Communia Istrie

Henry IV, King of the Romans, donates properties in Istria to Margrave Ulrich I of Weimar-Orlamünde for his faithful service.

King Henry IV confirms the jurisdictions and immunities of the Bishopric of Poreč.

Ulrich II Weimar-Orlamünde and his wife Adelaide donate their possessions in the County of Istria to Patriarch Ulrich of Eppenstein and the Church of Aquileia.

Ulrich II donates Oprtalj to the Church of Aquileia.

Henry of Eppenstein, duke of Carinthia, donates his castle "in the place that is called Ruvoyn" to the Church of Aquileia.

Patriarch Gerard donates a mill in Buzet in River Mirna, previously owned by a certain priest Martin, to the monastery of St. Peter the Apostle in Karst (in Vižinada by Buje); witnessed by Maynard I of Gorizia, appearing here for the first time as the advocate of the Patriarchate of Aquileia.

Patriarch Peregrine I donates the monastery of St. Peter in Vižinada by Buje to the Venetian monastery of St. Nicholas of Lido.

The people of Koper and Izola swear an oath of fealty to the doge and the Commune of Venice, promising to arm one galley whenever Venice would embark on a military campaign with fifteen or more galleys, military aid for any Venetian military endeavor in the Adriatic, in the zone between Dubrovnik, Venice, and Ancona, guaranteeing the safety of all the Venetians in their city, and promising to observe the same ducal laws on grain trade as Venetians.

The people of the Commune of Pula swear fealty to Doge Pietro Polani and to the Commune of Venice, promising military aid in the form of arming one galley per every fifteen Venetian galleys during Venetian military campaigns, to support the Venetian military efforts in the Adriatic, in the zone between Dubrovnik, Venice, and Ancona, and to defend Venice if they see hostile ships approaching their city, exempting the Venetians from all the dues and tolls in their city except the harbor tax (portaticus), guaranteeing safety and judicial autonomy in disputes between Venetians and the citizens of Pula, gifting the doge and the Commune of Venice with a house by the city’s gates, and agreeing to swear the same promise of fealty to every new doge upon his consecration; the doge and the Commune of Venice agree to defend the Commune of Pula against their enemies and to treat the citizens of Pula as their own citizens in Venice.

On his return from the Holy Land and from the Second Crusade, King Conrad III sails through the Adriatic and stops in Pula, from where he continues the journey towards Germany by land, traveling through Aquileia to Salzburg before finally reaching Regensburg (narrative account from The Deeds of Emperor Frederick I by Otto of Freising).

Five Istrian communities – Pula, Rovinj, Poreč, Novigrad and Umag – pledge their fealty to the doge of Venice and his successors, promising military support, a variety of symbolic tributes to St. Mark, the patron saint of Venice, and to the doges, guaranteeing the safety of all the Venetians in their jurisdictions and abolishing all the dues for Venetian traders.

The people and the clergy of Pula agree to a final settlement with Venice whereby they fully acknowledge their fault for the military actions directed against them and renounce all their claims for further recompense and restitutions.

The consuls and the people of Pula write to the patriarch of Aquileia Ulrich II, informing him that they are aware of the emperor’s arrival (in the vicinity of Venice) and that the imperial assembly will be convened on May 22; therefore, they ask him to take up with the emperor their complaints against the Venetians, who treat them as their subjects.

Pope Alexander III confirms the metropolitan jurisdictions of the incumbent Aquileian patriarch, institutes a new suffragan bishopric in Koper, grants him the pallium, and corroborates all the possessions and titles of the Aquileian Church, including the "County, the March, the Duchy," the regalian rights and imperial privileges.

Emperor Frederick I confirms the rights and possessions of the Bishopric of Torcello.

In response to the plea of the citizens of Koper, Doge Orio Mastropiero and the Commune of Venice issue a privilege to Koper, constituting it the only licensed port for salt trade in entire Istria, from Pula to Grado, and granting it a galley by which the citizens of Koper are to oversee the salt trade along the western coast of Istria; the privilege is accorded for twenty-nine years.

The Commune of Koper, represented by the podestà and three consuls, endows the Bishopric of Koper with four villages – Lopar, Padna, Brič and Srmin –, a thousand vineyards, and with the oil tithes of the entire city, forbidding the bishops of Koper to ever enfeoff or otherwise alienate the endowed rights and possessions.

Adalbert, the count of Istria, pronounces a sentence regarding the jurisdictions over the territories of Gradina (Calisedo) claimed by both the commune of Sv. Lovreč and the heirs of Adalburn, vassals of Gerold of Pula, the lord of Gradina.

The Commune of Koper issues a decree according to which all who hold vineyards from the Bishopric and fail to pay their dues are to lose these vineyards, while those neglecting oil tithe payments to the Bishopric must render double the owed amount.

On their way to engage the inimical Pisan fleet, the Venetian armada stops in Pula to receive additional military support; met with refusal, the Venetian fleet attacks Pula, razes its walls, and sacks the city; defeated, Venice reacknowledges fealty owed to Venice (narrative account as featured in the so-called Annales Venetici brevis).

In the name of the community of Barban, Pribislav, the gastald of Barban, subjects his village to the podestà and the Commune of Pula, promising to pay the standard dues – the quarter of the tithe and the grazing due – to the Commune of Pula and to receive justice from the podestà and the magistrates of Pula; the subjection is subsequently ratified by twelve people of Barban.

In the name of the community of Prnjani, Stepizus subjects his village to the podestà and the Commune of Pula under the same conditions and promising the same oath as the villagers of Barban.

Faced with the might of the Venetian navy and the crusading army on their way to Constantinople, the people of Trieste ask forgiveness from Doge Enrico Dandolo for their past transgressions, and promise fealty to the doge and the Commune of Venice, guaranteeing the safety and duty-free trading for the Venetians throughout their jurisdictions, aid in combating piracy in the zone from Rovinj northward, a tribute of fifty urns of wine paid yearly on St. Martin’s feast day and transported to the ducal palace in Venice, and generally to perform all the duties promised by other Istrian communities.

Faced with the might of the Venetian navy and the crusading army on their way to Constantinople, the people of Muggia ask forgiveness from Doge Enrico Dandolo for their past transgressions, and promise fealty to the doge and the Commune of Venice, guaranteeing the safety and duty-free trading for the Venetians throughout their jurisdictions, aid in combating piracy in the zone from Rovinj northward, a tribute of twenty-five amphorae of wine paid yearly on St. Martin’s feast day and transported to the ducal palace in Venice, and generally to perform all the duties promised by other Istrian communities.

Wolfger, the patriarch of Aquileia and margrave of Istria, confirms the boundaries of the territories under the jurisdictions of the bishops of Poreč. A Forgery drawn up by the chancery of Boniface, the bishop of Poreč (1282 - 1305).