International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Sysse G. Engberg
Copenhagen, Denmark; 
[e-mail]
The Political Use of the 
Old Testament
in Byzantium
This paper shall attempt to interpret historical and liturgical events in Constantinople, with 
the Byzantine Old Testament lectionary (Prophetologion) as a point of departure. An examination 
of the Old Testament texts read at particular festivals, and of their symbolic meaning, may tell us 
something about the political importance of the Emperor’s construction or restauration of churches, 
and his use of relics to consolidate his position.
Dimitrios Georgakopoulos 
University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece; 
[e-mail]
Spaneas
at the Court of the Lusignan
The twelfth century moral-didactic poem known as Spaneas, was very popular during the late 
byzantine and post byzantine era as its manuscript tradition and its influence on other texts indicate.
One of the oldest versions of the text is found in the miscellaneus codex Vat. Palat. gr. 367. My 
research has reached the conclusion that Constantine Anagnostes, the scribe of the codex, was also 
the author of the version.
Anagnostes dedicated this version to the scholar Georgios Lapithes, his younger colleague in 
the court of the Lusignan. Lapithes in his turn, was influenced and inspired by it in order to write 
his moral-didactic poem named Στίχοι πολιτικοί αυτοσχέδιοι εις κοινήν ακοήν.

---

THE MIDDLE BYZANTINE PERIOD – PART 2
Chairs: 
Thomas Pratsch, Yannis Stouraitis
Numa Buchs
, 
Défendre l’Empire : l’armée sur le territoire byzantin sous Constantin Monomaque
Kostiantyn Bardola
, 
Byzantine Ideology of War: Between East and West
Marili Lykaki
, 
La captivité de guerre dans un empire qui change (VI
e
-XI
e
s)