The question of authorship is a crucial issue in the study of Byzantine literature, and it has long been the focus of scholarly inquiry, leading to a range of important conclusions. One significant finding is that authors, especially of high-register texts, often intervene in their texts to define their role and present their literary activity. Additionally, it has been recognized that Byzantine authorship rarely appears as a solitary endeavour, as it often involves a Kreis who contribute at different stages to the production, revision, and circulation of works. Building on these insights, the panel seeks to explore this aspect of Byzantine literature through new case studies. It begins with the recognition that manuscript culture offers a fruitful, though underexplored, perspective for understanding Byzantine authorship. The combined study of texts and the material vectors that transmit them not only opens up multiple research opportunities from a philological standpoint but also provides valuable insights into the complex relationship between the text and its author. More specifically, the panel will focus on two key phenomena that shed light on Byzantine authorship: the existence of multiple versions of a work and the creation of “editions”, understood as coherent book projects comprising one or more works, preserved in one or more manuscripts. The first category addresses the text “from within” (its compositional phases and revisions), while the second concerns the text “from without” (its placement within a collection, designed to guide its circulation and reception). Though distinct conceptually, these two categories often intersect, such as when a new book project involves the revision of an author’s work. Finally, special attention will be given to paratexts. Strategically positioned on the “threshold” of texts, they often serve as privileged tools for understanding the text’s history, composition, and circulation, as well as for exploring revision and editorial processes.
Constantine Akropolites (1254/1255–1323/1324), a prominent Byzantine author of the early Palaeologan period, assembled his extensive literary output into a planned three-volume edition, of which only the first two volumes survive: the codices Hierosol. S. Sepulcri 40 and Ambros. H 81 sup. These manuscripts are pivotal for the transmission of his oeuvre, preserving seventy-nine of his…
This paper investigates the compositional process of the so-called Rhetorica Monacensis, a still unedited Byzantine rhetorical treatise from the 14th century preserved in autograph form, and in multiple stages. In particular, we can now access a preliminary draft preserved in the manuscript Vat. gr. 1340, accompanied by informal and personal notes. This new document offers…
Durante la fase finale dei colloqui teologici tenutisi a Nicea-Ninfeo nel 1234 tra gli apocrisiarî di papa Gregorio IX e la delegazione greca, quest’ultima, presieduta dal patriarca di Costantinopoli a Nicea Germano II, produsse in risposta ai legati latini una breve ma densa relazione (Responsio) sulla processione dello Spirito Santo, centrata su un dossier antologico…
This paper examines key aspects of the manuscript tradition of the theological writings of Patriarch Nikephoros I (758–828), with the aim of illuminating the subtle boundary between the author’s own editorial planning and a later phase of redaction carried out by a learned circle—perhaps under the guidance of Patriarch Methodios—which reorganized the corpus after Nikephoros’…
The Conspectus librorum sacrorum (hereafter CLS) is a summary of the Bible composed by Nicetas Seides (12th century). This work combines multiple sources with the author’s exegetical commentary, revealing a sophisticated editorial process. This paper presents preliminary research towards a new critical edition of the CLS, clarifying its sources and analyzing Nicetas’s compositional strategies. First,…