090030 VO Literature in Medieval Byzantium: Authors, Texts, Contexts (2024S)

Greek literature has a long history, stretching from 800 BC to the modern times. Although the classical period is considered the golden age of Greek literature, the post-classical period and especially the Greek textual culture of Late Antiquity and the medieval times is marked with some fascinating developments. This course offers an introduction to little-known authors and texts dating from early Byzantine times to the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. By taking as example the textual production of Byzantium, it will focus on the particularities of writing and performing literature in a premodern period; it will discuss its complex nature, which was influenced both by classical culture and Christian tradition; finally, it will address a wide array of questions, including that of manuscript and oral circulation, genre hybridity, language, literary patronage, and periodization.