Gennadios Scholarios and the Last of the Palaiologoi: Personal Relationships and Political Forecasting

Gennadios (George) Scholarios (ca. 1403–1472) was one of the most prominent ecclesiastical and political figures during the final years of the Byzantine Empire, a period marked by the struggles among four brothers: Emperor John VIII Palaiologos, despotes Theodoros II Palaiologos, despotes Constantine (later Emperor Constantine XI Dragasēs), and despotes Demetrios Palaiologos. As can be deduced from the few texts Scholarios wrote between the death of despotes Theodoros II and 1450, his role in the events surrounding the question of John VIII Palaiologos’s succession was not insignificant. Notably, he begins his Monody for despotes Theodoros II by noting that he postponed its delivery for nearly three months, subtly alluding to the death of John VIII. He describes despotes Theodoros as equal to the righteous lord, ruling according to customs. On the other hand, in his 1449 Letter to despotes Demetrios against the Union of Florence, he praises Demetrios Palaiologos for his loyalty to John VIII when despotes Theodoros marched out against the rightful emperor. Finally, in his Apologetic Letter to Emperor Constantine XI, written at the end of 1449, he feels obliged to justify his actions, as they had raised doubts about his loyalty to the emperor. Therefore, the main aim of this paper is to shed light on Scholarios’s personal relationships with the four Palaiologos brothers through an analysis of the aforementioned texts, and to explore the interplay between the political circumstances and his social network.