by Lulzim Osmanaj

Abstract

This text explores the historical connection between the name “Albania” and the Canary Island of Fuerteventura. Early chronicles of the Norman and Castilian conquest reveal that Fuerteventura was referred to as “Erbania,” “Albana,” and even “Albania” in some sources. This variation is due to scribal errors in medieval manuscripts, where letters were often confused due to the Gothic script. The term “Albania” in medieval sources referred to various regions and was not exclusively linked to modern-day Albania. The text highlights how historical sources sometimes misrepresented local names, creating confusion about Fuerteventura’s early identity.

How is it possible that FUERTEVENTURA was once called ALBANIA?
– “Fuerteventura was called Albania”

In the early chronicles of the Norman and Castilian conquest of the Canary Islands, particularly those related to Jean de Béthencourt’s expedition, the island’s name appears in several variants: Erbania, Herbania, Albana, Albania, and even Alnania. These forms are not evidence of different names, but rather the result of a well-known process in paleography: manuscript copying in medieval Latin and French, where letters such as b, v, r, l, and n were often confused due to Gothic script. An “Erbania” could easily transform into “Albana,” and this into “Albania,” without any semantic intent, simply through a visual error by scribes.

The Canary historian Chil y Naranjo himself falls into this terminological fluctuation: in the same work, he alternates between using Erbania and Albana for what is today Fuerteventura, and even mistakenly writes “Albania hoy Fuerteventura.”

It is essential to emphasize that the word “Albania” in Latin sources did not always refer to modern-day Albania. In the Middle Ages, it was used for many different regions (in the Caucasus, Italy, the Balkans), and often served as a phonetic label for local names that were unfamiliar to the chroniclers.

“Fuerteventura was called Albania.”