J. Herrin, Margins and Metropolis: authority across the Byzantine Empire. Princeton, NJ 2013
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This volume explores the political, cultural, and
ecclesiastical forces that linked the metropolis of Byzantium to the margins of
its far-flung empire. Focusing on the provincial region of Hellas and
Peloponnesos in central and southern Greece, Judith Herrin shows how the
prestige of Constantinople was reflected in the military, civilian, and
ecclesiastical officials sent out to govern the provinces. She evokes the
ideology and culture of the center by examining different aspects of the
imperial court, including diplomacy, ceremony, intellectual life, and relations
with the church. Particular topics treat the transmission of mathematical
manuscripts, the burning of offensive material, and the church's role in
distributing philanthropy.
Herrin contrasts life in the capital with provincial life,
tracing the adaptation of a largely rural population to rule by Constantinople
from the early medieval period onward. The letters of Michael Choniates,
archbishop of Athens from 1182 to 1205, offer a detailed account of how this
highly educated cleric coped with life in an imperial backwater, and
demonstrate a synthesis of ancient Greek culture and medieval Christianity that
was characteristic of the Byzantine elite.
This collection of essays spans the entirety of Herrin's
influential career and draws together a significant body of scholarship on
problems of empire. It features a general introduction, two previously
unpublished essays, and a concise introduction to each essay that describes how
it came to be written and how it fits into her broader analysis of the unusual
brilliance and longevity of Byzantium.
