DOI 10.1515/bz-2020-0038 BZ 2020; 113(3): 879–904
Krystina Kubina Eight unedited poems to hisfriends and patrons by Manuel Philes Abstract: This article presents the critical edition of eight hitherto unpublished poems by Manuel Philes together with atranslation and acommentary.The poems are verse letters addressed to various high-rankingindividuals. Poem 1 is addressed to the emperor,whose power is emphasised in arequest to help Philes escape from his misery.Poem 2isafragment likewise addressed to the emperor.Poem 3isaconsolatory poem for afather whose son has died.In poem 4, Philes addresses apatron whose wife hurried to Constantinople after she had become the object of hostility of unknown people. Poem 5isaddressed to the month of August and deals with the return of abenefactor of Philes to Con- stantinople. In poem 6, Philes writes on behalf of an unnamed banker and asks the megas dioiketes Kabasilastojudge the latter justly. Poems 7and 8are tetra- sticha includingarequestfor wine.
Adresse: Dr.KrystinaKubina, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Institut für Mittelalterforschung,AbteilungByzanzforschung,Hollandstraße 11–13, A-1020 Wien; [email protected]
Manuel Philes (c. 1270–after 1332)suffers from aparadoxical fate. Philes was the most important and most prolific poet of the final 300 years of the Byzantine em- pire; yetthe greater part of his oeuvrestill languishes in outdated and uncritical editions from the 19th century.¹ There are even some poems that are still unedited
Idearly thankAndreas Rhoby, MarcLauxtermann and Nathanael Aschenbrenner fortheir com- ments on earlier drafts of thispaper.Iam also grateful to ZacharyRothstein-Dowden whose help withmyEnglish translations by far exceeded alanguageproof.They all saved me from some blatant errors.Mythanksare extended to the two anonymous reviewerswhose sugges- tions greatly improved the quality of thispaper.Itgoeswithout saying that all remaining mis- takesare my own. Thisarticle waswritten as part of the project: “Late Byzantine Poetry from the Fourth Crusade until the End of the Empire”,funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF project no. T–G). After long years of neglect,Manuel Philes has latelybegun to arouse moreinterest.Cf. most recentlyK.Kubina. Die enkomiastische Dichtungdes Manuel Philes.Form und Funktion des li- terarischen Lobes in der frühen Palaiologenzeit. Byzantinisches Archiv, .Berlin/Boston , with an overview of the editions and the state-of-the-art research on p. –.Onlyfew other 880 Byzantinische Zeitschrift Bd. 113/3, 2020: I. Abteilung entirely, scattered across several manuscripts. Among these are some religious epigrams, the main part of his metaphrasis of the psalms² and anumberof poems addressed to friends and patrons.Thisarticle aims to rectify this absence of scholarlyeditions of his works by providingacritical edition of the latter group – the poems to patrons and friends – together with atranslation and a short commentary.³ These poems show how Philes used his poetic craft in order to establish and secure his social standingand how he positionedhimself as asocial actor:asasuppliant,friend, correspondent,and advocate. Philes maintained contact with manyhighrankingmembers of Byzantine society.Fromhis extant works,about 150 donorsand addressees can be identi- fied by name. Among those he addressed, we find emperors (Andronikos II, An- dronikos III and the co-emperor Michael IX), the patriarch Niphon I, high-rank- ing bureaucratslike the protostrator Michael Tarchaneiotes and his wife, the tax official Theodoros Patrikiotes,the cleric and historian Nikephoros Kallistu Xan- monographs have been published on Philes, namelyE.Braounou-Pietsch,Beseelte Bilder.Ep- igramme des Manuel Philes aufbildliche Darstellungen. Veröffentlichungen zur Byzanzforschung, .Wien ;G.Stickler.Manuel Philes und seine Psalmenmetaphrase. Dissertationen der Universität Wien, .Wien ;and N. Papadogiannakis.Studien zu den Epitaphien des Manuel Philes.PhD thesis,FreieUniversität Berlin .The most important editions of Philes arethose of Miller,Martini and Gedeon.Icite Philes’ poems fromthese editions using the followingsigla: Manuelis Philaecarmina ex codicibus Escurialensibus,Florentinis,Parisinis et Vaticanis,ed. E. Miller, vols.Paris – – sigla E, F, P, V, App.; Manuelis Philae carmina inedita, ed. E. Martini.Torino – siglumM;M.Gedeon, ΜανουὴλτοῦΦιλῆἱστο- ρικὰ ποιήματα. Ekklesiastike aletheia (/), –, –, – – siglum G. Approximatelyone thirdofthe metaphrasis was edited by Stickler,Psalmenmetaphrase. In arecent research project hosted at the Austrian AcademyofSciences and the University of Ghent (“The Legacyofthe Psalms in Byzantine poetry.Book epigrams and metrical paraphrases”,pro- ject leaders Kristoffel Demoen and Andreas Rhoby),Anna Gioffreda preparesacomplete edition of the text.For first results see A. Gioffreda/A.Rhoby,Die metrische Psalmenmetaphrase des Manuel Philes.Präliminarien zu einer kritischen Edition. MEG (), –. The information about the unedited poems and the manuscripts in which they areincluded is mainlytakenfromthe manuscript list of Stickler,Psalmenmetaphrase –.Apart fromthe poems presented here, Stickler lists another poem addressed to adonor with the incipit ᾿Aγρὸς φορητός,transmitted in the important manuscript Vat. gr. (V), f. v (see and ). However,the text is apassage fromP.– with few variants:v.λιβὰςπεπεγμένη V: λιβὰς ὑφασμένη P.;v.is acombination of the first hemistich of P. and the second hemi- stich of P.;v.ἐμοὶ βασιλεῦ V: πεινῶντι Φιλῇ P.;v.τῷχρυσῷ V: ἐξ ἁφῆς P.; v. , ὡςδοῦλος οἰκτρὸςτάδε τολμήσας ἔφην,isnot present in P,but similar lines arefound in other poems by Philes (e.g. P.,P.,P.). P is most likelythe original poem, whereas the text transmitted in Visanexcerpt.Inverse the scribe confused twodistinct verses and mergedthem into one – acommon scribal error.Furthermore, the reading ἐξ ἁφῆς in P. should be preferredover τῷ χρυσῷ as the former is better fitted to the metaphor of heat.The last line in Visadded as an end to the text thus producinganalone standingpoem. K. Kubina, Eight unedited poems by Manuel Philes 881 thopulos and manymore. Forthese figures he wrote poems on commission,⁴ such as epigrams (i.e., metrical inscriptions), but he also addressed them di- rectlyinhis numerous verse letters.⁵ These letters have largely been neglected in scholarship mainlyinfavour of his epigrams, but internal markers as well as theircontent identify these poems as letters.Philes’ surviving corpus includes about 320such poems which give witness to the wide epistolary network that Philes possessed, and how versifying remained the medium through which he operated thatnetwork. Thepoems edited beloware,inall likelihood,verse letters. As such,they largelyshare thethemes, rhetorical practices andfunctions with theirprose coun- terparts writtenbyother 14th-century intellextuals. Themain difference between them is theform: whileprose letterswereoften rhythmical in language,these let- ters arewritten in verse, mostly dodecasyllable. Lettersbothinprose andinverse arethusbothpiecesofart andameansofcommunication.Poem1forms an ad- dresstothe emperorAndronikosIIrequestingthatthe author be savedfromhis misery andhis creditors. Poem 2alsoaddresses an emperor, butthe fragmentary stateofthe text makesitimpossibletograspits meaning. Poem 3isaconsolation poem forafather whohas lost hisson.Inpoem4,Philesaddresses apatron whosewifehurried to Constantinople aftershe hadbecomethe object of hostility of unknownpeopleinanunknown provincial town.Poem5is awitty textad- dressedtothe monthofAugustbut dealingwiththe felicitous return of oneof Philes’ benefactors to Constantinople. In poem 6, Philes writes on behalf of an un- namedbankerand asks the megasdioiketes Kabasilas, presumably TheodorosKa- basilas, elsewhereattestedasfinancial andjudicialofficer,tojudge thebanker’s suit justly. Poems7and8aretetrasticha includingarequestfor wine much like many others in Philes’ oeuvre.
On commissioned poetry in lateByzantium see A. Rhoby,Poetry on commission in lateBy- zantium (th–th c.), in W. Hörandner /A.Rhoby /N.Zagklas (eds.), ACompanion to Byzan- tine poetry. Brill’sCompanions to the Byzantine World, .Leiden/Boston , – and K. Kubina, ‘But afriend must not sleep, when such aman commands him to write’.Motivations for writingpoetry in the earlyPalaiologan period, in N. Gaul /I.Stouraitis /M.Carr (eds.). The post- Byzantine world. New approaches and novel directions.Proceedingsfromthe st Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies,Edinburgh(forthcoming). On Philes’ verse letters see K. Kubina,Manuel Philes – abeggingpoet?Requests, letters, and problems of genredefinition, in A. Rhoby /N.Zagklas (eds.), Middle and lateByzantine poetry. Texts and contexts. Studies in Byzantine historyand civilization, .Turnhout , –. Byzantine verse letters areawidelyneglectedgenre; for afirst studyofthem see K. Kubina / A. Riehle (eds.). Greek epistolary poetry in lateantiquity,Byzantium and the Renaissance. Lon- don/New York, forthcoming; including on PhilesK.Kubina,Functions of letters in verse and prose. Acomparison of Manuel Philes and Theodoros Hyrtakenos. 882 Byzantinische Zeitschrift Bd. 113/3, 2020: I. Abteilung
Theeditionshavebeenpreparedaccording to thefollowing guidelines.The orthographyhas been normalised accordingtothe lexiconforms,and allchanges arenoted in thecritical apparatus. Breathings andiotasubscriptshavebeencor- rected or addedand proper namescapitalised withoutcomment.Accents have been normalised except in thecaseofenclitics.⁶ Thepunctuation hasbeenmod- ernisedtofacilitateunderstandingfor themodern reader.⁷ Thetextisfollowedby acriticalapparatusand ashort discussion of themanuscript transmission.
Poem 1
Θεοῦ βασιλεῦ, πάντα μεστά μοι φόβου· καὶ γῆ με, καὶ θάλασσα, καὶ πᾶσα κτίσις, δοκοῦσιν ὡςκλεῖς ἐμπεδοῦν ἐκτῆςβίας· τοὺςγὰρδανειστάς, τοὺς ἐμοὺς ὁδοστάτας, 5 μετὰ δὲ μικρόν, ἢ σφαγεῖς, ἢ δεσπότας, (ἀμφοῖνγὰρἓνλέγουσιν αὐτίκα δράσειν, ἂνοὐτοκισθῇ τοῖςβραβεῦσι τὰ χρέα) πῶςφεύξομαι, πῶς, τοὺςδιώκτας, τοὺςΣκύθας, τοὺςαἱμοχαρεῖς, τοὺςθρασεῖς, τοὺςαὐθάδεις, 10 τοὺςκαὶπτερωτούς, καὶ δρομεῖς, καὶ τοξότας, οἷς ἐστιν ἁπλῶς ἡ βολὴ πρὸ τῶνλόγων, ὅταν ὁ θυμὸςτῆςψυχῆς ὑπεκβράσας,
On this issue cf. M. de Groote,Christophori Mitylenaii versvvm variorvm collectio Cryptensis. Turnhout ,LXXIII–XCIV and alreadyJ.Noret,Notesdeponctuation et d’accentuation by- zantines. Byz (), –, –. Thedecisiontomodernise thepunctuation hasbeenmadebecause many of thepoems do not have acoherentpunctuation system in themanuscript, providingpunctuation marksalmostex- clusivelyatthe endofthe line.For thedebateonhow to deal with Byzantinepunctuation in verse seeF.Bernard.Rhythminthe Byzantinedodecasyllable. Practices andperceptions,inRhoby/ Zagklas. Middle andlateByzantine poetry (asfootnote above), –, –.Ingeneral, By- zantinepunctuation marksrefer to rhythmical rather than syntacticalunits andthushelpthe reader to fullyunderstandthe literary andstylistic form of atext. In recent years, scholars tend to sticktothe punctuationgiven by themanuscripts in editions of prosetexts (cf. e.g. D. R. Re- insch,ed.,Michaelis Pselli Chronographia. Millennium-Studien, .Berlin/Boston ,XXXIVf.). However, rhythmical unitsinverse areevident from metrical rulessothatpunctuation marksare less relevant forthe understandingofapoem’srhythm. On punctuationingeneralsee A. Gian- nouli /E.Schiffer (eds.).Frommanuscripts to books/VomCodex zurEdition.Proceedings of theinternational workshop on textualcriticism andeditorial practice forByzantine texts(Vien- na, – December ).Veröffentlichungen zurByzanzforschung, .Vienna . K. Kubina, Eight unedited poems by Manuel Philes 883
κινῇ πρὸς ὁρμὰς ἀκρατεῖς ἐκτῆςμέθης; Θεοῦ βασιλεῦ, λύσον ὀψὲ τὸνφόβον, 15 ἢ μᾶλλον αὐτὴνεἰδοκεῖ τὴναἰσχύνην· καὶ στῆσον αὐτοῖςτὰςφορὰςκαὶτοὺςδρόμους καὶ τὰς ἀπειλὰςκαὶτὰςἀδολεσχίας, καὶ τὰς ἐφεξῆςδυσχερεῖςπεριστάσεις, εἴργοντα φραγμὸν ἐντιθείςμοι τὴνδόσιν. 20 Εἰ δ’ ἄρα, θαῦμα· τί γὰρ ἐντούτοις δράσω, πένης θανατῶν, κἂνδοκῶ τάχα πνέειν ἔτι τρεφουσῶντὴνψυχὴντῶνἐλπίδων; ᾿Aσιτίαγὰρἡτροφή μοι πολλάκις, ὡς ἐκλυθῆναι καὶ τὸν ἐνλόγοις τόνον, 25 μὰ τὸνδιατρέφοντα τὴνκοινὴνφύσιν· προάγομαιγὰρἐξἀνάγκης ὀμνύειν, κοινὲ γλυκασμὲ καὶ τροφεῦ τῶνΑὐσόνων.
App. crit.: tit. τοῦ αὐτοῦ
Ms.: Vat. gr.1126(Diktyon no. 67757), ff. 179r–179v.14th century. The manuscript mainlycontains alarge collection of Philes’ poems as well as acollection of the poetry of Georgios Pisides.⁸ Although Miller usedthis codex for his edition, he overlooked this poem.
Translation
Emperor [bygrace] of God, all thingsfill me with fear.Earth and sea and all of creation seem to shackle me by forcelike fetters.For how shall Iescape my cred- itors,those highwaymen, [5] who in ashort while will be either cutthroats or lords – for they saythat they will be one or the other,ifthe debt is not paid off with interest to the lenders – how on earth shallIescape my pursuers, these Scythians,bloodthirsty,bold, and insolent; [10]the winged and runners and bowmen,whose bolt simplyprecedes words, whenever their rage,boiling over from their souls,launches uncontrollable attacksout of drunken madness?
See K. Kubina,Enkomiastische Dichtung (as footnote above), and ; eadem,Manuel Philes and the Asan family. Two inedited poems and their contextinPhiles’ oeuvre (including editio princeps). JÖB (), –, and Stickler,Psalmenmetaphrase (as footnote above), –. 884 Byzantinische Zeitschrift Bd. 113/3, 2020: I. Abteilung
Emperor [bygrace] of God, delivermeatlong lastfrom my fear,[15] or rather,if youdeem fit,myshame. And halt their attacksand pursuits, their threats and idle chatter,and the ensuing difficulties for me, by grantingmethe donative as apalisade against them. [20] If youcould do this, it would be wonderful. Forwhat should Idoinsuch circumstances as adying pauper even if Iseem to breathe while hopes still nourish my soul?For want of food is often my meal, so that even the rhythmical intensity of my words is slackened, [25] I swear by the One who nourishes our common nature! ForIam led to this oath out of necessity, Ocommon sweetness and nourisherofthe Ausones.
Commentary
The poem, addressed to the emperor Andronikos II (r.1282–1328), belongs to a group of poems thatlament Philes’ professional and financial misfortunesatthe hands of enemies or slanderers.⁹ In Θεοῦ βασιλεῦ,welearn thathewas in debt to some ‘Scythians’ who pursued him and circulated rumours about him (vv. 16– 18). While here Philes does not hint at the reasons for his debts, in other poems to the emperor he speaksinasimilar context about a(supposed) ‘failure’ that he had committed. Apparently, this ‘failure’,nowherefullydescribed, led to the loss of the emperor’sfavor.Inhis poems, we learn onlythat evil menhavedenounced him. It is possiblethis slander was connected to his embassy to the Mongol khan Toqta (c.1270–1312)in1297and his return to Constantinople via Bithyniain 1298.¹⁰ In P2,Philes describes this mission and explains that he lost his armed escort – apparentlymercenaries – when the Cilician king Het’um II paid them to join his campaign against the Mamluks (cf. vv.36–49). Philes ex- plains that,although he fled from the enemies (presumablythe Ottomans) when he was left alone after his escort’sdefection, his conduct had been irreproach- able. Similarly, in P58, he describes how he suffered all manner of hardship for the emperor on severalembassies and had gained nothing but debts and mis-
Foranoverview of these poems see ibid., –. See already PLP #.Stickler did not draw the connection of Philes’ failuretohis em- bassies.Onadifferent argumentationabout the ‘failure’ see M. Menshikova, Мануил Фил и Андроник II. придворныйпоэт вгоре ирадости. VV (), –,who datesit to – by identifyingand datingthose persons whom Philes asks for help in relation with his failure. K. Kubina, Eight unedited poems by Manuel Philes 885 ery for his trouble.¹¹ Seen in this light,itseems that the verse letter Θεοῦ βασιλεῦ relates to the mercenaries who abandoned Philes in Bithynia when he could not paythem. The poem might have been written soon after the events described as Philes references neither his ‘failure’ nor the disfavour with the emperor which followed. That the ‘failure’ relates to the events in 1298 is confirmed by the poem G1, an epibaterion for Andronikos III, whenhevictoriouslyentered Con- stantinople in 1328after the end of the civil war.Philes stresses that he is now relieved from his thirty years of misery since the new emperor would cer- tainlybefavourablydisposed towardhim (vv. 169–173). If he committed (or not) the supposed ‘failure’ in 1298, the notion that in 1328hehad suffered for thirty years is accurate. In his manypoemslamentinghis failure, Philes varies in his argumentation: while in some poems, he denies having done anything wrong, in others he acknowledgeshis errors and asks for forgiveness.¹² vv.1and 14: Θεοῦ βασιλεῦ occurs as an address several times in Philes, cf. P56.94, P196.1,2and 69. vv.3and 19:Philes contrasts locks that constrain him in v. 3with a “pali- sade” or “protective fence” thatherequests from the emperor in v. 19. v. 7: Βραβεύς in this case does not have its classical meaning “judge,arbitra- tor,umpire” (see LSJ s.v.), but means “lender” (unattested in this meaninginthe lexica,but cf. LBG s.v. βραβεύτρια “Verleiherin”). Forthe meaning “payoff (with interest)” of τοκίζω cf. P237.52. vv.8–13:The archaising term ‘Scythian’ wasapplied by theByzantinestoa number of differentpeoples such as,inthe laterperiod, Bulgars, Cumans or Ottomans.¹³ Here,Philesusesthe word to characterisehis persecutorsasespe- cially violent, blood-thirsty, andbarbaric. Thisisprobablyanallusiontohis em- bassytothe Mongols, whichsaddled himwithdebt; in anotherpoem, he also de- scribeshis creditorsas“Scythians” when speaking aboutthis embassy(P58.75 – 76). ReferringtothemasScythians,anancient steppe people stereotypedinantiq- uity fortheir uncivilizedpractices, also explains theimagery of theirspeed and theirarchery.Philes’ accusation that they act “outofdrunkenness” recalls another
He also mentions ‘Scythians’ as his creditors elsewhere(cf. P.f.). More concisely, in P Philes describes his misery caused by his debts and his shame (αἰσχύνη,v.). He also stresses that he put himself in danger in vain (v. ), which might allude to his unsuccessful embassy. On the ‘failure’ and Philes’ argumentation strategysee Kubina, Enkomiastische Dichtung(as footnote above), f. and –. See G. Moravcsik.Byzantinoturcica. BBA, –.Berlin ,II–.OnCumans as mercenaries in the th century see S. Kyriakidis, WarfareinlateByzantium, –. His- toryofWarfare, .Leiden , f. 886 Byzantinische Zeitschrift Bd. 113/3, 2020: I. Abteilung aspect of thetopos of theuncouth Scythianswho,according to literary tradition, drank unmixed wine andthuswerenotoriously drunken.¹⁴ v. 11:The phrase is rather obscure. Itake it to mean that Philes’ pursuers, whose ‘bolt precedestheir words’, ‘shoot first and ask questions later’;but one could also read it as ametaphor for ‘assault is beyond reason’.Inany case, Philes stresses the cruelty of his creditors and theirinclination towards pre- cipitous physical violence. vv.21–22:The imageofthe starving poet who is half-dead and asks his ad- dressee for help is common in Philes’ poems¹⁵ and in pleading poemsmoregen- erally(most importantly by Ptochoprodromos,TheodorosProdromos and Man- ganeios Prodromos).¹⁶ vv.23–24:Philes in an ironic topos of modesty states that hunger had abad impact on the quality of his verses. The idea is found in other poems by Philes, too, cf. P76.12–13 and F265.24–34.¹⁷ Most interesting is poem V17. In an address to the emperor, he states: Φύσις νικῶσα τῶνλόγων τὴνδύναμιν,|ἐκτῆςμεγάλης τοῦ λιμοῦ κακώσεως | καὶ τῆς ἀδήλου τῶνφρενῶνσυγχύσεως,¹⁸ | περιτραπείσης τῆς ἐμῆςδυνάμεως,|μήμοι παρίδῃςτῶνστίχων τὴν ὕφεσιν.(vv.4–8, “(You), Nature who conquers the power of words, since out of the great distress of hun- gerand the opaqueconfusion of my wits, my literary forceisupended, don’tne- glect the [cause of the] slackening of my verses”). Philes uses the samemetaphor for the qualityofhis verses in Θεοῦ βασιλεῦ:like amusical instrument,his verses can be tense or slackened like stringsonaninstrument; accordingly they can be of high or low quality depending on whether they are in tune. In V17Philes’ verses are, indeed, slackened, insofarasthey severelyviolate the rules of the dodecasyllable. All of the verses end proparoxytonic, while most of them have the caesuraafter B5.This kind of hemistich (7pp), in this case used in the second part of the dodecasyllable,iscommon in the first half of the verse. Philes more or less inverts the two hemistichs, performingpoetically
The topos was so widespread that therewereeventwo words created in Greek: σκυθίζω and ἐπισκυθίζω,which can both mean ‘to drink immoderately’,see LSJ s.v. On this topos in Philes,see Kubina,Beggingpoet (as footnote above), with footnote . Cf.M.Kulhánková,VaganteninByzanz, Prodromoi im Westen. Parallellektürevon byzanti- nischer und lateinischer Betteldichtungdes .Jahrhunderts. BSl (), –, –. It is also atopos in the so-called ‘beggingpoetry’,see Kulhánková,ibid., –. Ed. Miller συσχύσεως,but read συγχύσεως,asalreadysuggested by idem,Manuelis Philae carmina II ,footnote . K. Kubina, Eight unedited poems by Manuel Philes 887
the disorder of his affairs and life. By performinghis bodilydistress in this way, he demonstrates his very versatility as an author.¹⁹ v. 27:Philes addresses the emperor as “nourisher of the Ausones”,anad- dress that he also uses in other poems for him (cf. P149.51, V16.14, ekphrasis of the elephant v. 15 and 335).²⁰ He purposefullystresses this aspect of Andronikos’ power and responsibility after focussing on his own hunger.
Poem 2
Αὐτοκράτορ κράτιστε, τοῦ χάρινκράτους· πρὸςσῆςκρατ*** ἐξερευνῶνται ***, <…> μὴ συμβολικῶςδεικνύῃ σου τὸ κράτος· 5 ὅπως κρατάρξῃ βαρβαροτρόπων ὄχλων. <…>
App. crit.: 2 κρατ<…>] readingunclear |4δεικνύῃ] δεικνύει ms.
Ms.: Cod. Athen. Metochiontou Panaghiou Taphou 190(Diktyon no.6587),f.122r – 122v.17th century. Miscellaneous manuscript with predominantlyreligious treatises. Poems 2, 3and 4are found in asectioncontainingpoems (ff.98r–122v)which are transmitted without indication of authorship.Sincemost of them arewritten by Philes, as attested in other manuscripts, andsincethese three all fit hisstyle, one cansafelyattribute thepoems edited here to him.²¹ In the codex,the first letter of poem2is executed as arubricated initialwithsome decoration, as is commonin thesection of the manuscript that containsPhiles’ poems.Sixtyversesfollow.This layout led Stickler to incorrectlyconclude that the verses belongtothe same poem.²² In fact, theseare three differenttexts,namelythe poemspresented inthisarticle
On the passage,see M.D. Lauxtermann,Byzantine poetry fromPisides to Geometres. Texts and contexts,II. WBS, /.Vienna , and Kubina, Enkomiastische Dichtung(as foot- note above), f. This is not the onlypoem that uses ametrical experimentinthe contextofa poetological discussionabout writingverses and their futility in terms of the poet’slivingex- penses,see App. and P with adiscussion in Kubina,ibid., –. Ed. F. S. Lehrs/J.F.Dübner,Poetae bucolici et didactici.Manuelis Philaeversus iambici de proprietateanimalium. Paris , –. On themanuscript seeA.Papadopulos-Kerameus, Ἱεροσολυμιτικὴ Βιβλιοθήκη, .St. Peters- burg , –;onPhiles’ poems in it Stickler,Psalmenmetaphrase(as footnote above), . Ibid. 888 Byzantinische Zeitschrift Bd. 113/3, 2020: I. Abteilung
no. 2(Αὐτοκράτορκράτιστε)and no.3(Ὁπαμβασιλεύς)aswell as apoem ad- dressed to thearchangel Michael(inc. Τίς, ταξιάρχα, τίς, ταγματάρχαξένε,stillun- edited). No. 3(Ὁπαμβασιλεύς)and the poem to thearchangel begin with an initial in adifferent ink than themain text which has, however, thesame size as the other lettersand no decoration. Thecontentofthese poems leaves no doubt that theyare to be seen as distinct poems.
Translation
Most powerful emperor,for the sake of your power,from your dominion (?), are examined <…>, that younot show your power symbolically, in order thatyou rule over the barbaric hordes.
Commentary
The text is afragment lacking acoherent argument.The unclear readingand la- cuna in v. 2make its meaning nearlyimpossibletograsp. v. 2: The readingofthe abbreviation at the end of κρατ-isunclear,but there is acircumflex over it.For metrical reasons regarding the dodecasyllable there must be two lacunaeoftwo syllables each, one after κρατ-, the other at the end of the verse. One solution would emend the verse as πρὸςσῆςκρατ<αιᾶς> ἐξερευνῶνται <σπάθης>(as suggested by the anonymous reviewer of this article). More verses maybemissing. v. 5: κρατάρξῃ (κρατάρχω) hapax legomenon. The meaning “to rule over” is clear from the root -άρχω;cf. also LBG s.v. κραταρχέω “herrschen, gebieten”.
Poem 3
Ὁ παμβασιλεὺςκαὶθεάνθρωπος λόγος τὸ σὸνχαριέστατον ἄντικρυςβρέφος λαβὼνσυνηρίθμησεν ἀγγέλων δήμοις, ὅπως σὺναὐτοῖς ὑπᾴδῃ θεῖον μέλος, 5 καὶ τριαδικὸν ἀνακραυγάζῃ φθέγμα σὺννηπίοις ἅπασι τοῖςτρισολβίοις, καὶ συγχορευτὴςτῶνἄνω στρατευμάτων θυμηδίας αἴτημα ἐνδιαθέτου. Μὴ τοίνυν ἔξω δυσφόρου τοῦ μετρίου, K. Kubina, Eight uneditedpoems by ManuelPhiles 889
10 ὦ χαρτοφύλαξ, φιλοκάλων ἀκρότης, ἀλλ’ ὡςκατὰ νοῦνκαὶτὸτοῦ ψαλμογράφου Δαβὶδ ἐκείνου τοῦ κρατάρχου πανσόφου, ἔχων παραμύθιον εἰςδεῖγμα ξένον, ὃ πρὸςτὸφίλτατον ἔδρα τεκνίον, 15 δίδου παρηγόρημα τῇ σῇ καρδίᾳ καθὼς ἀπόχρη τοῖςκατὰ σὲ πανσόφοις· καὶ γὰρλατρείαν ὡς ἀκίβδηλον τόδε ὁ δημιουργὸςδεσπότης προσλαμβάνει, καὶ θυσίαν ἄμωμον οἷςοἶδας τρόποις, 20 ὡςπνευματικοῖς ἐνδιατρίψας λόγοις.
App. crit.: 3 συνηρίθμησεν] συνηρίθημσεν ms. |4ὑπᾴδῃ]ὑπάδει ms. |7συγχορευ- τὴς] συγχωρευτὰς ms. |12πανσόφου] πανσόφως ms.|14 one syllable missing.
Ms.: Cod. Athen. Metochion tou Panaghiou Taphou 190,f.122r.Onthe manu- script see abovep.887– 888.
Translation
The Logos,king of all and bothGod and man, forthwith took your most graceful babe and numbered him amongst the community of angels so thathemight ac- companythem in divine song [5] and cry out in song athreefold tune together with all the thrice-blessed children and, as afellow singer amongst the heavenly hosts, [raise] arequestfor inward delight.And so do not grievebeyond measure, [10]Ochartophylax,you paramount loverofbeauty,but keep in mind that [exam- ple] of the composer of the Psalms, David, the all-wise ruler,and takeconsola- tion in the outstanding example, which he provided at [the death of]his most beloved child, [15] and give comfort to your heart,asitsuffices for those who are all-wise like you. Forthe creator of the world, the Lord, receivesasservice this genuine act and as ablameless sacrifice in the manner which youknow, [20] for youhavespent time with the spiritual words.
Commentary
The text is apoem of consolation (paramythetikos)for the loss of the anonymous addressee’schild. 890 Byzantinische Zeitschrift Bd. 113/3, 2020: I. Abteilung
v. 10:The addressee is a chartophylax,anecclesiastical officialinserviceofthe patriarch.The poem does notofferany information that makesanidentification with aknownbearer of this office possible. Philes addressed only oneother charto- phylax,ManuelKutales (PLP #13617,cf. F56),who hadatleast twochildren.²³ How- ever,this doesnot sufficetoprove hisidentity with the addressee of ourpoem. vv.11–14: King David had Uriah the Hittite killed in order to cover up his se- duction of Uriah’swife Bathsheba resulting in her pregnancy. To avengethis crime God killed this first-born son. After his child’sdeath Davidsaid: “While the child was stillalive,Ifasted and wept,for Isaid, ‘Who knows whether the Lordwill have pity on me and the child will live?’ But now he is dead. Whyis this, that Ifast?Iwill not be able to bringitback again, willI?Iwill go to him, but he shall not return to me” (2 Reigns 12.22–23).²⁴ Philes alludes to this story,thereby accentuating that excessive grief is inappropriate with regard of the reunion of parents and their children after the resurrection. v. 14:There is alacuna in the first part of the verse, since it onlycontains eleven syllables, while the caesuraB7(i.e. after the seventh syllable) has to be placed after φίλτατον. vv.17–20:Cf. Psalm140.2: “Letmyprayersucceed as incense before you, a lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice”.²⁵ v. 20:The verse refers to the religious education and the ecclesiastical duties of the addressee.
Poem 4
Θησαυρὲ τοῖςχρῄζουσι πηγάζων χύδην τὸν ἐνξένοις πένητα μὴ παραδράμῃς. Σοῦ μὲνγὰρἡξύνευνος ἡ τρισολβία φοιτᾶν ἐπ’ αὐτὴνηὐτρεπίσθη τὴνπόλιν, 5 τὸ στρουθίον φέρουσα τῆςσῆςὀσφύος, ὡς ἂνλάβῃπτέρωσιν ἀσφαλεστέραν. Σὺ δ’, Αἰγύπτιε, τῷ πτερῷ τῆς ἀνδρίας – τὸ βάρβαρον γὰρ ἀγεληδὸνσυγχέεις –
Cf. Michael Gabras, ep. ;ed. G. Fatouros,Die Briefe des Michael Gabras (ca. –nach ]. WBS, .Wien ). Translation: A. Pietersma /B.G.Wright (eds.), Anew English translation of the Septuagint. Oxford (with corrections ,online at http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/, re- trieved April ), . Translation ibid., . K. Kubina, Eight unedited poems by Manuel Philes 891
πρὸςτὴνπροπομπὴνεὐσταλὴςεἶτῶντρίβων, 10 ὡς ἂν ὁμαλῶς ἡ τρυγὼν ἐπιδράμῃ, τῶνδυσμενῶνφυγοῦσα τὰς ὑποψίας. Ἐγὼ δέ σου πλὴνζήσομαι πῶς ἐνθάδε, τροφεῦ, προμηθεῦ, τῶν ἐμῶν ἄκος πόνων, εἰ μὴ σύ τι πρόσαρμα διδοὺςτυγχάνεις, 15 ὡςπαντοδαπὸςτῶνφίλων παρήγορος;
App. crit.: 3 Σοῦ] τοῦ ms. |5στρουθίον] στροθίον ms.|6πτέρωσιν] πτέρωσην ms. |7Αἰγύπτιε] Αἴγυπτε ms. |8συγχέεις] συγχέῃς ms. |14εἰ]ἡms.
Ms.: Athen, Metochion tou Panaghiou Taphou 190,f.121v.Onthe manuscript see abovep.887– 888.
Translation
Otreasure, gushing forth in abundance for those in need, do not pass over the pauper among the strangers. Foryour thrice-blessed wife was made readytore- pair to the City itself since she carried the little sparrow of your loins [5] in order that it would grow plumage in greater safety.But you, Egyptian, with the wing of fortitude – for youconfound the barbarian race in droves – youare well- equipped to escort[your wife] along the paths [10]sothat she, the turtle- dove, might approach the City,fleeingthe suspicionsofher enemies. Yet, how shall Ilivehere without you, nourisher, caregiver, remedyofmypains, if you do not provide some sustenance[15] as the manifold comforter of your friends?
Commentary
The addressee is unknown but must have been versed in military campaigns (see v. 9). He seems to be anticipating the birth of his child with his wife outside of Constantinople. Philes suggests the wife was in jeopardybecause of the “suspi- cions” of unnamed “enemies”.Itispossible these wererumoursabout her virtue and the legitimacy of her child, but the precise circumstances of her distress re- main obscure. In order to escort his expectant wife to Constantinople, the anony- mous addressee leavesthe city.Meanwhile, Philes bids him to provide πρόσαρμα, “sustenance”,(be it agift of food or financial assistance) so that he will not starveduringthe latter’sabsence. 892 Byzantinische Zeitschrift Bd. 113/3, 2020: I. Abteilung
v. 7: The addressee is called “Egyptian”,ametonymic expression for the river Nile. Philes often calls his donors “Nile”,since the riverrepresented asourceof water,fertility, and wealth.²⁶ Additionally, Philes refers to aproverb that he quotes in another poem, F1: Οὐ πολλάκις Αἴγυπτος, ἀλλ’ ὅταν τέκοι,|τὸτεχθὲν ἐξίστησι, τὴνπαροιμίαν (vv. 64–65 “Egypt does not oftenbeget children, but when she does so, the child stands out accordingtothe proverb”). The proverb also exists in hexameter form (οὐ πολλοὺςΑἴγυπτος, ἐπὴνδὲτέκῃ,μέγα τίκτει) and is found in the Vita Pachomii²⁷ and in Commentaries on Porphyry’s Eisagoge.²⁸ Itsorigin is unknown. Seen in this light,the “Egyptian” addressee of the poem Θησαυρὲ τοῖςχρῄζουσι,accordingtoPhiles, must have begotten an outstanding child. v. 13:The term προμηθεύς (“caregiver”)isone of Philes’ favourite words to describehis patrons (cf. E191.92,F43.2,F86.3,F98.53,F98.62,F112.21, F118.12, F121.2, P56.58, P58.159,P80.4,P195.6,P207. 28,P219.27,M5.24,M11.18, M72.45 and 54,M82.5). Onlyonce is it used as aname of the mythological Prometheus to which the addressee, who is then himself called προμηθεύς,iscompared (see F35.1 and 37).
Poem 5
Ἔλαυνε, μὴναὔγουστε, καὶ σφρίγα πλέον, καὶ τὴνπρὸςἡμᾶςεὐμαρῶςτέμνε τρίβον· τοῖςμὲνγὰρὀκνεῖνκαὶτρυφᾶνεἰθισμένοις, καὶ ζῶσιν ὑγρὸνκαὶδυσαίσθητον βίον, 5 τοὺςτῆςφρίκης ἄνθρακας οἰκτρῶςεἰσφέρεις,
See Kubina, Enkomiastische Dichtung(as footnote above), f. with footnote .The motif was alreadycommon in lateantiquity,see C. Rapp,Hagiography and the cult ofsSaints in the light of epigraphyand acclamations,inD.Sullivan/E.A.Fisher /S.Papaioannou (eds.), Byzantine religious culture. Studies in Honor of Alice-Mary Talbot. TheMedieval Mediter- ranean, .Leiden/Boston , –, ;and A. Rhoby,Metaphors of natureinthe po- etry of Manuel Philes (XIVth Century),inF.Garambois-Vasquez /D.Vallat (eds.), Le lierre et la statue. La natureetson espacelittérairedans l’épigramme gréco-latine tardive. CentreJean Pa- lerne. Mémoires, .Saint-Étienne , –, –. Vita quarta .–;ed. F. Halkin,Sancti PachomiiVitae graecae. Subsidia Hagiographica, .Bruxelles . Pseudo-Elias, Lectures on Porphyry’sisagoge .–;ed. L.G. Westerink,Pseudo-Elias (Pseudo-David). LecturesonPorphyry’sisagoge. Amsterdam ;and David, In Porphyrii isag- ogen commentarium .;ed. A. Busse.Davidis prolegomena et in Porphyrii Isagogen com- mentarium. Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca, /.Berlin . K. Kubina, Eight unedited poems by Manuel Philes 893
κυκῶντὸνἑσμὸντῶνχυμῶνπρὸτοῦ ψύχους. Ἐμοὶ δὲ λαμπρὰς ἐμφυτεύων ἐλπίδας, χρυσῆν ὑπισχνῇ τὴν ἐπὶ τρύγει τρύγην· καὶ τῶνμὲναἰγῶνἐκροφεῖςτὰςἰκμάδας, 10 καὶ τὰς ἀμολγὰςτοῖςνομεῦσιν ἀμβλύνεις, ἐπεὶ τὸ κάλλος τῆςχλόης μαραίνεται· στολῆςδὲγυμνὰ καὶ τὰ δένδρα δεικνύεις τὰ φύλλα ῥιπτῶν (οὐδὲ γὰρ ἴσχει δρόσον). Ἐμοὶ δὲ παρὼν ἀργυροῦν ὄμβρον βλύσεις, 15 καὶ τῆς ἀμολγῆςτὸχρυσοῦνδώσεις γάλα· δροσίζεται γὰρτῇχλιδῇ τῶν ἐλπίδων ἡ χθέςτεκαὶπρὶν ἀχρειῶσα καρδία· ἀναστολιεῖς ἐκτριχῶν ὑφασμένων, ἃς ἰταλικοῖς ὀργανοῖ τέχνη κρόκοις. 20 Δομέστικος γὰρ ὁ προβατεὺςτῆςΘρᾴκης, ὁ νοῦς ὁ πυκνὸςκαὶπασῶνκρείττων φύσις, τὸ τῶνπαρ’ ἡμῖνφιλοτέχνημα κρότων, ὁ παντοδαπός, ὁ χρυσοῦςεὐεργέτης, ἐνσοὶπρὸςαὐτὴνἐξιὼντὴνἑσπέραν, 25 καὶ συναγαγὼντὴνσπορὰντῶνκερμάτων, θρέψει, φίλε, πεινῶντα γυμνὸν ἐνδύσει, λύσει τὸ λοιπόν, φαιδρυνεῖ τὴνκαρδίαν· καὶ πρᾶγμα καινὸνκαὶφιλάνθρωπον τρόπον ἐπόψεταιγῆκαὶ θεὸςπάντα βλέπων 30 ζυγοῖς ἀγαθοῖς ἡδέως ἀμείψεται. ᾿Aρχὴ μὲνοὖνχειμῶνος ἐκλήθης πάλαι· συστέλλεται γὰρεἰςτὸτῆςῥίζης βάθος σὴνχάριν εὐθὺςτῶνφυτῶν ἡ θερμότης· αἰσθάνεται δὲ τοῦ κρυμοῦ τὸ σαρκίον, 35 καὶ δεινοπαθεῖ καὶ κλονεῖται καὶ τρέμει. Νυνὶ δέ <μοι> χειμῶνος εὑρέθης πέρας, καινοπρεποῦς ἔαρος ἐμφάσεις φέρων, ὡς ἥλιον γὰρτὸνδομέστικον βλέπω· χρυσῆν ἐφ’ ἡμᾶς ἐκχεεῖ τὴναἰθρίαν. 40 Ἐγὼ δὲ σοὶ χάριτας εἰδὼςτυγχάνω, ταῖς ἐλπίσι τρέφοντι καὶ τέρποντί με.
App. crit.: 8 ὑπισχνῇ] ὑπισχνεῖ ms. |16δροσίζεται] δροσίζηται ms.|17 ἀχρειῶσα] ἀχριῶσα ms. |19ἰταλικοῖς] ἰταλικῆς ms. |19ὀργανοῖ] ὀργανεῖ ms. |23παντοδα- πός] παντοδαποῦς ms. |36<μοι>metri causa supplevi 894 Byzantinische Zeitschrift Bd. 113/3, 2020: I. Abteilung
Ms.: Laur.Plut.59.35 (Diktyon no. 16486),f.186r.14th century. The manuscript contains acollection of late antique and Byzantine letters.Asecond hand added twopoems (inc. Εἴπερ δὲ καὶ πρόχειρον and the one edited here, inc. Ἔλαυνε, μὴναὔγουστε)inacollection of mainlyPalaiologan letters.²⁹ The codex does not give an author’sname for both poems, but the attributionto Philes is very probable due to strongsimilarities with his other poems.³⁰
Translation
Come, month of August,bemore vigorous and readilyshorten your waytowards us. Fortothoseaccustomed to laziness and luxury,and to those living alanguid and insensible life, [5] youintroduce in apitiable manner the embers of chill, confoundingthe swarm of humours before winter.But youplant bright hopes in me and youpromise that harvest upon harvestwill be golden. Yousuck dry the milky juices of sheep [10]and youobviate the need for milking for the herds- men, as the beauty of green grass withers. Youalso show the trees denuded of their garb as youcastoff theirleaves(for they do not retain dew).But on me, when youarrive,you will pour forth asilverrainshower [15] and youwill give me the golden milk from the udder, for my heart,which yesterdayand even be- fore was useless, is bedewed with the luxury of hope. Youwill clothe me again with woven wool, which craft adorns with Italian saffron. [20] Forthe domesti- kos,the herdsman of Thrace, the sagacious mind and the excellent character sur- passing all others, the masterpieceofour applauding verses, the manifold, gold- en benefactor,inyou, [August,] he goes out towards the very land of nightfall, [25] and gathering together the seed of coins he will nourish, my friend, the
On the manuscript see A. Riehle,Theodoros Xanthopulos, Theodoros Metochites und die spätbyzantinische Gelehrtenkultur. Zu einem unbeachteten Brief im Codex Laur.Plut. . und den Xanthopulos-Briefen im Codex Vat. gr. ,inA.Berger/S. Mariev /G.Prinzing/ A. Riehle (eds.). Koinotaton Doron. Das späte Byzanz zwischen Machtlosigkeit und kultureller Blüte (–. Byzantinisches Archiv, .Berlin/Boston , –, –;and A.M. Bandini,Cataloguscodicum manuscriptorum Bibliothecae Mediceae Laurentianae II. Flor- ence , –.The first poem is scarcelycomprehensible sinceitismutilated at the be- ginningand theremay wellbemoreverses missing. It starts with the words εἴπερ δέ which, how- ever,cannot open atext, δέ beingaconnective particle pointingtoaformer argument.Itis possible that the scribe copied onlyevery second line of his exemplar,confused by the layout of the verses to be read either in columns or in lines.Sincethe content of the poem is unclear, it is not editedhere in the context of Philes’ poems to his friends and donors. The attribution has alreadybeen suggested by I.Vassis,Initia carminum Byzantinorum. Sup- plementa Byzantina, .Berlin/New York , . K. Kubina, Eight unedited poems by Manuel Philes 895 one who is hungry and naked in the West.Hewill resolve what remains,hewill cheer my heart.And the earth will look upon anew affair,aturnbelovedby mankind, and God the All-Observant [30]will recompense him with good balan- ces.Intimes of old youwerecalled the beginning of winter;because of youthe vital heat of plants is forthwith drawndown into the depth of theirroots.The bodyfeels the cold [35] and suffers greatlyand trembles and shivers. But now for me youhavebecome the end of winter and youbear the appearance of a new springtime. ForIsee the domestikos like the sun. He will pour out golden weather upon us. [40] But Iamgrateful to you, nourishing me with hopes and delighting me.
Commentary
The poem is addressed to the month of August,which brings burningheat and the end of summer’sfertility.But the month also bringsgreat joy to the speaker because the domestikos,anunnamed imperial official and Philes’ patron, will come back from the East.While the themesand motifs such as harvesting,burn- ing heat,and silverrain are well known from other poems by Philes, the form of adirect address to the personified month of August instead of the very benefac- tor about whom he speaksisextraordinary.The guiding compositional principle in the poem’sargument is antithesis, acontrasting juxtaposition, which was one of the most important literary patterns in rhetorical texts.³¹ Philes does not create acoherent picture of August,but uses various antithetical settings. He juxta- poses the destructive forces of August which causes diseases in people and with- ers nature’sverdancywith the bountyofharvest and the showers of silverthat he will receive from his benefactorinthis month. He also plays with the attribu- tion of August to other seasons instead of summer,namely winter and spring, thus catchingthe recipient’sattention through these unexpectedtwists. The comparison of seasons is itself acommon rhetorical exercise, as attested by Philes’ older contemporary MaximosPlanudes, who wrote acomparison of win- ter and spring.³² v. 1: Cf. Theodoros Prodromos, Historische Gedichte LXXIV.1: Εὖ γε, χρόνε, πρόκοπτε καὶ σφρίγα πλέον.³³ The parallel is striking and suggests that Philes knew this text,alaudatory poem to patriarch Theodotos II. However,alarger
On antithesis, see H. Hunger, Die Antithese. ZurVerbreitungeiner Denkschablone in der by- zantinischen Literatur. ZRVI (), –. Ed. M. Treu, Maximi Planudis Comparatio hiemis et veris. Ohlau . Ed. W. Hörandner,Theodoros Prodromos. Historische Gedichte. WBS, .Vienna . 896 Byzantinische Zeitschrift Bd. 113/3, 2020: I. Abteilung studyonthe knowledge and use of Prodromosand other earlier authorsby Philes is stilladesideratum.³⁴ v. 1: Philes also wroteapoem on the twelve months, possiblyepigrams to accompanyimages of them (F153), which belongs to the tradition of calendar poems. Best known among calendar poems are the one by Theodoros Prodromos and thoseinsertedinthe novels Hysmine and Hysminias by Eustathios Makrem- bolites and Livistros and Rhodamne,but there are several others both in learned and vernacular Greek.³⁵ They often describe apersonified imageofeach month combined with amedicalexhortation.³⁶ August is usually depicted as aman lan- guishing on abed after abath while someone fanshim. Burning heat that ex- haustsmen is thus the chief characteristic of August. v. 3 – 6: August,according to Philes, confounds the humours and thus caused chill which – as the expression “embers of chill” suggests –occurred to- gether with fever.Herefers to the humoraltheory popularizedbyHippocrates and Galen accordingtowhich the humours changewith the seasons of the year.Summer was the season in which yellow bile, the humour of aggression and anger,prevailed. The heat of yellow bile warmed the bodyofmen thus caus- ing fevers and chill. This affected especiallythose inclined to gluttony.³⁷ vv.9–10:When Philes speaksabout the goatslosing their milkherefers to the fact that the lactation period of sheep and goats ends in August.³⁸ v. 18: ἀναστολιεῖς (ἀναστολίζω) hapax legomenon. v. 19:Saffron, acolor derivedfrom the crocus flower,was usedasaprecious dyestuff in Byzantium and Italian saffron dominatedthe market.³⁹
Forsome preliminary observations on Philes’ use of earlier authors see Kubina, Enkomias- tische Dichtung(as footnote above), –,onProdromos especially . On Philessee P. A. Agapitos /M.Hinterberger /E.Mitsi (eds.), Εἰκὼνκαὶλόγος. Ἕξι βυζαντινὲςπεριγραφὲς ἔργων τέχνης. Εἰσαγωγικὸ δοκίμιο, μετάφραση καὶ σχολιασμός.Athen , –.Onthe tradition see still B. Keil,Die Monatscyclen der byzantinischen Kunst in spätgriechischer Literatur. Wiener Studien (), –;H.Eideneier,Ein by- zantinisches Kalendergedicht in der Volkssprache. Hellenika (), –;and V. Dou- lavera, Στίχοι για τους δώδεκα μήνες: άγνωστοι μάρτυρες του μυθιστορήματος Λίβιστρος και Ροδάμνη και των Ειδέων των δώδεκα μηνών. Hellenika (), –. Thereisasimilar tradition of metrical church calendars,which, however,does not playa rolehere. V. Nutton,Fieber, in: Der Neue Pauly .Stuttgart . J. K. Campbell.Honour,familyand patronage. Astudyofinstitutions and moral values in a Greek mountain community.Oxford , –.Ithank JohannesPreiser-Kapeller for this reference. See J. B. Friedman /K.M.Figg(eds.), Trade, travel, and exploration in the middle ages. An encyclopedia. New York ,s.v. ‘saffron’ at –. K. Kubina, Eight unedited poems by Manuel Philes 897
v. 20–23:Philes states thathis benefactor,adomestikos,will soon come to help him. As the latter is called “herdsman of Thrace”,hemight have been a do- mestikos ton dytikon thematon,but his identity remains unknown. In his other poems, Philes addresses anumber of people who bore the title domestikos, e.g. Michael Atzymes, domestikos ton anatolikon thematon (App.57,F78,E212, E217,E257, F78, F240,M52,M60,P141, P212,P213, P240), the megas domestikos Ioannes Kantakuzenos (F1, M76, M79,M80), or unnamed domestikoi (E207, F65, P98, P122, P209), but among them no domestikos tondytikon thematon. On the other hand,Theodoros Patrikiotes, one of Philes’ most important donors, is called προβατεὺςτῶνΘρᾳκῶν,but there is no evidence that he was a domestikos.⁴⁰ v. 22:The word κρότοι ([rhythmical] ‘beats’)refers especiallyto(laudatory) verses and is often usedbyPhiles in reference to his ownverses (see e.g. F95.196,F112.19, P31.25, G1.173, F1.944,M76.275).⁴¹ Philes here statesthathis ad- dressee is himself amasterpiece, the subject of Philes’ poetic celebration. He suggests that he could adorn nothing more beautiful and magnificent with his verses than the domestikos v. 25:The imageofgathering up the seeds – inverting the classic imageofthe harvest,inwhich the produce is collected – is rather obscure. It maybethat the domestikos will gather the seeds of the plants that will be necessary for the plant- ing of the next year.Inthis sense,the seed would be ametonymyfor the harvest. The metaphorical meaning,however,isclear: the domestikos will gather coins and distribute them to Philes. v. 30:The balance scales refer to the common imagethat the soul of aperson will be weighed at his or her death in order to decideoverhis fate in eternal life.⁴² God, Philes states, will grant the domestikos aworthyrewardfor his gen- erosity. v. 31:August customarilymarked the end of both the summer (cf. Geoponika I.1.4)⁴³ and the calendar year,ofwhich September 1was the first dayofthe new
On Theodoros Patrikiotes and Philes see Kubina,Enkomiastische Dichtung(as footnote above), – and C. Messis.The fortune of Lucian in Byzantium, in P. Marciniak /I.Nilsson (eds.), AGolden Ageoflaughter?Satire in the middle Byzantine period. Explorations in Medieval Culture (forthcoming). On the use of the term krotoi in Philes see Kubina, Enkomiastische Dichtung(as footnote above), –,onthe term in general V. Valiavitcharska,Rhetoric and rhythm in Byzan- tium. The sound of persuasion. Cambridge , and M.D. Lauxtermann,The velocity of pureiambs.Byzantine observations on the metreand rhythm of the dodecasyllable. JÖB (), –, –. See ODB s.v. balancescales and psychomachia. Ed. H. Beckh,Geoponica sive Cassiani Bassi scholastici de re rustica eclogae.Leipzig . 898 Byzantinische Zeitschrift Bd. 113/3, 2020: I. Abteilung
indiction. Philes refers to the division of the year into onlytwo seasons: summer and winter.Hesuggests that the saying ‘August is the beginning of winter’ was proverbial, yetthere seems to be no parallel attested in Byzantine paroimograph- ical collections or elsewhere.⁴⁴ v. 36:One syllable in the first part of the verse is missing to fill the dodeca- syllable. Ι propose νυνὶ δέ <μοι>, which has aparallel in P107.19,and contrasts August’ssignificance to others (the turntowardwinter), with its special meaning to him (the return of his patron). v. 40 –41:The concluding lines are again addressed to the month of August.
Poem 6
Τοῦ Φιλῆ εἰςτὸνμέγαν διοικητὴνΚαβάσιλαν
Ἐπεί σε ποιεῖ καὶ πρὸ τῆς ἡλικίας λαμπρὸνδικαστὴν ἡ βασιλέως κρίσις, πρεσβυτέρων κρίνοντα σωφρόνων μέσον, ὦ νοῦ διοικῶνεὐγενῶςτὸσυμφέρον, 5 κἀνταῦθα σαυτὸν ἀσφαλῆ καθιστάνων τραπεζίτην δίκασον ὑπόπτην μέσον. Ὀξυβολεῖςγὰρἀπὸτῶνπροκειμένων ἐπὶ τὰ μὴ πρόδηλα χωρῶνεὐστόχως, καὶ προβλέπεις τὸ μέλλον ἐκτῶνεἰκότων 10 τῷ τῶνλόγων πόρρωθεν εἰσδύνων βάθει· σκοπεῖςδὲτὴνγῆνμειδιῶνεἴτιςδόλος καὶ τοὺς ἀνακύπτοντας ἀθροίζεις λόγους ἐξ ὧντἀληθὲςτῇδίκῃγνωρίζεται. Τίςδ’ἄρα νοῦςγόνιμος ἢ γλώττης δρόμος 15 τῇ σῇ φύσει πρέποντας ἁρμόσει κρότους, ὅταν τὰ πολλὰ δεξιῶςπαρατρέχων τὴνψῆφον ἡμῖν ἀγνοοῦσιν ἐξάγῃς;
App. crit.: 17 ἐξάγῃς] ἐξάγοις ms.
A. Mommsen (ed.), Griechische Jahreszeiten. Schleswig ,I–,recordsthat the proverb existed in modernGreece. If thereisany connection to Byzantine times,however,isun- clear. K. Kubina, Eight uneditedpoems by ManuelPhiles 899
Ms.: Vat. Urb. gr.125 (Diktyon no. 66592),f.308v.13th/14th century. Collection of rhetorical texts,mainlyletters and some epigrams at the end. Asecond hand in- serted poem 6among various other short texts.⁴⁵
Translation
By Philes, to the megas dioiketes Kabasilas
Since the emperor’sjudgement appoints youatayoung ageasanillustrious judge,dispensing justiceinthe midst of the prudent older men, Omind nobly administering the common interest,[5] rendering yourself infallible alsoin this case, judge the suspiciousbanker.For youfire the piercingarrowsofyour judgement from the evidence, moving in awell-aimed manner towardswhat is not manifest,and youforesee the future from what is reasonable [10]entering the depth of words from afar.You surveythe land smiling in the case of decep- tion, and youcollect the emerging speeches, from which the truth is made known during the trial. Yet, which fertile mind or turn of the tongue[15] will join rhythmical applause fitting your nature whenyou, sagelypassing by manyaffairs, bring forth to us ignorant people the judicial decision?
Commentary
The addressee is the megas dioketes Kabasilas,most likelyTheodoros Kabasilas (PLP #10090).⁴⁶ Philes addressed asecond poem to acertain Kabasilas,F150 (PLP #10069). However,the rubric indicates that thatpoem is addressed to his teacher (γραμματικός). It is thus unlikelythat the two dedicatees are the same person. In the poem edited abovePhiles asks Kabasilas to rightlyadjudicate an unnamed banker (τραπεζίτης), combiningthis plea with abundant praise of the magistrate’sjudgement. vv.1–3: Apparently, the emperor had made Kabasilasajudgeatanunusu- allyyoung age.
On the manuscript see C. Stornajolo,Codices Urbinati graeci Bibliothecae Vaticanae. Rome , –. On his life see S. Kourouses, Ὁ μέγας διοικητὴςΘεόδωρος Καβάσιλας καὶἡεἰςΑνδρόνικον Βʹ († ) μονῳδίααὐτοῦ. EEBS (–), –. 900 Byzantinische Zeitschrift Bd. 113/3, 2020: I. Abteilung
v. 4: Theword διοικῶν plays on the title of the addressee, megas dioiketes,an office with fiscal and judicial duties. However,nothing specific is known about the dioiketai in the late period.⁴⁷ v. 6: The word μέσον might be ascribal errortaking up the same wordatthe end of v. 3, since it is hard to make sense of it in v. 6. v. 7: ὀξυβολέω “to shoot sharply”, hapax legomenon, used in the sense of di- rectingthe mind or judgement with precision. v. 10: εἰσδύνω is used, somewhat unusually, with dative instead of accusa- tive;cf. LBG s.v. εἰσδύω. vv.10and 12: The λόγοι most likelyrefer to the speechesgiven before the court. v. 11:Kabasilas is described as smiling when he notices anydeceit.Smiling was considered to be asign of atranquil and noble mind not led by passions and is oftenattributed to saints.⁴⁸ It thus fitsasensible judge. vv.14–17:The topos of ineffability to which the passagealludes is ubiqui- tous in Philes’ encomiastic poems.⁴⁹ v. 15:Onthe term κρότοι ([rhythmical] ‘applause’)referringtoverses see p. 897.
Poem 7
Στίχοι τοῦ σοφωτάτου Φιλῆ πρὸςτινὰ Κομνηνὸνπερὶ οἴνου
Πέμπε πρὸς ἡμᾶςμὴδριμὺνμήδ’ὀξώδη, μηδὲ βραχὺντὸνοἶνον, ὁ γλυκὺςφίλος· πολὺςγαρ εἶ σύ, καὶ φρενῶνβότρυν φέρεις, αἳ τὰς ῥάγας φέρουσι τῆςεὐστοργίας.
App. crit.: 1 δριμὺν] δριμήν ms. |1ὀξώδη] ὀξόδη ms. |3βότρυν] βότρυς ms. |4αἳ] οἶms.
R. Macrides /J.Munitiz /D.Angelov,Pseudo-Kodinos and the Constantinopolitan court. Offices and ceremonies. BirminghamByzantine and Ottoman Studies, .Farnham , footnote . M. Hinterberger, ‘Messages of the soul’.Tears, smiles,laughter and emotions expressed by them in Byzantine literature, in M. Alexiou /D.Cairns (eds.). Greek laughter and tears.Antiquity and after. Edinburgh Leventis Studies, .Edinburgh , –, –. Kubina, Enkomiastische Dichtung(as footnote above), –. K. Kubina, Eight unedited poems by Manuel Philes 901
Ms.: Leiden, Bibliotheek der Rijksuniversiteit,Voss. gr.Q°52(Diktyon no. 38159), f. 4v.15th–16th century.Poem 7isfollowed by poem 8. Poetry by Michael Psellos and Philes, Planudes’ translation of the Dicta Catonis,grammatical textsbyHe- rodianos and Manuel Chrysolaras.⁵⁰
Translation
Verses of the most wise Philes to one Komnenos about wine
Send us wine neither bitter nor sour nor scant,sweet friend. Foryou are great and youbear the grapes of mind, which bring along the fruit of tender affection.
Commentary
The poem is ashort verse letter to acertain Komnenos, a(semi‐)humourous re- quest for good wine. Philes playfullyblurs the distinction between the actual beverageand aliteraryreply, pressed from the “grapes” of the addressee’s “mind”,i.e.his wisdom and its manifestations.⁵¹ Similar tetrasticha concerning various requested goods are found abundantlyinPhiles’ oeuvre, cf. e.g. E200, E233,P106,F235about wine. vv.3–4: The description of the prudence and loveofthe addressee is com- bined with metaphors from wine. This goes well with Philes’ custom of using metaphors to describe his addressee that refer to the good that he requests.⁵²
Poem 8
Τῷ αὐτῷ [i.e. Κομνηνῷ τινι] περὶ τοῦ οἴνου
Ἔπεμψατὸνμείρακα τοῦ γλεύκους χάριν, ὑφ’ οὗ ποτιεῖς ἐκτακέντα τὸνφίλον
K.A. de Meyier,Bibliotheca Universitatis Leidensis codicesmanuscripti, VI. Codices Vossia- ni Graeci et Miscellanei. Leiden , –. On wine in Philes’ poetry see the annotated anthology by E. Anagnostakes, Ὁ οἶνος στὴν ποίηση. . Οἶνος ὁ Βυζαντινός. Ἡἄμπελος καὶὁοἶνος στὴ βυζαντινὴ ποίηση καὶὑμνογραφία. Athens , –. Cf. e.g. in the contextofwine Ε.;F.;F.;M.;M. and ;P.. 902 Byzantinische Zeitschrift Bd. 113/3, 2020: I. Abteilung
καὶ πᾶντέως ἄθυμον ἐκλείψεις πάθος, οἶνε κατὰ νοῦν, ἀμπελῶνος ἐργάτα.
App. crit.: 3 τέως] τέος ms. |3ἐκλείψεις] ἐκλίψις ms. |4κατὰ νοῦν] κατανοῦν ms.
Ms.: Leiden, Bibliotheek der Rijksuniversiteit,Voss. gr.Q°52(Diktyon no. 38159), f. 4v.Onthe manuscript see abovep.901.
Translation
To the same [i.e. one Komnenos] concerning wine
Isentyou the boy to fetch sweet new wine, which youwill give to your friend who has wasted away and then youwill put an end to all despondent passion for atime, Oreasonable wine, labourer of the vineyard.
Commentary
The poem is another shortverse letter about wine like poem no. 7. v. 1: Philes sentachild as amessenger to his addressee. Such references to messengers are common in verse letters and point to the practical function of the texts.⁵³ v. 3: On the benefitsofagift of wine, which lifts up the receiver’sfaintheart- edness cf. P106.4.⁵⁴ See also Proverbs 31.6–7: δίδοτε μέθην τοῖς ἐνλύπαις καὶ οἶνον πίνειν τοῖς ἐν ὀδύναις, ἵνα ἐπιλάθωνται τῆςπενίας καὶ τῶνπόνων μὴ μνη- σθῶσιν ἔτι (“Give strongdrinktothose who are in pain and wine to drink to those in sorrow,thatthey mayforgettheir poverty and not remember their la- bour anymore”).⁵⁵ v. 4: The use of the epithet “reasonable wine” for the addressee is unusual. Firstly, nowhereelse does Philes call anyone “wine.” Secondlythe description as wine κατὰ νοῦν refers to the ambivalent nature of wine, which, on the one hand, was seen as refreshingdrink, while, on the other hand, it could cause drunken- ness through overindulgence. The expression thatwine reveals the mind of a
See Kubina,Beggingpoet (as footnote above), –. On P see M. Bazzani,The art of requestinginthe poetry of ManuelPhiles,inRhoby/Zag- klas, Middle and lateByzantine poetry (as footnote above), –, –. Translation Pietersma/Wright, New English translation (as footnote above), . K. Kubina, Eight unedited poems by Manuel Philes 903 man goes backtoTheognis (Elegiae I.500), and appears frequentlyinByzantine authors.⁵⁶ Philes alludes to this tradition by stressing the sensiblecharacter of his addressee. Furthermore, the second syllable is short,going against the pro- sodic rules of the dodecasyllable. Such severe mistakes do not occur in Philes’ poetry.⁵⁷ There are threepossibleinterpretations: 1) Aless skilful author than Philes composed the poem. But there is no corroboratingevidence to support this interpretation and the poem is very similar to othertetrasticha by Philes. 2) The transmitted text is corrupt.3)Philes used this deviation to the metrical scheme to playonthe confoundingqualities of wine, just the wayheplays with meter in V17(seeabovep.886–887). Iprefer the latterinterpretation. v. 4: Referencetothe parable of the workers in the vineyard(Mt.20.1– 6). Cf. also Philes’ poem on the grape, v. 199,for the same waytoaddress abenefactor.⁵⁸
The eight poemsedited here offer arepresentative cross section of alarge part of Philes’ oeuvre: poems addressed to his friends and patrons.⁵⁹ Philes creates a picture of himself and his addressees that varies greatlyfrom poem to poem. While in some poems he presents himself as ahalf-dead pauper and vividly asks for help (poem 1and 4), in others he accentuates the friendship between himself and the recipient of his letter,agift which obligatesthe friend to recip- rocatewith apresent of his own (poems 7and 8). In poem 5, he expresses his certainty to receive help from his benefactor.Far from being onlyasupplicant, in poem 6Philes uses his influencetohelp an anonymous banker thus acting as an advocate for the latter.Inthe paramythetic poem 3the poet exhorts his addressee not to grieveexcessively since his son is now with God.Themes and motifs in these poems rangefrom friendlyadvice over abundant praise to overt pleading.The literary devices he uses – such as metaphors, rhetorical figures,proverbs, antithetic settings, the referencetothe Bible (toname but a few) – are manifold and testify to the great skills of this poet.Philes’ poems thus show how deeplyembeddedrhetoricalwritingand verse composition in particularwas in society and how he used poetry as ameans to shape and me- diate his relationship with others.
See with further referencesE.L.vonLeutsch /F.W.Schneidewin,Corpus Paroemiographo- rum Graecorum, II. Göttingen , (Apostolii Centuria VII. m). P. Maas, Der byzantinischeZwölfsilber. BZ (), –, .Counter examplescan be found in verses that have text-critical or editorial problems,cf. e.g. F. ed. Miller Ὧδε, βασιλεῦ,where the manuscript correctly reads Ὦ δὴ βασιλεῦ (Cod.Laur.Plut. .,f.v). Ed. Lehrs/Dübner,Poetae(as footnote above), ,v.. Foradetailed analysis of Philes’ relationship with his addressees and the literary deviceshe uses to create them see Kubina, Enkomiastische Dichtung(as fotnote above), –.