| On publishing the will of Andreas Kornaros, Stergios Spanakis argued that the poet Vicenzos Kornaros could possibly have belonged to the same Venetian noble family, and could be identified as the testator’s brother. This hypothesis runs contrary to earlier views held by S. Xanthoudides and N. Politis that the Kornaros family on Crete were not Hellenized. Their social standing and Catholic faith were regarded as being incompatible with the world of the poet of Erotokritos. The poem was thought to have been written by an Orthodox Cretan, either on the eve or during the course of the Cretan War. Nevertheless, these views are undermined by comparison of the poem with other contemporary works, together with the study of 17th century Cretan society. |