The name of the people onomastics and immigration in the chronicle of Ioannina

Abstract

This paper is dedicated to the anthroponyms of people of foreign origin mentioned in the Chronicle of Ioannina. Firstly, it warns against the risk inherent in reconstructing a hypothetical original form of the foreign anthroponyms transmitted in Greek by the Chronicle: on the one hand, such reconstructions involve a degree of uncertainty since they are not attested in the sources; on the other hand, they present as irremediably foreign people who, to varying degrees, were integrated into Epirotic society. It then draws up a catalogue of these people, classified by Slavic, Western or Albanian origin. By reviewing the sources and examining the manuscript tradition, it aims to re-examine the relevance of historiographical traditions and attempt to define the most appropriate names for each person. In some cases, it is difficult to decide in favour of a particular solution, insofar as these figures lived in a multilingual environment and were the product of a migratory path that placed them at the junction of several cultures. The choice of a particular name is tantamount to erasing this complexity and turning these individuals into one-dimensional characters. The article also calls into question certain well-established historiographical traditions, in particular the use of the anthroponyms Preljubović, Orsini, Spata and Zenevesi, which for various reasons should be replaced by Prealimpos, Angelos Doukas Komnenos, Spatas or Shpata and Zenebishi respectively.

Keywords

• epirus
• despotate
• prosopography
• chronicle of ioannina
• onomastics