«Povere, per amor di Cristo, vi ci raccomandiamo». Tra voto, bisogno e gestione patrimoniale: religiose e pinzochere nelle lettere a Francesco Datini

This article examines the epistolary representations of female poverty in late medieval Tuscany through letters addressed to the merchant Francesco di Marco Datini (c. 1335-1410). It compares the writings of regular religious women – mainly Dominican and Franciscan nuns from Tuscan convents – with an unpublished set of letters sent by Gostanza di Vanni Bonaccorsi, a Franciscan tertiary. The study explores how women articulated need, invoked spiritual authority, and negotiated aid through distinct rhetorical frameworks. By focusing on language and appeals, it highlights how different female writers constructed dependence, legitimacy, and reciprocity in a context shaped by charity, devotion, and mercantile relations.