Preliminary communication
https://doi.org/10.38003/zrffs.15.9
Ragusan Ambassadors – Mediators Between the Local Community and the Angevin Court
Valentina Šoštarić
orcid.org/0000-0002-3027-4104
; University of Zadar, Department of History
Abstract
The article analyzes the role of Ragusan ambassadors who played an important role in establishing and maintaining relationships between their hometown and the Angevin court. These individuals mediated the communication between the center of power and the local community, using their privileged position to obtain personal gains. The multidirectional relationships in which they participated are seen as important instruments that influenced the (re)shaping of the socio-political reality in which the ‘center of power’ and the ‘periphery’ acted and influenced each other. Of particular interest are the activities of the envoys in conflict situations that arose between the actors in the triangle: Louis I of Anjou - ambassadors – Dubrovnik`s councillors.
Constitutive historiographical analyzes devoted to power relations are concerned with the question of how central authorities control and manage peripheral structures. Such a perspective of studying the relationship between the center of power and the periphery ‘from above’ to ‘below’ does not recognize the importance of the personal connections of individuals who acted as connective tissue between political subjects that differed in their hierarchical position. Power was not reserved exclusively for the king, but was noticeable at different levels of social life and political activity. Herewith, a prominent place is given to individuals who, among other things, can attribute their position to established personal contacts with influential people of their time.
In the article, the focus of scientific interest is on the interpersonal contacts of Ragusan ambassadors who were assigned the role of a link between the Angevin court and the Ragusan authorities at the critical moment of the establishment of mutual relations through negotiations in Višegrad in 1358, as well as in the years that followed. In the analysis of the questions, I rely on the prosopographical method and the theory of social networks. By following the career path of the elected representatives of the commune and analyzing their private, marital and clientelistic relationships, we will gain an insight into the network of personal contacts and the ways of their establishment, maintenance and usage, as well as the problems that arose among its members over time. Of special importance are the personal connections of the envoys, which were an important part of their private life, but also of their public political activities. They are associated with moral values such as loyalty, honor and trust, and emotions such as love.
Keywords
Dubrovnik; Angevins; interpersonal networks; ambassadors; diplomacy; 14th century
Hrčak ID:
287405
URI
Publication date:
17.12.2022.
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