Reinventing the ancient Greeks : the self-representation of Byzantine scholars in Renaissance Italy

Lamers, H.

This dissertation explores the appropriation of Greek antiquity by Byzantine scholars in Renaissance Italy. The Byzantines had traditionally seen themselves as Romans, yet Byzantine scholars in Italy claimed to be the descendants of the ancient Greeks. This study explains for what reasons these scholars changed their traditional self-image and charts the rhetorical strategies with which they substantiated their new claim. The first part of the study shows that their distinctively Greek self-representation had been prefigured in 15th-century Byzantium and was stimulated by humanist bias and stereotypes in Italy. Whereas Hellenism remained suspect in Byzantium, ‘being Greek’ could be socially advantageous in the context of Italian humanism. The second part of the dissertation offers four case studies dealing with the self-representation of, chiefly, Bessarion, George Trapezuntius of Crete, Janus Lascaris, and Johannes Gemistus. Exploring a variegated range of underexposed sources...Show moreThis dissertation explores the appropriation of Greek antiquity by Byzantine scholars in Renaissance Italy. The Byzantines had traditionally seen themselves as Romans, yet Byzantine scholars in Italy claimed to be the descendants of the ancient Greeks. This study explains for what reasons these scholars changed their traditional self-image and charts the rhetorical strategies with which they substantiated their new claim. The first part of the study shows that their distinctively Greek self-representation had been prefigured in 15th-century Byzantium and was stimulated by humanist bias and stereotypes in Italy. Whereas Hellenism remained suspect in Byzantium, ‘being Greek’ could be socially advantageous in the context of Italian humanism. The second part of the dissertation offers four case studies dealing with the self-representation of, chiefly, Bessarion, George Trapezuntius of Crete, Janus Lascaris, and Johannes Gemistus. Exploring a variegated range of underexposed sources in Greek, Latin, and Italian, these chapters show how Byzantine scholars in different contexts used notions such as cultural ownership, ethnic kinship, and territoriality to authenticate their claim that they were the legitimate heirs and descendants of the ancient Greeks. The case-studies also illustrate how (post-)Byzantines could use this claim to advance their social and political agendas in Italy.Show less

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Reinventing the ancient Greeks : the self-representation of Byzantine scholars in Renaissance Italy

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