Venice finally takes over the castles

1394 Proven

The handover after the sale of 1388 was anything but smooth. The Despot of Mystras seized the castles of the Argolid first, and only in 1394 did Venice actually gain control of the area, the castle on Pontinos included.

Where

Pontinos hill and castle, Argos, Nafplio

Threads

Running the village

Certainty

Proven confirmed by primary sources

Sources

• A. Bon, La Morée franque, Paris 1969
• W. E. McLeod, «Kiveri and Thermisi», Hesperia 31 (1962), pp. 378–392
• visitmyloi.gr, «Pontinos, a hill full of stories» (castle page)

Also in this period

1. 1388

   Argos and Nauplia are sold to Venice

   Marie d'Enghien, heiress of the Brienne family's lands in the Argolid, sold her lordship of Argos and Nauplia, including the castle of Kiveri, to the Republic of Venice.

   ProvenRunning the village

2. 1479

   The castle on Pontinos falls out of use

   After the Venetian–Ottoman war of 1463–1479 the castle was allowed to stay in Venetian hands on condition that it was not rebuilt. From then on it gradually disappears from the record; roofs collapsed and the walls began…

   ProbableRunning the villageAncient Lerna