La divinazione nei ‘Documenti d’Amore’: tra prassi giuridica e disciplina della parola

Abstract

Federico Ubaldini’s edition the Documenta Amoris illustrates his wish to providea linguistic analysis of Francesco Barberino’s work. This contribution analyses how some of these aspects intertwine with divination in its various forms, whichis another important aspect of Barberino’s writings that constantly oscillates between the polesveritas/falsitasand thinness/thickness. The contribution studies a) the legal statute of such techniques, b) the statute of oneiromancy, and c) the statute of judicial astrology within the various levels of culture and public that Barberino implicates both in his Documenta and in the complementary Reggi-mento. The main objective is to show how Barberino’s work acted on several fronts, making broad use of the linguistic potential of both the vernacular and Latin and of the figurative means at his disposal.