Thou shall not bear false witness against: Manuel Komnenos and Stefan Nemanja in the works of the 12th century Byzantine rhetoricians

Abstract

First, the paper tries to establish a meaning of the concept of falsehood and the deriving notions. There are references to understanding of falsehood in Christianity as the foundation of the European civilization i.e. of the modern and contemporary philosophy. And while Christianity makes a clear cut distinction between falsehood and truthfulness, philosophy renders this distinction relative and meaningless (Schopenhauer). Further on, the paper portrays a relationship between Manuel Komnenos and Stefan Nemanja as given in the texts of Constantine Manasses and Eustace of Salonika. Both of them celebrate Manuel up to a point where they compare him with God. On the other hand, Nemanja is attributed epithets related to Satan. Contrary to that, when writing his father's biography, Stefan the First Crowned portrays the Emperor Manuel in good light. The consequences of the Emperor's conquests soon disappear when the Empire ceases to exist, while the Grand Prince's feats - the territorial expansion, winning independence and founding Hilandar remain. In the end, Nemanja becomes a saint, while Manuel does not. The final conclusion is that a falsehood uttered by the powerful and dominant does not last forever.