This paper discusses one such case, the so-called “circle of Anna Komnene” (died ca. 1153). After Robert Browning’s seminal paper published in 1962, it is widely accepted that after her withdrawal from public life in 1118, the Byzantine princess Anna Komnene, daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (d. 1118), engaged in a significant philosophical endeavour: providing commentary on Aristotelian works that commentators in late antiquity had overlooked. Accordingly, there was a shift away from Platonic philosophy towards Aristotelianism. To support this narrative, Browning used a previously unknown source, the funeral oration on Anna by George Tornikes. Tornikes mentioned meeting Michael of Ephesus, whom the princess tasked to write commentaries on Aristotelian works that earlier commentators had ignored (Funeral oration, pp. 281.4 – 283.9).
The circle of Anna Komnene Revisited
Michele Trizio
2026-01-01
Abstract
This paper discusses one such case, the so-called “circle of Anna Komnene” (died ca. 1153). After Robert Browning’s seminal paper published in 1962, it is widely accepted that after her withdrawal from public life in 1118, the Byzantine princess Anna Komnene, daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (d. 1118), engaged in a significant philosophical endeavour: providing commentary on Aristotelian works that commentators in late antiquity had overlooked. Accordingly, there was a shift away from Platonic philosophy towards Aristotelianism. To support this narrative, Browning used a previously unknown source, the funeral oration on Anna by George Tornikes. Tornikes mentioned meeting Michael of Ephesus, whom the princess tasked to write commentaries on Aristotelian works that earlier commentators had ignored (Funeral oration, pp. 281.4 – 283.9).I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
