Belthandros and Chrysantza
Encyclopedia
Belthandros and Chrysantza is a Byzantine
romance
written by an anonymous author. The work describes the love story between a young couple: Belthandros and Chrysantza. The original version of the work was probably composed in 13th or 14th century, while it bears traces of later remodeling that may belong to the 15th century. The world in which the action takes place coincides loosely with the real political geography of 13th-century Anatolia
.
, and is written in vernacular language, which is also described as an early form of Modern Greek
. The original version of the work is lost, and the text survives in a single manuscript, codex Parisiensis 2909, folios 1–40, dating at the earliest to the 16th century.
work, still unknown or lost, due to similarities with the Provençal poetry or some elements like the names of the protagonists, which are hellenized forms of western European names: Belthandros (Bertrant/Bertram), Rhodophilos (Rudolf). On the other hand, Krumbacher
and Diehl
disagreed with this view and support that the romance was written by a Greek, but in a land which had been familiar for a long time with the Frankish
feudal culture
and its conventions, like the 13th-century Byzantine world. Another historian, J. B. Bury
, supports that the work is entirely Greek in its construction, descriptions and ideas without any western influences: Medieval French and Greek
romance followed parallel evolution, independent of each other, and both were affected by Hellenistic motives. The romance also includes elements typical of the earlier, 12th-century Byzantine romances, such as the use of elaborate ekphraseis of gardens
and buildings, or the occurrence of bride shows, which harkens back to earlier Byzantine practice. In this mixture of motifs, the work represents the partial absorption of French cultural elements, following the extensive contact and intermingling of Byzantines and Franks during the period of the Crusades
, and especially after the Fourth Crusade
.
) prince and youngest son of king Rhodophilos, quarrels with his father and leaves his home to seek his fortune. After wandering in the hostile lands of Anatolia and dealing with Turkish bandits, he reaches Tarsus
in Armenian Cilicia
. There he sees a fiery star in the depths of a river (a metaphor for love) and follows it to the north. In this way he finds a castle built of precious gems, which belongs to King Eros
, and is full of various miracles and magnificent statues and automaton
s. Belthandros leaves his escorts outside and enters the castle alone. There he sees an inscription that tells of his predestined love between him and Chrysantza, the daughter of the king of Great Antioch
. He is then summoned by the lord of the castle, Eros, who announces to him a beauty contest at which Belthandros must give a wand to the most beautiful among forty princesses. The contest takes place and Belthandros gives the wand to the most beautiful princess, whereupon all that surrounds him suddenly disappears "like a dream", leaving him alone in the castle. At this point he resolves to go out and seek the princess.
After a short journey he arrives in Antioch where he meets the king of the city, is accepted as his liegeman, and soon becomes an intimate of the royal household. There he meets his daughter Chrysantza, whom he recognizes as the princess he chose at the Castle of Eros. Although Chrysantza has never seen him before, she too recognizes him, and the two fall in love. Two years and two months however pass before their first love meeting, which takes place secretly at night in the royal garden. The meeting ends suddenly when a jealous courtier discovers them and Belthandros is put in jail. In order to save her lover's life, Chrysantza convinces her faithful chambermaid, Phaidrokaza, to take the blame by declaring that the prince had visited her instead. The king believes the story and a forced marriage between Belthandros and Phaidrokaza takes place.
The following days the couple continues to meet secretly, but soon the situation becomes unsatisfactory, and they decide to flee, together with the chambermaid and two retainers. On the way, they cross a flooded river, where Phaidrokaza and the two retainers are drowned, while the two lovers are separated and thrown up on the far bank. Chrysantza comes upon the corpse of one of the retainers, made unrecognizable from the river. Thinking it is Belthandros, she is about to fall on the dead man's sword, when Belthandros himself appears to forestall her. The lovers reach the seacoast where they find a ship sent by king Rhodophilos in search for his son. The romance ends with their return to Constantinople
, where a wedding ceremony is performed and Belthandros is proclaimed heir to his father's kingdom.
Additionally, some concepts like the beauty contest resembles the Judgement of Paris
from the Epic Cycle, and also reflects the 7th-8th century Byzantine custom to choose the worthiest bride for the Emperor. The castle of king Eros (or castle of love) is probably inspired by the Chateau d' Amour of the Provençal poetry.
In comparison to other contemporary Byzantine romances, such as the tale of Kallimachos and Chrysorrhoe or Libistros and Rhodamne, Belthandros and Chrysantza contains fewer "fairy-tale" elements, but stronger loans from Greek mythology
, while Belthandros' travails in Anatolia are largely drawn from the acritic songs
. All three however share a heritage from the 12th-century Byzantine romances, whose conventions they follow, as well as a strong and pervading presence of Frankish elements.
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
romance
Byzantine novel
The Byzantine novel represents a revival of the ancient Greek romance of Roman times. Works in this category were written by Byzantine Greeks of the Eastern Roman Empire during the 12th century.-History:...
written by an anonymous author. The work describes the love story between a young couple: Belthandros and Chrysantza. The original version of the work was probably composed in 13th or 14th century, while it bears traces of later remodeling that may belong to the 15th century. The world in which the action takes place coincides loosely with the real political geography of 13th-century Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
.
Date and text
Belthandros and Chrysantza was probably composed in 13th or early 14th century (1310–1350) by an anonymous author. The text bears some traces of remodeling and linguistic simplifications, and its final form belongs to the 15th century. The romance consist of 1,348 lines in unrhymed political versePolitical verse
Political verse , also known as Decapentasyllabic verse is a metric form in Modern Greek poetry. It is an iambic verse of fifteen syllables and has been the main meter of traditional popular and folk poetry since the Byzantine period...
, and is written in vernacular language, which is also described as an early form of Modern Greek
Modern Greek
Modern Greek refers to the varieties of the Greek language spoken in the modern era. The beginning of the "modern" period of the language is often symbolically assigned to the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, even though that date marks no clear linguistic boundary and many characteristic...
. The original version of the work is lost, and the text survives in a single manuscript, codex Parisiensis 2909, folios 1–40, dating at the earliest to the 16th century.
Sources
A group of scholars believe that the romance was based on a medieval FrenchMedieval French literature
Medieval French literature is, for the purpose of this article, literature written in Oïl languages during the period from the eleventh century to the end of the fifteenth century....
work, still unknown or lost, due to similarities with the Provençal poetry or some elements like the names of the protagonists, which are hellenized forms of western European names: Belthandros (Bertrant/Bertram), Rhodophilos (Rudolf). On the other hand, Krumbacher
Karl Krumbacher
Karl Krumbacher was a German scholar who was an expert on Byzantine culture.He was born at Kürnach im Allgäu in Bavaria, and was educated at the Universities of Munich and Leipzig, and held the professorship of the middle ages and modern Greek language and literature in the former from 1897 to his...
and Diehl
Charles Diehl
Charles Diehl was a French historian who was a native of Strasbourg. He was a leading authority on Byzantine art and history....
disagreed with this view and support that the romance was written by a Greek, but in a land which had been familiar for a long time with the Frankish
Frangokratia
The Frankokratia or Frangokratia , also known as Latinokratia is the period in Greek history after the Fourth Crusade , when a number of Western European Crusader states were established in Greece, on the territory of the dissolved Byzantine Empire .The term derives from the fact that Orthodox...
feudal culture
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
and its conventions, like the 13th-century Byzantine world. Another historian, J. B. Bury
J. B. Bury
John Bagnell Bury , known as J. B. Bury, was an Irish historian, classical scholar, Byzantinist and philologist.-Biography:...
, supports that the work is entirely Greek in its construction, descriptions and ideas without any western influences: Medieval French and Greek
Byzantine novel
The Byzantine novel represents a revival of the ancient Greek romance of Roman times. Works in this category were written by Byzantine Greeks of the Eastern Roman Empire during the 12th century.-History:...
romance followed parallel evolution, independent of each other, and both were affected by Hellenistic motives. The romance also includes elements typical of the earlier, 12th-century Byzantine romances, such as the use of elaborate ekphraseis of gardens
Byzantine gardens
Byzantium undoubtedly occupies an important place in the history of garden design. The city, which became Istanbul, was capital of the Eastern Roman Empire and survived for a thousand years after the fall of the Western Roman Empire...
and buildings, or the occurrence of bride shows, which harkens back to earlier Byzantine practice. In this mixture of motifs, the work represents the partial absorption of French cultural elements, following the extensive contact and intermingling of Byzantines and Franks during the period of the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
, and especially after the Fourth Crusade
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire...
.
Plot summary
Belthandros, a Roman (ByzantineByzantine Greeks
Byzantine Greeks or Byzantines is a conventional term used by modern historians to refer to the medieval Greek or Hellenised citizens of the Byzantine Empire, centered mainly in Constantinople, the southern Balkans, the Greek islands, Asia Minor , Cyprus and the large urban centres of the Near East...
) prince and youngest son of king Rhodophilos, quarrels with his father and leaves his home to seek his fortune. After wandering in the hostile lands of Anatolia and dealing with Turkish bandits, he reaches Tarsus
Tarsus (city)
Tarsus is a historic city in south-central Turkey, 20 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea. It is part of the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Turkey with a population of 2.75 million...
in Armenian Cilicia
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia , also known as the Cilician Armenia, Kingdom of Cilician Armenia or New Armenia, was an independent principality formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian refugees fleeing the Seljuk invasion of Armenia...
. There he sees a fiery star in the depths of a river (a metaphor for love) and follows it to the north. In this way he finds a castle built of precious gems, which belongs to King Eros
Eros
Eros , in Greek mythology, was the Greek god of love. His Roman counterpart was Cupid . Some myths make him a primordial god, while in other myths, he is the son of Aphrodite....
, and is full of various miracles and magnificent statues and automaton
Automaton
An automaton is a self-operating machine. The word is sometimes used to describe a robot, more specifically an autonomous robot. An alternative spelling, now obsolete, is automation.-Etymology:...
s. Belthandros leaves his escorts outside and enters the castle alone. There he sees an inscription that tells of his predestined love between him and Chrysantza, the daughter of the king of Great Antioch
Principality of Antioch
The Principality of Antioch, including parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria, was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade.-Foundation:...
. He is then summoned by the lord of the castle, Eros, who announces to him a beauty contest at which Belthandros must give a wand to the most beautiful among forty princesses. The contest takes place and Belthandros gives the wand to the most beautiful princess, whereupon all that surrounds him suddenly disappears "like a dream", leaving him alone in the castle. At this point he resolves to go out and seek the princess.
After a short journey he arrives in Antioch where he meets the king of the city, is accepted as his liegeman, and soon becomes an intimate of the royal household. There he meets his daughter Chrysantza, whom he recognizes as the princess he chose at the Castle of Eros. Although Chrysantza has never seen him before, she too recognizes him, and the two fall in love. Two years and two months however pass before their first love meeting, which takes place secretly at night in the royal garden. The meeting ends suddenly when a jealous courtier discovers them and Belthandros is put in jail. In order to save her lover's life, Chrysantza convinces her faithful chambermaid, Phaidrokaza, to take the blame by declaring that the prince had visited her instead. The king believes the story and a forced marriage between Belthandros and Phaidrokaza takes place.
The following days the couple continues to meet secretly, but soon the situation becomes unsatisfactory, and they decide to flee, together with the chambermaid and two retainers. On the way, they cross a flooded river, where Phaidrokaza and the two retainers are drowned, while the two lovers are separated and thrown up on the far bank. Chrysantza comes upon the corpse of one of the retainers, made unrecognizable from the river. Thinking it is Belthandros, she is about to fall on the dead man's sword, when Belthandros himself appears to forestall her. The lovers reach the seacoast where they find a ship sent by king Rhodophilos in search for his son. The romance ends with their return to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, where a wedding ceremony is performed and Belthandros is proclaimed heir to his father's kingdom.
Contents and style
The romance offers various scenes of striking realism, with allegory and imaginative lyricism, while some critics consider it superior in imaginative power to the Niebelungenlied. Moreover it follows a completely symmetrical plot, which is mainly divided between the realm of the fantastic, i.e. the Castle of Eros, and the real world, i.e. Antioch and the love with Chrysantza.Additionally, some concepts like the beauty contest resembles the Judgement of Paris
Judgement of Paris
thumb |right |460px |[[The Judgment of Paris |The Judgment of Paris]], [[Peter Paul Rubens]], ca 1636...
from the Epic Cycle, and also reflects the 7th-8th century Byzantine custom to choose the worthiest bride for the Emperor. The castle of king Eros (or castle of love) is probably inspired by the Chateau d' Amour of the Provençal poetry.
In comparison to other contemporary Byzantine romances, such as the tale of Kallimachos and Chrysorrhoe or Libistros and Rhodamne, Belthandros and Chrysantza contains fewer "fairy-tale" elements, but stronger loans from Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, while Belthandros' travails in Anatolia are largely drawn from the acritic songs
Acritic songs
The Acritic songs are the heroic or epic poetry that emerged in the Byzantine Empire probably in the 9th century. The songs celebrated the exploits of the Akrites, the frontier guards defending the eastern borders of the Byzantine Empire. The historical background was the almost...
. All three however share a heritage from the 12th-century Byzantine romances, whose conventions they follow, as well as a strong and pervading presence of Frankish elements.