The duke’s two bodies. State and factions at the funeral of Gian Galeazzo Visconti

Abstract

The funeral (1402) of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, duke of Milan, staged a peculiar sight, unusual in Italian funerals: two ghostly knights, similar to those representing the deceased in the funerals of the greatest rulers all over Europe. In the essay the author aims to explain the role played by the two riders during the funeral, and the importance of their duplicity, only seemingly an insignificant detail. The two ghostly knights actually referred to a key aspect of the material constitution of the state of Gian Galeazzo Visconti: the balance between opposing factions.