Izvorni znanstveni članak
https://doi.org/10.21857/9xn31cp6ey
Loans and Investment Agreements in the Late Medieval Law of Kotor
Henrik-Riko Held
orcid.org/0000-0002-6217-2655
; Pravni fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu
*
* Dopisni autor.
Sažetak
The author analyses loans and investment agreements in the late medie
val Kotor (Cattaro). The analysis is centered on notarial documents from the period 1326-1337. These documents are mostly simple instruments of debt, as they often contain clauses indicating a profit-oriented purpose of the loan (ad lucrum/lucrandum) or travel possibly associated with commercial enterprise (de presenti viagio). Documents concerning societas (the Roman law contract of partnership) are also analysed, since they often effectively involve investments. The paper further examines local forms of commercial contracts otherwise widely known in the medieval Mediterranean: the so-called unilateral and bilateral commenda or collegantia. These contracts were generally crucial to the
dramatic economic expansion of the late Middle Ages. Their evelopment in the main commercial centres of the time has been adequately addressed in the literature, but the law of Kotor has not yet been subject to closer analysis. The main issues in the context of commenda contracts are the division of profits and the allocation of risks between the parties (the so-called socius tractants or the tractator as the traveling partner, and the so-called socius stans or the commendator as the investing partner). The division of profits, together with a corresponding allocation of risks associated with travel and commercial enterprise, is an important indicator of market conditions. An abundant supply of capital
will usually result in a greater share of profits for the tractatores, hereas high demand of capital will logically lead commendatores to require a larger share. Therefore, this analysis may contribute to a better understanding of the economic situation in late medieval Kotor. The Latin legal terminology used in the documents is, unsurprisingly, associated with Roman law. One of the contributions of this analysis is thus an assessment of the extent to which the law of Kotor was integrated into in the then extant European ius commune. Overall, this article aims to address the general legal and economic development of
Kotor in the late Middle Ages.
Ključne riječi
instrument of debt; loan (mutuum); societas; commenda; collegantia; Kotor (Cattaro); 14th century
Hrčak ID:
347367
URI
Datum izdavanja:
29.12.2025.
Posjeta: 0 *