Catherine Vanderheyde, La Sculpture byzantine du IXe au XVe siècle: contexte – mise en oeuvre – décors. Paris: Éditions A. & J. Picard, 2020. Pp. 364, 193 figs.

Abstract

events of the late eleventh century, offering at times his thoughts and opinions on events and individuals. As noted by McGeer, ‘[Skylitzes] asserts that its value lies in his critical reading of earlier chronicles and histories, his selection and abridgement of their contents, and the distillation of his sources into essentials, “a history pure and simple” purged of the glorification, censure, or credulity that in his view distorted so many of the works he consulted’ (p. 4). This might explain why the Continuation is only a fifth of the length of Attaleiates’ History: Skylitzes saw it as his purpose to re-package and eliminate unnecessary sections of aggrandisement or harsh opinions on the part of the original authors. One of the most welcome features of this new edition is the concordance (pp. 193–197) that cross-references the historical episodes recorded by Skylitzes Continutatus with Attaleiates and Zonaras: this is extremely useful for students and scholars wishing to undertake comparative analysis of these extraordinary times. Also of considerable value are the introduction and detailed accompanying notes, which illuminate and inform the reader with nuanced explanations and prosopographical information. In the introduction, McGeer offers a detailed summary of the events of the late eleventh century, highlighting areas that may have affected the interpretations of the primary authors themselves, especially the DoukoiKomnenoi rivalry following the abdication of Isaac I Komnenos in 1057. The inclusion of images and a discussion of imperial seals draws attention to an often-overlooked form of evidence, sigillography; this, coupled with the prosopographical index (by John Nesbitt) for reference, helps the reader to contextualise the various characters by providing and explaining their ranks and titles. The translation of Skylitzes Continuatus into English will greatly aid readers interested in the Byzantine world of the eleventh century but unable to read it in the original Greek. This work of McGeer and Nesbitt deserves high praise for stripping away the curtain of inaccessibility, allowing scholars of all levels the chance to study this formative time in Byzantine history.