Историјски записи, година LXXXIX, 1-2/2016 UDC: 272”14”(497.5Dubrovnik) Jadranka NERALIĆ * SVI PAPINI LJUDI: DALMATINSKA BISKUPSKA SJEDIŠTA U 15. STOLJEĆU IZMEU RIMA I VENECIJE ABSTRACT: In the introductory chapter the author shortly reviewed canon law rules which defned and regulated the episcopal elections in the period from the 11th to the end of the 14th century. A number of biographi- es of clerics whose promotion to the top of the ecclesiastical career (episco- pal election) on the territory of Venetian Dalmatia, illustrate the system of papal provision as well as the infuence the Venetian Senate had on their ca- reer formation and the episcopal election. The older Croatian scholarship asserted that by electing candidates who would be favourable to its gover- nement, the Venetian Republic had infuenced the episcopal appointments in Dalmatian dioceses from the early 1420s, when it took over the domini- on over the Eastern Adriatic coast. However, the process of episcopal appo- intments went rather slowly and gradually, following the strict canon law rules. Documents kept in the Vatican Secret Archives indicate that the po- pes widely used their right of provision based on canon law rules to appo- int „their men“ and decidedly refused proposals coming from the Venetian Senate. Indeed, out of 63 bishops appointed in the nine Dalmatian dioceses under Venetian dominion, 46 were prelates of Venetian orgin, coming either from Venice or the Veneto region, whereas only seven of them came from the Papal State. On the other hand, bishops of Dalmatian origin were only 17. KEY wORDS: Dalmatia, Venice, Roman Curia, 15th century, canon law, cathedral chapter, episcopal election, papal reservation, Pope’s men, biography, ecclesiastical career. Izbor biskupa bio je važan i osjetljiv trenutak u životu lokalne Crkve koja je nakon smrti svoga mističnoga zaručnika morala pristupiti izboru nje- govoga nasljednika. U novim je okolnostima izborno tijelo - a u razvijeno- * Autorka je znanstvena savjetnica Hrvatskog instituta za povijest, Zagreb.