BYZANTINE PHILOLOGY

Academic year
2026/2027 Syllabus of previous years
Official course title
FILOLOGIA BIZANTINA
Course code
FM0079 (AF:754837 AR:438915)
Teaching language
Italian
Modality
On campus classes
ECTS credits
6
Degree level
Master's Degree Programme (DM270)
Academic Discipline
L-FIL-LET/07
Period
2nd Semester
Where
VENEZIA
Byzantine Philology is a course of the "Philology, literatures and history of antiquity" and the "Archaeology" Master's degree in "Science of antiquity: literatures, history and archaeology". The course is also offered as an exam to complement the master's degree course in "History from the Middle Ages to the Contemporary Age".
The students will have acquired:
- knowledge of the content and method of Byzantine literature and philology;
- a knowledge of the Byzantine literary and cultural world in its different periods;
- competence in the critical study of Byzantine texts.
Knowledge of classical Greek, and a preparation, at least elementary, of Greek palaeography is also recommended.
The Textual History of Gregory Palamas' Triads.
The Editions and Their History.
Survey of the direct textual tradition: study of the manuscripts, their groups and interrelationships.
Indirect tradition: quotations in contemporary authors and documents, and excerpts preserved in florilegia.

For the text of the Triads (TLG 3254.003), the following editions will be used: J. Meyendorff, Grégoire Palamas, Défense des saints hésychastes. Introduction, texte critique, traduction et notes, I–II (Louvain: Peeters, 1959) (Spicilegium Sacrum Lovaniense, Études et documents, 30–31); P. K. Chrestou, Γρηγορίου τοῦ Παλαμᾶ Συγγράμματα, I (Thessaloniki: Kyromanos, 1962). The poor quality of the existing translations into modern languages (French, English, and Italian) strongly advises against their use.
In addition to the work done during the course, the exam consists of an oral discussion on the topics and materials covered in class: oral exam 70% + Work on texts during lessons 30%.

oral

The lecturer has a duty to ensure that the rules regarding the authenticity and originality of exam tests and papers are respected. Therefore, if there is suspicion of irregular conduct, an additional assessment may be conducted, which could differ from the original exam description.

28-30L: mastery of the topics covered; exploitation of appropriate technical terminology;
26-27: good knowledge of the topics covered; familiarity with technical terminology;
24-25: knowledge of the topics covered is not always in-depth; oral presentation with incorrect use of technical terminology;
22-23: often superficial knowledge of the topics covered; oral presentation unclear
and lacking;
18-21: at times incomplete knowledge of the topics covered; confused oral presentation.
Lectures. The presence (constant) for the work on the texts is strongly recommended.
The course is divided into two integrated modules.
Definitive programme.
Last update of the programme: 18/04/2026