Madrid Skylitzes

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Madrid Skylitzes
Skylitzes. Basil II vs Georgians.jpg
Scene from the Battle of Shirimni; the army of Basil II defeating George I of Georgia
Author John Skylitzes
Original titleΣύνοψις Ἱστοριῶν
Language Medieval Greek
Genre Historiography
Publication date
12th century

The Madrid Skylitzes is a 12th-century illuminated manuscript version of the Synopsis of Histories (Greek : Σύνοψις Ἱστοριῶν) [a] by John Skylitzes, which covers the reigns of the Byzantine emperors from the death of Nicephorus I in 811 to the deposition of Michael VI in 1057. [1] The manuscript was produced at the Norman court of Palermo in Sicily (although there is some debate on whether the main body was made in Palermo or Constantinople) [2] [3] and is now housed in the Biblioteca Nacional de España in Madrid. It remains the only preserved Greek-language illustrated chronicle from the Byzantine period. [4] The chronicle includes 574 miniatures detailing depictions of everyday life in the Byzantine Empire such as boats, literary practices, sieges, and ceremonies, [1] in "both purely Byzantine and Western styles while also reflecting Islamic elements". [5]

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References

  1. Byzantine Greek: [ˈsy̜.nop.sisis.to.riˈon]
  1. 1 2 Sussex Centre for Byzantine Cultural History, University of Sussex. "The Madrid Skylitzes Project". www.sussex.ac.uk. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  2. Oikonomides, Nicolas; Zachariadou, Elizabeth (2023). "The Costume of the Eparch and the Madrid Skylitzes". Society, Culture and Politics in Byzantium. Taylor & Francis. ISBN   978-1-000-93933-0.
  3. Macrides, Ruth (2016). "Engaging the Byzantine past: strategies of visualizing history in Sicily and Bulgaria". History as Literature in Byzantium. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-351-93064-2.
  4. Tsamakda, Vasiliki (2000). "The Miniatures of the Madrid Skylitzes". academia. p. 127. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  5. Evans, Helen C. & Wixom, William D. (1997). The Glory of Byzantium: Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era, A.D. 843–1261, p. 438. Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN   9780810965072. Retrieved 8 September 2023.

Bibliography