Editing Ciompi Revolt (section)

{{Short description|1378–82 labourer revolt in Florence, Italy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}[[File:G. L. Gatteri, Il tumulto dei ciompi, Trieste, CMSA.jpg|thumb|''Il tumulto dei ciompi'' by [[Giuseppe Lorenzo Gatteri]] (1829–1844)]]

The '''Ciompi Revolt''' ({{IPA|it|ˈt͡ʃom.pi|}}, {{respell|CHOM|pee}}; {{Langx|it|Tumulto dei Ciompi}}) was a rebellion among unrepresented labourers which occurred in the [[Republic of Florence]] in [[Tuscany|Tuscany, Italy]], from 1378 to 1382.<ref name=popular>Cohn, Samuel K., Jr. ''Popular Protest in Late Medieval Europe: Italy, France, and Flanders''. Manchester, Manchester UP, 2004.</ref>{{rp|201}} Those who revolted consisted of artisans, labourers, and craftsmen who did not belong to any [[Guilds of Florence|guilds]] and were therefore unable to participate in the Florentine government.<ref name=laboring>Cohn, Samuel K., Jr. ''The Laboring Classes in Renaissance Florence''. New York: Academic, 1980.</ref>{{rp|67}} These labourers had grown increasingly resentful over the established patrician [[oligarchy]].<ref name=fourteenth>Marks, L.F. "Fourteenth-Century Democracy in Florence." ''Past and Present'' 25 (July 1963): 77–85.</ref>{{rp|}} In addition, they were expected to pay heavy taxes which they could not afford, forcing some to abandon their homes.<ref name=creating>Cohn, Samuel K., Jr. ''Creating the Florentine State''. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1999.</ref>{{rp|108}} The resulting insurrection over such tensions led to the creation of a government composed of wool workers and other disenfranchised workers which lasted for three and a half years.<ref name=popular />{{rp|201}}

The Ciompi Revolt developed in three stages: reform in May and June, the violent "revolution" of the revolt and fighting in mid-July, and the fall of the Ciompi government – the "reaction", at the end of August 1378.<ref name=mollat>Mollat, Michel, and Philippe Wolff. ''The Popular Revolutions of the Late Middle Ages''. London: Allen & Unwin, 1973.</ref>{{rp|143}} These workers' underrepresentation led to their exploitation, low wages, and political impotence. In June 1378 the city's fourteen minor guilds demanded greater representation in civic office from elites – the [[Signoria]]. These guildsmen still wanted to keep the Sotto posti, who were low wage textile workers with no guild representation, from forming their own guilds and being able to gain increased political power. To prevent this, the Signoria quadrupled the fee for admittance to the system.<ref>Farr, James Richard. Artisans in Europe, 1300–1914. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), p. 180</ref> This action sparked indignation and turned the Sotto posti into opponents of the Signoria, aligning them with the lower class Ciompi.<ref name=mollat />{{rp|147}} On 22 June the Ciompi took up arms for the first time but it was not until 21 July that they violently took over the city's government and forced the Signoria to create three new guilds and grant them political office.

Historians commonly highlight a few individuals as central to the events. Representing the middle and upper class was [[Salvestro de' Medici]]. Representing the lower class was the mysterious group known as "The Eight (Saints)". Finally caught in the middle of these two groups is [[Michele di Lando]]. He was "separated from his social superior due to inferior birth, but he was also separated from his peers by his superior vision".<ref name=barefoot>Phillips, Mark. "Barefoot Boy Makes Good: A Study of Machiavelli's Historiography". ''Speculum'' 59.3 (1984): 585–605.</ref>{{rp|601}}

Although the Ciompi Revolt was brief, it left an impact on future generations. The three-and-a-half-year revolt not only affected Florentine society throughout the 15th century, but was a flashpoint in Florentine history, which continued to intrigue historians. Interpretations of the events evolved across the centuries.<ref name=plebian>Winter, Yves. "Plebeian Politics: Machiavelli and the Ciompi Uprising." ''Political Theory'' 40.6 (2012): 736–766.</ref>{{rp|737}}