History of the Venetian Dukes (1102-1229), edited and translated by Luigi Andrea Berto with an Appendix of Brief Venetian Historical Texts is out and can be purchased on our website.
The twelfth and early thirteenth centuries were a crucial period for the emergence of Venice as one of the major powers in the Mediterranean. Taking advantage of the conquest of the Holy Land and the weakening of Byzantine naval power, the Venetians’ policy in the eastern Mediterranean aimed both at strengthening their position in that area and acquiring new markets. In order to do so, they demonstrated their readiness to use force.
For the first time in their history, the Venetians went to the eastern Mediterranean not only for trading but also for fighting, becoming involved in the Crusades and establishing a relationship with the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem after the First Crusade.
The goal of this volume is to present the edition of the Latin text and the English translation of the Historia ducum Venetorum (History of the Venetian Dukes) which describes this period. It is the first Venetian historical text composed after the Fourth Crusade, and it is also the only extant chronicle composed in Venice after the beginning of the eleventh century.
In this volume the edition and translation of the Historia ducum Venetorum is accompanied by other two historical texts: the Brief Venetians Annals and the Account of the Election of Dominic Silvo as Duke of the Venetians by Dominic Tino.
The volume adds to the series of Venetian historical texts published by Centro Cicogna that can be found here.