John Skylitzes
John Skylitzes,commonlyLatinizedasIoannes[a]Scylitzes(Greek:Ἰωάννης Σκυλίτζης,romanized:Iōánnēs Skylítzēs,[b]Byzantine Greek:[i.oˈa.nissc̠iˈlit.t͡sis];Latin:Ioannes Scyllitzes,[c]Latin:[jɔˈan.ne̝ssk̟ilˈlit̪.d͡ze̝s];early 1040s – after 1101[1]), was aByzantinehistorian of the late 11th century.
Life
[edit]Very little is known about his life. The title of his work records him as akouropalatēsand a formerdroungariosof theVigla,whereby he is usually identified with a certain John Thrakesios.[2]
His major work is theSynopsis of Histories(Greek:Σύνοψις Ἱστοριῶν[ˈsy̜.nop.sisis.to.riˈon]), which covers the reigns of theByzantine emperorsfrom the death ofNikephoros Iin 811 to the deposition ofMichael VIin 1057; it continues thechronicleofTheophanes the Confessor.There is a continuation of this work, known asScylitzes Continuatus,covering 1057 to 1079; some historians hypothesize that it was also written by Skylitzes.[2]
The Madrid Skylitzes
[edit]The most famous manuscript of theSynopsiswas produced inSicilyin the 12th century known as theMadrid Skylitzes(Latin:Skyllitzes Matritensis,[sk̟ilˈlit̪.d͡ze̝sma.t̪riˈt̪ɛn.sis]), and is now at theBiblioteca Nacional de EspañainMadrid.It features 574 miniatures, while some 100 have been lost, and is the only surviving Byzantine illuminated chronicle in Greek, providing an invaluable primary source for the visualization of contemporary Byzantium.[2]
Explanatory notes
[edit]- ^AlternateLatinizedforms in common use includeJoannes,Johannes,Iōannēs
- ^Also rendered inGreekasΣκυλλίτζης,SkyllítzēsorΣκυλίτσης,SkylítsēsorΣκυλίτση,Skylítsē
- ^Also rendered inLatinasScylitia[sk̟iˈliː.t͡si.a],Scylitza[sk̟iˈlit̪.d͡za],orSchillizzi[sk̟ilˈlit̪.d͡zi]
Citations
[edit]- ^Seibt 1976.
- ^abcKazhdan 1991,p. 1914.
General and cited sources
[edit]- AHRB Skylitzes Colloquium,Belfast, 21–22 September 2002, Institute for Byzantine Studies,Queen's University, Belfast.
- Flusin, B. (trans.), J.-C. Cheynet (ed.),Jean Skylitzès: Empereurs de Constantinople,Ed. Lethielleux, 2004,ISBN2-283-60459-1.
- Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. (1991).Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium.Oxford University Press. p. 1914.ISBN978-0-19-504652-6.
- Kiapidou, Eirini-Sophia.Ἡ Σύνοψη Ἱστοριῶν τοῦ Ἰωάννη Σκυλίτζη καὶ οἱ πηγές της (811‐1057). Συμβολὴ στὴ βυζαντινὴ ἱστοριογραφία κατὰ τὸν ΙΑ΄ αἰώνα,Athens 2010.
- Seibt, Werner (1976). "Iohannes Skylitzes. Zur Person des Chronisten".Jahrbuch der Österreichischen Byzantinistik(in German).25:81–85.
- Thurn, Hans, ed. (1973).Ioannis Scylitzae Synopsis historiarum.Berlin-New York: De Gruyter.ISBN9783110022858.
- The Thurn edition supersedes the much older one by Migne. A popular edition is being prepared for Kanakis books (with parallel Modern Greek translation) and a facsimile edition of theMadridis also available from Militos (Μίλητος) Publishers.
- Wortley, John (trans.).A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811–1057(by John Scylitzes, active 1081), Cambridge University Press, 2010.
