This chapter explains that Romaniote hymnography in south-eastern Europe reveals a three-stage development that is similar to the Italian experience. The early poets in Balkan Byzantium — Benjamin b. Samuel (11th c.) and his contemporaries, Isaac b. Judah, Benjamin b. Zeraḥ, and Samuel Ha-Kohen Memeli — imitated Solomon Ha-Bavli’s neo-classical revival practices. Like the Italian master, they generally built their hymns in a consistent word metre and with two-morpheme rhyme endings. They also favoured the Qilliric-style neologisms and allusions to rabbinic sources. The chapter then assesses the role of the rabbi-poet in Balkan Byzantium. It is likely that the Romaniote poet served as the congregational cantor. The chapter also discusses the role of Romaniote mysticism and folk practices in Romaniote hymnography.
Democracy promotion and the normative power Europe framework: the European Union in South Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia, edited by Marek Neuman