Universität Wien
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090031 VU The Archaeology of the Byzantine Book (2024S)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 9 - Altertumswissenschaften
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 14 participants
Language: German, English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Units on 15.04.2024 and 17.06.2024 will take place at the Austrian National Library, Handschriftensaal der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek.

  • Monday 11.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal d. Inst. f. Byzantinistik u. Neogräzistik, Postgasse 9, 2.Stock
  • Monday 18.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal d. Inst. f. Byzantinistik u. Neogräzistik, Postgasse 9, 2.Stock
  • Monday 08.04. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal d. Inst. f. Byzantinistik u. Neogräzistik, Postgasse 9, 2.Stock
  • Monday 15.04. 15:00 - 16:30 Ort in u:find Details
  • Monday 22.04. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal d. Inst. f. Byzantinistik u. Neogräzistik, Postgasse 9, 2.Stock
  • Monday 29.04. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal d. Inst. f. Byzantinistik u. Neogräzistik, Postgasse 9, 2.Stock
  • Monday 06.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal d. Inst. f. Byzantinistik u. Neogräzistik, Postgasse 9, 2.Stock
  • Monday 13.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal d. Inst. f. Byzantinistik u. Neogräzistik, Postgasse 9, 2.Stock
  • Monday 27.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal d. Inst. f. Byzantinistik u. Neogräzistik, Postgasse 9, 2.Stock
  • Monday 03.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal d. Inst. f. Byzantinistik u. Neogräzistik, Postgasse 9, 2.Stock
  • Monday 10.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal d. Inst. f. Byzantinistik u. Neogräzistik, Postgasse 9, 2.Stock
  • Monday 17.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Ort in u:find Details
  • Monday 24.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal d. Inst. f. Byzantinistik u. Neogräzistik, Postgasse 9, 2.Stock

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Content: Ancient books are much more than containers of texts. Their pages hide a centuries-long history, but one must learn how to make them talk and tell their stories. Manuscripts can be considered "archaeological objects": if studied in the right way and with the correct tools they can reveal to us who wrote and later used them, when, why, in which context.
This course will provide a full immersion in the history of the Byzantine book considered as an archaeological object. At the beginning, the focus will be on the written culture and literacy in Byzantium, and on the books of the Byzantines. After this introduction each distinctive part of the Byzantine book will be analysed, from the outside (binding) to the ruling and the writing on its pages. Its characteristic features will be presented from a comparative perspective, taking into account similarities and differences with other co-existing manuscript traditions (e.g. the Latin and the Arabic). Palaeography and textual criticism will be addressed. Students will be introduced to the main tools (printed and digital) for working on Byzantine manuscripts and will learn how to use them. By the end of the course the participants will know how to describe a Byzantine manuscript, also digitally (using XML-TEI), and how to make a codicological description.

Aims, Methods: The course aims at offering an overview on the Byzantine written culture with a focus on the study of the Byzantine handwritten book and its main features, in a comparative perspective. Students will get acquainted with the specific terminology used to describe a manuscript. They will learn how to create a digital description of a manuscript using XML-TEI, and how to make a codicological description. We will work with facsimiles and real manuscripts. Two visits to the Collection of Manuscripts and Old Prints of the Austrian National Library (Österreichische Nationalbibliothek) are planned: 15 April and 17 June, during class time.
The lessons will be held in English, but German may in any case be used as the language of discussion and conversation.

Assessment and permitted materials

Active participation (max. 2 absences) and on-time submission of assignments: 50%
Final (written) exam: 50%. Examination date: 24.06.2024.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Basic knowledge of Greek is desirable, but not mandatory.
Since this is a continuous assessment course attendance is compulsory. In order to have access to the final exam no more than two absences are allowed. The absences must be announced in advance, by email, to the instructor.

Examination topics

Topics discussed during the course.

Reading list

M. L. Agati, The Manuscript Book. A Compendium of Codicology, revised and updated English edition, Rome 2017.
A. Bausi et al. (ed.), Comparative Oriental Manuscript Studies, Hamburg 2015.
Ch. Gastgeber, Byzantinische Soziographik. Der griechische Schreiber und seine Handschrift, Baden-Baden 2024.
H. Hunger, Lesen und Schreiben in Byzanz. Die byzantinische Buchkultur, München 1989.
C. Mango I. Ševcenko (eds.), Byzantine Books and Bookmen. A Dumbarton Oaks Colloquium, Washington DC 1971.
M. Maniaci, Archeologia del manoscritto. Metodi, problemi, bibliografia recente, Roma 2002.
F. Ronconi, Aux racines du livre. Métamorphoses d’un objet de l’Antiquité au Moyen Âge, Paris 2021.

Additional readings will be announced in the course of the semester.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Tu 05.03.2024 11:05