Byzantine Book Production

Byzantine book production in east & west after the fall of Constantinople

In what way and to what extent do early post-Byzantine Greek manuscripts reflect cultural affiliations, alienations, exchange processes, appropriations? On the basis of a comparative study of the manuscript production in Western Europe (mainly Italy) and on ex-Byzantine territory, this seminar aims to give a representative portrayal of Greek copying activity after the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and up to c. 1500, and examines the significance of this activity for the continuation of Greek/Byzantine culture.

Renate Burri received her PhD in Classics from Georg-August-Universität Göttingen in 2010. She also holds a degree in Greek palaeography and codicology from the Vatican School. Her first monograph Die ‘Geographie’ des Ptolemaios im Spiegel der griechischen Handschriften (Ptolemy’s ‘Geography’ in the Mirror of the Greek Manuscripts) was published by De Gruyter in 2013. After an appointment as a Research Assistant at the Humboldt Universität of Berlin, Renate is now a Research Associate in the Centre for Global Studies at Universität Bern and the I Tatti – RCAC Joint Residential Fellow 2014/2015.