John Skylitzes, commonly
Latinized as Ioannes, la, Johannes, label=none, la, Iōannēs, label=none Scylitzes ( el, Ἰωάννης Σκυλίτζης, ''Iōánnēs Skylítzēs'', or el, Σκυλίτση, ''Skylítsē'', label=none ; la, Ioannes Scyllitzes, , la, Scylitza, label=none , or la, Schillizzi, label=none ; early 1040s – after 1101), was a
Byzantine historian of the late 11th century.
Life
Very little is known about his life. The title of his work records him as a ''
kouropalatēs
''Kouropalatēs'', Latinized as ''curopalates'' or ''curopalata'' ( el, κουροπαλάτης, from lat, cura palatii "he one incharge of the palace"). and Anglicized as curopalate, was a Byzantine court title, one of the highest from the time ...
'' and a former
''droungarios'' of the ''Vigla'', whereby he is usually identified with a certain John Thrakesios.
His major work is the ''Synopsis of Histories'' ( el, Σύνοψις Ἱστοριῶν ), which covers the reigns of the
Byzantine emperors from the death of
Nikephoros I
Nikephoros I or Nicephorus I ( gr, Νικηφόρος; 750 – 26 July 811) was Byzantine emperor from 802 to 811. Having served Empress Irene as '' genikos logothetēs'', he subsequently ousted her from power and took the throne himself. In r ...
in 811 to the deposition of
Michael VI
Michael VI Bringas ( el, Μιχαήλ Βρίγγας), called Stratiotikos or Stratioticus ("the Military One", "the Warlike", or "the Bellicose") or Gerontas ("the Old"), reigned as Byzantine emperor from 1056 to 1057.
Career
Apparently a ...
in 1057; it continues the
chronicle
A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...
of
Theophanes the Confessor. There is a continuation of this work, known as ''Scylitzes Continuatus'', covering 1057 to 1079; some historians hypothesize that it was also written by Skylitzes.
''The Madrid Skylitzes''
The most famous manuscript of the ''Synopsis'' was produced in
Sicily in the 12th century known as the ''
Madrid Skylitzes'' ( la, Skyllitzes Matritensis, ), and is now at the ''
Biblioteca Nacional de España'' in
Madrid. It features 574 miniatures, while some 100 have been lost, and is the only surviving Byzantine illuminated chronicle in Greek, providing an invaluable primary source for the visualization of contemporary Byzantium.
Explanatory notes
Citations
General and cited references
''AHRB Skylitzes Colloquium'' Belfast, 21–22 September 2002, Institute for Byzantine Studies,
Queen's University, Belfast.
* Flusin, B. (trans.), J.-C. Cheynet (ed.), ''Jean Skylitzès: Empereurs de Constantinople'', Ed. Lethielleux, 2004, .
*
* Kiapidou, Eirini-Sophia. ''Ἡ Σύνοψη Ἱστοριῶν τοῦ Ἰωάννη Σκυλίτζη καὶ οἱ πηγές της (811‐1057). Συμβολὴ στὴ βυζαντινὴ ἱστοριογραφία κατὰ τὸν ΙΑ΄ αἰώνα'', Athens 2010.
*
*
:: The Thurn edition supersedes the much older one by Migne. A popular edition is being prepared for Kanakis books (with parallel Modern Greek translation) and a facsimile edition of the
Madrid is also available from Militos (Μίλητος) Publishers.
* Wortley, John (trans.). ''A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811–1057'' (by John Scylitzes, active 1081), Cambridge University Press, 2010.
External links
Notes by Paul Stephenson
with notes on Scylitzes by
Catherine Holmes
Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Graeca with analytical indexes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skylitzes, John
11th-century Byzantine historians
