Byzantine twelfth-century romances: a relative chronology

Abstract

Little attention has been paid to the relative dating of the ‘learned’ romances of the twelfth century. It has generally been accepted that Prodromos’ Rhodanthe and Dosikles is the first in the series, while the general consensus is that Makrembolites’ Hysmine and Hysminias was written some time in the second half of the twelfth century or, at any rate, after the works of the genre’s revival.