Minor Council

[2] Both councils had their antecedents in a 'council of wise men' (consilium sapientes) that the Venetian patriciate had placed next to the Doge to advise him and curtail his independent authority, and is attested at least since 1143.

[3][4] Indeed, the first known ducal councillors (consiglieri ducali) were elected along with Doge Pietro Barbolano in 1032, to prevent a recurrence of the monarchical tendencies of his predecessors.

[6] Indeed, the oath of office of the ducal councillors explicitly obliged them to enforce this on the Doge, and to oppose him should he try to override or ignore a decision of the lower councils.

[8] As part of the Signoria, the Minor Council shared in the supervision of the courts,[8] and adjudicated jurisdiction in disputes between junior magistracies.

[1] The Doge's oath of office obliged him and his ducal councillors to visit the courts in person and hear any complaints brought to them there.