Abstract

The comparative analysis of the features and the operating modes of patronage systems ruled by notables in different European countries (Italy, France, Germany and Spain) confirms the worthiness of this issue for the historiographical field. Combining individual contributions, it is possible to identify some elements which are common in different national cases: the central role of notables in regulating the relationship between political and social authority, the relevance of the action of notables as «interpreters» of the languages of modernity and in the professionalization processes of politics in the Liberal Age.