Od Bretanje preko Vrane do Zadra – zadarska građanska obitelj Bertonići (Britanico)
From Brittany through Vrana to Zadar – Zadar citizen family Bertonić (Britanico)

Summary/Abstract: The Zadar citizen family Bertonić (Britanico), although highly influential, has not yet been the focus of detailed historical research. However, the abundance of archival material preserved in the State Archives in Zadar, particularly within the collection Zaratin Public Notaries, together with various collections in the Archivio di Stato di Venezia and the Archive of the Pontifical Croatian Institute of Saint Jerome, offers numerous opportunities for the study of this prominent early modern Dalmatian family. This paper provides an overview of the family’s history, from their arrival on the eastern Adriatic coast to their rise on the social ladder within the urban elite circles of Zadar. Through an analytical and synthetic approach to archival sources, the research explores several aspects of the family’s life. Primarily, the analysis has confirmed that the family originated from Brittany, which explains the anthroponym “Britanico”. Furthermore, the study has revealed connections between the family and the Knights Hospitaller who had their seat in Vrana, an important medieval centre of military orders that had originally belonged to the Knights Templar. Finally, based on an extensive analysis of archival material, the paper elaborates in detail on the family’s successful and rapid ascent into Zadar’s social elite society. In this respect, special attention is given to the interplay between the family’s social, military, and ecclesiastical positions, and the economic power that secured their citizenship in the commune of Zadar in the first place, thereby granting them further entry into the urban non-patrician elite social circles. Altogether, their distinguished position enabled them to exert a notable influence on the city’s social affairs throughout the 15th and 16th centuries. As further evidence of their strong social ambitions, the paper highlights a new finding concerning a family member – a canon – who, in the late 16th century, sought to obtain the archbishopric of Zadar. No matter how extensive, the author concludes that this paper represents only a first step toward understanding the complex history of the Britanico family, a topic that remains far from exhausted and clearly requires further attention from historians.

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