International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Panos Sophoulis
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece;
[e-mail]
Banditry in the Balkans (9
th
-14
th
C.): The Evidence of Saint’s Lives
It is generally accepted that during the Middle Ages brigandage was widespread throughout 
the Balkans. For the most part, the Balkan brigands operated in rural settings, in remote and 
inaccessible areas such as mountains and forests, and were attracted by trade-routes and major 
highways. Their prime targets were travelers, merchants and hermits. Although their motive was 
strictly economic, it is clear that many bandits came from communities for whom raiding was part 

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of the normal way of life. Such communities are known to have existed in several parts of the Balkans 
during the Middle Ages. Thus, Stefan Dušan’s law code (Zakonik) prescribed heavy penalties to 
localities on the assumption that a brigand could not survive without the support, shelter, and food 
of local inhabitants. As a result, in allegedly supporting the brigand, the locality shared in his guilt 
and deserved to share the punishment. 
Numerous sources of Byzantine, Bulgarian, Serbian, Dalmatian and Latin origin provide 
valuable information for this phenomenon, especially regarding the period between the 9
th
and 14
th
centuries. They include most types of written evidence such as chronicles, letters, legal documents, 
treatises and Saint’s Lives. The latter deserve special attention. Monks, hermits and hesychasts, who 
shunned the fortified but crowded monastic centres in favour of the Balkan wilderness, frequently 
found themselves being attacked by brigands. Although episodes of this kind as reported in Vitae 
are often regarded as hagiographical clichés, there can be no doubt that they shed important light 
on the conditions attendant in the Balkan countryside during the period in question. Along with 
the other sources, Saint’s Lives offer much interesting material at the intersection of banditry and 
the question of statehood. An obvious question to be posed is how far did Medieval states in the 
Balkans actually reached, or, to put it another way, how able were they to maintain order in rural 
areas. By drawing attention to a number of hagiographical accounts, this communication seeks to, 
at least in part, address this issue.