The interest in Andronikos Kallistos, a leading personality among the Greek émigrés who participated in Italian Humanism, arose at the end of the nineteenth century within the frame of the studies on Byzantine scholars of the Renaissance. Researchers have only glimpsed the depth of Kallistos' erudite personality. To date, nearly 130 manuscripts have been found bearing evidence of his work as a copyist and philologist. However, research into both his scribal and scholarly activity remains fragmented into many isolated contributions, (...) mainly concerning specific chapters of the manuscript tradition of classical Greek authors. Adopting a synergistic approach to historical, philological, codicological, and paleographic data within this framework, this monograph study aims to fulfil the following tasks: outlining an updated biography; defining Kallistos' scribal activity better by means of a thorough examination of all surviving manuscript sources; attempting to reconstruct the development of his book collection; acknowledging Kallistos' scholarly activity both as a teacher and philologist; making an inventory of all the manuscripts which bear traces of his writing; and, finally, publishing Kallistos' works. (shrink)

The museum of Trebizond houses a seal with a metrical legend of special interest, documenting a Synadenos, who had for some time been in a Sicilian prison but managed to escape, and thanks the apostle Thomas for this liberation. He might be Andronikos Synadenos, the husband of Theodora Komnene, a daughter of Alexios I, who served with distinction as general and as diplomat. As a military commander he maintained order in several border regions such as Dyrrachion, Niš, Cyprus, and (...) finally Trebizond. The legend of the seal enhances the information from his epitaph which is known from Codex Marc. gr. 574: Synadenos must have been taken prisoner as dux of Dyrrachion, either at the fights during the Second Crusade in 1147/49, or during the failed expedition to Southern Italy; it ended in 1158 by a peace treaty which included an exchange of prisoners. The seal stems from Synadenos’ last post in his military career as dux of Trapezunt (before 1179), since it was found there. A parallel piece, also published in this article, is nowadays in Dumbarton Oaks. (shrink)

Der erste Andronikos erwies sich unter jenen Kaisern, welchen auf dem Thron des byzantinischen Reiches nur eine kurze Zeitspanne beschieden war, als besonderer Liebling der Nymphe Echo. Geboren um 1120, tritt dieser kaiserliche Neffe und Ziehbruder eines Kaisers als eine im wahren Wortsinn changierende Gestalt des 12. Jahrhunderts vor unsere Augen. Zeitlebens war er der vornehmste Opponent seines Vetters, des Kaisers Manuel Komnenos (reg. 1143–1180); er verbrachte neun Jahre im Kerker (1154/55–Herbst 1164) und lebte nach abenteuerlicher Flucht für weitere (...) fünfzehn Jahre in Verbannung (1164/65, 1166–1180). Als er spät im Jahr 1183 schließlich zum Basileus der Rhomäer avancierte, schreckte er vor dem Meuchelmord an seinem Neffen, dem jungen Kaiser Alexios, nicht zurück – um seinerseits kaum zwei Jahre später von Hand des konstantinopolitanischen Pöbels das wohl grausamste Ende zu finden, das jemals einem byzantinischen Autokrator zuteil wurde (September 1185): Das prophezeite AIMA der Komnenoi hatte sich erfüllt. Andronikos' kurze Tyrannis ist eingerahmt von den blutigen Ausschreitungen der Konstantinopolitaner wider die Lateiner (April 1182) und deren Nemesis, der normannischen Eroberung und Plünderung Thessalonikes (August 1185). Einige beherzte Maßnahmen seinerseits, groben Mißständen Abhilfe zu leisten, wurden bereits von den Zeitgenossen mit Lob bedacht. Die folgenden Glossen richten den Fokus allerdings vor allem auf jene Jahre, in denen odysseusgleiche Irrfahrten Andronikos bis hinauf in die Lande der Rus' (1164/65) und schließlich von Jerusalem über Damaskus und Bagdad nach Georgien führten (zwischen 1167 und 1180), ehe er in der Herrschaft der Saltuḳ-oġullari im nordöstlichen Winkel Kleinasiens, bei Koloneia (türk. Şebinkarahisar), Zuflucht fand. (shrink)

Erfreut begrüßen wir die textkritische Ausgabe der von Maximos Planudes verfaßten Übersetzung der Metamorphosen Ovids: so wird ein altes Desideratum der byzantinischen wie auch der lateinischen Philologie erfüllt. Die mühevolle Arbeit haben M. PAPATHOMOPOULOS und I. TSAVARI übernommen, und das Buch hat die Akademie von Athen herausgegeben, die im Rahmen anderer Schriftenreihen (Corpus philosophorum medii aevi, Philosophi Byzantini und Бιβλιοθήϰη А. Мανούςη) noch mehrere byzantinische Übersetzungen (von Boethius' De differentiis topicis und De consolatione Philosophiae sowie von Augustinus' De trinitate) erscheinen (...) ließ. (shrink)

Bd. 1. Die Renaissance des Aristotelismus im 1. Jh. v. Chr.

Associé à travers son histoire à la cour de Constantinople, le monastère de Chora a été restauré et décoré par Pthéodore Metochites, un premier ministre d'Andronokos II Palaiologos, entre 1313 et 1321. Cet article présente un poème attribué à Manuel Philes qui fournit un témoignage sur la dédicace et le principal katholikon du monastère.

Main figures in Byzantium after the Byzantium were Ioannis Zygomalas (1498-1584) and his son and fellow Theodosius (1544-1607) who drew a spiritual path that left many and rich traces and presumptions. They served in the Patriarchate of Constantinople in key positions. There they taught the ancient Greek language and they copied and distributed manuscripts of works of ancient and byzantine writers. Their mailing correspondence with European scholars and travelers is well known. Thanks to that, the humanistic Europe met not only (...) the Greek scholars of the 16th c. but also their spoken language of that era, as a continuation of the Greek classical times and the Byzantine world. The historical information concerning them that has been saved is of interest to many categories of specialists of human sciences: Theology and Philosophy, Social History, History of Law and Institutions, Literature and Linguistics, Palaeography and Codicology, Letter-writing. Authors: Hans Eideneier, Ernst Gamillscheg, Christian Gastgeber, Andreas Rhoby, Dora E. Solti, D. G. Apostolopoulos, Athanasios E. Karathanasis, Vassilis Katsaros, R. Georgios D. Metallinos, Machi Paizi-Apostolopoulou, Stavros Perentidis, Konstantinos Pitsakis, Georgios Steiris, Notis Toufexis, Andronikos Falaggas. (shrink)

In the later Byzantine age, historical sources mention many examples of prophecies concerning Chremetismomancy, the divination by horses' neighs. As far as we know, however, we have no earlier documents about this practice from ancient or from medieval Greece. Under the Komnenoi and Palaiologoi, to the contrary, important prophetic neighs are quoted by Anna Komnene, by Niketas Choniates and Nikephoros Gregoras. Wonders which were worked by neighing horses are of very great political consequence, relating to crucial moments such as an (...) emperor's military victories, a prince's succession to the imperial throne or the deposition of a ruler. In Gregoras' Roman History, it is not a living animal responsable for the nocturnal neighs, but a painted one at a chapel in the palace. It is very interesting to examine these narrative plots and historical accounts, as they convey many informations about Byzantine society. In particular, the strong disposition for magic, even at top-level of the society, should be emphasized. The philomantic emperors par excellence are Manuel I Komnenos and Andronikos II Palaiologos, the author of a themation, an astrological interpretation of horses' neighs, together with his faithful Logo the tes Theodoros Metochites, an expert at astrology and hemerology. The advance of such divinatory practices in the late Byzantine centuries should be related to home instability and enemies' threats on the boundaries. Chremetismomantic omina clearly focus on this particular climate of terror and uncertainty which forms the ideal ground for any attempt to foretell the future. Therefore, these practices were no laughing matter for Byzantine writers and their readers: only Nicetas Choniates' shy irony may argue us out of believing this. (shrink)

The last years of Michael Psellos' life are clouded in obscurity. He was certainly active at the court of his student Michael VII (1071–1078), but when Nikephoritzes, the logothetes tou dromou, became imperial advisor (Attaleiates, Historia, 200,12ff) he practically disappeared from the scene. One of the last chronological references found in his Chronographia is the death of Crispinus in 1075 (VII, b 39, 3–4). In that year he also wrote a description of the “usual miracle” which occurred regularly in the (...) church of Blachernai and somewhat later a funeral oration for Patriarch Ioannes Xiphilinos. Among his writings survives another funeral oration which he dedicated to the young Andronikos Doukas. This work is transmitted only in part by cod. Parisinus gr. 1182 and is dated in 1076. From that point on, practically nothing is known about his subsequent life. (shrink)

This article examines the Byzantine responses to the battlefield tactics followed by the armies of the Turkoman chiefdoms during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The most characteristic example reflecting the difficulties faced by the Byzantine army when confronted by the Turkomans is the battle of Pelekanos, in the gulf of Nikomedia. It was fought in 1329 between the Byzantines under the command of the emperor Andronikos III (1328–1341), and the Ottomans whose leader was Orhan (1326–1362). The outcome of this (...) battle typifies the inability of the late Byzantine armies to deal effectively with the Turkoman cavalry archers, despite the instructions given by the military treatises which were compiled in the earlier periods of Byzantine history, despite the experience of fighting against enemies of similar nature in the past, and despite the fact that generals such as Kantakouzenos possessed a good knowledge of the fighting methods of the Turkomans. This article argues that the inability of the Byzantines to adjust to the demands of the battlefield tactics of the Turkoman warriors was a combination of many factors. The loss of Asia Minor deprived Byzantium of its main source of competent archers. The Byzantines relied on heavy cavalry which, although it proved ineffective against the Turkomans, was the symbol of exalted status of members of the aristocracy. Moreover, stereotyped views about the Turkomans affected the performance of the Byzantines on the battlefield. It seems that Byzantine generals, even if they knew the fighting methods of the Turkomans, very often could not fully understand the strength of their armies. This article concludes that the failure to react successfully to the battlefield tactics of the Turkomans could be partly described as a failure of cultural adaptation, reinforced by stereotypes about ‘barbarians.’. (shrink)

The son of the learned Byzantine emperor Alexios I, the younger brother of the historian Anna Comnena, the father of the cruel emperor Andronikos I, and apparently the forefather of the γένος that was to overthrow the Byzantine empire, Isaac Porphyrogenitus had no easy life. Not only did his repeated attempts to the throne of his brother John II Comnenos prove totally unsuccessful, not only did he travel for this purpose across Asia Minor and the Middle East, but shortly (...) after he was reconciled with the emperor his son, called John, fled to the Turks out of insubordination to John II's power, causing Isaac himself to be exiled: in Asia Minor John became a Muslim, married the emir's daughter and – someone says – gave birth to the grandfather of Othman/Osman , the sultan who started the Ottoman dynasty. (shrink)

Dans cet ouvrage, A. Falcon propose une histoire de l’aristotélisme qui examine la présence et la fortune de la pensée d’Aristote dans le monde antique. L’originalité du livre ne réside pas dans son objet, comme le souligne l’auteur en mentionnant dès l’introduction le travail colossal publié en 1973 par Paul Moraux sur l’aristotélisme, d’Andronicos de Rhodes à Alexandre d’Aphrodise (Der Aristotelismus bei den Griechen, von Andronikos bis Alexander von Aphrodisias, Berlin, 1973). Elle réside...

Stephen Hagiochristophorites a été haut fonctionnaire des finances dans le gouvernement d'Andronikos I Komnenos. Ses opposants l'ont appelé antichristophorites car pour eux, il s'est éloigné des voies tracées par Dieu. Il est devenu un des acolytes les plus loyaux d'Andronikos Komnenos. Son efficacité dans son poste de haut fonctionnaire l'a fait aimé par l'empereur et de l'autre côté a contribué à son impopularité.

Recent excavations in Macedonia have provided an analogy to the pillaging of the Palace at Persepolis. In plundered tombs at Aiani the excavators found a number of small gold discs with impressed rosettes and of gilded silver ivy leaves; at Katerini some thirty-five gold discs with impressed rosettes, a gold double pin, a gold ring from a sword-hilt, a bit of a gilded pectoral, gilded silver fittings once attached to a leather cuirass, many buttons and other fragments; and at Palatitsia (...) bits of a gilded bronze wreath and of a gold necklace, and an ivory fitting. It was suggested that some of these objects had been dropped when ornamental facings were being torn away from a wooden funerary couch and from clothing by the robbers, who were probably working at speed and dared not return. In the antechamber of the tomb at Katerini many of the objects I have mentioned were found inside a burnt layer, and M. Andronikos has provided the explanation that they had been burnt on the pyre outside the tomb and then brought inside with the debris of the pyre itself. Nothing else was associated with burnt material. (shrink)

It has long been known that in April 1343 gems from the Byzantine imperial crown were pledged with the Venetians as collateral for a loan; the sum secured by this transaction was the substantial one of 30,000 ducats. The action had been taken by the empress Anna of Savoy, who, after the death of her husband Andronikos III in 1341, had ensured that her young son, born in June 1332, was crowned by the patriarch in November of the same (...) year as the emperor John V Palaiologos. She negotiated the loan when desperately short of funds while acting as his regent during the ensuing civil war of 1341-1347; under the agreed terms the loan would be repaid at the rate of 10,000 ducats per year over three years, plus interest at 5%. The timescale of the agreement implies that she must have initially hoped that the jewels would be recovered for her emperor son, then only eleven years old, when he reached the age of fourteen. (shrink)

Unter der Bezeichnung ›Organon‹ werden traditionell sechs Abhandlungen des Aristoteles zusammengefasst, die als sein logisches Werk gelten: Kategorien, De interpretatione, Analytica priora, Analytica posteriora, Topik, Sophistici elenchi. Die Zusammenfassung dieser Schriften zu einer Werkgruppe geht nicht auf Aristoteles zurück, sondern auf antike Kommentatoren und Editoren, vermutlich auf den Peripatetiker Andronikos von Rhodos im 1. Jh. v. Chr. Von einigen neuplatonischen und arabischen Kommentatoren wurden auch die Rhetorik und Poetik zum ›Organon‹ gezählt.

Codex Marcianus Graecus 266 contains a declamation in the character of Paul speaking before the Athenian Areopagus that is attributed to the learned monk Sophonias. This previously unpublished text is valuable both as an example of late Byzantine rhetoric and as additional testimony to the Sophonias known through historical sources to have acted as a representative of Emperor Andronikos II Palaeologos and to whom a paraphrase of Aristotelian works is attributed. The text is introduced, edited and translated for the (...) first time. (shrink)