Land and Landowners in the Greek Territories 107
conquest recognised their possessions, especially the private heritable ones,
thus forestalling major upheavals like the ones that troubled Crete. The local
Byzantine landowners were thus introduced into the feudatory class, initially
in the lowest tier of the class as non-nobles and with no military responsi-
bilities. Gradually however, during the 13th century, things began to change
and some of the old Byzantine archons became also members of the middle
tier of the feudal class. A turning point in this process was the appearance of
Byzantine forces in the Peloponnese in 1262, which shook the rulers of Achaea.
This led to the ceding of fiefs to Greeks in return for military service which they
offered, aiming not just to reinforce the army, but also to keep the Greeks from
supporting the Byzantines. Thus, in the second half of the 13th century and
under the reign of the Angevins, the feudal class of the Principality of Achaea
included both Latins (mainly Franks, but Italians as well) and native Greeks, in
all tiers apart from that of the barons.47 As David Jacoby points out, “the con-
junction of several factors explains the integration of Greeks within the class
of feudatories in the Principality of Achaea: the class-consciousness and self-
confidence of the Frankish knights, their approach to the archons, their practi-
cal needs, and, finally, the eagerness of the Greeks to achieve integration”.48
Corfu
The new Angevin lords of Corfu brought about changes that suited their own
political traditions, without however making a clean break with the pre-existing
landownership regime. Upon taking direct control of the island in 1272 King
Charles i promised the landowners that the landownership regime would not
change for those who opted to remain on the island and swear fealty to him,
just as had been the case in the Principality of Achaea. This led to the rec-
ognition of older landownership, not just that of the previous Angevin over-
lordship, but also that of the preceding Byzantine period.49 Under Charles
there were hardly any new grants of land. Landowners included the state
itself (curia), the Latin Church (which had been superimposed over the Greek
47 On the Greek archons and the Frankish feudatories in the Peloponnese see David Jacoby,
“Les archontes grecs et la féodalité en Morée franque,” Travaux et Mémoires 2 (1967), 481–
82, repr. in David Jacoby, Société et démographie à Byzance et en Romanie latine (London,
1975), vi; idem, “The Encounter of Two Societies,” pp. 873–906, and especially pp. 889–
903; idem, “From Byzantium to Latin Romania: Continuity and Change,” pp. 6–9; idem,
“Social Evolution in Latin Greece,” 198–200. For Greek archons and land exploitation see
also idem, “Rural Exploitation,” pp. 213–75, esp. 225.
48 Jacoby, “The Encounter of Two Societies,” p. 899.
49 Jacoby, La féodalité, pp. 253–70, esp. 254–56.