Photius, la Bibliothèque, et au-delà: l'état de la recherche, l'usage des classiques, et les préfaces du corpus

This article is divided into four parts. The first one (I: Biography and books: general considerations) provides a selected literature survey regarding Photius’ biography, along with a brief mention of the books which allegedly belonged to his personal library. The second one (II: Photius’ corpus, a memorial of books of other writers: history of the printed editions, translations, and commentaries) focuses on the editorial history of Photius’ main works, before and after 1974, that is to say, before and after the publication of Lemerle’s Premier humanisme (respectively, sections II.1 and II.2). A sub-section is devoted to the issue of Photius’ classical quotations in his Letters and Amphilochia, with an examination of three case-studies (II.2.2). The editorial history of Photius’ Library, and a general survey of the relevant philological issues, will be the object of an independent section (II.3). The third part (III: Ἀρχαιολογία of Photius’ Library) recalls the much-debated questions regarding the composition and the chronology of the Library and its preface, the so-called Letter to Tarasius. The fourth part (IV. Photius’ prefaces: beyond his Library) provides a commentary on Photius’ prefaces to: Against the Manichaeans (IV.1), with a note on the chronology of its fourth book (IV.1.2) and a survey of the topoi of this preface (IV.1.3); Amphilochia (IV.2); Lexicon (IV.3); Mystagogia (IV.4); the Letter to Tarasius is considered in the broader context of the other prefaces (IV.5). An intertextual reading of Photius’ prefaces is therefore suggested (IV.6), both within Photius’ work and in the long-lasting perspective of the «topics of the exordium» (Curtius). In conclusion (IV.7), it is suggested that Photius’ prefaces shape a narrative frame around its huge, composite, and often untidy works, in order to give them a more profound and consistent unity.