The Lombard League, 1164-1225

The Lombard League, an alliance which included many of the cities in northern Italy, played a crucial role in the evolution of Italy's political landscape. The League enjoyed an iconic status, glorified in 19th-century political and historical pamphlets, and also in paintings, novels and even operas. Historiography has overlooked the cooperation among the Italian city republics and has instead labelled medieval Italy as politically fragmented. This volume offers new interpretations, by examining the League's structure, activity, place in political thought, and its links with regional identities. Using documentary evidence, histories, letters, inscriptions and contemporary troubadour poems as well as rhetorical and juridical treatises, Dr Raccagni argues that the League was not just a momentary anti-imperial military alliance. It was a body that also provided collective approaches to regional problems ranging from the peaceful resolution of disputes to the management of regional lines of communication.