The ironic praise: the consciousness of the erotikon as a proof of moral rectitude

Abstract

It has often been stated that the Chronographia by the eleventh-century prolific author Michael Psellos is a piece of historiography that reads almost like a novel, and that Psellos spends much time on describing characters and taking ironical stances towards his imperial protagonists. This article claims that a refined version of this may be seen in Psellos’ book six on Constantine IX Monomachos. In this portrait Psellos explicitly states that he finds it hard to balance laudation and historical accuracy. We clearly see that Psellos owes favours to Constantine; on the other hand, his description of the rule of Constantine leaves no doubt that Constantine’s rule was fraught with problems. In the end –as it is here claimed– Psellos resorted to self-irony in the very last dramatic scene of the book, and thereby saved Constantine at least some praise, namely for being the only emperor who fully understood the hard conditions of rulership, that being emperor is something nobody can really sustain well to the end, as is also Psellos’ point elsewhere in the Chronographia. Constantine thereby becomes the only protagonist of the narration that shares this understanding with the narrator.