Project description
In this PhD project (2018-2023) Irene Jacobs examines how the Byzantine authors of monastic saints’ lives engaged with travel. The project takes an interest in how these ninth- and tenth-century writers engaged with travel on the levels of language, studying travel metaphors, and narrative, studying representations of monastic travel. Traditionally it has been thought that Byzantium was characterised by low levels of mobility and a decisively negative attitude towards travel. In the footsteps of recent scholarship stressing mobility and its impact, this project contributes to a re-evaluation of the roles and perceptions of travel in the Byzantine Empire.
