Byzantium & Friends

A conversation with Nicole Eddy (Dumbarton Oaks) about the Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library, one of the most important publishing ventures of recent times when it comes to medieval texts and literature. DOML (as we call it) makes accessible a wide range of medieval texts in different genres and from different periods, translated into English from Greek, Latin, Old English, and the Iberian romance languages. We talk about how the series works, its mission and goals, and the challenges and decisions that Nicole faces in coordinating the whole thing. You can find the series' home page here.

A conversation with Beth Digeser (University of California, Santa Barbara) about pedagogy, specifically about what we are hoping to accomplish by teaching Roman history. We talk about the limits of "influence" as a justification for it and the various ways that Rome is continually reinvented and made to speak to present concerns, from "Global Rome" to the special challenges posed by the world of late antiquity. Beth's research focuses on the reigns of Diocletian and Constantine and so she looks in both directions of Roman history, forward and backwards, from there.

A conversation with Alessandra Bucossi (Ca' Foscari University of Venice) and Niccolò Zorzi (University of Padua) on three heresiological texts of the twelfth century, the challenges of publishing and studying them, and how their main concerns can be presented in a museum exhibition. Our discussion is followed by dedicated presentations on each of the three authors by Marco Fanelli (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice) on Zigabenos, Alessandra herself on Kamateros, and Ottavia Mazzon (University of Padua) on Choniates. For an open access catalogue of the museum exhibition organized by all the above, click here.

A conversation with Alessandra Bucossi (Ca' Foscari University) on the preoccupation with heresy in the twelfth century, which resulted in the production of a number of massive anti-heretical treatises. We discuss the historical context of their production, the empire's increasing engagement with the Latins and Armenians, whose Churches deviated from that of Constantinople in certain points, and the function of these works. The conversation is based on a team project on this topic that Alessandra headed up, which we will discuss in more detail in the sequel episode.

A conversation with Marica Cassis (University of Calgary) about the archaeological study of the east Roman world and how it interfaces with traditional, text-based historiography. What can archaeology see and what not? What challenges has it faced to emerge as a field and what are the prospects that it faces today? The conversation was inspired by Marica's introduction to Medieval Archaeology in the East Roman World (Leeds: Arc Humanities Press, 2024).