John Chauderon (french: Jean Chauderon; died 1294) was the Baron of Estamira and Grand Constable of the

Principality of Achaea The Principality of Achaea () or Principality of Morea was one of the three vassal states of the Latin Empire, which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom o ...

, the strongest of the principalities of

Frankish Greece The ''Frankokratia'' ( el, Φραγκοκρατία, la, Francocratia, sometimes anglicized as Francocracy, "rule of the Franks"), also known as ''Latinokratia'' ( el, Λατινοκρατία, la, Latinocratia, "rule of the Latins") and ...

. He succeeded his father, Geoffrey Chauderon, Baron of Estamira and Grand Constable of Achaea, in 1278. He married Guillerme, a daughter of

Richard Orsini Richard Orsini ( it, Riccardo Orsini) was the Count Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos from before 1260 to his death in 1303/4, and also Captain-General of Corfu in 1286–90, Count of Gravina in 1284–91. He also served as the Angevin ''baill ...

. Like many Achaean nobles, he spent much time at the court of Achaea's suzerain, King

Charles I of Anjou Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the Capetian House of Anjou, second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and County of Fo ...

, acting as an important link between Achaea and Naples. He also received lands in Italy from King Charles, who entrusted him with important diplomatic missions. In 1278, as Prince

William of Villehardouin William of Villehardouin (french: Guillaume de Villehardouin; Kalamata, 1211 – 1 May 1278) was the fourth prince of Achaea in Frankish Greece, from 1246 to 1278. The younger son of Prince Geoffrey I, he held the Barony of Kalamata ...

lay dying, he designated John as his

bailli A bailiff (french: bailli, ) was the king's administrative representative during the ''ancien régime'' in northern France, where the bailiff was responsible for the application of justice and control of the administration and local finances in h ...

, until King Charles of Anjou could make his own arrangements. In 1292 or 1293, he went on a diplomatic mission to the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

court in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

along with

Geoffrey of Aulnay Geoffrey of Aulnay was Baron of Arcadia in the Principality of Achaea in the late 13th century. Geoffrey was a son of the first Baron of Arcadia, Vilain I of Aulnay. When Vilain died , his lands were divided among his two sons, Geoffrey and Erard ...

, in order to obtain the recovery of the fortress of

Kalamata Kalamáta ( el, Καλαμάτα ) is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula, after Patras, in southern Greece and the largest city of the homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia reg ...

, which had shortly before been seized by local

Slavs Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...

and handed over to the Byzantine governor of

Mystras Mystras or Mistras ( el, Μυστρᾶς/Μιστρᾶς), also known in the ''Chronicle of the Morea'' as Myzithras (Μυζηθρᾶς), is a fortified town and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Situated on Mt. Taygetus, nea ...

. The embassy succeeded in obtaining only a verbal promise, and that thanks to the intercession of the Angevin ambassador to Constantinople, but the emperor also sent orders to his local governor to refuse to hand the castle over. In the event, Kalamata was surrendered to the Achaeans due to the intervention of a local Greek magnate. After his death in 1294, he was succeeded as Grand Constable by his brother-in-law Engilbert of Liederkerque.

References

Sources

* {{La Morée franque *

Nicolas Cheetham Sir Nicolas Cheetham (8 October 1910 – 14 January 2002) was a British diplomat and writer. Career Nicolas John Alexander Cheetham (son of Sir Milne Cheetham, also a diplomat) was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford. He entere ...

, ''Mediaeval Greece''. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1981. p. 95. 1294 deaths Barons of the Principality of Achaea Year of birth unknown Ambassadors to the Byzantine Empire