Byzantine romance represents a revival of the

ancient Greek romance Five ancient Greek novels survive complete from antiquity: Chariton's '' Callirhoe'' (mid 1st century), Achilles Tatius' '' Leucippe and Clitophon'' (early 2nd century), Longus' ''Daphnis and Chloe'' (2nd century), Xenophon of Ephesus' '' Ephesian ...

of Roman times. Works in this category were written by

Byzantine Greeks The Byzantine Greeks were the Greek-speaking Eastern Romans of Orthodox Christianity throughout Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. They were the main inhabitants of the lands of the Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire), of Constantinople ...

of the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

during the 12th century.

History

Under the Comnenian dynasty,

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

writers of twelfth century

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

reintroduced the ancient Greek romance literature, imitating its form and time but somewhat Christianizing its content. Hence the Byzantine stories are traditional in their plot structure and setting (featuring complex turns of events taking place in the ancient

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

, complete with the ancient gods and beliefs) but are also

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, clearly belonging to the era of the Crusades as they reflect customs and beliefs of that time. A break of eight centuries exists between the last surviving romance work of late antiquity and the first of this medieval revival. Only four of these works exist today, just one of which is written in prose: ''Hysimine and Hysimines'' by

Eustathios Makrembolites Eustathios Makrembolites ( el, ; ''fl. c.'' 1150–1200), Latinized as Eustathius Macrembolites, was a Byzantine revivalist of the Greek romance, flourished in the second half of the 12th century CE. He is sometimes conflated/equated with his co ...

. Two are in the dodecasyllable metre: ''Rodanthe and Dosikles'' by

Theodore Prodromos Theodore Prodromos or Prodromus ( el, Θεόδωρος Πρόδρομος; c. 1100 – c. 1165/70), probably also the same person as the so-called Ptochoprodromos (Πτωχοπρόδρομος "Poor Prodromos"), was a Byzantine Greek writer, wel ...

and '' Drosilla and Charikles'' by

Niketas Eugenianos Nicetas or Niketas () is a Greek given name, meaning "victorious one" (from Nike "victory"). The veneration of martyr saint Nicetas the Goth in the medieval period gave rise to the Slavic forms: '' Nikita, Mykyta and Mikita'' People with the nam ...

. And one is in "

political verse Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

," ''Arístandros and Kallithéa'' by Constantine Manasses, but exists only in fragments. Of these four romances, one had been translated into English before the twenty-first century: ''Ismene and Ismenias, a Novel'' by L.H. Le Moine, (London and Paris: 1788). Le Moine, however, had made his translation from the 1756 French translation, ''Les amours d'Ismene et d'Ismenias'', of Pierre-François Godart de Beauchamps, which had in turn been made from a Latin rather than a Greek text. More recently, however, interest in these works by English readers has increased, resulting in new translations directly from the Greek. *''A Byzantine Novel: Drosilla and Charikles by Niketas Eugenianos'' translated by Joan Burton (Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc., 2004). *''Four Byzantine Novels'' translated by Elizabeth Jeffreys (Liverpool University Press, 2012), which includes ''Rhodanthe and Dosikles'' by Theodore Prodromos, ''Hysmine and Hysminias'' by Eumathios Makrembolites, ''Aristandros and Kallithea'' by Constantine Manasses, and ''Drosilla and Charikles'' by Niketas Eugenianos Later medieval romance works from around the fourteenth century continued this literary tradition. These are the anonymous *'' Belthandros and Chrysantza'' *''Kallimachos and Chrysorrhoe'' *''Lybistros and Rhodamne'' available in English translation as ''Three Medieval Greek Romances: Velthandros and Chrysandza, Kallimachos and Chrysorroi, Livistros and Rodamni,'' translated by Gavin Betts, Garland Library of Medieval Literature, 98 (B), (New York & London: Garland Publishing, Inc. 1995). One of them is available in French: M Pichard, ''Le roman de Callimaque et de Chrysorrhoé: Texte établi et traduit,'' (Paris: 1956). Some of them are available in Italian : C Cupane ''Romanzi Cavallereschi Bizantini'' (Torino:1995) Other medieval romance works include the anonymous: *''The Tale of Achilles'' *''The Tale of Troy: a Byzantine Iliad''

References

*For an investigation of the broader sociocultural context of the twelfth-century Byzantine novel and its complex aesthetics, see Panagiotis Roilos, ''"Amphoteroglossia": A Poetics of the twelfth-century Medieval Greek Novel'', Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2005 {{Authority control 12th century in the Byzantine Empire 14th century in the Byzantine Empire Byzantine literature

History

See also

References