"This is a splendid translation of a neglected text, which constitutes an important addition to our knowledge of vernacular Greek literature of the late Byzantine period. But it is also a highly amusing and genuinely 'entertaining' piece of medieval literature about animals, their characters and contests, ending in a great battle between the herbivores and the carnivores. Since so little of this type of writing is available for non-Greek readers . . . this translation will introduce a whole field of literature to medievalists in general."
-Judith E. Herrin, author of A Medieval Miscellany and Women in Purple
"A significant contribution to the study of vernacular Greek literature and the evolution of Greek language. Meticulously researched, it will intrigue philologists without alienating the general reader."
-Manolis Papathomopoulos, emeritus professor of classics, University of Ioannina, Greece
"The commentary fulfills the desire of the poem's prologue--that this fable will 'draw out and stir up learning.' Readers who study the decline of empire, while they attend to the voice of the weak in their confrontations with coercive power, will hear in this astute work a reminder that 'God shares power out' -even if his creatures think otherwise. By recalling the wonder that was Byzantium, this book is playful reading for any turbulent time preoccupied with 'what is past, or passing or to come.'"
-Patrick M. Murphy, editor of The Tempest: Critical Essays
An Entertaining Tale of Quadrupeds is the first English verse translation of the Greek satirical poem Diegesis Paidiophrastos ton Zoon ton Tetrapodon. Written by an anonymous author in fourteenth-century Byzantium, this vernacular allegorical poem has long been recognized as a unique document, one that appears to have originated independently of comparable works in other traditions. A medieval Animal Farm, the story describes a convention of animals in which each beast vaunts its uses to humanity while denigrating others, resulting in a cataclysmic battle. The authors provide extensive textual analysis and notes on the form, style, and context of the poem.
-Judith E. Herrin, author of A Medieval Miscellany and Women in Purple
"A significant contribution to the study of vernacular Greek literature and the evolution of Greek language. Meticulously researched, it will intrigue philologists without alienating the general reader."
-Manolis Papathomopoulos, emeritus professor of classics, University of Ioannina, Greece
"The commentary fulfills the desire of the poem's prologue--that this fable will 'draw out and stir up learning.' Readers who study the decline of empire, while they attend to the voice of the weak in their confrontations with coercive power, will hear in this astute work a reminder that 'God shares power out' -even if his creatures think otherwise. By recalling the wonder that was Byzantium, this book is playful reading for any turbulent time preoccupied with 'what is past, or passing or to come.'"
-Patrick M. Murphy, editor of The Tempest: Critical Essays
An Entertaining Tale of Quadrupeds is the first English verse translation of the Greek satirical poem Diegesis Paidiophrastos ton Zoon ton Tetrapodon. Written by an anonymous author in fourteenth-century Byzantium, this vernacular allegorical poem has long been recognized as a unique document, one that appears to have originated independently of comparable works in other traditions. A medieval Animal Farm, the story describes a convention of animals in which each beast vaunts its uses to humanity while denigrating others, resulting in a cataclysmic battle. The authors provide extensive textual analysis and notes on the form, style, and context of the poem.