Michael Psellos on the rhetoric of hagiography and the Life of St Auxentius
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11933201 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Elizabeth A Fisher (0000-0001-9802-143X, George Washington University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1993 |
| Volume | 17 |
| Pages | 43-55 |
| Publication date | 1993-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0307-0131 • E-ISSN: 1749-625X |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1179/byz.1993.17.1.43 |
| OpenAlex | W2044137095 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 3 |
Hagiography and rhetoric appear incompatible according to modern conceptions of how each functioned in Byzantine society. Rhetoric, a vehicle of upward mobility, depended upon an elaborate theoretical literature and promised to skilled practitioners enviable professional reputations in remunerative public pursuits among influential people. Hagiography, in contrast, appealed to a socially diverse Christian audience and recorded the deeds of those who chose to seek spiritual rather than worldly rewards. Rhetoric and hagiography, however, intertwined inevitably in the Byzantine world, as did rhetoric and most literary genres. The basic intention of the hagiographer was, after all, to persuade, impress, and edify his audience, and the tenets of rhetoric assisted him in that goal. Since education in Byzantium included at all levels both the theory and practice of rhetoric, the educated portion of a hagiographer’s audience would expect him to use the familiar devices of rhetoric and would scorn poorly composed and incorrectly expressed hagiographic essays, no matter how spiritually beneficial
Art · Literature · Rhetoric · Theology · Byzantine Studies and History · Historical and Religious Studies of Rome · History · Philosophy
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |