Henry VII and Lombard cities (1311), between political flexibility and authority: preliminary notes

Authors

  • Federica Cengarle Università degli Studi di Pavia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6092/1593-2214/415

Keywords:

Henry VII, Empire, cities

Abstract

During his first months in Italy Henry VII acts now as rex pacificus, chosen by the communities as peace’s guarantor, now as emperor-judge, fully conscious of being selected from God’s will, now as a compliant politician, now as an authoritarian rights’ holder, now as a merciful ruler, now as an inflexible one. He adjusts to different city interlocutors and contexts two unlike and opposite sovereignty’s concepts, which are the outcome at times of a local collective will, at times of an unquestionable universal authority. This behaviour proves his political realism beyond his need to protect the Empire’s “symbolic capital”.

Downloads

Published

2014-04-07

How to Cite

Cengarle, Federica. 2014. “Henry VII and Lombard Cities (1311), Between Political Flexibility and Authority: Preliminary Notes”. Reti Medievali Journal 15 (1):135-50. https://doi.org/10.6092/1593-2214/415.

Issue

Section

Essayes in Monographic Section