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Una parola contesa. Populus al tempo della lotta per le investiture

  • Enrico Faini
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Krise und Aufbruch
This chapter is in the book Krise und Aufbruch

Abstract

The Latin term populus refers to both the whole population (the People of God) as well as a specific social group (the plebs). This ambiguity allows the term to be used in an ideological manner: it therefore can be used to attribute political authority to the ‚nonprivileged‘ population. According to modern historians, the ideological use of the term populus in Italian cities dates back to the middle of the twelfth century, a time when a genuine dialectic emerged between the milites and the ‚nonmilites‘ (i. e. the populus). Is this really the case? When does the ideological use of the term populus really date back to? This research reveals that the authors involved in the Investiture Controversy were already aware of the ambiguity of the term, using it to support their argumentes, or, on the contrary, they were not convinced about its use. Our study is based on a small number of works, all composed around the last quarter of the eleventh century: the „Liber gestorum recentium“ by Arnulf of Milan (c. 1077), the „Mediolanensis historiae libri quatuor“ attributed to Landulf the Elder (after 1075), the „Vita Arialdi“ by the Vallombrosa abbott Andreas (c. 1075), the „Liber ad amicum“ by the Bishop of Piacenza Bonizo (c. 1086), and the „Vita metrica Anselmi“ by the Bishop of Lucca Rangerius (late eleventh century).

Abstract

The Latin term populus refers to both the whole population (the People of God) as well as a specific social group (the plebs). This ambiguity allows the term to be used in an ideological manner: it therefore can be used to attribute political authority to the ‚nonprivileged‘ population. According to modern historians, the ideological use of the term populus in Italian cities dates back to the middle of the twelfth century, a time when a genuine dialectic emerged between the milites and the ‚nonmilites‘ (i. e. the populus). Is this really the case? When does the ideological use of the term populus really date back to? This research reveals that the authors involved in the Investiture Controversy were already aware of the ambiguity of the term, using it to support their argumentes, or, on the contrary, they were not convinced about its use. Our study is based on a small number of works, all composed around the last quarter of the eleventh century: the „Liber gestorum recentium“ by Arnulf of Milan (c. 1077), the „Mediolanensis historiae libri quatuor“ attributed to Landulf the Elder (after 1075), the „Vita Arialdi“ by the Vallombrosa abbott Andreas (c. 1075), the „Liber ad amicum“ by the Bishop of Piacenza Bonizo (c. 1086), and the „Vita metrica Anselmi“ by the Bishop of Lucca Rangerius (late eleventh century).

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Inhalt V
  3. Vorwort IX
  4. Jenseits des Investiturstreits 1
  5. I Diskurse und Öffentlichkeit
  6. Diskurse und Öffentlichkeit 23
  7. Una parola contesa. Populus al tempo della lotta per le investiture 31
  8. Simony – Declensions of a Lemma. The Florentine Case 67
  9. Verdichtete Kommunikation und politische Semantik um 1100 97
  10. II Wandel von Herrschaftsstrukturen und -praktiken
  11. Wandel von Herrschaftsstrukturen und -praktiken 125
  12. Worms und seine Region. Bischof, Herrschaft, Stadt 133
  13. Ostiglia around 1100. A Window on the Transformation of Local Power in the Countryside 155
  14. Gaeta zwischen Fragmentierung und Zentralisierung. Wandel der Herrschaftsstrukturen im Küstendukat 181
  15. III Netzwerke
  16. Netzwerke 219
  17. Altbewährtes in neuem Gewand. Die Erzbistümer Köln, Mainz und Mailand und ihre Beziehung zum Kaiser in spätottonischfrühsalischer Zeit 231
  18. Der Einfluss Kaiser Heinrichs III. auf die Bistümer anhand der Beispiele Köln, Mainz und Mailand 255
  19. Conclusio der Beiträge „Altbewährtes in neuem Gewand“ und „Der Einfluss Kaiser Heinrichs III. auf die Bistümer anhand der Beispiele Köln, Mainz und Mailand“ 277
  20. Cadalo di Parma e Anselmo di Lucca. Reti di solidarietà opposte nel contesto dello scisma del 1061 283
  21. Uno scisma diocesano della lotta per le investiture in configurazione. Il caso di Bologna (1030–1130) 329
  22. Erzbischöfliche Netzwerke – eine Annäherung anhand reichspolitischer Zäsuren und Herrschaftswechsel von 1105/1106 bis 1125. Die Erzbischöfe von Mainz, Köln und Salzburg im ersten Viertel des 12. Jahrhunderts 365
  23. Le reti relazionali degli abati di S. Maria di Farfa, 1045–1125. Analisi diacronica di una costellazione di rapporti in movimento 397
  24. IV Medien und Zeichen
  25. Medien und Zeichen 441
  26. Schriftlichkeitswandel und Überlieferungsbildung anhand von Rechtshandlungen von und bei den Bischöfen von Brixen und Augsburg sowie den Erzbischöfen von Mainz (ca. 1050–1150) 453
  27. Im Spannungsfeld von Konsens, Konvention und Kontingenz. Dieurkundliche Tätigkeit der Erzbischöfe von Mailand und der Bischöfe von Parma im Vergleich 481
  28. Inschriftlichkeit im Spannungsfeld von renovatio Romae und renovatio Senatus. Epigraphische und materiale Dimensionen römischer Erneuerung im 12. Jahrhundert 513
  29. Register 549
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