marta calleri & marta luigina mangini Among his possessions, a “librum Institutionum”33 of Justinian that had been lent to him by a certain Opizone from Piacenza and a “librum Quadraginta”34 – probably the Liber quadraginta homeliarum beati Gregorii pape – stand out for their importance. Presumably, Giovanni wanted these manuscripts to be returned to their owners, and thus exempted them from the bequest. His estate instead included an antiphonary and “glosulas meas super Boecium et testum Marciani”,35 the latter perhaps coinciding with a manuscript witness of theLiber legum novellarum imperatoris Marciani, one of the books ad codex Theodosianum pertinentes which he bequeathed to Guglielmo Calige Palii, another pupil of his who was a judge and notary who went on to serve as chancellor of Genoa.36 Further interesting information about professional objects can be obtained from thepost morteminventories, or indirectly by reading the brief details that can be deduced from the commissiones ad scribendumor the subscriptions of notaries entrusted with the imbreviaturae of deceased colleagues. The fact that wills represent a valid instrument for bequests and at the same time the post-mortemmanagement of assets deriving from the profession’s practice is also evident in notaries’ statues. For example, in Bergamo in the second half of the 13th century, one of the earliest surviving notarial statutes even provided for a notary’s obligation to nominate in his will – “si poterit, unum mensem antequam moriatur”37 (and here, the sceptical reference to the future sounds truly sarcastic) – one or more colleagues suitable to “conficere suas cartulas”.38 Should a notary then find himself drafting a colleague’s last will, “ei dicet et coram eo procurabit, suo posse, quod ipse statuat et ordinet in ipso testamento cui vult dimittere imbreviaturas suas.”39 211 33 “the book of Prescriptions”. 34 “the book Forty”. 35 “my glosses on Boethius and Marcian’s text”. 36 On Guglielmo Calige Palii see Rovere 2001 and Rovere 2002. 37 “if he can, a month before he dies”. 38 “draw up his papers”, Scarazzini 1977, p. 117, cap. CXXXIV. 39 “to him he shall say and, as far as in his power, before him he shall decide and order in his will those to whom he wishes to leave his imbreviaturae”, Scarazzini 1997, p. 140, cap. CCIII.
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