Venice’s mercenary troops in the society of Trogir (1420--1463)
Journal title SOCIETÀ E STORIA
Author/s Zeno Castelli
Publishing Year 2026 Issue 2026/192
Language Italian Pages 29 P. 197-225 File size 355 KB
DOI 10.3280/SS2026-192001
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In this essay the author investigates the social life of the permanent mercenary garrison settled by Venice in Trogir, Dalmatia, after the 1420 reconquest and before the TurkishVenetian war (14631479). The soldiers are regarded as a distinct social component of a Late Medieval subject community. The paper firstly explores the juridical and economic framework of garrison life. Then it focuses on the everyday social behaviour of soldiers who fulfil their basic needs and engage in local practices in ways determined by their military ranks, their origins and their personal history, achieving, as a consequence, different degrees of integration. In summary, the author suggests that the garrison cannot be labelled merely as a tool for occupation and defence, but rather as a hybrid body deeply rooted in the local society and marked by both shared reference structures and internal inequalities.
Keywords: Trogir;; Dalmatia, Venetian Republic, garrisons, social practices, 15th century.
Zeno Castelli, Le truppe stipendiarie di Venezia nella società di Traù (1420--1463) in "SOCIETÀ E STORIA " 192/2026, pp 197-225, DOI: 10.3280/SS2026-192001