Prosopography on the Historian Georgios Sphrantzis

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Other Title
  • 歴史家ゲオルギオス・スフランヅィスに関するプロソポグラフィー
  • 歴史家ゲオルギオス・スフランヅィスに関するプロソポグラフィー : スフランヅィス家の系譜と社会的地位
  • レキシカ ゲオルギオス ・ スフランズィス ニ カンスル プロソポグラフィー : スフランズィスカ ノ ケイフ ト シャカイテキ チイ
  • スフランヅィス家の系譜と社会的地位
  • Genealogy and Social Position of the Sphrantzis Family

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The purposes of this article are reconstruction of the genealogy of the late Byzantine historian Georgios Sphrantzis (Γεώργιος Σφραντζῆς, 30. July 1401-1477/78?), who wrote the “Chronikon”, and considering the family’s social position. <br> The most of scholars had thought that the family name of the Sphrantzis was his paternal one. During the 10th-14th century, the Sphrantzai were basically the magnates of the Macedonia region, namely Thessaloniki. This family position is testified in Georgios’ historical work as his maternal family. His maternal grandfather was the founder of a monastery in Verroia (chap. XL. 13). On the Ottoman conquest of Thessaloniki (1387), this person immigrated to the Limnos island on the North Aegean Sea, leaving his eldest daughter (possibly historian’s mother) in Thessaloniki; and his other two daughters became pupils of the Osia Thomais and settled in a convent in Constantinople (chap. XVIII). <br> The Sphrantzai were mentioned in Constantinople and Lirnnos during the 15th century, but as ‘Sphrantzai-Sevastopouloi'. One Andronikos Sevastopoulos acted as an imperial official in both Thessaloniki and the North Aegean in the late 14th century. The possibility of his family connection with the Sphrantzai was proved from the usual practice of calling the eldest grandson by the paternal grandfather’s name: an apographevs Andronikos Sphrantzis Sevastopoulos was mentioned in the Limnos in 1430. Chronologically he could be a grandson of Andronikos Sevastopoulos, and son of a senator Sphrantzis Sevastopoulos. The connection between this family and the historian was testified from historian’s own narration. His fourth son was also Andronikos. He had skill of taking census, a task of the apographevs, which was held by his possible brother Andronikos and another member of the Sevastopouloi. Thus it is concluded that the historian Georgios Sphrantzis took his family name from his maternal one.

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