Acta Veneta

Venice, represented by Doge Orso I Participazio, and the Patriarchate of Aquileia, represented by Patriarch Walpert, sign a treaty according to which the Venetian Doge agrees not to block the Aquileian port Pylum, but only under the condition that the patriarch stops with all the hostilities directed against the Church of Grado and exempts the Venetians from all the tolls on his territories, according to the old customs.

Doge Pietro IV Candiano reenacts a decree forbidding slave trading, originally promulgated by Doge Orso I Participazio, imposing further restrictions on dealings with slavers and regulating postal communication with the Byzantine imperial court.

Doge Domenico Selvo confirms the donation of various tributes and incomes to the Patriarchate of Grado, originally donated by his predecessor Doge Domenico I Contarini.

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.

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.

Venetian Doge Enrico Dandolo accepts the demands of Aquileian Patriarch Peregrine II and agrees to offer help – mainly political and diplomatic, but also, if need be, military – against the Commune of Treviso, but asks for a number of concessions in return, all of which are granted by the patriarch with the sole exception of military aid.

In the name of Patriarch Wolfger of Aquileia, Henry of Gemona swears to Marco Barozzi, the envoy of Venetian Doge Pietro Zani, to uphold the treaties concluded between the Patriarchate and Venice, namely to ensure the safety of Venetian merchants throughout the patriarch’s secular dominion, to guarantee the reimbursement to any Venetian robbed within these territories, and to promptly announce to the Venetians if the Empire is planning any hostilities directed against them.

Berthold V of Andechs, patriarch of Aquileia, promises to the envoys of Doge Pietro Ziani and the Commune of Venice the security of Venetians within the boundaries of his temporal dominion; assures the recompense in case a Venetian ends up being robbed within his territories; promises to inform the Venetians in case of hostilities planned against them by the Empire; and he commits himself to amend the agreement, if necessary, in accordance with the Venetian doge.

Berthold V of Andechs, patriarch of Aquileia, and Count Maynard II of Gorizia, his advocate, promise to Doge Pietro Ziani and to the Commune of Venice the safety of Venetians living and operating within the confines of the temporal dominion of the Aquileian Church; promise to reimburse any Venetian if they end up robbed in the Patriarchate; to inform the Venetians if they find out that the Empire is planning any hostilities against them; and define the competences of the vicedominus of Aquileia; Venetians are promised exemptions from customs duties throughout the secular dominion of the Aquileian patriarchs and privileged judicial status.

The envoys of the Aquileian Patriarch Berthold negotiate a new peace treaty with Venice, ending all the conflicts regarding trade, traffic, salt production, dues and the restitution of movable and immovable properties, confirming and reinstating the old pacts signed between the two dominions.

Gregory of Montelongo, patriarch-elect of Aquileia, signs a treaty with Doge Ranieri Zeno and the Commune of Venice, renewing the old pacts signed between his predecessors and the Venetians, guaranteeing the safety of Venetian merchants throughout the Patriarchate, their privileged judicial status, abolishing all the newly instituted fees, and terminating the disputes between the two dominions.

Manfred Cagapisto and Jacob Porrezionis, the official representatives of Aquileian Patriarch Raymond della Torre, conclude a new treaty with Doge Lorenzo Tiepolo and the Commune of Venice, reestablishing the relations as defined in a previous treaty from 1254 signed between Patriarch Gregory of Montelongo and Doge Ranieri Zeno; the representatives of the patriarch also promise to have the count of Gorizia sign the treaty once he settles his differences with the incumbent patriarch, to reimburse to the Venetians all the damages that they had suffered during the period in which the 1254 treaty had not been respected by the patriarchs, and to make sure that all the roads remain free and open to Venetian merchants.

Giovanni Dandolo, the doge of Venice, gives instructions to his ambassadors at the court of the Aquileian patriarch [Raymond della Torre], advising them on how to proceed on a number of issues, including the problems surrounding the Venetian jurisdictions in Istria, for which he recommends procuring a lease of the patriarch’s rights in the region.

The Great Council of Venice deliberates on the offered subjection of the Commune of Piran and decides to accept it.

Venetian Doge Giovanni Dandolo officially accepts and ratifies the subjection of the Commune of Piran.

With the help of Fulcher, the bishop of Concordia, a peace treaty is reached, signed between Venice on the one side and the Patriarchate of Aquileia, the count of Gorizia, and the Commune of Trieste on the other, ending the war that had begun in 1283.

The elected arbitrators and envoys deliberate over the dispute between the Commune of Venice and the Patriarchate of Aquileia regarding the jurisdiction over Istrian communes recognizing Venetian authority, reaching absolutely no conclusion after six sessions.

Records of negotiations between Venice and Patriarch Raymond della Torre regarding jurisdictions in Istria, mediated by Bishop Bernard of Tripoli: first, Venice elects its negotiators; second, Patriarch Raymond issues his statement; third, the Venetian envoys present their terms in two separate statements; finally, Patriarch Raymond responds to Venetian terms and a semblance of a peace treaty begins to take shape.

Records of negotiations between Venice and Patriarch Raymond della Torre regarding jurisdictions in Istria, mediated by Bishop Bernard of Tripoli. On Bernard’s suggestion, the parties negotiate regarding a partial restitution of Venetian towns in Istria, a two-year truce, and a lasting peace following the promulgation of the arbitrational sentence of Pope Nicholas IV, the jointly elected judge arbiter in the dispute regarding Istrian jurisdictions.

The Commune of Venice – represented by the deputies of the doge, who was too ill to attend personally, and the Great Council – constitute five procurators to enter into arbitration with Pope Nicholas IV and Bishop Bernard of Tripoli regarding the dispute with Aquileian Patriarch Raymond della Torre over Istrian jurisdictions and to sign a truce or a peace treaty with the same prelate.

Records of negotiations between Venice and Patriarch Raymond della Torre regarding jurisdictions in Istria, mediated by Bishop Bernard of Tripoli. A Patriarch Raymond’s reply and counterproposal, a final sketch of the treaty is presented to the parties.

The Great Council of Venice decrees that, since the Patriarchate of Grado had been receiving poor-quality wine from the Capodistrians, it should be added to the instructions of the podestàs of Koper that only good wine of good quality should henceforth be sent as tribute to the Patriarchate of Grado.

The Council of Forty decrees that the new walls built by the Commune of Pula, erected on the coastal side of the city contrary to the ancient pacts (doc. 1243_PP), will be tolerated for now, but that the Commune of Pula must swear to demolish these walls as soon as the doge and the Commune of Venice command it; if Pula does not approve of this decree, the walls are to be demolished immediately.

Aquileian Patriarch Ottobono and the Commune of Venice agree that the dispute regarding the jurisdictions in Istria will be left to the arbitrational sentence of the future pope.