In Search of the First Venetians

Prosopography of Early Medieval Venice

By (author) Luigi Andrea Berto

Book cover: In Search of the First Venetians

Extent: 493, 493 pages

Publisher: Brepols Publishers

Subjects: Medieval Studies

Series: Studies in the Early Middle Ages

Series volume number: 41

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(October 2014)

ISBN: 9782503541013

Price: $163.00

In stock

Based on an extensive source analysis, this book provides the biographical information of all early medieval Venetians, thus offering an invaluable research tool for the history of Venice.


This prosopographical study provides information about each Venetian living in the early Middle Ages, from the invasion of the Lombards in 569 – an action that forced part of the North-East Italy’s population to seek refuge in the islands of the Venetian lagoon – to the rule of Duke Petrus Ursoylus II (991-1008). There is an entry for each individual listing all available information and quoting the full text of primary sources within the footnotes. The data are organized in categories such as families, first names, rulers, women, office holders, ecclesiastics, occupations, and places of residence (Venice was a duchy with different urban centers). Venice is an extremely important place for this kind of analysis. It is the area in which family name use began for the first time in medieval Europe. Venice was never conquered by a ‘Germanic’ people, and therefore it is possible to study the evolution of a post-Roman/Byzantine society by analyzing the names of the Venetians. Moreover, scholars interested in later periods will be able to find the origins of all the most important Venetian families.

  • By (author) Luigi Andrea Berto