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The article offers a critical edition of the hitherto unpublished letter of condolence of Manuel Holobolos to Theodora Raoulaina for the death of her second husband, Ioannes Raoul, transmitted in the ms Hierosolymitanus, Sancti Sepulchri (Panagiou Taphou) 276., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 10 (2020)

This article presents the editio princeps of the unknown kanon on Saint Nicholas written by the thirteenth-century Thessalonian hagiographer and hymnographer John Staurakios., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 9 (2019)

The article focuses on a schedographic collection preserved in codex Laurentianus 56.17, dated to the first decade of the XIV century. The collection was probably produced inside the intellectual circle surrounding John Pediasimos Pothos in Thessalonike. The unique nature of this manuscript, which is the result of the collaboration of a teacher and his student, led us to the decision to publish in full the school exercises it contains (both the schedeand their epimerismoi), and to explore their sources, as an example of the school praxis in the Palaeologan period., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 9 (2019)

Athanasius, the author of Vita A of Athanasius the Athonite, included into his text several passages in which he explains why he took up the pen. These passages are not only exceptionally long but also unusually well crafted. The present article offers an in-depth analysis of the argument. It demonstrates that Athanasius, a member of the Byzantine elite, was an egocentric who believed that he was the sole heir of the monastic tradition that had been created by the saint., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 9 (2019)

The MS. Darmstadt, Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek, misc. gr. 2773 (14th century) preserves a short quotation from Nikephoros Blemmydes which has usually been taken as not genuine. In this paper, the source of the quotation is identified as coming from the Epitome physica, Chapter 17 concerning the doctrine of winds. The wind-rose that follows the quotation comes from the same chapter as well., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 8 (2018)

The article focuses on an unedited poem of the well-known writer Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos dedicated to Theotokos’ Annunciation feast. The poem preserved in codices Bodl. Auct. E.5.14 and Neapol. II.A.25, both dated in the XIV century. It consists of 190 dodecasyllabic verses and belongs to a group of poems, known as “metrical prefaces”, which served as introductions to homilies of various kinds., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 10 (2020)

The article is concerned with a hitherto unidentified fragment of Nikephoros Chrysoberges’ encomium of the patriarch John X Kamateros. The fragment is transmitted on f. 146rv of the codex Vindobonensis Phil. gr. 321 (13th century), which also preserves the rest of the encomium (ff. 246r-253v); f. 146rv should be placed between ff. 249v-250r, thus filling a lacuna in the text, already indicated by its editors. In terms of content, the fragment under consideration offers some interesting information regarding the person of a metropolitan of Thessaloniki, who held this office during Kamateros’ patriarchate, in all probability Constantine Mesopotamites., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 10 (2020)

The present paper suggests the hypothesis that a line of the first redaction of theHomeric Centos(Eud. I HC445), which is not found in Homeric poetry, is really a genuine line of the Odyssey, lost in the direct tradition. We have evidence for that because we find the same quotation, with a slight variant reading, in another witness of indirect tradition, the Byzantine scholar and grammarian Thomas Magister (Thom.Mag. nav.13, 8)., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 10 (2020)

The circulation of Theophanes Continuatus, the “official history” of the ruling house of the Macedonians, which survived in Vaticanus gr. 167, was most probably confined to the narrow boundaries of the palace. In addition to the anonymous annotator of the Vatican codex, the readership of the historical work in question also includes two well-known scholars, John Skylitzes (11th c.) and John Zonaras (11-12th c.). In the eleventh century, however, another eminent member of the court, Michael Psellos, would also seem to have been acquainted with Theophanes Continuatus, and in particular its fifth book, the famous Vita Basilii, as a passage from his Chronographia reveals, Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 10 (2020)

The Visio Anastasiae monialis, also known as Apocalypse of Anastasia (BHG 1868-1870b), is possibly the most famous Byzantine “Tour of hell (and heaven)” narrative, together with the coeval Apocalypse of the Theotokos. This article proposes a list of corrigenda to Rudolf Homburg’ s Teubner edition of 1903, and offers a philological discussion of selected passages, based on new collations of the three manuscripts used by Homburg and three more manuscripts hitherto unstudied. A proekdosis of the prologue of the redactions BHG 1869 and 1870b is also offered., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 10 (2020)

The present paper deals with a 12th-century ‘Platonic’ dialogue between the patriarch Nikolaos Mouzalon, Manuel Komnenos and an unspecified number of bishops, within the frame of a synod that was held in Constantinople in 1151 and led to Mouzalon’s abdication from the throne. Although the unofficial document that records the dialogue purports to be a faithful transcription of the second day of the debate, the abundance of motifs and elements that relate to the contemporary intellectual and literary milieu, as well as Manuel’s somewhat failed attempt to act as a Socrates-like figure throughout the dialogue, pose several questions with regard to the author’s attitude against the emperor and the text’s overall connection to actual events. Both these questions are explored, via the process of close reading and also with the aid of other contemporary or slightly posterior primary sources. In addition, an attempt is made to outline Manuel’s projected image as a master in the use of dialectic and syllogisms, and its evolution through the years of his long reign., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 10 (2020)

This article seeks to reconstruct the hagiographical oeuvre of a little known Byzantine author, through analysis of texts that in the manuscripts are attributed to ‘Michael the Monk’, ‘Michael the Archimandrite’ and ‘Michael the Synkellos’ and of other anonymous writings that display similar stylistic features. It makes the case that Michael lived in the second half of the ninth and the first half of the tenth century and was monk of Stoudios, archimandrite of Dalmatos, and synkellos of Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 10 (2020)

Alexios III Angelos was one of the most hated emperors of Byzantine history since the historian Niketas Choniates heartfully despises him in the books dedicated to his reign within his History. Niketas describes him as indolent, impotent, conceited, and as liable for the first fall of Constantinople under the crusaders’ and Venetians’ armies. This paper does not claim to restore to favor nor discharge Alexios, but to consider how Niketas creates a character modeled by literary patterns, such as Eteocles or Thersites, which are all related to the antihero archetype. The aim of Niketas seems not to be only to frame a persona as a playwrighter or a novelist would do, but as a mosaist to allow each protagonist of his History to fit into God’s designs for the Roman Empire., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 8 (2018)

The author demonstrates that a passage of a Greek letter written by Demetrius Chalcondylas to the famous scholar and editor Marcus Musurus, which was considered corrupted by the editor, is actually genuine, and it contains an allusion to Homer, Iliad, 2.298. Analysing the manuscript which preserves this letter (Par. gr. 2966), he restores the correct reading, and explains the meaning of the sentence in this context., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 8 (2018)

Manuel Philes, the most prolific poet of the early Palaiologan era, composed at the beginning of the 14th century twelve dodecasyllable four-verse funerary epigrams for Ioannes Cheilas, the deceased metropolitan of Ephesos, which are preserved in four manuscripts dated in the 14th and 15th centuries. The present paper provides the critical edition and an English translation of these epigrams, in which the main idea that comes up is that of the envy (φθόνος) together with wear (φθορά), motifs that raise questions about the ambiguous personality of the deceased. The epigrams present Cheilas as a man who became a victim of injustice and show a close relationship between him and the poet., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 8 (2018)

The purpose of the present note is to solve a small editorial problem in the Miracles of ss. Cyrus and John 34 (BHG 477-479), by Sophronius. The word οὔριον in the phrase ᾠὸν οὔριον ὄφεως (used of a snake’s egg from which a live hatchling emerges), which has puzzled translators and for which a correction to ὥριον has been proposed, is explained as a somewhat playful reference to Isaiah 59, 5 ᾠὰ ἀσπίδων ... οὔριον εὗρεν, καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ βασιλίσκος. In order to elucidate the background of Sophronius’ use of the phrase, the article briefly examines the concept of the infertile “wind eggs” and the genesis and development of the basilisk legend in ancient medical, paradoxographical and Christian theological literature. Finally, an attempt is made to establish a connection between the word οὔριον and its early Medieval rendering as concalefactum et virulentum in Anastasius the Librarian’s Latin translation of the Miracles.

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This article contains a canon from the 14th century manuscript Vaticanus Palat. gr. 141 that contains works from Maximos Planoudes. More specifically, a canon dedicated to St Demetrius is reissued here from the well-renowned scholar., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 6 (2016)

This article presents the first critical edition of a metrical Encomium to the monastic life written by the fourteenth-century Byzantine author Alexios Makrembolites. The text is preserved in only one manuscript (Hierosolymitanus Sabbaiticus gr. 417). Makrembolites, after referring to the constant rejuvenation of the nature, wonders why people are drawn towards material goods and not to spiritual ones, distancing themselves from the immortality offered by a life close to God. After apologizing for his sinful life, he praises monastic life which he believes he should follow in order to bring an end to all his pains., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 6 (2016)

The new edition of the texts composed by Julian at the time of his short reign (361-363) by H.-G. Nesselrath offered us the opportunity to propose some emendations to the text of those orations.

The paper deals especially with monograms on Byzantine lead seals. The early form was the block monogram, a type used already in Classical times, which came into fashion in the Byzantine world in the 6th or already in the 5th century and remained important till the early 7th century. Such monograms hide normally a name, a title or an office, the Greek ones in genitive, the Latin ones in nominative or genitive. Many of them can be read in different ways. For the double using of parts of letters for other ones the well-known Latin monogram of Theoderich is explained in detail. But the “typical Byzantine monogram” became the cross monogram, with letters more or less affixed on the arms of a Greek cross. The earliest example stems from a coin of Justinus I, starting 522, quite earlier than Theodora’s monograms on capitals in the Hagia Sophia. These cruciform monograms presented in the beginning also a name, a title or an office, but in the 8th century already often a combination of them; these monograms with prosopographical information stopped in Byzantium at the end of the 8th century. On the other hand invocative monograms (like Θεοτόκε βοήθει), often with the tetragram τῷ σῷ δούλῳ in the free quarters of the monogram, started around the middle of the 7th century and can be found till the earlier 11th century. The most common ones were collected by V. Laurent – we use this system till today, though there are much more types documented. An important problem is that sometimes single letters are “hidden” in another letter, e. g. Lambda in Alpha or Delta, Epsilon in a Kappa on the left bar of a cross monogram, Sigma in Epsilon, Sigma in Kappa, Omikron in Rho, etc. In Vienna we developed a special program to solve many monograms. If we bring all the readable letters of a monogram (including the possibly additional ones) in an alphabetical order, and do the same with the letters of names, titles and offices which were used in this time, both categories can be combined without problems. Sometimes even modest combinations of letters can be interpreted in many ways – e.g. with usual and very rare names; but who could forbid someone with a rare name to produce a monogram for himself?, Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 6 (2016)

In this paper, some copies of Nikephoros Blemmydes’ Epitome physica produced in Italy between the end of the 15th and the first decades of the 16th century will be investigated according to a palaeographic, philological and cultural perspective, also in relation to the older manuscripts of this work. The first part of the article is devoted to the Barb. gr. 226 and to its copies, especially to the Laur. plut. 86,15 and to the Ambr. O 82 sup., also with some observations concerning the Laur. plut. 86,31. The second part concerns the Laur. plut. 71,8 and the Barb. gr. 246, two copies by Demetrios Damilas from the Vat. gr. 315., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 6 (2016)

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The poetry of Michael Psellos (1018-1081) reveals a strong connection with the imperial court. The poems edited by Westerink and considered genuine by him (1-52) are often dedicated the emperors or empresses and the content is tied to dynamics at the palace. Therefore Psellos’ genuine poetic production may be considered ‘poesies d’occasion’ or ‘Gelegenheitsdichtung’ or imperial poetry., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 7 (2017)

This article focuses on the narrative structure of the Byzantine vernacular romance Kallimachos and Chrysorrhoe. I argue that the first half of the romance is built upon a tripartite pattern, telling the stories of three male characters playing the role of the princess’ suitor. These three male characters are the hero, the rival, and the dragon, and their stories are reshaped and adapted from a common basic plot, each involving a similar set of typical situations and repeated motives., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 7 (2017)

The article presents the MS Conventi Soppressi B.1, Camaldoli 1214 of the National Central Library of Florence, which contains the Byzantine Life of St. Parasceve of Epibatai (BHG 1420z). It appears to be the second known codex, preserving a monogram of the Palaiologos family (usually manifested in the architecture and the material objects) in the decoration of a manuscript, except for the manuscript Vat. gr. 1158, described earlier by H. Belting. Some common features of the Florentine manuscript and the codex Gothoburgensis gr. 4, the other manuscript, which preserves the Byzantine Life of St. Parasceve of Epibatai, are discussed as well.

Η μελέτη παρουσιάζει μια νέα κριτική έκδοση του εγκωμίου της οσίας Ματρώνας του Νείλου μητροπολίτου Ρόδους (1350-1347) με βάση τους δύο κώδικες που παραδίδουν το εγκώμιο: τον Mosquensis gr. 492, φφ. 663r-671r και 487r-496r και τον Αθων. Διονυσίου 228, φφ. 15r-36v. Στο εγκώμιο, που αποτελεί τη βασική πηγή για τη ζωή της οσίας Ματρώνας, ο Νείλος εγκωμιάζει τις αρετές, την καθαρότητα και την παρθενία της χρησιμοποιώντας ρητορικά σχήματα, χωρία της Παλαιάς και της Καινής Διαθήκης και των Πατέρων της Εκκλησίας. Δίδει ακόμη σημαντικές πληροφορίες για τα θαύματά της και την ιστορία της Χίου. Στη μελέτη διαπιστώνεται επίσης η σημαντική ομοιότητα με την ακολουθία προς τιμήν της που συνέθεσε ο Νείλος λίγα χρόνια πριν από το εγκώμιο.

L’ auteur essaie de montrer que la recherche concernant le public qui, dans l’ Empire byzantin et plus principalement durant la période médiobyzantine lisait (ou écoutait) les textes historiographiques, doit d’ abord examiner le statut social des lecteurs/auditeurs et ensuite la composition des textes eux-mêmes. D’ ailleurs, il est bien accepté aujourd’ hui que malgré les différences en ce qui concerne la forme et la narration entre l’ historiographie et la chronographie, il y a des nombreux éléments communs parmi eux tandis que les auteurs disposent souvent de la même formation intellectuelle. La répartition des lecteurs/auditeurs en trois catégories décrite d’ une manière admirative par Michel Psellos dans son éloge de Syméon Métaphraste (περιττοί, σπουδαῖοι, ἰδιῶται) est toujours valable mais il n’existe aucun élément digne d’ attention suggérant que les περιττοί lisaient les œuvres historiques qui correspondaient à leur (haut) niveau de culture – comme on croyait auparavant –, laissaint les autres textes, ‘inférieurs’ au point de vue stylistique, aux σπουδαῖοι et ἰδιῶται. Cependant à l’ époque en question il y a une catégorie spéciale de public qui lisait (ou écoutait) les textes historiques, indépendamment du niveau de culture; il s’agit de tous ceux auxquels étaient destinés les biographies des nouveaux « héros », composées en grand nombre au cours de la période macédonienne., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 5 (2015)

The present study deals with the dream sequence in the Itinerary of Constantine Manasses. The allegorical dream, which the narrator has in the beginning of the poem, proves to be prophetic, foreseeing his future adventures. In general, there was a revived interest on behalf of the Byzantine scholars in the theory of dreams, largely due to the reemergence of Aristotelian works during that era. However, the dream sequence in the Itinerary seems to be associated mainly with dreambooks and especially Artemidorus’ Oneirocriticon. Further relations with the novelistic genre of late antiquity and 12th century Byzantium, as well as possible intertextual references to various works of the ancient Greek literature (the Histories of Thucydides and the Persians of Aeschylus) are also included in this paper.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce, edit and translate an unpublished fragment of Byzantine medical writing. Parisinus suppl. gr. 607 preserves a short and seemingly acephalous anthology of pharmaceutical remedies. A consideration of recipe collections as a distinctive but hard-to-define species of Byzantine Fachliteratur seeks to integrate this text into recent scholarship concerning a broad category of informal therapeutic writings, which testify to Byzantine drug lore, clinical practice and medicinal book culture. Investigation of the codicological structure clarifies that a secondary hand copied the fragment onto a blank folio in the mid-tenth century, contemporary with the compilation this manuscript in a high socio-cultural and intellectual milieu in Constantinople. Examination of compositional contexts, embracing philological, textual, literary-historical and medical dimensions, suggests a ‘private’ remedy collection indicative of the use of texts in ‘household medicine’. This fragment draws particular attention as one of the earliest surviving specimens, while the codex has escaped the notice of previous inventories of Greek manuscripts with medical content., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 7 (2017)

L’articolo presenta l’edizione con traduzione italiana del Contra apostatem di Niceta Myrsionites, divenuto metropolita di Rodi all’inizio del XV s. con il nome di Nilo. Tale attribuzione fa seguito allo studio dell’ultima unità codicologica contenuta nel Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Par. gr. 1276 (ff. 208r-215v), lì dove il testo autografo è conservato come anonimo. Tale attribuzione inoltre chiarisce l’identità del copista di questo e molti altri manoscritti fino ad oggi anonimo. Il testo si contraddistingue per l’originale intreccio di temi controversistici antislamici tratti ora dalla tradizione bizantina ora da quella occidentale, come dimostrato nell’analisi che precede l’edizione critica. Al termine del contributo è inserita un’appendice che raccoglie altri brevi testi (una lettera di un omonimo e successivo metropolita Nilo e alcuni interessanti marginalia) conservati nel Wien, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vind. hist. gr. 91 e relativi alla presenza musulmana nell’area rodiese., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 7 (2017)

In this article the terms Σκλαυηνία mentioned in Theophylact Simocatta’s History (κατὰ τῆς Σκλαυηνίας πληθύος στρατοπεδεύεσθαι) and “Slawinia” attested in the Vita of St Willibald, Bishop of Eichstätt (“ad urbem Manafasiam in Slawinia terrae”) are re-examined. Contrary to recent interpretations, it is concluded that both terms are adjectives and not nouns, as I argued in a previous study on this topic. Some new arguments are added to support my view., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 7 (2017)

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This article deals with Bessarion’s excerpts from Aristotle’s treatise On the Heavens in Parisinus gr. 2042 as well as with Marcianus gr. 211 that Bessarion used as model. A further topic is the exploration of the commentaries to Aristotle’s treatise On Generation and Corruption written down by Bessarion on the edges of Marcianus gr. 211. Finally, the article touches upon three commentaries to Aristotle’s On the Heavens contained in Marcianus gr.211 in order to study their sources as well as their transmission in other Greek manuscripts., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 4 (2014)

In the Stichoi on the Sunday of the Resurrection, Arsenios of Corfu alludes to several couples from Classical mythology in the context of a springtime idyll. These mythological couples are not the ideal lovers the paradisic context of the poem makes them seem to be. This paper examines these allusions and discusses how Arsenios uses their mythological context to create a juxtaposition of the frustrated eroticism of Classical myth and the fulfillment of Pascha., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 6 (2016)

It is a fact that the variety of terms in use (“chapters”, “epistolary essays”, “epistles” etc.) regarding Michael Glykas’ ninety-five texts of theological content, which have been published by Sophronios Eustratiadis in two volumes under the title Εἰς τὰς ἀπορίας τῆς θείας γραφῆς κεφάλαια, is so wide as to cause wonder as well as confusion regarding their genre. Eustratiadis was the first to consciously introduce the term “chapters” instead of “epistles”, the widely-used term for Glykas’ texts in the various editions and studies, since “the oldest manuscripts as well as Glykas himself name the collection as chapters”. This paper examines thoroughly the accuracy of his statement and shows that the manuscript tradition of the collection does not justify its designation as chapters. On the other hand, when Glykas referred to his texts as chapters, it was during an overall editing not only of the collection of his ninety-five texts but of his overall work (namely his two poems, his proverbs and the collection), when he apparently considered his various texts as units of a single book. Based on these data, even if the term κεφάλαια is maintained in contemporary references to Glykas’ work two points should be made clear at the very beginning: (a) it does not carry any genre content, but instead is of a general use in order to describe texts of various genres, and mainly (b) it concerns more texts than the ninety-five of the collection under discussion here, whose title in any case varies so much in the manuscript tradition that it needs to be re-examined. Moreover, the comparison of Glykas’ collection with other relevant works of the middle Byzantine era, namely the Epistles and the Amphilochia of Photius, the epistles of Nicetas Stethatos and the Ponemata diaphora of Demetrios Chomatenos, lead to the assumption that Glykas’ collection comprise various texts, mostly epistles as well as short theological treatises or notes, which for some reason were incorporated later into the collection on following the same pattern as the epistles., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 3 (2013)

The article offers a complex view of the poetic letter of Gregory of Nazianzus II, II, 3 Ad Vitalianum, which has not yet been the subject of modern criticism. The letter is a plea by Vitalianus’ banished sons for their father to take them back. Based on the manuscript tradition, the article’s author concludes that the fictional author of the letter is the son Phocas rather than Peter. The disrupted relationship between father and sons is reflected in both the content of the poem and the forms of salutations used: the seemingly positive epithets φέριστε, μακάρτατε, and φίλε; forms of address which directly express a certain distance and coldness (μέγα φέρτατε, ὦ ἄνα), or even animosity towards the father (ὀλοώτατε δαῖμον, ὦ κακόβουλε). The poetic letter has a concentric structure (A; B; C; D; E; F; G; F´; E´; D´; C´; B´; A´), with individual com­ponents linked for the most part thematically. The letter is written in dactylic hexameter. The most frequently used metre in the verses is the holodactyl, and the most frequent caesura is the caesura post tertium trochaeum. As far as the breach of Hermann’s bridge in verses is concerned, and based on the understanding of the term ‘word’ in metrics, the author of the article concludes that in the majority of cases the breach is only ‘visual’, and cannot be detected when listened to. Gregory did not avoid three true hiatuses; and in two verses, in order to keep the rhythm of dactylic hexameter, it is essential to measure a long syllable as a short one. However, metric errors may be related to prosodic licence., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 2 (2012)

This study offers a reappraisal of Nikolaos Mesarites’ Description of the church of the Holy Apostles at Constantinople, by providing new insights into its genre and the context of its composition. By concentrating on the text’s encomiastic features, the first part of the study retraces its carefully carved rhetorical construction. The second part analyses the so far neglected concluding section of the Description, in which the author, by hinting at the current historical juncture – the very years preceding the fourth Crusade – would seem to disclose a specific purpose for its composition. Finally, an hypothesis for dating the Description is also suggested, with the intention of defining it further in a forthcoming dedicated article., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 6 (2016)

THE EMPHATIC ABANDONMENT OF HOLY FIGURES ON BYZANTINE SEALS WITH METRICAL INSCRIPTIONS There is only a small number of Byzantine seals inscriptions laying emphasis on the abandonment of representations of the Theotokos, of Christ or of saints; instead they offer special verses. In some cases they argue this deviation from the standard repertoire with “piety” (εὐλάβεια). The majority of these bulls stem from the second half of the XII century and were issued by members of the high military or civil aristocracy; by using curious expressions they outstrip the usual tradition. Three of them use formulas found already in the later XI or early XII century; they cannot stem from the same historical context, as shortly was assumed in a quite anachronistic way. The princess Anna Komnene (the eldest daughter of Alexios I) and her husband Nikephoros (Bryennios) used such verses for their seals. That has nothing to do with the anathema against Eustratios, the metropolitan of Nikaia, by the synod on April 26, 1117, nor with the familiar conflicts concerning the succession of the emperor Alexios. If the content of this couple’s seals inscriptions was really intending theological-political propaganda, then that should be interpreted as support for the emperor and his principal advocate Eustratios, the metropolitan of Nikaia, against Leon, the metropolitan of Chalkedon (and his followers), who had accused the emperor of treating icons without the necessary piety (in the years 1081/1082-1095). A more plausible and logical explanation for the deliberate omission of holy figures on seals results by their short function: as soon as they were detached from the document or letter they were thrown away without any regard to the holy images on the obverse., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 6 (2016)

This paper focusses on an unedited florilegium on the Holy Communion which is attributed in certain manuscripts to the ascetic author John of Karpathos. Past scholarship had suggested and/or argued that this is a pseudonymous work derived from the respective florilegia of John Oxeites. The comparative examination of the three manuscripts allegedly containing the florilegium, as well as of certain Athenian manuscripts of Oxeites’ Hypothesis has led to a number of observations on the florilegium, including the confirmation of the older hypotheses with fresh evidence. It has also allowed the determination of the exact presence and placement of Karpathios’ passage(s) in what prove to be distinct versions of the florilegium and, at the same time, of Oxeites’ work., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 6 (2016)

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The author of this paper examines the validity of Emidio Martini’s old assumption (1896/1900) that Andronicus (Comnenus Ducas) Palaeologus, who lived in the first half of the 14th century, was the author of the verse romance Callimachus and Chrysorrhoe. Methodologically, the author employs the “cryptosphragis” system, which he discovered several years ago. He finds out that at the beginning and the end of this romance there exist the following relevant cryptosphragides: at vv. 4-22 Ο ΑΝΔΡΟΝΙΚΟΣ Ο ΔΟΥΚΑΣ Ο ΠΑΛΑΙΟΛΟΓΟΣ ΣΟΥ, and at vv. 2592-2605 Ο ΑΝΔΡΟΝΙΚΟΣ Ο ΚΟΜΝΗΝΟΣ ΣΟΥ.

Some emendations to the text of the recently published anonymous commentary to the Categories of Aristotle, preserved in the so-called Archimedes Palimpsest, are proposed.

This article highlights challenges involved in understanding and interpreting Byzantine epistolary literature, and suggests that we pay closer attention to the transmission of letters and its hermeneutic ramifications. The letters penned by the late Byzantine court official Nikephoros Choumnos are a case in point. The author assembled, revised and arranged his letters, which were originally composed and dispatched mostly for pragmatic purposes (e.g., letters of request). By embedding these missives into the framework of a collection, he created an autobiographical narrative that was to promote and perpetuate his multi-faceted persona., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 2 (2012)

The article (a) presents the identification of the priest Georgios, owner of the manuscript Princeton, Garrett MS 14 (a. 955) and author of a poem to the Virgin (f. 295) with the priest Georgios Lolenos who wrote an invocation on Serd. Dujčev, Cod. D. gr. 221, f. 67v (10th century), and (b) identifies the last folio of the two missing bifolia in codex Laur. 9.21 (14th century), the only containing the Vita and the Akolouthia of SS David, Symeon and George of Mytilene, with f. 1 of codex Laur. 10.28 (16th century)., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 5 (2015)

The heading Parekbolaia palaiographika is used for short notes on Greek Palaeography, accompanied by images where possible., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 1 (2011)

Vorliegender Beitrag bietet Addenda und Corrigenda zu meinen im Jahr 2005 erschienenen Initia Carminum Byzantinorum (ICB); es enthält: a) Gedichte, die aus verschiedenen Gründen dort nicht verzeichnet worden waren, b) Gedichte, deren Initia in den ICB erfasst wurden, aber hier aufgrund einer neuen kritischen Ausgabe verzeichnet werden, und c) Gedichte, die in den ICB als unediert aufgenommen und inzwischen herausgegeben wurden. Einträge zu manchen Texten, die in den ICB mehr oder weniger mangelhaft registriert wurden, werden im vorliegenden Supplement möglichst vervollständigt., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 1 (2011)

L’étude comprend la présentation et l’édition critique de l’éloge que Constantin Acropolite a écrit en l’honneur de saint Eudocime qui a vécu et œuvré en Cappadoce pendant la deuxième phase de la période iconoclaste. La tradition manuscrite de l’oraison et ses similitudes avec la version antérieure de la vie d’Eu­do­cime, attribuée à Syméon Métaphraste (BHG 607), ou les autres éloges de l’auteur en l’honneur de saints divers sont étudiées dans l’introduction. Les diver­ses graphies des manuscrits, mais aussi les fautes ou les corrections de la prémière édition figurent dans l’apparat critique de l’édition, tandis qu’un détaillé apparat de sources est également ajouté., Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 3 (2013)

The article deals with one of the hitherto unedited hagiographical works of Theodore Metochites, the Logos on the Archangel Michael. Emphasis is put on the investigation of the text’s sources and especially on the use of arguments based on ancient Greek philosophy, which bring the Logos very close to Metochites’ philosophical treatises. In this vein the Logos also reflects the intellectual trends and preoccupations of the early Palaiologan period, Parekbolai. An Electronic Journal for Byzantine Literature, Vol 5 (2015)

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