[Footnote 3.1: The first silver ducat is believed to have been struck
in 1140 by Roger II., Norman king of Sicily; and ducats have been
struck constantly since the twelfth century, especially at Venice (see
_Merchant of Venice_). They have varied considerably both in weight and
fineness, and consequently in value, at different times and places.
Ducats have been struck in both gold and silver. The early Venetian
silver ducat was worth about five shillings. The name is said,
according to one account, to have been derived from the last word of
the Latin legend found on the earliest Venetian gold coins:--_Sit tibi,
Christe, datus, quem tu regis, ducatus_ (duchy); according to another
account it is taken from "_il ducato_," the name generally applied to
the duchy of Apulia.]