Mothers and Sons, Fathers and Daughters - Michael Psellos in Translation by Michael Psellos Hardcover

Book Synopsis

Mothers and Sons, Fathers and Daughters makes available for the first time complete English translations from the works of Michael Psellos (1018-1076?), a key philosopher of the Byzantine Empire. Psellos was not simply a philosopher, he was also a courtier, historian, and monk, and his works betray a dazzling engagement with philosophy, theology, history, and science. These interests were expressed in some eleven hundred works, including formal rhetorical texts, history writing, letters, poetry, and texts written for his students. This book contains the works that Psellos wrote about his family, including a long funeral oration for his mother that features unique recollections from a childhood spent in Constantinople; a funeral oration for his young daughter Styliane, which includes a detailed description of her physical appearance and a moving account of her illness and death; a legal work pertaining to the engagement of his second, adopted, daughter; and various letters and other works that relate to the private life of this Byzantine family. These works offer us a rare and comprehensive picture of the family life of a medieval Byzantine courtier and philosopher. Much of the material follows the rules of rhetoric inherited from classical and Christian antiquity, but Psellos was always recasting the conventions of those genre to express his own revolutionary views regarding the relation of body and soul. Some of these works also have an apologetic or legal purpose, as Psellos sometimes used them to get himself out of some trouble. Mothers and Sons, Fathers and Daughters will appeal to all who study medieval women, childhood, and the family, especially as it provides a Byzantine perspective that has been absent from most modern discussions of those topics.

Review Quotes

"In sum, the discussion in Mothers and Sons, Fathers and Daughters is deft and crisp. The arguments are built up confidently and convincingly. Wearing his scholarship lightly, Kaldellis marshals Psellos on family to excellent effect, and offers clear and perceptive ideas. This very satisfying read has what is required to attract a wider readership to Psellos' prodigious work." --Journal of Hellenic Studies

"Michael Psellos was the 'Cicero of Byzantium, ' except that his interests were more wide-ranging than those of his Roman predecessor. In addition to being a politician, poet, and writer of letters, speeches, and treatises on philosophy and rhetoric, he was an innovative historian and a practical educator who interested himself in all aspects of learning from mathematics and medicine to theurgy. Hitherto, owing to a lack of translations, only his 'Chronographia' has been at all well known. Anthony Kaldellis has now done a great service in making accessible a collection of texts bearing upon personal familial relationships of which we know so little in Byzantium. His translations read well, are accurate, and reflect Psellos' literary subtlety. His commentaries are scholarly and give vital information for the better understanding of this facet of Byzantine society." --Antony R. Littlewood, University of Western Ontario

"Teachers of survey courses in Byzantine society, as well as scholars within the wider orbit of Byzantine studies, will find these translations useful and revealing of a leading author's intellectual sensibility." --Speculum

"This volume presents in translation all the texts that Psellos wrote concerning his family. They present the reader with the most complete picture we have of any non-imperial family by casting light on the life of Byzantine women outside the circle of hagiography and court history. The volume includes a long funeral oration for his mother, a funeral oration for his daughter Styliane, a legal work regarding the engagement of his second, adopted, daughter, a letter to his very young grandson, six letters regarding Psellos's family, and a brief work on the festival of St. Agathê. In Kaldellis's excellent translation, Michael Psellos's times and family come to life."

About the Author

Michael Psellos was a Byzantine Greek monk, writer, philosopher, politician, and historian.

Anthony Kaldellis is Professor of Classics at The Ohio State University. He is the author of many studies of Byzantine intellectual and cultural history, including Hellenism in Byzantium and The Christian Parthenon. He has also translated many Byzantine historians into English.