The Black Death and the socio-economic and professional changes in Florentine Tuscany: the case of ser Lando di Fortino dalla Cicogna

The Black Death that struck the Italian peninsula and the European continent between 1348 and 1351 can be considered a periodizing and paradigmatic event, representative of the concept of change. The biography of the Tuscan notary ser Lando di Fortino dalla Cicogna (†1376) represents an emblematic case study on the socio-economic and professional changes triggered by the plague in Florentine Tuscany. Born in a small village in the Upper Valdarno, from 1345 to 1348 ser Lando di Fortino was an itinerant notary in the Upper Valdarno villages. After the Black Death, he became notary and scribe for the general abbot of the monastic order of Vallombrosa. After the second plague of 1363, ser Lando di Fortino, at the height of his professional career, became notary and scribe for the bishop and the Florence episcopal curia. Ser Lando di Fortino’s socio-professional rise constituted a point of departure for the career of his sons. Among them, Benedetto (c.1350/1406) and Paolo Fortini (c.1370/1433), who held prestigious positions in the Florentine main public offices, including the role of Republic Chancellor alongside Coluccio Salutati and Leonardo Bruni. Additionally, Bartolomeo di Benedetto Fortini (1402/c.1470), ser Lando di Fortino’s nephew, was in touch with the Florentine humanistic circles.