John of Durnay (french: Jean de Durnay) was the Baron of Gritzena in the Principality of Achaea in the late 1280s and early 1290s. The family's original possession, the

Barony of Kalavryta The Barony of Kalavryta was a medieval Frankokratia, Frankish fiefdom of the Principality of Achaea, located in the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece, centred on the town of Kalavryta ( el, Καλάβρυτα; french: La Colo rate). History Th ...

, had been lost to the Byzantines in the 1260s or early 1270s. According to Antoine Bon, John's father, Geoffrey of Durnay, received the

Barony of Gritzena The Barony of Gritzena or Gritsena was a medieval Frankish fiefdom of the Principality of Achaea, located in eastern Messenia, in the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece, centred on the settlement of Gritzena ( el, Γρίτζενα/Γρίτσενα; ...

in compensation. John succeeded his father as lord of Gritzena (and titular baron of Kalavryta) some time after 1283. In 1289/90, he appears, along with

John Chauderon John Chauderon (french: Jean Chauderon; died 1294) was the Baron of Estamira and Grand Constable of the Principality of Achaea, the strongest of the principalities of Frankish Greece. He succeeded his father, Geoffrey Chauderon, Baron of Estami ...

, as one of the principal aides of the new

Prince of Achaea The Prince of Achaea was the ruler of the Principality of Achaea, one of the crusader states founded in Greece in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204). Though more or less autonomous, the principality was never a fully independent s ...

Florent of Hainaut Florent of Hainaut (also ''Floris'' or ''Florence''; Hainaut, also spelled "Hainault") (c. 1255 – 23 January 1297) was Prince of Achaea from 1289 to his death, in right of his wife, Isabella of Villehardouin. He was the son of John I of Avesnes ...

, in his efforts to re-establish proper administration and internal peace in the principality. In 1292, following a series of destructive raids in the Greek and Latin-held islands of the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...

, the

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

ese admiral

Roger of Lauria Roger of Lauria (''c''. 1245 – 17 January 1305) was a Neapolitan admiral in Aragonese service, who was the commander of the fleet of the Crown of Aragon during the War of the Sicilian Vespers. He was probably the most successful and talent ...

led his fleet to anchor at Navarino. With Prince Florent absent in Italy, the local castellan,

George I Ghisi George I Ghisi ( it, Giorgio Ghisi) (died 15 March 1311) was a Latin feudal lord in medieval Greece. A son of Bartholomew I Ghisi, through his first marriage to a daughter of Guy II of Dramelay he was Baron of Chalandritsa in the Principality of ...

, assembled two hundred knights, at Androusa to oppose any Aragonese attempt at plunder or the capture of lands in Achaea. A brief but bloody combat ensued, in which Roger and John, "the finest and bravest gentleman in all the Morea", according to the '' Chronicle of the Morea'', charged each other with such force that their lances splintered and both were unhorsed. In the end, the Achaeans were defeated and George Ghisi and John of Durnay taken prisoner, John being saved from death by the Aragonese foot soldiers only through the intervention by Roger of Lauria himself. They were released shortly after when the Aragonese fleet sailed to

Glarentsa Glarentza ( el, Γλαρέντζα), also known as or Clarenia, Clarence, or Chiarenza, was a medieval town located near the site of modern Kyllini in Elis, at the westernmost point of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece. Founded in t ...

and Princess

Isabella of Villehardouin Isabella of Villehardouin (1260/1263 – 23 January 1312) was reigning Princess of Achaea from 1289 to 1307. She was the elder daughter of Prince William II of Achaea William of Villehardouin (french: Guillaume de Villehardouin; Kalamata, 1211 ...

paid the Aragonese 4,000 ''

hyperpyra The ''hyperpyron'' ( ''nómisma hypérpyron'') was a Byzantine coin in use during the late Middle Ages, replacing the ''solidus'' as the Byzantine Empire's gold coinage. History The traditional gold currency of the Byzantine Empire had been the '' ...

'' as ransom.Miller (1908), pp. 185–186 The line of the Durnays and the barony of Gritzena disappear thereafter from record.Bon (1969), pp. 182, 468 John's wife, whose name is unknown, was the daughter of

Richard I 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 ...

Count of Cephalonia The County Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos existed from 1185 to 1479 as part of the Kingdom of Sicily. The title and the right to rule the Ionian islands of Cephalonia and Zakynthos was originally given to Margaritus of Brindisi for his serv ...

. It is unknown if they had any offspring.

References

Sources

* * {{s-end 13th-century births Barons of the Principality of Achaea