Vital Falier

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Coat of arms of "Vidal Falier" based on ideas from the 17th century

Vitale Falier , in the sources closer to the time mostly Vitalis Faletro (* 1st half of the 11th century in Venice ; † December 1096 ibid), also called Vital Faliero de 'Doni , ruled from December (?) 1084 to December 1096 as Doge of Venice . According to the historiographical tradition, as the state-controlled historiography of Venice is called, Falier, who signed a document with vitalis faletro , was the 32nd Doge.

His rule was marked by both foreign policy successes and serious domestic political problems, which increased in his last years, so that only death saved him from overthrow. At the beginning of his reign, Venice's power in the Adriatic was consolidated and the expansion of the southern Italian Normans was temporarily halted. The Doge tried to be neutral in the dispute between the reform papacy under Gregory VII and Emperor Henry IV . The Church of the Holy Sepulcher of the Apostle Markus , the Markusbasilika , was created by the alleged recovery of the relicsof the apostle in 1094. Renovated building was 1095, a year after the dedication, the beleaguered Henry visited, the daughter of the Doge lifted from the baptism . On this occasion, he issued Venice with a far-reaching privilege for trading with his empire, which, together with a trade privilege that has largely exempted the city from taxes since 1082 in the Byzantine Empire , forms the basis for Venice's economic dominance in the eastern Mediterranean .

Origin and family

The Falier-Faletro were one of the oldest families in Venice. Even in the oldest list of noble houses in Venice, which was created in the middle of the 10th century, they are among the "antiquiores et nobiliores Veneticos". Like many other members of the clan, the doge was nicknamed Dedoni or Dedonis . Some documents have signatures such as "Giovanni Faletro Dedonis", a consigliere of the Doge, or "Dominicus Faletro Dedonis", "Dominicus Faletro" and "Costantin Faletro". This nickname denoted a particular branch of the family. The oldest historiography ( Origo civitatum , later the Chronicle of Andrea Dandolo ) shows that Ordelaffo Falier , who later became the Doge, was the son of Vitale. The only thing that is considered certain about his family is a daughter who was christened by Emperor Heinrich IV in 1095 , but whose name has not been passed down. He was probably consiliarius before his election , so he was probably already one of the Doge's closest advisors.

Doge's Office

Falier, who, according to Andrea Dandolo, was the driving force behind the uprising against his predecessor Domenico Silvo , was probably elected Doge in December 1084. He is the first doge to have an original document with his own signature. He drew, after the introduction with a cross, with "Ego vitalis faletro dodoni d (e) i gr (ati) a dux m (anu) m (ea) s (ub) s (cripsi)". This signature explicitly made by hand in the form of late minuscules is followed by the final sign. It was obviously difficult for the Doge to keep a line.

Normans (up to 1085)

From the beginning of his reign, Falier, like his predecessor, was involved in military conflicts with the Normans under the leadership of Robert Guiscard , who fought against Byzantium until 1071 for supremacy in southern Italy and from around 1080 in the Adriatic . He planned to conquer the empire. In addition, Robert had allied himself with Pope Gregory VII , who in turn was involved in an investiture dispute with Emperor Henry IV . Venice fought on the side of the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos (1081–1118), who, in dire straits from the Normans and Seljuks , had granted Venice in May 1082 an extremely far-reaching trade privilege. But in 1084, under Falier's predecessor, the fleet suffered a heavy defeat, for which the Doge was blamed. However, the new Doge, who is said to have overthrown his predecessor, did not change the policies of his predecessor in any way. The Normans, weakened by an epidemic in which Robert's son Bohemond fell so seriously ill in December 1084 that he had to return to southern Italy, put an end to Robert Guiscard's life in July 1085. In 1085 Vitale Falier still managed a decisive victory over the Normans at Butrint . On land, Emperor Alexios, who had lost the first battle against Bohemond, had won a decisive victory.

Relationship with Byzantium, Dalmatia

Emperor Alexios, to whose court Falier had sent three ambassadors after his election, awarded the new Doge for his help with the title of protosebastos ( proto = primo / the first, sebastos = augustus ) and a little later with that of dux Venetiarum atque Dalmaciae even if only a narrow coastal strip of Dalmatia was under the rule of the Venetians. Most of the former Croatian territory had been annexed by Hungary . It is likely that the three envoys also obtained confirmation of the privilege of 1082, which soon had an impact on trade. The title of protosebastos appears in a document in 1089 when the doge gave the monastery Ss. Secondo ed Erasmo Salinen donated - a way of extracting sea ​​salt , which in turn was of considerable importance for the economy of Venice and was monopolized by the state. As Vittorio Lazzarini was able to prove , Falier did not have the aforementioned title of Doge of Venice and Dalmatia in any document, whereas his successor claimed the full title.

Visit of Henry IV in Venice, godfather, trade privilege (1095)

In the investiture dispute Vitale Falier tried to behave neutrally after the Norman War. Henry IV spent the years 1093 to 1096 - forced into inactivity - locked up in northern Italy. In March 1095, however, he appeared under the pressure of another excommunication in Padua , in June, meanwhile excommunicated, in nearby Mestre , where he issued a privilege to the Venetian convent of San Zaccaria . Shortly before, a relative of the Doge's, Maria Falier, had become abbess there . In May the Emperor stayed in Treviso , where he received envoy from the Doge. They probably invited him to Venice, where, driven by religious feelings, he went to the Saint Mark's relics, explored the city and, after issuing documents to some monasteries, left the lagoon again. During his stay, the emperor gave birth to an unnamed daughter of the Doge, only to return to Treviso, where he renewed the city's privileges, which had been confirmed by most of the rulers of the Roman-German Empire since Carolingian times . In this certificate, Heinrich emphasizes the close relationship with Vitale Falier in the role of godfather. Heinrich was urgently looking for allies, which was possibly the reason why he made very extensive concessions to the Venetians. Goods from the empire now had to be stored in Venice ( stacking requirement ) before they could be resold to the east. Heinrich's privilege supplemented Alexios' privilege of 1082, which promised the Venetians exemption from taxes and jurisdiction, as well as a quarter in Constantinople . Both together brought enormous advantages to Venice's trade. It should not have been a coincidence that the Doge reorganized the expansion and fortification of Loreo , located near the Adige , in 1094, because this is where the main trade route ran via the Po and Adige into the empire.

San Marco: renovation, recovery of the apostle

The decoration of San Marco with mosaics operated by his predecessors Domenico I. Contarini and Domenico Silvo had meanwhile been completed, and the church could be consecrated in 1094 . Since the relics of the evangelist Mark had been hidden since the severe fire of 976, but no one could remember this place, the Doge, the clergy and the congregation asked for the city ​​patron to reappear with three days of fasting and prayer as well as processions . According to historiography, a marble column next to the altar opened miraculously and the bronze sarcophagus of the saint came to light. However, it was immediately taken back to a secret location, namely on October 8, 1094, a place known only to the Doge and the Procurators of San Marco. The grave remained hidden for centuries. It was not until 1811 that a skeleton and a lead tablet with the said date 1094, the year in which the basilica was consecrated, were discovered by chance in the crypt . The legendary events surrounding the apostle's reappearance contributed decisively to the consolidation of the cult of St. Mark in Venice. Coins minted at this time bore the image of the apostle and the inscription S. Marcus Venecia , with the name of Emperor Heinrich appearing on the obverse . Under Doge Renier Zen (1253–1268) the annual celebration of the recovery of the holy corpse was set up as a state ceremony.

Towards the end of the rule: natural disasters, famine, unrest

The last few years of the Doge were more like signs of crisis. The historians tell of earthquakes , floods, price increases and famine, and as a result of uprisings. Dissatisfaction with the Doge, who was blamed for all the misfortunes, grew in the city, similar to his predecessor.

Death, burial in San Marco

When Falier died on Christmas, he had narrowly escaped his disempowerment. He was buried in the atrium of San Marco, probably in 1096. Roberto Cessi dates the year of his death to 1095. The older chroniclers only give the duration of his reign, with some deviations, namely eleven years and three months according to the Annales Venetici breves , eleven years, seven months and ten days after the Origo civitatum , but twelve years after Andrea Dandolo . Later chronicles tell that the people blamed Vitale Falier for the famine, and so they desecrated his grave. This is the oldest surviving doge tomb in Venice, but its current form probably dates back to the 13th century.

reception

Until the end of the Republic of Venice

The (apparently) detailed Cronica di Venexia detta di Enrico Dandolo from the late 14th century, the oldest vernacular chronicle of Venice, depicts the processes, as does Andrea Dandolo, on a level that was long known at that time and largely dominated by the Doges - them even form the temporal framework for the entire chronicle, as was customary in Venice. This also applies to “Vidal Falier”, but almost nothing is reported about it, except for the horror of the temporary loss of the relics of St. Markus. The new doge was elected by the majority of the people ("de la più parte del povolo"). He had sent three ambassadors to Constantinople, whose names the author incorrectly gave as "meser Vidal Michiel, meser Zuane Dandulo et meser Anthonio Orio". As the editor notes (p. 52, note 236), however, these were Andrea Michiel, Domenico Dandolo and Iacopo Orio. The ambassadors achieved that Venice was recognized as the overlord of Dalmatia ("liberamente tucta la Dalmatia dominiçasse"). When the said loss of the relics of St. Markus was noticed, "lo dicto Duxe cum tucto el povolo funno in grande tristicia, quasi parendoli esser privadi del suo paron et proptector". Because of this loss of the 'patron and protector', who had plunged the whole people into deep mourning, all the prelates gathered , for three days processions and litanies were held until the evangelist's right arm was shown on a pilaster on which the Altar of "san Iacomo" stood. So the body of the saint could be found again. "Et de ciò alcum non dubiti, ma habia fermissima credença", as the author emphasizes, one has not the slightest doubt, but the most firm belief. The remains, which, as it is said , were stolen from Alexandria in the year "VIII c XXIII", should be secured against theft by hiding them or, after Pietro Orseolo feared a new fire during the renovation of the church, was established the writer why the relics had been hidden. In future, only the doge and the procurators should know exactly where the relics are. The doge, peacefully buried "soto il portego" in St. Mark's Church , had ruled for "XIII" years. The indication "MLXXXXV", ie the year 1095, appears from another hand.

Pietro Marcello meant in 1502 in his work later translated into Volgare under the title Vite de'prencipi di Vinegia , the Doge "Vitale Faliero Doge XXXI." "Fu creato poi doge" ('was then made a doge'). Here, too, the new Doge sent envoy to Constantinople "ad Alesso Imperadore", so that he would "concedesse in perpetuo alla Signoria di Vinegia lo Imperio della Dalmatia, & della Croatia tratto delle mani degli assassini, & che i Veneziani leggittimamente possedessero quei luoghi". The three envoys already mentioned by Caroldo reached their destination 'easily'. At that time, "Arrigo Imperadore d'Italia" came from Treviso to Venice to see the sacristy of St. Mark's Church - the author apparently mocked Henry IV, whom he dubbed Emperor of Italy, who also wanted to see the sacristy in question. Marcello also reports that the relics of St. Mark by a miracle, with an arm sticking out of the earth or out of the wall. In addition, the Doge had renewed the Loreo, which had been 'ruined' by aging (“rinovò”). del suo Prencipato ".

According to the chronicle of Gian Giacomo Caroldo , the Historie venete dal principio della città fino all'anno 1382 , which is actually more detailed at this point , “Vital Falier” was confirmed as a doge by the popular assembly in the year “MLXXXIIII”, i.e. 1084 (“acclamato”) ), the “persuase al Popolo l'espulsione del precessor suo”, who thus “had persuaded the people to expel their predecessor” (p. 97). The new Doge sent the three "Oratori, Andrea Micchiel, Dominico Dandolo et Giacomo Aurio" to Emperor Alexios, with which Caroldo, in contrast to the aforementioned Cronica di Venexia detta di Enrico Dandolo, names the correct family members. These in turn reached the "giurisdittioni della Dalmatia et Croatia, Provincie havute da Venetiani per deditione di quelli Popoli, le quali appartevano all'Imperio Orientale" in Constantinople, that is, the legal authority over Dalmatia and Croatia, areas that Venice possessed through the dedition of the peoples, which belonged to the Eastern Empire. The author recalls that Dalmatia was the first province that Charlemagne and Nikephorus had contractually assigned to the "partione", the "partition", of the Eastern Empire, and where in the times of the emperors Basil and Constantine "presidenti" sat even if they were not very obedient (“benche poco ubidienti”). During the negotiations it was stated that the Venetians had already punished the Narentans and Slavs for their piracy and the "armate che Venetiani haveano mandate più volte in aiuto dell'Imperatore" was added, the fleets that the Venetians had repeatedly used to aid the empire had been sent. The Doge received the title "Dalmatia et Croatia Duce et Imperiale Prothosevasto". After the death of "Dominico Vulcano Patriarcha" he was followed by "Dominico Saponario", who died in Constantinople, the author inserts. When "Henrico di Roma Imperatore" was in Treviso, the Doge sent "Guason Cancellario, Vital Micchiele et Pietro Zopolo Legati" to him, who were seen by the Emperor with "lieto animo", with a happy heart, and "in segno dell ' amor suo verso il predetto Duce, volse una figliuola del detto Duce far tener a battesimo ”. The proposed sponsorship for a daughter of the Doge should therefore be regarded as a sign of the imperial love for the Doge. With the said "oratori", the emperor in turn sent the recognition of the privileges granted by his predecessors.

Even Heinrich Kellner said in his 1574 published Chronica is Warhaffte actual vnd kurtze description, all Hertzogen to Venice lives , "Vitalis Falier" was "afterward Hertzog been". With him, too, the new Doge was the first to send "his bottled hands to the Constantinopolitan Keyser Alexio". They achieved that he "surrendered the two lands / Dalmatia and Croatia (which they had taken from the robbers) to Venice for ever". His ambassadors are “Dominicus Dandalus / Andreas Michiel / and Jacob Orio / who all received things easily.” In a marginal note, Kellner dates this event to the year 1072. - “At that time, Keyser Heinrich von Tervis came to Venice / Saint Marx To see church / then they say / that shortly before Sanct Marx made a miracle sign / stuck his arm out of the earth or walled / and showed the citizens of Venice. "Loreo had the Doge" renewed "because it was" old In the case of Kellner, too, the doge died in the thirteenth year of his Hertzogthumbs, but he adds as a marginal note: "Some say in the twelfth". Finally, Kellner remarks that “a square stone was erected near his grave” in San Marco. The "forgetting" carved into it were "to be read and understood half partly annoyed with old age / partly even passed out".

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, "Vitalis Falier, The 32nd Hertzog". This “tried” “at the first sight of the ducal throne”, “because he was a very clever ruler”, not only to renew the wavering alliance with Byzantium, but “also a new alliance with the Occidental Kayser Henrich the Third / as it was at that time in Treviso ”“ to draw the most solid conclusions and to straighten up ”. He had come to Venice because of the said miracle. The emperor was "most splendidly welcomed by the city / and the hermit / whose wife just died at the same time / should have carried a young daughter to the baptism". A corresponding alliance was not only concluded with Alexios by the said ambassadors, “but also brought about by him / that they took the two landscapes / as Dalmatia and Croatia / which themselves partly voluntarily surrender to them / partly by force from the Normantines had / remained to the Venedian rulership for eternity / and they should keep and own it with a legitimate title. "Vianoli mentions that under Falier" a large armada was sent against the Normantines "in order to give them the" important sea port Duraz " "Again to be torn from their hands". But the fleet was defeated and had to leave. Then the fortification of the outdated Loreto took place, and the Doge was "gently and calmly different" in the twelfth year of his good government. He also names the tombstone mentioned by Kellner in the St. Mark's Church with "an epitaph, but it is sometimes difficult to read / find half old age." In 1096 his successor was named "Vitalis Michiel".

In 1687 Jacob von Sandrart noted in his Opus Kurtze and an increased description of the origin / recording / territories / and government of the world-famous republic of Venice laconically, apparently without precise knowledge, that "Vitalis Faledrus" "In the year 1084" was chosen as "XXXI", so probably for the 31st Doge. Then he continues imprecisely: "He received the kingdoms of Dalmatia and Croatia from the Greek Emperor Alexio / which he tore the grazing parties out of his hands." He also had "had the castle at Loretto rebuilt." "At that time is Kayser Henry IV was in Venice / and when he saw the glory of the same city, he could not refrain from calling it a royal city. ”This ends Sandrart's section on Vitale Falier.

Historical-critical representations

From 1769, Johann Friedrich LeBret published his four-volume State History of the Republic of Venice , in which he states that the newly elected "Vital Falier" "some writers accuse that he contributed most to the deposition of Silvius." In contrast to earlier authors, LeBret emphasizes, that the Doge sought “to take advantage of the situation of the Eastern and Italian empires” “that was possible for him, and Venice could never have chosen a more appropriate time for this than this, since the Greek empire was exposed to such great disruptions, than the Italian. ”In the Dalmatian cities, LeBret saw Venice more“ allies ”, whose most important man was the prior of Zara, but“ Falier wanted to consolidate his rule, or at least to give it the legal form of a solemn cession by the Greek emperor ” (P. 278). The three envoys pointed out to the emperor the Venetian troubles and costs, but above all the danger posed by Croatia and Hungary. “The emperor saw the need to cede Dalmatia to a power that would be most convenient for him.” LeBret also feared the alliance of Croats and Hungarians, Pope and Normans. In this way Dalmatia, but also Istria, became Venetian "property". The only condition was that Venice support Alexios against the Normans. The emperor felt he owed himself to the Doge, which meant that he still "gave him the title of protose bastard, which Falier consistently used in his titulature", as LeBret claims. Venice's navy actually attacked the Normans, while Robert hurried to Rome in 1084 to protect the Pope, "which was the first opportunity that the Saracens had to help the Pope too" (p. 279). Although the fleets of the Venetians and Byzantines initially won, Robert Guiscard's son Bohemond was able to "disperse" both fleets in a second meeting. Robert defeated the fleet of Venice, but died on September 9, 1085 on Kephalonia . “Nobody was more happy about Robert's death than the emperor Alexius.” He was also able to get a party in Durazzo to “cut down the heads of the Norman party” and hand over the city to the emperor. - LeBret states that Pope Gregory, in contrast to other places in Italy, such as Milan, did not succeed in unsettling Venice. On the contrary: "We have enough written evidence in the Venetian archives that Heinrich ... was a great friend of the Venetians." Alexios had campaigned in Piacenza for support against the Turks, which the new Pope Urban II recorded, "and the Christians exhorted to be zealous so that the holy places might be snatched from the unbelievers, at which end he himself had called a church meeting in Clermont ”. Henry IV had no choice with his numerous enemies - LeBret counts " Countess Mathildis ", but also Robert's successor Roger , the Pope and the Lombard cities - he had to acquire the friendship of the Venetians, which in turn was based on a "balance of Power ”were interested. "They sent the Chancellor Gleichen, the Vital Michieli and the Peter Zopolo to Treviso", whose bishop was attached to the emperor. Heinrich confirmed the old privileges and agreed to visit the Doge. There he gave birth to a daughter of the Doge, visited St. Mark's Church, granted privileges to some monasteries and “admired the whole location and furnishings of the city”. He took the monastery of San Zaccaria under his imperial protection. LeBret does not name the much more important long-term agreement with which Venice enforced the stacking requirement for goods from the empire in 1095.

Samuele Romanin , the historian embedded in the broader historical context and who portrayed this epoch in 1853 in the first of ten volumes of his Storia documentata di Venezia , expressed himself less in an educational and moralizing way than looking for contemporary motifs . For him, the first act of the new Doge was to send an embassy to Constantinople while the fleet wintered in the "lago de Glikis". Alexios revealed to the ambassadors that he needed help, but he wanted to compensate for this with extensive privileges. He granted the Doge the title of Doge of Dalmatia, but, according to Romanin, it was not until much later that the latter also became Doge of Croatia. As Anna Komnena reports, the Venetians won ahead of Corfu and Butrint . Robert died in July 1085, whereupon his troops withdrew 'in a hurry' to Italy, where Robert's heirs quarreled and so Byzantium was able to regain the lost Durazzo. Venice received a great privilege (which the author placed after Robert's death, although this had already been issued in 1082), whereas the formerly rich trade and the trading colony of Amalfi , which the Normans had supported, were ruined. However, Venice created two new competitors, Pisa and Genoa . Pisa had already supported Otto II with ships and now received privileges from Henry IV. 'An armed conflict with the Venetians became more inevitable every day'. In 1088, in agreement with Pisa, Genoa led a blow against North Africa, but soon the two trading cities were enemies. When Henry IV came to Italy, he sought an alliance with Venice. Romanin tells briefly about the visit of the emperor to Venice, but all the more extensively about the miracle of the discovery of the relics of the evangelist Mark. These were rediscovered on May 6, 1811, together with a "lamina" to commemorate October 8, 1094. Processions now commemorated the anniversary. Heinrich visited Venice for Romanin in 1094, where he wanted to take advantage of the fact that numerous pilgrims were now visiting the miracle site. A document from 1097 in which the brothers Tisone and Pietro Orio, sons of a Stefano from the Contrada San Giovanni Confessore, testified to the wealth of the city, which was also admired by the emperor after Dandolo, their extensive property in the city, including shops, the doge and the Bequeathed by the people of Venice (p. 332). The author also explains the importance of Loreo, which the Doge had repaired, for the trade of the Lombard, Tuscans and Romans, as well as for Venice's trade via the Po and Adige. This was also an important place for pilgrims to Rome. In this document the doge is actually called "duca di Dalmazia e Croazia". This document also opens up a deep insight into the situation and organization of the Venetian mainland locations, for example through regulations on fishing and hunting, swearing in of residents, exemption from military service or the free choice of Gastalden and the pastor. The latest news on Vitale Falier refer to “violenta bufera”, earthquakes and hunger, the latter being blamed on the Doge.

In his Il Palazzo ducale di Venezia from 1861, Francesco Zanotto grants the popular assembly greater influence, but this people is always 'gullible because ignorant' ('credulo perchè ignorante') and 'fickle as the sea'. When, after the defeat of the Venetian fleet, still under Vitales' predecessor Domenico Silvo, the fatal news came to Venice against the Noramnian 'everything was confusion, sadness, fear'. Since, as is always the case with the “cieco e volubile vulgo”, with the “blind and talkative people”, the Venetians fell away from the Doge, with Vitale Falier in particular fueling the people. According to Zanotto, he was even 'the soul of revolt', a man who was nicknamed “Dodoni” or “De donis” because he had brought people to his side with “doni”, with gifts. But he left this “macchia” behind and became “useful for the fatherland and popular with the people”. At the request of Alexios, the said envoys went to Constantinople to discuss ways of helping. Zanotto also names the rights over Dalmatia and the associated title as a price, as well as income from the empire for the Doge and various churches. Houses in Constantinople and Durazzo were used for this purpose. In the following victory, Robert's wife “Singelgasta”, a “woman of masculine courage”, almost fell into the hands of the Venetians. This victory, according to the author, was decisive, Robert was just able to attack Kephallonia . His death there 'meant life for the Greeks', who quickly regained their land. The gold bull handed down in the Codice Trevisano brought enormous economic advantages, as Zanotto explains, as he names numerous, henceforth tax-free ports. In addition, every Amalfi in Byzantium had to pay three Hyperpera to St. Mark's Church. According to Zanotto, this was probably due to Robert's support from Amalfi. But now the relics of the patron saint, which had been hidden during the city fire of 976, were no longer found. On June 25, 1094, a procession took place, for which 'all the people from all the islands and the mainland of the state gathered'. During the service, stones suddenly fell, 'exactly where the gilded head of an angel can be seen' and where a marble box was found with the relics, which could now be searched for three days. On October 8, so Sanudo , as Zanotto expressly notes, the relics were put back in an urn and placed in the crypt . A lead plate later showed the date of the laying down when the relics were rediscovered in 1811. Zanotto visits Henry IV shortly after the rediscovery of the bones which the emperor now intended to venerate. Once again after Sanudo, the Doge's daughter is said to have been called "Enrica". At Zanotto, the restoration of Loreo was not necessary because of its age, but because of the war damage, but Zanotto also recognized its economic importance, and not only for the protection of the lagoon. For Zanotto, the time of the crusades had come, which turned to the Orient, 'to free the Holy Sepulcher'. And Zanotto also lists the accidents towards the end of Vitale Falier, who was accused of not having taken precautions against the lack of food.

Right at the beginning, August Friedrich Gfrörer († 1861) explains in his History of Venice from its founding to 1084 , which was only published eleven years after his death , that in the catastrophic defeat of November 1084 (as Gfrörer dated) after Anna Komnena, 13,000 Venetians died Life came (p. 544). 2,700 Venetians were taken prisoner, as another chronicler reports. The Venetians lost nine large warships called galleons. "The general despair discharged devastatingly over the head of Doge Silvio" (p. 547). Dandolo, the chronicler, quotes Gfrörer as saying: "Because of the loss of the fleet sent against Robert, the anger of the Venetians against the Doge flared up, so that he was deposed." Gfrörer calculates back from this and comes to the conclusion that the Doge was overthrown in November / December 1084. Then he says: "Vitalis Faledro, who ascended the ducal chair in 1084, had pushed through the expulsion of Silvio through promises and gifts" (p. 549). According to Gfrörer, it remains unclear how the following battles with the Normans developed until Robert died, but for the author it is clear “that the whole Norman enterprise, mainly as a result of the rare perseverance that the Venetians developed, ended up like a soap bubble , disappeared into nothing ”(p. 552). According to Gfrörer, Robert “did not take a step forward between October 1084 and July 1085”. When asked why Andrea Dandolo, in stark contrast to this, claims that the Doge had failed against Robert, Gfrörer replied that Enrico Dandolo's descendant considered it nonsensical to “join the Greek Empire, a lost power” and: “Out of it In my opinion, he also rejected the alliance that the Doges Silvio and Faledro had concluded with Alexius, and allowed himself to be carried away to speak little of their armed acts ”(p. 555). Gfrörer, on the other hand, believed that “on the contrary, the Byzantine wet nurse, no matter how pathetic she may be, rendered the Venetian community very fruitful service during his childhood.” Now, however, “Venice threw away the cradle, became protector instead of a protégé, soon , embittered by ingratitude, mortal enemy of the Greek Eastern Empire. ”For Gfrörer, the gold bull of 1082 was actually issued in 1084, as Anna Komnena correctly classifies in her historical work - however, this re-dating has never prevailed. According to the author, the golden bull does not name a dog name precisely because the emperor tried to use the interregnum between Silvo and Falier, and at the same time, in accordance with the constitutional development of Venice, and thus under the influence of Gregory VII, also the patriarch of Grado through gifts and gain privileges. In the past it would have been enough to get the Doge on his side. Gfrörer does not believe that the break of 1082/84 was so sharp, because for him the economic rise of Venice in the east had already started in 991, namely with the first privilege of this kind for Venice.

Heinrich Kretschmayr argued differently in many ways in his 1905 History of Venice . With him, too, the fights between the Normans under Robert and Emperor Alexios must be the focus, as well as the investiture controversy that was intertwined with it, then the conquest of Croatia by Hungary, the rededication of San Marco. Robert landed in Otranto in May 1082 , the same month that Alexios exhibited the extremely important Chrysobullon to the Venetians . This opened up to the Venetians “the whole of the Eastern Empire including the capital as a duty-free and duty-free trading area, and subject the Venetian merchants there to dogal jurisdiction. All competitors were knocked out of the field ”(p. 163). Alexios "had no other choice." In the summer of 1083 a Venetian fleet reappeared and conquered Durazzo, wintered there and in the spring of 1084 conquered Corfu. It was only in autumn that the Normans led 150 warships from Otranto to Butrint across the Adriatic. A long battle ensued, "which appears to the reporting sources now as a series of meetings, now as a single, great battle that lasted for days" (p. 164). First the Venetians and the Greeks won, then they lost to Corfu. "At home in Zealand, the Job Post demanded its victim - the Doge Domenico Silvio". Finally, Kretschmayr also reports the two versions of his resignation. "His successor, who some reports claim to be complicit in his fall, Vitale Falieri (Faletro) ... then saw the end of the war." The Venetian fleet initially lost again, this time at Saseno near Aulona . But then she won again over Butrint. "But sickness and death fought more powerfully than the ships for Venice," says the author. Boemund fell ill and had to return home, Robert died on July 17, 1085. The recovered Durazzo was returned to Alexios by the Venetians. In March 1095, Henry IV. “Probably invited to visit the city” went to Venice, “at that time held in extreme distress in northern Italy”. He “gave birth to a daughter of the Doge and confirmed the treaties on the basis of the Pactum of Otto II” Venice out, if otherwise they touched this city, denied, the Venetians should therefore be granted the right to stack goods from the western empire. "So Venice," since Pope Urban called the occidental world to the first great cruise, calmly entered the banished emperor Relationship". "In addition, it was considered a good idea to secure the weak southern border of the Dogates in 1094 by re-fortifying and reorganizing the military defense of Loreo." September 1095 (?) "There was a midnight earthquake and a severe storm," afterwards price increases, emergency, hunger riots. During this turmoil the Doge died and was buried on Christmas 1096 in the vestibule of San Marco; The stone sarcophagus still stands there, the oldest completely preserved Doge's tomb. ”The author considers the news to be a legend that bread was thrown into the Doge's grave after the said famine“ with the mocking cry that he should enjoy it now, because he did before his starving people could not have created any ”(p. 167).

John Julius Norwich is also particularly interested in the war against the Normans in his simplistic History of Venice, which largely ignores the historiographical discourse . Occasionally, he also deals with the sources in a highly arbitrary manner, the credibility of which he often questions. Without further ado, he declares Anna Komnena implausible, and Venice's revenge in the end for a kind of “wishful thinking”. You yourself, as one can see from Robert's description of the mutilations of the Venetians, "dwells with the morbid pleasure that is one of her least attractive characteristics". At the same time, the advantages of the Chrysobullon from 1082 are "almost impossible to exaggerate". He quotes Charles Diehl in a translated form: "On that day Venetian world trade began." On the other hand, the Venetians could not have known that the Norman question would weaken, because Robert died after the fall of the Doge, who served as a 'scapegoat' . Norwich casts Dandolo into doubt: "The historian Andrea Dandolo accuses the new Doge, Vitale Falier, of having persuaded the people, by means of promises and bribes, to depose his predecessor". He wrote 250 years later, and this passage in particular is “so sketchy” that Falier cannot be condemned on this basis. The Doge died shortly after Henry IV's visit and he was already dying when Urban II called for the crusade.

In 1988 Donald M. Nicol went so far as to suspect that the gold bull of 1082 could be an invention of Andrea Dandolo (p. 63). He also considers the legend about the retrieval of the said relics to be a mere invention, which only served to surpass the legendary retrieval of relics in the Apostle Church in Constantinople, namely the Saints Andrew , Luke and Timothy (p. 65).

swell

Historiography

Certificates

  • Dietrich von Gladiß , Alfred Gawlik (ed.): Diplomata Henrici IV , in: Monumenta Germaniae Historica, documents of the German kings and emperors , VI, 1–3, Berlin, Vienna 1941–1978, n. 417, p. 555 f. ("Heinrich confirms protection and immunity to the monastery of St. Hilary and Benedict near Venice, the awards granted by his predecessors and the exemption from duties and taxes", Padua, January 6, 1091 ( digitized version of the edition )), n. 442, p. 593–597 ("Heinrich renews the contract with the Venetians for Doge Vitalis Faletro", Treviso 1095 ( digitized edition )), n. 445, p. 600 f. ("Henry confirms his possessions, royal protection and immunity to the monastery of St. Zacharias and Pancratius in Venice", Mestre, June 1095 ( digitized edition )).
  • Gottlieb Lukas Friedrich Tafel , Georg Martin Thomas (ed.): Documents on the earlier commercial and state history of the Republic of Venice , Vienna 1856, in: Fontes Rerum Austriacarum , Dept. II. Diplomataria et Acta , 3 vol., Vol. 1: 814 –1205 , Vienna 1856, n. XXIII – XXV, pp. 43–63 ( digitized version ).
  • Luigi Lanfranchi (ed.): Famiglia Zusatz , Venice 1955, n.1 , 3
  • Eva Malipiero Ucropina (Ed.): Ss. Secondo ed Erasmo , Venice 1958, n.1.
  • Luigi Lanfranchi (Ed.): S. Giorgio Maggiore , Vol. II, Venice 1968, n.69.

literature

  • Irmgard Fees : Falier, Vitale , in: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani 44 (1994) 449-451 (forms the basis for the performing part).
  • Giorgio Cracco : Venezia nel Medioevo dal secolo XI al secolo XIV. Un altro mondo , Turin 1986, p. 34 f.
  • Roberto Cessi : Politica, economia, religione , in Storia di Venezia , Vol. II, Venice 1958, pp. 319, 325–331.
  • Roberto Cessi: Venezia ducale , Vol. II, 1, Venice 1965, pp. 159-173.
  • Cinzio Violante : Venezia fra Papato e Impero nel secolo XI,, in: La Venezia del Mille , Florence 1965, pp. 45–84.
  • Silvano Borsari : Il crisobullo di Alessio I per Venezia , in Annali dell'Istituto italiano per gli studi storici II (1969-70) 111-131.
  • Vittorio Lazzarini : I titoli dei dogi di Venezia , in: Scritti di paleografia e diplomatica , Padua 1969, pp. 203-209.
  • Ernesto Sestan : La conquista veneziana della Dalmazia , in: La Venezia del Mille , Florence 1965, pp. 87–116.
  • Otto Demus : Two Doge Tombs in S. Marco, Venice , in: Yearbook of the Austrian Byzantine Society V (1956) 41–59.

Web links

Commons : Vitale Falier  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ^ Andrea Da Mosto : I dogi di Venezia , reprint, Giunti, Florenz 2003, p. 54.
  2. ↑ 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 mighty , Böhlau, 2016, pp. 149–169, here: p. 153.
  3. ↑ Roman Deutinger : From the blind spot to the stage. Heinrich IV. In Venice , in: Romedio Schmitz-Esser , Knut Görich , Jochen Johrendt (eds.): Venice as a stage. Organization, staging and perception of visits to European rulers , Regensburg 2017, pp. 67–78.
  4. ↑ Andrea Dandolo (ed. Monticolo, p. 219) writes, Heinrich, "devocione motus, Veneciam veniens, beato Marco reverenciam exibuit, urbemque girans, situm et policiam insigniter comendavit, et monesteriis pluribus immunitatum concessis privilegiis, de Venecia recesit."
  5. ^ Weiprecht Hugo Count Rüdt von Collenberg: The lion of San Marco. Historical and formal aspects of the state symbol of the Serenissima , in: states, coats of arms, dynasties. XVIII. International congress for genealogy and heraldry in Innsbruck from September 5th to 9th, 1988 , publications from the Innsbruck city archive n. F. 18 (1988) 465–487, here: p. 467.
  6. ↑ Annette Weber: Venetian Doge Portraits of the 16th Century , Jan Thorbecke, 1993, p. 21.
  7. ^ Roberto Pesce (Ed.): Cronica di Venexia detta di Enrico Dandolo. Origini - 1362 , Centro di Studi Medievali e Rinascimentali “Emmanuele Antonio Cicogna”, Venice 2010, pp. 52–54.
  8. ↑ Pietro Marcello : Vite de'prencipi di Vinegia in the translation of Lodovico Domenichi, Marcolini, 1558, p 55 ( digitized ).
  9. ↑ 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, p. 97 f., Legend of the recovery of the relics of St. Mark on p. 98-100 ( online ).
  10. ↑ Heinrich Kellner : Chronica that is Warhaffte actual and short description, all life in Venice , Frankfurt 1574, p. 22r – 22v ( digitized, p. 22r ).
  11. ↑ In German translation, the inscription according to Kellner read: "With good morals well adorned / A lover of respectability / Completely kind at all times ready / He has guarded common goods / In which he honored his ancestors / With lust he started everything / So that rich Was male / He also thet Frembden much more good / His life was deß Vatterland / With words he knew those silent ones / To the regiment he really wanted to / He was good to give ”etc. (p. 22v).
  12. ↑ Alessandro Maria Vianoli : Der Venetianischen Herthaben life / government, and dying / from the first Paulutio Anafesto to / bit on the itzt-ruling Marcum Antonium Justiniani , Nuremberg 1686, pp. 184-187 ( digitized ).
  13. ↑ Jacob von Sandrart : Kurtze and increased description of the origin / recording / areas / and government of the world famous Republick Venice , Nuremberg 1687, p. 32 ( digitized, p. 32 ).
  14. ↑ 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. 278–281 ( digitized version ).
  15. ^ Samuele Romanin : Storia documentata di Venezia , 10 vols., Pietro Naratovich, Venice 1853–1861 (2nd edition 1912–1921, reprint Venice 1972), vol. 1, Venice 1853, pp. 326–333 ( digitized version ).
  16. ↑ Romanin states in the accompanying footnote (1): “Cod. DLI cl. VII it. alla Marciana ”.
  17. ↑ Francesco Zanotto: Il Palazzo ducale di Venezia , Vol. 4, Venice 1861, pp. 78–81 ( digitized version ).
  18. ↑ In the past, some of the Doge sons were given the names of their godparents when they were baptized, which may be the reason for this assumption.
  19. ↑ August Friedrich Gfrörer : History of Venice from its foundation to the year 1084. Edited from his estate, supplemented and continued by Dr. JB Weiß , Graz 1872, pp. 549-567 ( digitized version ).
  20. ↑ Heinrich Kretschmayr : History of Venice , 3 vol., Vol. 1, Gotha 1905, pp. 155–167 ( digitized , pages 48 to 186 are missing!).
  21. ^ John Julius Norwich : A History of Venice , Penguin, London 2003.
  22. ^ Donald M. Nicol : Byzantium and Venice. A Study in Diplomatic and Cultural Relations , Cambridge University Press, 1988.
predecessor Office successor
Domenico Silvo Doge of Venice
1084-1096 		Vitale Michiel I.
personal data
SURNAME Falier, Vitale
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Vital Faliero de 'Doni
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Doge of Venice
DATE OF BIRTH 11th century
PLACE OF BIRTH Venice
DATE OF DEATH December 1096
Place of death Venice