Forme di autonomia politica nella Francia medievale. Il caso delle villes de commune nella riflessione di Philippe de Beaumanoir

In Coutumes de Beauvaisis (1283) the jurist Philippe de Beaumanoir denies the legitimacy of self-government systems experienced by Italian communes; he recognizes, instead, the legitimacy of “villes de commune”, i.e. political communities invested with certain public powers and part of wider legal-political systems. Beaumanoir focuses in particular on circumstances which require the direct intervention of the suzerain in the city government. In this paper we intend to investigate the concept of political autonomy in the thought of Beaumanoir. We will focus in particular on the legitimizing foundation of “villes de commune” and on the relationship between the political autonomy of the city and the royal authority.