Skorta

Skorta (Greek: τὰ Σκορτὰ, French: Escorta) was a name used in the 13th and 14th centuries, during the period of Frankish rule in the Peloponnese, to designate the mountainous western half of the region of Arcadia, which separated the coastal plains of the western (Elisian) and southwestern (Messinian) Peloponnese from the Arcadian plateau in the interior.

[2] The northern portion of this area, around Akova, was also known by the Greek name Mesarea (Μεσαρέα, a common term in Greece for inland locations, cf.

[4] The local population was renowned for its rebellious character, and never fully submitted to the Frankish Princes of Achaea.

Taking advantage of the absence of the Principality's marshal, Nicholas III of Saint Omer, with many troops on campaign in Thessaly, and with the aid of the Byzantines of Mystras, the rebels took and burned to the ground the castles of Saint Helen and of Crèvecoeur, and laid siege to the castle of Beaufort.

When the Prince with the levies from his feudatories moved against the Greeks, however, the latter chose to withdraw, and Frankish rule was swiftly re-established over the region.