Byzantine Literature Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Taft R. F. The Great Entrance. A History of the Transfer of Gifts and other Preanaphoral Rites of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. [A History of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, vol. II]. Roma, 1975. (Orientalia Christiana Analecta;... more

LXX can be studied in its wider historic and cultural context. Sometimes it is not enough to say that a certain expression or a word was translated in a certain way. It is also important to regard LXX as a coherent text, not as a sequence of words and phrases. As a text, it had its own esthetics and played a non minor role in the history of Greek literature, especially in the Christian tradition.
A careful analysis makes us believe that at least some of the LXX translators tried to imitate in a sense some formal features of the original Hebrew poetry, such as rhythmic and phonetic repetitions. In fact, the difference in translating prose and poetry (however we define these two groups of the Old Testament texts) is not as prominent as the difference between individual translators’ style.
The tendency to choose similarly sounding words obviously influenced translators’ choice. In many cases, as exemplified in the second chapter, the quest for more phonetic and rhythmic similarity seems to be the best explanation for some non-standard equivalents found in LXX. At least one can be sure that these features, so far mostly neglected by modern scholars, were not neglected by the LXX translators, even if they applied them unconsciously.
The statistical analysis presented in the third chapter proves that the degree of rhythmic repetitions in some LXX texts is above the random distribution and their degree in classical metrical poetry. To some extent, however, these features coincided with similar features in the Greek rhetorical prose. If we approach them in the wider context of the history of Greek literature, we will also see that this experiment had a great future. This sort of poetry was widely imitated by early Christian hymn writer; in the end, a new system of versification was established; now it was based on counting syllable and stresses.
It is hoped that this survey will be useful in two respects. First of all, it may enrich our understanding of LXX and broaden the methods of its analysis which are employed by modern scholars. Those who study the LXX translation technique or are involved in the Old Testament textual criticism can approach the LXX evidence more carefully, taking some new nuances into consideration. On the other hand, the study of the history of Greek literature and, in general, cultures of Pax Romana in the last centuries B.C. – first centuries C.E. can more profoundly consider this example of cultural interaction. It may also present an interesting typological parallel to scholars who study other literary traditions.

- by Andrei Desnitsky
- •
- Byzantine Literature, Biblical Studies, Septuagint, Translation Technique
- by Andreas P . Zachariou
- •
- Byzantine Literature, Byzantine History

This paper examines annotations inscribed in three manuscripts by Demetrios Laskaris Leontares (1418 – post-1475), an aristocrat whose possession or use of a dozen codices is documented. Palaeographic and historical criteria place all three texts in his adolescence around the 1430s. The primary focus is tenth-century Laur. gr. 55.4, a well-known collection of military treatises, in which successive generations of the Laskaris Leontares family inserted notices on personal and imperial events (1408-50). Overlooked by previous scholarship, on blank folio 197v Demetrios Leontares penned and signed a short letter addressed to an emperor, which constitutes a rare autograph specimen of Byzantine epistolography. This item was previously transcribed by Bandini (1768), who declined to edit and interpret its ‘barbaric and utterly illiterate’ script. Providing a new edition and first translation, this study situates the text within the evolution of epistolographic conventions in the early fifteenth century, as evidenced in contemporary letters and/or prescribed in letter-writing manuals. Whether interpreted as a draft or copy of an actual letter or a classroom exercise, this short private text adds uncommon ‘domestic’ and documentary dimensions to the study of Late Byzantine rhetoric, ideology and epistolary culture. The investigation widens to include two other undated annotations that can likewise be assigned to Demetrios Leontares’ youth: a co-ownership notice in recently commissioned Marc. gr. Z. 399 (5r) and a previously unpublished missive to an unnamed relative in twelfth-century Vat. gr. 586 (429v). Collective consideration of these three modest informal texts assists in clarifying their contexts and chronology, while elucidating broader themes of children, education, language and books in an aristocratic household.

- by Philip Rance
- •
- Greek Language, Byzantine Literature, Byzantine Studies, Late Byzantine history

One of the better-known episodes in the life of John Tzetzes is his complaint that during a period of poverty in the 1130s he had been forced to sell off his books until only two remained in his possession – a copy of Plutarch’s Lives and a collection of “various mathematical morsels”. While Tzetzes’ historical, allegorical and exegetical writings do not otherwise display an exceptional passion for or expertise in mathematics, he names numerous “scientific” authors and cites their texts to elucidate, enliven or verify historical events, literary meanings and natural phenomena. Investigation of Tzetzes’ citations and terminology in this sphere indicates that his interests lay not in mathematical theory but in practical applications and demonstrations, consistent with his fascination for celebrated achievements in mechanical technology and military engineering. He also extols the sciences of classical antiquity and compiles lists of writers and works on geometry, mechanics, hydraulics, optics, pneumatics and poliorcetics. This paper concerning interaction between Tzetzes’ oeuvre and scientific literature has three objectives. First, evaluation of Tzetzes’ references to mathematical- technological authors (mechanographoi), including works that are otherwise unattested or lost, attempts to distinguish first-hand knowledge of texts from mere literary posturing, and to examine how Tzetzes’ citations relate to the known textual traditions, manuscript transmission and scholarly reception of classical science in Byzantium. This investigation demonstrates Tzetzes’ familiarity with two late antique works: Pappus’ Synagogue, a mathematical compendium (c.340), and Anthemius’ Περὶ παραδόξων μηχανημάτων, a treatise on geometrical optics (c.520-530s). Second, analysis of Tzetzes’ use of extant scientific texts, and in particular his efforts to combine historical narrative and technical exposition (e.g. his fusion of Cassius Dio’s Roman History and Anthemius’ Περὶ παραδόξων μηχανημάτων in reporting the legendary tale of Archimedes’ burning-mirrors [Hist. 2.112-31]), supply a methodological template for studying other cases where his technical source is uncertain or lost (e.g. his account of Apollodorus of Damascus’ bridge over the Danube [Hist. 2.65-97]). Third, striking parallels with the writings of Tzetzes’ near-contemporaries, notably Zonaras and Eustathius of Thessalonica, point to intertextuality and/or common source material, and suggest that Tzetzes’ “mathematical” interests were not entirely idiosyncratic or pedantic but shared and reflect a broader intellectual climate in twelfth-century Byzantium.

- by Philip Rance
- •
- Byzantine Literature, History of Science, Ancient Science, Byzantine Studies

The attached is the abstract, handout and bibliography for my presentation at the Classical Association conference, 10-13 April 2015, Bristol University Panel: Homer II (Wills Memorial Building) 1 p.m., Sunday 12th April Title:... more

The attached is the abstract, handout and bibliography for my presentation at the Classical Association conference, 10-13 April 2015, Bristol University
Panel: Homer II (Wills Memorial Building) 1 p.m., Sunday 12th April
Title: “Procopius' sense of land and seascapes in Homer's Odyssey and his symbolism of Athena?”

- by Thomas Lecaque and +1
- •
- Greek History, Late Antique and Byzantine History, Medieval Literature, Medieval History

The present paper examines two Byzantine texts from the middle of the thirteenth century, ostensibly unrelated to each other: a political essay written by a young emperor and an anonymous love romance. The analysis is conducted through the concept of hybrid power, a notion initially developed by postcolonial criticism. It is shown that in the two texts authority (that of the Byzantine emperor and that of Eros as emperor) is constructed as hybrid and thus as an impossibility, though in the case of the political essay this impossibility remains unresolved, while in the romance it is actually resolved. The pronounced similarities between the two texts on the level of political ideology (e.g. the notion of friendship between master and servant, the performance of power relations, shared key concepts) informing the hybrid form of authority and its relation to its servants is a clear indication that they belong to the same socio-cultural and intellectual environment, namely the Laskarid imperial court in Nicaea around 1250.

This companion to the two-volume Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library edition and translation of The Histories by Laonikos Chalkokondyles is the first book-length investigation of an author who has been poorly studied. Providing biographical and intellectual context for Laonikos, Anthony Kaldellis shows how the author synthesized his classical models to fashion his own distinctive voice and persona as a historian. Indebted to his teacher Plethon for his global outlook, Laonikos was one of the first historians to write with a pluralist’s sympathy for non-Greek ethnic groups, including Islamic ones. His was the first secular and neutral account of Islam written in Greek. Kaldellis deeply explores the ethnic dynamics that explicitly and implicitly undergird the Histories, which recount the rise of the Ottoman empire and the decline of the Byzantine empire, all in the context of expanding western power. Writing at once in antique and contemporary modes, Laonikos transformed “barbarian” oral traditions into a classicizing historiography that was both Greek and Ottoman in outlook. Showing that he was instrumental in shifting the self-definition of his people from Roman to the Western category of “Greek,” Kaldellis provides a stimulating account of the momentous transformations of the mid-fifteenth century.

- by Jan Ziolkowski
- •
- History, Greek Literature, Late Antique and Byzantine Studies, Medieval History

This article focuses on the narrative structure of the Byzantine vernacular romance Kallimachos and Chrysorrhoe. I argue that the first half of the romance is built upon a tripartite pattern, telling the stories of three male characters playing the role of the princess’ suitor. These three male characters are the hero, the rival, and the dragon, and their stories are reshaped and adapted from a common basic plot, each involving a similar set of typical situations and repeated motives.

- by Eleftherios Despotakis
- •
- Hagiography, Byzantine Literature, Saints' Cults, Byzantine Studies
- by Mikhail Raev
- •
- Russian Studies, Byzantine Literature, Ukrainian Studies, Byzantine Studies
- by Tatiana Kushch
- •
- Byzantine Literature, Byzantine Studies, Byzantine History

The Passio of St Sebastian and his companions published by Migne in PG 116 (cols. 793-816) under the name of Symeon Metaphrastes is in reality an abridgment of the text found in Metaphrastic December meno¬logia. The source used by Metaphrastes has apparently not survived. Some elements of it are, how¬ever, found in the canon composed in the previous century by Joseph the Hymnographer (probably † 860) in honour of St Sebastian and his companions. The text of the Metaphrastic Passio is edited here for the first time on the basis of eight witnesses of the 11th century, while a new edition of the abridgment is given at the foot of the pages which contains a much improved transcription of the sole witness (MS. Paris. gr. 1195, 14th century, ff. 11r-17v) published by Migne.

The paper presents an experience of the analytical mapping of the route of the Kiev mission of “Roman I Lakapin’s basilikos” — the hypothetical author-compiler of Constantin Porphyrogenitus’ De administrando imperio’s chapter 9th. DAI’s geodata is critically compared with evidence from medieval (Old Scandinavian, Old Russian, Byzantine) texts and modern descriptions of the Dnieper in order to identify the toponyms contained in the sources, as well as clarifying an additional issues, such as the direction and ways of travel, the ethnic cultural identity of local informants and guides. On the basis of narrative data, the map scheme of DAI’s Dnieper itinerary, including methodological comments, graphic materials and modern maps of the Dnieper region is being built.

- by Sergei A. Kozlov
- •
- Historical Geography, Byzantine Literature, Byzantine Studies, Byzantium

The article considers the culmination period of the struggle of Byzantine Empire and Great Seljuk Sultanate for Northwest Anatolia in 1090−1091 which is described by Anna Comnene. The analysis of two chapters of the book VI "Alexiad" reveals some aspects of Anna's work, when she deliberately violated the chronology of events, thereby turning the historical narrative into an epic. The author of the article carries out the "de-epization", and restores the chronology of events. This allows seeing the difficult political state of the region on the eve of the First Crusade.

Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, in Washington, DC, is an institute of Harvard University dedicated to supporting scholarship internationally in Byzantine, Pre-Columbian, and Garden and Landscape Studies through fellowships, meetings, exhibitions, and publications. Located in Georgetown and bequeathed by Robert Woods Bliss and Mildred Barnes Bliss, Dumbarton Oaks welcomes scholars to consult its books, images, and objects, and the public to visit its garden, museum, and historic house for lectures and concerts.

- by Kiril Marinow
- •
- Sociology of Religion, Peace and Conflict Studies, Image Science, Medieval Studies

Theophylact of Ohrid and the education system reform in Byzantium in the eleventh century

- by Marcella Labruna
- •
- Philology, Byzantine Literature, Byzantine Studies, Late Antiquity
- by Roland Betancourt
- •
- Media Sociology, Queer Studies, Iconography, Media Studies

This article presents the topic of the conference that was held at Polis Institute in January 2015 and the different contributions that were made there and that have been published in the proceedings. The article presents as well the... more

- by christophe rico
- •
- History, Ancient History, European History, Intellectual History
- by Marina Loukaki
- •
- Byzantine Literature, Byzantine rhetoric

"Poem IV of Michael the Grammarian edited by Mercati may be dated to ca. 1030
because of a reference to Philip of Amorion. Since the poem contains clear references
to the different pronunciation of the letter iota and hypsilon one may deduce that at
that time they effectively represented two different sounds. This is also confirmed by
the near contemporary evidence of Church Slavonic. If hypsilon represented a sound
similar to a French u or a German ü there are important consequences for the study of
Anatolian dialects as well as codicology."

- by Frederick Lauritzen
- •
- Religion, History, Classics, Byzantine Literature

This article focuses on an anonymous ascetic text which is unpublished until now, and offers the critical edition of this short work containing a series of recommendations to Athonite monks, alphabetically organized and ending with the letter gamma; the text is preserved in two manuscripts: Athous, Dionysiou 269, of the XVth c., and Athous, Lavra K 116, of the XVIth c.

Сборник «Византийская мозаика» включает тексты Публичных лекций прочитанных в 2018–2019 учебном году на собраниях Эллино-византийского лектория «Византийская мозаика», прошедших на базе кафедры истории древнего мира и средних веков Харьковского национального университета имени В. Н. Каразина и Свято-Пантелеимоновского храма г. Харькова (Харьковская епархия Украинской Православной Церкви).
Сборник будет интересен и полезен историкам, археологам, религиоведам, философам, искусствоведам, а также всем, кто интересуется историей Византии и христианства

- by Pavel Mikhalitsyn and +1
- •
- Late Antique and Byzantine Studies, Byzantine Literature, Byzantine Studies, Byzantine Architecture

Біблійна герменевтика ґрунтується на богодухновенності та христоцентричності Св. Письма. Обидва ці положення виведені завдяки найголовнішому
способу тлумачення сакральних текстів – герменевтичному колу. В Євангеліях за
допомогою герменевтичного кола можна збагнути статус митарів, фарисеїв,
самарян, первосвящеників, блудниць та багатьох інших. Герменевтична операція реконструкції духовного обліку персонажа є логічним наслідком застосування
герменевтичного кола з метою інтерпретації біблійних творів. Реконструкція
стає можливою завдяки узагальненню типових ситуацій. З іншого боку, отримане на основі читацької уяви ціле дозволяє розвернути інтерпретаційний вектор
і уважніше проаналізувати його частини. Такі спостереження вдалося зробити
на основі кількох євангельських епізодів про митарів, а також Притчі про фарисея та митаря та Притчі про двох синів та батьківську волю.
Ключові слова: біблійні твори, Євангеліє, герменевтика, герменевтичне коло,
реконструкція духовного обліку, притча.

- by Yevgen Dzhydzhora
- •
- Medieval Literature, Byzantine Literature, Hermeneutics, Evangelical movements
- by Guy Smoot
- •
- Religion, Byzantine Literature, Migration, Gender
- by Charis Messis
- •
- Byzantine Literature, Byzantine Studies

HRİSTİYAN SANATININ SOSYOLOJİK OLARAK İNCELENMESİ 19. yüzyıl Rum-Ortodoks kiliselerinde yer alan EPİTAFYON bezleri üzerinden bir değerlendirme AMAÇ Bu çalışmada Bizans toplumu ve sanatı genel çerçevesi içinde Hristiyanlık Sanatının ortaya çıkışı, onu oluşturan tarihi ve sosyal zemin, bu sanatı öne çıkaran özellikler, tarihi gelişimi içerisinde bu sanatın Rum-Ortodoks cemaatine yansımaları ve kilise de törenlerde kullanılan litürjik ve sembolik objelerden biri olan EPİTAFYON ele alınarak Hristiyan sanatının sanat sosyolojisi açısından incelenmesi gerçekleştireceğim.

- by Özlem Osmanoğlu and +1
- •
- Christianity, Iconography, Art History, Byzantine Literature

This book aims at a better understanding of middle and late Byzantine poetry by offering both studies on specific authors and their texts and editions of so far unknown texts.It is only in recent years that Byzantine poetry – a long-neglected aspect of Byzantine literature – has attracted the attention of philologists, literary and cultural historians. This holds true especially for the poetry written in middle and late Byzantium.Though many collections of poems are available in modern critical editions, a considerable amount of texts still remains completely unedited or accessible only in outdated and unreliable editions. Moreover, many works of this period have never been studied thoroughly with regard to their cultural impact on society. Issues of authorship and patronage, function, literary motives, generic qualities, and manuscripts still await further study. This volume aims to take a step to fill this gap. Although it includes studies on poetry from the early tenth to the fifteenth centuries, the main focus is placed on the Komnenian and Palaeologan times. It presents editions of completely unknown texts, such as a twelfth-century cycle of epigrams on John Klimax. It includes studies on various types of poetry, including didactic, occasional, and even poetry written for liturgical purposes. By analysing these works and placing them within their literary and socio-cultural context, we can draw conclusions about the cultural tastes of the Byzantines and acquire a more nuanced picture of middle and late Byzantine poetry.

- by Nikos Zagklas
- •
- Classics, Late Antique and Byzantine Studies, Byzantine Literature, Metrics
- by Warren Treadgold
- •
- Byzantine Literature, Byzantine Studies, Byzantine History

Abstract
This article examines the longstanding rivalry of Rome and Parthia, which began as an unintended consequence of Crassus’ decisive defeat at Carrhae in 53 BCE. It synthesizes the accounts and opinions of numerous Graeco-Roman writers from the Augustan Age to late antiquity in order to help illustrate the new and interconnected post-Carrhae world and its legacy. The rivalry of the Romans and Parthians became a primary focus of their foreign policies and drastically expanded their perceptions of the world in which they interacted. Even after the fall of the Parthians to the rebellious Sassanid Persians in the 220s CE, the Romans continued to find their three-century-long rivalry with the Parthians of interest and relevant to the changing world of late antiquity.

- by Nikolaus L Overtoom
- •
- History, Ancient History, European History, Military History
- by Larisa (Orloff) Vilimonovic and +1
- •
- Classics, Rhetoric, Byzantine Literature, Narratology

Η Ἔκθεσις Κεφαλαίων Παραινετικῶν είναι το μοναδικό κείμενο που μας κληροδότησε η γραφίδα του Αγαπητού Διακόνου. Το έργο αυτό, αποδέκτης του οποίου ήταν ο αυτοκράτωρ Ιουστινιανός Α΄ (527-565), γνώρισε πολύ μεγάλη διάδοση ήδη κατά τους βυζαντινούς χρόνους, αξιοποιήθηκε από την εποχή της Αναγέννησης ως εγχειρίδιο για τη διδασκαλία της ελληνικής γλώσσας στη Δύση και στις παραδουνάβιες ηγεμονίες, μεταφράστηκε σε πλήθος γλωσσών (βουλγαρική, λατινική, εκκλησιαστική σλαβονική, αγγλική, γαλλική, γερμανική κ.ά.) και επηρέασε περισσότερο από κάθε άλλο βυζαντινό κείμενο τον πολιτικό στοχασμό των λαών, οι οποίοι ήρθαν σε επαφή με τη Βυζαντινή Αυτοκρατορία. Το ευσύνοπτο αυτό πόνημα αποκαλύπτει με ενάργεια τις θεμελιώδεις αρχές της πολιτικής σκέψης των Βυζαντινών κατά τον 6ο αιώνα αναφορικά με τις αρετές του ιδανικού ηγεμόνος και με τον ιδεατό τρόπο άσκησης της βασιλικής εξουσίας.
Ο παρών τόμος περιλαμβάνει το πρωτότυπο κείμενο της Ἐκθέσεως Κεφαλαίων Παραινετικῶν και την πρώτη απόδοση του έργου στη Νεοελληνική γλώσσα. Με την εισαγωγή και τα εκτενή ερμηνευτικά σχόλια που συνοδεύουν το κείμενο, το πόνημα του Αγαπητού Διακόνου εντάσσεται πλήρως στο ιστορικό και πολιτικό πλαίσιο της εποχής του, το ζήτημα της χρονολόγησης του έργου εξετάζεται υπό νέο πρίσμα και η διαχρονική αξία του κειμένου καθίσταται προφανής.
http://www.grigorisbooks.gr/product/1885/%CE%B1%CE%B3%CE%B1%CF%80%CE%B7%CF%84%CE%BF%CF%8D-%CE%B4%CE%B9%CE%B1%CE%BA%CF%8C%CE%BD%CE%BF%CF%85.-%CE%AD%CE%BA%CE%B8%CE%B5%CF%83%CE%B9%CF%82-%CE%BA%CE%B5%CF%86%CE%B1%CE%BB%CE%B1%CE%AF%CF%89%CE%BD-%CF%80%CE%B1%CF%81%CE%B1%CE%B9%CE%BD%CE%B5%CF%84%CE%B9%CE%BA%CF%8E%CE%BD

A fronte dei molti libri che il medioevo greco ha trasmesso sani e salvi, altrettanti si sono persi inesorabilmente. Tra questi due estremi — la salvezza e la distruzione — si pone il degrado cui un libro poteva andare incontro, il quale, innescando l’esigenza di porre rimedio a un danno — si trattasse di uno strappo accidentale o dell’asportazione volontaria di un intero fascicolo —, rappresenta l’occasione di ogni storia di restauro. E come ogni storia che si rispetti anche quella qui ripercorsa si fonda sulla concretezza dei dati oggettivi — in primo luogo l’esame diretto dei manoscritti, quindi l’analisi di sottoscrizioni, note, documenti, inventari, cataloghi antichi —, ma sovente dà spazio alle fonti letterarie, indagate sempre dalla parte dei libri, sia che attestino situazioni e accadimenti reali, sia che riflettano il mondo delle rappresentazioni e dell’immaginario. L’ambizione è di offrire al lettore un quadro complessivo, ricco e vivido, di quella che è stata una vicenda di rovina e rinascita, in cui gli aspetti materiali del restauro librario, ancorché importanti, rappresentano solo una parte del fenomeno, che risulta altresì indagato per le sue implicazioni nella trasmissione dei testi e nella storia culturale e sociale di Bisanzio.

- by Daniele Bianconi
- •
- Byzantine Literature, Codicology, Byzantine Studies, Classical philology

Julian the Apostate in Johannes Antiochenus. Uncorrected draft of a paper forthcoming in A. Marcone (ed.), L'imperatore Giuliano. Realtà storica e rappresentazione. Firenze: Le Monnier, 2015. This paper anticipates a few conclusions of... more

Julian the Apostate in Johannes Antiochenus.
Uncorrected draft of a paper forthcoming in A. Marcone (ed.), L'imperatore Giuliano. Realtà storica e rappresentazione. Firenze: Le Monnier, 2015. This paper anticipates a few conclusions of the book "Antieroe dai molti volti: Giuliano l'Apostata nel Medioevo bizantino", published in 2014.

- by Stefano Trovato
- •
- History, Ancient History, Greek Literature, Roman History