Euthymios Tornikes or Tornikios (; ) was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

ecclesiastical official and writer. Euthymios was the son of the ''

logothetes tou dromou The (), in English usually rendered as Logothete of the Course/Drome/ or Postal Logothete, was the head of the department of the Public Post (, , or simply , ), and one of the most senior fiscal ministers (logothetes) of the Byzantine Empire. H ...

'' Demetrios Tornikios, and a member of the

Tornikios The Tornikios or Tornikes (pl. Tornikioi; ; feminine form Tornikina, ) was a Byzantine noble family, prominent during the middle and late Byzantine period. From the mid-10th century, members of the family, of Armenian and Georgian origins, acqu ...

family, of princely

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

or Georgian origin that entered

service in the mid-10th century. He is first mentioned as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in 1181, and died in the

Despotate of Epirus The Despotate of Epirus () was one of the Greek Rump state, successor states of the Byzantine Empire established in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204 by a branch of the Angelos dynasty. It claimed to be the legitimate successor of the ...

sometime after 1222. He is best known for his rhetorical speeches, of which those preserved date chiefly to the period 1200–05, such as his

panegyric A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of - ' ...

on the failure of the coup of

John Komnenos the Fat John Komnenos (Latinized as Comnenus), nicknamed "the Fat" (), was a Byzantine Empire, Byzantine noble who attempted to usurp the imperial throne from Alexios III Angelos in a short-lived coup in Constantinople on 31 July 1201 (or 1200). The cou ...

, or

monodies In music, monody refers to a solo vocal style distinguished by having a single melodic line and instrumental accompaniment. Although such music is found in various cultures throughout history, the term is specifically applied to Italian song of ...

on the death of his father and of his close friend and relative, the metropolitan bishop of Neopatras Euthymios Malakes. According to

Alexander Kazhdan Alexander Petrovich Kazhdan (; 3 September 1922 – 29 May 1997) was a Soviet and American Byzantinist. Among his publications was the three-volume ''Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'', a comprehensive encyclopedic work containing over than 5,000 ...

, his "rhetorical works are very conventional", with only the monody on the death of his father displaying a personal tone, "describing both family characteristics and, tenderly, Demetrios's death".

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tornikios, Euthymios 12th-century births 13th-century deaths 12th-century Byzantine writers Rhetoricians Euthymios People from the Despotate of Epirus 13th-century Byzantine writers