Book contents
- The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire c. 500–1492
- Frontispiece
- The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire c. 500–1492
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Maps
- Illustrations
- Tables
- Dedication
- Preface
- Preface to the Paperback Edition
- General Introduction
- Introduction – Part i Approaching Byzantium
- Introduction – Part ii Periodisation and the Contents of this Book
- Introduction – Part iii Other Routes to Byzantium
- Introduction – Part IV Smoothing the Way and Short-Cuts to Byzantium: Texts in Translation
- Part I The Earlier Empire c. 500–c. 700
- Part II The Middle Empire c. 700–1204
- Part III The Byzantine Lands in the Later Middle Ages 1204–1492
- Glossary (Including Some Proper Names)
- Genealogical Tables and Lists of Rulers
- Alternative Place Names
- Bibliography
- Book part
- Picture Acknowledgements
- Index
Introduction – Part IV - Smoothing the Way and Short-Cuts to Byzantium: Texts in Translation
from General Introduction
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 November 2019
- The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire c. 500–1492
- Frontispiece
- The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire c. 500–1492
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Maps
- Illustrations
- Tables
- Dedication
- Preface
- Preface to the Paperback Edition
- General Introduction
- Introduction – Part i Approaching Byzantium
- Introduction – Part ii Periodisation and the Contents of this Book
- Introduction – Part iii Other Routes to Byzantium
- Introduction – Part IV Smoothing the Way and Short-Cuts to Byzantium: Texts in Translation
- Part I The Earlier Empire c. 500–c. 700
- Part II The Middle Empire c. 700–1204
- Part III The Byzantine Lands in the Later Middle Ages 1204–1492
- Glossary (Including Some Proper Names)
- Genealogical Tables and Lists of Rulers
- Alternative Place Names
- Bibliography
- Book part
- Picture Acknowledgements
- Index
Summary
Byzantium at first sight looks inaccessible to those approaching for the first time, especially without Greek or Latin, or one of the modern languages spoken in regions closely associated with the empire. Native English-speakers may feel like ‘barbarians’ before the walls of Constantinople, excluded and daunted. Yet as with the great City, so with the subject, portals and gateways are available and the newcomer can reach some of the landmarks surprisingly fast, arriving at positions not all that much inferior to those of life-long devotees. The reasons are at once straightforward and specific to some of the main types of the surviving literary and other source-materials. Nothing like a full guided tour of sources available in English translation is attempted here, but the curious should be able to follow the directions towards more detail about them. Some of the more general introductions to the subject are noted below (pp. 90, 94).
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- Information
- The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire c.500–1492 , pp. 76 - 96Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019