Monastic Decline in Sardinia: S. Leonardo di Bosue (Sassari) 1300–1401

Monastic Decline in Sardinia: S. Leonardo di Bosue (Sassari) 1300–1401Author(s): Rosalind BrownSource: Papers of the British School at Rome, Vol. 53 (1985), pp. 329-341Published by: British School at RomeStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40310822 .

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MONASTIC DECLINE IN SARDINIA: S. LEONARDO DI BOSUE (SASSARI) 1300-1401

The rapid growth of the major religious houses in early twelfth-century Sardinia was closely connected with the island's entry into the Pisan and, later Genoese spheres of interest. So too the general decline of these monastic possessions in the fourteenth century was not simply part of the more widespread changes in patterns of religious life seen elsewhere in Europe in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The continual conflict between Pisan and Genoese interests in Sardinia eroded both the prosperity of individual houses and the favoured status many foundations had enjoyed from Judicial and aristocratic patronage. With the Aragonese conquest, in addition, the Orders most closely associated with Pisa and Genoa lost much of their vital political protection, although contacts with the mainland were still regular. Sardinia, always sparsely populated, suffered severe depopulation in the fourteenth century, which was strongest in the cereal-producing areas around Sassari and Cagliari,1 and this decline in rural prosperity further encouraged a withdrawal of interest by many religious houses. By 1400 a large number of Sardinian churches and monasteries were deserted or in decay. Some of the problems involved in this decline can be examined in detail through a series of documents concerning S. Leonardo di Bosue and the associated church of S. Giorgio di Oliastreta.

S. Leonardo and S. Giorgio, both very close to Sassari, were two of the three Sardinian estates held by the hospital of S. Leonardo di Stagno di Pisa, which by 1259 had been incorporated into the Convent of Ognissanti in Pisa.2 Bosue, founded as a leprosarium, was by far the most valuable of the three, being in origin a Judicial foundation with a considerable endowment, and usually Oliastreta was included in its administration. The 'valle de Bosue' itself formed one of the boundaries of the Commune of Sassari,3 and its river, the Grossello ('Gurusele', 'gruxellus'), gave rise to frequent disputes over irrigation, recorded in the thirteenth century. Both Monte Cassino and the Opera di S. Maria di Pisa had also received a donation of land in Bosue in the twelfth century,4 and although the Cassinese interest had probably lapsed relatively soon, the Opera retained their curtís here into the fourteenth

lM. Tangheroni, Ter lo studio dei villaggi abbandonati a Pisa e in Sardegna nel Trecento', Bollettino Storico Pisano 40-41 (1972), p. ,55-74. J. Day, 'Mal thus dementi? Sous-peuplement chronique et calamites démographiques en Sardaigne au Bas Moyen-Age', Annales: Economies, Sociétés, Civilisations 30 (1975), p. 684-95.

2The original donations of Oliastreta and S. Leonardo di Bosue to the Ospedal del Stagno were in 1176 and 1178. P. Tola, Codex Diplomaticus Sardiniae, Monumenta Historiae Patriae 10 (Turin 1861), sec. XII, n. 103 (1176), p. 245, n. 108 (1178), p. 250. In 1259 The Ospedale's incorporation in the Convent of Ognissanti was already completed. D. Scano, Codice diplomatico delle relazioni fra la Santa Sede e la Sardegna, Pubblicazioni della Reale Deputazione di Storia Patria per la Sardegna 2 (Cagliari 1940-1), n. 215, p. 129. The third property in Sardinia was Bagnaria, near Cagliari, which was worth far less than Bosue. In 1309 it was leased for £8 a year. Archivo di Stato di Pisa, collezione S. Lorenzo alle Rivolte, 9.6.1308 (1309 s. p.).

3P. Tola, Codex Diplomaticus Sardiniae, sec. XIV, n. 7 section 34, p. 533. 4A. Saba, Montecassino e la Sardegna medioevale (Montecassino 1927), doc. X, p. 149-51. (1120); P.

Tola, Codex Diplomaticus Sardiniae, sec. XII, n. 40 (6.3.1131), p. 206.



330 ROSALIND BROWN

century; their activity confirms the value and agricultural potential of Bosue as a whole. The proximity of Sassari was an important advantage, ensuring ease of contact with the mother-house in Pisa and with urban economic activity. However, this area was also more vulnerable to depredations in the course of the constant power struggles in Logudoro (continued after the Aragonese arrival by the Doria resistance), and Sassari itself declined gradually but permanently in importance. Ognissanti faced continually increasing difficulties in the administration of Bosue and Oliastreta.

These problems, and the varying response of the mother-house, are shown by a series of documents dating from 1307 to 1401, referring to Bosue and Oliastreta. Twelve of these come from the Archivio di Stato di Pisa, collezione S. Lorenzo alle Rivolte, and have been briefly described by F. C. Casula,5 while the earliest, from 1307, survives in the Archivio Capitolare di Pisa. A few other documents relating to Bosue in this period will be mentioned, but could not be consulted directly. For the sake of clarity, a brief description of this series is necessary; dating is mainly in the Pisan style, 'ab incarnatione'. 6.4.1306 (1307 stile pisano) (in Sassari). Raynerius, Bishop of Ploaghe, as Vicar for Thediciu (Tedisius)

Archbishop of Torres, makes a general request for alms for the consecration of S. Leonardo di Bosue and offers an indulgence of 1 year and 80 days (Doc. I).

24. 10. 1322 (1323 s. p.) (in Pisa). Abbess Andrea de Domo Pievi of Ognissanti instructs Bindus de Suese, Tamiliaris et conversus', to lease Bosue and Oliastreta for 3 years to Guantinus Palas of Sassari, on terms already agreed which include a rent of 180 florins a year, and to lease Bagnaria on any terms.

13.5.1331 (1322 s. p.) (in Sassari). Bindus, prior of Bosue, presents to Augustinus Abbot of S. Michele di Plaiano a letter from the Papal legate, the Bishop of Ostia and Velletri, by which Augustinus and Canon Filippus Mameli of Arborea are to hear a dispute between Ognissanti and the Archbishop of Torres. At issue are a census of 1 lb. silver and the parochial rights of S. Giorgio di Oliastreta. The letter is then presented to the Archbishop of Torres.

10.1 1.1331 (1332 s. p.) (at S. Leonardo di Bosue). Bettinus f. Bonacursi Binti civis pisanus receives from Bindus, prior of Bosue, the money owing to him for more than 1 2 years' service. Bettinus then contracts for another three years' service, for £10. alf. min. a year.

18.4.1333 (1334 s. p.) (in Sassari). Before the Archbishop of Torres, Bindus, prior of Bosue, accuses the Abbot of S. Fruttuoso di Capodimonte of stealing 180 head of cattle from the 'saltum dorcone' near Sassari and taking them to Alghero, where some were later found. (In Alghero). The evidence of four witnesses is noted. The case is decided against the Abbot, who is eventually condemned for contumacy. Bindus is allowed to sequester goods worth £270 with expenses of ¿20.

28.11.1339 (1340 s. p.) (in Bosue and Sassari). Immediately after the death of Bindus, prior of Bosue, the Archbishop of Torres orders his nephew Bernardus de Pina to compile an inventory of the property of S. Leonardo.

13.1.1341 (in Pisa). Abbess Johanna de Zacciis of Ognissanti appoints as procurators Rainerius de Donoratico and Tinuccius q. Guillielmi de Rocha, to take possession of the property of Bosue as listed in the inventory, and arrange a lease. Tinuccius then appoints three procurators of whom the third, Guidus Sardus q. Cechi Sardi, has powers for two years to recover and administer the property formerly in Bindus' charge.

22.8.1341 (1342 s. p.) (in Pisa). Ricchuccius q. Jani, procurator for Ognissanti, leases to Vannés Pighinelli q. Jacobi and his son Jacobus, Pisans, the 'hospitalia' of S. Leonardo di Bosue and S. Giorgio di Oliastreta for eight years, at a rent of 200 fl. a year, and payments of cheese and salted meat.

5F. C. Casula, 'Documenti inediti sui possessi sardi del monastero di S. Lorenzo alle Rivolte di Pisa', Medioevo, Età Moderna. Saggi in onore del Prof. Alberto Boscolo (Cagliari 1972), p. 49-83. This omits the inventory of 1339, and is based primarily on the Bailie transcripts.



MONASTIC DECLINE IN SARDINIA 331

7.9.1341 (1342 s. p.) (in Pisa). Abbess Johanna of Ognissanti protests that the Sardinian possessions of the convent are exempt from the Papal census; Ricchuccius Jani and Vannes and Jacobus Pighinelli are appointed procurators to defend this case against the Papal Collector.

22.9.1342 (1343 s. p.) (in Pisa). Vannes Pighinelli lists the extra expenses incurred at Bosue, and other problems. He considers that they were deceived by Ricchuccius Jani and gives notice that they will surrender the lease on the 1 October next (Doc. II).

31.12.1362 (1363 s. p.) (in Pisa). Abbess Simona Bellucca of Ognissanti leases Bosue and Oliastreta to Johannes q. Catolli of Sassari for five years from the 1 January next, for 30 fl. a year. He is also appointed procurator to seek repayment of debts and the return of the convent's benefices.

6.5.1371 (1372 s. p.) (in Sassari). Ferrante q. Presbiteri of Pisa, procurator of Ognissanti, leases to Nicolas, bishop of Castra, S. Leonardo 'de diocesi sassari' for three years from the 1 June next, for 55 fl. a year. Of this rent, 1 10 fl. is paid immediately. The lease may be broken at the beginning of the third year by the Bishop.

. . . 1401 cursum catalanorum (in Sassari). Primus, Archbishop of Torres, notes that Bosue has long been deserted, and in accordance with canon law appropriates it to the Chapter. He instructs the Archbishop-elect, Batholomeus Taras, and Canon Iolasius, rector of S. Sixtus of Sassari, to take possession of it.

The first of these documents does not fit easily into what is known of the history of S. Leonardo. The Bishop, in appealing for alms, makes no mention of Ognissanti, nor do the surviving archives of the convent in Pisa contain any reference to this episode. The preservation of this document in the archives of the Chapter of Pisa was perhaps the result of continuing close ties with Tedisius, Archbishop of Torres 1298-1324, who was a Pisan and prior of S. Sisto di Pisa.6 Martini also mentions an inventory of S. Leonardo and S. Giorgio, of 26.11.1321 (1322 s. p.) in the Archivio Capitolare di Pisa,7 for which Tedisius may have been responsible. The appeal of 1306 sems to be a copy, since notary and witnesses are not given. The language used is particularly interesting. The body of the text is in a Sardinian like that of the mid- thirteenth century, with archaic features like the spelling 'thatharj' for Sassari, while the dating returns to Latin. The form of address, 'Barones et mugeres', matches an earlier appeal for alms from a Bishop of Barbagia, of 21.1.1267,8 and although this parallel holds only for the opening sentence, it is enough to suggest that a customary formulation was being followed by Rainerius, even at this relatively late date. There is no architectural evidence to show whether the church attached to the leprosarium of S. Leonardo was in fact rebuilt in this period, but a reconsecration could also have followed partial repairs or enlargement. The context of this appeal remains unclear, but taken together with the inventory mentioned by Martini, it suggests that for the 25 years of Tedisius' office Ognissanti enjoyed some particular protection and interest from the Archbishop of Torres.

The remaining documents, all from Ognissanti's own archives, form a more coherent series. The four surviving leases of S. Leonardo do not indicate a steady withdrawal of interest, but the period 1 340-3 was effectively a watershed, after

6S. Pintus, 'Vescovi e Arcivescovi di Torres', Archivio Storico Sardo 1 (1905), p. 62-85; p. 73. 7P. Martini, Storia Ecclesiastica di Sardegna (Cagliari 1839-58), voi. 2, Libro Sesto, p. 1 12, n. 1. It has

not yet been possible to find this inventory in the Archivio Capitolare. 8E. Besta, La Sardegna Medioevale (Palermo 1908), vol. 2, p. 247 n. P. Martini, Stona Ecclesiastica di

Sardegna, gives the text of this appeal; Libro Sesto, p. 137-8, n. 1. It begins, 'Nos G. per issa gratia de Deua piscobu de Zulchis Ad sos clerigus et laigus terra mangesus et sardus baronis et mulgeris cantu sedis in tro de su piscobadu nostru. Mandamus bos salutandu et beneigendu in domini Deus'.



332 ROSALIND BROWN

which the declining value of the property, and the problems of its exploitation, were seen more clearly by the mother-house. The size of the rents agreed upon, and the length of the leases, give a general idea of the expectations of Ognissanti and the convent's evaluation of the property. In 1322, the rent was to be 180 fl. a year, which should be considered an accurate practical assessment. The lessee, Guantine Palas, had already rented it for a year and, as a Sassarese, would have known the local conditions well. The next rent negotiated, in 1342, was probably based on that of nineteen years before, although to the cash rent was now added a payment in kind.9 The intervening period had seen a long stretch of direct administration by a prior, Bindus, which probably left Ognissanti with an over-optimistic impression of the condition and value of Bosue and Oliastreta. In 1342 such a rent quickly turned out to be unrealistic, given the repairs necessary to every part of the property, and the lessees found it impossible to extract commensurate returns from the land. After the withdrawal of Vannes and Jacobus Pighinelli from their lease, Ognissanti necces- sarily came to terms with the effective decline in value of Bosue. In the next lease twenty years later, the rent is only 30 fl. a year, and in 1371 slightly higher at 55 fl. Much of this severe depreciation resulted from a process already established by 1342, when Vannes Pighinelli described the encroachment of various citizens of Sassari, and Aragonese, on the land of S. Leonardo. Bosue's position so close to Sassari increased the dangers of such gradual incursions even though the Convent's Sardinian possessions had survived intact the transfer of power to the Aragonese.

The length of the leases also gives some indication of the attitude of Ognissanti, although the implications alter with the changing circumstances. The lease of 1332 is for only three years which, when taken with the evidence of careful preliminary negotiations and the preceding short-term lease, shows that the convent at this point preferred to keep relatively close control of the property. The subsequent appointment of Bindus as prior may well have been forced on Ognissanti by the political situation not long afterwards. Guantinus (or Gantine) Palas was a member of one of Sassari's leading families, which was deeply involved in the city's rebellion against the Aragonese in 1325.10 One of the ringleaders, Aliprandino Palas, was the brother of Guantinus. The Palas family was apparently not permanently excluded from King Jaime's amnesty of the rebels, but even so it would not have been in Ognissanti's best interests to renew a lease with a Palas. The stop-gap appointment of Bindus de Suese must have been reasonably satisfactory, since it lasted until his death. By that date, the situation in Logudoro seemed sufficiently settled for a longer-term lease to be viable, but the eight-year lease agreed in 1341 also shows that Ognissanti now preferred to withdraw to some degree from its close concern in Sardinia. That it was unable to do so was the result of the high level of return it expected from Bosue. The last two recorded leases, of 1362 and 1371, are both for short terms, but this reflects not so much a deliberate policy as the difficulty of getting a tenant and some cash rent at all. The agreement of 1 37 1 was probably the last Ognissanti was able to make

9<Et cantarium sex boni casei tondi Et cantarium quatuor boni casei cavalli Et porcorum sallitorum quatuorum bonorum Et Cerorum duorum librarum sex bone cere nove . . . pro quolibet anno'; A.S.P. collezione S. Lorenzo alle Rivolte, 22.8.1341 (1342 s. p.).

10A. Arribas Palau, La Conquista de Cerdeña por Jaime II de Aragón (Barcelona 1952), p. 290-1, 304.




for Bosue. The receipt of two year's rent in advance is a further indication of the then minimal interest of Ognissanti. In 1401 S. Leonardo had been unoccupied for 'plures annos', and the Archbishop, perhaps ignorant of Ognissanti's title, refers only to 'alique monace', 'non earn (i.e. S. Leonardo) nee eius bona crescendo et multipli- cando sed semper destruendo et minuendo'.

Relations betwen Ognissanti and its lessees varied considerably and reflect the changing attitude suggested by the terms of the leases. Guantinus Palas in 1322 had already established multiple ties with the Pisan house. The terms of the lease he made were to follow those agreed upon in November 1321 between his procurator and Jorgius Folchi, a familiaris of the Franciscans briefly acting for Ognissanti. Guantinus had estimated for the convent the price of some cattle which they had been leasing out and now wished to sell. The £60. ian. expected from this sale was to be entrusted to Guantinus to deliver at Pisa. The link with Pisa seems well-developed although the commercial interests of the Palas centred on Genoa; Guantinus appears there as procurator for Aliprandinus in 1313, and Aliprandinus himself had been trading in Genoa since at least 130 1.11 The fact that the Palas were also linked politically with Genoese interests would have made this relationship still more valuable for Ognissanti in the period before 1325, offering a partial buffer against the withdrawal of the Commune of Pisa from northern Sardinia. After 1325, however, this local contact would have lost much of its extensive importance. A possible alternative channel of contact is already suggested in 1322, with the appearance oí di familiaris of the Franciscans as a temporary and informal agent of Ognissanti's interests. Bindus' instructions also include the order to consult the senior of the Franciscans in Sassari (the 'guardianus loci fratrum minorum de sassaro') over other rights of the lessee. The Franciscans were still acting as agents for Ognissanti in 1371, although apparently still on the basis of an informal understanding. Their usefulness depended on the different influence of this newer Order in Sardinia; they had arrived as a politically independent, active organisation, which had none of the problems of Ognissanti's administration. To this network of relationships should be added what may have been the protection, or at least active interest, of Archbishop Tedisius. These contacts were of such value that before the appointment of Bindus in 1322, Ognissanti had not felt the need for a procurator with a particular knowledge of Sardinia.

The detailed instructions to Bindus in 1322 contrast particularly with the conditions in which the lease of 1341 was drawn up. Vannes and Jacobus Pighinelli seem from their later reactions to have had no previous experience of Sardinia, or at least of this region, and the lease was negotiated in Pisa. The agreement refers to three other documents drawn up in the preceding month, presumably preliminary arrangements, but Ricchuccius Jani had only been appointed as procurator to deal with this lease on the 13 August, nine days before the final settlement. Vannes Pighinelli, when breaking the lease, accused Ricchuccius of deliberate deception, but on this evidence he could simply have been as ill-informed as they. When the Abbess appointed the Pighinelli and Ricchuccius Jani as joint procurators in the dispute with the Papal Collector, one month after the signing of the lease, Ricchuccius had

"Archivio di Stato di Genova, Cartolari notarili 33 e. 103, 122 (1301); 8 e. 110, 207 v. (1313).



334 ROSALIND BROWN

apparently accompanied Vannes and Jacobus to Sardinia, since all three were away from Pisa. However, his assistance was certainly unsatisfactory for the Pighinelli, since they seem to have paid the full expenses of the case against the Collector themselves.12 The negotiations leading up to the lease suggest that initially a higher rent had been demanded, and the dissapointment of this expectation may have contributed to the rigidity of Ognissanti's response to complaints, which left the Pighinelli with the sole recourse of breaking the lease. The other two known lessees of Bosue were both men with far more local knowledge. Johannes q. Catolli, a citizen of Sassari, was present in person in Pisa to sign the lease in 1363. He had widespread interests on the mainland, since his property in Pisa, Lucca, Florence, Genoa and elsewhere is given as surety in the contract, and these pre-existing ties probably ensured more prompt payment of the rent than Ognissanti could otherwise have expected, given that the convent lacked any real coercive power. The last recorded lessee, the Bishop of Castra, paid two-thirds of the total rent in advance, which reflects not only the problems of collecting a small sum annually, but also Ognissanti's expectation that he would be dissatisfied. Allowance is made in the terms of the lease for the lessee's more precise knowledge of current local conditions.13

The succession of procurators in Sardinia, including Ricchuccius Jani, under- lines the changing administrative interest of Ognissanti, ending in near-complete withdrawal in the decades after 1342. The personal administration of Bindus as prior, though probably originally an emergency measure, was a satisfactory solution for more than a decade, and maintained relatively close contact with the mother- house. Bettinus Bihti, whose contract was renewed in 1331, may have had the status of courier; he was a Pisan citizen, and the terms of employment specify travel by land or sea. As with the Opera di S. Maria di Pisa, large amounts of money were sent via merchants; in this case, the Abbess received in 1339/40 100 florins from Bindus through three Sassaresi merchants,14 and this was probably a regular process. This contact was promoted by the proximity of Bosue to Sassari. At the death of Bindus, both Ognissanti and the local hierarchy seem to have been expecting trouble of some kind over Bosue. On the day that Bindus died, the Archbishop of Torres ordered his nephew 'incontinenti' to compile a complete inventory. For its part, Ognissanti appointed procurators capable of affording some political protection within Sardinia, notably Rainerius de Donoratico, although no immediate practical involvement would have been expected. Ognissanti probably received a copy of the inventory, since the procurators were to use it to recover possession of S. Leonardo. This anxiety to take immediate action is understandable in the light of the later description by the Pighinelli of the piecemeal encroachment on Bosue's lands, and in

l2'. . . occasione litis seu cause legati libras decem'; Doc. II. Ricchucius Jani is not to be confused with Ricucchius Ricucchi, one of the leading Cagliaritan merchants in 1 350-64 and a procurator for the Opera di S. Maria di Pisa. M. Tangheroni, Politica, commercio, agricoltura a Pisa nel trecento (Pisa 1973), p. 111-6,124.

l3<In casu in quo de dictis possessionibus que nunc unufructuantur aliqua propter guerras devastaretur vel inpediretur quod non posset usufructúan quodeo casu de pensione ipsa debet exconputari ca tanden pro rata'. A.S.P. collezione S. Lorenzo alle Rivolte, 6.5.1371 (1372 s. p.).

14F. C. Casula, 'Documenti inediti', n. 14, from the Bailie transcripts.




turn suggests that Ognissanti did know rather more about the problems of administering Bosue than it cared to reveal to its new lessees. In the brief interval before the new lease was signed, the procurator Guidus Sardus was able to make little impression. He took out a number of loans, amounting to £73. ian.,15 and may even have sold part of the curtis in Sassari, but even so was unable to make basic repairs to agricultural buildings or to pay back some of the outstanding debts. Ognissanti's knowledge of some of the problems does not seem to have modified the optimism and determination shown in the terms of the 1341 lease.

In both 1362 and 1371, Ognissanti had no long-term procurator to deal with its property in Sardinia. The contract of 1362 was drawn up in Pisa and the lessee himself was made responsible, in the most general terms, for maintenance of the property as a whole, and other rights. In 1371, Ferrante of Pisa, in Sassari to conclude the lease and collect the rent in advance, was clearly present for this transaction alone. If the lessee wished to withdraw after two years, he was to inform either a Franciscan monk, Francisco Marras, or the vicar of S. Maria di Bellem in Sassari. The only surviving links of Ognissanti with Bosue and its neighbours were relatively informal ones through the Franciscans and the local ecclesiastical hierarchy.

More specific details on the range of problems facing Bosue and Oliastreta in the decades after the Aragonese arrival are supplied by three documents in particular; the 1339 inventory, the complaint of Vannes Pighinelli in 1342, and an earlier dispute, of 1333-4. The cattle raid denounced by Bindus in 1333 fits into the general pattern of reciprocal raiding well-established in north-western Sardinia.16 In this case, it had been organised by the Abbot of S. Fruttuoso (a Genoese abbey under the particular patronage of the Doria), who was at this time based in Alghero. The evidence of the eye-witnesses states clearly that the Abbot instigated the raid, and the cattle were brought back from the territory of Sassari to Alghero, where some were slaughtered and sold at once.17 It is indicative of the equivocal nature of hostilities with the Doria that Bindus traced the cattle and gathered witnesses in Alghero itself without any great problems. The delays in concluding the case were naturally all on the part of the Abbot, who protested about the dangers of travelling to Sassari to present his defence. Bindus was probably unable to collect much of the £290 compensation he was awarded. At his death six years later, the losses of livestock had still not been made good: the inventory mentions only 26 oxen and 20 asses and mules, although five herdsmen are still employed. At the beginning of the century, the neighbouring curtis of S. Maria di Pisa in Bosue had a large number of

15Doc. II. l6In 1274, two Genoese suffered a similar raid, in this case by Sassaresi, and lost 148 head of cattle.

A. Ferretto, 'Branca Doria e la sua famiglia5, Atti della Società Ligure di Storia Patria 31 (1901) p. xxxii (13.6.1274).

17Bindus lists the cattle stolen; 'viginti boves, triginta quinqué vachas matrices, triginta quinqué vitulos, duodecim novellos trium annorum et vitulos duorum annorum inter masculos et feminas triginta quatuor et decem vachas matriches sine filiis, et triginta vitulos unius anni'. A.S.P. collezione S. Lorenzo alle Rivolte 18.4.1333 (1334 s. p.).



336 ROSALIND BROWN

sheep,18 but since their lists of livestock end in 1309 it is not clear whether the decline of livestock was a more general phenomenon in this area.

From the 1339 inventory it is dear that the focus of activity in Ognissanti's property had shifted from the site of the original leprosarium to a complex of buildings within the city itself, a curtis in the 'platea de campo de carros'. This consisted of at least three houses and a cellar, and it was here that records and ready money were kept. The church fittings at S. Leonardo and the furnishings in Sassari were of poor quality, although sufficient in number. Other items show clearly the potential value of Bosue and suggest reasons why Guidus Sardus and the Pighinelli found it impossible to realise that potential. The relatively large number of oxen, and the five plough-shares (although they are described as 'verteres'), confirm the importance of the cereal crop. A commenda of 100 rasiere of wheat made by Bindus and still unrepaid was doubtless only one of a series. The inventory records 76 ras. of barley and 73 ras. of wheat stored in Sassari, presumably seed for the following year. The other main profitable activity of S. Leonardo was the sale of its wine. S. Leonardo itself had a 'domus uinee', furnished with a range of vats and barrels, while at Bindus' death the cellar in Sassari contained both full and empty barrels, and a 'banchum' for selling wine. Guidus Sardus chose to rent a house in the city to carry on the sale of wine;19 he may have tried to expand this side of S. Leonardo's economy, or perhaps found the existing facilities in poor repair. The development of the urban curtis in general shows an increasing dependence on the city, with the internal economy of S. Leonardo itself no longer well-balanced between the pastoral and agricultural.

The condition of the mills and irrigation systems in the river-valleys close to Sassari, such as the Bosue valley, from the early thirteenth century onwards, reflects both the changing fortunes of the city, and the prosperity of agriculture in this area, given the concentrated labour needed to maintain them. In the first half of the thirteenth century S. Leonardo had to resist a series of attempts to appropriate its water-supply, while the Statutes of Sassari (c. 1316) describe a closely-regulated system of distribution in the three valleys within the Commune's territory.20 This was clearly no longer functioning by the time the Pighinelli took up their lease, since they had to pay large sums to their 'magister molendinarum' for repairs to the four water-mills and the river-bank. Much of this damage seems to have been the result of spring floods, and flooding in itself indicates that other banks and irrigation channels were also in a poor condition. The neglect which resulted in such costly damage would have been an especially severe problem for a curtis such as that of S. Leonardo, more vulnerable from its concentration on vines and cereal crops.

The status of the lands included in the lease of Bosue in 1341 was in several cases uncertain, and reveals the complex interdependence of S. Leonardo and its neighbours. Vannes and Jacobus Pighinelli made at least three large payments to

18In 1309, the livestock on S. Maria di Bosue is listed as 200 sheep, 20 oxen, 4 asses and 36 cows. A.S.P. Opera del Duomo 486 (Conduttori e possessioni), e. 38. The administration of the Opera di S. Maria di Pisa in Sardinia is a fruitful source, on which the author is now working.

19'pro penthione domus in qua dictus pro Guido fecit vendi vinum . . .'; Doc. II. *>A.S.P. collezione S.Lorenzo alle Rivolte 3 1.1. 1321; 28.3. 1258 (1259 s. p.); 16.4.1262 (1263 s. p.);

22.7.1262 (1263 s. p.). P. Tola, Codex Diplomaticus Sardiniae, sec. XIV, n. 7 section 100, p. 550.




regain possession of areas of land, on terms which are not clearly stated, but they still needed to rent expensive pasture land from Ramon Impalo (for a total of £5. 15s.) and the 'factor Marchionis' (for £3. 19s). This is understandable in view of the lands they list which are held as surety for S. Leonardo's debts, which include 'saltus', vineyards, and an 'ortum', as well as arable land. Three creditors also held some livestock as surety. One of the creditors is Ramon Impalo, who seems to have leased back this land directly to S. Leonardo. Another creditor in 1341, Ramon di Monpahò, had at the death of Bindus two years earlier still owed S. Leonardo £130. By then this was clearly a bad debt, since it dated from 1331-32 and de Monpahò,21 Governor of Sassari until at least 1345, was in a position to repudiate or ignore it. The third major figure in 1341 is the 'Marchio', who is not named but must have been a member of the Malaspina family. In 1339 the Marchio too had owed S. Leonardo a sum of money, though apparently not a great deal; one of the minor sureties in Bindus' possession is said to belong to him.22 Of the other, lesser, creditors in 1341, Petrus Gomberella had been present as a witness at the compilation of the 1339 inventory, probably to protect his existing interests in S. Leonardo, and possibly acting as a representative of his fellow-creditors. The encroachment of powerful creditors such as de Monpahò was more serious, since there was far less likelihood of recovering any land occupied by such influential individuals.23

The interest of Aragonese such as Ramon Impalo and Ramon de Monpahò was not necessarily wholly negative. These two creditors both showed an active interest in improving the saltus they held, and both received payments for bringing part of these lands into cereal production. Since the land was still owned by S. Leonardo, they were entitled to compensation for the improvements made, '. . . pro faciendo fieri unam argiuolam'. Impalo cleared one such area of new agricultural land, and de Monpahò three. This compensation (30s. and £3. 10s.) need not have been paid until S. Leonardo regained possession, but they were acute enough to have their claim settled while the resources were still available.

The condition of the Opera di S. Maria di Pisa's possessions in Logudoro offers some points of comparison with the problems of Bosue. At the beginning of the century the Opera had been receiving a regular rent of £90. ian. (converted in the accounts to give £247. 10s. pls.) for their property in Bosue alone,24 with a further sum, irregularly, for other possessions in Sassari and Logudoro. No accounts survive from between 1318 and 1344, but in 1344 the rent from all their remaining property in Logudoro had fallen to a total of £25. alf. (or £187. 10s. pls.). This is confirmed by a summary of arrears in 1349 which gives the annual rent as 60 fl. (£190. pls.). The cash income was probably even less in reality, since the arrears noted for each

21 L. D'Arienzo, Carte Reali Diplomatiche di Pietro IV II Ceremonioso, Re d'Aragona, riguardanti l'Italia

(Padua 1970), n. 10, n. 236. 22'. . . quasdam manichas et faldes de ferro que dicuntur esse don(?) ffarutgo marchionis quas

tenebat dictur prior pro pignore'; A.S.P. collezione S. Lorenzo alle Rivolte, 28.11.1339 (1340 s. p.). 23The Archbishops of Cagliari had to deal with similar problems of encroachment by feudataries,

and appealed for royal intervention; Gondissalvo, in 1337, complained specifically of the illegal appropriation of the Archbishopric's serfs. A. Boscolo, 'Rendite ecclesiastiche cagliaritane nel primo periodo della dominazione aragonese', Archivio Storico Sardo 27 (1961), p. 5-20.

24 A.S.P. Opera del Duomo 82 (Entrate ed Uscite), e. 4v-5.



338 ROSALIND BROWN

part of Sardinia seem to be convenient round sums rather than the actual total. The Opera finally lost even nominal control of its lessee in Sassari and Bosue between 1344 and 1348. In the former year Guilielmus Jovoer, a Catalan, was still paying rent and recognised as the lessee. In 1348 the lessee is named as Mighele Giovanni banchieri, but he was unable to enter into possession.25 The Opera nonetheless insisted on receiving the rent due. This dispossession came a decade later than the Opera's loss of control of its other valuable property in the north-west, in Nurra,26 and was probably delayed by the greater accessibility of the Bosue site to continued Pisan contact.

The processes of the dispossession of Ognissanti and the Opera di S. Maria differ markedly. The Opera was abruptly forced to recognise a complete dispossession, although on paper it had been relatively successful in maintaining the level of its rents. The encroachment on Ognissanti's land was more gradual, and initially at least had a legally valid base, since it was carried out by unpaid creditors. This is underlined by the fact that a nucleus of the original curtis remained unabsorbed into the fifteenth century. This reflects not only some observation of the limits of the creditors' lawful claims but also the decline in prosperity and population of Sassari, since the pressure on agricultural land around the city did not last long enough to bring about the complete appropriation of the curtis. It seems that the attrition of Ognissanti's control both resulted from and was partly checked by the debts to various individuals incurred by the administration. Since so many had established partial interests in the curtis, no one of their number was able to carry out a rapid and total dispossession' of Ognissanti. The relative success of the Opera di S. Maria in maintaining the real or token unity of its curtis in Bosue may, paradoxically, have made it more vulnerable to a complete illegal occupation, once the lessee could no longer be controlled or protected effectively from Pisa. However, this comparison should not be carried too far, since the two organisations were of very different status, and the Opera was more closely associated with the political fortunes of Pisa.

The appropriation of S. Leonardo di Bosue by the Archbishop and Chapter in 1401 did not mark the end of Ognissanti's possible interest in its property. Although the site itself had been deserted by that date, the convent's legal title was still known. It was recognised in 1417, when the nuns renounced their claim to the past 16 years' revenue from Bosue, and in 1432 the convent requested a Pisan prior resident in Rome to plead their case for recovering S. Leonardo.27 Thus the abandonment of Bosue in the late fourteenth century was not necessarily seen by either the Archbishop or the convent itself as a final step, and when conditions seemed more propitious the title was revived.

2bA.S.P. Opera del Duomo 488, c. 9v; 490, c. 165 - sichome apare in deglatti delopra salvo che uno catalano la tenea in prima e no si la puoe cavare in mano . . .'

26In the inventory of 1336/7, this land in Nurra was already occupied by a Catalan who paid no rent. The inventory published by F. Artizzu dates from 1339, but the first section, covering Logudoro and northern Gallura (up to c. 69v.). is a lightly modified copy of the inventory attached to a lease of 1337. F. Artizzu, 'Inventario dei beni sardi dell'Opera di S. Maria di Pisa', Archivio Storico Sardo 27 (1961), p. 71; A.S.P. Opera della Primaziale 22.4.1336 (1337 s. p.).

27P. Martini, Storia Ecclesiastica di Sardegna Libro Sesto, p. 132-3, n. 1. F. C. Casula, 'Documenti inediti', p. 82-3.




Ognissanti's administration of Bosue was in the long run a marked success, since it received some cash rent from this property as late as 1371. Although the site of S. Leonardo was itself an important factor, the convent made several well-judged moves which helped it retain some control. Under Bindus the decline in the value of the property was clear, and Ognissanti, although informed to some extent about local conditions, seriously underestimated its severity and permanence. More immediately important was the successful transfer in 1339-40; the Opera di S. Maria's loss of its curtis in Bosue shows that the point of greatest risk was the transmission, actual or formal, from one lessee to another. Ognissanti was able to secure the goodwill of the Archbishop, displayed in his haste at Bindus' death, and was aware of some of the possible difficulties. The generally aggressive and optimistic attitude of Ognissanti is shown in the terms agreed with the Pighinelli, and the probable partial deception practised on them. However, when this proved impracticable, the convent was still able to adapt and reduce its contacts and expectations concerning S. Leonardo.

Rosalind Brown

DOCUMENT I. Archivio Capitolare di Pisa, 6.4.1306 (1307 s. p.)

Nos Raynerii pro issa permissione de deu piscopu de plouache Vicariu insù archipiscopatu de Turres prossu Venerabile patre donnu Thediciu per issa gratia de deu achipiscopu de Turres nois univer- salmente Barones et mugeres cantos seres in sa prouincia de Turres mandamus salutande et benedichende In domine deu. Inter ipsas acteras operas dessa nna(?) sa elemosina est cussa que est plus fructuosa assas animas. Et inparzo se deuet facher in locos lauue siat plus fructuosa, secundu in quo est in seruithu de deu et in honore dessas clesias. Lauue se fachet seruithu et offitium ad deu dessu cale aen parate totu cussas personas qui fachen bene - Ecco que cum sa isperanthia de deu. Nois intendimus de consacrare sa desia dessu beatu sanctu Leonardu de bosoe que est prope thatharj sa cale sacra amus fachere ad honore de deu et dessa beata Virgine sancta maria et dessu beatu sanctu Leonardu. Ad dies viii intrande su mese de maiu proximu que venit. Prossa cale cosa uos recordamus su que narat su apostolu casemus distare daue nantj dessu conspectu de ihesu christu su die de Iudiciu ad render rathone dessu que amus auer operatu in custu mundu et reciuer su meritu secundum sas operas pronde que pacu seminat pacu collit. Et que seminat in benedictione de benedictione emeret uitam eternm fructu multiplicatu dessunu chentu. Prossa cale cosa uos mandamus precande monide et confortande In domine deu que quando aen bener sos portatores de custa littera nostra Ad emendare elymosina ad opus de cussa consecratione dessa desia supranarata dessu bene que deu uos aet prestatu in custu mundu facherlis elymosina. Azo que pro cussu bene et prossos acteros que azes facher pothates reciuer su Rennu de chelu. Nois confortatos dessa nna de deu ad honore de ihesu christu et per issa auctoritas que amus Ad totu cussas persones que lis aen facher elymosina que ad ecussa consecratione aen benner ouer dessu issoro aen mandare damus perdonanthia de dies .xl. daue parte nostra et prossa auctoritas dessa uicaria unu annu et dies .xl. dessos peccatos dunde aen esser contritos et confessos.

Datus (sic) apud Sassarim in palatio nostro via mensis aprilis millesimo trecentesimo séptimo die scripta Indictione quarta.



340 ROSALIND BROWN

DOCUMENT IL Archivio di Stato di Pisa, collezione S. Lorenzo alle Rivolte 22.9.1342 (1343 s. p.). After a reiteration of the terms of the lease, Vannes Pighinelli makes his complaint to

Abbess Johanna of Ognissanti.

. . . Vannes pighinelli scriptus pro se et suo nomine proprie et tamquam pater et legiptimus administrator scripti Jacobi filii sui dictis nominibus coram me Orlando notano et testibus infrascriptis dixit et asseruit et declarando denunciauit uenerabili domine, domine Iohanne zaccie abbatisse predicte dicto nomine in persona tune ad grates férreas parlatorii dicti monasterii existenti pro dicto monasterio et conuentu et apud dictum monasterium publice et alta uoce cum proclamatione quod ipse Vannes pighinelli ad hoc ut ipse et dictus Jacobus eius filius habere possent possessionem aliquorum bonorum ex scriptis bonis dederunt et soluerunt Guiducello ursi libras octo Ian. paruorum pro usuris librarum quinquaginta octo diete monete quas dictus Guiduccellus asseruit se mutuasse pro Guidoni sardo tune procuratori dictorum monasterii conuentus et hospitalis et notario Margarito pro usuris librarum quindecim diete monete et pro penthione domus in qua dictus pro Guido fecit uendi uinum sóidos quinquaginta diete monete et pro salto ubi uacce pastorate fuerunt usque ad kalendas martii domino Ramondo inpalo sóidos trigintaquinque diete monete et etiam dieta occasione pro tempore usque ad kalendas octubris próximas uenturas libras quatuor diete monete et per reparatione domus dicti hospitalis et eius tecti sóidos quinquaginta octo diete monete et pro agutis operatis in dieta reparatione et lecteriis sex, libras quatuor et sóidos duodecim diete monete et Blaysio factori marchionis pro salto ad hoc ut item pasturaret bestiamen libras tres et sóidos decem et nouem diete monete et cuidam Iudici catulario occasione appellatores cause legatis libras duas et sóidos octo diete monete et notario legati pro processibus et alus libras tres et sóidos qindecim dicte monete et Petro (notario?) pro appellatione quam fecit Bonifatius misit libras sex dicte monete et Bartholomeo magistro molendinorum dicti hospitalis pro sex mensibus temporis Guidonis sardi libras sex dixte monete et in reparatione molendini occasione diluuii de mense Aprilis sóidos trigintatres et denarios sex diete monete et in reparatione molendini persurreche sóidos quinqué dicte monete et in reparatione molendini uinache et tecti eius sóidos decem et octo diete monete et in reparatione ruote molendini custine sóidos decem diete monete et in reparatione molendini ualditoto sóidos tredecim diete monete et pro euacuatione riui omnium molendinorum libras tres dicte monete et libras septem et sóidos decem diete monete quas dicti Vannes et Jacobus dimiserunt Henriguccio et Johanni pro dampno (que?) receperunt occasione diluuii et sóidos triginta diete monete quos dicti Vannes et Jacobus dimiserunt Guillielmuccio et Jacomino dieta occasione et pro eo quod dicti Guillielmuccius et Jacominus dimiserunt ortum occasione dicti diluuii pro sex mensibus unde ipse Vannes et Jacobus dampnificantur libras quinqué dicte monete et in reparatione murorum uinee et orti expendiderunt sóidos duodecim dictemonete et Augustino urso dimiserunt occasione dicti diluuii libras quatuor diete monete occasione orti quem ortum dictus Augustinus dimisit et inde annuatim soluct(. . .) librarum [ ] diete monete et Johannellus ortulanus secessit cum penthione librarum decem diete monete et in trebbiari faciendo granum Marchionis dederunt at soluerunt libras quatuor diete monete et Guillielmo dolchese pro salto ubi pascet bestiamen quia dicit quod est suum libras tres dicte monete et Bernardo sulieri catalano procuratori occasione litis seu cause legati libras decem diete monete et pro restauro eius quod me Vannes et Jacobus non habuerunt a seruis dicti monasterii que sunt uigintitres ad rationem librarum trium diete monete pro singulo uiro et pro singula femina soldorum triginta diete monete et pro restauro eius quod tenetur contra debitum rationis de bonis dicti monasterii uidelicet Auellanus catalanus tenet unum saltum posi turn in Tauerna et terram lauori(?) de qua ipse Auellanus annuatim percepit libras octo diete monete et raserios sedecim grani et dominus Ramundus impalo tenet unum saltum sancti Georgii que dicitur pietra coperchiata et duo petia terrarum cum uinea prope apriano et Guillielmus doro tenet unum petiam terre cum uinea quod dicitur dialauesse quod est in ualle bonosi et dominus Ramundus de monpahone tenet saltum carastri(?) et dominus Pierus gomberella tenet quemdam ortum prope fontanam oligelli et in bagno unam ecclesiam que dicitur sancta Lena que est in terra marchionis, cuius tertia pars est sancti Leonardi et etiam dederunt seu legatus habuit de bonis dicti monasterii uitellas duas extimationis et ualentie soldorum trigintaquinque diete monete et Gubernator habuit uitellos duos extimationis et ualentie librarum duarum diete monete et filius dicti Gubernatoris habuit unum uitellum extimationis et ualentie sóidos uiginti dicti monete et pro faciendo fieri unam argiuolam domino Ramondo impalo sóidos triginta diete monete et pro faciendo fieri unam aliam




argiuolam domino Ramundo di monpahone sóidos triginta diete monete et pro faciando fieri unam aliam argiuolam a grano et unam ab ordeo libras duas dicte monete et pro anno presenti possessionem bonorum eis (. . .)torum non habuerunt seu habere poterunt uel alter eorum et quod fructus et redditus illorum bonorum de quibus ipsi Vannes et Jacobus possessionem habere poterunt non adstenderunt ad summam expensarum factarum et quod consideratis omnibus ipse Vannes et dictus Jacobus eius filius sunt et fuerunt decepti per dictum Riccuccium sindicum dicto nomine ultra dimidium iuste penthionis et redditus in predictis et ipsi uel alter eorum non intendunt uel uolunt ulterius predictum uel aliquid eorum sibi locatam sive locatum a kalendis octubris proximis uenturis in antea rendere a dicto uel pro dicto monasterio pro scripta penthione seu redditu cum dicta penthio et redditus non sit iusta. Id circo dictus Vannes pighinelli pro se et suo nomine proprio et ipse idem Vannes tamquam pater et legiptimus administrator predicti Jacobi filii sui coram me Orlando notario et testibus infrascriptis predicte domine Johanne Abbatisse in persona pro dicto monasterio et conuentu et ipsum monasterium et conuentui apud ipsum monasterium publice cum proclamatione et alta uoce tune ad grates férreas parlatorii dicti monasterii et conuentus existenti et ubi consuetum est fieri stipulationem dixit et protestatus fuit quod ipse Vannes et et dictus Jacobus suus filius uel alter eorum non intendunt neque uolunt a dictis kalendis octubris proximis uenturis in antea conducere ulterius a dicto uel pro dicto monasterio predicta omnia et singula in dicta carta locationis sunt comprehensa et comprehenso in dicta carta locationis nec sunt in predictis rebus locatis uel aliqua earum a dictis kalendis octubris in antea ulterius entrare uel se aut alterum eorum in aliquo intromictere et quod pro anno presenti cum nicchii inde habuit nec non habuit aliquis ipsorum possessionem pacificam eidem Vanni dictis nomine det liberam possessionem omnium que continetur in suprascripta carta locationis et cuiusque eorum. Et me Orlandinum notarium infrascriptum dictus Vannes pighinelli dictis nominibus rogauit ut publicum inde conficerem instrumentum.

Actum Pisis in parlatorio dicti monasterii et conuentus. Presentibus Tingo quondam Bandi bonicortis de cappella sancti Viti et Francisco filio Cini pannocchie de cappella sancti pisanis ciuibus testibus ad hoc rogatis. Dominice Incarnationis Anno millesimo trecentesimo quadragesimo tertio, Indictione decima, decimo kalendas octubris secundum cursum et morem pisanorum. Ego Orlandus filius quondam Ursi de sancto Felice ciuis pisanus imperiali auetoritate Iudex ordinarius atque notarius predictis omnibus interfui et ea omnia rogatus rogaui scripsi et publicaui et meum signum et nomen apposui consuetum.



Monastic Decline in Sardinia: S. Leonardo di Bosue (Sassari) 1300–1401

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Transcript of Monastic Decline in Sardinia: S. Leonardo di Bosue (Sassari) 1300–1401