At the end of the twelfth century, Byzantium, weakened by internal contradictions, was declining. Its territory increasingly became easy prey for the conquerors. In 1185, the Norman King William II seized the Ionian Islands from the empire. In 1191, the English King Richard the Lionheart captured Cyprus, which was sold a year later to the former King of Jerusalem, Huy de Lusignan. But it was only the distant echo of an impending thunderstorm. On April 13, 1204, Constantinople, the capital of the empire and the largest city in medieval Europe, fell victim to the Fourth Crusade. The catastrophe, which seemed incredible to contemporaries, was prepared by the long process of decentralizing Byzantium1 . Back in March 1204, the Western European knights and Venetians signed a treaty on the division of all the lands of the "Roman empires", which became the legal basis for the upcoming territorial seizures in Byzantium. Although their plan was not fully implemented, since 1204 the conquest of Greek territories by Western European feudal lords was consistently carried out. The network of possessions they acquired was called Latin Romania. The limit of their expansion was put by the resistance of Bulgaria and the newly formed Greek states, first of all the Nicene Empire, which conquered Constantinople in 1261, as well as the Kingdom of Epirus, and from the XIV century - the onslaught of the Ottomans.

The largest states created by Western European feudal lords, which the local population called Latins, or Franks, were the Latin Empire with its capital in Constantinople (1204-1261), the State of Thessalonica (1204-1224, since 1209 - the kingdom), the Achaean, otherwise Morean Principality in the Peloponnese (1205-1432), Seigniory of Athens (1205-1456, since 1260 - duchy) 2, Kingdom of Cyprus (1192-1489), possessions of the Knights of St. John in Rhodes and the Dodecanese Islands (1306-1522).

Venice, in addition to Constantinople, acquired Crete (1206-1669), Corfu (1207-1214, 1386-1797), the ports of Coron and Modon in the Southern Peloponnese (1206-1500), from the end of the XIV century - Euboea 3, the Greek fortresses of Nauplium, Argos, Lepanto, and then Monemvasia. A number of cities briefly belonged to Venice and in Asia Minor, near the Hellespont. Venetian conquests were limited to areas that were crucial to the trade and naval power of the Republic of St. Mark. She didn't have the resources and manpower to do more than that. In an effort to gain a foothold in the Aegis, Venice initially granted the right of its rich Patrician families to organize expeditions at their expense and acquire defenseless islands. In this way, M. Sanudo founded in 1206 the duchy of the Archipelago, which included the most significant of the Cycladic Islands (1206-1566); the Gizi family conquered Sporades, Tinos and Mykonos (1207-1390).;

1 Udaltsova Z. V. Centrifugal and centripetal forces in the Byzantine world (1071-1261). Athenes. 1976; Oikonomides N. La decomposition de l'empire Byzantin a la veille de 1204 et les origines de l'empire de Nicee: a propos de la "Partitio Romaniae". Athenes. 1976; Hoffmann J. Rudimente von Territorialstaaten im Byzantinischen Reich. Munchen. 1974.

2 In 1205-1311, the Burgundian House of la Roche ruled in Athens; then they were captured by an army of Catalan mercenaries, the so-called Catalan Company, which formed the Duchy of Athens and Thebes (1311-1388). In 1388-1395 and 1403-1456. Athens was ruled by the Acciaiuoli dynasty of Florence, and in 1395-1403 the city was under the rule of Venice. In 1456, the duchy was conquered by the Ottomans (Gregorovius F.). History of the city of Athens in the Middle Ages. СПб. 1900; Setton K. M. Athens in the Middle Ages. Lnd. 1975; ejusd. Catalan Domination of Athens 1311 - 1388. Lnd. 1975).

3 Euboea was owned by three Lombard lords (tertiaries). From 1209, the protectorate of Venice was established over them, and from 1390 to 1470. she owned the island herself.

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The Veniers held Kythira (1207-1363). Initially independent and at odds with each other, the rulers of the Aegeida later recognized the sovereignty of Venice, and often transferred their possessions to it .4
Genoa was not part of the Fourth Crusade. Not the conquest, but the treaty of 1261 with the Empire of Nicaea opened the way for it to establish itself in Romania. There, the Genoese founded the fortress cities of Pera (Galata) on the banks of the Bosphorus, Kaffa in the Crimea, and a network of trading posts on the Black Sea coast. In Aegeida, the Genoese owned fr. Chios (1346-1566), the Genoese Gattilusi family ruled Lesbos (1355-1462), Phasos and Lemnos (from 1427) .5 The Ionian Islands were ruled by the Neapolitan Tocco family in 1357.

The Latin conquests, especially the capture of Constantinople, led to the transfer of colossal material and cultural values. R. de Clary, a participant in the campaign, believed that even in the 40 richest cities there would hardly have been anything that was captured by the crusaders in the Byzantine capital .6 This opinion was shared by one of the leaders of the campaign, Marshal of Champagne and chronicler Geoffroy Villardouin: the production in Constantinople was "the largest since the creation of the world." Only the official distribution between the Franks and Venetians was subject to 900 thousand marks (about 215 tons) of silver and 10 thousand harness 7 . But compared to the amount of valuables stolen by the Crusaders, this is only a fraction of what the winners got .8 The Catholic clergy appropriated numerous church relics, which were highly valued and also served as an object of trade. The treasures of European cities were intensively replenished with works of ancient and Byzantine art9 .

The Byzantine writer Nicetas Choniates drew an impressive picture of the looting or destruction of monuments and gave a long list of dead statues, including famous antique statues that were melted into metal10 . The fate of Constantinople was repeated on a smaller scale when the Latins captured Thebes, Athens and other cities in the Balkans. In Athens, the Parthenon Metropolis was looted, and the library that Metropolitan Michael of Athens had long collected was emptied. In one of his letters, he complained to Bishop Theodore of Euripus: "You know that I brought a lot of books with me from Constantinople to Athens, and even there I bought new ones. And I never imagined for whom I was collecting these treasures. And how could it have occurred to me, unhappy as I was, that I was doing this not for the benefit of my own people, but for the benefit of the Italian barbarians, who could neither read the original nor understand these works by translation? Donkeys are more likely to understand the harmony of the muse and dung beetles will enjoy the fragrance of myrtle, than Latins will be imbued with the charm of eloquence " 11 .

The conquest, perceived as a deep misfortune, almost immediately gave rise to an" exodus " from the captured cities. From Constantinople, at first, wealthy people left, belonging to the top of society. They were treated with contempt by the surrounding villagers, who blamed them for the calamities that had befallen the Empire .12 But gradually the outflow of other categories of the population, which experienced religious and economic oppression of the conquerors, also increased. Forced migration strengthened the hotbeds of resistance to terrorism.-

4 On Venetian Romania, see: Sokolov N. P. Formation of the Venetian Colonial Empire. Саратов. 1963; Thiriet F. La Remanie Venitienne au moyen age. P. 1975.

5 For Genoese Romania, see: Richard M. La Romanie Genoise XIIe-debut du XVe siecle). Tt. 1-2. R.-Genova. 1978.

6 De Clary R. La Conquete de Constantinople. P. 1924, pp. 80 - 81.

7 De Villehardouin G. La Conquete de Constantinople. T. 2. P. 1939, §§ 250, 254 - 255.

8 Ferrard Ch. G. The Amount of Constantinopolitan Booty in 1204. - Studi Veneziani, 1971, N 13.

9 Pertusi A. Exuviae sacrae Constantinopolitanae. A proposito degli oggetti bizantini esistenti oggi nel Tesoro di San Marco. - Studi Veneziani, a. s., 1978, t. 2, pp. 251 - 255.

10 Nicetae Choniatae Historia. Brl. -N. Y. 1975, pp. 647 - 655.

11 Lampros S. Preserved works of Michael Akominata Choniata, vol. 2. Athens. 1879, p. 295 (in Greek).

12 Nicetae Choniatae Historia, pp. 587 - 591, 593 - 594, 644 - 645.

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It was a threat to the Latins and was dangerous to their rule. The fact is that after the capture of Constantinople, the number of crusaders hardly exceeded 50 thousand, among which there were only a few thousand knights .13 In the Battle of Adrianople, where the Crusaders were defeated by the Bulgarians on April 14, 1205, the first losses amounted to 7 thousand people, including the sovereign of the Latin Empire Baldwin 14 . It was clear to his successor, Henry I, that it was impossible to expect such forces to capture all the Byzantine lands. They hoped for an influx of soldiers, clerics, and colonists from the West and Latin Syria, but their hopes were not fulfilled. Even in Morea, around 1205, there were only about 450 knights, and by 1338, 1 thousand 15 . In the whole of Venetian Romania, spread over hundreds of kilometers, with a stronghold on the island of Crete, by the middle of the XIV century there were no more than 20 thousand Western Europeans .16
The small number of conquerors made their rule precarious. This forced the rulers of the Latin states to preserve the old social relations, at times to mitigate religious oppression, restraining the papacy's attempts to achieve complete subordination to the Greek Church, up to the unification of rites. Relations with the Greek "archons", who represented the former ruling class, remained an important problem. Where an alliance with them could not be achieved at the cost of concessions, Latin domination was short-lived. Initially, Baldwin I sharply rejected the offers of Byzantine officials and soldiers to serve him as the new sovereign, and then just as imprudently rejected the peace offers of the Bulgarian tsar Kaloyan. The result was the defeat at Adrianople, which from the very beginning undermined the strength of the Latin Empire. Henry I changed course and began appointing Greeks to separate posts. But there was no symbiosis even within the ruling class.

After the conquest of most of the Peloponnese in 1205, the territory was divided into fiefs between the participants of the campaign. As a unit of a knightly fief, land with an income of 300 Anjou livres per year was taken. The "Grand Seigneurs" received a land based on the number of knights plus their own domain of 17 . The largest domain was owned by the Prince of the Seas: the city of Corinth, most of Elida, a number of castles. This prince was a vassal of the Latin emperor, then of the King of Naples. However, the power of his overlords was nominal. But more tangible were the obligations of the prince towards the vassals, to whom he took an oath, committing himself to observe feudal customs. The monarch did not control the entire principality, only the parliament - the assembly of lords (sometimes representatives of cities) was authorized to make changes in the distribution of land and alienate the territory.

A sharp contrast to what was customary in Byzantium was evident in the negotiations conducted by Prince Guillaume II Villardouin of the Seas, who was captured by the Byzantines after the Battle of Pelagonia in 1259, with the Nicene Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos. The latter demanded the cession of the Seas for the release of the French nobility from captivity, and promised in exchange a large sum of money so that the prince could acquire land in France. Guillaume, expressing his willingness to pay a ransom for freedom, refused to cede land, because the territory that was conquered by the nobles who came with Guillaume's father could not be alienated by the prince without the advice and consent of his "friends". The Byzantines did not want to understand the conditional nature of Western-style feudal property, and Michael VIII, accusing the prince of Frankish pride, threatened that he would not release him from prison for money. 18 For re-

13 Сarile A. Movimenti di popolazione e colonizzazione occidentale in Romania nel XIII secolo alla luce della composizione dell esercito crociato nel 1204. - Byzantinische Forschungen, 1979, N7;Hendrickx B. A propos du nombre des troupes de la Quatrieme croisade et de l'empereur Baudouin I. - Byzantina, 1971, N 3.

14 D e Villehardouin G. Op. cit., § 376.

15 Jacoby D. Recherches sur le Mediterranee orientale du XIIe au XVe siecle Lnd. 1979. N 1, pp. 20 - 21.

16 Thiriet F. Recherches sur le nombre des "Latins" immigres en Romanie greco-venitienne aux XIIIe - XIVe siecles. In: Byzance et les Slaves. P. 1979.

17 Carile A. Per una Storia dell'Impero Latino di Costantinopoli (1204 - 1261). Bologna. 1978, pp. 200 - 218, 227, 385 - 392.

18 The Chronicle of Morea. Lnd. 1904, vers. 4255 - 4301; Livre de la conqueste de la princee de l'Amoree. P. 1911, §§ 310 - 315; Crusaders as Conquerors. N. Y. -Lnd. 1964, pp. 195 - 197.

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To resolve the issue, a Parliament called the "ladies ' Parliament" met in Nikli, since the main role in it was played by the wives of captive cavaliers. He made a compromise decision: for the release of the knights, the Byzantines were given the fortresses of Monemvasia, the Great Maina and Mystra. The Duke of Athens, an ardent opponent of such a concession, predicted the expulsion of the Latins from the Peloponnese. Better the death of one, like the death of Christ, he said, than the loss of many of their possessions .19 The wives of the seigneurs of the Seas, however, preferred the loss.

At the top of the hierarchy of the principality were barons, who were considered peers. They had from 4 to 24 knightly fiefs. This was followed by the Lygian knights, who were bound by vassalage to a prince or baron. The Lygians had their own curia, could have vassals, and if they owned a fief "by right of conquest", they could pass it on by inheritance. Lygia's military service in favor of the seigneur was to last 4 months in the campaign and 4 months in the border garrison or fortress. What months they were, the seigneur chose. A vassal could not leave the territory of the principality and go "beyond the sea"without permission. Kara was waiting for the intruder. One day one of the best knights, the lord of Caritena, out of love for the wife of his vassal, broke this prohibition and during the war that the prince was waging, went with the lady of his heart to the Italian "pilgrimage". But in Italy, he was accused of treason by King Manfred. When he returned to Morea, the seigneur atoned for his wrongdoing by exploits and was pardoned after the intercession of other vassals .20 Otherwise, he would have lost the fief.

A special group of feudal lords were the Greek archons, " vassals of a simple oath." This layer was quite influential. They fought faithfully under the banner of the prince, even against fellow Byzantines (for example, in the Battle of Pelagonia in 1259, during the war of 1263-1264) and, taking the oath of allegiance, became part of the hierarchy, Western European in essence. However, their relationship with the seigneur was formalized by a written contract, and their dependence was less rigid than that of the Ligii. The archons were not subject to the right of the mayoralty, when only the eldest son of the deceased could become the heir to land ownership. They, unlike the barons and Ligii, could transfer real estate equally to all sons and daughters. The status of their possessions went back to a large extent to Pronia, a Byzantine conditional state.

Thus, in the Morea, as well as in Crete in Venice, most of the Aegis islands, Chios in Genoa, and Ionia, the small and middle Greek feudal lords were included in the dominant class of Latin conquerors. This strengthened his position. Greek notaries and tax officials, leaders of the local militia, and commanders of small detachments joined the new administrative apparatus. In Latin Romania, with the exception of Constantinople and Athens, the symbiosis among the ruling class was growing stronger, but it did not reach maturity even in the 15th century. It seemed that the way to rapprochement could be the conclusion of mixed marriages. But it was almost exclusively Latins who married Greek women, and very rarely Greeks who married Latin women. The archon layer was isolated. The Western European knights and merchants who settled in Romania rarely dared to take the fairer sex with them to the East, where they were waiting for a life full of dangers and difficulties. Most of the colonists were young men, and often their stay in Hellas was crowned by marriage with Greek women. However, their descendants did not have the full status of the class, and if these people, called hasmuls, did not find suitable use, for example, as hired warriors or sailors, they became pirates, the terror of ships and cities of Romania .21
The Latins often cursed the Hasmuls, while the Byzantines enlisted them in their service. From the Gasmuls, the crew of the fleet built by Michael VIII was largely completed. The Byzantine writer George Pachymer noted that they combined Roman foresight and prudence in battles with the swifts.-

19 The Chronicle of Morea, vers. 4327 - 4331, 4376 - 4385.

20 Ibid., vers. 7200 - 7240; Livre de la conqueste, §§ 399 - 407.

21 Matsсhke K. P. Fortschritt und Reaktion in Byzanz im 14 Jahrhundert. Brl. 1971, S. 140 - 142.

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by the boldness and boldness of the Latins 22 . But the Hasmuls were not only warriors or sailors, they also left their mark on the culture of Romania. Among them were the authors of the Dokko Chronicle and, possibly, the Korean Chronicle. Through the Hasmuls, the Greek language was introduced among the Frankish nobility.

If there was a limited symbiosis among the feudal lords, it was not between the mass of the exploited Greek population and a small minority of Latins. The Franks brought neither feudalism nor serfdom to Romania. Both were formed in Byzantium earlier than in 1204 , but after 1204, private-law forms of exploitation of peasants were strengthened, the hierarchical structure of land ownership and the system of vassal relations were developed. The personal dependence of the peasants increased everywhere, for the rule became " There is no land without a seigneur." The isolation of the feudal lords from other classes has increased, aggravated by the foreign origin and the heterodoxy of the Latin elite. In such conditions, the process of enslavement of the local peasantry was completed.

The main category of addicts were wigs, now called villains and deprived of personal freedom. They automatically became all the peasants of the Seas who lived on the land of the seigneur for a year and another day. Villein status was for life. A villanus could be killed by a seigneur, thrown into prison, sold, given away, exchanged, and rented out. The coutums of the principality of Moray allowed the seigneur to take the movable property of his villan, his plot and transfer them to another, leaving the villan only a minimum for feeding, " so that the fief from which the villan was not impoverished."

The main material for describing the social status of peasants is contained in the legislative code "Assizes of Romania" 24 . Villanus could not enter into a marriage contract without the consent of the seigneur, bring an action against him, give evidence against Lygia, and was tried by his seigneur in civil cases, and by the baronial curia of the superior seigneur in criminal cases. A free woman who married a Villan became a villaness, and only after her husband's death did she gain her freedom. The fugitive Villein was allowed to be searched for and returned to the master. Only after 30 years from the date of the Villana's relocation to the land of another feudal lord, his former liege lord lost the right to search. The flight of the Villains took on a large scale, and the princes of the Seas in the XIV century often carried out a national investigation 25 .

Simultaneously with the main trend of increasing personal dependence of peasants, other phenomena related to the development of commodity-money relations were also observed. The Morean peasants had the right to sell their movable property without the consent of the seigneur, but they had to keep a pair of oxen and a donkey for carrying the corvee. A villan could engage in trade, and if he fell into debt dependence, then part of the property, but not the allotment, was subject to alienation for debts. If the loan was made without the seigneur's knowledge, the lender had no right to collect the loan from the peasant and could not put him in debtors ' prison .26 Within the seigniory, the peasant had some economic independence.

The population of Central Greece was most severely exploited under the rule of the Catalan Company. The captured population was initially treated as slaves, and Thebes, the capital of the state, became the center of the slave trade .27 For the rural population of Attica, a heavy corvee was introduced. To the Greeks for-

22 Georgii Pachymeris de Michaele et Andronico Palaeologis libri XIII. T. I. Bonnae 1835, p. 188.

23 Istoriya Byzantii, Vol. 2. Moscow, 1967, pp. 115-133, 237-261; Litavrin G. G. Problema simbioza v latinskikh gosudarstv, obrazovannykh na territorii Byzantii [The problem of symbiosis in Latin states formed on the territory of Byzantium]. Athenes. 1976.

24 History of Byzantium, vol. 3, Moscow, 1967, ch. 2; Recoura G. Les Assises de Remanie. P. 1930; Jaсоby D. La feodalite en Grece medievale. P. 1971; ejusd. Societe et demographie a Byzance et en Romanie latine. Lnd. 1975; ejusd. Recherches; Carile A. La Rendita feudale nella Morea Latina del XIV secolo. Bologna. 1974.

25 Buchon J. A. Nouvelles recherches historiques sur la principaute francaise de Moree. T. 2. P. 1843, pp. 157 - 158.

26 Recoura G. Les Assises, § 215; Dmitriev G. A. Dolgovaya tyurma v Latinam Morey [Debt Prison in the Latin Sea]. -Byzantinoslavica, 1969, t. 30/1, pp. 73 - 76.

27 Verlinden Ch. Orthodoxie et esclavage au Bas Moyen age. In: Melanges E. Tisserant. T. 5. R. 1964, pp. 427 - 431.

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It was forbidden to inherit, buy or sell property, or own property. Marriages between Catalans and Greek women were strictly prohibited. The only public office that privileged Greeks could obtain was that of notary public .28
National and economic oppression was combined in Latin Romania with the legal subordination of the Greek Church to the Catholic bishopric and the Papal See. By agreement with Innocent III (1206), the Catholic Church was to own a fifth of the Latin Empire's lands, towns, and castles. The church was headed by a Catholic patriarch. This rank traditionally belonged to Venetian clerics, although papal legates who arrived in Constantinople limited the jurisdiction of the patriarch. In general, the Latins retained the structure of the Patriarchate of Constantinople that had developed in Byzantium. Only the Greek episcopate, which did not recognize the primacy of the popes and the basic Catholic dogmas, was replaced by a Latin one; the lower level of the church organization still functioned, although under the control of Catholic bishops. In Constantinople, a division of churches was made between Catholics and Orthodox: out of 300 churches, 7 were given to the Venetians; 30 to the French; two were imperial, and the Flemings were established there; at least 250 remained for the Greeks, although some of them were closed.

Under the conditions of the conquest, the Greek population's commitment to Orthodoxy made this religion a banner of opposition, and sometimes resistance to the Franks, and served as an expression of protest against the collaboration of the Greek nobility. it became an offensive epithet in Greece. The same dirty word for a cruel and ugly person was "Catalan" 29 . Despite the active activities of Catholic orders in Romania, the influence of the Roman Church was superficial there. On the other hand, Greek customs and liturgical practices were adopted by foreigners until they converted to Orthodoxy (as in Crete, where immigrants from Italy quickly became Hellenized). The essence of the matter was well understood by the Venetian writer and scholar M. Sanudo the Elder: "Let's assume that we could capture even a large part of the empire's lands, but this would not incline the hearts of the people to obey the Roman Church:" 30 .

The administrative and legal system of the Latin states was based on Western European institutions modified on the Byzantine model. In the Latin Empire, the Byzantine court ceremonial, the manner of naming the sovereign (although his title was supplemented with new elements), the rite of crowning him as patriarch, the customs of acclamation (raising a person proclaimed by the sovereign on a shield), proskinesis (prostration for Greek subjects) were preserved. The emperor's ceremonial vestments remained Byzantine: sakkos, paliy, purple boots, a crown with pendants. But behind the external similarity, deliberately emphasized by the rite to give the appearance of continuity of power, the differences between the two different systems of government remained. Even in theory, the Latin emperor was not considered an autocrat; he had no right to interfere in property relations on lands outside his domain; he was bound to knighthood and barons not by citizenship, but by oath; when he ascended the throne, he took an oath to observe agreements with vassals and their privileges. Especially protected were the rights of Venice, whose possessions were not under the control of the emperor; their head was the Doge and his deputy-podesta.

The Latin emperor was elected and, unlike Byzantium, proclaimed only if the death of the predecessor was accurately confirmed. The Empress was not a sacred person or an official at all. She was regarded only as the wife of the sovereign. So although Byzantine customs influenced the formalization of power, the Latin Empire remained a Western European monarchy.

28 Sellon K. Catalan Domination, p. 219.

29 Niсоl D. M. Byzantium: Its Ecclesiastical History and Relations with the Western World. N 1. Lud. 1972, pp. 338 - 339; Setton K. Catalan Domination, pp. 247 - 248.

30 Thiriet F. Le symbiose dans les etats Latins formee sur les territoires de la Romania byzantine (1202 a 1261). Phenomenes religieux. Athenes. 1976, p 18.

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a period of feudal fragmentation with a large element of unity of command, which was supported by a constant military threat, recognition of the role of the emperor as a military leader, as well as a Byzantine-type suzerain for Greek subjects.

The attempt to combine the two forms of power - Latin and Byzantine-was also reflected in the court hierarchy, where Roman and French titles and positions intertwined. The highest rank of despot with the right to wear the royal purple boots was awarded to members of the imperial family, the Venetian Doge and Podesta. Then, with some violation of the Byzantine rite, came the sevastokrator, Caesar, protovestiarius, and the great duca. A number of ranks had a double name: seneschal-grand domestic, constable-grand constable, marshal-protostator. Some ranks had no analogues in Byzantium. The highest officials and barons formed a council under the Emperor. The consent of the Baronial council and the podesta was mandatory for making important decisions .31
The appearance of the Byzantine territories that made up Latin Romania has changed somewhat. The traditional centers of Constantinople and Athens fell into disrepair, new cities were rebuilt: the capital of the Morean Principality of Andravida, the main city of Venetian Crete, Candia, the Genoese trading posts of Pera and Kaffa. Castles of Western European feudal lords with their high towers-donjons, unusual to the Greek eye, fit into the rural landscape. Only rural settlements mostly retained their former appearance, although they also sometimes experienced changes associated with population decline (Catalan Attica and Boeotia) or the introduction of monocultures (mastic production on Chios).

In Constantinople, construction almost stopped. The city, which had more than 400 thousand inhabitants before the conquest, was deserted. Some of its neighborhoods were incinerated by fires and lay in ruins. The Latins made no serious attempt to repair the ruined and abandoned buildings. The magnificent fortress of the capital was hardly maintained, but no longer strengthened. Only a few of the churches were rebuilt, refitted and decorated with stained glass windows. The only painting in Constantinople that can reliably relate to the period of the Latin Empire is the frescoes in the chapel of St. Francis of Assisi of the Church of Christ Akataleptos: fragments of a composition of 11 scenes from the life of Francis. The cycle was created in the 50s of the XIII century by the hand of a Western master who experienced Byzantine influence. It is interesting because it is one of the very first monuments created after the canonization of St. Francis (1228) with his image.

Under the onslaught of the Greek Reconquista and the blows of the Bulgarians, the Latins felt uneasy on the banks of the Bosphorus. With the growing military and political crisis, the emperors, who were sitting in a city cut off from the traditional agricultural periphery, had to sell and mortgage their property. The last of them, Baldwin II, sold the lead-gilded roof of his own palace, and as a pledge to the Venetians for a loan received from them, he gave his own son, Philip. Athens, like Constantinople, was practically ignorant of civil engineering at that time. The city was shrinking in size even in comparison with the XII century, when it was experiencing decline. Sheep were grazed in the Athenian agora. The concept of "acropolis" was absent, this word disappeared from use. The French and Catalans call the citadel of Athens the Castle of Setina. Even Boccaccio in the Theseid did not give the acropolis its ancient name .32 It was only in 1444 that the traveler and scholar Cyriaco of Ancona restored the acropolis to its ancient name.

The Acropolis, however, remained almost the only place in Athens where construction continued. The northern wing of the Propylaeum (formerly the Archbishop's Palace) was converted by the dukes into their residence. The reconstruction was completed in the 15th century under the Acciaiuoli dynasty of Florence. They carefully treated the ancient monument. The palace with its ancient columns, as if built into it, stretched to the Erechtheion, and part of the Pinakothek became the Chapel of St. Varus-

31 Longnon J. L'Empire Latin de Constantinople et la Principaute de Moree. P. 1949, pp. 129 - 130; Hendrickx B. Les Institutions de l'Empire Latin de Constantinople (1204 - 1261). - Byzantine, 1974, t. 6; 1977, t. 9.

32 Gregorovius F. UK. op., c, 270; Setton K. Catalan Domination, pp. 187-188.

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folomey 33 . From the beginning of Frankish rule, the Parthenon (Byzantine Church of the Virgin Mary) it was transformed into a Latin metropolia, but did not undergo a significant restructuring. A square watchtower was erected on the acropolis (dismantled in 1875) and Fort 34 was built . When Florence was already feeling the breath of the Renaissance, the Florentine ascendancy in Attica did not lead to any spiritual renewal.

The centers of Latin Romagna sprang up in new places or were transferred to ancient decayed cities. From 1311 to 1379, the capital of the Duchy of Athens was Thebes, where the Kadmean Fortress was re-strengthened. But the city did not become an economic center: through the harbor of Livadostro in the Gulf of Corinth, it carried out only modest trade links with the Morea, Sicily and Catalonia. Coron and Modon in the Peloponnese, the most important points of the Levantine transit trade, were of a different type, although their populations were never large. Andravida lay in the north-western part of the principality, its connection with the West was carried out through the port of Klarentsu. Andravida had no fortress walls and was protected only by a moat, but nearby were the strongholds of the first-class fortresses of Clarenza and Clermont. Most of the buildings of Andravida have not been preserved. Sources mention a princely palace and Gothic temples.

Clarenza was the busiest port in the Morea. The belt of walls up to two meters thick covered an area of almost 9 thousand square meters. meters. The walls were enclosed by corner towers, and a moat stretched out in front of them. There was a well-protected inner harbor. The chronicle reports that at the beginning of the 15th century the city was distinguished by its beauty, its rich houses were inhabited by ruling archons and well-to-do merchants, the prince also had a palace there, the city abounded in goods, especially fabrics, and had the glory of one of the most beautiful fortresses .35 Some of the cities of the Seas were guard posts with no economic significance. This is Clermont, built between 1220 and 1223, the key to Elide. His castle is a typical Crusader structure: two parallel concentric walls formed a polygon with round towers forming a series of rooms and a central courtyard. The building was built by Western craftsmen and according to the Western model, it has no analogues in Byzantine architecture. The influence of Northern French traditions was so strong that many furnaces were built in the fortress, although this was unnecessary in the warm climate of Greece .36
The territory of Frankish Greece was dotted with small castles. The residences of barons, they controlled the roads and dominating heights. More often, these primitive structures followed the terrain, ranging in plan from a simple tower with an inner courtyard to an ensemble with an outer belt of walls forming the lower courtyard, a citadel, a donjon and a redoubt. Sometimes the main tower was placed on the corner, in the most vulnerable place in the defense. Sometimes Frankish castles were built on the foundations of former fortifications and using part of them (Patras, Acrocorinth, Cadmea, Calamite). During the construction, rough masonry of small, poorly hewn limestone blocks was used in combination with a baseboard made of baked clay. Well-hewn hard stones are found in Venetian buildings of the second half of the XV-XVI century. In general, the forts of Greece, devoid of decorative ornaments, simple and crude, were archaic in architecture than buildings of this kind in France and Italy, representing an outdated semi-Romanesque style .37 The wonders of the Gothic period were intended only for the most important ecclesiastical and less often secular buildings, especially the great cathedrals of Cyprus (St. Sophia in Nicosia, St. Nicholas in Famagusta, Bellape Abbey near Kyrenia). The assimilation of Greek architectural traditions with Gothic elements began in the middle of the 14th century. However, the researcher is more likely to encounter eclectic buildings in Latin Romania and a tendency to return to the Orthodox tradition of cross-domed churches .38
33 Field V. I. The Art Of Greece. The Middle Ages, Moscow, 1973, p. 259.

34 Ibid., p. 266; Seton K. Athens. Art. N 5, p. 281.

35 Ignoti auctoris Chronica Toccorum Cephalleniensium. R. 1975, p. 266.

36 Bon A. La Moree franque. Vol. 1. P. 1969, pp. 325 - 327, 619, 628 - 629.

37 Andrews K. Castles of the Morea. Amsterdam. 1978, p. 225.

38 A History of the Crusades. Vol. IV. Madison. 1977; Enlart C. Art gothique et la Renaissance en Chypre. Vol. 1 - 2. P. 1899; Gerola G. Monumen i veneti nell'isola di Creta. Vol. I - IV. Venezia. 1905 - 1932; Bon A. Moree.

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When the proud knights entered Byzantium, they called themselves "men who came to conquer." 39 The troubadours who inspired the leaders of the campaign were full of contempt for the Greeks. Boniface of Montferrat's colleague Raimbaut of Vaqueyras, describing the battle of Constantinople on July 17, 1203, ridiculed Alexius III Angelus and his soldiers: "We were falcons, and they were herons, and we pursued them as a wolf pursues a sheep." 40 More than 70 years have passed, and with the same arrogance, looking at the 30-thousandth army of the Byzantines at Neopatras, the Athenian Duke J. de la Roche said, " There are many men, but few husbands." Although the situation was similar (the Latins were facing a significantly superior opponent), the difference is obvious: the duke, quoting these words of Herodotus, pronounced them in Greek .41
In the years since the conquest, Latins have become bilingual, adopting the language of the conquered people. Captured at the Battle of Pelagonia, the Prince of Achaia, Guillaume II Villardouin, negotiated in Greek. In Cyprus, under King John II (1432-1458), who married the daughter of the despot of the Peloponnese, Greek influence became so significant that the island "seemed to return to Greek rule" .42 The daughter and successor of Jean II, Charlotte, felt like a Greek: having acquired Hellenic eloquence, she could hardly write French and perceived French as a foreign language . Greek was also increasingly being introduced into the official records management of Cyprus. On the other hand, the indigenous Cypriots sought to teach their children both Greek and French .44 From their mixture, a dialect was formed, which is incomprehensible to the Hellenic world, but organic in the conditions of the island. A kind of" colonial " language was also formed in Crete in the absence of close cultural ties between the Venetian settlers and the mother country .45
However, the linguistic barriers that separated East and West until the 13th century were gradually overcome. Latins were quickly introduced to Greek culture. In the Morea and Crete, in Cyprus and the Aegis Islands, Frankish barons and Venetian colonists, who had never read the works of the Archbishop of Athens, spontaneously agreed with his idea that it is impossible to rule over the people, seizing castles, property and even subjugating people, but without having spiritual power over the minds, not understanding the language of subjects and people. lagging behind them culturally 46 . The desire to consolidate their dominance was supplemented by an interest in the treasures of Hellenic culture. At the beginning of the 13th century, the Byzantine novel about Barlaam and Joasaph was translated into French; at the end of the century, the Dominican Archbishop of Corinth, Wilhelm Merbeke, translated the ancient works of Hippocrates, Galen, Ptolemy, Aristotle, and Proclus into Latin .47 In Italy, almost a century later, Boccaccio became the first true connoisseur of ancient Greek literature.

The Aragonese Master of the Order of St. John of Rhodes, H. F. de Heredia (1377-1396), initiated the first translation from Greek of Plutarch's Biographies and other texts then unknown in the West .48 Collected in the Levant and transported to Avignon, the Heredia library was so rich that it contained almost everything that could interest a humanist of that era. The manuscripts and translations sent to the Aragonese court, as well as all the activities of Heredia and his entourage, played an important role in the formation of humanism in Spain .49
39 Livre de la conqueste, § 55, p. 17.

40 The Poems oi the Troubadour Raimbaut de Vaqueiras. The Hague. 1964, p. 305.

41 Hopi Ch. Chroniques Greco-Romanes. Brl. 1873, p. 121.

42 Knos B. L'histoire de la litterature neo-grecque. Uppsala. 1962, p. 176.

43 Hill G. A. History of Cyprus. Vol. 2. Lnd. 1972, pp. 548, 755.

44 Tivchev P. Leontius Maher as a historian of Cyprus. - Byzantine vremennik, 1973, N 35, p. 167; Leontios Makhairas. Recital Concerning the Sweet Land of Cyprus. Vol. 2. Oxford. 1932, § 158, p. 142.

45 Folena G. Introduzione al Veneziano "de la da mar". In: Venezia e il Levante fino al secolo XV. Vol. I, pt. 1. Firenze. 1973.

46 Uspensky F. I. The Works of Mikhail Akominat. Odessa. 1881, p. 198.

47 Сarile A. Per una Storia, pp. 260 - 261; Beck H. -G. Geschichte der byzantinischen Volksliteratur. Munchen. 1971, S. 35 - 41.

48 Luttrell A. The Hospitallers in Cyprus, Rhodes, Greece and the West (1291 - 1440). Lnd. 1978, N XX.

49 Ibid., NN XX, XXI.

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Despite the growing interest in Greek literature in Latin Romaniaand in the West, the Catholic Church was determined not to accept the teachings of the ancients (i.e., to accept the teachings of the ancients). pagan writers or modern schismatics, and the spread of Latin culture and the Catholic faith among the Greeks. As early as 1205, an attempt was made to establish a Catholic university in Constantinople .50 Franciscan and Dominican monasteries became the centers of the spread of Western theology. However, their influence on the local population was limited. The level of education varied among both Latins and Greeks, and varied according to their social status, place, time, and circumstances. But while the Latins were concerned with sending theologians and missionaries to the East, often specially trained in the Greek language, they generally did not seek to develop the education of the Greek population. The Venetian Senate forbade the inhabitants of the Ionian Archipelago to establish Greek schools and created preferential conditions for young men from there to study in Italy, in particular at the University of Padua .51 But few people could take advantage of this privilege.

Contemporaries pointed to the decline of cultural life in Attica and the Peloponnese. 52 Only Crete and Cyprus, and then only since the fourteenth century, were in a more favorable position. Notarians in Crete often mention Greek teachers who taught in schools and gave private lessons to groups of students who were engaged in tutoring .53 In Cyprus, thanks to the efforts of Greek scientists, astronomy was developed. There were compiled astronomical tables that surpassed the accuracy of Ptolemy's tables; original treatises were created .54 A unique phenomenon in the culture of Latin Romania of the XIII century was the work of troubadours. Many of them arrived with the leaders of the Fourth Crusade. The most important lords of Frankish Greece considered it their duty to have a troubadour, a juggler, or a minstrel with them, and some of them were poets themselves.

The love canzone of the Prince of the Seas, Guillaume Villardouin (1245-1278), a participant in the crusade of 1249, whose audacity and loyalty to the oath led him and many knights of the Seas into Byzantine captivity after the Battle of Pelagonia in 1259, has been preserved. Courtly poetry was cultivated at the court of this prince, and the court itself was more brilliant than that of the French monarch. The great youths of France came to the Moray to learn the art of war and acquire good manners .55 One of the leaders of the Fourth Crusade, C. de Bethune, had a reputation as a troubadour. Trouveres in Constantinople were the noble knights R. de Blois, G. de Saint-Quentin, Count J. de Brienne, vidame (episcopal vicar) Chartres de Forieres 56 . They were enriched after the capture of Constantinople, experienced unusual luxury and bliss. The Burgundian knight G. de Brezhil expressively described this in verse, telling how after the victory the crusaders plunged into emeralds, rubies, purples and brocades, and found themselves in fabulous gardens and palaces .57
One of the main centers of troubadour art in Romania was the Kingdom of Thessaloniki of Boniface of Montferrat. The Marquis of Montferrat (c. 1152-1207), long before the crusade that he led, had a reputation as a patron of troubadours, even in Northern Italy brought the juggler from Provence Raimbaut de Vaqueiras, who later became the most prominent troubadour in Latin Greece. Raimbout (c. 1155-c. 1207) was a few of the troubadours who were knighted. In 1194, he saved the life of the future king of Thessaloniki, and then received a large domain in Greece and a lot of income. As a poet he belongs-

50 Fuсhs F. Die hoheren Schulen von Konstantinopel im Mittelalter. Leipzig. 1926, S. 53 - 54.

51 Miller W. The Latins in the Levant. Lnd. 1908, p. 541.

52 Setton K. Catalan Domination, p. 224.

53 Pertusi A. Leonzio Pilato a Greta prirna del 1358 - 59. Scuola е: cultura a Greta durante il secolo XIV. - Kritika Chronika, 1961 - 1962, t. 15 - 16, fase. 2, pp. 371 - 380.

54 Tihon A. Un traite astronomique chypriote du XIVe siecle. - Janus, 1977, t, 64; 1979, t. 66.

55 Miller W. The Latins, pp. 101 - 102.

56 Longnon J. Les Compagnons de Villehardouin. Genf. 1978.

57 Buchon J. A. Histoire des conquetes et de l'etablissement des Francais dans les etats de l'ancienne Grece. T. 1. P. 1846, p. 139; Longnon J. L'Empire, p. 67.

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there are unique genre experiences: he created canzons, prints, epic messages and a multilingual desktop. His compositions were highly regarded for their beauty and sophistication. Raimbaut's work reveals the views and moods of the Crusaders. He participated in the battles of 1203, the capture of Constantinople, during which he was wounded, and the conquest of Greece, saw the rivalry between Boniface and the Emperor Baldwin, and felt dissatisfaction with some of the knights that the latter did not continue the crusade to the Holy Land.

Strongly condemning Baldwin's inaction, Raimbout, in his" Advice to the Emperor, " predicted a war between the Latins and all the surrounding peoples who might unite with the Greeks, and then the Latins would lose everything they had won. The accusation of the emperor and his troops is the words of Raimbaut about the burned churches and palaces, which became a vale of sin for clerics and laity. Raimbaut suggested that Baldwin listen to the advice not of the barons, but of the one who is more worthy (Boniface of Montferrat). In order for the coming campaign to be successful, the sovereign must be brave and generous, wise and generous, attract vassals with gifts and unite them so that they do not leave the army, but are ready to move .58 Raimbaut also wrote other works: the epic epistle to Boniface, which describes the events of the crusade; the canzone, which celebrates the deeds of Boniface, who "surpassed" the exploits of Alexander the Great, Charlemagne and Roland .59
The work of the Troubadours of Romania did not pass without a trace, having, in particular, influenced the Greek epic and the chivalric romance of the XIII-XIV centuries. Naturally, in the poetry of the Provençal singers of courtoisie in the distant Levant, political motives took a large place and not love canzons prevailed, but sirventa and epic message. The literature of Latin Romagna, which has not yet been studied as a whole phenomenon, is also rich in historical works. This is also a kind of encyclopedia of everyday life - the Morean Chronicle, the Chronicle of the house of Tocco (rulers of Epirus and the Ionian Islands), "The Story of the sweet Land of Cyprus" by a chronicler of the late XIV-early XV centuries. Leontius Machera 60, "Memoirs" of Philippe de Cooke (c. 1195-after 1265) 61 . The works of Cretan poets Leonardo Del Laporte and Marina Faliera (XIV-XV centuries) 62 , folk poetry of Crete, Cyprus and the Aegis are also original. A typical example is "The Song of Henry of Flanders" 63 . This Greek ballad tells how the valiant King Henry was killed by his bride, because she did not want to marry the enslaver of the fatherland. Although the historical circumstances of Henry I's death are unknown to us (there was a legend that he was poisoned by his wife, the daughter of Bulgarian Tsar Boril), 64 the ballad reflects the rejection of the conquest by the Greek people, despite the fact that the figure of Henry is generally sympathetic: he replaced the traditional Byzantine heroes Digenis Akritos and Alexander the Great in this song.

The centuries-old history of Latin Romania is filled with dramatic turns, its pages were written during the terrible years of increasing Ottoman expansion. Although only the Venetians managed to create a "world power" from the ruins of Byzantium , 65 the Latin states left a deep mark on the history of Greece and the entire Mediterranean. Latin Romagna also had its own destiny in fiction, including the works of Shakespeare and Goethe.

58 The Poems oi the Troubadour Raimbaut de Vaqueiras, pp. 224 - 234.

59 Ibid., pp. 301 - 344, 241 - 252.

60 Leontios Makhairas. Op. cit. Vol. 1 - 2.

61 Paris G. Les Memoires de Philippe de Novare. - Revue de l'Orient Latin, 1902, t. 9.

62 Manoussakas M. I. La litterature Cretoise a l'epoque venitienne. - L'Hellenisme contemporain, 1955, t. 9; ejusd. Un poeta cretese ambasciatore di Venezia a Tunisi e presso i Turchi: Leonardo Dellaporta. In: Venezia e l'Oriente fra tardo medioevo e Rinascimento. Firenze. 1966; Gemert A. F. van. The Cretan Poet Marinos Falieros. - Thesaurismata, 1977, t. 14.

63 Manussakas M. I. Greek Folk song about the reign of Henry of Flanders ( in Greek) - Laografia, 1952, t. 14; 1954, t. 15.

64 Вeck H. -G. Geschichte, S. 110.

65 Archives of Marx and Engels, vol. V. Moscow, 1938, p. 200.

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