CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2015
| Author | Alisik, Emir |
|---|---|
| Title | MIRRORS FOR DESPOTS: ADVISORY LETTERS IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY BYZANTINE EMPIRE |
| Summary | The present work assesses the political significance of six advisory letters, which were written by Symeon of Thessaloniki, Georgios Gemistos Plethon, and Cardinal Bessarion for for the despots Theodore II Palaiologos, Andronikos Palaiologos, Constantine Palaiologos, and Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos respectively, during the last fifty years of the Byzantine Empire’s existence. Secondary literature has treated these letters separately or in varying compilations. This work brings these letters together because, firstly, they are of a similar genre, which can be named as princely mirrors, secondly, they were written by persons who had different political goals; however, they all desired a prosperous future for the Byzantine Empire in their own way. Thus, the present work expects a rich variety of reform programs from the pen of these authors in this period of crisis of the Byzantine Empire. |
| Supervisor | Niels H. Gaul |
| Department | Medieval Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2015/alisik_emir.pdf |
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