Annali cittadini, memoria pubblica ed eloquenza civile in età comunale

In the Italian medieval communes the figure of the professional politician began to emerge towards the end of the 12th century. Although recent research has highlighted the growing importance of rhetoric in the political discourse of the age, thus far not much is known about how these laymen trained for this role. Nevertheless, by analysing the civic annals – a historiographical genre that also arose in the same time-frame – we can begin to see the building blocks of their education. Indeed, documents such as the Chronicon Faventinum – a local chronicle from the early 13th century – bear traces of all the rhetorical-stylistic skills and the factual-historical knowledge necessary for these fledgling politicians to function effectively on the urban political scene.