The Village of Psimolophou in Cyprus and the Latin Patriarchs of Jerusalem

Christopher David Schabel

doi:10.35765/pk.2021.3504.04

Christopher David Schabel University of Cyprus https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5508-6516

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35765/pk.2021.3504.04

Keywords: Psimolophou, Cyprus, Latin patriarchs of Jerusalem, tithes, papacy, water rights

Abstract

Psimolophou is perhaps the best known village in medieval Cyprus, thanks to a document published by Jean Richard in 1947 that provides extensive and detailed information about the finances and organization of the fief, the people, and their obligations in the early fourteenth century. Less attention has been paid to the unusually well-documented vicissitudes of the fief, an important Templar property that after the dissolution came into the hands of the exiled Latin patriarchs of Jerusalem. The story presented below involves a long struggle over tithes, the diversion of the river going through the fief, and the gradual decline of patriarchal control over Psimolophou. It is told largely using sources discovered by Professor Richard himself in the 65 years following his 1947 publication, and two key documents are printed in an appendix.

Author Biography

Christopher David Schabel, University of Cyprus

PhD in History, University of Iowa, 1994, works primarily on later-medieval intellectual history and the Latin East. He is Professor of Medieval History in the Department of History and Archaeology of the University of Cyprus.

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