Περίληψη : Michael Gabras was a scholar of the Late Byzantine period. He lived in the 14 th century and was an official of the Byzantine administration. Gabras has greatly contributed to the promotion of Byzantine rhetoric and epistolography. A big part of his letters has been preserved and it is considered as a significant source for his era. Άλλα Ονόματα Constantinopolitanus Τόπος και Χρόνος Γέννησης Approximately 1290 Constantinople (?) Τόπος και Χρόνος Θανάτου After 1350 Constantinople (?) Κύρια Ιδιότητα Writer and official of the imperial archive 1. Biography Little is known about the life of MichaelGabras. The only information about his life comes from his preserved letters. Michael Gabras was born to the aristocratic Gabras family, closely related to Chaldia and Trebizond, who influenced strongly the political, economic and social life of both the Byzantine Empire and the Empire of Trebizond. It appears that he was born sometime around 1290 and that he died after 1350. 1 Michael Gabras spent the longest part of his life in Constantinople. From the context of his preserved letters follows that he was an official of the byzantine bureaucracy. His career as a member of the Byzantine administration did not allow him to be comfortably off, though, for he always seems to have been in distress. This is apparent in a great number of letters to his friends, in which he is asking for even the basic foodstuffs. 2 He complains about not having any money and he calls himself ʺa pauperʺ (letters 309, 334 to various friends). However, Gabras was not destitute, as in some letters he appears to have been the proprietor or joint proprietor of a cottage (letters 217, 359, 391, and 396 to Manuel Gavalas, Nikephoros Xanthopoulos and Demetrios Kerameas). He also owned an estate, although it must have been a rather small one, since his vineyard produced eight hundred kilos of wine a year (letters 173, 295 to Theodore Patrikiotes and Philip Logaras). 2. Works In the preserved letters of Michael Gabras we can gather information about the width of his work as an author. He was a prolific writer mainly of rhetorical texts, such as odes to his mother and father, at least four rhetorical orations to the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos (1282 1328) and one ode to the Emperor Michael IX Palaiologos (1259 1282) that was also sent to the cousin of Michael IX, Andronikos Asan. Various elements in these texts indicate that they were probably stylistic studies, since it appears that Gabras, although associated with a circle of scholars with access to the imperial court, he had not himself the privilege to appear before the emperor in public. 3 In addition to his rhetorical works, Michael Gabras wrote reviews of various works and an analysis on dreams. 4 None Δημιουργήθηκε στις 15/5/2017 Σελίδα 1/5
of the above works has been preserved, though. Of the work of Gabras, only a part of his letters, from which the writer had kept copies, has been preserved. The sum of his epistles, compiled in three volumes, was 1400. 462 of them, which constituted actually the first volume of the collection, have been preserved in the library of Bessarion, where they were found (Marc. gr. Z 446). These letters seem to be dating to the period between 1308 and 1327. They were addressed to various receivers, including personal friends of the writer and several important figures of his time, such as Emperors Andronikos II Palaiologos and John VI Kantakouzenos (1347 1354), Andronicosʹ sons Demetrios and Theodore, as well as scholars and senior officers, such as John Choumnos and Theodore Metochites, George Lakapenos and John Glykys. 5 It seems that Gabras did not always receive answers, so he often sent copies of his letters, assuming that the originals had been lost. 6 His friends were mainly members of the upper class and associated to a wider circle of scholars. As regards the style of his epistles, it is according to the prevailing style of their contemporary Byzantine epistolography. Apparently Gabras was so eager to follow the literary and rhetorical rules that he often did it at the expense of clarity. 7 However, his letters are of particular interest, not only for literature history but for social history as well, as they depict the every daylife of a group of intellectuals who belonged nevertheless to different social classes. Many of the letters that Gabras addressed to the emperor or to other officials reveal different aspects of the writer s private life, such as requests for favourable treatment regarding various matters, complaints about the state of his health and laments for the death of his brother John. In addition, Gabras talks about a horse he could not afford (let. 71, 76, 152, 153, 187, 282 and 357 to John Choumnos, Manuel Koutalas and others). In other letters he requests staple commodities, such as bread (144 to the patriarch John Glykys), salt (454 to the Logaras brothers) and fish (141). Some other letters concern literary matters; Gabras asks his friendsʹ opinion and reviews on his literary works, while at the same time they exchange manuscripts. 8 The letters confirm that the writer was in distress concerning his financial situation. But to what extent the life Gabras led, as illustrated in his letters, is a typical example of the life of a great number of his colleagues at the time, remains uncertain. A great number (about seventy) of Gabrasʹ letters deals with the popular among the scholars subject of the litterary production (letters 16, 23, 29, 31 to George Lakapenos, Maximos Planoudes and Nikephoros Xanthopoulos). Quite oftenly Gabras requests that a manuscript should be sent, returned or even restored. On other occasions he complains about incompetent scribes (letters 290, 449 to apprentices and to Philip Logaras). He is concerned about manuscripts of the works of Herodotus, Homer, Demosthene and Aristeides. Manuscripts are also the subject of some letters addressed to Alexios Philanthropenos (259, 260). It is worth mentioning that Gabras often expresses his contempt for lower social classes (letters 87, 93 and 124 to Manuel Gabalas, to the protonotarios of Philadelpheia, to Planoudes and John Monomachos), although he himself didnʹt belong to the elite either, as implies the fact that lots of his letters to important figures of the time (Theodore Metochites, Alexios Philanthropenos Michael Glavas and John Kantakouzenos) remained unanswered (84, 105, 317, 322, 370, 403, 407, 460). It is obvious that he did his utmost to approach such personalities through others (letters 70, 71, 113, 114, 280, 295 to John Choumnos, John Philes and Philip Logaras). He often asked his acquaintances to intercede with the emperor on his behalf (letters 14, 25, 45, 78, 128, 132, 135, 155, 159 etc to John Philes, John Skleros, Δημιουργήθηκε στις 15/5/2017 Σελίδα 2/5
Michael Atzymas and others). As regards Gabrasʹ attitude towards politics, he appears to have been rather inactive. The political situation and developpements, however critical, were not his concern, as he was preoccupied with his own personal interests. For exemple, in his letters to Alexios Philanthropenos, he is less interested in the fall of Philadelphia to the Ottomans than in the delay of Alexiosʹ answer to him (letter 398). 3. Evaluation In general, the writings of Michael Gabras have not received favourable reviews by modern scholars, as Gabras was considered a mediocrity of Byzantine epistolography. 9 However, and regardless of the quality of his contribution to the Byzantine literary tradition, the letters of Michael Gabras are of particular historical interest because they shed light to unknown aspects of the life of some Byzantine scholars, especially of those whose financial status was not in accordance with the large amount of their writings. 1. "Gabras Michael", Trapp, E., Prosopographisches Lexikon der Palaiologenzeit 2, Wien 1977, no 3372. 2. ʺGabras, Michaelʺ, Talbot A.M., Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium 2 (New York Oxford 1991), p. 812. 3. Hunger, H., Βυζαντινή Λογοτεχνία 1: Η λόγια κοσμική γραμματεία των Βυζαντινών, μτφρ. Μπενάκη, Λ.Γ. Αναστασίου, Ι.Β. Μακρή, Γ.Χ. (Αθήνα 1991), p. 210. 4. ʺGabras, Michaelʺ, Talbot A.M., Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium 2 (New York Oxford 1991), p. 812. 5. Fatouros, G. (ed.), Die Briefe des Michael Gabras (ca. 1290-nach 1350) 1 (Vienna 1973), p. 23. 6. Fatouros, G. (ed.), Die Briefe des Michael Gabras (ca. 1290-nach 1350) 1 (Vienna 1973), letter 421; Hunger, H., Βυζαντινή Λογοτεχνία 1: Η λόγια κοσμική λογοτεχνία των Βυζαντινών, μτφρ. Μπενάκη, Λ.Γ. Αναστασίου, Ι.Β. Μακρή, Γ.Χ. (Αθήνα 1991), p. 321. 7. For a more detailed presentation and an analysis of Michael Gabras' work, Hunger, H., Βυζαντινή Λογοτεχνία 1: Η λόγια κοσμική γραμματεία των Βυζαντινών, μτφρ. Μπενάκη, Λ.Γ. Αναστασίου, Ι.Β. Μακρή, Γ.Χ. (Αθήνα 1991), p. 346-8. 8. ʺGabras, Michaelʺ, Talbot A.M., Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium 2 (New York Oxford 1991), p. 812. 9. Hunger, H., Βυζαντινή Λογοτεχνία 1: Η λόγια κοσμική γραμματεία των Βυζαντινών, μτφρ. Μπενάκη, Λ.Γ. Αναστασίου, Ι.Β. Μακρή, Γ.Χ. (Αθήνα 1991), p. 347 Βιβλιογραφία : Μπαρτικιάν Χ.Μ., Η βυζαντινή αριστοκρατική οικογένεια των Γαυράδων (Γαβράδων), Αθήνα 1993 Bryer A.A.M., "A Byzantine Family: the Gabrades, c. 979-1653", University of Birmingham Historical Journal, XII, 1970, 164-187 Δημιουργήθηκε στις 15/5/2017 Σελίδα 3/5
Hunger H., Βυζαντινή Λογοτεχνία. Η λόγια κοσμική γραμματεία των Βυζαντινών, 1: Φιλοσοφία, Pητορική, Eπιστολογραφία, Γεωγραφία, Μ.Ι.Ε.Τ., Αθήνα 1991, Mπενάκη, Λ.Γ. Aναστασίου, I.B. Mακρή, Γ.X. (μτφρ.) Fatouros G., "Ein byzantinischer Spottbrief", Jahrbuch der Österreichischen Byzantinistik, 19, 1970, 135-140 Talbot A.M., "Gabras, Michael", Kazhdan A., The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium 2, Oxford New York 1991, 812 "Γαβράς Μιχαήλ, λήμμα no 3372", Trapp, E. (ed.), Prosopographisches Lexikon der Palaiologenzeit 2, Wien 1977 Γαβράς Μιχαήλ, Επιστολαί, Fatouros, G. (ed.), Die Briefe des Michael Gabras (ca. 1290-nach 1350), Wien 1973 Laiou A.E., "Die Briefe des Michael Gabras (ca. 1290-1350)", The Journal of Hellenic Studies, 95, 1975, 306-307 Δικτυογραφία : GABRAS, Michael http://www.bautz.de/bbkl/g/gabras_m.shtml Γλωσσάριo : protonotarios High byzantine official. The chief of the notarioi (secretarial officials). The office of protonotarios was probably created with the system of the logothesia an was in use from the from the 9th to the 12th C. AD. In the Late Byzantine Period protonotarioi was the emperorʹs personal secretary and was mentioned as imperial grammateus. Πηγές Fatouros, G. (ed.), Die Briefe des Michael Gabras (ca. 1290 nach 1350), 2 vols. (Vienna 1973). Παραθέματα Michael Gabrasʹ letters lett. 1. Τo Nikephoros Xanthopoulos «Λόγον πρότερον ἡγούμενος τὰ τῶν θαυματοποιῶν καὶ μέντοι οἷς ἀπλῶς τοιοῦτον τι ἐπιτετήδευται, νῦν ἔργον ἐξ ἀνάγκης πὰν τὸ κατ αὐτοὺς ἐψηφισάμην». Fatouros, G. (ed.), Die Briefe des Michael Gabras (ca. 1290 nach 1350), p. 9. lett. 16. Τo George Lakapenos «Οὔτ ἐγώ τοιοῦτος, οἷος ὰγαπὰν τῷ πλείστῳ μέρει λόγους ἐργαζόμενος εἴτα πρὸς τῷ τέλει ἐκὼν ἀπαγορεύων, σὺ τε περί ἐμοῦ τοῦτ ὀρθῶς εἰκάσας ἔχεις ἐν τοῖς πρὸς ἐμέ σου γράμμασιν» Fatouros, G. (ed.), Die Briefe des Michael Gabras (ca. 1290 nach 1350), p. 40. Δημιουργήθηκε στις 15/5/2017 Σελίδα 4/5
lett. 88. Τo Kedrenos the Orphanotrophos «Εἴ τισι τῶν πάντων εἰς τὰ πρὸς ἀλλήλους ὅτι μάλιστα διὰ φιλίας γέγονεν ἀνακραθῆναι, καἰ ἡμῖν τούθ ὡς ἀληθώς ὑπάρξαν εἰς τὰ πρὸς ἀλλήλους φαίνεται». Fatouros, G. (ed.), Die Briefe des Michael Gabras (ca. 1290 nach 1350), p. 144. Χρονολόγιο circa 1290: Birth of Michael Gabras 1308 1327: Period in which he wrote 462 letters after 1350: Death of Michael Gabras Δημιουργήθηκε στις 15/5/2017 Σελίδα 5/5