The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Literature (Oxford Handbooks)

This volume, the first ever of its kind in English, introduces and surveys Greek literature in Byzantium (330 - 1453 CE). In twenty-five chapters composed by leading specialists, The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Literature surveys the immense body of Greek literature produced from the fourth to the fifteenth century CE and advances a nuanced understanding of what "literature" was in Byzantium. This volume is structured in four sections. The first, "Materials, Norms, Codes," presents basic structures for understanding the history of Byzantine literature like language, manuscript book culture, theories of literature, and systems of textual memory. The second, "Forms," deals with the how Byzantine literature works: oral discourse and "text"; storytelling; rhetoric; re-writing; verse; and song. The third section ("Agents") focuses on the creators of Byzantine literature, both its producers and its recipients. The final section, entitled "Translation, Transmission, Edition," surveys the three main ways by which we access Byzantine Greek literature today: translations into other Byzantine languages during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages; Byzantine and post-Byzantine manuscripts; and modern printed editions. The volume concludes with an essay that offers a view of the recent past--as well as the likely future--of Byzantine literary studies. What is Byzantine literature? An introduction / Stratis Papaioannou -- Materials, norms, codes. Language / Martin Hinterberger -- Book culture / Filippo Ronconi and Stratis Papaioannou -- Theory of literature / Stratis Papaioannou -- Biblical hermeneutics / Fr. Maximos Constas--) Memory : selection, citation, commonplace / Charis Messis and Stratis Papaioannou -- The reception of Classical literature and ancient myth / Anthony Kaldellis -- Translations I : from other languages into Greek. Latin / Réka Forrai -- Syriac / Pablo Ubierna -- Arabic / Charis Messis and Stratis Papaioannou -- Georgian / Nikoloz Aliksidze -- Neo-Latin languages / Carolina Cupane -- Forms. Orality and textuality (with an appendix on the Byzantine conceptions) / Charis Messis and Stratis Papaioannou -- Narrative : theory and practice / Ingela Nilsson -- Rhetorical practice / Alexander Riehle -- Rhetorical figures / Vessela Valiavitcharska -- A rhetorical genre(?) : the invective (9th-15th c.) / Ioannis Polemis -- Rewriting / Stephanos Efthymiadis -- Poetry? / Floris Bernard and Kristoffel Demoen -- Inscriptions / Ivan Drpić -- Metrics and prose rhythm / Wolfram Hörandner and Andreas Rhoby -- Sacred song / Stratis Papaioannou -- Recitation and chant : types of notation, modes of expression / Sandra Martani -- Agents. Authors (with an excursus on Symeon Metaphrastes) / Stratis Papaioannou -- Readers and their pleasures / Stratis Papaioannou -- Translation, transmission, edition. Translations II : Greek texts into other languages (4th-15th c.). Latin / Réka Forrai -- Coptic / Arietta Papaconstantinou -- Syriac / Pablo Ubierna -- Armenian / Theo Maarten van Lint -- Georgian / Nikoloz Aleksidze -- Arabic / Alexander Treiger -- Slavic / Sergey Ivanov and Anatolii Turilov -- Modes of manuscript transmission (9th-15th c.) / Inmaculada Pérez Martín -- Textual criticism / Caroline Macé -- Postscript: Thoughts on the recent past and the future of Byzantine literary studies / Margaret Mullett "Byzantine literary studies, despite their long scholarly tradition, remain a fragile enterprise, just as Byzantine Greek literature continues to be a relatively exotic domain. The present volume, the first of its kind in English, maps this literature and the field of its study, aiming to provide a true vade mecum, that will accompany as well as invite readers of Byzantine texts. In twenty-five chapters, composed by leading specialists, the volume surveys the immense body of Greek literature produced from the fourth to the fifteenth century CE, and propagates a nuanced understanding of what "literature" was in Byzantium, highlighting key problems, and presenting basic research tools. Four parts structure the volume. Part I, "Materials, Norms, Codes", presents basic matrices for literary creation in Byzantium: language, manuscript book culture, theories of literature, and systems of textual memory, from within the history of Greek (classical literature and ancient myth) and from without (literature translated into Greek from other languages). Part II, "Forms", deals with the "how" of Byzantine literature: oral discourse and "text"; storytelling; rhetoric; rewriting; verse; and song. Part III, "Agents", focuses on the "creators" of Byzantine literature, both its producers and its recipients. Part IV, "Translation, Transmission, Edition", surveys the three main ways by which we access Byzantine Greek literature today: translations into other Byzantine languages during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages; Byzantine and post-Byzantine manuscripts; and modern, printed editions. A final, concluding chapter offers a view of the recent past and the likely future of Byzantine literary studies"-- Provided by publisher This volume, the first ever of its kind in English, introduces and surveys Greek literature in Byzantium (330 - 1453 CE). In twenty-five chapters composed by leading specialists, The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Literature surveys the immense body of Greek literature produced from the fourth to the fifteenth century CE and advances a nuanced understanding of what "literature" was in Byzantium.This volume is structured in four sections. The first, "Materials, Norms, Codes," presents basic structures for understanding the history of Byzantine literature like language, manuscript book culture, theories of literature, and systems of textual memory. The second, "Forms," deals with the how Byzantine literature works: oral discourse and "text"; storytelling; rhetoric; re-writing; verse; and song. The third section ("Agents") focuses on the creators of Byzantine literature, both its producers and its recipients. The final section, entitled "Translation, Transmission, Edition," surveys the three main ways by which we access Byzantine Greek literature today: translations into other Byzantine languages during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages; Byzantine and post-Byzantine manuscripts; and modern printed editions. The volume concludes with an essay that offers a view of the recent past--as well as the likely future--of Byzantine literary studies.