MAlexMatt
Banned
The Byzantine Empire: The name 'Byzantine' was not coined until 1557, more than a century after the empire died, so obviously no-one at the time called it that. The people of the Empire themselves considered themselves Romans and used that name. Everyone else referred to it as "the Eastern Empire" or "the Greek Empire"--in opposition to "The Latin Empire", which had been the Western Roman Empire.
A few things:
1. Byzantine, or its linguistic equivilent, was indeed used in this period, but only as a colloquial reference to Constantinople and its environs. The entire Empire was the 'Empire of the Romans' and the people were the 'Romans'.
2. The transition from 'Roman' to 'Greek' in the West began around the time of the Ottonian dynasty of the HRE. It became a very political subject whether the HRE or the Byzantines were 'true' Romans.
3. I don't think I've ever heard of the Western Roman Empire being called 'The Latin Empire'. In fact, I think the only time that name has ever been used is in historiography related to the Latin conquest of the Byzantines.