Despot (court title)
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Despot (Greek: δεσπότης, despotēs, feminine δέσποινα, despoina, Bulgarian and Serbian деспот, despot, feminine деспотица, despotitsa, sometimes Anglicized despot), is a Byzantine court title, also granted in the Latin Empire, Bulgaria, Serbia, and the Empire of Trebizond.
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[edit] Origin and Distribution
The original Greek term despotēs designated simply "lord" and was synonymous with kyrios. As the Greek equivalent to the Latin dominus, despotēs became a way of reference to the Roman Emperor, occasionally used in formal settings, for example on coins.
The title despotēs was granted as the highest courtly dignity to members of the imperial house, starting with the future King Béla III of Hungary, as intended son-in-law and heir of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos in 1163. According to Gyula Moravcsik this title was a simple translation of Béla's Hungarian title 'úr', but other historians believe it comes from the old Roman title 'dominus'. The majority of despotēs were younger sons or sons-in-law of the Byzantine Emperors, who tended to crown their eldest sons co-emperor (symbasileus). The title despotēs was a strictly courtly dignity without specific military or administrative functions or powers, in spite of enjoying the highest position of honor below an emperor.
The title of despotēs spread to the Byzantine successor states after the Fourth Crusade and was awarded by any sovereign who held the imperial title, including the emperors of the Latin Empire, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Trebizond. The title despotēs could also be awarded by an emperor to a foreign magnate for kinship or services. In the Empire of Trebizond the title was granted to the intended heir to the throne, in marked contrast to practice elsewhere.
Only the last two hundred years or so has the concept of despot had a purely negative connotation.
[edit] Insignia
The Byzantine despotēs dressed in a fashion reminiscent of the attire of the Byzantine Emperor, including:
- a mural crown (with four crenelations for imperial sons, or one for imperial sons-in-law)
- a red or purple tunic, usually decorated with imperial eagles
- a pair of red and purple soft boots
The insignia was modified in Bulgaria and Serbia according to local preferences.
[edit] "Despotates"
In the period after the Fourth Crusade, certain despotēs came to be associated with particular territories, such as Epirus, Morea (the Peloponnese), and Serbia. It is important to stress, however, that the derivative term "Despotate" employed for these territories is technically inaccurate, as the title of despotēs was neither hereditary, nor intrinsic to a particular territorial jurisdiction. Accordingly, proper usage would be "despotēs in Morea", rather than "despotēs of Morea". The virtually uninterrupted succession of despotēs in Morea, for example, is due to the fact that emperors consistently appointed their younger sons, already created despotēs, as governors of that province. Rulers of Epirus and Serbia called despotēs technically bore that title not by hereditary right, but by grant from successive emperors.
With the death of the last Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI on May 29, 1453, the creation of a despotēs became irregular. The title was granted by Pope Paul II to Andrew Palaiologos, heir to the Byzantine throne in 1465, and by the king of Hungary to heirs of Serbian Despotate.
[edit] References
- Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Oxford University Press, 1991.
- B. Ferjančić, Despoti u Vizantiji i južnoslovenskim zemljama, Belgrade 1960.
- I.A. Biljarski, Instituciite na srednovekovna Bălgarija. Vtoro bălgarsko carstvo (XII-XIV v.), Sofia, 1998.
