The Pope & Manuel II Palaiologos
The Pope's controversial lecture of September 12 mentioned Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaiologos only incidently - the gist of the lecture was about the role of logos in theology (see Mark Goodacre's post The Pope on Harnack and the New Testament -- and Muslims of 9/15) - but it might be helpful to explore a bit about Manuel II and his times. Here are some basic facts from Wikipedia ...
Manuel II Palaiologos was the second son of Emperor John V Palaiologos .... The failed attempt at usurpation by his older brother Andronikos IV Palaiologos in 1373 led to Manuel being proclaimed heir and co-emperor of his father .... they were supplanted by Andronikos IV and then his son John VII, but Manuel personally defeated his nephew with help from the Republic of Venice in 1390. Although John V had been restored, Manuel was forced to go as an honorary hostage to the court of the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I at Prousa (Bursa). During his stay, Manuel was forced to participate in the Ottoman campaign that reduced Philadelpheia, the last Byzantine enclave in Anatolia.
Hearing of his father's death in February 1391, Manuel II Palaiologos fled the Ottoman court and secured the capital against any potential claim by his nephew John VII. Although relations with John VII improved, the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I besieged Constantinople from 1394 to 1402. After some five years of siege, Manuel II entrusted the city to his nephew and embarked on a long trip to western courts (including those of the Kingdom of England, France, the Holy Roman Empire, and Aragon) to seek assistance against the Ottoman Empire ....
To read about the above in more detail, take a look at this page - An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors by Wilhelm Baum of the Univeristät Graz, Austria. It was on this page that I saw mention of an interesting historical character, Jean Le Maingre (called Boucicaut), a knight and Marshal of France. As Wikipedia mentions of him ...
... In 1396 he was took part in the joint French-Hungarian crusade against the Ottoman Empire, which suffered a heavy defeat on September 28 at the Battle of Nicopolis. He was taken hostage by the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I, but escaped execution and was eventually ransomed. In 1399 he was sent to assist Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaeologus against the Ottomans ...
- the Battle of Nicopolis by Jean Froissart, 1398
Also interesting, was Manuel II Palaiologos' trip to Europe to gather support for Constantinople ... according to Wilhelm Baum (mentioned above), the emperor tried to by the aid with religious relics. He writes this of the emperor's trip and of the resolution to his immediate problem ...
The emperor employed Constantinopolitan relics and holy objects to win over the princes of Europe. He included even Spain in his plans of union. In the Aragonese archives there are still some few letters preserved in which military support is to be purchased with relics. In Milan he made the acquaintance of Peter Philagris, a Greek, who later became pope as Alexander V. Manuel's travels brought him just as little success as the previous ones which his father had undertaken. The highly educated emperor gained much sympathy in Europe. Unlike his father he offered neither a personal "conversion" nor a union with the Papacy. In 1400 he received the news that the Mongols had invaded Asia Minor. For Byzantium they were welcome allies against the Turks. While the emperor was still in Paris, news arrived of Bayazit's overwhelming defeat in the battle of Ankara (1402), which afforded Byzantium a chance to catch its breath. Tamerlane, the ruler of Samarkand, had defeated the rising Ottoman Empire and held it in check until his death in 1405. The emperor did not return home from Europe until 1403, having failed to secure either financial or political help .... The first result of the battle of Ankara was that the siege of Constantinople was lifted.
More to the point of current events, many of the emperor's writings have been preserved. As Baum writes ...
... Of particular interest is his attitude toward Islam. After his enthronement in March 1391 Manuel II still had to perform military service for the sultan in Asia Minor from June 1391 to January 1392 as a vassal of the Turks. ... as a vassal of course subject to the sultan's orders on campaign -- the sultan who amused himself at banquets, while the emperor discussed Islam with the Kadi. From October to December of 1391 the emperor enjoyed the hospitality of the Muderris (=Kadi) at Ankara. A Muslim born to Christian parents acted as interpreter between the emperor and the Kadi. The result of these conversations was the "Twenty-six Dialogues with a Persian," dedicated to his brother Theodore I. By 1399 the work had received its final editing. Presumably the emperor took notes at the time of the conversations. Apart from the emperor's writings there is no independent proof that the conversations ever took place. They must represent a mixture of fact and fiction. At the end the Kadi declared himelf ready to come to Constantinople and continue the conversation with Manuel. With this work, which must have been composed between the end of the campaign and the break with Bayazit (1392-94), Manuel made an important contribution to the knowledge of Islam on the part of the Christians ...
*****
Tthe combination of religion and violence is not confined to any one belief system ... when Manuel II Palaiologos wrote what the Pope repeated, the Ottomans had conquered most of the Byzantine empire ... but just two hundred years earlier, (as Wikipedia mentioned in the above article) it was Catholicism which threatened the Byzantine Empire with violence, with the Fourth Crusade. Though it's unpleasant, we should at least be able to discuss the subject of violence and religion without hyperbole or threat.
Read the Pope's whole lecture of September 12 here.
- from the Funeral Oration of Manuel II Palaiologos for His Brother Theodore - Constantinople, 1309–1 - Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Département des Manuscrits, Paris
Manuel II Palaiologos was the second son of Emperor John V Palaiologos .... The failed attempt at usurpation by his older brother Andronikos IV Palaiologos in 1373 led to Manuel being proclaimed heir and co-emperor of his father .... they were supplanted by Andronikos IV and then his son John VII, but Manuel personally defeated his nephew with help from the Republic of Venice in 1390. Although John V had been restored, Manuel was forced to go as an honorary hostage to the court of the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I at Prousa (Bursa). During his stay, Manuel was forced to participate in the Ottoman campaign that reduced Philadelpheia, the last Byzantine enclave in Anatolia.
Hearing of his father's death in February 1391, Manuel II Palaiologos fled the Ottoman court and secured the capital against any potential claim by his nephew John VII. Although relations with John VII improved, the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I besieged Constantinople from 1394 to 1402. After some five years of siege, Manuel II entrusted the city to his nephew and embarked on a long trip to western courts (including those of the Kingdom of England, France, the Holy Roman Empire, and Aragon) to seek assistance against the Ottoman Empire ....
To read about the above in more detail, take a look at this page - An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors by Wilhelm Baum of the Univeristät Graz, Austria. It was on this page that I saw mention of an interesting historical character, Jean Le Maingre (called Boucicaut), a knight and Marshal of France. As Wikipedia mentions of him ...
... In 1396 he was took part in the joint French-Hungarian crusade against the Ottoman Empire, which suffered a heavy defeat on September 28 at the Battle of Nicopolis. He was taken hostage by the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I, but escaped execution and was eventually ransomed. In 1399 he was sent to assist Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaeologus against the Ottomans ...
- the Battle of Nicopolis by Jean Froissart, 1398
Also interesting, was Manuel II Palaiologos' trip to Europe to gather support for Constantinople ... according to Wilhelm Baum (mentioned above), the emperor tried to by the aid with religious relics. He writes this of the emperor's trip and of the resolution to his immediate problem ...
The emperor employed Constantinopolitan relics and holy objects to win over the princes of Europe. He included even Spain in his plans of union. In the Aragonese archives there are still some few letters preserved in which military support is to be purchased with relics. In Milan he made the acquaintance of Peter Philagris, a Greek, who later became pope as Alexander V. Manuel's travels brought him just as little success as the previous ones which his father had undertaken. The highly educated emperor gained much sympathy in Europe. Unlike his father he offered neither a personal "conversion" nor a union with the Papacy. In 1400 he received the news that the Mongols had invaded Asia Minor. For Byzantium they were welcome allies against the Turks. While the emperor was still in Paris, news arrived of Bayazit's overwhelming defeat in the battle of Ankara (1402), which afforded Byzantium a chance to catch its breath. Tamerlane, the ruler of Samarkand, had defeated the rising Ottoman Empire and held it in check until his death in 1405. The emperor did not return home from Europe until 1403, having failed to secure either financial or political help .... The first result of the battle of Ankara was that the siege of Constantinople was lifted.
More to the point of current events, many of the emperor's writings have been preserved. As Baum writes ...
... Of particular interest is his attitude toward Islam. After his enthronement in March 1391 Manuel II still had to perform military service for the sultan in Asia Minor from June 1391 to January 1392 as a vassal of the Turks. ... as a vassal of course subject to the sultan's orders on campaign -- the sultan who amused himself at banquets, while the emperor discussed Islam with the Kadi. From October to December of 1391 the emperor enjoyed the hospitality of the Muderris (=Kadi) at Ankara. A Muslim born to Christian parents acted as interpreter between the emperor and the Kadi. The result of these conversations was the "Twenty-six Dialogues with a Persian," dedicated to his brother Theodore I. By 1399 the work had received its final editing. Presumably the emperor took notes at the time of the conversations. Apart from the emperor's writings there is no independent proof that the conversations ever took place. They must represent a mixture of fact and fiction. At the end the Kadi declared himelf ready to come to Constantinople and continue the conversation with Manuel. With this work, which must have been composed between the end of the campaign and the break with Bayazit (1392-94), Manuel made an important contribution to the knowledge of Islam on the part of the Christians ...
*****
Tthe combination of religion and violence is not confined to any one belief system ... when Manuel II Palaiologos wrote what the Pope repeated, the Ottomans had conquered most of the Byzantine empire ... but just two hundred years earlier, (as Wikipedia mentioned in the above article) it was Catholicism which threatened the Byzantine Empire with violence, with the Fourth Crusade. Though it's unpleasant, we should at least be able to discuss the subject of violence and religion without hyperbole or threat.
Read the Pope's whole lecture of September 12 here.
- from the Funeral Oration of Manuel II Palaiologos for His Brother Theodore - Constantinople, 1309–1 - Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Département des Manuscrits, Paris
posted by crystal | 11:10 AM
12 Comments:
Hi Crystal,
Excellent research on this as always. You're the first person I've seen who has actually taken the time to see who this emperor was, and what the story behind the story is. Thanks for doing the legwork, although it's a tough story to follow. Byzantium was complicated, eh? It seems so... well... Byzantine...
The issue is as hot as ever, and as you've pointed out with an example like Goodacre, scholars are starting to weigh in on what was really being said in the speech. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.
Jean Froissart... :-) Is there a battle he didn't paint? The guy was prolific.
(BTW, sorry if my thread on Friday was upsetting.)
Hi Jeff,
actually it'a amazing how easy it is to find out stuff with the internet ... just turn to Wikipedia rather than those dusty old history journals at the libary :-) ... not as reliable, of course, but there are pictures! I remember a little about Byzantium from art history classes - nice tessera.
Nope, not upsetting - interesting.
Thanks for all the background and history!
It seems to me that interreligious dialog has to be both sensitive and honest; and that's not easy at times.
Crystal, I just saw I'm using the same image of Manuel II that you are. I hope you don't mind, I found it through google.
Hi Steve - that's so right ...it's important to be diplomatic, but honesty is maybe more important because nothing can change for the better without it.
Liam - we probably both "liberated" the picture from the same place :-)
Interesting information, thank you. Debates like these make me consider to go back to university if I don't get a decent job soon, get my Greek certificate and the missing essays/lecture attending points I need for a minor in Theology with special interests in Church History and Dogmatics.
Not that I could do anything with another degree, but it might prove fun to study again.
Crystal,
Very interesting background. Thanks for digging it up. As a History Librarian, though, I take offense at your remark about "those dusty old history journals at the library." I'll have you know that only some of our old journals are dusty! :-)
By the way, you might be interested: Karen Armstrong comments on the Pope's speech.
Have a great week.
Hi Gabriele - you'd be a great teacher of church history because you know so much already of medieval history ... and you're not biased in any certain direction as far as religion goes.
Cowboy,
only reasing about the dusty journals. I can remember looking through history journals at school - it would seem like I was the only one who had ever read some of them ... why is medieval scandinavian history not more popular :-) The interent makes such a difference in research, I'd think.
Thanks for the link - I'll take a look.
"By the way, you might be interested: Karen Armstrong comments on the Pope's speech."
Yes, and don't forget to read the comments posted below her article for the real truth.
So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? 13: Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. 14: If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. 15: For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. 16: Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. 17: If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. 18: I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. 19: Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he. 20: Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. John 13:12-20
Hi Anonymous, I like that foot washing part of John.
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