Being Byzantine: Greek Identity Before the Ottomans, 1200–1420

by Gill Page

In 1204, the Byzantine Empire was conquered by troops from western Europe ostensibly taking part in the Fourth Crusade. This was a hugely significant event for the subjects of the Empire, radically altering the Byzantines' self-image and weakening their state for the later conflict with the Ottoman Turks. Using the theory of ethnicity - a comparatively recent tool with regard to the pre-modern era - Gill Page provides fresh insight into the late Byzantine period, providing a corrective to nationalistic interpretations of the period of Frankish rule and more broadly to generally held assumptions of ethnic hostility in the period. A systematic analysis of texts in Greek from the period 1200–1420, from both ends of the social spectrum, is backed up by an in-depth study of Frankish rule in the Peloponnese to reveal the trends in the development of Byzantine identity under the impact of the Franks.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

344 pages, Hardcover

First published October 30, 2008

About the author

Gill Page is a medieval historian with a particular interest in crusader states in Greece. Her book Being Byzantine: Greek Identity before the Ottomans was published by CUP in 2008. She was thrilled to discover connections between her Greek studies and the music of the medieval west and very much enjoys exploring the musical background to the period.

Reviews

[Panagiotis Gioxas]

Το βιβλιο αντιμετωπιζει με αντικειμενικοτα και διεξοδικα το θεμα της ταυτοτητας των ανθρωπων που εζησαν εντος της Ρωμαικης αυτοκρατοριας στα χρονια του μεσαιωνα πριν και μετα το 1204.Το θεμα της ταυτοτητας επαναλαμβανεται πολλες φορες(ισως λιγο κουραστικο) στο βιβλιο θελοντας να αναδειξει τις αντιθεσεις που υπηρχαν με αλλα γειτονα εθνη της περιοχης.Δυστηχως για εμας τους νεοελληνες τετοια θεματα που πραγματευονται στο βιβλιο εχουν αποσιωπηθει και προσπαθωντας να καταλαβεις την κληρονομια του γενους σου βλεπεις με λαμπροτητα το σκοταδι στο οποιο βρισκεσαι.Αν θες να διαβασεις λιγη ιστορια για τη ρωμηοσυνη εκεινη την περιοδο σιγουρα πρεπει να διαβασεις αυτο το βιβλιο.

[Paschalia]

Although the subject seems interesting from the title, it's hopelesly limited geographicaly. Only one region of Greece is analyzed where I was hoping cor a more general view, for example north Greece is totally ignored. So the title would be more acurate if it was rephrased as 'Peloponnesian Greeks before the Ottomans'. Also I found many points tiresomely repeated again and again throughout the text as is the writer didn't have enough materil to cover the length of a book.

[Phil]

This book has been on my list for a while and when I saw it at one of the college libraries at my local universities, I thought this was a good time to pick it up. It was a good call because one of my research interests is the question of the forming and shifting of identities- how does one find meaning in ones' life. Being Byzantine has a look at this issue for 13th and 14th century Greece; a period in which identities were shifting under the stress of the Frankish conquest and the Byzantine counter-revival. Dr. Page's main argument is that the Frankish presence, especially its long presence in the Peloponnese, de-stablized Byzantine identity as Romans and encouraged the identification of the citizens of the dying empire as Hellenes.

The resulting study focuses almost entirely on historical writers, which, of course, makes sense as far accessibility works. One could extend the analysis to other writers, but the historians offer a reflective, but fairly narrow sample to work from. Dr. Page analyses various ethnic identifiers from historians like Nicetas Choniates to the Chronicle of Morea. She mostly focuses on the frequency of use for various ethnic terminology and the words that are frequently associated with them. That is a valid approach, of course, and Dr. Page handles this approach quite well. As one continues to read, this analysis can feel a bit repetitious because she applies it consistently to all the historians she is studying. That is, of course, a sound and useful way of proceeding, which is fair enough.

Dr. Page interweaves discussions of the careers of the historians she studies and the content of their history with this linguistic analysis. These summaries are helpful in giving historical context to the linguistic shifts in ethnic identification.

On the whole, this is an excellent discussion of a topic which is only now getting serious attention- ethnic self-identification in the late Byzantine period. Well worth the reading.