Historiography of Skanderbeg

Frontispiece of Historia de vita et gestis Scanderbegi, Epirotarum principisby Marin Barleti

The Historiography of Skanderbeg involves the study and writing of the history of Gjergj Kastrioti, known as Skanderbeg. This includes the analysis of historical sources, interpretation of events, and consideration of cultural and political factors in shaping the narrative of his life and deeds. Skanderbeg's historiography has sparked debates and evolved over centuries, reflected in various interpretations and historiographical approaches throughout different periods.

Skanderbeg has been the subject of many works of history, art and literature and the inspiration for countless others. It is a motif in the visual arts, the performing arts, poetry, prose and music.

Skanderbeg gathered quite a posthumous reputation in Western Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. With much of the Balkans under Ottoman rule and with the Turks at the gates of Vienna in 1683, nothing could have captivated readers in the West more than an action-packed tale of heroic Christian resistance to the "Moslem hordes".[1]

  1. ^ Hodgkinson 2005, p. xii