New Beginnings
Chapter 2
A bit of flavor on the city of water.
An artist's depiction of the annual Marriage of the Sea Ceremony
The mentality of Venetian invincibility, reinforced by centuries of protection by the lagoon has been shattered. It became clear that Venice may not be able to defend herself against the vast armies of monarchs and tyrants without allies or armies of her own. The while the means to achieve security were not clear, there was consensus that the Republic has to change. Nonetheless the people of Venice yearned for a return to normalcy, and the coronation of a new Doge was just what was needed.
Of the surviving few dozen patricians, over a third were considered too old, sick, or maimed in participate in politics. Only three of the ancient families survived and only 14 members were affluent, in short the senate no longer held a dominate position in the city. Many ordinances are left unenforced and only the most immediate concerns of shelter, security, food, and commerce are dealt with. The remaining council was split between traditionalist which preferred to keep the status-quo and those that favoured expanding the council. The debate was quickly settled with the simple fact that the existing council did not have the power to rule Venice, if the remaining members hoped to govern then would need help.
It is from these circumstances that on January 11th, 1382 that the Serrata of the Great Council formally came to an end. 150 new Patricians were elected by secret ballot by the people of Venice based on popularity, usually it was based on how they contributed during the war. One of the first acts of the new council was to revoke the automatic enrolment of council family members as Patricians at age 25 .[1]
As per tradition the new council of over two hundred convened to choose the next Doge and end the regency. Using numbered balls obscured in baskets, thirty members of the Great Council, chosen by lot, were reduced by lot to nine; the nine chose forty and the forty were reduced by lot to twelve, who chose twenty-five. The twenty-five were reduced by lot to nine and the nine elected forty-five. Then the forty-five were once more reduced by lot to eleven, and the eleven finally chose the forty-one who actually elected the doge. None could be elected but by at least twenty-five votes out of forty-one, nine votes out of eleven or twelve, or seven votes out of nine electors. This convoluted process assured that the selection of the Doge was random, as one cannot reliably predict who will be chosen to bribe or intimidate.
Portrait of Tommaso Mocenigo, 60th Doge of Venice
The new Doge was a man named Tommaso Mocenigo, a Patrician captain who won great respect for his victories in the war against the Genoese. On the 19th of January, Tommaso Mocenigo spoke the words "This is your doge, if it please you." before the square in San Marco and took the oath of doge. By tradition, with the exception of diplomacy he may not leave the Ducal palace till death. [2][3]
On Ascension day May 14th, a procession of boats led by the doge's ship sailed out to sea. The doge offered the traditional prayer "for us and all who sail thereon the sea may be calm and quiet" and proceeded to sprinkle the procession with holy water. At the end of the ceremony, the Tommaso Mocenigo removed a ring from his finger and casted it into the sea "We wed thee, sea, in the sign of the true and everlasting Lord, for we and the sea are inseparably one"
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[1] In OTL 30 members were added to the council, of whom had to be affirmed by the existing council-this is not an option with a weaker and much smaller council.
[2] In OTL Tommaso Mocenigo was elected the doge in 1414, he was a capable war fighter , he served as a diplomat, he supported commerce , and he was a patron of the arts. His survival in TL was mostly due to him being at sea during the battle of Venice.
[3] The tradition of restraining the doges was part of the regulations and rules applied to the doge to restrict his power. The most important one was that upon his death, a commission will audit the former Doge for crimes specifically targeted against dynasties. Even so several crafty Doges still managed to exert considerable influence.