Blind Spots and the Bonum Commune: What Charles IV Ignored in Italy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.6093/1593-2214/12773Keywords:
Middle Ages, 14th century, Empire, Italy, Charles IV, famine, extreme cold, Black Death, bonum communeAbstract
Building on Schlotheuber and Rando’s volume on Charles IV’s Italian engagements, this study shifts focus from politics and culture to environmental crisis. It explores how famine, extreme cold, and the Black Death ‒ core experiences of the 14 th century ‒ intersected with concepts of good governance and the bonum commune. While Italian city-states developed practical and moral frameworks for food security and welfare, Charles IV, though exposed to these models, largely ignored them. His reign reveals a striking detachment between lived experience of natural disaster and imperial responsibility for the common good.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Martin Bauch
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