The historical and legislative evolution of the Promissiones Ducis

The noun "promissio" originates from the formulas that served as a preamble to ancient Venetian laws, which began with "promittens (or promittentes) promittimus" and ended "et hec promissionis charta in sua maneat firmitate". The objective of this thesis is to perform a chronological analysis of ducal promissions from a historical and juridical perspective, observing how over the centuries this institution has evolved with a view to an increasingly important containment of the doge's powers, starting from his vacancy to the very structure of this peculiar oath to the people. Also analysed and described were the historiographical works that dealt with this subject in the past and the figures of the legal experts who assisted the doge in drafting his oath.