Imperial Visions of Late Byzantium : : Manuel II Palaiologos and Rhetoric in Purple / / Florin Leonte.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Edinburgh University Press Complete eBook-Package 2020
• VerfasserIn: Leonte, Florin,
• Place / Publishing House: Edinburgh : : Edinburgh University Press, , [2022]; ©2020
• Year of Publication: 2022
• Language: English
• Series: Edinburgh Byzantine Studies : EBS
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (344 p.)

Explores a Byzantine emperor’s construction of authority with the help of his rhetorical textsExamines the changes in the Byzantine imperial idea by the end of the fourteenth century with a particular focus on the instrumentalization of the intellectual dimension of the imperial ruleIntegrates late Byzantine imperial visions into the bigger picture of Byzantine imperial ideology Provides a fresh understanding of key pieces of Byzantine public rhetoric and introduces analytical concepts from rhetorical, literary, and discursive theoriesOffers translations of key passages from late Byzantine rhetoricManuel II Palaiologos was not only a Byzantine emperor but also a remarkably prolific rhetorician and theologian. His oeuvre included letters, treatises, dialogues, short poems and orations. Florin Leonte deals with several of his texts shaped by a didactic intention to educate the emperor’s son and successor, John VIII Palaiologos. He argues that the emperor constructed a rhetorical persona which he used in an attempt to compete with other contemporary power-brokers. While Manuel Palaiologos adhered to many rhetorical conventions of his day, he also reasserted the civic role of rhetoric.With a special focus on the first two decades of Manuel II Palaiologos’ rule, 1391–1417, Leonte offers a new understanding of the imperial ethos in Byzantium by combining rhetorical analysis with investigation of social and political phenomena.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- Part I Dissent and Consent -- 1 Voices of Dissent: Preaching and Negotiating Authority -- 2 Voices of Consent: Imperial Rhetoricians, Theatra and Patronage -- Part II Other Voices, Other Approaches: Manuel II’s Political Writings -- Introduction to Part II -- 3 The Deliberative Voice: The Dialogue with the Empress-Mother on Marriage -- 4 The Didactic Voice: The Foundations of an Imperial Education -- 5 The Didactic Voice: The Orations (Seven Ethico-Political Orations) -- 6 The Narrative Voice: The Funeral Oration on His Brother Theodore, Despot of Morea -- 7 Towards a Renewed Vision of Imperial Authority -- Conclusions -- Appendices -- Appendix 1 Members of Manuel II’s Literary Circle -- Appendix 2 The Contents and Structure of Manuel II’s Foundations -- Appendix 3 Translation of Gemistos Plethon’s Preface to Manuel II’s Funeral Oration -- Appendix 4 Network of Ecclesiastics and Rhetoricians during Manuel II’s Reign -- Bibliography -- Index