The Melingoi or Milingoi ( el, Μηλιγγοί) were a Slavic tribe that settled in the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge which ...

in southern

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. In the early decades of the 7th century, Slavic tribes (

Sclaveni The ' (in Latin) or ' (various forms in Greek, see below) were early Slavic tribes that raided, invaded and settled the Balkans in the Early Middle Ages and eventually became the progenitors of modern South Slavs. They were mentioned by early ...

) settled throughout the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

following the collapse of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

's defense of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

frontier with some groups reaching as far south as the Peloponnese. The Sclaveni often settled in small groups (i.e., families and clans) and their demographic impact in mainland Greece was both weak and diffuse. Of these, two groups are known by name from later sources, the Melingoi and the

Ezeritai The Ezeritai ( el, ) were a Slavic tribe that settled in the Peloponnese in southern Greece during the Middle Ages. In the early decades of the 7th century, Slavic tribes (Sclaveni) settled throughout the Balkans following the collapse of the Byz ...

, of whom the Melingoi settled on the western slopes of Mount Taygetos. The origin and etymology of the name ''Melingoi'' is unknown.

History

Like the Ezeritai, the Melingoi are first mentioned in the ''

De administrando imperio ''De Administrando Imperio'' ("On the Governance of the Empire") is the Latin title of a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is ("To yown son Romanos"). It is a domes ...

'', a manual on statecraft written by the

Byzantine emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as ...

Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (r. 945–959). The emperor records that in his time they paid a

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conq ...

of 60 gold '' nomismata'', but that after they had revolted and been defeated, in the reign of

Romanos I Lekapenos Romanos I Lekapenos ( el, Ρωμανός Λεκαπηνός; 870 – 15 June 948), Latinized as Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for the infant Constantine VII. Origin Romanos ...

(r. 920–945), by the ''

strategos ''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek to mean military general. In the Helleni ...

Krinites Arotras Krinites or Krenites Arotras ( el, Κρινίτης or Κρηνίτης Ἀροτρᾶς) was a Byzantine aristocrat and military governor in southern Greece. He is most notable for suppressing a Slavic revolt in the Peloponnese in 921/22. Origin ...

, they had to pay 600 ''nomismata''.. Under Byzantine rule, the Melingoi retained an autonomous existence, but adopted

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

and became

Hellenized Hellenization (other British spelling Hellenisation) or Hellenism is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonization often led to the Hellenization of indigenous peoples; in th ...

in language and culture. During the period of Frankish rule in the 13th–14th centuries, they were employed by both the Frankish lords of the

Principality of Achaea The Principality of Achaea () or Principality of Morea was one of the three vassal states of the Latin Empire, which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom ...

and by the

Byzantine Greeks The Byzantine Greeks were the Greek-speaking Eastern Romans of Orthodox Christianity throughout Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. They were the main inhabitants of the lands of the Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire), of Constantinople ...

of the Despotate of the Morea as soldiers. For instance, according to the '' Chronicle of the Morea'', Prince

William II of Villehardouin William of Villehardouin (french: Guillaume de Villehardouin; Kalamata, 1211 – 1 May 1278) was the fourth prince of Achaea in Frankish Greece, from 1246 to 1278. The younger son of Prince Geoffrey I, he held the Barony of Kalamat ...

(r. 1246–1278) awarded to the "great ''

droungos ''Droungos'' ( Greek: , sometimes δρόγγος, ''drongos'') or ''drungus'' is a late Roman and Byzantine term for a battalion-sized military unit, and later for a local command guarding mountain districts. Its commander was a "" or "" (δρουγ ...

'' of the Melingoi" exemption from all duties except military service. The Melingoi are still attested during the 1330s in a number of founder's inscriptions attached to churches in

Laconia Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word '' laconic''—to speak in a blunt, c ...

. One of them, Constantine Spanes, from the notable Spanes family, is called "'' tzaousios'' of the ''droungos'' of the Melingoi", implying its continued existence as a separate community. N. Nicoloudis identifies the late medieval '' thema'' of Kinsterna or Giserna (from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

''cisterna'', "cistern") with the area of the Melingoi in the northwestern

Mani peninsula The Mani Peninsula ( el, Μάνη, Mánē), also long known by its medieval name Maina or Maïna (Μαΐνη), is a geographical and cultural region in Southern Greece that is home to the Maniots (Mανιάτες, ''Maniátes'' in Greek), who cl ...

. 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 traveller

Laskaris Kananos Laskaris Kananos (or Lascaris Cananus) was a 15th-century Greek traveler to northern Europe who left an account in Medieval Greek of his travels.Jerker Blomqvist, "The Geography of the Baltic as Seen by the Greeks: From Claudius Ptolemy to Laskaris ...

claimed that their tongue resembled that of the

Wends Wends ( ang, Winedas ; non, Vindar; german: Wenden , ; da, vendere; sv, vender; pl, Wendowie, cz, Wendové) is a historical name for Slavs living near Germanic settlement areas. It refers not to a homogeneous people, but to various people ...

. Many Slavic placenames have been preserved to this day. G. L. Huxley (1993): ''Transhumance on Taygetos in the "Chronicle of Morea"''. Illinois Classical Studies. 332–334

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

* * * {{Slavic ethnic groups (VII-XII century) Byzantine Greece Medieval Peloponnese Medieval Messenia Sclaveni South Slavic tribes Byzantine people of Slavic descent