Volume 114, Issue 1

The article presents a collection of seventeen previously unpublished inscriptions on stone and small objects from Bithynia. The majority of them belong to the middle Byzantine period and comes from the area of Nikaia and Nikomedeia. First of all, the inscription from a boundary stone of a monastery of Theotokos near Niketiaton is discussed, in which the bridge of a certain Eustathios and the monastery of Johannes Kranbas are mentioned. The building inscription of a refectory attests to the existence of a splendid monastic complex near Kanlıçay, to the east of the Sangarios River. The inscription from a column offered by Leon lists several saints. In addition to clerics and monks, the funerary inscriptions also mention one Basil who came from the Diocese of Ikonion. This is followed by an epigraphical attestation of the koinonikon σῶμα Χριστοῦ (an Easter hymn), a fragment of an inscription mentioning the city of Joannina, a reliquary cross of Saint Damian, and two processional or blessing crosses. A clay seal with the monogram probably of a certain Photios closes the collection.

The Iconoclastic controversies of the Byzantine Era have provided a rich literary tradition of miracle narrations regarding the various magical aspects of the icon. The second period of Iconoclasm however seems to have given rise to a lesser prominent motif of the earlier traditions, namely that of the icon-agent acting as active punisher against its transgressor. The current article explores the development of this motif after a concise survey of the history of icon-miracle narrations, their representative texts and their role in liturgical practice. The starting point of the study were two previously unedited byzantine texts from the manuscript Vaticanus gr. 1587, testifying unique stories of icons as punishers. Finally, these stories are also perfect examples of the rich historical information popular narrations can provide on a topographical and prosopographical level regarding the era within which they were produced.

The present contribution aims at reviewing the available data on the Triclinium of the Nineteen couches. It is divided into three parts: the first is intended to overview the information that Byzantine authors have handed down to us about this great banquet hall; the second aims at proposing reconstructive hypotheses about its dimensions and architecture, as well as to investigate the material aspects related to the organisation of the banquet in late antiquity; the third part deals with the ceremonial functions that were performed in it. Contrary to what is usually assumed, the Triclinium was probably not a huge hall with nine apses on each side, but a rectangular hall with a final apse and akkoubita arranged along the perimeter walls. In terms of ritual, the Triclinium must have continued to be in use throughout the early Middle Ages, with a particular revival in the 10th century.

The paper presents fragments of a Byzantine icon discovered in 2015 during regular archaeological excavations carried out in Chełm, eastern Poland. Iconographic analyses allow the nine surviving fragments to be interpreted as belonging to a diptych wing with the Great Feasts cycle. The icon represents archaic iconography of the subject, with the scene of Transfiguration placed after Entry into Jerusalem and before the Crucifixion. The artefact was created in the second half or at the close of the 12th century, and it was made from steatite, which has been confirmed by petrographic analyses. The icon was discovered in the remains of a palace complex of King Daniel Romanovich, the greatest ruler of the Galicia-Volhynia Lands. The results of the archaeological research allow the terminus ante quem for the icon’s arrival in Chełm to be determined as before the middle of the 13th century. Various possible explanations as to how the icon found its way to Chełm are also explored in the paper.

The two extant works of Constantine the Philosopher of Nicaea reveal a late twelfth century thinker of the Neoplatonic sensibility typically seen only in those who reached the pinnacle of Byzantine literacy during this period. We argue that he is of particular interest because he coined two philosophical terms that, while mirroring controversial Neoplatonic concepts, better accommodate their Orthodox acceptance.We offer here some background on the author, a short discussion of the philosophical content of these works, and for the first time an English translation of both texts.

The museum of Trebizond houses a seal with a metrical legend of special interest, documenting a Synadenos, who had for some time been in a Sicilian prison but managed to escape, and thanks the apostle Thomas for this liberation. He might be Andronikos Synadenos, the husband of Theodora Komnene, a daughter of Alexios I, who served with distinction as general and as diplomat. As a military commander he maintained order in several border regions such as Dyrrachion, Niš, Cyprus, and finally Trebizond. The legend of the seal enhances the information from his epitaph which is known from Codex Marc. gr. 574: Synadenos must have been taken prisoner as dux of Dyrrachion, either at the fights during the Second Crusade in 1147/49, or during the failed expedition to Southern Italy; it ended in 1158 by a peace treaty which included an exchange of prisoners. The seal stems from Synadenos’ last post in his military career as dux of Trapezunt (before 1179), since it was found there. A parallel piece, also published in this article, is nowadays in Dumbarton Oaks.

Although nothing from the Byzantine church of St. Spyridon is preserved in situ today, the primary sources and surviving photographs of the structure indicate that it was built in the simple domed octagon design. In this article, some new architectural fragments which possibly belonged to the church are presented and evaluated, and new interpretations of the earlier restitution hypotheses are suggested. The presence of a domed octagon in Selymbria provides indirect evidence for the existence of the plan scheme in Constantinople in the Middle Byzantine period and implies a reciprocal relationship between regional and Constantinopolitan architectural styles.

The body of almost every Roman or Byzantine emperor has been lost. This piece draws attention to two skeletons, recovered from a Muslim türbe at Trabzon during World War I by the Russian excavator Feodor Uspensky. Using local oral tradition, Uspensky identified the two bodies he recovered as the Byzantine emperor of Trebizond Alexios IV (1417-1429) and a local Turkish hero Hoşoğlan. Since Uspensky, his identifications have not been challenged nor scientifically examined. This paper argues that Uspensky did not recover just one but two imperial skeletons. It first dissects his identifications, showing how competition for sacred space between Greeks and Turks in the Ottoman period led each community to identify the tomb’s occupants with foundational figures in their communities. After dissecting Uspensky’s identifications, this paper then makes the case that both occupants of this tomb were unidentified members of the Grand Komnenoi family, urging for scientific examination of what may be the only bones of a Byzantine emperor.

Syrgiannes Palaiologos Philanthropenos played a leading role in the conflicts between factions of the Byzantine aristocracy in the 1320s and 1330s. The most important historians of the period, Nikephoros Gregoras and John Kantakouzenos, depict a rather negative picture of the personality of Syrgiannes. He is portrayed as an overambitious individual who constantly plots against the throne. He is seen as a perjurer whose actions prove that he has no moral constraints and does not hesitate to betray his friends. This image has influenced modern scholarship which to a large extent uncritically accepts this negative image of Syrgiannes without taking into consideration the biases and contradictions of the narratives of Gregoras and Kantakouzenos. The cross-examination of the information provided by these two historians indicates that a large part of their account of the activities of Syrgiannes and his motives should be treated cautiously.

The conversion of the Nubian Kingdoms, by the missions sent from Constantinople in the sixth century, was followed by Byzantine influence on Nubian art. One of the most obvious examples of this process was representing archangels dressed in loroi. This paper aims to present the evolution of loroi in Nubian art. In Byzantium, they were ceremonial stoles worn on special occasions by the emperors or the highest dignitaries. The archangels were also clad in loroi, acting as high officials at the celestial court. Interestingly, loroi were adopted only for the images of archangels in Nubia, not for the images of Nubian kings. At the end of the 10th century, the lower end of the loroi was expanded to a broader segment resembling the Byzantine thorakion, typical of female images. This could have added splendor to their garments, but could it have also highlighted the vague gender of the archangels?

Compositions representing the Heavenly Liturgy - the liturgy that is presided over by Christ in heaven, of which the earthly liturgy is a reflection - first appear around the beginning of the fourteenth century in the decoration of Byzantine domes. Most scholars argue that such scenes depict an ancient concept, almost as old as liturgical exegesis itself. I contend that this view is based on a flawed reading of liturgical commentaries, of the biblical texts from which the commentaries draw inspiration, and of the Divine Liturgy itself. I argue that the scene of the Heavenly Liturgy represents both an exegetical stream independent of texts and an understanding of the eucharistic liturgy during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries that existed in visual form in tandem with traditional textual interpretations of the rite. The scene, devised by painters and their patrons, therefore constitutes a concurrent exegetical tradition that both derived from the commentaries and deviated from them.

In this paper I firstly examine the contents of Escur. Φ III 11, which includes a medical section, an anthology of texts both sacred and profane, and the epistolar exchange between Gregorius Acindynus and Eirene Choumnos. Secondly I go through Eirene’s intellectual background and the books transcribed under her patronage. Thirdly I explain the role played by this Escurialensis in Eirene’s library and in the anti-Palamite circles. Fourthly, basing on different kinds of arguments, I attribute the copying of ff. 83r-156v to Matthew Blastares.

The Μικρομεγάλη Ἰλιάς, the first work written by John Tzetzes, consists of 1.676 hexameters and numerous scholia. It narrates the events of the Trojan war from the conception of Paris to the fall of the city. This paper analyses the poem and its structure. In his later Exegesis to the Iliad, Tzetzes states that the Μικρομεγάλη Ἰλιάς allows to “learn thoroughly, in every detail” the history of the war. Following this evidence, the macro- and the microstructure of the poem are analysed in order to understand how Tzetzes structured his literary work and to what end. The last paragraph deals with the title Μικρομεγάλη Ἰλιάς.

This article explores the Byzantine network of the famous physician and theologian Ibn Buṭlān who left Baghdad for Antioch and Constantinople in the mid-11th-century. His contacts included Patriarchs Michael Keroularios and Peter III, Michael Psellos and Symeon Seth. Ibn Buṭlān’s monastic vocation raises the question of his link with Nikon of the Black Mountain. They probably crossed paths in the region of Antioch. Both developed ties with local people and institutions and integrated into the monastic customs of the area.

This paper consolidates some evidence on the impact of the liturgy on the epigraphic formulary.Without being an exhaustive study, it pinpoints several prominent examples of this development in the late antique Peloponnese. Textological parallels between inscriptions and extant liturgical texts indicate that liturgical formulae were adopted in epigraphic prayers of individuals as well as in the inscriptions adorning churches, and that authors of epitaphs often drew on the formulae of the eucharistic and funerary rites. The analysis makes it clear that the institutionalised forms of piety were perceived as authoritative and shaped the formation of the distinctively Christian epigraphic habit.