Ethnische Invektiven in der spätbyzantinischen Händlerwelt Zum anonymen Poem im Marcianus gr. XI, 6 aus dem 3. oder 4. Jahrzehnt des 14. Jahrhunderts

Abstract

A small poem of six political verses published by Alexander Turyn from a Greek manuscript in Venice compiled in 1321 classifies six ethnic groups: gypsies, Albanians, Cretans, Germans, Goths in Crimea and Trapezuntinians. The article examines firstly the manuscript and the copists and than the role of the six groups in politics and society of the Late Byzantine Empire. The poem have, as it seemed, its origins in merchant circles in Constantinople and describes the public meaning in the streets and places of the Capital.

Keywords

• Constantinople
• ethnic groups
• merchants
• public opinion