Was There a Cultural Renaissance Under Justinian?

The age of Justinian has often been considered a period in which classical Greek literature was flourishing. Edward Gibbon, who considered the Byzantine period an era of cultural decline, felt compelled to regard Justinian’s reign as an exception: the last flowering of classical culture. One of the reasons for Gibbon – and many scholars after him – to do so is the fact that during this period authors such as Procopius, Agathias and Paul the Silentiary wrote virtuosic prose and poetry, which was classical both in language and in style. A historical explanation of this so-called renaissance of classical literature has always been under debate. Traditionally an explanation of this revival of literature has been sought in literary patronage. Several scholars have portrayed Justinian as a patron of the arts who was inspired by classical antiquity: not only did he restore the ancient borders of the empire and supervised the building of the Hagia Sophia, he also surrounded himself with poets and authors whom he encouraged to compose classicizing literature (cf. Downey). However, during the last few decades scholars have argued that there is little evidence for any imperial literary patronage. Justinian is then seen as a religious and military leader who was not interested in culture or literature (cf. Rapp). There also is more nuanced view, however, in which the emperor is not portrayed as an exception, but as someone who is likely to have had a court poet or two, like any other emperor, and who must have been well aware of the fact that he was praised in their literature (cf. Cameron). In this paper I would like to take this discussion to a more abstract level. Was there a revival of literature during the reign of Justinian at all? I will argue that the whole concept of a Justinianic revival or renaissance itself is incorrect. A list of largely unknown poets (such as Panolbius, Pamprepius and Christodorus) and prose writers (such as Priscus, Malchus and Candidus) of the periods before Justinian shows us that the reign of the latter is not a discontinuation. There was a ongoing tradition of writing classicizing Greek literature throughout the fifth and sixth centuries. In modern discussions about Justinianic literary culture several terms and concepts are mixed up: a) revival of a literary culture; b) renaissance of classicizing literature (cf. Treadgold); c) whether the contemporary situation was encouraging for authors; d) the amount of literature that has been written; e) the amount of literature that has survived, f) the extent to which literature has been appreciated. In this paper I will disentangle these concepts. For instance (regarding d) the question whether more classicizing literature from the age of Justinian has come down to us than from surrounding periods does not necessarily mean that there was actually more literature produced in that period. Such observations will make necessary differentiations in the way scholars should regard the alleged Justinianic renaissance. Short bibliography: Cameron, Averil. 1985. Procopius and the sixth century. London: Duckworth. Cameron, Averil. 1991a. Christianity and the rhetoric of empire. Berkeley/Los Angeles/Oxford: University of California Press. Christ, von W. 1924. Geschichte der Griechischen Literatur. Munich: C.H. Beck’sche verlagsbuchhandlung. Downey, G. 1959. ‘Julian and Justinian and the unity of faith and culture.’ Church History 28: 339-349. Rapp, C. 2007. ‘Literary culture under Justinian.’ In The Cambridge Companion to The Age of Justinian, ed. M. Maas, ed. M. Maas, 376-397. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Treadgold, W. (ed.). 1984. Renaissances before the Renaissance. Stanford (CA): Stanford university press.