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Slavs but not Slaves: Slavic Migrations to Southern Italy in the Early and High Middle Ages

The presence of Slavs on western Adriatic coast of South Italy can be ascertained soon after the settlement on the eastern shore, although the sources speak only of isolated war campaigns. Nevertheless, toponymic and onomastic traces indicate the presence of Slavs in a wider area of Southern Italy, suggestive of migrations that were taking place during the period of early and high Middle Ages. For the beginning of the eleventh century, we can even speak of organized colonization (most likely of the Narentan Slavs) at Gargano, which resulted in at least two castella – Devia and Peschici – with a predominantly Slavic population, governed by a iupanus. Their self-government ended with the arrival of the Normans in 1054, which probably contributed to the already ongoing assimilation. As for the other Slavs mentioned in the sources, such as those who fought for Robert Guiscard in northern Calabria, it is possible that not all of them originated from the eastern Adriatic coast. They may have been brought there by the Byzantine authorities in order to consolidate their rule against the Muslims or the Langobards. Of all the Slavs mentioned in South Italian sources of the period, it is only the Garganic community that presents some evidence of self-governance, as well as leaving traces of their presence in the local dialect that have survived into the twentieth century. This could mean that the eleventh-century settlement of Slavs at Gargano was more significant than the mere handful of documents mentioning them may suggest. The presence of a iupanus shows that the Gargano settlement was an organized and compact community, which is another indication to support the hypothesis that they came or were brought there as a group rather than individual settlers. In view of the evidence set out here, I suggest that the Gargano Slavs did indeed arrive in Gargano as a group, and that their place of origin was the island of Lastovo, only about a hundred kilometres away from the Gargano coast. These settlers were probably brought to Gargano or persuaded to move by the Venetian doge Peter II Orseolo on his campaign of 1000, in order to ensure that they did not continue with their piracy.

Slavs, Southern Italy, migrations, Early and High Middle Ages, Normans, Robert Guiscard

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