Benjamin of Kalamata was the longtime

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the

Principality of Achaea The Principality of Achaea () or Principality of Morea was one of the 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 of Thes ...

Frankish Greece The Frankish Occupation (; anglicized as ), also known as the Latin Occupation () and, for the Venetian domains, Venetian Occupation (), was the period in Greek history after the Fourth Crusade (1204), when a number of primarily French ...

from 1297 until at least 1324. Benjamin first appears in 1297, when, following the death of the Prince of Achaea,

Florent of Hainaut Florent of Hainaut (also ''Floris'' or ''Florence''; Hainaut, also spelled "Hainault") (c. 1255 – 23 January 1297) was Prince of Achaea from 1289 to his death, in right of his wife, Isabella of Villehardouin. He was the son of John I of Aves ...

, his

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...

, Princess

Isabella of Villehardouin Isabella of Villehardouin (1260/1263 – 23 January 1312) was reigning Princess of Achaea from 1289 to 1307. She was the elder daughter of Prince William II of Achaea and of his third wife, Anna Komnene Doukaina, the second daughter of Michael ...

withdrew to the

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

Kalamata Kalamata ( ) is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece after Patras, and the largest city of the Peloponnese (region), homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia regiona ...

. To govern the Principality, Isabella appointed

Richard Orsini Richard Orsini () was the count palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos from before 1260 to his death in 1303/4, and also Count of Gravina in 1284–91. He also served on behalf of the Angevin Kingdom of Naples as captain-general of Corfu in 1286 ...

to rule in her stead as ''

bailli A bailiff (, ) was the king's administrative representative during the ''ancien régime'' in northern France, where the bailiff was responsible for the application of justice and control of the administration and local finances in his bailiwick ...

'' and named Benjamin, who had been the ''

protovestiarios ''Protovestiarios'' (, ) was a high Byzantine court position, originally reserved for eunuchs. In the late Byzantine period (12th–15th centuries), it denoted the Empire's senior-most financial official, and was also adopted by the medieval Ser ...

'' of the Principality—an office equivalent to a Western chamberlain and charged with keeping the list of

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

-holders—as the new

. Benjamin was succeeded as ''protovestiarios'' by a Greek named Vasilopoulos. In 1300, Richard Orsini was replaced as ''bailli'' by

Nicholas III of Saint Omer Nicholas III of Saint-Omer (died 30 January 1314) was one of the most powerful and influential lords of Frankish Greece. He was hereditary Marshal of the Principality of Achaea, lord of one third of Akova and of one half of Thebes. He also served ...

, on Benjamin's advice. Hereditary marshal of the Principality and one of its most powerful barons, Nicholas was also Benjamin's close friend. This began a period of rivalry between Richard and Benjamin. In 1301, Princess Isabella married her third husband, Philip of Savoy. The new Prince quickly made himself unpopular in Achaea by his arrogance, despotic manners, and disregard for the principality's feudal customs. Immediately after his arrival, acting on the advice of a partisan of Richard Orsini, Philip arrested Benjamin on charge of treason and imprisoned him at

Andravida Andravida (, ) is a town and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Elis (regional unit), Elis, in the northwest of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipal ...

. Nicholas of Saint Omer immediately confronted the new prince at

Glarentza Glarentza (), also known as or Clarenia, Clarence, or Chiarenza, was a medieval town located near the site of modern Kyllini, Elis, Kyllini in Elis (regional unit), Elis, at the westernmost point of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece. ...

and vehemently protested this act; violence was averted through the intervention of Isabella and Philip's counsellors. Benjamin was released after a payment of 20,000 ''

hyperpyra The ''hyperpyron'' (, ''nómisma hypérpyron'' ) was a Byzantine coin in use during the late Middle Ages, replacing the ''solidus'' as the Byzantine Empire's standard gold coinage in the 11th century. It was introduced by emperor Alexios I Komnenos ...

'', and received in exchange possession of a fief at Perachora near

Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...

. Despite this inauspicious start, Benjamin nevertheless quickly managed to win Philip's trust and esteem; on his advice, the Prince now forced Richard Orsini to purchase a fief for the same sum of 20,000 ''hyperpyra'', which, given his own death and the death of his sole heir soon after, reverted to the Achaean fisc. In 1304 he was one of the witnesses at the marriage of Richard Orsini's son and heir, John I Orsini, and Maria Komnene Doukaina. In December 1320, Benjamin became a citizen of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

, and in June of the next year, was among the Achaean magnates who sent a letter to the

Doge of Venice The Doge of Venice ( ) – in Italian, was the doge or highest role of authority within the Republic of Venice (697–1797). The word derives from the Latin , meaning 'leader', and Venetian Italian dialect for 'duke', highest official of the ...

offering to hand over the Principality to him. He still occupied the post of chancellor In June when a letter from Prince Philip of Taranto was addressed to the Achaean nobility and magnates.

References

Sources

* * {{sfn whitelist, CITEREFLongnon1969 13th-century births 14th-century deaths 13th-century people from the Principality of Achaea Medieval chancellors (government) Politicians from Kalamata 14th-century Venetian people 14th-century people from the Principality of Achaea