Enrico Dandolo (patriarch)

Enrico Dandolo
Patriarch of Grado
Installed1134
Term ended1182
PredecessorGiovanni VIII Segnale
SuccessorJohn VII Gradenigo
Personal details
Bornc. 1092
Died1182
NationalityVenetian

Enrico Dandolo (c. 1092[1]-1182) was Patriarch of Grado, Italy, from 1134 to 1182.[2] A member of a noble Venetian Dandolo 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.

  1. ^ Madden 2008, p. 92.
  2. ^ Davidson 2016, p. 53.