Great Council of Venice
The Great Council Lockout (Italian: "Serrata del Maggior Consiglio") refers to the constitutional process, started with the 1297 Ordinance, by means of which membership of the Great Council of Venice became an hereditary title. Since it was the Great Council that had the right to elect the Doge, the 1297 Ordinance marked a relevant change in the constitution of the Republic. This resulted in the exclusion of minor aristocrats and plebeian from participating in the government of the Republic. Although formerly provisional, the Ordinance later became a permanent Act, and since then it was disregarded only at times of political or financial crisis (e.g. after the war against the League of Cambrai).