"Cyril Mango was quite simply a giant in Byzantine studies, with a level of scholarship unsurpassed. I first knew him when he was Koraes professor at King's College London and he was a link to Dumbarton Oaks in its glory days. Generations of Oxford Byzantinists have gained immeasurably from his teaching and his example, and his publications, especially on the history and monuments of his native Constantinople, will live for ever. I join in sending my deepest sympathy to Marlia Mango, herself an inspiring teacher to so many Oxford students."
Professor Dame Averil Cameron
"I am writing on behalf of Maria Constantoudaki and myself to offer our deepest condolences to Marlia Mango and to Professor Mango's daughters for the loss of a beloved husband and father. It is not a form of speech to say that their loss is equally felt as a loss to his many friends and admirers of his scholarship, his critical mind and authoritative judgment. Maria and myself feel very grateful for the privilige to attend Professor Mango's seminar on Byzantine historiography in the spring of 1993, during a sabbatical in Oxford. I always felt I was learning from Cyril Mango, whose inexhaustible knowledge and originality were models and sources of inspiration, which I knew were very difficult to emulate. His books and ideas will remain a treasured legacy for all scholars in Byzantine and Modern Greek studies."
Paschalis M. Kitromilides
I was very sad to hear about Cyril's death. I first met him when he was close to retirement - but in the more than twenty years after his retirement he continued to shape the world of Byzantine studies in Oxford very profoundly. There were countless times during those retirement years when even the briefest of comments from Cyril changed how everyone in a seminar thought about a particular aspect of Byzantine culture. Tiny asides in informal conversations could have the same effect. A study trip to Istanbul led by Cyril and Marlia was a very memorable experience for many Oxford graduate students in the mid-1990s. Cyril's advice to avoid visiting hilltop fortifications in the midday sun ensured that my first trip to Turkey did not end in heatstroke. It was a reminder that Cyril did not just study Byzantium; he lived it as well.
Dr Catherine Holmes
"Cyril could be quietly terrifying, especially when circling around the unfortunate deliverer of a loosely-argued or insufficiently-researched conference paper or seminar presentation, often aided and abetted by his friend, Ihor Ševčenko. My DPhil viva was something of a similar experience: my transliteration of Russian and Turkish was adjudged 'atrocious' (it was) and the rather-too-frequent uses of 'possibly', 'might have' and 'could have' ruthlessly exposed. But there was, of course, another side to him. I was fortunate to attend his reading class in my last year as a graduate student in Oxford and his infinite patience with our attempts to translate and comment on the Letters of Ignatios the Deacon was little short of miraculous. Puffing at his pipe (Health and Safety regulations had not intervened in those far-off days), his succinct words of encouragement and even praise, uttered in that unique accent of his, were much treasured. Over the years our contacts were infrequent: a starring appearance at a Symposium I organised in Manchester; the unexpected arrival of an offprint ('Another saint for you!'); a pre-viva lunch in Exeter ('I'd avoid the cabbage, if I were you.') before we grilled our candidate; the deciphering and explanation of the inscription on a ring puzzling a colleague at the Yorkshire Museum (clueless, I immediately passed it on) and the prompt and generous response to a query about the Blachernai Church sent to him - at my urging - by an MA student. She, needless to say, was thrilled to receive a reply from so eminent a scholar who was as generous with his encyclopaedic knowledge of all things Byzantine as anyone could possibly be. I consider it a privilege to have known him."
Rosemary Morris
"Я позволю себе писать по русски, поскольку для Кирилла Александровича это был материнский язык. С юности я восхищалась его книгами по разным сферам византинистики, личное знакомство с ним в 1994 году произвело на меня огромное впечатление. Потом я видела и слышала его на нескольких конгрессах. Поражало совершенство и легкость его владения многими языками. Особенно удивительно было то, как он говорил по русски, он никогда не был в России, однако его язык не был архаичным, эмигрантским, это был язык русского аристократа, но полный современных шуток и словечек. Мир праху его, скончался великий византинист. Глубокие соболезнования семье и нам всем."
Ольга Этингоф, главный научный сотрудник НИИ РАХ, Москва
"Cher collègues,
Comme la communauté internationale des byzantinistes tout entière, le Comité français des études byzantines, très ému par la disparition du Professeur Cyril Mango, souhaite rendre hommage à l'immense savant et à l'homme d'exception qui vient de nous quitter.
Le Comité français exprime à son tour ses plus vives condoléances et toute sa sympathie à son épouse et à ses proches, ainsi qu'au Comité britannique et à la communauté des byzantinistes d'Oxford aujourd'hui cruellement frappés."
Le Président et le Bureau du Comité français des études byzantines
"My debt to Cyril Mango is huge and particular. I had begun a translation of Theophanes Chronicle, aiming at nothing more than a simple photo-copy version for my students in Melbourne . Ihor Sevcenko then told me on his first visit to Australia that Cyril had already completed doing so. Happily that wasn’t quite accurate, and my great joy came when Cyril, after first asking me for a draft of what I had done, invited me to join him in translating the complete chronicle. That was remarkably generous and kind. The work was done largely 10,500 miles apart in an era before email (and mainly before even fax was available – we began in 1978). So we didn’t meet or correspond often but the meetings (over lunch at Exeter on my occasional UK visits) were always memorable and the brief written exchanges so much more valuable than their brevity might suggest. Though I was obviously a huge beneficiary of his knowledge, what was always impressive was his openness to my suggestions and his willingness to adopt them. For that I shall always be grateful as well as remembering his generosity and kindness in risking such an unequal partnership."
Roger Scott
"Sincere condoleances. Pr Mango was to me one of the most important guide to the study of Late Antique Constantinople "
Philippe Blaudeau
"Nous avons perdu l'un de nos maîtres, le dernier et le plus grand. Ma pensée va à la compagne de sa vie, Marlia. Le souvenir des heures passées ensemble rend encore plus douloureuse sa disparition.
Professeur Cyril Mango, avec vous disparait un point de repère. Je ne vous oublierai jamais."
Paolo Odorico
"I was greatly saddened to hear of the death of my doctoral supervisor Professor Cyril Mango. Not only was he a great scholar, but also a great teacher. I would like to share the following fond memory: When my first book on the Homilies of Emperor Leo VI came out (1997), I presented it to him during an event in his honor at Oxford, on the occasion of the publication of his translation of The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor, which had also just come out. He took it and immediately placed it on the table next to his book. I will never forget this gesture of unparalleled generosity."
Theodora Antonopoulou
Professor of Byzantine Literature, Head of the Department of Byzantine Literature and Folkloristics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
"Professor Mango's Byzantium: The Empire of New Rome is one the books that sparked a lifelong interest in the Eastern Empire almost 40 years ago, even though I did not pursue it academically. I still have my copy bought at university, sitting the head of three shelves of Byzantine history books that followed it. My condolences to his family, friends, colleagues, and students. "
"Although I came to know Cyril personally only in his old age, his gracious welcome and kind interest made a deep impression on me. He has left us physically, but his light remains."
"My condolences to Prof. Mango’s family and friends. RIP to a great Byzantinist."
Leo Carter
"Cyril Mango was one of the best Byzantinists I ever met. And a man very nice to speak with. I am sad because of this loss."
Michel Kaplan
"My deepest condolences to Dr Marlia Mango and the Oxford Byzantine Community for the loss of a leading scholar, whose studies and students will always promote the world-wide interest in Byzantine Studies. He will always be remembered for his knowledge, influence and academic values."
Eleni Lianta
