Izvorni znanstveni članak
The Portion of the Nobility in the Dubrovnik Population at the Time of the Closing of the Major Council in 1332
Nenad Vekarić
orcid.org/0000-0003-3919-7704
; Zavod za povijesne znanosti HAZU u Dubrovniku, Dubrovnik, Hrvatska
Sažetak
The process of the “closing” of the Venetian Council (the serrata) started in 1297 and ended in 1323. The reasons underlying this legislative campaign are much disputed in historiography. According to older historiography, the closure was primarily aimed at “freezing” the elite’s leading position, “oligarchy’s victory over the rest of the people”. This view was challenged by a discovery that the mentioned elite also included some, until that time, non-noble families (Frederic Lane). The closing of the council was probably devised to achieve both: to increase the council by admitting well-off citizen families, but also to prevent the entry of new families, whose future status might have earned them access to this body (Gherardo Ortalli). The Major Council of Dubrovnik closed thirty-five years after the Venetian one – in 1332. The Ragusans followed the Venetian model, although their motive should not be sought in the expansion of the noble circle, as the Ragusan nobility fairly quickly absorbed all well-established commoners into their rank. The council’s closure was primarily aimed at limitation: to prevent the “natural” inflow into the noble ranks. The analysis of Dubrovnik’s population structure at the time of the council’s closing in 1332 shows that prior to the closing of the council, the Ragusan patrician circle had included a significant portion of the population. The portion of the nobility in the overall city population was around 40%, the rest being composed of the first-generation immigrants (habitatores), marginal and other lower social groups. The descendants of the newcomers managed to rise to a higher rank (cives) without much hindrance, and win their noble status (nobiles) by being admitted into the council membership. In this way, the portion of nobility in the overall population managed to retain its high level over a longer period of time. It was not until the closing of the Major Council that the nobility became the elite in the true sense. A once fluid circle became conserved, the “rise” of the commoners towards the nobility became impossible. This marked an end to the rank’s biological balance. The portion of the nobility in the overall population tended to deplete over the centuries, towards a final decline.
Ključne riječi
the Dubrovnik Republic; Venice; closing of the council; serrata, nobility
Hrčak ID:
72674
URI
Datum izdavanja:
16.9.2011.
Posjeta: 2.098 *