Vaticinium de restitutione Constantinopoleos (BHG 1875b): Edition and translation of a post-Byzantine prophecy

Abstract

The article provides a critical edition of a hitherto unedited post-Byzantine prophecy that may be called the Vaticinium de restitutione Constantinopoleos. The text comes down in two recensions, which are contained in twelve manuscripts. The edition is supplemented with an English translation and a commentary that discusses the title, date of composition, content, main sources, and significance of the text. It is argued that the prophecy was originally composed in the early 1570s in response to the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus. Furthermore, it is shown that the motif of a saviour-emperor, which is central to the prophecy, responds to developments in sixteenth-century Mediterranean apocalypticism.