Job Control and Occupational Safety: New Perspectives on Labour Conditions in Medieval Florence

Abstract This study focuses on two central aspects of labour conditions: job control and occupational safety. It draws on the rich collection of documents preserved in the archives of the Opera del Duomo in Florence, covering the period from 1353, when the construction of the Dome resumed following the Black Death, to 1436, the year of the cathedral’s consecration. The analysis begins with job control, examining labour performed outside the formal workplace, dismissal and absenteeism, cases of theft, fraud, and moral misconduct, as well as the control of materials and working time. It then turns to occupational safety, exploring the mechanisms used to mitigate occupational risks, the imposition of fines for non-compliance, and the punishments for violations of workplace rules, which in some cases included imprisonment. The study also considers how workplace injuries were documented and treated as part of a broader system of labour regulation and protection and discusses the determinants of workers’ compensations. The results reveal general patterns in job control and suggest that oversight of the workforce tends to intensify during periods of heightened construction activity.