The Sgouros (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Σγουρός), also known as Sgouropoulos (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Σγουρόπουλος), Sgouromallaios (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Σγουρομαλλαίος), Sgouranos (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Σγουρανός), Sgouris (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Σγουρής), Sgourismenos (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Σγουρισμένος), Sgouritzis (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Σγουρίτζης), and Sgourogiannis (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Σγουρογιάννης), was a Byzantine Greek noble family – composed of multiple branches – that originated from Nafplio.
The name of the family derives from the Greek adjective (Greek, Modern (1453-);: σγουρός), which is indicative of wavy hair. According to linguist and philologist Georgios Babiniotis, the adjective derives either from Ancient Greek (γυρός) 'curved, round' with the introduction of the prefix σ-, or from the noun (σβούρος), which might have been detached from (σβουρό-μαλλος).
The Sgouros family was a rich and powerful family, which first appeared in the middle of the 11th c. in Nafplio. From the very beginning right until the 15th c., it was part of the Byzantine provincial middle class. Members of the family appear to hold both political and ecclesiastical positions, and they were also distinguished as scholars, scribes, orators, etc. The Byzantinist Alexander Kazhdan, who was a notable scholar of mid-Byzantine and late Byzantine society, identified twelve representatives of the family during the reign of Alexios I Komnenos (1081-1118). With the appearance of the most prominent Sgouroi at the end of the 12th and beginning of the 13th centuries (Theodoros and Leon), the family arranged marriages with the noble family of Angeloi.
Although many Sgouroi were distinguished in public administrative positions from the time of Alexios I Komnenos, they never seem to have been members of the aristocratic court in Constantinople. Some of the most important positions held by the recorded members – mainly from 1086/1088 AD and thereafter – were those of the protospatharios, sebastos, chartoularios, proedros, domestikos, protostrator, logothetis, megas hetaireiarches, protonotarios, prokathimenos, protallagator, and sebastohypertatos (by Leon Sgouros).
There have been about 90 recorded members of the family and its branches between the 11th and 15th centuries. Of those, only four were women. Furthermore, 37 belonged to the branch of (one related through marriage to the Doukas family), 16 to (one related through marriage to the Doukas family), 14 to , four to (two related through marriage to the Palaiologoi family), two , and one , , and respectively. The following table lists them chronologically.
Names | Dates | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|
11th c. | protospatharios | ||
1086 | proedros and accountant | ||
1088 | chartoularios tou sekretou | ||
1192, 1197 | grammarian | ||
notable grammarian and notary | |||
1193 | scribe | ||
1180/1189 – | father of Leon Sgouros and archon of Nafplio | ||
despot of Argolid and Corinthia, sebastohypertatos | |||
wife of Leon Sgouros | |||
brother of Leon Sgouros and garrison commander of Nafplio | |||
before 1264 | reader or lector, husband of (landholder of Cephalonia) | ||
1279 | from Constantinople | ||
Loscuro (Lo Sguro) | 1277 | prison guard in Licolourafo (maybe Salamis) | |
follower of bishop from New Heraclea (western Minor Asia) | |||
clergyman of the diocese of Varavlonia (Avlona) | |||
1283 | priest in Smyrna | ||
employee (?) of Gregory II of Constantinople | |||
treasurer of Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople | |||
domestikos of eastern themata, landowner of Lembiotissa Monastery (near Smyrna), slave of Andronikos II Palaiologos, pansebastos sebastos | |||
(Sguro-mally) | protostrator, protallagator of Morea | ||
1297 – | imperial envoy (correspondence with Maximus Planudes) | ||
1298 and after | landowner (?) | ||
13th c. | hymnographer (?) | ||
beginning of 14th c. | wheat trader in Constantinople | ||
paroikos in Vrasta, Chalkidiki | |||
paroikos in Selas, Chalkidiki | |||
1304 | paroikos in Lemnos | ||
correspondence with Michael Gabras | |||
deacon and lector in Mamouderta, Bithynia | |||
1314 | priest in the suburb of Mina, Constantinople | ||
1314 | cleric in Thessalonica | ||
1315 | dignitary (correspondence with Michael Gabras) | ||
sebastos in Laconia | |||
paroikos in Rodolivos, Serres | |||
before 1318 | landowner in Psalida, Chalkidiki | ||
before 1319 | founder of St George's Monastery in Artaki (Cyzicus) | ||
1319 | paroikos in Malouka, Strymon | ||
1320 | paroikos in Melitziani, Strymon | ||
before 1321 | resident in Pteleon, Chalkidiki | ||
1320/1321 | witness of sale deed by Archistratigos' Monastery of Zichni | ||
1321 | paroikos in Lorotos, Chalkidiki | ||
1321 | sebastos, primate of Ioannina (in chrysobull by Andronikos II Palaiologos) | ||
1322 | from Thessalonica (?) | ||
clerk of Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople | |||
1327 | archon of Thessalonica | ||
1330 | brother-in-law of Ioannis Laskaris and Georgios Padiatis (?) | ||
1331/1332 | donor of the Theotokos' Monastery in Kakodiki, Chania | ||
1331/1332 | donoress of the Theotokos' Monastery in Kakodiki, Chania | ||
1331/1332 | donor of the Theotokos' Monastery in Kakodiki, Chania | ||
1334 | landowner in Katroula, Constantinople | ||
before 1338 | sebastos (?) | ||
1341/1342 | servant of John VI Kantakouzenos | ||
broker in Constantinople, landowner of Great Lavra's Monastery, Mount Athos | |||
first half of 14th c. | correspondent (correspondence with Georgios Oinaiotis) | ||
merchant in Constantinople, originating from Piges, Mysia | |||
1357 | priest in Constantinople | ||
1357 | priest in Constantinople | ||
1357 | priest and taboularios in Constantinople | ||
1357 | priest in Constantinople | ||
Damiano Sgurothoma | cowherd in Nafplio | ||
1361–1364 | judge (?) | ||
and prior | scribe (?) | ||
1362, 1377 and prior | judge of military camp in Rafalion, Chalkidiki | ||
1364 | donor of Kolyva, Constantinople; could be the same individual as | ||
1373–1376 | cleric and editor of documents in Thessalonica | ||
interpreter in Constantinople (correspondence with Demetrios Kydones) | |||
soldier (travelled from Thessalonica to Constantinople) | |||
1387 | priest and lawyer in Chrysoupoli, Strymon | ||
deacon of Hagia Sophia, Constantinople | |||
cleric and owner of house in Constantinople | |||
second half of 14th c. | scribe (?) | ||
second half of 14th c. – beginning of 15th c. | protonotarios at the court of Komnenoi in Trebizond, lyricist | ||
1400 | landowner in Constantinople | ||
1400 | employee of Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople | ||
1409 | paroikos in Pinsona, Chalkidiki | ||
1415 | worker in the salt pans of Thessalonica | ||
1415 | worker in the salt pans of Thessalonica | ||
1419 | cleric, chartoularios of Hagios Demetrios' Monastery in Thessalonica | ||
1422 | landowner in Meteora | ||
1426 | native of Sparta, Peloponnese | ||
1430 | domestikos and composer | ||
, or later | scribe of Bessarion | ||
1446 | from Chios (?) | ||
first half of 15th c. | archon of the churches, deacon, composer, domestikos of Hagia Sophia, Constantinople | ||
Petrus Sguro | military captain in Heraklion, Crete | ||
archon of Karytaina | |||
15th c. | orator and writer (against Latins) | ||
middle of 15th c. (?) | reader or lector (?) |