Book Description

In the 12th century, under its Norman rulers, Sicily stood as one of the most flourishing regions of the Mediterranean; by the late 15th century it had sunk into the state of semi-colonial depression and dependence that has chartacterized so much of its modern history. It is this transformation ” a process of socio-economic change that went hand in hand with political turmoil ” that forms the subject of this volume. Henri Bresc approaches this both from the viewpoint of particular topics, such as the notarial class or the tiny island of Pantelleria, and that of larger themes. One of these is the composition of Sicily's population. These articles trace the deteriorating status of the Arabs and Greeks on the island, the demographic circumstances that brought in new immigrants (notably Albanians, but also corsairs), and the emergence of a society now dominated by its Latin and Italian components. Other articles contrast the intensive suburban agriculture with the empty spaces of the large estates, and throw light on the development of a new landowning structure, based on these estates which were given over to cereals, grown for export in order to meet the financial demands of the long conflict with the Angevins. Au 12e siècle, sous le règne de rois normands, la Sicile était une des régions les plus prospères de la Méditerranée. A la fin du 15e siècle, elle avait sombré dans l'état de dépression et de dépendance semi-coloniale qui est devenu la marque d'une grande partie de son histoire moderne. Cette transformation ” un processus de changement socio-économique accompagne de bouleversements politiques ” forme le sujet de cet ouvrage. L'approche d'Henri Bresc se fait à deux niveaux: selon l'angle de sujets spécifiques, tels la classe notariale, ou encore la minuscule île de Pantelleria et à partir de thèmes plus vastes; parmi ces derniers, se trouve la composition de la population sicilienne. Ces articles retracent la détérioration du s