Alexander the Great in the Middle Ages: Transcultural Perspectives by Markus Stock

Alexander the Great was one of the central figures of ancient history as it was understood throughout the Middle Ages and into modern times. This article focuses on a significant change in the way in which he was represented after the arrival of humanist learning in England. While the medieval tradition, based on theAlexander Romance, generally made Alexander an unblemished knightly hero and a minister of God, in the fifteenth century a new way of thinking about him emerged that was influenced by the negative philosophical tradition represented by Seneca and Quintus Curtius. A central feature of such treatments was his cruelty: in earlier authors this was exemplified by the killings of the philosopher Callisthenes and of his childhood friend Cleitus. But in the Renaissance the judgement attached itself instead to the execution of Philotas, reflecting both a new critical approach to history and a new understanding of the legitimacy of kingly power.

Download Full-text

Alexander the Great

10.23943/princeton/9780691181752.001.0001 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

John Boardman

Keyword(s):

Middle Ages ◽

Ancient Greece ◽

Alexander The Great ◽

Historical Events ◽

Persian Empire ◽

Popular Imagination ◽

Military Career ◽

Historical Figure ◽

The World ◽

The Middle Ages

This book looks beyond the life of Alexander the Great in order to examine the astonishing range of Alexanders created by generations of authors, historians, and artists throughout the world, from Scotland to China. Alexander's defeat of the Persian Empire in 331 BC captured the popular imagination, inspiring an endless series of stories and representations that emerged shortly after his death and continues today. The book reflects on the most interesting and emblematic depictions of this towering historical figure. Some of the stories relate to historical events associated with Alexander's military career and some to the fantasy that has been woven around him. From Alexander's biographers in ancient Greece to the illustrated Alexander “Romances” of the Middle Ages to operas, films, and even modern cartoons, this illustrated volume takes readers on a fascinating cultural journey.

Download Full-text

On Byzantine origins of figural miniatures of Belgrade Alexandride

Zograf ◽

10.2298/zog1337169z ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 169-200

Author(s):

Milos Zivkovic

Keyword(s):

Middle Ages ◽

Fourteenth Century ◽

Literary Work ◽

Late Antique ◽

Alexander The Great ◽

Illustrated Manuscripts ◽

Literary Biography ◽

The West ◽

Alexander Romance ◽

The Middle Ages

The late antique literary biography of Alexander the Great known as Pseudo-Callisthenes? Alexander Romance was remarkably popular reading both in Byzantium and in the West in the middle ages. This literary work was also translated into Serbian Slavonic. Two extensively illustrated manuscripts of the ?Serbian Alexandride?, and one decorated with only a few drawings are known. The paper discusses the iconographic features of the oldest of the known manuscripts, the so-called Belgrade Alexandride, which is commonly dated to the second half or the end of the fourteenth century. The research is particularly focused on the costumes of the depicted figures. The findings of the research suggest that the iconographic solutions of the miniatures are of Byzantine origin and that earlier views suggesting West-European influences on their shaping are not founded.

Download Full-text