Theodore Prodromos or Prodromus ( el, Θεόδωρος Πρόδρομος; c. 1100 – c. 1165/70), probably also the same person as the so-called Ptochoprodromos (Πτωχοπρόδρομος "Poor Prodromos"), was a
Byzantine Greek writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...
, well known for his
prose
Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the ...
and
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
.
Biography
Very little is known about his life. Further developing a genre begun by
Nicholas Kallikles, he wrote many
occasional poems
Occasional poetry is poetry composed for a particular occasion. In the history of literature, it is often studied in connection with orality, performance, and patronage.
Term
As a term of literary criticism, "occasional poetry" describes the wo ...
for a widespread circle of patrons at the
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 ...
court. Some of the literary pieces attributed to him are unpublished, while still others may be wrongly attributed to him. Even so, there does emerge from these writings the figure of an author in reduced circumstances, with a marked inclination towards begging, who was in close touch with the court circles during the reigns of
John II Komnenos
John II Komnenos or Comnenus ( gr, Ἱωάννης ὁ Κομνηνός, Iōannēs ho Komnēnos; 13 September 1087 – 8 April 1143) was Byzantine emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as "John the Beautiful" or "John the Good" (), he ...
(1118–1143) and
Manuel I Komnenos (1143–1180). He was given a prebend by Manuel I, and he ended his life as a
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 dedica ...
. Despite the
panegyric and conventional treatment, his writings, often produced on some public occasion, provide important information on many aspects of contemporary
Byzantine history
This history of the Byzantine Empire covers the history of the Eastern Roman Empire from late antiquity until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD. Several events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the transitional period during which the Rom ...
. There is a strongly
satirical vein in his works, which range from
epigrams and
dialogues to letters and occasional pieces in both prose and
verse. He had a biting sense of humour, and his comments are shrewd and pithy.
Works in literary language
The literary activity of Theodore Prodromos was vast and versatile, and there survive many of his writings in the literary Byzantine Greek language. Taking example by
Heliodorus of Emesa
Heliodorus Emesenus or Heliodorus of Emesa ( grc, Ἡλιόδωρος ὁ Ἐμεσηνός) is the author of the ancient Greek novel called the ''Aethiopica'' () or ''Theagenes and Chariclea'' (), which has been dated to the 220s or 370s AD.
Ide ...
's ''
Aethiopica
The ''Aethiopica'' (; grc, Αἰθιοπικά, , 'Ethiopian Stories') or ''Theagenes and Chariclea'' (; grc, Θεαγένης καὶ Χαρίκλεια, link=no, ) is an ancient Greek novel which has been dated to the 220s or 370s AD. It was ...
'', he wrote a
novel in verse, ''
Rodanthe and Dosikles
Rodanthe ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located in Dare County, North Carolina, United States, on Hatteras Island, part of North Carolina's Outer Banks. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 213. Rod ...
'' () in 9 books. The ''Battle of Cats and Mice'' (Κατομυομαχία) is a
parody
A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...
drama of the classical
Greek tragedies
Greek tragedy is a form of theatre from Ancient Greece and Greek inhabited Anatolia. It reached its most significant form in Athens in the 5th century BC, the works of which are sometimes called Attic tragedy.
Greek tragedy is widely believed t ...
, with dramatic roles for the mice. The action takes place off stage, and is related in two speeches by the messenger. A ''
deus ex machina
''Deus ex machina'' ( , ; plural: ''dei ex machina''; English "god out of the machine") is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence. Its function ...
'' saves the mice from the housecat in the end. He also wrote "Iambic and Dactyllic Quatrains on 293 Biblical Verses". The iambic quatrains are in the Vulgar Greek, and the Dactyllic quatrains are in the Homeric Greek. He also wrote two
satirical poems, one against a lustful old woman (), and the other against an old bearded man (). There also survives an
astrological
Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Dif ...
poem on the power and meaning of
planets. The ''Verses on the Twelve Months'' () are important for contemporary
cultural history
Cultural history combines the approaches of anthropology and history to examine popular cultural traditions and cultural interpretations of historical experience. It examines the records and narrative descriptions of past matter, encompassing the ...
. Prodromos also wrote numerous
occasional poems
Occasional poetry is poetry composed for a particular occasion. In the history of literature, it is often studied in connection with orality, performance, and patronage.
Term
As a term of literary criticism, "occasional poetry" describes the wo ...
and
epigrams, often on the occasion of some public event of historical significance, or for the purpose of begging for something; a few
religious
Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...
poems and
treatise
A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject and its conclusions." Tre ...
s on the topics of
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
,
philosophy and
grammar
In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes domain ...
;
dialogues written in the style of
Lucian of Samosata
Lucian of Samosata, '; la, Lucianus Samosatensis ( 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer who is best known for his characteristic tongue-in-cheek style, with which he frequently ridiculed superstiti ...
; a
hagiography of Saint
Meletios the Younger; occasional speeches,
epistles and many other writings.
Ptochoprodromos
One collection of four poems, written in the
vernacular
A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
, has passed down to us under the name of "''Ptōchopródromos''", however it has still not been established with certainty whether these poems were written by him or by someone who was imitating, or possibly even parodying, the true Theodore Prodromos. An attempt was made at resolving the problem of authorship by putting forward a
hypothesis
A hypothesis (plural hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. For a hypothesis to be a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on previous obse ...
that there had actually been two poets of the same name. The evidence was found in one verse among the Ptochoprodromic writings, where the author praises the ''"famous writer, harmonious swallow"'', who was his ''"friend and predecessor"''. However, in distinguishing which poems belong to whom of the two poets, one comes across the unsurpassable obstacles. It was also suggested, without much evidence, that one Prodromos died in 1152, and the other in 1166.
The basic part of the Ptochoprodromic writings consists of five
lament
A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner in which participants lament about something ...
s and begging poems, which are marked as ABCDE. The poem A laments over the poet's garrulous wife and calls for help from emperor
John II Komnenos
John II Komnenos or Comnenus ( gr, Ἱωάννης ὁ Κομνηνός, Iōannēs ho Komnēnos; 13 September 1087 – 8 April 1143) was Byzantine emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as "John the Beautiful" or "John the Good" (), he ...
(r. 1118–1143). The poem B is addressed to a ''
sebastokrator
''Sebastokrator'' ( grc-byz, Σεβαστοκράτωρ, Sevastokrátor, August Ruler, ; bg, севастократор, sevastokrator; sh, sebastokrator), was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used by other rulers wh ...
'' and begs for charity to improve the menu. The poem C, addressed to emperor
Manuel I Komnenos (r. 1143–1180), relates a young monk's complaint over scandalous living circumstances in his
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...
. The poem D is only a parallel of the poem C. The poem E describes a Byzantine writer.
The
manuscripts signify that the author of these poems is a Prodromos, Theodore Prodromos etc. with further variations. One manuscript of the monastic satire (C) signifies that the author is Hilarion (Ptocho)prodromos, and this name is found again in the poem D. This name has always been identified with the famous novelist, poet and writer Theodore Prodromos, who wrote in purist Byzantine Greek. The
bilingualism is not all that surprising, as it is already found in the writings of
Michael Glykas Michael Glykas or Glycas ( gr, Μιχαὴλ Γλυκᾶς) was a 12th-century Byzantine historian, theologian, mathematician, astronomer and poet. He was probably from Corfu and lived in Constantinople. He was a critic of Manuel I Komnenos, and was ...
. However, many scholars think that neither the monastic satire (C) nor the satire on the writer (E) can be reconciled with the life of Theodore Prodromos. Others suggest that Hilarion was Theodore's son, ascribing the wrong authorship references in the manuscripts to the later
copyists. However, no evidence has been found to support this hypothesis.
External links
Greek Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Graeca with analytical indexes*
Sophia Antoniadis
Sophia Antoniadis (, 31 July 1895, Piraeus - 25 January 1972, Athens) was a Greek Byzantinist. She was the first female professor at the Leiden University, the first female Humanities professor in the Netherlands and during her career was one of ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prodromos, Theodore
12th-century deaths
12th-century Byzantine people
12th-century Byzantine writers
Byzantine writers
Byzantine poets
Year of birth uncertain
Byzantine letter writers
Occasional poets