background context

The merchants of Italy in those centuries found themselves in a fast-growing economy, one that required an influx of skilled accountants, notaries, secretaries, and other public officials. These positions required skills that church schools simply could not teach. It was at this point that Italian education began to diverge. Many historians have studied this particular area such as Katherine L. Jansen and Robert Lopez. In their books Medieval Italy: Texts in Translation and The Commercial Revolution of the Middle Ages, 950–1350 they describe the scenario in which this corresponding educational revolution took place. These two authors cite the Black Death of 1348 as a key component to European society's growth, with Jansen claiming that the plague "wrought changes to the European economy comparable to those brought about by the Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century" (Jansen, p.77) These changes in population had a drastic effect on the economical and agricultural models of the time, which consequently gave to a rising demand in educated and skilled workers.

Florence During Dati

Florence prospered in part, much like many cities in north-central Europe, because of its localized center of production. This not only reduced the shipping expense of refined products from independent craftsmen but also the cost of export. Having taken control of Pisa in 1406, Florence had navigable access through the Arno River to their ports. Merchants also frequented the ports of Genoa and Venice. An urban center of production also allowed merchants closer supervision of textile manufacturing, which produced finer, better-tailored products than rural competitors still relying on the putting-out system. It is of note that this proximity corresponded with an increase in workplace abuse by employers or supervisors.