John Cananus
Encyclopedia
John Cananus or John Kananos was a Byzantine Greek
historian who lived during the first half of the 15th century. He wrote an account of the failed siege
of Constantinople
by the Ottomans
under the sultan Murad II
in 1422. Cananus attributes the survival of the Byzantine
capital to the miraculous intervention of Theotokos
. The account differs from the contemporary history of John Anagnostes
, who described Murad's sack of Thessalonica in 1430, chiefly in Cananus' frequent religious polemic, and in his willingness to write in the vernacular Greek
, as opposed to the Atticism
of Anagnostes and Critobulus. Their use of Greek, while "artificial in the extreme," is intended as an "imitation of the classics;" an ideal which had been "the governing principle for all writers who aimed at a good style not merely under the Roman empire but right to the end of the Byzantine period."
John Cananus is sometimes identified with Lascaris Cananus, who travelled to Scandinavia and Iceland around 1439: "Laskaris Kananos (ca. 1438–1439) has paid attention to coinage in Stockholm and Bergen, the
subordination of Sweden and Norway to the Danish king, to the residence of the King of Denmark in “Kupanava”, Copenhagen, the supervision of the cities of Riga and Revel in Livonia by the archbishop and Great Master of the Order, etc. In his description of his voyage to Iceland Laskaris Kananos identified this island with the above-mentioned Thule, the inhabitants of which he calls “ichthyophags”, i.e. fish-eaters. This Byzantine traveller visited — penetrating into Venedicos Kolpos, i.e. the Baltic Sea — Norway, Sweden, Livonia, Prussia, Pommern, Schleswig, Denmark and Britain, whereafter he made a trip to Iceland."
Byzantine Greeks
Byzantine Greeks or Byzantines is a conventional term used by modern historians to refer to the medieval Greek or Hellenised citizens of the Byzantine Empire, centered mainly in Constantinople, the southern Balkans, the Greek islands, Asia Minor , Cyprus and the large urban centres of the Near East...
historian who lived during the first half of the 15th century. He wrote an account of the failed siege
Siege of Constantinople (1422)
The first full-scale Ottoman Siege of Constantinople took place in 1422 as a result of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II's attempts to interfere in the succession of Ottoman Sultans, after the death of Mehmed I in 1421...
of Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
by the Ottomans
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
under the sultan Murad II
Murad II
Murad II Kodja was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1421 to 1451 ....
in 1422. Cananus attributes the survival of the Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
capital to the miraculous intervention of Theotokos
Theotokos
Theotokos is the Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. Its literal English translations include God-bearer and the one who gives birth to God. Less literal translations include Mother of God...
. The account differs from the contemporary history of John Anagnostes
John Anagnostes
John, called Anagnostes was a Greek historian of the fifteenth century. He was an eyewitness to the Ottoman sack of Thessalonica on March 29, 1430; an event he described in detail in his "Account of the Last Capture of Thessalonica" , which he wrote with an accompanying monodia lamenting the...
, who described Murad's sack of Thessalonica in 1430, chiefly in Cananus' frequent religious polemic, and in his willingness to write in the vernacular Greek
Modern Greek
Modern Greek refers to the varieties of the Greek language spoken in the modern era. The beginning of the "modern" period of the language is often symbolically assigned to the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, even though that date marks no clear linguistic boundary and many characteristic...
, as opposed to the Atticism
Atticism
Atticism was a rhetorical movement that began in the first quarter of the 1st century BC; it may also refer to the wordings and phrasings typical of this movement, in contrast with spoken Greek, which continued to evolve in directions guided by the common usages of Hellenistic Greek.Atticism was...
of Anagnostes and Critobulus. Their use of Greek, while "artificial in the extreme," is intended as an "imitation of the classics;" an ideal which had been "the governing principle for all writers who aimed at a good style not merely under the Roman empire but right to the end of the Byzantine period."
John Cananus is sometimes identified with Lascaris Cananus, who travelled to Scandinavia and Iceland around 1439: "Laskaris Kananos (ca. 1438–1439) has paid attention to coinage in Stockholm and Bergen, the
subordination of Sweden and Norway to the Danish king, to the residence of the King of Denmark in “Kupanava”, Copenhagen, the supervision of the cities of Riga and Revel in Livonia by the archbishop and Great Master of the Order, etc. In his description of his voyage to Iceland Laskaris Kananos identified this island with the above-mentioned Thule, the inhabitants of which he calls “ichthyophags”, i.e. fish-eaters. This Byzantine traveller visited — penetrating into Venedicos Kolpos, i.e. the Baltic Sea — Norway, Sweden, Livonia, Prussia, Pommern, Schleswig, Denmark and Britain, whereafter he made a trip to Iceland."
Editions
- Greek ed., with Latin translation, published with SphrantzesGeorge SphrantzesGeorge Sphrantzes, also Phrantzes or Phrantza was a late Byzantine Greek historian. He was born in Constantinople. At an early age he became secretary to Manuel II Palaiologos; in 1432 protovestiarites; in 1446 prefect of Mistras, and subsequently great logothete...
in Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae, 1838, p. 457-479. (Immanuel BekkerAugust Immanuel BekkerAugust Immanuel Bekker was a German philologist and critic.-Biography:Born in Berlin, Bekker completed his classical education at the University of Halle under Friedrich August Wolf, who considered him as his most promising pupil. In 1810 he was appointed professor of philosophy in the University...
, ed.) View online. - Greek ed., with Latin translation by L. AllatiusLeo AllatiusLeo Allatius was a Greek scholar, theologian and keeper of the Vatican library....
, published in Patrologia GraecaPatrologia GraecaThe Patrologia Graeca is an edited collection of writings by the Christian Church Fathers and various secular writers, in the ancient Koine or medieval variants of the Greek language. It consists of 161 volumes produced in 1857–1866 by J. P. Migne's Imprimerie Catholique...
, vol. 156. (Migne, J.P.Jacques Paul MigneJacques Paul Migne was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely-distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a universal library for the Catholic priesthood.He was born at Saint-Flour, Cantal and studied...
, ed.) View online.
- Lascaris Cananus: Lundström, Vilhelm (ed.) (1902) Laskaris Kananos. Reseanteckningar från de nordiska länderna. Utgifna och kommenterade av Vilh. Lundström. Upsala; Leipzig: Lundequist (Smärre Byzantinska skrifter; 1). (With Swedish Translation) http://www.archive.org/details/LaskarisKananosReseanteckningarFrnDeNordiskaLnderna
- Lascaris Cananus: Jerker Blomqvist 2002. The Geography of the Baltic in Greek Eyes. In Noctes Atticae: 34 articles on Graeco-Roman antiquity and its Nachleben. 36-51. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum. http://books.google.com/books?id=y37hozj-PeIC&lpg=PA36&ots=pfQIF49Ztb&dq=iceland%20kananos&pg=PA38#v=onepage&q=iceland%20kananos&f=false
- Online translation into Russian via German: Georg Jakob. Arabische Berichte von Gesandten an germanische Furstenhofe aus dem 9. und 10. Jahrhundert. Berlin 1927, pp. 46–47. http://vostlit.by.ru/Texts/rus8/Kananos/text.htm
- Online translation into Russian: А. А. Васильев. Ласкарь Канан, византийский путешественник XV века по Северной Европе и в Исландию. Харьков, 1914. pp. 3–8. http://miriobiblion.narod.ru/kananos/kananos.html
- Online translation into English: http://hellenisteukontos.blogspot.com/2009/09/lascaris-cananus-updated.html