Otto Orseolo ( it, Ottone Orseolo, also ''Urseolo''; c. 992−1032) was the
Doge of Venice
The Doge of Venice ( ; vec, Doxe de Venexia ; it, Doge di Venezia ; all derived from Latin ', "military leader"), sometimes translated as Duke (compare the Italian '), was the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice between 726 a ...
from 1008 to 1026. He was the third son of
Pietro II Orseolo
Pietro II Orseolo (961−1009) was the Doge of Venice from 991 to 1009.
He began the period of eastern expansion of Venice that lasted for the better part of 500 years. He secured his influence in the Dalmatian Romanized settlements from the Croa ...
and Maria Candiano, whom he succeeded at the age of sixteen, becoming the youngest doge in Venetian history.
Early life
When the
Emperor Otto III
Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was Holy Roman Emperor from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of the Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu.
Otto III was crowned as King of G ...
sojourned in
Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...
and granted many privileges to
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
in the
March of Verona
The March of Verona and Aquileia was a vast march (frontier district) of the Holy Roman Empire in the northeastern Italian peninsula during the Middle Ages, centered on the cities of Verona and Aquileia. Seized by King Otto I of Germany in 952, ...
, he requested Pietro to send his third son to Verona, where the Emperor acted as his sponsor at his confirmation. In the Emperor's honour, he was given the name Otto. In 1004, Pietro Otto, in the company of his eldest son and co-doge
Giovanni Giovanni may refer to:
* Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname
* Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data
* ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...
Basil II
Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar S ...
, Maria Argyra, and Otto received several honorific titles.
After Giovanni's sudden death (1006), Pietro raised Otto to the dogeship with him. He then made a testament, giving the majority of his wealth to the poor and the Church, and retired to a monastery, leaving Otto the government. When Pietro finally died in 1008, he left Otto sole doge at the meager age of sixteen.Norwich, 61. Soon after the death of his father, in 1009, Otto married Grimelda, a daughter of the newly Christian Géza of Hungary and Adelaide. Because the ''Chronicon Venetum'' of John the Deacon ends in Otto's reign, it is necessary to rely on later chronicles. According to the chronicler (and doge)
Andrea Dandolo
Andrea Dandolo (13067 September 1354) was elected the 54th doge of Venice in 1343, replacing Bartolomeo Gradenigo who died in late 1342.
Early life
Trained in historiography and law, Andrea Dandolo studied at the University of Padua, where ...
, writing from a vantage point three centuries ahead, Otto was:
Reign and deposition (1008–1026)
Scandal marked much of Otto's reign, as he showed a clear inclination toward
nepotism
Nepotism is an advantage, privilege, or position that is granted to relatives and friends in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to, business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, fitness, religion, an ...
with the elevation of several relatives to positions of power. In 1017,
Vitale Candiano
Vitale Candiano (died 979) was the 24th doge of the Republic of Venice.
Biography
He was the fourth son of the 21st doge, Pietro III Candiano, and Arcielda Candiano (sometimes given as Richielda). His brother the 22nd Doge Pietro IV and his ...
, the
Patriarch of Grado
This is a list of the Patriarchs of Grado (north-eastern Italy). ''
Orso oRSo is a US-based band formed in 1996 and led by Phil Spirito of Rex (band), Rex, HiM (American band), HiM (US), Loftus (band), Loftus, and Califone featuring Brian Deck of Red Red Meat and Ben Massarella of Califone. The musical style is self-des ...
, already Bishop of
Torcello
Torcello ( la, Torcellum; vec, Torceło) is a sparsely populated island at the northern end of the Venetian Lagoon, in north-eastern Italy. It was first settled in 452 CE and has been referred to as the parent island from which Venice was p ...
, to the vacant patriarchate.Norwich, 62. Otto then filled the vacant Torcello with his younger brother
Vitale Vitale is a Russian surname and is usually a short form of Russian surnames such as ''Vitalik'', ''Vitalin'', or ''Vitalov''. It is also an Italian surname which derives from the Latin word ''Vita'' meaning 'life'. The name may refer to:
* Ami Vi ...
. These actions lost him the support of the people, though they did not yet clamour for his removal from office. The denunciations of
Poppo of Treffen
Poppo of Treffen (also Wolfgang) was the fifty-seventh patriarch of Aquileia from 1019 to 1045.
In 1020, Poppo commanded the smallest of three armies which Emperor Henry II (who had appointed him as patriarch) led through Italy. Poppo followed the ...
, the
Patriarch of Aquileia
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate (bishop), primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholicism, Independent Catholic Chur ...
, incited the Venetians to expel Otto and the patriarch of Grado from Venice, whence they took refuge in
Istria
Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...
from 1022 to 1023. But in that latter year, Poppo sacked the patriarchal palace and church in Grado and the Venetians recalled Otto and Orso.
In 1024,
Pope John XIX
Pope John XIX ( la, Ioannes XIX; died October 1032), born Romanus, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 1024 to his death. He belonged to the family of the powerful counts of Tusculum, succeeding his brother, Benedict VIII ...
confirmed Orso's right to hold Grado and confirmed the patriarchal rights of his see ''vis-à-vis'' Aquileia. However, Otto continued to use church appointments to his own personal and familial advantage and the enemies of the Orseoli in Venice, with popular support, moved to depose him in 1026. They arrested him, shaved his beard, and banished him to Constantinople.Norwich, 63. There he was well received by
Constantine VIII
Constantine VIII Porphyrogenitus ( el, Κωνσταντῖνος Πορφυρογέννητος, ''Kōnstantinos Porphyrogénnetos''; 960 – 11/12 November 1028) was ''de jure'' Byzantine emperor from 962 until his death. He was the youn ...
, the uncle of his sister-in-law, who repealed trade privileges previously granted to the Republic under Pietro II. Not for nothing had Otto built up a good rapport with the emperors of Europe: the
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
Conrad II
Conrad II ( – 4 June 1039), also known as and , was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdoms ...
likewise revoked Venetian trade privileges in response to his deposition.
Stephen I of Croatia
Stephen I ( hr, Stjepan I.; c. 988 – 1058) was King of Croatia from c. 1030 until his death in 1058 and a member of the Trpimirović dynasty (Krešimirović branch). Stephen I was the first Croatian king whose given name was "Stephen" ("''Stjep ...
, at the instigation of Otto's son
Pietro
Pietro is an Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include:
People
* Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice
* Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his death
* Pietro II Can ...
, attacked the coastal cities of
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
, capturing several from Venice.
Death in exile (1032)
Meanwhile, the Venetians had grown sick of Otto's successor,
Pietro Barbolano
Pietro Barbolano (sometimes Pietro Barbo Centranico) was the 28th Doge of Venice. Reportedly a descendant of the legendary Eraclea (after whom the town near Venice is named), he was elected by the assembly of the nobles after the deposition of ...
, and they deposed him in turn (1032). Vitale of Torcello went to Constantinople to seek out his brother to reassume the ducal throne, while Orso of Grado took the government in his own hands in the interim. Vitale arrived in the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
capital to find Otto on the verge of death and he died before he could return to Venice. Orso resigned the temporal power as soon as news reached Venice, while a relative, ,Norwich, 63, calls him "an obscure offshoot of the family," while McClellan, 39–43, makes him a younger brother of Otto. tried to usurp the throne. He failed and the Venetians turned to one Domenico Flabanico to be their doge.
Otto's son
Pietro
Pietro is an Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include:
People
* Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice
* Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his death
* Pietro II Can ...
later succeeded Stephen as
King of Hungary
The King of Hungary ( hu, magyar király) was the ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Apostoli Magyar Király'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 ...
. Otto had two daughters,
Frozza Orseolo
Frozza Orseolo (1015 – 17 February 1071) was a Margravine of Austria by marriage to Adalbert, Margrave of Austria.
Life
Frozza was born in Venice as a daughter of Otto Orseolo and his wife Grimelda of Hungary, Doge of Venice, and granddaught ...
and Felicia Orseolo. Felicia married to Nicolo Bembo, a member of the House of Bembo. Their daughter Elena Bembo married to Zuane Michiel, son of
Vitale Michiel
Vital I Michiel (died 1102) was a Doge of Venice; he was the 33rd traditional (30th historic) Doge of the Republic of Venice. A member of one of the so-called “twelve apostolic” families, he was married to Felicia Cornaro, who had influence o ...
of the House of Michiel, and Felicia Elena Cornaro, member of the
House of Cornaro
The House of Cornaro or Corner are a family in Venice who were patricians in the Republic of Venice and included many Doges and other high officials. The name ''Corner'', originally from the Venetian dialect, was adopted in the eighteenth cent ...
. Their son
Domenico Michiel
Domenico Michiel was the 35th Doge of Venice. He reigned from 1117 to 1130.
In August 1122 Domenico Michiel led a Venetian fleet of 100 vessels and around 15,000 men for the defense of the Holy Land. The fleet sailed under the flag of St. Peter, ...
became the 35th Doge of Venice.
Notes
Sources
* Hazlitt, W. Carew. (1915). ''The Venetian Republic: Its Rise, its Growth, and its Fall. A.D. 409–1797''. London: Adam and Charles Black.
LOC
LOC, L.O.C., Loc, LoC, or locs may refer to:
Places
* Lóc, a village in Sângeorgiu de Pădure, Mureș County, Romania
* Lócs, a village in Vas county, Hungary
* Line of Contact, meeting place of Western and Eastern Allied forces at the e ...
DG676 .H43
*McClellan, George B. (1904). ''The Oligarchy of Venice''. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company.
LOC
LOC, L.O.C., Loc, LoC, or locs may refer to:
Places
* Lóc, a village in Sângeorgiu de Pădure, Mureș County, Romania
* Lócs, a village in Vas county, Hungary
* Line of Contact, meeting place of Western and Eastern Allied forces at the e ...