Enrico Dandolo and the Rise of Venice (review)

Madden notes that the careers of Dandolo and his immediate ancestors parallel the trajectory of medieval Venice itself, and so, in the first half of the book, he can use the history of the family as a means to look at Venice's rise to prominence. He also notes that Dandolo's role in the Fourth Crusade has been surrounded by myth, surmise, and polemic, rather than hard study. The remainder of the book lays out the narrative, refutes past inaccuracies, and offers new readings.

Early members of the family followed a cursus typical of those destined for nobility. Their life events included such familiar phenomena as the rise of long-distance commerce, the ethics of state service and religious patronage, increasingly strained relations between Venetians and Byzantines, and construction projects that hastened the transformation of Venice "from an archipelago of independent family enclaves into a unified city" (6). The doge's uncle, patriarch of Grado, was a major force for Gregorian reform. Father Alvise Dandolo's career, in turn, illustrates the transformation of the state, with an incipient oligarchy seizing power from doge and popular assembly alike. None of this information is surprising, but Madden provides an unusually lucid and through account of both internal dynamics and the fearsomely complex interplay of Venetians with Byzantines, popes, Normans, Muslims, and Germans.

Dandolo's early career took place amid further reform, most notably the election of the doge by less numerous panels of prominent men and the emergence of legislative councils. Once elected doge, Dandolo accelerated change: Legal reform, both in codification and reorganization, laid the "cornerstone" for later systems (108); overhaul of the coinage, especially the introduction of the grosso, took major steps toward establishing the prestige and stability of Venice's money; and the Republic embarked on a vigorous foreign policy. Even had the Fourth Crusade never taken place, Dandolo's would have been one of the most momentous reigns in Venetian history.

His place in the larger scheme of medieval history will always rest with his role in the diversion of the Fourth Crusade. Madden sets himself the task not of justifying Dandolo's actions, but explaining them and putting them into context. He argues that the crusade turned disastrous because of bad decisions by many people, coupled with a generous amount of sheer misfortune. Wildly overoptimistic ambitions drove some decisions; duplicity drove others. Many were simply the best choices among grim alternatives. Dandolo was, at most, one of many leaders—within Venice, subject to constitutional restraints, and, outside Venice, flanked by Frankish barons. Nowhere does Madden see a grand scheme, by Dandolo or anyone else, but rather a succession of expedient choices trying to make the best of an increasingly bad situation. In the end, no one—Venetians, Franks, prelates, or Byzantines—emerges unscathed, but at least Dandolo is spared a preponderant share of guilt.

Madden's efforts to spread the blame will inevitably displease those whose favorites are now assigned a share of it. But even if they were inclined to do so, partisans would find the task of denying Madden's interpretations difficult, given the massive documentation and careful analysis that he brings to bear.