Elite persistence in medieval Venice after the Black Death

This paper studies how the plague in 1348 affected the power structure in Venice. Using data from The Rulers of Venice, 1332-1524 dataset, we conceptualize the Venetian structure of power as a two-mode network where relevant political houses are associated with the offices in which their members were elected. Three results emerge: participation widened while capacity tightened – more houses appear in office-holding even as total offices contract, mainly at the base; the house-office network becomes denser; and re-ranking is selective rather than wholesale – the apex largely persists while some prominent houses lose ground and others move up.