This article deals with the social context of 11th-cenrury Byzantine poetry,especially the poems of Christopher of Mytilene, John Mauropous, andMichael Psellos. In this period an elite of inrellectuals took power at court,clearly distinguishing themselves by their common acquaintance with classicaleducation. Their poetry is considered in this article as a tool of social servicein the dynamics of patronage, and similarly, as a way to enhance the positionof the author in the field of education or communication in service ofthe court. In order to uphold these mechanisms of patronage, the illusion hadto be shaped that poetry mattered to gain prestige. The inherently genericnature of this poetry is illustrated with some imerpretations of poems.
