#alexiad

[averageantagonist]

Time to write an UNBIASED history book about the reign of my father as roman emperor

(14 Books later)

[littlehistorian]

Anna Komnena (1083-1153) is the author of the Alexiad, an account of the reign of her father, Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos.

[historynavigator]

Anna Komnene, Princess and Historian

Anna Komnene is one of our only sources on the First Crusade from the Byzantine perspective. She was a Byzantine princess, historian, and intellectual. Read more about her life here! #history #crusades #womenshistory #AnnaKomnene #historian #writer

“For even the greatest of deeds, if not haply preserved in written words and handed down to remembrance, become extinguished in the obscurity of silence” -Preface, The Alexiad Anna Komnene is one of the first female historians and one of the most valuable primary sources of the Middle Ages. Her written account of her father’s reign, The Alexiad, is our only source of the First Crusade from a…

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[camilla-denniston]

I didn't realize how far gone I am until I saw an article about the similarities between Anna Komnene's account of the Battle of Dyrrachium and Anglo-Saxon Chronicles of the Battle of Hastings and whispered, "That's sexy."

[song-of-roland-alexiad]

...it is bad for generals who in a time of universal peace purposely excite their neighbours to war. For peace is the end of every war, but tho choose war in every case instead of peace for the sake of anything... this is the characteristic of senseless generals and demagogues and men who are working for the destruction of the state.

The Alexiad, Book XII, translated by Elizabeth Dawes, 2000. (220)

Concepts of war versus peace, "us" versus "them," and morality resonate across the Song of Roland and the Alexiad. Here, Anna Komnene criticizes the senselessness of instigating war without a cause, or inflicting violence for the sake of disrupting peace and one's own personal gain.

[madamelamarquys]

Byzantine History Meme - Anna Komnene

 Anna Komnene was born on December 1083 as the eldest child of emperor Alexius I and Irene Doukaina. She was called porphyrogenita, a name given to every child born during their fathers’ reign. Rumor has is that the Imperial Palace had a chamber called “Porphyra” where empresses gave birth to their children.   Until the birth of her brother, Anna was heir apparent to the Byzantine throne and as an imperial princess was betrothed at a young age to Constantine Doukas, son of Michael VII and was proclaimed co- emperor for the second time. Anna grew up in his mother’s household and studied greek literature and history, philosophy, theology, mathematics, and medicine.                                       In 1087 her brother John II was born and replaced her in the line of succession frustrating Anna. Ten years later her fiance died so she was once again betrothed and then married to general Nickephorus Bryennius with whom she had four children. Despite Anna’s tireless efforts to make her husband emperor, her brother succeeded Alexius and Anna was sent into exile after losing all of her fortune. In the monastery where she spent the rest of her life she wrote Alexiad and became the first female historian.  

[averageantagonist]

During the end of last year, I picked up a copy of the Alexiad in Portuguese, when it arrived, it was full of AI slop in the pictures, the foreword and synopsis; it made several mistakes (When Rhomanía was mentioned, it said it was the old name for Romania, and it got the reason for Anastasius Dicorus' name wrong); and made some translation decisions that made it obvious that it was just the english translation slapped into google translate, for example, the greek name Ίωαννες should be translated into portuguese as "João", but in this copy, it was the rather english version of "John."

So I think that before I die, I want to learn byzantine greek and make a decent portuguese version of the Alexiad.

[averageantagonist]

The Alexiad is half Anna Komnene gushing about how cool her dad is, and half her going on large rants about a tangential topic before remebering what the book is actually about