This paper uses the body politic metaphor to explore the dialectic of power between different political players in communal and post-communal Lombardy. On the one hand, notions of corporeal links, drawing upon an ancient and venerable tradition, were key strands of public debate on state formation in the Late Middle Ages. On the other hand, there were distinctively communal and post-communal discourses based upon the body politic metaphor. My purpose is to investigate all of these aspects through analysis of the so-called “pragmatic writings” (such as letters, decrees, notarial deeds), sources usually overlooked by historians of political thought. As is shown in this paper, the novelty of this approach makes it possible to appreciate corporeal metaphors as performative tools and instruments of political action.

本文使用身体政治隐喻来探讨伦巴第大区和后伦巴第大区不同政治角色之间的权力辩证法。一方面，基于古老而古老的传统的有形联系的概念是中世纪晚期关于国家形成的公开辩论的关键部分。另一方面，有一些基于身体政治隐喻的公共和后公共话语。我的目的是通过分析所谓的“实用主义著作”（例如，信件，法令，公证事迹）来调查所有这些方面，这些文献通常被政治思想史学家所忽略。如本文所示，这种方法的新颖性使得将隐喻作为政治行动的执行工具和手段成为可能。