Review of Alexios G.C. Savvides, Byzantine Feudalism: A Bibliographical Survey on the Issue and on the Institution of the Pronoia (original) (raw)

Outlining the Byzantine Petty Aristocracy, 1204–1330

24th International Congress of Byzantine Studies Byzantium, Venice and Padua, 22-27 August 2022, 2022

s of the Free Communications, Thematic Sessions, Round Tables and Posters, 3-334 ment, ses actes instrumentés à Constantinople restent inédits et très largement inexplorés, en dépit de la rareté de ce genre de sources, qui contraste avec l'ampleur de l'implantation des Vénitiens à Byzance et en Romanie. Observateur privilégié du monde qui l'entoure en sa qualité de notaire, Smeritis nous permet de faire la connaissance d'une partie des personnes qui formaient, de manière permanente ou temporaire, la société de Constantinople à la toute fin de son histoire byzantine, de même qu'il nous renseigne sur les activités auxquelles elles se livraient.

CL 380-HY 300: History of the Byzantine Empire, Syllabus 2017

It is an introductory course in the history of the Byzantine Empire (330 – 1453). It will be divided into two parts. The first part consists of 15 lectures and 6 group discussions. We will follow the main events and the milestones of the Byzantine history structured chronologically, and will discuss the specific topics such as Byzantine political organization, international relations, society, economy, and culture. We will start with an overview of the main types of primary sources that scholars use studying Byzantium. Students will explore the different areas of the Byzantine history by reading a selection of the narrative sources, by examination of Byzantine coins, seals, manuscripts and art objects (available on-line). We will immerse ourselves in the legends and realities of the social, political, and cultural life of the majestic capital of the Byzantine empire, the city of Constantinople. Together with the Byzantine historians Eusebius of Caesarea, Procopius, Leo the Deacon, Michael Psellos, and Anna Komnene, we will have a chance to peep in the couloirs and chambers of the Imperial Palace, to eavesdrop on the flattering and defamatory stories about emperors and empresses, generals and bureaucrats, and to learn about intrigues, ambitions, love and hatred of the Byzantine beau monde. We will try to understand why (according to Averil Cameron) Byzantium is virtually " absent " from the public and even academic memory of the Western World, and will discuss the modern examples of the use (and abuse) of the Byzantine aesthetics (see the " Byzantine " collections from Dolce & Gabbana (2013), Valentino (2013), and Chanel). The second part of the course consists of students' presentations. Each student is invited to prepare a talk on the one of the " unorthodox " subjects that often are left behind in the standard expositions on the history of Byzantium (such as Byzantine magic, the Byzantine garden culture, cuisine and fashion, the Byzantine sense of humor and emotions, the Byzantine ideas about death, dreams, beauty, holiness, gender, women, and eroticism; please, find the list of the topics and the suggested bibliography at the end of this syllabus). Students will learn and practice the basic academic skills of preparing and delivering the oral presentations, and giving feedback on their colleagues' talks. This approach will make the fascinating and mysterious civilization of Byzantium more tangible and, in fact, unforgettable. The required primary and secondary literature will be available on the Blackboard, through the UA library E-Resources, and freely on the Internet. The course will require the occasional visits to the library, but the students will not have to purchase their own books or materials. The primary sources will be provided in English translation. Student learning outcomes: 1. Broadly recount the history of the Byzantine empire in the context of world civilization 2. Be able to discuss current issues and debates in Byzantine studies 3. Understand how various types of primary sources and methods of historical inquiry contribute to Byzantine studies.

“Both Milestone and Stepping Stone” Metanarratives of Byzantine Politico-Economic History

NARRATIVES Proceedings оf the 11th International Symposium on Byzantine and Medieval Studies “Days of Justinian I”, Skopje, 10-12 November, 2023, 2024

In the 20-21st centuries, from the post-WWII period during the First Cold War, Byzantine politico-economic history was something of an ideologi- cal proxy battleground, like other proxy battlegrounds during this conflict, be- tween empires centered in Washington DC and Moscow. The historians of each empire conceived of Byzantium’s politico-economic past in the context and ser- vice of its own purposes: Soviet historians extensively discussed the reigning systems of feudalism while Anglo-American historians focused more on agrar- ian production within the periodization of the “middle ages.” Then, the Ber- lin Wall fell and one empire imposed on the other not only its present system of political economy, but also its version of the history of political economy. The dominant version of Byzantine politico-economic history which followed sought to downplay the importance of feudalism (and mercantilism) in Byzan- tine history and to instead focus on linear progress and economic expansion up to (and including) the so-called industrial “revolution.” In doing so, this version of the Byzantine past also focused heavily on separating the political from the economic from the ecclesiastical - to minimize twelve centuries of Byzantine heritage in the Western historical context. This has lately given rise to the so- called “Great Divergence” doctrine separating East and West.