Santameri Castle ( el, Σανταμέρι) is a castle on the mountain

Skollis Skollis ( el, Σκόλλις), also known as Santameri, is a mountain in southwestern Achaea in the Peloponnese in western Greece. Its elevation is .Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaïa'' ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. T ...

and

Elis Elis or Ilia ( el, Ηλεία, ''Ileia'') is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it was ...

in southwestern

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 wit ...

. It was one of the strongest castles, controlling the Elean fields and the mountain passes to

Tritaia Tritaia ( el, Τριταία) is a former municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Erymanthos, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 244.798& ...

. It was built in 1311 by the

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

Nicholas of Saint-Omer, who gave his name to the castle. William Miller ''The Principality of the Peloponnese, 1927'', Greek translation by

Spyridon Lambrou Spyridon Lambros or Lampros ( el, Σπυρίδων Λάμπρος; 1851–1919) was a Greek history professor and briefly Prime Minister of Greece during the National Schism. Biography He was born in Corfu in 1851 and was educated in London, Par ...

, In

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...

records it was listed as ''Edrolcamo'' (Εντρόλκαμο). Saint-Omer was lord of Thebes. Around the castle developed a large city, that had 1,500 houses at its peak. The Byzantines had tried many times to besiege the castle without succeeding. According to the

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to so ...

ese version of the ''

Chronicle of the Morea The ''Chronicle of the Morea'' ( el, Τὸ χρονικὸν τοῦ Μορέως) is a long 14th-century history text, of which four versions are extant: in French, Greek (in verse), Italian and Aragonese. More than 9,000 lines long, the ''C ...

'', the Byzantines lost 1,500 men and 500 horses in a large battle between the Byzantines and

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

se, that ruled the castle at the time. It was handed over as dowry to the

Despot of the Morea The Despotate of the Morea ( el, Δεσποτᾶτον τοῦ Μορέως) or Despotate of Mystras ( el, Δεσποτᾶτον τοῦ Μυστρᾶ) was a province of the Byzantine Empire which existed between the mid-14th and mid-15th centu ...

Constantine Palaeologus Constantine XI Dragases Palaiologos or Dragaš Palaeologus ( el, Κωνσταντῖνος Δραγάσης Παλαιολόγος, ''Kōnstantînos Dragásēs Palaiológos''; 8 February 1405 – 29 May 1453) was the last Roman (Byzantine) e ...

in 1429 along with

Chlemoutsi Chlemoutsi ( el, Χλεμούτσι or Χλουμούτσι ''Chloumoútsi''), also known as Clermont, is a medieval castle in the northwest of the Elis regional unit in the Peloponnese peninsula of southern Greece, in the Kastro-Kyllini municip ...

castle, when he married

Theodora Tocco Theodora Tocco (née Maddalena Tocco) (died November 1429) was the first wife of Constantine Palaiologos while he was Despot of Morea. Her husband would become the last Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. Family Maddalena Tocco was a daughter o ...

, daughter of

Leonardo II Tocco Leonardo II Tocco (1375/76 – 1418/19) was a scion of the Tocco family and lord of Zakynthos, who played an important role as a military leader for his brother, Carlo I Tocco, in early 15th-century western Greece. Biography Leonardo was the sec ...

. Theodora died the following year during childbirth and was buried in Santameri. After many years, her remains were transferred to

Mystras Mystras or Mistras ( el, Μυστρᾶς/Μιστρᾶς), also known in the ''Chronicle of the Morea'' as Myzithras (Μυζηθρᾶς), is a fortified town and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Laconia, Peloponn ...

. The Ottomans captured the castle in 1460, and many of its inhabitants were killed or sold into slavery. Today, the walls of the castle and ruins of many buildings and a Byzantine church remain. Outside the castle is the locality ''Patrini'' where the tomb of Theodora Tocco was located.

References

External links

The tale of the two fairiesThe Tale with the Two Fairies in the work ''The Mother'' by Andreas Karkavitsa

Sources

Nikos E. Politis Nikos Politis (Νίκος Ε. Πολίτης, died 2005) was a Greek writer, journalist, and historian of Patras and sports. He wrote many books, all of them about Patras and its history.Sokratis Skartsis, critic, ''I Imera'', February 17, 1987 ...

, ''Paradoseis'' (''Παραδόσεις'') ''Folklores'', Grammata publishers *

Peloponnisos The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...

, June 14, 2008, two-page section * Thomas Delvaux, ''Le sang des Saint-Omer des croisades à la quenouille en Artois, Flandre, Normandie, Angleterre et dans les Etats Latins d'Orient'', Tatinghem, 2007 {{coord, 37.995, 21.580, type:landmark_region:GR, display=title Castles in Achaea Olenia Former populated places in Greece