War Discourse in Times of Crisis: Authorial Strategies in 14th-Century Byzantine Historical Literature

Maria proposes to study the Byzantine discourse on war in the 14th century. In particular, she plans to examine the aforementioned imagery and its development as presented in the texts of Nikephoros Gregoras and John Kantakouzenos, as well as in the rhetoric and hagiography of the period. Maria’s work will include case studies of the images of emperors—namely, those of Andronikos II, Andronikos III Palaiologos, and Kantakouzenos’s imperial self-portrayal—as well as the military textual discourse surrounding these rulers. Among other things, Maria intends to focus on the authorial strategies Kantakouzenos employed to portray the emperors during times of war within the framework of his *Histories*.

Maria intends to conduct a close reading of the aforementioned body of important but understudied texts. Anthony Kaldellis suggests that studying a text closely on its own terms is the path to a deeper understanding of Byzantine history. Maria’s aim, therefore, is to establish the rules governing how each text functions, employing, among other methods, the narratological approach—that is, analyzing the discursive presentation of the narration of events. Once the researcher begins to closely read historical, rhetorical, and hagiographical texts, a number of similarities—as well as differences—in the authors’ writing styles become apparent. This phenomenon can be explained by examining the reasons behind the use of each topos in the text. It is vital to understand what idea the author was trying to convey and how their use differs from that of other Byzantine authors. Maria believes that topoi—especially military ones—should be examined without any limitations in scope, not only as literary motifs with genre-specific connotations but also as symbols within a broader social context.