Isn’t it wild that the Roman Empire lasted until the 1400s, only to finally fall to the Ottoman Empire? But as the Empire fell, a large set of manuscripts were brought by the great Plethon to Cosimo d’Medici. Marsilio Ficino’s translation of Greek classics into Latin—like the complete works of Plato and the Hermetica—helped kindle the European Renaissance as we know it.
Well there was also The Holy Roman Empire (Translatio imperii) following the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire and currently the See of Rome where the Pope holds title as bishop of Rome as just 1 of a handful of absolute monarchs recognized under international law.
A modern analog would be the USPS historically and what it's turned into under recent administrations, especially accelerated under DeJoy's administration.
Imagine an analogous overlay much like you provided but continuous for such historical texts. That would be something. Like a Google translate from historical or cultural texts to your own contemporary culture, or a battery of footnotes. On a tangent. The latest version of Candide on Gutenberg has such footnotes spread throughout to explain some obscure mentions in the text. An absolute recommender.
A battery of footnotes, commentary, and other marginalia is the norm for historical texts. The commentary is frequently more significant than the primary work.
This sounds fascinating. I almost want to get it just so I can learn what is meant by “The cursus publicus was hailed for its efficiency, at least until Justinian got his hands on it. “
This is fascinating.
“The cursus publicus (Latin: "the public way"; Ancient Greek: δημόσιος δρόμος, dēmósios drómos) was the state mandated and supervised courier and transportation service of the Roman Empire, later inherited by the Eastern Roman Empire. It was a system based on obligations placed on private persons by the Roman State”
Isn’t it wild that the Roman Empire lasted until the 1400s, only to finally fall to the Ottoman Empire? But as the Empire fell, a large set of manuscripts were brought by the great Plethon to Cosimo d’Medici. Marsilio Ficino’s translation of Greek classics into Latin—like the complete works of Plato and the Hermetica—helped kindle the European Renaissance as we know it.
Why was it hard for people in Western Europe to get Greek manuscripts before the fall of the Byzantine Empire? It's not that far from Rome to Athens. Seems like you could just ride down to Brundisium and then get on a boat, get to Athens and ask around. Before 1054 there wasn't an East-Wests schism so the clerics in Greece wouldn't be hostile.
Was the political situation really so chaotic and crazy that you couldn't take that trip? Or was no one interested?
Isn’t it wild that the Roman Empire lasted until the 1400s, only to finally fall to the Ottoman Empire? But as the Empire fell, a large set of manuscripts were brought by the great Plethon to Cosimo d’Medici. Marsilio Ficino’s translation of Greek classics into Latin—like the complete works of Plato and the Hermetica—helped kindle the European Renaissance as we know it.
Why was it hard for people in Western Europe to get Greek manuscripts before the fall of the Byzantine Empire? It's not that far from Rome to Athens. Seems like you could just ride down to Brundisium and then get on a boat, get to Athens and ask around. Before 1054 there wasn't an East-Wests schism so the clerics in Greece wouldn't be hostile. Was the political situation really so chaotic and crazy that you couldn't…
The manuscripts weren't in Greece. These works were written centuries ago, many of them before the rise of the roman empire. As books were expensive back then, they would often be found in wealthy cities like Rome, Alexandria or Constantinople and often taken as spoils after conquests. The fall of the Western Roman empire additionally meant no one had time or resources to go collecting old dusty manuscripts, but the rising Arabic empires did. Later in the medieval period, notably after the crusades and moor conquest of spain, monks began (re)translating the arabic copies of these works, bringing them back west along with many other novel works, commentaries and inventions.
Isn’t it wild that the Roman Empire lasted until the 1400s, only to finally fall to the Ottoman Empire? But as the Empire fell, a large set of manuscripts were brought by the great Plethon to Cosimo d’Medici. Marsilio Ficino’s translation of Greek classics into Latin—like the complete works of Plato and the Hermetica—helped kindle the European Renaissance as we know it.
One thing to note is that the Greek works likely could not have survived medieval Europe if they had left Constantinople a lot earlier. There were two great advantages to renaissance scholars: 1. The works were still in their original Greek (rather than translations into Latin done long ago, or the translations from Greek to Arabic (and then to Latin) that came in through moorish Spain). 2. Religious attitudes allowe…
Medieval Christians weren’t nearly as hostile to pagan works as you imply. Julius Caesar, Cicero, and Virgil were regularly copied and read. (And the enthusiasm with which Arabic translations of pagan Greeks like Aristotle and Ptolemy — and Muslim thinkers as well — were translated into Latin in the 12th Century certainly doesn’t reflect some “nothing but the Bible” mentality.)
The problem with Greek works is that they were no longer readable (since literacy in Greek disappeared with the fall of the Western Empire), and so there was no interest in copying them.
Isn’t it wild that the Roman Empire lasted until the 1400s, only to finally fall to the Ottoman Empire? But as the Empire fell, a large set of manuscripts were brought by the great Plethon to Cosimo d’Medici. Marsilio Ficino’s translation of Greek classics into Latin—like the complete works of Plato and the Hermetica—helped kindle the European Renaissance as we know it.
One thing to note is that the Greek works likely could not have survived medieval Europe if they had left Constantinople a lot earlier. There were two great advantages to renaissance scholars: 1. The works were still in their original Greek (rather than translations into Latin done long ago, or the translations from Greek to Arabic (and then to Latin) that came in through moorish Spain). 2. Religious attitudes allowe…
I think you’re underestimating the deleterious effects of the Turkish naval domination of the Mediterranean on intellectual communication. The enlightenment was made possible by Lepanto.
Isn’t it wild that the Roman Empire lasted until the 1400s, only to finally fall to the Ottoman Empire? But as the Empire fell, a large set of manuscripts were brought by the great Plethon to Cosimo d’Medici. Marsilio Ficino’s translation of Greek classics into Latin—like the complete works of Plato and the Hermetica—helped kindle the European Renaissance as we know it.
Why was it hard for people in Western Europe to get Greek manuscripts before the fall of the Byzantine Empire? It's not that far from Rome to Athens. Seems like you could just ride down to Brundisium and then get on a boat, get to Athens and ask around. Before 1054 there wasn't an East-Wests schism so the clerics in Greece wouldn't be hostile. Was the political situation really so chaotic and crazy that you couldn't…
The manuscripts weren't in Greece. These works were written centuries ago, many of them before the rise of the roman empire. As books were expensive back then, they would often be found in wealthy cities like Rome, Alexandria or Constantinople and often taken as spoils after conquests. The fall of the Western Roman empire additionally meant no one had time or resources to go collecting old dusty manuscripts, but the…
Wasn't Roman-era writing mostly on papyrus rather than parchment? As papyrus has a much shorter shelf life when stored in more humid climate like Europe (unlike in the desert where it stays intact), if people aren't actively copying them, anything written on papyrus just get lost.
If, like me, your knowledge of Constantinople is limited to the They Might Be Giants song, an excellent light-ish read (as much as 100s of years of Byzantine, as in the ridiculously complex, history can be) is Ghost Empire by Richard Fidler https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Empire_(book)