The Alexiad of Anna Komnene: Artistic Strategy in the Making of a Myth PDF
Preview The Alexiad of Anna Komnene: Artistic Strategy in the Making of a Myth
THE ALEXIAD OF ANNA KOMNENE Thisisthefirstfull-scalestudyoftheliteraryartofAnnaKomnene’s Alexiad.Herhistoryofherfather’sreigniswellknownandmuchused by Byzantinists and historians of the First Crusade, but the art with which it shapes its central character has not been fully examined or understood. This book argues that the work is both history and tragedy;thecharacterizationofAlexiosIKomnenosiscumulative;it develops;themodelsforhis idealization change; much oftheaction takes place in his mind, and the narrative relays and amplifies his thoughtwhilebuildingadensepictureoftheworldinwhichheacts. Engaging critically and responsively with other texts, Komnene uses thefullrangeofcurrentliterarygenrestoportraytheidealcultureof hisrule.Shematchesherartofliterarycontroltohisofgovernment overtheadverseforcesofhistime. penelopebuckleyisaFellowoftheMelbourneUniversitySchool ofHistoricalandPhilosophicalStudies. THE ALEXIAD OF ANNA KOMNENE Artistic Strategy in the Making of a Myth PENELOPE BUCKLEY UniversityPrintingHouse,Cambridgecb28bs,UnitedKingdom PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyCambridgeUniversityPress,NewYork CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge. ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof education,learning,andresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence. www.cambridge.org Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107037229 ©PenelopeBuckley2014 Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements, noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress. Firstpublished2014 PrintedintheUnitedKingdombyClays,StIvesplc AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata Buckley,Penelope,1942– TheAlexiadofAnnaKomnene:artisticstrategyinthemakingofamyth/PenelopeBuckley. pages cm Includesbibliographicalreferences. isbn978-1-107-03722-9(hardback) 1. Comnena,Anna,1083–Alexiad–Criticism,Textual. 2. Comnena,Anna,1083– Literaryart. 3. AlexiusIComnenus,EmperoroftheEast,1048–1118–In literature. 4. Emperors–ByzantineEmpire–Biography–Historyand criticism. 5. ByzantineEmpire–Biography–Historyandcriticism. I. Title. DF605.C63B83 2014 949.5003092–dc23 2013036993 isbn978-1-107-03722-9Hardback CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyof urlsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhispublication, anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchwebsitesis,orwillremain, accurateorappropriate. For Roger Scott, teacher, mentor, friend. Contents Preface pageix Acknowledgements xii Listofabbreviations xiv Introduction 1 11 Continuityandchange 15 Hellenism 19 Theocracy 23 Somebadweather 32 Theoutsider 34 Thewill ThePrologue 37 1 TheEmperorAlexios,myfather 44 45 Imperialdestinyandtask 73 Alexiostherebel 83 Alexiosinvested 2 Thesoldier-emperor 107 107 Thesoldier 147 Thegreatwarrior 3 Thesecondstorybegins 168 176 ThedebttoPsellos 189 Rebuilding 4 WestintoEast 195 ThefirstappearanceoftheCrusade 198 208 Bohemond 5 ThesecondNormanwarandtheCrusade 215 228 Theemperorforpeace 232 PlayingGod vii viii Contents 235 Militarystagecraftandparalysis 236 TheTreatyofDevol 6 ThesecondConstantineandthelast 245 245 ThesecondConstantine 270 Thelastact 277 Theendofeverything Conclusions 285 Appendix:TheAlexiadaspre-Renaissancetext 290 Bibliography 298 Index 308 Preface ThisbookaimstoexaminetheAlexiadasagreatliterarywork.Sinceitisin classicizingByzantineGreek,andIamwritinginEnglish,Ihaveneededa great literary translation. E.R.A. Sewter has provided one and that is the defaulttranslationIwilluse.IthaslongbeenavailableinPenguinClassics and more recently Peter Frankopan has edited and revised it, again for Penguin. Both versions are excellent and any reader of the Alexiad not fluentinGreekwoulddowelltoconsultboth.Iwillciteboththroughout. Wherethereareslightbutnegligibledifferences(onthespectrumbetweena commaorhyphenandasynonymthatmakesnodifferencetothemeaning or closeness to the Greek), I have quoted the Sewter version. Frankopan editsinmoreparagraphingthanSewterdoesandwhereIuseFrankopan’s version,especiallytoquoteonlypartsofapassage,Idonotalwaysobserve hisparagraphbreaks. Toavoidunsightlinessandreaderlydiscomfort,Ihavetakeneditorialadvice tounifythespellingsofnames.SewterusesmostlyLatinname-spellingsand FrankopanusesmostlyGreek.Duringtheforty-oddyearsbetweentranslation andrevisiontherehasbeenagradualmovetowardsGreeknames.Thechange is not complete but seems set to continue. Frankopan has kept the Latin namesoffamiliarhistoricalfiguresandofcertaingivennameswell-knownin English – Constantine for all the Constantines, John, Isaac, Adrian, though notEirene.Withoneexception,Ihaveadoptedvirtuallyhiswholesystem for the spelling of names in both Alexiad translations, in quotations from Sewter’s translation of Psellos’ Chronographia in the main text and in presenting my own case. The exception is Frankopan’s hybrid spelling, following Sewter, of ‘Kelts’. I have changed this in all the above cases to ‘Keltoi’onthegroundsthat‘Kelts’representsatemporarycompromisein theongoingshift.Ifeelmorecomfortableindoingthisbecausethename istosomedegreeKomnene’sliteraryfiction,likeher‘Persians’andperhaps ‘Scyths’.ReplacingthefamiliarEnglish‘Celts’withtheGreek‘Keltoi’calls attentiontotheelementofartificeordeeming. ix
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