Michael Psellus (1018-after 1078):
Chronographia
Complete Text | Introduction | Book 1 | Book 2 | Book 3 | Book 4 | Book 5 | Book 6 | Book 7
[See Chronographia Main for a more recent bibliography]
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
A short list of introductory books and articles likely to be accessible to English
readers is appended. It should be noted that the Cambridge Medieval History, vol. 4,
The Eastern Empire, 717-1453, as it stands should be used with caution. The 1923
edition is now in process of drastic revision necessitated by the rapid advance of
Byzantine studies during the last thirty years. Its detailed bibliographies (to 1923),
however, still retain much of their value. * below denotes full bibliography.
GENERAL
*Byzantium, ed. N. H. Baynes and H. St. L. B. Moss (O.U.P., 1948); this is an
excellent introduction to Byzantine history and civilization (with delightful
illustrations).
N. H. BAYNES, The Hellenistic Civilization and East Rome (O.U.P., 1946) and The
Thought World of East Rome (O.U.P., 1947)Ctwo stimulating introductory Lectures.
CH. DIEHL, Les grands problèmes de l'histoire Byzantine (Paris, 1943).
S. RUNCIMAN, Byzantine Civilization (London, 1933).
'Byzantine Empire' in Chambers' Encyclopedia (new edition, 1950) gives a bird's-eye view and skeleton
bibliography.
THE ELEVENTH CENTURY BACKGROUND
*CH. DIEHL and G. MARÇAIS, Le monde oriental de 395 à 1081 (= Histoire
générale, ed. G. GLOTZ, Histoire du Moyen Age, vol. 3, Paris, 1936).
*J. M. HUSSEY, Church and Learning in the Byzantine Empire, 867-1185 (O.U.P.,
1937)
*The Byzantine Empire in the eleventh century: some differed interpretations, Transactions
Of the Royal Historical Society, 4th series, vol. 32 (1950).
*G. OSTROGORSKY, Geschichte des byzantinischen Staates (Munich, 1940). This is
probably the best short modern general history, and has an excellent bibliography and
critical notes.
G. SCHLUMBERGER, L'epopée Byzantine à la fin du dixième siècle. Part 3, Les
porphyrogénètes Zoe et Theodora 1025-1027 (Paris, 1905)
A. A. VASILIEV, Histoire de l'empire Byzantine, 2 vols. (Paris, 1932). There is
also an English version (Madison, 1928-29) which is being revised and should appear
shortly in a new edition.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY
*E. AMANN and A. DUMAS, L'église au povoir des laïques (888C1057) (= Histoire de l'église, ed. A. Fliche
and V. Martin, vol. 7, Paris, 1943).
*M. JUGIE, Le schisme byzantin (Paris, 1941).
TOPOGRAPHY
The best modern guide to medieval Constantinople is *R. JANIN, Constantinople
Byzantin (= Archives de l'Orient Chrétien 4, Paris, 1950, with maps).
MICHAEL PSELLUS
*C. ZERVOS, Un philosophe néoplatonicien du Xle siècle:Michel Psellos (Paris,
1920) This concentrates on the more philosophical aspects of Psellus's work and now needs
some revision. For the place of Psellus in eleventh-century life in the light of recent
research see J. M. HUSSEY in Transactions of the Royal Historical Society op. cit.
There is also a short account of Psellus's activities in J. M. HUSSEY, Church and Learning op. cit.
A. RAMBAUD, 'Michel
Psellos, philosophe et homme d'état byzantin au XIe siècle' in: Etudes sur l'histoire Byzantine (Paris, 1912).
CH. DIEHL, Figures Byzantines, vol. I (Paris, 1905 and other editions), gives a
delightful account of Psellus' mother ('Une famille de bourgeoisie à Byzance au Xle
siècle'). This same volume also has an essay on the Empress Zoe.
The quotations from Leo the Deacon, Cedrenus and Scylitzes in the Notes are to
be found in CSHB (Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae: Leo Diaconus, Bonn 1828;
Cedrenus and Scylitzes, Bonn, 1839). The works of Cedrenus are published in two volumes,
but as all quotations here are taken from the second volume such references as Cedrenus,
765B, p. 563, must be understood to give the folio and page reference to that volume. The
Bonn Corpus was published with a Latin translation and some notes. These historians may
also be found reprinted in J.-P. Migne, Patrologia Graeca (with Latin translation).
Complete Text | Introduction | Book 1 | Book 2 | Book 3 | Book 4 | Book 5 | Book 6 | Book 7
Source.
Michael Psellus: Chronographia, trans E.R.A Sewter, (New Haven: Yale
University Press, 1953)
This copyright on this text was not renewed. Extensive inquiries were made in the
records of copyright renewals, and then a correspondence with Yale University Press (on
file) confirmed the situation.
Note that there is a later and revised edition of the translation, published by
Penguin, and that should be referred to for scholarly purposes.
Notes:
This etext slightly alters the organization and much of the typography of the printed
edition.
Page numbers of the printed edition are indicated in the texts by numbers in brackets,
e.g. [57].
Some short notes are placed in the text in brackets [*like this].
Longer notes are marked in the text with two asterisks **, and placed at the end of
each chapter
Text scanned by Hanna Orr.
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Paul Halsall, January 1999
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