Reframing Treaties in the Late Medieval and Early Modern West

The history of peacemaking has traditionally been reduced to isolated case studies and seen as the prelude to the presumed 'universal' and 'modern' international order. Countering this one-dimensional and Eurocentric narrative, this multi-authored volume reconceptualizes peace treaties as a range of successful and failed agreements, settlements, truces, leagues, and other forms of conflict resolution, thus recovering their multilayered history throughout the medieval and early modern period. Rather than a series of 'great' treaties, peacemaking is reframed as a flexible phenomenon; a 'political grammar', whose complexity is reflected in its variety of forms and sources. Drawing on both diplomatic history and international relations studies, this volume traces the central role that peacemaking has played in the political history of the Western World.

Isabella Lazzarini is Full Professor of Medieval History at the Department of Historical Studies at the University of Turin and a member of the board of the PhD in 'Historical and Archaeological Sciences', of the DISCI department of the University of Bologna. Her research interests focus on the political, social, and cultural history of late medieval Italy and the Mediterranean, with an emphasis on Renaissance diplomacy, the growth of different political languages in documentary sources, and gender studies. She is currently working at the EOS project DiplomatiCon: a Connected History of Medieval Mediterranean Diplomacy. The Mamluk Sultanate, Italy, and the Crown of Aragon (14th-15th centuries) (Liège, Antwerpen, Barcelona, Torino/Bologna, 2022-2027).Luciano Piffanelli is Associate Professor of Early Modern History and Archival Science at the University of Upper Alsace and member of the board of the PhD in 'European History and Cultures' at the University of Rome 'Sapienza'. Spanning from the 15th to the 18th century, his research deals with European politics, cultures, and societies, focusing on diplomatic practices, archival strategies, and intersections between politics, philosophy, and science. He is member of the editorial boards of the journal Legatio and of the book series In margine: Exploring Pre-modern Paratexts, and he has recently been awarded a PIR grant for his project Faire la paix. Édition et textualité des collections diplomatiques de l'époque moderne (XVIIe-XVIIIe s.).Diego Pirillo is Professor of Italian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, where is also affiliated with the History Department. His work focuses on early modern Italy, Europe, and the Atlantic world, with a strong interest in intellectual history, the history of books and reading, refugee studies, colonialism, the history of news and information.