Fuentes para el estudio de las tripulación de las galeras mercantiles de Florencia (s. XV)

Abstract

The historiography of medieval navigation has focused mainly on sailing routes and the characteristics of maritime commerce from a broad perspective, which includes the legal and logistical, political and purely economic points of view. The present study aims to focus on the sources for the knowledge of the crews of the Florentine merchant galleys, revealing both their usefulness and their limitations. Thus, after studying the specific texts for the higher-ranking officers of the Florentine merchant fleet, three other sources are analysed and compared: the Diary of Luca di Maso degli Albizzi, the Quadernuccio by Luigi Vettori and Benedetto Dei's Chronicle.