Joumel of Medical Histary 19 (1993) 229-249 0804-4181/95/306.00 © 1998 — Elsevier Science Publishers BY. All rights reserved 229 Greek women in Latin households of fourteenth- century Venetian Crete Sally McKee Department of History, Clow Faculty 325, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI 54901, USA Abstract Of all the inhabitants, both Latin and Greek, of the colony of Crete, Greek ‘women of the elite and the poorest unfree Greek women were the most vulnerable 1 the process of colonization after the Venetian conquest of the island in 1211. An examination of wills and marriage contracts from the fourteenth century offers evidence of the change brought about by the entrance of Greek women as wives into Latin households. The presence there of Greek servant women and slaves, who bore the illegitimate children of Latin fathers, also modified the character of Latin households. The sanctioned and non-sanctioned unions between Greek women and Latin men gave rise, in lange part, to a colonial society whose constituent comensnities displayed more characteristics in common than has previously been thought. ~ In January of 1870, a case involving the juridical status of a man was brought before the court of the duke of Crete and his two councillors. The three Venetian colonial functionaries were asked to decide whether a man Suv Mee, formerly a Research Associate at Dumbarton Oaks, i an assistant professor at the University of Wisconson Oshkosh. The research. for this artiele was’ generously supported by the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation and the Isutwio Bllenico degli Studi Bizantini e Post-Bizantini in Venice,280 S. McKee / journal of Medieval Hiory 19 (1993) 220-249 named Theodoro Dondi was free or not.’ Whether or not Theodoro was a free man depended on who the court determined had been his father. Was ‘Theodoro the son of an unfree villein who was named in the case ot was he the illegitimate son of a free Latin man, the late Nicolaus Dondi? The identity of Theodoro’s mother was not in doubt. Maria Car- pathopula had been the legitimate wife of the villein in question but just Prior to her marriage to him, she had been the concubine of the Latin man, Niccolo Dondi. While she was Niccolo’s concubine, Maria became pregnant. Before she gave birth, though, she married the villein and 3 months after her marriage, Theodoro was born. Such was the case that Theodoro put before the court and on the basis of which he claimed to be free. The case revolves around two underlying connected assumptions. First, to be Latin was, by definition, to be free. Second, contrary to what anyone acquainted with Roman law might expect, the condition of an illegitimate child in Venetian Crete followed the condition of the father, not the mother. These assumptions emerge clearly in the Venetian governmental sources and have led most historians to believe that the colonial govern- ment drew a very sharp line between the two major ethnic communities of Crete, namely the Greek and the Latin? The question is not whether the government attempted to distinguish sharply between the privileged Latins and the subordinated Greeks, but how well its attempt succeeded Niccolo’s mother was a Greek villein. The problem of Nicolaus’ juridical condition was predicated on the unfree condition of his mother. Its solution depended on the condition of his father. The conditions of both his parents were inextricably bound up with their ethnic identity. The standard approach to the question of ethnic identity in Venetian Crete is to focus on the Latin father and the illegitimate son. The case made by Theodoro for his freedom, however, illustrates a dimension of colonial relations in which the main protagonist is, rather, Tkeodoro’s mother, Maria, a Greek woman. I am referring to the social impact of colonization on the Greek women of Crete and the impact which they in turn had on Cretan society simply by virtue of their reproductive capacities. Their ability to bear children made Greek women vuinerable to colonial «poo fuchivio de Duca di Candia (ADC), Sentensa, Busta 26, fase. 2.2, £147r-¥, 4 January 1870. See also Elisabeth Santschi, “Queiques aspects du statut des non libres en Crete au XING siecle’, Thersuimaia, 9 (1972) 104-136, tn particular 114-15. 2° Santschi, "Quelques aspects," 111 Freddy Thittet, La Romane waitin ow moyen age (Pais, 192), 287-98; Santch, L008; D. Jacoby, ‘Social evolution in Latin Greece’, in: A History of the Setton, 6 Yols (Madison, WI, 1989), 202. "Quelques aspec Crusades, 6K *S. MeKee/ Jounal of Medial Hisory 19 (1993) 229-249 231 pressures and instrumental in the partial dissolution of ethnic boundaries, through the marriages of Greek women of the elite to Latin men and the bearing of illegitimate children by Greek non-free villeins and slave women to Latin men. In these ways, women of both social levels contributed to the subtle reshaping of the character of the Latin com: munity on Crete by their presence in it and by the offspring they added to it. This paper is an attempt to begin an analysis of the sanctioned and non-sanctioned unions between Greek women and Latin men in Venetian colonial society during the fourteenth century? The major group of sources containing material potentially useful for such a study are notarial records. For various reasons, the registers of notaries who worked in Candia remain virtually untouched by social historians of the colony. There are many registers, to begin with, and so far very few of them have been edited? For the fourteenth century alone the registers of over 40 notaries are still in existence. They are deposited in the State Archives of Venice. Scattered throughout the registers of the fourteenth century the wills and marriage contracts of the inhabitants of the island’s principal city, Candia, stand out as among the more obviously valuable entries. Over 700 wills made by men and women, Latin, Greek and Jewish, have survived to this day and serve as the basis of the study here. Approximately 120 marriage contracts inform this study as well.’ Both groups of documents offer an excellent opportunity to consider certain topics in detail, such as the question. of Greek women under Venetian rue. They enable che historian to probe the society in which the testators lived to a degree and in a manner previously impeded by the nature of the other sources examined closely up to now. In particular, the notarial registers and the wills in particular are very revealing of the tes between the diverse communities of Candia. Angcliki E, Laiou, “The role of women in Byzantine socies’ Jalduch des Owterihi- shen Bpentinstie, 311 (1981) 238-60; see 248, 0.77. 5°" Prevo Pzlo, Nozio in Candia. Tom I (1300), ed. Sahatore Carbone (Fonti per la storia 4 Venezia. Sez. Ill, Archivi notaril, Venice, 1978). Mario Ghiaudano’ and. Antonie Lombardo, Leonarto'Marll. Newio im Candia, 1278-1281, e6, (Font per la sot Venetia, Sez. Ill, Archiv notarili, Venice, 1960). Zacara. de Fredo, noiaio in Candia (1352-1357), ed.’ A. Lombardo, (Comitato per la pubalcazione delle font relative alla storia. de Venezia, Sex I, Archivi notarl, Venice, 1968). Benomude de Brixano, notaio in Candia 1901-1808, ed. R’ Morozzo della Rocea (Comitato per Ix publicazione delle font yelatve alla storia ‘al Vencria, Sez. Il, Archit nota, Venice, 1980). sa fall weatment of the Cretan wis and marrage contrac is found diseration, ‘Uncommon dominion, The Latins and Greeks in te Venet in the fourteenth century.” (Univerty of Toroto, 1993). my doctoral colony of Crete232 S. Mekee / Journal of Medievai History 19 (1993) 229-249 When Venice sent the first settlers to Crete in 1211, the indigenous Greck-Cretans suffered the imposition of a small group of Venetian families, augmented by families from elsewhere on the Kalan peninsula, who immediately disenfranchised the Greeks of the island.’ Whereas before the Venetian conquest no hard and fast distinction between free and non-free prevailed in Byzantine law, under the new regime, the majority of Greeks were reduced to the status of unfree villeins: Only the wealthiest and noble Greek-Cretans escaped this fate, though it took some resistance on their part during the thirteenth century to acquire their former privileged status and wealth, In regard to the bulk of the population, however, the colonial government attempted to draw very sharp lines between the colonizers and the colonized in order to preserve the allegiance and distinct identity of the conquerors. Among the measures which Venice took in the beginning to ensure that the two ethnic groups did not assimilate was the prohibition of sanctioned unions, in other words, marriages, between Latins and Greeks. Over the course of the thirteenth century, however, in addition to winning back much of the land of which they had been dispossessed, some Greek noble families negotiated for the right to marry their children to Latins. The official concession of permission to marry Latins appears for the first time in a peace treaty between one Greek noble family with its allies and the Commune of Venice in 1272 and then in 1299. In general, though, marriages between Latins and Greeks on all levels of society were discouraged, if not at times officially prohibited? Official strictures notwithstanding, intermarriage between Greeks and Latins did occur, though it is difficult to say just how common it was. The contents of the wills suggest that intermarriage was not uncommon Ninety-six testators out of 736 in the wills reveal in the course of disposing of their estates that they had one or more relatives by blood or marriage “Thiret, La Romane vénitienne Silvano Borsari, I dominio vexaian a Gta et RII scala (Saptes, 1963). * Jacoby, ‘Social evolution,’ 8; David Jacoby, “The encounter of nro societies: western conguerors and. Byzantines. {nthe Pelepponese after the Fourth Crisade', Amencan Historical Review, 78 (1973), 873-806, se= 879-80. Deliberazion del Magigor Consig ai Venza, ed. Roberto Cex (Accademia dei Lincei oinmisione per gli att delfe assemblee consituional afane, Aologna, 1981~50) sol 155, n.72: KD. Merzios, “H sunthiki encton-kallergi kal ol sinedleuonies autin katalogoh, Krtia Xrona, 3 (1948), 262-02, sce 260. "SM. Theotokes, Apujasis mzonos Sumbenlion Bentias, 250-1669 (Athens, 1993), 31, 1.18, Peter Topping, ‘Co-existence of Greeks and Latins in Frankish Morea and Venetian rete, in: Studies on Latin Grace (Vaiorum Reprints, London, 1977), 21, h. 59,S. MeKaw/ Journal of Medieval History 19 (1993) 229-249 238 from an ethnic community other than their own. The manner in which these relatives are described makes it difficult occasionally to ascertain how they were related to the testators. Nevertheless 69 marriages in all between Greek women and Latin men can be detected in the 96 wills, Only 14 marriages of Latin women with Greek men figure among the total number of intermarriages. To the evidence of intermarriege in the wills can be added 16 marriage contracts which testify to unions between Greeks and Latins. The numbers are not startling in and of themselves, but viewed within the social context they are, none the less, significant. It is not surprising that the number of marriages between Greeks and Latins among the elite was small, since the Latin and Greek elites never amounted to more than a tiny fraction of the total population.'' Yet, in principle, the significance of intermarriage at that social level was dis- proportionate to the actual number of intermarriages. The primary responsibility for the defence of Venice’s control of the island fell almost entirely on the elite, the feudatories. The unambiguous allegiance of the Latin elite, uncomplicated by ties of kinship and interest, was far more crucial to the island’s security than the allegiance of other social levels of the population who were not as much involved in the island's defense as the feudatories. The Venetian Commune wanted no question about to whom the Latin elite of Grete owed its allegiance. Perhaps because the Latins were few in number, the Commune was reluctant to allow marriages between the two communities. However, although the Commune did tolerate intermarriage for the most part, it preferred certain macriages to others. From the Venetian regime’s point of view, it was preferable for a Greek woman to marry a Venetian man rather than for a Latin woman to marry a Greek man. A Latin woman would have taken valuable property in the form of her dowry out of Latin control whereas a Greek woman brought valuable property into Latin control with her dowry. This preference worked principally among the elite where the value of dotal property could be very great. Only five marriages between Latin women and Greek men among the elite can be detected among the intermarriages appearing in the wills. These five cases concern for the "Mario Abrate, ‘Creta, colonia veneriana nei sece, XII~XV,' Economia ¢ storia, 4 (1987), 251-277, see 256, speculated that the Latin population of Candia rarely exceeded 1000 and ‘Thiet: La Romanie viniienne, 266-8, overestimates the Latin population by much. Jacoby believes that it rarely reached the government's original, projection of approximately 2500 persons: Jacoby, ‘Social evolution,” 197.234 S. McK / Journal of Medieval History 19 (1993) 229-249 most part two Greek noble families, which posed the exception to the rule. Branches of the Calergi and Ialina families assimilated into the dominant, culture in a key way, by adhering to the Roman church. Members of these families eventually immigrated to Venice and becatte members of the Great Council. Aside from these families, though, Latin women rarely married Greek men. Marriage between Greeks and Latins in the middle and lower ranks of the population appear to have been more common ‘han in the highest echelons. Fifty-three Greek women emerge from the wills as the wives of Latin men as opposed to nine Latin women married to Greek men. Nearly all of the dowries in the 16 marriage contracts between Greeks and Latins offer evidence for the humble status of its contracting parties. Inter- marriage at those lower social levels was less important to the process of change in the colony after Venice took possession of Crete. From the beginning, the boundaries between poor and not-so-poor Greeks and Latins were vague owing to their close social and economic proximity in the towns. The change in the distinguishing characteristics of the two communities occurred instead at the highest and lowest end of the social scale, The sanctioned unions between Greek women and Latin men of the elite at one end of the social spectrum and the nor-sanctioned unions between unfree Greek women and free Latin men at the other end brought about an alteration in ethnic identity. It is in a more polarized framework that unions between Greeks and Latins had a transforming effect on society. ‘The difficulties of determining the ethnic community to which a testator and his or her relatives belonged reinforce the impression that the number of intermarriages revealed in the wills represents a minimum accounting. One hundred and eight testators were Greek women, among whom six belonged to the elite. At least 16 of the 108 Greek women whose wills survive were almost certainly married to Latin men. The wills of other testators prove to be too ambiguous to make a judgement about ethnic identity, and so point to the break-down of ethnic categories on a practical day-to-day level. The marked ambiguity of some wills is all the more odd when one takes into account the emphasis placed on ethnic distinctions by the colonial regime. The 16 marriages between Greek women and Latin men identifiable in the wills and the 16 marriage contracts more than likely reflect a small proportion of the intermarriages that actually took place, confirmation of which will not be possible until more research has been done with the notarial registers. ‘As a result of intermarriage over time and of the ineluctable numerical superiority of Greeks, the Latin households into which Greek women‘S. McKer/ journal of Meievat History 19 (1993) 229-249 235 married did: not mark the cessation of the Greek women’s contact with their community of birth. The six Greek women of the elite among the testators, all of whom were married to Latin men, maintained ties to their community of birth even after becoming full members of Latin house- holds. In the wills of Greek women married to Latin men of all social levels, bequests to the Greek church, adherence to which was an important hallmark of membership in the Greek community, appear side by side with a pious concern for the Roman church. The wills of three Greek wives of Latin men of the elite provide examples. Elena Mudacio was born into the Talina family, a’ prominent Greek~Cretan family (Elena Mudacio, 1360).” The Ialina are thought to have assimilated to a great degree by the mid fourteenth century but Elena’s will demonstrates that she felt an allegiance to the Greek church as well as to the Roman church.” At the beginning of her list of bequests, she expresses the desire to be buried in the Franciscan church of Candia. Further down the list, however, after assigning small amounts to the Franciscans, she bequeaths money to the monastery of Mount Sinai‘in’ Candia and to Papas Constantinus Andrianopoliti. The thonastery-belonging to the Greek monks of Mt. Sinai had long been established by. that time, indeed predating the Venetian conquest. Al- though it was fairly common for adherents of the Roman church to leave bequests to-this monastery, this bequest coupled with the legacy to the papas suggests that Elena felt an attachment to the Greek church novwithstanding her adherence to the Roman rite. The will of Marina, the widow of Niccolo Gancaruolo, and the daughter of a Greek'man, Fucha Vanichi, shows that a Greek woman married to a Latin man, did not have to adhere to the Roman church at all (Marina Gancaruolo, 1381).* She states in her will the wisk for the entire Greek chapter of Candia to be present at her burial which was to have been at the church. 6f Mount Sinai, In addition, she bequeaths small amounts of money to a number of churches whose names indicate that they are Greek churches. One bequest in particular is a clear demonstration of her adherence to the Greek church. Marina bequeaths five pérperi to the church of the Holy Savior of Caloydhena ...ut soribar in suo condachi Requests to be inscribed in the church’s memorial list reflect practices of the Greek church. They are found only in the wills of men and women See Appendix. Topping, ‘Co-existence,” 18. See Appendix.236 S. McKee Joumal of Medieval History 19 (1993) 229-249 ‘whose membership in the Greek community is displayed unambiguously in, their wills and are never found in the wills of members of the Latin community.” Maria Brexiano, another Greek woman married to a wealthy Latin, also requests in her will that she be inscribed in the commemorative list of her confessor at the church of the Holy Apostles at Pigadhulia and leaves a small bequest to three papades as well (Maria Brexiano, 1348).° The will in which adherence to the Greek church is most pronounced is, also perhaps the most exceptional. Agnes Gornario, a daughter of the powerful Greek nobleman, Alexius Calergi, made her will in 1831 (Agnes Cornario, 1381). In it, she makes numerous pious bequests to Greek churches. Eight churches of the Greek rite receive bequests, including the episcopacy of Millopotamo, in whose cathedral her parents were buried. Four papades and the monastery of Mount Sinai also receive small amounts. Agnes’ connection to the Greek church remained strong even after her marriage to a son of one of the island’s most prestigious Venetian families. All the Greek female testators of the elite bequeathed small amounts to numerous servants, dependents, and friends with names of decidedly Greek origin. The legacies to kin, friends, and servants in the wills reveal what one might call the inner circle of the testator. Testamentary law limited the extent to which a person making their will could dispose of their property. It required that a certain proportion of the estate, usually the bulk of it, go to the natural heirs,, such as offipring, siblings, or parents. Beyond that, the testator was free to bequeath property to whomsoever he or she preferred. Hence, the law established the natural heirs buit the affections and conscience of the testator prompted all other bequests made in the wil. In addition to leaving @’sum to a servant woman, Maria Brexiano bequeathed small sums to the daughter of a friend, possibly a servant, and to two women with Greek names (Maria Brexiano, 1348).'* The wills of Elena Mudacio, Agnes Cornario, and Marina Gancaruolo contain lists of indisputably Greek names to whom they bequeathed small amounts as well.” Women below the ranks of the elite as well left small amounts of money to the children of friends, to godchildren, cousins, ex-slaves, and ® Dorothy Abrahamse ‘Ritials of death in the mille Byzantine period,” Grek Orthodox ‘Preolgical Review, 39 (1984), 125-4, see 131-2. " Appendix See Appendix. See Append See Appendix.S. McKee / Journal of Mediccal History 19 (1993) 229-249 237 remitted the debts of some to whom they had made loans. The bequests to people outside the immediate circle of heirs suggest that Greek women in Latin households were enmeshed in an environment that was as much Greek as it was Latin. Indeed it is difficult to sce how the Latin households of which Greek ‘wives became members could be described as particularly Latin. Certainly iv can be argued that the family members of such households often spoke the Venetian dialect and that the majority of Latins followed the rites of the Roman church, which set them apart from the Greek servants and dependents who surrounded them. Even these factors, however, became dubious markers of community membership after a period of time. Before the arrival of the Venetians, Crete was inhabited in the main by people who shared at least 2 common language, Greek, and ‘adhered to a common church, the Greek church. After the Venetian conquest, the importance of language as a criterion of ethnic group-membership diminished. Although one historian believes that by the middle of the fourteenth century the first language of most Latin~Cretans was Greek, the sources suggest that the Venetians at least spoke the Greek language as well as having retained their Venetian one.” For its part, the Venetian colonial government itself does not seem to have considered language an ethnic marker, to judge from the cases in which the government had to determine whe:her or not a person was Latin, and therefore free.” On two occasions, when the government ruled that a person was free because Latin paternity had been demonstrated, the court stipulated that the person would lose free status if he was seen thereafter attending the rites of the Greek church or wearing a beard, the latter characteristic an interesting distinction between the Latin and Greek communities. Lan- guage was not a factor in the government's view. Adherence to the Greek church, however, remained a marker of membership in the Greek community, as the court rulings demonstrate, but only up to a point. The government considered adherence to the Greek church a reliable indicator of ethnic community because the majority of Greeks did indeed follow the rites of the Byzantine church. Over the course of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries the Greek Literature ané society in Renaissance Crate, ed. David Holton (Cambridge, 1991), x SADC, Memorial, Busta 29, fase. 2, €3r, 10 May 1824. Tid. si dicts Nicolaus non vivet secundum morem lasinorum vel ibit ad officium ‘Grecorum ait porabit babam quod ipse debeat esse Vilanus Comunis....The word, baba, is probably a phoneie corruption of the Greek word, barba, or beard. Such phonetic transliteration is common in the sources,238 S. McKee / Journal of Medicoal History 19 (1993) 229-249 church became, if not a rallying point for the indigenous people of the island, then a source of expressed resentment against the Venetian regime Moreover, few Latins in turn adhered to the Greek church. Although a few Greek families of the elite switched their allegiances to the Roman church, there is little indication that the Greek church’s support among the indigenous population was in any way diminished by the complete subordination of the Greek ecclesiastical hierarchy to that of the Roman church. Once again, though, as in the case of language, exceptions to the rule provoke doubt about the reliability of that criterion as well. ‘The wills of eieven male and female testators whose dispositions and names indicate rothing other than membership in the Latin community display an attachment to the Greek church. Bequests to the Greek church suggest, following the Venetian governmeni’s guidelines, a Greek testator. In each case, though, the names of the testators who make bequests to specific churches or papades are of non-Greek origin: Alamanus, Caravella, Cauco, Cornario, Draganno, Orso, Rosso, Sancti, Saxo, Sclavo, and ‘Venerio.* Since the dispositions in these wills make it clear that none of the testators were members of the elite, one possible explanation for the bequests to the Greek church in these wills is that the testators were all ex-slaves. Itwas standard practice for ex-slaves to adopt the family name of their former owners, as testators make clear by identifying themselves as ex-slaves and by giving the names of their former owners (Maria Calde- rero, 1888)2* However, since the testators in question, with Latin names, who bequeathed money to the Greek church, were not on the whole as poor as the Greek ex-slave testators appear to have been, it is unlikely that they were excslaves It is very likey that these testators, whose adherence to the Greek church would seem to belie their Latin names, reflect more the incidence of intermarriage between members of the Greek community and members of the Latin community than they reflect conversions and the complete breakdown of cultural distinctions between the two groups. The Venetian regime continued to rely on sharp divisions between ethnic categories, as one government proclamation of 1360 outlining the penalties for Greeks posing as Latins shows.” Nevertheless, marriages All cognomens are found in list of testators in the Appendix. See Appendix. % ADC, Busta L4bis, 607, 2.28, 17 October 1360: die sul, Octubris indictione xii (Glamatum {uit publie per Iohannem Marino gastaldionem in lobio et extra portas civtatis {quod quilibet Grecus qui amodo quando sibi preceptum fet per precones ad responden- Gm alicui fecerit «bt precipi pro Latino cadat pro quallbet vice qua sibi sic precipi premisserit et fecerit pro Latino in pena yperperorum quingue.S. McKoe/ Journcl of Metisual History 19 (1993) 229-249 239 between Greek women and Latin men of the elite fulfilled initially something of the government's policy of co-opting members of the Greek elite, while still keeping Greeks as a whole at a social and juridical disadvantage. The tension between the attempt to maintain cthnic boundaries and the policy of co-optation led to the variance in the interests of the Commune and those of the colonists. Indeed the situation of the Latins and Greeks of Crete serves as an excellent example of how the dynamics of social change often outstrip formal categories prom- ulgated by governments. Bonds of kinship between communities, however much they came into existence in response to political policy, evolved of their own accord and often the interests of kinship and community diverged thereafier from the political interests which contributed to setting them in motion in the first place. Try as they might, however, itis difficult for governments to legislate ethnicity. The dynamic underlying the conditions which gave rise to shifting borders between groups was fundamentally political. The Latin colonists settled in Crete in order to advance and protect the interests of a sovereignty other than their own. They did not enjoy the illusion that they were independent vassals of Venice. They did not rule in their own name. In fact, they themselves did not rule at all. Through the administrators that it sent out every two years from the metropolis, the Senate of Venice ruled Crete, rot the colonists. At bottom, the colonists’ interests coincided with those of Venice only in so far as Venice gave them the license to conquer and exploit the island. The Latins who settled in Crete were awash in a sea of Greeks, the language, religion, and cultural traditions of whom, simply by sheer weight of numbers, could not help but overwhelm the Latin minority, at the very Icast, in their intimate, domestic environ- ment, The conditions were laid for the interests of the colonists to align with those of the indigenous people of Crete. In reality, the Latin colonists had to coexist with the Greeks, not the Venetian Senate. The ongoing attempt on the part of the Latin settlers to share the same confined space ‘with the Greeks allowed for greater scope in the accommodation of Greek culture than the official governmental policy of enforcing segregation or assimilation. The blurring of practical ethnic distinctions was helped along in the main by the entrance of Greek women into Latin households and their ability to produce offspring of mixed parentage. The Latin households of the elite, already infused with the Greek language and culture by the presence of servants and slaves, easily enfolded within women from the indigenous culture. Greek women were not, in fact, ‘Latinized” as some historians have speculated. Neither were the Latin households ‘Hellen-240 S. MeKee Journal of Medioval History 19 (1993) 229-249 ized”, but they were not as ethnically distinct as has been believed. The entrance of a Greek woman into one, even in a position of power as the wife of the head of the household, did not disturb the character. of the household. ‘The social accommodation of Greek women among elite households finds its complement among women at the lowest end of the social scale, who bore the illegitimate children of Latin men. Illegitimate children appear everywhere in the sources. Although it is not always explicitly stated, they were nearly always the children of Latiii men and Greek women. Furthermore, in the instances where the mother is known, the woman in questior. was always a non-free Greek woman, Greek villein and slave women were seen as the only group of women whom society tolerated bearing the children of Latin men without the sanction of marriage. Latin ‘women too must have borne illegitimate children, particularly if they were poor or among the lower middle ranks of society. However, the illegiti- mate children of Latin women were less likely to receive the same tolerance that the children of Greek women received. Put simplistically, it was more important for a Latin woman to maintain her patrimonial integrity than it was for a servile Greek woman. The existence of illegitimate children borne by Latin women might help explain the claims of abandoned children in the government proclama- tions. On numerous occasions, Greek men and women approached the duke’s court with children whom they claimed that they had found abandoned and whom they wished to adopt. The duke, having heard the request, called for anyone with information about the child to step forward. The claimant otherwise would be allowed to adopt the child. ‘Some of the abandoned children may have had a Greek mother, since several of their names are Greek. Nevertheless the evident tolerance of illegitimate children of Greek mothers perhaps indicates that the abandoned children had mothers whom society was less willing to tolerate bearing children cutside of marriage. ‘Although Cretan law allowed the condition of the child to follow the father’s, when the father was Latin, a free man’s illegitimate child was not free in all circumstances. If the child’s mother was a slave belonging to someone other than the father, then property rights prevailed over rights depending on paternity. Nicolaus Habramo left money to a daughter % ADC, Procami ¢ Sandi Busta M4bis: n. 94, Br; n. 104, fBr-v; n. 107, fv (cancelled); 1, 36, #81V-32r; n. 52, BSP; n. 52, £65. 17, Bley m. 172, 18y; n. 175, dro. TAL, 195r; a. 187, 96r, n. 195, Br, n. 200, Mav.S. Meke/ Joural of Mediool History 19 (1993) 229-249 241 whom he had by 2 slave belonging to another. He states, “I leave to Marigoli, my natural daughter whom I had by the late slave of the sister of Iohannes Suriano, 15 perper, if her mistress wishes to free her” (Nicolaus Habramo, 1353)" In contrast, when a man had a child by one of his own slaves, the child was free. In 1345 the government ruled that Petrus Porco, resident of the burg, was prohibited from selling the two sons of his slave woman, Theodora, because they were his own sons. What is more, the sons were henceforth freed, since it was proven by the testimony of witnesses that they were the iti spurii of Petrus” One historian who has studied the question of servitude in the colony argues that the fact that the judges of Crete recognized the free status of children bom of a free father and an unfree mother tends to prove the judges’ unfamiliarity with the glosses of the Statutes of Venice. Either that, she maintains, or the statute had fallen into disuse™ Neither of these hypotheses, however, adequately explains the difference in Venetian policy towards the progeny of slaves and villeins in the territories over which the commune ruled. To begin with, some testators, or the notaries who copied down their wills, clearly had access to the Statutes. The reference to the Statutes in their wills indicates that Venetian law, if not its glosses, was available and known to members of the Cretan public administration. Furthermore, to say that the statute concerning persons of servile status hhad fallen into disuse begs the question of why it had fallen into disuse. ‘Two factors may help to explain the fact that the Venetian government saw fit to reverse the direction in which a child’s status was determined. The colony suffered continuously throughout the thirteenth and four- teenth centuries from the lack of a sufficiently large Latin population to ensure secure possession of the island.” Since Latins were few and resources precious, it stands to reason that that society would incorporate and benefit fom those who in other societies might have been far more marginalized Moreover, despite its stringent criteria for free status in some parts of its sphere of influence and control, Venice had long been used to selling something that, for want of a better description, can only be called subject status whereby someone who was not from the city of Venice nevertheless See Appendix ADC, ‘Menoriali, Busta 29, fse. 7, 8, 16 March 1345, % —Santsehi, ‘Quelques aspects,” 111-12 sD, Jacoby, ‘Les états latins en Romanie: phénoménes sociaux et économiques (1205-1350 environ)", in: Acer dus XMM Congris inlemaional d'eudes bpantines, Repports et ‘corappons (Vol. Histo, cet. 3, Athens, 1976), 22242 S. MeKee/ Jounal of Medieval History 19 (1993) 229-249 became its subject.*! Venetian merchants enjoyed benefits in the Byzantine Empire that outweighed the benefits enjoyed by Byzantine merchants in their own ports and cities. As a consequence of this unbalanced state of affairs, which was bitterly resented by more than one emperor, some Byzantine merchants sought to become subjects of Venice while still living and operating in the Byzantine Empire. For a fee, the Venetian govern- ment took not only merchants but tradesmen and shopkeepers under its protection, thereby removing them from the Byzantine tax base and making all the privileges accorded to Venetian subjects available to them. ‘Venice was not alone in this practice since Genoa engaged in this trade as well. It indicates, however, how flexible and how fluid Venetian law and government could be in the face of opportunities, particularly involving matters concerning the civic identity of its own subjects. In like manner, when it came to the children of mixed unions on Grete, Venice recognized a resource to exploit when it saw one. ‘The children of non-sanctioned unions between Latin men and Greek women gave rise t a group in society with limited claims to status and property. An illegitimate child had no claim to his or her father’s property as an heir but a father nevertheless had a certain measure of responsibility towards his illegitimate child. Once the paternity of a. child born of a union between a Latin man and a Greek villein was established, the colonial government required a father to provide them with a minimum of food and clothing. Two rulings from the court of the duke of Crete and his councillors exist which demonstrate this. In the earlier one, the duke ordered Marcus Moro to pay 7 perperia year for the subsequent 2 years to Iacobina, the nurse of Andreas Cornario, for the support of the daughter he had with her."* The duke and his councillors ordered Iacobus Paradiso to do the same. He had to pay 2 peperi every month to Anica Mono- vassiotissa, resident of the burg, for support of the illegitimate daughter she bore him. Furthermore, he had to provide clothing for her. Tacobus was to have made these payments until the child was weaned and thereafter he could make whatever donation towards the child’s upkeep he saw fit: ‘Jolian Chrysostomides, ‘Venetian commercial privileges under the Palacologi,’ Studi poresiani, 12 (1971) 267-856, see 2768 Bene"D. Jacoby, “Venitiens naturalisés dans V'empire byzantin: un aspet de Vexpansion de \Vénise e”i Romanie du Xllle au milieu du XVe siecle,’ (Travaux et mémoires du Centre de Recherche d'Histoire et Civilisation de Byzance, Paris, 1981), Vol. 8, 217-85. SW OSSDC Memorial, Busta 29, fasc. 7, £288, 16 October 1844, ™ ADG, Soutenes, Basta 26, fase. 2.2, 1185r, 26 May 1369,S. Mek / Journal of Metioal History 19 (1993) 229-249 243 Not all fatkers, though, had to be compelled to look after their illegitimate children, Seventy-one testators out of 736 left bequests to one or more illegitimate kin. Twenty-six were men with illegitimate offspring and seven of those 26 identify the mother or at least her status. The degree of concern expressed by the father depended on whether or not the testator also hed legitimate children. Not surprisingly, in the event that there were legitimate sons, fathers tended to leave less to their illegitimate children, though stil attending to their basic needs. Daniel Greco, a wealthy man with only one living legitimate son but three illegitimate ones, left a vineyard free of levies to one illegitimate son, remitted the debt of another and bequeathed two hundred perperi and a rent-free house to yet another when that son had married. Moreover, Daniel directed his widowed daughter-in-law, along with his granddaughter, to share a residence with his first illegitimate son (Daniel Greco, 1348). Petrus de Grimaldo, another testator, bequeathed 100 perperi to his illegitimate son and instructed him to live with his legitimate sons (Petrus de Grimaldo, 1875)" Three other testators left smaller sums tc their illegitimate sons and saw to it that they received food and shelter from the legitimate sons, Tlegitimate daughters of wealthy men fared a litle better than their brothers. Their fathers were inclined to endow them with sufficient dowries to attract men of moderate means. Three testators assigned to their illegitimate daughters dowries of 200-800 enper, which were the usual dowries of tradespeople and those of the middie ranks. The evidence in the wills indicates as well that illegitimate daughters tended to marry Greek men, which is odd in light of the numerous court rulings upholding the ‘Latin-ness’ of illegitimate sons. Were the natural daughters less Latin than their brothers? Or did ‘Latin’ illegitimate sons also tend to marry women from the Greck community? Such inconsistencies require further investigation. They do, however, cast doubt on the consistency of the government's formal ethnic categories. Is it possible that the category, ‘Latin’, had little meaning, formally or otherwise, beyond a juridical category? Furtzermore, the marriages of illegitimate daughters of Latin men to Greck men might have had the effect of promoting Greek men in the ranks of Cretan society, thanks to the dowries of their wives and to the family connections which could have afforded them advantages, both social and economic.244 S. McKee Journal of Maticoal Histry 19 (1993) 229-249 ‘The situation of illegitimate children of testators of humble means was worse than those of the elite, which is to be expected. When the testator was of moderate wealth or poor, his illegitimate children received either a small sum or, additionally, food and shelter until they reached the age of majority. This was the case even when there were no legitimate children. Despite the small degree of support, which might have reflected more the ability of the father than lack of affection, the same concern to provide for the well-being of illegitimate children is evident among the poor as it is among the elite. One man, Bonafacius de Boiardis, requested his ex- ecutor, who was not related to him, to raise the child borne him by a servant woman and, when the child reached the age of three, to send him to his brother, presumably in the Italian peninsula (Bonafacius de Boiardis 1376).7 Marcus Baroci, a man of apparently only moderate wealth in spite of the family to which he belonged, left directions in his will for his illegitimate son, Marinellus, to live with his legitimate sons. If this was not convenient to either party, Marinellus was to receive 25 perperi. Only with. his legitimate brothers’ deaths without heirs would Marinellus have benefited more fully from his father’s estate. In that contingency, he would have shared haif of the estate with his legitimate sister (Marcus Baroci, 119)."* Iegitimate sons, at all levels of society, benefited little at their fathers’ death when they had legitimate brothers. Although they were not obliged by law, fathers of the elite tended to assign significant portions of their property to their illegitimate sons when they had no legitimate offspring, or no legitimate sons. Frequently illegitimate sons received enough from their fathers’ estates which would have raised them materially above the social level at which their own mothers could be found. Andreas, the natural son of the wealthy feudatory, Francisus Caravello, was perhaps the most fortunate of the illegitimate sons in the wills (Franciscus Caravello, 1371).” Franciscus had three Jegitimate daughters in addition to Andreas. His daughters are the main beneficiaries of his will in which they receive, after a myriad of hefty bequests to friends, kin and religious institutions, the residual of his estate. Should they die without male heirs, their part would go to their natural brother, Andreas But Andreas benefited handsomely from his father’s will even without the substitution of him as heir in the event of his sisters’ deaths. Franciscus See Appendix 28 See Appendix % See AppendixS. McKee Journcl of Medicoal History 19 (1993) 229-249 245 left his natural son the equivalent of 24 sergeantries, with all its apperte- nances, and assigned dowries of 1000 perperi to whatever daughters Andreas might have someday." This in itself is a substantial legacy, one which was unmatched by any other father towards a natural child. Franciscus, however, went further. He also directed his executors to lend 2000 perperi to Andreas and to Franciscus’ factor, Marcus Caravello, which were to be put in a socielas for 10 years. They also received all of Franciscus’ warehouses and houses in the castle of Mirabello. With this money and property, Andreas and Marcus were to engage in trade in the region of Mirabello during that time. The 24 sergeantries would serve as security for the investment. At the end of the 10 years, the loan and the return of the property would come due. Presumably Andreas and Marcus would have made their fortune in the meantime. Tlegitimate sons were not only assisted in life by their fathers, but there is even evidence that at a point late in the thirteenth or the early fourteenth century some took seats in the Great Council of Candia, The feudatories of Candia complained to the Venetian Senate that such was the situation in C-ete." Apparently children of mixed cultural parentage made themselves very much felt in a society whose government formally drew Clear juridica: and social distinctions on the basis of ethnic categories. And what cf the women who bore these children? Did their position in life change after they gave birth to children who themselves enjoyed a more privileged status in life than they could have? On the whole, the slave or villein mothers of illegitimate children do not seem to have benefited much by their association with Latin men. Five men of the elite mention the mothers of their illegitimate children in their wills but only three of them: left the mother anything. Marcus de Canale, a very wealthy man, wished his natural daughter, Rosa, and her mother to live in his household and to receive food and clothing in it. If they chose not to live in his household with his legitimate children, they could live by themselves and were to receive 20 perperi each year until Rosa married. Marcus made no provision for Rosa’s mother after her marriage (Marcus de Canale, 1848). Antonius de Firmo Jeft to Herini, by whom he had a natural daughter, material to make a tunic for herself. Marcus Brogognon, the son of a nobleman, was the only testator with an illegitimate child who 1978). E, Sanuichi, Le notion de ‘eudum" en Crite vinitionne (XiMle-XVe sits) (Montreux, ‘Jacoby, ‘Secial evolution,’ 208. ‘See Appendix246 S. McKee / Journal of Medieval History 19 (19893) 229-249 brought about a change in the status of the child’s mother. He freed Maria, his slave, by whom he had a son (Marcus Brogognon, 1360)."* Fewer examples survive of Greek women mentioned in the wills of the humble men for whom they bore children. One testator, who has already been mentioned, wished his executor to take the child to which his serving woman was about to give birth and raise the child for 3 years before sending him or her to his brother (Bonafacius de Boiardis, 1976)."* Another left the woman 30 perperi (Petrus de Catania, 1362).° Men who had less resources at their disposal not surprisingly were less inclined to leave much to the women who bore them children. Greek mothers of illegitimate children appear as well in the wills of the female relatives of the fathers. Perhaps the most notable example of this is the will of Marchesina, a widow of a wealthy man, Nicolaus Habramo (Marchesina Habramo, 1340).*° Marchesina’s sons were prolific in sup- plying the household with illegitimate children. She demonstrated unusual concern for her natural grandchildren in her will, having bequeathed much of her household objects to them. Marchesina also showed concern for the status of one natural .child in particular. She declared that Hemanuel was the son of her late son, Natale. Hemanuel’s mother was one of her slaves, Herini, which fact Natale had spoken of many times to her. She concluded her bequests to her natural grandchildren by be- queathing to the same Hemanuel 25 perperi and two of her best pigs. Marchesina’s concern is striking, since she had legitimate grandchil- dren as well. Hewever, the mothers of her illegitimate grandchildren received nothing. Greek villeins, in contrast to Greek slaves, could and often did many Greek men of their own social status after giving birth to a child with a Latin father, of waich the case cited at the beginning of this study is one example. Theodoro Dondi, whose claim to be free-born was in the end supported by the government, established his place in society as a free man. His mother’s status does not appear to have changed at all. She is only an illustration of the vulnerable position of women in society but whose offspring raised juridical problems unusual for the time. Women from wealthy households and servile women all over Europe were susceptible to the social strategies of their families and households. It See Appendix See Appendix See Appendix See AppendixS. McKeo/ Journa! of Medieval History 19 (1993) 229-249 247 ‘was generally true that women of the elite everywhere with large dowries were lures to ambitious men. Slave women and servant women had always been subject to the whims of their masters. In Crete, however, the vulnerability of Greek women to patrimonial and sexual pressures exerted by the two communities seeking ways to accommodate the other con- tributed to the partial disintegration of the boundaries between them. The possibility that the interests of the Latins might diverge from those of Venice and ccincide with those of the indigenous population against the commune made the colonial situation in Crete novel for its time. This potential led to the convergence onto Greek women of Grete of both communities’ interests to co-exist and thrive. Greek women bore Latin men free children, whether in a sanctioned manner, through marriage, or through a non-sanctioned manner, which led to the presence in Cretan society of children of mixed parentage. The allegiances of those children for the most part reflected the status of their Latin fathers. The long process set in motion when the colonists settled on Grete suffused all layers of life and society. This process not only manifested itself on the public layer, with the evident presence and administration of ‘Venetian dominion, but it sank through the layers of social life into the intimate, domestic environment of the households of both the colonizers and the colonized. The application of formal ethnic categories prevailed in public life. In the domestic environment those same categories no longer matched the categories of differentiation to be found outside the household. For Latin households did not remain nearly so ‘Latin’ as has been thought and indeed the whole notion of ethnic identity on a practical day-to-day basis must be recast in light of the evidence of the wills and the court records. Venetian Crete in the fourteenth century was an aniomalons society, 2 harbinger of relations between people which would prevail in centuries ahead when the notion of ethnic categories, such as Latin and Greek, emerged with renewed vigor, like the wheel reinvented, after the rise of nations and nationalism. Appendix-Sourses in the Archivio notariali of the AS di Venezia: Iohannes Almanus, 21 February 1328/9, not. Benedetto de Milano, B42, £132v, Marcus Barcci, 8 March 1319, not. Leonardus Quirino, Busta 238, fasc. 1, flr. Bonafacious de Boiardis, 7 May 1376, not. Giovanni Belli, Busta 295, flr, fase. 2.248 S. McKee / Journal of Medio! History 19 (1993) 229-249 Maria Brexiano, uxor Nicolai notarii, 22 February 1848, not. Angelo Bocontolo, Busta 10, f24r, fasc. 2. ‘Marcus Brogog2ono quondam domini Petri, 12 July 1360, not. Giorgio, da Milano, Busta 143, fasc. 3, fv-6r. Maria Calderero, uxor Michaelis “‘olim scleui patris mei", 3 October 1838, not, Albertinus Maca, B295, flv. B101 from B295. Marcus de Canale, 6 May 1348, not. Giovanni Gerardo, Busta 100, fase ult., f47r-y-48r—v. Marina Gancaruolo, relicta Nicolai, 27 August 1881, not. Albertinus Maca, Busta 295, flir.-v. Soy Caravella, 5 October 1825, not. Giovanni Similiante, B244, fasc. 1, fr. Franciscus Carvello, 22 August 1871, not. Giorgio da Milano, Busta 148, fase. 8, £19v-20r—v. Petrus de Catania, 20 March 1362, not. Giovanni de Firmo, Busta 295, fr., fasc. 7. Potha Cauco, uxor Nicolai, 28 November 1323, not. Andreas de Bello Amore, B9, f118%. Calli Cornario, uxor Johannis, 28 May 1362, not. Giovanni de Firmo, B295, fv., fasc. 7 ‘Agnes Cornario quondam Alexius Calergi, 9 February 1331, not. Albertinus Maca, Busta 295, 12r-v. Dimitrius Draganno, 6 December 1413, not, Antonio de Vedaociis, B25, fav. Daniel Greco, 7 May 1348, not. Giovanni Gerardo, Busta 101 from B29, £46r-v. Petrus de Grimaldo quondam Iohannis, 7 October 1875, not. Leonar~ dus Cavisino, Busta 295 from B295, fay-Sr. Marchesina Habramo, relicta Nicolai, 15 January 1340, not. Giovanni Gerardo, Busta 100, fase. ult., fl4r-v. Nicolaus Habramo, 1353, not. Giovanni Gerardo, Busta 101 from Busta 122, f13v, Elena Mudacio, rel ser Petri, 23 January 1360, not. Giovanni Gerardo, B101 fragment from B295, r-v. Challi Orso, uxor Philippi, 19 Nov 1324, not. Albertinus Maga, B295, fr. Georgius Rosso, 12 January 1352, not. Giovanni Gerardo, B101 from B295, £27 Maria Sancti, 10 June 1877, not. Giovanni de Hugolini, B295, fr.'S. Mekee/ Journ of Meticoat History 19 (1993) 229-249 249 Sophia Saxo, uxor Hemanuelis, $0 November 1347, not. Angelo 2 Bocontolo, B10, £80v. fase. 1. Hergina Sclauo, relicta Georgii, 1 December 1413, not. A. de Vedoaciis, B295, far—v. Herini Venerio, relicta Marini, 16 March 1349, not. Angelo Bocontolo, B10, f24v, fase. 2