The Scanderbeg Symposium

On 22nd November the Anglo-Albanian Association held a symposium in the Old Library on Albanian National Hero Scanderbeg. The symposium included an exhibition of antiquarian books from Patricia Nugee’s unique collection of sixteenth-, seventeenth- and eighteenth-century books on Scanderbeg, and explored his place in European history and literature.  Gjergi Kastrioti Skanderbeu (1405-1468), was called Iskender Bey by the Ottomans (later westernised as Scanderbeg, meaning ‘Lord Alexander’) in reference to his military abilities which the Turks thought reminiscent of Alexander the Great. Between 1443 and his death in 1468 he was celebrated for leading a series of highly successful campaigns against superior Ottoman forces.  Albania’s independence day is known as Dita e Flamurit(Day of the Flag) because the flag of Albania is derived from Scanderbeg’s personal arms.

To read more and view a gallery of photos, go to Kit Smart's blog