Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae
Volume/Issue:
Volume 54: Issue 4
Bryennios’ Hyle historias: The good ruler, the tyrant and their confidants
Author:
Hana Coufalová Department of Classical Studies Masaryk University Arna Nováka 1 602 00 Brno Czech Republic h.coufalova@seznam.cz

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Pages:
463–474
Online Publication Date:
Dec 2014
Publication Date:
01 Dec 2014
Article Category:
Journal Article
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1556/068.2014.54.4.9
Keywords:
Byzantine historiography; Byzantine rhetoric; Nikephoros Bryennios; Hyle historias; good ruler; tyrant
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Contrasting the character traits and the behaviour of a good ruler and a tyrant is one of the traditional motives of Byzantine literature. Essential constituents of this comparison were four cardinal virtues (temperance, prudence, justice, and fortitude), philanthropy, piousness, accession to the throne, concern for subjects, and choice of confidants. Each writer did not necessarily discuss all the elements mentioned; he simply chose those that corresponded to his intention and his conception of his literary work. The same writing strategy was used by Nikephoros Bryennios, a Byzantine military commander and historiographer of the 12th century, in his work titled Hyle historias, in which he depicted in detail the reigns of three emperors: Romanos IV Diogenes, Michael VII Doukas, and Nikephoros III Botaneiates. Bryennios ascribed to each of them some typical traits of a tyrant; Romanos lacked prudence, Michael fortitude, and Botaneiates temperance. Furthermore Romanos listened to flatterers, Michael was manipulated by the eunuch Nikephoritzes, and Botaneiates consulted the dishonest barbarian Boril and trusted the perfidious eunuch John. The examples given imply that, from the list of characteristic mentioned above, Bryennios focused on the choice of confidants and used depictions of the emperor’s confidants to complete the portrayal of the emperor himself. The aim of this paper is to analyze the application of this technique in Hyle historias, which created negative portrayals of former emperors and paved the way for the future emperor Alexios Komnenos, the true hero of Bryennios’ writing.

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Cover Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae
Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae
Print ISSN:
0044-5975
Online ISSN:
1588-2543

Senior editors

Editor(s)-in-Chief: Takács, László

Managing Editor(s): Krähling, Edit

Editorial Board

  • Tamás DEZSŐ (Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest)
  • Miklós MARÓTH (Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Avicenna Institute of Middle Eastern Studies)
  • Gyula MAYER (Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Classical Philology Research Group)
  • János NAGYILLÉS (University of Szeged)
  • Lajos Zoltán SIMON (Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest)
  • Csilla SZEKERES (University of Debrecen)
  • Kornél SZOVÁK (Pázmány Péter Catholic University)
  • Zsolt VISY (University of Pécs)

 

Advisory Board

  • Michael CRAWFORD (University College London, prof. em.)
  • Patricia EASTERLING (Newnham College, University of Cambridge, prof. em.)
  • Christian GASTGEBER (Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften)
  • László HORVÁTH (Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest)
  • Patricia JOHNSTON (Brandeis University Boston, prof. em.)
  • Csaba LÁDA (University of Kent)
  • Herwig MAEHLER (prof. em.)
  • Attilio MASTROCINQUE (University of Verona)
  • Zsigmond RITOÓK (Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, prof. em.)

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Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae
Language English
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(Latin)
German
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Size B5
Year of
Foundation		 1951
Volumes
per Year		 1
Issues
per Year		 4
Founder Magyar Tudományos Akadémia   
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ISSN 0044-5975 (Print)
ISSN 1588-2543 (Online)

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