‘Foy grecque’: il miraggio delle biblioteche di Costantinopoli e il fantasma del Libro di Lazzaro

The myth of the libraries of Constantinople continued to “sell well” among European collectors in the sixteenth century. There was no shortage of scam attempts, such as those witnessed by the French ambassador in Venice, Guillaume Pellicier, and with all likelihood the amazing library catalogues contained in the manuscript Wien, ÖNB, Historicus graecus 98 were also conceived for similar purposes. One of them even featured a memorial, attributed to none other than the Lazarus risen from the dead, which would have been secreted by the Apostles and popes, according to a rumor which was perhaps reminiscent of the story of the Sibylline Books. The mention of this fabulous text, however, also reflected the pride of the ancient, albeit decayed, Greek intellectual capital of the Mediterranean.