What was happening in Byzantium as the Turks drew ever closer to Constantinople and an interest in classical Greek studies had been rekindled in the West? What was the role of the Byzantine scholars in an Empire facing multiple political and economic problems, and what were the matters that engaged them? What was the importance of teachers, libraries and monasteries to the so-called Palaeologan Renaissance, and what the significance of the theological disputes?
These questions and more are addressed in the twelve essays authored by international experts of this Companion, which advances our understanding of the intellectual milieux, trends, and achievements of the Palaeologan period.
Contributors are: Giuseppe De Gregorio, Pantelis Golitsis, Eleni Kaltsogianni, Apostolos Karpozilos, Sofia Kotzabassi, Sophia Mergiali-Sahas, Ioannis Polemis, Alexander Riehle, Demetra Samara, Ilias Taxidis, and Ioannis Vassis.
Author(s): Sofia Kotzabassi
Series: Brill's Companions to the Byzantine World, 12
Publisher: Brill
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: xii+520
A Companion to the Intellectual Life of the Palaeologan Period
Contents
Acknowledgments
Maps
Notes on Contributors
Introduction: Intellectual Life in the Palaeologan Period: Persons, Genres and Trends
1 Renaissance or Not Renaissance?
2 The Role of the Women
3 Manuscripts and the Role of Thessaloniki
4 Sciences and Curriculum
Bibliography
1 The “Legacy” of Aphthonios, Hermogenes and Pseudo-Menander: Aspects of Byzantine Rhetoric under the Palaiologoi
1 Introduction
2 The Flourishing of Rhetoric: Prerequisites and General Characteristics
3 Theory of Rhetoric, Rhetorical Manuscripts and Exercises
4 Practical Uses of Rhetoric: Imperial Orations
5 Practical Uses of Rhetoric: Funeral Orations
6 Encomia/Ekphraseis of Cities
7 The “Revival” of the Genos Symbouleutikon
8 Concluding Remarks
Bibliography
2 Intellectual Pursuits for Their Own Sake
1 The Byzantine Disposition towards Knowledge
2 Theodore Metochites: The Statesman and the Study of Astronomy
3 John Zacharias: Τhe Court Physician and the Study of Astrology
4 Gregory Chioniades: The Physician and the Study of Persian Astrology
5 Demetrios Kydones: Τhe Statesman and the Study of Western Philosophical Thought
6 Manuel Palaiologos: The Emperor and Literary Finesse and Composition
Bibliography
3 Continuity and Evolution in Autobiographical Literature
1 The Past
2 The Autobiographer
3 Titles of Autobiographies and Their Evolution
4 Self-Contained Autobiographies
4.1 Gregory II of Cyprus
4.2 Demetrios Kydones
5 Autobiographical Prefaces
5.1 Theodore Metochites
5.2 Joseph Rhakendytes
6 In Search of a Master
7 Autobiographical Confessions
8 Autobiographical Poems
9 Autobiographical Prefaces in Testaments and Typika
9.1 Michael VIII Palaiologos and the Typikon of Kellibara Monastery
9.2 Theodora Synadene (Typikon for the Convent of Bebaia Elpis)
9.3 Patriarch Matthew I
Bibliography
4 Writing the History of Decline
1 Historiography from Nicaea to Constantinople
2 George Akropolites: The Historian of the Laskarids of Nicaea
3 George Pachymeres: How Asia Minor Was Lost
4 Nikephoros Gregoras: On Civil Wars, Social Strife and Hesychasm
5 John Kantakouzenos: A Reluctant Emperor and His History
6 The Historiographic Gap
7 Byzantium on the Eve of the Fall. Stories of Defeat and Discord
8 Michael Kritoboulos: The Sultan’s Historian
9 Michael Doukas: A Dispassionate Critic
10 George Sphrantzes: A Diary in the Form of a Chronicle
11 Laonikos Chalkokondyles: The Rise and Expansion of the Ottoman State
12 But What Can We Say by Way of Conclusion?
Bibliography
5 Spirituality and Emotion: Poetic Trends in the Palaeologan Period
1 Poetry and Rhetoric
2 Poetry for the Court and the Powerful Aristocracy
3 Manuel Philes and the Art of the Epigram
4 Theodore Metochites: Autobiography or Introspection?
5 Poetry in the Service of the Church
5.1 Hymnography
5.2 Metrical Prefaces for Public Performance
5.3 Metrical Calendars
5.4 Poetry in the Service of Polemic Theology
6 Poetry for Teaching Purposes
6.1 Didactic and Admonitory Poems
6.2 Alphabets and Ascetic Kephalaia
6.3 Allegorical Poems
7 Rewriting the Past
8 Verse Chronicles
9 Pamphlets and Satirical Poems
10 Vernacular Romances
Bibliography
6 Epistolography, Social Exchange and Intellectual Discourse (1261–1453)
1 Byzantine Epistolography: Forms, Functions, and Transmission
2 Social Exchange and Intellectual Discourse: Notes on Theory and Terminology
3 A Microcosm: Letters within the Constantinopolitan Intellectual Elite (1261–1321)
4 The Dynamics of Crisis and Change: Epistolography and Intellectual Discourse during the Period of Civil Wars (1321–1391)
5 Caught in the Middle: Epistolography and Intellectual Discourse in the Last Decades of the Byzantine Empire (1391–1453)
6 The End? Afterword on the Fate of Greek Letter-Writing after 1453
Acknowledgments
Bibliography
7 The Reappropriation of Philosophy in the Palaeologan Period
1 Introduction: Philosophy ‘Re-Hellenised’
2 Making Philosophy Accessible: Ancient Texts and Byzantine Commentaries
3 The Actuality of Philosophy
4 The Rehabilitation(s) of Plato and Aristotle
Bibliography
8 Κόσμου θεωρία: Cosmic Vision and Its Significance in the Works of Theodore Metochites and Other Contemporary Intellectuals
1 Introduction
2 The Motif of Nature in the Works of Metochites: The Well-Ordained Universe and Its Contemplation
3 Metochites’ Byzantios: A Defence of the Contemplation of Nature
4 Nature and Fortune: Two Opposite Powers Determining Man’s Life
5 “To Be or Not to Be”: The Somewhat Ambiguous Answer of Metochites
6 The Value of the Contemplation of the World according to Metochites’ Contemporaries
Bibliography
9 Monasticism and Intellectual Trends in Late Byzantium
1 Monastic Centers in Asia Minor
2 Monastic Centers Outside Asia Minor
2.1 Athos
2.2 Meteora
2.3 Macedonia
2.4 Thrace
3 The Spiritual Role of the Monasteries in the Cities
3.1 Constantinople
3.2 Thessaloniki
Bibliography
10 The Hesychast Controversy: Events, Personalities, Texts and Trends
1 Introduction
2 The Beginnings of the Controversy (1334–1340)
3 The Further Development of the Crisis and the Controversy between Palamas and Akindynos (1341–1347)
4 The Involvement of Nikephoros Gregoras and the Council of 1351
5 The Aftermath
6 The Basic Ideas of the Protagonists
6.1 Gregory Palamas and the Patristic Background of His Teaching
6.2 Barlaam of Calabria
6.3 Gregory Akindynos
6.4 Nikephoros Gregoras
7 Lesser Figures
7.1 The Followers of Palamas
7.1.1 A Special Case: Nicholas Kabasilas
7.1.2 The Anti-Palamites
8 Conclusion
Bibliography
11 Working in the Imperial and Patriarchal Chanceries
1 Introductory Background
2 Chanceries in the Service of Rhetoric and Ideology
2.1 Prefaces to Documents as Expressions of Intellectual Production
3 Officials and Intellectuals in the Imperial and Patriarchal Chanceries
3.1 The Imperial Chancery
3.2 The Patriarchal Chancery
Bibliography
12 Public and Private Libraries in Byzantium
1 Imperial Library
2 The Patriarchal Library and the Library of Hagia Sophia
3 Monastery Libraries
4 Private Libraries
Bibliography
General Bibliography
Primary Sources
Secondary Literature
Index of Manuscripts and Documents
Index of Places
General Index
