БАЛШИЋИ И ПРОВАНСАЛСКА ПОРОДИЦА БО (BAUX) Прилог проучавању порекла зетске породице Балшић
THE BALŠIĆ FAMILY AND THE PROVENÇAL FAMILY DE BAUX A contribution to the study of the origin of the Balšić family from Zeta

Summary/Abstract: The lack of modern historical sources, as well as the form of the name of the Balšić family progenitor, led to the fact that there is no unified opinion about their origin and ethnicity. In historiography, several theories have been put forward about the origin of the Zeta lords, the most intriguing of which is certainly that they were of French origin, i.e. that through the Neapolitan noble family Balsa/Balza, they were descendants of the Provençal family Beau (de Baux). The oldest claim that the Balšićs of Zeta are descendants of the Provençal Bo family can be found in the work Breve memorie de li discendenti de nostra casa Musachi, written in the first half of the 16th century. At the end of the same century, the Illyrian coat of arms was created, which played a major role in its spread. Within it, the coat of arms of the Zeta masters is presented as a combination of the emblems of the Zeta Balšić family and the Baux/Balsa/Balza family. Although this theory has been abandoned in science for a long time, it has revived in the part of Montenegrin historiography. The paper presents the arguments of supporters and opponents of this theory. On the basis of what has been said, we believe that it is quite clear that the assumption about the connection between Balšić and the Bo family cannot be based only on the basis of the similar form of the name, from which the similar appearance of the coat of arms arose. An important element in the rejection of this theory is the fact that it is not mentioned either in the acts created in the office of Balšić or in other sources of the contemporary time of the activities of the Zeta masters. It is hard to believe that the Balšić family would not have emphasized their French origin and connection with the Neapolitan Balsa/Balza family if it had existed.

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