In her book “The unwritten law in Albania” Margaret Hasluck writes:

“INTRODUCTION. XV

[…] merely to ethnologists and social anthropologists but also to those concerned with the early history of jurisprudence.

Apart from that the contents of this volume are likely to be of no little interest to the general reader as giving an account of the unfamiliar way of life of a people of very distinct and individual culture, who have throughout history taken pride and pleasure in their separateness.

For the Albanians, direct descendants of the ancient Illyrians, still retain something of their ancient form of Aryan speech very distinct from that of other branches of the family; they still retain an ancient tribal system; and they still have that passionate love of independence which caused many of them to forsake their native mountains and form settlements in Greece, Calabria, and Sicily when their country was occupied by the Turks after the death of their leader Skanderbeg (George Castriota) in 1467.

As a result of the Turkish conquest several of the Albanian tribes changed from Christianity to Islam, and there are now many Muslim Albanians as well as both Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians. The Mirdite, who constitute the biggest tribe, were perhaps at one time Orthodox, and are now staunch Catholics. But their profession of faith seems to have affected but little the adherence of the Albanians to their ancient customs.

J. H. HUTTON, NEW RADNOR, June 1953″

Source

“The unwritten law in Albania” Margaret Hasluck. 1953.