Multilingualism in the Greek Documents of Norman Sicily. A Latin Register of the Greek Villeins and Saracens of the Church of Patti: An Introduction

When we talk about Norman Sicily, terms such as «multilingualism» and «multiculturalism» are frequently associated with the Norman kingdom of the island, and recent articles have shown how the study of multilingual documents can shed light on ways of coexistence between communities living in the society of that time. After briefly showing the different kinds of multilingualism in the Greek documents of Norman Sicily, my article will focus on a 12th century document preserved in the Diocesan Archive of Patti (in the province of Messina): a unique Latin register of the Greek villeins and Saracens of the church of Patti, which is clearly the transliteration of one (or more) Greek or Greek-Arabic plateiai or jarā᾽id. The aim of my article is to show how multilingualism in Norman Sicily is often the key to understanding the presence of various ethnic groups on the island, provides a unique chance to study their interactions, and can show us the traces of an attempt for control.