The Chronicle Of Constantine Manasses

This book translates the mid-twelfth-century Synopsis Chronike (or, Historical Summary) by Constantine Manasses which was widely circulated. It extends to 1081, marking the end of Nikephoros Botaneiates' reign and the accession of Alexios I Komnenos. Commissioned by the Sevastokratorissa Irene, whose sponsorship likely determined its format in verse and subject matter, the chronicle begins with a dedicatory epigram and introduction lauding Irene for her largesse and love of learning. Manasses proceeds to relate a pastoral view of creation, biblical stories, a history of the peoples of the East, Alexander the Great's conquests and the subsequent Hellenistic empires. He then provides a non-Homeric view of the Trojan War and continues with Rome through the Principate and early empire until the reigns of Constantine I in the East and Theodosios II in the West. Manasses then focuses on the New Rome with a colorful treatment of its individual emperors. The chronicle attracted the attention of Emperor John Alexander, for whom the Middle Bulgarian Synodal or Moscow manuscript was translated. This is the mid-fourteenth-century copy taken into account here, with deviations from the Greek contained in the footnotes. The so-called Middle Bulgarian Short Chronicle is interspersed in the appropriate places--

• | Author: Constantine Manasses
• | Publisher: Liverpool University Press
• | Publication Date: Dec 01, 2018
• | Number of Pages: 344 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Hardcover
• | ISBN-10: 1786941511
• | ISBN-13: 9781786941510