Byzantine News

THE FOURTH ECUMENICAL COUNCIL: THE COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON. A.D. 451. Emperors. -- Marcian and Pulcheria (in the East). Valentinian III. (in the West). Pope. -- Leo I. EXTRACTS FROM THE ACTS. SESSION I. (Labbe and Cossart, Concilia, Tom. IV., col. 93.) Paschasinus, the most reverend bishop and legate of the Apostolic See, stood up in the midst with his most reverend colleagues and said: We received directions at the hands of the most blessed and apostolic bishop of the Roman city, which is the head of all the churches, which directions say that Dioscorus is not to be allowed a seat in this assembly, but that if he should attempt to take his seat he is to be cast out. This instruction we must carry out; if now your holiness so commands let him be expelled or else we leave. (1) The most glorious judges and the full senate said: What special charge do you prefer against the most reverend bishop Dioscorus? Paschasinus, the most reverend bishop and legate of the Apostoli...

Byzantine editions and interpretations  University of Cyprus // // The purpose of a modern critical edition is to reconstruct the original text as written by its author. But should that be its only aim? Arguably, it involves tracing the composition technique employed by the author, or the text's later adaptations in another register (metaphrases) or even possible translations into another language. Thus the modern editor's aim is, on the one hand, to present its history and on the other, to offer a modern, reader-friendly, text edition. In this workshop, the discussion will focus on the following subjects: • Types of sources and supplementary materials: fontes and similia, along with imitationes and testimonia, which are essential for the constitutio textus as well as for a better appreciation for the text, in particular its composition technique and literary impact. • The possibility or necessity of distinguishing between them in printed (or digital...

D. Obolensky on the Relations between Byzantium and Russia (11th-15th Century) The history of Russo-Byzantine relations, in the study of which Russian scholars, before and after 1917, have understandably played the leading role, has in recent years attracted the attention of Byzantinists in many countries. Its importance was demonstrated again in 1966, when it formed one of the main topics on the agenda of the XIIIth International Congress of Byzantine Studies, held in Oxford. I do not wish to repeat the arguments and conclusions voiced by the authors of papers on this subject presented at the Congress - notably G.G. Litavrin, A.P. Kazdan, Z.V. Udalcova, I. Sevcenko, F. von Lilienfeld, D. S. Likhacev and J. Meyendorff1 - nor to summarise the earlier findings of Soviet authorities in this field, such as M.V. Levcenko and M.N. Tikhomirov. Nor could I attempt in this brief paper, even if I wished, a comprehensive survey of the relations - political, religious, economic, cultural and...

A new digitization project takes shape In 2012, the Bodleian Libraries and the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Vatican Library) began a joint landmark digitization project to open up their collections of ancient texts to the world. The digitized collections will be in three subject areas: Greek manuscripts, 15th-century printed books (incunabula) and Hebrew manuscripts and early printed books. These areas have been chosen for the strength of the collections in both libraries and their importance for scholarship in their respective fields. With approximately two-thirds of the material coming from the Vatican Library and the remainder from the Bodleian, the digitization effort will virtually unite materials that have been dispersed between the two collections for centuries. The project, will result in approximately 1.5 million pages being made available in digital format.  Find out more about the project and gain behind-the-scenes insight from those involved in our vid...