Approaching Byzantium in Ottoman Istanbul: the Reception of the Byzantine Heritage of Constantinople by Scholars from the Holy Roman Empire in the 16th Century

• Applicant: Dr. Nicholas Melvani
• Subject Area: Early Modern History ; Art History ; Medieval History
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 463526198

The proposed project is the continuation of the ongoing DFG-funded project “Approaching Byzantium”. It analyzes the ways visiting the city of Constantinople contributed to the perception of Byzantium by humanists from the Holy Roman Empire who sojourned in Ottoman Istanbul during the 16th century. The project focuses on diverse types of evidence which show how visitors experienced the city: a. references in texts (i.e., travel accounts) and images (e.g. panoramic views) to the topography of the Byzantine monuments of Constantinople as preserved in the 16th century, and b. the transferal of Byzantine manuscripts from 16th-century Istanbul to collections in Central Europe. During the first 30 months, an extensive database was created with georeferenced entries about sites in Istanbul described and depicted in textual and visual sources, as well as about manuscripts from the Ottoman capital in Vienna, Augsburg, and Tübingen; I have also begun writing a monograph analyzing the evidence and the theoretical issues raised. However, it is important to continue the project for one more year, in order to adjust the work program to the delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic during the initial stages and to address unforeseen challenges that have emerged in the meantime by introducing additional evidence into the discussion. Thus, the main goal for the continuation of the ongoing project “Approaching Byzantium” is to remedy the problems arising from the slow start and to incorporate further evidence that was encountered during the first 2.5 years of the project. This will be achieved by studying additional types of textual and visual references to the Byzantine monuments and landmarks of Istanbul and of relevant manuscripts: a. selection of unedited reports and diaries written by travelers from the Holy Roman Empire, b. images contained in costume books and friendship albums, and c. Greek manuscripts in the University Library of Strasbourg which originated from Istanbul. The continuation phase will be structured in two Work Packages: Work Package 1 will entail the entering of data from the additional evidence into the database (WP 1.1), as well as the launching of a presentation website to publicly display the data (WP 1.2). The additional evidence and the readapted work program will enable the effective interpretation and contextualization of the material, in order to complete the monograph (Work Package 2) on the reception of Constantinople by scholars who traveled from the Holy Roman Empire to Ottoman Istanbul, based on the information collected from the texts, images, and manuscripts. The interdisciplinary research conducted so far has demonstrated the vitality of the project; the continuation phase will broaden the scope of the database and will enhance the impact of the website and of the book.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants