ABSTRACT
In January 1441, the ruling nobility of Ragusa gathered in the council hall to discuss some matters related to the city treasury. During the debate, they expressed their concern and indignation regarding the fact that there had been some 'novelties' in their city. Namely, they had observed that certain individuals increasingly elected their gastalds and other officials. On the institutional level, the citizenry strove to achieve distinction by means of establishing two confraternities – that of St. Anthony, founded in the mid-fourteenth century, and that of St. Lazarus, founded in 1531. The confraternities adopted similar election and voting mechanisms, and although their members were some of the most affluent, best educated, and most ambitious Ragusan citizens, the hierarchy of these associations of elite citizens never became a real counterpart to the patrician councils. They lacked the most important prerogative – the power of political authority.
