Ἐπιγράμματα … — Basel 1536

Ἐπιγράμματα ὡς παλαιότατα, οὔτω καὶ εὐσεβέστατα, ἐν οἷς πάντα τῆς ἑκατέρας διαθήκης κεφάλαια, … καὶ τ’ἄλλα, ἃ τῷ σελίδι ἰδία δηλοῖ … — Baseliae apud Ioannem Bebelium 1536

Basel, Bebel, 1536

Editio princeps of Th. Prodromos and of Xanthopulos

8vo (175 x 103 mm). α-υ⁸ φ⁴ χ⁸: (172) leaves. Lower half of the title-page loose, some faint watermargins. Notes of fly-leaf, name in the upper margin of title. 19th c. quarter calf. – Hieronymus, Griech. Geist … Nr. 458; VD16 T-848; Adams T-535.

„A Superstar Byzantine Author“ (N. Zagklas)

¶ “Theodoros Prodromos ist einer der bekanntesten und fruchtbarsten byzantinischen Autoren des 12. Jahrhunderts.”; “… a Professor of Philosophy, a poet, orator and intellectual leader in twelfth-century Byzantium”; “… among the best known of Byzantine poets, and he is certainly one of the most popular with Byzantinists”; “… the poet laureate of his time […]”; “… is one of the most prolific and well-known writers of the twelfth century”; “… the most versatile, inventive and prolific of the writers functioning in the first half of the twelfth century”; “Un auteur se trouve pendant une longue période au centre de cette production littéraire de la cour comnène et il peut même être regardé comme une personnification du courtisan type …”

This list of flattering appraisals of Theodore Prodromos and his work could be expanded, but one thing is clear: Theodore Prodromos is widely regarded as the leading intellectual of the first half of the twelfth century, perhaps even the “superstar author” of the entire Komnenian period. Without him, much of the innovation, inventiveness, and ingeniousness of the Komnenian literary tradition would simply not be the same.

It goes without saying that his poetic work has pride of place within his versatile literary arsenal. He is without doubt one of the most prolific poets of the entire Byzantine era; no less than 17,000 authentic verses have come down to us. Numerous occasional poems and epigrams were addressed to or commissioned by various members of the Komnenian family, by aspiring aristocrats, by bureaucratic and ecclesiastical officials, and by learned men. Hence, his poetic oeuvre is a vibrant mirror of the socio-cultural and historical reality of his time. Its conspicuous literary and rhetorical opulence, however, as well as the culmination of poetic “self-assertiveness”– usually coupled with self-debasement − must by no means be overlooked.

Furthermore, various literary genres, such as a novel, a hagiographical account, letters, orations, monodies, satires, schede, numerous philosophical, theological and grammatical texts, and, on the other hand, literary themes, such as autobiography (or better self-referentiality), friendship, love/eros and fiction, were inventively coupled by Prodromos for the shape of his vast output. Prodromos is particularly fond of toying with forms and literary genres; he especially enjoys bestowing verse form on older genres. Perhaps the most telling example is his novel, which he composed in 4614 dodecasyllabic lines.

He also chose verse over prose for several of his letters. In some of his works he even combines verse with prose. Apart from his numerous schede, which open with prose and conclude with verses, some of his satirical works also consist of prose and verse […] The mixture of diverse meters in the same poem is a further characteristic of his versatility and resourcefulness as an author …“ ( Niklos Zagklas, Theodoros Prodromos …, Diss. Vienna 2014)

¶ „Theodoros Prodromos (12th century) is considered one of the most important Byzantine writers and poets. He is the author of, among other works, a verse novel entitled Rodanthe and Dosikles, a cat-mouse war, grammatical writings, and commentaries on Aristotle and the Church Fathers. The publisher of this first edition of one of his works, epigrams on the chapters of the Old Testament, among other things, is Hieronymus Guntios, as he calls himself in his Greek dedication to his former teacher in Konstanz, Ludwig Lopadius … From the dedication, we learn that Simon Grynaeus brought the manuscript from England two years ago, and that another highly learned man, Johannes Honter from Kronstadt, deciphered many passages that were difficult to read due to their age and transcribed them for the benefit of the general public.  … The second part of the book, which is related in content, probably originates from the same handwriting. 

Although it is only referred to in the title as “cum alijs nonnullis”, it nevertheless makes up a third of the text: Four writings by the church historian and poet Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopulos (c. 1256 – c. 1335) – first editions and first printings ever of one of his works: a summary of the historical parts of the Old Testament and one of Jewish history from the Maccabees to Christ and the capture of Jerusalem by Titus, both in verse, as well as a συνοπτικὴ σύνοψσις of the saints according to the Byzantine months from September to August, and, in prose, a longer prayer.“ (Hieronymus)

The device by Hans Lützelburger after Hans Holbein shows the poor printer in the crown of a palm tree, where he defends himself against the crushing weight of the press stone.