99518 - LINGUA E CULTURA DEL MONDO BIZANTINO

Learning outcomes

The course aims to provide students with a basic knowledge of Byzantine culture, as well as a method for reading Greek writings from the 4th to the 15th centuries, with the help of modern lexicons and translations. At the end of the course, the student will know the role played by Byzantium in the history of European culture, together with the main aspects that shaped its literary production. He/she will know how to frame historically the main authors of medieval Greek literature and their works, as well as the literary genres and main themes of Byzantine literature. He/she will also be aware of the profound interactions that characterised the relationship between the Byzantine world and the Latin, Muslim (Arab and Ottoman) and Slavic worlds during the Middle Ages.

Course contents

The course is divided into two parts, a general part and a seminar lecture part.


General part: Introduction to Byzantine Literature


This section consists of an introduction to the most representative authors, works and trends in Byzantine literature from the 4th to the 15th centuries. In particular, given the specific interests of the course, the lecturer will focus on literary texts describing places, buildings or works of art related to the capital of the Empire, Constantinople. The proposed range of texts will include Malalas, Procopius, Paulus Silentius, George of Pisidia, Photius, Constantine Rhodius, Constantine Porphyrogenitus, Psellus, Niceta Coniata, George Pachimere.

 

Seminar part of the course:

The case of the Skylitzes Matritensis codex: between historical narrative and image.


The Skylitzes Matritensis is a codex of great value and international renown, as it is the oldest surviving example of an illustrated Byzantine chronicle - the Synopsis Historiarum of John Skylitzes (Ἰωάννης Σκυλίτζης) - with an extensive illustrative apparatus consisting of 574 miniatures. The manuscript was produced in the mid-12th century at the Norman court in Sicily and provides a vivid account of the reign of the Byzantine emperors from 811 to 1057. Its miniatures, rich in gold and lapislazuli, provide unparalleled information about the buildings, ceremonies, war scenes, clothing, customs, social groups, gender and multicultural environment that characterised the Byzantine Empire.

Readings/Bibliography

General part:

Required reading:

―A. Kambylis, Compendio della letteratura bizantina, in H.-G. Nesselrath, Introduzione alla filologia greca, trad. it., Roma 2004 (Salerno Editrice), pp. 446-478.

― A. Rhoby, La letteratura bizantina. Un profilo storico, trad. it. Roma 2022.

 

Seminar part of the course:

Required reading:

― Lo Spazio letterario del Medioevo 3, Le culture circostanti, vol. I, La cultura bizantina, a cura di G. Cavallo, Salerno 2004, pp. 19-60, 379-405.

― G. Cavallo, Scritture italo-greche librarie e documentarie. Note introduttive ad uno studio correlato, in Bisanzio e l’Italia. Raccolta di studi in memoria di Agostino Pertusi, Milano 1982, pp. 29-38.

― M. Re, A proposito dello “Skylitzes” di Madrid, in La Memoria 3, Palermo 1984, pp. 329-341.

― V. Tsamakda, The Miniature of Madrid Skylitzes, in Joannis Scylitzae Synopsis Hisoriarum. Codex matritensis Graecus Vtr. 26-2 (Faksimile-Edition, Miletos-Verlag), Athens 2000, 127-156.

 

N. B. Non-attending students are requested to contact the course lecturer for the Exam programme and bibliography.

 

Teaching methods

The first part of the course is organised as a series of introductory lectures on Byzantine literature, accompanied by in-depth studies of various authors, which will be read and commented on in Italian translation, supported (where possible) by visual sources. The second part will be more of a seminar; in addition to analysing the content, it will aim to teach a method for organising research in the field of Late Antique and Byzantine literature (specialist vocabulary, bibliographical research and OPACs, i.e. 'online public access catalogues', dictionaries, and the re-actualisation of antiquity in the contemporary world). Given that the central theme of the course will be the literary texts themselves, attendance is highly recommended.

Assessment methods

An oral examination will assess:

- basic knowledge of the course program;

- the ability to understand the problems faced during the lectures;

- knowledge of the discipline in its historical development;

- the ability to contextualise the sources examined in class in their context, the quality of oral expression and the ability to critically discuss information received during the course.

 

The final evaluation will follow these criteria:

― Low grade: lack of basic knowledge and inability to critically discuss texts or concepts.

― Sufficient: Basic knowledge but limited ability to discuss texts or concepts critically.

― Good: Intermediate knowledge and ability to critically discuss texts or concepts.

― Excellent: in-depth knowledge at a high level, ability to discuss texts or concepts critically and excellent quality of oral presentation.

 

 

Teaching tools

- Translations of sources.


- Power Point presentations.


- Introduction to the use of bibliographic catalogues (i.e. how to find a publication)


- Introduction to analysing a publication (i.e. how to read it critically)

 

Students with a form of disability or specific learning disabilities (DSA) who are requesting academic adjustments or compensatory tools are invited to communicate their needs to the teaching staff in order to properly address them and agree on the appropriate measures with the competent bodies.

Office hours

See the website of Margherita Elena Pomero