George Kedrenos

George Kedrenos, Cedrenus or Cedrinos (Greek: Γεώργιος Κεδρηνός, fl. 11th century) was a Byzantine historian. In the 1050s he compiled Synopsis historion (also known as A concise history of the world), which spanned the time from the biblical account of creation to his own day. Kedrenos is one of the few sources that discuss Khazar polities in existence after the sack of Atil in 969 (see Georgius Tzul).

Material in Synopsis historion mostly comes from the works by Pseudo-Symeon Magistros(de) (a version of Logothete's chronicle(de)), George Syncellus, Theophanes the Confessor, and, starting from 811, almost exclusively and word-for-word from the chronicle by John Skylitzes.[1]

One late manuscript of Synopsis historion preserves a poem (anonymous but thought to be by Kedrenos) that derives his family name from the place where he was born, a small village of Cedrus (or Cedrea) in the Anatolic Theme.[2][3] The poem also identifies him as a proedrus, a senior court official.[2][3]

Before becoming a proedros, Kedrenos may have held the somewhat lower rank of vestarches.[2] Vestarches Georgios Kedrenos is in fact known from a number of 11th–12th-century seals found mostly in the Danube region, but also in Crimea.[1][4][5][6] Furthermore, several roughly contemporary seals refer to another court official, a certain "John Cedrenus, protocuropalates and duke" who may have been a relative, perhaps, a brother or a cousin.[2][7]

Notes
  1. Howard-Johnston 2012, pp. 8–9
  2. Treadgold 2013, pp. 339–342
  3. de Boor 1905, p. 426
  4. Georgios 20202 + Boulloterion 4024, in Prosopography of the Byzantine World (consulted 27 February 2017)
  5. Chiriac 2013, pp. 161–162 text + p. 167 images
  6. Stepanova 2003, p. 127 text + image
  7. Ioannes 20693 + Boulloterion 5397 + Boulloterion 5398, in Prosopography of the Byzantine World (consulted 27 February 2017)
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References
  • Costel Chiriac (2013). "Sigilii dobrogene inedite. II" (PDF). Arheologia Moldovei. XXXVI: 159–168. doi:10.11588/amold.2013.0.29246. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  • C. de Boor (1905). "Weiteres zur Chronik des Skylitzes" (PDF). Byzantinische Zeitschrift. 14 (2): 409–467. doi:10.1515/byzs.1905.14.2.409.
  • James Howard-Johnston, "The Chronicle and Other Forms of Historical Writing in Byzantium", in: The Medieval Chronicle X, Brill (2016), pp. 1–22. google books preview
  • Elena Stepanova (2003). "New finds from Sudak". Studies in Byzantine Sigillography. 7: 123–130. google books preview
  • Warren Treadgold (2013). The Middle Byzantine Historians. Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1057/9781137280862. ISBN 978-1-349-44791-6.


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