Conflicts & Resolutions · Battle

Battle of Legnano

1176 · 12th century · Also known as Legnano

The Battle of Legnano was fought in 1176 in northern Italy, where the forces of the Lombard League defeated the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. The defeat showed the limits of imperial military power, which depended on princely contingents that could not be sustained against organised civic resistance. It forced the emperor to accept a negotiated settlement with the Italian cities and is cited in the Holy Roman Empire's military history.

Battle of Legnano
Image: The original uploader was Faberh at Italian Wikipedia. · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 2 profiles

Holy Roman EmpireMilitaryDuchy of SaxonyDecline

Mentioned in 5 state histories

Kingdom of Italy (medieval)Commune of MilanVeronese LeagueLombard LeagueCommune of Alessandria

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Battle of Legnano. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/battle-of-legnano
MLA
“Battle of Legnano.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/battle-of-legnano. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Battle of Legnano.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/battle-of-legnano.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Battle of Legnano’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/battle-of-legnano (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻