FALIERO (or FALTER), MARINO (1279-1355)

This article appears in Volume V10, Page 148 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: EUD-FAT

FALIERO (or FALTER), MARINO (1279-1355) , doge of Venice, belonged to one of the oldest and most illustrious Venetian families and had served the republic with distinction in various capacities. In 1346 he commanded the Venetian land forces at the siege of Zara, where he was attacked by the Hungarians under King Louis the

Great

GREAT

and totally defeated them; this victory led to the surrender of the city. In September 1354, while absent on a mission to

Pope

Innocent IV. at Avignon, Faliero was elected doge, an honour which apparently he had not sought. His reign began, as it was to end, in disaster, for very soon after his election the Venetian

fleet

FLEET

was completely destroyed by the Genoese off the island of Sapienza, while plague and a declining commerce aggravated the situation. Although a capable

commander

COMMANDER

and a good statesman, Faliero possessed a violent temper, and after his election developed

great

GREAT

ambition. The constitutional restrictions of the ducal power, which had been further curtailed just before his election, and the insolence of the

nobility

NOBILITY

aroused in him a desire to free himself from all

control

CONTROL (Fr. contrdle, older form contre rolle, from Med. Lat. contra-rotulus, a counter roll or copy of a document used to check the original; there is no instance in English of the use of " control " in this, its literal, meaning)

, and the discontent of the arsenal hands at their treatment by the nobles offered him his opportunity. In concert with a sea-captain named Bertuccio Ixarella (who had received a blow from the noble Giovanni

Dandolo

DANDOLO
DANDOLO, VINCENZO, COUNT (1758-1819)

), Filippo Calendario, a stonemason, and others, a plot was laid to murder the

chief

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

patricians

on the 15th of April and proclaim Faliero prince of Venice. But there was much ferment in the city and disorders broke out before the appointed time; some of the conspirators having made revelations, the Council of Ten proceeded to arrest the ringleaders and to place armed guards all over the town. Several of the conspirators were condemned to death and others to various terms of imprisonment. The doge's complicity having been discovered, he was himself arrested; at the trial he confessed everything and was condemned and executed on the 17th of April 1355.
The story of the insult written by Michele Steno on the doge's chair is a legend of which no record is found in any contemporary authority. The motives of Faliero are not altogether clear, as his past record, even in the judgment of the poet Petrarch, showed him as a.wise, clear-headed man of no unusual ambition. But possibly the attitude of the aristocracy and the example offered by the tyrants of neighbouring cities may have induced him to attempt a similar policy. The only result of the plot was to consolidate the power of the Council of Ten.

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