{"product_id":"the-excerpta-constantiniana-and-the-byzantine-appropriation-of-the-past-paperback-9781108438216","title":"The Excerpta Constantiniana and the Byzantine Appropriation of the Past (Paperback \/ softback) 9781108438216","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eThe Excerpta Constantiniana and the Byzantine Appropriation of the Past\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePresents the first comprehensive study of the 'Byzantine Google' and how it reshaped Byzantine court culture in the tenth century.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eAndrás Németh (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781108438216, Cambridge University Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 19 August 2021\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e352 pages, 7 b\/w illus.  3 maps  4 tables\u003cbr\u003e22.8 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.519 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e'During a period of external threats and internal disunity, Constantine VII (913–59), the dilettante emperor of the Byzantine empire, supervised the compilation of the multivolume Excerpta. The volumes were chiefly unaltered texts from pre-Christian era authors. The emperor and his staff organized the material in a set of 53 topics. … Németh argues that instructive examples, many of which were biographical, were aimed at stimulating creative and critical thinking, improving the morality of Constantine’s circle, and providing pragmatic answers to contemporary problems. But there is no concrete proof that the Excerpta produced any military successes or enlightened legislation, or led to fruitful diplomatic maneuverings. The Excerpta may have had more aesthetic than practical value. This immense work of scholarship is strictly for the pinpoint specialist. Recommended.'  A. J. Papalas, Choice\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eThe Excerpta project instigated by the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII turned the enormously rich experience offered by Greek historiography into a body of excerpts distributed across fifty-three distinct thematic collections. In this, the first sustained analysis, András Németh moves from viewing the Excerpta only as a collection of textual fragments to focusing on its dependence from and impact on the surrounding Byzantine culture in the tenth century. He introduces the concept of appropriation and also uses it to study some other key texts created under the Excerpta's influence (De thematibus, De administrando imperio and De ceremoniis). Unlike world chronicles, the Excerpta ignored the chronological dimension of history and fostered the biographical turn in Byzantine historiography. By exploring theoretical questions such as classification and retrieval of historical information and the relationship between knowledge and political power, this book provides powerful new ways for exploring the Excerpta in Byzantine studies and beyond.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e1. Imperial court and knowledge production\u003cbr\u003e 2. Appropriation of the past: theory and practice of excerpting historiography\u003cbr\u003e 3. Constructing a research engine of the past\u003cbr\u003e 4. Information management in Constantine VII's treatises\u003cbr\u003e 5. Renewal of historiography under Constantine VII\u003cbr\u003e 6. Distorsion and expansion of the past in the Excerpta\u003cbr\u003e 7. Classification of the past in the Excerpta\u003cbr\u003e 8. The reading of the Excerpta\u003cbr\u003e 9. The Suda: the lexicographer and the excerptor\u003cbr\u003e Conclusions\u003cbr\u003e Appendices A. Edition of the proem and the poem\u003cbr\u003e B. The imperial manuscripts of the Excerpta.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: Ancient history: to c 500 CE [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Ancient history: to c 500 CE\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Ancient%20history:%20to%20c%20500%20CE%20%5BHBLA%5D%22\"\u003eHBLA\u003c\/a\u003e], History: earliest times to present day [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on History: earliest times to present day\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22History:%20earliest%20times%20to%20present%20day%20%5BHBL%5D%22\"\u003eHBL\u003c\/a\u003e], European history [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on European history\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22European%20history%20%5BHBJD%5D%22\"\u003eHBJD\u003c\/a\u003e], General \u0026amp; world history [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on General \u0026amp; world history\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22General%20\u0026amp;%20world%20history%20%5BHBG%5D%22\"\u003eHBG\u003c\/a\u003e], Humanities [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Humanities\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Humanities%20%5BH%5D%22\"\u003eH\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Cambridge University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45913252921624,"sku":"9781108438216","price":33.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/products\/9781108438216i_4c798fff-4fcb-496c-bdaf-b94dfa1a446c.jpg?v=1696700026","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-excerpta-constantiniana-and-the-byzantine-appropriation-of-the-past-paperback-9781108438216","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}