Lesson 19 -- 2024-11-29

The conspiracy of doge Marino Falier: timely discovery by the network of inquisition of the Council of Ten; trial in front of the Ten with a Zonta; death penalty inflicted; very public show of repression and equality in front of the law even for the doge himself; damnatio memoriae. The Zonta to the Ten becomes permanent; increased relevance of the Ten's legislation in criminal matters and any other touching on the safety of the State; conflict with the Pregàdi in the late XVI century; Zonta not re-elected; system of integrated political checks and balances among the institutions of the Republic. Doge Andrea Dandolo, historian and law student; career and interests before the election; updates and completion to the Statutes with Liber Sextus; new legislation and authentic interpretation. Venice at the end of the Middle Ages as the major naval power in the Mediterranean and beyond; Ottoman conquest of the Byzantine empire and continuing Venetian relationships with the new partners/enemies.