READERS AND READING IN BYZANTIUM

Cu, 20/05/2016 - 16:00 — ecem.yazar
25/05/2016 16:00
Turkey

As in other medieval cultures with abundant written traditions, so also in the premodern world of Byzantium, reading was a seminal activity. Those who had access to it could appropriate an immense cultural capital which was then translated to social advancement, personal relations, and careers. But reading was not only the primary means of learning and education; it also offered comfort, relief, entertainment. This lecture will explore various practices of reading in Byzantium and will question the how, why, and who of reading, in order to recover some of the ideal, imaginary, as well as real faces of Byzantine readers