Talk:Most Serene Republic

I deleted "(Latin Regnum Serenissima)" because that cannot be correct. It must be either "Regnum Serenissimum" or maybe "Res publica serenissima" or something like "Regnum Serenissimae Poloniae/Venetiae" or so, but Latin grammar does not accord with what was written there. Is there anyone who knows what is correct? Buncic 16:49, 26 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I thought (Classical) Latin for "republic" was respublica, one word. (It's one of those nouns with irregular conjugations that every student of Latin learns.) However, I see little value in keeping it in the article, especially as no source has been offered for the authentic Latin form, so I've removed it entirely. The term in the relevant languages (Latin/Italin/Polish) ought to go in the relevant articles, but it's superfluous on a disambiguation page. --Blisco 22:31, 21 January 2007 (UTC)

Where does the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth get its "Most Serene" title from? It's not called anything like than in Polish or any of other listed languages except English. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.35.64.14 (talk) 13:06, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

In the case of Venice, I thought that the appellative Serenissima (which translates actually to Very Serene, not Most Serene) was due to the fact that they could not be attacked by land (being an archipelagos of small islands) and that they had a strong navy, so that there was very little risk of invasion or attack, and therefore, their life was quiet and without worries. The Italian Wikipedia page about the Republic of Venice states that the name "Serenissima" comes, at least in part, out of the superb administration of Justice, which granted a quiet and fair life to all. Anyone out there has sources about this? Mnlg (talk) 09:48, 20 August 2009 (UTC)

"Most Serene" is an indicator of sovereignty, i.e. an independent country.

'Republic' is just an description of the form of government exercising juridical rights in a geographical unit, e.g. a specific town or region can be a "republic" if the magistrates & judges of that area are appointed by an elected council of its inhabitants, rather than being appointed by a feudal lord, count, bishop or monarch.

But having a "republican" government does not necessarily imply supreme jurisdiction. If the law is such that a case brought before the republic's courts has a right of appeal for review by a higher authority, e.g. to a the courts of a duke or monarch or emperor, then the republic is not, by definition, "sovereign". Or, more bluntly, it is not an independent state, at least not de jure.

"Most Serene" is the customary courtesy reserved to sovereigns and sovereigns only. "Most Serene Prince" or "Most Serene Highness" necessarily means a lord with supreme jurisdiction, i.e. a sovereign king.

You can call any lowly knight or count "Most Illustrious", or "Most Valorous" or "Most Honorable" or "Most Excellent" or what you will, but you can never call them "Most Serene". It would be a scandalous breach of established courtesies.

I am not sure how that came about, or why 'serenity' rather than some other term was chosen to be the exclusive sovereign courtesy. Perhaps because only a sovereign can judge without fear of reversal, that his judgment cannot be reversed or perturbed, i.e. 'serene'? That's speculation. I really don't know. All I know is that it happens to be the customary usage (although that courtesy got messed around after the Renaissance, when monarchs took to taking up new courtesies such as "royal" and "majesty". But prior to that, pick up any letter or petition addressed to a sovereign, it will almost always open with the courtesy, e.g. "To the most serene prince Edward, by the grace of God, king of Fredonia.")

Consequently, the "Most Serene" appellation was also used by republics like Venice to make it utterly clear that they are not merely republics (form of government), but specifically [i]sovereign[/i] republics, and thus independent states, i.e. their jurisdiction is supreme, there is no appeal above their courts, no review by any royal or emperor. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Walrasiad (talk • contribs) 10:35, 27 October 2009 (UTC)