The Depiction of Character in the Chronographia of Michael Psellos

The Depiction of Character in the Chronographia of Michael Psellos PDF

Author: Frederick Lauritzen

Publisher: Brepols Publishers

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9782503548418

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Character is the single most important feature of the Chronographia written by Michael Psellos (1018-1081?). It is an historical account of the events at court from the time of Basil II (986-1025) to Michael VII Doukas (1071-1078) with the insight of someone whose career developed within the imperial court and his unsurpassed eye for details of personality was enlightened by his intellectual interests. During his lifetime, Psellos was considered the forefront of philosophical studies in the capital and therefore was named consul of philosophers in 1047 and he credited himself with reintroducing Plato on the cultural scene of Constantinople. It was his attractive manner of speech which led him to remain in the emperor's presence and his rhetorical ability also plays an important role in the Chronographia, especially when he emphasizes or fabricates events to justify his understanding of a person's mind. Many have employed Psellos' Chronographia for its value in shedding light on historic events, itself important, though it often neglects the fact that Psellos' historiography is not based on factual details to explain multiple causes for events, but seeks to attribute blame or merit to the personality of the ruling emperor.

Michael Psellos on Literature and Art

Michael Psellos on Literature and Art PDF

Author: Michael Psellos

Publisher: University of Notre Dame Pess

Published: 2017-04-30

Total Pages: 446

ISBN-13: 0268100519

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The ambition of Michael Psellos on Literature and Art is to illustrate an important chapter in the history of Greek literary and art criticism and introduce precisely this aspect of Psellian writing to a wider public.

Fourteen Byzantine Rulers

Fourteen Byzantine Rulers PDF

Author: Michael Psellus

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 1979-09-27

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13: 0141904550

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This chronicle of the Byzantine Empire, beginning in 1025, shows a profound understanding of the power politics that characterized the empire and led to its decline.

Reading Proclus and the Book of Causes, Volume 2

Reading Proclus and the Book of Causes, Volume 2 PDF

Author: Dragos Calma

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2020-10-20

Total Pages: 500

ISBN-13: 9004440682

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Reading Proclus and the Book of Causes, published in three volumes, is a fresh, comprehensive understanding of the history of Neoplatonism from the 9th to the 16th century. The impact of the Elements of Theology and the Book of Causes is reconsidered on the basis of newly discovered manuscripts and evidences. This second volume revises widely accepted hypotheses about the reception of the Proclus’ text in Byzantium and the Caucasus, and about the context that made possible the composition of the Book of Causes and its translations into Latin and Hebrew. The contributions offer a unique, comparative perspective on the various ways a pagan author was acculturated to the Abrahamic traditions.

The Argument of Psellos' Chronographia

The Argument of Psellos' Chronographia PDF

Author: Anthony Kaldellis

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2021-10-11

Total Pages: 237

ISBN-13: 9004452869

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This book is a philosophical interpretation of Michael Psellos' Chronographia, an acknowledged masterpiece of Byzantine literature. Anthony Kaldellis argues that although the Chronographia contains a fascinating historical narrative; it is really a disguised philosophical work which, if read carefully, reveals Psellos' revolutionary views on politics and religion. Kaldellis exposes the rhetorical techniques with which Psellos veils his unorthodoxy, and demonstrates that the inner message of the text challenges the Church's supremacy over the intellectual and political life of Byzantium. Psellos consciously articulates a secular vision of Imperial politics, and seeks to liberate philosophy from the constraints of Christian theology. The analysis is lucid and should be accessible to anyone with a general knowledge of Byzantine civilization. It should interest all who study the history of ancient and medieval philosophy.

The Routledge Handbook on Identity in Byzantium

The Routledge Handbook on Identity in Byzantium PDF

Author: Michael Edward Stewart

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2022-03-31

Total Pages: 468

ISBN-13: 0429633408

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This volume is the first to focus solely on how specific individuals and groups in Byzantium and its borderlands were defined and distinguished from other individuals and groups from the mid-fourth to the close of the fifteenth century. It gathers chapters from both established and emerging scholars from a wide range of disciplines across history, art, archaeology, and religion to provide an accurate representation of the state of the field both now and in its immediate future. The handbook is divided into four subtopics that examine concepts of group and specific individual identity which have been chosen to provide methodologically sophisticated and multidisciplinary perspectives on specific categories of group and individual identity. The topics are Imperial Identities; Romanitas in the Late Antique Mediterranean; Macro and Micro Identities: Religious, Regional, and Ethnic Identities, and Internal Others; and Gendered Identities: Literature, Memory, and Self in Early and Middle Byzantium. While no single volume could ever provide a comprehensive vision of identities on the vast variety of peoples within Byzantium over nearly a millennium of its history, this handbook represents a milestone in offering a survey of the vibrant surge of scholarship examining the numerous and oft-times fluctuating codes of identity that shaped and transformed Byzantium and its neighbours during the empire’s long life.

Fourteen Byzantine Rulers

Fourteen Byzantine Rulers PDF

Author: Michael Psellus

Publisher: Digireads.com

Published: 2014-01-01

Total Pages: 190

ISBN-13: 9781420950250

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Byzantine monk, Michael Psellus, or Psellos, was an important biographer and historian of the 11th century. His most important work is the "Chronographia," a history of the reigns of fourteen Byzantine emperors and empresses during the century leading up to Psellus' own time. Beginning with Ramanos II in the middle of the 10th century and concluding with Michael VII in the late 11th century, the "Chronographia" is an important document of the lives of the rulers of the Byzantine Empire. The work focuses on describing the personal character of its subjects over particular details of political and military events, as was common with other similar historical works. The work also contains a great depth of autobiographical content which paints the author as an incredibly learned man who believed in the importance of classical study especially with regard to the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. This work is an invaluable scholarly history of the Byzantine Empire in the 10th and 11th century.

Brill's Companion to the Reception of Plutarch

Brill's Companion to the Reception of Plutarch PDF

Author:

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2019-10-07

Total Pages: 721

ISBN-13: 9004409440

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Brill’s Companion to the Reception of Plutarch offers the first comprehensive analysis of Plutarch’s rich reception history from the high Roman Empire, Late Antiquity and Byzantium to the Renaissance, Enlightenment, and the modern era, across various cultures in Europe, America, North Africa, and the Middle East.