John Plousiadenos (1423?-1500) : A Time-Space Geography of His Life and Career

From the 15th century, and especially after the Union of the Churches in 1439 and the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the island of Crete was considered both by the pope and by Cardinal Bessarion as the ideal place for the spread of the new philo-Catholic reality. This is also the period during which Crete provided the West with scholars, scribes and texts, giving to the Greek-knowledge aspect of the Italian humanism a substantial boost. Through an interdisciplinary approach involving archival documents in Latin and manuscript evidences in Greek, this study aims to portray the Uniate Cretan scribe and theologian John Plousiadenos (1423?-1500) and to explore the political, religious and intellectual context within which he lived and acted. The appendix of this book includes, among other materials, the editio princeps of two Greek texts (the Prayer to the Holy Spirit and the Pattern for the Catholic confession) composed by John Plousiadenos. Contents Acknowledgements Preface List of Abbreviations 1. Introduction I. The ecclesiastical state in Crete after the Fourth Crusade II. Crete and the Union of the Churches: Uniate trends and anti-Uniate resistance in the first half of the 15th century 2. The First Steps of Career Planning I. The Cretan background of his education II. The establishment of Bessarion’s Bequest III. The codex Ambrosianus H 41 sup. (Martini-Bassi 429) 3. Perceptions and Realities in the Religious Life of Chandax I. The encyclical monitory letter to the Orthodox priests of Chandax II. The letter of Bessarion in 1465 and the Uniates’ everyday life III. Fifteen years of contest for the office of vice-protopapas 4. Intellectual and Ecclesiastical Landscape I. Crete, Rome and the “codices Marciani” II. The project of the Castle Montauto and the Greek community of Venice III. The hegoumenìa at St Demetrios’ de Perati monastery and the ascension to the bishopric throne of Methone Appendix I. The Prayer to the Holy Spirit II. The Pattern for the Catholic Сonfession III. Manuscripts IV. Archival Documents V. Tables Bibliography Indices I. Index of Manuscripts Cited II. Index of Names "From the 15th century, and especially after the Union of the Churches in 1439 and the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the island of Crete was considered both by the pope and by Cardinal Bessarion as the ideal place for the spread of the new philo-Catholic reality. This is also the period during which Crete provided the West with scholars, scribes and texts, giving a substantial boost to the Greek-knowledge aspect of Italian humanism. Through an interdisciplinary approach involving archival documents in Latin and manuscript evidences in Greek, this study aims to portray the Uniate Cretan scribe and theologian John Plousiadenos (1423?-1500) and to explore the political, religious and intellectual context within which he lived and acted. The appendix of this book includes, among other materials, the editio princeps of two Greek texts (the 'Prayer to the Holy Spirit' and the 'Pattern for the Catholic confession') composed by John Plousiadenos."-- Back cover