The Homilies of the Emperor Leo VI:

Theodora Antonopoulou

BRILL, 1997 - History - 308 pages

This highly original study provides an extensive and careful analysis of the Homilies of the Byzantine emperor Leo VI (AD 886-912) in order to place them in their historical and cultural contexts. This neglected corpus of forty-two texts comprises both panegyrics on ecclesiastical feasts and discourses on special occasions. The first part deals with the Homilies in the framework of Leo VI's career by examining topics such as the circumstances of the delivery of the Homilies and their political significance. The second part places the Homilies within the Byzantine homiletic tradition of the fourth to tenth centuries. The book, the first monograph on this collection, establishes Leo VI as a prominent literary figure of his time, and sheds new light on both the emperor's fascinating personality and the development of Byzantine homiletics. It will be of great benefit to all those who are interested both in Byzantine literature and the Eastern Church.

Contents

• The Author and his Work: 3
• The Homilies of Leo VI A Presentation: 24
• The Emperor and His Homilies: 35
• The Chronology of the Homilies: 52
• Political Ideology in the Homilies: 72
• The Style of the Homilies: 81
• PART: 91
• The Homilies of Leo VI The Homilies: 116
• The Marian Homilies: 162
• The Dominical Homilies: 173
• The Homilies on Special Occasions: 234
• Conclusions of Part Two: 251
• The Authenticity of Homily 42: 263
• Leo VI and Photios the Testimony of: 272
• Index: 301

Popular passages

Page 277 - The Morning Hymns of the Emperor Leo', Annual of the British School at Athens, part I, xxx (London, 1928-30), 86-108; part II, xxxi (1930-31), 1 15-47'Early Byzantine Neumes', Laudate, viii (London, 1930), 204-16. 'Byzantine Music at the End of the Middle Ages', ibid., xi (1933), 141-51.‎

Page 279 - The Monastic Discourses. A critical edition, translation and study [Studies and Texts 111] (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1992), 2-5.‎

About the author

Theodora Antonopoulou, D.Phil. (1995), University of Oxford, is Lecturer in Byzantine Literature at the University of Cyprus. She has held Research Fellowships at Dumbarton Oaks and Linacre College, Oxford, and has published various articles on Byzantine Literature.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Homilies of the Emperor Leo VI: Volume 14 of The Medieval Mediterranean : Peoples, Economies and Cultures, 400-1453, ISSN 0928-5520; Volume 14 of The Medieval Mediterranean, ISSN 0928-5520
• Author: Theodora Antonopoulou
• Publisher: BRILL, 1997
• ISBN: 9004108149, 9789004108141
• Length: 308 pages
• Subjects: Architecture / Interior Design / General; History / Medieval; Religion / Sermons / Christian