What is Later Byzantium? Towards a New Periodisation of Byzantine Cultural History (1081 – ca. 1330s), lecture by Foteini Spingou (Oxford University), King’s College London, October 3, 2017, 5:30–7:00pm

Although no historical periodisation can be absolute, this paper will argue that the time between the beginning of the reign of Alexios I Komnenos (1081) and the rise of hesychasm (ca. 1330s) should be seen as having a certain autonomy. To suggest that, I will use evidence from the literary production and the material culture of Byzantium and I will relate it to social developments from before, within, and after the period in question. The argument of this lecture is related to the content of a collaborative volume (with around 150 contributions) on texts about Byzantine Art and Aesthetics, that will be published by Cambridge University Press in the near future.

Foteini Spingou is a cultural historian. Her research explores aspects of the relation between art and literature in the late antique and Byzantine world. She is currently a research associate at the Classics Faculty, Oxford University. In the past, she held fellowships at Dumbarton Oaks, the Department of Art and Archaeology of Princeton University, and the Pontifical Institute for Mediaeval Studies in Toronto.