Research Catalog

Michael Psellos : rhetoric and authorship in Byzantium

Title
Michael Psellos : rhetoric and authorship in Byzantium / Stratis Papaioannou.
Author
Papaioannou, Stratis
Publication
Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2013.
Supplementary Content
Cover image

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TextUse in library JFE 13-5883Schwarzman Building - Main Reading Room 315

Details

Description
xv, 347 pages : illustrations; 24 cm
Summary
"This book explores Michael Psellos' place in the history of Greek rhetoric and self-representation and his impact on the development of Byzantine literature. Avoiding the modern dilemma that vacillates between Psellos the pompous rhetorician and Psellos the ingenious thinker, Professor Papaioannou unravels the often misunderstood Byzantine rhetoric, its rich discursive tradition, and the social fabric of elite Constantinopolitan culture which rhetoric addressed. The book offers close readings of Psellos' personal letters, speeches, lectures, and historiographical narratives, and analysis of other early Byzantine and classical models of authorship in Byzantine book culture, such as Gregory of Nazianzos, Synesios of Cyrene, Hermogenes, and Plato. It also details Psellos' innovative attention to authorial creativity, performative mimesis, and the aesthetics of the self. Simultaneously, it traces within Byzantium complex expressions of emotion and gender, notions of authorship and subjectivity, and theories of fictionality and literature, challenging the common fallacy that these are modern inventions"--
Subjects
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references (pages 268-336) and index.
Contents
The philosopher's rhetoric -- The rhetor as creator: Psellos on Gregory of Nazianzos -- The return of the poet: mimesis and the aesthetics of variation -- Aesthetic charm and urbane ethos -- The statue's smile: discourses of Hellenism -- Female voice: gender and emotion -- Conclusion: from rhetoric to literature -- Appendix: books and readers in the reception of Psellos.
Call Number
JFE 13-5883
ISBN
  • 9781107026223 (hardback)
  • 1107026229 (hardback)
LCCN
2012042714
OCLC
818865909
Author
Papaioannou, Stratis, author.
Title
Michael Psellos : rhetoric and authorship in Byzantium / Stratis Papaioannou.
Publisher
Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2013.
Type of Content
text
still image
Type of Medium
unmediated
Type of Carrier
volume
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 268-336) and index.
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Cover image
Research Call Number
JFE 13-5883
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