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Venetian counts appointed by the Doge.116

      Venetian rule was now heavier than it had been previously; the Count made his influence felt more strongly, no important State business being transacted without his authority, and Ragusa was obliged to pay a tribute both in money and ships to the Dominante. The ceremonial observed on the arrival of the new Count was very elaborate; it is described in all its details in the statute-book of Marco Giustiniani (1272):—

      “We decide that the lord Count who will come to Ragusa for a period, shall swear in the public assembly summoned by the sound of the bell to govern the city well, to maintain and guard its ancient constitutions and statutes, and to give judgment according to their provisions. After swearing this oath the standard of San Biagio, Pontiff and Martyr, shall be delivered into the hand of the said lord Count by the Commune of Ragusa, and thus will he be invested in the piazza with the countship and governorship. Afterwards he will immediately repair with the standard to the principal church, where he will receive holy water, incense, and a Bible, on which he shall renew his oath, from the cathedral chapter. Then one of the canons preaches a sermon praising the Doge and the Count. The latter returns to the piazza with the standard, to receive the homage of the people, who, after the standard of St. Mark has been raised, swear to maintain the pact made with the Venetian Republic. One citizen shouts, another shouts, all shout together: ‘Long live our Lord N.N., the magnificent Doge of Venice!’ and all and sundry in Ragusa and its territory vow to be loyal to the said Doge and the Commune of Venice for ever, gladly accepting the standard of the blessed St. Mark the Evangelist presented unto them by the lord Doge himself.”117

      This account gives us a vivid picture of mediæval municipal life with all its picturesque splendour and its characteristic admixture of religion and politics. The piazza of Ragusa, with what was then the castle, the imposing church, the frowning walls, and the small wooden houses—for it was still mostly of timber—formed a suitable setting for the ceremony.

      The Count was assisted by two lieutenants or viscounts, usually, but not invariably, Venetians, each of whom received a salary of fifty Venetian pounds, paid by the Ragusans, and two new suits of State robes every year. The Count remained in office on an average two years, and during his tenure he might not leave the city even for a single day. He could, however, obtain special permission from Venice to leave Ragusa for not more than eight days, but only on public business, such as arranging treaties with neighbouring princes.

      Apparently there was another break in Venetian rule about 1235, as in a treaty of that year with Koloman, Count of Almissa,118 and in another with Rimini,119 no mention is made of the Venetian count. In January 1236 Ragusan envoys went to Venice to renew the treaty of 1232, but with modified conditions in favour of greater independence. The Signory, however, would not give way, and the treaty was reconfirmed in June on almost identical terms.120 From this date Venetian overlordship continued without interruption and without modification until 1358.

      As soon as the internal affairs of the Republic were settled the citizens proceeded to regulate their relations with their Slavonic neighbours. At this time the Banus of Bosnia, Ninoslav, was animated by friendly feelings towards Ragusa. In 1234 he had signed a treaty with the count confirming the privileges granted by Čulin in 1189. On March 22, 1240, he paid a solemn visit to the city with a splendid retinue of nobles, and renewed the old treaties with the following proclamation: “It was the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, and I, Matthew Ninoslav, the Grand Banus of Bosnia, had the good thought of coming to Ragusa to my old friends the nobles and commons; I came with my magnates, and we found Niccolò Tonisto, the Count of Ragusa. I, with my magnates, made oath to him of eternal peace and friendship.” He adds: “My subjects and my people and my officers shall love you, and with true faith protect you from the wicked.” He granted them full commercial freedom throughout his Banate. He alludes to a dispute between Stephen Vladislav, King of Servia, and promises not to abandon them should they actually have to make war. This treaty was renewed in 1249.121

      The next few years were peaceful, save for a small religious dispute, and Ragusa continued to develop her resources quietly. The new Count, Niccolò Tonisto, however, complained to the Pope that the Archbishop Arrengerius was a Roman and not a Venetian,122 and even accused him of heresy because he had consecrated a priest of Patarene tendencies as Bishop of Bosnia. Arrengerius was thereupon translated elsewhere, and succeeded by a Venetian named John, to whom the diocese of Antivari was assigned as well,123 much to the gratification of the Ragusans. The clergy and congregation of this second diocese, however, were not so pleased, and refused to recognise his authority. John’s attempts to compel obedience only resulted in inducing Stephen Uroš, surnamed the Great, King of Servia, to take up the quarrel of Antivari and make a raid on Ragusan territory (1252). Uroš complained that the Ragusans were strengthening their fortifications—a very natural precaution—and on this pretext attacked the city. The new count Marsilio (or Marino) Giorgi124 was sent as Venetian ambassador to expostulate with him, but on reaching Ragusa he refused to proceed further, and two citizens were sent in his stead.125 The latter proceeded to stir up and doubtless bribe Uroš’s vassals, so that he thought it best for the present to renew their privileges, but hostilities soon broke out again. The Ragusans made an alliance with Michael, the Bulgarian Tsar, and with Radoslav, Count of Hlum, against the Serbs which brought Uroš to reason, and in 1254 the differences were settled by stanico.126

      Radoslav had visited Ragusa in person that same year, and the treaty of friendship which was thus concluded is embodied in two documents. In the first the Ragusan commonwealth swears to the Župan Radoslav and his magnates that the city will be at peace with them according to ancient custom, and that they shall always have free access to its market. “And all this we wish to do and maintain to you and your people, without prejudice to our oaths to the Lord Doge and the commonwealth of Venice, and to the Lord Michael, Tsar of the Bulgarians.”127 In the second document Radoslav promises to make war with all his strength against King Uroš, and to defend Ragusa by sea and land; he also added that he would remain at peace with Michael for so long as the latter’s treaty with Ragusa lasted.128

      The archbishop, who had been the original cause of all the trouble, had naturally become extremely unpopular, and when in his zeal for Venetian supremacy he proposed to carry out the provision of the treaty of 1232 by placing himself under the authority of the Patriarch of Grado, his position became untenable, and he was forced to abdicate (1257). The Ragusans obtained from the Pope that his successor should not be a Venetian. Another Venetian, however, was appointed in 1276.

      In 1266 the quarrel with Servia broke out afresh. The King was angry, according to Resti, because a number of his nobles quitted the country and settled at Ragusa. This statement, if true, is interesting, as it is the first immigration of Slaves on a large scale into the city after the early settlements between the seventh and the tenth centuries. But again the quarrel was settled by stanico, and the Ragusans agreed to pay Uroš the tribute of 2000 ipperperi in exchange for increased privileges and the confirmation of their rights over the disputed territories at Breno, Gionchetto, &c.129

      The year 1272 is a very important one in Ragusan annals, as it is the date of the promulgation of the statute-book by the Count Marco Giustiniani. Hitherto the constitution and laws of Ragusa had been based on custom, altered and modified by statutes. Giustiniani codified all the existing sources of Ragusan jurisprudence into a corpus called the Liber Statutorum. Dalmatian law is based on a Roman substratum, with additions from local statutes, Slavonic customs, and certain commercial and maritime statutes. The contents of the new code are summed up in the following mnemonic distich:—

      “Elligit officia comes civitatis in primo,

      Officiis fides datur sacrata secundo,

      Causa litis sequitur terno sub ordine libri,

      Conjugis inscripsit quarto dotalia bona,

      Ordo datur domibus quinto plateasque divisit,

      Judicis officium crimen exposit in sexto,

      Septimo navigii additur, et mercium ordo,

      Octavo in codice diversa colligit auctor.”

      The

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