Between Norman Administrators and Local Advocates: Archontes in Greek Archival Sources of Calabria in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries

In both the Byzantine and Norman periods of rule, Greek notarial documents and other archival records from Southern Italy and Sicily frequently mention a group known as archontes, a collective term referring to local notables or potentates. While notoriously difficult to define with precision, this group encompassed a wide range of individuals and families, including those who held title or office (often originating in the Byzantine period) as well as those whose influence was more informal or due primarily to wealth or land ownership. Those families included among these archontes display a large degree of continuity between the early eleventh and mid-twelfth centuries, and they almost universally represent local, Greek-speaking elements rather than individuals appointed to administrative positions from elsewhere. This article argues that this group of families in Calabria played a specific role as intermediaries between the local, Greek-speaking population and the newly established Norman powers, particularly in the first century of the latter’s arrival in the region. This role is most visible in records of legal disputes, especially when land ownership was involved, when judicial decisions were made and issued jointly in the name of a Norman-appointed judge and an assembly of local archontes. I contend that this role can be more thoroughly understood through the comparative use of archival documents from Greek monasteries in the region and the legal handbook known as the Prochiron Legum or Prochiron Calabriae, which may suggest that this legal function quickly became quasi-formalized and supported by written legislation.