Byzantine Matters - Softcover

Cameron, Averil

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0691196850 ISBN 13: 9780691196855

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 2019

Synopsis

Why the marginalized story of Byzantium has much to teach us about Western history For many, Byzantium remains byzantine-obscure, marginal, difficult. Despite the efforts of some recent historians, prejudices still deform understanding of the Byzantine civilization, often reducing it to a poor relation of Rome and the rest of the classical world. In this book, renowned historian Averil Cameron addresses misconceptions about Byzantium, suggests why it is so important to integrate the civilization into wider histories, and lays out why Byzantium should be central to ongoing debates about the relationships between West and East, Christianity and Islam, Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, and the ancient and medieval periods. The result is a compelling call to reconsider the place of Byzantium in Western history and imagination.

About this title

Review:

"No one has written about the history and culture of Byzantium with such luminous intelligence as Averil Cameron."--Peter Thonemann, Times Literary Supplement

"A must-read for anyone studying Byzantium."--Library Journal

"Byzantine Matters is a fighting book. . . . [A]s a program for Byzantine studies in themselves, it is a crackling description of an intellectual trajectory."--Peter Brown, New York Review of Books

"A book on a mission. . . . [I]t sets out to do nothing less than make its readers realise why Byzantium is not something long ago and far away but something that should matter to us all."--Liz James, Anglo-Hellenic Review

From the Back Cover:

"Tackling some of the most controversial issues posed by the millennial history of Byzantium, Averil Cameron boldly confronts questions of identity, ethnicity, and continuity of language and religious practice, as well as notoriously difficult topics such as Hellenism and Orthodoxy. Through a comparative analysis of interpretations and cultural attitudes, she demonstrates both the indisputable significance of Byzantium in the medieval world and its continuing importance today."--Judith Herrin, author of Margins and Metropolis and Unrivalled Influence

"In this brilliant and remarkably refreshing book, one of the most distinguished living Byzantinists describes what has changed and what still needs to change in our approach to Byzantium. Personal, direct, and written with extraordinary acuity, Byzantine Matters will be essential reading for all those interested in the future of classical, medieval, and Byzantine studies."--Peter Sarris, author of Empires of Faith: The Fall of Rome to the Rise of Islam, 500-700

"This is a wonderful sequence of reflections from a sophisticated scholar."--Paul Stephenson, author of Constantine: Roman Emperor, Christian Victor

About this edition

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 0691196850
• ISBN 13: 9780691196855
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 184