24 - ΛΕΟΝΤΙΟΥ ΜΑΧΑΙΡΑ [LÉONCE MACHERAS]: ΧΡΟΝΙΚΟΝ ΚΥΠΡΟΥ [CHRONIQUE DE CHYPRE]. PARIS, 1881-1882

ΛΕΟΝΤΙΟΥ ΜΑΧΑΙΡΑ [LÉONCE MACHERAS]: ΧΡΟΝΙΚΟΝ ΚΥΠΡΟΥ [CHRONIQUE DE CHYPRE]. PARIS, 1881-1882 First complete edition in the original Cypriot Greek and first edition in French and any other language, in small folio, complete in two volumes (original Greek text and French translation), original publishers paper covers, large uncut copy, complete: 431 p., 439p. and the large folded map of Cyprus, text clean and bright, some very light inoffensive spotting in few pages,overall in very good plus condition. A MONUMENTAL LANDMARK IN CYPRIOT HISTORY. Η εξήγησις της γλυκείας χώρας Κύπρου η ποία λέγεται Κρόνακα, τουτέστι Χρονικόν, was written by the Cypriot diplomat, at the court of Lusignan, Leontios Machairas around 1432 and composed in the spoken medieval Cypriot Greek. It is celebrated by linguists as one of the most important surviving examples of medieval Cypriot. The edition was prepared by Leroux and Sathas and shed light on several aspects of the early history of Cyprus .Starting from the 4th century and going to his own time the narrative provides invaluable information for Cyprus under the Lusignan. The publication keeps the original authentic raw Cypriot Greek with a French translation in the second volume. It is the single most important primary source for medieval Cyprus. It is a linguistic monument which testify the spoken medieval Cypriot preserving the exact way the Cypriot Greek dynamically absorbed dozens of French and Italian loanwords. Machairas was a masterful storyteller, his chronicle reads less like a dry list of events and more like a narrative which provides Royal intrigue, social unrest or local folklore. It includes a very impressive large chromolithographed map of Cyprus, from a portolan of the 15th century. It is an unmatched record of everyday medieval life in Cyprus.