Palace of the Despots
| Department | Archive |
|---|---|
| Collection | Byzantine Research Fund |
| Reference No. | BRF/02/01/14/032 |
| Level | Item |
| Place |
Palace of the Despots Mystras |
| Dates | 1888-1890 |
| Scope and Content | View of the palace. The photograph is signed 'W. Leaf' in pencil at the back. Leaf was possible the donor of the photo but not the creator. Further annotation in pencil survives. |
| Further information | Mistras, one of the most important Medieval cities of Morea, lies four miles north-west of present-day Sparta on the summit of a Taygetos hill. The first building to be erected by William II Villehardouin, the Frankish Prince of Achaea in the location was the castle (1249). Soon, a settlement was established outside the citadel- most of the churches and chapels stand outside it too. After the recapture of Morea by the Byzantines in 1262 Mistras became the headquarters of the Byzantine general and, later, the seat of the Lakedaimonian bishopic. During the 14th c. it was the capital of the Despotate of Mistras and flourished under the Kantakouzenoi and the Palaiologoi reign until its fall to the Turks in 1460. The large complex in the plateia (square) of the upper city is known as the Palace of the Despots. It consists of three massive buildings in two wings that occupy the north-east and the north-west sides of the plateia (square) with substantial open space in between for public gatherings. The east wing was built by the Franks during their brief tenure of the castle (1249-1262). It houses the kitchen, which must have been erected shortly after, the residence of the Despots, a two-storey structure and a chapel on the upper floor. The west wing houses the great hall which must have functioned as the throne room. It is a single huge chamber approximately 40m long supported by a lower storey of barrel-vaulted rooms. Eight large windows lit the place which is heated by eight fireplaces. A projecting niche in the middle of the west wall must have been the throne-niche. The exterior walls are built of rubble masonry. The interior and exterior walls of the west wing were plastered and decorated with light-coloured plaster horizontal bands that imitate brick. |
| Related records |
[BSA SPHS 01/0338.1593], Mystras: Palace Ruins seen from Pantanassa Church, Latest 1897
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