Description
The fifteenth century saw the triumph of the Dubrovnik Republic and its aristocracy. From a small commune Dubrovnik had developed into a free Republic, winning an important position in the Mediterranean and Balkan trade. Having gained in size and economic strength, the nobility took a firm grip of the Republic's wheel. This century witnessed increasing consciousness of the importance and power of the governmental apparatus. An efficient administration was consolidated, quite different from that of the medieval commune. Avoiding a clear cut from tradition, judicial and administrative reforms were undertaken, giving way to a strong social hierarchy. Increasing bureaucratic influence penetrated into all aspects of life. This brought politics into the focus of consideration, while everything else was subordinated to the political pragmatism. The remnants of the medieval worldview in which the worldly and unworldly constituted one and in which there existed a divine cosmic order were used in a new guise to promote the political model of the aristocratic republic.
