Hmm, interesting topic with a couple of versions...
Son of the Prince of Emathia Ioannis Kastriotis and the Sebic origin
Voisava Tribala, the Kastriot family was originally named Mazarakis, a
name that actually depicts his Epirotan/Arvanitic origin. So the
question now, is who were the Arvanites ?
Mazaris in his work 'Epidhmia Mazari en Adou' makes a clear distinction
between the Albanian and Arvanitic population of Peloponessos, which
obviously points to a different 'tribe/race' of people.
Anyway, to some of many accounts of him being Epirotian and not Albanian..
----
Anna Komneni in here Alexiad clearly mentions Arvanites and not
Albanians desending in 1100 and it isn't untill the 13th cent that we
find any reference to Albanians desending which is again evidence of a
difference between them.
While in book 6 she says:
"as Robert was being worried on
all sides by the so-called Albanians and by the natives of Dalmatia sent by Bodinus."
Interesting she'd call them 'so-called' and make a clear distinction between the Abanians and the natives..
------
In the
letter of Jacomo Barbarrigo towards the Germans in 1479 where he
mentions:
"
The Arvanites and the Hellines are nothing more than the same people that hate every foreigner"
and the Venetian Senate in 1471 that declared :
"
The major part of our mercenary troops are Hellines and Arvanites Hellines"
----
The
Albanian historian Marinus Barletius Scodrensis (known in Albanian as Marin Barleti) wrote his 'History of the life and deeds of Scanderbeg,
Prince of the Epirotes'
-------
In Disraeli's book "The Rise of Iskander"
The battle scene during which Iskander calls upon his men,
"All who love their country, follow me!" and, with his five thousand Epirotes horsemen, abandons the battle and takes flight. Iskander returns to Croia which he takes by a ruse.
The town is liberated to cries of "The Cross, The Cross! Liberty! Greece! Iskander and Epirus!"
(6.11)
"Iskander was the youngest son of the Prince of Epirus, who, with the other Grecian princes,
had, at the commencement of the reign of Amurath the Second, in vain resisted the progress of the
Turkish arms in Europe."
( 2.1)
"The despots of Bosnia, Servia, and Bulgaria, and the Grecian princes of Etolia,
Macedon, Epirus, Athens, Phocis, Boeotia, and indeed of all the regions to the straits of Corinth, were tributaries to Amurat"
( 2.3)
"His Turkish education could never eradicate from his
memory the consciousness that he was a Greek;"
(2.4)
Interestingly enough in his whole novel the word Albanian occurs only
once. In a early description of the hero's clothes: "He wore also a
full white camese common among the Albanians."
You can find his work online here:
http://www.ibiblio.org/disraeli/iskander.pdf
------------
Letter from Skanderbeg to the Prince of Taranto:
Giorgio, gentleman of Albania, to Giovanni Antonio, Prince of Taranto, greeting.
Having made a truce with the enemy of my religion I have not wanted
that my friend remain (fraudato) of my aid. (Spesse?) times, Alfonso,
his father, invited my help while I waged war against the Turks.
Therefore I would be very ungrateful if I had not resisted (listesso?)
service to his son. I remember what your king did because now (non deve
vedere succedergli?) this who is his son? You adored his father, and
why now do you try to throw out his son? Where did this power come
from? Who has the power to set up the King of Sicily, you or the Roman
Pontiff?
I came to aid Ferrante, son of the king and seat of the Apostolica.
I came opposing your unfaithfulness and innumerable great betrayals in
this kingdom. (Ne?) will you ever be unpunished for your perjury. This
is the reason for my war against you. I merit this no less than I
merited making war against the Turks, nor are you less Turk than them.
(Imperocche vi sono alcuni?) that guide you in a straight line not to
be of some sect. You my opponents the French and the names of those
people, and those for the religion wage grand war.
I do not want to dispute ancient matters with you, matters that
perhaps were much less than what was told about them. Certainly in our
times the Aragonese armadas have often coursed the Aegean Sea, have
plundered the Turkish coasts, have (riportata?) the prey of the
enemies; and even today the Aragonese armies defend Troja from the jaws
of the enemy. Why do I remember the old things and leave the new parts?
If they change the family costumes and the plowmen of the kingdom, and
the kings of the plowmen return? (Ne troverai nobilita piu antica
della virtu.)
Nor can I deny that you are not with the obnoxious French nation,
(imperocche) you being mainly in aid of King Alfonso, you hunted the
French of this kingdom. I do not know now what new virtue shines in
this. Perhaps it is some new star that you have now seen among the
French?
Moreover, you scorned our people, and compared the Albanese to
sheep, and according to your custom think of us with insults. Nor have
you shown yourself to have any knowledge of my race. My elders were
from Epirus, where this Pirro came from, whose force could scarcely
support the Romans. This Pirro, who Taranto and many other places of
Italy held back with armies.
I do not have to speak for the Epiroti. They are very much stronger
men than your Tarantini, a species of wet men who are born only to
fish. If you want to say that Albania is part of Macedonia I would
concede that a lot more of our ancestors were nobles who went as far as
India under Alexander the Great and defeated all those peoples with
incredible difficulty. From those men come these who you called sheep.
But the nature of things is not changed. Why do your men run away in
the faces of sheep?
In the past the Albanese have (fatto?) experience if the Pugilese
were armed; (ne) I would again find some who would have been able to
aspired to my nature. I have well noted from the back how many of your
soldiers are well armed but have never been able to see their helmets
or (tanpoco?) the face except those that have become prisoners. (Ne?)
I seek your house (Bastandomi?) my own. Besides, it is well known that
you often would have shot your neighbors for their possessions, as now
you would force out the king of your house and your kingdom.
(Che se?) If I fall in the difficult task I have embarked on I will
be buried as (mi vai?) wishing in your letter, will bring back my soul
as a reward from the Chancellor of the universe, of God. Not only will
I have perfected my intention, but also I will have planned and
attempted some distinguished deed.
Good bye....
--------------
Anyway..
while I generally avoid to use wikipedia since anyone can edit, I did
find the list of authors all refering to Kastriotis as an Epirote quite
interesting..
LINK
Hope this is of some assistance..
Edited by Phallanx