"An extremely valuable and stimulating work that sheds light on the political world of the countryside and invites us to reevaluate the role of the villagers in the eventual collapse of the seigneurial system and in the formation process of the centralized state."--Journal of Modern Italian Studies"Castiglione analyzes rural society as a vibrant, politically-engaged world riven by legal disputation and even grass-roots organization aimed at preserving traditional rights against the pretensions and privileges claimed by lords and heirs. Ongoing debates in the disciplines of history, anthropology, political science, and sociology will find a rich, rewarding profile of peasant society and culture in the Roman Campagna."--John A. Marino, University ofCalifornia, San Diego"Patrons and Adversaries offers a singular combination of skillful narration, which makes it a delight to read, and analytical precision, which transforms how one might understand state-building in the early modern period. This is one of the most important books in early modern political history in more than a decade."--Edward Muir, Northwestern University
