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Author: Anna Komnene
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0141904542
Category: Literary Collections
Page: 624
View: 2670
A revised edition of Anna Komnene's Alexiad, to replace our existing 1969 edition. This is the first European narrative history written by a woman - an account of the reign of a Byzantine emperor through the eyes and words of his daughter which offers an unparalleled view of the Byzantine world in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.Author: Penelope Buckley
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107037220
Category: Art
Page: 335
View: 1372
A critical appraisal of the literary art of a great Byzantine text by the first woman historian, Anna Komnene.Author: Ioulia Kolovou
Publisher: Pen and Sword History
ISBN: 1526733021
Category: History
Page: 296
View: 6453
Set in the Eastern Roman Empire during the First Crusade, Anna’s story as an imperial princess and the medieval era’s first female historian unfolds around a period of war and conflict. Anna Komnene is one of the most curious figures in the history of an intriguing empire. A woman of extraordinary education and intellect, she was the only Byzantine female historian and one of the first and foremost historians in medieval Europe. Yet few people know of her and her extraordinary story. Subsequent historians and scholars have skewed the picture of Anna as an intellectual princess and powerful author. She has been largely viewed as an angry, bitter old woman, who greedily wanted a throne that did not belong to her. Accusations of conspiracy and attempted murder were hurled at her and as punishment for her ‘transgressions’ she was to live the last days of her life in exile. It was during her time in a convent, where she was not a nun, that she composed the Alexiad, the history of the First Crusade and the Byzantine Emperor, Alexios I Komnenos (1081-1118), her father. This book aims to present Anna Komnene - the fascinating woman, pioneer intellectual, and charismatic author - to the general public. Drawing on the latest academic research to reconstruct Anna's life, personality and work, it moves away from the myth of Anna the conspirator and 'power-hungry woman' which has been unfairly built around her over centuries of misrepresentation. It places Anna Komnene in the context of her own time: the ancient Greek colony and medieval Eastern Roman empire, known as Byzantium, with the magnificent city of Constantinople at its heart. At the forefront of an epic clash between East and West, this was a world renowned for its dazzling wealth, mystery and power games. It was also known for a vigorous intellectual renaissance centuries before its western counterpart. This was a world with Anna Komnene directly at the center.Author: Thalia Gouma-Peterson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134829574
Category: Literary Criticism
Page: 220
View: 1109
This significant critical anthology explores the life of Anna Komnene, the Byzantine context in which she wrote, and the impact of the Alexiad on her times and on subsequent historical works of literature.Author: Jean S. Hamm
Publisher: ABC-CLIO
ISBN: 0313359679
Category: History
Page: 389
View: 7154
"The thousands of years of the medieval period offer some fascinating facts--for example, that approximately 80 percent of the population was directly involved in food production. As illustrated by Eleanor of Aquitaine, the individuals of the period are no less intriguing: she accompanied her first husband on crusade and later ransomed her son Richard the Lionhearted and personally escorted him home. [This book] brings key events and individuals alive to enrich and stimulate students in challenging and enjoyable ways. Students from high school to college will be able to get a jump start on assignments with the hundreds of term paper projects and research information offered here. Each event entry begins with a brief summary to pique interest and then offers original and thought-provoking term paper ideas in both standard and alternative formats that often incorporate the latest in electronic media, such as the iPod and iMovie. The best primary and secondary sources for further research are annotated, followed by vetted, stable website suggestions and multimedia resources--usually films--for further viewing and listening."--Cover, p. [4].Author: Lynda Garland
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351953710
Category: History
Page: 248
View: 5029
This volume brings together a group of international scholars, who explore many unusual aspects of the world of Byzantine women in the period 800-1200. The specific aim of this collection is to investigate the participation of women - non-imperial women in particular - in supposedly 'masculine' fields of operation. This new research across a range of disciplines attempts to provide an analysis of the activities of and attitudes towards Byzantine women in this period. Using evidence from sources as diverse as tax registers, monastic foundation documents, twelfth-century novels, historical texts, art history and the writings of women themselves, such as the hymnographer Kassia and the historian Anna Komnene, these papers elucidate the context in which Byzantine women lived. They emphasize the variety of female experiences, the circumstances that shaped women's lives, and the ways in which individual women were perceived by their society. Contributions focus on women's dress, their participation in the street life of Constantinople, their appearance in Byzantine fiscal documents, their monastic foundations, their engagement with entertainment at the imperial court, and the way heroines are portrayed in the Byzantine novels. Analysis of the writings of the hymnographer Kassia, the networking of Mary 'of Alania' and the ways she overcame the disadvantages of being a foreign-born empress, and the family values reflected in Anna Komnene's Alexiad, draw attention to specific problems. All these aim to expand our understanding of the circumstances that shaped women's lives and expectations in the Middle Byzantine period and to analyze the range of women's experiences, the roles they played and the impact they made on society.Author: Leonora Neville
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 110866394X
Category: History
Page: N.A
View: 6495
This handy reference guide makes it easier to access and understand histories written in Greek between 600 and 1480 CE. Covering classicizing histories that continued ancient Greek traditions of historiography, sweeping, fast-paced 'chronicle' type histories, and dozens of idiosyncratic historical texts, it distills the results of complex, multi-lingual, specialist scholarship into clear explanations of the basic information needed to approach each medieval Greek history. It provides a sound basis for further research on each text by describing what we know about the time of composition, content covered by the history, authorship, extant manuscripts, previous editions and translations, and basic bibliography. Even-handed explanations of scholarly debates give readers the information they need to assess controversies independently. A comprehensive introduction orients students and non-specialists to the traditions and methods of Byzantine historical writing. It will prove an invaluable timesaver for Byzantinists and an essential entry point for classicists, western medievalists, and students.Author: Leonora Neville
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190498188
Category: History
Page: 304
View: 4068
Byzantine princess Anna Komnene is known for two things: plotting to murder her brother to usurp the throne, and writing the Alexiad, an epic history of her father Alexios I Komnenos (1081-1118) that is a key historical source for the era of the First Crusade. Anna Komnene: the Life and Work of a Medieval Historian investigates the relationship between Anna's self-presentation in the Alexiad and the story of her bloodthirsty ambition. It begins by asking why women did not write history in Anna's society, what cultural rules Anna broke by doing so, and how Anna tried to respond to those challenges in her writing. Many of the idiosyncrasies and surprises of Anna's Alexiad are driven by her efforts to be perceived as both a good historian and a good woman. These new interpretations of Anna's authorial persona then spark a thorough re-thinking of the standard story which defines Anna's life by the failure of her supposed political ambitions. The second half of this work reviews the medieval sources with fresh eyes and re-establishes Anna's primary identity as an author and intellectual rather than as a failed conspirator.Author: Barbara Hill
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317884655
Category: History
Page: 258
View: 1407
This book will be essential reading for anyone studying Byzantine history in this period. It ranges in time from the death of the emperor Basil II in 1025 to the sacking of the city of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusaders in 1204, spanning the rise and fall of the successful Komnenos dynasty. Eleventh-century Byzantine history is unusual in that imperial women were able to wield immense power and in this ground-breaking book Dr Hill explores why this was possible and, equally, why they lost their position of influence a century later.Author: Susan Edgington,Sarah Lambert
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 9780231125994
Category: Crusades
Page: 236
View: 9120
This volume presents 13 essays which examine womens roles in the Crusades and medieval reactions to them, including active participation, female involvement in debates surrounding the Crusade, women in the latin east, papal policy, and literary representations.