This course explores the world of literature and learning during the last centuries of the Byzantine Empire, from the reconquest of Constantinople by Michael VIII Palaiologos in 1261 to the city’s fall to the Ottomans in 1453 and the reign of Sultan Mehmed II (1451–1481). The intricate political entanglements between Byzantines, Ottomans, and Latins during this period went hand in hand with cultural interactions that left their mark on the different literatures and intellectual cultures of the time. By concentrating on major literary genres such as imperial oratory and epistolography, by studying the oeuvre of leading Byzantine intellectuals, and by analyzing key texts of the time, this course explores a period of great cultural flourishing against the background of political tumult and territorial fragmentation.
Specific themes to be addressed include the (social) importance attached to learning and literature; connections between literature and politics; the new interest in Latin in Byzantium and Greek in Italy and at the court of Mehmed II; the rise of the Ottomans and its impact on Byzantine writers and intellectuals; intellectual attitudes towards contemporary ecclesiastical debates. The syllabus includes the latest scholarship in the field to familiarize students with recent trends and critical approaches in the study of Late Byzantium. Selected primary sources (in English) will help us delve deeper into the theme of each session.
- Instructor: Baukje van den Berg