La lingua nello stato di Arbanon

Abstract

The article focuses on the question of the languages used in the formation of the medieval state of Central Albania known as the Principality of Arbanon (1190-1255). According to the meager documentation of the Principality, reproduced in this article, Latin and Medieval Greek, the two international languages of the time, appear as the two official languages whose respective cultural and religious backgrounds meet precisely in the region of Arbanon in the Western Balkans. First evidence of the local vernacular Albanian language spoken in the Principality of Arbanon comes from some notes from 1285 onwards. The use of the local language can be deduced from the correspondence of the sovereign of Arbanon, Demetrius, with Pope Innocent III, in respect of the teaching of the catechism to the leaders and the people by the papal legate, who, requested by the sovereign of the Principality, was supposed to assist in the conversion to Catholicism.