I cacciatori del vescovo. Servizio al signore e mobilità sociale nella montagna bergamasca nei secoli XII e XIII

Service to the lord in connection with the chivalric military sphere, that is, the maintenance of a horse, even a nag, and the obligation to participate in military expeditions, was a very effective channel of social mobility, capable of catapulting the holders of feuda scutiferi, feuda equi, feuda ronzini, etc., into the ranks of the milites. In some contexts, however, where the military dimension was not so predominant, hunting service to the lord could serve the same function as social ‘lift’. That is, here venatores had the same opportunities for social advancement that elsewhere were reserved for scutiferi. This also calls for a reconsideration of the importance of hunting both as an aristocratic status symbol and, more importantly, as a seigniorial prerogative, a fact that has partly escaped historiography, which is more attentive to other aspects of domination over men.