Mechanisms of Apprenticeship in Late Medieval Genoa: Training, Actors and Networks (Thirteenth – Fourteenth Centuries)

Abstract

Based on a broad sample of notarial deeds, the article considers apprenticeship in the port city of Genoa in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries with the aim of elucidating aspects of training and networking, as well as identifying the main actors involved. Three main aspects will be addressed: the first concerns gender and the apparent absence of women from the training circuit. Secondly, the nature of the contract and the conditions it establishes are considered. The final section of the article examines recruitment networks underscoring the importance of social bonds, especially for those apprentices who came from distant places

Keywords

• networks
• apprenticeship
• 13th–14th centuries
• history of Genoa
• notarial documents