Talk:Skanderbeg
| This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Skanderbeg article. This is not a forum for general discussion of the subject of the article. |
Article policies
|
| Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL |
Archives (index): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8Auto-archiving period: 5 days  |
Q1: Was Skanderbeg Albanian?
A1: Yes, Skanderbeg was an Albanian feudal lord from the Albanian House of Kastrioti. Q2: What language did they speak in Albania during Skanderbeg's lifetime?
A2: Skanderbeg's native language was Albanian. In the Balkans Italian, Greek, Vlach, Latin, South Slavic languages and Ottoman Turkish were also common during Skanderbeg's lifetime. Q3: What was the background of Skanderbeg's mother?
A3: Primary sources refer to her as being from Polog, most likely being the Polog valley in modern day North Macedonia. It has also been argued that another Polog, closer to the town of Bitola in the plain of Pelagonia may be the location of the Polog mentioned by Barleti. There is debate among different scholars of whether Skanderbeg's mother was related to the Muzaka family, most likely of Albanian descent, or of the Serb Branković dynasty, or of an unknown Bulgarian family. There is, however, no mention of Voisava on the Branković dynasty family tree. Q4: Was Skanderbeg a Roman Catholic?
A4: Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg was a Roman Catholic in the period from 1444 to his death in 1468. In the period prior to 1444, he had converted to Islam. The exact date of his conversion is unclear but it must have been between 1426 and 1431. His father, Gjon Kastrioti changed his religion several times (Roman Catholic/Christian Orthodox/Muslim). Q5: What was Skanderbeg's real name and who were his parents?
A5: His real name was Gjergj Kastrioti, Gjergj is the Albanian version of the name George. His father was Gjon Kastrioti and his mother's name was Voisava Kastrioti |
 | Skanderbeg was a History good articles nominee, but did not meet the good article criteria at the time. There may be suggestions below for improving the article. Once these issues have been addressed, the article can be renominated. Editors may also seek a reassessment of the decision if they believe there was a mistake. | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
 | Facts from this article were featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "On this day..." column on November 28, 2007, November 28, 2008, November 28, 2009, November 28, 2010, November 28, 2011, November 28, 2013, November 28, 2014, November 28, 2016, November 28, 2019, November 28, 2023, and November 28, 2024. | ||||||||||||
| Current status: Former good article nominee | |||||||||||||
 | This  level-4 vital article is rated C-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale.It is of interest to multiple WikiProjects. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Serbian sources of this article mention Skanderbeg as Serbian
editWhy are the sources used in this article in contradiction with each other? Why do they cite Skanderbeg as a Serbian while the article mentions him as Albanian? 93.86.237.151 (talk) 12:57, 26 November 2024 (UTC)
- Because there's good evidence to support that claim, and because this article uses Albanian sources to estsblish his ethnicity, which we have no reason to assume are objective on this matter. Nexxogen (talk) 21:00, 5 September 2025 (UTC)
- In modern academic scholarship, there is no doubt about Skanderbeg's ethnic origin, as he is universally recognized as Albanian. Ptumri (talk) 09:57, 1 November 2025 (UTC)
Serbian part
editI keep getting reverted for re-adding the part which @Azoral: added that: "Muzaka further describes Skanderbeg as a man "Serbian in nature", but according to historian Oliver Schmitt, it remains unclear whether Muzaka meant this in terms of origin or mentality..[1]" This was later removed by a user without any proper explanation. I don't see what's the problem here? It's a completely scholarly analysis of a historical document! Jagjit Karan (talk) 11:18, 23 October 2025
- I can see it was removed by @Βατο: for POV-pushing and quite frankly, I'd agree with its removal. That quote is not depicted in full for starters, and it is also cited to the wrong page. Furthermore, and most importantly, we have an English translation of Gjon Muzaka's memoir - the 'Muzaka chronicles' - translated by Robert Elsie and published in the following book - . Reading it, I cannot see a single line where Gjon Muzaka writes of Skanderbeg as a man "Serbian in nature", nor does it come up when I search for anything similar. It would seem to be an extraordinary claim that doesn't even show up in the document that it supposedly comes from... Botushali (talk) 11:56, 23 October 2025 (UTC)
References
- ↑ Schmitt 2009, p. 27:
Der bereits erwähnte Giovanni Musachi bezeichnete Skanderbeg, den berühmtesten Kastriota, als einen Mann, der ‚serbisch von Natur‘ sei.
Copy edit of the whole article
edit | This edit request by an editor with a partial block from editing this page has now been answered. |
that the name of one the different Kastriot -> that the name of one of the different Kastriot
was as their family name -> was their family name
a relative of Muzaka house -> a relative of the Muzaka house
had donated to was referred -> had donated was referred
and purchase of arms. John -> and the purchase of arms. John
pressure of Ottoman -> pressure from Ottoman
under direct command of the -> under the direct command of the
prevented in participating in a battle which could -> prevented from participating in a battle that could
it was in his intentions to return -> it was his intention to return
in the end of May 1451 -> at the end of May 1451
all of the chieftains -> all the chieftains
expense in which -> expense, which
King Ferdinand to regain and maintain -> King Ferdinand regain and maintain
to secure cordial relationship with Signoria -> to secure a cordial relationship with Signoria
he travelled to Albania and stayed -> he traveled to Albania and stayed
Serbia from Ottomans -> Serbia from the Ottomans
provided to Skanderbeg 20,000 ducats -> provided Skanderbeg 20,000 ducats
artillery and sufficient number -> artillery and a sufficient number
pain of having lost -> pain at having lost
to return him his -> to return to him his
woivodate of "Terra nuova" -> the voivodate of "Terra nuova"
His family were given control -> His family was given control
invincible guerilla -> invincible guerrilla
nationalism of late 19th century, and -> nationalism of the late 19th century and
inflicted to the -> inflicted on the
to the year of 1444 -> to the year 1444
first performed 1735 -> first performed in 1735
used as source in -> used as a source in The Other Karma (talk) 08:29, 17 November 2025 (UTC)
- Not Done
It is unclear where the edits are meant to be made, try to include section names for me to understand Theknoledgeableperson (talk) 20:07, 19 November 2025 (UTC)
- Uh? Doing it like that was usually fine for other editors, the way to find the problematic structures is: open search with control + F, enter the senteces i noted like "that the name of one the different Kastriot" then the computer shows you the location where I found that, and then change it to the proposed variant, that I provided after checking, in this chase "that the name of one of the different Kastriot". The Other Karma (talk) 06:55, 20 November 2025 (UTC)
- yes.
In progress: An editor is implementing the requested edit. Oreocooke (talk) 21:50, 22 November 2025 (UTC)
- yes.
“Request to Review Scanderbeg’s Cultural Identity Section”
editHello, I would like to request a review of the information regarding George Kastrioti (Scanderbeg) on this page. There is historical evidence from his authentic seal that he culturally identified as Greek (Romios), not solely Albanian, as sometimes presented. The seal, preserved in the National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, bears a Greek inscription with Byzantine titles such as "Emperor of the Romans" and "By the Grace of God". References to Albanians, Serbs, Bulgarians, and Turks relate to his political/military influence, not ethnic origin. Sources for verification: National Museum of Denmark – https://www.nationalmuseet.dk/en Bjoerna.dk, "The seal of Scanderbeg" – http://bjoerna.dk/albansk-historie/Seal-of-Scanderbeg.htm KOHA.net, "The seal of Skanderbeg kept in Denmark" – https://www.koha.net/en/kulture/vula-e-skenderbeut-qe-ruhet-ne-danimarke I kindly ask that editors review the sources and update the article to reflect the historical evidence of his Greek cultural identification as indicated by his seal. Thank you for your attention and consideration. ~2026-17620-24 (talk) 11:58, 21 March 2026 (UTC)