The Limits of Kinship: Family Politics, Vendetta, and the State in Fifteenth-Century Venice

Romano, Dennis (2014) The Limits of Kinship: Family Politics, Vendetta, and the State in Fifteenth-Century Venice. In: Venice and the Veneto during the Renaissance: the Legacy of Benjamin Kohl. Reti Medievali E-Book (21). Firenze University Press, Firenze, pp. 87-102. ISBN 978-88-6655-663-3

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Abstract

Historians have long recognized the important role that kinship ties and family relations played in Venetian politics, especially their salutary effect in forging a cohesive ruling class. The essay considers the practice – increasingly utilized in the middle decades of the fifteenth century – of disqualifying kinsmen from exercising some of their judicial rights out of concern that they would use those rights to seek vengeance against those who they believed had done them wrong. The danger of disqualification became clear when the Council of Ten made use of it in the scandals surrounding doge Francesco Foscari and his son Jacopo. In the end, the Ten pulled back and decided to limit the power to disqualify noblemen from their full prerogatives. This essay thus examines a moment when kinship ties became a liability in Venetian politics as well as the role governmental practices played in fostering rather than suppressing factionalism.

Item Type:	Book Section
Additional Information:	Nella sezione: "Government and Society in Venice".
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Middle Ages; 15th Century; Venice; Politics; Institutions; Patricians; Kinship; Feuds
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D111 Medieval History
Depositing User:	dr Vincenzo De Luise
Date Deposited:	13 Apr 2019 14:14
Last Modified:	01 Oct 2024 09:40
URI:	http://www.rmoa.unina.it/id/eprint/4999

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