The image of the ‘Greek’ and the reality of Greco-Latin interaction in Romania, according to 13th and 14th-century Latin sources

This chapter examines the portrayal of Greeks in Latin sources, originating primarily from Romania, in the 13th and 14th centuries. It also outlines Greco-Latin contacts in the administration, economy, society, and culture of the Frankish states in Greece. Greeks after the Fourth Crusade were portrayed as schismatics in an effort to justify the crusaders’ capture of Constantinople, while the City found its place alongside Jerusalem in Western crusading ideology. Latins displaced Greeks from all offices. Only in the second half of the 14th century, when the Western dominions were in decline, we see Greeks rise in offices and in wealth. On the other hand, some Latin barons apparently appreciated Greek classical literature, kept Greek books in their libraries, or made translations. In general, the picture that emerges from the sources is of a mixed society living relatively peacefully together.