Medieval families

Στον βυζαντινό και λατινοκρατούμενο ελληνικό χώρο, μετά την Άλωση του 1204, ο συγχρωτισμός με τους επήλυδες ‘επιχειρηματίες’ της Ευρώπης, καθώς και οι τεράστιες απώλειες εδαφών που υφίστανται οι ανώτερες τάξεις, οδηγεί στην ανεύρεση νέων πηγών πλουτισμού, και την ανάδειξη οικογενειών όπως οι Zaccaria, οι Gattilusi, οι Acciaiuoli κ.ά.
Η οικογένεια Zaccaria ήταν ακόμη μια οικογένεια προερχόμενη από την οικονομική άρχουσα τάξη της Γένουας, η οποία προσπαθεί, χωρίς ιδιαίτερη επιτυχία, να ανταγωνιστεί την μεγάλη αντίπαλό της, Βενετία, για την κυριαρχία στο εμπόριο της ανατολικής Μεσογείου.
Η σύνδεση της οικογένειας με το Βυζάντιο ξεκινά λίγο μετά τα μέσα του 13ου αιώνα, κατά την υπογραφή της συνθήκης του Νυμφαίου (1261), ενώ το 1275, ο Μιχαήλ Η΄ παραχώρησε στον Manuele Zaccaria την άδεια για εκμετάλλευση των ορυχείων στυπτηρίας στην περιοχή της Φώκαιας. Από το 1304 εως το 1329, η κυριαρχία της οικογένειας επεκτείνεται στη Χίο και τη Λέσβο, εντάσσοντας το εμπόριο της μαστίχας στην οικονομική αυτοκρατορίας τους.
Ταυτόχρονα, οι Zaccaria αναπτύσσουν στενότατους δεσμούς με την παποσύνη, εξασφαλίζοντας πολλαπλά οικονομικά προνόμια, ενώ αναλαμβάνουν στρατιωτική δράση εναντίον των Οθωμανών, εμφανιζόμενοι ως υπέρμαχοι της Χριστιανοσύνης. Στο απόγειο της, η εμπορική αυτοκρατορία των Zaccaria, έχει να επιδείξει μεγάλα οχυρωματικά έργα, πολλαπλές νομισματικές κοπές, σύνδεση με άλλες λατινικές οικογένειες του ελλαδικού χώρου και έντονη διπλωματική δραστηριότητα.
Η ιστορία της οικογένειας Zaccaria και η δράση της στον βυζαντινό χώρο είναι ενδεικτική μιας ολόκληρης ομάδας ανθρώπων που έδρασαν στην ανατολική Μεσόγειο κατά τον Ύστερο Μεσαίωνα, και παρουσιάζουν ένα καινούριο και πολύπλευρο κοινωνικό προφίλ.


The Crusaders coming to the East, led to significant changes, not only to the political status quo, but throughout public and private life. The economy, in particular, is transformed, since, besides traditional economic activities, new concepts were introduced in the Byzantine Empire, like credit. Branches of the commercial and banking families are settled in the East, where they can easily spread their influence and eliminate their competition.
In the Byzantine and Latin occupied Greece, after 1204, mingling with the newcomer ‘entrepreneurs’ from the West, as well as huge territorial losses that the local upper classes suffered, led to the adoption of new money-making endeavors and the rise of families like the Zaccaria, the Gattilusi, the Acciaiuoli etc.
The Zaccaria family came from the financial upper class of Genoa, a city trying to compete with Venice, for the eastern Mediterranean commerce. The family’s ties with Byzantium began shortly after the mid-13th century, during negotiations for the signing of the treaty of Nymphaion (1261). In 1275, the emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus (1259-1282) granted Manuele Zaccaria the right to exploit the alum mines in Phocaea. From 1304 to 1329, the family’s dominion was extended to the islands of Chios and Lesbos, adding the invaluable mastiha trade to their economic empire.
At the same time, the Zaccaria formed strong ties with the Papacy, securing multiple financial benefits, and undertook military action against the Ottomans, appearing as the defenders of Christianity in the region. To its apogee, the Zaccaria rule established great fortifications, issued currency, was connected with prominent families of the Latin Greece, and excelled as diplomats.
The history of the Zaccaria family and their activity is indicative of a larger group of people residing in the eastern Mediterranean in the Late Middle Ages, presenting a new and complex social profile.

With the rise of the royal bastard D. João (1357-1433), Master of Avis, to the Portuguese throne in the late 14th century and his marriage to the English noble Philippa of Lancaster (1360-1415), the kingdom witnessed the beginning of a new dynasty and a new royal family. Comprised by the couple and their six children, the first generation of Avis would be known over time by the significant expression of "illustrious generation". The construction of the image of an "exemplary" family dates back to the reign of the founder and continues throughout the 15th century, with the development of an entire legitimizing and propagandist program of the new royal house. Through word, expressively by drawing up a body of law, by writing royal chronicles, technical and moral treatises (composed by Avis princes themselves or royal servants), the house of Avis sought to corroborate their place in the Portuguese throne and the undeniability of its power. In a context of appreciation of the marital family by Christian morality, the first generation of Avis would identify itself and would be represented by values such as virtue, devotion, loyalty, honor, love and concord. Working toward a shared monarchy, the royal family would not be unscathed to the setbacks and political struggles of its time, going through hard times that partly fractured its exemplary image or the image of some of its members. However, the memoirs basis constituted by the royal couple King John I and Philippa would remain untouched, serving at different times to retrieve the image of the illustrious infants and even to propagandize the following kings of the dynasty.

Keywords: Avis Dynasty. Ínclita Geração. Family representation

One of the main expressions of power of urban nobles during the Central and High Middle Ages in the majority of Mediterranean towns, was a possession of a fortified residence or a refuge. Many townscapes were dominated by mighty private towers, visual assertions of distinguished families. Similar examples can be found in Dalmatia, especially in the documents of Split and Trogir but also in Dubrovnik, Rab, and Zadar. There, towers seem to have been mostly connected to city walls. Thomas the Archdeacon explains in his chronicle that after the settlement of Salonitan refugees in the ancient imperial palace, the rich built their houses, and those who lacked money for building got the towers, while the rest of the people settled in crypts. However, it does not seem that the towers were inhabited only by “the middle class, ” since the leader of the refugees himself, Sever the Great, had a home consisting of a palace and tower in the south-eastern corner of the palace. This early inheritance and control of ancient Roman ruins which were suitable for fortification by the urban nobility seems common in Italy and some other regions of Mediterranean Europe. Most of the later references to private towers of Split are indeed connected to the walls of the palace. In the Split feud in the thirteenth century, described by Archdeacon Thomas, the party of “Vitalis” took shelter in a tower over the northern gate of the city. The opponent party took refuge in the tower of Kalenda, which was probably located somewhere in the south-west part of the wall. The tower of the rich Split merchant Ciprian de Ciprianis shared the borders with the northern side of the archdiocesan complex which was the former palace of Sever the Great. For some others, it may be presumed that they might have also been connected with the city walls, since they were in the proximity of external buildings while for some the location cannot be deduced at all. The only still standing Romanesque casa turrita is situated beside the western entrance of the Diocletian palace (the “Iron Gate”) but it is more of a representative, than defensive, nature. In Trogir, historian John Lucius suggested that after the twelfth-century destructions, the city authorities must have allowed rich citizens who financed reconstruction of towers of city walls to keep them. This issue is better understood for the period from the second half of the thirteenth century onwards, thanks to richer sources and the work of Irena Benyovsky Latin and Ana Plosnić Škarić. Their research on the topography of the dwellings of Trogir nobility show that most of them were close to the walls of the old city (before the expansion to the west in the thirteenth century). The examples of private towers in Dubrovnik at the end of the thirteenth and the beginning of the fourteenth century also show their connection with town fortifications of that period as well as individual property over the towers. Some examples in Rab could also be connected to the old fortifications. It seems puzzling that there is only one private tower mentioned in Zadar sources. It belonged to the house of Count Dominic Morosini, whose son Roger sold it in 1193. This house is described as being situated in front of the church of St. Mary the Great, which was situated very close to the city wall. This house might have also been attached to the walls, in the same way as the examples in Trogir. It is possible that in Zadar the possession of private noble towers was discouraged by the Venetian authorities, who may have rightfully seen such towers to be the places of mutiny and resistance. Thus, the only tower known to be erected was supposed to protect a Venetian Count from the locals. The towers thus seem to have performed two functions: providing military protection in case of feuds, but mainly serving as family residences (the casa-torre or tower-house). The Split sources mention the examples of defensive use in the thirteenth, and the residential one in the fourteenth century but the earlier use of towers as residential should also not be neglected. The remains of the few existent towers show that these towers contained windows even in the lower part. In this regard, they were similar to the Venetian examples, which were more of a representative than a defensive character. I could not find evidence that the towers presented the joint property of the whole lineage, although they could be held by one branch of the lineage. A possible example is the private tower of the Gauzigna clan in Rab on the top of which Albert, senior stirpis, along with the rest of the male members of the clan, founded the private chapel of St. Stephen. However, it might have been that only the chapel was supposed to be the property of the whole lineage. On the other hand, in several other examples, the individual character of ownership of towers is evident in the fact that parts of them could be owned by women, at least while they kept the right to equal shares of inheritance. This feature seems to be in accordance with Venetian practice, and in contrast with the usual Italian practice described by Heers and his followers. A possibility that some family towers if not performing defensive role, might have served as a suitable place for women of the family, who might have preferred a religious life over marriage but were not cloistered nuns, should also not be discarded. In the earlier period, the Split towers are sometimes mentioned as having several different owners, who seem not to be related to one another: a Split document dated to 1040 (although suspected to be a forgery from the twelfth century) mentions how the prior (Split mayor) Nicifor bought parts of a tower from nine different people, two of whom were priests while four were women (including the wife of one of the priests). In all but one case they do not seem to be related. This tower does not appear to have belonged to nobility or any particular family. It would be wrong to see in them tower societies, societies of shareholders who are not necessarily kinsmen but who imitate kinship ties. They may have been simply occupants with some mutual, already forgotten relation, but even this interpretation may be overstating their connections, since shares in towers seem to have been sold at will. There are no records of any kind of tower societies that might have been organised on the basis of keeping the tower for mutual protection. The spatial position of towers in Trogir and Split as well as records from Dubrovnik provides some support to the old idea of John Lucius that the city walls first developed as the obligation of noble families to protect them. In Zadar, Venetian authorities probably prevented or discouraged such a role for fear of the rebellious Zadar nobility.

"Grâce à l’exploitation d’une documentation très riche et largement inédite, ce livre propose une étude approfondie de l’histoire de la famille Dal Verme et entend ainsi contribuer à une réflexion relevant de l’histoire socio-politique des élites et des processus de constructions des États dans l’Italie de la Renaissance : au long des XIVe et XVe siècles, ce lignage d’origine véronaise accomplit une ascension remarquable qui lui permet d’atteindre aux plus hautes franges de la société aristocratique de l’Italie septentrionale. La spécialisation des Dal Verme dans le métier des armes (ce sont des condottières, au service de Venise et de Milan) entraîne un processus de «territorialisation» qui fait d’eux des seigneurs féodaux jouant un rôle important dans l’ensemble territorial du duché de Milan. Les Dal Verme parviennent ainsi à demeurer des feudataires indépendants et même à construire un État propre au sein de l’espace politique dominé par les Visconti puis par les Sforza. Mais ils demeurent des «créatures du duc» dont, en dernière analyse, l’identité sociale paraît définie par leur situation politico-institutionnelle.
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This book is a study of medieval queenship – an examination of the nature and role of feminine authority and power and the monarchy in the late Middle Ages.  Based on thorough and rigorous original archival research, it examines the life and career Maria de Luna, queen-consort of the Crown of Aragon (1396–1406); a woman who also served as lieutenant-general (second-in-command) for her husband, King Martí I (1396–1410).  It is not, however, a biography, nor does it focus narrowly on themes which tend to be considered “political.” It approaches the phenomenon of queenship from an array of perspectives, and by uncovering networks of religious, cultural, familial patronage demonstrates that “political” activities cannot be sectioned off from the wider activities of the royal and queenly court. A revised Spanish translation was published in 2012, María de Luna. Poder, piedad y patronazgo de una reina medieval. Zaragoza: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, CSIC, 2012.

Os estudos medievais, de modo geral, têm recentemente voltado a atenção para problemáticas que associam  distintas esferas da vida social, buscando refletir acerca de sujeitos sociais diversos, a partir de diferentes questões, abordagens e perspectivas, as quais se distanciam de uma historiografia tradicional voltada apenas para uma visão política nacionalista, centrada nos “grandes homens e fatos”. Nesse sentido, podemos considerar os avanços em pesquisas que associam questionamentos da Nova História Política (ou mesmo de uma “Novíssima História Política”) a outras dimensões e domínios da análise social e histórica, como os Estudos de Gênero. Especificamente na área da História Medieval, podemos citar uma historiografia bastante recente, marcada por pesquisadores como Didier Lett, que nos traz uma perspectiva ampliada de pesquisas que relacionam família, gênero e poder no período medieval.
Indagar sobre as interações que se constroem na vida social entre imaginário político e relações de gênero, bem como de que forma essas interações são articuladas para questionar ou legitimar governantes, são perguntas que fazemos no presente e para o estudo da história, buscando compreender como essa dinâmica se dá ao longo do tempo. Centrando nossos questionamentos no período medieval, especificamente na Baixa Idade Média portuguesa, buscamos perceber como a instauração da dinastia de Avis no final do século XIV e sua legitimação e afirmação em discursos e ações régias ao longo do século XV construíram uma imagem de família régia exemplar para a primeira geração da Casa Real; ao mesmo tempo em que se articulou no reino a prática da monarquia partilhada, na qual o governo do reino – mesmo tendo o rei como cabeça – se dava de modo compartilhado entre o monarca, a rainha e seus varões mais velhos. Quais as formas, objetivos e propósitos que essa prática assumiu no reino? De que modo representações de gênero, associadas ao quadro da família reinante, são construídas? E para que é preciso afirmá-las, quais os seus significados no contexto? Como as relações de gênero no quadro da família são utilizadas para legitimar ou deslegitimar governantes? Do mesmo modo, como podem ser articuladas para a legitimação de práticas políticas (considerando o paradigma de família real exemplar de Avis)?

The article provides an overview of the most important families of the medieval city of Antibari, presenting some of them. Noble families originating from Antibari are encountered across multiple documents, however, as connected with the history of Antibari, the activity of these families in political and economic life both within the city and outside it can't be thoroughly investigated entirely due to the incomplete and unsatisfactory situation of resources and documents. Their history after the Ottoman conquest of Antibariwill not be considered in this article. The article speaks about two categories of families: noble families and families with lesser importance.

Researchers as Didier Lett have been remarking the importance of the study of a domain that integrates gender relations and that generally is forgotten by researchers: the relationship between brothers and sisters. Such relations can be termed as adelphic relations ("adelfo", from Greek: "brother", "born from the same matrix"), in order to avoid possible confusions from the use of the term "fraternal relations", considering the various meanings that the terms fraternal / fraternal can assume for the Middle Ages. We propose a discussion about the meanings of the adelphic relations in the chronic production of Rui de Pina in Late Medieval Portugal, specifically regarding the context of the political dispute between the princes of Avis and the Queen Leonor de Aragão (1402-1445), designated as regent of the kingdom in testament by the husband D. Duarte (1433- 1438). In the chronological discourse, only the Prince D. Henrique stands in favor of the legitimacy of the queen's power. In this way, our intention is to analyze how the adelphic loyalty fights space with the loyalty to who holds the regal power and how the meanings related to the relations between brothers, to the royal obedience, as well as to the problem of the power in the female hands are mobilized in a production that intends to provide an official view on the troubled post-death context of D. Duarte and the pre-regency of the prince D. Pedro in the 15th century.
Keywords: Aldelphic relations. Princes of Avis. Female regency. Leonor de Aragão. Medieval Portugal.

The Madii were the leading family of Zadar, the capital of the Byzantine theme of Dalmatia, from the late tenth until the end of the eleventh century. They can be regarded as an example of, but also in a certain way as an exception to, families of the Dalmatian urban elite in the tenth and the eleventh centuries. Their family structure (especially the importance of female members in the second half of the eleventh century) reveals that they did not have a firmly-structured noble lineage such as those of the families who were to hold power in the Dalmatian towns in later centuries. Such a flexible family structure perhaps could be regarded as especially useful in those times when the positions of power were not strictly inheritable – the urban elite was not a totally closed group in which the position of an individual was automatically guaranteed at his/her birth. Like other families, the Madii leaned on the support of the extended family circle in ensuring the preservation of their leading position in the community. Through the successful cooperation of family members, they managed to obtain the highest secular and spiritual posts in Zadar in the first half of the eleventh century. In securing their position they relied on good relations with ecclesiastical institutions as well as on economic wealth. They also managed to make successful affinal connections with the Croatian royal family in the hinterland. It seems, too, that they were the only Dalmatian family at this time who had the ambition to expand the authority of Zadar’s priors outside the local context, first over the territory of central Dalmatia (the towns of Trogir and Split), and then even perhaps over the whole territory of the theme of Dalmatia. However, these plans were thwarted by historical circumstances, which were leading to the gradual disintegration of Dalmatia. The Byzantine Empire, which could not stop the slow declination of its own power in Dalmatia, had just enough strength to prevent the appearance of a semi-dependent local dynasty, similar to those in contemporary Italy. The attempt of the Madii thus failed. Although after a few decades they recovered, they did not manage to impose their authority in such a manner as they could in the first half of the eleventh century. In the second half of the century other families of Zadar ensured that their monopolization of power would not be repeated again.

The essay addresses the problem of the relationship between large aristocratic families and “noble parishes” in Genoa, by considering the case of the Doria and the church of San Matteo, founded in 1125 and whose reconstruction was planned in 1278. On the one hand, three qualifying aspects of the Doria kinship are examined in order to understand the role of the small church in enhancing the coordination of the group: i.e., positions of leadership and command in the maritime city and in its government; dispersion and presence outside Genoa; numerical strength, residence and leadership. On the other hand, the article considers the insertion of San Matteo in the monastic network (not only in Liguria) headed by the abbey of San Fruttuoso, and how its reconstruction allowed for the diversification of the large family internal and external relevance. The conclusion, thanks to the comparison with the experiences of other important urban families, shows the uniqueness of this case study and how broader and more systematic comparisons should be made, even outside the Genoese context.

One of the main expressions of power of urban nobles during the Central and High Middle Ages in the majority of Mediterranean towns, was a possession of a fortified residence or a refuge. Many townscapes were dominated by mighty private towers, visual assertions of distinguished families. Similar examples can be found in Dalmatia, especially in the documents of Split and Trogir but also in Dubrovnik, Rab, and Zadar. There, towers seem to have been mostly connected to city walls. Thomas the Archdeacon explains in his chronicle that after the settlement of Salonitan refugees in the ancient imperial palace, the rich built their houses, and those who lacked money for building got the towers, while the rest of the people settled in crypts. However, it does not seem that the towers were inhabited only by “the middle class, ” since the leader of the refugees himself, Sever the Great, had a home consisting of a palace and tower in the south-eastern corner of the palace. This early inheritan...

Negotiating marriage in 15th century Florence was a highly complex affair. Achieving an ideal match was of great social importance for the Florentine elite, but the high expectations for the ideal spouse militated against ease of negotiation. This essay uses the correspondence of Alessandra Strozzi to explore the practicalities of marriage negotiation, the importance of kinship and friendship networks, gender roles, and the help and hindrance of reputation and fama in finding, compromising over, or failing to find the ideal spouse.