Making Peace and War in the 'City State' of Worms, 1235-1273

Specialists working on the western medieval empire have longidentified the cities of Northern Italy as politically precociousin comparison with contemporary cities in the German kingdom.In particular, scholars have emphasized the development of defacto, if not de jure, sovereignty in the cities of Lombardyand Tuscany, including Florence, Sienna, and particularly Milan,based on their ability to make peace and wage war on their ownbehalf without the interference of secular or ecclesiasticalprinces. The present study examines the development of the capacityby the German Rhineland city of Worms to make peace and wagewar on its own behalf during the mid-thirteenth century, longbefore German cities are thought to have had these attributesof sovereignty. Although focusing on Worms, this study callsinto question the broader chronology of urban political developmentin the German kingdom and northern Italy during the later middleages.