John Geometres or Kyriotes ( el, Ιωάννης Γεωμέτρης/Κυριώτης, ), was a
Byzantine poet,
soldier, and
monk. He is one of the main literary figures of the
Macedonian Renaissance.
Biography and work
John was probably of noble descent, but other relatives have not been identified. He was well educated and served in the
Byzantine army before retiring as a monk.
[Kazhdan (1991), p. 1059] His career encompassed the eventful reigns of
Nikephoros II Phokas (r. 963–969),
John I Tzimiskes
John I Tzimiskes (; 925 – 10 January 976) was the senior Byzantine emperor from 969 to 976. An intuitive and successful general, he strengthened the Empire and expanded its borders during his short reign.
Background
John I Tzimiskes ...
(r. 969–976) and the early years of
Basil II (r. 976–1025). As a result, his poetry is full of references to the contemporary Byzantine conflicts with the
Bulgarians and the
Rus', as well as the rebellions of
Bardas Skleros and
Bardas Phokas. Among the Byzantine emperors, he singles out Nikephoros II Phokas for particular praise, while he denigrates his murderer and successor John Tzimiskes.
[Vasiliev (1958), p. 365] He was previously erroneously identified with another John, Bishop of
Melitene.
John Geometres wrote both in verse and in prose. His works include
epigrams, including a collection on monasticism called ''Paradeisos'' ("Paradise"), hymns to the
Virgin Mary, an ''
encomium'' to an oak tree, as well as prose works on
rhetoric
Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...
, oratory and
exegesis.
Editions
The first edition of his poems was published by
John Antony Cramer
John Antony Cramer (1793 – 24 August 1848), English classical scholar and geographer, was born at Mitlödi in Switzerland.
Life
He was educated at Westminster and Christ Church, Oxford. He resided in Oxford till 1844, during which time he he ...
in 1841, based on the 13th-century ''Paris. suppl. gr. 352'' manuscript, but his edition contained many errors. A revised edition with a translation in French was published by Émilie Marlène van Opstall in 2008.
[E.M. van Opstall, ]
Jean Géomètre: Poèmes en Hexamètres et en Distiques Elégiaques
', BRILL 2008 ,
References
Sources
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Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Geometres, John
10th-century Byzantine people
Byzantine poets
10th-century Byzantine writers
10th-century poets