Download PDF | John Skylitzes_ John Wortley - John Skylitzes_ A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811-1057_ Translation and Notes-Cambridge University Press (2010).
526 Pages
JOHN SKYLITZES:
A synopsis of Byzantine history, 811-1057
John Skylitzes’ extraordinary Middle Byzantine chronicle covers the reigns of the Byzantine emperors from the death of Nicephorus I in 811 to the deposition of Michael VI in 1057, and provides the only surviving continuous narrative of the late tenth and early eleventh centuries. A high official living in the late eleventh century, Skylitzes used a number of existing Greek histories (some of them no longer extant) to create a digest of the previous three centuries. It is without question the major historical source for the period, cited constantly in modern scholarship, and has never before been available in English. This edition features introductions by Jean-Claude Cheynet and Bernard Flusin, along with extensive notes by Cheynet. It will be an essential and exciting addition to the libraries of all historians of the Byzantine age.
JOHN WoRTLEY is Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Manitoba. He has published widely on the Byzantine era, and completed several translations to date, including Les Récits édifiants de Paul, évéque de Monembasie, et d autres auteurs (1987), The ‘Spiritual Meadow” of John Moschos, including the additional tales edited by Nissen and Mioni (1992), The spiritually beneficial tales of Paul, Bishop of Monembasia and of other authors (1996) and John Skylitzes: A Synopsis of Histories (AD 811-1057), a provisional translation published in 2000.
The English translator's Preface
It would be unfortunate if the extraordinary process by which this translation came into being were not noted. A critical edition of Skylitzes’ text appeared in 1973, a German translation of the first half of the text shortly after (the second half seems never to have seen the light of day), both the work of Hans Thurn. Thus, since not everybody can read German and even fewer the rather convoluted kind of Greek found in the Synopsis, Skylitzes’ has literally remained a closed book for many readers.
This is unfortunate for, although it is far from being an original work (in fact it consists almost entirely of other men’s words), it not only preserves extracts from some sources which have survived in no other form; it also constitutes the unique source for some periods of the Byzantine experience. It was therefore particularly regrettable that this text remained virtually inaccessible to many readers. When therefore the present writer learnt that his Parisian colleagues Bernard Flusin and Jean-Claude Cheynet were proposing to make the work available in French, he suggested to them (and they agreed) that it should be published in English too.
A cooperative plan was evolved: it was proposed that Wortley and Flusin should each translate into his own language, then exchange versions, chapter by chapter, so that each could use the other’s work to control his own. Meanwhile Cheynet was to produce footnotes for the French edition which would in due course be translated by Wortley for the English publication. Nineteen years after the original agreement was made, all this has finally been accomplished. Since the French translation appeared (in 2003) other works have been published; these have been duly noted by M. Cheynet in the revised footnotes and bibliography that accompany this volume.
‘The English translator wishes gratefully to acknowledge the unfailing courtesy and kindness of Bernard Flusin and Jean-Claude Cheynet, without whose splendid efforts and patience this work could never have been realised. He also wishes to acknowledge and thank others who from time to time have generously offered helping hands, most especially: Margaret Mullett, Catherine McColgan and Robert Jordan in Belfast, Catherine Holmes in Oxford, Rory Egan in Manitoba.
One pondered long and carefully about what to call this book. John Skylitzes described his work simply as ‘a synopsis of histories’. By this he meant a digest of a number of historical writings he had to hand (see his Proimion, page 1 below) but it seemed that ‘a synopsis of histories’ would be very puzzling to many a modern reader. Therefore, after much deliberation, A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811-1057 was finally selected as an adequate title. It was chosen because it has the triple advantage of being totally comprehensible to the modern reader and of accurately describing the contents of the book, while retaining at least an echo of the original title by retaining the word synopsis.
The numbers in square brackets in the text indicate the pages in Thurn’s Greek text.
Introduction: John Skylitzes, the author and his family Jean-Claude Cheynet
What little information exists concerning the author of the Synopsis historion is all found either in the manuscripts of that work itself or in a few archival documents.’ He was known by two names: Skylitzes and Thrakesios. There is no doubt that these refer to the same person because the twelfth-century historian John Zonaras, narrating the abdication of Isaac Komnenos (aD 1059) in his Epitome historion, makes reference to a passage in which John Thrakesios describes the awesome vision which persuaded that emperor to step down.’ His near contemporary George Kedrenos also makes reference to the earlier synopsist in his own Synopsis (in which he slavishly follows Skylitzes’ account), calling him the protovestiarios John Thrakesios. This name is clearly a reference to the place from which he (or his parents) came: the Thrakesion theme in western Asia Minor
John Skylitzes is mentioned in certain legal documents dated 1090 and 1092 as droungarios of the watch (es biglas), a title which at that time designated the principal magistrate of the main judicial tribunal of Constantinople. In 1091* Skylitzes petitioned Alexios Komnenos for elucidation of the novel (new law) concerning betrothals, to which he received a reply from the emperor in the following year, In addition to his appointment as grand droungarios, John also held the post of eparch of Constantinople with the title of proedros.
Werner Seibt thinks this was too lowly a title for such a senior officer at that time. Assuming that a scribe had mistakenly omitted a syllable,’ he proposes to amend it to read protoproedros, and in fact two years later we find John addressed as kouropalates when he received from Alexios Komnenos the solution [/ysis] to a problem he had raised some months earlier concerning the impediments to marriage’ As Seibt has convincingly demonstrated, Skylitzes could not have exercised the office of protovestiarios; this is probably a misreading of an abbreviated form indicating the rank of protovestes, even of protovestarches.*
Briefly: it appears that John Skylitzes (born before 1050) followed a career in the judiciary which led to the highest positions under Alexios Komnenos. He may have survived into the first decade of the twelfth century, or even a little later. It is possible that he was also the author of the work known as Skylitzes Continuatus of John Skylitzes.?
Nothing is known of his social background; he appears to be the first person bearing that surname to have risen so high in the civil service. As in the case of Michael Psellos and Michael Attaleiates before him, a good education was probably what brought about his social advancement, which it was certainly capable of doing in the eleventh century. John’s contemporary, Basil Skylitzes, attained the by no means insignificant dignity of proedros. But it was in the following century that the Skylitzes family fortunes achieved their apogee.
That was when members of the clan acquired numerous civil and ecclesiastical appointments in the way that was usual at that time for men of learning. We can reconstruct the career of Stephen Skylitzes, metropolitan of Trebizond (who reorganised the church there in the time of John II) from a lament by Prodromos.'° Stephen’s brother was the director of St Paul’s school. George Skylitzes, who was the next generation after Stephen, first served under Manuel Komnenos, participating in the synod of 1166 as protokouropalates and grammatikos (secretary) to the emperor." Subsequently, under Andronikos Komnenos, he became protoasekretes,” head of chancellery. A man of great learning, George was the author of poems, theological works, canons and of a Life of John of Rila, the Bulgar saint.” His wife, Anna Eugeniotissa, also pertained to the highest ranks of the civil service.'*
The Skylitzai did not disappear after the turmoil of 1204, for a Theodore Skylitzes was an officer of the treasury at Mourmounta (the region of Miletos) in 1263, in the service of the panhypersebastos George Zagarommates.” The last members of the family known in the time of the Palaiologoi did not play any role of great importance."
Link
Press Here
0 التعليقات :
إرسال تعليق