Anna Komnene: The Life and Work of a Medieval Historian

Anna Komnene: The Life and Work of a Medieval Historian - Onassis Series in Hellenic Culture

Paperback (29 Nov 2018)

Save $2.17

  • RRP $36.14
  • $33.97
Add to basket

Includes delivery to the United States

10+ copies available online - Usually dispatched within 7 days

Publisher's Synopsis

Byzantine princess Anna Komnene is known for two things: plotting to murder her brother to usurp the throne, and writing the Alexiad, an epic history of her father Alexios I Komnenos (1081-1118) that is a key historical source for the era of the First Crusade. Anna Komnene: the Life and Work of a Medieval Historian investigates the relationship between Anna's self-presentation in the Alexiad and the story of her bloodthirsty ambition. It begins by asking why women did not write history in Anna's society, what cultural rules Anna broke by doing so, and how Anna tried to respond to those challenges in her writing. Many of the idiosyncrasies and surprises of Anna's Alexiad are driven by her efforts to be perceived as both a good historian and a good woman. These new interpretations of Anna's authorial persona then spark a thorough re-thinking of the standard story which defines Anna's life by the failure of her supposed political ambitions. The second half of this work reviews the medieval sources with fresh eyes and re-establishes Anna's primary identity as an author and intellectual rather than as a failed conspirator.

Book information

ISBN: 9780190939892
Publisher: OUP USA
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Pub date:
Language: English
Number of pages: 240
Weight: 414g
Height: 158mm
Width: 235mm
Spine width: 13mm