In this interview, Anna Boreczky discusses her fascinating research into the medieval illustrations of the story of ‘Apollonius, King of Tyre’ a romance from late antiquity which became a Medieval blockbuster, popular throughout Europe.

Anna is an art historian and expert in medieval book culture, and is part of the Fragmenta et Codices research group in Budapest.  She starts by telling the story of Apollonius, King of Tyre, which is a moral story and an exciting adventure of love, fortune and marital fidelity spread over the eastern Mediterranean. 

In her forthcoming book, she discusses 26 illustrated books of the Apollonius story, made between ca. 600 and 1500. Her research includes two fragments; the first found in St Catherine’s Monastery at Mount Sinai which is a palimpsest and forms part of a very early copy of the Gospels in Arabic; the second is called Apollonius Pictus and is kept in the National Széchényi Library in Budapest..   Anna’s principle interest is in the illustrations,  their role within the renewals of the story and within the narrative strategies employed by illustrated Apollonius books These images show that when the book was copied or printed, the illustrations were updated to the contemporary era to increase the engagement of the readers.  In addition, Anna’s research confirms that illustrated romances were known in late antiquity, and assumed to be highly popular, with obvious lasting appeal.

The image shown here is taken from Heinrich Steinhöwel: Apollonius von Tyrus. Augsburg, 1476. Berlin, Staatsbibliothek Preussischer Kulturbesitz, 8 Inc 73, fol. 44r.

This podcast is part of a series of interviews covering central Europe in the medieval period for MECERN and CEU Department of Historical Studies.