Pietro Polani

Pietro Polani (* around 1098 in Venice ; † between February and July 1148 there ) ruled Venice from 1130 until his death. According to the historiographical tradition, as the state-controlled historiography of Venice is called, he was the 36th Doge . Polani signed his deeds with petrus polani .

As a member of a newcomer family who had been elected on the recommendation of his predecessor and father-in-law, Petrus Polani encountered resistance from families who feared that a new attempt would be made to introduce the hereditary monarchy, as Venice had already seen several times. A council was therefore created as an authority that withdrew power from both the Doge and the people.

In the church schism of 1130, the Doge sided with Innocent II , because his opponent sided with the Normans of southern Italy, who were hostile to Venice . The underlying alliance between Venice and Constantinople was in turn fought by the Dandolo, who had already opposed Polani's choice. Their head, the Patriarch of Grado Enrico Dandolo , was then deposed by the Doge. The Pope saw this in turn as interference in canon law , so that he excommunicated the Doge . Venice reached a peace treaty with the Normans in 1139, but in Dalmatia , which Venice claimed, it now encountered resistance from Hungary . Polani did not allow himself to be dissuaded either by the accusation of an alliance with schismatics or by excommunication from the alliance with Byzantium, where the Venetian merchants achieved a renewal of their privileges, just as in the Roman-German Empire . At that time, both empires were in alliance against the Normans, who had founded a kingdom in 1130 . Polani led a fleet that operated successfully against the Normans, but he did not live to see this victory.

Origin and family, advancement in society

Petrus Polani was probably born in 1098 as the son of Domenicus, a resident of the parish around the church of S. Luca in Venice. He came from a "new" family who probably immigrated from the Istrian Pola in the middle of the 11th century . The family was heavily involved in long-distance trade, particularly in Constantinople , where the father worked. For his services there he even received the title of protonobelissimos from the emperor . His son Peter can still be found on the ship as an adolescent, and in 1110 the relics of St. Stephen brought from Constantinople to Venice. Petrus-Pietro's economic rise and his reputation were so high that he was able to marry Adelasa, the daughter of Doge Domenico Michiel . The couple had two sons named Guido and Naimerio. The naval expedition led by his father-in-law, which brought him to the eastern Mediterranean from 1122 to 1124, and above all to the Kingdom of Jerusalem , from where the Doge brought with him extensive trading privileges , contributed to his enormous prestige .

Doge's Office

Europe and the Mediterranean around 1130

When the sick doge Domenico Michiel retired to a monastery in 1129, the choice fell on his son-in-law. Despite the protest of the Dandolo and Badoer, who would have preferred one of the old families, and who above all feared a return to the inheritance of earlier families, Pietro Polani was elected Doge. His opponents saw the election as a violation of a decree intended to prevent the office from being hereditary. As with most doges of the time, nothing is known for certain about the time before his election, except that he was comparatively young at the time.

At the beginning of his reign he brought new families to the Dogenhof. For the first time, elements of power appear that were typical of the mainland communes and that allowed influential families to participate. By 1143 at the latest, sapientes were added to the Doge's side, a consiglio dei savi , to whom the people owed loyalty and obedience. Accordingly, the term comune appears more and more frequently in the sources . In fact, the new body succeeded in gaining an intermediate position between the Doge and the populus . In doing so, it withdrew power from both sides. On the one hand, the doge's power was to be further restricted, on the other hand, in a more hierarchical society, the most prominent families could participate in power much more directly.

Central and southern Italy around 1112

Hardly elected the new Doge had to face the schism that had in 1130 led to the election of two popes, namely Innocent II. And Anacletus II. Since Polani not initially decided the transfer of authority was the Patriarch of Grado , whose Chair was vacant, pending. Finally, the Doge decided on Innocent, since Anaklet was too close to the hostile Normans of southern Italy . With their plans of conquest, which were directed against Byzantium , they endangered the order that was so economically favorable for Venice. So Polani sent his representatives to the council of Piacenza called by Innocent in 1132, which made his decision obvious.

In this way, however, the Grado question was also resolved, where the new Patriarch Enrico Dandolo, who is related to the Doge, should only respect the Doge's rights in the appointment of the Bishop of Castello. In everyday life, relations between the patriarch and the bishop formally subordinate to him had become difficult insofar as the patriarch had long since resided in Venice. This led to corresponding disputes between the two clerics about their respective rights, disputes in which the doge was drawn. The antagonism between Dandolo and the Doge Court flared up particularly violently through the treaties with Byzantium of 1147 and 1148, which were essentially directed against the Normans. Dandolo condemned the alliance with what he saw as the schismatic Byzantines, a schism that had existed since 1054. The Doge responded by exiling the Patriarch, as well as his key supporters. In addition, he had the houses of the Badoers destroyed, which supported the Dandolo from everyone else. Enrico Dandolo now called Pope Eugene III. who excommunicated the Doge and subjected the city to the interdict .

Venice was one of the main winners from the increasing economic integration of the Mediterranean and Central Europe. The confirmation of the Venetian privileges in the Roman-German Empire by Lothar III guaranteed . in October 1136 the continuation of this productive constellation in the west. The river system of the Po and Etsch thus became increasingly important. But the Adriatic in particular was of great importance as a trade route for the much larger Mediterranean trade. The trade treaty that Polani concluded with the Normans in 1139 after decades of hostility not only opened up Venice's food market in southern Italy, but also recognized Venice's rule over the Adriatic. In 1141 Polani signed a treaty with Fano in the Marche, which also granted Venice extensive trading rights, for which Venice offered military protection.

The situation was different on the east side of the Adriatic. Between 1133 and 1135 the Hungarians conquered important bases on the Dalmatian coast, such as Sebenico , Traù and Spalato . After all, Polani concluded a treaty with Pola and Capodistria that secured Venetian rule in Istria .

But this dominance was not without resistance. From 1141 to 1144, at the expense of Venice , Padua tried to expand its territory, especially the navigable rivers, and its sphere of influence, as well as to undermine the Venetians' salt monopoly. War broke out in 1142 when the Paduans began to divert the Brenta to provide a more convenient and faster route into the lagoon and to circumvent trade restrictions. However, despite the resulting trade successes, Padua had to give way after a military conflict. At the same time there were border violations of the Venetian area in the south by Ancona .

In terms of domestic politics, Venice reacted to the complicated and dangerous situation by founding a council of wise men ( sapientes ), who had to advise the doge in his decisions. The initially informal body, known as Savi , included the representatives of the previously dominant nobility as well as the wealthy bankers and merchants. These gradually formed a new oligarchy that participated in power and, in the course of the following centuries, continued to restrict the Doge's rights. One of the first joint decisions by Sapientes and Doge was to refrain from participating in the Second Crusade .

The Venetians gained new influence in the eastern Mediterranean through their help for Emperor Manuel Komnenos against the Normans under the leadership of Roger II. The Roman-German and Byzantine empires united in a joint action against the "usurper" Roger, who became king had swung up. Bertha von Sulzbach , a sister-in-law of King Conrad III. , was married to Emperor Manuel in January 1146 as part of an alliance directed against the Norman Empire in southern Italy . As Empress she took the name Irene , which in Greek means peace , expressing the desire for a corresponding coexistence of the two empires, which in Italy, however, pursued conflicting interests.

The Badoer, Falier, Michiel and Morosini had spoken out vehemently against support from Byzantium, as did the Patriarch Enrico Dandolo , who railed against a pact with the schismatics . But even excommunication could not dissuade Polani from his policy, which ultimately brought the Venetians trade rights as a reward. This happened through a Chrysobullon of Emperor Manuel, in which not only the old privileges of 1082 were confirmed, but these rights were also extended to Crete and Cyprus . The trading center in the capital Constantinople was also expanded.

In the spring of 1148 the Doge himself took command of the fleet, but he fell seriously ill while the fleet was in Caorle . The command was now given to Domenico and Naimerio Polani, brother and son of the Doge, who succeeded in defeating the Normans. The Doge did not live to see the triumph of the fleet at the battle of 1148 at Cape Matapan , when the Norman fleet was defeated. He had to return home to Venice, where he died between February and July 1148 at the age of barely 50. He was buried in the monastery of San Cipriano on Murano .

A total of three original documents have been handed down by Polani. These date from 1140, 1144 and 1145 and are in the Venice State Archives .

reception

From the late Middle Ages

Coat of arms of "Pietro Polani" based on ideas from the 17th century. The Heraldry began only in the third quarter of one of the 12th century, and later Arms were awarded to the early doges in retrospect, who had never done such a coat of arms ( "fanta-araldica"); this served to relate the families of this era to the earliest possible doges.

The Cronica di Venexia detta di Enrico Dandolo from the late 14th century, the oldest vernacular chronicle of Venice, depicts the events as well as the slightly older chronicle of Andrea Dandolo on a level that was long known at that time and largely dominated by the Doges - she even form the temporal framework for the entire chronicle. “Piero Pollani” was rightly deservedly brought to the doge chair by the whole people. During his time, a long-running dispute between two families was settled, namely between the Dandolo under the leadership of the Patriarch "Henrigo Dandullo" and the Badoer, the "Baduari". The residents of “Fan”, that is Fano in the Marche, are “a tributo li submisse al suo ducado” from the Doge. Those of “Polla” and “Padua” also submitted. After the Normans had succeeded in conquering Corfu and advancing to Constantinople, capturing 18 of the emperor's 20 ships, envoys went to Venice “domandando aida”, who asked for help. With “consentimento del povolo, liga et grande amicitia fu confermada”, with the consent of the people, an alliance and friendship with Emperor “Hemanuel” came about. Under the personal guidance of the Doge, 29 ships went to “Cavrolle”, but the Doge fell ill and soon died. New fleet leaders (capetaneo) were "Zoanne Pollani" and, together with some imperial ships, the "conte Naimer". This fleet achieved a victory, 19 Norman ships were captured. As proof, the emperor was sent "naveganti" prisoners in 2000, which gave him great pleasure. According to the author of the chronicle, the body of the Doge was brought to "Sen Zivram de Moran" and buried after Polani had ruled for 18 years.

Pietro Marcello meant in 1502 in his work later translated into Volgare under the title Vite de'prencipi di Vinegia , "Pietro Polani Doge XXXV." "Genero del Michiele morto, gli successe nel Prencipato, l'anno MCXXXI.", So he was a Son-in-law of the late Doge Michiele and followed him in 1131 in the prince's office. Marcello claims, somewhat exaggerated, that Fano came under the Signoria of Venice. Bonfiglio Michiele, the prior of San Salvatore, took over the rules and habit of the canons with the entire monastery , the new institution was consecrated by Pope Innocent IV. In addition, it seems to the author that Pietro Gatiloso should give priority to the founding of the Church of San Clemente in order to then deal with the dispute with Pisa. This went back to a meeting at the time of Michiel, son of the Doge Vitale Michiel at the time before Rhodes. Only the intervention of the Pope was able to calm the mutual hatred. It is said, according to the author, that there were battles with the Paduans, the cause of which arose (“nacque”) “per tagliare il fiume à Sant'Ilario”. In this war, "essendo Guido da Montecchio Capitano delle genti da terra, fecesi sanguinosa giornata fra l'una, & l'altra parte." After the enemies were destroyed, 350 Paduans found themselves prisoners in Venice. However, when the Paduans asked for mercy and blamed “ad alcuni presuntuosi plebei”, all prisoners were released. At the same time, according to Marcello, at the instigation of the emperor "Emanuel", who sent his envoys, a fleet was made available against Roger of Sicily. The Normans set out from Otranto , conquered Corfu, drove towards Morea and destroyed the areas around the Gulf of Corinth ; They plundered Thebes "& finalmente fece ogni sorte di male tra il golfo Euboeo, & la contrade di Beotia, laqual si chiama Fotide." In this difficult situation, "Emanuel ricorse all'aiuto de 'Venetiani", a help he got through his Ambassador. The Venetians jumped in because of the old friendship, emphasizes Marcello. The Doge wanted to head the fleet, but fell ill while it was in Caorle. So his brother Giovanni and his son Renieri became fleet commanders, while the Doge returned to Venice. While one of Manuel's relatives (“un de'suoi”) was leading a fleet to Butrinto “in Albania”, the Venetians recaptured Corfu, and there they also committed “ogni sorte di male”, “every kind of evil”. Many Corfiots were captured, the trees were cut down, many plants and other things were burned down. And so the Venetians defended the empire 'like so many other times', adds Marcello. After that, the doge died of that evil (“male”) that he had acquired from outside (“ch'egli haveva acquistato di fuora”).

According to the Chronicle of Gian Giacomo Caroldo , which he completed in 1532, which already resigned "Dominico Michiel" recommended as his successor Pietro Polani. The "Cittadini", so Caroldo, "volsero haver il parere" of the Doge who is no longer in office, who complied with this request for a recommendation, "il quale si lasciò intendere che gli sarebbe grata l'eletione di Messer Pietro Polani suo genero" . So he let it be known that he would like the choice of Polani, who was his son-in-law. Polani "fù per la general concione publicato Duce" was raised to the rank of doge by the popular assembly. Although he was young, "ma di gravi et virtuosi costumi". During this time, according to Caroldo, "Henrico figliuolo di Dominico Dandolo" was elected Patriarch of Grado, who intervened at the Council of Pisa ("intervenne"), which Pope Innocent II had called to carry the cross ("ottenne la confirmatione di portar la Croce avanti di se ”). When Lothar , returning from Rome, stayed in “Coreggio nel contado di Parma ”, the Doge's envoys, namely “Gioanni Polani suo fratello, Messer Pietro Donodei suo Capellano et [Messer] Aurio Aurio”, received confirmation of the earlier privileges for Venice. So negotiators were the Doge's brother and his chaplain. For the submission of Fanos under Venetian protection, Caroldo offers the explanation that its inhabitants were molested by those from Ravenna, Pesaro and Senigallia, so that they sent "nuntii" to the Doge. In return, they promised permanent loyalty that Venice's enemies should now be their enemies, and they also wanted to deliver “un miaro et libre C d'oglio, alla festività della Purificatione” annually as a tribute, i.e. olive oil. Allegedly, the Venetians defeated Fanos enemies. Then Caroldo implements seamlessly that “Pietro Gatiloso” had “Chiesa et Hospitale sott'il titolo di San Clemente Papa” built on the “Canal Orfano”, and that this should be provided with income and that the church should be subordinate to the patriarch. This is followed by another dispute with Padua in the 13th year of Polani's rule. It was about interventions on the Brenta near "San Illario". The author specifically mentions Guido da Montagnana as the leader of the cavalry ("Capo" "delli cavalli") and Alberto di Braga Curta as the commander of the infantry ("delli fanti"). In one battle, “CCCL nobili Padovanii” were captured, the others killed or driven away. When the prisoners testified that they had not intended to offend anyone by working on the Brenta (“offender”), and after having made this known with “parole piene d'humiltà et di dolore”, they were released. One returned to the previously valid contract. The Doge, according to Caroldo, had two sons, namely 'Guido, who became Conte d'Ossero at the request of the people' and 'Raynieri, who became Conte of that island through the election of the people and confirmation of the Doge'. Finally, Caroldo reports how the raging dispute between Pisa and Venice was settled by the Pope. When the Kingdom of Jerusalem was seriously threatened, the crusaders sent “ogni giorno”, meaning “every day” for help to the Pope and to the “Imperatore Alemano”. He decided in May to come to the aid of the King of Jerusalem at the “convento di Francfordia”. 'Kaiser Konrad' set off with his army. On the advice of Emperor Manuel, he attacked Konya, but had to give up the siege because of insufficient food, "non senza grave imputatione d'Emanuel che non gl'havesse prestato l'aiuto promesso", not without accusing Manuel of having promised him Help not given. Louis of France persuaded the Greek to move to Syria, while Conrad returned to his empire. Although he supported the French with his fleet, he had to withdraw to Antioch. Meanwhile, Roger of Sicily conquered Corfu, then freed the French king from the captivity of the "Mori". Manuel, who was attacked by the Normans as far as Constantinople, again called Venice for help, for which he promised the Doge even greater privileges than his predecessors. But the Doge fell seriously ill and had to turn back in "Caurle". The fleet was led by his brother "Gioanni" and his son "Rainieri". Together with the Greeks, who were already besieging Corfu, they conquered the city and then went to Sicily, where plundered abundant booty and 20 Rogers ships were captured, which were on their way back from the "Levant". Many came to the victorious naval commanders to congratulate, but also to give their condolences on account of the late Doge. He ruled "anni XVIIJ, mesi IIIJ", and he "fù sepolto a Murano, nel Monasterio di San Cipriano". Again without any transition, Caroldo adds that “Orso Badoaro da San Lio” has given “Gioanni Tron da Maiorbo” some of his “palude” between Mazzorbo and Murano to create a hospital in honor of St. Jacob to set up where pilgrims could be accommodated. This was later given to Cistercian women.

The Frankfurt lawyer Heinrich Kellner , who saw the "fifth and thirtieth Hertzog" in the new Doge, said in his Chronica , published in 1574, that this is a true and short description of all people drawn to Venice following his remarks on Domenico Michiel, "Peter Polani / deß deceased Michieli Eiden or daughter / follows in the Hertzogthumb / in jar 1131". To Fano he laconically remarks: “Before his reign the hand of Fano in the rule of Venice has come”, to immediately follow up: “Bonsiglius Michiel”, the prior of San Salvatore, “named the rule and habit of the canonic there”, as well like the other clergy in this parish church. "This order was Bishop Innocentius an Anfenger and Stiffter / and the church was ordained by Bishop Alexander the Fourth." Kellner also mentions the foundation of the church by "Peter Gattilos" on the "Canal Orphano". “At the same time there was great disagreement between the Venetians and the Pisans,” which was due to “revulsion and resentment from the battle” that Michiel, son of Doge Vitalis, had delivered to the Pisans. Since then, the Pisans have sought revenge for the "shame and disgrace" of the loss of their fleet. But the Pope ended the escalating dispute "through his authority and prestige". “It is also said” that there was a dispute with Padua when the latter “wanted to dig up the waters of S. Hilario”. In the subsequent war - in a marginal note, Kellner mentions "Latini scriptores historiae Venetae nominante cum Guidone Monticulanum." - "Guido von Montecchio Oberster was on land / and a big meeting happened". "Ultimately, the enemies were put to flight / and four and a half hundreds were led to Venice". When the "fürnemesten" "underthenig for it / and put the guilty of several bold citizens out of the community", the prisoners were released. At the request of the imperial envoy, a fleet drove against "King Ruggiern from Sicilia". The latter had conquered Corfu, then he had moved “to Moream or Peloponesum”, then he had devastated the port “Coranto”, then Thebes and other places. The Venetians came to Manuel's aid "for the sake of old friendship". Storms, however, forced the fleet to hide in Caorle, where the Doge became seriously ill. This "assigns his brother / and Reinharten his son to his instead of the Armada Johann". Kellner remarks marginally about “Reinharten”: “The Latini call it Rainerium”. “Keyser Emanuel doesn't feyret either,” continues the author, “but brought together a good total ship”. "But he went ashore with his war people to Albania / camped at Butrinto. The Venediger in part imposed much of the enemy names Corfu with a rifled hand ”. In Sicily they made many prisoners, there they "cut down trees and other plants / and burned a lot of things". The empire, according to Kellner, “like many other painters” “by the Venediger Hülff and Kriegßvolck has been defended and preserved.” Only then did the doge die at Kellner, in the 17th year of “his regiment”.

In the translation of Alessandro Maria Vianoli's Historia Veneta , which appeared in Nuremberg in 1686 under the title Der Venetianischen Herthaben Leben / Government, und Absterben / Von dem First Paulutio Anafesto an / bis on the now-ruling Marcum Antonium Justiniani , the author counts, deviating by Pietro Marcello, "Petrus Polanus, The 36th Hertzog", who took office in 1129. “The Venetian weapons rumor continued under this heart (which was the daughter of the late Michael’s daughter) of his government / then / after a lot and different elegant merchants want to go to one and other trade fairs in the Marck / they are so bad from those at Fano tractiret / that the republic found itself compelled / to send an army against such peace destroyers / which in a few days also had the city so frightened / that they even hailed / to prevent their complete destruction / the Venetians an annual tribute in money to pay / and to send a thousand pounds of oil for the benefit of the H. Marci Temple ”(p. 209 f.). He describes the clashes between Venice and Padua as a "bloodbath" and describes the course of events just like the waiter. The same applies to Roger's conquests of Sicily, who, however, also drove at Vianoli with “several 60 galleys into the narrowness of Constantinople” to plunder there (p. 211 f.). The Byzantine emperor “stopped for a few succurs with the Venetians / which he also received from them through his envoys because of the old alliance and friendship.” The fleet equipped for this had to retreat to Caorle at Vianoli “because of the rough weather”. There the doge fell ill. The fleet under said new command attacked the Normans. At Vianoli she "took Malta with a fine order", with Vianoli seeing both fleets operating against Sicily. This resulted in a sea battle against the Normans advancing from Malta "in that about twenty pieces / so many galleries / captured as war ships / of the enemy / and a far larger number of them were shot to the ground." After the retreat of the two Allied fleets to the Peloponnese, Vianoli expressly notes, they would have divided the booty in order to then retake Corinth, Corfu and Kefalonia. When "John of the Heart pulled his brother next to the whole Armada" returned to Venice, where he was received "with great shouts of joy", the Doge had already "faded" "after a government of nineteen."

In 1687, Jacob von Sandrart in his Opus Kurtze and increased description of the origin / recording / areas / and government of the world-famous republic of Venice sufficed nine lines to talk about "Petrus Polanus" - here he becomes the "brother-in-law" of "Dominicus Michaël" to report. At Sandrart, the Doge was the 35th holder of this office and ruled for 18 years. He ruled "happily" and brought "the Insul Corcyra itzo Corfu under". "He also overcame the Pisans and Paduans" and "came to the aid of the Greek Emperor Emanuel against the Sicilian King Rogerium".

After-effects of the Venetian historiographical tradition, modern historiography

The 42 m high bell tower in front of Caorle Cathedral was completed around 1038. However, it was badly damaged during the First World War.

Johann Friedrich LeBret published his four-volume State History of the Republic of Venice from 1769 to 1777 , in which he stated in the first volume, published in 1769, "it seems" that the 36th Doge "Peter Polani" had been recommended by his father-in-law as his successor. He had "suggested his daughter husband as a young but very lively gentleman". According to LeBret, “the republican spirit possessed almost all cities: but each one wanted to make conquests at the same time”, which resulted in endless struggles. The election of Emperor Lothar and King Conrad in Italy intensified the unrest: "The first was recognized by the Pope, who even dared to depose the two patriarchs of Aquileia and Venice as followers of Conrad through the cardinal priest Peter." The latter was recognized by the Lombards . The communes, according to LeBret, "testified against their own nation just as unfaithfully as they had previously shown themselves against the Germans," ensured that Italy fell into countless domains. "This was a very happy time for the Venetians: they feared the emperor just as little", they allied themselves with the weaker ones and were able to achieve significant advantages. The small town of Fano, threatened by Ravenna, Pesaro and Senigallia, turned to Venice. "The Doge took pleasure in helping her." From then on, Fano had to maintain a galley in the service of Venice, which was to "cross" the Adriatic between Ragusa and Ravenna, but also to Ancona in the north. The Venetian “governor who bears the name of a legate” had to be entertained by Fano and “on the day of the purification of Mary” a thousand pounds of oil and 100 pounds of silver went to Venice. Fano's opponents have been defeated (p. 311). - But the most dangerous opponent was Roger of Sicily, who had made himself king. The emperor "had already had goods for forty thousand thalers taken away". Byzantine and Venetian envoys went to the Reichstag in Merseburg in 1135, both of whom proposed an alliance against Roger to Lothar. When Lothar came to Italy in 1136, he confirmed to the Venetian ambassador in Corregio verde in Parmesan the old treaties that Venice had concluded with Lothar's predecessors. But the emperor died in 1137 and Venice got into a fight with Padua again. “For which city has given the Venetians more to do than this? And hasn't Padua tried more than thirty times to overthrow the Venetians completely? ”Asks the author rhetorically. On the other hand, Venice “gave this city the opportunity to show its ingrained hatred”. Vicenza was excavating the Bacchiglione waters for the Paduans at this time, whereupon Padua wanted to dig a ditch for the Venetians on the right bank of the Brenta near Strà to feed the waters of the Brenta to fill the now empty river bed of the Bacchiglione. “In doing so, they designed the straight canal between Stra and Noventa, which the peasants call Piovego, and united the two main rivers.” However, this canal violated the land of the monastery of S. Ilario, which belonged to the Venetians. This also had consequences for the lagoon, into which the Paduans could now drive directly; Venice also lost its navigable trade route. In addition, LeBret says, if the Bacchiglione's water returned to its old bed, it would lead to too much fresh water "plunging into the lagoons". All of this caused the Doge to declare war (p. 312 f.). Now Guido von Montagnone led the cavalry, Albert von Gambacurta the infantry "from Maltraversis against the Paduan". A battle broke out at a place called Tomba in which 120 horsemen and 334 infantrymen were captured by the Venetians. The negotiations dragged on until 1146, when finally "the Paduans had twelve of their nobles" declared that they had not wanted to damage Venice by building the canal. The mouth of the Brenta should be locked with a lock at Bra, the canal should not be completed. The Paduans wanted to protect the damaged monastery of S. Ilario from then on, and the abbot even received permission to build mills on the Brenta as far as Noventa. The Noventa boatmen were supposed to hand over a quarter of their cargo every three months when they went to Venice. Around the same year that the battle in question took place, Pisa and Venice also clashed. The reason was the memory of a defeat off Rhodes years ago, the cause was the struggle for trade advantages: "Venice has not had to endure a more inhuman war than with Pisa and Genoa," says LeBret. Pope Lucius succeeded in “turning wolves into sheep”. - During this time, Venice was given the opportunity to subordinate itself to other cities modeled on Fanos. Koper (Capo d'Istria) agreed to add one more to the fifteen galleys that sailed the Adriatic if the fleet did not go beyond Ragusa. She also wanted to give her share of the crew on further trips. Pola also signed a new contract with Venice. LeBret believes that the inner peace in Venice was due to the fact that "their troubled spirits found objects enough to be scattered by action and wars" (p. 314). With the change of rule in Byzantium, because Manuel I wanted to restore the empire, new conflicts arose. But since he despised marine life, according to the author, “the Venetians had enough opportunity to spread out on the Adriatic Sea,” where the only opponent was Roger of Sicily. His bitter opponent was again Emperor Manuel, who maintained the alliance made by his father with Lothar. He threw Roger's ambassadors "against international law into prison". This, LeBret argues, triggered Roger's campaign against the Eastern Empire. The fleet brought home so much booty that "it had more the reputation of a merchant fleet than a war fleet". To prevent a joint attack by the Byzantine and Venetian fleets, he attacked Constantinople directly. The Normans burned suburbs and pleasure gardens of the emperor, palaces, spots and castles. Before the Greeks could defend themselves, the attackers had escaped again through the Dardanelles. In order to win Venice as an ally for a counterattack, the Emperor offered the Doge the reinstatement of Chrysobullon from 1082, with all trading rights in the empire. The Normans sailing back but scattered ships were captured, 19 ships fell into the hands of the combined fleet. The Doge wanted to run a new fleet himself. When the Doge fell ill, driven by the storm to Caorle, he passed the command of the fleet to his brother and son. This fleet united with that of the emperor, which supposedly consisted of a thousand sails but did not add much to the victory. During the siege of Corfu, the Doge, who ruled for 18 years and 4 months, died in Venice.

In his Il Palazzo ducale di Venezia from 1861, Francesco Zanotto believes that the new doge, elected by popular acclamation, was 'only 30 years old' (p. 92). He was chosen to honor the family of the late Doge Michiel, of whose daughters he had married one ("una figlia del quale aveva impalmato il Polani"). Inwardly, he calmed the Polani quarrel with the Dandolo and Badoaro. The plague of 1137, of which an old chronicle reports, did not prevent him from the order of internal affairs, such as the order of the "festivities delle Marie" in the year 1142. In the third year of rule Veglia became tributary, in 1136 his envoys got the confirmation of the old privileges by Emperor Lothar. These ambassadors were his brother "Giovanni Polani, Orio Orio, e Pietro Dondidio (Donodei, o Donder) suo cappellano". Zanotto dates the dispute over Fano to the year 1140. In 1143 there was said dispute with Padua (the author does not mention Vicenza, unlike LeBret), which escalated because the Paduan people reacted "arrogantemente". The Doge sent 'Guido di Montechiaro or Montagone' to command the cavalry, and 'Alberto da Bragacurta, o, come altri voglione, Pier Gambacurta' to lead the infantry. At 'Tomba, today Tombelle', there was a battle, whereupon the Paduans had to restore the status quo ante. In 1144, the conflicts with Pisa intensified, with their ships hijacking the Venetian ones, according to the author, and Venice responded. The Pope balanced things out and exhorted them to join forces to liberate the Holy City. As Sanudo the Elder reports, according to Zanotto, troops were sent there under the leadership of Giovanni's brother of the Doge, the pilgrims were also brought to the Holy Land, and a hospice for the Orso Badoaro 1146 (not 1145, the author adds in brackets) Part of his palude donated, arose between Murano and Mazzorbo. The first pilgrims' hospice had been founded by Pietro Gatileso on the Orfano Canal five years earlier. The younger hospice was dedicated to the Apostle Jacob, the older to St. Clement. - With Zanotto it was the pirate activity of the Normans that caused Venice to set up a fleet. In addition, “Capodistria, Pola, Ossaro, Arbe, Veglia” renewed their old contracts. Capodistria and Pola even submitted to the republic and swore allegiance to it. With him, Euboea and Athens were plundered by the Normans, many residents were deported to deserted areas of Sicily ("terre sicule quasi deserte"), as Zanotto claims. The Venetians supported the emperor because they benefited from the old privileges and because they hoped for new ones, but they also saw the growing power of the Normans as a danger. The old alliance with the western emperor did not help here, because Konrad was on his way to the Holy Land in 1147. In fact, the Venetians received new privileges, the doge was supposed to have the title of “protosebaste” in the long run, the patriarch of Venice that of “iperteno, cogli annessi emolumenti”, with the attached references. At Zanotto, the fleet that set out in 1148 under the command of the Doge consisted of 40 galleys and 14 ships - while the number of ships that Manuel is said to have called up is also given here as a thousand. During the stay of several days in Caorle, which was forced by a storm, the Doge fell ill so that he had to hand over command to the said relatives. A little later he died and was buried in S. Cipriano di Murano. The “cronaca Veniera”, on the other hand, asserts, the author adds, that the Doge died in Caorle. - Finally, Zanotto adds that the Church of S. Marziale was founded in 1133 by the Bocco or Bocchi family, the Monastery of S. Daniele by Leone da Molino, a Cistercian monk.

Samuele Romanin interpreted the sources in a less educational and moralizing way . In addition, he tried much more to classify the references to the Doge's life in the wider historical context, as he showed in the second of ten volumes of his Storia documentata di Venezia , published in 1854 . First he stated that “almost” the entire rule of Pietro Polani had been filled with matters “di Germania e d'Italia”, “che non da quella di Palestina”. This was in sharp contrast to the reign of his father-in-law and predecessor, who had spent years in 'Palestine' and whose overall focus was on the eastern Mediterranean. The Italian cities decided, often out of opposition to each other, for the other of the two pretenders to the throne in the Roman-German Empire, who fought each other after the death of Henry V. From 1130 two popes were also elected, with Anaklet only being supported by Roger of Sicily and the urban Roman nobility, and who, according to Romanin, was only rich and ambitious, otherwise “poor in virtue”, “povero di virtù” (p . 54). Although Lothar succeeded in getting crowned in Rome in 1133, he had to evacuate the city afterwards and return to his heartland. When he reappeared in Italy in 1136, two envoys from Venice and Constantinople had encouraged him to do so. Although Roger had to retreat to Sicily, he managed to recapture. Lothar died at the end of 1137. Pope Innocent's troops were also subject to the Normans, but the prisoner was treated with honor by Roger. So it came about that the Pope recognized the new kingdom of Rogers. The Doge largely stayed out of the fighting, but used every opportunity to make individual contracts, be it with Lothar, be it with smaller cities such as Fano, to whom Venice rushed to help with its fleet (pp. 55-57). Romanin also describes the conflict with Padua in detail. So while the European powers were tearing each other to pieces in endless wars, the crusaders were faced with a new, powerful opponent: “Zengui degli Atabegi, padre del famoso Noradino”, “ Zengi the Atabeg, father of the famous Nur ad-Din ”, who in turn paved the way for Would free 'the even more famous' Saladin . While Genoa and Pisa were content to fight the Saracens in Europe and Africa, the Pope called for a new crusade in 1144. In this regard, 'it is not true that Venice did not care about Palestine', because Sanudo the Elder reports how a fleet fought there under the Doge's son, Giovanni (p. 58 f.). When the crusaders arrived in Constantinople under the leadership of Conrad and Louis VII, Emperor Manuel met them with the "solite gelosie e nimicizie, non senza aggiungere perfino i tradimenti", that is, with the usual envy and hostility, and also with betrayal. According to Romanin, Venetian ships supported pilgrims, protected the coasts, fought against Roger, Venetians helped with donations and financed hospitals. While Venice was able to strengthen its influence in Dalmatia, the Normans attacked Byzantium head-on, sacked Athens, Negroponte, Corinth, and kidnapped numerous silk weavers who were now producing for the Normans. 'As usual', Emperor Manuel turned to Venice for help. The Doge tried to involve King Konrad in the anti-Norman alliance through an envoy. Byzantium was so weak in Romanin's eyes that it had to grant further trading privileges. This weakness stood in strange contrast to the “pomposità dei titoli”, which has now been awarded. The Venetians were practically exempt from all taxes in the entire empire (p. 61 f.). After Roger had captured a Venetian ship, Venice equipped a fleet that should go south under the leadership of Polani; However, he had to turn back in Caorle, a little later he died in Venice. Meanwhile Normans were already in front of Constantinople and shelled the imperial palace. Although the Greeks abandoned the Venetians, they were able to capture 40 of the Normans' ships, sink more and chase the others back to their homeland.

Heinrich Kretschmayr argued differently in many ways in the first volume of his three-volume History of Venice in 1905 . For him, the starting point of all political activities was the Norman empire in the person of King Rogers II, to whose activities Venice and Byzantium in particular were forced to react. For decades, Roger's Norman Empire “came to the fore of all interests in the Mediterranean” (p. 230). Byzantium and Venice “after all the hatred of the past few years were once again forced into alliance and defense”. The allies found support in Lothar III. and Innocent II, since Roger was the support of the antipope Anaclet. However, it was not until April 1135 that envoys from Constantinople and Venice appeared to complain about Roger, especially as he allegedly damaged Venice by 40,000 talents. In the spring of 1136, Bernhard von Clairvaux settled the dispute between Genoa and Pisa, important allies of the Roman-German emperor. Lothar, who appeared in Italy in autumn, confirmed Venice's privileges in front of Guastalla on October 3 . In 1137 the imperial troops under the leadership of the Emperor and Henry the Proud were already standing in front of Bari. In May 1137 the Norman fleet suffered a heavy defeat at Trani . Even if the winner is not named, it should have been Venice, as Kretschmayr assumes (p. 231). The Pisans had already destroyed Amalfi in 1135 , and Salerno fell in August 1137 . King Roger was ready to ask Apulia for his son as an imperial fief. But now the Pope and the Emperor were fighting over feudal rule. Lothar withdrew to the north, on July 22, 1139 the Pope fell into Norman captivity. Venice, too, had to give in when the tide was turned and probably accept higher trade taxes. In Palermo in 1140 the Venetians converted a Greek church "in the Serelkadi district" into a St. Mark's Church. While negotiating a new anti-Norman coalition spurred on by Constantinople, John II died in 1143. His son and successor Manuel continued the efforts of his father, who had left him extensive funds, and at the center of which was the Doge Pietro Polani was standing. However, he fell ill in the said way at the beginning of a fleet expedition and died soon afterwards. Nevertheless, the struggle for Italy continued. Manuel's coalition attempts lasted until 1151, when the alliance was finally broken.

Approximate extension of the territory of the Cumans , who threatened Byzantium from the north

For John Julius Norwich in his History of Venice, however , the central factor was the attempt by John II to put the Venetians on a par with their competitors, Genoa and Pisa, and thus to revoke the Chrysobullon of 1082. Polani's predecessor tried to reverse this through violent intervention. If you follow the Byzantine historian Johannes Kinnamos († after 1185), the Venetians plundered Lesbos and Chios , Rhodes and Cyprus. Norwich describes the Doge's triumphal march in the Holy Land, but does not fail to mention the looting on the way back to Venice, as well as the conquest of Kephalonia. In the end, he had actually enforced the restoration of Venice to the rights that had been withdrawn by the emperor, “his reputation was assured for ever. In later centuries, indeed, it became almost legendary. ”Nevertheless, Rogers II's economic and political success forced a new connection between the powers that were most affected by this. "Already Sicilian sea power was beginning to rival that of the Republic", allegedly, according to Norwich, "dealings on the Rialto had begun, gently but perceptibly, to slacken." In 1135 the Venetians estimated their losses from Sicilian "privateers" at 40,000 talents . When a Byzantine embassy visited Venice on the way to the Roman-German court, which proposed a joint naval expedition against Roger, "Polani not only agreed with enthusiasm", but he also sent his own envoys into the empire. In contrast to Kretschmayr, Norwich sees no military participation by Venice in the campaign against Roger, and when Lothar died in December 1137, less than eight weeks later Anaklet, in July 1139 Innocent II fell into Roger's hands and the Pope had to recognize his kingship, Roger had triumphed across the board. In 1143, Emperor John II died while hunting from a poisoned arrow. Polani took the opportunity to support Fano in 1141, after which the city paid tributes, namely oil for the lighting of San Marco and the Doge's Palace. For Norwich, Venice negotiated the first contract with Fano with an inner Adriatic city, but without taking into account the contract with Bari of 1122. In 1143 there was the aforementioned dispute with Padua, with Norwich taking more ecological aspects into account, because the lagoon was not only essential for the protection and navigation of Venice, but was also extremely sensitive to diversions of the tributaries from the mainland. Nevertheless, this would not be a reason to mention such a "trivial" process, as Norwich expressly notes, if Venice had not hired a condottiere for the first time , a mercenary leader from Verona named Guido di Montecchio. Venice had developed an almost obsessive fear that one of these men might usurp political power, as happened almost everywhere in northern Italy in the later centuries. With Manuel, the new, young emperor of Byzantium, the relationship to Roger initially seemed to change. But a corresponding marriage project failed. He himself married a relative of the western emperor in 1146, but his plans were thwarted by the Second Crusade. Only Marino Sanudo the Elder reported participation in a “magnum auxilium” led by the Doge brother Giovanni Polani, so that Norwich assumes that this expedition “can almost certainly be discounted”. At the beginning of 1148 Venice was alerted when an urgent request from Manuel surfaced because a Norman fleet was sailing against the Empire. The command of the fleet was "George of Antioch, a Levantine Greek who had risen from humble origins" to the "High Admiral". After the conquest by the Normans, Corfu received a garrison of a thousand men. The fleet conquered Thebes, "center of the Byzantine silk manufacture", where among other things "a number of highly skilled Jewish workwomen had been seized and carried off to enrich the royal silk factory". With this, he indicates enormous economic damage. The ships, fully loaded with loot, lay so deep in the water, as Niketas Choniates reports, that they looked like merchants, not pirate ships. For Norwich, the main purpose of this provocation was to get the emperor to strike too early. In exchange for extensive privileges, Manuel received the support of the Venetian fleet for half a year, he himself brought his fleet to war readiness: "some 500 galleys and 1,000 transports, a fitting counterpart to an army of perhaps 20,000 to 25,000 men", as the author believes. But the allies initially lost a lot of time, because the Cumans threatened Byzantium from the north, and the Doge died in Venice. His brother won a victory, but the conflicts were to escalate, especially with Constantinople.

swell

Historiography

• Roberto Cessi (Ed.): Origo civitatum Italiae seu Venetiarum ( Chronicon Altinate et Chronicon Gradense ) (= Fonti per la storia d'Italia, LXXIII), Rome 1933, p. 120.
• Luigi Andrea Berto (Ed.) Historia ducum Venetorum (Testi storici veneziani: XI – XIII secolo), Padua 1999, p. 12 f.
• Ester Pastorello (Ed.): Andrea Dandolo, Chronica per extensum descripta aa. 460-1280 dC , (= Rerum Italicarum Scriptores XII, 1), Nicola Zanichelli, Bologna 1938, pp. 237-247. ( Digitized , p. 236 f.)
• Ester Pastorello (Ed.): Chronica brevis , Bologna 1938, p. 364 f.
• Henry Simonsfeld (ed.): Annales Venetici breves , in: MGH, Scriptores, XIV, ed. G. Waitz, Hannover 1883, pp. 69–72, here: p. 71. ( digitized version )
• Luigi Andrea Berto (Ed.) Annales Venetici breves (Testi storici veneziani: XI – XIII secolo), Padua 1999, p. 95.
• Roberto Cessi, Fanny Bennato (eds.): Venetiarum historia vulgo Petro Iustiniano Iustiniani filio adiudicata , Venice 1964, pp. 108-111.
• Alberto Limentani (ed.): Martin da Canal, Les estoires de Venise: cronaca veneziana in lingua francese dalle origini al 1275 . Olschki, Florenz 1972, pp. 308-310 ( Fondazione Giorgio Cini . Civiltà veneziana. Fonti e testi. Series III. 3).
• Marino Sanudo : Le vite dei dogi , ed. By Giovanni Monticolo , (= Rerum Italicarum Scriptores XXII, 4), 2nd edition, XXII, 4, Città di Castello 1900, pp. 216-223.

Certificates, contracts

• Marco Pozza (Ed.): Gli atti originali della Cancelleria veneziana , Vol. I: 1090-1198, Venice 1994, pp. 54-60.
• Andrea Gloria (Ed.): Codice diplomatico padovano dal secolo sesto a tutto l'undicesimo , Vol. II, Padua 1879, pp. 256, 313 f., 326–328.
• Ludwig Weiland (Ed.): Constitutiones et acta publica imperatorum et regum inde from a. DCCCCXI usque ad a. MCXCVII (MGH, Leges, I), Hannover 1893, pp. 171-175.
• Pietro Kandler (Ed.) Codice diplomatico istriano , Vol. I: Dal 50 al 1299 , Triest, undated , doc. 1145, December.
• Attilio Bartoli Langeli (ed.): Il patto con Fano 1141 (= Pacta veneta, 3), Venice 1993.

literature

• Ermanno Orlando: Polani, Pietro , in: Dizionario biografico degli Italiani 84 (2015). (Unless otherwise noted, forms the basis of the performing part)
• Remy Simonetti: Since Padova a Venezia nel medioevo. Terre mobili, confini, conflitti , Viella, Rome 2009, pp. 67-78.
• Irmgard Fees : A document from the Venetian Doge Pietro Polani from 1138/1139 , in: Archiv für Diplomatik 55 (2009), pp. 67–95 (at the time of his death)

Web links

Commons : Pietro Polani  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

1. ↑ Irmgard Fees : The signatures of the Doges of Venice in the 12th and 13th centuries , in: Christian Lackner , Claudia Feller (ed.): Manu propria. From the personal writing of the Mächtigen , Böhlau, Cologne et al. 2016, pp. 149–169, here: p. 156.
2. ↑ S. Zaccaria, b. 11 perg .; S. Cipriano di Murano, in Mensa Patriarcale, busta 86; S. Giorgio Maggiore, busta 121, Proc. 516. They were edited by Marco Pozza: Gli atti originali della cancelleria veneziana , Vol. I (1090–1198), Venice 1994, No. 8–10.
3. ↑ So the coats of arms of the much later descendants of these doges, especially since the 17th century, were projected back onto the alleged or actual members of the families (allegedly) ruling Venice since 697: "Il presupposto di continuità genealogica su cui si basava la trasmissione del potere in area veneziana ha portato come conseguenza la già accennata attribuzione ai dogi più antichi di stemmi coerenti con quelli realmente usati dai loro discendenti "(Maurizio Carlo Alberto Gorra: Sugli stemmi di alcune famiglie di Dogi prearaldici , associazione nobiliare regional veneta. Rivista di studi storici, ns 8 (2016) 35–68, here: p. 41).
4. ^ Roberto Pesce (Ed.): Cronica di Venexia detta di Enrico Dandolo. Origini - 1362 , Centro di Studi Medievali e Rinascimentali “Emmanuele Antonio Cicogna”, Venice 2010, pp. 60–62.
5. ↑ Pietro Marcello : Vite de'prencipi di Vinegia in the translation by Lodovico Domenichi, Marcolini, 1558, pp. 65-69 ( digitized version ).
6. ↑ Șerban V. Marin (Ed.): Gian Giacomo Caroldo. Istorii Veneţiene , Vol. I: De la originile Cetăţii la moartea dogelui Giacopo Tiepolo (1249) , Arhivele Naţionale ale României, Bucharest 2008, pp. 133-137. ( online ).
7. ↑ Heinrich Kellner : Chronica that is Warhaffte actual and short description, all life in Venice , Frankfurt 1574, p. 27v – 28r ( digitized, p. 27v ).
8. ↑ Alessandro Maria Vianoli : Der Venetianischen Herthaben life / government, and withering / from the first Paulutio Anafesto to / bit on the now-ruling Marcum Antonium Justiniani , Nuremberg 1686, pp. 208-214 ( digitized ).
9. ↑ Jacob von Sandrart : Kurtze and increased description of the origin / recording / areas / and government of the world famous Republick Venice , Nuremberg 1687, p. 34 ( digitized, p. 34 ).
10. ↑ Johann Friedrich LeBret : State history of the Republic of Venice, from its origin to our times, in which the text of the abbot L'Augier is the basis, but its errors are corrected, the incidents are presented in a certain and from real sources, and after a Ordered the correct time order, at the same time adding new additions to the spirit of the Venetian laws and secular and ecclesiastical affairs, to the internal state constitution, its systematic changes and the development of the aristocratic government from one century to the next , 4 vols., Johann Friedrich Hartknoch , Riga and Leipzig 1769–1777, Vol. 1, Leipzig and Riga 1769, pp. 310–316 ( digitized version ).
11. ↑ Francesco Zanotto: Il Palazzo ducale di Venezia , Vol. 4, Venice 1861, pp. 92–94 ( digitized version ).
12. ↑ Samuele Romanin : Storia documentata di Venezia , 10 vols., Pietro Naratovich, Venice 1853–1861 (2nd edition 1912–1921, reprint Venice 1972), vol. 2, Venice 1854, pp. 53–62 ( digitized, p. 53 ).
13. ↑ Romanin names: “Sanudo, Secretor. fidelium Crucis, Liber III, parte VI, cap. XIX ”(p. 59, note 1).
14. ^ Heinrich Kretschmayr : History of Venice , 3 vol., Vol. 1, Gotha 1905, pp. 230-235 ( digitized , pages 48 to 186 are missing!).
15. ^ John Julius Norwich : A History of Venice , Penguin, London 2003, 1st ed. 1982.
16. ↑ Angela Caracciolo Aricò , Chiara Frison (ed.): Marin Sanudo il Giovane: Le vite dei Dogi 1423–1474 , 2 vols., Venezia La Malcontenta, Venice 1999–2004 (critical edition).

predecessor	Office	successor
Domenico Michiel	Doge of Venice 1130–1147	Domenico Morosini