Landulf of St Paul’s Historia Mediolanensis and the anonymous Narratio de Longobardie obpressione et subiectione were written in an environment in which it had become normal to use armed force to fight conflicts within society. The commune inherited this habit of using violence on a daily basis from the society of the late 11th century. The article analyses how this culture of violence was reflected in both historiographical texts. It shows that it was not only the intended messages of the two works that were decisive, but also the cultural patterns in Lombardy during the 12th century.