The Clash of Legitimacies: The State-Building Process in Late Medieval Lombardy
Andrea Gamberini
Abstract
This book aims to make an innovative contribution to the history of the state-building process in late medieval Lombardy (thirteenth–fifteenth centuries), by illuminating the myriad conflicts attending the legitimacy of power and authority at different levels of society. Through the analysis of the rhetorical forms and linguistic repertoires deployed by the many protagonists (not just the prince, but also cities, communities, peasants, and factions) to express their own ideals of shared political life, the work proposes to reveal the depth of the conflicts in which opposing political actors we ... More
This book aims to make an innovative contribution to the history of the state-building process in late medieval Lombardy (thirteenth–fifteenth centuries), by illuminating the myriad conflicts attending the legitimacy of power and authority at different levels of society. Through the analysis of the rhetorical forms and linguistic repertoires deployed by the many protagonists (not just the prince, but also cities, communities, peasants, and factions) to express their own ideals of shared political life, the work proposes to reveal the depth of the conflicts in which opposing political actors were not only inspired by competing material interests—as in the traditional interpretation to be found in previous historiography—but were often also guided by differing concepts of authority. From this comes a largely new image of the late medieval–early Renaissance state, one without a monopoly of force—as has been shown in many studies since the 1970s—and one that did not even have the monopoly of legitimacy. The limitations of attempts by governors to present the political principles that inspired their acts as shared and universally recognized are revealed by a historical analysis firmly intent on investigating the existence, in particular territorial or social ambits, of other political cultures which based obedience to authority on different, and frequently original, ideals.
Keywords:
Modern state,
Renaissance,
Lombardy,
city commune,
political language
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2018 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780198824312 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: November 2018 |
DOI:10.1093/oso/9780198824312.001.0001 |
