Writing in an Age of Transition: Life, Works and Books of John Dokeianos, a Late Byzantine Author, Scribe and Book-Collector, lecture by Anna Calia (Ted and Elaine Athanassiades Postdoctoral Fellow, Hellenic Studies, Princeton University), Princeton University, November 13, 2017, 6:00 pm

Respondent: Anthony Grafton, Princeton University

John Dokeianos is a less-known late Byzantine scholar who, unlike many others, did not seek refuge in the West after 1453. He wrote rhetorical works, some of which are still unedited, for the Palaiologan court of Mistra and he was associated with the circle of the philosopher Gemistos Pletho. After the Ottoman conquest of Morea in 1460 Dokeianos moved to Constantinople, where he copied manuscripts at the court of Mehmed II and at the Patriarchate, in close connection with other anti-Latin scholars, namely Gennadios Scholarios. In this talk I will give an overview of Dokeianos’ works addressing some developments in late Byzantine rhetorical literature. I will also present his manuscripts and his eclectic book-collection, discussing the circulation of Greek manuscripts and networks of scribes in mid-fifteenth century Morea and Constantinople.

Anna Calia studied Classics at the University of Siena (B.A.), then at the University of Venice (M.A.) and she has a Diploma in Greek Palaeography from the Vatican School of Palaeography. She holds a joint Ph.D. in Byzantine Studies from the Advanced School of Historical Studies of the University of San Marino and the École Pratique des Hautes Études (Paris). She was awarded research grants in Istanbul from the Orient Institut (2012) and the Institut Français d’Etudes Anatoliennes (2014). Her research interests include late Byzantine literature and history of the late Byzantine Empire, Greek palaeography and classical reception in Byzantium. Besides her academic engagement, she works as a teacher of Ancient Greek and Latin at the Liceo Classico Foscarini, Venice.