Writing and Reading Byzantine Secular Poetry, 1025-1081

In the mid-eleventh century, secular Byzantine poetry attained a hitherto unseen degree of wit, vividness, and personal involvement. This is the first volume to consider this poetic activity as a whole, focusing on Byzantine conceptions of the role of poetry in society.

List of contents

• List of Figures


• List of Abbreviations


• Note to the Reader


• 1: Introduction


• 2: Concepts


• 3: Readings


• 4: Collections


• 5: Ambitions


• 6: Education


• 7: Competitions


• 8: Patronage


• Conclusions


• Bibliography


• General Index


• Index of Poems


• Index of Manuscripts

About the author

Floris Bernard studied Classics in Ghent and Athens, and obtained a PhD in Literature at Ghent University with a dissertation on eleventh-century poetry. He was a Fellow at the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection in Washington DC and is currently post-doctoral research fellow in Ghent.

Summary

In the mid-eleventh century, secular Byzantine poetry attained a hitherto unseen degree of wit, vividness, and personal involvement. This is the first volume to consider this poetic activity as a whole, focusing on Byzantine conceptions of the role of poetry in society.

Additional text

Rich in close readings and approaching its subject from a variety of angles, this book is in a sense a literary history of Byzantine secular poetry in the eleventh century, or more precisely 1025-1081.. . . [A]n important synthesis of previous scholarship on the, until lately, somewhat ignored category of Byzantine verse. It is, however, also an important contribution in itself, promoting several ideas about the writers of verse and their audience. . . . [A] very useful reference tool for further work.

Product details

• Authors: Dr. Floris Bernard, Floris Bernard
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.07.2014
• EAN: 9780198703747
• ISBN: 978-0-19-870374-7
• No. of pages: 400
• Series: Oxford Studies in Byzantium; Oxford Studies in Byzantium
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Antiquity; European History, LITERARY CRITICISM / Poetry, LITERARY CRITICISM / Ancient & Classical, LITERARY CRITICISM / Medieval, HISTORY / Byzantine Empire, Medieval History, Literary studies: classical, early & medieval, c 1000 CE to c 1500, Literary studies: poetry & poets, c 500 to c 1000 CE, European history: medieval period, middle ages, Ancient (Classical) Greek, Literary studies: ancient, classical and medieval, HISTORY / Europe / Medieval, Literary studies: poetry and poets, Byzantine Empire