ABSTRACT
The Komnenian era was a period which witnessed an increasing number of Westerners travelling to Byzantium. Many served in the Byzantine army while others were traders, active in Constantinople and other Byzantine centres. However, the presence of Westerners in Byzantium was not restricted to mercenaries and merchants. In Constantinople there were a few Western individuals who had linguistic skills and literary interests. Western scholars in Komnenian Byzantium are usually associated with the court of the ‘Latinophile’ emperor Manuel I; these are well-known figures, for instance, the case of the brothers Leo Tuscus and Ugo Eterianus.1 These individuals played a key role in the Western rediscovery of Greek culture, the so-called ‘Twelfth-century Renaissance’.2 Information regarding the presence of Western scholars and translators in Constantinople before the reign of Manuel I is scarce. In this chapter, I will focus on four Western translators and scholars residing in Constantinople during the reign of John II. The aim is to provide a general picture of this group and assess their contribution to Byzantine culture of the period, proving that the arrival of Western scholars to the Byzantine empire predated Manuel’s reign.
