The ironic praise: the consciousness of the erotikon as a proof of moral rectitude

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It has often been stated that the Chronographia by the eleventh-century prolific author Michael Psellos is a piece of historiography that reads almost like a novel, and that Psellos spends much time on describing characters and taking ironical stances towards his imperial protagonists. This article...

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Autor principal: Høgel, Christian
Formato: Artículo revista
Lenguaje:Español
Publicado: Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad de Buenos Aires 2018
Materias:
psellos
chronography
Constantinus Monomachos
self-irony
Byzantine historiography
cronografía
Constantino Monómaco
auto-ironía
historiografía bizantina
Acceso en línea:http://revistascientificas.filo.uba.ar/index.php/afc/article/view/6150
Aporte de:
Anales de Filología Clásica de Universidad de Buenos Aires
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record_format ojs
spelling I28-R241-article-61502023-06-27T20:46:52Z The ironic praise: the consciousness of the erotikon as a proof of moral rectitude El elogio irónico: la conciencia de lo erotikon como prueba de rectitud moral Høgel, Christian psellos chronography Constantinus Monomachos self-irony Byzantine historiography psellos cronografía Constantino Monómaco auto-ironía historiografía bizantina It has often been stated that the Chronographia by the eleventh-century prolific author Michael Psellos is a piece of historiography that reads almost like a novel, and that Psellos spends much time on describing characters and taking ironical stances towards his imperial protagonists. This article claims that a refined version of this may be seen in Psellos’ book six on Constantine IX Monomachos. In this portrait Psellos explicitly states that he finds it hard to balance laudation and historical accuracy. We clearly see that Psellos owes favours to Constantine; on the other hand, his description of the rule of Constantine leaves no doubt that Constantine’s rule was fraught with problems. In the end –as it is here claimed– Psellos resorted to self-irony in the very last dramatic scene of the book, and thereby saved Constantine at least some praise, namely for being the only emperor who fully understood the hard conditions of rulership, that being emperor is something nobody can really sustain well to the end, as is also Psellos’ point elsewhere in the Chronographia. Constantine thereby becomes the only protagonist of the narration that shares this understanding with the narrator.  Se ha dicho a menudo que la Cronografía de Miguel Psellós, el prolífico autor del s. xi, es una obra historiográfica que semeja una novela y que Psellós gasta mucho tiempo en describir caracteres y en tomar actitudes irónicas respecto de sus protagonistas imperiales. Este artículo sostiene que una versión más refinada de esto puede ser vista en el libro sexto de Psellós a propósito de Constantino IX Monómakhos. En este retrato, Psellós establece explícitamente que encuentra difícil mantener un equilibrio entre alabanza y exactitud histórica. Vemos claramente que Psellós debe favores a Constantino; por otra parte, su descripción del gobierno de Constantino no deja duda de que ese gobierno estaba plagado de problemas. Al final –como se sostiene aquí– Psellós recurrió a la auto-ironía en la última escena del libro y, de este modo, salvó a Constantino al menos con algún elogio, en concreto por ser el único emperador que entendió completamente las duras condiciones del ejercicio del gobierno, que el ser emperador es algo que nadie puede soportar bien realmente hasta el final, como también apunta Psellós en otro lugar de la Cronografía. Por eso Constantino se torna el único protagonista de la narración que comparte su comprensión con el narrador.  Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad de Buenos Aires 2018-08-10 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Artículo revisado por pares application/pdf http://revistascientificas.filo.uba.ar/index.php/afc/article/view/6150 10.34096/afc.v2i31.6150 Anales de Filología Clásica; Vol. 2 Núm. 31 (2018): Entre castidad y lujuria: sexo y amor en Bizancio, parte II. Coordinado por Pablo Cavallero y Tomás Fernández; 47-53 2362-4841 0325-1721 spa http://revistascientificas.filo.uba.ar/index.php/afc/article/view/6150/5504
institution Universidad de Buenos Aires
institution_str I-28
repository_str R-241
container_title_str Anales de Filología Clásica
language Español
format Artículo revista
topic psellos
chronography
Constantinus Monomachos
self-irony
Byzantine historiography
psellos
cronografía
Constantino Monómaco
auto-ironía
historiografía bizantina
spellingShingle psellos
chronography
Constantinus Monomachos
self-irony
Byzantine historiography
psellos
cronografía
Constantino Monómaco
auto-ironía
historiografía bizantina
Høgel, Christian
The ironic praise: the consciousness of the erotikon as a proof of moral rectitude
topic_facet psellos
chronography
Constantinus Monomachos
self-irony
Byzantine historiography
psellos
cronografía
Constantino Monómaco
auto-ironía
historiografía bizantina
author Høgel, Christian
author_facet Høgel, Christian
author_sort Høgel, Christian
title The ironic praise: the consciousness of the erotikon as a proof of moral rectitude
title_short The ironic praise: the consciousness of the erotikon as a proof of moral rectitude
title_full The ironic praise: the consciousness of the erotikon as a proof of moral rectitude
title_fullStr The ironic praise: the consciousness of the erotikon as a proof of moral rectitude
title_full_unstemmed The ironic praise: the consciousness of the erotikon as a proof of moral rectitude
title_sort ironic praise: the consciousness of the erotikon as a proof of moral rectitude
description It has often been stated that the Chronographia by the eleventh-century prolific author Michael Psellos is a piece of historiography that reads almost like a novel, and that Psellos spends much time on describing characters and taking ironical stances towards his imperial protagonists. This article claims that a refined version of this may be seen in Psellos’ book six on Constantine IX Monomachos. In this portrait Psellos explicitly states that he finds it hard to balance laudation and historical accuracy. We clearly see that Psellos owes favours to Constantine; on the other hand, his description of the rule of Constantine leaves no doubt that Constantine’s rule was fraught with problems. In the end –as it is here claimed– Psellos resorted to self-irony in the very last dramatic scene of the book, and thereby saved Constantine at least some praise, namely for being the only emperor who fully understood the hard conditions of rulership, that being emperor is something nobody can really sustain well to the end, as is also Psellos’ point elsewhere in the Chronographia. Constantine thereby becomes the only protagonist of the narration that shares this understanding with the narrator. 
publisher Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad de Buenos Aires
publishDate 2018
url http://revistascientificas.filo.uba.ar/index.php/afc/article/view/6150
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first_indexed 2023-06-27T20:49:02Z
last_indexed 2023-06-27T20:49:02Z
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