The Alexiad of Anna Komnene: Artistic Strategy in the Making of a Myth

335 Pages·2014·13.81 MB·English

by  Penelope Buckley

THE ALEXIAD OF ANNA KOMNENE
Thisisthefirstfull-scalestudyoftheliteraryartofAnnaKomnene’s
Alexiad.Herhistoryofherfather’sreigniswellknownandmuchused
by Byzantinists and historians of the First Crusade, but the art with
which it shapes its central character has not been fully examined or
understood. This book argues that the work is both history and
tragedy;thecharacterizationofAlexiosIKomnenosiscumulative;it
develops;themodelsforhis idealization change; much oftheaction
takes place in his mind, and the narrative relays and amplifies his
thoughtwhilebuildingadensepictureoftheworldinwhichheacts.
Engaging critically and responsively with other texts, Komnene uses
thefullrangeofcurrentliterarygenrestoportraytheidealcultureof
hisrule.Shematchesherartofliterarycontroltohisofgovernment
overtheadverseforcesofhistime.
penelopebuckleyisaFellowoftheMelbourneUniversitySchool
ofHistoricalandPhilosophicalStudies.

THE ALEXIAD OF ANNA
KOMNENE
Artistic Strategy in the Making of a Myth
PENELOPE BUCKLEY
UniversityPrintingHouse,Cambridgecb28bs,UnitedKingdom
PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyCambridgeUniversityPress,NewYork
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ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof
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www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107037229
©PenelopeBuckley2014
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
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noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2014
PrintedintheUnitedKingdombyClays,StIvesplc
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata
Buckley,Penelope,1942–
TheAlexiadofAnnaKomnene:artisticstrategyinthemakingofamyth/PenelopeBuckley.
pages cm
Includesbibliographicalreferences.
isbn978-1-107-03722-9(hardback)
1. Comnena,Anna,1083–Alexiad–Criticism,Textual. 2. Comnena,Anna,1083–
Literaryart. 3. AlexiusIComnenus,EmperoroftheEast,1048–1118–In
literature. 4. Emperors–ByzantineEmpire–Biography–Historyand
criticism. 5. ByzantineEmpire–Biography–Historyandcriticism. I. Title.
DF605.C63B83 2014
949.5003092–dc23
2013036993
isbn978-1-107-03722-9Hardback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyof
urlsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhispublication,
anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchwebsitesis,orwillremain,
accurateorappropriate.
For Roger Scott, teacher, mentor, friend.

Contents
Preface pageix
Acknowledgements xii
Listofabbreviations xiv
Introduction 1
11
Continuityandchange
15
Hellenism
19
Theocracy
23
Somebadweather
32
Theoutsider
34
Thewill
ThePrologue 37
1 TheEmperorAlexios,myfather 44
45
Imperialdestinyandtask
73
Alexiostherebel
83
Alexiosinvested
2 Thesoldier-emperor 107
107
Thesoldier
147
Thegreatwarrior
3 Thesecondstorybegins 168
176
ThedebttoPsellos
189
Rebuilding
4 WestintoEast 195
ThefirstappearanceoftheCrusade 198
208
Bohemond
5 ThesecondNormanwarandtheCrusade 215
228
Theemperorforpeace
232
PlayingGod
vii
viii Contents
235
Militarystagecraftandparalysis
236
TheTreatyofDevol
6 ThesecondConstantineandthelast 245
245
ThesecondConstantine
270
Thelastact
277
Theendofeverything
Conclusions 285
Appendix:TheAlexiadaspre-Renaissancetext 290
Bibliography 298
Index 308
Preface
ThisbookaimstoexaminetheAlexiadasagreatliterarywork.Sinceitisin
classicizingByzantineGreek,andIamwritinginEnglish,Ihaveneededa
great literary translation. E.R.A. Sewter has provided one and that is the
defaulttranslationIwilluse.IthaslongbeenavailableinPenguinClassics
and more recently Peter Frankopan has edited and revised it, again for
Penguin. Both versions are excellent and any reader of the Alexiad not
fluentinGreekwoulddowelltoconsultboth.Iwillciteboththroughout.
Wherethereareslightbutnegligibledifferences(onthespectrumbetweena
commaorhyphenandasynonymthatmakesnodifferencetothemeaning
or closeness to the Greek), I have quoted the Sewter version. Frankopan
editsinmoreparagraphingthanSewterdoesandwhereIuseFrankopan’s
version,especiallytoquoteonlypartsofapassage,Idonotalwaysobserve
hisparagraphbreaks.
Toavoidunsightlinessandreaderlydiscomfort,Ihavetakeneditorialadvice
tounifythespellingsofnames.SewterusesmostlyLatinname-spellingsand
FrankopanusesmostlyGreek.Duringtheforty-oddyearsbetweentranslation
andrevisiontherehasbeenagradualmovetowardsGreeknames.Thechange
is not complete but seems set to continue. Frankopan has kept the Latin
namesoffamiliarhistoricalfiguresandofcertaingivennameswell-knownin
English – Constantine for all the Constantines, John, Isaac, Adrian, though
notEirene.Withoneexception,Ihaveadoptedvirtuallyhiswholesystem
for the spelling of names in both Alexiad translations, in quotations from
Sewter’s translation of Psellos’ Chronographia in the main text and in
presenting my own case. The exception is Frankopan’s hybrid spelling,
following Sewter, of ‘Kelts’. I have changed this in all the above cases to
‘Keltoi’onthegroundsthat‘Kelts’representsatemporarycompromisein
theongoingshift.Ifeelmorecomfortableindoingthisbecausethename
istosomedegreeKomnene’sliteraryfiction,likeher‘Persians’andperhaps
‘Scyths’.ReplacingthefamiliarEnglish‘Celts’withtheGreek‘Keltoi’calls
attentiontotheelementofartificeordeeming.
ix