Accounts of Medieval Constantinople: The Patria

by: Berger, A.

The Patria is a fascinating four-book collection of short historical notes, stories, and legends about the buildings and monuments of Constantinople, compiled in the late tenth century by an anonymous author who made ample use of older sources. It also describes the foundation and early (pre-Byzantine) history of the city, and includes the Narrative on the Construction of Hagia Sophia, a semi-legendary account of Emperor Justinian I?s patronage of this extraordinary church (built between 532 and 537). The Patria constitutes a unique record of popular traditions about the city, especially its pagan statues, held by its medieval inhabitants. At the same time it is the only Medieval Greek text to present a panorama of the city as it existed in the middle Byzantine period. Despite its problems of historical reliability, the Patria is still one of our main guides for the urban history of medieval Constantinople. This translation makes the entire text of the Patria accessible in English for the first time.

Introduction
Accounts of Medieval Constantinople: The Patria
Book 1: The Patria of Constantinople According to Hesychios Illoustrios
Book 2: The Patria of Constantinople: On Statues, Together with a Chapter on Adiabene
Appendix to Book 2: On Councils
Book 3: On Buildings
Book 4: Narrative about the Construction of the Temple of the Great Church of God Which Is Called Hagia Sophia
Note on the Text
Notes to the Text
Notes to the Translation
Glossary of Offices, Titles, and Technical Terms
Bibliography
Index

Accounts of Medieval Constantinople: The Patria

by: Berger, A.

• ISBN-13: 9780674724815 / 978-0-674-72481-5
• ISBN-03: 067472481X / 0-674-72481-X
• Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2013