Otto and Acerbus Morena wrote their chronicle parallel to the reconstitution of the commune after the re-founding of the city of Lodi by Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. It recorded the memories and values (honor, concordia) of members of the communal elite and thus served to reassure them of themselves in the present and future. In order to better grasp the influence of experiences of historical discontinuity on the depiction, it is useful to distinguish between ‘Zeitgeschichtsschreibung’ und ‘Gegenwartsgeschichtsschreibung’, as the original intention of the depiction changed under the influence of political developments: the emperor, initially celebrated as the founder of the city, proved unwilling to give in to the complaints of the Lombard cities about his oppressive administration and thus aroused their resistance. The historical work coped with Lodi’s associated change of allegience to the side of the Lombard League opposed to Barbarossa, but – contrary to what is usually tacitly assumed – does not indicate that Lodi itself suffered from Barbarossa’s exercise of power. On the contrary, the Morenas’ historical view that Lodi owed the emperor the very urban space to develop its commune secured the Hohenstaufen a prominent place in the city’s memory – right down to his depiction on the city’s seal.
University of Munich Ludwig Maximilian, Germany - ORCID: 0009-0000-4548-473X
Chapter Title
Zeitgeschichtsschreibung in der entstehenden Kommune von Lodi: Otto und Acerbus Morena
Authors
Knut Görich
Language
German
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0403-3.18
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2024
Copyright Information
© 2024 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
Storiografie italiane del XII secolo
Book Subtitle
Contesti di scrittura, elaborazione e uso in una prospettiva comparata
Editors
Alberto Cotza, Markus Krumm
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
354
Publication Year
2024
Copyright Information
© 2024 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0403-3
ISBN Print
979-12-215-0402-6
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-0403-3
eISBN (xml)
979-12-215-0405-7
Series Title
Reti Medievali E-Book
Series ISSN
2704-6362
Series E-ISSN
2704-6079