But how did these Frankish knights end up in the Peloponnese?

To explain the abundance of Frankish castles, one has to go back to the inglorious fourth crusade. Set to recapture Jerusalem from the Muslims, Venetian greed and opportunism on the side of the Frankish crusaders, together with internal strife in the weakened Byzantine empire, resulted in the capture and looting of the capital city of Constantinople, the symbol of Christianity. The Morea (as the Peloponnese was known) was divided between Venetians, who were mainly interested in the harbour places such as Methoni and Koroni, and the Franks who took control of the inland areas. Throughout the next centuries the Byzantines gradually regained parts of the Peloponnese. However, the results of the fourth crusade resulted in a serious weakening of the Empire and hastened its demise to its final end in  the capture of Constantinople by Mehmet II the conqueror in 1453, although Mystras remained as a partly independent city until 1461.

However, back in 1204, The Frankish crusaders still had to consolidate their power over their presumed possessions. The later prince of Achaea, Geoffrey de Villehardouin, a knight from Northern France, was actually on pilgrimage in the Holy Land at the time of  the 1204 events, but hearing the rumours and seeking opportunities, sailed to Greece. After obtaining permission from Baldwin, the new Frankish emperor and from his own superior, Geoffrey the Champlitte, Geoffrey set out to conquer the Peloponnese. Almost unbelievably, this band of several hundred soldiers  succeeded in overcoming the resistance of the local population quickly despite occasional examples of heroism such as from the Greek giant Doxipatras and his daughter Maria, who leapt over the walls of their stronghold in order to avoid capture by the Frankish knights. Nevertheless, Geoffrey seems to have been well liked by both Franks and Greeks, as he seems to have governed the Morea in a righteous way, and maintained  a court of some cultural significance in the valley of Sparta (“la Cremonie”), which later became part of Mystras.

The story of Grande Magne started later (likely around 1249), when his second successor and son, William II de Villehardouin, set out  to control the Melingoi, a rebellious Slavonic dwelling in the Taygetos. After his conquest of Monemvasia, according to the nearly contemporary Chronicle of Morea, William set out on horseback from Passava (near Gythio) to find a good place for this castle, accompanied by his knights. According to the chronicle, he found a place he liked, which was located at an “awesome crag” on a promontory. According to the chronicle, the Melingoi were indeed subjected and somewhat surprisingly appear to have advised William to build another castle at Lefktro (Stoupa). However, whereas Lefktro castle is ruined but still well recognizable, the likely far more important castle of Grande Magne seems to have disappeared. Partly, this may have to do with the fact that the castle was only shortly in the possession of William II, due to the fact that it had to be submitted to the Byzantines following his disastrous defeat in the battle of Pelagonia (1259) in the North of Greece.

The map below shows the network of Frankish castles and possible locations of Grande Magne

According to the 3 authors who have written most extensively on this subject (Wagstaff, Heslop, Chapman), there are 5 possible candidates for the location: Porto Kagio, Kelefa and Tigani, Ano Poula and Kastro tis Orias at Cavo Grosso.

Maggie, my wife and I have visited the Peloponnese and especially Mani and Messinia, for more than 20 years and I have been intrigued by the story and decided to visit the different locations. However, exploring abandoned Greek castles is not for the faint hearted and can be challenging, especially during summer time. Although not a candidate for Grande Magne, the castle of Passava is actually the most inaccessible castle that I visited (at least in 2018), although it is indicated from the main road. Despite the commanding view from its walls and the romantic views from its interior I would not recommend an attempt as there is no path to be found, only a struggle through thorny bushes.

Porto Kagio

Going back to the possible locations of Grande Magne, the aptly named castle of Maina is located above Porto Kagio, not far from cape Matapan, The castle is relatively small, and the location is nice, but not overly impressive. The castle was apparently built by the Ottomans in 1568 and appears primarily intended to control the harbour of Porto Kagio but the location does not appear suitable to control a tribe dwelling in the Taygetos as the location is far too south. Moreover, although located above Porto Kagio, one cannot really speak of an ”awesome crag”.

Kelefa castle

Kelefa is located near Oitylo and rises high above the bay. The current castle is likely built by the Ottomans in the 17^th century but it is not clear whether structures were available at that time. The location appears to make perfect strategic sense as it guards the Southern passage, just below the Taygetos, from Passava to West Mani, just as Kalamata guards the Northern passage through the Langada pass. The castle has a commanding view over the surroundings. From the the Kalamata-Areopoli road winding to Oitylo bay, the castle can indeed appear to be located at an “awesome crag” although there are no steep cliffs at the location itself. However, apart from clear signs of Frankish origin, Kelefa appears a good candidate for Grande Magne due to its location. Both Wagstaff and Heslop believe that Kefela is the best candidate for Grande Magne, but admit there is no archeological proof showing a Frankish origin.

Image of Kelefa castle

Tigani

Moving on to the Cavo Grosso (“great cape”) it is a bulge from the Mani peninsula with a distinctive, somewhat eerie atmosphere with many defensive towers, rising to more than 250 meters above sea level. There are 3 possible locations for Grande Magne at Cavo Grosso: Tigani, Ana Poula and Kastro tis Orias. Tigani is located at the Northern part of Cavo Gross at the so-called frying pan. After an unprotected, but not too difficult walk, a castle becomes visible next to other buildings, such as the ruins of a Byzantine basilica. Whereas this was certainly a significant defensive structure, its location does not seem ideal to control the Taygetos tribes. Although the views on the road to the castle are spectacular, its relatively low location does not provide a commanding view  inland. Still, it is located near an “awesome crag” (the Cava Grosso) and whereas the location of Tigani seems remote, it is located close to Mezapos, which appears to have been a significant harbour at least in the early 17^th century, according to the Hondius map (Messa, urbs at portus h Maina), and was, according to the 19^th century British traveler William Leake, the best port in Western Mani. On ancients maps, indications to “Mania” are approximately located at this point (see also the Weigel map), although the geographical accuracy of the older maps may vary. The scientists of the French expedition to the Morea (1828-1833) appeared rather certain that this was the location of the Villehardouin castle (see also the Pelet map). Still, according to Martin Heslop, excavations suggest a 12^th century (rather than a 13^th century) origin of the fortifications.

Tigani as “Maina” at the 1833 map of Pelet.

Ano Poula and Kastro tis Orias

The two last locations, Ano Poula and Kastro tis Orias, are located on the Makryna ridge at the west of Cavo Grosso, at a plateau rising high above the sea with commanding views of the inland. Although both can be reached by a path south of the village of Kipoula, the location feels incredibly remote and even somewhat surreal. The Makryna ridge is completely unprotected from the sun. Ano Poula, which has no paths in its interior, is a large abandoned settlement of approximately 1 km² including various ruined churches, surrounded by defensive walls that have a quite rude structure without apparent signs of Frankish origin. Despite being located at an awesome crag, it does not appear to be the location of a single castle but literature suggests it was a fortified settlement dating from Byzantine times.

“Cap de Matapan” by Coronelli (1686)