Explores a Byzantine emperor’s construction of authority with the help of his rhetorical texts
Examines the changes in the Byzantine imperial idea by the end of the fourteenth century with a particular focus on the instrumentalization of the intellectual dimension of the imperial rule
Integrates late Byzantine imperial visions into the bigger picture of Byzantine imperial ideology
Provides a fresh understanding of key pieces of Byzantine public rhetoric and introduces analytical concepts from rhetorical, literary, and discursive theories
Offers translations of key passages from late Byzantine rhetoric
Manuel II Palaiologos was not only a Byzantine emperor but also a remarkably prolific rhetorician and theologian. His oeuvre included letters, treatises, dialogues, short poems and orations.
Florin Leonte deals with several of his texts shaped by a didactic intention to educate the emperor’s son and successor, John VIII Palaiologos. He argues that the emperor constructed a rhetorical persona which he used in an attempt to compete with other contemporary power-brokers. While Manuel Palaiologos adhered to many rhetorical conventions of his day, he also reasserted the civic role of rhetoric.
With a special focus on the first two decades of Manuel II Palaiologos’ rule, 1391–1417, Leonte offers a new understanding of the imperial ethos in Byzantium by combining rhetorical analysis with investigation of social and political phenomena.
Author(s): Florin Leonte
Series: Edinburgh Byzantine Studies
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Year: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 344
City: Edinburgh
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Introduction
Manuel II Palaiologos: A Short Biography and an Overview of the Historical Context
Aims of the Present Study
Structure
Sources
Theoretical Framework
Previous Scholarship
Part I Dissent and Consent
1 Voices of Dissent: Preaching and Negotiating Authority
Organisation of the Ecclesiastics’ Group
Major Political and Social Themes in the Ecclesiastics’ Writings
Conclusion
2 Voices of Consent: Imperial Rhetoricians, Theatra and Patronage
Theatra and Imperial Involvement
Profile and Organisation of the Rhetoricians
Connections among the Members of the Literary Court
The Rhetorical Landscape in the Late Palaiologan Period
Main Themes in the Rhetoricians’ Writings
Conclusion
Part II Other Voices, Other Approaches: Manuel II’s Political Writings
Introduction to Part II
Further Methodological Considerations
An Overview of the Emperor’s Rhetorical oeuvre
The Emperor’s Political Texts
3 The Deliberative Voice: The Dialogue with the Empress-Mother on Marriage
Contents and Structure
Genre
Constructing Dialogic Authority
Conclusion
4 The Didactic Voice: The Foundations of an Imperial Education
Context of Production
Contents and Structure
Genre
Authorial Voice
Conclusion
5 The Didactic Voice: The Orations (Seven Ethico-Political Orations)
The Dramatic Setting
The Contents of the Orations
Major Themes in the Orations
The Orations: Summary and Form
Between Teaching and Preaching: Constructing the Genre of the Orations
Authorial Voice: Teaching the Son and Admonishing the Emperor
Conclusion
6 The Narrative Voice: The Funeral Oration on His Brother Theodore, Despot of Morea
Contexts of Production
The Rhetorical Template and the Compositional Structure of the Funeral Oration
The Narrator and the Narrative
Authorial Voice
Conclusion
7 Towards a Renewed Vision of Imperial Authority
Society and Social ‘Classes’
Enemies and Allies
Markers of Byzantine Identity
Renewal of Imperial Ideology in Manuel’s Texts
Manuel II’s Imperial Vision and Style of Gover
Conclusions
Appendices
Appendix 1 Members of Manuel II’s Literary Circle
Apendix 2 The Contents and Structure of Manuel II’s Foundations
Appendix 3 Translation of Gemistos Plethon’s Preface to Manuel II’s Funeral Oration
Appendix 4 Network of Ecclesiastics and Rhetoricians during Manuel II’s Reign
Bibliography
Manuscripts Consulted
Primary Sources
Secondary Literature
Index
