Melingoi
TheMelingoiorMilingoi(Greek:Μηλιγγοί) were aSlavictribe that settled in thePeloponnesein southernGreeceduring theMiddle Ages.In the early decades of the 7th century, Slavic tribes (Sclaveni) settled throughout theBalkansfollowing the collapse of theByzantine Empire's defense of theDanubefrontier with some groups reaching as far south as the Peloponnese.[1]The Sclaveni often settled in small groups (i.e., families and clans) and their demographic impact in mainland Greece was both weak and diffuse.[2]Of these, two groups are known by name from later sources, the Melingoi and theEzeritai,of whom the Melingoi settled on the western slopes ofMount Taygetos.The origin and etymology of the nameMelingoiis unknown.[3]
History
[edit]Like the Ezeritai, the Melingoi are first mentioned in theDe administrando imperio,a manual on statecraft written by theByzantine emperorConstantine VII Porphyrogennetos(r. 913–959). The emperor records that in his time they paid atributeof 60 goldnomismata,but that after they had revolted and been defeated, in the reign ofRomanos I Lekapenos(r. 920–945), by thestrategosKrinites Arotras,they had to pay 600nomismata.[4]Under Byzantine rule, the Melingoi retained an autonomous existence, but adoptedChristianityand becameHellenizedin language and culture.[5]
During the period ofFrankish rulein the 13th–14th centuries, they were employed by both the Frankish lords of thePrincipality of Achaeaand by theByzantine Greeksof theDespotate of the Moreaas soldiers. For instance, according to theChronicle of the Morea,PrinceWilliam II of Villehardouin(r. 1246–1278) awarded to the "greatdroungos[a]of the Melingoi "exemption from all duties except military service.[4]The Melingoi are still attested during the 1330s in a number of founder's inscriptions attached to churches inLaconia.One of them, Constantine Spanes, from the notable Spanes family, is called "tzaousiosof thedroungosof the Melingoi ", implying its continued existence as a separate community. N. Nicoloudis identifies the late medievalthemaofKinsternaor Giserna (fromLatin:cisterna,"cistern" ) with the area of the Melingoi in the northwesternMani peninsula.[4][6]While the elite of the Melingoi was rich and exposed to Byzantine and Frankish influence, the ordinary pastoralist hillman remained more conservative and secluded. Their Slavic language was still spoken as late as the 15th century, when the travellerLaskaris Kananosclaimed that their tongue resembled that of theWends.Many Slavic placenames have been preserved to this day.[7]
Notes
[edit]^a:Droungoswas originally a Late Roman/Byzantine term for a battalion-sized military unit, but from the 12th century on had been equated withzygos( "mountain range" ) and applied to various mountainous areas in continental Greece, as well as the militia forces detailed to guard the passes in them (cf. the older termkleisoura).[8]
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^Kazhdan 1991,pp. 1620, 1917.
- ^Trombley 1993,pp. 438–439.
- ^Kazhdan 1991,pp. 772, 1334.
- ^abcKazhdan 1991,pp. 1334–1335.
- ^Kazhdan 1991,pp. 1335, 1620.
- ^Nicoloudis 2003,pp. 85–89.
- ^G. L. Huxley (1993):Transhumance on Taygetos in the "Chronicle of Morea".Illinois Classical Studies. 332–334
- ^Kazhdan 1991,p. 664.
Sources
[edit]- Kazhdan, Alexander,ed. (1991).Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium.Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-504652-6.
- Nicoloudis, N. (2003). "The 'Theme of Kinsterna'".In Dendrinos, Charalambos; Harris, Jonathan; Harvalia-Crook, Eirene; et al. (eds.).Porphyrogenita – Essays on the History and the Literature of Byzantium and the Latin East in honour of Julian Chrysostomides.Aldershot and Burlington: Ashgate Publishing Limited. pp. 85–89.ISBN978-0-7546-3696-0.
- Trombley, Frank R. (1993). "Byzantine" Dark Age "Cities". In John S. Langdon; et al. (eds.).ΤΟ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΟΝ: Studies in Honor of Speros Vryonis, Jr: Vol. 1: Hellenic Antiquity and Byzantium.New Rochelle, NY: Artistide D. Caratzas. pp. 429–450.