The Glory of the Empire
Page 48
5. See Isaac Laquedem, Alexis and the Legend of the Wandering Jew.
6. This strange epilogue to the ceremony on the Capitol has been doubted by some, but there is much evidence to show that it actually happened. It is commemorated in countless works of art.
7. Three or four private collections have busts of Alexis that are of doubtful authenticity—e.g., the Hôtel Lambert on the Île Saint-Louis in Paris, and the Château de Ferrières, not far from the capital.
8. See above, ch. XXII, p. 332.
9. Divina Commedia, Inferno, Canto XXX, 64.
10. Divina Commedia, Paradiso, Canto II, 106.
11. Justus Dion, Chronicles (end), CXLIV, 12.
12. Dated April 27, 1869.
13. Alexis seems often to have been taken for a diminutive of Alexander, hence the suffix djik. The al in both names was taken by Arabs and Turks as a definite article; -exander became by distortion Iskander.
14. A somewhat vague figure in the Bayeux Tapestry is now thought to be a timid representation of Alexis.
15. Benvenuto Cellini, Memoirs, I, CXVIII, 22.
16. Letters from the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna to Grigori Efimovich Rasputin, March 22, 1905.
17. The Romanian fascist Iron Guard adapted this formula to perpetuate the memory of their leader, Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, after he was executed.
18. Lampidus, The Story of Alexis, trans. G. Lewes, 1847.
19. Alexis the Great was performed in Paris in 1966, with Laurence Olivier as the Emperor.
20. See above, ch. XII, p. 139, and ch. XIV, p. 175. One should also mention Cecil B. De Mille’s “spectacle” The King of Kings.
21. See above, ch. XII, pp. 138–139.
Chapter XXIV
1. The Glory of the Empire, ch. XXIV, pp. 354–355.
2. In real life (see ch. XIX, p. 272) Helen never met Theodora.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Out of the vast literature devoted to the Empire, we can only present here a very selective choice of essential works. The reader wishing to delve more deeply should refer to:
Évariste Martin-Clampier: Bibliographie générale de l’Empire (1966).
A. GENERAL WORKS
Sir Allan Carter-Bennett: General History of the Empire (7 volumes).
Robert Weill-Pichon: Histoire de l’Empire.
Bjöersen Bjöersenson: Economic and Social Foundations of the Empire, From Basil the Great to Alexis.
Helmuth Ritter: Geschichte des Kaisertums.
A 27-volume History of the Empire by the author of the present work is in preparation.
B. SOURCES
On the origins of the Empire:
The Empire of the Eagle and of the Tiger (selection of epic narratives).
Valerius: The Onessiad, The Creation of the World, The Birth of the Empire, Loves.
Archimandrites: Fragments.
Hermenides: Works.
Paraclitus: Works.
On Arsaphes:
Polyphilus: Arsaphes and Heloise.
On the reign of Basil:
The Master of Avignon (Mercutio da Verona): Sonnets and Songs.
The Chronicler of Famagusta: Rélation de la vie, actions et déportements des princes en la rencontre de l’isle de Chypre déclarant tous les moyens tenus en icelle (translated by Jacques Amyot).
Thaumas: Works.
Helen and Thaumas: Correspondence.
Philocrates and Isidore: Correspondence.
On the barbarians:
Monghol-un ni’utcha tobtchi’an (“Secret History of the Mongols”).
On Alexis:
1. ALEXANDRIAN PERIOD:
Helen and Philocrates: Correspondence.
Lampidus: Le Dict d’Alexis (translated by E. Taillefert and J. Chenu).
Turolde: Alexis and Vanessa.
2. CROSSING THE DESSERT:
Manuscrits de Petra, Manuel des Enterrés, Connaissance d’Alexis (translated by Paul Claudel), Exile or Poem of Persia.
3. APOGEE OF THE EMPIRE:
Alexis: The Banquet of the Soul.
Logophilus: Plan for a Universal Calendar, Treatise on Versification, Treasury of the Language of the Empire.
Anonymous: Nights of the Empire, or The Sigh of Logophilus.
Valerius: Op. cit.
Philontes: Works.
Aristo: Works.
Isidore: The Pleasures of Living.
Martian: Summa, Contemplations.
Azkiri: Book of Wisdom and Folly.
The Polititian: Treatise on the Government of the Mind.
Polyphilus: Tragedies.
Menalchas: Tragedies.
Procopius of Caesarea: History of the Wars of the Emperor Alexis.
Nicéphore Blemnydes: Chronographie de l’Empire.
Georges Pachymère: Annales de l’Empire.
Firdausi: Shâh Nâmeh.
Hamd-Allah-al-Mustawfi: Zafir Nâmeh.
Anonymous: Iskanderdjik Nâmeh.
Nizami: Sharaf Nâmeh.
Finally, the most basic source for Alexis’s reign, and in fact the whole history of the Empire, is naturally:
Justus Dion: History and Chronicles.
C. STUDIES
On the art:
Fulgence Tapir: Annales universelles de la peinture, de la sculpture et de l’architecture de l’Empire (1908).
On the languages:
Noam Chomsky: Syntactic Structures of the Languages of the Empire.
On the origins:
Edmund Gibbon: The Rise of the Empire.
C. W. Ceram: Gods, Graves and Scholars.
On Kanabel:
Max and Moritz Struwwelpeter: “Der Erste Prinz von Onessa,” Zeitschrift für Geschichtwissenschaft und historische Forschung, vol. XXII, pp. 722–791.
On the history of ideas:
Histoire de la Philosophie of l’Encyclopédie de la Pléiade (under the direction of Raymond Queneau), vol. I, pp. 117–118 and 123–126.
Bertrand Russell: Hermenides and Paraclitus.
Jean-Claude Abreu and Macedonio Fernandez: Les Mathématiques de l’Empire.
Léon Brunschvicg: Les Étapes de la philosophie mathématique, pp. 39–51.
On Arsaphes:
Oskar Adler: Glück und Ende des Feldherren Arsaphos.
Otto Rank: Des Mythus des Todes des Helden.
Special number of Ucheniye zapiski Leningradskogo gosudarstvennogo ordena Lenina Universiteta (ser. istor. nauk), CXI.
On the economic situation under Arsaphes and Basil:
Special number of Diogène, no. 208, summer 1963: Routes, paysages, économie.
Otto-Julius Brunnen and Herbert von Kaiserswasser: L’Irrigation dans l’Empire.
On Basil and Thaumas:
Algernon Queen: The Sexual Background of a Historic Friendship.
On Mercutio da Verona:
Gustave Lanson and Louis Petit de Julleville: L’Œuvre méconnue du Maître d’Avignon.
On Siméon:
Jean Laplanche: Siméon, ou la question du fils.
On Alexandria:
Pierre Celeyron: Histoire générale des fêtes, vol. I, pp. 97–151.
On Balamir and Khubilai:
René Grousset: L’Empire des steppes, Les Barbares.
Marcel Brion: La Vie des Huns.
On the conquests:
J. R. R. Tolkien: The Wars of the Empire.
On the role of priests and religion:
Marquis de Ségur: Alexis et les prêtres.
On Alexis’s letter to Balamir:
Paul Morand: Fouquet, ou le soleil offusqué.
Marcel Pagnol: Le Masque de fer.
Maurice Rheims: La Vie étrange des objets.
On Hadrian:
Marguerite Yourcenar: Memoirs of Hadrian.
Studies devoted, throughout the centuries, to Bruince and especially to Alexis are too numerous for even an elementary choice to be made. We can only direct the reader back to the Notes, where several references are indicated, notably for chs.
14, 22, and 23.
To this let us only add—in particular on the government of the Empire:
Dietrich von Rieffenstahl: Vorlesungen über den Ursprung des Staates des Kaisers Alexis.
Hajime Kemamoto: The Social and Economic Background of Alexis’ Empire, in Sekai bunka-shi taikei (Comprehensive Historical Studies of the Civilizations of the World).
Kasimierz Kostrowitzky: La Genèse de l’Empire et ses bases économiques et sociales.
Finally, the essential task remains of pointing out the innumerable references to the Empire or to Alexis in the classics of different literatures, from Arsaphe et Héloïse by Pierre Corneille to Turgenev and to Alexandre Dumas, from Madame de Sévigné and Saint-Simon to Lord Byron and to Villiers de L’Isle-Adam, from Voltaire to Karl Marx and Freud, from Amyot and Henri Estienne, Rabelais and Montaigne to Hugo and to Aragon, from Petrarch and Lope de Vega to Heinrich Heine and to Jorge Luis Borges. Naturally, it would be impossible to get an accurate impression of the role and place of Alexis without rereading Cervantes, Shakespeare, Goethe, Chateaubriand, and especially Dante.
The maps and illustrations are taken from:
Bertrand du Breuil: Atlas historique de l’Empire.
Henri Dorini: Les Merveilles de l’Empire.
Christian Latrille: Médailles et monnaies de l’Empire.
We express our grateful appreciation to the authors.
INDEX OF PRINCIPAL HISTORICAL THEMES
Abdication, renunciation, 73, 194, 224–5, 312–13, 330–3, 335, 340–1, 349, 352–3
Administration, see Civil servants
Agriculture, 37–8, 174
Ambassadors, 4, 8, 39, 87, 178, 198, 199–200, 202, 233, 258, 267, 287, 296, 313, 316
Ambition, 45–6, 57, 79–80, 114–15, 116, 190, 194, 204–5, 274–5, 314, 316, 317, 320, 333
Anarchy, 12, 17, 43–4, 152–6
Anguish, 48, 97, 121, 124, 296, 300, 323
Apparitions, 165–6, 343–4, 347–8
Art, 12, 60–1, 167–70, 172, 226–7, 250–1, 265, 286–8, 309, 319–20, 323, 338, 341–3, 355–6, 364, 367
Artisans, 9–10, 36–7, 43, 66, 265, 339; see also Technology
Asceticism, 134–6, 138–43, 319–20, 322, 324; see also Moon, cult of the; Mysticism; Religion; Sun, cult of the
Assemblies, 53–4, 58, 199–200, 334–6
Astonishment, 209, 212, 335
Banquets, 50, 61, 80, 117–19, 121–2
Barbarians, passim
Bastardy, 90, 94, 96, 97, 99–100, 121, 139, 162, 167, 190
Battles, see Drawn battles; Naval battles
Beauty, 23, 47, 76, 111, 117, 123, 146–7, 252, 272, 290–1, 334, 345
Brigands, 44, 67, 107, 154, 317; see also Pirates
Brothers, rivalry of two, 11–12, 14–15, 19, 40, 190
Buddhism, 145, 147, 310, 329, 363
Calendar, 240–2, 264, 305
Caravans, 69, 155, 261–2, 307
Castles, 61–2
Censorship, 263–4
Ceremonies, 22–3, 53–4, 105, 109, 184, 196, 198–9, 234–5, 247, 269, 270–2, 287, 305–6, 316, 320–2, 327–8, 338–41; see also Festivals, holidays
Chance, 12, 64, 125, 354
Childhood, 76–81, 92–100, 102–8, 158, 159, 169–70, 190, 209, 317–18
Cities, see Alexandria (Egypt); Pomposa; Rome; City, the, in the Index of Names and Places
Civilization, culture, 9, 12, 16, 35–6, 123, 155–6, 254–6, 265, 281–2, 308–9, 316, 329–30, 349–52
Civil servants, 8, 38–9, 192, 244–6, 254, 308–9, 310, 311, 320
Climate, 3–4, 12, 51, 159–60, 187, 338, 344–5, 364
Coinage, 23, 240, 242, 310; see also Money
Commerce, 9–10, 12, 15, 34, 37–8, 116–17, 246, 307; see also Merchant princes; Merchants; Merchant warriors
Confidences, 23–4, 78
Conquests, 186, 188–9, 200, 232, 235, 288–9, 315
Conspiracies, 40–1, 161, 162–3, 173, 181, 214, 273–4
Contradiction, paradox, 16, 18–19, 164, 217, 231, 267–8, 280–1, 293–4, 314–15
Conversion, 145, 326–8, 350–1
Courage, 19, 33–4, 82, 277–8
Couriers, 308–9, 311
Courtesans, see Prostitutes, prostitution
Crimes, 3, 41, 43–4, 54–5, 62, 74, 78–9, 130–2, 172
Cults, see Moon, cult of the; Priests; Religion; Sun, cult of the
Dancing, 4, 49, 54, 253, 334
Death, 4, 10, 41, 74, 78, 82–3, 84, 86, 119, 130–2, 133, 139, 140, 151, 172, 180–1, 182, 222–3, 232–3, 237–8, 254–5, 280–1, 291–2, 305, 306, 321–4, 335, 345
Decadence, 17, 36, 152–7, 331, 336–7
Defeat, 17, 35, 300, 325–6, 330–1
Deserts, 75, 133, 134, 135, 139, 184
Dialects, see Languages
Discipline, 188, 202, 204
Discoveries, 134–5, 137–8, 141, 142, 241
Disembarkation, 17, 23, 276
Disorder, see Anarchy
Divorce, 48, 60; see also Marriage
Drawn battles, 5, 70–4, 206–7, 285–7
Dreams, 85–6, 97, 102, 110–11, 175, 184–5, 292
Drunkenness, 118, 121, 124, 127–9, 297
Duels, 198–213 passim
Eclipse of heroes, see Heroes, eclipse of
Education, 8–9, 77, 103–4, 135, 200, 203–4, 318
Elephants, 285, 292, 339, 371
Epidemics, see Leprosy; Plagues
Eroticism, 84–5, 111, 142, 220–1
Exile, 14, 133–51, 158–9
Expectation, 16, 23, 52, 82–4, 99, 210–11, 334–5
Famines, 44, 52, 151, 154–5, 237
Fate, see Chance
Fatherhood, 77–8, 94–5, 317–19
Festivals, holidays, 4–5, 22–3, 49, 54, 61–2, 66, 71, 74, 117–19, 121–9, 198–9, 234–5, 268–9, 338–41; see also Ceremonies
Fires, 25, 76, 87–9, 279, 297–8
Forbidden love, 22–4, 47, 48–9, 82–4, 111, 122–32
Forests, 62, 75–87, 91, 92, 97, 122, 167, 175, 184, 233
Forgetfulness, see Memory
Forgiveness, 57–8, 63, 286–7, 306, 320
Funerals, 4, 68, 301–5
Games, sports, 4–5, 16, 156, 268–71, 305–6; see also Festivals, holidays
Glory, 26–7, 85, 266, 274–5, 316, 337, 352–3, 355
God, gods, 9, 101, 106–7, 109, 113–14, 115, 156, 161, 166, 176–7, 188, 209, 244, 248–9, 266, 272, 300, 313–14, 316, 326–7, 335, 336
Golden age, 12, 17, 18–19, 30–1, 44, 103, 153, 246, 248, 266, 269, 307, 308; see also Myth
Grief, sorrow, 10, 62–3, 180, 300–1, 323–4, 330, 345–6, 391
Guile, 15, 19, 23–4, 34–5, 46, 51, 54–5, 62–4, 66, 71–3, 77–81, 152–3, 162, 166, 177, 178, 209–12, 220, 266
Happiness, 9, 12, 30, 48–9, 84, 98–9, 102, 105, 125, 135, 265–6, 314–15, 324, 337
Hatred, 14–15, 206, 208, 324, 335
Heirs, 29–30, 41–2, 64, 162, 184–5, 205, 218–19, 248–9, 268, 317–23, 335–6
Heresies, 9, 16, 103, 142
Heroes, eclipse of, 133–51, 158–60, 288, 363
High Council, 22, 24–5, 27, 30, 32–3, 39, 46, 287, 288–92, 307
History, 5–6, 14, 19, 56, 91, 265, 302, 331–3, 345, 354–6, 359
Homosexuality, 51, 86, 119, 147, 181–2, 325
Honesty, fairness, 68, 168, 178–9, 215–16, 281–2
Honor, 28–9, 59, 60, 179–80, 266
Hostages, 83, 94, 163, 178, 298–9
Humility, see Pride
Hunting, 76, 92, 95–6, 98–9, 119–20
Industry, see Technology
Injustice, see Justice
Intrigues, see Guile
Irrigation, see Water
Islam, 134–6, 336
Jealousy, 24, 190
Jews, 135, 137, 148, 341, 347, 349
Justice, 67, 76, 136, 157, 176–7, 179, 181, 220, 245–6, 263–4, 308, 309, 318, 330, 3
36, 346–7
Knowledge, learning, 8, 9, 57, 60, 97, 134, 137–8, 204, 236, 241–4, 361
Landscape, 11, 75, 92, 202–3, 254–5, 340, 344
Language, 7–8, 21, 49, 72, 73, 75, 155–6, 200, 226, 229, 309, 349–50, 362
Legend, 6–7, 11–12, 14–15, 41, 73–4, 83–4, 85, 94–5, 123–4, 131–2, 165, 171–2, 187, 279–80, 326, 350–1
Leprosy (particularly Leper prince), 322–4
Letters, 63, 106, 113–14, 176–7, 189–90, 225–9, 234, 346, 365
Literature, 14, 16, 22, 60–1, 84–5, 117, 123–4, 168–9, 171–2, 255–6, 261, 265
Lotteries, 119, 129–30, 321, 362
Love, 23–5, 47–8, 84–90, 122–32, 135, 149–50, 272, 359–60; see also Forbidden love
Madness, passim
Magi, see Priests
Marriage, 4, 29–30, 48–9, 64, 272; see also Divorce
Marxism, 5, 6, 106–7, 248, 314, 354, 364
Massacres, 15, 56–7, 90, 163, 187, 279, 293, 297–8
Master and disciple, 79–80, 103–5, 113–14, 116–17, 176–7, 179, 318
Mathematics, 15–16, 241–4, 366
Measures, see Weights and measures
Medicine, 62–4, 78, 241, 258
Meetings, 23, 48–51, 92, 106, 151, 167–70, 179, 188, 295–6
Melancholy, 306, 312–13, 316–17, 330–1
Memory, forgetfulness, 44, 91, 319–20, 355
Mercenaries, 18, 20–1, 23–4, 30, 32, 35, 38, 46–7, 50, 73–4, 159, 167, 171, 175, 198, 284, 285, 288
Merchant princes, 19, 23, 30, 32–3, 35, 39, 46, 50–1, 218–19, 233–4, 267, 276, 278–9, 283–4, 288–9, 308
Merchants, 15, 18, 25, 30, 33, 36, 39
Merchant warriors, 17, 21, 23, 25, 26, 50, 279–80
Messengers, 62–3, 80–2, 86, 89, 105, 223–4, 238–9, 322–3
Misery, poverty, 43, 44, 101–2, 154–5, 175–6, 336–7, 341
Money, 116–17, 240, 242, 329–30
Moon, cult of the, 142–4, 240–1, 319
Mother and son, 76–9, 83, 92, 94, 101–2, 162, 167–70, 194, 233, 319, 323
Murders, see Crimes
Music, see Singing; Dancing
Mysteries, secrets, 105, 106, 123, 125, 149, 163, 242–3, 295–6
Mystics, mysticism, 5, 108–9, 134–5, 138, 145–6, 190, 242, 294, 318, 324–5; see also Asceticism; Moon, cult of the; Priests; Religion; Sun, cult of the