Venetian Doge Pietro II Orseolo departs with his navy on a military expedition against Croats and Narantines in Dalmatia; on his journey, the doge stops at Poreč and Pula where he is cordially greeted by the bishops, clergy, and citizens of these Istrian cities (narrative account from John the Deacon’s Istoria Veneticorum).
Illis namque temporibus in Dalmacianorum confinio non plus quam Iateranenses cives Veneticoruma ducis ditioni obtemperabant. Quos Croatorum ac Narentanorum principes crebro affligere solebant in tantum ut Narrentani horum quadraginta compraehendentes, secum vinctos deportaverunt. Unde Dalmacianorum populi omnes poene simul convenientes, Petro Veneticorum duci suis internunciis hoc demandaverunt, quod si ipse venire aut exercitum mittere vellet, qui eos a Sc[l]avorumb severitate liberaret, ipsi et illorum civitates perpetua stabilitate suae suorumque successorum potestati subditos manerent.
Hoc audiens Petrus dux, nulla interposita dilacione, suorum consilio munitus, navalem preparare expeditionem peregit septimoque sui ducatus anno asensionis Domini festo cum suis in sancti Petri Olivolensis ecclesia ad missarum ministeria percipienda convenire voluit. Cui Dominicus eiusdem loci episcopus triumphale vexillum contulit et una classem consendentes illo die Equilensem portum intraverunt. Dehinc velis libratis occiduoque vento flante, Gradensem applicuerunt urbem. Quos domnus Vitalis patriarcha preeunte plebe cum clericorum apparatu excipiens, digna suo principi obsequia exibuit; cuius quoque dexteram victrici sancti Hermachorae signo condecoravit.
Inde pellagi sulcando undas Istriensem adc provinciam transientesd, civitatis Parentinae iuxta insulam velis depositis, pernoctare disposuerunt. Quibus venerabilis Andreas episcopus occurens, famulamina Petro duci multae inpertitus est. Quem humiliter rogitans ut sancti Mauri oraculum adire non recusaret; cuius petitioni adquiescens, multo milite stipatusf urbem intravit et expletis in sancti Mauri aecclesia ministeriis sacris. Arrepto exin itinere, remigantibus nautis, apud monasterii sancti Andreae insulam, quae iuxta Pollensem civitatem manet, grata ospicia habere voluerunt. Illuc Bertaldus Pollensis eximius antistes cum clericorum et civium multitudine festinus advenit et utroque honoreg eundem ducem glorificavit.
a) ex Venetiquorum corr. B. b) sic Scavorum B: pro Sclavorum. c) add. al. man. sup. l. B. d) add. al. man. sup. l. B. e) add. sup. l. B. f) ex stipitatos corr. B. g) ex onore corr. B.
“llis namque temporibus in Dalmacianorum confinio non plus quam Iadrenses cives Veneticorum ducis dicioni obtemperabant, quos Chroatorum ac Narentanorum principes crebro affligere solebant, in tantum, ut Narentani, horum XLa conprendentes, secum vinctos deportaverunt. Unde Dalmacianorum populi, omnes pene simul convenientes, Petro Veneticorum duci, suis internunciis, hoc demandaverunt, quod si ipse venire, aut exercitum mictere vellet, qui eos a Sclavorum severitate liberaret, ipsi et illorum civitates perpetua stabilitate sue suorumque successorum potestati subdictos manerent. Hoc audiens, Petrus dux, nulla interposita dilacione, suorum conscilio munitus, navalem *parare expedicionem peregit. Septimo * quoque sui ducatus anno, Petrus dux, Asensionis Domini festo, cum suis in sancti Petri Olivolensis ecclesia ad misarum ministeria percipienda convenire voluit; cui Dominicus eiusdem loci episcopus triumphale vexilum contullit; et unam clasem consendentes, ilio die Equilensem portum intraverunt. Dehinc, velis libratis, occiduoque vento flante, Gradensem aplicuerunt urbem, quos dompnus Vitalis patriarcha, preeunte plebe cum clericorum apparatu excipiens, digna suo principi obsequia exibuit; cuius quoque dexteram victrici sancti Hermachore signo condecoravit. Inde pelagi sulcando undas Ystriensem ad provinciam transeuntes, civitatis Parentine iuxta insulam, velis depositis, pernoctare disposuerunt. Quibus venerabilis Andreas episcopus occurens, famulamina Petro duci multa impartitus est, quem humiliter rogitans ut sancti Mauri oraculum adire non recusaret; cuius peticioni adquiescens, multo milite stipatus, urbem intravit et explectis in sancti Mauri ecclesia ministeriis sacris. Arepto exinde itinere, remigantibus nautis, apud monesterii sancti Andree insulam, que iuxta Polensem civitate[m] manet, grata hospicia habere voluerunt. Illuc Bertoldus Polensis eximius episcopus cum clericorum et civium multitudine festinus advenit et utroque honore eundem ducem glorificavit.” – Andrea Dandolo, Chronica per extensum descripta, ed. Ester Pastorello, RIS, ser. 2, 12/1 (Bologna 1958), p. 197 (petite font refers to the passages taken verbatim from John the Deacon’s account edited above).
The passage is the only narrative account of Pietro II Orseolo’s triumphant military expedition across the eastern Adriatic coast.
John the Deacon dates the event to the Ascension day of the 7th year of Orseolo’s dogeship, which would concord with the year 998. However, as John the Deacon himself states later on, the chronicler heard of the news of the doge’s triumph in Pavia, when he accompanied Emperor Otto III on his third journey to Italy as the doge’s envoy. Since Otto III arrived in Pavia in June of 1000, the entire campaign could not have taken place in 998, but on May 9, 1000 (Ascension Day). Thus, the chronicler made an error when he dated the campaign to the 7th year of Orseolo’s dogeship, as the correct year would be the 9th.
The passage is important in the context of Istrian history, and it has engendered considerable historiographical discussions. First, the passage can in no way be read as Venetian subjection of the western coast of Istria – as Benussi and Paschini (cited above) both argued over a century ago, the people and clergy of Poreč and Pula only cordially greeted the doge, their neighbor and ally to their de iure sovereign, Emperor Otto III. Thus, all the maps depicting Europe around the year 1000 which show the western coast of Istria as jurisdictionally subjected to Venice are wrong.
The bishop of Poreč who saluted the doge and invited him to Poreč was Andrew, the same bishop who procured a generous imperial confirmation charter issued in Verona in 983 (edited here as doc. 983_OP).
The bishop of Pula and the way the chronicler described his actions have been debated in historiography. Namely, the narrative states that the bishop of Pula honored the doge “utroque honore”, a phrase that is difficult to interpret. For Benussi, this was one of the key arguments for his thesis that the bishops of Pula received the secular jurisdiction over their city by way of a lost donation charter, most probably issued in the first half of the 10th century by an Italian king (Hugh being the prime candidate). Thus, argues Benussi, Bishop Berthald greeted the doge both as a bishop of the city and as a secular ruler, the count of Pula. Benussi’s thesis is problematic as not a single primary source survives which would clearly attest to the bishops’ secular dominion over the city of Pula.
Contrary to Benussi argued Margetić (cited above, esp. 1993), who interpreted the passage as a simply awkward phrase by which the chronicler purposefully elided the fact that Pula did not recognize Venetian sovereignty. Still, the question remains: how does one interpret the phrase “utroque honore” and what does that tell us regarding the bishop of Pula if one rejects Benussi’s thesis?
Berto, who translated the chronicle into Italian and accepted Margetić’s interpretation of the passage, nevertheless translated the passage in question as “Berthald, the exalted bishop of Pula, immediately rushed with a multitude of citizens and the clergy and honored the duke according to both offices that he held” (“Bertaldo, esimio vescovo di Pola, accorse subito con una moltitudine di cittadini e di chierici e glorificò il duca secondo entrambe le cariche che deteneva”). If one accepts this translation, then one must also accept Benussi’s interpretation that the bishop was also the count of Pula.
Margetić translated the phrase into Croatian as: “Berthald, the exalted bishop of Pula, immediately arrived with a multitude of clergy and the citizens and honored the duke with both honors” (“Bertoldo, časni puljski biskup, odmah [je] došao s mnoštvom svećenstva i građanstva i počastio ga [dužda] s obim počastima”). Margetić’s translation is closer to the Latin original, but it still does not shed much light on the meaning of the phrase “with both honors” (“utroque honore”).
A possible interpretation would be that the chronicler conceptualized “honor” in two ways: as a sign of respect (reverentia) and support (sustentatio). An identical conceptualization of honor is given by Alexander of Hales in his Summa universae theologiae: “Cum honor intelligatur duobus modis, in exhibitione reverentiae et exhibitione sustentationis” (quoted according to Alexander of Hales, Summa theologica Halensis: De legibus et praeceptis: Lateinischer Text mit Übersetzung und Kommentar, ed. Michael Basse (Berlin 2018), p. 724). According to this interpretation, Bishop Bertald showed his respect to the doge and supported his endeavor, that is, cordially greeted him and blessed his campaign. Another interpretation would be that the bishop greeted the doge in his own name and in the name of his citizens, not as a secular official, but merely as the most reverential figure in the city (this would be closest to Margetić’s interpretation).