|
Sponsored Links
Under the Comnenian dynasty, Byzantine writers of twelfth century Constantinople reintroduced the ancient Greek romance novel, imitating its form and time but 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, complete with the ancient gods and beliefs) but are also medieval, clearly belonging to the era of the Crusades as they reflect customs and beliefs of that time. It is important to note that a break of eight centuries exists between the last surviving romance novel of late antiquity and the first of this medieval revival. Only four of these Byzantine novels exist today, just one of which is written in prose Hysimine and Hysimines by Eusthatios Makrembolites. Two are in the duodecasyllable metre--Rodánthe and Dosiklís by Theodore Prodromos and Drósilla and Charaklís by Niketas Eugenianos—and one is in "political verse", Arístandros and Kallithéa by Constantine Manasses, but exists only in fragments. Of these four romances, two have been translated into English A work describing in detail all four twelfth century Byzantine romances (as well as those of later centuries), including complete plot summaries, is The Medieval Greek Romance by Roderick Beaton (1996, 2nd Revision).
|
Byzantine Novel Subcategories
Byzantine Novel Articles
|
| 
