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, for a captivating look into the Byzantine imagination.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Byzantine Hybrids

Professor Mullett will explore the world of Byzantine hybrids, examining the “fantastic beasts” that occupied a unique space in the culture and art of the period. The lecture will be followed by a response from Markéta Kulhánková, Associate Professor at Masaryk University.

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 with a treatment of the centrality of hybridity in Byzantine literature of the twelfth century and Byzantine society in general.

Event Information

Date: Monday, 11 May 2026.Time: 17:00 BST (UTC+1) / 18:00 CEST (UTC+2).

Venue: G.01 – Davidson Lecture Theatre, Lister Learning and Teaching Centre, 5 Roxburgh Pl, Edinburgh EH8 9SU.

Format: This is a hybrid event, held in person and via cooperation between the SPBS and ÖBG.

To register, please click here.