The present volume is the written result of a workshop with the title
Die kulturhistorische Bedeutung byzantinischer Epigramme [the role of
Byzantine epigrams for cultural history] held at the Austrian Academy
of Sciences and the University of Vienna on December 1-2, 2006. It was
the purpose of this event (organised by W. Horandner and A. Rhoby) to
deepen the research on the Byzantine epigram. Besides, the present
volume is a parergon of the Vienna based project Byzantinische Epigramme
in inschriftlicher Uberlieferung [Byzantine epigrams on objects]. The
volume starts with an introduction in which a definition of the terminus
epigram and an overview of the current state of research are given. The
following articles deal not only with philological questions but also
with the omnipresent interaction of word and image in Byzantium. Well
established opinions, e.g. regarding the epigram on the staurotheke of
Limburg, are questioned. Moreover, the question is discussed why several
Byzantine artefacts kept in Venice and their inscriptions were copied
and imitated at the beginning of the 16th century. A concluding article
deals with literary and non-literary medieval Latin epigrams. At the end
of the volume tables of images and a general index are provided.