History-writing as a "Bulwark against the Passage of Time:" The Middle Byzantine World through the Eyes of Michael Psellos, Anna Komnene, and John Kinnamos
Public Deposited- Last Modified
- February 26, 2019
- Creator
-
Hensley, Michael
- Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of History
- Abstract
- This thesis will focus upon the narratives of three Middle Byzantine historians, Michael Psellos, Anna Komnene, and John Kinnamos. In a modern context, the word ‘historian’ conjures up the idea of objectivity, and that their main goal in writing histories is reaching a sort of ‘objective truth,’ while using multiple sources with peer-review to reach factual conclusions. While a similar description of the Byzantine historian and their sources may be accurate to an extent, this association also implies that—like modern, objective historians—Byzantine historians were concerned with their narratives being factual and as unbiased as possible. Yet, the concern of remaining unbiased in writing history is relatively new, and this sort of expectation about history writing inhibits our understanding of Middle Byzantine histories. The desire to thoroughly equate Middle Byzantine histories with modern ones can disorient the reader, and diminish our understanding of the literary sophistication of the Middle Byzantine histories. This thesis will argue that unlike the modern historian, who may claim a level of ‘objectivity’ in their work, medieval writers, especially Middle Byzantine ones, made no such concessions, viewing history-writing as a political discourse that could garner favor for themselves in the eyes of other elites or the emperor. Furthermore, these historians used whatever sources or ideas that were at their disposal in order to construct their arguments, whether their particular sources were their status as an eyewitness, imperial documents, rumors, or even references from classical literature, which added literary sophistication to their histories. For example, Anna Komnene’s choice of title for her father’s biography, Alexiad, bears a close resemblance to the epic poem, the Iliad, which invokes a sense that Anna meant to link her history to an older literary tradition. The other narratives studied in this thesis also make explicit references to classical literature. By analyzing Middle Byzantine histories as living, literary texts not only offers insights into the texts themselves, but also allows for greater insight into what Byzantine intellectuals thought about imperial rule and power, and how they formulated these ideas in their respective histories.
- Date of publication
- spring 2017
- Keyword
- DOI
- Resource type
- Rights statement
- In Copyright
- Note
- Funding: Jonathan Lewis Archival Research Grant
- Advisor
- Bull, Marcus
- Degree
- Bachelor of Arts
- Academic concentration
- History
- Honors level
- Honors
- Degree granting institution
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Graduation year
- 2017
- Language
- English
Relations
- Parents:
This work has no parents.
Items
| Thumbnail | Title | Date Uploaded | Visibility | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Hensley Honors Thesis.docx | 2019-05-17 | Public | Download |