The Chalkokondyles family or Chalcocondyles (), also seen as Chalkokandeles (Χαλκοκαντήλης) or Charchandeles (Χαρχαντήλης), was a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
noble family of
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
which was elected during the
Florentine possession of the city. The family can be traced back to the 11th century. The most important members of this family are:
* (possibly 1390–1466). In 1435 he visited Sultan
Murad II
Murad II (, ; June 1404 – 3 February 1451) was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1421 to 1444 and from 1446 to 1451.
Early life
Murad was born in June 1404 to Mehmed I, while the identity of his mother is disputed according to v ...
as an emissary of Maria Melissene, the widow of
Antonio I Acciaioli
Antonio I Acciaioli, also known as Anthony I Acciaioli or Antonio I Acciajuoli (died January 1435), was Duke of Athens from 1403.
Early life
Antonio was the illegitimate son of Nerio I Acciaioli. Historians Kenneth Setton and Peter Lock say tha ...
, for his consent for the understanding, from himself and Maria, of his noble power in Athens. While he was away, however, their oppositions sent Maria and his family away from Athens and, when he returned, he was arrested and sent to the Sultan, who imprisoned him. He suffered the same fate upon another mission to the Sultan, which he undertook on behalf of the
Despot of the Morea
The Despotate of the Morea () or Despotate of Mystras () was a province of the Byzantine Empire which existed between the mid-14th and mid-15th centuries. Its territory varied in size during its existence but eventually grew to include almost a ...
,
Constantine Palaiologos
Constantine XI Dragases Palaiologos or Dragaš Palaeologus (; 8 February 140429 May 1453) was the last reigning List of Byzantine emperors, Byzantine emperor from 23 January 1449 until his death in battle at the fall of Constantinople on 29 M ...
.
**
Laonikos (Athens, before 1430possibly
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, 1490), historian, son of George.
**
Demetrios
Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning "devoted to goddess Demeter".
Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumitru, Demitri, Dhim ...
(Athens, 1423
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
, 1511), scholar, nephew of George.
***
Theophilos (
Florence
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence ...
, 1486–1510). Demetrios' son. He taught Greek Literature at the
University of Pavia
The University of Pavia (, UNIPV or ''Università di Pavia''; ) is a university located in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. There was evidence of teaching as early as 1361, making it one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest un ...
(see
Pavia
Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086.
The city was a major polit ...
) when he was very young and he translated some works of
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...
. He was murdered by some of his rivals.
Much has been written about this family, especially about Laonikos, one of the most important historians of his time.
See also
*
Greek scholars in the Renaissance
The migration waves of Byzantine Greeks, Byzantine Greek scholars and émigrés in the period following the fall of Constantinople, end of the Byzantine Empire in 1453 are considered by many scholars key to the revival of Classics, Greek stu ...
References
*
* {{cite journal , last=Miller , first=William , author-link=William Miller (historian) , year=1922 , title=The Last Athenian Historian: Laonikos Chalkokondyles , journal=The Journal of Hellenic Studies , volume=42 , issue=1 , pages=36–49 , doi=10.2307/625934 , jstor=625934 , s2cid=161313602 , issn=0075-4269
Chalkokondyles family
Greek noble families