Writer and Occasion in Twelfth-Century Byzantium - The Authorial Voice of Constantine Manasses

This is the first comprehensive study of occasional writing in Byzantium, focusing on the literary output of Constantine Manasses. It argues that, although such works were commissioned by wealthy 'friends' to mark specific events, he and his fellow writers succeeded in developing a strong and individual authorial presence within them.

List of contents

1. The authorial voice of occasional literature; 2. Praising the emperor, visualizing his city; 3. The occasion of death: patronage and the writer on command; 4. In times of trouble: networks and friendships; 5. On an educational note: the writer as grammatikos; 6. Life, love and the past: self-quotation and recycling; 7. Occasional writing as a creative craft.

About the author

Ingela Nilsson is Professor of Greek and Byzantine Studies at Uppsala University and currently Director of the Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul. Her most recent publications include Raconter Byzance: la littérature au XIIe siècle (2014) and Reading the Late Byzantine Romance: A Handbook (Cambridge, 2019). Nilsson is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities.

Summary

This is the first comprehensive study of occasional writing in Byzantium, focusing on the literary output of Constantine Manasses. It argues that, although such works were commissioned by wealthy 'friends' to mark specific events, he and his fellow writers succeeded in developing a strong and individual authorial presence within them.

Product details

• Authors: Ingela Nilsson, Ingela (Uppsala Universitet Nilsson, Nilsson Ingela
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.03.2022
• EAN: 9781108824262
• ISBN: 978-1-108-82426-2
• No. of pages: 231
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative literary studies; Prose: non-fiction, LITERARY CRITICISM / General, Literary studies: classical, early & medieval, Biography and non-fiction prose, Ancient (Classical) Greek, Literary studies: ancient, classical and medieval