ABSTRACT Police forces (birri) in Italian cities in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were composed of outsiders, non-natives, employed on short-term contracts, usually of six months’ duration. There was therefore a huge circulating pool of these patrolmen, sergeants and constables, moving from city to city. These groups have been little studied, and are often assumed to be vile, odious and little better than criminals. This article draws on surviving records in one city of northern Italy (Bologna), to analyse the composition of these groups and especially their cosmopolitan, international memberships, which grew consistently across the period before tailing off towards the end of the fifteenth century. The article uses frames of reference from migration studies, particularly the large Balkan migrations of the fifteenth century, and from identity studies, to chart and assess the trajectory and reception of non-Italians among these groups. The article thus extends what is known about the integration of migrants in late medieval Italy, goes beyond what is known about the documentation of identity in the Middle Ages and raises questions about the quality of policing provided by multinational groups.

中文翻译：

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中世纪晚期意大利的警察部队：博洛尼亚，1340-1480

摘要 14 和 15 世纪意大利城市的警察部队 (birri) 由外来者、非本地人组成，受雇于短期合同，通常为期六个月。因此，这些巡警、中士和警员组成了一个庞大的循环池，从一个城市移动到另一个城市。这些团体很少被研究，并且通常被认为是卑鄙可憎的，比罪犯好不了多少。本文利用意大利北部一个城市（博洛尼亚）的幸存记录来分析这些群体的构成，尤其是他们的国际化成员，这些成员在整个时期持续增长，直到 15 世纪末才逐渐减少。这篇文章使用了移民研究的参考框架，特别是 15 世纪的巴尔干大迁徙，并从身份研究中，绘制和评估这些群体中非意大利人的轨迹和接受程度。因此，这篇文章扩展了对中世纪晚期意大利移民融合的了解，超越了对中世纪身份证明文件的了解，并提出了有关跨国集团提供的警务质量的问题。