Encyclopedic trends in Byzantium? : proceedings of the international conference held in Leuven, 6-8 May 2009 / edited by Peter Van Deun and Caroline Macé

• Superior document: Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 212
• Place / Publishing House: Leuven : Uitgeverij Peeters en Departement Oosterse Studies, 2011
• Year of Publication: 2011
• Language: English
• Series: Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 212
• Classification: 18.43 - Byzantinische Sprache und Literatur
• Physical Description: XIX, 458 Seiten; Illustrationen

In May 2009 the Leuven Institute of Early Christian and Byzantine Studies organized an international congress, with the title: "Encyclopedic trends in Byzantium?" Some 40 scholars discussed the concept of Byzantine "encyclopedism", a notion coined definitively in 1971 by the French scholar Paul Lemerle as a characterization of Byzantine culture for the period 800-1000: the emphasis was not on creativity, but on collecting and copying; until very recent times the term "encyclopedism" has been repeated rather rashly in all kind of publications. Many problems have been dealt with during our congress: e.g. what are the definition and characteristics of Byzantine "encyclopedism"? Does the Byzantine understanding of this notion differ from ours? Has this really been the main feature of the period studied by Lemerle? Do these compilations mirror the broader cultural atmosphere in Byzantium? Which are the strategies (theological, literary, political) playing a part in the Byzantine art of compiling?