Le rôle des Hongrois dans la Chronique de Morée •

Abstract

The study examines the role and perception of Hungarians in the Chronicle of Morea (Τὸ Χρονικὸν τοῦ Μορέως). It presents the passages in which the Chronicle mentions the Hungarian people or the Kingdom of Hungary, and compares them with passages in other contemporary literary and historical works in Old French and Byzantine Greek that also mention Hungarians. It seeks to answer the question why the Chronicle, which tells the history of the hostile crusader states, speaks of the Hungarians, who were generally close to Byzantium and helped the successor states of the Byzantine Empire, in a more laudatory tone and in more praiseworthy terms than other contemporary sources closer to the Hungarians. The study also examines the role of the descendants of Béla III, the Saint-Omer brothers, and the literary role of Sir Nicolas II de Saint-Omer. Finally, it analyses the Chronicle's excerpt of the succession dispute of Akova, which is closely linked to the descendants of Béla III.