Abstract

This article presents the potential and challenges of a noted and important collection of documents, the «quartironi» of University of Bologna stipends, which cover the period from 1465 to the end of the Ancién Regime. By contextualizing the University’s founding and organization, there emerge certain grey areas in the workings of public salaries, but there is also a wealth of information resulting from a serial analysis. The available information enabled an in-depth examination of investment in the University by the commune, courses taught year by year, lecturers’ stipends, as well as relations between the University and the city over the «gabella grossa» customs duty, even before its referral to a commission of «doctores» in 1509. A rich collection, therefore, but one that presents potential pitfalls when conducting an in-depth study.