Greek Islands under the Control of Western Rulers (13th–15th Cent.): Searching for Their Identity through Their Patronage, Zoom, December 3–4, 2021

After the Fall of Constantinople in 1204 to the armies of the Fourth Crusade and the signing of the treaty of Partitio Terrarum Imperii Romaniae, the majority of the Greek islands (in the Aegean, the Ionian Sea and Crete) gradually passed under the control of the Latins, initiating a new era of conflict and coexistence between the local populations, the new rulers and the settlers.

The Venetians, the Genoese, the Hospitallers et al., within this cultural environment, funded the construction, the decoration, or the renovation of secular and religious  buildings, as well as the production of artefacts. These initiatives constitute the irrefutable evidence of their presence in the Greek islands. Documents, inscriptions, coats of arms, donor portraits and other visual material can provide us with crucial information about the identities of the commissioners and their role within the local communities, and thus help us fill in some of the missing pages of the history of each island or complexes of islands.

With the financial support of the Society for the Medieval Mediterranean, through the Simon Barton Postgraduate & ECR Conference Prize, we would like to invite you to the virtual conference Greek Islands under the Control of Western Rulers (13th-15th cent.). Searching for their Identity through their Patronage, which will take place on 3 and 4 December 2021 via Zoom.

The conference aims to promote research on Latin patronage and how this reflects the status of the patrons in the Greek islands under western rule (13th-15th c.) and the interrelationship between the Byzantines and the Latins. Papers are expected to focus on the investigation of the various aspects of the patronage and what these initiatives can tell us about the process of the production of architecture and art (physical materials of the monuments and the objects, aesthetic taste of the commissioners, etc.), their profile (financial and social status, education), their social position within the local communities, their relations with the central or the local administration and the ways they used patronage to promote their status. Broader issues, such as the integration of the two cultures and their  parallel development, devotional practices and beliefs, the social and political fermentations created by this coexistence, et al. are expected to be examined as well.

Postgraduate students and early career researchers from various disciplines (history, archaeology, history of art, epigraphy and palaeography) are particularly encouraged to  participate in. Emphasis will be given to interdisciplinary approaches.

Presentations will be given in Greek or in English.