The Career and Writings of Demetrius Kydones

The Career and Writings of Demetrius Kydones PDF Author: Judith Ryder
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004189440
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
The second half of the fourteenth century was a period of rapid change in the Eastern Mediterranean, principally due to the expansion into Europe of the Ottoman Turks. Demetrius Kydones was one of the key Byzantine political and intellectual figures of the time, and his writings are regarded as one of the most important sources for study of the period. Kydones’ career spanned at least four decades, from the 1340s to the 1380s. A Latin scholar, influenced in particular by the writings of Thomas Aquinas (some of which he translated into Greek), Kydones was a leading advocate of improvement of relations between Byzantium and the Latin West as crucial to Byzantine survival. This book examines Kydones’ career and writings, investigating how they can contribute to developing a nuanced understanding of Byzantine political and cultural developments in these years of crisis.

The Career and Writings of Demetrius Kydones

The Career and Writings of Demetrius Kydones PDF Author: Judith Ryder
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004189440
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
The second half of the fourteenth century was a period of rapid change in the Eastern Mediterranean, principally due to the expansion into Europe of the Ottoman Turks. Demetrius Kydones was one of the key Byzantine political and intellectual figures of the time, and his writings are regarded as one of the most important sources for study of the period. Kydones’ career spanned at least four decades, from the 1340s to the 1380s. A Latin scholar, influenced in particular by the writings of Thomas Aquinas (some of which he translated into Greek), Kydones was a leading advocate of improvement of relations between Byzantium and the Latin West as crucial to Byzantine survival. This book examines Kydones’ career and writings, investigating how they can contribute to developing a nuanced understanding of Byzantine political and cultural developments in these years of crisis.

The Western Perception of Islam between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance

The Western Perception of Islam between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance PDF Author: Marica Costigliolo
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1498208207
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 179

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Book Description
In the Middle Ages, as Christian sources on the Islamic world show, Muslim culture was perceived as extremely threatening: there were many defenses of Christianity, like the treatise on the "mistakes" of the followers of Allah. This book shows, through an analysis of the works of Nicholas of Cusa and of other authors, that in the course of time this textual attitude was modified, as European authors aimed to point out the Christian truth in comparison with the "falsity" of Islamic theology, in order to reinforce Christian identity through the presupposition of its own absolute truth. The apologetic aim was gradually replaced by a systematic comparison based on partial translations of the Qur'an. The comparison with the "other" was also the basis for reinforcing identity, in order to demonstrate the truth and consequently the supremacy of one's own theoretical position.

A Companion to the Intellectual Life of the Palaeologan Period

A Companion to the Intellectual Life of the Palaeologan Period PDF Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004527087
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 531

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Book Description
Focuses on the scholarly interests of the intellectual elites during the last two centuries of Byzantium and the cultural environment in which they flourished, as well as the interaction between secular and church circles in Constantinople, Thessaloniki, Athos and beyond.

Gregory Palamas and the Making of Palamism in the Modern Age

Gregory Palamas and the Making of Palamism in the Modern Age PDF Author: Norman Russell
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199644640
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 287

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Book Description
This study presents a new perspective on an important fourteenth-century Greek theologian, Gregory Palamas.

Orthodox Readings of Aquinas

Orthodox Readings of Aquinas PDF Author: Marcus Plested
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199650659
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
The foremost Roman Catholic theologian of the middle ages, Thomas Aquinas, was hugely popular in the last days of the Orthodox Byzantine Empire, in contrast to his largely negative reception by later Orthodox commentators.This book is the first to explore the long history of Orthodox fascination with Aquinas.

Translation Activity in Late Byzantine World

Translation Activity in Late Byzantine World PDF Author: Panagiotis Athanasopoulos
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110677083
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 628

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Book Description
During the late Byzantine period (1261-1453), a significant number of texts were translated from Latin, but also from Arabic and other languages, into Greek. Most of them are still unedited or available in editions that do not meet the modern academic criteria. Nowadays, these translations are attracting scholarly attention, as it is widely recognized that, besides their philological importance per se, they can shed light on the cultural interactions between late Byzantines and their neighbours or predecessors. To address this desideratum, this volume focuses on the cultural context, the translators and the texts produced during the Palaeologan era, extending as well till the end of 15th c. in ex-Byzantine territories. By shedding light on the translation activity of late Byzantine scholars, this volume aims at revealing the cultural aspect of late Byzantine openness to its neighbours.

Orthodox Constructions of the West

Orthodox Constructions of the West PDF Author: George E. Demacopoulos
Publisher: Fordham Univ Press
ISBN: 0823252094
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 302

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Book Description
The category of the “West” has played a particularly significant role in the modern Eastern Orthodox imagination. It has functioned as an absolute marker of difference from what is considered to be the essence of Orthodoxy and, thus, ironically has become a constitutive aspect of the modern Orthodox self. The essays collected in this volume examine the many factors that contributed to the “Eastern” construction of the “West” in order to understand why the “West” is so important to the Eastern Christian’s sense of self.

The Gattilusio Lordships and the Aegean World 1355-1462

The Gattilusio Lordships and the Aegean World 1355-1462 PDF Author: Christopher Wright
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004264817
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 487

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Book Description
In The Gattilusio Lordships and the Aegean World 1355-1462, Christopher Wright offers a window into the culturally and politically diverse late medieval Aegean. The overlapping influences of the contrasting networks of power at work in the region are explored through the history of one of many small and distinctive political units that flourished in this fragmented environment, the lordships of the Gattilusio family, centred on Lesbos. Though Genoese in origin, they owed their position to Byzantine authority. Though active in crusading, they cultivated congenial relations with the Ottomans. Though Catholic, they afforded exceptional freedom to the Orthodox Church. Their regime is shown to represent both a unique fusion of influences and a revealing microcosm of its times.

Manuel II Palaiologos (1350–1425)

Manuel II Palaiologos (1350–1425) PDF Author: Siren Çelik
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108874649
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 473

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Book Description
Few Byzantine emperors had a life as rich and as turbulent as Manuel II Palaiologos. A fascinating figure at the crossroads of Byzantine, Western European and Ottoman history, he endured political turmoil, witnessed no less than three sieges by the Ottomans and travelled as far as France and England. He was a prolific writer, producing a vast corpus of literary, theological and philosophical works. Yet, despite his talent, Manuel has largely been ignored as an author. This biography constructs an in-depth picture of him of as a ruler, author and personality, as well as providing insight into his world and times. It offers the first analysis of the emperor's complete oeuvre, focusing on his literary style, self-representation philosophical/theological thought. By focusing not only on political events, but also on the personality, personal life and literary output of Manuel, this biography paints a new portrait of a multifaceted emperor.

The Metamorphoses of Power

The Metamorphoses of Power PDF Author: Adrian Gheorghe
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004526676
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 347

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Book Description
Using interdisciplinary methodologies and making a case study around the military aḳıncı institution, a relic of early times, this study discusses the emergence of the Ottoman polity in dealing with various warlords and across different identities and political affiliations.