Johannes Skylitzes

Basil I in the Skylitzes Matritensis

Johannes Skylitzes ( Middle Greek Ιωάννης Σκυλίτζης ) was a Byzantine historian who lived in the 2nd half of the 11th century and the beginning of the 12th century.

life and work

Little is known about John himself. However, there is evidence that he carried the title drungarios tes biglas (1090/92) and thus held a high judicial office.

At the end of the 11th century, Johannes wrote an imperial story with the title Synopsis Historion ( Middle Greek Σύνοψις Ιστοριών ), which covers the period from 811 to 1057 and follows on from the chronicle of Theophanes, whom he admired . In the Proömium of his work, Johannes sharply criticized contemporary historiography , for example Michael Psellos and the authors of several other works. In addition to Genesios and Leon Diakonos , only shadowy authors are mentioned, such as Manuel of Byzantium, Nikephoros Diakonos, Theodoros of Side, Theodoros Daphnopates and Theodoros von Sebasteia (who wrote a biography about Basil II ). In any case, Johannes accused the historians after Theophanes of inaccuracy, among other things. Apparently he was very interested in a clear and simple explanation. In terms of style, Johannes was mostly based on his models, which are only partially known. He probably used several works by the authors he had previously criticized (such as Genesios, Leon Diakonos and Theodoros von Sebasteia), although he partly "corrected" their representation according to his views and viewed exuberant praise critically.

The work of Johannes Skylitzes is an important source for the period covered and was apparently also frequently consulted by later historians, such as Georgios Kedrenos (who practically only wrote it out).

Johannes may also be the author of a work that continued his history until 1079 and is called Skylitzes Continuatus , but this is controversial.

See also

• Madrid Illuminated Manuscript of the Skylitzes (Skylitzes Matritensis)

Editions and translations

• Hans Thurn (Ed.): Ioannis Scylitzae Synopsis historiarum (= Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae . Vol. 5). de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 1973, ISBN 3-11-002285-0 (text edition).
• Hans Thurn: Byzantium - another world empire. The age of the Macedonian dynasty. Volume 1: End of the Pictorial Controversy and the Macedonian Renaissance (= Byzantine historians . Vol. 15). Translated, introduced and explained according to the historical work of Johannes Skylitzes. Verlag Styria, Graz et al. 1983, ISBN 3-222-10293-7 (German partial translation up to 959).
• John Skylitzes: A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811-1057. Introduction, Text and Notes translated by John Wortley. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2010, ISBN 978-0-521-76705-7 (English translation).

literature

• Herbert Hunger : The high-level profane literature of the Byzantines . Volume: 1: Philosophy, rhetoric, epistolography, historiography, geography (= Handbook of Classical Studies . Dept. 12: Byzantine Handbook. Part 5, Vol. 1). Beck, Munich 1978, ISBN 3-406-01427-5 , p. 389 ff.
• Günter Weiß: Skylitzes, Johannes in: Biographisches Lexikon zur Geschichte Südosteuropas . Vol. 4. Munich 1981, pp. 140 f.
• Enrico Valdo Maltese: Skylitzes, Johannes . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages (LexMA). Volume 7, LexMA-Verlag, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-7608-8907-7 , Sp. 1998 f.
• Vasiliki Tsamakda : The Illustrated Chronicle of Ioannes Skylitzes in Madrid. Alexandros Press, Leiden 2002, ISBN 90-806476-2-4 .
• Catherine Holmes: Basil II and the Governance of Empire, (976-1025). Oxford University Press, Oxford et al. 2005, ISBN 0-19-927968-3 .
• Warren Treadgold : The Middle Byzantine Historians. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke 2013, ISBN 978-1-137-28085-5 , p. 329 ff.

Web links

Commons : Madrid Illuminated Manuscript of the Skylitzes  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Εικόνες από το Βυζάντιο: το Χρονικό του Ιωάννη Σκυλίτζη , in: Η Καθημερινή , October 28, 2001 (PDF; 3.3 MB)