The archive of the Visconti lords of Milan

Authors

  • Franca Leverotti Università degli Studi di Milano Bicocca

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6092/1593-2214/101

Keywords:

Middle Ages, 14th-15th Century, Lombardy, Milan, Political institutions, Principality, Archives, Inventories

Abstract

The analysis of a now lost inventory of the archive of the Visconti, signori of Milan, allows the historian to deduce the existence of two different princely and public archives in the Visconti period, preserved in different places. In the first of them lied the acts related to the principality (imperial or feudal investitures, deditions of urban and rural communities to the Visconti) and to the dinasty (marriage contracts, successions and testaments). In the second archive were preserved on the contrary all the administrative acts concerning the daily financial and juridical activity. The signori of Milan were clearly aware of the concrete purpose of this distinction, who came along with the conscience of a well ordered organisation of past written acts as both a source of legitimation and an instrument of governement.

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Published

2008-12-15

How to Cite

Leverotti, Franca. 2008. “The Archive of the Visconti Lords of Milan”. Reti Medievali Journal 9 (1):Art. #12. https://doi.org/10.6092/1593-2214/101.

Issue

Section

Essayes in Monographic Section