Unknown mosaics of Thessalian history were brought to light by the editor of the Thessalian Calendar, Mr. Kostas Spanos, in his speech on “Brief introduction to the History of Thessaly from the 11th century to the 16th” held on Thursday, September 28 at the Library.
Mr. Spanos presented the image of Thessaly from 1000 to 1500, starting with the revolution of the vlach-speaking minority in Larisa in 1066 and ending with the definitive occupation of Thessaly by the Ottomans. At the same time, he made extensive reference to the large landowners of the area, the monasteries, the Frankish rule, the descent and stay of the Albanians in Western Thessaly, the looting of the Catalans and the invasions of the Ottomans (1376 – 1423). In addition, he referred to the distribution of lowland areas to the “spahides”, i.e. horsemen of the Ottoman Army, and to the division of the land into “timaria”, “ziametia” and “hassia” i.e. divisions of agriculture land. He also referred to persons who were either born in Thessaly or settled in Thessaly and contributed to its current social and cultural identity.
Many thanks to Mr. Spanos for accepting our invitation and honoring us with his presence.
