The Barony of Passavant or Passava was a medieval Frankish fiefdom 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 ...

, located in the mountains between the

Mani peninsula The Mani Peninsula ( el, Μάνη, Mánē), also long known by its medieval name Maina or Maïna (Μαΐνη), is a geographical and cultural region in Southern Greece that is home to the Maniots (Mανιάτες, ''Maniátes'' in Greek), who cl ...

and the plain of

Laconia Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word '' laconic''—to speak in a blunt, c ...

, in the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge which ...

peninsula in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

, centred on the fortress of Passavant or Passava ( el, Πασσαβάς). It was among the twelve original baronies of the

, but was conquered by 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 ...

s in the early 1260s.

History

The Barony of Passavant was the last of the original twelve secular baronies of the

to be established. While most of the others were formed c. 1209, after the conquest of the peninsula by the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

, Passavant was created shortly after 1218/20 for the French knight John de Nully. He established the fortress of Passavant or Passava—the name probably derives from the war-cry or family motto "''passe avant''", but is also found as a toponym in northeastern France—on the mountains between the

and the plain of

. John of Nully is generally supposed to have been the son of Vilain of Nully, a native of Nully and close friend of the historian Geoffrey of Villehardouin. John did not take the cross until 1218, and arrived in the Peloponnese probably not until 1220.Bon (1969), p. 113 His barony probably comprised newly conquered land—it was not until c. 1248, with the fall of the last Byzantine fortress,

Monemvasia Monemvasia ( el, Μονεμβασιά, Μονεμβασία, or ) is a town and municipality in Laconia, Greece. The town is located on a small island off the east coast of the Peloponnese, surrounded by the Myrtoan Sea. The island is connected t ...

, that Laconia was fully pacified—with four knight's fiefs. It was militarily important, since it kept watch over the unruly

Maniots The Maniots or Maniates ( el, Μανιάτες) are the inhabitants of Mani Peninsula, located in western Laconia and eastern Messenia, in the southern Peloponnese, Greece. They were also formerly known as Mainotes and the peninsula as ''Maina''. ...

and the Slavic inhabitants of Mount Taygetos, and Nully was named hereditary

marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

of Achaea. Virtually nothing is mentioned about the barony or its fiefs in the sources. To fill the period between its foundation and the 1260s, the historian Karl Hopf hypothesized that there were two barons of Passavant, both named John, but this conjecture was rejected by Antoine Bon. John of Nully married a sister of

Walter of Rosières Walter of Rosières (french: Gauthier de Rosières) was a French knight who participated in the Fourth Crusade and became the first lord of the Barony of Akova in the Frankish Principality of Achaea. The ''Chronicle of Morea The ''Chronicle of t ...

, the

Baron of Akova The Barony of Akova was a medieval Frankish fiefdom of the Principality of Achaea, located in the mountains of eastern Elis in the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece, centred on the fortress of Akova or Mattegrifon (situated near Vyziki in the Tro ...

, and had a single daughter:

Margaret of Passavant Margaret of Nully (french: Marguerite de Nully) also known as Margaret of Passavant, was the hereditary Lady of Passavant, Akova and Mitopoli in the Principality of Achaea, in Frankish Greece. Life Margaret, born some time before 1240, was a d ...

, the common heiress to both Passavant and Akova. However, Margaret never entered her inheritance, since she resided 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 (" ...

as a hostage in the Byzantine court from 1262 until c. 1275. In the meantime, Passavant had fallen to the Byzantines during their first offensives in the Peloponnese, c. 1263, and the Barony of Akova was confiscated by the Prince because Margaret delayed too long in claiming her inheritance. In the end, after a legal struggle, she received back a third of the barony of Akova.Bon (1969), pp. 105, 113, 135, 508–509

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Passavant, Barony of States and territories established in 1220 States and territories disestablished in the 1260s Medieval Laconia Baronies of the Principality of Achaea