(1) In 840 a treaty between Charlemagne's grandson Lothair and the doge of Venice, protected Venice's neutrality and guaranteed its security from the mainland.(2) The doge , senate, and government of Venice were then excommunicated and the entire Republic placed under interdict.(3) Much of what survives from these earlier years seems to be occasional music, such as the grand choruses for plays given in the courtyard of the doge 's palace.(4) In contrast with most of the other artistic centres of Italy there was no court, and the opportunities for independent action by the elected head of state, the doge , were strictly limited.(5) If the ruler's u2018willu2019 could be voted down by his advisers, the regal power would be no more than that of the doge of Venice.
