The Matter of Personae in Medieval Italy.

This article examines the concept of juridical persona in medieval Italian communal courts (c.1250–1450), focusing on how legal practice navigated the ambiguous status of persons, especially in cases of gestural blasphemy against religious images. It reveals that medieval legal persona was a fluid and context-dependent notion encompassing living humans, divine figures, and sacred artworks, reflecting a paradox between theological doctrines of divine impassibility and the practical need to assign legal standing and protection to divine persons and their material representations. Through case studies from Italian cities like Bologna and Florence, the article shows how courts treated assaults on images of the Virgin Mary and Christ as offenses against a persona that was simultaneously material and spiritual, thereby bridging gaps between theology, law, and art. The study highlights that medieval law required persona to be both singular and multiple to accommodate natural persons, fictive corporate entities, and divine presences, illustrating the complex interplay of status, materiality, and legal identity in late medieval jurisprudence.