Nikos Zagklas
University of Vienna, Department of Byzantine and Modern Greek studies, Privatdozent (Senior Lecturer)
I am a medieval cultural historian with an expertise in the fields of Greek (or Byzantine) literary tradition and a focus on the Eastern Mediterranean. My research activity lies at the intersection of traditional philology and literary interpretation with a special interest in issues of patronage, poetry, and genre theory. A further focus is the study of the original manuscripts (or other kinds of artifacts) which transmit literary works. My work thus bridges the study between immaterial and material heritage. My recent publications include Theodoros Prodromos: Miscellaneous Poems. An Edition and Literary Study, published by Oxford University Press in 2023.
Address: Name: Nikolaos Zagklas, address: Wasagasse 21/1/5, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Address: Name: Nikolaos Zagklas, address: Wasagasse 21/1/5, 1090 Vienna, Austria
less
Related Authors
InterestsView All (17)
Uploads
Books by Nikos Zagklas
Krystina Kubina and Nikos Zagklas, Introduction: Why Write Poetry?
Transcultural Perspectives from the Later Medieval Period
Nikoloz Aleksidze, “The Sweetness of the Persian Tongue”: the Limits
of Poetry in Medieval and Early Modern Georgia
Cameron Cross, Poetic Alchemy: the Rise of Romance from a Persian
Perspective
Krystina Kubina and Nikos Zagklas, Greek Poetry in a Multicultural Society:
Sicily and Salento in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries
Saskia Dönitz, Hebrew Panegyric of the Late Middle Ages: Shemaryah,
Son of Elijah, and His Praise Poems
Series: Sources for Byzantine Art History 3
In this book the beauty and meaning of Byzantine art and its aesthetics are for the first time made accessible through the original sources. More than 150 medieval texts are translated from nine medieval languages into English, with commentaries from over seventy leading scholars. These include theories of art, discussions of patronage and understandings of iconography, practical recipes for artistic supplies, expressions of devotion, and descriptions of cities. The volume reveals the cultural plurality and the interconnectivity of medieval Europe and the Mediterranean from the late eleventh to the early fourteenth centuries. The first part uncovers salient aspects of Byzantine artistic production and its aesthetic reception, while the second puts a spotlight on particular ways of expressing admiration and of interpreting of the visual.
Religious Poems
120, Προσφωνητήριοι εἰς τὸν μέγαν ἀπόστολον Παῦλον , εἰς τὸν Θεολόγον Γρηγόριον, εἰς τὸν Μέγαν Βασίλειον, εἰς τὸν Χρυσόστομον, εἰς τὸν Γρηγόριον Νυσσέα, εἰς τὸν ἅγιον Νικόλαον, six poems-72 elegiac couplets.
121, Εἰς τὸν Ἀβραάμ, ξενίζοντα τὴν ἁγίαν Τριάδα, 8 dodecasyllables.
122, Εἰς τὸν Ἀβραάμ, ξενίζοντα τὴν ἀγίαν Τριάδα, 3 dodecasyllables.
123, Ἐπὶ ἀναγνώσει, 26 dodecasyllables.
124, Στίχοι περὶ τῆς ἁγίας Βαρβάρας, 10 poems- 64 dodecasyllables.
125, Στίχοι περὶ τῆς ἁγίας Βαρβάρας, 10 hexameters.
127, Eἰς τὰς ιβ΄ἑορτὰς, τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, 16 dodecasyllables.
128, Τοῦ Πτωχοπροδρόμου, 26 dodecasyllables.
129, Εἰς τὴν ὑπεραγίαν Θεοτόκον, 16 dodecasyllables.
130, Εἰς εἰκόνα τῆς ὑπεραγίας Θεοτόκου, 14 dodecasyllables.
131, Εἰς τὴν σταύρωσιν ἡρῶοι στίχοι, 2 poems- 10 hexameters.
133, Prologue to a theological work, 21 dodecasyllables.
Satirical poems
142, Σχετλιαστικοὶ ἐπὶ τῇ ἀτιμίᾳ τοῦ λόγου, 28 hexameters.
143, Σχετλιαστικοὶ εἰς τὴν πρόνοιαν, 167 dodecasyllables.
Poems on various subjects
153, Ἐπι ἀποδήμου τῇ φιλίᾳ, 297 dodecasyllables.
154, Εἰς τὰς ἀρετὰς καὶ εἰς τὰς κακίας, 52 dodecasyllables.
155, Eἰς εἰκονισμένον τὸν βίον, 19 political verses.
156, Εἰς δακτύλιον ἔχοντα σφραγῖδα ἐρῶντας, 5 poems- 10 dodecasyllables.
158, Ἐπὶ κήπῳ, 5 poems- 44 dodecasyllables.
159, Εἰς τοὺς ιβ΄ μήνας, 69 dodecasyllables.
160, Αἴνιγμα εἰς τὴν νεφέλην, 4 elegiac couplets.
161, Ὑποθετικοὶ ἐπί τινι ἐκβρασθέντι τῆς θαλάσσης ἄχειρι νεκρῷ, 9 elegiac couplets.
162, Στίχοι ὑποθετικοὶ εἰς Παυσανίαν ἀπολιθωθέντα διὰ τὸν θάνατον τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ Πέτρου, three poems- 7 elegiac couplets.
Papers by Nikos Zagklas
Abstract
Metrical polyeideia is an important quality in many poetic traditions, from the antiquity to Byzantine times and beyond. As with their ancient models, the Byzantines even combined more than one meters within a single work, such as short epigrams, long metrical commentaries and novels. However, it has gone unnoticed that after the year 1000, many authors composed even cycles of poems or stanzas for the very same occasion, yet written in different meters. This article aims to examine this neglected practice and shed some light on the driving motivations behind the composition of such works. It demonstrates its continuous popularity throughout the twelfth century, since there are numerous multimetric cycles by Theophylaktos of Ochrid, Theodore Prodromos, Niketas Eugenianos, Manganeios Prodromos, and Efthymios Tornikes. Moreover, all these multimetric cycles are associated with a wide range of types of occasional poetry, including monodies, epitaphs, epithalamia and panegyrics. Since the composition of ceremonial poetry on commission reached its heyday in the twelfth century, it is argued that many authors made use of the multimetric cycles to present novel compositions to their patrons. In order to achieve generic innovation, they mixed not only contents, motifs and modes from different literary generic categories, but also different metrical forms.
Krystina Kubina and Nikos Zagklas, Introduction: Why Write Poetry?
Transcultural Perspectives from the Later Medieval Period
Nikoloz Aleksidze, “The Sweetness of the Persian Tongue”: the Limits
of Poetry in Medieval and Early Modern Georgia
Cameron Cross, Poetic Alchemy: the Rise of Romance from a Persian
Perspective
Krystina Kubina and Nikos Zagklas, Greek Poetry in a Multicultural Society:
Sicily and Salento in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries
Saskia Dönitz, Hebrew Panegyric of the Late Middle Ages: Shemaryah,
Son of Elijah, and His Praise Poems
Series: Sources for Byzantine Art History 3
In this book the beauty and meaning of Byzantine art and its aesthetics are for the first time made accessible through the original sources. More than 150 medieval texts are translated from nine medieval languages into English, with commentaries from over seventy leading scholars. These include theories of art, discussions of patronage and understandings of iconography, practical recipes for artistic supplies, expressions of devotion, and descriptions of cities. The volume reveals the cultural plurality and the interconnectivity of medieval Europe and the Mediterranean from the late eleventh to the early fourteenth centuries. The first part uncovers salient aspects of Byzantine artistic production and its aesthetic reception, while the second puts a spotlight on particular ways of expressing admiration and of interpreting of the visual.
Religious Poems
120, Προσφωνητήριοι εἰς τὸν μέγαν ἀπόστολον Παῦλον , εἰς τὸν Θεολόγον Γρηγόριον, εἰς τὸν Μέγαν Βασίλειον, εἰς τὸν Χρυσόστομον, εἰς τὸν Γρηγόριον Νυσσέα, εἰς τὸν ἅγιον Νικόλαον, six poems-72 elegiac couplets.
121, Εἰς τὸν Ἀβραάμ, ξενίζοντα τὴν ἁγίαν Τριάδα, 8 dodecasyllables.
122, Εἰς τὸν Ἀβραάμ, ξενίζοντα τὴν ἀγίαν Τριάδα, 3 dodecasyllables.
123, Ἐπὶ ἀναγνώσει, 26 dodecasyllables.
124, Στίχοι περὶ τῆς ἁγίας Βαρβάρας, 10 poems- 64 dodecasyllables.
125, Στίχοι περὶ τῆς ἁγίας Βαρβάρας, 10 hexameters.
127, Eἰς τὰς ιβ΄ἑορτὰς, τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, 16 dodecasyllables.
128, Τοῦ Πτωχοπροδρόμου, 26 dodecasyllables.
129, Εἰς τὴν ὑπεραγίαν Θεοτόκον, 16 dodecasyllables.
130, Εἰς εἰκόνα τῆς ὑπεραγίας Θεοτόκου, 14 dodecasyllables.
131, Εἰς τὴν σταύρωσιν ἡρῶοι στίχοι, 2 poems- 10 hexameters.
133, Prologue to a theological work, 21 dodecasyllables.
Satirical poems
142, Σχετλιαστικοὶ ἐπὶ τῇ ἀτιμίᾳ τοῦ λόγου, 28 hexameters.
143, Σχετλιαστικοὶ εἰς τὴν πρόνοιαν, 167 dodecasyllables.
Poems on various subjects
153, Ἐπι ἀποδήμου τῇ φιλίᾳ, 297 dodecasyllables.
154, Εἰς τὰς ἀρετὰς καὶ εἰς τὰς κακίας, 52 dodecasyllables.
155, Eἰς εἰκονισμένον τὸν βίον, 19 political verses.
156, Εἰς δακτύλιον ἔχοντα σφραγῖδα ἐρῶντας, 5 poems- 10 dodecasyllables.
158, Ἐπὶ κήπῳ, 5 poems- 44 dodecasyllables.
159, Εἰς τοὺς ιβ΄ μήνας, 69 dodecasyllables.
160, Αἴνιγμα εἰς τὴν νεφέλην, 4 elegiac couplets.
161, Ὑποθετικοὶ ἐπί τινι ἐκβρασθέντι τῆς θαλάσσης ἄχειρι νεκρῷ, 9 elegiac couplets.
162, Στίχοι ὑποθετικοὶ εἰς Παυσανίαν ἀπολιθωθέντα διὰ τὸν θάνατον τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ Πέτρου, three poems- 7 elegiac couplets.
Abstract
Metrical polyeideia is an important quality in many poetic traditions, from the antiquity to Byzantine times and beyond. As with their ancient models, the Byzantines even combined more than one meters within a single work, such as short epigrams, long metrical commentaries and novels. However, it has gone unnoticed that after the year 1000, many authors composed even cycles of poems or stanzas for the very same occasion, yet written in different meters. This article aims to examine this neglected practice and shed some light on the driving motivations behind the composition of such works. It demonstrates its continuous popularity throughout the twelfth century, since there are numerous multimetric cycles by Theophylaktos of Ochrid, Theodore Prodromos, Niketas Eugenianos, Manganeios Prodromos, and Efthymios Tornikes. Moreover, all these multimetric cycles are associated with a wide range of types of occasional poetry, including monodies, epitaphs, epithalamia and panegyrics. Since the composition of ceremonial poetry on commission reached its heyday in the twelfth century, it is argued that many authors made use of the multimetric cycles to present novel compositions to their patrons. In order to achieve generic innovation, they mixed not only contents, motifs and modes from different literary generic categories, but also different metrical forms.
this work like the recent scholarly work, Prodromos’ authorship, the manuscript tradition, and its purpose of composition. The main purpose of this article is therefore to highlight the importance of this obscure grammatical work in an attempt to set the ground for a future detailed study.