The Versum de Mediolano civitate and the Origins of King Liutprand. A reading proposal

Abstract

This essay engages with the earliest medieval urban panegyric (or laus civitatis) in Italy, the Versum de Mediolano civitate (739). Thanks to a fresh approach, which lies at the intersection between linguistics and history, Gamberini provides a reappraisal of the crucial passage in which the anonymous author hints at the link between the Lombard king Liutprand and the city of Milan. In so doing Gamberini unveils one of the Versum’s ultimate goals: to portray Milan’s greatness on the grounds of Liutprand’s Milanese origins.