I - 93 : When the Peloponnese spoke French

hbanziger
12 minutes ago
4 min read

The Navarino Castle between the Ionian Sea and the Bay of Navarino was built from 1287 - 1289 by Nicholas II Saint-Omer. Relatively unimportant, it was a Genovese Base for Raids against Venice in 1350 before the Serene Republic seized it in 1417. In 1460, it became Turkish and with it obsolete. The Ottoman built a stronger Fortress at the Bay Entrance

When I ask people what they associate with the Peloponnese, I mostly get answers like “beaches or beautiful landscape”. Occassionally, someone mentions Patras, the port from where the ferry to Brindisi leaves, or the ancient sites of Olympia and Sparta. A few insider also know Methoni and Monemvassia. I never hear Mystras or the Chateau de Chlemoutsi. Seems the French past of the Peloponnnese is entirely forgotton. But its monuments are still there. By accident, I became aware of this French legacy seven years ago.

The Chateau Mila has recently been refurbished. It was built by Isabelle Villehardouin (1271 - 1301) to deter Byzantine attacks on Messina.

During our first trip in 2017, following the route of Venetian merchants, we arrived at the Bay of Navarino. We all knew that this was the place where a combined British-French fleet had destroyed the Turkish-Egyptian Navy in 1827. This naval battle ended the Greek War of Independence. None of us expected to find a Frankish Castle on a the hill overlooking the bay though. We first believed that it was a fortress to secure crusaders' passage to the Holy Land. Instead, it was part of the coastal defence when Frankish Knights ruled the Peloponnese. So much about guessing.

The Castle of Larisa (Argos) was a old Byzantine Fortress captured in 1212 by Geoffrey I of Villehardouin and upgraded using Frankish techniques.

The Navarino castle is not alone. There are many more. They all go back to the events of 1204, when Venice rerouted the 4th crusade over unpaid shipping bills and sacked Constantinople. The siege lasted ten days. Then, the battle-hardened French Knights overcame the weak defence. Constantiniple was looted and burned. Thousands of art pieces were stolen. The famous four horses that now decorate the San Marco Basilica in Venice were amongst them.

The Principality of Achaea in 1278 after Byzantium reconquered some of Morea's South

According to Wikipedia, 900’000 silver marks or 5 tons of silver were looted. After the loot, the French Knights carved up the Byzantine Empire and distributed the provinces amongst themselves. The crusaders never made it to Jerusalem. Why fighting when you could get a principality for free? We ought to remember that Byzantium had invited the crusaders to help them against the Seljuk Turks who conquered most of Anatolia after their victory in Manzikert in 1072.

Panorama of the modern Village of Villehardouin where the 1st Ruler of Achaea was from

In 1205, a year after Constantinople’s fall, two low-level and probably impoverished French Knights, William of Champelitte and Geoffrey I of Villehardouin, teamed up to conquer the Peloponnese for their master, Boniface of Montferrat, the Frankish King of Saloniki. With a smallish force of only 100 knights and 500 foot soldiers they achieved the unimaginable. There was no Byzantine resistance to speak of. The officials who resisted withdrew into their fortified places. But they did not last long. By 1208 all castles except Monemvassia had surrendered. With almost no effort, the Peloponnese had become a Frankish Principality.

Monemvassia, the Gibraltar to the East, held out to 1248

Critical for the Franks success was Venetian support. The Serene Republic had put its eyes on the two harbor towns of Methoni and Koroni which were ideally positioned to support Venetian trading. In 1209 Venice entered into an agreement with Geoffrey who conceeded the two towns for money and logistic support. For the next 237 years, the Kingdom of Achaea, run by Frankish princes, was a more or less independent state. Even the return of the Byzantine Emperor to Constantinople in 1262 did not change Achaea's status.

Methoni, one of the "Eyes of Venice", stayed Venetian to 1500 when the Ottomans took it

Being so few, the French did not mingle with the locals but built strong castles everywhere. From these places – like French island in a vast Greek sea - they ruled. Reminds me of the story of the Norman King William, who conquered England in 1066. For 200 years the English Court spoke French. Speaking the language of their lowly underlings was below the dignity of the Norman noblility. It must have been the same on the Peloponnese. The French language did not make it into the Greek vernacular. Nothing reminds us that French was once spoken in this part of the world. It was Achaea's official language though.

Artist Impression of Geoffrey I de Villeherdouin

The new French rulers quabled like all of their European peers. The Principality of Achaea was never a unified state but a conglomerate of Knights who had all their own agenda. Usually, the one who could pay the most got the crown. Even agreeing on defense was a challenge. Eventually, Byzantium fully re-integrated the territory in 1432 when the Byzantine Prince Thomas Palaiologos inherited it through marriage with the daughter of the last Achaean ruler. Only 21 years later, Constantinople fell in Ottoman hands. By 1460 they had arrived and conquered the Peloponnese. 40 years later, the last two reminders of the once Frankish State, Methoni and Koroni, fell into their hands.

Mystras, close to Sparta, was another of the Frankish Foundations. When Byzantium took it back, it became their local Capital and the Seat of a large Monastery.

Since then, most of the Frankish Castles decay. Built to control the population they had little use for the Ottomans. The Turks did not harass the local orthodox with Latin rites but let them keep their religion. Most Greeks preferred Ottoman rule over the Franks. Recently, given European tourism – people love to visit old castles – some of the Frankish Chateaus have been refurbished. But most continue to rot. Wonder how many generations and earth quakes it will take to make them completely disappear. Then the last memory of the French presence will have vanished.