Scholars have recently begun to study collections of Byzantine historical excerpts as autonomous pieces of literature. This book focuses on a series of minor collections that have received little or no scholarly attention, including the
Epitome of the Seventh Century
, the
Excerpta Anonymi
(tenth century), the
Excerpta Salmasiana
(eighth to eleventh centuries), and the
Excerpta Planudea
(thirteenth century). Three aspects of these texts are analysed in detail: their method of redaction, their literary structure, and their cultural and political function. Combining codicological, literary, and political analyses, this study contributes to a better understanding of the intertwining of knowledge and power, and suggests that these collections of historical excerpts should be seen as a Byzantine way of rewriting history.
The Open Access version of this book, available at https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9780429351020, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.