A Slayer of Byzantines or a Slayer of Latins? The Image of Tsar Kaloyan in the Historical Works of Nicetas Choniates and Geoffroi de Villehardouin

Authors:

Pages: 95-104
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/UWIT1477

Abstract:

The paper deals with the image of the Bulgarian ruler Kaloyan in Nicetas Choniates’ „Historia”, comparing it to the one in Geoffroi de Villehardouin’s „La Conquête de Constantinople” in several respects: the image of Kaloyan the ruler, the one of Kaloyan the warlord, and the two chroniclers’ estimates of the Bulgarian tsar. The author also raises the issue about up to what extent the image of ‘Slayer of Byzantines’ and ‘Slayer of Latins’ represented in the two sources corresponds to historical reality. The article also poses the question about how far the two chroniclers define Kaloyan as a tyrant? Generalizing all the information in the two sources the author is striving at revealing the objective image and personality of Kaloyan. The comparative analysis of the two sources show the impact of the deep and age-old Bulgarian-Byzantine conflict, while despite Kaloyan’s cruel attitude towards the Latins, Geoffroi de Villehardouin demonstrates a more impartial approach to the Bulgarian ruler’s image. In conclusion, the paper points out that both chroniclers are building an image of ‘Slayer of Byzantines’ and ‘Slayer of Latins’, but Honiat’s image has a deeper religious and historical undercurrent.

Keywords:

the Fourth Crusade, medieval Bulgaria, Latin Empire, Bulgarian-Latin wars, medieval tyranny

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