DOG-DAYS. See CAN icut.A.
DOGE, (Inj (IL, variant of duct', duke, from lat. dmr, leader). The name of the chief magis trate in the former republies of Venice and I:ctioa. 'flue first Doge of Venice, Paola Limb) .Nnafesto, was eleeted by the people in 697. lIe fore that time the various 'shin I had .teen gov erned by tribunes, hut the divided authority had been found inefficient in times of danger. At first the power of the Doge was not defined and depended mainly upon the character of each inemilbent, though the eonsent of the Ceneral Assembly was nceessary for a declaration of war or the making of a treaty. An able Doge usually endeavored to make his offiee hereditary. and in order to do this to have his son appointed as /11 .4111 lint the people resisted this lendeney, as they did not wish 'to live under a lord,' and in 1032 the anti•dynastie prineiple triumphed and the election of the Doge Consort was declared ille gal. In order to aid the chief magistrate in his constantly increasing duties, instead of a consort, two rousigiieri Moth, or privy councilors. were appointed. At the same time, as a restriction upon his power. the Doge was obliged to call the more prominent citizens to aid him with their advice. Thi.s was the foundation of the Senate. or Pregadi. From this time the power of the Doge was gradually restricted by legislative en actment. In the earlier periods, the usual rem edy against tyranny had been violence, and sev eral doges had been deposed. blinded, or put. to death. hut after 1032 tyranny was guarded against by constitutional checks. In 1172 the Great Council, Maggior Consiglio, of 480 mem bers NV:1‘. created. These represented the different sections and held office for one year; they made appointments to office and prepared all business which was to go before the General Assembly. In addition the assembly of the Pregadi was given greater power. and four more ducal councilors. making six in all, were appointed. Later con stitutional changes follow along these same lines. On the one hand, power is taken away from the people as represented in the General Assembly: on the other hand, the influence of the Doge is gradually restricted until he becomes a figure head, though the pomp and dignity of the office are increased. These changes, however, were made very gradually, and some of the strongest doges ruled during the thirteenth and fourteenth cen turies. See Dixooto.
The people resisted strenuously when the Coun cil attempted to deprive them of the right of electing the Doge. Filially the Council hit upon the expedient of electing the Doge and then pre senting him to the people with the following for mula : "This is your Doge, if it please you." a
formula which was used until 1423. The method of electing the Doge was modified frequently with the purpose of preventing partisanship and cor ruption. In 1268 the following method was adopted: The Great Council by lot chose 30 The 30 were reduced by lot to 9 40 f with at least The 9 voted for 7 votes each The 40 were reduced by lot to.. 12 The 12 voted for 25 I lPIISt The 25 were reduced by lot to 9 t with at least The 9 voted for 7 votes each The 45 were reduced by lot to 11 The 11 voted for 41 t with at least 9 rotes each The 41 elected, with a minimum of twenty-five votes, the Doge.
The power of the Doge was greatly circum scribed, especially after 1229, by making the coronation oath more strict, by the establishment in 1310 of the fearful Council of Ten, and by the appointment of inquisitors to examine in detail all the acts of the deceased Doge. By the corona tion oath of Tiepolo, in 1229. he was forbidden to correspond with the Pope, the Emperor, or any other sovereign without the consent of the ducal councilor:. and the size of his household was fixed. Loaded down with burdensome conditions and clothed only with empty honors, the office ceased to be sought for. In 1361 the Doge was re quired to abdicate when asked to do so, but was not allowed to resign of his own accord. A few years later Andrea Contarini was forced to accept the office against his own will. under threat of a con tiseat ion of his property, but in compensation v‘as given a larger household. In 1437 Venice felt the need of a title to the land empire which she had acquired, and the Doge ob tained a diploma of investiture from the Em peror, creating him 'Duke of Treviso, Feltre. Bel Inno, Ceneda. Padua, Breseia, llorgamo. Casal maggiore, Soneino, and Posehiera.' In spite of his titles, the Doge had little real power in the last centuries of the Republic's existence; the office disappeared with the fall of the Republic in 1797.
The Republic of Genoa elected, after a victory gained by the party of the people, in 1339, Simone lloccanera for its first Doge. In 1396, when Genoa came (for a short time) under the rifle of the French, the office of Doge was suppressed. It was revived in I525. when a new aristocratic constitution was instituted under the auspices of Andrea Doria. In most respects the office was restricted, as in Venice. In 1797, when Genoa was occupied by the French. the office was abol ished. It was reestablished in 1802 for the Ligurian Republic. and again abolished in 1805. when the Republic came to an end. Consult. Brown, Venice (New York, 1893).