''Bailo'' or ''baylo'' (plural ''baili'' or ''bayli'') is a Venetian title that derives from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

term '' baiulus'', meaning "porter, bearer". In English, it may be translated

bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...

, or otherwise rendered as bailey, baili, bailie, bailli or baillie. The office of a ''bailo'' is a ''bailaggio'' (sometimes anglicised "bailate"). The term was transliterated into Greek as μπαΐουλος (''baioulos''), but

Nicephorus Gregoras Nicephorus Gregoras (; Greek: , ''Nikēphoros Grēgoras''; c. 1295 – 1360) was a Byzantine Greek astronomer, historian, and theologian. His 37-volume ''Roman History'', a work of erudition, constitutes a primary documentary source for th ...

translated it ἐπίτροπος (''epitropos'', steward) or ἔφορος (''

ephor The ephors were a board of five magistrates in ancient Sparta. They had an extensive range of judicial, religious, legislative, and military powers, and could shape Sparta's home and foreign affairs. The word "''ephors''" (Ancient Greek ''éph ...

os'', overseer). In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, a ''bailo'' was a resident ambassador of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

. The most famous ''baili'' were those at Constantinople, who were, from 1268, the Venetian ambassadors to the Byzantine court and, after 1453, to the Ottoman government. There were also permanent ''baili'' at Negroponte, Durazzo and

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

. ''Baili'' were also sent to represent Venetian interests at the courts of

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

(Jerusalem),

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

and Trebizond. In the mid-thirteenth century, the Venetian consuls in Tyre and Tripoli in the kingdom of Acre were upgraded to the rank of ''bailo''. Venice also sent ''baili'' to oversee its colonies at

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

, Antivari, Koroni, Modon,

Nauplia Nafplio or Nauplio () is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important tourist destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the Middle Ages du ...

Patras Patras (; ; Katharevousa and ; ) is Greece's List of cities in Greece, third-largest city and the regional capital and largest city of Western Greece, in the northern Peloponnese, west of Athens. The city is built at the foot of Mount Panachaiko ...

and

Tenedos Tenedos (, ''Tenedhos''; ), or Bozcaada in Turkish language, Turkish, is an island of Turkey in the northeastern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively, the island constitutes the Bozcaada, Çanakkale, Bozcaada district of Çanakkale Provinc ...

. The term ''baiulus'' was first used in Venetian documents translated from

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

in the twelfth century. It was originally used to refer to Muslim officials, but in the thirteenth century came to be applied to special envoys sent by Venice to govern its colonies in

Frankish Greece The Frankish Occupation (; anglicized as ), also known as the Latin Occupation () and, for the Venetian domains, Venetian Occupation (), was the period in Greek history after the Fourth Crusade (1204), when a number of primarily French ...

. These governors doubled as diplomats. They operated courts for the Venetian colonists, collected taxes and customs dues and supervised Venetian trade. Each was assisted by a

chancery Chancery may refer to: Offices and administration * Court of Chancery, the chief court of equity in England and Wales until 1873 ** Equity (law), also called chancery, the body of jurisprudence originating in the Court of Chancery ** Courts of e ...

(run by a chancellor) and a Council of Twelve, composed of the leading men of the colony and modeled on the

Council of Ten The Council of Ten (; ), or simply the Ten, was from 1310 to 1797 one of the major governing bodies of the Republic of Venice. Elections took place annually and the Council of Ten had the power to impose punishments upon Venetian nobility, patric ...

in Venice. Each had a chaplain, a physician and an interpreter (or

dragoman A dragoman was an Interpreter (communication), interpreter, translator, and official guide between Turkish language, Turkish-, Arabic language, Arabic-, and Persian language, Persian-speaking countries and polity, polities of the Middle East and ...

). Each sent back regular reports to Venice on the local politics, the affairs of the colony and, most importantly, the prices and quantities of goods in the local market. He was the superior of the consuls operating in the same country. By the end of the 15th century, the office of ''bailo'' had mostly disappeared, with those operating on foreign soil being downgraded to consuls and those governing Venetian territories being termed rectors, captains or ''

podestà (), also potestate or podesta in English, was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of central and northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a c ...

''. The bailates of Constantinople and Corfu, however, survived until the end of the republic in 1797.

Notes

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See also

Further reading