Nuove idee di nobiltà tra rinascita del diritto e fioritura dell’ars dictaminis

This article investigates the evolution of the new concept of nobility of soul acquired through knowledge and learning. The inquiry commences with an analysis of the revolution imposed by jurists and dictatores in Bologna, namely Azzone and Boncompagno, and progresses to more pronounced declarations found in the letters related to the foundation of the Studium of Naples. Throughout the 13th century, from north to south Italy, a complete shift in paradigms is observed, which is also discernible in the stilnovistic poetry: from the nobility that characterizes legal scholars, one arrives at that which exalts perfect lovers. The establishment of universities and the development of higher professional education contributed to the acquisition of a novel individual self-awareness, which began to manifest notably first in Bologna and then in Naples, in conjunction with the development of legal studies, during the years when they were closely intertwined with rhetorical studies.