This book is unlike any other work devoted to Byzantine literature. Medievalists, with very rare exceptions, denied the Byzantines literary talent and believed that all their literature was something single and monolithic, not subject to any changes for a whole millennium. A.P. Kazhdan was the first who not only questioned this thesis, but also tried to present the history of Byzantine literature not as a series of rhetorical exercises by individual scholars, but as a living and developing organism, where creativity was determined primarily by the mind, talent and spiritual qualities of the writers , at least the best of them. The author of the book was able to show that Byzantine literature, with all its originality, existed according to the same laws as any other medieval literature. A.P. Kazhdan planned to write six volumes covering the period 650-1204.

This book presents the history of Byzantine spiritual literature from 650 to 850. as a living and developing organism, where the creativity of divinely inspired creators (Andrew of Crete, John of Damascus, Cosmas of Mayum, Theodore the Studite and many others) was determined primarily by the intelligence, talent and spiritual properties of the writers.

CONTENTS: Y.N. Lyubarsky. About the author and the history of the creation of this book 5Preface to the Athens edition 15

HISTORY OF BYZANTINE LITERATURE 17Preface 19Introduction 26

PART ONE. Literature of the late 7th - mid-88th centuries.

Chapter one. Refusal of historicism 39Chapter two. Andrew, Metropolitan of Crete 60Chapter three. Germanus I, Patriarch of Constantinople 82Chapter Four. John of Damascus 106Chapter Five. Barlaam and Joasaph 132Chapter six. Kosma Mayumsky 146Chapter seven. The medieval legend of Constantine 171Chapter eight. Dark Ages 184

PART TWO. The heyday of monastic culture (c. 775-c. 850) 221

Chapter one. Monks and Arabs: the martyrdom of the Savvaites 223Chapter two. Monks and icon. The first biography of the icon-venerator: Stephen the New 239Chapter three. Monastic world chronicle: Theophan the Confessor 266Chapter four. Monks and Society: Theodore the Studite 305Chapter Five. New hymnography: Clement and his followers 337Chapter six. Semi-secular Lives: Lives of St. Philaret the Merciful and Anthony the New 361Chapter seven. Comic works: lives of Leo of Katansky and Pankratius of Taormina 379Chapter eight. Royal Nun: Cassia 404Chapter Nine. A peaceful but holy path: Ioannikios and saints of his type 420Chapter ten. Ignatius and Pseudo Ignatius 440Chapter Eleven. An unusual triumph of icon worshipers: Patriarch Methodius 471Chapter Twelve. Literature of the monastic revival (c. 775 - c. 850) 488

List of abbreviations 523