Authority in Byzantium

2016-12-05 History

Author : Pamela Armstrong
Release : 2016-12-05
Genre : History
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 566/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Authority in Byzantium by : Pamela Armstrong

Download or read book Authority in Byzantium written by Pamela Armstrong. This book was released on 2016-12-05. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Authority is an important concept in Byzantine culture whose myriad modes of implementation helped maintain the existence of the Byzantine state across so many centuries, binding together people from different ethnic groups, in different spheres of life and activities. Even though its significance to understanding the Byzantine world is so central, it is nonetheless imperfectly understood. The present volume brings together an international cast of scholars to explore this concept. The contributions are divided into nine sections focusing on different aspects of authority: the imperial authority of the state, how it was transmitted from the top down, from Constantinople to provincial towns, how it dealt with marginal legal issues or good medical practice; authority in the market place, whether directly concerning over-the-counter issues such as coinage, weights and measures, or the wider concerns of the activities of foreign traders; authority in the church, such as the extent to which ecclesiastical authority was inherent, or how constructs of religious authority ordered family life; the authority of knowledge revealed through imperial patronage or divine wisdom; the authority of text, though its conformity with ancient traditions, through the Holy scriptures and through the authenticity of history; exhibiting authority through images of the emperor or the Divine. The final section draws on personal experience of three great ’authorities’ within Byzantine Studies: Ostrogorsky, Beck and Browning.

Authority in Byzantine Provincial Society, 950-1100

2004-08-19 History

Author : Leonora Neville
Release : 2004-08-19
Genre : History
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 658/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Authority in Byzantine Provincial Society, 950-1100 by : Leonora Neville

Download or read book Authority in Byzantine Provincial Society, 950-1100 written by Leonora Neville. This book was released on 2004-08-19. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The imperial government over the central provinces of the Byzantine Empire was sovereign and, at the same time, apathetic, dealing effectively with a narrow set of objectives, chiefly collecting revenue and maintaining imperial sovereignty. Outside of these spheres, action needed to be solicited from imperial officials, leaving vast opportunities for local people to act independently without legal stricture or fear of imperial involvement. In the absence of imperial intervention provincial households competed with each other for control over community decisions. The emperors exercised just enough strength at the right times to prevent the leaders of important households in the core provinces from becoming rulers themselves. Membership in a successful household, wealth, capacity for effective violence and access to the imperial court were key factors that allowed one to act with authority. This book examines in detail the mechanisms provincial households used to acquire and dispute authority.

God, Hierarchy, and Power

2017-11-07 History

Author : Ashley M. Purpura
Release : 2017-11-07
Genre : History
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 387/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis God, Hierarchy, and Power by : Ashley M. Purpura

Download or read book God, Hierarchy, and Power written by Ashley M. Purpura. This book was released on 2017-11-07. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the current age where democratic and egalitarian ideals have preeminence, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, among other hierarchically organized religious traditions, faces the challenging questions: “Why is hierarchy maintained as the model of organizing the church, and what are the theological justifications for its persistence?” These questions are especially significant for historically and contemporarily understanding how Orthodox Christians negotiate their spiritual ideals with the challenges of their social and ecclesiastical realities. To critically address these questions, this book offers four case studies of historically disparate Byzantine theologians from the sixth to the fourteenth-centuries—Dionysius the Areopagite, Maximus the Confessor, Niketas Stethatos, and Nicholas Cabasilas—who significantly reflect on the relationship between spiritual authority, power, and hierarchy in theoretical, liturgical, and practical contexts. Although Dionysius the Areopagite has been the subject of much scholarly interest in recent years, the applied theological legacy of his development of “hierarchy” in the Christian East has not before been explored. Relying on a common Dionysian heritage, these Byzantine authors are brought into a common dialogue to reveal a tradition of constructing authentic ecclesiastical hierarchy as foremost that which communicates divinity.

Margins and Metropolis

2013-03-18 History

Author : Judith Herrin
Release : 2013-03-18
Genre : History
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 22X/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Margins and Metropolis by : Judith Herrin

Download or read book Margins and Metropolis written by Judith Herrin. This book was released on 2013-03-18. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume explores the political, cultural, and ecclesiastical forces that linked the metropolis of Byzantium to the margins of its far-flung empire. Focusing on the provincial region of Hellas and Peloponnesos in central and southern Greece, Judith Herrin shows how the prestige of Constantinople was reflected in the military, civilian, and ecclesiastical officials sent out to govern the provinces. She evokes the ideology and culture of the center by examining different aspects of the imperial court, including diplomacy, ceremony, intellectual life, and relations with the church. Particular topics treat the transmission of mathematical manuscripts, the burning of offensive material, and the church's role in distributing philanthropy. Herrin contrasts life in the capital with provincial life, tracing the adaptation of a largely rural population to rule by Constantinople from the early medieval period onward. The letters of Michael Choniates, archbishop of Athens from 1182 to 1205, offer a detailed account of how this highly educated cleric coped with life in an imperial backwater, and demonstrate a synthesis of ancient Greek culture and medieval Christianity that was characteristic of the Byzantine elite. This collection of essays spans the entirety of Herrin's influential career and draws together a significant body of scholarship on problems of empire. It features a general introduction, two previously unpublished essays, and a concise introduction to each essay that describes how it came to be written and how it fits into her broader analysis of the unusual brilliance and longevity of Byzantium.

The Power Game in Byzantium

2011-12-22 History

Author : James Allan Evans
Release : 2011-12-22
Genre : History
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 786/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis The Power Game in Byzantium by : James Allan Evans

Download or read book The Power Game in Byzantium written by James Allan Evans. This book was released on 2011-12-22. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: >

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