Morea

The name Morea (Greek: Μωρέας) was used to refer to the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was also used to refer to a Byzantine province in the region, known as the Despotate of Morea.

History

After the conquest of Constantinople by the forces of the Fourth Crusade (1204), two groups of Franks undertook the occupation of the Morea. They created the Principality of Achaea, a largely Greek-inhabited statelet ruled by a Latin (Western) autocrat. In referring to the Peloponnese, they followed local practice and used the name "Morea".

Related Topics:
Fourth Crusade - 1204 - Franks - Principality of Achaea

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The most important prince in the Morea was Guillaume II de Villehardouin (1245-1287), who fortified Mistra (Mystras) near the site of Sparta in 1249. After losing the Battle of Pelagonia (1259) against the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus, Guillaume was forced to ransom himself by giving up most of the eastern part of Morea and his newly built strongholds.

Related Topics:
Guillaume II de Villehardouin - Mistra - Sparta - 1249 - Battle of Pelagonia - 1259 - Byzantine Emperor - Michael VIII Palaeologus

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The anonymous 14th century Chronicle of Morea, in more than 9,000 lines of political verse, relates events of the establishment of feudalism in mainland Greece by the Franks following the Fourth Crusade. The Chronicle is famous in spite of its historical unreliability because of its lively description of life in the feudal community and because of the character of the language which reflects the rapid transition from Medieval to Modern Greek. The Chronicle, written in French, survives in two parallel Greek texts, the Ms Havniensis 57 (14th-15th century, in Copenhagen) and the Ms Parisinus graecus 2898 (15th-16th century, at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris), and the difference of about one century shows a considerable number of linguistic differences due to the rapid evolution of the Greek language.

Related Topics:
14th century - Feudalism - Bibliothèque nationale de France

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the mid-14th century, the later Byzantine Emperor John VI Cantacuzenus reorganized Morea into the Despotate of Morea, usually ruled from Mistra by the current heirs of the emperor. The Byzantines eventually recovered the remainder of the Frankish part of Morea, but in 1460 the peninsula was overrun and conquered by the Ottoman Empire.

Related Topics:
John VI Cantacuzenus - Despotate of Morea - 1460 - Ottoman Empire

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~