Michael Psellos
Encyclopedia
Michael Psellos or Psellus (Greek
: Μιχαήλ Ψελλός, Mikhaēl Psellos) was a Byzantine monk, writer, philosopher, politician and historian. He was born in 1017 or 1018, and is believed to have died in 1078, although it has also been maintained that he remained alive until 1096.
. His family hailed from Nicomedia
and, according to his own testimony, counted members of the consular and patrician elite among its ancestors. His baptismal name was Constantine; Michael was the monastic name he chose when he entered a monastery later in life. Psellos ('the stammerer') probably was a personal by-name referring to a speech defect.
Michael Psellos was educated in Constantinople. At around the age of ten, he was sent to work outside the capital as a secretary of a provincial judge, in order to help his family raise the dowry for his sister. When his sister died, he gave up that position and returned to Constantinople to resume his studies. While studying under John Mauropus, he met the later Patriarchs Constantine Leichoudes and John Xiphilinos
, and the later emperor Constantine X Doukas
. For some time, he worked in the provinces again, now serving as a judge himself. Some time before 1042 he returned again to Constantinople, where he got a junior position at court as a secretary in the imperial chancellery. From there he began a rapid court career. He became an influential political advisor to emperor Constantine IX Monomachos (reigned 1042–1055). During the same time, he became the leading professor at the newly founded University of Constantinople
, bearing the honorary title of "Consul of the Philosophers" .
Towards the end of Monomachos' reign, Psellos found himself under political pressure for some reason and finally decided to leave the court, entering the Olympus monastery in Bithynia
in 1054. After Monomachos' death, however, he was soon recalled to court by his successor, Empress Theodora
(reigned 1055–1056). Throughout the following years, he remained active in politics, serving as a high-ranking political advisor to several successive emperors. He played a decisive political role in the transition of power from Michael VI
to Isaac I Komnenos
in 1057; then from Isaac Komnenos to Constantine X
Doukas (1059); and then again from Romanos IV
Diogenes to Michael VII Doukas
(1071). As Psellos had served as Michael's personal teacher during the reign of Michael's father Constantine, and as he had played an important role in helping Michael gain power against his adversary and stepfather Romanos, Psellos probably entertained hopes of an even more influential position as a teacher and advisor under him. However, Michael seems to have been less inclined towards protecting Psellos and after the mid-1070s there is no more information about any role played by Psellos at court. As his own autobiographic accounts cease at this point, there is little reliable information about his later years. Some scholars believe that Psellos had to retreat into a monastery again at some time during the 1070s. Following a remark by Psellos' fellow historian John Zonaras
, it is believed by most scholars that Psellos died soon after the fall of Michael VII in 1078, although some scholars have also proposed later dates. What is known is that Theophylaktos of Bulgaria wrote a letter to Psellos's brother comforting him on the death of his brother saying that, "Your brother has not died, but has departed to God released of both a painful life and disease
(976-1025), and ending some time during the reign of Michael VII Doukas (1071–1078). It is structured mainly as a series of biographies. Unlike most other historiographical works of the period, it places much more emphasis on the description of characters than on details of political and military events. It also includes very extensive autobiographical elements about Psellos' political and intellectual development, and it gives far greater weight to those periods when Psellos held an active position in politics (especially the reign of Constantine IX), giving the whole work almost the character of political memoirs. It is believed to have been written in two parts. The first covers the emperors up to Isaac I Komnenos. The second, which has a much more strongly apologetic tone, is in large parts an encomium
on Psellus' current protectors, the emperors of the Doukas dynasty.
. His predilection for Plato and other pagan (often Neoplatonic
) philosophers led to doubts about the orthodoxy of his faith among some of his contemporaries, and at one point he was forced to make a public profession of faith in his defense. He also prided himself on being a master of rhetoric, combining the wisdom of the philosopher and the persuasiveness of the rhetorician. This made him the model of a political leader and advisor. Among modern commentators, Psellos' penchant for long autobiographical digressions in his works has earned him accusations of vanity and ambition. At the same time, his political career and the contents of his Chronographia have led commentators to characterize him as obsequious and opportunistic, because of his ostensibly uncritical stance towards some of the emperors and because of the many shifts in his political loyalty over the course of his life. However, other commentators argue that there is a powerful ironic undercurrent running through his work, especially the Chronographia, transmitting highly critical and subversive messages about the emperors portrayed, or even about Byzantine Christian beliefs and morality at large.
in the 9th century, and who was a pupil of Photius and teacher of emperor Leo VI the Wise
. Michael Psellos himself was also called "the younger" by some authors. This belief was based on an entry in a medieval chronicle, the , which mentions the name in that context. It is now believed that the inclusion of the name Psellos in this chronicle was the mistake of an ignorant copyist at a later time, and that no "Michael Psellos the elder" ever existed.
The term Pseudo-Psellos is also used in modern scholarship to describe the authorship of several later works that are believed to have been falsely ascribed to Psellos in Byzantine times.
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
: Μιχαήλ Ψελλός, Mikhaēl Psellos) was a Byzantine monk, writer, philosopher, politician and historian. He was born in 1017 or 1018, and is believed to have died in 1078, although it has also been maintained that he remained alive until 1096.
Biography and political career
The main source of information about Psellos' life comes from his own works, which contain extensive autobiographical passages. Michael Psellos was probably born in ConstantinopleConstantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
. His family hailed from Nicomedia
Nicomedia
Nicomedia was an ancient city in what is now Turkey, founded in 712/11 BC as a Megarian colony and was originally known as Astacus . After being destroyed by Lysimachus, it was rebuilt by Nicomedes I of Bithynia in 264 BC under the name of Nicomedia, and has ever since been one of the most...
and, according to his own testimony, counted members of the consular and patrician elite among its ancestors. His baptismal name was Constantine; Michael was the monastic name he chose when he entered a monastery later in life. Psellos ('the stammerer') probably was a personal by-name referring to a speech defect.
Michael Psellos was educated in Constantinople. At around the age of ten, he was sent to work outside the capital as a secretary of a provincial judge, in order to help his family raise the dowry for his sister. When his sister died, he gave up that position and returned to Constantinople to resume his studies. While studying under John Mauropus, he met the later Patriarchs Constantine Leichoudes and John Xiphilinos
Patriarch John VIII of Constantinople
John VIII Xiphilinus , a native of Trebizond, was patriarch of Constantinople from 1064-1075. He was the uncle of John Xiphilinus the Epimator. John VIII also wrote a hagiography of Saint Eugenios of Trebizond....
, and the later emperor Constantine X Doukas
Constantine X
Constantine X Doukas was emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 1059 to 1067.-Reign:Constantine Doukas was the son of Andronikos Doukas, a Paphlagonian nobleman who may have served as governor of the theme of Moesia...
. For some time, he worked in the provinces again, now serving as a judge himself. Some time before 1042 he returned again to Constantinople, where he got a junior position at court as a secretary in the imperial chancellery. From there he began a rapid court career. He became an influential political advisor to emperor Constantine IX Monomachos (reigned 1042–1055). During the same time, he became the leading professor at the newly founded University of Constantinople
University of Constantinople
The University of Constantinople, sometimes known as the University of the palace hall of Magnaura in the Roman-Byzantine Empire was founded in 425 under the name of Pandidakterion...
, bearing the honorary title of "Consul of the Philosophers" .
Towards the end of Monomachos' reign, Psellos found himself under political pressure for some reason and finally decided to leave the court, entering the Olympus monastery in Bithynia
Bithynia
Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine .-Description:...
in 1054. After Monomachos' death, however, he was soon recalled to court by his successor, Empress Theodora
Theodora (11th century)
Theodora was a Byzantine Empress. Born into the Macedonian dynasty that had ruled the Byzantine Empire for almost two hundred years, she was co-empress with her sister Zoe for two months in 1042 and sole empress from 11 January 1055 to after 31 August 1056...
(reigned 1055–1056). Throughout the following years, he remained active in politics, serving as a high-ranking political advisor to several successive emperors. He played a decisive political role in the transition of power from Michael VI
Michael VI
Michael VI Bringas , called Stratiotikos or Stratioticus or Gerontas , was Byzantine emperor from 1056 to 1057.-Career:...
to Isaac I Komnenos
Isaac I Komnenos
Isaac I Komnenos was Byzantine Emperor from 1057 to 1059, and the first reigning member of the Komnenos dynasty...
in 1057; then from Isaac Komnenos to Constantine X
Constantine X
Constantine X Doukas was emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 1059 to 1067.-Reign:Constantine Doukas was the son of Andronikos Doukas, a Paphlagonian nobleman who may have served as governor of the theme of Moesia...
Doukas (1059); and then again from Romanos IV
Romanos IV
Romanos IV Diogenes was a member of the Byzantine military aristocracy who, after his marriage to the widowed empress Eudokia Makrembolitissa was crowned Byzantine emperor and reigned from 1068 to 1071...
Diogenes to Michael VII Doukas
Michael VII
Michael VII Doukas or Ducas , nicknamed Parapinakēs , was Byzantine emperor from 1071 to 1078.- Life :...
(1071). As Psellos had served as Michael's personal teacher during the reign of Michael's father Constantine, and as he had played an important role in helping Michael gain power against his adversary and stepfather Romanos, Psellos probably entertained hopes of an even more influential position as a teacher and advisor under him. However, Michael seems to have been less inclined towards protecting Psellos and after the mid-1070s there is no more information about any role played by Psellos at court. As his own autobiographic accounts cease at this point, there is little reliable information about his later years. Some scholars believe that Psellos had to retreat into a monastery again at some time during the 1070s. Following a remark by Psellos' fellow historian John Zonaras
Joannes Zonaras
Ioannes Zonaras was a Byzantine chronicler and theologian, who lived at Constantinople.Under Emperor Alexios I Komnenos he held the offices of head justice and private secretary to the emperor, but after Alexios' death, he retired to the monastery of St Glykeria, where he spent the rest of his...
, it is believed by most scholars that Psellos died soon after the fall of Michael VII in 1078, although some scholars have also proposed later dates. What is known is that Theophylaktos of Bulgaria wrote a letter to Psellos's brother comforting him on the death of his brother saying that, "Your brother has not died, but has departed to God released of both a painful life and disease
Historical works
Probably Psellos' best known and most accessible work is the Chronographia. It is a history of the Byzantine emperors during the century leading up to Psellos' own time. It covers the reigns of fourteen emperors and empresses, beginning with the almost 50-year-long reign of Basil II, the "Bulgar-Slayer"Basil II
Basil II , known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian, was a Byzantine emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025.The first part of his long reign was dominated...
(976-1025), and ending some time during the reign of Michael VII Doukas (1071–1078). It is structured mainly as a series of biographies. Unlike most other historiographical works of the period, it places much more emphasis on the description of characters than on details of political and military events. It also includes very extensive autobiographical elements about Psellos' political and intellectual development, and it gives far greater weight to those periods when Psellos held an active position in politics (especially the reign of Constantine IX), giving the whole work almost the character of political memoirs. It is believed to have been written in two parts. The first covers the emperors up to Isaac I Komnenos. The second, which has a much more strongly apologetic tone, is in large parts an encomium
Encomium
Encomium is a Latin word deriving from the Classical Greek ἐγκώμιον meaning the praise of a person or thing. "Encomium" also refers to several distinct aspects of rhetoric:* A general category of oratory* A method within rhetorical pedagogy...
on Psellus' current protectors, the emperors of the Doukas dynasty.
Other works
Psellos left a large amount of other writings too:- "Historia syntomos", a shorter, didactic historical text in the form of a world chronicle.
- A large number of scientific, philosophical and religious treatises. One well-known example of these is De Operatione Daemonum, a classification of demons. He wrote or compiled an important work on philosohy, the De omnifaria doctrina. Other works deal with topics such as astronomyAstronomyAstronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
, medicineMedicineMedicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, musicMusicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, jurisprudenceJurisprudenceJurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
, physicsPhysicsPhysics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, and laography. - Various didactic poems on topics such as grammarGrammarIn linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
and rhetorics. - Three Epitaphioi or funeral orations over the patriarchs Michael Keroularios, Constantine III Leichoudes and John XiphilinosPatriarch John VIII of ConstantinopleJohn VIII Xiphilinus , a native of Trebizond, was patriarch of Constantinople from 1064-1075. He was the uncle of John Xiphilinus the Epimator. John VIII also wrote a hagiography of Saint Eugenios of Trebizond....
. - A funeral oration for his mother, including a large amount of autobiographic information.
- Several panegyricPanegyricA panegyric is a formal public speech, or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing, a generally highly studied and discriminating eulogy, not expected to be critical. It is derived from the Greek πανηγυρικός meaning "a speech fit for a general assembly"...
s, persuasive speeches (including works against the Bogomils and EuchitesEuchitesThe Euchites or Messalians were a sect first condemned as heretical in a synod of 383AD , whose acta was referred by Photius. From Mesopotamia they spread to Asia Minor and Thrace. The name 'Messalian' comes from the Syriac , mṣallyānā, meaning 'one who prays'...
) and speeches addressed to his patron emperors at court. - Several hundred personal letters.
- RhetoricRhetoricRhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
al exercises and essays on set themes. - Occasional, satirical, and epigrammatic verse.
Personality
Psellos was universally educated and had a reputation for being one of the most learned men of his time. He prided himself on having single-handedly reintroduced to Byzantine scholarship a serious study of ancient philosophy, especially of PlatoPlato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
. His predilection for Plato and other pagan (often Neoplatonic
Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism , is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD, based on the teachings of Plato and earlier Platonists, with its earliest contributor believed to be Plotinus, and his teacher Ammonius Saccas...
) philosophers led to doubts about the orthodoxy of his faith among some of his contemporaries, and at one point he was forced to make a public profession of faith in his defense. He also prided himself on being a master of rhetoric, combining the wisdom of the philosopher and the persuasiveness of the rhetorician. This made him the model of a political leader and advisor. Among modern commentators, Psellos' penchant for long autobiographical digressions in his works has earned him accusations of vanity and ambition. At the same time, his political career and the contents of his Chronographia have led commentators to characterize him as obsequious and opportunistic, because of his ostensibly uncritical stance towards some of the emperors and because of the many shifts in his political loyalty over the course of his life. However, other commentators argue that there is a powerful ironic undercurrent running through his work, especially the Chronographia, transmitting highly critical and subversive messages about the emperors portrayed, or even about Byzantine Christian beliefs and morality at large.
Pseudo-Psellos
It was once thought that there was another Byzantine writer of the same name, Michael Psellos the Elder (now also called Pseudo-Psellos), who lived on the island of AndrosAndros
Andros, or Andro is the northernmost island of the Greek Cyclades archipelago, approximately south east of Euboea, and about north of Tinos. It is nearly long, and its greatest breadth is . Its surface is for the most part mountainous, with many fruitful and well-watered valleys. The area is...
in the 9th century, and who was a pupil of Photius and teacher of emperor Leo VI the Wise
Leo VI the Wise
Leo VI, surnamed the Wise or the Philosopher , was Byzantine emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty , he was very well-read, leading to his surname...
. Michael Psellos himself was also called "the younger" by some authors. This belief was based on an entry in a medieval chronicle, the , which mentions the name in that context. It is now believed that the inclusion of the name Psellos in this chronicle was the mistake of an ignorant copyist at a later time, and that no "Michael Psellos the elder" ever existed.
The term Pseudo-Psellos is also used in modern scholarship to describe the authorship of several later works that are believed to have been falsely ascribed to Psellos in Byzantine times.
Editions
- Chronographie ou histoire d'un siècle de Byzance (976-1077). Ed. Émile Renauld. 2 vols. Paris 1926/28. [Standard modern edition].
- Imperatori di Bisanzio (Cronografia). Ed. Salvatore Impellizzeri. 2 vols. Vicenza 1984. [New critical edition and Italian translation.]
- Chronographia, ed. E. R. A. Sewter. London 1953. [English translation, Full online text
- Chronographia, ed. Vrasidas Karalis. 2 vols. Athen 1992/96 [Modern Greek translation].
- Vidas de los emperadores des Bizancio (Cronografia). Ed. Juan Signes Codoñer. Madrid 2005 [Spanish translation].
- Autobiografia (Encomio per la madre. Ed. Ugo Criscuolo. Naples 1989.
- De omnifaria doctrina. Ed. Leendert G. Westerink. Utrecht 1948.
- De operatione daemonum. Ed. Jean-François BoissonadeJean François Boissonade de FontarabieJean François Boissonade de Fontarabie was a French classical scholar.He was born at Paris. In 1792 he entered the public service during the administration of General Dumouriez. Driven out in 1795, he was restored by Lucien Bonaparte, during whose time of office he served as secretary to the...
. Nürnberg 1838, reprint Amsterdam 1964. - De operatione daemonum. Tr. Marcus Collisson. Sydney 1843. Full online text
- '"Éloge inédit du lecteur Jean Kroustoulas." Ed. Paul Gautier. Rivista di studi bizantini e neoellenici, n.s. 17-19 (27-29), 1980-1982: 119-147.
- Epistola a Giovanni Xifilino. Ed. Ugo Criscuolo. Naples 1990.
- Epistola a Michele Kerulario. Ed. Ugo Criscuolo. Naples 1990.
- Historia Syntomos. Ed. Willem J. Aerts. Berlin 1990.
- Orationes hagiographicae. Ed. Elizabeth A. Fisher. Stuttgart/Leipzig 1994.
- Orationes panegyricae. Ed. George T. Dennis. Stuttgart/Leipzig 1994.
- Oratoria minora. Ed. Antony R. Littlewood. Leipzig 1984.
- Orazione in memoria di Constantino Lichudi. Ed. Ugo Criscuolo. Messina 1983.
- Philosophica minora I. Ed. John M. Duffy. Stuttgart/Leipzig 1992.
- Philosophica minora II. Ed. Dominic J. O'Meara. Leipzig 1989.
- Poemata. Ed. Leendert G. Westerink. Stuttgart/Leipzig 1992.
- Scripta minora magnam partem adhuc inedita. 2 vols. Ed. Eduard Kurtz, Franz Drexl. Milan 1936/41.
- Essays on Euripides and George of Pisidia and on Heliodorus and Achilles Tatius. Ed. Andrew R. Dyck. Wien 1989.
- Theologica I. Ed. Paul Gautier. Leipzig 1989.
- Theologica II. Ed. Leendert G. Westerink, John M. Duffy. München/Leipzig 2002.