Abstract

The fragment consists of a causa debendi containing two different debts: an acknowledgement of a debt and a certificate of credit. It is therefore a practical form of writing, more genuine linguistically than a literary text, and a private document, providing interesting insight into levels of literacy among unusual subjects. It also demonstrates the need for writing in agricultural and pastoral settings in late-14th-century Friuli. The author of the text writes in Friulian, and his scripta is interesting both as an example of the written use of Friulian in a type of text that had long remained the prerogative of Latin, and also because it manifests a marked tendency towards supra-municipal models.