B5. HERALDIC DATABASE OF GREECE - Pandektis
(Leonidas Kallivretakis)
While the first signs of the heraldic phenomenon are found in Western and Central Europe during the second quarter of the 12th century, in the region of Greece it makes it's appearance rather late and on a lesser scale. In Greece the first heraldic remains, as detected through historical research, date from the 14th century, reach their peak in the next two centuries (15th and 16th) and continue up to the end of the 19th century, at a lower, but still significant level.
The Department of Neohellenic Research, recognizing the importance of study of this phenomenon in Greek history, as well as the need to go beyond dilettantish approaches, has included in its research activities the systematic locating, inventorying, photographing and classifying of items, with the aim of creating a database of heraldic monuments of Greece. Our research has located more than 1,200 coats-of-arms and heraldic emblems so far. There are three main contributors to this total:
. the Latin-occupied Kyklades islands,
. the Dodecanese islands under the Knights Hospitallers and
. the Venetian-ruled areas (mainly Crete, the Ionian islands and the Peloponnese)
Lesser contributions derive from the Genovese presence (mainly in the NE Aegean Sea), the Catholic Church (which cuts across all the above) and, finally, the small group of Fanariotes.
At this stage, the database includes 323 records, 114 of which date from the 13th-15th centuries, 118 from the 16th-17th centuries, 83 from the 18th-19th centuries, and 8 from the 20th century. Geographically, the bulk of the records comes from the Aegean islands (184 records), but also represented are Crete (75 records), the Ionian Islands (27 records), Sterea Hellas (27 records) and the Peloponnese (10 records).
For each database record, the location of the monument, its identity, its date, a brief historical note, bibliographic references and a recent image are provided in separate fields.
Leonidas Kallivretakis has the scientific oversight of the project. In addition to him, Nikos Benos-Palmer, Evi Olympitou and, primarily, Kostis Kallivretakis did the field photography.
The database will be updated on a six-monthly basis, in accordance with the continuation of field research and photographing all over Greece.
