The Morlachs of Dalmatia: A Glimpse on Damages Caused by Morlach Shepherds in Rural Dalmatia during the 15th and 16th Centuries

Abstract

The Morlachs of Dalmatia, as referred to in Venetian documents from the 15th-century onwards, were a heterogeneous and extremely mobile population of Vlach origin. Even if they were to be found also as merchants, soldiers, thieves, criminals, immigrants, etc., the principal occupation of the late medieval Dalmatian Morlachs remained the traditional sheep breeding. When analysing this latter aspect of Morlach life, we have to keep in mind that the lifestyle of the Morlach shepherds from Dalmatia was strongly connected with that of other Vlachs communities from the Balkans. Together with this, the Morlachs` commercial practices and the ubiquitous presence of Morlach sheep flocks in the agricultural space of the Dalmatian hinterlands in the 15th and 16th-century, contributes equally to the larger topic of the life in border areas. Against this background, this paper exams the crop damages caused by the Morlach shepherds in Dalmatia`s fields and vineyards. These damages reveal information about the legal status of Morlach shepherds in Dalmatian communes, about privileges, concessions, agreements, rental contracts, and also about diplomatic negotiations. Moreover, representative examples of crop damages will be used to study the relation and (partially) cross-cultural interaction of Morlachs shepherds with the great regional powers, particularly Venice’s reaction to the disruptive Morlachs and its consequences at the diplomatic level with the authorities of the Ottoman Empire.