The Council of Hundred responds to the articles of the pact of subjection issued by the Commune of Oprtalj, accepting the community into the Venetian Dominion.
Die XXVIIo augusti.
Capta in Consilio C.
<Ser Nicolaus Victuri, ser Franciscus Cornario sapientes consilii>
(+) Quod ambaxiatoribus iudicum, Consilii, Comunis et populi castri Portularum [respondeatur]a:
[1] Et primo ad capitulum per quod nobilis vir ser Iacobus de Rippa miles, capitaneus paysinaticorum Raspurch promisit suprascriptis iudicibus, quod nostra dominatio conservabit eos in suis antiquis statutis et consuetudinibus, respondeatur quod sumus contenti observare capitulum predictum cum ista declaratione: quod rectores nostri, qui per tempora erunt, ministrare debeant ius et iustitiam, prout servatur in aliis nostris terris Istrie.
[2] Super alio autem per quod promisit, quod nemo ipsorum civium nec Portularum habitator astringetur exire Istriam aliqua causa guerre contra eorum voluntatem, ita tamen quod in partibus Istrie teneantur ire qu[and]ob dominatio nostra eis precipi fecerit, respondeatur quod in isto casu tractabimus dictos fideles nostros et subditos Portularum prout tractamus alios nostros subditos et fideles Istrie.
[3] Et quia capitaneus noster Raspurch multum recommendat quemdam Dionisium quondam Stefani de Portulis, dicens eundem Stefanum esse principalem in illo loco, et dictus Dionisius petat quoddam feudum quod alias habuit a patriarcha Iohanne, prout apparet per privilegium suum, quod feudum datum fuit cuidam Simoni quondam Cirgne et eidem Dionisio1, et dictus Simon mortuus sit, per nostrum Dominium eidem confirmari, vadit pars: Consideratis his que nobis scripsit capitaneus noster predictus, quod dictum feudum eidem Dionisio per nostrum Dominium confirmetur, ut habeat causam nostro Dominio fideliter serviendi, cum asserat Simonem quondam Cirgne in dicto privilegio nominatum mortuum esse et non habere heredes masculos.
[seq. doc. 1412_VP]
Doge Michele Steno’s confirmation of Dionysius’s fief, issued on August 29, 1412 – edited here as doc. 1412_VP.
The pact of subjection of the Commune of Oprtalj into the Venetian Dominion is particularly short, focusing on three points deemed crucial by the modest Istrian community: the respect of old laws, the military service restricted solely to Istria, and the upholding of the existing social hierarchies, namely the privileged position of a certain Dionysius, recognized as the town’s most distinguished citizen.
The Venetian Council of Hundred (a temporary governmental body created to deal exclusively with the issues concerning the war against King Sigismund and his allies; see Enrico Besta, Il Senato veneziano: Origine, costituzione, attribuzioni e riti (Venice 1899), pp. 43–44, 131–134) had to acknowledge prior promises made by the captain of Rašpor immediately following the occupation of Oprtalj, while simultaneously reinterpreting the concessions through the lens of Venetian administrative practice. The formulaic phrase “as is observed in our other lands in Istria” (prout servatur in aliis nostris terris Istrie) transforms local peculiarities into regional uniformities yet preserves the fiction of respecting “old statutes and customs”. This was Venice’s particular genius – homogenization disguised as preservation of old rights and freedoms.
Regarding Dionysius’s fief, Venice chose to appear as heir to the crumbling Aquileian Margraviate of Istria, legitimizing its rule through continuity rather than rupture. The pragmatic absorption of pre-existing hierarchies, the strategic deployment of feudal vocabulary, and the careful preservation of local dignities were all deployed to preserve the local hierarchies and simply redirect the existing pillars of local social and political order toward the new sovereign power.
The digital facsimile comes from morevento, the official databank of Archivio di Stato di Venezia, replacing the old Divenire webpages. The entire register can be consulted here.
Image by Archivio di Stato di Venezia.
The digital facsimile remains under the exclusive copyright of Archivio di Stato di Venezia.