John Malalas

John Malalas
John Malalas
Personal details
Born	c. 491; PossiblyAntioch,Roman Syria,Byzantine Empire
Died	c. 578

John Malalas(Greek:Ἰωάννης Μαλάλας,translit.Iōánnēs Malálas,/ˈmælələs/;c. 491– 578) was anByzantinechronicler fromAntioch.

Life

OfSyriandescent,^[1]Malalas was a native speaker ofSyriacwho learned how to write inGreeklater in his life.^[2]The nameMalalasprobably derived from the Syriac word ܡܰܠܳܠܰܐmalolo'rhetor, orator'; it is first applied to him byJohn of Damascus.The alternative formMalelasis later, first appearing inConstantine VII.^[3]

Malalas was educated in Antioch, and probably was ajuristthere, but moved toConstantinopleat some point inJustinian I's reign (perhaps after the Persian sack of Antioch in 540^[4]); all we know of his travels from his own hand are visits toThessalonicaandPaneas.^[5]

Writing

He wrote aChronographia(Χρονογραφία) in 18 books, the beginning and the end of which are lost. In its present state it begins with the mythical history ofEgyptand ends with the expedition toRoman Africaunder the tribuneMarcianus,Justinian's nephew,^[6]in 563 (his editor Thurn believing it originally to end with Justinian's death^[7]); it is focused largely on Antioch and (in the later books)Constantinople.Except for the history of Justinian and his immediate predecessors, it possesses little historical value;^[6]the author, "relying onEusebius of Caesareaand other compilers, confidently strung together myths, biblical stories, and real history. "^[8]The eighteenth book, dealing with Justinian's reign, is well acquainted with, and colored by, official propaganda. The writer is a supporter of Church and State, an upholder of monarchical principles. However, the theory identifying him with the patriarchJohn Scholasticusis almost certainly incorrect.^[9]

He used several sources, for exampleEustathius of Epiphaniaand other unknown authors.

The work is important as the first surviving example of a chronicle written not for the learned but for the instruction of the monks and the common people,^[6]and its language shows a compromise with the spoken language of the day, although "it is still very much a written style. In particular, he employs technical terminology and bureaucratic clichés incessantly, and, in a period of transition from Latin to Greek governmental terminology, still uses the Latin loanwords alongside their Greek replacements... The overall impression created by Malálas' style is one of simplicity, reflecting a desire for the straightforward communication of information in the written language of everyday business as it had evolved under the influence of spoken Greek."^[10]

It obtained great popularity, and was used by various writers until the ninth century; it was translated intoOld Bulgarianprobably in the tenth century, and parts of it were used for thePrimary Chronicle.^[11]It is preserved in an abridged form in a single manuscript now atOxford^[6](Baroccianus 182) as well as in various fragments. A medieval translation inGeorgianalso exists.^[12]

References

^"John Malalas | Byzantine chronicler".Encyclopedia Britannica.Retrieved2021-01-25.
^Lapidge, Michael (1996).Anglo-Latin Literature, Vol.1, 600-899.Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 98.ISBN 978-1-4411-0105-1.
^Thurn,Ioannis Malalae Chronographia,p. 1.
^Geoffrey Horrocks,Greek: A History of the Language and its Speakers(Longman Linguistics Library, 1997:ISBN 0-582-30709-0), p. 180.
^Thurn,Ioannis Malalae Chronographia,p. 1.
^^a ^b ^c ^dOne or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Malalas, John".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 461.
^Thurn,Ioannis Malalae Chronographia,p. 2.
^Warren Treadgold,A History of Byzantine State and Society(Stanford University Press, 1997:ISBN 0-8047-2421-0), p. 267.
^Thurn,Ioannis Malalae Chronographia,p. 2.
^Horrocks,Greek,pp. 179-81, q.v. for details of lexical and syntactic usage; see also pp. 181-82 for a passage of Malalas with interlinear translation and transcription showing how Horrocks believes it would have sounded in the spoken Greek of the day.
^Oleg Tvorogov,Хроника Иоанна Малалы Archived2009-05-17 at theWayback Machine.
^Baldwin, Barry (1991). "Malalas, John". InKazhdan, Alexander(ed.).The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium.Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. p. 1275.ISBN 0-19-504652-8.

Modern editions

Text

Johannes Thurn (ed.) 2000,Ioannis Malalae Chronographia,Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae (CFHB)35 (Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter)ISBN 3-11-008800-2

Translation

Elizabeth Jeffreys, Michael Jeffreys, Roger Scott et al. 1986,The Chronicle of John Malalas: A Translation,Byzantina Australiensia 4 (Melbourne: Australian Association for Byzantine Studies)ISBN 0-9593626-2-2
Downey, G.,ed. (1940).Chronicle of John Malalas, books VIII—XVIII.University of Chicago Press.

External links

Chronicle of John Malalas(full, translated)
Translation of the 8th book of Malalas'Chronographia
Greek Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Graeca with analytical indexes
Catholic Encyclopedia(1910 ed.),John Malalas"
Malalas, Chronography(online English translation, open access)

[:0-1] "John Malalas | Byzantine chronicler".Encyclopedia Britannica.Retrieved2021-01-25.

[2] Lapidge, Michael (1996).Anglo-Latin Literature, Vol.1, 600-899.Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 98.ISBN 978-1-4411-0105-1.

[3] Thurn,Ioannis Malalae Chronographia,p. 1.

[4] Geoffrey Horrocks,Greek: A History of the Language and its Speakers(Longman Linguistics Library, 1997:ISBN 0-582-30709-0), p. 180.

[5] Thurn,Ioannis Malalae Chronographia,p. 1.

[EB1911-6] One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Malalas, John".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 461.

[7] Thurn,Ioannis Malalae Chronographia,p. 2.

[8] Warren Treadgold,A History of Byzantine State and Society(Stanford University Press, 1997:ISBN 0-8047-2421-0), p. 267.

[9] Thurn,Ioannis Malalae Chronographia,p. 2.

[10] Horrocks,Greek,pp. 179-81, q.v. for details of lexical and syntactic usage; see also pp. 181-82 for a passage of Malalas with interlinear translation and transcription showing how Horrocks believes it would have sounded in the spoken Greek of the day.

[11] Oleg Tvorogov,Хроника Иоанна Малалы Archived2009-05-17 at theWayback Machine.

[12] Baldwin, Barry (1991). "Malalas, John". InKazhdan, Alexander(ed.).The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium.Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. p. 1275.ISBN 0-19-504652-8.

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v t e Byzantine historians
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14th century	Nicephorus Gregoras Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos John VI Kantakouzenos George Pachymeres Michael Panaretos
15th century	John Anagnostes John Cananus Laonikos Chalkokondyles Michael Critobulus Doukas George Sphrantzes Pseudo-George Kodinos

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