Peace of Constance
Encyclopedia
The Peace of Constance of 1183 was signed in Konstanz
by Frederick Barbarossa
and representatives of the Lombard League
. It confirmed the Peace of Venice of 1177. The Italian cities retained local jurisdiction over their territories, and had the freedom to elect their own councils and to enact their own legislation, as well as to keep their Lombard League. Yet their consuls had to take the oath of featly to the emperor and receive the investiture from him, Imperial judges had the prerogative to judge appeals and some districts in Italy were placed under direct imperial administration. The cities stopped fulfilling their obligations during the long struggle for the imperial crown that followed the death of Emperor Henry VI in 1197, and the Peace of Constance was at the centre of the new conflict fought between the so-called second Lombard League and Frederick II
between 1226 and 1250. It was celebrated for the rest of the Middle Ages and beyond as the only imperial recognition of the autonomy of a large group of Italian cities.
Konstanz
Konstanz is a university city with approximately 80,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south-west corner of Germany, bordering Switzerland. The city houses the University of Konstanz.-Location:...
by Frederick Barbarossa
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...
and representatives of the Lombard League
Lombard League
The Lombard League was an alliance formed around 1167, which at its apex included most of the cities of northern Italy , including, among others, Crema, Cremona, Mantua, Piacenza, Bergamo, Brescia, Milan, Genoa, Bologna, Padua, Modena, Reggio Emilia, Treviso, Venice, Vercelli, Vicenza, Verona,...
. It confirmed the Peace of Venice of 1177. The Italian cities retained local jurisdiction over their territories, and had the freedom to elect their own councils and to enact their own legislation, as well as to keep their Lombard League. Yet their consuls had to take the oath of featly to the emperor and receive the investiture from him, Imperial judges had the prerogative to judge appeals and some districts in Italy were placed under direct imperial administration. The cities stopped fulfilling their obligations during the long struggle for the imperial crown that followed the death of Emperor Henry VI in 1197, and the Peace of Constance was at the centre of the new conflict fought between the so-called second Lombard League and Frederick II
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
between 1226 and 1250. It was celebrated for the rest of the Middle Ages and beyond as the only imperial recognition of the autonomy of a large group of Italian cities.
Sources
- G. Raccagni. 'Il diritto pubblico, la pace di costanza e i <
> dei comuni lombardi', in D. Quaglioni- G. Dilcher (eds), in Gli inizi del diritto pubblico, 2, da Federico I a Federico II (Bologna-Berlin, 2008) 309-40. http://www.mulino.it/edizioni//volumi/ricerca.php?id_sottoargomento=122 - Norwich, John JuliusJohn Julius NorwichJohn Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich CVO — known as John Julius Norwich — is an English historian, travel writer and television personality.-Early life:...
. The Kingdom in the Sun 1130-1194. Longmans: London, 1970.