Herrera Cajas, Héctor: Dimensiones de la cultura bizantina Arte, poder y legado histórico, Coed. Centro de Estudios Griegos Bizantinos y Neohelénicos y Universidad Gabriela Mistral, Santiago,1998 592 pp.
(US$ 40) $ 12.000
ABSTRACTS] RESENTATION
This book was not really written as a book. It is a compilation, or reprint, of diverse articles concerning certain aspects of Byzantine history, in its historical gravitation as an ecumenical centre: how it came into contact with peoples of such diversity, in so extensive a geographical scenery; the richness of these relations –commercial, intellectual, religious, artistic, of course, sometimes bellicose. Most of all, the author has been marvelled by the special capacity –the peculiar magic– of the Byzantine Empire to survive in its Imperial role, to find such surprising ways of handling its international relations, with such different cultural contexts; of appreciating and conserving the concept and the achievements of the Roman Empire; of combining this with the Oriental Imperial tradition; of finding a language for such different peoples, and being able to integrate them into the historical reality of the Empire. Perhaps, most specially, of seeing the Byzantine Empire as the guardian for a millennium, of the values which would come to be the basis of our Christian Occident, and, from there, of our New World, in the diversity of an Anglo-Saxon (and French) north America, and a Hispanic and Portuguese central and south America.
The author has been fascinated by Byzantine history for many years. I can well remember as a student of history in my university years, a class in which he described the fall of Constantinople in hands of the Ottoman Turks, when the bell began to ring, to indicate the end of the class hour; but it seemed to add dramatism, to signify the collapse of this Byzantine Empire, which had sustained the civilized world for so long. Other peoples, other states, had been able to mature, and were prepared to assume the historical heritage, which Byzantium had treasured during such unstable historical times.
In our Chilean universities, there is not a special course of Byzantine history; it was, therefore, presented in the author's lessons as a chapter of medieval history; or as an instance for historical meditation, in the course of philosophy of history; or was suggested as topic for thesis essays; or taken as theme for different seminars; requirements, all these, for students preparing for the professional title of history teacher for secondary education.
It has been –most of all– a personal vocation, a choice for study; the result of which can be appreciated in these articles, which have been published in different reviews; and, also presented in numerous conferences, in various universities or cultural centers in our country, in Argentine, and in Brazil.
The Greek professor Fotios Malleros, who arrived in Chile 1948, when the author was making his university studies, was the person who opened the window of Byzantine Culture to him, I am sure that he would have dedicated very special words of gratitude to history Professor and friend, had he been alive to write the prologue of this book.
The Center for Byzantine and Neo-Hellenic Studies, created in Santiago by inicative of Professor Malleros, and sponsored by the Greek Government and the Universidad de Chile (our traditional state university) – made it possible for the author to continue his studies of Byzance, and to publish the results of his research work; likewise, it now makes possible, with the concurrence of the Universidad Gabriela Mistral (a private institution), to publish and present this book.
Special mention must be made in this recognition to Professor Miguel Castillo, actual director of the Center for Byzantine and Neo-Hellenic Studies, and to Professor Alejandro Zorbas – colleagues and friends, both, for many years.
The latest theme on which the author was working –when he was surprisingly called from this earth on October 6th 1997– was the formation of the Armenian Church; he presented sketchwork of his studies at the Second Encounter of Medieval Studies, which took place in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in September 1997; as was his usual way, the conference was not written and read; the ideas were presented, the bibliographical references were given, a few selected paragraphs were cited, and the audience invited to continue these studies; therefore this conference was not published. The great lines of study designed will probably be continued by his assistant professors. A short summary of this conference can be found as an appendix of this book.
The importance o Professor Herrera´s historical studies -most specially the panoramic view of the international relations, the encounter with such variety of peoples and cultures– some, hardly studied at all, and his insight to the significance of Byzantine history in the perspective of a History of Humanity, has been highlighted by European specialists, as can be confirmed by the paragraph noting his work in the German catalogue Historische Zeitschrift (sonderheft 14) Byzanz, by Günter Weiss (Oldenbourg). The text appears, also, as an appendix of this book.
A good number of Professor Herrera´s students, later his assistant teachers, are now university professors themselves; several were encouraged by his enthusiasm for Byzantine studies; we are certain that some of them will take the torch, and continue with the study of the Byzantine world, and, -perhaps- unveil more of the hidden aspects of this very peculiar and admirable historical reality.
Given the diversity of the themes, and the difference in the erudition, with which they have been worked, in this edition, the articles appear in the sequence of the years in which they were originally published.
Ivonne Lavanchy de Herrera Cajas.
July 15th, 1998.