THE W R I T I N G S OF JOHN MAUROPOUS:

A B I B L I O G R A P H I C A L NOTE

J. M . H U S S E Y / L O N D O N

In the second half of the sixteenth century four manuscripts containing

certain of J o h n M a u r o p o u s ' w o r k s were brought to V i e n n a . T h e y were
presented to the Imperial L i b r a r y , three b y Ogier de B u s b e c q 1 and one
b y Sebastian T e n g n a g e l , 2 and were later described b y Peter L a m b e c k 8
a n d Daniel de Nessel. 4 T h e y contain J o h n M a u r o p o u s ' poems, some of
his church canons and one of his sermons. T h e poems were published
in 1 6 1 0 b y M a t t h e w B u s t , 5 although L a m b e c k writing in 1 6 7 2 does
not mention this edition.® L e o Allatius evidently k n e w of most of J o h n
M a u r o p o u s ' sermons, for in 1 6 6 4 he quotes the titles of a number of these 7

1
Augerius Gislenius Busbequius was Flemish, and was sent in 1554 by Ferdinand
of Austria on an embassy to Constantinople, then in the possession of the Ottoman
Turks. He returned in 1562. He writes at the end of his fourth Turkish Letter: " I
have . . . whole waggon-loads, whole shiploads, of Greek manuscripts. There are, I
believe, not much fewer than 240 books, which I have sent to Venice, to be conveyed
from thence to Vienna, for their destination is the Imperial Library." (C. T . Forster
and F. H. Blackburne Danieli, The life and letters of Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq,
seigneur de Bousbecque, knight, imperial ambassador, I, London 1881, pp. 416/417.)
Cf. J . Bick, Wanderungen griechischer Handschriften, Wiener Studien 34 (1912)
143-154·
a
Cod. theol. gr. 2 1 1 (Lambecius) = theol. gr. 103 (Nessel).
8
Lambecius, Commentariorum de Augustissima Bibliotheca Caesarea Vindobo-
nensi libri V I I I , Vienna 1665-79. See vol. V (1672) Cod. theol. gr. 204 (Oratio),
Cod. theol. gr. 2 1 1 (Poems), Cod. theol. gr. 299 (Canons), and Cod. theol. gr. 309
(Canons).
4
D. de Nessel, Catalogue sive Recensio specialis omnium codicum MStorum Grae-
corum, nec non Linguarum Orientalium Augustissimae Bibliothecae Caesareae Vindo-
bonensis I - V in 2 vols., Vienna and Nuremberg 1690. See codd. theol. gr. 144, 103,
78 and 146.
* M. Bust, Epigrammata jambica carminaque in praecipuorum festorum Patrum pie-
tas in tabulis imagines et historias, ac de aliis varii generis argumentis prodierunt
brevi, Eton 1610.
* P. Lambecius, op. cit. V p. 33.
7
L . Allatius, De Symeonum scriptis diatriba..., Paris 1664, p. 82: In S.Theodorum
Märtyrern = Lagarde (see infra n.7 p.279) Nr. 179 pp. 1 1 9 ff.;p. 92: In Dormitionem
S. Deiparae = Lagarde Nr. 183 pp. 147 ff. ; p. 97: In Synaxim SS. Angelorum = La-
garde Nr. 177 pp. 95fr. ; p. 99: In S. TheodorumTironem = Lagarde Nr. 180 pp. 130 ff. ;
p. 102: In diem Paschae = Lagarde Nr. 181 pp. 137 ff.; p. 104: Vita S. Dorothei
Junioris = Lagarde Nr. 190 pp. 209 ff. ; p. 105: In SS. tres Antistites Basilium,
Chrysostomum et Gregorium = Lagarde Nr. 178 pp. 106 ff.; p. 1 0 5 : In S. Märtyrern
Theodorum, id est τόν πεζόν = Lagarde Nr. 189 pp. 207 ff.; p. 106: In S. Eusebiam
 J . M. Hussey: The Writings of John Mauropous: A Bibliographical Note 279

and in an earlier book of 1 6 5 5 gives a passage f r o m the sermon on

S . Eusebia. 1
H e appears to give no references to the manuscripts which he used, but
one of these m a y have been V a t . gr. 676, afterwards published by L a g a r d e
in 1 8 8 2 : all but one of the sermons mentioned by him are in this M S .
B u t he does not cite a l l the sermons in V a t . gr. 6 7 6 (omitting Nos. 1 8 4 - 8 6
of L a g a r d e ) and he includes one that is not in this codex. 2 In 1 6 9 5
J o h n Mauropous' V i t a S . Dorothei Junioris appeared in the A c t a S a n c -
torum. 3 A f t e r this there is a long gap. In 1 8 5 2 one of J o h n ' s sermons on
the Three Fathers was published by E . Tantalides, 4 and another sermon
by Antonio Ballerini in 1 8 5 7 . a T h e n in 1 8 6 4 Matthew Bust's edition of the
poems, together with the V i t a S . Dorothei Junioris and the sermon pub-
lished by Ballerini, was re-printed in the Patrologia Graeca.®
T h e decisive step towards the real appreciation of J o h n Mauropous w a s
the publication of certain of his works by Paul de L a g a r d e in 1 8 8 2 . 7 T h i s
edition was based on V a t . gr. 6 7 6 , and printed for the first time a number
of the sermons, the letters and the Constitution of the Faculty of L a w in
the University of Constantinople, as well as the etymological poem f r o m
cod. L a u r . L V , 7, and the works already published. T h e Constitution of
the Faculty of L a w was of particular importance for the history of learning
in the late Macedonian period; it was in the form of an imperial novel and
it has been several times re-printed since L a g a r d e ' s day. 8 T h e etymological
poem w a s re-edited from a more complete manuscript (Cod. 296) in the

in Euchaitis = Lagarde Nr. 188 pp. 202 ff.; p. 1 1 2 : In SS. tres Antistites etc. Inc. Τρεις
με πρός τριώνυμον παροτρύνουσι κίνησιν; ρ. 1 1 5 : De Μ i ráculo facto in barbaros = La-
garde Nr. 182 pp. 142 ff.
1
Idem, De utriusque ecclesiae occidentalis atque orientalis perpetua in dogmate de
purgatorio consensione, Rome 1655 pp. 754-755. Allatius speaks of it as ' v i t a Sanctae
Eusebiae', but it is really a s e r m o n (in Lagarde's edition Nr. 188 pp. 202-209; the
passage quoted by Allatius is on p. 206).
1
L. Allatius, De Symeonum scriptis etc. p. 1 1 2 (this appears to be Cod. Vat. gr.
453. ff. 360-372).
' A S S , June I, pp. 596-604 in the 1867 edition (with a Latin translation).
4
This is inaccessible to me: I owe the reference to A. Papadopulos-Kerameus,
Μαυρογορδάτειος Βιβλιοθήκη . . . Τόμος Α'. Ό έν Κ/πόλει 'Ελληνικός Φιλολογικός Σύλ-
λογος. Παράρτημα τοϋ ιε' τόμου, Constantinople 1884, ρ. 41· See also Bibliotheca Hagio-
graphica Graeca', Brussels 1909, nr. 747.
8
A. Ballerini, Sylloge monumentorum ad mysterium Conceptionis Immaculatae
Virginis Deiparae illustrandum II, Paris 1857, pp. 546-602.
• PG 120, 1039-1200. Poems 1 3 - 1 7 (cols. 1 1 3 4 - 1 1 3 6 ) also appear in PG 122, 908/909
under the name'J ohn Psellus'. See E.Lamerand, Bessarione IV, anno 3 (1898/99) 175,
L. Sternbach, Eos 4 (1897) 156-163 and 9 (1903) 5-10.
7
Iohannis Euchaitorum metropolitae quae in codice Vat. graeco 676 supersunt,
J . Bollig descripsit... P. de Lagarde edidit, Göttingen 1882 (Abhandlungen der kgl.
Gesellschaft der Wissenschaft zu Göttingen 28).
9
J . Cozza-Luzi, Studi e documenti di storia e diritto V, Rome 1884, pp. 289-316
(with Latin transi, by A. Mai); E. C. Ferrini, Novella di Costantino Monomaco.
Archivio giuridico 33 (1884) 425-448 (with Latin transi.); J . A. Valaorites, 'Ιωάννης δ
νοαοφύλαξ καΐ ή περί έπανιδρύσεως της έν Κ/πόλει νομικής σχολής νεαρά Κωνσταντίνου
28ο J. M. Hussey: The Writings of John Mauropous : A Bibliographical Note

Library of the Alexandrine Patriarchate at Cairo by Richard Reitzenstein

in 1 9 ο ι 1 . A fragment of a life of S . Baras was noted and published in 1885
by A . Papadopulos-Kerameus. 2
Lagarde's edition still remains the best existing introduction to John
Mauropous but its contents are by no means representative of him, nor
is it entirely satisfactory in other respects. It omits the canons, or hymns,
which form the most important part of John Mauropous* writings and
in actual bulk far outweigh the rest of his work. 8 Further it gives the
bare text and little else : there is no attempt at any chronological ordering
of the various writings 4 and there is no account of John's life. E v e r
since the seventeenth century when western Europe became aware of
John Mauropous* existence his life had remained an almost closed
book. In his introduction to the Vita S. Dorothei Junioris in 1695
Conrad Janning had pointed out how difficult it was to discover
anything about this Metropolitan of Euchaita; s as he said, all that
appeared to be known of John Mauropous was based on the entry
made by Andreas Darmarius Epidauriotes in the Vienna M S . of his
poems, Cod. theol. gr. 103 (Nessel).® This entry was quoted by Matthew

τοϋ Μονομάχου. ΈφημερΙς της έλληνικής καΐ γαλλικής νομολογίας $ (Athens 1885),
329-360 (inaccessible to me; I owe this reference toDölger and Zepos); J. and P. Zepos,
Jus Graeco-romanum I, Athens 1931, pp. 618-627. Cf. F. Dölger, Regesten der
Kaiserurkunden des oströmischen Reiches von 565-1453, II Nr. 863.
1
R. Reitzenstein, M. Terentius Varrò und Johannes Mauropus von Euchaita - eine
Studie zur Geschichte der Sprachwissenschaft, Leipzig 1901. See also his Geschichte der
griechischen Etymologika: ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Philologie in Alexandria und
Byzanz, Leipzig 1897, pp. 173-179, where the version given by Lagarde is reprinted.
a
Μαυρογορδάτειος Βιβλιοθήκη . . . Τόμος πρώτος. Ό έν Κ/πόλει "Ελληνικός Φιλολογι-
κός Σύλλογος. Παράρτημα τοϋ ις' τόμου, Constantinople 1885, ρ. 54 Nr. 14 (under 'Αριθ.
43)· The text follows in the 'Ανέκδοτα 'Ελληνικά, pp. 38-45. John Mauropous' author-
ship has been questioned. See M.Jugie, Dictionnaire de Théologie Catholique 10, 446,
based on H. Geizer, Kallistos' Enkomion auf Johannes Nesteutes. Zeitschrift für wis-
senschaftliche Theologie 29 (1886) 59-89.
8
Apart from several canons which are attributed to John Mauropous in the service
books, a few of these hymns have been printed elsewhere, but the greater number still
remain unpublished. See J. M. Hussey, The Canons of John Mauropous. Journal of
Roman Studies 37 (1947) 70-73. - R. P. V. Laurent has kindly drawn my attention
to S. Eustratiades, Θεοτοκάριον I ['Αγιορείτικη Βιβλιοθήκη 7-8]. Chennevières-sur-
Marne 1931. This has only recently become accessible to me: it prints 19 canons at-
tributed to John Mauropous.
4
Cf. the reviews of Lagarde in Deutsche Litteratur-Zeitung 4 (1883) 737-739 (Sp.
P. Lambros) and Theologische Literaturzeitung 11 (1886) 565-569 and 594-599 (Κ.
J. Neumann).
5
ASS, June I, De tribus Sanctis Dorotheis; III, Dorothei Junioris Vitae auctor:
Hujus scripta et sedes Archiepiscopalis Euchaita proponuntur et illustrantur pp. 584-
586 in the 1867 edition (pp. 594-596 in the 1695 edition).
* D. de Nessel, op. cit. 11 p. 184 = Cod. theol. gr. 211 in Lambeck. See P. Lambecius,
op. cit. V (1672) pp. 28-33, where Andreas Darmarius' entry is quoted. See also the
second edition of Lambeck (Editio altera, studio et opera A. F. Kollarii, liber quintus,
1778, col. 66-76) where there is a note on Fabricius and Bust who are not mentioned
by Lambeck in the first edition.
 J . M. Hussey: The Writings of John Mauropous: A Bibliographical Note 281
1
Bust and in turn requoted by literary histories whenever they mentioned
the name of John Mauropous. 2 It is only a few lines: "Note on our holy
father John, Metropolitan of Euchaita. Life. He lived in the reign of the
Emperor Constantine Monomachus and the Empress Zoe. That was five
hundred and sixty-four years ago. He was a most learned and a most
saintly man, and he wrote many sermons and letters and iambic poems,
as well as a good many other things distinguished both for their
subject-matter and for their style. He taught many men, and he was
filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit." This, thogether with the sparse
evidence to be found in the iambic poems themselves, was all that
was known about Mauropous* life until towards the end of the nineteenth
century. The summary given in Harles' edition of Fabricius' Bibliotheca
Graeca 8 and re-printed in the Patrologia Graeca in 18644 is little more
than an indication of works waiting to be published and an admission of
almost complete ignorance concerning their author.
The genuine and rapidly increasing interest in Byzantine studies from
the second half of the nineteenth century onwards did not howevèr leave
John Mauropous untouched. The significance of Lagarde's work has
already been pointed out. But it was only with the co-operation of
other scholars in this field that a fuller and more satisfactory recon-
struction of JohnMauropous' life was made possible. Not long before
Lagarde's edition, Sathas had published some of the writings of
John's pupil and friend, Michael Psellus.5 Of these the Chrono-
graphia,® the Oration on John Mauropous 7 and a number of letters to
him,8 are particularly important for the light shed both on John
himself and on the age in which he lived. But in spite of all which
has been written on the late Macedonians and the Comneni in the
nineteenth century and since, John Mauropous has fared badly. In 1884
G. M. Dreves published an article, "Johannes Mauropus. Biographische

1
M. Bust, op. cit. p. 74.
* Cf. W. Cave,Scriptorum ecclesiasticorum historia a Christo nato usque ad saeculum
X I V . . . pars altera II. De libris et officiis ecclesiasticis Graecorum, London 1698,
pp. 3 4 1 - 3 4 2 ; R . Ceillier, Histoire générale des auteurs sacrés et ecclésiastiques. .
vol. 20, Paris 1757, pp. 394-396; C. Oudin, Commentarius de scriptoribus Ecclesiae
antiquis illorumque scriptis . . vol. 2, Leipzig 1722, cols. 606-609.
' J . A. Fabricius, Bibliotheca graeca, editio nova curante G. C. Harles, vol. 8,
Hamburg 1802, pp. 627-633. Harles had made important additions; cf. the original
edition, vol. 7, Hamburg 1 7 1 5 , pp. 717-722.
1
PG 120, 1045-52.
® C. N. Sathas, Bibliotheca graeca medii aevi vols. IV, and V, Paris and Venice
1874-76.
• Ibid. IV pp. 3-299. The Chronographia was republished by C. Ν. Sathas, London
1899, and re-edited by E. Renauld, 2 vols., Paris 1926-28 (with a French translation.)
7
C. N. Sathas, op. cit. V pp. 142-167.
8
Ibid. V, passim. See also the recent edition of E. Kurtz and F. Drexl, Michaelis
Pselli Scripta Minora . . . II : Epistolae [Orbis Romanus 13], Milan 1941 (This remains
inaccessible to me).
282 J . M. Hussey: The Writings of John Mauropous: A Bibliographical Note

Studie". This was followed in 1893 by an article by J . Draeseke2 and

1

later by another by Sophronios Eustratiades.3 All these made valuable

contributions, but they were, at least Dreves and Draeseke, to some
extent concerned with establishing the chronology of John Mauropous'
life, and Draeseke in particular was occupied with criticising certain
of Dreves' suggestions regarding the sequence of events. The best account
of John Mauropous is at present the summary in Pauly-Wissowa, but this
naturally gives only the briefest outline and does not deal adequately
with the problem of the canons.4
It is true that John Mauropous has now become a familiar name in the
history of eleventh century Byzantium, but he is too often regarded as the
teacher of the well-known Michael Psellus, or as the man who drew up
the famous novel containing the Constitution of the Law Faculty of the
University of Constantinople. It is open to question how far his own claims
as scholar and poet, Metropolitan and monk, have ever been fairly met.
John Mauropous was far more than the teacher of Michael Psellus. To
make his acquaintance is to meet one who reflects some of the most charac-
teristic aspects of Byzantine life. 8 He was a scholar, and the Byzantines
had a long and valued tradition of secular education ; he was a Metropoli-
tan, and the Orthodox Church was an integral part of the East Roman
Empire ; he was a monk, and to the Byzantines this was the highest pos-
sible way of life. His experiences and writings make a very real contribu-
tion towards the better understanding of the Byzantine Church and State -
the two essential and interdependent factors which dominated and deter-
mined the life of Constantinople, the New Rome.
1
G. M. Dreves, Johannes Mauropus, Biographische Studie. Stimmen aus Maria
Laach 26 (1884) 159-179.
* J . Draeseke, Johannes Mauropus. Β. Z. 2 (1893) 461-493.
* S. Eustratiades, 'Ιωάννης ό Μαυρόπους. Έναίσιμα Χρυσοστόμου Παπαδοπούλου
άρχιεπισκ. Αθηνών. Athen 1931. ΡΡ· 4°5~437 (Short biography with an acoluthia from
Cod. Vat. Pal. gr. 138). I have recently used this through the kindness of Dr. Johannes
Maria Hoeck. The Office has been re-edited by S. G. Mercati in Mémorial Louis Petit
[Archives de l'Orient chrétien 1], Paris 1948, pp. 347-360.
4
Pauly-Wissowa, R E I X 2, 1750-64. See also the Dictionnaire de théologie catho-
lique io, 443-447 (M. Jugie) and J . M. Hussey, Church and Learning in the Byzantine
Empire (867-1185), Oxford 1937, pp. 39 ff. and 234 ff. On the canons more especially
see Journ. Rom. Stud. 37 (1947) 70-73 cited above.
6
Cf. J . M. Hussey, The Byzantine Empire in the eleventh century: some different
interpretations, Trans. Roy. Hist. Soc., IVth series 32, London 1950, pp. 84-85.