Leontios Machairas or Makhairas ( Greek: Λεόντιος Μαχαιράς,

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: Léonce Machéras; about 1380 - after 1432) was a historian in medieval Cyprus. The main source of information on him is his chronicle, written in the medieval Cypriot dialect. The chronicle documents events from the visit of Saint Helena to Cyprus until the times of the Kingdom of Cyprus. Machairas was

Orthodox Christian Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Church ...

but wrote with respect for the pope and the Catholic ruling class of Cyprus for whom he was working. He is the only source on the "Re Alexis" rebellion of Cypriot serfs, which he condemned. Following the usual Byzantine practice, he only used the word "''

basileus ''Basileus'' ( el, ) is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs in history. In the English-speaking world it is perhaps most widely understood to mean "monarch", referring to either a "king" or an "emperor" and al ...

''" (Greek for sovereign) for the

Byzantine emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...

at Constantinople, and referred to the king of Cyprus as "''regas''" (from Latin ''rex'' king). Machairas was also present at the Battle of Choirokoitia. The text as we have it became abbreviated after 1432, and historians believe the remainder of the text is a subsequent accretion. There are manuscripts of the ''Chronicle'' at the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second ...

in Oxford, the

Biblioteca Marciana The Marciana Library or Library of Saint Mark ( it, italic=no, Biblioteca Marciana, but in historical documents commonly referred to as ) is a public library in Venice, Italy. It is one of the earliest surviving public libraries and repositorie ...

in Venice, and Ravenna. The Oxford manuscript was copied in

Paphos Paphos ( el, Πάφος ; tr, Baf) is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and New Paphos. The current city of P ...

in June 1555, according to an additional paragraph after the end of the chronicle. The chronicle was published by

Konstantinos Sathas Constantine Sathas ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Σάθας; Athens, 1842 – Paris, 25 May 1914) was a Greek historian and researcher. Sathas spent his life unearthing hitherto unknown material pertaining to the history of late medieval and ea ...

as part of his ''Medieval Library'' in Venice in 1873. The chronicles of Cyprus by Francesco Amadi and Diomede Strambaldi published by Rene de Mas Latrie in Paris in 1891 were translations of Machairas's chronicle into Italian. The chronicle was published again by

Richard M. Dawkins Richard MacGillivray Dawkins FBA (24 October 1871 – 4 May 1955) was a British archaeologist. He was associated with the British School at Athens, of which he was Director between 1906 and 1913. Early life He was the son of Rear-Admiral Rich ...

with an English translation as "Recital Concerning the Sweet Land of Cyprus Entitled 'Chronicle' - The chronicle of Makhairas" in Oxford in 1932. The Ravenna manuscript has not yet been incorporated into a critical edition.

Publication history

* Σάθας, K
Μεσαιωνική Βιβλιοθήκη Τόμος Β΄. Χρονογράφοι Βασιλείου Κύπρου.
Εν Βενετία: Τύποις του Χρόνου (1873). * Miller. E & Sathas. K. Λεοντίου Μαχαιρά Χρονικόν Κύπρου. Paris (1882).

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Text (Nick Nicholas)

Text (Univ. of Athens) {{DEFAULTSORT:Machairas, Leontios 15th-century Greek people 15th-century writers Year of death missing Cypriot non-fiction writers Cypriot historians Eastern Orthodox Christians from Cyprus People of the Kingdom of Cyprus Bodleian Library collection Year of birth uncertain

Publication history

See also

References

External links