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The Lombards and Venetians in Euboia, A.D. 1340–1470. II

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2013

John B. Bury
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Extract

§ 45. War of Venice and Genoa.—The relations between Euboia and Attika continued to be peaceful. The Spanish lords of Athens had become less like a horde of robbers and more like a civilized community; they ceased to consort with Turks and infidels. Walter of Brienne indeed did not leave off his agitation against the Company, and he continued to importune Venice to form or join a league to restore him to his ducal seat. Venice however would not listen to him, and in 1344, when she bestowed on him the freedom of the city and allowed him to procure arms at Negroponte, she stipulated that such arms were not to be used against the Catalans. The Turks however continued their depredatory expeditions, and we learn that in 1341 Bartolommeo Ghisi, the Triarch, and the Duke of Naxos conjointly equipped a galley for the defence of the Archipelago and the coast of Euboia. It appears moreover that in 1343 Balzana Gozzadini, the widow of Pietro della Carceri, who acted as guardian for her son Giovanni, equipped another galley, and Negroponte itself was strengthened with new fortifications. These precautions seem to have protected the island efficiently for the next few years.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Hellenic Studies , Volume 9 , November 1888 , pp. 91 - 117
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies 1888

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References

page 92 note 1 Perhaps near Aliweri, a place about eleven hours from Chalkis on the road to Karystos. The Greek steamers sailing from Athens to Wolo, viâ Chalkis, stop at Aliweri.

page 92 note 2 So Hist. Cortus. p. 935 (Murat, vol. xii.). Villani, MatteoGoogle Scholar wrongly gives the total number of Genoese ships as eleven, and the number of those taken as nine.

page 95 note 1 Two daughters were the fruit of this marriage, Maria and Elisabetta. The elder received Andros in 1371 after her mother's death, and was bound by the conditions to provide for her sister.

page 96 note 1 Jacob Fadrique, Count of Sula, was governor 1356–1359, Arenos succeeded in 1359, M. Moncada followed in 1359, and Roger de Loria in 1361 (to 1363).

page 99 note 1 It may be observed that in 1375 the Bailo Quirini was guilty of misconduct which was punished by a fine. He (1) employed the public galley for private purposes, (2) permitted the export of corn, though the supply was deficient, (3) received presents.

page 102 note 1 A pretender appeared in 1446, but his claims were rejected.

page 102 note 2 A different arrangement was made some years later.

page 103 note 1 After his death it was granted to Pietro Zeno of Andros.

page 104 note 1 His father Francesco Giorgio had possessions in Euboia.

page 104 note 2 Vallona was an important fortress for the defence of the island. The captain of Vallona used to reside in la Kuppa. Maffeo was probably succeeded in the post by his son Tommaso 1436—1460, and his grandson Antonio.

page 106 note 1 In the years 1382—3 the Turks depredated his Corinthian territory and he was led to apply to the Bailo of Euboia for a galley, for which he consented to pay 8,000 ducats a year. This was supplied to him 1383 from the arsenal of Crete. Note that the annual rent of a galley was much larger than the purchase price of a strong castle like Karystos.

page 106 note 2 In regard of this invasion Venice formed a plan of organising an anti-Turkish coalition. But as the Servians diverted the attention of Murâd from Morea for the time, the project was not prosecuted.

page 108 note 1 The Venetian podestàs of Athens were—A. Contarini, 1395—1397, Lorenzo Vitturi, 1397—1399, Ermolao Contarini, 1399—1400, Nicolò Vitturi 1400—1402.

page 110 note 1 A decree was passed in 1413 forbidding the cultivation of the district of Lykonia, which was to be held purely as a military position.

page 111 note 1 Styra was called Potiri. It was held at this time by Antonio Giustiniani.

page 113 note 1 Sanudo gives 108 galleys, 60 palandarie and the rest fuste. The fusta was a light galley, the palandaria or palandra a bombship.

page 113 note 2 Tenedos. The Venetian fleet consisted of thirty-five ships according to Sanudo, thirty-three according to Bologna Chronicle.

page 113 note 3 Imbros, called by Bologna Chronicle Mambro. The initial letter of Limbro is of course the article. Marchis Janny is called by Sanudo Marco Zontani.

page 113 note 4 That is Lemnos, called by Sanudo Stalimne. The corruption seems to have arisen from the Greek The prefixed syllable Di may have come from Italian di. The dates of our sources here do not agree. Bologna Chronicle states that the Turks went to Schiro on the 10th, and does not mention the attempt on Lemnos: Sanudo states that thay proceeded to Stalimne (‘antiquitus Polycastro’) on the 8th, and fought there five days in vain. We might attempt to reconcile Sanudo and our French relation by supposing that the former gives the date of departure for a place, the latter the date of the arrival at a place; but this supposition does little good. For while according to Sanudo and the Bologna Chronicle the Turks arrived in Negroponte on the 15th, according to the French narrative they only arrived at Skyros on that day, and did not reach Euboia till the 25th. We must accept the dates of the former authorities. Imbros was attacked on the 5th, Lemnos on the 8th, Skyros on the 10th, and Negroponte reached on the 15th.

page 113 note 5 Bologna Chronicle ‘fecero abbrucciare il Borgo.

page 113 note 6 Bologna Chronicle ‘andarono a Negroponte dal lato delle colonne e scorsero al Ponte di San Marco.’ The sailing line of Turkish vessels stretched from six to eight miles (Sanudo).

page 113 note 7 It was a bridge of palandarie. Navagero ‘E dopo di avere……fatte strascinare per terra miglia tre quarantecinque corpi di Palandarie, sopro le quali fu fatto un ponte’…Strascinare per terra, means that he had them dragged along the Boeotian coast on the mainland for three miles. (Compare the operation at the siege of Constantinople, 1453.)

page 113 note 8 Bastian is called Bassà by Sanudo and Bologna Chronicle. Only half the army passed over to the island: ‘con la metà del suo esercito’ (Bologna Chronicle).

page 114 note 1 Gibbet ou forches.

page 114 note 2 Mortez ou trabuchiés.

page 114 note 3 That is, the monastery (καλογήρως, a monk) Chronicle Bologna, ‘E il suo bassà messe il suo paviglione a San Francesco, e il figliuolo alloggiò alle calonze di San Francesco.’ Sanudo, ‘il Bassà a san Francesco e il figliuolo del signore alla Callogrea.’

page 114 note 4 The Jews' quarter (called below Judée, Zoecca or Zuecca in Italian) was on the southern side of the Kastro, to the north of which lay and lies still the rest of the town. Bologna Chronicle gives the number of these last mentioned bombards: ‘E in terra firma avea dieci bombarde grosse che continuamente travano al Burchio e alla Zoecca.’

page 114 note 5 On the 25th of June according to Bologna Chronicle, on which day also the first battle took place (cf. Sanudo).

page 114 note 6 Bologna Chronicle, ‘i giovani da quindici anni in giù.’

page 114 note 7 14,000 according to Bologna Chronicle.

page 114 note 8 On June 30th according to Sanudo and Bologna Chronicle.

page 115 note 1 16,000 only, Bologna Chronicle; but Sanuod gives only 16,000 as the total of killed in both the first and second battles together. Thirty Turkish galleys were sunk: Sanudo and Bologna Chronicle.

page 115 note 2 On July 5th; Sanudo and Bologna Chronicle. As to the number slain Sanudo here agrees with the French relation, but Bologna Chronicle makes the number more than 15,000.

page 115 note 3 The fourth battle took place on 8 July (Sanudo and Bologna Chronicle). 4000 slain (Bologna Chronicle): 15,000 (Sanudo).

page 115 note 4 Tommaso Schiavo, ‘capitano della fanteria de' Veneziani.’ The discovery of his treason took place on July 5 according to Sanudo, but Bologna Chronicle agrees with the French relation that it was found out on the day of the fourth battle. It was not ‘his wife’ that was instrumental in discovering it; it was an old woman—‘una femina vecchia’ (Sanudo), ‘una donna antica’ (Bologna Chronicle). The mistake probably lies with the French translator, who interpreted feminam to mean ‘wife,’ when it was intended for ‘woman.’ As to the fate of the traitor, Bologna Chronicle states, ‘il quel Tommaso fu tagliato a pezzi per le mani di Messire Aloisio Dolfino con tutte quelli che si trovarono nel detto trattato, che furono dodici uomini.’ Thus his accomplices were twelve. Tommaso was then ‘appiccato pe' piedi a' balconi del palazzo del Bailo.’

page 115 note 5 On the 11th the Turks attacked the broken wall, ‘dalla banda del Borgo della Zuecca, e con 10 bombarde tirò contro la terra, facendo empiere le fosse’ (Sanudo). Bologna Chronicle fixes the time of the attack to 2 o'clock A.M. (‘a ore due innanti dì’)—the same time that the French account fixes for the attack on the 12th. The entry of the town on the 12th is fixed by Bologna Chronicle to 2 o'clock P.M., ‘e i Turchi entrarono dentro à di 12 à due ore di dì,’ with which the statement of Sanudo sufficiently harmonises, that at 2 o'clock ‘i Turchi diedero loro grande battaglia e generale ed entrarono nella terra,’ &c. The French account has confused and run into one the events of the 11th and the 12th, as to which Bologna Chronicle and Sanudo are consonant.

page 115 note 6 This filling up of the ditches took place on the 11th: cf. Bologna Chronicle, ‘E fece empiere le fosse di botti con gran quantità di corpi morti e di fassine per tal modo che superchiavano le mura rotte della città.’

page 115 note 7 Navagero mentions that before the final assault and success on July 12, the Sultan made known to his army his indignation that so many days had been spent in besieging one town: ‘fatta prima una gagliarda querela contro il suo esercito che tanti giorni era stato alla espugnazione d'una sola città ed essendogli dalle gente sue esclamando risposto ch'egli comandassi che taglierebbono in pezzi i corpi loro co' quali farebbono un ponte per passare nella città,’ &c. During the siege Mohammed made proposals to the Bailo, offering very favourable terms, large rewards to himself, ‘e a que' della città esenzione dal carago per anni 10’ (exemption from tribute for ten years).

page 115 note 8 The Bailo, with a few others, retreated into the citadel after a brave defence, but yielded when Mohammed promised that his head should be safe (‘di salvargli la testa’). Mohammed caused him to be cut in two, not thereby violating his promise, which was that his head, not his body, should be safe. This is related by Navagero, who thus describes the executions: ‘A gli altri restati vivi fece proclamare esso signore sotto pena del palo che tutti gli fossero presentati. E secondo che gli venivano menati subito facea loro tagliare la testa, di modo che da quel furioso impeto non campò testa d'alcuna sorte, eccetto pochissime le quali con estremo periculo di chi le salvarono furono Salvate.’ The most important of the slain were Paolo Erizzo the Bailo, Lionardo Calbo, Giovanni Bondiniaco. Bologna Chronicle is mistaken in making Erizzo the Bailo elect, and Calbo the Bailo in office.

page 116 note 1 This took place on July 15th: Bologna Chronicle, and according to the same authority 35000 Turks were found dead in the city, so that the sum of the Turks slain in the fifth battle was 77,000 (? 83,000), and 6000 Christians were slain. These numbers agree with the statements of Sanudo.

page 116 note 2 The do-nothing policy of the captain of the Venetian fleet, Nicolò da Canale, is censured by all the writers. The besieged lived in constant hope, says Navagero, ‘che il generale colla sua armata molto grossa e potente, il quale era a Corinto, luogo propinquo, incontrasse l'armata Turca, fatta vacua d'uomini e rovinato il Ponte mettendo i Turchi in Isola e assediandoli sopra quella costantissimi che non si volerano rendere. Ina il Generale, sebbene da tutti i capi della sua armata era consigliato e stimolato a fare questi effetti e vedeva i segni continui della città che gli dimandavano ajuto, mai non si volle muovere dicendo di volere aspettare d'ingrossare l'armata di molti navilj mandati ad armare in Candia.’ His behaviour seems quite inexplicable. Sanudo says that he was much blamed in Venice for not having attacked the bridge of palandarie. He did however come at the last moment when it was too late: ‘E il generale venuto tardi per rovinare il ponte, vista la perdita della città, ritornò in Candia’ (Navagero), and it is to this that Bologna Chronicle refers in the statement that the fleet of the Venetians was at the point of Santa Chiara (at Negroponte) with forty-five galleys and seven large ships to succour the city, but they could do nothing in consequence of the Turkish bombards, and retired to protect Nauplion (Napoli di Romania). Canale was banished for life to Friuli, as a punishment for his blunders.

page 116 note 3 That is, Imbros, Lemnos, Chios, Skopelos, Petali (?), Andros, Ptelion.