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George Akropolites, 2020

Although his history is critically important for understanding the years 1204 to 1261, George Akr... more Although his history is critically important for understanding the years 1204 to 1261, George Akropolites is largely silent on the subject of diplomatic contacts with the Latins in the years following the Fourth Crusade. His account leaves out key details regarding negotiations, such as when and where talks took place, or who conducted them. This omission is especially perplexing because Akropolites was himself a diplomat. Generally, he only makes brief allusions to contact with the Latins, leading the casual reader to underestimate the importance of these meetings. This analysis examines the contacts Akropolites does and does not address, gaining greater insight into the goals and purpose of his historical work by acknowledging people and events the author purposely decided to leave out of his narrative.

Contra Latinos et adversus Graecos. The Separation between Rome and Constantinople between the Ninth and the Fifteenth Century, ed. by A. Bucossi and A. Calia, Leuven-Paris-Boston CT: Peeters (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta, 286 – Bibliothèque de «Byzantion», 22), 2020

Offers a reexamination of the church union negotiations of 1234, calling into question the 'doome... more Offers a reexamination of the church union negotiations of 1234, calling into question the 'doomed to fail' narrative of ecclesiastical dialogue and highlighting the complex relationship between political and religious concerns in such meetings.

In the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade Byzantines and Latins engaged in numerous instances of dia... more In the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade Byzantines and Latins engaged in numerous instances of dialogue and negotiation intended to unite the Greek and Roman Churches. The meeting between four mendicant friars and Patriarch Germanos II in Nicaea and Nymphaion in 1234 is indicative of a continuous trend in Byzantine diplomacy going back to the Komnenoi emperors that used ecclesiastical debate as a mechanism for diplomatic gain. In the years after 1204, however, church-union negotiation took on new purpose, serving to solidify Byzantine identity and resistance in the face of western invaders. Although the study of dialogue and disputation is enjoying a period of renewed focus among western medievalists, the field of Byzantine Studies, with few exceptions, has confined such material to the realm of theological research, neglecting the importance of such encounters, especially in the period after the Fourth Crusade. This study sets out to address why historians of Byzantium have been apprehensive about embracing the sources that describe ecclesiastical dialogue, and show how they can inform us about diplomacy, society and identity in the Eastern Mediterranean world after 1204.

Steven Runciman categorized the belief that a dispute can be settled by debate among “the unhappy... more Steven Runciman categorized the belief that a dispute can be settled by debate among “the unhappy delusions of mankind.” Such debates continued between east and west following the Fourth Crusade’s capture of Constantinople in 1204. The best documented of these meetings is the disputatio of 1234 between four Latin friars representing Pope Gregory IX, and the Byzantine clergy of Nicaea, under Patriarch Germanos II.
Understanding the status of these friars as papal representatives is a necessary first step for explaining the outcome of the disputatio in 1234. Were they merely messengers of the pope, or were they papal legates, endowed by Gregory IX with the authority to speak on behalf of the Roman Church? Through analysis of their report, and other sources for the disputatio, this study will seek to clarify the status of the friars in 1234, and in so doing gain a greater insight into the outcome of that meeting.

Profound cultural change defined the Byzantine world. For centuries after its embrace of Christia... more Profound cultural change defined the Byzantine world. For centuries after its embrace of Christianity, exchanges of ideas, objects, peoples and identities continued to flow across an empire that found itself located at the crossroads of so many other worlds. This book brings together a selection of important contributions to the study of cross-cultural exchange in the Byzantine world in its largest geographic and temporal sense. It employs an interdisciplinary and comparative approach, presenting papers first given by graduate and early career academic researchers from around the world at the XVII International Graduate Conference of the Oxford University Byzantine Society, held on 27 and 28 February 2015.

Conference Presentations by Jeff Brubaker

Conferences/Seminars by Jeff Brubaker

Papers by Jeff Brubaker

Medieval Encounters, 2018

In the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade Byzantines and Latins engaged in numerous instances of dia... more In the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade Byzantines and Latins engaged in numerous instances of dialogue and negotiation intended to unite the Greek and Roman Churches. The meeting between four mendicant friars and Patriarch Germanos II in Nicaea and Nymphaion in 1234 is indicative of a continuous trend in Byzantine diplomacy going back to the Komnenoi emperors that used ecclesiastical debate as a mechanism for diplomatic gain. In the years after 1204, however, church-union negotiation took on new purpose, serving to solidify Byzantine identity and resistance in the face of western invaders. Although the study of dialogue and disputation is enjoying a period of renewed focus among western medievalists, the field of Byzantine Studies, with few exceptions, has confined such material to the realm of theological research, neglecting the importance of such encounters, especially in the period after the Fourth Crusade. This study sets out to address why historians of Byzantium have been app...

Books by Jeff Brubaker

The Disputatio of the Latins and the Greeks 1234: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary, 2022

In 1234, four friars arrived in Nicaea to discuss a possible union between the Greek and Roman Ch... more In 1234, four friars arrived in Nicaea to discuss a possible union between the Greek and Roman Churches. The controversy between the churches had taken on a new urgency in the thirteenth century. The conquest of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade created an atmosphere of nearly continuous conflict, and yet the two sides agreed to meet in hopes of a peaceful settlement. Presented in translation for the first time, the report of those friars illuminates the full spectrum of motivations and implications surrounding the prospect of church union after 1204. The letters exchanged by Pope Gregory IX and Patriarch Germanos II demonstrate the terms under which both sides entered the negotiations. Brought together, these sources represent a crucial episode of dialogue between the churches. Translation and analysis of these sources call into question the long-held view that attempts to end the schism of the churches were perpetually doomed to fail.

George Akropolites, 2020

Although his history is critically important for understanding the years 1204 to 1261, George Akr... more Although his history is critically important for understanding the years 1204 to 1261, George Akropolites is largely silent on the subject of diplomatic contacts with the Latins in the years following the Fourth Crusade. His account leaves out key details regarding negotiations, such as when and where talks took place, or who conducted them. This omission is especially perplexing because Akropolites was himself a diplomat. Generally, he only makes brief allusions to contact with the Latins, leading the casual reader to underestimate the importance of these meetings. This analysis examines the contacts Akropolites does and does not address, gaining greater insight into the goals and purpose of his historical work by acknowledging people and events the author purposely decided to leave out of his narrative.

Contra Latinos et adversus Graecos. The Separation between Rome and Constantinople between the Ninth and the Fifteenth Century, ed. by A. Bucossi and A. Calia, Leuven-Paris-Boston CT: Peeters (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta, 286 – Bibliothèque de «Byzantion», 22), 2020

Offers a reexamination of the church union negotiations of 1234, calling into question the 'doome... more Offers a reexamination of the church union negotiations of 1234, calling into question the 'doomed to fail' narrative of ecclesiastical dialogue and highlighting the complex relationship between political and religious concerns in such meetings.

In the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade Byzantines and Latins engaged in numerous instances of dia... more In the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade Byzantines and Latins engaged in numerous instances of dialogue and negotiation intended to unite the Greek and Roman Churches. The meeting between four mendicant friars and Patriarch Germanos II in Nicaea and Nymphaion in 1234 is indicative of a continuous trend in Byzantine diplomacy going back to the Komnenoi emperors that used ecclesiastical debate as a mechanism for diplomatic gain. In the years after 1204, however, church-union negotiation took on new purpose, serving to solidify Byzantine identity and resistance in the face of western invaders. Although the study of dialogue and disputation is enjoying a period of renewed focus among western medievalists, the field of Byzantine Studies, with few exceptions, has confined such material to the realm of theological research, neglecting the importance of such encounters, especially in the period after the Fourth Crusade. This study sets out to address why historians of Byzantium have been apprehensive about embracing the sources that describe ecclesiastical dialogue, and show how they can inform us about diplomacy, society and identity in the Eastern Mediterranean world after 1204.

Steven Runciman categorized the belief that a dispute can be settled by debate among “the unhappy... more Steven Runciman categorized the belief that a dispute can be settled by debate among “the unhappy delusions of mankind.” Such debates continued between east and west following the Fourth Crusade’s capture of Constantinople in 1204. The best documented of these meetings is the disputatio of 1234 between four Latin friars representing Pope Gregory IX, and the Byzantine clergy of Nicaea, under Patriarch Germanos II.
Understanding the status of these friars as papal representatives is a necessary first step for explaining the outcome of the disputatio in 1234. Were they merely messengers of the pope, or were they papal legates, endowed by Gregory IX with the authority to speak on behalf of the Roman Church? Through analysis of their report, and other sources for the disputatio, this study will seek to clarify the status of the friars in 1234, and in so doing gain a greater insight into the outcome of that meeting.

Profound cultural change defined the Byzantine world. For centuries after its embrace of Christia... more Profound cultural change defined the Byzantine world. For centuries after its embrace of Christianity, exchanges of ideas, objects, peoples and identities continued to flow across an empire that found itself located at the crossroads of so many other worlds. This book brings together a selection of important contributions to the study of cross-cultural exchange in the Byzantine world in its largest geographic and temporal sense. It employs an interdisciplinary and comparative approach, presenting papers first given by graduate and early career academic researchers from around the world at the XVII International Graduate Conference of the Oxford University Byzantine Society, held on 27 and 28 February 2015.

Medieval Encounters, 2018

In the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade Byzantines and Latins engaged in numerous instances of dia... more In the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade Byzantines and Latins engaged in numerous instances of dialogue and negotiation intended to unite the Greek and Roman Churches. The meeting between four mendicant friars and Patriarch Germanos II in Nicaea and Nymphaion in 1234 is indicative of a continuous trend in Byzantine diplomacy going back to the Komnenoi emperors that used ecclesiastical debate as a mechanism for diplomatic gain. In the years after 1204, however, church-union negotiation took on new purpose, serving to solidify Byzantine identity and resistance in the face of western invaders. Although the study of dialogue and disputation is enjoying a period of renewed focus among western medievalists, the field of Byzantine Studies, with few exceptions, has confined such material to the realm of theological research, neglecting the importance of such encounters, especially in the period after the Fourth Crusade. This study sets out to address why historians of Byzantium have been app...

The Disputatio of the Latins and the Greeks 1234: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary, 2022

In 1234, four friars arrived in Nicaea to discuss a possible union between the Greek and Roman Ch... more In 1234, four friars arrived in Nicaea to discuss a possible union between the Greek and Roman Churches. The controversy between the churches had taken on a new urgency in the thirteenth century. The conquest of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade created an atmosphere of nearly continuous conflict, and yet the two sides agreed to meet in hopes of a peaceful settlement. Presented in translation for the first time, the report of those friars illuminates the full spectrum of motivations and implications surrounding the prospect of church union after 1204. The letters exchanged by Pope Gregory IX and Patriarch Germanos II demonstrate the terms under which both sides entered the negotiations. Brought together, these sources represent a crucial episode of dialogue between the churches. Translation and analysis of these sources call into question the long-held view that attempts to end the schism of the churches were perpetually doomed to fail.