TY - BOOK AU - Leonte,Florin TI - Imperial Visions of Late Byzantium: Manuel II Palaiologos and Rhetoric in Purple T2 - Edinburgh Byzantine Studies : EBS SN - 9781474441032 AV - DF639 .L46 2020eb U1 - 949.503 23 PY - 2022///] CY - Edinburgh : PB - Edinburgh University Press, KW - Manuel-II Palaeologus,-Emperor of the East,-1350-1425 KW - Classics & Ancient History KW - HISTORY / Ancient / General KW - bisacsh N1 - Frontmatter --; Contents --; Acknowledgements --; Abbreviations --; Introduction --; Part I Dissent and Consent --; 1 Voices of Dissent: Preaching and Negotiating Authority --; 2 Voices of Consent: Imperial Rhetoricians, Theatra and Patronage --; Part II Other Voices, Other Approaches: Manuel II’s Political Writings --; Introduction to Part II --; 3 The Deliberative Voice: The Dialogue with the Empress-Mother on Marriage --; 4 The Didactic Voice: The Foundations of an Imperial Education --; 5 The Didactic Voice: The Orations (Seven Ethico-Political Orations) --; 6 The Narrative Voice: The Funeral Oration on His Brother Theodore, Despot of Morea --; 7 Towards a Renewed Vision of Imperial Authority --; Conclusions --; Appendices --; Appendix 1 Members of Manuel II’s Literary Circle --; Appendix 2 The Contents and Structure of Manuel II’s Foundations --; Appendix 3 Translation of Gemistos Plethon’s Preface to Manuel II’s Funeral Oration --; Appendix 4 Network of Ecclesiastics and Rhetoricians during Manuel II’s Reign --; Bibliography --; Index; restricted access N2 - Explores a Byzantine emperor’s construction of authority with the help of his rhetorical textsExamines the changes in the Byzantine imperial idea by the end of the fourteenth century with a particular focus on the instrumentalization of the intellectual dimension of the imperial ruleIntegrates late Byzantine imperial visions into the bigger picture of Byzantine imperial ideology Provides a fresh understanding of key pieces of Byzantine public rhetoric and introduces analytical concepts from rhetorical, literary, and discursive theoriesOffers translations of key passages from late Byzantine rhetoricManuel II Palaiologos was not only a Byzantine emperor but also a remarkably prolific rhetorician and theologian. His oeuvre included letters, treatises, dialogues, short poems and orations. Florin Leonte deals with several of his texts shaped by a didactic intention to educate the emperor’s son and successor, John VIII Palaiologos. He argues that the emperor constructed a rhetorical persona which he used in an attempt to compete with other contemporary power-brokers. While Manuel Palaiologos adhered to many rhetorical conventions of his day, he also reasserted the civic role of rhetoric.With a special focus on the first two decades of Manuel II Palaiologos’ rule, 1391–1417, Leonte offers a new understanding of the imperial ethos in Byzantium by combining rhetorical analysis with investigation of social and political phenomena UR - https://doi.org/10.1515/9781474441056 UR - https://www.degruyter.com/isbn/9781474441056 UR - https://www.degruyter.com/document/cover/isbn/9781474441056/original ER -