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70-886: The House of Orseolo ( Italian: [orˈsɛolo] ) was a powerful Venetian noble family descended from Orso Ipato and his son Teodato Ipato , the first Doges of Venice . Four members of the Orseolo family became Doges, Commander of the Venetian fleet , and King of Hungary . They reconstructed St Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace after the revolution. See Kohlschütter, Venedig unter dem Herzog Peter II. Orseolo (Göttingen, 1868); H. F. Brown, Venice (1895); F. C. Hodgson, The Early History of Venice (1901); and W. C. Hazlitt, The Venetian Republic (1900). Venetian nobility The Venetian patriciate ( Italian : Patriziato veneziano , Venetian : Patrisiato venesian )

140-504: A head in 1289, when Doge Giovanni Dandolo died, and a mob formed itself into an ad hoc assembly, or arengo , as had been convened in earlier times, demanding the election of admiral Giacomo Tiepolo the son and grandson of Doges, as the new Doge. The Great Council vacillated and suspended its own election process, but Tiepolo refused the nomination, and the Great Council proceeded with the election of Pietro Gradenigo . This

210-477: A high birth rate among the nobility, combined with the mercantile (and merchant-entrepreneur) profession undertaken by a large part of this class, involved a broad aristocratic government with varied interests, in which the poor nobles were a minority. There were, however, numerous events of social mobility within the class, brought about by the rapid enrichments in trade with the East and by the new factories set up in

280-511: A new class, the 'citizens' ( cittadini ) was instituted as a middle class between the closed nobility and the broad mass of the common people (the popolo ). Traditional historiography has lamented the Serrata as "the death of the Venetian republican system and the birth of a closed oligarchy", but in actual fact, the effects of these reforms were broadly beneficial, and spared Venice

350-536: A relatively large wealth, while many others were constantly losing their position, often without even the money to decently live on. This made the Barnabotti an evident phenomenon of Venetian society, while a reflection began on how to change forms of government. In fact, a group, the oligarchs, consisting of the richest families, managed, even by corrupting the poorest nobles, to exclude the middle and poor who were not at their service. The Venetian government, through

420-576: The Avogadori and the leaders of the Quarantia . The toga became completely red for the senators and the ducal councilors . The whole was completed by the squat beret (a low cylindrical hat of black cloth) and the fur indicating the rank within the magistracy. It was an absolute obligation to wear the regalia during the exercise of one's office, in the councils and in the entire area of Saint Mark's Square . Alongside this political aspect, however,

490-457: The Council of Ten and the state inquisitors , however, prevented reforms of any kind (also because these bodies were in the hands of the oligarchy that was taking over the state, to its exclusive advantage). Attempts at reform were tried, but never implemented, in particular during the reign of Francesco Loredan , when Angelo Querini in 1761 tried to restore power to the more collegial organs of

560-461: The Doge , had the same value during the voting of the councils. Everyone had, at least theoretically, the same chance of accessing any public office, up to becoming a Savio del Consiglio , Procurator of Saint Mark or the Doge. Reflection of this principle was the equal title of "Nobleman" ( Nobilis Vir, Nobilis Homo, Nobil Homo ) recognized to the patricians, without any distinction, throughout

630-513: The Doge of Venice , and dominated by the Venetian nobility . The Great Council superseded the general assembly of the people (the Concio or Arengo , which was convened only to ratify laws and elect a new Doge. Its role was to elect all magistracies, approve laws, as well as exercise judicial functions including the granting of pardons. However, as the Great Council itself was too large and unwieldy, numbering some 300–400 members already in

700-668: The Donà , of the Grimani and of the Lando there is no information because they are only mentioned, while the Loredan are said to have originated from ancient Rome and were admitted to the Great Council under Doge Reniero Zeno (r. 1253–1268) or two centuries earlier, according to Jacopo Zabarella ; finally, the Mocenigo do not even appear. The Vendramin family can also be counted among

770-484: The Lagoon . During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the economic situation worsened, more and more after 1618, and the Venetian aristocracy was increasingly dependent on their properties in the mainland and in the colonies , as well as on public sinecures . In Europe the idea spread that trade and industry were unworthy of the aristocracy, an idea rejected by the Venetian aristocracy, but which nevertheless changed

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840-1010: The Medicis and the Gherardinis , (a not inconsiderable contribution, given that the nobility had been suffering from a serious demographic crisis for some time). Some of these families had already been making history in the Venetian hinterland for centuries, and their titles sometimes dated back to the Holy Roman Empire (such as the Brandolini, the Martinengo, the Piovene, the Spineda, the Valmarana ). Others were bourgeoisie families enriched through trade (Benzon di San Vidal, Lin, Zanardi). A particular category of patricians

910-571: The Napoleonic invasion - to accept the abdication of the last Doge Ludovico Manin and dissolve the aristocratic assembly: despite lacking the required quorum of 600 members, the board voted overwhelmingly (512 votes in favor, 30 against, 5 abstentions) the end of the Venetian Republic and the transfer of powers to an indefinite provisional government. The first volume of Annali Veneti e del Mondo written by Stefano Magno describes

980-741: The Rospigliosi , and the papal families of the Orsini and the Colonna . These very ancient families died out before the Great Council Lockout of 1297, but nevertheless played a leading role in the politics of the Republic. Given their historical distance, the information and knowledge about these families is very scarce and steeped in legend. The group of Old houses , whose members were called "longhi", has been well defined since

1050-612: The Senate . Over the 15th and 16th centuries, the Senate also became the de facto legislative body, with, the Great Council reduced to discussing or approving measures already decided upon in the Senate, but it retained its judicial power and the authority to elect officials. The rules of admission to the Great Council were further elaborated over time. Men born to women of lower status were banned, as were, from 1498 on, nobles who followed an ecclesiastical career. The process culminated in

1120-534: The first Doge in 697 AD. The New Houses were no less significant, as many became very prominent and important in the history of the Republic of Venice . The families were furthermore divided into several other "categories", including Ducal Houses ( Case ducali , whose members had become Doges), Newest Houses ( Case nuovissime ) raised to the patriciate in 1381, non-Venetian patrician families, and "Houses made for money" ( Case fatte per soldo , usually wealthy landowning or bourgeoisie families who contributed to

1190-900: The history of Venice evidently wanted to be compared to that of the Church , founded on the Twelve Apostles and advocated by the Four Evangelists . Later, the Bragadin replaced the Belegno and the Salamon replaced the Ziani, following the two families' extinctions. This group includes numerous patrician families who were not part of the Old houses , but were nevertheless very significant, as some became very prominent and important in

1260-576: The 1350s. In the so-called "pseudo-Giustinian" Chronicle, drawn up at that time, the group is distinguished from the already substantial corpus of patricians of twenty-four (or, better, twenty-five) families more powerful and constantly engaged in Venetian political life. In the Chronicle these patrician houses are divided into two further groups: the first includes the families Badoer, Baseggio, Contarini , Corner , Dandolo , Falier , Giustinian , Gradenigo- Dolfin , Morosini , Michiel, Polani and Sanudo;

1330-408: The 13th century, the actual deliberation and decision-making of government took place in smaller councils, more capable of action. In the 13th century, the most important of these was the Council of Forty , which not only served as the supreme judicial body, but also prepared legislation to be submitted to the Great Council. Its three heads (the capi ), along with the six ducal councillors , and

1400-598: The Council continued to increase in size in the early 14th century, and other magistracies were added to the government, it was decided that a new wing of the Doge's Palace be built alongside the Molo in order to house them. Due to the arrival of the Black Death , the membership of the Council declined, but building of the new hall continued, with decoration starting in 1365. It was not until c.  1420 , however, that

1470-486: The Doge and the Minor Council, and approved by the Council of Forty. Several old-established Venetian commoner families became permanent members of the Council in this way, along with about a dozen families fleeing the fall of Acre in 1291. In this way, the Great Council was more than doubled in size to over 1100 members by 1300, or about 1 percent of the total Venetian population at the time. This widening of

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1540-555: The Doge, constituted the Signoria of Venice . In its early days, the Great Council was a relatively open and democratic institution, its membership being in theory open to the entire body of free citizens. Members were nominated by three electors, though it is unclear how these were chosen; they were selected partly by lot and partly by rotation. In 1230, the electoral process was altered for unknown reasons, with seven electors serving between 29 September and 29 March, and three during

1610-576: The French and the Jacobins arrived, Pisani tried to legitimise himself as an opponent of the despotism of the state inquisitors, of which he had been a victim, but, recognized for what he was, namely an aristocrat who had tried to modernise the structures of the Republic of Venice, however still remaining within the nobility, and indeed strengthening its aristocratic character, the new rulers marginalised it. Great Council of Venice The Great Council

1680-467: The Great Council elected people to the various offices of the Venetian government, it "had become the gatekeeper for power and prestige in Venice". During the 13th century, this gave rise to a political struggle between reformers, who wanted to open membership to the Great Council, and thus to the political elite, up to newcomers, and conservatives, who wished to preserve the patriciate's dominance. While

1750-484: The Great Council was open to new families. By means of lavish gifts to the state, this was the case at the time of the War of Chioggia and the War of Candia , when, to support the enormous cost of the wars, new wealthy families were admitted. Another peculiarity was the creation over time of a division within the nobility itself, that is, families who were able in time to keep intact or to increase their economic capacity, and

1820-573: The Patriciate, and they can be presumed to belong to undocumented or illegitimate branches of those families. Some time after the Serrata , the Patriciate was also conferred on those families of the mainland who had given military support to the Republic on various occasions. There are thirty-one families in all, but many never participated in Venetian politics, maintaining a merely honorific title. Having become almost inaccessible for centuries,

1890-461: The Republic they often represented the tip of the balance between the political factions of the council, influencing it through the trading of their votes to which they were often dedicated, usually selling them in the Orchard of Saint Mark. During the eighteenth century the Venetian political system underwent a sclerosis. The aristocracy in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries was very numerous;

1960-530: The Republic. Whoever wore it carried within himself a portion of that sovereignty in which every patrician was a participant, together with the other members of his class. This made the Venetian patricians, in the noble hierarchy, of a rank equal to that of the Princes of the Blood (also given the equal possibility of rising to the royal rank of Doge). The importance of this social body was such that every aspect of

2030-751: The Surian (another branch). All but the Lion and the Surian appear to have attended the Council sometime before the Serrata. Then there were fifteen families descended from citizens who had distinguished themselves in the repression of the Tiepolo conspiracy in 1310, some of which include: Other families added in 1310 include the Addoldo, Agrinal, Buoninsegna, Caroso, Diente, Diesello, Ferro, Grisoni, Mengolo (another branch), Papaciza, Sesendillo (another branch), and

2100-402: The Venetian aristocracy, while in the late 1770s Giorgio Pisani and Carlo Contarini, through the formation of a sort of "noble party", attempted an overall reform. At the center of their proposals there was precisely the social and political recovery of the poorest parts of the Venetian nobility, done through the assignment of dowries to the young patricians, especially the poor ones, increase in

2170-417: The Venetian nobility had another peculiar character in their mercantile vocation. Contrary to the feudal nobility, in fact, the patriciate in Venice based its power not on the possession of land, but on the wealth of trade with the East as the basis of the entire economy . This stimulated this social class to a remarkable dynamism and resulted in incredible wealth. The patricians thus served themselves and

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2240-623: The Venetian noble's life was carefully monitored and regulated by the State, which took care to carefully verify all family ties and deeds necessary to prove the registration of the nobles into the Golden Book ( Libro d'Oro ), the register of nobles strictly guarded in the Doge's Palace . There was also a Silver Book, which registered all those families that not only had the requisites of "civilization" and "honour", but could also show that they were of ancient Venetian origin; such families furnished

2310-523: The Vidor. At the turn of the fourteenth century, the War of Chioggia brought the Venetian economy to its knees. The Genoese fleet , deployed at the entrance to the Lagoon, had blocked all forms of commercial exchange and thus the revenue in terms of import duties. In 1379 the Venetian government decreed the granting of entry into the Patriciate to the thirty commoners who had contributed most in any way to

2380-808: The Zancani. To these were added in 1298 some Venetian families which, at the time of the Serrata , were in the East, notably in Constantinople : Other families added in 1298 include the Costantino, Donadi, Marcipian, Massoli, Ruzier, Stanieri, Tolonigo, and the Tonisto . The remainder came from Acre and were added in 1303. These include the Barison, Benedetti (another branch), Bondulmier (another branch), Lion, Marmora, Molin (the Molin d'Oro branch) and

2450-478: The bitter factional rivalries that consumed the other Italian cities. Unlike the volatile general assembly of the people, the Great Council members were guaranteed a share in power and thus less easy to manipulate. The relatively large number of families participating in this oligarchic elite was also a peculiar feature of the Venetian state, making it both more representative, and ensuring that any rivalry between two families could be kept in check, and did not affect

2520-405: The ducal councillors or members of the Council of Forty, were members ex officio , and they outnumbered the elected members by a considerable margin. As the historian Frederic C. Lane puts it, "one can say that the Great Council contained all the most important people who were available in Venice and a sprinkling of others named to it because someone thought they were potentially important". As

2590-600: The ducal families who, despite having been aggregated only in 1381 after the War of Chioggia , managed to elect the doge Andrea Vendramin not even a century later. Some other families considered part of the Case nuove include: Families which can be added to these include the Albizzo, Basadonna, Coppo, dalle Boccole, da Lezze, d'Arduin, Fabriciacio, Galanti, Gambarin, Lanzuoli, Lombardo, Mazaman, Miegano, Mussolino, Navigroso, Sesendillo, Signolo, Viaro, Vielmo, Volpe, Zaguri, and

2660-472: The establishment, in 1506 and 1526, of records of births and marriages of the nobility. Kept and maintained by the Avogadori de Comùn , this was the famous 'Golden Book' ( Libro d'Oro ) of the Venetian nobility. At this point, the council reached its maximum size of 2746 members. The effect of the provisions of the Serrata had increased dramatically the number of members. In the sixteenth century, it

2730-581: The following years, the entry of new members was limited by additional laws that raised the necessary number of votes in the Forty to a majority, 25, and finally 30. In 1319, membership became automatic at the 25th year of age—except for thirty who were chosen by lot on the day of St. Barbara, and were allowed to become members already at 20. In 1323, membership was restricted only to men with ancestors who had held high office, effectively making it hereditary. Regardless of their previous patrician or common origins,

2800-499: The heads of the Council of Forty proposed that only those whose ancestors had been members would automatically have the right to be considered for membership, and that all others would have to be approved by the Doge, the Minor Council , and by the Great Council itself. This proposal failed to pass, as did another, which proposed the election of new members be approved by a majority of the sitting Great Council. Matters came to

2870-463: The large mass of families included after the Serrata, above all those New houses that during the fifteenth century would contend with the "longhi" for the ducal throne. It should also be noted that tradition defined twelve "apostolic" families ( Contarini , Tiepolo, Morosini , Michiel, Badoer , Sanudo, Gradenigo- Dolfin , Memmo, Falier , Dandolo , Polani and Barozzi ) and four other "evangelical" ones ( Giustinian , Corner , Bragadin and Bembo );

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2940-522: The law of 1320 which precluded the inclusion of new families, this social body became the only one to have the privilege of sitting in the Great Council , the highest governing body of the city and the state. Privilege concretised with the right for each male member of noble families, starting from the age of majority , to participate in the sessions. Within the patriciate, all members enjoyed absolute political equality. Each vote, including that of

3010-504: The manpower for the State bureaucracy – and particularly, the chancellery within the Doge's Palace itself. Both books were kept in a chest in the Scrigno room of the Doge's Palace, inside a cupboard that also contained all the documents proving the legitimacy of claims to be inscribed therein. The robe of the nobles was the toga of black cloth with wide sleeves, lined in red for the Savi ,

3080-477: The mentality of the nobility. The wars against the Ottomans of the mid- and late-1600s decreased trade with the East for many years, as well as in the early 1700s, ruining other merchant families or those who had not been able to diversify their investments in land and real estate. Few families changed their economic status considerably and rapidly upward, allowing an increasingly small group of families to maintain

3150-459: The names of noble families predominate during the 13th century, commoners were still included in the rolls. But even among the nobility there were dissensions. A rising population and wealth meant that more and more citizens sought admission to the Great Council, but the traditional patrician families of the Rialto resisted the addition of these nouveau riche to the Council. Likewise complicated

3220-711: The new Enlightenment ideas, such as opposition to internal espionage (which was very common in Venice), freedom of speech, defence and resumption of trade, etc. Precisely this attempt at a "noble reaction", not without populist maneuvers in favour of the Barnabotti, was crushed by the spies of the inquisitors, who, well informed, accused the two of having bought electoral votes from some Barnabottis, and also accused them of conspiring . They imprisoned Contarini in Cattaro (where he died, perhaps poisoned) and Pisani in Vicenza . When

3290-552: The new hall of the Great Council started being used by it. The hall was destroyed in the fire of 20 December 1577, in which the Doge's Palace suffered so much damage that for a time it was considered to tear it down and rebuild it to a new design. In the end, it was decided to restore the building, and during this time, until 30 September 1578, the Great Council met in a storage shed in the Arsenal of Venice . In some rare cases, facing severe economic difficulties and dangers, access to

3360-496: The nobility as a whole. For the remainder of the Republic's history, the Great Council was the supreme body of the state, replacing the virtually defunct Concio , which was formally abolished in 1423. The Great Council retained its legislative authority, but many of its powers were delegated to other, smaller bodies, more capable of action. Soon, however, most of the chief functions of government, such as nominating military commanders or receiving ambassadors, were taken over by

3430-408: The nobility, so the families intermarried within themselves, and from a young age followed the cursus honorum of Venetian noblemen, training in the army , the naval fleet , the law, and the affairs of state. The basic foundation of belonging to the patriciate was the exclusive possession of political power. Starting from the Great Council Lockout ( Serrata del Maggior Consiglio ) of 1297 and

3500-399: The noble body resumed opening up to new families when, with the decline of Venetian power, the State began to "sell" the title (for 100,000 ducats ) to fill the public coffers, no longer supported by profitable trade with the East. Between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries there were three openings to the aristocracy, with the aggregation of one hundred and thirty-four families such as

3570-418: The now permanent and hereditary members of the Great Council henceforth constituted the nobility of Venice. This new ruling class numbered almost 200 families and monopolized the higher levels of power in the Republic. Deserving men who distinguished themselves were still admitted in later years, but this was a very rare occasion. To provide for social mobility for ambitious families of wealth and distinction,

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3640-536: The other six months. However, it appears that the number of electors fluctuated, and could be as small as four. These electors chose one hundred members to be nominated for election to the next year's Great Council, but since there was no alternate slate of candidates, the names chosen were also elected. The "somewhat haphazard" election process placed enormous power on the hands of the very few electors, who were constrained only by force of custom to not abuse their position. In addition, certain office-holders, such as

3710-627: The politics of the Republic. These are fifteen families of more recent nobility than the "longhi" (their members were called, not surprisingly, "curti"), as underlined by the same "pseudo-Giustinian" Chronicle. From it we learn that only the Barbarigo , the Marcello and the Moro had contributed to the foundation of Rialto by giving tribunes; Foscari , Gritti, Malipiero, Priuli , Trevisan, Tron and Venier are recognized as of non-Venetian origin; of

3780-413: The poor ones (the so-called Barnabites ). The latter may have gradually or suddenly lost their wealth, but continued to maintain the hereditary right to sit in the Great Council. This often took the two sides of the nobility to clash in council and opened the possibility to cases of vote buying . It was the Great Council, on 12 May 1797, that declared the end of the Republic of Venice, by deciding - upon

3850-571: The ruling class appears to have broadly satisfied ambitious men and calmed matters, although at least one commoner who thought that he should have been admitted to the Council, a certain Marin Bocconio , was hanged in 1300 for plotting to kill Gradenigo. It is notable that the reform passed during a nearly disastrous conflict with Venice's main rival, the Republic of Genoa , and that the common people made no serious move to oppose it. Over

3920-492: The salaries of the Forty and other Colleges, granting of donations for some prestigious political positions (previously free and then monopolised by rich nobles), setting a uniform for the nobles in order to distinguish them from the commoners , etc. In practice, they advocated for the creation of a "political" aristocracy and service, collectively capable of governing the city and the empire. Then there were some issues arising with

3990-422: The second includes the families Barozzi , Belegno (later Bragadin), Bembo , Gauli, Memmo, Querini, Soranzo, Tiepolo, Zane, Zeno , Ziani (later Salamon ) and Zorzi . The author of the paper justifies this situation by listing in detail the deeds performed by their ancestors in the foundation of Venice. Although imaginative, the information contained in the Chronicle served to distinguish an elitist nucleus from

4060-518: The state as captains of galleys , merchants, ambassadors, governors, public officials, and in every other form of civil and military organisation of the Republic. Being Venetian patricians was an honour for all of European nobility and it was common with princes and kings of other states to ask for and obtain the title of N.H., including, among others, the kings of France , the Savoy , the Mancinis ,

4130-568: The state during the War of Candia and the Morean War ). Although there were numerous noble houses across Venice's Mainland Dominions and the State of the Sea , the Republic was in fact ruled as an aristocratic oligarchy by about 20 to 30 families of Venice's urban nobility, who elected the Doge of Venice , held political and military offices, and directly participated in the daily governing of

4200-551: The state. They were predominantly merchants , with their main source of income being trade with the East and other entrepreneurial activities, on which they became incredibly wealthy. The most important families, who dominated the politics and the history of the state, included the Contarini , Cornaro , Dandolo , Giustinian , Loredan , Mocenigo , Morosini and the Venier families. Nobles were forbidden by law to marry outside of

4270-400: The title of a Venetian patrician was a great honour and many European kings and princes, as well as foreign noble families, are known to have asked for and obtained the prestigious title. The patrician houses, formally recorded in the Golden Book , were primarily divided into Old Houses ( Case vecchie ) and New Houses ( Case nuove ), with the former being noted for traditionally electing

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4340-410: The war effort. Many flocked to it, some making their servants, their children or themselves available, some keeping a group of soldiers, some arming galleys, some simply giving money. After the conflict, on 4 September 1381 the Senate elected the winners from a shortlist of sixty-two candidates (for a total of fifty-eight families). It is difficult to establish on the basis of which criterion this choice

4410-488: Was a critical moment: had the mob prevailed, the trajectory of politics in Venice might have followed that of other Italian city-states, where dynastic rule or populist autocrats backed by mob violence were the norm. Following his election, Gradenigo devoted considerable effort into pushing through a commonly acceptable reform. This was achieved on 28 February 1297, an event known as the Serrata ( lit.   ' lock-out ' ). The continued presence of existing members

4480-400: Was common for up to 2095 patricians to have the right to sit in the Ducal Palace. There was an obvious difficulty in managing such a body. The enlargement of the body also led to the need for a larger meeting space. This need was identified already by Pietro Gradenigo, and a hall was enlarged for this purpose in the buildings lining the Molo , the embankment alongside the Doge's Palace . As

4550-399: Was constituted by the fallen nobles, called Barnabotti , who, having dissipated the family wealth, still maintained their right to vote in the Great Council. They were a class of impoverished nobility whose name is derived from the fact that the group met and lived in the zone of the Campo San Barnaba (the area, being distant from the city centre, attracted lower rents). Towards the end of

4620-453: Was ensured by stipulating that the present members, or those who had been members during the previous four years, would remain members if they gathered a minimum threshold of 12 votes in the Council of Forty, effectively guaranteeing that all of them would be accepted. In addition, limits on the size of the Great Council were removed, and a law allowed for additional candidates for membership to be submitted by three sitting members, confirmed by

4690-444: Was made: many of the rejected had participated in the war effort with conspicuous offers, conversely there were those who were admitted with a very modest contribution. Evidently other factors weighed on them, including the marriage strategies that had allowed many non-nobles to create solid ties with the "old houses" of the aristocracy. In the list there are eleven candidates with the same surname to that of families already present in

4760-439: Was one of the three social bodies into which the society of the Republic of Venice was divided, together with citizens and foreigners. Patrizio was the noble title of the members of the aristocracy ruling the city of Venice and the Republic. The title was abbreviated, in front of the name, by the initials N.H. ( Nobilis Homo or Nobiluomo ), together with the feminine variant N.D. ( Nobilis Domina ). Holding

4830-435: Was the issue of foreigners, nobles from Venice's nascent colonial empire in the East or from Dalmatia , or Venetian expatriate families returning to the metropolis after decades of absence, due to the fall of the Crusader states in the Levant in the late 13th century. These men were counted as Venetian citizens, but were culturally foreign to the mother city. There were proposals for reform, notably in October 1286, when

4900-402: Was unique at the time in its usage of lottery to select nominators for proposal of candidates, who were thereafter voted upon. The exact origins of the Great Council are unclear. Tradition places its establishment in 1172, but it likely has its origin in a 'Council of Wise Men' ( Consilium Sapientium ) that is attested in 1141. That was a council established to limit and control the power of

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