“Image of the Soul” of a Learned Metropolitan in the Thirteenth Century: Some Notes on John Apokaukos’ Epistles

Abstract

John Apokaukos (ca. 1155–1233), the metropolitan of Naupaktos, was a church and political figure of the early thirteenth century and an outstanding Byzantine writer. So far the collection of Apokaukos’ letters has been studied mainly as a historical source. This paper has made a philological analysis of his epistles with the question raised how the author’s self is portrayed. This research has shown that Apokaukos’ letters formed an individual image of the author extending beyond epistolary clichés. This image is not without internal contradictions: on the one hand, Apokaukos portrays himself as a decrepit old man, enduring punishment for his sins, and on the other, he appears proud of his achievements and erudition, ready to stand up for his rights or defend the interests of his eparchy. Moreover, when the author speaks of his weakness and insignificance, he is not always serious, for the self-abasement sometimes turns into a caricature: for example, the author emphasizes his gluttony using grotesque comparisons. The author’s image is not static: Apokaukos often portrays himself as a doubter, hesitating over two opinions and changing his position under the influence of circumstances. This paper has analysed the author’s image in Apokaukos’ letters in the context of Byzantine epistolography in the Komnenian renaissance. Some common tendencies have been determined in the epistles of John Apokaukos, Michael Psellos, John Tzetzes, and Theodore Prodromos.