Commune of Lodi

Who rules

Title

The commune's consuls or podestà for 1199, until the officers of 1200 take over

Since

Yearly office; changeover date not pinned

Confidence

low

Italian Wikipedia says the city was divided into six neighbourhoods (vicinanze) each electing two of twelve consuls, assisted by a council (credenza) and a council of the guilds' representatives, and that the consuls were later replaced by a podestà from outside, the first being Giovanni Calepino of Brescia and the second Petrocco Marcellino of Milan; it gives no dates, so which system ruled on 1 January 1200 is not pinned. The bishop, Arderico di Sant'Agnese (1189-1217), is a Church map record.

Overlord

The Empire in law; Lodi owes its refoundation to Frederick I and kept the emperor's favour longest of the League cities (it joined the League in 1167 'saving its fidelity to the emperor'). Henry VI confirmed its privileges.

What the realm holds

• The city on the Adda with its bridge rights (Frederick I's grant of 1158 to build bridges on the local rivers and to navigate Lombardy free of toll)
• The contado between the Adda and the Lambro down to the Po: Lodi Vecchio, Cavenago, Castiglione d'Adda, Maleo, Codogno, Casalpusterlengo, Sant'Angelo, Borghetto, Zelo and Comazzo (extent at the edges not pinned)
• The trade of the Adda, exclusive by the peace of 1198

How it was acquired

Refounded by Frederick I on 3 August 1158 (his privilege for the rebuilding is dated December 1158 by Treccani). Its contado was confirmed by the perpetual peace with Milan of 1198.

Allies and rivals

Milan: perpetual peace since 1198. Cremona lies across the Adda (Pizzighettone is Cremona's); Crema across the Adda to the north-east; Pavia to the west beyond the Lambro and San Colombano. Lodi's stance in the Milan-Pavia war of 1200-1201 is not pinned.

The realm that morning

At peace with Milan under the 1198 treaty. The officers of 1199 (names not pinned) govern the city; the noble families who will later lead the two parties (the Overgnaghi on the imperial side, the Sommariva with the merchants and craftsmen) are named by Treccani only after 1198, without a date. Across the Adda is Cremona's land (Pizzighettone) and the commune of Crema; across the Lambro the archbishop of Milan's enclave of San Colombano and then Pavia's Campagna; north, beyond Paullo and Melegnano, Milan's contado.

Wealth

River trade on the Adda and toll-free navigation in Lombardy; the bridge over the Adda; grain, cattle and cheese of the irrigated plain.

Military

City militia; the walls of the new city and the castles of the contado. Lodi men fought at Legnano (1176). No figures in the sources read.

Threats

• A renewal of Milan's ambitions over the Lambro and the Adda
• Cremona across the Adda
• Strife between the noble families and the merchants and craftsmen

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. early 1200 (day not pinned)Lodi's officers for 1200 take office.Depends on: The usual yearly election. Stopped by: Internal strife.

Places of note

• Lodi Vecchio (Laus Pompeia): The old town destroyed by Milan, now a village of Lodi's contado.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The refoundation (1158) and the perpetual peace with Milan (1198) are sourced; the officers, the factions' dates and the outer limits of the contado are not.

On the map: The outline follows the later Lodigiano; the border with Milan near Paullo and Melegnano and with Cremona at the mouth of the Adda is approximate.

Primary sources for this realm

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• Chronicle of Sicard, bishop of Cremona, Sicard of Cremona (about 1210 to 1213). A universal chronicle whose last part is a well-placed eyewitness account by a Lombard bishop who served emperors and popes. Read online
• The Lombard city annals of Piacenza, Milan, Cremona, Parma, Mantua and Verona (kept in the 12th and 13th centuries). The communes' own year lists. Read online