The House of Croce or Kručić ( la, Crosio) was a
noble family
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...
in the
Republic of Ragusa
hr, Sloboda se ne prodaje za sve zlato svijeta it, La libertà non si vende nemmeno per tutto l'oro del mondo"Liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world"
, population_estimate = 90 000 in the XVI Century
, currency = ...
, based in
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...
. Some of its representatives were state
official
An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their ...
s and the family is considered to be among the ten richest families of the Republic in the 14th century.
History
There are very few reliable data on the family's early history. The first known mention appears in the 13th century. During the 14th century members of the family took part in land/
estate allocations of newly acquired territories: in
Pelješac
Pelješac (; Chakavian: ; it, Sabbioncello) is a peninsula in southern Dalmatia in Croatia. The peninsula is part of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County and is the second largest peninsula in Croatia. From the isthmus that begins at Ston, to the top o ...
(1333), in upper parts of Astarea (1366), and in
Dubrovačko Primorje
Dubrovačko Primorje ("Dubrovnik Littoral") is municipality situated northwest of the city Dubrovnik in Dubrovnik-Neretva County in southern Croatia. The municipality's borders extend all the way up to Neum, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia ...
(1399) northwest from the city.
From 1440 to 1640, there were in total 10 members of the family who entered the Grand Council (''Consilium maius''), a body consisting of all adult Ragusan noblemen. Two of them were elected to the Senate (''Consilium rogatorum''), and a single one as "rector" (or ''knez'') of the Republic, the head of the state.
In the beginning of the 15th century Ragusan nobility were present in
Novo Brdo
Novo Brdo ( sr-Cyrl, Ново Брдо), or Novobërda and Artana ( sq-definite, Novobërdë or ''Artanë''), is a municipality located in the Pristina district of Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, it has a population of 6,729 inhabitants. Th ...
as merchants or mining lords; Croce were also present.
Although small and not branchy, gradually losing its
wealth
Wealth is the abundance of Value (economics), valuable financial assets or property, physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for financial transaction, transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the ...
and influence, the family still persisted until the 18th century, when its last descendant died.
The most notable member of the family was
Joannes de Cruce
Joannes or John ( la, Iohannes; died 425) was western Roman emperor from 423 to 425.
On the death of the Emperor Honorius (15 August 423), Theodosius II, the remaining ruler of the House of Theodosius, hesitated in announcing his uncle's dea ...
(Ivan Kručić), a Ragusan
Dominican who became bishop of
Ston
Ston () is a settlement and a municipality in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia, located at the south of isthmus of the Pelješac peninsula.
History
Because of its geopolitical and strategic position, Ston has had a rich history since ant ...
(and later bishop of
Korčula
Korčula (, it, Curzola) is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It has an area of , is long and on average wide, and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 15,522 inhabitants (2011) make it the second most populous Adriatic island after K ...
) at the end of the 13th and the beginning of the 14th century.
References
External links
House of Kručić – one of the 33 Ragusan noble families in the 15th century (Filip de Diversis: ''Description of the famous city of Dubrovnik'')Participation of the House of Kručić in power (1440-1640)Ivan Kručić became bishop of Korčula in 1300
{{DEFAULTSORT:Croce
Ragusan noble families