Barlaam and Ioasaph

Against the backdrop of 13th century cultural history, the study examines the function of legendary narrative in Christian identity formation. Martyrdom, war, and conversion are the basic narratives in negotiating religious opposition to heathendom. These stories were handed down from the early beginnings of Christianity and specifically updated in the context of crusades and missions.

Formen und Funktionen des legendarischen Erzählens rücken in den letzten Jahren verstärkt in den Fokus der mediävistischen Forschung, wobei zumeist die Figur des oder der Heiligen im Zentrum steht. Nicht systematisch untersucht worden ist hingegen der Umstand, dass das Erzählen von Heiligen sich häufig mit dem Heidentum auseinandersetzt und viele Heilige gerade durch diese Auseinandersetzung ihr charakteristisches Profil gewinnen. Diese Lücke füllt die vorliegende Arbeit, wenn sie anhand eines breiten Korpus von lateinischen und volkssprachigen Legenden des 13. Jahrhunderts (vor allem aus ›Legenda aurea‹ und ›Passional‹, dazu etliche Einzellegenden auch aus dem höfischen Kontext) nach dem Zusammenhang von christlichen Heiligkeitsmodellen und der Aushandlung des religiösen Gegensatzes zum Heidentum fragt. Martyrium, Krieg und Konversion erweisen sich dabei als grundlegende Formen narrativer wie diskursiver Selbstvergewisserung des Christentums, die im kulturgeschichtlichen Zusammenhang der Kreuzzüge sowie der Neubegründung der Mission eine spezifische Aktualisierung erfahren – ein wichtiger Beitrag zur Bedeutung legendarischer Texte für die christliche Identitätsbildung und die religiöse Kultur des Mittelalters.

The Barlaam and Joasaph novel illustrations
are being mentioned by the art historians
on a regular basis, but hardly ever researched as a
corpus of images, with its internal logic and rules.
One of the reasons could be the fact that the representations
originating from this edifying story spread
through a vast geographical territory and even vaster
period of time. However, the analysis of one part of
this corpus, namely the corpus of medieval examples
from the Byzantine Commonwealth and Europe, imposes
itself as quite necessary.

The legend of Barlaam and Josaphat, as it has come down to us through the Greek reading, has been a great literary success and an inspiration for many Christians, all throughout the Middle Ages and beyond. However, once it became widely acknowledged that it is in fact an adaptation of the Buddha's life story, it has become quite the clichée in academic literature to mention, in one way or another, how interesting it is that the Buddha had been admitted among the ranks of the saints by the Christian Church. The frequency of such allusions makes one doubt whether they are merely conscious exaggerations and literary devices, or actually representative of the conclusions that the authors derive from their research. In this short article, our goal is to gauge just how much of the Buddha and his teachings can still be found in the Christianized legend of Barlaam and Josaphat. We will argue that it is very little indeed, and the success of the story is due largely to the literary qualities and the evocative power of its pan-Indian-and not "Buddhistic", as Jacobs might say-parables.

Die Übernahme der indischen Buddha-Legende im Gewand des Mönchsromans „Barlaam und Ioasaph“ (der indische Prinz Ioasaph wird vom Eremiten Barlaam zum Christentum bekehrt, worauf ersterer auch seinen Vater, König Abenner, dafür gewinnt) ist ein wichtiges Beispiel für die europäische Rezeption von Literatur, deren Ursprung in Asien liegt.
Die spätere griechische Version, die eng mit den beiden erhaltenen georgischen zusammenhängt, bildete über ihre lateinische Übersetzung die Vorlage für alle späteren Rezeptionen, die eine sehr weite Verbreitung fanden. Die griechischen und georgischen Handschriften sind für eine vergleichende Analyse gut geeignet, weil sie den Übergang dieses Legendenkreises von Asien nach Europa markieren.
Im Vortrag soll nicht zuletzt der Forschungsstand zur Überlieferungsgeschichte vorgestellt und der Frage nachgegangen werden, warum und auf welche Weise der indische Buddha-Mythos in den westeuropäischen Kulturkreis und in das lateinische Christentum eindringen konnte.

Im Anschluss daran wird der Wiener Dissertant Mag. Jannis GROSSMANN, der sich ebenfalls intensiv mit diesem Thema auseinandergesetzt hat, ein kürzeres Ko-Referat halten.


Zeit: Donnerstag, 26. 6. 2014, 12.00-13.30 Uhr  (Bitte den außergewöhnlichen Termin zu beachten, der sich daraus ergibt, dass der Vortrag im Rahmen einer Lehrveranstaltung von Frau Prof. RAPP stattfindet!)

Ort: Institut für Byzantinistik und Neogräzistik der Universität Wien, Postgasse 7/1/3 (Lift!)

Gäste willkommen

Cinq mots d'une inscription vernaculaire accompagnent une scène peinte du Baptistère Saint-Jean à Poitiers (XIIe siècle) : 'CIL CRIA MARCI E TVRNA'. La scène représente la figure d'un soldat menaçant qui brandit une épée. L'auteur compare ces mots à deux expressions semblables qui se trouvent dans un exemplum copié dans les 'Sermoni subalpini', et pense qu'ils pointent vers la même histoire. L'analyse de cette source secondaire, ainsi que celle de divers autres textes (apparentés et similaires) permet d'entendre que l'exemplum constitue une traduction d'une parabole de la légende de Barlaam et Josaphat. Un examen plus poussé de la peinture du baptistère de Poitiers révèle qu'une autre scène, peinte sur le mur opposé, peut être liée au soldat menaçant et à la parabole du Barlaam.

La reciente edición de la comedia de Lope de Vega, Barlaán y Josafat, a cargo de Daniele Crivellari, es en cierto modo tan extraña y sorprendente como la obra en sí. Se compone la edición de 111 páginas de introducción, 22 de bibliografía, se-guidas de 135 en la que se nos ofrece el texto de la comedia. Un apéndice de unas 50 páginas y otras 49 de variantes completan el volumen.

(La reseña completa se encuentra en la revista Edad de Oro, no. 40, 2021, pp. 699-702)

La traduction en ancien français de l'histoire de Barlaam et Josaphat, faite sur les marges d'un manuscrit grec enluminé du monastère d'Iviron, l'un des trésors du Mont Athos, a été longtemps ignorée. Elle représente la seule traduction française médiévale connue faite à partir du grec ancien et date d'après la Quatrième croisade. 1 En 1866, Paul Meyer a publié un article consacré à cette oeuvre longtemps oubliée. 2 Un siècle et demi plus tard, nous avons tenté de reprendre le travail de P. Meyer dans notre thèse de doctorat (2011), en éditant quelques feuillets de plus. Une nouvelle version de cette étude a été publiée dans un article récent. 3 Pour nous, la traduction française du Mont Athos a été faite en collaboration par un Français et par un moine athonite, voire ivirite (c'est-à-dire du monastère d'Iviron), après 1204, directement sur les marges du manuscrit grec du XI e siècle. C'était la première démarche française de ce type ; ce n'était pas pour autant le premier cas de traduction marginale à Iviron. Les moines géorgiens traduisaient des textes grecs depuis deux ou trois siècles. Ils traduisaient également du géorgien en grec. Leur programme de translatio avait également des rapports avec les traductions faites du grec en latin par les Bénédictins italiens

Chased by a Unicorn. Re-Studying and De-Coding the Parable of the Futile Life in the Novel Barlaam and Josaphat(Medieval Greek Version)

The parable of the Futile Life, which is an excerpt of the medieval, multilingual novel Barlaam and Josaphat, conceals a unique interpretative approach, in terms of symbolism, of an ancient and intercultural mythological symbol, that of the unicorn. From a first examination of the cultural environment – textual and iconographical – of the unicorn’s appearance, it would seem that the symbolic substance of this animal motif was imbued with the notions of the high virtues of the Christian ideological system (e.g. virginity, purity, salvation). However, the parabolic narrative of the Futile Life reveals another aspect. This is the aspect of the inward cruel power that drives a man to the wrong choice, preventing him from finding the proper spiritual way out to save himself after his physical death in the vanity world in which he lives transiently. Probably, the beauty of a unicorn now symbolizes something not so pure. Indeed, the story of the Futile Life is transformed into one of the most common iconographic themes in monumental Christian painting, and, at the same time, it raises reasonable concerns while seeking adequate explanations. So, through a list of relevant examples of monumental and miniature art, we will look for the beginnings of the two aspects of this ancient symbol, with an emphasis on the parable under examination, offering a new perspective on the semiotic analysis of Antiquity during the Middle Ages.


Perseguido por um Unicórnio. Re-Vendoe Des-Codificandoa Parábola da Vida Fútil no Romance Barlaão e Josafat(Versão Grega Medieval)

A parábola da Vida Fútil, que constitui uma parte do romance medieval multilíngue Barlaão e Josafat, esconde uma abordagem interpretativa única, em termos de simbolismo, de um símbolo mitológico antigo e intercultural, o do unicórnio. Um primeiro exame do ambiente cultural – textual e iconográfico – da aparência do unicórnio dá a entender que a substância simbólica deste motivo animal terá sido imbuída de noções decorrentes das altas virtudes do sistema ideológico cristão (por exemplo, virgindade, pureza e salvação). No entanto, a narrativa parabólica da Vida Fútil revela outro aspecto. Trata-se do poder interior cruel que leva o homem à escolha errada, impedindo-o de encontrar o caminho espiritual adequado para salvar-se após a sua morte física no mundo de vaidade em que vive temporariamente. Provavelmente, a beleza do unicórnio simboliza agora algo que já não é tão puro. Na verdade, a história da Vida Fútil tornou-se num dos temas iconográficos mais comuns da pintura cristã monumental, incluindo a presença do unicórnio, o que levanta, ao mesmo tempo, preocupações razoáveis e a necessidade de explicações adequadas. Assim, através de uma lista de exemplos relevantes de arte monumental e em miniatura, procuraremos identificar o início dos dois aspectos deste antigo símbolo, com ênfase para a parábola estudada, oferecendo uma nova perspetiva sobre a análise semiótica da Antiguidade durante a Idade Média.

Orfanidis, G. (2021). Chased by a Unicorn. Re-Studying and De-Coding the Parable of the Futile Life in the Novel Barlaam and Josaphat (Medieval Greek Edition). Medievalista, 29(1), 183-209.

https://journals.openedition.org/medievalista.

Find it also in the following digital libraries:

Dar Al Kutub’s (National Library), United Arab Emirates – well known as "Maktaba", which belongs to the Department (Ministry) of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi.
https://library.dctabudhabi.ae/

Find it also in the following digital libraries:

Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
https://library.stanford.edu/

Portal Dominicano de Información Científica, Tecnológica, Humanística y Social, República Dominicana.
https://infocyt.do/

Le "Barlaam et Ioasaph" est un best-seller du début du XIe siècle, une version grecque d'une saga qui parcourut toute la Route de la Soie: expliqué d'habitude comme la christianisation de la vie du Bouddha, il est le résultat d'une longue chaîne qui de la littérature indienne traversa celle pahlavi, arabe, géorgien, pour finalement arriver, grâce au génie d'Ekvtime l'Athonite, au grec médiéval. C'est l'exemple d'une circulation littéraire en grec médiéval, qui ne passe pas par Constantinople, mais s'épanouit plutôt dans ces magnifiques centres de médiation linguistique, ces laboratoires de frontière, qui furent les monastères syro-palestiniens et  l’Athos. Comme un papier tournesol, "Barlaam et Ioasaph" offre ainsi l'occasion d'une série d'observations sur la circulation des livres dans les périphéries de IVe à XIe siècle.

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El presente artículo da cuenta de la localización del manuscrito autógrafo de la comedia Barlaán y Josafat, de Lope de Vega, cuyos rastros se habían perdido desde los años 30 del siglo
pasado, y que se encuentra hoy en día en la Fundación Bodmer (Ginebra, Suiza). El trabajo presenta ante todo una detallada descripción filológica del hológrafo lopesco, pasando luego a
comentar varios loci que Montesinos no indicó en su edición de la pieza de 1935 y que podrían contribuir a arrojar luz nueva sobre el proceso de composición, por parte del Fénix, de sus comedias. La recuperación de este testimonio, además, posibilita un examen pormenorizado del reparto de actores que representó la obra, especificando unos detalles que ya se conocían y añadiendo otros nuevos.

"Barlaán y Josafat" cuenta las peripecias de un santo, Josafat, quien, apoyado por su anciano maestro, abandona el culto a los dioses paganos para abrazar la fe cristiana. Auténtica vida de un santo que, sin embargo, nunca existió como tal, pues Josafat no es otro que Buda, cuya historia había viajado durante siglos desde la India hasta Europa, cristianizándose en el proceso e integrándose entre los muchos relatos moralizantes que en la época servían a los creyentes de ejemplos de conducta y modelos de fe.

Sophia G. Vashalomidze (Halle/ Saale) beleuchtet in ihrem Artikel „Georgien, kulturelle Schwelle zwischen Asien und Europa am Beispiel der Barlaam-Legende“ die Verbreitung derselben und die diesbezügliche Vermittlerrolle Georgiens. Die christianisierte Form der Buddhalegende sei über georgische und griechische Übertragungen in den Westen bis nach Irland, Spanien und Island gelangt. Der indische Bodhisattva hielt über sogdisch/ persisch Bōdīsaf und arabisch Būdāsaf als Joasaph Einzug in die christliche Ökumene.

The article examines one of the most frequently discussed problems in Byzantine studies: the question of the author of "The Barlaam and Ioasaph Romance" (CPG 8120), the most widely read non-biblical book in the Christian Middle Ages. On the basis of an analysis of the titles of the Romance, preserved in the manuscripts, and the interpretations proposed, we formulate a new hypothesis for reading the traditional data, which confirms that the ancient version of the title of the Romance contained an indication of the person who had brought it from India, as well as of its author St. Euthymius the Georgian (955 c.-1028), writer and translator, Hegumenon of the Iviron or Iberian monastery on Mt. Athos from 1005 to 1019.

The author introduces a new explanatory paradigm to account for the relationship among the textual variants of the 11th Byzantine “novel” Barlaam and Ioasaph (actually a saga attested in many languages, among which Sanskrit, Sogdian, Georgian, Arabic, Persian, Chinese, and Greek). This paradigm can be extended to other texts, similar to the Barlaam and Ioasaph, i.e. whose authors are anonymous and whose content is open and not firmly structured. The analysis of textual transmission of texts like these cannot follow the same rules as standard Lachmannian philology. Basso proposes to call the new paradigm the “Karussell-Modell” in reference and in opposition to the antiquate Baum-Modell (“the tree-model”), since it takes into due consideration the spiral-like diffusion of stories, dramatically different from the model of a genealogical transmission of manuscripts.

ABSTRACT: Alexander of Macedonia is one of great kings in Jewish history and legend. Several Jewish sources, from the period of the Second Temple onward, tell of his adventures and his gesta, both the historically attested and the legendary. The rich narrative material of this tradition appears in Yiddish in the Early Modern period. This paper presents stories from the ‘Matter of Alexander’, notably the version found in manuscript 8° 7308 of the National Library of Israel, and explores the reception of these ‘Alexan- der mayses’, most of which are based on Talmudic haggadot.

The present volume establishes that Christian liturgy and religious rituals were the main tools for the transformation of the self after the introduction of Christianity in various cultural contexts of medieval Europe. The litur-gical ritual was the ultimate arena and outer manifestation of the cognitive and behavioral changes required by individuals and which were inspired in them by the Church. In this article, I will discuss whether the same tools for transformation were relevant in medieval Norway and how self-reflection and cognitive change were triggered not only during the liturgy but also through other activities, such as the reading of literature. The primary focus will be on the medium of the book, here exemplified by an Old Norse translation of the pan-European legend about Barlaam and Josaphat as preserved in its main manuscript Holm Perg 6 fol., c. 1250. By studying the content of the saga, its narratological structure, and the mise en page of the manuscript, I will argue that the text fore-grounded the Christian quadriga model of interpreting and may have served to teach this model to its readers, i.e. members of the upper social class in medieval Norway during the second half of the thirteenth and the beginning of the fourteenth century. This book itself, with its specific mise en page, may thus be seen as a tool assisting in the transformation of the self, in a similar way as the liturgy.

Δημοσίευση ανέκδοστων εγγράφων λατινιστί (17ος αι.) από το Κρατικό Αρχείο της Βουδαπέστης με θέμα την απαγόρευση της ζητείας Σιναιτών μοναχών στην Ουγγαρία, καθώς καιτην δράση της Ουνίας στον Άγιον Όρος κατά το 17ο αιώνα με ανάλυση της πολιτικής των Αψβούργων επί του θέματος/ Presentation of two unpublished Latin documents (17th c.)  from the National Archives in Budapest regarding the prohibition of the collection of alms in Hungary by monks from Sinai and the influence of the Uniates in Athos. Further commentary on the Habsburg religious policy to the orthodox population.