Mothers and Sons, Fathers and Daughters: The Byzantine Family of Michael Psellos (Michael Psellos in Translation)

Mothers and Sons, Fathers and Daughters makes available for the first time complete English translations from the works of Michael Psellos (1018–1076?), a key philosopher of the Byzantine Empire. Psellos was not simply a philosopher, he was also a courtier, historian, and monk, and his works betray a dazzling engagement with philosophy, theology, history, and science. These interests were expressed in some eleven hundred works, including formal rhetorical texts, history writing, letters, poetry, and texts written for his students. This book contains the works that Psellos wrote about his family, including a long funeral oration for his mother that features unique recollections from a childhood spent in Constantinople; a funeral oration for his young daughter Styliane, which includes a detailed description of her physical appearance and a moving account of her illness and death; a legal work pertaining to the engagement of his second, adopted, daughter; and various letters and other works that relate to the private life of this Byzantine family. These works offer us a rare and comprehensive picture of the family life of a medieval Byzantine courtier and philosopher. Much of the material follows the rules of rhetoric inherited from classical and Christian antiquity, but Psellos was always recasting the conventions of those genre to express his own revolutionary views regarding the relation of body and soul. Some of these works also have an apologetic or legal purpose, as Psellos sometimes used them to get himself out of some trouble. Mothers and Sons, Fathers and Daughters will appeal to all who study medieval women, childhood, and the family, especially as it provides a Byzantine perspective that has been absent from most modern discussions of those topics. Cover 1 Half title 2 Series page 3 Title page 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Preface and Acknowledgments 10 General Introduction 12 A Brief Biography of Michael Psellos 14 The Family History of Michael Psellos 21 Daughters and Wives in Eleventh-Century Constantinople 28 Encomium for his mother 40 Introduction 40 Translation 62 Funeral Oration for his daughter Styliane, who died before the age of marriage 122 Introduction 122 Tranlation 129 The Court Memorandum (hypomnêma) regarding the engagement of his daughter 150 Introduction 150 Translation 158 To his grandson, who was still an infant 168 Introduction 168 Translation 173 Letters regarding Psellos’ family 178 Introduction 178 Translation 180 On the festival of St Agathê 190 Introduction 190 Translation 193 Bibliography 198 Index 216 Author Bio 221