The Austrian Academy of Sciences invites applications for a four-year, full-time postdoctoral research position at the project “The Legacy of the Psalms in Byzantine Poetry.”
“The Legacy of the Psalms in Byzantine Poetry: Book Epigrams and Metrical Paraphrases” is a joint project of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and Ghent University. It is funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF, project I 3544) and the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) and directed by PD Dr Andreas Rhoby (Vienna) and Professor Dr Kristoffel Demoen (Ghent). It aims to investigate the reception of the Psalms in some specific genres of Byzantine poetry, i.e. in metrical paratexts (book epigrams) and metrical paraphrases. In addition, the project will analyse the impact of the Psalms for Byzantine (religious) poetry as well as the context of poems dealing with the Psalms. More specifically, the aim of the project part carried out at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, is to provide the first full critical edition of Manuel Philes’ Metaphrasis of the Psalms (of almost 3600 fifteen-syllable verses) (partly ed. by G. Stickler 1992).
The position involves the critical edition of Manuel Philes’ Metrical Metaphrasis of the Psalms (the main text witness is cod. Vat. gr. 16). Moreover, the position includes the participation in meetings of the two research partners and the participation in the academic and organizational preparation of a one-day workshop on psalters and Byzantine poetry in Ghent and a one-day workshop on Manuel Philes’ poetry in Vienna. The successful candidate is also required to contribute to the editing of the proceedings of the Ghent workshop.
Qualifications
- a PhD in Byzantine Studies with specific focus on Byzantine literature (preferably poetry)
- excellent knowledge of Ancient and Byzantine Greek
- editorial skills (and experience in editing Byzantine texts) including an excellent knowledge of Greek palaeography
- a very good knowledge of Byzantine literary, political and cultural history, especially of the Palaiologan period
- a substantial record of (peer reviewed) publications
- excellent knowledge of English (and preferably a working knowledge of German)