

Ⅱ. Solidarity in the international trade

Giuliano Canella’ s cartulary contains many international trade contracts. These contracts include the information about the committer and the contractor of each contract, and navigation  details: the port of loading, relaying, and disburdening, the agent of each port, the captain of each ship, and so on.

The children of Napoleone Lomellini appear in 35 acts of this type of contracts in the main sources.⁶⁾ We find some features of  solidarity and network patterns.

First, we examined at the relationship of the committer and the contractor. Of the 35 acts, only one pair is composed within the Lomellini Family.⁷⁾ We see other family names. Here we can find the committers and the contractors who have Genoese surnames:⁸⁾ Niccolo Sauri, Perlegrino Tarigo, Gabriele Senestrario, Guiglielmo di Negro, Angelo Cattaneo, Giuliano de Castro, and Raffael Giustiniani. They appear in plural multiple years as committer and contractor, and seem to be continuous partners. 

Next, we examine the navigation system. The table shows a list of the passages about navigation in the sources.

First, we notice the names of the ports: Pera, Caffa, Rhodes, Chios, Famagusta, and Alexandria are important strongholds in Genoese eastern Mediterranean and Romanian trade. Napoli, Cadiz, Valencia, and the Granada kingdom are ports in the western Mediterranean trade. And Southampton, Sandwich, La Rochell, Sluis, and Middelburg are ports in the Atlantic and the North Sea trade.⁹⁾

Pera was a famous Genoese colony from the second half of the 13th century in a suburb of Constantinople, given by Byzantine Empire in exchange for its restoration from the damage by Latin Empire. Caffa on the Crimea Peninsula is was a Genoese stronghold in the Black Sea trade. Chios was a center for the alum and mastic trade. Chios and Cyprus were also famous for the Genoese system of 'Maona'. The above‐mentioned western–Mediterranean sites were commercially important: Majorca was an entrepot in the Maghrib trade¹⁰⁾ and Cadiz was an intermediary point between the Castile and Granada kingdoms. In the Atlantic and the North Sea trade, Southampton was a port linking London, a high consumption region,¹¹⁾ and the Lomellini appeared starting in the first half of the 14th century. La Rochelle is an important French port in the Atlantic, and the Genoese appeared here from the first half of the 13th century.¹²⁾ Sluis and Middelburg were the ports for Bruges.¹³⁾

We can see the Genoese routes by way of these ports.¹⁴⁾ There were two lanes from Chios. The destination of one route is Genoa, and the ships carried spices, silk, cotton, and dyes. The other is from Chios to England or Flanders without passing Genoa. In this case, the main merchandise was alum. This route was by way of south Italy and Maghrib, and there the merchants traded raw material, and on the return from the Atlantic and the North Sea the ships carried English woolen goods. Almost all of the sources that we treat here from these routes. These activities by the sons of Napoleone Lomellini are typical of Genoese  merchants.

Below we will analyze the participants in these dealings.¹⁵⁾

First, we notice that most of the people at loading, relaying, and disburdening ports are Genoese or of Genoese descent. Four members of the Lomellini family engaged in these activities, I.e., one third of them. Three of the four are Napoleone's sons or nephews. As the phrase “Goffredo Lomellini (the son of Napoleone) or the person in his place or a Genoese” shows,¹⁶⁾ they preferred the descendents of Napoleone Lomellini or Genoese for the persons responsible each stage of the dealings.

Next, I examined the people who take charge of wide areas, paying attention to the people who appear sometimes in loading, relaying, and disburdening sites: Sorleone Salvago, Andrea Fieschi, and Cosma Tarigo.¹⁷⁾

Sorleone Salvago and Andrea Fieschi appeared as intermediaries at the loading sites on the 24th of May and on the 18th of December in 1410. They were agents in Chios and Rhodes in  documents on May 24 and in Alexandria, on December 18. The route was by way of Sicily and the destination was Sluis for both dealings. Here we can find their appearance as agent in the eastern Mediterranean area. In addition, in a document dated 18th December, their loading place is Chios or Rhodes, but it is not clear. We  assume that their activities spread widely in this area, and were not limited to one site.

While Sorleone Salvago and Andrea Fieschi do not appear in other documents from the main source, Cosma Tarigo often appears in other documents and had a close relationship to the sons of Napoleone. In this table, he is seen on the route Pisa‐Sicily‐Famagusta route, and he stayed at Pisa and Sicily. There is a passage concerning a document dated May 18 of 1412, “Cosma Tarigo and the person affiliated with him”. And in the same document refers about the activity of loader in Sicily: “Whoever on the ship, by the account of Cosma Tarigo and the person affiliated with him”. The group that Cosma Tarigo leads was linked to the sons of Napoleone,  particularly Giorgio.

In addition to activities such as loading and acting as intermediary on the Pisa‐Sicily‐Famagusta route, Cosma Tarigo often appears in documents relating to the society of wood traders in Sicily.¹⁸⁾ Perhaps he has various connections in Sicily and it would be important for the sons of Napoleone to cooperate with him in their commericial activitiesy in the Mediterranean world.

The relationship of the Tarigo family and the sons of Napoleone spread throughout Cosma. Members of the Tarigo family appears in the main sources 17 times.¹⁹⁾ The Tarigo was not a dominant Genoese family. Thus, can assume estimate that 17 times was a very large number. Members of this family appeared over an extended period, and their relationship with sons of Napoleone was continuous. Only two members of the Tarigo family appear in the main sources: Cosma and his brother Peregrino. Peregrino appears with his brother in most of the documents of the main sources where he appears. Perhaps these brothers participated in the same affairs.²⁰⁾ In addition, Peregrino was the husband of Ginevra Lomellini, daughter of Napoleone.²¹⁾ That is, he was a brother‐in law to the sons of Napoleone. Peregrino acted as an arbitrator in the disputes among the sons of Napoleone.²²⁾. Peregrino, like his brother Cosma, also had a close relationship with the sons of Napoleone. The relation between the sons of Napoleone and the Tarigo was, although it was very familiar, was limited only to these brothers, not the entire of the Tarigo family. The range of the bonds  was very narrow despite the association.

Here we analyzed mainly the ties of the sons of Napoleone Lomellini in international trade contracts. In these matters, the framework of the Lomellini, whether through a shared surname or only by the sons of Napoleone, was not especially strong. The bonds with the members of other families are more prominent. The sons of Napoleone had continuous relations as committers and contractors with specific Genoese. At loading, relaying, and disburdening ports, they used the members of other families as the person  responsible for a wider area. The example of the Tarigo shows that sometimes the sons of Napoleone created strong ties with brothers of other families.

Ⅲ. The substitution system

In the cartularies of Giuliano Canella, there are many titles of people acting in place of someone else: nuncios, procurator, tutor, curator, ‘vice et nomine’, ‘de voluntate’, and so on. In documents about the sons of Napoleone, many people played these roles. Here we analyze situations where people used some elements of these words or passages in main sources and demonstrate their substitution system.

1. ‘vice et nomine’ (‘in place of’ and ‘in the name of’)

In many and varied situations where the passage ‘vice et nominee’ appears, in particular, I notice the presence of Giuliano canella himself. He plays this role in many documents.²³⁾ In addition, he acts ‘vice et nomine’  not  for a specific son of Napoleone, but for many sons. Giuliano Cane.lla also plays the role of the customer of the sons of Napoleone in many documents.²⁴⁾ Business dealings in which where Giuliano Canella played this role are variedous: trade by committer and contractor, sales contracts of slaves, ‘commenda’ contracts, sales contracts of alum, and so on. And The contracts where he plays the role are very simple, not complex contracts.

Where is the position of Giuliano Canella in this business system? He never acted as procurator. Therefore, he would not achieve high position status in business. I postulate that he was in a low position but that he was generally familiar with their affairs. I already indicated that many sons of Napoleone used him. As we will see later, though the business of the sons of Napoleone has the characteristics as the division of labor, the utilization of Giuliano Canella, whose studio was in fact of palace of Carlo, a son of Napoleone, shows the existence of ties the brothers’ affairs,

2. ‘de voluntate’ (‘according to the will of’)²⁵⁾

When we see this phrase, we observe that a son often acts according to his father’s’ will.²⁶⁾ This may be because the sons are young and need permission from their fathers, substantially or legally.

3. procurator (procurator)

1) What is a procurator?

First, I would like to introduce the opinion of historians concerning this term. L. S. Lopez noticed the use of ‘procura’ by procurator.²⁷⁾ Through this, he demonstrated that the organization of the enterprise by the famous Benedetto Zaccaria was very simple. Lopez explains:

* People used this system as a type of legal contracts.

* There are few historical studies about the system.

* Its real procedure is very difficult to understand, because of its stereotypes and incorrect inscriptions.

* This type of contracts manifests the legal relationship between the commercial or financial leader of the business and the employers, so it is a very important system.²⁸⁾

Lopez also noted the content of dealings where procura were used. He cites some cases: commission contracts, ‘commenda’, and disposition of the inheritance of a late employee.²⁹⁾ He also explains about the procurator as bond of solidarity and its continuity, that without a ‘procura’, a person does not have general and specific bonds with one who has procura. But Lopez adds the explanation that the ‘ procura’ is available for general cooperation and the relationship would be renewed automatically after each task. ³⁰⁾ Concernign the origins of the procurator, Lopez cites one example of person who comes from a grand Genoese family.³¹⁾

Lopez’ s article is very useful with respect to viewpoints on the general problem of the procurator. However, he cites no examples concerning continuity of ‘procura’.

After this classic article by Lopez, M. Balard refers to this system in his great work. Balard's description contains much information concerning the tasks of procurator and other agents. He considers the procurator as an intermediate who take the place of another in his absence. He also explains that procurators are active in capital systems from Genoa to Romania, and that its roles are relief acting as agent for settlement, proceedings of contracts in ‘commenda’, charter of ships, and adjustment of affairs. Balard also refers to the problem of recovery of resources and inheritance as typical tasks of the procurator, and he indicates that acting as an agent in litigation was also a role of the procurator. Balard also  specifies the term of the procurator. He supposed it to be the term length of long navigation----two to three years, sometimes as long as five years. Finally, Balard stresses that the system of procurator  was indispensable for commerce in Romania and that procurators created a dense human network by them. Balard concludes by asserting that there was a limit to the Genoese ‘individualism’, that is often indicated as a characteristic of Genoese activities.³²⁾

Balard’s purpose was to revise partly the exaggerations of the famous “Genoese individualism”. Detail about the procurator system, however, are not concrete. I agree with the importance of a modification of “Genoese individualism”, but Balard’s information is not sufficient to analyze the procurator system. Whom did the appointer select as his procurator? What was the bond between the appointer and his procurator?

2) Procurator in the main sources

Here we will examine some examples of appointment of the procurator and check the relationship between the appointer and his procurator.

In the cartularies of Giuliano Canella, there are two patterns of documents where a procurator appears. One is a document whereby someone appoints his procurator. The other is the one where the appointed procurator acts for the appointer and engages in some legal conduct in his capacity as procurator.

The act documents in first pattern haves a fixed form. First, the appointer declares the appointment of procurator. Next, the appointer explains the purpose of the appointment. Typical contents are:

(1) the request and receipt by the name of appointer;³³⁾

(2) proceedings for the invalidity of an act after receipt;³⁴⁾ 

(3) arbitration and settlement;³⁵⁾

(4) a suit by the appointer against either an individual or anassociation in an ecclesiastical or secular court;³⁶⁾

(5) acting on behalf of another procurator.³⁷⁾ 

Some acts contain these purposes without indicating the place or concrete details. Others, however, also includes the place name, for example ‘in Chios.’ There are many documents that have the typical form after the appointment of the procurator and a request and receipt in the name of the appointer with the name of payer and the sum of payment.

There exist documents of unfixed form with regard to the appointment of procurator. In this case, the details and the contents of the task appear without a specified form. The contents are, ‘loca’ (unit of quota) of ship, exchange, request and receipt of money, disposition of wealth, and sometimes a procurator undertook a  search for an escaped slave. 

We can confirm the task and the position of the procurator from the contents of these documents. As a part of appointment, the procurator is supposed to play his part in lawsuits. As Lopez indicated, and also as the original meaning of this word, the procurator is a person who tasks the place of another legally. In addition to activities in lawsuits, the procurator acts with regard to activities that appear in the notarial acts, that is, in crucial contracts. The appointer selects a person as procurator who could manage even if a lawsuit occurred.

Moreover, the opinion of Balard that the procurator  masters the details of the appointer’s affairs is established according to the form of the source.Documents that appoint the procurator without indication of the specific dealings are premised on an understanding beforehand and trust for the procurator. The position of procurator has the possibility of continuing for an extended period as in the case of arbitration. He never plays his role without understanding details of the appointer’s affairs. We can conclude that procurator is in a important position in the onappointer’s business.,

3) Utilization of procurator by the sons of Napoleone Lomellini

Here, I analyze “who is whose procurator”for each son of Napoleone Lomellini. From this viewpoint, we can reconsider the ties in the family business.

First, I analyze the case of Lionello. The main sources are from the latter part of his life when he was not active in business. As a result, acts of procurator concerning him are not abundant. ³⁸⁾He appointed a procurator in five documents. In three of five he appoints a procurator with his brothers, joining into a partnership.³⁹⁾ In one of the  remaining documents, he appointed a procurator with  his sons Matteo and Stefano.⁴⁰⁾ Here, the business is between father and son. The other one document is characteristic. Lionello is appointed procurator by Andrea Gentile de Capocorso. ⁴¹⁾ Andrea is the husband of Clarisia, daughter of Lionello and a member of the family whose origin was Genoese and settled in Corsica.⁴²⁾ Through this case we can confirm the function of procurator and marriage in a wider network between Genoa and Corsica. In addition, Carlo Lomellini also appointed a cognate family member as procurator.⁴³⁾ Thus, the bonds of marriage were important for the selection of procurator.

Next, I analyze the many cases involving Giorgio. In one document, Giorgio appoints his procurator using the fixed form discussed above without  mentioning specific dealings.⁴⁴⁾ In such a documents, Giorgio appoints his brothers Goffredo and Franco as well as Antoniotto Lomellini (this person is not a son of Napoleone). In this document, the specific area and the affair are not stated. Therefore, these three people were general procurator of Giorigio and likely has close relationships with him.

Of these three persons, the one who acted substantially as procurator was Goffredo. There exist 17 documents where we can confirm a procurator appointed by Giorgiohim.⁴⁵⁾ In 10 of the 17 documents, Goffredo is appointed to procurator.⁴⁶⁾  The content of documents where Goffredo was appointed are various: ‘loca’ of ship, arbitration of 'commenda' or shipment, purchase of a slave, and so on. In addition, Goffredo often appointed another procurator of his own as to also serve as procurator of Giorigio.⁴⁷⁾ Goffredo never appointsed  Giorgio as his own procurator. Looking at  Giorigio’s other procurators, another of his brothers appears only in one document: Franco in the document mentioned above;⁴⁸⁾ his son in one document;⁴⁹⁾ another Lomellini from a different family line in two documents. (including one previously mentioned);⁵⁰⁾ and two Savonese in two documents.⁵¹⁾ In addition, a member of another family is also mentioned in one document.⁵²⁾

These acts show some distinctive characteristics. Giorigio’s the brother Goffredo was his first business partner. In addition to Goffredo, we can also see Giorigio’s brother and son. Other procurators do not stand out. We can confirm again the system of partnerships by brothers and son,

Next, we take note of Goffredo’s procurator. Goffredo, with his brother Franco, appointed his brother Carlo without monetioning special dealing.⁵³⁾ As the case of Giorgio, it is clear that the selection of general procurator often starts with brothers. 

In case of Goffredo, it is characteristic that in two documents he appointed his procurator in a specific area without mentioning specific dealings. He appoints his son Cristoforo in Chios and his son Luciano in Catalonia and Aragon.⁵⁴⁾  Goffredo develops his business according to the practice of having the young work abroad.⁵⁵⁾ In addition to the selection of general procurator, these elements express the business structure within the circle of Napoleone Lomellini’s descendents.

We can view the procurator more concretely through Goffredo. He was on the forefront of business at Genoa. I mentioned that Goffredo often appointed another procurator of his own to also serve as Giorgio’s procurator. In four of five documents of this type of appointment, Giorgio appointed the procurator for a specific purpose. ⁵⁶⁾ Moreover, while Giorgio seldom appointed a procurator with a member of another family and usually appointed with his brothers, limiting his affairs to his brothers,⁵⁷⁾ Goffredo sometimes with a member of another family appointeds a procurator.⁵⁸⁾ In addition, while Giorgio was seldom a procurator for anyone,⁵⁹⁾ Goffredo was appointed procurator by many people.⁶⁰⁾ Thus, many people in the procurator system and many dealings that required a procurator existed around Goffredo, the one person who understood well each matter.

Next, I analyze the case of Niccolo. There are few documents relating to Niccolo’s procurator. But I found that he often served as procurator to his brother Battista.⁶¹⁾ The relation between Battista and Niccolo is similar to that between Giorgio and Goffredo. Niccolo appointed another procurator of his own to also serve as procurator of Battista in three documents.⁶²⁾ In two of the three documents, Niccolo was appointed as general procurator in Savona and Tana.⁶³⁾  Battista died during the period of the main sources, so there are few documents about him. Nonetheless, we could infer that there was a partnership between Niccolo and Battista.⁶⁴⁾

Niccolo appointed his procurator in 12 documents.⁶⁵⁾ He, with his three brothers, appointed Goffredo as their procurator one time. This is only one example that he appointed one of his brothers to a procurator. ⁶⁶⁾Also, Niccolo appointed a Lomellini from another  family line one time.⁶⁷⁾ Like Goffredo, Niccolo was at the forefront of business. But Niccolo seldom appointed Goffredo toas procurator.  Based on these facts, we can conclude that the partnership between Giorgio and Goffredo was different form that between Battista and Niccolo. These two paris were not linked clearly.

In addition to these two pairs, though there are a few other documents that can be used to trace the partnership by between Andrea and Franco, sons of Napoleone. Franco appointed another procurator of his own to serve as procurator to Andrea in two documents.⁶⁸⁾ Both Andrea and Franco did not often select a procurator from one of the two pairs above. From this, we can confirm that the sons of Napoleone Lomellini formed partnerships principally amongst themselves, but that a division of labor existed.

Ⅳ. Conclusion

In this research I examined many elements of the bonds made by the sons of Napoleone Lomellini. For these brothers, the ties of brotherhoods were important in their business, and their own brothers were their strongest partners. The framework of descendants of Napoleone  functioned in various aspects of these partnerships. On the other hand, the role of members of the Lomellini from other family lines is not conspicuous. This fact provides polemic material to the problem of the solidarity of ‘albergo’.

With regard to factors that supported the ties between the bonds of among the brothers, I found some elements such as the Genoese, cognate, and so on. In the wide expansion of the Genoese, the relationships among with these units were indispensable for the selection of trustworthy partners.

In this paper, I examined only a part of the Lomellini activity. We can find greater mention of the names of Napoleone Lomellini’s sons in main and other historical sources. I would like to address their bonds in other circumstances of this family, another paper.

<국문요약>

중세 말 제노바 상인 가문의 결속력과 네트워크 시스템: 로멜리니 가문의 사례

요코 가메나가 안자이

본 논문은 제노바 상인들이 어떠한 사회적 유대관계와 조직을 가지고 상업 활동을 전개했는지를 분석한다. 논문의 궁극적인 목적은 일반적으로 알려진 제노바 상인들의 “개인주의”가 어느 정도는 과장되어 있다는 사실을 밝히고 이를 일정 정도 수정하는 것이다. 즉 기존의 연구들은 제노바 상인들의 개인주의적 사업 성향을 지나치게 강조했는데 본 논문은 이러한 인식을 바로 잡고자 한다.

본 논문은 롬바르디아 지방 출신의 귀족 상인가문이었던 로멜리니(Lomellini) 가문의 사례를 통해서 상인 가문의 결속력과 네트워크 시스템을 상세하게 묘사한다. 주로 활용한 사료는 공증인 줄리아노 카넬라(Giuliano Canella)가 1408년에서 1421년 사이 작성한 계약서이며, 이 문서에 자주 등장하는 나폴레오네 로멜리니의 아들들이 중요 분석대상이다.

나폴레오네의 아들들은 카넬라가 작성한 계약서에 35회 등장한다. 논문은 35개의 계약서를 분석함으로써 상인간의 결속력과 네트워크 시스템의 특징을 찾아낸다. 나폴레오네의 아들들은 다른 상인가문(살바고 가문 Salvago, 피에스키 가문 Fieschi, 타리고 가문 Tarigo)의 형제들과도 밀접한 상업 관계를 유지하고 있었다. 특히 타리고 가문과의 유대 관계는 긴밀했다. 그 중 나폴레오네의 딸 지네브라(Ginevra)의 남편이었던 페레그리노 타리고(Peregrino Lomellini)는 중요한 사업 동료일 뿐만 아니라 집안 분쟁에 중재자 역할을 하기도 했다.

로멜리니 형제들은 페라, 로도스, 키오스, 파마구스타, 피사, 시칠리아 섬 등지에서 상업 활동을 했고, 이곳에서의 상거래를 위해 다양한 종류의 대리인 계약을 맺었다. 형제들뿐만 아니라 다양한 사람들이 로멜리니 형제들의 대리인 역할을 수행했으며, 공증인 줄리아노 또한 대리인중 한명이었다. 하지만 대리인 선택에서 일차적인 고려는 형제들이었고, 나폴레오네의 아들들의 경우도 예외는 아니었다.

나폴레오네의 아들들 사이의 결속력을 분석해서 필자가 얻은 결론은 사업에서 형제간의 유대와 결속이 매우 중요했고 형제가 제일의 사업상의 동료였다는 것이다. 당시의 사업 관행에서 상사를 조직하는 기본 단위는 형제나 부모와 자식을 포함하는 가족이었다. 제노바 상인들의 상업 활동과 영역이 확대되면서 확장된 의미의 가족 구성원들이나 좀 더 멀게는 제노바 출신이라는 요소 또한 믿을만한 사업상의 동료를 선택하는데 있어서 우선적인 고려사항이었던 것이다.

(일본 학습원대학 부교수 / Yoko.Kamenaga@gakushuin.ac.jp)

주제어: 제노바 상인, 로멜리니 가문, 나폴레오네, 상인의 유대 관계

Key Words: Merchant of Genoa, Family of Lomellini, Napoleone, Network of Merchants