John Malalas (/ˈmælələs/;Ancient Greek:Ἰωάννης Μαλάλας,romanized: Iōánnēs Malálas;c. 491 – 578) was aByzantinechronicler fromAntioch inAsia Minor.
OfSyrian descent,[1] Malalas was a native speaker ofSyriac who learned how to write inGreek later in his life.[2] The nameMalalas probably derived from the Syriac wordܡܰܠܳܠܰܐmalolo 'rhetor,orator'; it is first applied to him byJohn of Damascus. The alternative formMalelas is later, first appearing inConstantine VII.[3]
Malalas was educated in Antioch, and was probably ajurist there, but moved toConstantinople at some point inJustinian I's reign (perhaps after the sack of Antioch by theSasanian Empire in 540);[4] all we know of his travels from his own hand are visits toThessalonica andPaneas.[5]
He wrote aChronographia (Χρονογραφία) in 18 books, the beginning and the end of which are lost. In its present state it begins with the mythical history ofEgypt and ends with the expedition toRoman Africa under the tribuneMarcianus, Justinian's nephew,[6] in 563 (his editor Thurn believing it originally to end with Justinian's death[7]); it is focused largely on Antioch and (in the later books)Constantinople. Except for the history of Justinian and his immediate predecessors, it possesses little historical value;[6] the author, "relying onEusebius of Caesarea and other compilers, confidently strung together myths, biblical stories, and real history."[8] The eighteenth book, dealing with Justinian's reign, is well acquainted with, and colored by, official propaganda. The writer is a supporter of Church and State, an upholder of monarchical principles. However, the theory identifying him with the patriarchJohn Scholasticus is almost certainly incorrect.[9]
Malalas cites many sources, including the lost or fragmentary works ofBrunichius,Charax of Pergamum,Domninus,Eustathius of Epiphania,Eutropius,Eutychianus,Nestorianus,Philostratus,Priscus,Sisyphus of Kos andTimotheus.[10]
The work is important as the first surviving example of a chronicle written not for the learned but for the instruction of the monks and the common people,[6] and its language shows a compromise with the spoken language of the day, although "it is still very much a written style. In particular, he employs technical terminology and bureaucratic clichés incessantly, and, in a period of transition from Latin to Greek governmental terminology, still uses the Latin loanwords alongside their Greek replacements ... The overall impression created by Malalas' style is one of simplicity, reflecting a desire for the straightforward communication of information in the written language of everyday business as it had evolved under the influence of spoken Greek."[11]
It obtained great popularity, and was used by various writers until the ninth century; it was translated intoOld Bulgarian probably in the tenth century, and parts of it were used for thePrimary Chronicle.[12] It is preserved in an abridged form in a single manuscript now atOxford[6] (Baroccianus 182) as well as in various fragments. A medieval translation inGeorgian also exists.[13]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Malalas, John".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 461.
