STYLE-SWITCHING IN THE GROTTAFERRATA TEXT OF DIGENES AKRITES
Richard DIETRICH
Since the discovery in the six known texts of Digenes Akrites in the latter half of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Byzantine epic has been investigated from a number of different aspects. Among these are historical references contained in the texts, the date of their composition, which text most closely resembles the ‘ original’ Digenes Akrites, literary influences on the epic, and stylistic and linguistic features of the texts. 1 Most research related to
Digenes Akrites has centered on two manuscripts, the Escorial and Grottaferrata texts. Although they are the oldest versions of the epic (late 15th century for the Escorial text and late 13th to early 14th century for the Grottaferrata text), and share some common elements, 2 they also have a number of striking differences. Among these differences are episodes and toponyms found in one text but not in the other, and, above all, linguistic differences. While the Escorial text is written in a version of vernacular Greek, the Grottaferrata text is written in a more elevated style, employing Attic Greek, although some colloquial features are found in the text. 3
These differences between the two texts have helped to fuel the continuing debate over the primacy of one text over the other and each text has its advo-
1. For discussions of the historical references in Digenes Akrites, see H. GRÉGOIRE, Le tombeau et la date de Digénis Akritas, Byz. 6, 1931, p. 481-508 ; Études sur l’épopée byzantine,
REG 46, 1933, p. 26-69 ; The Historical Element in Western and Eastern Epics : Digenis •Sayyid-Battal •Dat-el-Hemma •Antar •Chanson de Roland, Byz. 16, 1942-43, p. 527-544 ; P. MAGDALINO, Digenes Akrites and Byzantine literature : the twelfth-century background to the Grottaferrata version, in R. BEATON and D. RICKS, Digenes Akrites : New Approaches to Byzantine Heroic Poetry, London 1993 (hereafter BEATON and RICKS), p. 1-14 ; J. MAVROGORDATO, Digenes Akrites, Oxford 1956, p. LXI-LXXVI ; E. JEFFREYS, Digenis Akritis •The Grottaferrata and Escorial Versions, Cambridge 1998, p. XXX-XLI. For literary influences, style and features, see P. ODORICO, La sapienza del Digenis : materiali per lo studio dei loci similes
nella recenzione di Grottaferrata, Byz. 59, 1989, p. 137-163 ; H. GRÉGOIRE, The Historical Element, art. cit. ; V. CHRISTIDES, Arabic Influence on the Akritic Cycle, Byz. 49, 1979, p. 101 ; H. BARTIKIAN, Armenia and Armenians in the Byzantine epic, in BEATON and RICKS, p. 86-92 ; A. BRYER, Achthamar and Digenis Akrites, Antiquity 34, 1960, p. 295-297. 2. E. JEFFREYS, Digenis Akritis, p. XXVI-XXX ; R. BEATON, The Medieval Greek Romance,
Cambridge 1989, p. 66-72. 3. For a discussion of the language of the Grottaferrata text, see E. JEFFREYS, Digenis Akritis,
p. XLIX-LIV.
Revue des Études Byzantines 64-65, 2006-2007, p. 365-368.
