The Chronicon Altinate, Altino Chronicle or Origo civitatum Italie seu Venetiarum is one of the oldest sources for the history of Venice. The oldest known manuscripts date to the 13th century, though its components are older. It has considerable overlap with the Chronicon Gradense , which may be one of its sources. [1] It is sometimes called the Chronicon Venetum, but that title is also used for the Chronicon Venetum et Gradense of John the Deacon (ca. 1008).
It is not a true chronicle, but rather a compilation of documents and legends about the emergence of Venice and the origin of the Venetians. There are also lists of bishops, popes, doges and emperors, as well as church registers and chronicle entries. The most important manuscripts are in the Vatican, Venice and Dresden, but their relationships, and those of other manuscripts, is unclear.
Compared to the earlier Chronicon Venetum et Gradense, it is "a more richly articulated and satisfyingly detailed account of a primitive foundation of the city", taking its origins back to Orpheus and Troy, and replacing the story of an attack by the Lombards with an earlier attack by Attila the Hun, portraying the Venetians as Christians fleeing pagans. These legends are with no foundation in any ancient texts, [2] and function as a way of constructing a "spurious antiquity" as a foundation of "civic dignity". [3]
It continues by recounting the story of the citizens of Altinum (modern Quarto d'Altino) taking refuge in Torcello, to which they transferred their church with the relics of Saint Heliodorus, their founding bishop. [4]
Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in The Travels of Marco Polo, a book that described to Europeans the then-mysterious culture and inner workings of the Eastern world, including the wealth and great size of the Mongol Empire and China in the Yuan Dynasty, giving their first comprehensive look into China, Persia, India, Japan and other Asian cities and countries.
Catherine Cornaro was the last monarch of the Kingdom of Cyprus, also holding the titles of Queen of Jerusalem and Queen of Armenia. She became queen consort of Cyprus by marriage to James II of Cyprus, and then regent of Cyprus during the minority of her son James III of Cyprus in 1473–1474, and finally queen regnant of Cyprus upon his death. She reigned from 26 August 1474 to 26 February 1489 and was declared a "Daughter of Saint Mark" in order that the Republic of Venice could claim control of Cyprus after the death of her husband.
Edessa was an ancient city (polis) in Upper Mesopotamia, in what is now Urfa or Şanlıurfa, Turkey. It was founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator, founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene, and continued as capital of the Roman province of Osroene. In Late Antiquity, it became a prominent center of Christian learning and seat of the Catechetical School of Edessa. During the Crusades, it was the capital of the County of Edessa.
The Patriarch of Venice is the ordinary bishop of the Archdiocese of Venice. The bishop is one of only four patriarchs in the Latin Church of the Catholic Church. The other three are the Patriarch of Lisbon, the Patriarch of the East Indies and the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. Presently, the only advantage of this purely formal title is the bishop's place of honor in papal processions. In the case of Venice, an additional privilege allows the patriarch, even if he is not a cardinal, the use of the colour red in non-liturgical vestments. In that case, the red biretta is topped by a tuft, as is the custom with other bishops who are not cardinals.
The Chronicon Pictum or Illuminated Chronicle is a medieval illustrated chronicle from the Kingdom of Hungary from the 14th century. It represents the artistic style of the royal court of King Louis I of Hungary. The codex is a unique source of art, medieval and cultural history.
Marin Sanudo, italianised as Marino Sanuto or Sanuto the Younger, was a Venetian historian and diarist. His most significant work is his Diarii, which he had intended to write up into a history of Venice.
Saint Bystrík was a martyr and the Bishop of the Diocese of Nitra.
Giosafat Barbaro (1413–1494) was a member of the Venetian Barbaro family. He was a diplomat, merchant, explorer and travel writer. He was unusually well-travelled for someone of his times.
John the Deacon was a Venetian deacon, secretary to the doge of Venice and a chronicler.
The siege of Constantinople of 860 was the only major military expedition of the Rus' Khaganate recorded in Byzantine and Western European sources. The casus belli was the construction of the fortress Sarkel by Byzantine engineers, restricting the Rus' trade route along the Don River in favor of the Khazars. Accounts vary, with discrepancies between contemporary and later sources, and the outcome is unknown in detail.
Otto Orseolo was the Doge of Venice from 1008 to 1026. He was the third son of Doge Pietro II of the House of Orseolo, and Maria Candiano, whom he succeeded at the age of sixteen, becoming the youngest doge in Venetian history.
The erudite Augustinian Onofrio Panvinio or Onuphrius Panvinius was an Italian historian and antiquary, who was librarian to Cardinal Alessandro Farnese.
Marino Morosini was the 44th doge of the Republic of Venice, ruling from 1249 to 1253.
Pehthelm was the first historical bishop of the episcopal see of Candida Casa at Whithorn. He was consecrated in 730 or 731 and served until his demise. His name is also spelled as Pecthelm, Pechthelm, and sometimes as Wehthelm.
Diocese of Kashkar, sometimes called Kaskar, was the senior diocese in the Church of the East's Province of the Patriarch. It see was in the city of Kashkar. The diocese is attested between the fourth and the twelfth centuries. The bishops of Kashkar had the privilege of guarding the patriarchal throne during the interregnum between the death of a patriarch and the appointment of his successor. As a result, they are often mentioned by name in the standard histories of the Nestorian patriarchs, so that a relatively full list of the bishops of the diocese has survived.
The Narentines were a South Slavic tribe that occupied an area of southern Dalmatia centered at the river Neretva, active in the 9th and 10th centuries, noted as pirates on the Adriatic. Named Narentani in Venetian sources, Greek sources call them Paganoi, "pagans", as they were for long pagan, in a time when neighbouring tribes were Christianized. The tribe were fierce enemies of the Republic of Venice, having attacked Venetian merchants and clergy passing on the Adriatic, and even raided close to Venice itself, as well as defeated the doge several times. Venetian–Narentine peace treaties did not last long, as the Narentines quickly returned to piracy. They were finally defeated in a Venetian crackdown at the turn of the 10th century and disappeared from sources by the 11th century.
Hadath was a diocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church in the Malatya region of what is now Turkey, attested between the eighth and eleventh centuries. It was based in the town of Hadath.
The Chronicon Venetum et Gradense, formerly known as the Chronicon Sagornini, is a Venetian chronicle compiled by John the Deacon in ca. 1008. It is the oldest chronicle of the Republic of Venice. John was the chaplain and perhaps a relative of Venetian Doge Pietro II Orseolo. The first part, dealing with early history, is lacking, only later becoming more accurate, and in the time of John himself deemed particularly valuable. It details the reign of Pietro II.
Patricia Fortini Brown is Professor Emerita of Art & Archaeology at Princeton University.
The Condulmer were a Venetian family originally from Pavia. Originally wealthy commoners, the different branches of the family were only slowly admitted to the Venetian nobility. Marco Condulmer, a bread merchant, is recorded in 1297. In 1381, Jacopo Condulmer of the Domenico branch was ennobled for his contributions to the treasury during the War of Chioggia in 1379. The Fernovelli branch was ennobled with the election of one of its own, Gabriele, as Pope Eugene IV in 1431. Still, in 1528, Zuan Francesco Condulmer had his name crossed out in the Libro d'Oro for his failure to prove his nobility. A third branch of the family, the Angelo, was ennobled only at the time of the Cretan War (1645–1669).
