Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book honours Margaret Mullett (often known just by her initials as MEM) who since the late 1970s has arguably done more than anyone to transform the study of Byzantine Literature. It looks at lamentation and liturgy and their associated rhetoric as well as providing the first translation of one performative text, bringing out ceremony and spectacle, taking a different slant by moving to contemporary crime fiction. The book shows the influence of MEM by examining their topic from an unusual perspective: Pamela Armstrong, ‘The Transmission of Monumental Art: Travelling Saints and Monastic Networks’. It moves from Byzantium to post-Byzantine assimilation and integration of Christian and Muslim communities by exploring the introduction of choirs and organs in Balkan synagogues.