Leo Deacon

Leo Deacon was born in the countryside in Kaloe on the Kaistres River in the Thracian Femme . His parents did not occupy a prominent position, but were wealthy enough to provide his son with studies in Constantinople . After leaving school, Leo no longer mentions his homeland in "History". At school, Leo studied rhetoric, preserved his exercises, encomia, essays, speeches and panegyrics, which later became part of the "History". After training, he chose the path of religious service; for some time he was under the patriarch patriarchal deacon. By 975 - 980 became the imperial court deacon . He accompanied the emperor Vasily II in his campaigns, in 986 he nearly died in a battle with the Bulgarians. Around 996, Leo the Deacon delivers a speech ( encomium ) glorifying the emperor, the text of which has survived to this day. After that, a reliable biography of Leo Deacon, based on an analysis of his writings, ends.

There are three hypotheses regarding the fate of the Byzantine historian.

• According to the first, he died, which prevented him from supplementing his main work “History” with the reign of Vasily II.
• According to the second - in his speech, Leo the Deacon stood out among the courtiers and it is he who is known by correspondence with Basil II Leo, whom the emperor sent to Italy in 996 - 998 with a diplomatic mission. Later, he may have become bishop of Sinada, but this version is controversial. It is supported by such scholars as C. Krumbacher, G. Wartenberg, A. Gregoire and P. Orgels.
• According to the third hypothesis, Leo the Deacon became the Metropolitan of Caria, but it also carries a number of difficulties.

The “history” of Leo Deacon in 10 books describes events 959–976 , but contains a number of excursions into the past and facts from the times before 989–992 , when, most likely, it was composed. The first lion from the 7th century wrote, imitating the "Stories" of Thucydides, and used the classical language. It was also based on the late ancient historians of the classical period, especially Agathia. Unlike earlier historians and a number of contemporaries, Leo Deacon was not a simple chronicler and compiler, but tried to give events his own assessment and determine their causes and effects, which was facilitated by the genre of historical narration he chose. Leo the Deacon opposed the glorious days of Nicephorus Foki and John Tzimiskesos to the unsuccessful beginning of the reign of Basil II. Therefore, probably, during his reign, the manuscript never came out, and its continuation after 976 the author himself considered premature, expecting the imminent fall of Vasily as a result of riots, which did not happen.

History was translated into Russian twice: in 1820 (D. Popov) and in 1988 (translation by M. M. Kopylenko, comments by M. Ya. Suzyumov ).

Sources

P.O. Karyshkovsky and A.P. Kazhdan argue that in addition to describing personally seen events, Leo could also rely on any official documents. An argument in favor of this thesis can be considered as making an entry in the Book of Ceremonies of an unusually official version of the accession to the throne of Nicephorus Foki . Analogies of data and complementary messages from the Skylitsa and Leo the Deacon are also carried out. High historian awareness in hagiography speaks of Leo's use of worldly literature.

• Leo Deacon. History / M.M. Kopylenko (trans. From ancient Greek.). - M .: Science, 1988.
• Leo Deacon. Story. Science, M. 1988, in a series of monuments of historical thought
• Biography of Leo Deacon. Leo Deacon. Story. Science, M. 1988
• M. I. Suzyumov. The worldview of Leo the Deacon. Leo Deacon. Story. Science, M. 1988

• Leo Deacon (Neopr.) . Eastern literature . Date of treatment March 22, 2011. Archived August 24, 2011.
• Leo Deacon. Story. Science, M. 1988, in a series of monuments of historical thought
• Biography of Leo Deacon. Leo Deacon. Story. Science, M. 1988
• M. I. Suzyumov. The worldview of Leo the Deacon. Leo Deacon. Story. Science, M. 1988
• Greek text of the Story (inaccessible link) (ed. Migne )