Late Antique and Byzantine Studies

Core Modules

You will take one from the following:

• Beginners' Ancient Greek for Research

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the basic grammar, syntax, and vocabulary of Attic Greek. You will become proficient in reading unseen simple passages of Greek without assistance and gain confidence in handling Ancient Greek texts in their original form.

• Intermediate Ancient Greek for Research

  In this module you will further develop your understanding of the Ancient Greek language to the point where you are able to read substantial texts. You will carry out grammatical exercises, including some translation from English into Greek, as well as preparing to translate passages from Greek to English. As your confidence increases, you will increasingly focus on the translation and interpretation of texts.

• Medieval Latin Literature

  The module is in two parts. The first term is exploratory: you will read selected texts from the whole medieval period - from late antiquity to the high Middle Ages - in a variety of genres (theology, poetry, history, law, etc.) In the second term you will learn how to edit a medieval Latin text.

• Beginners' Latin for Research

  This module attracts students from many disciplines, including Classics, Ancient History, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Theology and English. You do not need to have any previous experience of learning Latin, although it may be useful to have some knowledge of a modern language. In addition, a basic knowledge of Greek and Roman mythology will be useful in your preparation for the tests and exam.

• Intermediate Latin for Research

  This module continues the study of the Latin language for those students who have completed Beginner’s Latin or an equivalent course (e.g., GCSE Latin). The course will cover grammatical constructions and aims to prepare you to confidently translate and understand literary Latin texts in both prose and verse. You will practise Latin grammar through translation exercises both from Latin into English and from English into Latin, and will undertake a close reading of selected portions of an unadapted literary text, the second book of Virgil’s Aeneid.

You will take one from the following:

• Greek Papyrology

  In this module you will be introduced to the study of Greek papyri, documentary as well as literary. The texts are studied from facsimiles and are chosen to illustrate the development of Greek bookhands and cursive scripts. You will also learn to examine formal aspects of the transmission of Greek literature on papyrus, and familiarise yourself with the range of documentary types available as sources for the history of Graeco-Roman Egypt.

• Elementary Greek Palaeography

  In this module you will develop an understanding of how to transcribe and study texts from facsimiles (reproductions) of Greek manuscripts dated or datable between the 9^th and 12^th centuries. Throughout the year you will be introduced to a variety of texts, ranging from biblical, theological and hagiographical to classical, literary and scientific. You will learn how to decipher abbreviations, ligatures and cryptogrammes, how to identify different styles and scribal hands, how to trace and date Greek manuscripts, placing them in the Byzantine cultural milieu in which, and for which, they were produced.

  Coursework focusses on transcribing texts and producing commentaries on the layout and the script. During the second term you will be invited to our annual visit Lambeth Palace Library to examine original Greek manuscripts and to attend the University of London Postgraduate Working Seminar on Editing Byzantine Texts, where you will learn through practice to edit, translate and annotate a Greek text from manuscripts.

• Skills for Medievalists: Palaeography

  The aim of this module is to train you to read, date and describe Latin manuscripts from AD 500 - 1500 and to understand manuscript culture and the circumstances in which texts were transmitted from the Middle Ages to modern times. It consists of a survey of the history of Latin handwriting from antiquity to the Renaissance. You will also be taught how to describe a manuscript book and will be introduced to codicology.

• Living in Byzantium I: Material Culture and Built Environment in Late Antiquity

  This module provides an introduction to the varied physical remains left behind by Late Antiquity, primarily in the eastern Mediterranean (4th to 7th century). The selection of material and issues examined range from the urban and rural landscapes, fortifications, palaces, houses, monasteries and churches, to monumental decoration and small scale objects. This wide range of topics will be investigated thematically from a primarily functional and practical point of view, in order to trace and highlight the significant changes that occurred in this period, signalling different stages in the transformation of the Roman heritage. Each subject will be approached on the basis of case studies that exemplify the nature and problems of the evidence.

You will also take:

• Dissertation

  You will carry out an extended piece of research. You will be appointed a member of academic staff who will act as your supervisor, providing you with support and guidance. You will produce a written report of between 10,500 and 12,000 words in length.

• Academic Integrity

  This module will describe the key principles of academic integrity, focusing on university assignments. Plagiarism, collusion and commissioning will be described as activities that undermine academic integrity, and the possible consequences of engaging in such activities will be described. Activities, with feedback, will provide you with opportunities to reflect and develop your understanding of academic integrity principles.

   

Optional Modules

There are a number of optional course modules available during your degree studies. The following is a selection of optional course modules that are likely to be available. Please note that although the College will keep changes to a minimum, new modules may be offered or existing modules may be withdrawn, for example, in response to a change in staff. Applicants will be informed if any significant changes need to be made.

• Living in Byzantium I: Material Culture and Built Environment in Late Antiquity

  This module provides an introduction to the varied physical remains left behind by Late Antiquity, primarily in the eastern Mediterranean (4th to 7th century). The selection of material and issues examined range from the urban and rural landscapes, fortifications, palaces, houses, monasteries and churches, to monumental decoration and small scale objects. This wide range of topics will be investigated thematically from a primarily functional and practical point of view, in order to trace and highlight the significant changes that occurred in this period, signalling different stages in the transformation of the Roman heritage. Each subject will be approached on the basis of case studies that exemplify the nature and problems of the evidence.

• Byzantium and The First Crusade

  This module traces the response of the rulers of the Byzantine Empire to the First Crusade, which passed through their territory in 1096-7. It places the crusade in the context of previous Byzantine interaction with the Latin West, especially attempts by the emperors to secure military help both before and during the reign of Alexios I Komnenos (1081-1118). The events of the First Crusade - its preaching by Urban II in 1095, its arrival at Constantinople in 1096-7, its progress through Byzantine territory to Antioch, the ‘third wave’ of 1101 – will all be discussed in this context through a range of Byzantine and Western source material in translation. Among the issues discussed will be the role of Alexios I in the preaching and launching of the crusade, the nature of the oaths sworn in Constantinople in 1097, the importance of the schism between the Byzantine and western Churches and the origin of the hostility between Bohemond and Alexios I.

• Byzantium and the Fourth Crusade

  This module takes a long-term view of the crusade which captured and sacked Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine empire, in April 1204. Starting in around 1192, it places events in the context of relations between the Byzantines and previous crusades, of the internal situation of the empire and of the position in the Latin east in the aftermath of the Third Crusade. It then examines how the Fourth Crusade was preached and planned, how it was diverted first to Zara and then to Constantinople, and how it came to attack and pillage the city.  Translations of accounts left by contemporaries and eyewitnesses (both Byzantine and Western) will be studied in detail and subjected to critical analysis.