Aspecte stilistice ȋn pareneza bizantinǎ – Sfaturi către ȋmpărat
Stylistic Features of Byzantine Paraenesis – Admonition to the Emperor

Summary/Abstract: The paraenesis written by Katakalon Kekaumenos, along with other specific works of Byzantine Literature, is part of a larger historical and cultural process. This sort of writing, subsumed to advice literature, lends itself to different ways of interpretation. Kekaumenos’s Admonition to the Emperor belongs to a distinct rhetorical tradition where the text has become a vehicle of political ideology. At the same time, Kekaumenos’s work is an attempt to break away from the conventional pattern by presenting not only the author’s political opinions as an aristocrat with a strong military background, but also certain economic and administrative aspects of the imperial provinces. Kekaumenos gives a reason for writing this work in the following sentence: “I am not a writer…I had no intention to create a work for the public, I haven’t written it in stylish words… Maybe my words are the words of a simple man, but if you read them in good trust, you will find them truthful.” Indeed, anyone who considers his words carefully will discover a remarkable work in which rhetoric and conventional development are missing, while practical and direct approaches are prevailing. The present work aims to contribute to highlighting and analysing some stylistic features used by the author in the structure of paraenetical discourse.

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