The aim of this book is to discuss the transformation of the fabric of power in the kingdom of Italy in the period between the late eleventh century and the early twelfth century. The study analyses the major socio-political change of this period, the crisis of royal and public structures and the development of seigneurial powers, using as a standpoint the structures of power over men and land, and the discourses about the exercise of local power. The analysis is conducted over a broad geographical space (central and northern Italy), focusing on a few decades around year 1100, showing a sharp ... More

The aim of this book is to discuss the transformation of the fabric of power in the kingdom of Italy in the period between the late eleventh century and the early twelfth century. The study analyses the major socio-political change of this period, the crisis of royal and public structures and the development of seigneurial powers, using as a standpoint the structures of power over men and land, and the discourses about the exercise of local power. The analysis is conducted over a broad geographical space (central and northern Italy), focusing on a few decades around year 1100, showing a sharp and relatively rapid reshaping of the structures of local power. The period appears as a phase of crisis and closure in the sphere of political discourses. The outbreak of civil wars in the 1080s (connected with the ‘investiture crisis’) imply a reconfiguration of the matrix of power, in turn expressed in a transformation both of the instruments of local political communications and of the practices of power. The reshaping of documentary landscape mirrors the transformation of socio-political landscape: the fragmentation of power and the importance of local frameworks goes hand in hand with a forceful investment by political actors in legitimizing discourses, which find their reference point within these localized setups. Legitimization is sought not through the relationship with the kingdom, but rather through the relations with peers and subjects. From this perspective the Italian case can offer fresh insights into the problematique of ‘feudal revolution’ in European countrysides.