26. Chronographies and letopises. Historical literature of the Byzantine-Slavic cultural circles in the Middle Ages. Sources from the eastern periphery of the Piasts’ power territory
We will focus our interest on the influence of Byzantine models on the historiography of the eastern borderlands of the power territory of the Piasts: Slavs who in the Middle Ages remained in the orbit of Constantinople’s civilizational influence. The starting point, therefore, will be a reflection on Byzantine historical texts of the 6th–15th centuries, their content and formal characteristics, especially those which – in whole or in parts – were translated into (Old) Church Slavic. We will also be interested in historical works created and compiled by Slavs: chronographs and letopises. We would like to encourage Byzantinists, paleo-Slavist philologists, as well as experts in Polish and Western European history to discuss these works, posing the question of to what extent they are a continuation of the tradition of Byzantine chronographies, and to what degree they belong with genres typical of the literature of the Latin circle (chronicles and annals). The organizers would like to dedicate this section to the memory of Prof. dr. hab. Mirosław J. Leszka (1963–2024), an outstanding medievalist from the University of Lodz, and an expert on the history of Byzantine-Slavic relations.
The topic of this paper will be to discuss the mode of historical narration in the work of Constantine Manasses (c.1130- c.1187), his attitude to sources, not only strictly historical but also literary, and his use of religious writings. I will attempt to analyse the style and poetics of the Chronicle, because the text, however fitting into historiographical genres, is composed in metre and this matter raises the question of the aim and purpose of such a work.
A Chronicle, as Manasses understands it, is a description of the history of the world from its beginning, according to the biblical account, through the mythical histories of Greece and Rome, right up to his almost contemporary times (up to c. 1081). This kind of chronography is popular in Byzantium; Manasses‘ predecessor is John Malalas, who writes his chronicle in prose - Manasses’ innovative idea is to write down history in a poetic way and to treat the ancient tragedies and epics as source material.
2025-09-20 12:30-13:00, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.34
The aim of this paper is to analyse the motives raised by Byzantine leaders, delivered to the army before, during or after a battle. The context of the Arab wars in the 10th century is not accidental, because on the one hand it was a time of revival of Byzantine arms, and on the other hand it was the twilight of the power of the warlike Arab emirates on the eastern borders of the empire. An aspect that received particular attention was the way in which soldiers were motivated, as well as an attempt to notice important political aspects that came up during the speech.
2025-09-20 10:00-10:30, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.34
Written at the end of the 13th century or at the beginning of the 14th century, the Chronicle of Halych-Volhynia is the only surviving chronicle from the Rus' area. Textological research has shown that we can distinguish at least two ‘authors’ of this work. The aim of the lecture will be to demonstrate the knowledge of Byzantine writing traditions in the territory of western Rus and the question of what Chronicle of Halych-Volhynia was for its last editor.
2025-09-20 13:00-13:30, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.34
The subject of the proposed paper will be a discussion of the accounts in Theophanes the Confessor's "Chronography" concerning the first ruler of the Umayyad dynasty. I am interested in those fragments of the Byzantine historical work in which we can find information on the organization and activity of Mu'awiya's court. Examples referring to alleged diplomatic protocol or court ceremonial will be discussed, as well as those concerning the "observed" in the "Chronography" examples of behavior of Mu'awiya, when he demanding respect for his authority.
2025-09-20 09:30-10:00, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.34
Historical works known to medieval Slavs, contained a generalized image of heresy, in which the first heresiarchs, Simon Magus or Arius, occupied an important place. The image of heretics present in this type of literature will be presented using the Chronicle of George the Monk as an example. It contrasts somewhat with the image that scholars seek in polemical literature, seeing in works such as the Sermon of Cosmas the Presbyter or the Dogmatic Arsenal of Euthymius Zigabenos, for example, a toolkit for combating heresies that represent a current challenge to the Church. The talk will show instances of the use of historical literature in the propagation of the right faith by preachers, and the common points of the “historical” and “theological” images of heresy.
2025-09-20 16:00-16:30, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.34
The author analyzes the annalistic and narrative sources created in Poland in the Piast era (966-1370) that mention the Byzantine Empire. It is also an attempt to answer the question of why so little information about Byzantium found its way into the Latin historiography created in Poland at that time.
2025-09-20 12:00-12:30, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.34
The medieval historiography of the Orthodox Slavs (Bulgarians, Serbs and inhabitants of Rus’) was formed, starting from the 10th century, under the strong influence of Byzantine historiography. The oldest translations of such texts from Greek into Old Church Slavic were made in Bulgaria, during the reign of Symeon I (893–927) and Peter (927–969). First, comprehensive translations of the chronographies of John Malalas and George the Monk (Hamartolus) were created at that time. These translations quickly reached Rus’. The 14th century was a period of intense translation activity of the Slavs in the Balkans (in Bulgaria, Serbia and Mount Athos). The works of John Zonaras, Constantine Manasses, George the Monk (2nd translation, independent of the Old Bulgarian) and Symeon Magister & Logothete were translated then. Most of them reached the East Slavic region. In Rus’, Byzantine chronographies gave rise to chronographs – native compilations containing lectures on universal history.
2025-09-20 09:00-09:30, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.34
The Emperor Basil II, not shying away from acts of brutality, completed the conquest of Bulgaria in 1018, which is the subject of the description of Byzantine historians (e.g. John Skylitzes, John Zonaras). This contrasts with the transmission of preserved Bulgarian historical and literary works. The anonymous authors of the "Apocryphal Chronicle", some interpolations to the apocrypha of the prophets Isaiah and Daniel) idealize the rule of the Byzantine emperors, identifying their rule with the native political tradition. Such views could have resulted from the connections of the native Komitopules dynasty with the Byzantine aristocracy, which was exposed by marriages with the imperial families of Diogenids, Doukas and Komnenos. The autocephalous church structure also favored the preservation of the cultural heritage of conquered Bulgaria, especially the development of native monastic structures.
2025-09-20 16:30-17:00, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.34
The territories of Central Europe, including those of Poland, were not the centre of attention for the Byzantines. The situation was somewhat different in regard to Rus’ lands, with which political and religious ties, as well as armed conflicts, were more prevalent. The aim of the work, though, is not to showcase the Byzantine-Rus’ conflicts or marriages, but rather to display the state of knowledge (and, possibly, its sources) on the Polish and the Rus’ in times when the Byzantine Empire reclaimed and held its powerhouse status.
2025-09-20 10:30-11:00, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.34
The Kievan Synopsis is the Church Slavonic historiographical text presenting the history of Kiev and Rus lands from its semi-legendary beginnings in 9th century to the era of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and beginning of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. This Chronicle, published in Kiev in 1674 (next editions 1678 and 1680), is the first modern Ukrainian lecture on native history, presented against the background of Eastern European history.
The purpose of this paper is to present the concepts of medieval history of the southern Rus history, which have been placed in the Kievan Synopsis. Paying attention to both the sources of historical knowledge for the 1674 compilation and establishing its probable authorship (Innokenty Gizel). On the one hand, the ideological evolution of this East Slavonic historiographic text will be traced, and on the other, its ideological dimension.
2025-09-20 15:30-16:00, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.34
Saga of Harald Sigurdarson is one of the most colorful among the kings’ sagas. A distinctive part of it is the description of the accomplishments of this future Norwegian king during his mercenary service in Byzantium (30s and 40s of the 11th century), and earlier in Rus’, when he campaigned against Poland. This description gives an insight into medieval Scandinavians’ historical – though not necessarily of this kind – perception of the Byzantine court, and especially its key figures (incl. Empress Zoe and her husbands) who play significant role in the narratives that finally formed Harald’s image in the cultural memory of the medieval North. The aim o this paper is to show the way in which the characteristics of these figures and the Byzantine court is shaped in the sagas, and to consider the extent to which the geographically and chronologically distant reality is reflected in the Icelandic narratives of the 13th and 14th century.
2025-09-20 11:30-12:00, Instytut Kultury Europejskiej UAM, 1.34
