What Is Byzantine Literature?

Abstract

The chapter raises the question of what is “Byzantine literature” and introduces the contents of the Handbook. In the context of the volume, “Byzantine literature” refers to “Literature in Greek, during the Byzantine period (330 ce–1453 ce),” which, however, raises a series of problems. (1) While “literature,” for a modern audience, signifies primarily fiction and poetry, a wider understanding of the term is needed so as to appreciate the manifold textual and discursive culture of Byzantium as we can recover it from the thousands of manuscripts and inscriptions in which it has been preserved (relevant statistics are also offered). (2) While “Byzantine” has been conventionally used in order to focus on Greek literature (in the predominantly Greek-speaking “Byzantine” Empire), this should not make us forget that Greek was only one among many “Byzantine” languages (e.g., Latin, Coptic, Syriac, Georgian, and Arabic) and that the relation of the Greek tradition with the literary traditions in these other languages is fundamental for understanding Byzantine literature in its totality.