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Grand chancellor (Republic of Venice)

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The grand chancellor (Italian: cancelliere grande) was one of the most senior offices in the Republic of Venice. Alone among the senior magistracies, which were reserved for the Venetian patriciate, it was held by common citizens (cittadini).

History and functions

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Illuminated initial showing Grand Chancellor Rafaino Caresini, on his knees, handing a copy of his chronicle to Doge Antonio Venier, from a manuscript in the Biblioteca Marciana

The origins of the title are unknown. It appeared along with the chancery of the Doge of Venice, and is first mentioned in the sources in 1268.[1] It was the highest office held exclusively by cittadini, the non-noble citizens of the Republic of Venice, and as a result it was also the de facto head of this social class, just as the Doge was for the patriciate.[1][2][3] The holder of the office enjoyed unusual privileges: the title of Excellency, purple clothing like the Doge's, and a very high place in the order of precedence—right after the Doge, the ducal councillors, and the Procurators of Saint Mark.[1]

The grand chancellor was elected by the Great Council of Venice,[1][4] and supervised the Doge's chancery and the archives of the Venetian state.[5] Exceptionally for Venetian magistracies, tenure was for life,[6] as for the Doge and the Procurators of Saint Mark.[7] The chancellor had the right to enter all governing councils of the Republic, along with the Doge.[1][8] He kept the registers of elections to the councils, was responsible for the appointment of notaries, and kept the state treaties with foreign powers in a locked closet (the Secreta), to which only he had access.[1][9]

His deputies were the reggente and vice-reggente of the chancery.[1] The chancery comprised a hundred clerks, likewise recruited exclusively from the non-noble citizenry;[10] The historian Ioana Iordanou stresses that "[t]hese were different from other public officers in a significant way: recruitment was subject to rigorous public examinations, formal training, and, more often than not, continuous professional development".[6] After an examination, they attained the rank of extraordinary clerk (notaio straordinario), and after five years progressed to become ordinary clerk (notaio ordinario).[11] The clerks were often entrusted with sensitive missions on behalf of the state, including as residents in embassies abroad (though not as ambassadors).[12] Higher levels still were as secretary to the Venetian Senate and ultimately as secretary to the Council of Ten, posts which were attained after further years of service or successful missions abroad.[9][11]

List of grand chancellors

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Da Mosto 1937, p. 219.
  2. ^ Brown 1887, pp. 204–205.
  3. ^ Lane 1973, pp. 180, 201, 266.
  4. ^ cf. Chambers, Fletcher & Pullan 2001, pp. 274–276.
  5. ^ Da Mosto 1937, pp. 1, 219.
  6. ^ a b Iordanou 2019, p. 110.
  7. ^ Lane 1973, p. 266.
  8. ^ Chambers, Fletcher & Pullan 2001, p. 60.
  9. ^ a b Brown 1887, p. 205.
  10. ^ Lane 1973, pp. 180, 201.
  11. ^ a b Iordanou 2019, p. 111.
  12. ^ Brown 1887, pp. 205–206.

Sources

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  • Chambers, David Sanderson; Fletcher, Jennifer; Pullan, Brian, eds. (2001). Venice: A Documentary History, 1450-1630. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-802084248.
  • Brown, Horatio F. (1887). Venetian Studies. London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Co. OCLC 458907462.
  • Da Mosto, Andrea (1937). L'Archivio di Stato di Venezia. Indice Generale, Storico, Descrittivo ed Analitico. Tomo I: Archivi dell' Amministrazione Centrale della Repubblica Veneta e Archivi Notarili (in Italian). Rome: Biblioteca d'arte editrice. OCLC 772861816. Archived from the original on 2021-11-13. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  • Iordanou, Ioanna (2019). Venice's Secret Service: Organizing Intelligence in the Renaissance. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-879131-7.
  • Lane, Frederic Chapin (1973). Venice, A Maritime Republic. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-1445-6.

Further reading

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  • Casini, Matteo (1991). "Realtà e simboli del Cancellier Grande veneziano in età moderna (sec. XVI–XVII)". Studi veneziani (in Italian). 22: 195–251.
  • De Peppo, Paola (1984). ""Memorie di veneti cittadini." Alvise Dardani, cancellier grande". Studi veneziani (in Italian). 8: 413–453.
  • Milledone, Antonio (2009). Mandarini veneziani. La cancelleria ducale nel Settecento (in Italian). Rome: Aracne.
  • Neff, Mary F. (1981). "A Citizen in the Service of the Patrician State: The Career of Zaccaria de' Freschi". Studi veneziani. 5: 33–61.
  • Trebbi, Giuseppe (1980). "La cancelleria veneta nei secoli XVI e XVII". Annali della Fondazione Luigi Einaudi (in Italian). 14: 65–125.
  • Trebbi, Giuseppe (1986). "Il segretario veneziano". Archivio Storico Italiano (in Italian). 144: 35–73.
  • Zannini, Andrea (1993). Burocrazia e burocrati a Venezia in età moderna: I cittadini originari (sec. XVI–XVIII) (in Italian). Venice: Instituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti.
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