International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Stefan Lazić 
University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy, Belgrade, Serbia; 
[e-mail]
On Dating the Last Norman Invasion of the Byzantine Empire
The author’s aim is to determine the date of the beginning of the last Norman invasion from 
Sicily to the Byzantine Empire. The only historical source that directly and precisely specifies the 
date when the Norman armada set out for Durazzo, its primary goal, is none other than the Annales 
Ceccanenses. This typical medieval chronicle originated in 1217, with two of its manuscripts 
remaining intact to date. This manuscript points out that the Norman army sailed out of Messina 
three days before the Ides of June. This data enables easier and faster calculation of the date when 
the last invasion of the Byzantine Empire occurred. In spite of this, the historiography shows a 
discrepancy in terms of determining the date, i.e. the data shown in this manuscript has been 
interpreted differently by the historians. Based on the remaining source, determining the exact 
date of the beginning of the invasion and emphasising the historiography of variations in dating 
said event will be the main goal of this paper. An effort will be made to explain the historical 
discrepancies in dating the beginning of the invasion even though the Annales Ceccanenses gives 
a clear and unambiguous data on the day when the invasion began. Regardless the sporadic dating 
mistakes, this still remains an important event that has made an impact on both contemporary and 
future researchers. Under its influence the Byzantines’ fear of the West has increased, contributing 
to the deterioration of the relationship between the orthodox East and the catholic West; which will 
become obvious in the subsequent Fourth Crusade. 
Leonie Exarchos 
University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany; 
[e-mail]
Tuae provideas civitati
: 
Identifications and Identities of Latins in the Twelfth-Century Byzantium
In the twelfth century many Latins chose to stay in the Byzantine Empire, either on a 
temporary or permanent basis, including merchants, crusaders, travelers and mercenaries. Among 
the many different groups of Latins living in Byzantium were individuals who enjoyed ready access 
to the Byzantine court and could be designated as experts in a particular field. Here the term 
“Latin experts” is used to describe individuals who hailed from the West and made their way to 
the Byzantine court, where they served as advisors, interpreters, envoys or military consultants. 
Much like other experts living abroad, Latin experts are characterized by a threefold expertise. First, 
they demonstrated specialized knowledge in a particular field (i.e. theology, foreign languages, 
warfare, politics etc.), which made them attractive to the court. Second, over the course of their 
stay they became experts in the language, religion, customs, and/or cultural and political situation 

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in Byzantium and could thereby better serve the interests of their native regions abroad. Third, as 
a result of their considerable intercultural skills Latin experts came to be perceived as specialists 
in their native regions by Byzantines. In other words, Latin experts assumed an intermediary role, 
namely that of cultural brokers. 
Both in Byzantium and in the West, Latin experts were regarded as a valuable and useful 
resource and in some cases served institutions and individuals on both sides. Their special position 
between Byzantium and the West raises a number of important questions about the identities 
of Latin experts in Byzantium, including their relationship to certain communities, which also 
brought the matter of their allegiance to the fore. By way of a number of case studies drawn from 
the twelfth century this paper asks how and to what extent Latin experts self-identified with certain 
communities or institutions, how their identities changed over time, and which factors were at 
play in forming these identities. I pay particularly close attention to areas of potential conflict, such 
as conflicts of interest between Latin experts and other actors and institutions and processes of 
dissociation from certain communities. 
The first part of the paper considers the language used by Latin experts to describe themselves in 
their own writings. Which terms did Latin experts use to designate their skills and expertise and how 
and when did they employ terms like Latinus/Latini and other regional or ethnic terms? What can 
such terms and the contexts in which they are used tell us about the identity of Latins in Byzantium? 
In the second part, I turn my attention to how Latin experts interacted with “others”. Here the 
term “others” is used to describe the Byzantines, but also individuals from the West with whom 
Latin experts maintained contact during their time in Byzantium. These might be inhabitants of 
an expert’s native city or region, the Papacy, members of crusader states, and other Latins living in 
Byzantium (e.g. merchants).
By these means, I hope to provide some insight into the exceptional status of Latin experts and 
their shifting identities as they moved back and forth between Byzantium and the West.