András Kraft
Mary Seeger O'Boyle Postdoctoral Research Fellow, 2019-2020 to 2020-2021
- DegreePh.D., Medieval Studies, Central European University, 2018DissertationThe Apocalyptic Horizon in Byzantium: Philosophy, Prophecy, and Politics During the Eleventh Through Thirteenth CenturiesResearch ProjectThe Transmission and Transformation of Byzantine Apocalyptic Literature
András Kraft studied Philosophy at Eötvös Loránd University and Medieval Studies at Central European University. He received his doctoral degree from Central European University for his dissertation on eschatological discourses in the long Komnēnian century. During his doctoral studies he was awarded fellowships by the Alexander S. Onassis Foundation, Koç University’s Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations, the Tsakopoulos Hellenic Collection Library, and the University of Münster. Before joining the Seeger Center, he was an Assistant Professor of liberal arts at the American University of Central Asia. His research specializes in Byzantine intellectual history with a focus on philosophical and prophetic literature.
About the Research Project
The Transmission and Transformation of Byzantine Apocalyptic Literature
Studies in Byzantine apocalypticism still rely heavily on the unfinished but posthumously published works by Paul Alexander and Agostino Pertusi. Their undeniable merits notwithstanding, a new approach is needed in order to develop further our understanding of medieval Greek apocalyptic thought. Before new editorial and interpretative work can properly be carried out, it is necessary to assess the entangled manuscript transmission since the vast majority of manuscripts containing Byzantine apocalyptic texts date to the fifteenth century or later. This means that our access to the original Byzantine material is regulated by a post-Byzantine filter. This research project investigates the manuscript (re)production of apocalyptic anthologies during the early post-Byzantine period in an attempt to reconstruct the workshops and interest groups behind this unprecedented proliferation of Byzantine apocalyptic prophecies. Among others, it examines the transmission history of the Ultima visio Danielis (CAVT 255), the Oracula Leonis Sapientis, and the Vaticinium de restitutione Constantinopoleos (BHG 1875b).