John Geometres or Kyriotes ( el, Ιωάννης Γεωμέτρης/Κυριώτης, ), was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' deri ...

, and

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...

. 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 Nikephoros II Phokas (; – 11 December 969), Latinized Nicephorus II Phocas, was Byzantine emperor from 963 to 969. His career, not uniformly successful in matters of statecraft or of war, nonetheless included brilliant military exploits whi ...

(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 Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar S ...

(r. 976–1025). As a result, his poetry is full of references to the contemporary Byzantine conflicts with the

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely underst ...

and the Rus', as well as the rebellions of

Bardas Skleros Bardas Skleros ( Greek: Βάρδας Σκληρός) or Sclerus was a Byzantine general who led a wide-scale Asian rebellion against Emperor Basil II during the years 976 to 979. Background Bardas belonged to the great family of the Skleroi, ...

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 Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

, an ''

encomium ''Encomium'' is a Latin word deriving from the Ancient Greek ''enkomion'' (), meaning "the praise of a person or thing." Another Latin equivalent is ''laudatio'', a speech in praise of someone or something. Originally was the song sung by the ...

'' 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 par ...

, oratory and

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...

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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Biography and work

Editions

References

Sources

Further reading