The cernide or cernida (also known as the cranide in
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, stre ...
) were territorial armies of the
Veneto
it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman)
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and
Istria
Istria ( ; Croatian and Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian, Italian and Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic betwee ...
that annually received some military training. The name ''cernida'' derives from the fact that the one or two young men were chosen (cf. it, cernere 'to choose, select') for every ten from among the young men resident in these areas.
[Tratto da: Lino Ertani. La Valle Camonica attraverso la storia. Esine, Tipolitografia Valgrigna, 1996. 168]
These units could thus be mobilized quickly, unlike the army, which was slower to recruit and slower moving. They were formed of soldiers on annual service, with an obligation to gather for brief training periods four times a year, and accounted in total for about 30,000 men.
Notes
{{reflist
Military history of the Republic of Venice
Militias