The (), also known as the ('great sages'), were senior magistrates 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 ...

History

The magistracy was created in 1380 to assist the councils comprising the government of the Republic. The duty of the was to "prepare he government'sagenda, frame resolutions, defend them, and supervise their execution". Their number was not fixed in the beginning, but was eventually set at six. They were chosen from the members of the

Venetian Senate The Senate (), formally the ''Consiglio dei Pregadi'' or ''Rogati'' (, ), was the main deliberative and legislative body of the Republic of Venice. Establishment The Venetian Senate was founded in 1229, or less likely shortly before that date. ...

, or , whence their name. As with other higher magistracies of Venice, restrictions were placed on the eligibility to the office: the members served a term of six months and could not be re-elected to the same office for six months thereafter. To ensure continuity, the appointments to the office were staggered: three took office on 1 October, three on 1 January, three on 1 April, and three on 1 July. They rotated through their duties, with holding office for a week. Like all boards of , the office did not carry a salary, but could be held in tandem with other public offices. The were always present in, and in charge of the agenda of, the daily deliberations of the

Full College The Full College () was the main executive body of the Republic of Venice, overseeing day-to-day governance and preparing the agenda for the Venetian Senate. Composition The Full College comprised the Doge of Venice and the rest of the Signor ...

(the Venetian cabinet). They were also obliged to be present in all sessions of 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 ...

that had to do with foreign affairs. Consequently, and since no proposal could appear for vote before the Senate without having first been reviewed by the College, the came to be part of a small core of officials who exercised the most control over the governance of the Republic, alongside the

Doge of Venice The Doge of Venice ( ) – in Italian, was the doge or highest role of authority within the Republic of Venice (697–1797). The word derives from the Latin , meaning 'leader', and Venetian Italian dialect for 'duke', highest official of the ...

, the six

ducal councillors The Minor Council () or Ducal Council was one of the main constitutional bodies of the Republic of Venice, and served both as advisors and partners to the Doge of Venice, sharing and limiting his authority. Establishment The Minor Council was esta ...

, and the heads of the

Ten Ten, TEN or 10 may refer to: * 10, an even natural number following 9 and preceding 11 * one of the years 10 BC, AD 10, 1910, 2010, 2110 * October, the tenth month of the year Places * Mount Ten, in Vietnam * Tongren Fenghuang Airport (IATA c ...

. The post was accordingly given exclusively to the most highly regarded members of the Venetian patriciate.

References

Sources

* * * * {{Republic of Venice topics Government of the Republic of Venice 1380 establishments 14th-century establishments in the Republic of Venice