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Congratulations to SPBS Chair Prof. Liz James on €1.8M European Research Council Award

We are extremely proud to announce that the chair of our executive committee, our very own Professor Liz James, has been awarded a €1.8 million European Research Council grant for Medieval Mosaics in Motion (MosaicsMove), a five-year project exploring what medieval wall mosaics can reveal about the art, culture and economy of the Mediterranean world.

Mosaics were among the most beautiful, costly and prestigious status symbols of the medieval Mediterranean, from the 4th to the 15th century. The project will focus on the small coloured glass cubes, known as tesserae, used to create them.

By studying the materials, artistic styles, techniques and historical records associated with surviving mosaics, the team will investigate where tesserae came from, how they travelled, and who was involved in making the mosaics.

The project will bring together archaeology, economic history, chemistry, art history, machine learning and data management. It will use this interdisciplinary approach to connect scattered evidence from mosaics across a wide chronological and geographical range, supporting expert analysis at a scale not previously possible.

Professor James said: “Mosaics are totally fascinating and this research could transform our understanding of them.”

The findings will offer new insights into production, trade networks, artistic practice, knowledge exchange, faith, patronage and consumption across the medieval Mediterranean.

 

Professor James will work with the Sussex Humanities Lab, alongside external collaborators in Paris and Delhi.

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SPBS Annual Book Prize 2025 Winner Announced

The Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies (SPBS) is delighted to announce that the 2025 SPBS Annual Book Prize has been awarded jointly to Michael Featherstone and Juan Signes Codoñer for their outstanding scholarly work on Book VI of the Chronographia of the Continuator of Theophanes.

The volume presents a critical edition and translation of the final part of the Byzantine text known as Theophanes Continuatus. Entitled “Book VI” by previous editors, the text follows upon Books I–IV and the Vita Basilii, which recount the reigns of the emperors from AD 813 to the death of Basil I in 886. “Book VI” then brings the narrative down to the advent of Nicephorus II Phokas in 963.

Tellingly, the first two parts are composed in a classicising style typical of the literary circle of the emperor Constantine VII. This third part, however, appears to have been undertaken after Constantine’s death, presumably on the initiative of the high official Basil the parakoimomenos, an ally of Phokas. It presents a remarkable mixture of stylistic and linguistic registers that points to a team of authors working within the imperial palace and assuming different roles in expanding and polishing their sources.

Compiled in apparent haste, the text is based on continuations of the Logothete Chronicle and incorporates a variety of revisions, including additional textual sections and glosses—often inserted in the wrong places—which were likely derived from marginal notes or leaves added to the exemplar manuscript. As such, the work provides valuable evidence for Middle Byzantine methods of textual revision and historical composition.

The SPBS Annual Book Prize is awarded each year to the best single-authored or co-authored book published in English on any topic within the broad field of Byzantine Studies. The prize reflects the Society’s commitment to advancing the study of the history, culture, languages, literature, and material remains of the Byzantine world and its neighbours across a wide range of disciplines.

The Society warmly congratulates Michael Featherstone and Juan Signes Codoñer on this well-deserved achievement and thanks all those who submitted books for consideration. The quality of the entries received demonstrates the continued strength, diversity, and international reach of contemporary Byzantine scholarship.

Congratulations to Michael Featherstone and Juan Signes Codoñer, winners of the 2025 SPBS Annual Book Prize.

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Call for Papers – 57th Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies

Fake News and Gossip in Byzantine Culture

The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
2nd-4th April 2027

Symposiarchs: Angeliki Lymberopoulou & Stavroula Constantinou

The 57th Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies 2027 (The Open University, UK) is calling for papers that explore fake news and gossip in every aspect of Byzantine studies. Have fake news and gossip dominated socio-political interaction for millennia rather than characterise post-modern life with the generous facilitation of the internet and social media? The longevity of the Byzantine Empire provides a perfect stage to both reflect on and address this question.

Please send your title and a short proposal (no more than 200 words) to Angeliki Lymberopoulou (angeliki.lymberopoulou@open.ac.uk) and Stavroula Constantinou (constantinou.stavroula@ucy.ac.cy) by Monday 30th November 2026.

Successful applicants will be notified by Friday, 18th December 2026.

Symposium Abstract

Fake news and gossip seem to dominate our present life. The former dominates politics, the latter everyday activities. The importance of global issues regarding war, pandemics, famine and climate change cannot possibly de-throne ‘juicy’ news about famous people. Taking sentences out of context and dissecting words seem to attract more attention than the overarching ‘bigger picture’. Considering that the Byzantine Empire is one of longest lasting in human history, the Symposium seeks to explore how similar aspects were manifest within that culture. Have, indeed, fake news and gossip dominated socio-political interaction for millennia rather than characterise post-modern life with the generous facilitation of internet and social media? The longevity of Byzantine Empire provides a perfect stage to address this question. A selection of invited multi-disciplinary papers will look closely at history and historiography, religion, art history and socio-political manifestations.

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Announcing the SPBS Executive Committee Election Results

The Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies is delighted to announce the results of our recent Executive Committee elections. Please join us in welcoming and congratulating our newly elected and re-elected members as they take on their roles steering our sub-committees.

We are pleased to share that Dr Flavia Vanni is taking on the role of Secretary. Dr Max Lau has been re-elected as Chair of the Fundraising Committee, while Dr Vicky Manolopoulou has been officially confirmed as Chair of the Development Committee.

Joining the Development Committee this term is Dr Alessandro Carabia, who will be working alongside Vicky to advance the committee’s social media and online outreach. Additionally, Jonathan Wild will be stepping in to fill the vacancy on the Publications Committee, where he will work closely with Committee Chair Professor Shaun Tougher.

We are immensely grateful to Alessandro, Flavia, Jonathan, Max, and Vicky for standing for election and for their continued dedication to the Society.

Looking ahead, the Executive Committee, led by Chair Professor Liz James, will next convene in September.

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SPBS Drinks Reception at IMC Leeds 2026

 

Dear Friends,
If you are attending IMC Leeds this week, we would love to invite you to our reception tomorrow (Tuesday 7/7/2026) at 18:00.
Come to meet us and have a drink.
OPEN TO ALL!!!
📍University House, Little Woodhouse Room
Precinct, Woodhouse, Leeds LS2 9JS
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The Second Komnenian Restoration and its Legacy Symposium

The Second Komnenian Restoration and its Legacy Symposium

Ibn Haldun University, Istanbul, 8-9th May 2026

Dr Maximilian Lau & Dr Georgios Theotokis

With special thanks to İbrahim Harun Demirel, Prof Günhan Börekçi and many others at Ibn Haldun University for their help organising and funding this event, in addition to Prof Peter Frankopan and the Oxford Centre for Byzantine Research, the Faculty of History at the University of Oxford and the British Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies for funding this event.

Scholars have used the concept of the ‘Komnenian Restoration’ of Byzantium for many years, and yet the term has never received a critical analysis: what did the Komnenoi believe they were restoring? Did they achieve any of their aims, in what ways, and what was the legacy of their successes and failures?

The first symposium in Oxford last year highlighted a number of further themes that should be investigated, in addition to many other established and emerging scholars whose research is essential to enhancing our understanding of this crucial era of history, especially for Anatolia and the Balkans. Economic, Ecclesiastical, Foreign and Social History take centre stage in the sessions we have organized here. This second symposium, held in the most appropriate location of Istanbul itself, will therefore bring together the research and people in order that the proposed handbook of research on the Komnenian Dynasty can coalesce. Further, a Komnenian research network, co-hosted by Ibn Haldun and the University of Oxford, will be launched following this event.

This is a symposium that welcomes the contributions of all, whether prominent scholar, early career academic, or simply interested party of any other sort – I have long thought that whenever a question is asked prefaced by “this isn’t my field,” but…it can often throw new light on a subject, and so please do contribute your thoughts and questions during the event.

You can find the programme here. 2KomnenianLegacyBooklet

Please register for online attendance or interest in the project.
Sign up here.

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SPBS-ÖBG Joint Lecture 2026

Fantastic beasts & where to find them: Byzantine hybrids

The Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies (SPBS), in partnership with the Austrian Association for Byzantine Studies (ÖBG), is pleased to announce our 2026 joint hybrid lecture.

This year, we are honoured to host Margaret Mullett (OBE), Honorary Professorial Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, who will explore the world of Byzantine hybrids, examining the “fantastic beasts” that occupied a unique space in the culture and art of the period. A response from Markéta Kulhánková, Associate Professor at Masaryk University will follow the lecture.

The paper looks at hybrid animals in Byzantium, both from an animal studies viewpoint and from a more general Byzantine literary and cultural angle. It looks at issues of credibility and plausibility, notes which ancient hybrids were or were not popular in Byzantium, and identifies where they may be found on the margins and in liminal places, but also on the body and seals strong identity markers in Byzantium. It asks what the point of hybrids is in Byzantium and explores the answers of Patricia Cox Miller, Henry & Eunice Maguire, and Lara Frentrop. It then offers a further possibility through a treatment of the centrality of hybridity in twelfth-century Byzantine literature and Byzantine society in general.

For more, please see here.

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♱ Averil Cameron ♱

It is with great sorrow that we share the news that Averil Cameron has passed away. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her and her work. Further information will be shared in due course.
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Stay Connected with the International Association of Byzantine Studies

The International Association of Byzantine Studies (AIEB) warmly invites scholars, students, and all those with an interest in Byzantium to connect with us through our official social media channels. By following our accounts, you will receive updates on the Congress and remain informed about the broader initiatives, announcements, and scholarly developments associated with the AIEB.

We welcome you to follow us on:

Facebook – International Association of Byzantine Studies (AIEB)

Instagram – @aieb_byzantium

BlueSky – aieb-byzantium.bsky.social

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♱ John Lowden ♱ (1953-2026)

It is with great sadness that we announce that John Lowden, Professor of Art History at the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London and Fellow of the British Academy, died peacefully on Tuesday, 27 January 2026, with his wife Joanna Cannon and son Gregory at his bedside. John had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease many years earlier.

John studied for his MA and PhD at the Courtauld and joined its academic staff in 1982 after a brief period teaching at St Andrews. He taught generations of students there until his retirement in 2017. Byzantinists will know him especially for his many works on Byzantine manuscripts, including Illuminated Prophet Books (1998),  The Octateuchs (1992) and the Jaharis Gospel Lectionary(2009), as well as his invaluable survey text Early Christian and Byzantine Art(1997). These all conveyed John’s deep and close understanding of medieval books, how they were made and how they were read. However, his intellectual reach was much broader. He set up the International Gothic Ivories Project (http://www.gothicivories.courtauld.ac.uk/) published an award-winning two-volume work on the Bibles Moralisées, and was a co-investigator of the Royal manuscripts in the British Library (leading to a major exhibition in 2012). That is only a small taste of his output.

John was far more than his research: he will be remembered by many as a generous and joyous colleague, an inspiring teacher and a great friend to many. His sense of humour and his pithy comments and questions in seminars were infectious, but also kept you on your toes. John’s own students – of whom there are many – will no doubt produce fuller and more insightful memories in the days and weeks to come.

John always ended the annual medieval postgraduate colloquium at the Courtauld by reminding everyone of what an auspicious day it was; so it seems only fitting to end by noting that John died on the Feast of the Return of the Relics of St John Chrysostom to Constantinople, when we also commemorate the memory of the Venerable Peter of Alexandria, Marciana wife of Justin I, Ashot Kuropalates of Georgia, St Devota of Corsica and many, many others. John is in excellent company, but he will be greatly missed by all of us who remain behind.

Antony Eastmond