''Theophanes Continuatus'' ( el, συνεχισταί Θεοφάνους) or ''Scriptores post Theophanem'' (, "those after Theophanes") is the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
name commonly applied to a collection of historical writings preserved in the 11th-century Vat. gr. 167 manuscript.
[Kazhdan (1991), p. 2061] Its name derives from its role as the continuation, covering the years 813–961, of 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
Theophanes the Confessor ( el, Θεοφάνης Ὁμολογητής; c. 758/760 – 12 March 817/818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking u ...
, which reaches from 285 to 813. The manuscript consists of four distinct works, in style and form very unlike the
annalistic approach of Theophanes.
[Kazhdan (1991), pp. 2061–2062]
The first work, of four books consists of a series of biographies of the emperors reigning from 813 to 867 (from
Leo the Armenian to
Michael III
Michael III ( grc-gre, Μιχαήλ; 9 January 840 – 24 September 867), also known as Michael the Drunkard, was Byzantine Emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Amorian (or Phrygian) dynasty. ...
). As they were commissioned by Emperor
Constantine VII
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Kar ...
(r. 913–959), they reflect the point of view of the reigning
Macedonian dynasty
The Macedonian dynasty (Greek: Μακεδονική Δυναστεία) ruled the Byzantine Empire from 867 to 1056, following the Amorian dynasty. During this period, the Byzantine state reached its greatest extent since the Muslim conquests, ...
. The unknown author probably used the same sources as
Genesios Genesius ( el, Γενέσιος, ''Genesios'') is the conventional name given to the anonymous Byzantine author of Armenian origin of the tenth century chronicle, ''On the reign of the emperors''. His first name is sometimes given as Joseph, combini ...
.
The second work is known as the ''
Vita Basilii
The ''Vita Basilii'' ( gr, Βίος Βασιλείου, Bios Basileiou, "Life of Basil") is an anonymous biography of the Emperor Basil I, the first Byzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty. It is the second work in the collection known as ''Th ...
'' (Latin for "Life of Basil"), a biography of
Basil I the Macedonian
Basil I, called the Macedonian ( el, Βασίλειος ὁ Μακεδών, ''Basíleios ō Makedṓn'', 811 – 29 August 886), was a Byzantine Emperor who reigned from 867 to 886. Born a lowly peasant in the theme of Macedonia, he rose in the ...
(r. 867–886) written by his grandson Constantine VII probably around 950. The work is essentially a
panegyric
A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens.
Etymology
The word originated as a compound of grc, ...
, praising Basil and his reign while vilifying his predecessor, Michael III. The third work is a history of the years 886–948, in form and content very close to the history of
Symeon Logothetes Symeon Logothete (or Symeon Magister) was a 10th-century Byzantine Greek historian and poet.
Symeon wrote a world chronicle that goes from Creation to the year 948.It has been misattributed to one Theodosius of Melitene and also to Leo Grammaticu ...
, and the final section continues it until 961. It was probably written by
Theodore Daphnopates Theodore Daphnopates ( el, Θεόδωρος Δαφνοπάτης) was a senior Byzantine official and author. He served as imperial secretary, and possibly ''protasekretis'', under three emperors, Romanos I Lekapenos, Constantine VII Porphyrogennet ...
, shortly before 963.
[Kazhdan (1991), p. 2062]
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References
Citations
Sources
*
Further reading
* Chronographiae Quae Theophanis Continuati Nomine Fertur Liber Quo Vita Basilii Imperatoris Amplectitur, edited & translated into English by I. Ševčenko (CFHB 42, Berlin, 2011). Life of Basil I, Greek and English on facing pages
* Chronographiae Quae Theophanis Continuati Nomine Fertur Libri I-IV : recensuerunt anglice verterunt indicibus instruxerunt Michael Featherstone et Juan Signes-Codoñer, nuper repertis schedis Caroli de Boor adiuvantibus (CFHB 53, Berlin, 2015.) Books I-IV, Greek and English on facing pages; commentary and notes in English and Lati
* Codoñer, J. Signes. ''El periodo del Segundo Iconoclasmo en Theophanes Continuatus''. Amsterdam, 1995.
* Yannopoulos, P. "Les vicissitudes historiques de la Chronique de Théophane." ''Byzantion'' 70 (2000). pp. 527–53.
External links
*
Theophanes continuatus, Joannes Cameniata, Symeon Magister, Georgius Monachus... ex recognitione Immanuelis Bekkeri', E. Weber, Bonn, 1838.
{{Authority control
10th-century Byzantine historians