Father and son like eagle and eaglet – concepts of animal species and human families in Byzantine court oration (11th/12th c.)
The idea that physical features and character traits are inherited from ancestors is central to the self-identification and representation of pre-modern elites. For the 12th-century Byzantine aristocracy, the idea of family and ancestry was of major importance. Members of the military elite frequent...
| Published in: | Byzantinische Zeitschrift |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
De Gruyter
[2019]
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| In: |
Byzantinische Zeitschrift
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| Further subjects: | B
Byzantine studies
B Patristics B Theologie und Religion B Altertumswissenschaften B History B Diverses B Historische Epochen |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | The idea that physical features and character traits are inherited from ancestors is central to the self-identification and representation of pre-modern elites. For the 12th-century Byzantine aristocracy, the idea of family and ancestry was of major importance. Members of the military elite frequently had themselves depicted as the latest scions of a lineage of brave warriors. The ruling Komnenoi and Angeloi tried to establish dynastic claims to the throne by presenting their families as being more fit to rule than any other. To support these claims, panegyrists turned to nature in search of legitimizing comparanda. The idea that animal species reproduce unchanged and pass on their specific traits from one generation to the next, provided a suitable model. Comparisons of emperors or aristocrats and their sons with lion and lion cub or eagle and eaglet were popular images in court poetry. Through a detailed examination of this imagery, the paper exemplifies how writers and orators made use of theories from ancient/medieval natural science and created legitimizing models for socio-political needs.null |
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| ISSN: | 1868-9027 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Byzantinische Zeitschrift
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1515/bz-2019-0039 |