The
Vita Basilii
, compiled by Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (913–959) in honour of his grandfather Basil I (867–886), appears as the first laudatory biography in Byzantine ...literature glorifying the emperor’s life and deeds (βασιλικὸς λόγος). Previous research demonstrates that, in compiling the work, Porphyrogenitus used two types of ancient Greek biography, Isocrates’ encomium
Euagoras
and Plutarch’s
Parallel Lives
, as models. The research in this paper is based on the analysis and comparison of the structure and content of Plutarch’s
Alexander
, depicting the life and works of Alexander the Great, Isocrates’
Euagoras
, dedicated to the Cypriot ruler of Salamis, and Porphyrogenitus’ account of Basil's life according to topoi specific to a
basilikos logos
(prologue, homeland, origin, birth, physical appearance, upbringing, character traits, achievements in war and peace, fortune, comparison to the previous reign, epilogue and concluding prayer). The aim is to determine in what way Plutarch’s and Isocrates’ models of biography influenced the
Vita Bas
., i.e., to what extent Porphyrogenitus imitated ancient templates and in which segments of the work he brings his own innovations.
Spis Vita Basilii, sastavljen u čast bizantskog cara Bazilija I. (867. ‒ 886.) na nalog njegova unuka Konstantina VII. Porfirogeneta (913. ‒ 959.), u povijesti bizantske književnosti zauzima istaknuto mjesto kao prvi basilikos logos (βασιλικὸς λόγος), što se definira kao pohvalna biografija koja glorificira carev život i djela. U dosadašnjoj se povijesti istraživanja isticalo kako je pri njegovu sastavljanju Porfirogenet nadahnuće potražio u dvama modelima antičke grčke biografije, Izokratovu i Plutarhovu. U radu se na temelju analize i međusobne usporedbe strukture i sadržaja Izokratova pohvalnog govora Euagora, Plutarhove biografije Aleksandar i Porfirogenetova spisa Vita Bas. prema toposima karakterističnima za basilikos logos (prolog, domovina, podrijetlo, rođenje, fizički izgled, školovanje i odgoj, karakterne osobine, postignuća u ratu i miru, sudbina, usporedba careve vladavine s prethodnom, epilog i završna molitva) istražuje na koji su način Izokratov i Plutarhov tip biografije našli odraz u Bazilijevu životopisu. Cilj je rasvijetliti u kojim je segmentima spisa i u kolikom postotku Porfirogenet nasljedovao antičke uzore, odnosno implementirao vlastite inovacije. Istraživanje je pokazalo da su Izokrat i Plutarh ostavili podjednako snažan utjecaj na Vita Bas. Glavna razlika u odnosu na Plutarhovu biografiju sastoji se u tome što Plutarh prikazuje Aleksandrov karakter, što uključuje i dobre osobine i mane, dok je Porfirogenetova namjera prikazati Bazilija savršenim bizantskim carem bez ikakvih mana, koji će upravo zbog svojih vrlina biti uzor nasljednicima. S Izokratovim pohvalnim govorom, osim što je Euagora također prikazan idealnim vladarom bez nedostataka, nalazimo i sličnost u tome što se u Vita Bas. usporedba vladavine careva Mihaela III. i Bazilija I. nalazi ispred opisa Bazilijevih postignuća, isto kao što se i u Izokratovu enkomiju usporedba Euagore i perzijskog kralja Kira nalazi prije prikaza Euagorinih djela, te što oba djela završavaju s pohvalnim sažetkom vladara te isticanjem autorove zasluge za nastanak spisa. Ipak, u Vita Bas. se ne uočavaju pretjerano pohvalni elementi koje nalazimo u Izokratovu Euagori, pa bi to bila i glavna razlika u odnosu na Izokratov tip biografije.
Croatian humanist, diplomat, and prelate Antun Vrančić (1504-1573) produced a number of literary works, among which the travelogue Iter Buda Hadrianopolim holds a special place, since it was written ...as a testimony of Vrančić’s first mission to Constantinople (1553-1557), on which he was sent by order of Emperor Ferdinand I (1503-1564). The text is preserved in the form of Vrančić’s autograph and three transcripts as part of the geographical and historical work De Illyrico Caesaribusque Illyricis by Croatian humanist Ivan Tomko Mrnavić (1580-1637), and was published twice, in the 18th and 19th centuries. This paper provides an insight into the textual transmission of the Iter Buda Hadrianopolim based on the findings the authors arrived at while preparing a critical edition of this text by Vrančić. A philological comparison of Vrančić’s manuscript and the preserved transcripts provides an answer to the question which copy is closest to Vrančić’s original, while a comparison of the manuscript and editions indicates that the existing editions are unreliable for linguistic, stylistic, or historiographical research due to errors which hinder the correct reading of the text. This, along with the fact that no critical edition of the text exists, is why a new philological treatment of this text by Vrančić according to the principles of modern neo-Latin studies was necessary.
Spis
Vita Basilii
književna nam tradicija
donosi u sklopu literarnog korpusa bizantskog cara Konstantina VII. Porfirogeneta
(913. ‒ 959.). Radi se o vrsti pohvalnoga govora (βασιλικὸς λόγος) ...sastavljenog
u čast utemeljitelja Makedonske dinastije Bazilija I. (867. ‒ 886.), čija je
svrha bila osloboditi Porfirogenetova djeda od krivnje za ubojstvo njegova
prethodnika, cara Mihaela III. (842. ‒ 867.), što je ubrzalo Bazilijev dolazak
na vlast. Bazilije u spisu utjelovljuje sliku idealnog bizantskog cara, dok je
Mihael prikazan u negativnom kontekstu i kao primjer lošeg vladara. U radu se
analizira uloga stilskih sredstava u oblikovanju Bazilijeva i Mihaelova lika.
Iako je visoki stupanj upotrebe stilskih ukrasa u ovakvoj književnoj vrsti
očekivan, na temelju odabranih primjera predočit će se kako ih je u određenim
slučajevima autor ciljano upotrebljavao ne samo radi podizanja retoričkog
naboja, nego i s tendencijom da Bazilije unatoč mračnoj strani dolaska na
prijestolje bude prikazan kao „spasitelj” Bizantskog Carstva nakon Mihaelove
loše vladavine, a Mihael kao glavni krivac za svoju vlastitu smrt.
The work
Vita Basilii
, preserved withing the literary corpus of Byzantine
Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (913–959), is a panegyric composed in honour of the founder of the Macedonian
dynasty, Porphyrogenitus’ grandfather Basil I (867–886). Considering the
fact that the work is of a political nature which
includes propaganda, and that it was imperative that Basil be exculpated
for
his role in the assassination of Emperor Michael III (842–867), the author aims to depict Basil as the ideal Byzantine emperor,
and Michael as a poor ruler who deserved his death due to his irrational
behaviour. In this paper, the role of stylistic means in the characterization
of Basil and Michael is analyzed. While a high level of stylistic embellishment
in this type of literary genre is to be anticipated, in which its primary role
is to heighten rhetorical stylization and affective tension, it can be
concluded on the basis of selected examples in the work that in a large number
of cases it is the author’s aim to use certain stylistic figures and tropes so
that Basil, despite the dark circumstances surrounding his rise to power, is
depicted as the “saviour” of the Byzantine Empire after Michael’s poor
rulership, and Michael is depicted as the primary guilty party in his own
death. Basil is decorated with positive characteristics such as prudence,
righteousness, mercy and piety, while Michael is depicted as an emperor who
irrationally spends public funds on horse races, drinking binges and feasts,
who dishonours holy rituals and murders innocents. In the fashioning of Basil’s
character Porphyrogenitus often uses exempla as literary devices (the mother of
Persian King Cyrus, Achilles, the hundred-armed giant Briareus, the benevolent
father from the parable of the Prodigal Son), using thereby as well other
figures, such as hyperbaton, homoeoteleuton, paromoeosis, synonymy, paronomasia,
etc. Figures which are too artificial for frequent use, ruining the beauty of
the style, are found less frequently in the work, such as homoeoteleuton
with
extreme matching (rimes), or some figures of thought (exclamation, rhetorical
questions) by which means the author’s own emotions and personal admiration of
Basil are demonstrated. In the fashioning of Michael’s character among selected
stylistic figures synonymy dominates (“folly and madness”, “witless and mad”,
“derangement and madness”…). The research has also shown that higher level of
stylistic expression in comparison to the rest of the work is found in certain
chapters, such as those in which more significant episodes from Basil’s life are depicted (his mother’s dreams as a herald of Basil’s glory,
Basil’s departure to Constantinople and his coronation as a co-ruler, tragic
familial circumstances – the death of his eldest son, Constantine, and his
dispute with his son Leo), Basil’s virtues (the description of the Emperor’s
reforms and his concern for the common good) and portions of the reports
on
Michael’s rulership in which his indecent behaviour is highlighted.
In his work De Administrando Imperio, Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (913-959) differentiates between two Croatias – the Dalmatian or “baptized” Croatia, and the “unbaptized” one, ...which is also identified by using the terms “Great” or “White Croatia”, an area whence its inhabitants, the White Croats, moved to Dalmatian Croatia. The original homeland of the Croats is localized in several chapters of the text – in chapter 30, where the author uses geographical designations such as “beyond Bavaria” and “against Francia”, as well as in chapter 32, where he says that the White Croats and the Franks are neighbours of “the unbaptized Serbs, also called 'white', who live beyond Turkey in a place called by them Boïki”. The most precise localization is, however, found in Chapter 31, where, other than stylizations such as “beyond Turkey” (i.e. Hungary) and “next to Francia”, or ethnopolitical terms such as “the Turks” (= Hungarians), “the Franks”, “the White Serbs”, or “the Pechenegs”, the author cites the exact distance from the “Dark Sea”, which amounts to thirty days of travel on foot. In identifying the “Dark Sea”, historiographic research has, until now, mostly been divided on the issue of whether or not the Emperor, when using this name (i.e. the Dark Sea), was referring to the Baltic Sea or the Black Sea.
Kršćanska je ideja Božje providnosti sveprisutna u bizantskoj književnosti. Ista se tendencija uočava i u Porfi rogenetovu spisu Vita Bas., životopisu njegova djeda Bazilija I., čiji je jezik i stil ...snažno obojan utjecajem Svetog pisma. Usredotočujući se na proučavanje suodnosa između pripovjedačeva prečestog referiranja na spomenutu ideju te prisutnosti elemenata Svetog pisma koji posjeduju stilsku vrijednost, istraživanje je pokazalo kako je autor višestruko crpio Sveto pismo, bilo citirajući ili parafrazirajući njegove dijelove bilo upotrebljavajući biblijske egzemple i metafore, te kako tu pojavu ne treba promatrati isključivo u okvirima retoričkih konvencija pripadajućeg razdoblja te žanrovskih zahtjeva, već i u kontekstu autorova svjesnog ostvarivanja ideološke namjere u djelu kako je dolazak njegova djeda Bazilija na prijestolje bio predodređen Božjom voljom, a ne posljedica carevih nemoralnih postupaka i velike ambicije.
Kršćanska je ideja Božje providnosti sveprisutna u bizantskoj književnosti. Ista se tendencija uočava i u Porfi rogenetovu spisu Vita Bas., životopisu njegova djeda Bazilija I., čiji je jezik i stil ...snažno obojan utjecajem Svetog pisma. Usredotočujući se na proučavanje suodnosa
između pripovjedačeva prečestog referiranja na spomenutu ideju te prisutnosti elemenata Svetog pisma koji posjeduju stilsku vrijednost, istraživanje je pokazalo kako je autor višestruko crpio Sveto pismo, bilo citirajući ili parafrazirajući njegove dijelove bilo upotrebljavajući biblijske egzemple i metafore, te kako tu pojavu ne treba promatrati isključivo u okvirima retoričkih konvencija pripadajućeg razdoblja te žanrovskih zahtjeva, već i u kontekstu autorova svjesnog ostvarivanja ideološke namjere u djelu kako je dolazak
njegova djeda Bazilija na prijestolje bio predodređen Božjom voljom, a ne posljedica carevih nemoralnih postupaka i velike ambicije.
he Christian idea of Providence is quite conventional in Byzantine literature and it is not surprising that it is present in Vita Bas., the
biography of Emperor Basil I, Porphyrogenitus’ grandfather, in which we
also find a strong influence of the Holy Scripture. Taking into account
the author’s frequent references to the mentioned idea, in this paper we aim to examine the relationship between the emphasis of the idea of Providence and the influence of the Holy Scripture, as well as to answer
the question of why Porphyrogenitus constantly stresses the importance of divine providence throughout Basil’s life if the Byzantines perceived
emperors as appointed by God himself. Our research has shown that the author, wishing to support the idea that God’s will played a key role in
every aspect of Basil’s life, used the Holy Scripture as a source from which he extracted quotes or lexical and phraseological parallels and incorporated them into the descriptions of important moments in Basil’s life in order to present his grandfather as a pious man, obedient to God’s will, which consequently led him to the throne. Additionally, he aimed to describe Basil’s personal traits, more precisely, justice, piety and mercy, as Christian virtues which marked his politics, as well
as to highlight his sobriety and prudence in the face of most difficult
family circumstances, one of which was surely the death of his son Constantine. With the same intention the author used the exempla when comparing Basil to the biblical figures of Samson, Abraham and the father from the Parable of the prodigal son, or biblical metaphors of the storm and the shepherd and his flock, when illustrating the dangers of war and depicting Basil as a ruler. Although the use of quotes and stylistic devices usually follows the rhetorical conventions of a given period of time and genre standards, and in this case the genre we are dealing with is an encomium written in honour of a Byzantine emperor, the mutual connection between the emphasis of the idea of Providence and
the biblical elements that are used cannot be denied. The fact that, if
these were lacking, the specified idea would not possess such expressive and aesthetic strength as it does in this panegyric biography, undoubtedly confirms that the author included parts of the Holy Scripture into his narrative not only in order to achieve the exalted stylistic expression, but also to realize his ideological intention throughout the text, which was obviously to whitewash the reputation of his grandfather as the founder of the Macedonian dynasty. Motivated by this desire, instead of denying Basil’s involvement in the murders of Cesar Bardas and Emperor Michael III, the author portrays his
grandfather as a pious and moral man (which is consistent with Christian principles), whose accession to the throne was ordained by God’s will, and not a consequence of his immoral acts or great ambition.
The question of the authorship of the literary corpus preserved under the name of Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII. Porphyrogenitus (913-959) has preoccupied scholars for more than a century. ...Uncertainty in the emperor's authorship arose for the most part due to the multitude of style levels of his writings, which in recent research has resulted in a disputation of the authorship of Porphyrogenitus involving most of the works attributed to him. This paper deals with the stylistic features of those parts of the Corpus Constantineum in which, according to experts, Porphyrogenitus had his own creative share. The results show that Constantine wrote using approximately six different style levels, and that the appearance of different stylistic expressions was conditioned by the literary genre, the subject matter and the circumstances addressed by the work in question. The common stylistic features present in the segments of the emperor's writings covered in this paper point to the fact that, in this case, it is possible that they were written by the same author, one who varied his writing style.
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