Latins (Middle Ages)
Template:Other uses2 The name Latin was in the Middle Ages a common demonym among the followers of the Latin Church of Western Christianity.[1] It derived from the Italic tribe who in antiquity developed ancient Roman civilization. The name was used irrespective of ethnicity, including by Germanic, Italic and Slavic peoples.[1] In the Byzantine Empire, and the broader Greek Orthodox world, Latins was an exonym for all people who followed Roman Catholic Christianity. It was generally a negative characterization, especially after the 1054 schism.[2] Thus the people associated with the states created during the Crusades were generally referred to as Latins or Franks.[1]