Lesson 04 -- 2024-10-04

After 814: different nature of the Holy Roman Empire and the Venetian State; every new Western emperor is required, as a personal holder of iurisdictio, to acknowledge the boundaries in pax Nikephori, while the new doge does not because he is a holder of an impersonal, perpetual office. Political unrest and attempts to make the ducal successions peaceful. Tribuni as controllers of the doge. Iudices as counsellors in judicial matters. Co-regency as education of a possible candidate to the ducal succession. Maiores, mediocres and minores as merely socio-economical classes. Pietro Candiano IV and Waldrada's quittance: a cultural clash. Evolution of the assembly; tribuni from the vici coming to reside in Rialto; continuity in the management of public affairs, but reduced base for discussion. Legal system largely customary (usus patriae) with a Theodosian layer soon covered by foreign influences by trading partners, and original solutions. Early laws: 960, renewal of the ban on slave trade in the form of a constitutio; due process of law and right to defense; heavy alternative penalties.