22 Tsougarakis
questions that these texts, as well as the Greek Romances of possible Moreot
origin raise, while placing them in their western European and Byzantine liter-
ary context.
The interaction between Latins and Greeks was also reflected in the
built environment that the two groups shared in the Latin states. Maria
Georgopoulou explores the ways in which the architecture and town-planning
of the colonies created a symbolic space meant to reflect the power relation-
ship between Latin conquerors and Greek subjects. Neither this relationship,
however, nor its reflection in the architectural milieu of Latin Greece was
static, with the Greeks being influenced but also influencing the construction
techniques and architectural styles that emerged. As a result, Georgopoulou
concludes, it is possible to observe the development of regional architectural
idioms which on occasion blend western and Byzantine influences.
The conclusion accords well with Sophia Kalopissi-Verti’s investigation of
monumental art in central Greece. Professor Kalopissi-Verti examines the
murals and other decorative features of churches in the Lordship of Athens
and Thebes. Throughout the 13th century, she argues, most church frescoes
display provincial craftsmanship, rather than “high-quality imported art” but
tend to echo the art of the Komnenian age—an obvious result of the conquest.
Nevertheless, the sheer number of 13th-century churches attests to a well-to-
do and prosperous population, benefitting from the developments in trade
and agriculture that David Jacoby has also noted. The same provincial style is
also evident in the paintings of the Catalan era, though the number of monu-
ments attributable to the 14th century plummets, indicating economic decline.
Overall, though some direct exchanges between Latin and Greek motives and
iconography are observable in the surviving monuments, the artistic produc-
tion of the lordship is mostly characterised by the emergence of local, provin-
cial traditions.