Features of the Local Identity of the Greek-Latin Nobility of the Peloponnese (14th — Early 15th Century)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the local identity of the population of the Peloponnese and the process of its formation in the 14th — early 15th centuries. The author aims to determine how the political events of the 13th and 14th centuries affected the identity of the Greeks from the Morea and whether the long-term proximity to the Latins affected their self-consciousness. It is concluded that the identity of the local population was based largely on their territorial origin, which was limited to the peninsula, and confrontation with strangers. Based on documentary, narrative and epistolary sources, the author notes the desire of the local nobility of the Peloponnese for separatism as a characteristic and most striking manifestation of their local identity. The presence of a common rival in the role of the central Byzantine power brought the Greek and Latin landowning elite of the Peloponnese closer to each other. The connecting link for the Greek and Latin nobility was mainly the desire to protect their interests on the peninsula, preventing unfavorable administrative interference from outside.