The Latin Church and the waning of Greek Sicily: the case of Patti (c. 1085–1266)

During Antiquity, Sicily was a part of Magna Graecia and was still a hub of Greek civilisation under the Byzantine Empire. After being taken over by the Arabs (9th c.) and then by the Normans (11th c.), Greek culture continued to thrive. However, by 1200, Sicily had undergone a near-complete Latinisation.

What caused this cultural shift to occur?

Despite the significant impact of the Norman Conquest and immigration from the Continent, the waning of Greek society was primarily caused by the establishment of the Latin Church. While most narrative sources overlook this major transition, the best evidence can be found in documentary sources.

Although Latin charters, which primarily focus on the royal government, have been studied, it is important to also explore Greek charters, the richest source of the day-to-day processes that transformed Sicilian society. The diocesan archive of Patti (prov. of Messina) provides valuable insights into this historical transformation.

In the late 11th and 12th centuries, Patti lay on the cultural frontier between the predominantly Greek northeast of Sicily and the heavily Arabised west and centre. Despite Islamic rule, a few Greek monasteries managed to survive.

When the Normans took over, the Greek Church experienced a resurgence and Greek was the mostly used administrative language.

However, when Sicily passed to Henry VI in 1194 and Latin became the sole language of administration, Greek culture was already in decline. WaninGreek studies the Latin Church’s role in the transition of Greek communities.

I plan to produce a reference edition of the Greek charters of Patti and to use the Latin archives to produce a historical monograph.

My goal is to make these sources accessible to future scholars and to provide an enlarged and detailed account of the process.

Starting from a local level, I will demonstrate how cultural changes occurred during the Middle Ages and how this approach can enrich the history of the entire Mediterranean area.