Biography

András Kraft (PhD CEU 2018) studied Philosophy at Eötvös Loránd University and Medieval Studies at Central European University (Budapest). His doctoral research received support from the Alexander S. Onassis Foundation, Koç University’s Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations, the Tsakopoulos Hellenic Collection Library, and the University of Münster. He was an Assistant Professor at the American University of Central Asia and held postdoctoral fellowships at Princeton University, the University of Vienna, and HSE University. His research revolves around Byzantine intellectual history with a focus on prophetic and philosophical literature.

Project Abstract

Byzantine apocalyptic literature is primarily concerned with the time interval that precedes the last judgment. It approaches this period with the ambivalent tendency to anticipate the impending end while delaying it to a future generation. Thus, Romanos the Melodist (in his Hymn on the Second Coming) and Andrew of Caesarea (in his Commentary on Revelation) could both envision the last judgment in minute detail while pleading for its postponement. This ambivalence is rooted not only in psychological factors but also in the medium of the written word, which is designed for posterity and thus favors the retardation of the eschaton. It is also a generic necessity, given that apocalyptic literature becomes redundant once the end has transpired.

This project seeks to shed light on the dynamics of eschatological time in Medieval Greek apocalyptic literature by investigating the ambivalence of hastening and delaying the end according to three related aspects, namely from within the texts, from within the textual transmission, and from within the manuscript environment. First, narratological techniques of acceleration and delay will be examined, such as narrative speed and time-related motifs (e.g., the shortening of days). Second, different redactions of prominent Byzantine apocalyptica will be studied in order to establish whether textual variations (e.g., additions and omissions) are potent in conveying a sense of slowing or hastening the end-time narrative. Third, the project explores whether the arrangement of the prophecies within the manuscript transmission can be considered a contributing factor.

Curriculum vitae

2023–2024  

Postdoctoral Fellow

Centre for Medieval Studies, HSE University (Russia)

2021–2023

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow

Department of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, University of Vienna (Austria)

2019–2021

Mary Seeger O'Boyle Postdoctoral Fellow

Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies, Princeton University (USA)

2017–2019

Assistant Professor

Division of General Education, American University of Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan)

Selected Publications

2022. “Vaticinium de restitutione Constantinopoleos (BHG 1875b): Edition and translation of a post-Byzantine prophecy.” Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies 46 (2): 214–235. https://doi.org/10.1017/byz.2022.13.

2020. “Byzantine apocalyptic literature.” In The Cambridge Companion to Apocalyptic Literature, edited by Colin McAllister, 172–189. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108394994.010. 

2018. “An Inventory of Medieval Greek Apocalyptic Sources (c. 500–1500 AD): Naming and Dating, Editions and Manuscripts.” Millennium 15: 69–143. https://doi.org/10.1515/mill-2018-0005.

2018. “Typological Hermeneutics and Apocalyptic Time: A Case Study of the Medieval Greek Last Vision of the Prophet Daniel.” In Όψεις του Βυζαντινού Χρόνου. Πρακτικά Διεθνούς Συνεδρίου, Αθήνα, 29–30 Μαΐου 2015, edited by Elenē G. Saradē, et al., 180–194. Kalamata: Byzantine and Christian Museum.

2017. “Living on the Edge of Time: Temporal Patterns and Irregularities in Byzantine Historical Apocalypses.” In The Fascination with Unknown Time, edited by Sibylle Baumbach, et al., 71–91. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66438-5_4.