A view from the capital: The Catalan Revolt (1305–1309) through the eyes of the late byzantine court poet

Introduction. This article analyzes one of the most undervalued sources for the history of the Catalan presence in Byzantium in the early 14th century: the poems of the court poet Manuel Philes. Although Philes’ poems have been repeatedly used to study various political themes related to the reign of Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos (1282–1328), this work represents, as far as we know, the first dedicated study of this issue. Our objective is to determine the significance of the poet’s literary heritage as a source for the history of the revolt of the Catalan Company (1305–1309). Methods and materials. The subject of this study is 10 poems written by the poet and dedicated to events that are relevant to the internal conflict under consideration. Although they are clearly not full of specific historical information, they provide data that can be used for dating and clarifying or confirming information provided by other sources. The principles of the hermeneutic method allow us to give a holistic interpretation of these poems that form our understanding of the subject under study. Analysis and results. Philes’ works are particularly significant in the study of the final period of the Catalan revolt (1307–1309) due to the general lack of source material that covers it. The poet belonged to the emperor’s inner circle and, therefore, could have had firsthand information. Moreover, he presumably expressed the general opinion and sentiment within the Byzantine elite regarding the Catalan presence in the empire, a sentiment confirmed by the surviving works of other intellectuals. Philes’ poems, coupled with evidence contained in parallel sources, allow us to form a more comprehensive picture of the state of Byzantium in times of internal political crisis caused by the Catalan revolt.