Beschreibung:

Latin manuscript on vellum, incipit "Liber possessionum quibus solitur decima in Castagneto Melchior Adento du Albani...," being an accounting of land holdings for the use of the Church, Castagneto [Abruzzo, Italy], 1388. 6 leaves, brown ink. Period vellum wrappers. Minor staining to wrappers and fol.1, generally excellent. An interesting medieval survival, produced to aid the Church in the collection of taxes and dating from the years of the Papal Schism. The lower wrapper bears a table written in red and black which organizes the rental collection by a system of numbers and letters. At this period in Italy, a generation after the Plague, land assets were vital to survival. A new class of people arose who, while technically free, placed all their assets under the authority of the local church or monastery and retained only a small portion of their profits for themselves. These people became tied to the land and needed permission to move or make changes to the property. The present inventory lists 48 properties, most with two or three line descriptions.