Imagining the Principality of Morea: A National History

Abstract It was by the sword that they conquered the land of the Morea’, Guillaume II de Villehardouin is made to remark in H concerning the actions of his father and the other Latins [ineq]. According to this version of the Chronicle of Morea, a momentous battle took place during the Latin acquisition of the Peloponnese. In the olive grove of Koundouras not far from Kalamata, the invaders, we are told, faced the forces hastily assembled to resist them: cavalry and infantry from the fortified towns of Nikli, Veligosti, and Lacedaemonia, together with motley auxiliary troops recruited in the Taygetos mountains (vv.1715–31). Although both sides fought hard, the Franks were eventually entirely victorious, and few of their opponents escaped [ineq]. Thus, the creation of the Principality of Morea is predicated in H upon an initial act of military conquest, a fact we are repeatedly reminded of in speeches attributed to the crusaders and their descendants (vv.1382–3, 1613–22, 2438–40, 2456–7, 2732–4, 4485–7, 6311–12). Yet it would be a mistake to conclude that events in the Peloponnese are viewed by the text consistently in terms of the subjugation of the indigenous population. Already in the episode of the battle of Koundouras, mention is made of the presence at the side of Guillaume I de Champlitte and Geoffroy de Villehardouin of their Greek collaborators [ineq]. From the beginning, an effort is made by H to assign a positive space within the narrative to the native Peloponnesians.