This chapter begins with chronicle traditions and the foundation myths, and is mainly concerned with identifying and explaining the territorial boundaries of the early commune. This chapter examines the links between the city territory of classical antiquity, the episcopal diocese after the conversion to Christianity, the Carolingian county of the 9th century, and the early commune as heir both of the county and of the bishopric. The chapter shows how the bishops of Lucca accumulated land primarily within their own diocese, and how these lands were leased to the great diocesan families who came to hold possessions throughout the entire diocese. The periphery was then tied to the centre by a great web of leases and mutual obligations, and this happened within the parameters of the diocese (which very largely coincided with the city territory of Roman times).
Keywords: foundation myths, Lombards, Franks, county, diocese, diocesan nobility,