Politics, philosophy, and humor at the Byzantine court
eight works by Theodore II Laskaris
- ISBN: 9780884025245
- Editorial: Harvard University Press
- Fecha de la edición: 2025
- Lugar de la edición: Cambridge (MSS). Estados Unidos de Norteamérica
- Colección: Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library
- Encuadernación: Cartoné
- Medidas: 24 cm
- Nº Pág.: 256
- Idiomas: Inglés
The thirteenth-century emperor Theodore II Laskaris, ruler of the Empire of Nicaea, is among those versatile authors of the Byzantine era who produced numerous little-known gems of literature and thought. He composed the sole theoretical work on friendship surviving from Byzantium, wrote philosophy with verve and humor, and was perhaps the most passionate advocate of the idea of a communal Hellenic identity in the Middle Ages.?
Politics, Philosophy, and Humor at the Byzantine Court represents the first translation into English of eight works by Laskaris. An introduction and annotations to the translations orient the reader and contextualize these fascinating pieces. The selections themselves include a satire of his tutor, his oration on friendship and politics, his oration on Hellenism, and philosophical works and musings such as a treatise filled with Socratic irony. They represent the most prominent strands of Laskaris’s thought and provide the reader with a well-rounded portrait of this remarkable author.
The author
The selected works
Note on the editions and the translations
Chronology and contexts
Satire of his tutor
Memorial discourse on Emperor Frederick II
Moral pieces describing the inconstancy of life
Oration on friendship and politics
Representation of the world, or Life
On what Is unclear and a testimony
That the author is ignorant of philosophy
Oration on Hellenism
Letter on royal duty, taxation, and the army
Style, vocabulary, and grammar
Theodore Laskaris and Nikephoros Blemmydes
Theodore Laskaris as a literary figure and philosopher
Translations. Satire of his tutor
Memorial discourse on Emperor Frederick II
Moral pieces describing the inconstancy of life
Oration on friendship and politics
Representation of the world, or Life
On what Is unclear and a testimony
That the author is ignorant of philosophy
Oration on Hellenism
Letter on royal duty, taxation, and the army
