engleski

The Role of the Biblical Elements in Porphyrogenitus' Vita Basilii

Vita Basilii is βασιλικὸς λόγος written in honor of Basil I by his grandson Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus. The work treats Basil’s life discussing his origins, education, career, deeds and death as well as family circumstances. Constantine in general gives a very favorable image of his grandfather, and it seems that his main purpose was to whitewash Basil I and to refute the implicit charge of murdering his benefactor and predecessor Emperor Michael III. One of the main characteristics in account of Basil’s life, that can clearly be seen, is the strong influence of Holy Scripture regarding the syntactic and linguistic features as well as the use of quotations from Bible. Considering the fact that the idea of Providence is traditional in Byzantine literature, it is also remarkable that the author of Vita Basilii constantly emphasizes the importance of divine providence throughout Basil’s life and especially in his career. This paper sets out to examine which features of biblical syntax and language are present in Vita Basilii, how and in what context quotations from Bible are used and what is their function. The main purpose is twofold - to see the connection between the use of biblical elements and the frequent occurrence of author’s references to divine providence, and to show how biblical elements serve to realize author’s ideological and literary intention, that Basil’s accession to the throne was ordained by divine providence, and not the consequence of his personal ambition or immoral acts.

Vita Basilii ; Basil I ; God's providence ; biblical quotes ; biblical exempla ; biblical metaphors

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