Enrico Dandolo (patriarch)
| Enrico Dandolo | |
|---|---|
| Patriarch of Grado | |
| Installed | 1134 |
| Term ended | 1182 |
| Predecessor | Giovanni VIII Segnale |
| Successor | John VII Gradenigo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1100 |
| Died | 1182 |
| Nationality | Venetian |
Enrico Dandolo (c. 1100-1182) was Patriarch of Grado, Italy, from 1134 to 1182. A member of a noble Venetian family, after his appointment he put the interests of the church ahead of all other concerns.
Dandolo supported reform of the clergy along the lines laid down by Bernard of Clairvaux. He was engaged in a long-running dispute over jurisdiction with Giovanni Polani, the Bishop of Castello. He also became involved in a dispute with the doge of Venice over lay involvement in church affairs. The dispute with the doge escalated when the doge supported the Byzantine Empire when it was invaded by the Normans. Venice had critically important economic ties with the empire, but it was in schism with Rome. Dandolo was exiled until the war was over. Later he was restored to authority and gained most of his objectives including recognition of the separation of church from state and of the supremacy of the Patriarchate of Grado over Venice.
Enrico Dandolo was the uncle of the famous Doge of Venice, also called Enrico Dandolo. He grew up in the small parish of San Luca, where his contemporary the future doge Pietro Polani also lived.
In 1122 the doge Domenico Michiel launched a seaborne crusade to help Baldwin II of Jerusalem. Enrico Dandolo participated in the Venetian Crusade while in his early twenties. The Venetian fleet left on 8 August 1122, and invested Corfu, then a possession of the Byzantine Empire, with which Venice had a dispute over privileges. They abandoned the siege when they heard news that King Baldwin II had been taken prisoner, and reached the Palestinian coast in May 1123. On 15 February 1124 the Venetians began the siege of Tyre, which fell on 7 July 1124. The fleet passed through the Aegean Sea on the return voyage, pillaging Greek islands and forcing the Greeks to abandon the dispute and confirm their privileges. On his return Dandalo embarked on a career as a legal advocate.
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