Epistolary Poetry in Byzantium and Beyond : An Anthology with Critical Essays

Letters were an important medium of everyday communication in the ancient Mediterranean. Soon after its emergence, the epistolary form was adopted by educated elites and transformed into a literary genre, which developed distinctive markers and was used, for instance, to give political advice, to convey philosophical ideas, or to establish and foster ties with peers. A particular type of this genre is the letter cast in verse, or epistolary poem, which merges the form and function of the letter with stylistic elements of poetry. In Greek literature, epistolary poetry is first safely attested in the fourth century AD and would enjoy a lasting presence throughout the Byzantine and early modern periods. The present volume introduces the reader to this hitherto unexplored chapter of post-classical Greek literature through an anthology of exemplary epistolary poems in the original Greek with facing English translation. This collection, which covers a broad chronological range from late antique epigrams of the Greek Anthology to the poetry of western humanists, is accompanied by exegetical commentaries on the anthologized texts and by critical essays discussing questions of genre, literary composition, and historical and social contexts of selected epistolary poems. Chapters 3 and 4 of this book are freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license available at https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/10.4324/9780429288296 Letters were an important medium of everyday communication in the ancient Mediterranean. Soon after its emergence, the epistolary form was adopted by educated elites and transformed into a literary genre, which developed distinctive markers and was used, for instance, to give political advice, to convey philosophical ideas, or to establish and foster ties with peers. A particular type of this genre is the letter cast in verse, or epistolary poem, which merges the form and function of the letter with stylistic elements of poetry. In Greek literature, epistolary poetry is first safely attested in the fourth century ad and would enjoy a lasting presence throughout the Byzantine and early modern periods. The present volume introduces the reader to this hitherto unexplored chapter of post-classical Greek literature through an anthology of exemplary epistolary poems in the original Greek with facing English translation. This collection, which covers a broad chronological range from late antique epigrams of the Greek Anthology to the poetry of western humanists, is accompanied by exegetical commentaries on the anthologized texts and by critical essays discussing questions of genre, literary composition, and historical and social contexts of selected epistolary poems. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Contents 6 List of Figures 9 Acknowledgements 11 Notes on Contributors 12 Note on Texts and Translations 15 List of Abbreviations 16 Introduction 18 Part I Essays 48 1 Epigrams and Verse Letters in Palladas and Gregory of Nazianzos 50 2 Epigrammata Epistulam Faciunt? Christopher of Mitylene to His Friends 62 3 Epistolarity in Twelfth-Century Byzantine Poetry: Singing Praises and Asking Favors in Absentia 81 4 Functions of Letters in Verse and Prose: A Comparison of Manuel Philes and Theodore Hyrtakenos 95 5 Francesco Filelfo’s Verse Letters: Form, Content, and Function 108 Part II Anthology 122 Texts 124 Palladas (1–2) 125 Gregory of Nazianzos (3–5) 127 Agathias—Paul the Silentiary (6–7) 137 Dioskoros of Aphrodito (8) 139 Theodore the Stoudite (9) 141 Theodore and Theophanes Graptos—Methodios (10) 143 Anonymous of Sola (11) 145 John Mauropous (12) 149 Michael Psellos (13) 153 Christopher of Mitylene (14–20) 155 Theophylaktos of Ohrid (21–22) 167 Theodore Prodromos (23–25) 171 Manganeios Prodromos (26–29) 177 Michael Hagiotheodorites (30) 201 Pseudo-Psellos (31) 209 Euthymios Tornikes (32) 215 Libistros and Rhodamne (33–34) 217 Manuel Philes (35–45) 233 Stephanos Sgouropoulos (46) 253 Erotopaignia (47) 269 Gerardos (48) 271 Francesco Filelfo (49) 275 Angelo Poliziano (50–55) 281 John Clajus (56) 285 Commentary 290 Figures 396 Bibliography 413 General Index 443 Index of Manuscripts, Papyri, and Early Printed Books 452 Epigrams,and,Verse,Letters;,Theodore,Hyrtakenos;,Anonymous,of,Sola Epigrams and Verse Letters,Theodore Hyrtakenos,Anonymous of Sola Letters were an important medium of everyday communication in the ancient Mediterranean. Soon after its emergence, the epistolary form was adopted by educated elites and transformed into a literary genre, which developed distinctive markers and was used, for instance, to give political advice, to convey philosophical ideas, or to establish and foster ties with peers. A particular type of this genre is the letter cast in verse, or epistolary poem, which merges the form and function of the letter with stylistic elements of poetry. In Greek literature, epistolary poetry is first safely attested in the fourth century AD and would enjoy a lasting presence throughout the Byzantine and early modern periods. The present volume introduces the reader to this hitherto unexplored chapter of post-classical Greek literature through an anthology of exemplary epistolary poems in the original Greek with facing English translation. This collection, which covers a broad chronological range from late antique epigrams of the Greek Anthology to the poetry of western humanists, is accompanied by exegetical commentaries on the anthologized texts and by critical essays discussing questions of genre, literary composition, and historical and social contexts of selected epistolary poems. Chapters 3 and 4 of this book are freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license available at https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/10.4324/9780429288296