Proceedings of The 22nd International Co PDF

PROCEEDINGS OF THE
22ND INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF BYZANTINE STUDIES

SOFIA, 22–27 AUGUST 2011
Proceedings of the 22nd International
Congress of Byzantine Studies
Sofia, 22–27 August 2011
Volume III
ABSTRACTS OF FREE COMMUNICATIONS
Sofia · 2011
edited by angel nikolov
with the assistance of
elena kostova and vladimir angelov
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
President
Vassil Gjuzelev
Co-President
Axinia Dzhurova
Members
Vassilka Tăpkova-Zaimova
Georgi Bakalov
Christo Matanov
Miliyana Kaymakamova
Liliana Simeonova
Iliya Iliev
Vassia Velinova
Albena Milanova
Angel Nikolov
Rumen Boyadzhiev
Ekaterina Dzhumalieva
Simeon Hinkovski
INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE
President and Coordinator-in-Chief

Peter Schreiner
Coordinators
Evangelos Chrysos
Michel Kaplan
Members
Axinia Dzhurova
Vassil Gjuzelev
Elizabeth Jeffreys
Constantinos Pitsakis
Sergei Karpov
www.22byzantinecongress.org
Published by Bulgarian Historical Heritage Foundation

www.bhhfoundation.org
© Angel Nikolov and the contributors 2011

© Bulgarian Historical Heritage Foundation 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the
prior permission of the publisher.
ISBN: 978-954-8536-05-9
22nd International Congress of
Byzantine Studies
patrons
Mr. Georgi Parvanov,
President of the Republic of Bulgaria
and
United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO)
Contents
Editorial note ix
FC1. Archaeology in the Byzantine space I 1

FC2. Archaeology in the Byzantine space II 14
FC3. Numismatics and sphragistics 26
FC4. Pottery and other crafts 34
FC5. Early Byzantium 43
FC6. The Power of Byzantium 53
FC7. Periphery and provincial aristocracy 63
FC8. The Byzantines and the others 73
FC9. Monasteries and Christian paideia 85
FC10. Church Architecture I 96
FC11. Church Architecture II 109
FC12. Architectural Heritage 117
FC13. History and Literature 126
FC14. Secular Literary Genres I 136
FC15. Secular Literary Genres II 144
FC16. Hagiography and Homiletic 154
FC17. Various ecclesiastical writings 163
FC18. Byzantino-Slavica I 172
FC19. Byzantino-Slavica II 181
FC20. Byzantine theology 192
FC21. The dialogue between theology and philosophy in Byzantium 201
FC22. The Byzantine cosmologies (4th–7th c.) and their theological and
philosophical sources 216
FC23. Medieval dissent: Bogomils and other religious dissidents on the Balkans 220
FC24. Warfare, diplomacy and cultural exchange, 10th–12th c. 228
FC25. Byzantium and the Papacy 241
FC26. Empire in decline I 249
FC26A. Empire in decline II 259
FC27. Art, aesthetics, music I 265
FC28. Art, aesthetics, music II 275
viii Contents
FC29. History of Byzantine Studies 282

FC30. Byzantium today – Projects 293
FC31. Problems of iconography. I. General questions 304
FC32. Problems of iconography. II. Christ and Saints 313
FC33. Pre-fourteenth-century murals and mosaics 320
FC34. Mural painting, 14th century 333
FC35. Miniature illumination and codicology 347
FC36. Icons, minor objects 359
FC37. Post-Byzantine art 373
FC38. Varia Byzantina 389
Poster Session 401
Index of Speakers 415

EDITORIAL NOTE
The present volume contains a diverse collection of more than 500 abstracts of free
communications and posters presented at the 22nd International Congress of Byzan-
tine Studies. As readers will realize, the forty Congress sessions have been construct-
ed so as to include eminent scholars with substantial experience along with young
and upcoming researchers striving to establish themselves in their respective fields.
The arrangement of the abstracts follows the structure of the Congress program
as put together under the supervision of Vassil Gjuzelev, President of the Organizing
Committee. Considerable assistance, during his visit to Sofia in early April 2011, was
also provided by Peter Schreiner, President of the International Association for Byz-
antine Studies, to whom we extend our sincere gratitude.
The title of each session is prefixed by the letters FC (“Free Communications”)
followed by the number of the respective session. The texts are reproduced with
minimal editorial amendments and reflect the personal style and preferences of their
authors. The editor of this volume has been kindly assisted by Elena Kostova and
Vladimir Angelov as well as by the members of the Organizing Committee.
Angel Nikolov
FC1. ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE BYZANTINE SPACE I
Moderators
Lyudmil Vagalinski/Maria Leontsini
Ioanna Stoufi-Poulimenou/George Kakavas (University of Athens, Greece/Lamia,

Greece)
Christian Elateia at Phtiotida, Central Greece. The evidence of
the archaeological finds
Elateia was the most famous ancient town in Phokis. It is located in a very fertile
plain, near Boeotian Kifissos River, encircled by Parnassos and Kallidromos Moun-
tains. Elateia played also an important role in the surrounding area during the Early
Christian and Byzantine period. It was a significant administrative and religious cen-
tre and the seat of a bishopric.
In the modern times, the area of the ancient and Christian Elateia is known by
the excavations of Pierre Paris, Georgios Soteriades and Saul Weinberg. Ancient tem-
ples, acropolis, basilicas, churches, cemeteries and other public and private buildings
are brought to the light. The Hellenic Archaeological Service continued these exca-
vations and, from the early 20th century until today, many more buildings and finds
are revealed.
Our communication is concerned with the presentation of the Christian Elateia,
which is less known, in comparison to the Prehistoric or Hellenistic and Roman
town. We will display the most important archaeological finds of the area, that came
from the Early Christian and Byzantine constructions, such as decorated architec-
tural members, mosaic floors and works of ceramic and minor art, most of them un-
published.
Szymon Maślak (University of Warsaw, Poland)

Topography of Pelusium in the Byzantine period (4th–7th century
AD)
What sets apart Pelusium from other large urban centres of the eastern part of the
Romano-Byzantine Empire, such as Alexandria, Caesarea Maritima, Antioch, Ephe-
sos, or Constantinople, is an almost complete obscurity of the topography of the city
and its closest neighbourhood. It is not until last decades when scanty information
about the city drawn from literary sources can be augmented by meticulous archeo-
logical research (with the author as one of its participants). At the site, scholars have
revealed by now several important structures including churches, theatres, baths, cis-
2 Proceedings of the 22nd International Congress of Byzantine Studies
terns, etc. However, still the most remarkable feature of the site remains a vast for-
tress.
All these buildings are today dispersed throughout the chain of tells (artificial
mounds) and flat plains following the course of the former Pelusiac branch of the
Nile, silted up probably already at the end of Antiquity. With few exceptions, they
appear to be nothing more but patches of the urban tissue. Unlike the public archi-
tecture of Pelusium, the domestic one is almost completely unknown. The exact loca-
tion of the city’s harbours is another intricate issue. Regrettably, changes in course of
the Nile, accompanied by many small bifurcations and channels, forming the natural
limits of the city cannot be precisely dated for the most part.
However, with the aid of traditional methods, like surveying, as well as more in-
novative but already well-established ones, like satellite picture and geophysical sur-
vey, new light can be shed on city’s grid plan and the location of some important
structures within it.
Maria Kazamia-Tsernou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece)

An approach to pre-constantinian sites of Christian worship
The identification of pre-constantinian sites of Christian worship is a very compli-

cated issue. For many years the scholars were occupied with the reconstruction of
the physiognomy of the early-christian community and the detection of the earliest
stages of Christian architecture in those sites of pre-Constantinian era. My paper will
focus on the critical discussion of the available evidences in order to find an answer
to the question whether or not we can speak about pre-Constantinian Christian
architecture which might have acted as the framework into which the monumen-
tal Christian architecture of the Constantinian era gradually took shape. When we
speak about evidences we mean textual as well as material. Textual evidences such as
the text of the Bible, apocryphal, patristic literature offer useful information about
the liturgical needs and the life of the early community. As far as the material evi-
dences are concerned we mean the monumental remains in the regions where Chris-
tian communities have been developed. These archaeological evidences, with some
exceptions, cannot consist a secure testimony because, apart from their multiformity
which is a hindrance to their typological classification, they are not securely dated. A
comparative analysis of these testimonies with the descriptions of the relevant texts is
proved to be very useful because it helps contextualize them within the framework of
the liturgical priorities of the early-Christian community.
Of course it is beyond any doubt that the house church (οἴκος ἐκκλησίας – domus
ecclesiae) was the backbone for early church worship. Written sources, though, testify
about the existence of identifiable large scaled Christian places of worship in preemi-
nent locations which means that the private and introverted house church cult prac-
tice does not represent obligatorily the general tendency at that period. The fact is
Аbstracts of Free Communications 3
that, in our opinion, we cannot speak about the existence of standardized Christian
buildings during the first three centuries of Christianity. This absence of a specific
architectural form for worship places we will try to explain within a theological con-
text which we believe is the most proper way to comprehend matters that have to do
with religion and faith.
Sofia Akrivopoulou (Thessaloniki, Greece)

An Early Christian Villa at the outskirts of Thessaloniki
Between the years 1999 and 2002 a late roman villa was excavated at Paleokastro,
a community of the town Oreokastro, situated almost 12 km to the northwest of
Thessaloniki. The complex is very well preserved and includes a triclinium with an
apse facing to the north, a couple of rectangular rooms in two sides, an atrium with
porticos to the south, a barn-like rectangular room at the east end of the complex,
and a small bath at the south end, next to the entrance. The complex was surrounded
by a fortifying wall with rectangular towers at the corners (quatriburgium). The lat-
est finds date from the end of 6th century AD.
Very important and also very well preserved are the mosaic pavements of the
complex. Except a few panels with rather not unexpected geometrical themes, some
panels with narrative scenes and portraits are included. At the north portico there
is a portrait of the nearby river Exedoros (present name Gallikos) depicted as an old
bearded man, and a fragment of a narrative scene. Also at two of the lateral rooms
next to the triclinium a scene of Leda with the swan and the portrait of a dancing
woman can be found. The central, rectangular room of the triclinium was covered
with a carpet like mosaic, with vine growing from four big jars at the corners. The
vine scrolls inscribe over 40 different kinds of birds and also a little rabbit, the only
creature without feathers in the synthesis. This is a well known early Christian theme
with Eucharistic character although of roman origin. Still, the pagan past is very well
alive through the symbols of Zeus (eagle, rooster, rabbit) inscribed inside the vine
scrolls and the scenes connected with him in the lateral rooms, forming all together
a puzzling context.
Stavroula Sdrolia (Larissa, Greece)

Archaeological Research in the Valley of Tempi, Thessaly
During the construction of the new national road in the valley of Tempi a new Byz-
antine site has come to light. In the proximity of the south (thessalian) opening of the
valley and in the low terraces of Kissavos mountain, the western part of an unknown
settlement has been revealed, which is supposed to extend to a higher level. The exca-
vated parts include a wine installation, a ceramic kiln, a large circular limekiln and a
part of a cemetery, all dated to the 4th and 6th century A.D.
At a lower level and near the central road that leads to Thessaloniki, in a site called
the Hani of Cocona from a hani of the ottoman period, two interesting buildings
have come to light. The first one is an oblong structure measuring 27m. long and 7 m.
large, which is divided through transverse walls in three parts. This is a strong build-
ing facing west, towards the road and strengthened in this part by two protrusions.
Its situation and dimensions lead to an identification with a hostel, which could be
related to a station of the road. It was constructed in two phases, the main of which
belongs to the period of the emperor Theophilos (829–842).
Thirty meters to the north the remains of a Byzantine church have been exca-
vated, which belongs to the type of a single-isle church with a peristoon. It is sur-
rounded by a cemetery with the most eminent tombs situated in the western corridor
and marked with bricks in decorative floor patterns. The scarcity of finds makes the
date of the church obscure but the tombs could be dated to the end of the middle
Byzantine period.
The correlation with an Hellenistic shrine in the nearby area leads to interest-
ing conclusions. One can also consider the tempting hypothesis of the identification
of this site with Byzantine Lykostomion, mentioned from 10th–13th c., which has
been generally situated in the Tempi area.
Maria Leontsini/Angeliki Panopoulou (Institute for Byzantine Research, Athens,

Greece)
Inside or outside the city of Corinth: the definition of confines
(5th–15th c.)
The city of Corinth has undergone several changes between the 5th and 15th century,
often transforming its character as an urban center, while remaining a strategic point,
protected by the fortress of Acrocorinth. Of critical importance for the defense of
Corinth’s residential area was the building, repairing and reconstructing of the “low-
er city” walls. The alterations within these walls seemed to include the residential
spaces and the development of smaller areas of occupation. The archaeological finds
(architecture, coins, seals, inscriptions, ceramics, art and craft products) disclose the
economic activity of the period, while the references from the written sources reveal
a number of administrative developments (religious and secular) and exhibit a mo-
bility, mainly of saints or military officers, within the city and nearby areas.
The demographic fluctuations of Corinth can be traced in the terminology of
the city as a “metropolis of Greece”, “polis”, “kastron” and “chora”, which outlines the
development of the boundaries between the city and its hinterland, in association to
Acrocorinth, Isthmus and the ports of Lechaion and Kenchreai, reflecting also the
economic infrastructures and the way the city’s natural resources were exploited.
Early Byzantine Corinth owes its prosperity to its broad area, where the major
religious monuments and the rural villas were built. Middle Byzantine Corinth, de-
veloped in a smaller but dense urban area, with churches, houses, baths, workshops
and burials occupying open spaces, was dependent on Acrocorinth and kept con-
tacts with many commercial centers in the Mediterranean. During the Late Byzan-
tine period the distinction between the fortress and the city became more evident.
Acrocorinth was inhabited by permanent residents, becoming a centre of defensive
mechanisms and was anew encountered with the construction of a new stronghold
(Penteskouphi) in the vicinity.
Αντόνιος Βασιλακάρης/Περίανδρος Επιτροπάκης (Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού και

Τουρισμού της Ελλάδας)
Αρκαδία: Μια πρωτοβυζαντινή πόλη στην κεντρική Κρήτη
Τo 2001 ανακαλύφθηκε στη θέση Ελληνικά στο χωριό Ίνι του πρώην δήμου Αρκαλο-
χωρίου νομού Ηρακλείου Κρήτης (σήμερα είναι στο δήμο Μινώας Πεδιάδας) η πρωτοβυ-
ζαντινή επισκοπική βασιλική της Αρκαδίας. Κατά τα έτη 2001 και 2002 ανασκάφτηκε,
λόγω περιορισμένου χρόνου και χρημάτων, μόνο το ανατολικό τμήμα του (βήμα, σολέας,
τράπεζα, φράγμα πρεσβυτερίου).
Η ανακάλυψη αυτή προσθέτει σημαντικά στοιχεία στη γνώση μας για την υστερο-
ρωμαϊκή και την πρωτοβυζαντινή Κρήτη. Μέχρι σήμερα οι μελέτες για την πρωτοβυζα-
ντινή Κρήτη περιορίζονται κυρίως στη μελέτη της πρωτεύουσας Γόρτυνας. Τώρα δίνεται
η ευκαιρία να μελετηθεί η ιστορία της Κρητικής ενδοχώρας την κρίσιμη αυτή ιστορική
περίοδο.
Η ανακάλυψη μιας ελληνιστικής επιγραφής, εντοιχισμένης στον εσωτερικό τοίχο
της κόγχης του ιερού, που αναφέρει το όνομα της πόλης οδηγεί σε οριστική τακτοποίη-
ση της ταύτισης των ερειπίων στο χωριό Ίνι με την αρχαία Αρκαδία, για την ταύτιση
της οποίας υπήρχαν στο παρελθόν αμφιβολίες, αν και το μέγεθος και η έκταση των μέχρι
τώρα ερειπίων είναι εντυπωσιακό (βασιλική, μεγάλο υδραγωγείο, ερείπια λουτρού, ερείπια
μεγάλης κρήνης, τάφοι). Κύρια εποχή ακμής ήταν η ελληνορωμαϊκή και η πρωτοβυζα-
ντινή περίοδοι.
Με δοκιμαστικές τομές εξακριβώθηκαν τα όρια και οι διαστάσεις του οικοδομήματος
(μήκος 32 μ., πλάτος 18 μ.). Ήταν τρίκλιτη, με τοίχους και πεσσούς που χωρίζουν τα
κλίτη, με ημικυκλική αψίδα και πάτωμα από τετράγωνες λίθινες και κεραμικές πλάκες.
Αποκαλύφθηκε το ιερό βήμα, ο σολέας, η βάση του κιβωρίου της τράπεζας και μαρμάρινα
θραυσμένα θωράκια του φράγματος του πρεσβυτερίου κοσμημένα με ανάγλυφους σταυ-
ρούς. Τμήματα μαρμάρινων κιονίσκων, πώρινος αμφικίονας, μαρμάρινα και πώρινα κι-
ονόκρανα και βάσεις κιόνων, αρχαίες επιγραφές σε δεύτερη χρήση και άλλα αρχιτεκτο-
νικά μέλη συλλέχτηκαν. Νότια από τη βάση της Τράπεζας και σε επαφή με το θεμέλιο του
τοίχου βρέθηκε ορθογώνιος πλινθόκτιστος τάφος με ακτέριστη ταφή.
Pascale Chevalier/Nicolas Beaudry/Skënder Muçaj (Universitè de

Clermont-Ferrand 2, France)
Un quartier au service de l’évêque: le cas de Byllis au VIe siècle
Siège épiscopal indépendant depuis le milieu du Ve siècle, Byllis est au VIe siècle une
des villes les plus importantes de la province d’Epirus Nova, en Albanie actuelle. Cinq
basiliques se sont implantées dans la cité à partir du Ve siècle, en respectant l’orien-
tation préétablie par le tissu urbain, sur les ruines de bâtiments publics désaffectés
(ainsi la basilique A sur une stoa de l’antique agora), ou sur des édifices privés ara-
sés (maisons hellénistiques «romanisées» pour les basiliques B et C). Les anciennes
structures servent tout autant de fondations que de carrières de matériaux divers.
La cathédrale est comme les quatre autres une basilique charpentées à trois vais-
seaux et à court transept, dotée d’un endo- et d’un exonarthex, précédé par un atrium
triportique. Elle est pavée en grande partie de mosaïques et a conservé une part de ses
installations liturgiques dans le choeur, la nef, et dans les annexes sud et ouest, en par-
ticulier celles qui gravitent autour du baptistère méridional.
Le quartier épiscopal occupe dans son dernier état au moins deux insulae. Sa
construction a progressivement amené à la privatisation d’une rue qui constitue à la
fois l’axe est/ouest principal de circulation dans le complexe et le pivot de son dé-
veloppement: au Nord on trouve la cathédrale et ses annexes essentiellement litur-
giques; au Sud, avec ses entrepôts et ses citernes, la partie économique, administra-
tive, représentative et d’habitation (ce que l’on avait coutume d’appeler le «palais
épiscopal»). L’étude détaillée du complexe économique associé au groupe épiscopal,
un ensemble bâti cohérent au service de l’évêque, associe l’habitat à des activités éco-
nomiques importantes (cuisine, productions viticole et oléicole, magasins) pendant
près de deux siècles de vie et de transformations progressives.
Nous nous concentrerons ici sur son dernier état, à partir du milieu du VIe siècle
jusqu’à son abandon. Le quartier épiscopal se déploie alors au Sud-Est de la cathé-
drale, autour du croisement de deux axes perpendiculaires. Le premier est donc un
ancien decumanus hellénistique, desservant d’Ouest en Est les annexes liturgiques de
la basilique et se poursuivant jusqu’au sommet de la colline; il débouche sur le cardo
qui longe le rempart de Viktôrinos qui a réduit la ville de deux tiers au milieu du VIe
siècle. Le second axe court du Nord au Sud en contrebas; entre les deux, une paroi de
rocher détermine une partie haute du quartier qui suit la crête et domine une partie
basse en fort dénivelé vers l’Ouest.
À la rencontre de ces axes, une cour dessert des espaces dépendant du complexe
épiscopal et permet le transit des denrées stockées dans les magasins situés à proximi-
té, l’approvisionnement en matières premières, la distribution des produits des indus-
tries viticole et oléicole, ainsi que la circulation et l’entretien des bêtes. À l’Est, l’accès
au quartier est contrôlé par un porche ou un double portail; dans l’angle Nord-Est de
la cour, une grande pièce barlongue empiète largement sur le decumanus, formant un
vestibule à la suite du portail. Au Sud, les murs de la partie haute du quartier ont été
écrêtés jusqu’à un aménagement rupestre dont le front de taille méridional borde un

autre decumanus; deux pièces prolongeaient vers l’Ouest cette partie haute du quar-
tier. La cour est quant à elle bordée au Nord par l’entrepôt et des pièces qui prolon-
gent le groupe cathédral vers l’Est. Au Sud, elle est fermée par un grand bâtiment
construit sur deux niveaux, dont le rez-de-chaussée comprend cinq pièces ouvertes à
l’origine sur la cour: la première est une écurie, la deuxième a livré un moulin à olives,
qui avec des poids de presse témoigne d’une production oléicole à proximité. La fa-
çade Sud du bâtiment comprend deux pièces d’angle flanquant un espace barlong, où
se sont succédés les foyers d’une cuisine; leur étage semble avoir été destiné, au moins
en partie, à l’habitat. Au Sud un ensemble de trois pièces compose un vaste chai, avec
fouloirs, bassins de vinification en enfilade et cellier. Enfin, la cour est close à l’Ouest
par un bâtiment d’habitation tardif dont le sol de l’étage était mosaïqué.
Helen Saradi (University of Peloponnese, Greece)

The streets in the literary sources: perceptions and functions
(4th–10th c.)
In this paper the function of the streets and their perception as an urban locus as well
as a component of urban architecture will be examined from various literary sources
while exploring the changes occurring from the early to the middle Byzantine pe-
riod.
Interest in the streets as an urban feature and a place of social activity is first no-
ticed in the literary texts during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Many early Byz-
antine literary sources reveal the role of the street as being two-fold: the street as a
majestic urban feature in rhetorical descriptions of cities, and, the street as a place of
urban life. Thus, the street appears as a geographical and social reality.
Sources praise the length and majestic appearance of antique colonnaded streets:
e.g. Strabo and Apollonios Rhodios (Alexandria), Libanios (Antioch, Nicomedia),
Nonnos (Beirut). They praise their aesthetic value, as they were adorned with long
colonnades, beautiful public and private buildings, statues, tetrapyla, fountains. They
describe the impressions made on visitors and explain the usefulness of the colon-
nades for everyday life, business activities and social contacts. However, in the middle
Byzantine period, since the structure and function of the antique cities had radically
changed, praise of streets ceased.
In the early Byzantine period ecclesiastical authors show a special interest in the
social life taking place in the streets. In contrast with orators who praised the streets
while observing them from a distance and projecting a dignified urban image, in ec-
clesiastical works streets serve as a frame for the narrative. Ecclesiastical authors show
people experiencing the environment of the streets and describe various activities tak-
ing place there: civic and religious processions, beggars, sick people and wandering
strangers asking for help, prostitutes passing by, people visiting urban places for busi-
ness or leisure, performing actors, and merchants selling their products. The interest
of Church Fathers in describing the misery of beggars on street corners is explained
by the population increase in the early Byzantine period and by religious concerns
which coincides with a similar emphasis on beggars in Talmudic literature. The inter-
est of hagiography in scenes of life in the streets is also explained as a development of
the literary genre of biography, Plutarch’s Life of Alcibiades being an early example.
Our investigation of the sources has shown that from the mid-seventh century
accounts of imperial, professional (e.g. notaries) and religious processions (e.g. the
Virgin Hodegoi, the translatio of Gregory the Theologian’s relics) through the streets
display more interest in ceremonial details. They also offer glimpses of the poor (e.g.
V. Tarasii, V. S. Andreae Sali) and people’s activities as part of the narrative (e.g. Mir.
S. Artemii). Descriptions of the capital’s streets lead the reader to visualize flocks of
animals being led through the streets (e.g. Mir. S. Fotheine), various commercial ac-
tivities taking place, and smell the scents of aromatic herbs and perfumes (e.g. Book of
the Eparch). Miracles by holy men also occur in these streets. Describing streets full
of misery depicts real life: princes (in Barlaam and Joasaph) and emperors (Theophi-
los) had a sense of people’s real lives by wandering in the streets. Wise men wander in
Constantinople’s streets observing its monuments to understand their secret mean-
ing: the descriptive narrative of antique Patria turns into a personal experience in the
Parastaseis Syntomoi Chronikai.
The interest in the life of low and middle classes in the streets gives the impres-
sion of a popularization of the culture. The air of adventure and unexpected expe-
riences in the streets probably derive from oriental tales. This literary and cultural
development gives the sources a medieval tone.
Aneta Skalec (University of Warsaw, Poland)

Private buildings and their juridical context in the Byzantine
Near East
Private buildings were the object of regulations already in the Hellenistic age and lat-
er in the Roman period, but this kind of laws was usually concentrated only on par-
ticular problems related to the question, like the safety of the buildings with a special
reference to the risk of fire, the distance between buildings, the prohibition of house
demolition or the use of spolia. Generally, the laws that survived till our times did not
concern the technical aspects of the buildings or particular parts of them. It is only
from the Byzantine period that we have preserved more detailed regulations, both
in the imperial constitutions (the constitution of Leo and the constitution of Zenon
concerning on the one hand typical problems like the distance between buildings,
and on the other less usually – the space between the balconies and the way in which
they should be build, windows or protection of view and light; two Novels of Justin-
ian) and in local laws from the Near East – Liber Syro-Romanus (the legal compila-
tion which deals primarily with laws of family, slavery and inheritance and only with
few problems of the private buildings – types of windows, division of repair costs)
and, above all, in Julian of Ascalon’s Treatise. The last one is the longest and the most
complex collection of rules concentrated exclusively on private buildings and their
parts characteristic of the Near Eastern constructions – a courtyard, a flat roof used
for many domestic activities, balconies, windows etc. We find there a very detailed
description of the regulations concerning construction, renovation and maintenance
of the houses and their appurtenances – beginning with the distance between houses
and different types of the workshops, opening of windows and doors, going on to
the division of construction and renovation costs among owners of different floors,
matters concerning water and water-instalations like cisterns, canals or earthworks,
finishing with the protection of the view. Thanks to all of these sources we receive an
exhaustive picture of the Near East domestic architecture of the Byzantine period in
its juridical context.
Isabella Baldini (University of Bologna, Italy)

Kos: archaeological researches at the early-byzantine church of
St. Gabriel
The University of Bologna and the Polytechnic of Bari, in collaboration with the 4th
Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities started in 2007 a systematic analysis of the early
Byzantine churches of Kos. Most of them were discovered in the middle thirties of
the last century, during the works for the new coast road connecting the town of Kos
with the eastern end of the island.
The early-Byzantine basilica of St. Gabriel is located on the eastern peripheral
area of the town of Kos. A first Late Antique settlement was identified in the site; to
this phase belongs a Bath-building which probably indicates the presence of a coastal
villa. To a first religious building phase could be pertaining a triconch chapel in the
south-eastern area of the Baths. Between the half of the 5th century and the begin-
ning of the 6th century this triconch was enlarged and became a basilica, with three
naves divided by columns. A series of rooms was later added: between these, also a
quadrangular baptistery. The last phase of the church includes the transformation of
the central space into a cruciform plan, with barrel vaults on the cross arms, probably
after the earthquake of 554–558. The building probably continued to be used into
the Arab invasions of the half of the 7th century, when some inscriptions were traced
on two columns. The long history of the church has been evaluated in the context
of the general development of the island bishopric, and through the analysis of the
other coeval religious buildings.
Georgios Deligiannakis (Open University of Cyprus, Nicosia)

The discovery of an important late antique coastal settlement on
the island of Saria (Dodecanese, Greece)
My paper presents the results of a field survey at the site of Palatia on the small island
of Saria, where an outstanding number of EC monuments, most of which previously
unrecorded, were reported and studied. Palatia reveals a so far unknown, yet spectac-
ular, case of a LA coastal settlement with an acropolis, numerous ecclesiastical build-
ings, baths, residential quarters, and a necropolis. It is argued that the remarkable
development of Palatia in late antiquity agrees with the well-attested rural expansion
on marginal land during late antiquity. The location of Palatia along the major traffic
routes – the N–W sea route most probably ran off the eastern coast of Saria before
turning E – and the well-attested engagement of the islanders with sea commerce
was probably the major reason for the remarkable growth of Palatia and the other
settlements. Another possible driving force behind the dramatic expansion of Pala-
tia was sacred topography. However, the most characteristic feature of the site is the
large number of small vaulted buildings, generally known as ‘medieval houses’. My
analysis together with new important evidence proves convincingly, I believe, that
these enigmatic structures were burial chambers, being used from the Late Roman
until perhaps the Ottoman period. Many of these buildings were later re-used for
other purposes (e.g. seasonal dwellings), thus representing a palimpsest of vernacular
architecture for the SE Aegean region.
Людмила Г. Хрушкова (Московский государственный университет

им. М.В. Ломоносова, Россия)
Раскопки Питиуса в Восточном Причерноморье: новые данные об
архитектуре и топографии важного городского центра
В 2007–2009 гг. мы провели раскопки двух архитектурных памятников в Пи-

туисе, совр. Пицунда в Абхазии. На протяжении более тысячелетия, начиная с
константиновской эпохи, этот город был известен как крупный христианский
центр. Мы исследовали жилой комплекс, расположенной к северу от большо-
го купольного храма. От сооружения сохранился нижний этаж, состоявший
из нескольких помещений и галерей, с большим залом в центре. Монета Кон-
станция (337–361), найденная на полу северного помещения, свидетельствует
о времени строительства здания к концу 4 в. Жилое сооружение было связано с
раннехристианским комплексом 5–6 вв., расположенным к северо-западу (этот
последний был изучен ранее).
Жилой комплекс сгорел в 542 г., во время византийско-персидской войны,
согласно Прокопию Кесарийскому. Слой пожара и разрушения ясно выявлен
во многих помещениях. Позже здание было возобновлено. В начале X в., когда

строили большую купольную церковь (длина свыше 43 м), выбор ее места и по-
ложение были согласованы с древней жилой постройкой. Очень вероятно, что
оба здания соединялись переходом. В поздней фазе жилого здания на его остат-
ках находился некрополь, тогда как купольная церковь продолжала существо-
вать. Около середины 16 в. в ее нартексе была построена часовня, расписанная
мастерами, приглашенными с Афона. Раскопками получены многочисленные
археологические материалы, начиная с ранневизантийских амфор (до 542 г.), до
поливной керамики палеологовского времени, а также кувшины местного про-
изводства и др.
Другой исследованный нами объект – «двойная» церковь с двумя нефами
и двумя апсидами, расположенная на берегу моря, в кладбищенской зоне. Она
была раскопана в 50е годы XX века, но, как выяснилось, не полностью. Мы от-
крыли несколько неизвестных ранее элементов плана: боковые портики, распо-
ложенные симметрично в восточной части церкви, и западную галерею, которая
охватывала оба нефа. В интерьере северного нефа открыты остатки синтрона, а
в южном нефе – стена, разделявшая неф на две части. Кроме того, была раскопа-
на часть раннесредневекового некрополя, примыкавшего к южному фасаду сто-
роны. Церковь датируется юстиниановской эпохой, она функционировала до
10 в., по крайней мере. По окончании раскопок мы провели работы по консер-
вации архитектурных остатков, которые находились в аварийном состоянии.
Lyudmil Vagalinski (National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Sofia,

Bulgaria)
Early Byzantine Fortifications of Deultum
The Roman colonia Flavia Pacis Deultensium was founded in AD 70 in the southeast-
ern corner of Thracia by the current village of Debelt, district of Burgas, SE Bulgaria.
Recent archaeological excavations, field and geophysical surveys reveal the plan
and chronology of its early Byzantine fortifications. They were built after AD 457
and before AD 498.
Михаил Христов (Варна, България)

Към характеристиката на един укрепен обект в югоизточните
предели на провинция Dacia Mediterranea (според данните от
археологическите проучвания при с. Белчин, община Самоков,
2007–2010 г.)
За коректната функционална интерпретация на археологически обект от такъв

вид, е нужен комплексен анализ на наличните данни и особено на тези, добити
в резултат на археологическите проучвания до този момент. В този случай това
са данните за топографията, планировката, строителните характеристики, по-
демният материал и, разбира се сигурните датоопределящи находки.
Теренните проучвания на хълма Св. Спас в непосредствена близост до с.
Белчин в периода 2007–2010 г., доведоха до разкриването на значителна част
от фортификацията на късноантично укрепление и раннохристиянски култов
комплекс extra muros с два храма. До сега са разкрити ок. 200 м от крепостните
стени, една порта, както и шест кули. В строителната история на обекта ясно се
разграничават две генерални фази, датирани в последната четвърт на ІV в. и във
втората половина на VІ в., както и един значителен хиатус между тях.
Провежданите повече от три сезона археологически проучвания и разкри-
ването на части не само от укрепителната система на обекта, но и на някои сгра-
ди в защитената му площ, доведоха до развитие на първоначално приетата от
нас теза за произхода и развитието на обекта единствено като укрепен селищен
център – един от многото подобни, толкова характерни за обитанието през
късноантичния период на Балканския полуостров. Нещо повече, сравнително
ранната дата на укрепяване в последната четвърт на ІV в., както и липсата на
ясно развита домакинска субструктура в укрепената площ навеждат на идеята за
една по-различна функция на обекта, предвидена при неговото първоначално
изграждане.
Натрупаната до този момент информация от теренното проучване ни дава
възможност да изясним и някои аспекти от живота в тази не достатъчно проуч-
вана част на късноантичната провинция Dacia Mediterranea.
Веселин Хаджиангелов (Исторически музей – Самоков, България)

Християнизацията в югоизточната част на Dacia Mediterranea
според археологически данни от Самоковско
През късноантичния период в района на Самоков е съществувала мрежа от се-

лища, чиято структура, динамика и развитие в значителна степен е свързана с
добива и обработката на желязо.
В периода 1995 до 2010 г. на територията на Самоковското краище се раз-
криха пет нови раннохристиянски църкви. Шестата е открита през 70-те годи-
ни край с. Поповяне. При всички тях има нещо общо – изградени са в близост
или в границите на укрепени селища от ІV–VІ в. Освен това се открива и друга
зависимост – всички селища са свързани по един или друг начин с металургия-
та. Този факт сам по себе си е интересен, защото, ако не етнически, то определя
конфесионалната принадлежност на местното население, занимаващо се с желя-
зообработка.
При направения анализ на архитектурата на въпросните храмове също се
откриват общи неща. При повечето от тях са открити съществуващи или вто-
рично добавени допълнителни помещения, свързани с литургичните нужди
и потребности в този период. Те почти винаги се отличават от останалите по-
стройки, както с размерите и градежа си, така и с централното и или доминира-
щото си местоположение.
При анализа на монетните находки, прави впечатление значителното коли-
чество монети с монетарница Рим. Този факт е допустим да се мисли за евенту-
ални християнски мисионерски посещения в провинциите, свързани с христи-
янизацията.
Съществен момент в характеристиката на описваните селища е наличието
на повече от една относително синхронни култови сгради. Очевидно наложе-
ното като официална религия християнство още от края на IV в. в диоцезите
Thracia и Dacia придобива първостепенно значение и роля. Приликите в типо-
логията по отношение изграждането на укрепени центрове и култови места в
един затворен ареал говорят за целенасочен интерес и бележат стратегическата
роля и динамичността на развитие на два различни процеса – усвояването на
желязото и налагането на християнството в тази драматична епоха. Епоха, в ко-
ято се променя изцяло етническата, политическата и социокултурната карта на
Европа.
FC2. ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE BYZANTINE SPACE II

Moderators
Evangelos Papathanassiou/Kiril Trajkovski
Athanasios K. Vionis (University of Cyprus, Nicosia)

The Power of ‘Objects’ in an Empire of Transitions: ‘Material
Culture’ in the Byzantine Early Middle Ages
Material culture, a term referring to all aspects of ‘culture’, including landscapes, build-
ings, artefacts and the minor arts, comprises the physical attestation of the actions,
thoughts and identities of different peoples or cultural and social groups. Already in
the 1950s and 1960s prominent scholars in the field of Byzantine Studies had noted
that the Byzantine Empire was never a true national state with an ethnically homo-
geneous population. As in every multi-cultural society, it is widely accepted that the
Byzantine Empire incorporated various religious, ‘ethnic’ and linguistic groups; this
is particularly relevant during the centuries of great population transfers and ‘migra-
tions’ that followed Late Antiquity and lasted at least until the end of the Iconoclast
controversy.
Considering how challenging it is for historians and philologists to tackle differ-
ent written sources in order to identify cultural exchange and build a complete pic-
ture of such a multi-ethnic or multi-cultural society, one can imagine how painstak-
ing it can be for the archaeologist and art-historian to identify (before proceeding to
interpretations of any kind) the presence of different ‘ethnic’, cultural or other groups
archaeologically.
Instead of focussing on the intellectual and cultural histories of specific groups
in Constantinople, the aim of this contribution is to illuminate the understanding of
(a) settled landscapes, (b) material culture and (c) the arts in the Aegean rural prov-
inces during the Byzantine Early Middle Ages by offering a new dimension to the
daily realities of this period of major transformations. More specifically, I aim to ex-
plore the (admittedly limited) dated material record for cultural exchanges and life-
ways between allied or antagonistic groups between the 7th and 10th centuries AD.
Traditionally, cross-cultural interaction has been ‘read’ either in the context of domi-
nation and resistance between the various antagonistic groups or in the context of
co-habitation. A re-evaluation of the extant evidence can delineate the character of
the interaction between peoples, artefacts and ideas within the framework of cultural
and economic networks of the period.
Galina Grozdanova (Regional Museum of History – Kyustendil, Bulgaria)

Eastern Thrace in the transitional period between the Early
Byzantine and the middle Ages
The paper is a part of a PhD work of the transitional period between the Early Byz-
antine and the middle Ages in Southern Bulgaria. The archaeological data from the
recently uncovered through rescue excavations sites is included. This is an attempt
some of the main problems of the chronology of the early mediaeval settlements in
the region during the so-called “Dark Ages” to be marked. A starting point for the
research work is the early mediaeval village of Kapitan Andreevo. According to the
statistic analyses of the distribution of the different technological pottery groups in
the explored archaeological contexts three phases of the existence of the settlement
are proposed. A typological and morphological characterization of the whole vessels
and the decorative motifs presented in the distinguished phases of the existing of the
settlement is made. According to the general features of the ceramic wares, the am-
phorae sherds and a coin, discovered on the site the absolute chronological borders
are placed between 7th–9th centuries AD. The same method of the processing of the
pottery assemblages is applied to the material uncovered in the neighboring region in
order to be synchronized. Fragments, similar to the ones known in the earliest equip-
ments of K. Andreevo are found in Constantia. The archaeological sites, excavated at
Svilengrad, Danabunar 1, the Early Byzantine fortress near Izvorovo and Shihanov
briag show presence of ceramic wares comparable with the second and third phases
of inhabitation of K. Andreevo. These are just the settlements of Iskritza and Polski
Gradetz, where materials belonging to the last phase of K. Andreevo are uncovered.
Future excavations will contribute to the development of a more precise inner chro-
nology of the early mediaeval settlements but the main chronological frames of the
sites discussed above could be defined between the middle of the 7th–9th, no later
than 10th century. Despite the demographic crises the region along the middle bed
of Maritza River show good perspectives in studying the period of the “Dark Ages”.
Yuri A. Marano (Oxford University, UK; Università degli Studi di Padova, Italy)
The Privileged Burials of Early Byzantine Greece (4th – Early 7th
Century A.D.)
In the last decades, the study of death and burial practices has attracted a growing in-
terest, offering the occasion for a continuous collaboration and comparison between
historians and archaeologists of Late Antiquity (4th–6th century A.D.). Admittedly,
burials and cemeteries are not only one of the most numerous and well preserved
evidence for the study of the period, but their analysis sheds light on late antique so-
cial structure: from the representation of the social role of the dead and his relatives
within the community to ethnic and religious affiliations. The so-called ‘privileged
burials’ – tombs whose character of exceptionality and privileged was marked by the
intrinsic quality of their structure (the “container”) and grave-goods (the “content”),
and, in first place, by their location within a funerary space (church building, mau-
soleum or cemetery) – are of particular significance in the reconstruction of social
patterns.
As a matter of fact, the identification of a privileged burial is not always an easy
task, since it depends on a series of factors that change from place to place and time
to time, not necessarily recognizable on archaeological basis. Despite these difficul-
ties, ‘privileged burials’ are worth of studying as paradigmatic of the transformations
affecting the funerary sphere during Late Antiquity.
To date, despite numerous discoveries, our understanding of the privileged buri-
als in Early Byzantine Greece remains incomplete. My paper, which a preliminary
research, aims at investigating the nature of the evidence and its significance for the
social and cultural history of the late antique Diocese of Macedonia between the 4th
and the beginning of the 7th century A.D.
Mariia Tymoshenko (National Taras Shevchenko University of Kiev, Ukraine)

The Case Study of the Reconstruction the Harbor of Sudak of the
Byzantine Period
During the period of the 7th–12th centuries the Black Sea Region was under the
strong influence of the Byzantine Empire, both political and economic. Seafaring,
as the main way of the connection established since Antiquity was widely used in
the medieval times. It was also improved with new facilities which provided navi-
gational needs as well as increased economic benefits (number of the new trading
centers). Sudak was one of the most important centers that appeared on the Crimean
coast and operated during the Byzantine period. An active maritime trade of Sudak
is mentioned in the written sources, it is confirmed by the rich collection of seals and
numismatics. The ceramic imports are also common on the archaeological sites. In
the paper, Sudak is considered as a port through its economic, administrative and
fiscal meaning, as the dominant of the navigation facilities on the eastern coast of the
Crimean peninsula.
Martina Jiroušková (Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic)

Local and long-distance trade of Cherson in the period of 7th and
8th centuries crisis
Tauric Cherson was an important trading-post thanks to its position on the edge
of the Crimean peninsula. As the most northern Byzantine outpost, Cherson also
served as a meeting-point between Byzantines and „Barbarians“.
According to the archaeological finds, trade with many other cities, for exam-
ple from these on the Black Sea or Asia Minor coast, was well-established in Roman
times and in the early Byzantine period.
Nevertheless, in the seventh and eight centuries there was a crisis in the Mediter-
ranean that influenced traditional trade lines and the Black Sea region, too. There-
fore, changes occured concerning trade partners, goods and its amount.
In my paper, I will collect sources relevant to the topic and I will show progress
which has been made so far regarding research in the field of trade in Cherson in this
problematic period.
Lena Holmquist (Stockholm University, Sweden)

Examining the Viking Warriors of Birka Garrison in the Light of
Byzantine Findings
The Viking Age town Birka (AD 750–975) is situated on a small island in Lake
Mälaren in Central Sweden. Most of the excavations have been carried out within
both the town area and its vast, surrounding cemeteries. However, a research gap in
the studies of Birka was identified with respect to its defense fortifications. In order
to fill-in this gap, a project named Strongholds and Fortifications in Central Sweden
AD 400–1100 was begun in 1995 and completed in 2004.
The fortification at Birka consists of the town rampart and the fort, which in-
cludes the Garrison and pile barricades in the harbor. For such a trading place, a
military presence would have been necessary from the onset. Birka’s fortification is
a sophisticated concept and was constructed to withstand attack from the sea. Clear
evidence for naval attacks can be found in the archaeological material.
The structures are a representation of the power-political situation at the time
and are directly linked to the activities and contacts of a trading post. The structures
display evidence of being an advanced military construction dictated by current bat-
tle-techniques, where archery and naval warfare played a dominant role.
The fort is linked up with a site that has been known as the Garrison since the
1930’s.
The most notable building at the site is a great hall building. In the house, a large
number of objects have been found, mainly weapons, but also high status finds such
as pieces of glass vessels, “oriental” mounts and Byzantine coins. Different types of
weapons and armour such as chain mail lamella armour have also been found in the
house and in the entire Garrison area. The lamellas are the only known find from
Viking Age in Scandinavia. They fit well with other equipment of Eastern Type in
the Garrison, for example the composite bow. The fortification was defended by well-
trained, well equipped warriors with long distance contacts, especially to the Eastern
sphere: Kievan/Rus and the Byzantine Empire. Therefore, it is of great interest and
significance when archaeological excavations of Viking-Age sites produce Byzantine
objects in Sweden.
One such discovery is that of two gilt bronze band-shaped mounts of clear Byz-
antine character found during excavations of the Garrison. While appearing to be-
long to a well-defined type of known provenance, close examination shows that exact
parallels are difficult to find. In my opinion, the mounts belong to a helmet decora-
tion, an interpretation which will be discussed in my paper.
Gleb Ivakin/Oleg Ioannisyan/Denis Elshin (Institute of Archaeology, Kiev,

Ukraine/State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia/State Hermitage
Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia)
The preliminary results of the archaeological excavations of the
Desyatinnaya (Tithe) church in Kiev
In 2005–2010 the archaeological research project of the Desyatinnaya (Tithe) church

in Kiev has been performed by the joint expedition of the Institute of Archaeology
(Ukrainian Academy of Science) and the State Hermitage Museum (Russia). The
Tithe church was the first monumental building in the Kievan Rus’ erected by the
Byzantine artisans in 989–996 AD just after the Baptism of the Rus’. After the previ-
ous excavations held in 1938–1939, the authoritative opinion has been dominating
in the literature, that only the central core of the church had been originally erected,
which can be described as the simple cross-in-square building with incorporated
narthex. The ambulatory was supposed to be built later in 11th century, contempo-
rary with St. Sophia in Kiev. Despite the low preservation of the church remains the
new excavations provided the clear evidence for dating the ambulatory by the period
just after the central core as early as 990s. The central core itself was indeed the first
phase of the building, yet it lacked narthex and is interpreted as the nine bay domed
volume (23 x 18,7 m) on the four buttresses, with projectings on the facades. The
narthex had been erected as a separate volume. The foundations of the eastern part
with three apses had been made in the huge pit (7,5 x 18,7 m and 2 m deep) with the
solid system of the wooden substructures in its bottom. The few parts of the walls,
made in the recessed brickwork technique and adorned with fresco paintings, have
been discovered, as well as the original bricks with Greek stamped inscriptions and
Cyrillic graffito. The data for the more precise remodelling of the church has been
acquired, yet the interior structure of it still stays rather enigmatic. The south-west-
ern corner of the preserved foundations had been heavily repaired in the early 12th
century, perhaps after the earthquake. The new unusual construction had appeared
then, namely the massive buttress in front of the western façade, connected by the
arch with the latter. The unpublished materials of the previous excavations of 1824,
1908–1911 and 1938–1939 have been also revealed in the course of the project.
Petr Zykov (Musée de l’Ermitage, Saint-Pétersbourg, Russie)

Expérience dans la reconstruction de l’église de dîme à Kiev sur la
base de la recherche architecturale et archéologique
L’Église de Dîme (Desjatinaja) à Kiev est une église plus ancienne de la Russie
médiévale,quelle a été bâti au fin de X siècle. En 1240, il a été victime de la prise de
Kiev par mongol.
Par conséquent, notre image de l’église est fondé sur la base de les études archéo-
logiques. Au début de XIX-e siècle on a mis en jour les traces de l’église en première
fois. La suite des recherches archéologiques a eu lieu au début du XX siècle et dans les
années 30–40. Les dossiers de ces investigations archéologiques permettaient imagi-
ner le plan de l’église dans les grandes lignes.
La nouvelle phase de l’étude des ruines de l’église de Dîme aborda en 2005 et
continua jusqu’à présent. Ces fouilles archéologiques a mis en jour les traces insigni-
fiantes, mais qu’ils permettaient esquisser la reconstruction de l’église.
Aujourd’hui, le plan de l’église commence à planifier d’acquérir une ligne plus
claire. Naos est divisée en trois nefs par quatre piliers, qui était proche d’un plan car-
ré et ont attiré le dôme principal. Le volume central de l’église a complète narthex,
qui avait été un compartiment séparé. Exonarthex complétant l’axe longitudinal de
l’ouest de la nef. Ce complexe des bâtiments a été encadrée par deux galeries depuis
de côté sud et nord. Les parties latérales de façade ouest doit avoir été d’environ 13
mètres de hauteur probablement. Voûtes de lЃféglise a formé une composition pyra-
midale entourant le dôme principal, lequel a été achevé du naos.
Ces caractéristiques architecturales donnent nous une idée de haute valeur ar-
tistique, qui permettent nous de considérer l’église de la Dîme dans le contexte de
l’architecture byzantine de la même époque.
Gheorghe Manucu-Adamesteanu/Ingrid Poll (Musée de la ville de Bucarest,

Roumanie/Musée de la ville de Bucarest, Roumanie)
Des considérations sur le limes du nord de la Dobroudja pendant
les Xe–XIIIe siècles
Nous présentons cinq centres du nord de la Dobroudja situés sur la rive du Danube:
la commune de Ostrov avec le point «Piatra Frecatei» et la cité Beroe; la commune
Turcoaia avec la cité Est et la cité Ouest; la ville de Macin avec la cité Arrubium; la
ville de Tulcea avec la cité Aegyssus et la commune Mahmudia avec la cité Salsovia.
La présence des fortifications qui ont été utilisées jusqu’aux VIe–VIIe siècles, a re-
présenté un critère important pour considérer que ces enceintes aient été réutilisées
encore dans la période moyenne byzantine (Xe–XIIIe s.). Nous faisons un passage
en revue des découvertes archéologiques et numismatiques. Sur leur fondement nous
avons formulé de nouvelles conclusions liées à la présence des systèmes fortifiés dans
ces habitats, leur caractère et leur période d’existence.
Nicole Thierry (École Pratique des Hautes Études, Étampes, France)

La citadele de Koron en Cappadoce Méridionale
Notre découverte fortuite d’une citadelle inconnue au Nord-Est d’Altunhisar, à

2177m d’altitude, dans le massif volcanique des Melendiz dağları, relance la question
de la localisation de l’antique Koron qui gardait la voie la plus courte mais difficile, de
Tarse à l’Anatolie, une fois le Taurus franchi par les Portes ciliciennes.
Des villageois nous ont montré le kaletepe près du sommet des Beşparmak
(2935m). Sur la carte de Google-Earth, il répond à la citadelle de Qurra citée par les
chroniqueurs arabes. Les coordonnées GPS prises à l’extrémité Nord-Est sont: 38°
03’ 50’’ N. et 34° 29’ 27’’ E. Elles correspondent à celles de Google-Earth: 38° 03’
55’’ N. et 34° 29’ 20’’ E., dont les dimensions sont 530 m d’O. en E, et 238 m. du S.
au N. (l’accès des sites nécessite en partie l’escalade artificielle).
Les Melendiz sont au N. de la Tyanitide de Strabon (XII, 2, 7), connue dans
l’Antiquité «néohittite», puis perse, grecque et romaine, illustrée par les sculptures
et hiéroglyphes des vallées au nord d’Altunhisar, ainsi que des tombeaux rupestres,
dispersés entre Keşlik et Koron, là où une haute façade de tombeau marque la falaise
sud.
Il est possible qu’on ait là une de ces gazophylaxies citées par Strabon, où les sou-
verains protégeaient leurs trésors.
Dès le VIIIè s., les Arabes franchirent fréquemment la barrière des Melendiz, le
district de Qurra, entre Qurra et Durra, pour gagner l’Anatolie byzantine. Les gran-
des expéditions sont connues par leurs chroniqueurs.
Koron fut siège du clisourarque, puis du stratège de Cappadoce d’au moins 830
jusqu’à la fin du IXe siècle. En 897, la citadelle fut prise pour la dernière fois par les
Arabes, mais les débuts du Xe siècle. marquèrent la reconquête byzantine.
Il est significatif que Nicéphore Phocas, entre ses deux campagnes de Cilicie de
964 et 965, ait installé la famille impériale à Drizion, aux pieds des Melendiz.
Evangelos Papathanassiou (University of Birmingham, UK)

Τhe Armenian Presence on and around the Rhodope Mountain in
11th c.: Some new archaeological Evidences and a
Re-Interpretation
The presence of an Armenian population in Thrace, due to compulsory migration, is

already testified since the time of the Isaurian Dynasty. The following centuries had
noticed successive Armenian migrations of the same type into the same region till,
finally, in the 11th c., a bulk of information emerges concerning a remarkable Ar-
menian presence – of Armenian Chalkedonites, regularly – in Thrace and especially
on Rhodope, when at the same time the Empire was annexing one after the other
the Armenian Principalities at the Eastern Border and an “Armenian Project”, aiming
to the unification of the two churches, was in full progress. Although this phenom-
enon, of an Armenian intense presence on and around Rhodope, cannot simply be
explained by the vicinity of the capital, where an emigrant could normally hasten to
seek his fortune, and things seem to function more organised and targeted, scholars
however have not turned yet the appropriate attention to this issue and the necessary
questions have not been put. Many tesserae dispersed in sources, documents, seals,
archaeological data, even toponymes, compose a new picture regarding this issue.
Let us mention here only two examples from the Greek part of the mountain:
(a) The presence of a sgraffito: + Κ(ύρι)ε βοήθη Πέτρον/τὸν Ἀσπρακανήας (+ O,
Lord, help Peter/of the Aspakaneia [Vaaspurakan]), dated in the middle of the 11th
c., in a dark niche of the cave-hermitage of St. Marcus, in the mountains WNW of
the city (then κάστρον) of Drama – a cave proved to be the first residence in Europe
of St. Germanus (7th decade of the 9th c.) and initially dedicated to the Mother of
God of the Cave (Spelaiotissa) – causes productive thoughts. It could concern no
other but the enigmatic figure of Armenian catholicos Peter I Gétadardz (on duty:
1019–1058), whom the Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos invites, most prob-
ably at 1049/50, to Constantinople, where he remains as a “honorary hostage” for
three or four years. What is Peter’s connection to SW Rhodope?
(b) That part of the Rhodope which has flourished as a monastic centre in the
11th and 12th c. is called Mount Papikion, a name obviously of Armenian origin
(Pap+ik). One at least of its convents and some churches at its foot were either
property of, or had been founded by, Gregory Bakourian, the founder of the famous
monastery at Bačkovo. Somewhere there, close also to its foot, the monk Kosmas the
Tzintzilouk, of Armenian origin, an associate of the Emperor Constantine IX Mon-

omachos, had founded the convent of Mother of God, the so called Tzintzilouki-
otissa. Sometime, at the end of the 11th c., in another convent on Mount Papikion,
the nun and former wife of two emperors Martha/Maria the Botaneiatena, daughter
of the Georgian King Bagrat IV, died and was buried. Her ring, bearing her name on
the bezel, emerged of her tomb.
Nilay Çorağan Karakaya (Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey)

The Byzantine Rock-cut Settlement in the Erdemli Valley of
Yeşilhisar in Kayseri
The research project which concentrates on the ‘The Byzantine Rock-cut Settlement
in the Erdemli Valley in the district of Yesilhisar of Kayseri’ has been accomplished
in a eight years’ period. Within the project, three monasteries, 22 church-chapel, 138
houses, 48 vineyards, nine bakeries, 13 stables, 2 cells for the monks, and two dove-
cotes and 34 buildings whose functions are unknown have been determined.
Erdemli, situated in the east of the road of Nigde-Kayseri, is 65 kilometers far
from Kayseri, and extends through the northern plateau separating another plateau
which is located in the east of Mount Erciyes from the Kizilirmak Valley. Among the
other cities extending through the valley in the south of Yesilhisar are Baskoy, Orta-
koy, Guzeloz. Yesilhisar, having been called Zencibar which means ‘Develi Karahisa-
ri’ or ‘Karahisar’ in the Seljukian period, is ‘Kyzistra’ in the Byzantine time. Based on
some brief historical accounts in the sources, it is mentioned that there was a settle-
ment between 9th–14th centuries. Not only did the Court Monastery contain the
group of administrational buildings of the settlement, but also it kept the control of
the vineyards around. Consequently, there is the Court Monastery in the south of
the settlement with the vineyards whose sides look towards the north. Some build-
ings such as houses, churches, bakery and stables together with some cells for the
monks on a higher degree and dovecotes can be seen in the north. The wall paintings
which were found in some of the churches have been dated to the 10th–13th cen-
turies, and they draw attention with their qualified stylistic features and bear some
similar characteristics with the ones in Soganli Valley in the same region.
The Byzantine period rock settlement in the Erdemli valley of Yeşilhisar town-
ship in Kayseri contains important architecture and monumental paintings of the
12th and 13th centuries. In this valley of approximately one kilometre length the
churches of Forty Martyrs, Holy Apostles, Michael and St. Nicholas have monu-
mental paintings datable to the 12th century based on their pictorial programme,
iconography and stylistic aspects. Especially the Church of St. Eustathios located in
the northern end of the valley has the latest paintings of the valley datable to the
13th century. Moreover, this church bears importance for it reflects the influence of
Constantinople in Cappadocia based on the high quality of its paintings, pictorial

programme and iconography. Besides, it is possible to follow the Seljuq rule of the
12th–13th centuries in the region as reflected in the motifs in the wall paintings of
the churches in the valley.
The Saray Church in the southeast of the valley has scarce remains of wall paint-
ings datable to the 12th century. Part of a monastic complex, the façade arrangement
of the church resembles those of some structures dated to the 12th century in the re-
gion. In addition, the Bezirhane Monastery newly identified in the east of the valley
has architectural features and façade arrangement of the 12th century. Small chapels
newly identified by us in the valley also point to the same centuries with regard to
their architectural properties.
Asnu-Bilban Yalçın (Istanbul University, Turkey)

The Nif (Nymphaion) mountain project: a new Byzantine complex
discovered
In the south-eastern slopes of Mount Nif (Nymphaion), were found traces of some
wall structures of the Byzantine period, for the first time noticed during the archaeo-
logical surveys. The archaeological excavations began in 2007 and discovered a com-
plex of two churches (A and B), surrounded by different group of other buildings.
The church B is a cross-in-square church with three semi-circular apses at east
end, a chapel and a narthex. In front of the apse, from the synthronon, a well-pre-
served opus sectile floor of colored marbles covers all over the naos. Adjacent to the
north is the church B defined by its larger sizes.
The results of the last excavation season, suggested that numerous surrounding
buildings distinguish the complex. As well as the use of a large number of ancient
spolia, is noticed high quality marble architectural sculpture elements, frescoes, pot-
tery, coins and glass finds, which shows the importance of the complex.
In our paper, apart to show first time to the scientific circles a such important
discovery, we aim to bring some pre-considerations by examining the architectural,
structural and decorative properties of the complex, which dates from the Middle
Byzantine period but with a remarkable Lascarid rebuilding, as well as its original
identity in light of relevant historical sources.
Ljubinka Dzidrova (University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK)

A Late Mediaeval Patrimony from Kale Skopje
Earliest photographed panoramic views of Skopje document the physical condition

of the ancient fortification at the end of nineteenth and early twentieth century, be-
fore any modern construction took place. In the tradition of many preceding ages,
at the turn of the twentieth century it still functioned as a military outpost, a fortifi-
cation-Kale, a single toponym preserved for the site in the oral or written tradition,
and memory of the local population. The records show high neglect of the south-
east plateau at this time, with almost fully demolished ramparts. Yet, it stroke the
interest of numerous travelers and chroniclers that trespassed the countryside and
recorded the state of remains. Recent archaeological excavations conducted in 2007
and 2009 at this site revealed a multiple stratigraphic complex ranging from tenth
until eighteenth–nineteenth century. Initially a settlement area of the fortified unit
of continuous existence in several phases was stated to have existed, to be abruptly
terminated and a church was built at the site by mid fourteenth century. A Christian
church was raised on the remains of the civil site unrelated to any documented in
the primary sources. Raised at a time of forthcoming tumultuous historic events, it
survived and extended its existence in several phases. After the occupation of Skopje
in 1392, the Ottoman Empire established by tradition a military outpost at the site
of the former Serbian capital, supplied it with men and stocks, and promoted it to be
the base for further military expansion to the north. Within this setting the church
shows to have converged Christian religious life and rite inside the walls of the Up-
per Town. At this point a central theme for discussion will be its identification as
a ktetorial of a high dignitary of the Serbian kingdom of local origin, belonging to
a family of the well-established landed aristocracy, the family possessions and their
movement in course of time, their relationship to the capital Skopje, and finally their
place among the governing aristocracy during late fourteenth–early fifteenth century.
The study tends to present a close insight in the political and economic life of central
Balkans, and of this patrimony at the time of radical transformation of the historic
and cultural conditions at the time of establishment of the new Empire.
Kiril Trajkovski (Museum of Macedonia, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia)

The Archaeology of the Byzantine Town and Episcopacy
Morovisdos in Macedonia
The Byzantine town Morovisdos is confirmed archaeologically by the discoveries in

the present village Morodvis, situated at the mid flow of the river Bregalnica, in the
eastern part of the Republic of Macedonia. The contours of the fortification and of
the medieval Episcopal complex are unearthed there.
The boundaries of the episcopacy and several important archeological points are
outlined on the basis of the historical sources. The analysis of the archeological data
reflects the economic, political and strategic position of the town, which later be-
came a village. At the same time, the confronted data give more objective picture
of this religious and political center within the First Bulgarian and the Byzantine
Empires from the 11th to the 14th centuries. The archaeological discoveries with
Christian contents, related directly to the cult of the relics and the christianization in
this area during the 9th and 10th centuries, are quite interesting. Material evidence
provide information about the everyday life in this Byzantine town, its pulsing and
decline during the Serbian domination, as well as about the life in the Ottoman en-
vironment.
FC3. NUMISMATICS AND SPHRAGISTICS

Moderators
Maria Campagnolo-Pothitou/Sophie Métivier
Rebecca Day (University of Birmingham, UK)

Byzantium at the edges of the world: early Byzantine coins in
India and beyond as indicators of political and economic influence
and the construction of boundaries of perception
The role of coinage in studying Byzantium beyond its borders has long been rec-
ognised. The durability and desirability of early Byzantine coinage, combined with
its mobility, ensured its wide distribution. The question of what coin finds beyond
the Empire, singly and in hoards, mean collectively has less often been considered,
though single-region studies do exist. I will present a framework which considers
widely disbursed coins in terms of their economic, political and cultural significance
in creating a notion of Byzantium’s borders and Byzantium beyond its borders. This
framework uses geographical and cultural distance to construct a model of concen-
tric circles of influence around the Empire, in which patterns of coin finds support
differing theories of use and perception. Though complex regional variation existed,
this schematic analysis of coin finds suggests an alternative use of a particular catego-
ry of artefacts to answer questions about Byzantine and foreign ideas of the Empire
as a ‘world power’.
India will be analysed in more detail within this model, to demonstrate how in-
terpreting coin finds outside the Empire in broader terms than individual regional
economies can provide new answers to questions of border perception and construc-
tion. India is, furthermore, particularly important to the discussion of Byzantine bor-
ders: first, it was politically unequivocally ‘beyond’, with no evidence for attempts at
Byzantine control. Yet up to the seventh century it became a field of competition in
which the economic borders of trade relations were tested and negotiated, particu-
larly between Byzantium and Persia. It consequently also became a proxy marker for
political-ideological disputes and alliances, such as that between Justin I and the Ak-
sumite kingdom (c. 520) for the status of protector of the Christian states of Arabia
and the Middle East.
Evgeni I. Paunov (Cardiff University, UK)

Notes on the Early Byzantine coin evidence from the ‘Tsari mali
grad’ hill fort near Belchin, Samokov area
The present poster will discuss the coin evidence assembled during 2008–2010 exca-
vation of the ‘Tsari mali grad’ hill fort near the village of Belchin (Samokov area, dis-
trict of Sofia). The site demonstrated regular occupation from the Late Bronze Age
till the late 6th century AD. It seems that it operated as a key point of control over-
looking the road Hebros/Maritsa valley–Kostenets–Samokov–Germania (through
the Rila Mountain) and experienced few dynamic phases.
Presently, the numismatic data (more than 300 coins) from the site is stratified,
catalogued and well analyzed in spatial and chronological terms. The following pic-
ture emerges. A large majority of coins from site belong to the Late Roman period –
dating from the mid-4th to the early 5th century AD. After the usual interruption in
the mid-5th century (no coins after Marcian) of the monetary supply, it is followed
by a time of stability and growth after Anastasius. A good proportion of the coin
evidence belongs to the 6th century Byzantine occupation – so far 80 pieces. It is
marked by an absolute domination of the copper folles (denominations М and К) of
Justinian I and Justin II. Indeed, the majority are struck in the central imperial mints
of Thessalonica (29 coins = 36%) and Constantinople (25 coins = 31%), which fits
well into the average mints distribution. Remote mints such as Nicomedia (9 coins
= 11%) and Antioch/Theopolis (4 coins = 5%) are less presented. Only two gold
coins were discovered – a solidus and a tremissis, both of Justinian I, both issues of
Constantinople mint.
The regular supply of coins at the ‘Tsari mali grad’ fortress had instantly seized af-
ter Justin II’ last regnal year XIII, or 577–578 AD. No coins of Tiberius II Constan-
tine are attested so far. Apparently that was the time when the site was abandoned of
by the Byzantine authorities.
The coin finds from Belchin fortress provides valuable information for the status
of site, its economic relations and an important link with other investigated Byzan-
tine fortified forts in the territory of Serdica, province of Dacia Mediterranea.
Matteo Campagnolo (Musée d’art et d’histoire, Genève, Suisse)

Un poids en bronze exceptionnel à l’effigie de deux saints militaires
Les poids de l’Antiquité tardive et du début de l’époque byzantine sont parmi les
fleurons des collections numismatiques du Musée d’art et d’histoire de Genève. A
la base de cet ensemble se trouve la collection formée par Lucien Naville, décrite et
illustrée dans la revue Genava par Niklaus Dürr et Miroslav Lazovič. La collection de
poids a doublé numériquement depuis 1964. L’étude et le catalogue sont en cours,
par Klaus Weber, secondé par le conservateur du Cabinet de numismatique. Des ana-
lyses métalliques permettront de mieux situer l’origine de ces poids.

Parmi les poids qui ont enrichi plus récemment la collection, se trouve un poids
du type Bendall 47, interprétés comme représentant deux empereurs et généralement
datés, sur la base de multiples rapprochements, de la fin du IVe siècle ou du début du
Ve siècle.
Les parallèles tardifs de cette iconographie se situent dans un tout autre contexte,
ils ouvrent une perspective intéressante sur la durée de l’utilisation des poids.
Dochka Aladzhova (National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Sofia,

Bulgaria)
Middle Age Weights from Bulgaria
Despite the researche done for years, the subject of the trade links during the Middle
Ages is pressing even nowadays. The reasons for it are the different points of view and
the various empirical materials expanding with the years
The archaeological artifacts presented in the current paper are not very popu-
lar among the researchers. The paper focuses on a particular type of bronze weight
shaped as small conical cups. These weights are usually designed in such way that the
smaller artifacts fit into the bigger ones and in some cases the biggest one is designed
like a box with a lid to accommodate the whole set. This type of weights were known
in almost all European countries in the Middle Ages as well as in the later periods
and was used together with other types of weights such as discoid, etc.
The first publications on these weights date back to the late 19th century and the
accumulated finds from archaeological excavations at various sites provide opportu-
nity for publishing artifacts from the Northern Black Sea region, Corinth, etc.
Little attention was paid to these artifacts in Bulgaria until 1980s. A change oc-
curred after the discovery of a set of cup shaped weights in Sofia (the Mediaeval Sre-
dets). Later a publication presenting a set from Cherven mentions similar artifacts
from Melnik.
The weights found so far in Bulgaria are more than 57, as those in sets are fewer
than the separate saucers. The weights found are connected to different in volume
trade relationships, as well as their usage in manufacturing of jewelry and other mate-
rials of precious metal.
Using these kinds of weights in commerce relationships in the Middle Ages is
connected to the Byzantium weight system, which functions they embodied. The
situation is quite interesting, as the weights of the observed materials are rather vari-
ous.
So far the dating of the weights saucers from Bulgaria is rather vague. Depend-
ently on the researched site, the architecture and elevating material found there, the
weights saucers have been dated from the end of the 10th to 14th centuries. The situ-
ation is understandable because of the almost unchanged weight and monetary sys-
tem, used in Byzantium and medieval Bulgaria, too. Finding new material, as well as
analyzing the familiar information from different expert point of view could provide
additional help in precising the dating.
Ivana Popović (Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade, Serbia)

Silver Ring with Biblical Motifs from Bela Palanka (Remesiana)
In one private collection there is a silver ring, which, according to the words of its
owner, was found in Bela Palanka, Roman Remesiana. The ring consists of a flat hoop
on whose top is applied a shield in the form of a disc. On the outer side the hoop
is fasciated, with nine slightly emphasized fields. The engraved representations of
mythological contents are on the shield, as also on the hoop of the ring. On the dis-
coid shield is represented, in the praying pose, a human figure in the short tunica. The
figure is flanked by a sheep and a bird, and on its head is flying down a pigeon. On
the metopes of the hoop are represented a bird (pigeon) flying, three male busts and
a spike of grain. On the shield we recognize the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Je-
sus’ head, i.e. the scene of his Baptizing, with some elements of the representation of
the Good Shepherd. The contamination of these scenes is unusual, and it is probably
the result of the limited space for engraving the motifs on the shield of the ring. On
the hoop is represented the descending of the pigeon, i.e. of the Holy spirit, on Jesus,
whose triple nature is designated by the schematic representation of the Holy Trinity.
The Ascension of the soul of Jesus to the Heaven is represented by the flight of the
pigeon, and his Resurrection in the bodily form by the spike of the grain.
The silver ring from Remesiana represents a valuable monument of the early
Christian art, on which the events from the life of Jesus are represented in the realis-
tic and in the allegorical way. The clear allusions to Jesus in all the represented scenes
bear witness that the ring could be made only after the Constantine’s recognizing of
Christianity as an official religion. In the next period Remesiana will become promi-
nent especially as an important religious centre, the bishop’s residence in which had
his seat the noble bishop Nicetas (366–414), by origin from these parts. He was es-
pecially active in baptizing the members of the Thracian tribes of Bessi, but also of
Scyths and Goths, residing around Danube. He also supported the activities of the
priests who intended to return to the Nicene Creed. Maybe in these activities of Ni-
cetas from Remesiana we can find the answer for the iconographic solutions applied
on the silver ring – the central scene of the Baptizing of Jesus, and, in accordance
with the Nicene Creed, an attempt to represent the unity of his human and divine
nature.
Valentina De Pasca (University of Milano, Italy)

Byzantine coins depositions in children’s graves (6th–8th c.)
This study concerns children graves brought to light in different Italian contests and
dated between 6th and 8th century, that present a peculiarity: byzantine pierced
coins next to child’s body. Considering these finds involves not only an archaeologi-
cal and numismatic approach but also anthropologic and ethnologic ones which let
us to understand if this kind of grave goods were simply offerings or, oppositely, ob-
jects belonged to the infant that also in Afterlife accompanied and kept company
with him.
Observing the five pierced coins, associated with a bronze stud in a Lombard lit-
tle girl’s grave found in Verona, we can assume for certain they were reused as pen-
dants of a jewel of which doesn’t remain no more the thread that passed through the
hole, probably because it was constituted of perishable material; otherwise it is stiff
to explain the pierce’s presence in correspondence to the flan’s border.
The real function of this kind of poor-jewel, in the most part of the cases con-
stituted from follis, is unknown, however it is difficult to discern if they belonged to
the tradition of the crepundia, infant toys like whistles, ivory or bone dolls, masks, or
to the tradition of tintinnabula, emotional and symbolic gifts, which parents gave to
their children to protect them from evil spirits thanks to the presence of coins that,
from classical Antiquity, had an apotropaic function related to their metal composi-
tion and round shape.
Panos Sophoulis (University of Athens, Greece)

Byzantine coin-circulation in early medieval Bulgaria (mid 8th –
early 9th c.)
Between the early seventh and early ninth centuries, the use of money in the Byz-
antine empire, especially in the areas outside Constantinople, was greatly reduced
– a phenomenon that was ultimately connected with the political, military and de-
mographic crisis of the “Dark Ages”. The rapid and accentuated decline in monetary
circulation is particularly evident in the northern Balkans, where extremely few coins
have been unearthed in archaeological sites, from ca. 685 until the beginning of the
reign of Constantine V (741). In the territories controlled by the Bulgars, some 15
specimens have been discovered in all, whereas for the reign of Constantine IV alone
(668–685) that same area has produced more 200 stray- and hoard-finds. In this
light, the frequency with which coin-finds occur in Bulgaria and southern Romania
after ca. 750 comes certainly as a surprise. About 70 specimens from Constantine
V to Leo V (813–820) are widely dispersed in present-day northeastern Bulgaria,
the coast of the Dobrudja as well as in Wallachia. The presence of Byzantine coins
in the “core lands” of the Bulgar state (Pliska and the surrounding regions) may be
associated with the military activity of the late eighth and ninth centuries. It seems
reasonable to conclude that they were mainly obtained by Bulgar soldiers raiding
the Balkan provinces of the empire (or targeting imperial armies operating north
of the Haimos mountains), although some may have belonged to the Byzantine
prisoners-of-war brought back to Bulgaria by Krum. On the other hand, the coins
recovered in the Dobrudja and Wallachia (some 50 specimens), although relatively
few in number, must be regarded as very weighty evidence for the existence of direct
contacts between the local rural population and Byzantium. Apparently, commer-
cial ships on the route between Kherson and Constantinople or the Aegean readily
put into the Dobrudjan shores, for they afforded supplies of fresh food and shelter
for the crews. There the sailors or merchants may have transacted small-scale busi-
ness with the inhabitants of the area. One may go even further to suggest the exist-
ence of local periodic markets or fairs involving not only the peasants of the coastal
region, but also transhumant pastoralists who came from as far as Wallachia or the
Carpathian mountains to exchange their produce for the commodities brought in by
the Byzantines.
Copper coinage, particularly stray finds, is generally interpreted as indicating
small-scale trading activity. Although their presence in the coast of the Dobrudja
clearly shows that copper coins were of some value to the local population, it is dif-
ficult to decide precisely how far they were being used as denominations and how far
they were prized purely for looks and ornamental value. As far as we can tell, most of
the Dobrudjan coins were found in settlement contexts, and do not appear to have
been perforated or turned into pendants. However, a number of Byzantine folles
found in northeastern Bulgaria had been pierced and therefore used as ornamental
objects or amulets, while two other coins minted in Constantinople between 780
and 797, one of gold, the other of silver, ended in burial no. 34 at Kjulevča, evidently
as funerary offerings. It might therefore be reasonable to suppose that, although used
as a medium of exchange, Byzantine coins were likely to have been demonetized. In
any case, the numismatic evidence yields an important conclusion: the continual
contacts which populations in the coastal region of Bulgaria, at least, had with the
Byzantine world in the eighth and early ninth centuries.
Ceren Ünal (Ege University, Izmir, Turkey)

A group of anonymous folles from Balıkesir museum, Turkey
The Anonymous Folles have a depiction of Christ on their obverse and they were not
struck in the name of any particular emperor. They don’t have any title of an emperor
and depiction. Therefore the copper coins of this type which were struck between
970 and 1092 are called Anonymous Folles. They were grouped into fifteen classes
according to their size and depictions. Balıkesir Museum of Turkey has a group of
Anonymous Folles which were from different Classes. We researched 33 Anony-

mous Folles which belong to Class A2, B, C, D, I, G. These coins will be introduced
according to their classification and they will also be discussed both from historical
and political points of view.
Maria Campagnolo-Pothitou (Musée d’art et d’histoire, Genève, Suisse)

La bulle de cinq solidi (πεντασολδία) de Constantin IX Monomaque
(1042–1055)
La collection des bulles byzantines du Musée d’art et d’histoire de Genève (donation

Janet Zakos) renferme une bulle d’or, inédite jusqu’ici, de Constantin IX Monoma-
que.
Deuxième chrysobulle conservée de cet empereur à ce jour, cette pièce est dou-
blement unique. En effet, parmi les bulles d’or byzantines connues et publiées, elle est
la seule d’une valeur de cinq solidi et également la seule conservée à dépasser la valeur
maximale de quatre sous d’or byzantins, valeur maximale prévue pour les chrysobul-
les, au milieu du Xe siècle, dans le traité de Constantin VII Porphyrogénète De Cere-
moniis (livre II, ch. 48). Rappelons que cette règle a été toutefois enfreinte au moins à
deux autres reprises, aux Xe et XIe siècles, ainsi que les sources l’attestent.
Par des analyses comparatives en laboratoire et des recherches en bibliothèque,
notre étude cherche à situer la pentasoldhia de Constantin IX dans le contexte histo-
rique qui a pu inspirer ou nécessiter son émission.
Vangelis Maladakis (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece)

Byzantine Chalkidiki in context: Monetary affairs and economy
under the Komnenoi
The elaborate numismatic reform (1092) inaugurated by Alexios I Komnenos of-

fered a dynamic stimulus to the Byzantine monetary affairs and the economic de-
velopment. Apart from the urban economy that reached its heights in the twelfth
century one can observe an accelerated growth in the rural provinces of the Empire.
It is at the second half of the 11th c. and the early 12th c. that the rural societies expe-
rienced the shift of the tax-paying free peasant to the rent-paying tenant farmers de-
pended on powerful landlords; this means, for the case of Chalkidiki, the Athonite
monasteries. The documents kept there, although scarce in the 12th c., comparing
those of 11th and 13th–14th c., provide an image of developing Chalkidiki based on
the presence of monastic investments. At the same time the increased monetization
both in state and private transactions is well evidenced by numismatic finds from the
archaeological excavations carried out there.

Commencing form the above mentioned I will primarily try to examine
Chalkidiki in context by putting it on the map of the Komnenian coin circulation
trends in Greece and secondly to shed light to the particularities of such a rural econ-
omy of the Byzantine periphery; in other words to outline the factors of the moneti-
zation in a wider historical perspective.
Sophie Métivier (Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne, France)

Évêques et évêchés de l’Asie Mineure seldjoukide
Les provinces de l’Empire byzantin passées sous la domination d’une autre puissance
ne perdent pas tout rapport institutionnel avec lui. Dans le cas de l’Asie Mineure
seldjoukide (XIIe–XIIIe siècle), le patriarcat de Constantinople souhaite ou prétend
continuer à en pourvoir les sièges épiscopaux, qui sont occupés, ou non, par les évê-
ques qui en sont titulaires. Speros Vryonis a fait un premier inventaire de ces évêchés
et de ces évêques, en particulier pour le XIIe siècle. Il serait souhaitable de préciser
cet inventaire, grâce aux témoignages des sources textuelles, en particulier les actes du
patriarcat de Constantinople, pour éclairer tout à la fois l’importance des Églises et
des communautés orthodoxes de l’Asie Mineure seldjoukide, ainsi que le fonctionne-
ment du patriarcat de Constantinople et les relations entre les deux États, byzantin et
seldjoukide. Bien que peu de sceaux de ces évêques aient été conservés, ils méritent
d’être examinés dans cette perspective.
FC4. POTTERY AND OTHER CRAFTS

Moderators
Vera Zalesskaya/Giulia Marsili
Anastassios Antonaras (Museum of Byzantine Culture, Thessaloniki, Greece)

Artisanal production in Byzantine Thessaloniki (4th–15th cc.)
The present communication will present the findings of artisanal production in Byz-
antine Thessaloniki. Tracing these activities in Thessaloniki, just like in most cities
with continuous live of so many centuries, is quite difficult. Usually the only evidence
comes from movable archaeological finds, which due to their density or their special
present evidences of different local artisanal activities. Two main groups of work-
shops are located archaeologically: those a) relating to the processing of organic ma-
terials, which required extensive use of water and therefore had water reservoirs and
systems for inflowing and drainage water and b) those related to the processing of in-
organic materials for which use of furnaces was required, remnants of which are also
traceable in the excavations. Also, valuable information on these professions can be
accessed through written sources, e.g. inscriptions, historiographical, hagiographical,
and legal texts, acta of the monasteries of Mount Athos, which directly or indirectly
illuminate aspects of private and professional life of the citizens of Thessaloniki. This
way, many groups of professionals are spotted, e.g. millers, limekilners, potters, glass-
workers, stone carvers, sculptors, mosaicists, metal smiths, jewelers, painters, wood
carvers, bone carvers, tanners, weavers, dyers, gold embroiderers, candle-makers and
scribes, persons who were, more or less constantly, active throughout the Byzantine
period in Thessaloniki. Generally it appears that they tended to have their workshops
at void areas of the center or scattered in commercial parts of the city, but mainly
at the outskirts of the city, nearby the city walls, or outside them, in the area of the
extended cities cemeteries or even farther afield. It becomes evident that such a pop-
ulous city during 11 centuries of life obviously was mainly covering its needs with
local artisanal production of all sorts and that some of its products were exported
to remote areas where they were much appreciated. The low esteem for that kind
of activities that kept them out of the written sources and the centuries of constant
habitation obstruct us from a more vivid and precise picture of that multifaceted part
of the economic and social life of the Byzantine Symvasileusa and leaves us with what
fragmentary and obscure salvage excavations and indirect notes in written sources
can reveal.
Dorota Dzierzbicka (University of Warsaw, Poland)

Wine in Late Antique and Byzantine Egypt. Import and local
production
The author discusses some aspects of the situation on the Egyptian wine market in
Late Antiquity and the Byzantine period based on a selection of papyrus documents.
From the 4th century onwards the import of wine to Egypt is dominated by wines
from the Eastern Mediterranean, in particular the Levant, Cilicia and Cyprus. This
trend is indicated by the presence of amphora classes LR1 and LR4 on Egyptian sites,
as well as testimonies in written sources. The import of wine from Gaza and Askalon
is attested in Expositio totius mundi et gentium, an anonymous commercial geography
dated to the mid-4th century, and confirmed by references in papyrus documents.
Another trend visible in the sources is the appearance of a selection of flavoured and
medicinal wines in Egypt. Some of them also seem to be of Levantine origin, but
their local production is also possible.
Michael Decker (University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA)

Wine Production and Trade in Byzantine Egypt
Given the climate and lack of wine production in Egypt today, it is unsurprising that
there has been relatively little interest in the history of wine there. Ancient sources
such as Athenaeus describe a well-developed Egyptian wine culture developed from
Greek and Roman practices, and further note a trade in Egyptian wine that stretched
back in time to the Hellenistic period, especially in the Alexandrian Chora. But the
picture from Byzantine Egypt remains obscure since scant work has been devoted to
discussing wine in the society and economy of that era. This communication focuses
on the textual and material evidence of Egyptian wine production and will offer a
qualitative and quantitative overview of the role of wine in the economy of Egypt
and the wider Byzantine Mediterranean.
Textual evidence in the form of papyri and hagiographic literature will be used to
render a sketch of local wine production and consumption. In rarer instances, these
documents shed light on the export of Egyptian wine elsewhere in the Mediterra-
nean. Material data in the form of wine presses, amphorae, amphorae kilns, and ship-
wrecks will be sketched in light of the most recent research. Major issues considered
briefly in this communication regarding the prominence, or lack thereof, of Egyptian
wine exports include the regions of production, case studies of amphorae types with
their findspots and quantified study (where available) inside Egypt, and the posing of
questions of the role of wine within a culture of pilgrimage and the First Byzantine
Commonwealth of the sixth century.
Tom Smith (University of Nottingham, UK)

Interdisciplinary studies of ancient glass from Dichin, Bulgaria
Lack of reliable historical accounts and archaeological excavations with secure

contexts means that the Balkans region is largely not understood during the transition
to Late Antiquity. Recent excavations at Dichin, Bulgaria, have provided potential
for interpretation. Bone, grain and ceramic evidence determined Dichin featured
two phases of occupation, from AD 410–490 and AD 540–580. Poulter (2007: 38)
interprets the sites irregular layout as a suggestion to a foederati garrison, which ties
in with the peace treaty of AD 382 and the settling of Goths in Roman lands. Rehren
& Cholakova’s (2010) study of the glass artefacts from the site concluded glass was
being imported and produced locally, but was too small to offer any conclusive
insight.
My current research focuses on analysing a larger sample size of the Dichin
glass, focusing on a variety of contexts, forms and colours. Chemical analysis and
composition data sheds light on the technology used, and characterises the artefact
into an ancient ‘glass group’, that suggests an area of primary production. This in
turn allows economic conditions on a local and regional scale to be inferred, and
also offers a unique insight into the output of the primary glass producers. Memory
studies, such as Loney and Hoaen’s (2005) theory that material culture acts as a
proxy for linking to previous identities, are applied in order to derive the identity of
the garrison. The primary focus of this paper is to present and discuss more so the
archaeological theory, with the material analysis taking a supplementary role.
Giulia Marsili (University of Bologna, Italy)

Byzantine amphoras’ production at Gortyn (Crete): economy and
trade of a capital during early-byzantine period
The archaeological excavations in the city of Gortyn, capital of Crete from the Ro-
man conquest and archiepiscopal seat from the 6th century, have been offering a
huge quantity of pottery, among which amphoras are the most represented item. The
wide range of importations attests the involvement of the island of Crete both in
the maritime routes between Western and Eastern Mediterranean and in the Aegean.
Archaeological data and literary sources witness that Cretan wine was famous all
over the Roman empire. However from the end of the 3rd century Cretan contain-
ers disappear from the Mediterranean markets, making archaeologists hypothesize a
crisis in the Cretan economy. Nevertheless, recent discoveries in different areas of the
ancient city of Gortyn haven’t supported this kind of assessment, by certifying a clear
prevalence of the local productions over the imports.
The most noteworthy data refer to the last phases of the settlement. In the 7th
century the traditional structure of Gortyn underwent several changes and a sort of
regression involved both the topographical shape and the social organization of the
city. In spite of this, Gortynian economy reveals an unexpected vitality with the cir-
culation of new kind of vessels in significant amount, maybe designed for a regional
trade. Moreover, recent excavations and discoveries on the Black Sea region have re-
ported the presence of Cretan amphoras in contexts dated from the 5th to the late
7th century, attesting not only a noteworthy strength of the Cretan economy in a
period of general regress, but also significant links between Crete and the Black Sea
region, perhaps connected to the byzantine army.
Сергей Зеленко/Яна Морозова (Киевский национальный университет

им. Тараса Шевченко, Украина)
Византийская и местная керамическая тара в морских торговых
перевозках 10–12 веков (Крымское побережье Черного моря)
Крымский полуостров и бассейн Черного моря – это регион, где пересекались

пути многих народов и экономические интересы различных государств во
времена Византийской империи. Торговля имела первостепенное значение в
жизни прибрежных городов и поселений. Анализ торговых связей, в том чис-
ле и морских, является одним из факторов, позволяющих оценить социально-
экономическое состояние общества того времени. Необходимым условием для
понимания торговых контактов на основе археологических данных является
выделение местной и импортной тары, которая составляет самую массовую ка-
тегорию керамики. Интенсивное развитие подводной археологии в последние
десятилетия на Черном море позволяет ежегодно получать и вводить в научный
оборот новую информацию об этих группах амфор, тем самым, расширяя наши
знания. В докладе использован подводный археологический материал и дан-
ные, полученные при раскопках под водой кораблей периода X–XII вв. у бере-
гов Таврики, и материал археологических исследований местных средневековых
гончарных комплексов.
Vera Zalesskaya (State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia)

Byzantine glazed pottery from the Balkans found in Chersonesos
There are three groups of Byzantine glazed pottery, excavated in Chersonesos (the
Crimea) which provenance can be connected with the Balkans.
The first group consists of several polychrome ware: sherds and fragments of
tiles. One of them excavated in 1892 preserves depiction of a holy figure judging by
the rests of the inscription painted in Greek characters can be identified as St. Elisa-
beth. These tiles were used for revetting templa and other built surfaces, for framing
icons and, in the case of those bearing representations of saints, as icons themselves.
Such painted tiles were found in excavations in Constantinople, Preslav and Patleina
in Bulgaria. The rectangular plaque with geometrical ornamentation, – a lozenge di-
vided by diagonal lines into four smaller compartments was found during the 1932
excavation of the 10th century church. It has remnants of painted polychrome deco-
ration, executed in vitreous colours: green, yellow and white, as well as black on the
outlines, and resembles several plaques from Patleina and Preslav.
The ceramic of the second group known as incised sgraffito includes bowls and
plates on which the decoration is finely incised. Many of the fragments of this type
found in Chersonesos dates in general to the second half of the twelfth and the early
thirteenth century. The incision is used to render spirals, scrolls, vegetal ornaments
and Cufic motifs. Vases of this group have been found in many parts of the Byzantine
world, including Thessaloniki, the Crimea, Cyprus and Corinth.
A number of vases of the third group dated by archeological evidence in the
thirteenth century, – they were found in the Northern part of Chersonesos, – have
representations of birds. These birds have specific traits: they have short stout body
and thin legs executed in champlevé technique, their wings placed horizontally are
divided into two by a series of vertical parallel lines or stacked chevrons, so they have
the same feature as those on the pieces from Thessaloniki. Several vases have part of a
tripod stilt stuck to the bottom.
Evelina Todorova/Rumjana Koleva/Chavdar Kirilov (Sofia University “St. Kliment

Ohridski”, Bulgaria)
Byzantine Imported Pottery from the Recent Excavations in
Drastar (Silistra) in the Context of the Byzantine Politics on the
Lower Danube
As a result of the excavations in 2007 in Drastar (Silistra) a large amount of ampho-

rae, plain kitchen ware, glazed ware with relief decoration, Byzantine white and sgraf-
fito ware have come to light. The coin finds and the surrounding archaeological struc-
tures allow to date them from the end of the 10th till the end of the 11th – beginning
of the 12th century AD. Similar pottery, found in the same archaeological context,
is knonw from most of the fortified sites on the Lower Danube. The situation has to
be related with the incorporation of the Medieval Bulgarian Lands in the Byzantine
empire and the establishment of new politics toward the barbarians which favored
trading over raiding. Drastar and the reconstructed fortresses along the river have
been transformed to fortified camps where Byzantine troops have been dispatched.
These towns served also as market places where Petchenegs and Rus could come and
trade in peace with the Empire. The goods transported in the amphorae and the table
ware had come on the Lower Danube both as part of the state supplies for the army
and as a merchandise which have been offered on the market. The active commercial
exchange is confirmed by the significant quantity of low value coins found.
Marielle Martiniani-Reber (Musée d’art et d’histoire, Genève, Suisse)

«La voix du Seigneur retentit sur les eaux»: à propos d’un seau
byzantin du Musée d’art et d’histoire de Genève
Les collections byzantines du Musée d’art et d’histoire de Genève renferment un

seau de bronze orné d’une inscription qui permet d’en confirmer l’usage dans un
contexte liturgique chrétien. Une ligne de caractères grecs au contour formé d’une
double ligne, graphie attestée aux Xe–XIIe siècles, se lit ainsi: «La voix du Seigneur
retentit sur les eaux». De l’autre côté, en prolongement, est gravée une autre phrase
dont le sens exact reste à interpréter.
La première phrase fait partie de la célébration de la bénédiction des eaux, lors de
la fête du baptême du Christ, le 6 janvier.
La deuxième phrase atteste que nous avons sans doute affaire à un objet votif. La
terminaison de la seconde ligne de l’inscription reste peu claire, mais il semble que
l’on ait préparé ce type d’objet votif à l’avance, et qu’on en exécutait la calligraphie
lors de son acquisition.
La forme de ce seau est classique; un cylindre qui s’évase toutefois vers le haut.
L’anse est formée d’un bandeau de bronze orné six cercles décroissants en direction
de l’attache semi-circulaire de l’anse. Le décor, gravé et étamé, se compose, au dessous
de l’inscription, d’une bande de réseau losangé interrompue par quatre médaillons
circulaires dans lesquels s’inscrivent des oiseaux stylisés, sans doute des aigles.
Notre objet sera mis en relation avec plusieurs pièces comportant la même ins-
cription, comme par exemple au Metropolitan Museum, à New York ou au Bode-
Museum, à Berlin. Un tel seau est aussi mentionné dans le Kitab al-Hadaya wa al-
tuhaf qui énumère les dons apportés par l’ambassade de l’empereur byzantin Romain
1er Lécapène au calife ar-Radi bi-llah, en 938.
D’autres pièces, en pierre, offrent une inscription identique. Il s’agit de cuves ou
de bassins, qui furent probablement en usage dans la cérémonie du baptême.
Svetlana Reabţeva (Institute of Cultural Heritage, Chișinău, Moldova)

Byzantine-Danube elements in jewelry dress of East-European
population in 8th–12th centuries
Currently one of the important themes of medieval archeology is the issue of Dan-
ube-Byzantine influenced on the culture of East-European population. Jewelry is a
very expressive marker of such influences. Hoards dating from the first half of the 8th
c. found in the Dnieper basin show a range of adornments (earrings with star-like
and globular pendants, earrings with a “flashlight” pendant, bracelets with expanding
ends), finding vast analogies among the Slavic-Avar antiquates in the Danube area.
New types of adornments become common in Eastern Europe in 9th – the be-
ginning of 10th c. They have the Danube origins and find vast analogies on sites of
Great Moravia and Bijelo-Brdo culture (earrings with “rays” and “bunches”, crescent
pendants and earrings etc.).
The middle of 10th c. is marked as another important turn in distribution of
Danube-type adornments especially in the Dnieper, Dniester and Volhynia lands. At
that time was formed a jewelry dress with the granulation. One of the most impor-
tant ornaments of 10th – the beginning of 11th c. is the co cold “earrings of Volhynia
type”, having a wide range of analogues and prototypes in the Danube region.
In the period of the end of 11th c. it’s revealed the process of the formation of
the new ceremonial Old Russian dresses which existed from some changes up to the
Tatar’s invasion. In my mind in the previous period byzantine traditions in the Old
Russian jewelry dresses were disseminated by the aid of the Western-Slavic influences
from the Danube region and Danube centers of colored metal working. Then since
11th c. it is possible to speak also about the direct turning of Old Russian jewelers to
byzantine models and prototypes.
Old Russian diplomacy and religious ties linked the court of Kiev with Byzan-
tium, so imperial fashions inspired techniques and richness by the courtly jewelers
of Kiev and over centers. The twelfth century gold headdress ornament in its shape,
iconography and technique of cloisonné enamel is typical of such a workshop. The
full dress of this period included various types of ornaments – diadems, kolti, ryasni
– some masterpieces of the art of cloisonné enamel on gold for which Rus’ was famed
after Byzantium.
Mariel Peñaloza Moreno (University of Groningen, The Netherlands)

Byzantium hanging from an ear
The content of my participation is about how the process of identity formation is

strongly linked to material culture. Objects are not just functional but are invested
with meanings that transform in their dynamic path from one context into the other.
Within this framework there is nothing trivial when we are moving in the domain
of human contents. The Byzantine identity is no exception, so I want to approach it

from the study of an object that has migrated from Byzantium to other places, taking
its identity along to renew it in other contexts, namely, the Byzantine hoop.
In this sense, the hoop is not just an ornamental piece of jewelry, but it becomes
a symbolic object, carrier not only of the personal stories of the one who wears it,
but those of the ones who make it, or copy it, repair it, collect it, or exhibit it in a
museum. Furthermore, it tells at a greater scale over the traditions and social prac-
tices of the group where it belongs. However, when the object migrates, its meanings
transform, sometimes taking its original identity literally but other times at the level
of substitution, but in any case enriching it.
I want to deepen here on the path that the Byzantine hoop has undergone and
keeps to undergo, and how it manages to remain Byzantine in the new contexts, or
not. I am interested in reflecting on how the Byzantinity of the refined metal work of
Constantinople changes in its touch with the Spanish culture, or not. Also worth ap-
proaching is how this Byzantine hoop, invested with meaning and a strong identity,
changed or not as it came in touch with the New World when it arrived at Mexican
coasts. Finally, I want to discuss if the byzantine hoop has survived until now in new
contexts and if it continues its path through unpredictable meanings.
Most of all, at the hand of the trajectory of such an apparently trivial object, we
will be able to reflect on the everlasting process of identity formation in general, and
that of Byzantine identity formation in particular.
Anastasia G. Yangaki (Institute for Byzantine Research, Athens, Greece)

A first overview of Late Medieval Pottery from the Iberian
Peninsula in Greece
Many different categories of pottery were produced in the Iberian peninsula in the
late Medieval period. One of the most important was Spanish Lustreware, which
consists of many different types of pottery sharing a common feature: a lustrous, iri-
descent surface resulting from the use of a lustre pigment applied to the surface of the
pot in its final stages of manufacture.
Numerous centres of production have been identified for this and other catego-
ries of Spanish pottery. The evidence would indicate that the products of the work-
shops in the Valencia region were broadly distributed throughout the central and
eastern Mediterranean, but also in central and northern Europe and the Americas.
There are, for example, numerous sites in England, Sardinia, Italy, Sicily and Egypt
where Spanish Lustreware has come to light and been published.
However, no study has as yet attempted to assemble evidence for the existence of
this particular category of pottery, as well as others from the Iberian Peninsula, in re-
gions of Greece. In fact, these categories have been much neglected to date, and it has
sometimes been difficult even to assign specific objects to particular categories. The
present paper tries to assemble some of the material from these regions published
thus far, most of it from the 14th and 15th centuries, and add to the data available
relating to the presence of this category of pottery. It also seeks to address questions
regarding the network of trade routes via which pottery from the Iberian peninsula
arrived in Greece during the Late Byzantine period.
Nikos M. Bonovas (Museum of Byzantine Culture, Thessaloniki, Greece)

The Paleologean cups and dishes of the ceramic workshops of
Thessaloniki and Serres under the light of their stencils
A drilled stencil made of paper for the decoration of vases is mentioned in Sultan
Mehmed’s III firman, while there is a demand for drawers of ceramic laboratories
in Nice in 1604. A stencil (18th century) of ceramic tiles still exists in the Museum
Library of Topkapi Palace in Constantinople.
Could we possibly suppose the use of stencils in earlier periods? I have come up
with this question through a study of material in which I came across some common
technical characteristics.
The glazed engraving ceramics from Thessaloniki and Serres cities is offered for
the study of a way of decorating vases during the 13th and 14th centuries. Cups and
dishes are formed in a standard shape and decorated with common motives, since
they are produced at local laboratories. That is how the use of stencils in mass pro-
duction is justified.
The conclusions of the research are based on the collection of technical elements
and refer to the procedure of applying the stencil to the bottom of the vases. Some
examples of cups and dishes are located in different places and they obviously consti-
tute objects of trade.
According to some evaluations, themes such as a bird between two trees, quat-
refoil and flower jewellery are noticed with some differentiations. That is because
stencils were used by different potters and painters and even new ones were created.
The appearance of each concept on a number of vases is a serious indication that the
decoration of such vases is produced by specific stencils.
It is thought that the vase decoration took place by following coal traces that
were created by the drilled stencil on the white surface of the vase. In this way we can
conclude one more stage in the production: 1.vase making and fire, 2.white surface
pouring, 3.motif creating by stencil, 4.motif carving on coal traces, 5.decoration en-
riched with colours, 6.one more firing of the vase.
Nevertheless, since the 13th and 14th centuries there has been no written evi-
dence concerning the way of copying and designing motifs on cups and dishes. Fu-
ture laboratory analyses of clay could possibly confirm the use of stencils through the
traces of coal.
FC5. EARLY BYZANTIUM

Moderators
Fiona Haarer/Oleg Vus
Diliana Angelova (University of California, Berkeley, USA)

Constantine’s Founding of Constantinople: Old Paradigms and
New Traditions
This presentation will examine a neglected aspect in the symbolism of Constantine’s

founding of a new capital. It situates city-founding in a broader Mediterranean con-
text, as well as, within traditional imperial notions of power that predated Constan-
tine and went back to Augustus. In the ancient Mediterranean world, to found a city
was considered an extraordinary feat. It was understood as an act of ethnogenesis
that brought the founder divine honors. Augustus used this old paradigm to his own
advantage when he both sought association with Romulus, Rome’s founder, and
beautified the city of Rome. For the emperors who followed him, the act of founding
was institutionalized with the title pater patriae (father of the fatherland). In a sense,
every Roman emperor was a new Romulus-like founder. The city of Rome was there-
fore integral to the imperial power discourse. When, in 330, Constantine founded a
new capital he was supremely aware of the symbolic opportunities that this occasion
provided. He capitalized on the prestige that the new city brought him, and, at the
same time, initiated a break from the older imperial vocabulary of symbolic power.
Thus this paper will contextualize the founding of Constantinople not, as has been
the case, primarily in terms of military strategy or a religious gesture, but as a break
from a much older vocabulary of symbolic power.
Paweł Filipczak (L’Université de Łódź, Pologne)

Les émeutes dans les villes byzantines au IV e. siècle ap. J.-C.
La majorité des émeutes et des bagarres ont éclaté à cause des problèmes theologiques
parmi les différentes fractions des chrétiens. Il y avait les tensions entre la population
chrétienne et païenne ou juive mais sérieuses émeutes étaient une rareté. Ça veut dire
que pendant la plupart du IV e. siécle les chrétiens, les païens et les Juifs coexistaient
dans le calme. On peut observer le paroxysme des relations entre ces populations seu-
lement à la fin du IVe. siècle, quand l’empire romain est devenu l’état chrétien et qu’il
a commencé à persécuter les disciples des autres religions.
Certaines émeutes sont ressorties des problèmes économiques, avant tout à rai-
son des difficultés avec l’approvisionnement des villes, de la montée des prix des ali-
ments, et de l’additionnelle imposition. Les villes était dépendants de la fourniture

de blé de la campagne.
Le nombre des émeutes excitées par les courses de chars ou par les apparitions des
danseurs pantomimiques était bas. Le meilleur example c’est la révolte à Thessaloni-
que, en 390 ap. J.-C.
Les fonctionnaires de la police municipale n’était pas en état d’étouffer des révol-
tes et des bagarres.
Ils n’ont pas eu de moyens décents et il n’y avait pas assez de ces fonctionnaires.
On peut noter la perplexité du conseil municipal pendant les émeutes. Les fonction-
naires de l’état n’ont pas eu à leur disposition de forces capables de pacifier la foule.
Les gouverneurs des provinces et des diocèses, comme des foncionnaires civils, se ser-
vaient d’un service, mais sans doute pas armé. La foule révoltée était calmé par les
troupes de l’armée.
Pour la plupart des cas on ne connaît pas des auteurs des émeutes. Les sources an-
tiques ne parlent que de «la foule», «la populace», «le peuple». Dans quelques cas
seulement il y a des données plus précises (les noms, les métiers, les groupes sociaux).
Васко Арнаудов (Софийски университет „Св. Климент Охридски”, България)

Запалянкото в ранна Византия – опит за портрет
Съобщението е посветено на проблема за сините (венети) и зелените (прасини)

в периода V–VI в. Независимо от дългата традиция на изследванията, отделни
аспекти на проблема за партиите (фракциите) на хиподрома във Византия оста-
ват все още не напълно разрешени. Вниманието в настоящия доклад е насоче-
но не толкова към историята на партиите и тяхната организационна структура,
колкото към очертаването на един социален и психологически портрет на ви-
зантийския запалянко, като популярен герой от живота на ранновизантийския
град. Потърсен е и паралел (с цялата условност и риск на подобно начинание)
с модерния му събрат в опит да се установят сходствата в мотивите и поведени-
ето им, като е подложен на съмнение моделът на социалния конструктивизъм в
случая.
Fiona Haarer (King’s College, London, UK)

Fifth-Century Imperial Politics: The Isaurian Triumph
The politics of the imperial court and the governance of empire in the late fifth cen-
tury are still relatively neglected. One of the main reasons for this must be that it in-
volves engaging with the Emperor Zeno (474–491) and his Isaurian origins. A study
on the Isaurians highlights a number of issues, such as the identity of the Isaurians
and how they rose to power in Constantinople. In turn, this leads to a consideration
of ethnicity, and the cultural contrasts between metropolitan and provincial areas.
The immigration of the rural Isaurians into the urban society of Constantinople in
the fifth century and their dominance of the top military and administrative posts
was an unpopular development. The province of Isauria was viewed as a barbaric and
peripheral region by the Romans and the negative reaction to Zeno’s rise to power
highlights the importance of ethnic identity to the Romans.
A further issue is that of the source material. The portrayal of Zeno in the histori-
cal sources raises questions about the ways in which apparent political success or fail-
ure and the construction of narrative are related. Because the histories and chronicles
present a negative view of Zeno and there is no single complete work devoted to his
life, this is a period which has been perceived as poorly documented. In fact, there is a
wide range of sources, including non-historical texts, inscriptions, coins and archaeo-
logical evidence, especially from fieldwork carried out in Isauria. The negative views
of the Isaurians in the ancient sources lead us to accept their characterisation as ban-
dits and barbarians and explain their actions within Constantinopolitan politics in
these terms. In fact, they were far more sophisticated. This communication will argue
that if we set aside the issue of identity, it is possible to see the workings of normal
Roman politics; including patronage, political rivalries, and theological differences.
We will see that it is not the case that all the problems during Zeno’s reign were the
result of straightforward clashes between Isaurians and Romans.
Elena Nonveiller (EHESS, Paris, France)

The Brumalia festivity from the Ancient Rome to Byzantium:
continuity or ideological re-making?
According to imperial and late-Antiquity sources (from First century BD to Third

century AD) Rome celebrated a festivity called Bruma, which took place on the
eighth day of the Winter Kalends, probably on the winter solstice, wich corresponds
to December the 24th in Eudoxus’ calendar and to December the 25th according to
the Julian one. Martialis associated this festival with the winter festivity of Saturna-
lia, while Tertullianus with the Septimontium (feast of the seven hills of the city, also
celebrated in December). Banquets and gifts were offered during the Bruma.
A few byzantine sources mention a festival called Brumalia, condemned by the
sixty-second canon of the Council in Trullo (691–692). Most probably this festivity
was connected with the ancient roman Bruma, but it is still very hard to establish
their origins, therefore their precise links with the various other festivals, rites and
foundation myths. The Byzantine texts do not agree on the origin and nature of the
Brumalia, giving different, sometimes arbitrary etymologies.
My analysis aims at shedding light on whether it is possible to talk of surviving
greek-roman pagan festivals in the Byzantine culture. In my opinion, the transforma-
tion of these festivities has made them often unrecognizable, due to fractures, adapta-
tions and syncretism, which have transformed them into an original hybrid. I argue
that proofs of this can be found in texts of various Byzantine periods, spanning a
time frame of about six centuries. I refer broadly to excerpts taken from the Chronikē
of John Malalas (Sixth cent AD), the De Caerimoniis of Constantine VII Porphyro-
genitus (Tenth cent AD) and the Commentarii canoni 62 Concilii Trullani of Balsa-
mon (Twelfth cent. AD).
In conclusion, my analysis of sources aims at showing that the Brumalia festiv-
ity is not a mere transposition, survival or remain of ancient pagan Bruma, but the
result of an original synthesis of various elements. The Byzantine culture attempted
to recreate the pre-christian world, through a ideological re-making of the past. For
exemple, in the Sixth Century, Malalas intended to recreate a continuity with the
ancient Rome, presenting the Costantinople as the New Rome. Ascribing the Bru-
malia to Romulus foundation, he constitued a new relationship with the ancient pre-
christian world, through the evemeristical historical vision. Later, in the Tenth Cen-
tury, Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus maintained he re-established the previously
interrupted Brumalia, transforming them into a solemn imperial court ceremony,
lasting several days, which included songs, dances, acclamations, offerings of gifts and
banquets. In this way the emperor intended to show the people his wealth and power
and to fortify his popular agreement. Otherwise, in the Comnenian age, the canonist
Balsamon attempted to recreate a continuity of Brumalia rites and myths with the
ancient greek world, connecting this festivity to the cult of Dionysos, deity of wine
and theatre.
Józef Naumowicz (Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University, Warsaw, Poland)

Imperial ceremonial and the feast of Hypapante in sixth-century
Constantinople
Why in 542 did Justinian introduce the feast of the 2nd of February, commemorat-
ing the presentation of Christ in the Temple, to Constantinople? Why did he con-
sider it the best occasion for giving thanks for the end that had at that time come to
the pestilence? And why did Justinian battle for the development of this celebration
in the whole of the Eastern empire as for no other? There were different reasons, but
above all this Christian feast was close to the imperial way of thought, for it resem-
bled court and state ceremonial. The first sermons preached on the feast suggests this,
developing the motive of the “solemn entry” (apanthesis, hypantesis, adventus) of the
newborn king, Jesus, to his City. It also explains the importance of the participation
of the emperor and his court in the solemn procession through the streets of Con-
stantinople that took place that day. This procession had some analogy to the official
ceremonial prescribed for the solemn welcoming of an emperor, a victorious general,
or other high ranking people. For this reason also the name Hypapante (meeting or
encounter) was so easly adopted in Byzantium, and the chief motive of the feast be-
came the “meeting” of the Lord and his people (his Church), the symbol of whom
were Symeon and Anna (cf. Lk 2:22–35). The name Hypapante has been retained in
the East, though in the West the feast has various names: Candlemas, Purification of
the Blessed Virgin Mary, Presentation of Christ in the Temple.
Олег Вус (Львовский национальный университет им. Ивана Франко, Украина)

Византийский Limes Tauricus на Крымском полуострове
В начале VI в. правительство Византии пыталось осуществить проект Renovatio

Imperii Romanorum в старых границах и одной из составляющих этого проекта
стало не только восстановление римского инженерного praetentura Imperii, но
и строительство новых защитных рубежей в пограничных провинциях, в том
числе и limes Tauricus на Крымском полуострове.
Военное строительство в Северном Причерноморье началось в конце IV в.,
когда Тавроскифская эпархия вошла в сферу интересов Византии. Была значи-
тельно укреплена ее власть в центре эпархии – Херсоне (Севастополь), а в на-
чале VI в., при Юстине I (518–527), и в Боспоре (Керчь). Ромеи обновили и
восстановили их укрепления, в результате чего оба города превратились в мощ-
ные крепости и базы эскадры, оперировавшей в северной части Черного моря.
В 534–565 гг. для охраны морских коммуникаций между Херсоном и Боспором
на Южном берегу Крыма были возведены фрурии Алуста и Горзувита, бурги в
Сугдее, на мысу Лимен-Бурун, в Партените и на скале Панея (Симеиз).
В первой половине VI в., по инициативе Юстиниана I (527–565) в Юго-
Западном Крыму («стране Дори»), населенном военными союзниками Им-
перии – готами и аланами, ромеи приступили к строительству мощных защит-
ных рубежей – «длинных стен». В 560–570-х гг. администрация Юстина II
(565–578) провела новый этап работ по усилению крепости Херсон, а при Мав-
рикии Тиверии (582–602) в Юго-Западном Крыму развернулось строительство
мощных опорных крепостей-фрурионов (Дорос, Кырк-Ор, Шиварин), задачей
которых было усиление «длинных стен» и не допущение прорыва кочевников
к Херсону.
Постепенно в VI – начале VII вв. в Таврике была создана сложная защитная
система – limes Tauricus, состоявшая из передового (горного) и тылового (при-
морского) эшелонов. В состав первого вошли клисуры и крепости-фрурионы, а
в состав второго – укрепления Херсона и приморских крепостей-фрурий. Обо-
ронные комплексы limes Tauricus надежно прикрыли Тавроскифскую эпархию
и позволили Юстиниану I переформировать ее в 552–565 гг. в пограничный
округ-лимитон – дукат Херсона.
Maria Kouroumali (Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture; Hellenic
College/Holy Cross, Brookline, MA, USA)
God’s Wrath or Nature’s Revenge: The Impact of Natural
Phenomena during Justinian’s Gothic war
Natural phenomena have always had an influence on the course of history. The ex-
tent of the influence which any given natural occurrence has, of course, varies consid-
erably between historical periods. Historians also have differing views on how much
importance should be placed on the role of these incidents. Epidemics, famine, en-
vironmental events have all been held responsible at one time or other for a series of
historical developments. Scholarly debate has focused primarily on the Justinianic
plague and, more recently, on the possible causes of an environmental event in AD
536. However, the impact of such phenomena on particular aspects of warfare and
their consequences, if any, has not yet been the object of an exclusive study.
This paper will examine the impact of natural events on the course of the Gothic
war (AD 535–562). There are three natural phenomena which appear during the
course of Justinian’s campaigns against the Ostrogoths in Italy in the sixth century.
These are: a) the environmental event of ca. 536; b) a series of famines in various ar-
eas of Italy between 537 and 546, and c) epidemics and the plague of 542. The brief
exploration of each crisis and their possible connection with each other will conclude
with an attempt to determine the extent of their impact on the conduct of war in
Italy and the shaping of Justinian’s imperial policy in the sixth century.
Christopher Lillington-Martin (University of Bristol, UK)

Prokopios and Topography of Germania (Sapareva Banya), Bulgaria
This paper investigates how Prokopios’ text can both inform, and be informed by, the
analysis of topography relating to fortified sites from Germania (birth place of Justin-
ian’s general Belisarios), to Niš, Serbia. Prokopios’ text identifies topographic features
which, located within the topography, were then visited leading to material remains
in Germania, including a large statue base with a feint inscription. The accuracy, or
otherwise, of Prokopios, as a literary source, is therefore tested against topography.
This informs us as to the relative value of the literary source in topographic descrip-
tions. Naturally, this value was influenced by Prokopios’ own sources and knowledge
of the areas concerned. Ancient conflict eye-witnesses may be expected to provide
more accurate information than others who relied solely on official reports or other
witnesses. However, this is not necessarily the case and analysis of the topography
indicates cases where the historical source has left us a record that cannot be easily
reconciled with the topography. This not only leads us to further question the source
and the topography in order to reach a logical reconciliation, but also raises ques-
tions about the objectives of the source and the writer’s attitude to his readers. Once
a logical reconciliation of the literary and topographical evidence has been achieved,
as far as the evidence permits, it is then possible to reinterpret strategies in relation to
topography. This permits a better analysis of a literary source, an improved historical
assessment and therefore, to a certain degree, an enhanced insight into the mindset
of the decision makers when planning strategy of interest to military historians and
archaeologists.
Ioannis Motsianos (Museum of Byzantine Culture, Thessaloniki, Greece)

Fire Signals and Lighthouses in Byzantium
During the Byzantine period, lighting devices were also used to emit lighting signals.
Based on the data available to us today, it would appear that this use was mainly ap-
plied through open and delimited fires as well as torches.
We know that, in Byzantium, lighting signals were used as a warning system for
danger in situations of war tensions and upheavals, and that they were occasionally
also used in war tactics, for example as a means of diversion.
Furthermore, lighting signals were also used in lighthouses. The lighthouses, an
important introduction of the early Hellenistic period, were used, in antiquity, as
navigation marks indicating the position of harbors. The construction of such edific-
es flourished in the Roman times, and the Tabula Peutingeriana (Codex Vindobon-
ensis 324, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna) gives us an illustration of the
location of lighthouses in the major cities of the Mediterranean in Late Antiquity.
However, from the 6th c. A.D. on, we notice that information relating to lighthous-
es is dramatically reduced. So, what happened to lighthouses during the Byzantine
period? Did they fell into disuse due to war tensions? Were they replaced by other
structures? In any event, it is clear that we have to reach the Late Byzantine period,
and most probably the end of it, to be able to identify lighthouses whose shape ap-
proximates that of lighthouses of earlier years.
Esther Sánchez-Medina (University of Alcalá, Spain)

Alliances, Conflicts, Autonomy Projects and Disorders during
Libyan Wars 544–548 AD
The original investigation that resulted in this paper had its origins in the desire to
understand the reality of North Africa during the final part of the Libyan wars. In
the study of political events of northeastern Africa during the first half of the sixth
century, it is necessary to research about the outsiders’ collective view of this area as
well as its inhabitants, the Mauri. The resistance to change with which the Moorish
population is inevitably portrayed in Ancient Literature leads us to think about the
necessity of undoing all traditional schemes, and creating a new unedited version of
history which explains the conflicts of Late African Antiquity. In this manner, the
responsibility for these conflicts returns, at least in part, to the hands of the Roman
Imperial powers. The Moorish population is therefore somewhat freed from the top-
ics of Barbarism so often gratuitously attributed to them. Perhaps this interpretative
scheme will be applicable as a paradigm relating to other situations in late ancient
conflicts between Romans and called ‘Barbarians’.
This paper contains the exam of the political-military relations of Africans and
Romans: treaties, internal struggles and treasons. An attempt is made to extract reli-
able conclusions that go beyond the topical image of the Moor and the overlapping
attributes of the Barbarian and Barbarism. Apart of showing a series of interesting
political actions not at all probable in the political life of people outside of the ‘Ro-
manness’ [Romanitas], abundant testimonials about the problems of disobedience
of the Roman Imperial military in Africa are also offered. Both groups are examined
through their loyalty to the Imperial power. The change in loyalty of the Moorish
chiefs reflects nothing more than the complex political-economic situation made
worse by the internal dissidence of the Roman army and by the lacking respect to-
wards agreements made with the African population. The fluctuating loyalty of the
Romans stationed in Africa and the weakness or poor management of certain Ro-
man leaders caused the appearance of diverse attempts of usurpation at the source of
power.
Boris Shopov (Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Bulgaria)

East and West in the Late 6th century (Evagrios Scholastikos,
Gregory of Tours and Theophylaktos Simokattes on the imperial
and royal political centers and on their relations with the
periphery)
The general theme of the Congress will enable us to look in a new way at one of the
oldest traditions in historiography – the contrast between the systems of government
existing in the East and in the West of the Christian World in the mediaeval period.
Until very recently there was an almost unanimous acceptance of the following:
since the beginning of its existence Byzantium was a highly centralized state, in stark
contrast with the less rigidly organized ‘barbarian’ polities established in the Western
provinces of the Roman Empire. This was combined with a rather efficient control
of the central authorities over ‘provincial affairs’ (from taxation to ecclesiastical dis-
putes).
The author of this modest contribution does not want to challenge the correct-
ness of the picture presented above. He wants only to try and look at the authors
mentioned in the title from the point of view they had on events in their own region
– respectively, Antioch, Tours and Constantinople.

A closer inspection of their presentation of both the political centers and of the
periphery demonstrates that to these three men the word ‘politics’ meant something
very different from what it means in modern times. All the abovementioned authors
saw politics as a very complex picture, putting at the centre of it (for different and
also complex reasons) either the emperor in Constantinople (Theophylaktos), or the
patriarch in Antioch (Evagrius), or a succession of Frankish rulers against the solid
background of local events at Tours.
A simple analysis of the frequency and degree of detail in city descriptions dem-
onstrates that in the late 6th c., at least according to narrative historiography, Byzan-
tium and the Frankish kingdom looked much more alike than we may believe prior
to inspecting that same historiography in a comparative way.
The author hopes that his communication will serve as a stimulation of further
discussion on the problem to what extent can we rely on narratives for our recon-
structions and analyses of the past. The contrast between East and West, mentioned
in the title, is one of the dimensions of this question.
Ilya Popov (Institute of Universal History, Moscow, Russia)

Historical Memory in the Byzantine World Chronicles (Oblivion
and Recollection of the Times of Theodosius II in the Chronicles
of 6th–12th Centuries)
During almost millennium Byzantine chronists studied and reproduced complex of

historical knowledge, witch they inherited from different ancient traditions. Chro-
nists usually revised their information, but very seldom used any kind of new sources
and as usual just reproduced some material from another chronicles and little by lit-
tle modified it. Their information about the past was steadily changing and becom-
ing unrecognizable.
My analysis of different ways of narrating in chronicles results in some conclu-
sions on general characteristics of keeping and transmission of knowledge and mem-
ory about the past in Byzantium. To my point of view many diverse revisions of in-
formation in the chronicles are based on two fundamental processes which I condi-
tionally designate as “oblivion” (forgetting) and “recollection” (remembering).
The 1-st is a process of gradual disappearance of information, which was sys-
tematically estimated by chronists as unimportant or unclear. From one chronicle to
another it gradually reduces and in the end totally vanish. In majority of chronicles
only that information is recollected, which was estimated as important or advanta-
geous for literary style. It also steadily changes and obtain colorful details and more
considerable place in the structure of chronicle. As a result chronicles transform in
a kind of “stories on history”, collection of interesting topics. These stories gradually
loose all connections to any original “historical” knowledge and achieve some impor-
tant characteristics of mythological tradition. All persons mentioned there become a
kind of personifications of historical processes, discussed in chronicles. Their actions
receive new artificial logic, that is already not corresponding to real historical cir-
cumstances, but only to their significance as quasi mythological characters.
In the report I explain these processes on the material of chronicle narrations
about Theodosius II.
FC6. THE POWER OF BYZANTIUM

Moderators
Karsten Fledelius/Walter Kaegi
Karsten Fledelius (University of Copenhagen, Denmark)

Symbolic Power of Byzantium
In normal state theory one operates with three classical “powers”, the legislative, the
executive and the judicial power. In modern times normally a “fourth power” is add-
ed, the “informative” one (press and media). A further fifth power should be added,
the “symbolic” one. This played a particular role within Byzantine society and nor-
mally was a part of the combination of powers vested with the autokrator. In pagan
Rome the symbolic power of the Emperor was expressed in the cult of his divinity.
With Christianity this had to disappear. The office of the Emperor was originally
transferred by proclamation. Emperor Leo I introduced for the first time the Chris-
tian Coronation as a means for creating a spiritual legitimacy supporting the trans-
fer of symbolic power. In Byzantium the role of the church in coronations was only
significant in the case there was not a legitimate autocrator to invest a new emperor
with the insignia of imperial power.
The coronation ritual, whether performed by the autocrator or the patriarch, be-
came an important part of Byzantine ceremonial and was imitated all over Europe.
It was introduced in a series of countries with disputed succession. Peppin the Short
was using it with the approval of the Pope in Rome when he had the Merovingian dy-
nasty disposed (St. Boniface performed his coronation i 751), and Charlemagne use
it when the Pope ceremoniously transferred the title as Emperor of the Romans to
him in 800. At the same day Charlemagne’s son Charles the Younger was anointed by
the Pope as king, thereby following the habit of the Wisigothic kingdom established
in 672.
In 12th Century Denmark a Byzantine succession model with the coronation of
the elder son of King Valdemar I was introduced in 1170 (first Scandinavian country
to use coronation by the head of the church as legitimation of the transfer of power
was in Norway in 1164). In Scandinavia as in Western Europe coronation was nor-
mally preceded by anointing.
Another expression of symbolic power inherited from Byzantium was the purple.
Is was as popular with the Wisigoth kings in Spain of the 7th century as with the
Norman kings in Sicily of the 12th century. Byzantium continued to possess a huge
and influential symbolic capital even after the dissolution of the Empire in 1204 and
its shadow remained after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453.
The rulers of modern Russia may be seen as heirs to the symbolic “capital” of By-
zantium, perhaps also those of modern Serbia – in both places have post-Communist
rulers reinstalled the Double-Headed Eagle as the official coat-of-arms of nation and
state.
Михаил В. Грацианский (Московский Государственный Университет имени

М.В. Ломоносова, Россия)
К вопросу о происхождении этнонима «анты»
[abstract unavailable]
Walter E. Kaegi (University of Chicago, USA)

On Reinterpreting the Chronology and Lists of Muslim Raids and
Campaigns into Byzantine Anatolia Between 640 and 1000 CE
I propose the compilation and analysis of a more complete list of Muslim raids and
campaigns into Byzantine Anatolia, especially from Arabic sources. We have at this
late time no comprehensive list from extant published texts of Muslim (“Arab”) mili-
tary raids into Byzantine territory in Anatolia between 640 and 1000 CE. Those of
Vasiliev and Brooks were noteworthy but they are now incomplete. Some of today’s
best Early Islamic historians confirm the existence of a gap, and according to them,
no one among their fellow medieval Islamicists is filling it. I do not want to con-
sume your time here with a description of the methodology needed to accomplish
this formidable task, but it is desirable. We need to broaden the criteria and the list
of primary sources, especially those in Arabic, beyond those collected and available
now. We cannot simply plunge ahead. Some difficulties trouble the very foundations
of our investigation. Let us understand the constraints under which we historians
now operate. We cannot fully appreciate the strain of warfare and threats of war-
fare on Byzantine society in Anatolia, and especially its rural population and public
structures and resources, when we do not have a reasonably comprehensive list of
Muslim military expeditions against Byzantium. Of course a list can omit many im-
portant items: numbers, prisoners, value of booty, precise itinerary and countryside
and towns damaged or destroyed on the raid, and the costs/benefits to the raiders.
Many problems overhang the compilation and investigation, including but not lim-
ited to tendentiousness in many Muslim sources on Byzantium. The historian must
try to control for and discount that. But the fact remains: the present situation is
unacceptable and cries out for remedy. This gap can well affect analyses of our sub-
ject. Although it is surely desirable to fill out lists of raids more accurately, we must
do more than that. Lists alone do not facilitate historical understanding very much.
Historians must do more than compile lists, which seem to be dry and sterile without
amplification. The task is formidable.
Ekaterina Nechaeva (EHESS, Paris, France)

The Sovereign’s Image Abroad: Imperial Portraits in Early
Byzantine Diplomacy
We are aware of presence of imperial portraits on different objects of diplomatic do-

nations and sets of insignia distributed by the late Roman Empire among the barbari-
ans (e.g. icon of gold set with precious stones probably with given by Leo to the Arab
phylarch Amorcesus; golden medallion donated by Tiberius to Chilpericus; a golden
imperial statue and golden rings, with emperor’s likeness sent from Constantine I to
Chersonites; chlamys of silk with the gold imperial tablion and a purple portrait me-
dallion presented to the king of the Lazi Ztathius by Justin). Here we face a complex
problem of significance of imperial image: portrait of the ruling emperor was obliga-
tory for the Late Antique bureaucracy as an insignia of high officials which is proved
e.g. by data from Notitia Dignitatum; imperial portraits on the theca was indispen-
sable for late antique juridical system and it acted as a “stand-in” for the emperor;
sources mention presence of imperial portraits on the vests of dignitaries; imperial
diptychs could bear imperial portraits. Iconographic material illustrates some aspects
of usage of the objects bearing imperial portraits. Archeology provides evidences of
other insignial objects, like fibulas with imperial portraits. The aim of the paper is to
confront different sources and to examine the specifics of ambiguous role of imperial
portraits on objects of diplomatic donation and investiture. Such presents were on
the one hand extremely honorable, making a chief ’s status higher, also in the face of
his own peoples, and on the other hand they defined the subordinate-subject posi-
tion of a receptor in the imperial hierarchy.
Petr Shuvalov (St. Petersburg State University, Russia)

The northern barbarians in Pseudo-Maurices’ Strategikon
This well-known late classical treatise sums up the whole classic knowledge in the
military sphere, including the treatment of enemies. The treatise is a special, so to say,
“popular scientific” military text, which was slightly rhetorically elaborated by the
author(s), who was(ere) military professional(s) of high rank. Strategikon contains
not only the information about certain barbarian peoples, but also shows the remains
of the integral ethnogeographical idea of the world surrounding the empire. This idea
reflected the perception of the barbarian world by the high military functionaries of
the empire. The perception was changing parallel with the development of the text
of the Strategikon. Therefore in the text there are the traces of different conceptions
connected with the corresponding phases of the development of the idea of the sur-
rounding barbarian world.
The textological investigation and the investigation of the military schemes de-
scribed in the text allow me to mark out several consecutive layers, which correspond
the different ethno-political situations on the northern frontier of the Roman/Early
Byzantine Empire. The early (main) layer (Scythians, the Blonds, and maybe the Bul-
garians as well) best of all corresponds the situation on the northern frontier at the
late Hunnic time (the 3rd quarter of the 5th century) or early Bulgarian one (Late
5th–1st quarter of the 6th century). The next layer (Sclaves and Antes, Franks, Huns)
apparently reflects the new reality of the early-Justinian time (the second quarter of
the 6th century), when a proto-text (the basis of the chapter XI 4) about Antes and
Sclaves does appear. The third layer (Avars and Turks, Lombards, and maybe some
information about Slavs) reflects the changing of the staff of enemies of the Empire
and the reforms in cavalry which took place by the end of the 6th century.
José Soto Chica (University of Granada, Spain)

Avars, Khazars and Bulgars in the great Roman-Persian war from
603–628
The first third of the seventh century saw shaped by the vicissitudes of the
great and final war between Byzantium and Sassanid Persia, a war that was
fought mainly in the east but, paradoxically, it was not decided in a small meas-
ure on the peninsula of Balkans and the steppes of the Black Sea and Caspian.
In fact and as they try to point out, was the success or failure of partnerships with
the Avars in Persia and Byzantium with Bulgarians and Khazars, which tipped the
scales of war in one way or another until after this was decanted completely in favor
of Heraclius and his empire.
Marek Jankowiak (Université d’Oxford, Grande Bretagne)

Byzance sur la mer Noire sous Constant II: la date de la première
notice du patriarchat de Constantinople
La date de la première des notices épiscopales publiées par Jean Darrouzès n’a pas
encore été déterminée, tout au plus sa rédaction a-t-elle été placée au VIIe siècle.
Peut-on être plus précis? Une comparaison détaillée de la Notice 1 avec les listes de
présence dressées au concile de Constantinople en 680–681 suggère que sa rédac-
tion précède la dévastation de l’Anatolie par les invasions arabes dans les années 660
et 670. En effet, si les deux listes se recoupent pour le nord anatolien, seuls environ
20% des évêques attestés par la Notice 1 en Anatolie centrale et méridionale partici-
pent au concile. D’autre part, la Notice 1 cite un nombre élevé d’évêchés en Thrace,
y compris plusieurs villes sur les rives du Danube. Or, la seule intervention byzantine
connue dans les Balkans dans la période en question est celle de Constant II contre
les Sklabeniai en 658. Si l’on accepte ce terminus post quem, seule la condamnation de
Maxime le Confesseur en 662, au cours d’un concile qualifié par les sources de “géné-
ral”, est susceptible d’avoir entraîné la rédaction d’une liste exhaustive des évêchés du
patriarcat de Constantinople.
Une fois située dans le temps, la Notice 1 permet quelques réflexions sur la pré-
sence byzantine sur la mer Noire vers 661. Elle constitue alors une mer intérieure
de l’Empire, ou peu s’en faut: le patriarcat de Constantinople comprend non seule-
ment la côte méridionale, mais aussi les provinces de Lazique et de Zikhia sur la côte
orientale, et plusieurs villes sur le rivage thrace. Cette présence forte correspond non
seulement à une consolidation de l’Empire en Europe lors de la brève accalmie dans
la guerre avec le Califat, mais reflète aussi son intérêt dans la région du Caucase, bien
au-delà de zones traditionnelles d’influence byzantine en Lazique ou en Abkhazie.
Cet intérêt fut sans doute motivé non seulement par des considérations politiques
(relations avec les Bulgares et avec la puissance khazare émergente), mais aussi par le
développement du commerce avec l’Asie Centrale dont on conserve plusieurs traces
sur le littoral est de la mer Noire.
Γεόργιος Βελένης (Αριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλονίκης, Ελλάδα)

Το περιεχόμενο της πρωτοβουλγαρικής επιγραφής των Φιλίππων
Οι γνωστές ως «πρωτοβουλγαρικές επιγραφές των Φιλίππων» δεν είναι πολλές, αλλά

μία και μοναδική, χαραγμένη σε διάφορα τεμάχια, προερχόμενα από τον νότιο στυλοβάτη
της Βασιλικής Β΄.Το αποσπασματικό κείμενό της απασχόλησε πληθώρα ερευνητών
και έγιναν αρκετές προσπάθειες για τη συμπλήρωσή του. Αναφορικά με το περιεχόμενο
του κειμένου της, η πλειονότητα των μελετητών θεωρεί ότι πρόκειται για μία μοναδική
γραπτή μαρτυρία, όπου γίνεται λόγος για εχθρική διείσδυση των Βουλγάρων στο ανατο-
λικό τμήμα της Μακεδονίας του Αιγαίου, που έλαβε χώρα στα χρόνια του τσάρου Περ-
σιάνου (836–852).
Με δεδομένο ότι μια τέτοια διείσδυση δεν μνημονεύεται στις γραμματειακές πηγές
οδήγησε εύλογα κάποιους ιστορικούς να θεωρήσουν ότι πρόκειται για επιγραφές που εν-
δεχομένως μεταφέρθηκαν από αλλού, από τη χώρα των Σμολεάνων, η ακριβής θέση της
οποίας, καθώς και τα γεωγραφικά της όρια αποτελούν ζητούμενο. Ταυτόχρονα, αφέθη-
κε να εννοηθεί ότι η μεταφορά και η τοποθέτησή των ενεπίγραφων τεμαχίων στον στυ-
λοβάτη της Βασιλικής Β΄ απηχούσε έργο Σλάβων εθνικιστών με στόχο την διάδοση
πλαστών ιστορικών στοιχείων και τη δημιουργία εντυπώσεων προς ίδιο όφελος.
Στην ανακοίνωση που θα γίνει επανεξετάζεται το όλο ζήτημα, γίνονται κάποιες
προσπάθειες για τοπικές συμπληρώσεις του επιγραφικού κειμένου και, σε συνδυασμό με
τις νεότερες αρχαιολογικές ενδείξεις, υποστηρίζονται τα ακόλουθα.
Τα εξεταζόμενα τεμάχια της πρωτοβουλγαρικής επιγραφής των Φιλίππων είναι αυθε-
ντικά και δεν έχουν μεταφερθεί από αλλού. Γράφτηκαν in situ και μάλιστα από χαράκτες
που γνώριζαν πολύ καλά την ελληνική γλώσσα. Το περιεχόμενο του επιγραφικού κειμένου
δεν σχετίζεται με εχθρική ενέργεια, αλλά υπομνηματίζει μια φιλική προσέγγιση δύο εθνών
με διαφορετικές θρησκευτικές πεποιθήσεις. Γίνεται λόγος για τη βοήθεια των αλλόθρη-
σκων Βουλγάρων προς τους Χριστιανούς – φυσικά με το αζημίωτο – σε μια δύσκολη
περίοδο για το Βυζάντιο, κάτι που συνέβη και στο παρελθόν, όπως προκύπτει και από
κάποιες άλλες πρωτοβουλγαρικές επιγραφές, προγενέστερες εκείνης των Φιλίππων.
Olena Syrtsova (Institute of Philosophy, Kiev, Ukraine)

Photius’ Encyclic, oἱ Ἁρεντανoί and oἱ Ῥῶς: Who really attacked
Constantinople in 860 and accepted Christianity after that?
It became a established tradition to consider Photius’ “Encyclic to the East Thrones”,

written before the Council of 867, to be one of the first mentions in the byzantine
sources of oἱ Ῥῶς from Kiev, as recently baptized by Constantinopolitan Church.
However, the closer examination of the conserved mss. versions of the Encyclic
(Laourdas, Westerink, 50 (296)) allows to note, that in two of them (mss. A,Θ) eth-
nonym is absent and was proposed in the earlier editions (Montacutio, 68; Mignе,
PG, 102, Col. 736D; Вalettas, 178) as variae lectiones of the quite appropriate word
τορῶς, while the other six mss. represent on the corresponding place variant τὸ Ῥῶς,
grammatically doubtful and anachronic for the IX c.
As for the Homilies, composed by Photius on the occasion of the siege of Con-
stantinople in June 860, the ethnonym oἱ Ῥῶς is readable there only in the lemmas
and could be more probably attributed to the later copyists, then to the author.
At the same time there is no mention about the baptisation of the people of Kiev
state, Poljan-Rus’ in IX c. in “Повесть временных лет”, while the attentive reading
of the ch. 29 of Constantine the Porphyrogenetus’ “De administrando imperio” re-
veals, that in the years, preceded to 867, the patriarchy of Constantinople baptized
the already known for its audatious sea expeditions people of (N)arentan-Pagan of
ἡ Ἅρεντα, (named by Venetians – insula Narentis and by Arabian historians – al-
Arthānija).
This Slavonic people of Narenta was represented in ПВЛ as direct historical and
ethnic predecessor of the people of Kiev state Rus’-Poljan under the name “Nartsi”
(wrongly identified for a long time with the people of Noric)
The brave expeditions to Constantinople of Rus’ (oἱ Ῥῶς) from Kiev in X sc. evi-
dently not by chance resulted in the retrospective attribution to them in Byzantine
sources of the famous attack, realized by Narentans in 860 from Illyric.
Nicolas Drocourt (Université de Nantes, France)

Mourir en ambassade. Faits, causes, enjeux (VIIe–XIIe s.)
Si les échanges diplomatiques ont été multiples entre Byzance et ses voisins du VIIe
au XIIe s., les sources mentionnent à quelques reprises la mort des ambassadeurs
chargés d’assurer ces contacts. Cette mort en cours de mission mérite attention car
elle est au cœur de divers domaines d’étude et soulève plusieurs questions.
Elle renvoie notamment à trois réalités. Les ambassadeurs, qu’ils soient byzantins
ou étrangers séjournant à Byzance, sont souvent choisis alors qu’ils ont un âge avancé.
Ce choix semble même constituer un critère de poids dans la désignation d’un repré-
sentant officiel. L’une de ses suites peut cependant être la mort naturelle en chemin.
À ce type de décès s’ajoute celui lié aux dangers inhérents à tout déplacement dans le
monde médiéval. Les ambassadeurs sont d’abord et précisément des voyageurs circu-
lant, avec leur délégation, d’une cour à une autre – sur de très longues distances quel-
quefois. Ils rencontrent de ce fait tous les risques qui font le quotidien des itinérants
de l’époque médiévale (piraterie, brigandage, tempêtes etc.) et qui peuvent aussi être
synonymes d’accident ou de mort. Une troisième réalité ne saurait être oubliée: le
décès suite à une atteinte physique et volontaire visant la personne même de l’ambas-
sadeur. Celle-ci est une offense à ce dernier et au souverain qui l’envoie car les envoyés
officiels sont théoriquement protégés par une forme d’immunité diplomatique.
D’autre part, plusieurs conséquences découlent de la mort d’un ambassadeur, ré-
vélatrices d’enjeux pratiques comme politiques. La première, pragmatique, est relative
au cadavre de l’émissaire. Qu’en faire? En outre, le décès de l’ambassadeur conduit-il
nécessairement à l’arrêt des négociations? Ce problème posé n’est pas sans rappeler la
question de la mort d’un souverain lors de tractations en cours – laquelle, en général,
conduit à la cessation des dites tractations. Enfin, quelles répercussions singulières
peut connaître la disparition d’un émissaire officiel mortellement atteint en mission,
et ce au mépris de son immunité?
Σάββας Σπέντσας (Στρατιωτική Σχολή Ευελπίδων, Αθήνα, Ελλάδα)

Δημοσιονομικεσ και οικονομικεσ επιπτωσεισ στην βυζαντινη
αυτοκρατορια μετα τη μαχη του Μαντζικερτ το 1071
Αναντίρρητα η Μικρά Ασία αποτελούσε τον πλούτο των δημοσίων εσόδων της Βυζα-
ντινής Αυτοκρατορίας επί αιώνες και διαμόρφωνε την δημοσιονομική δεξαμενή της.
Αυτό βέβαια ίσχυε όσο καιρό τα Βυζαντινά Θέματα της Μικράς Ασίας είχαν τον έλεγ-
χο της περιοχής και εξασφάλιζαν ομαλές συνθήκες στην διαβίωση και στην παραγωγή.
Οι μεγαλύτερες καλλιέργειες της Βυζαντινής Αυτοκρατορίας και τα πλέον εύφορα εδάφη
ανήκαν στην γεωγραφική περιοχή της Μικράς Ασίας.
Τις καλλιεργήσιμες εκτάσεις οι κάτοικοι της περιοχής τις μεγιστοποιούσαν με τη
μέθοδο των εκχερσώσεων, ώστε η καλλιεργήσιμη γη να αποδίδει πολύ μεγαλύτερο παρα-

γωγικό προϊόν από όσο ήταν δυνατόν να αποδώσει.
Ανεξάρτητα από τα φορολογικά και τα δημοσιονομικά μέτρα, που κατά καιρούς ίσχυ-
αν δικαιότερα ή αυστηρότερα, η κεντρική διοίκηση της Κωνσταντινουπόλεως κατόρθωνε
να στηρίζει στην περιοχή αυτή τις περισσότερες δημοσιονομικές της εισπράξεις. Επομένως
η εξασφάλιση της ομαλής ζωής στην περιοχή αποτελούσε το μήνυμα για την διασφάλιση
των δημοσίων εσόδων. Όταν λοιπόν κατά καιρούς εδημιουργούντο πολεμικά γεγονότα
στην περιοχή οι επιπτώσεις ήταν άμεσες στην παραγωγή και έμμεσες στα δημόσια έσο-
δα.
Για τους λόγους αυτούς η μάχη του Μαντζικέρτ ανέτρεψε σε αρχικό στάδιο την πε-
ριοχή και επέφερε συρρίκνωση στα δημόσια έσοδα του Βυζαντίου. Το 1071 μια δεύτερη
αρνητική κατάσταση για το Βυζάντιο υπήρξε η απώλεια του Μπάρι στη Νότιο Ιταλία.
Η απώλεια όμως του Μπάρι ενώ είχε δημοσιονομικές επιπτώσεις δεν συγκρίνεται με την
περίπτωση Μαντζικέρτ, γιατί το Μαντζικέρτ με την συνορεύουσα λίμνη Βαν αποτε-
λούσαν προφυλακές του Βυζαντινού κράτους, αλλά και του αγροτικού κόσμου.
Τα όσα γεγονότα ακολούθησαν στη περίοδο του Αλεξίου Κομνηνού και της πρώτης
Σταυροφορίας εβοήθησαν προσωρινά την Βυζαντινή Αυτοκρατορία να επανασταθερο-
ποιηθεί στη μεγαλύτερη περιοχή της Μικράς Ασίας και κατά συνέπεια να επανέλθει σε
μεγάλο ποσοστό στα δημόσια έσοδα της περιοχής.
Εδώ στην περιοχή της Μικράς Ασίας υπήρξε και η μεγάλη προσπάθεια των μεγάλων
ιδιοκτητών να απορροφήσουν τη μικρή ιδιοκτησία και να εξουθενώσουν τον ελεύθερο
καλλιεργητή, ώστε επ’ αυξάνοντες τις κτηματικές τους περιουσίες, οι «ισχυροί» του
Βυζαντίου βρίσκονταν διαρκώς σε πόλεμο με την κεντρική εξουσία η οποία προσπάθησε
από την περίοδο της δυναστείας των Ισαύρων και των Μακεδόνων να ελέγξει την μεγάλη
αγροτική ιδιοκτησία και ιδιαίτερα να στερεώσει τον μικροκαλλιεργητή και ελεύθερο χω-
ρικό.
Βέβαια, δεν το επέτυχε και για αυτό οι συνέπειες που ακολούθησαν στα δημοσιονο-
μικά της Βυζαντινής Αυτοκρατορίας υπήρξαν καταστροφικές. Η μεγάλη ιδιοκτησία έχει
και μεγάλη εισφορά στην ανατροπή της ίδιας της Βυζαντινής Αυτοκρατορίας.
Αυτά βέβαια σε συνδυασμό με τον αρνητικό ρόλο της κατά καιρούς διοικητικής και
στρατιωτικής αριστοκρατίας που εναλλάσσονταν στην εξουσία του κράτους.
Η ανακοίνωση αυτή θα προσπαθήσει να δείξει τις οικονομικές επιπτώσεις μετά την
μάχη του Μαντζικέρτ.
Theodora Papadopoulou (Institute for Byzantine Research, Athens, Greece)

‘Romaios’, ‘Hellene’, ‘Graikos’, the names in byzantine texts of a
turning point: beginning of the 13th century
In this paper, it is examined the meaning and the connotations of the three well-
known names used in the byzantine sources, names which denote the collective iden-
tity of the Byzantines. The Roman State, the Greek language and education and the
Christian faith have been the characteristics of Byzantium, as these were interwoven
gradually, so that they end up to be synonyms during the middle Byzantine period.
The year 1204 is marking a turning point for Byzantines, an thus, their identity
is being challenged through new conditions. The meaning of the names ‘Rhomaios’,
‘Hellene’, ‘Graikos’ is being examined in order to determine if its content has been al-
tered and subsequently the Byzantine identity. Special attention is given to the politi-
cal aspect of the terms and it is studied whether the names ‘Rhomaios’ and ‘Hellene’
are used for the Roman State alternatively.
Thomas Lecaque (University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA)

Anglo-Saxon Perceptions of Byzantium and the Greek World
The official withdrawal of the legions from Britain at the beginning of the 5th cen-
tury ended political union with the Roman Empire, but direct contact between the
empire and the island did not end for a long time – trade continued between the
Eastern Mediterranean and Britain through the 7th century and the conversion of
the Anglo-Saxons reforged a link with Rome and, indirectly, Byzantium. Looking at
the two best-known historical sources for Anglo-Saxon England, Bede’s Ecclesiastical
History and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, two understandings of what the Roman Em-
pire might be for the Anglo-Saxons energe: Bede understands the continuing exist-
ence of the Roman Empire in the East, listing Roman Emperors up to his day in the
Minor and Major Chronicles, while the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in its various forms
refers to the “Greeks” and shows a translatio imperii to Charlemagne and the Holy
Roman Empire.
My communication will examine this process of translatio imperii, the shift in
concepts of romanitas in the later Anglo-Saxon world from the more distant Greek
East to the more familiar Frankish world, but will also look at perceptions of the Byz-
antino-Greek world that remain part of the Anglo-Saxon worldview. Vernacular texts
contain a wealth of Greek traces, and over half of the surviving Old English manu-
scripts contain some form of Greek, whether as magical symbols or single words and
even full sentences. These sources will be closely examined in order to discover what
concepts of Byzantium and the Greek East survived in late Anglo-Saxon England, in
the period after the tenure of Theodore of Tarsus as Archbishop of Canterbury and
after the Islamic invasions of the 7th and 8th century.
Nataliya Panina (State Academic Institute of Fine Arts, Sculpture and Architecture,
named after I. E. Repin, St. Petersburg, Russia)
The aspects of Byzantine traditionalism
Traditionalism was one of the principal manifestations of the Byzantine antique.

Though after Christianization of the Roman Empire the ethnonyme «Hellen-
es» was replaced by ethnonyme «Rhomaios», and the word «Hellenes» became
used for designation of pagan Greeks, some of the intellectual elite in IX century still
persisted in self-identification with Hellenes.
This was reflected in patriarch Photius’ activities aimed at opposing iconoclastic
heresy.
In «Amphilochius», treatise 205, patriarch Photius dwells on Christian peoples’
differences in icon-painting.
One of the arguments substantiating diversity in icon-painting, adduced by him,
was the idea that even the Hellenes would not have rejected icons because of their
difference.
And further he emphasizes the community of nature, mind and word and refers
to the merger of soul and body, taking Rhomaios and Hellenes.
The striving for self-identification with Greeks in this case evidences perception
of tradition as a criterion of truth.
The words supporting diversity of icons were closely connected with the patri-
arch’s missionary work. He compares variations in the images of saints on the icons
with the multitude of languages used for reading the Gospel. This way he does not
deny the idea of traditionalism in the devotional art of other peoples.
FC7. PERIPHERY AND PROVINCIAL ARISTOCRACY

Moderators
Bojana Krsmanović/Luisa Andriollo
Annie Dancheva-Vassileva (Institute for Historical Studies, Sofia, Bulgaria)

Ethnic and Religious Communities in Philippopolis and Serdica in
the 11th–12th centuries
The written sources of the 11th–12th centuries offer evidence of ethnic variegation
and the differences in the religious orientation of the residents of these two cities.
Along with the three large ethnic groups – Byzantine Greeks, Bulgarians and Arme-
nians, there was presence of other ethnicities as suggested by certain data. Beside the
Orthodox Christians in these cities, there were Manichaeans, Paulicians, Bogomils,
Monophysite Armenians, Western-Europeans, sometimes mentioned as “Latins” in
the sources who professed the Catholic creed. In some cases the religious affiliation
presents as a significant factor connected with the national identity of some of the
communities in the two cities.
Stefanos Chasapoglou (University of Athens, Greece)

Between the frontier and the hinterland: Byzantine Western
Macedonia (1018–1081). Administrative and social perspectives
The paper has as its main theme the Byzantine rule in the region of Western Mac-
edonia that is the region between Skopje in the North and the river of Aliakmon in
the south. The chronological framework covers the time period in which this Region
was conquered by Emperor Basil II (1018) until the beginning of the reign of Alexios
I Komnenos (1081) who introduced a series of administrative changes. This period
is characterized by swift and radical developments inside and outside the Byzantine
Empire which affected its future in a very critical way.
Within the above timeframe and under the prevailing conditions the region of
Western Macedonia laying between the always turbulent Danube frontier and the
wealthy hinterland of the Greek peninsula, played a crucial role in our attempt to
understand the administrative, social and economic life in the Byzantine province of
the 11th century.
As part of my MA thesis the following paper attempts to cover certain (specific)
aspects of the political and social developments through the period, based on histo-
riographical, archaeological, sigillographical and numismatic evidence.
Violeta Nesheva (National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Sofia, Bulgaria)

Melnik between between Bulgaria, Byzantium and Serbia in the
course of 9th–14th centuries
The historical and archaeological data describe Melnik as one of the most significant
towns all over the Bulgarian territories during the Middle Ages (9th–14th c.) catch-
ing vigorously the attention of the Balkan rulers mainly for its strategic advantages
and natural resources. Located at the southwestern foot of Pirin Mountain, among
the unique Melnik Pyramids, and on an ancient crossroad between the Adriatic and
the East, and the Aegean and the Danube River, quite well fortified by nature and by
man ( John Kantakouzenos, 14th c.), the town protected and controlled one of the
most neuralgic points along the middle course of Struma River – the Rupel Gorge,
the gateway leading to Serres – Thessalonica filed. We know well that during the
Middle Ages the region of Thessalonica was often a battlefield of various tribes and
nations striving to achieve supremacy over Macedonia. Any ruler holding the fortress
of Melnik – unassailable according to the chroniclers, also held the key for the roads
to Serres and Thessalonica, to the strongholds in the Rhodope Mountains, to Stru-
mica and Vardar, and Serdica–Sredets –Sofia.
The rise of Melnik goes to the days of Prince Boris I (852–892), after Bulgaria
and Byzantium concluded the deep peace in 864. Then a Bulgarian structure emerged
upon the ruins of abandoned Early Byzantine fortress with a Bishop’s church and a
small settlement in its suburb dating from the 6th c. It developed gradually to a large
and famous town, one of the central towns of Byzantium, among the most ancient ones
by birth (Idrisi, 1153/1154), into a town built by God and a town saved by God (deed
of King Stephen Urosh, 1356; records of Vatoped, 14th c.). Melnik was the main ad-
ministrative, religious, economical and cultural center in the region of Middle Stru-
ma – Zagoria (Northeastern Macedonia) – a position the town kept on in spite of all
the political events and changes of the political maps till the opening of the 20th c.
In the course of the period we here discuss, the town changed six times its state
affiliation – in turns it was under Bulgarian, Byzantine or Serbian authority. It was
governed by vicars of Tsars, Emperors and Kings – their relations, members of their
families, as the written sources describe them. This circumstance points to the great
importance Melnik was credited with, as it all the time fell within the border zone of
any of the great powers. In the course of 13th and 14th c. the town and its territory
belonged also to separatist states of high-rank aristocrats declaring themselves inde-
pendent owners of territories of the Bulgarian state – Despot Alexis Slav (a Capital
town) and of the Serbian state – Protosebast and Grand Domestos Hrelyo, Despot
John Uglesh, and Despots John and Constantine Dragashi.
Transforming into the tiniest town of today’s Bulgaria as a result of the demo-
graphic boom during the Balkan Wars in early 20th c., Melnik preserved its rich
and enviable cultural heritage attracting the never fading interest of many scholars
and lovers of the past. Its intensive archaeological investigation during the last four
decades shows that it embraces various traditions and influences that emphasize this
town within the broad context of the Byzantine civilization as a contact zone with its
specific shape against the complicated ethno – cultural and historical processes in the
center of the Balkans.
George Terezakis (University of Ioannina, Greece)

Trikala: Approaching the evolution of a Thessalian urban center
(12th–15th c.)
By the late Byzantine period the urban landscape of Thessaly had undergone signifi-
cant changes. It is sufficient to recognize that the new model of the local cities is
worthy of intensive treatment. The urban milieu is essential for the development of
certain kinds of social organization as it is clearly demonstrated by the case of Trika-
la. Civil and ecclesiastical administration and a military presence created conditions
that encouraged further development of Trikala. The leading role of church is empha-
sized by the transportation of the local bishopric from Larisa to Trikala, at the begin-
ning of 14th century. The allotment of commercial and fiscal privileges to the local
bishopric and nunneries reveals certain economic activities in the region of Trikala.
While agricultural production occupies a significant role, as reveals the exploitation
of arable lands, vineyards, gardens, a certain economic dynamism is marked by the
presence of commercial and artisanal activities, resulting from the presence of empo-
rion and artisanships, which implies the proliferation of skilled specialists, therefore,
a complexity in the division of labor. In the middle of 14th century Trikala became
centre of provincial administration with the Kephale (governor of a dinstrict) as head
of the civil administration. The existence of Kastrophylax (governor of o fortress),
must be related with the change of terminology, as the term polis is often replaced by
the term kastron, which implies military characteristics.
In the middle of 15th century the ottoman cadastre MM 10 provides sufficient
data about the status of Trikala after the Ottoman occupation. Economic structure is
characterized by a complexity in the division of labor as commercial and artisanal ac-
tivities occupy 64.43% of taxation. This reveals a fundamental characteristic of Thes-
salian cities, included Trikala, in contrast to the villages: the presence of markets and
non-agricultural specialists. Furthermore, it poses questions about the Ottoman and
post-Byzantine conception of cities, which will illuminate the structural changes of
the regional urban network during the crucial period of the Ottoman occupation.
Георги Димов (Софийски университет “Св. Климент Охридски”, България)

Византийският град през XI–XII в. – тенденции и промени
Изследвайки урбанистиката във Византия, селищната история на древната

Империя, откриваме, че такава в действителност почти липсва – не се срещат
нито градски архиви, нито конкретни податки в наративните източници, дос-
тигнали до нас. За градската история може да съдим само косвено, по това ко-
ето е останало – било то в епистоларните документи, по сигилографските или
нумизматични паметници, по различните административни документи, и не на
последно място, по това което ни дават археологическите разкопки и проучени-
те културни пластове от късноантичните и средновековни селища – керамика,
рядко стъкло, строителен материал и понякога удивителни паметници на де-
коративното и приложно изкуство. Но византийската цивилизация и култура
били градски по своя характер, повлияни и унаследени от Римската империя и
в резултат, градският живот във Византия достигнал на два пъти разцвет, както
през V и VII в., така и през X–XII век.
Предмет на настоящото изследване е именно възходът на града през по-къс-
ният, по-зрелия, по-„византийския” период – от края на X – началото на XI век
до към 1204г. – понякога тенденциозно представян и пренебрегван в научната
литература. Трябва да отбележим, че просперитетът на селищната система, осо-
бено през XI век, бил пряко свързан с европейските владения на Империята,
или по-конкретно с Балканския полуостров и отчасти Южна Италия. А подхо-
дът при проучването на града, особено в нашето изследване за тази епоха, не-
минуемо трябва да бъде интердисциплинарен – и заради факта, че изворите от
десетото до дванадесетото столетие винаги били доминирани или в зависимост
от столицата Константинопол и поради фрагментарността на археологическите
проучвания и паметници от епохата – очертания на крепостни стени, наруше-
на стратиграфия и останки от църкви и манастири. Тенденциите и промените в
градската действителност изглежда се характеризирали с нарастващата форти-
фикация на градовете, спецификата на тяхната типология, ролята на форосите
и ситуирането на пазарите и панаирите извън градските стени (както и пряката
им зависимост от централната власт), увеличаването на градското население,
стокообмена и монетната циркулация, формирането на квартали по етнически
принцип и развитието на архитектурата и градската планировка. И от съобра-
жения за краткост, завършвам с надеждата, че засягането мимоходом, на кон-
кретните аспекти от градската действителност във Византия през XI и XII в. ще
очертае основните проблеми и бъдещите корективи, пред които днес трябва да
се изправи съвременният византолог или медиевист, защото припомняйки си
думите на Тома Магистър от Солун „Това което прави един град, не са камъни-
те... а гражданите” разбираме сложното и често неразбрано от нас отношение на
самите ромейски поданици към града след X век. Още повече, че преосмисляне-
то ролята на византийския град и култура по българските земи през конкретния
период са тема, нужна за успеха и реализацията на нашето, родното културно –

историческо наследство в европейски план.
Phane Drosogianni (Hellenic Ministry of Culture, Athens, Greece)

Four Byzantine Magnates Tossed out from the Constantinopolitan
Nucleus to the Balkan Periphery
Four Byzantine magnates, who for various reasons were driven away from the Con-
stantinopolitan nucleus into the outer Balkan periphery, brought along with them
all that was best in artistic production and implanted far and wide four masterpieces
representative of four specific stages in the development of the art of the capital. It
was a stroke of luck that these masterpieces have been safeguarded in the Balkans
whereas their counterparts in Constantinople do not exist any longer.
In 1037 Leo, chartophylax (archivist) of the Great Church, an eminent theolo-
gian and man of letters, was obliged to leave the cultural milieu of the capital, where
he belonged, and go to distant Ohrid as archbishop in an effort to consolidate the
Byzantine authority there. It must have been a strain on the erudite prelate. Yet he
left an indelible mark of his presence in Ohrid, namely the superb painted decoration
of the cathedral of Saint Sophia.
In 1083, at the dawn of a new era in the development of Byzantine painting,
when the artists under the influence of Symeon the New Theologian no longer
shrank away from the depiction of human feeling, there were produced the exquisite
paintings of Backovo. Sensuous and ethereal, the paintings of Backovo are permeated
by the warmth of religious devotion and it is here that one finds the quintessence of
Byzantine refinement. The donor, the field-marshal Gregory Pakourianos, was avert-
ed from the capital and created for his Georgian compatriots a religious and cultural
retreat in the area of his private estates away from the overbearing Constantinople.
In 1164 a royal prince, Alexios Comnenos Angelos, founded the monastery of
Saint Panteleemon at Nerezi, perhaps the finest representative of the so-called Com-
nenian style that prevailed in the 12th century. Here the expression of human feeling,
so delicately rendered at Backovo, is carried to excess bordering on the extravagant,
in a way that would have hardly been acceptable in the olden times of non-committal
restraint and dignified composure.
It was earlier on, in 1152, that another royal prince, Isaakios Comnenos (uncle of
the afore-mentioned and father of the later emperor Andronikos I), twice exiled from
the capital in previous years, founded the monastery of the Kosmosoteira on the bank
of the Euros river. Here the expertise of Constantinopolitan masters is strongly in ev-
idence in both the architecture and the paintings, which though anteceding Nerezi
are close to the voluminous style of the 13th century. This goes to show that there are
indeed no cut-and-dried chronological boundaries for the various styles as the choice
of style may depend on the predilections of the artist or the donor. Also a new style
may sometimes be no more than a return to a yet older one that was never completely
abandoned but survived all along until it arrived eventually at a new revival.
The dating of the above monuments has been often contested. An attempt is
made here to arrive at some plausible conclusions by a comparison with other works
of painting and especially with manuscript illuminations.
Luisa Andriollo (Université Paris IV-Sorbonne, France)

Les Kourkouas
Famille d’origine arménienne qui donna à Byzance un célèbre domestique des Scho-
les et un empereur, les Kourkouas avaient leur assise patrimoniale dans les Armé-
niaques; ils comptèrent parmi les protagonistes de la lutte contre les Arabes et de
l’expansion de l’empire au Xe siècle, se caractérisant comme un lignage typiquement
oriental, provincial et militaire. Pourtant, dès sa première attestation la famille parait
installée à Constantinople, où le premier Kourkouas est actif en tant que domestique
des Hicanates et conspirateur contre Basil I, et où le domestique Jean et le futur em-
pereur Jean Tzimiskès possèdent un oikos. Autour des Kourkouas s’étend un réseau
de relations et d’alliances actives entre la capitale et le territoires d’origine, qui contri-
bue au succès du lignage et montre bien le rôle joué par les grands groupes aristocrati-
ques dans la dynamique des rapports entre pouvoir central et périphéries de l’empire.
En outre, le prestige du lignage se construit également à travers l’élaboration d’une
historiographie familiale, dont on trouve mention dans les chroniques, et à travers
l’appropriation d’une religiosité austère, ascétique et guerrière.
L’étude prosopographique des Kourkouas est également intéressante pour les
problèmes qu’elle pose: attestée dans les sources narratives de la fin du IXe siècle, la
famille disparait de l’historiographie après le règne de Constantin VIII. À partir de
ce moment, on en suit les traces à travers les témoignages sigillographiques, qui sem-
blent attester un déplacement des intérêts familiales vers l’aire balkanique, en parti-
culier en Bulgarie. Cela pourrait être en ligne avec la tendance générale qui, à la fin du
XIe siècle, amène les élites byzantines à transférer leurs intérêts de l’Anatolie menacée
par les Turques aux régions européennes de l’empire. Toutefois, au début du XII siè-
cle, même les sources sigillographiques nous font défaut: il n’est donc pas possible de
suivre le destin des Kourkouas dans le contexte de la crise et des dissidences régiona-
les qui bouleversèrent l’empire entre la fin du XIe et le XIIe siècle.
Dejan Dželebdžić (Institute for Byzantine Studies, Belgrade, Serbia)

Provincial aristocracy in Western Macedonia and Epirus at the
beginning of the 13th century
It is generally accepted that the old aristocracy in the Byzantine provinces almost
completely disappeared in the first half of the 7th century and the new one made
its appearance in the middle of the 9th century. Some sources clearly indicate that
in the 10th century it already existed in some Balkan towns. Till the 12th century
the provincial aristocracy was relatively well-developed which can be deduced from
several noteworthy features of that period, such as remarkable demographic growth,
followed by improved agricultural production, growing number of urban centers and
better developed communication network.
The sources for the prosopography of the provincial aristocracy till the end of the
12th century are rather scarce, except the so-called Cadastre of Thebes from the 11th
century. In this communication the records and letters of Demetrios Chomatenos,
the archbishop of Ohrid, and John Apokaukos, the metropolitan of Naupaktos, will
be discussed as the major sources for the prosopography of the provincial aristocracy
in Western Macedonia and Epirus at the beginning of the 13th century.
Dragan Vojvodić (University of Belgrade, Serbia)

Imperial insignia and iconography of independent dignitaries and
princes in the late Middle Ages. Byzantium and its neighbourhood
The paper deals with the imperial insignia worn by various medieval dignitaries and
princes, as portrayed in the visual arts. The conclusion is drawn that some actually
sovereign dignitaries in Byzantium and its neighborhood, regardless of their official
title, usurped the right to wear the imperial insignia in order to present themselves as
independent rulers. In addition, for the same purpose, they used the specific icono-
graphic formulas proper for imperial art to define the iconography of their own rep-
resentations.
Elena Gartzonika (University of Ioannina, Greece)

Neither Sevastokrator nor Despot Momčilo between the Byzantine
and Ottoman Antagonism
In the 14th c., a time of civil wars, epidemics and miserable living conditions both
in the cities and the countryside, a generalized phenomenon for the pre-capitalistic
past of the Balkan Peninsula is established: border banditry. Perhaps there is no more
eloquent example for that period’s instability than hajduk Momčilo. A mutineer ex-
pelled from Bulgaria, he was involved into the Byzantine, Serbian and Ottoman an-
tagonisms as an ally, a volunteer slave or tributary.
A kind of disobedient digenes, Momčilo convinced farmers and livestock breed-
ers to follow him as his entourage of soldiers-robbers. Being an expert in guer-
rilla warfare, he gained military ranks, land, control over fortresses, nobility titles:
Lavish bribes by his benefactors –former/ future opponents– to continue his preda-
tory acts. In a time of political disorganization and lawlessness, his lack of devotion
highlighted him as a regulating factor. Despite his career opportunities his end was
inglorious: He died on the battlefield as a devious and disobedient opportunist.
Nevertheless, during the two centuries following his death, anonymous guslari did
not fail to give symbolic overtones in the historical core. Henceforth, Momčilo’s mil-
itary action was narrated in a mythical way and acquired timeless and spaceless charac-
teristics: Embodied in a long-lasting heroic continuity – not without religious over-
tones –, his after-death image was imprinted in the collective Bulgarian and Serbian
memory as an example to avoid, because of his political disobedience and his lack of
piety – two properties negating the medieval political-religious model of power.
Needless to say, Momčilo’s image remains open to contemporary stakes.
Fani Gargova (University of Vienna, Austria)

The Patronage of the Basilissa Maria Palaiologina and the Despot
Thomas Preljubović
Dieser Vortrag beschäftigt sich mit den Stiftungen des Despotenpaares Thomas
Preljubović und Maria Palaiologina, die zusammen von 1367 bis 1384 in der Stadt
Ioannina regierten. Diese zwei Personen sind vor allem durch die Überlieferungen
der „Chronik von Ioannina“ bekannt, die einen detaillierten Einblick in die histori-
schen Geschehnisse der zweiten Hälfte des 14. Jahrhunderts liefert. Die Problematik
der Chronik mit ihrer tendenziösen Charakterisierung des „tyrannischen Despoten
Thomas“ und der „frommen Basilissa Maria“ wird in der Forschung zwar stets wahr-
genommen, aber trotzdem zumeist unkritisch weitertradiert.
Das Ziel dieses Papers ist es, den Quellencharakter besonders des materiel-
len Vermächtnisses der Maria und des Thomas für das Verständnis der Geschichte,
Kunst und Kultur der zweiten Hälfte des 14. Jahrhunderts im Bereich des griechi-
schen Festlandes aufzuzeigen. Diese Objekte, einzigartig in ihrer Art und Fülle, bie-
ten die Möglichkeit, Fragen nach Modi der Herrschaftslegitimation und Selbstiden-
tifikation aufzuwerfen, insbesondere auch dahingehend, wie sich diese innerhalb der
Stiftungen manifestieren. Es ist zudem von Interesse, wie und zu welchem Zweck in
einer – mit einem heutigen Terminus ausgedrückt – „multikulturellen Gesellschaft“
ikonografische Konventionen aufgebrochen und sowohl westliche, als auch östliche
stilistische Eigenschaften verbunden werden.

Es sollen zudem die Stiftungen in ihrer Funktion als Memoria analysiert werden,
verbunden mit der Frage nach dem vermittelten Selbstdarstellung einer Gesellschaft.
Abschließend soll die weitere Instrumentalisierung der Stiftungen wie auch des Herr-
scherpaares in den darauffolgenden Jahrhunderten im Geiste eines sich stetig verän-
dernden kulturellen Verständnisses beleuchtet werden.
Brendan Osswald (Université Toulouse 2-Le Mirail, France)

La stratégie matrimoniale des Tocco de Céphalonie
La dynastie des Tocco constitue un exemple relativement bien documenté de famille

latine installée dans les Balkans et dont nous pouvons suivre à travers les années les
alliances matrimoniales. À la différence d’autres familles latines installées dans le
monde byzantin, les Tocco n’ont jamais rompu leurs liens avec leur pays d’origine,
à savoir le royaume de Naples. Après la perte de leurs territoires grecs, les Tocco re-
tourneront en Italie. Pourtant, ces dynastes ont vécu plus d’un siècle dans l’espace
byzantin, ont porté le titre byzantin de despotes et se sont successivement alliés et
opposés aux diverses nationalités du monde balkanique de l’époque: Grecs, Albanais,
Serbes et Turcs.
Un aspect révélateur de cette contradiction est la stratégie matrimoniale adop-
tée durant tout leur «séjour» en Romanie (1357–1479): à de rares exceptions près,
alors que les membres de la lignée légitime des Tocco ne se marient qu’avec des Ita-
liens, les bâtards se marient quant à eux avec des conjoints d’origine balkanique. On
veut ainsi réserver les descendants légitimes à de bons partis, qui ne peuvent mani-
festement être recrutés parmi les «autochtones». La famille impériale byzantine
constitue une exception notable à cette règle, en raison du grand prestige qui y est
attaché. Par ailleurs, les dynastes utilisent leurs bâtards pour leurs alliances matrimo-
niales indispensables avec les élites balkaniques. L’étude minutieuse de cette dichoto-
mie matrimoniale révèle donc deux hiérarchies parallèles dans l’esprit des Tocco: hié-
rarchie familiale entre enfants légitimes et naturels, hiérarchie ethnique entre Italiens
et «Autochtones».
Anastasia Kontogiannopoulou (Research Centre for Medieval and Modern

Hellenism, Athens, Greece)
The Notion of “demos” and its Role in Byzantium during the Last
Byzantine Centuries (13th–15th c.)
The notion of “demos/demes” (people/circus factions) has been a favorite subject

in the modern research and various opinions have been formulated with regard to
their organisation and the role they played in the political developments. In the
modern bibliography referred to the period under examination (13th–15th c.) the
term “demos” denotes generally the lower strata of the urban population. However,
through the systematic study of that period’s sources thinner nuances can be detected
in the meaning of the term “demos”, which apart from the lower social stratum, it
also seems to denote the middle social class and a larger group that includes the two
social categories mentioned above.
This study intends to examine the concept of “demos” and similar expressions,
the social composition of this body and its role in the political life of the era. The
research is based primarily on narrative sources of the late Byzantine period (13th–
15th c.). The fragmentary material extracted from these sources is complemented by
information come from the monastery archives, the lives of saints, the correspond-
ence and other literary sources of the era.
FC8. THE BYZANTINES AND THE OTHERS

Moderators
Petar Angelov/Marie Guérin
Maja Kominko (University of Oxford, UK)

Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, neither Barbarian nor
Scythian
In antiquity, Greek and Roman self-identity largely relied on the contrast between
their society and “the uncivilized” barbarians, who embodied qualities incompat-
ible with Greek and Roman culture, and whose negative characteristics intensified
in proportion to their distance from Greek and Roman centres. Whereas in terms
of a description of the physical universe Christianity was able to adopt, with some
adjustments, the classical image of the cosmos, in terms of ethnography Christian
universalism precluded the ethnocentric image of Greeks and Romans. Beginning
with Pauline exegesis, the notion of belief as fundamental to identity, overriding all
other factors, was central to Christian self-description. The opposition of Greek and
barbarian, the keystone of ancient literary ethnography, could no longer stand. As
the old poles of identity fell away, new ones needed to be articulated. In Christian
rhetoric the “enemies of Rome”, i.e. barbarians, were substituted with the “enemies of
God” i.e. non-Christians – pagans, heretics, Jews and Muslims. As in the case of “bar-
barians” in antiquity, the symbolic significance of these new outsider groups tran-
scended their actual role within the Christian world.
Through a careful analysis of Eastern Christian textual (primarily Greek and
Syriac) and visual sources I will explore how the Christian idea of “the other” or the
“outsider” was transformed in the first centuries of Christianity. While analyzing the
recasting of “the other” in text, I will address the question of how Biblical notions
were integrated with the tropes inherited from classical ethnography and how the
new boundaries of the Christian world were strengthened in polemics with, and in
opposition to, the new outsider groups.
Błażej Cecota (University of Lodz, Poland)

Constantinople in early Islamic sources
Hadiths, narrations concerning the words and deeds of the Islamic prophet Muham-
mad, had great significance for the creation of Muslim notions of the world. In the
hadiths which concern sieges of Constantinople one can find mentions about his-
torical events.
In the hadiths the Islamic authors present the capital of Empire in an eschato-
logical context. The reason for the phenomenon was the unsuccessful sieges of Con-
stantinople (674–678 and 717–718). Extended version of the eschatological hadiths
occurred only in Sahih Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj.
In the hadith of Abu Huraira (Sahih Muslim 41.6924) the apocalypse starts,
when the Byzantines arrive to al-A῾maq or Dabiq. It was exactly where the Umayyad
caliphs assembled their armies for the military expeditions against Constantinople.
Equally well this mention can be a reminiscence of Byzantine expeditions against
Arabs in Syria or Mesopotamia in the days of Constantine V.
In the abovementioned hadith it is stated that Constantinople was captured by
an Islamic army, which up to that time had no previous military experience. It can be
inferred that the army was the Abbasid army and the description shoud be connected
with the fact that Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj was a Persian and lived under the authority of
the Abbasids. He worshiped martyrs, which lost live in the combat against the Chris-
tian empire and at the same time criticized the Umayyad caliphs for their inability to
win a victory at the walls of Constantinople.
In other hadiths (Abu Dawud, Sunan 37.4282; 37.4283) there are references to
the first siege of Constantinople (674–678) and similarly in the hadith of Umm Har-
am (Sahih Bukhari 4.52.175) one can find a mention of the first expedition against
the capital of Empire (or Battle of the Masts, 655). Yet another hadith (Sahih Mus-
lim, 41.6979) contains also a comparison between the future conquest of Constanti-
nople and the past fall of Jericho.
In the middle of 9th century the conquest of the capital of empire became a goal
to be achieved in the indefinite future. At that time the Ummayad’s sieges of Con-
stantinople had acquired a legendary character. As a result elements of the past had
become part of an apocalyptic future.
Theodora Zampaki (University of Ioannina, Greece)

The Image of the Byzantine Emperor in T.abarī’s History
The aim of this paper is to offer a description and discussion of the image of the
Byzantine Emperor as depicted in the universal Arabic Chronicle entitled His-
tory of Prophets and Kings (Ta’rīkh al-rusul wa’l-mulūk) of the historian T.abarī (d.
A.D. 923), who was of Persian descent. It should be said that there is no systematic
theory about the Byzantine Emperor to be found anywhere in T.abarī’s Chronicle.
Nor is there a detailed history of the Kings or the dynasties that ruled the Byzantine
Empire. All evidence about the Romans and the Byzantines that we find in T.abarī’s
Chronicle is placed in the account of the history of the Persian Kings of the Sasanid
dynasty and in the dynastic history of the Muslim Caliphs that succeeded the Sasa-
nids. I examine the names used for the title of the Byzantine Emperor, e.g. the title of
Qays.ar (Caesar), as mentioned in the Arabic text. I also present some views about the
Byzantine Emperor that are found here and there in the work of T.abarī. This infor-
mation reflects the views held by the Caliphs and the Muslim élite at the time when
T.abarī wrote his Chronicle. However, this knowledge of the Muslim intellectual élite
does not amount to a political theory about the head of the Roman and Byzantine
state. Nevertheles, it may be said that the views found in T.abarī’s Chronicle give us an
idea of how far the two states showed interest in knowing each other. Though T.abarī
has no special interest in writing the history of other nations, it should be said that
later Arab historians, e.g. Yakūbī or Mas‘ūdī, paid special attention to other cultures
and give longer accounts on the history and the excellences of the peoples of other
nations.
Christian Høgel (University of Southern Denmark, Odense)

An early Greek translation of the Quran
The fragments of probably the first full translation of the Quran has long been noted
in the Refutatio of Niketas Byzantios, but there is hardly any study into the nature of
the translation. Produced before the year 870, this translation is the earliest complete
translation of the Quran that we know of, and even though the exact place and time
of production cannot be established, much can be said about the translation proce-
dure employed and the result.
Margarita Polyakovskaya (Ural State University, Ekaterinburg, Russia)

“Oriental trace” in the late Byzantine ceremonial: Parastasis
During the Palaiologos epoch when the country was in a deep political and eco-
nomical imbalance all the authority efforts, having rather decorative features, were
directed first of all on creating the atmosphere of stability and prosperity in the state.
This purpose was served in great degree also by the palace ceremonial which was the
compiler of idea of power of empire in the conditions of its crisis. Let’s examine this
ceremonial purpose through one of the most important gala rituals. The Imperial re-
ception (ἡ παράστασις ) was the center of gala life of the imperial palace. We should
rather refer to the etymology of the word “ἡ παράστασις” in order to have the idea
of this term, how Byzantines of 14th century interpreted it. According to Polybius,
ancient Greeks, living in times of early democracy, referred this word to ancient Per-
sians. Their state practice included a certain entering rite of Persian tsar’s subjects in
the throne-room, where all the seats must have been occupied due to the tradition. In
the concept of “parastasis” Polybius also included delight and enormous inspiration
(μετὰ παραστάσεως ἀσπάζεσθαί). According to Pseudo-Codinos, the primary pur-
pose of the 14th century palace reception, as well as at the Persian court, was firstly
directed on strict ranging of archons round the imperial throne in concordance with
their social position. The second part of the ceremony, the same as the Persian one,
was followed by glorification of basileus (polichronion, euphemia, encomion). Ori-
ental gene, typical for the blossoming period of Ancient Persia, having passed a long
evolution through the ancient Greek and Roman period, was close to its Persian past
in ceremonies of 14th century. During the Palaiologos epoch, “parastasis” while be-
ing the center of “power theatre” was the reflection of ideological illusions, focused
upon the remote past of the empire’s illusory future.
Petar D. Angelov (Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Bulgaria)

Greeks through the eyes of Bulgarians in the Middle Ages
The research on the concept of Greeks in medieval Bulgaria is based on the analysis
of various sources of information, ranging from diplomatic correspondence, biogra-
phies, encomia and apocrypha to historical chronicles and polemic written word. It
is all about a concept existing predominantly among the Old Bulgarian intellectual
elite, shared by either secular or religious folk as well. To a certain extent, this concept
was able to generate a particular public opinion. Nevertheless, there is no data avail-
able to prove that regular Bulgarians had shared the same attitude towards Greeks,
not at least in their everyday life. In the majority of cases not only is this concept far
too much generalized, marked with strong arguments, but it does not also represent
the specific mindset and moral values characterizing the various social classes in By-
zantium. As a matter of fact, certain general assumptions on the positive or negative
aspects relevant to Greeks are made a priori and they basically consider the demeanor
of a distinctive number of their representatives, such as rulers, clerics, functionaries,
the military, diplomats, tradesmen, etc.
In general, the “Greek image” in medieval Bulgaria is comprised of two layers.
The first one is the sum total of traditional and stereotype assumptions, which, hav-
ing taken root in the Antiquity, were still accepted and given credibility in the medi-
eval world. The other one stems from the direct economic, politic and cultural rela-
tions between Bulgaria and Byzantium in the Middle Ages. Thus, a contradictious
image is formed, which is due to different circumstances. Some of these, related to
the religious and cultural exchange between the two nations, emphasize those posi-
tive qualities, which ascertain Greeks as a raw mode, while others, which have to do
mainly with political ambitions of Greek emperors, lead to the resurrection of the
model of the “public enemy”. A phenomenon bearing to a certain extent paradoxi-
cal dimensions is also present – on the one hand, Bulgarians adopted a wide range
of Byzantine political and cultural models of comportment, and yet, on the other –
they draw the line between themselves and those features of Greek mentality, which
brought Greeks notoriety in the heyday of the medieval world.
Sashka Georgieva (Institute for Historical Studies, Sofia, Bulgaria)

Bulgarian-Byzantine Marital Diplomacy
Marriages as a specific means of diplomacy were widely used in the Middle Ages to
strengthen political agreements by binding the contracting parties with ties of kin-
ship. During the seven centuries of the existence of Mediaeval Bulgaria marriages,
betrothals and planned marriages of political importance exceeded fifty. The over-
whelming majority of them served the goals of foreign policy. Marriage ties con-
nected different Bulgarian rulers or other representatives of the Bulgarian aristocracy
with practically all the countries and peoples with whom Bulgaria entered in major
political contacts: with Byzantium, Serbia, Hungary, the Latin Empire, Wallachia,
the Pechenegs, Tatars, Turks. However, forty-six per cent, i.e. nearly half of all known
political marriages and planned weddings were connected with the relations between
Bulgaria and Byzantium. Hence, these matrimonial ties deserve a more detailed ex-
amination which will be the subject of the proposed paper.
The paper will try to reveal the reasons and hopes behind each of the marriages
which connected the royal families of the two countries or royalties with influential
representatives of the aristocracy in the neighboring country and find out whether
those hopes were justified and if the conviction that marital relations added security
to the political treaties was based on reality or it was just a result of wishful thinking.
Lyuba Ilieva (Scientific Center for Cyrillo-Methodian Studies, Sofia, Bulgaria)

Bulgarian contribution to the economics and culture of the
Byzantine Empire (Bulgarian territories in the end of 11th–12th
centuries)
An overall picture of the political, social, ecclesiastical, cultural and economic life of
Bulgarian people and Bulgarian territories under Byzantine rule in the end of 11th–
12th centuries has been created, according historical sources and latter archaeologi-
cal findings. Some outdated or inaccurate assessments have been corrected and sup-
plemented.
In this paper we elaborate a theme about guiding role of the Archbishopric of
Ohrid in Bulgarian spiritual and mental life during Comnenian dynastic government
and cultural symbiosis accomplished between Byzantium and subjugated Bulgarian
population. Bulgarian contribution to spiritual life in the Byzantine Empire through-
out that period consist mainly of the appearance of Bulgarian historical and apoca-
lyptical literature and their patriotic tendency, in the context of Byzantine ideologi-
cal agenda towards Bulgarian people in the end of 11th–12th centuries.
Elisabeth Mincin (University of Oxford, UK)

Byzantine Perceptions of Outsiders and Constructions of
Boundaries in 11th–12th Century: Evidence of Monastic
Foundation Documents
“[C]ut him off like a rotten limb, and as a wound that is hard to heal or completely
incurable…remove him and cast him away” (“Evergetis:Typikon of Timothy for the
Monastery of the Mother of God Evergetis,” trans. Robert Jordan in John Thomas
and Angela Constantinides Hero (eds.) Byzantine Monastic Foundation Documents
(Washington, D.C., 2000), p. 477). In defining the punishment for transgressing a
rule in the Byzantine monastery of the Evergetis, the founder described the offend-
er as akin to a fatal infection – something that must be amputated from the other-
wise healthy body of the Christian community. By invoking this analogy of error as
contagion, we are presented with a motif prevalent in a range of sources from both
Western Europe and Byzantium throughout the Middle Ages. Despite an incredible
frequency of recurrence, however, such depictions have remained remarkably under-
appreciated by scholars, who deem them to be little more than literary topoi, over-
zealously employed by centuries of authors and bearing no greater significance than a
continually echoed stylized theme. Contrary to such a neglectful assertion, I propose
that these motifs provide an invaluable insight into the worldview of the societies
that made such extensive use of the formulae: revealing conceptualizations of purity,
boundaries of orthodoxy and the threat of outsiders. Motifs require some level of so-
cially imposed importance in order to invoke an appreciation from their audience.
In my paper, I will be investigating a selection of these literary motifs, focusing
on passages recording punishments decreed in eleventh- and twelfth-century typika.
While such an analysis will present only a selective picture, it nevertheless will allow
us to briefly glimpse the self-image of the Byzantine world: how their society chose
to depict itself reflected in how they chose to ostracize outsiders. As such, we will see
a consolidation of medieval Byzantine orthodoxy through shifts in ideology pertain-
ing to the depiction of erroneous action.
Пламен Павлов (Великотърновски университет „Св. св. Кирил и Методий“,

България)
България и Византия между татарската хегемония и османското
завоевание (XIII–XIV в.)
В научната литература сравнително рядко се разглежда взаимодействието меж-

ду татарския и османския фактори за съдбата на средновековна България и Ви-
зантия. Упадъкът на влиянието на Златната Орда през втората половина на ХІV
в. съвпада с разрастването на турската инвазия на Балканите. Нашествията на
войските на турските бейлици, най-вече на Айдън (40-те години на ХІV в.), на-
насят тежки щети на Византия и България, но нищо не може да се сравни с во-
енната и териториална експанзия на османците.
Татарските опустошения и перманентна намеса от 1241–1242 г. до края на
ХІІІ в. имат негативно въздействие върху политическата стабилност на Вто-
рото българско царство. В резултат на това страната изпада в положението на
второстепенна политическа и военна сила. През ХІV в. във Второто българско
царство започва процес на относителна стабилизация, който не е в състояние
да преодолее тежкото наследство. От друга страна, татарските опустошения на
византийска територия, подпомагани пряко или косвено от българските царе,
рушат съпротивителните сили на южната съседка. Печеливши в крайна сметка
се оказват османските завоеватели. В българо-татарските отношения могат да
бъдат открити и някои активи, които са изгубени именно през втората полови-
на на ХІV в. До 40-те години на ХІV в. българските царе неизменно разполагат
със съюзни и наемни татарски части. Във времето, когато подобен военен ре-
сурс е извънредно необходим, България е лишена от него по обективни причи-
ни. Надали турската експанзия би имала същите успехи, ход и перспектива, ако
Златната Орда бе останала в ролята си на “суперсила” в Източна Европа в края
на ХІV и през ХV в. И дали едно продължаващо състояние на т.нар. татарска
хегемония не би било далеч “по-малкото зло” в сравнение с османското завоева-
ние, прекъснало естественото историческо развитие на България и Византия?
Frouke Schrijver (University of Birmingham, UK)

Gender segregation? The court of women in the early Palaiologan
period (1261–1354)
In their groundbreaking study on the middle Byzantine court as a social phenom-

enon (1997), Alexander Kazhdan and Michael McCormick point at a significant
shift in the social formation of the imperial court. They suggest that the separate
court of women, as it appears in the ninth- and tenth-century sources, eroded un-
der the Komnenoi: there is evidence of women participating in imperial ban-
quets, and of empresses accompanying their husbands on campaigns. It is expected
that further research will confirm this ‘apparent retreat of gender segregation’.
This paper aims to show that the disappearance of gender segregation in the late
Byzantine imperial palace should not be taken for granted. Evidence from the mid-
fourteenth century ceremony book known as Pseudo-Kodinos and contemporary
histories by George Pachymeres, Nikephoros Gregoras and John Kantakouzenos
rather suggests that certain elements of the court of women survived well into the
late Byzantine period. Therefore, Kazhdan’s and McCormick’s hypothesis can be as
easily contradicted as confirmed.
Marie Guérin (Université Paris IV-Sorbonne, France)

Les femmes franques de la principauté de Morée et l’influence
occidentale dans la mode byzantine (XIIIe–XVe siècle)
En 1955, les fouilles de Mistra mirent à jour un ensemble vestimentaire retrouvé sur
une jeune femme momifiée dans l’une des tombes de l’église Sainte Sophie. En 2000,
l’intervention technique des Services du Musée d’Art et d’Histoire de Genève per-
mit de rénover entièrement les tissus altérés du costume féminin composé d’un vête-
ment de soie, d’une coiffe tressée et d’un diadème fait de galons. Selon les analyses ar-
chéologiques, les tissus de cette riche parure seraient ceux d’une princesse byzantine
de la première moitié du XVe siècle, période des règnes de Théodore Ier Paléologue
et Théodore II Paléologue, dans le despotat de Morée. Les archéologues soulignent
alors l’influence occidentale de la parure byzantine, dès le XIVe siècle, du fait de la
présence à la cour de Mistra d’Isabelle de Lusignan, princesse occidentale et épouse
de Manuel Cantacuzène, premier despote de Morée ainsi que du commerce d’étof-
fes particulièrement prospère à cette époque entre l’Italie et le Péloponnèse. Venise
s’approvisionnait en effet en matière première textile dans la péninsule moréote, puis
confectionnait et exportait ensuite vêtements et tissus précieux dans ces mêmes ré-
gions.
D’autre part, dès 1209 et jusqu’en 1430, la principauté de Morée, créée à la suite
de la quatrième croisade et de la fondation de l’empire latin d’Orient fut également
un haut lieu de la présence latine où se succédèrent les princes Villehardouin puis les
Angevins de Naples. Le Péloponnèse byzantin accueillit donc, sur son territoire, les
femmes des barons francs, parmi lesquelles les plus illustres furent les princesses mo-
réotes Isabelle de Villehardouin et sa fille Mahaut de Hainaut.
Au vu de cette coexistence gréco-latine et des vestiges archéologiques d’influence
occidentale retrouvés à Mistra, quel rôle les femmes franques de la principauté de
Morée jouèrent-elles dans les échanges, les apports et la diffusion d’éléments occiden-
taux au sein de la société byzantine, et plus particulièrement dans la mode féminine,
du XIIIe au XVe siècle?
Daphne Papadatou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece)

On Gifts Between Husband and Wife in Byzantium
This paper examines the evolution during the Byzantine era of the Roman prohibi-
tion on gifts between husband and wife. Firstly, case law material is used to explore
the correspondence between Byzantine legislation – where the Roman rule is pre-
served – and courtroom practice. Secondly, an attempt is made to evaluate the sys-
tem governing the property relations of spouses in Byzantium through exploration of
the ratio of the prohibition, as manifested in its ‘Byzantine version’ in testimony of
the period.
Bojana Pavlović (University of Belgrade, Serbia)

The perception of the Serbs in the letters of Demetrius Cydones
The letters of Demetrius Cydones, one of the greatest intellectuals of the late Byzan-
tium, represent a very valuable source for the history of the Byzantine Empire. As a
witness of the turmoil Byzantium was facing in the 14th century, Cydones is also of
great significance to us as an intellectual who left valuable information relevant for
Serbian history.
Being one of the important factors of Byzantine foreign affairs, Serbia was, at
this period, both an enemy and a potential ally of the Empire in its efforts to stop the
Turkish advancement. Cydones’ correspondence revealed about ten letters in which
we have recognized his allusions to the Serbs as well as direct mention of the latter.
These letters refer to the period of Stefan Dusan’s reign (more precisely the civil wars
between John Kantakouzenos and John V) as well as to the period between 1371
and 1389.
Cydones’ perception of the Serbs at the time of Stefan Dusan depended entirely
on the relation Serbian ruler had with John Kantakouzenos, who was, at that period,
much admired by the young Cydones. The pillage of Macedonia, the possible siege
of Thessaloniki in 1346 by the Serbian army, the battle of Didymoteicho as well as
Cydones’ personal fear of Stefan Dusan and his army confirmed the Serbs as the ene-
mies of the Byzantine Empire in the eyes of its intellectual. The period between 1371
and 1389 marked a slight change in Cydones’ view of the Serbs all the more because
they were not referred to as “barbarians” and because we find the mention of the bat-
tle of Marica and Kosovo, the first having been perceived as a battle with the terrible
outcome, the second being referred to as a battle in which the “damned one” has
been killed by the “ones” who were believed to be unable to confront him.
With the growing disillusionment in the western aid as well as in the Byzantines
themselves, Cydones, as it seems, was also disappointed in the fact that “barbarians”
had more courage to stand up to the conqueror and take the salvation of the Chris-
tian world in their own hands. However, certain amount of Byzantine pride does not
seem to have left Cydones for he never explicitly mentioned Serbs as courageous and
triumphant even when they deserved a little praise from the learned orator.
Stanoje Bojanin (Institute for Byzantine Studies, Belgrade, Serbia)

Sacral and profane topography in the parish of medieval Serbia
In the preserved documentary material, consisting mainly of the deeds of gifts to the
medieval monasteries presented by the kings, princes and regional lords of Serbia,
we often encounter the following entities recorded on the boundaries of village pre-
cincts or feudal estates: a church, a cemetery, a cross, a crossroads, a vineyard, a mill,
a spring-well, a single isolated tree or group of them, and so forth. In the main, their
functions as boundary marks was not primary, nor were they situated only on the
boundaries of villages. Actually, they were landmarks testifying to the segmentation
of the social space organized both as a village and as a parish, in other words, as a
space with profane and sacral features.
The segmentation of social space into sacral and profane is recognized as a cultur-
al construct viewed in the series of dichotomies, such as official – unofficial culture,
“learned” (literate) – “unlearned” (illiterate), “high” – “low”, the culture of the clergy
and the culture of the lay folk. The concepts of the sacredness of a certain space were
varied and arranged in a hierarchical order, but they were differently defined for dif-
ferent social groups. And that is evidence of the existence of local and parochial pi-
ety, the specific feature of which can be seen in relation to the official teaching of the
medieval Church.
The daily life of the individual in the parish took place within a process of con-
stantly crossing over the boundary between the sacral and the profane. These cross-
overs constantly redefined both the boundaries that had been drawn in the social
space, as well as the existing social relations. Their importance is best seen during
Christian holidays, during the feast-day of the parish and its main rituals, such as the
liturgy, the litany procession around the holy places in the parish, and the organisa-
tion of festivals with feasts and other festive entertainment. At that time, the entire
area of the parish and the village precincts acquired the features of the sacral in con-
trast to the space that was not socially organized.
Vladimir Angelov (Institute for Historical Studies, Sofia, Bulgaria)

The Information about the Bulgarians and Bulgarian lands in
Laonikos Chalkokondyles’ “Demonstrations of Histories”
The historical work of Laonikos Chalkokondyles is one of the most interesting sourc-
es about the Bulgarian history from the end of 14th till the second half of 15th cen-
turies. The paper analyzes the information given by the author about the origin of the
Bulgarians, their mentality, way of living and political history.
Firstly, we trace the ethnonyms Chalkokondyles used to mark the Bulgarians
with. In the spirit of the antique tradition he used mainly the ethnonym Moesi, but
their origin is clearly connected with the history of the Slavic community. The con-
clusion we make is that Chalkokondyles demonstrated how well informed he was by
presented a quite accurate picture of the Slavic settlement on the Balkan Peninsula.
Later, we analyze the information about the Bulgarian territory and it must be
outlined here that the description of its borders does not lack some inaccurate details.
As a whole the information of Chalkokondyles about the Bulgarian lands includes
mainly the mentioning of some bigger towns such as Vidin, Mesembria, Philippoup-
olis, Sofia, Varna, which at the time served as venue for major historical happenings.
Finally, our attention is focused on the information about the political history
of the Bulgarian state. We must add here that Chalkokondyles paid some attention
to events and facts which no other authors discussed at the time. Although not com-
pletely accurate this information sheds light on some significant moments of the rul-
ing of Mihail Shishman, Ivan Aleksander and Ivan Shishman, as well as on the fate of
the Southwest Bulgarian lands after the dissolution of Serbia.
The conclusion we make is that the information given by Chalkokondyles about
the Bulgarians is not that detailed compared to the information about other states
and peoples, such as Serbs, Bosnians, Albanians, Romanians, Russians, etc. Never-
theless, what he wrote about our history in some aspects is unique and to some extent
helps shedding more light on the fate of the Bulgarian lands in the end of 14th and
the first half of the 15th centuries.
Ferhan Kirlidökme Mollaoğlu (Ankara University, Turkey)

Laonikos Chalkokondyles on the Ottoman Sultans
Laonikos Chalkokondyles was born in early 1430’s in Athens but he spent the most
of his life in Mystras, the capital of the Despotate of Morea. There, he became a stu-
dent of Georgios Plethon Gemistos and established close relations with the Byzan-
tine courtiers. He also met with many Latin travelers and merchants who visited the
Palaiologan capital in the area. In other words the vivid and cosmopolitan environ-
ment of Mystras in 15th century was the place where Chalkokondyles’ personality
and ideas were shaped.
Regarding the involvement the Ottomans in the area Chalkokondyles became
an eyewitness to many incidents such as the raid of the Ottoman Sultan Murad II in
1446 and the campaigns of the Sultan Mehmed II which led to capture of the Despo-
tate by the Turks. This entire scene gave Chalkokondyles a unique chance to collect a
lot of information and to comprehend the political conditions of the late Byzantine
and the early Ottoman world.
Sometime after the establishment of the Ottoman rule in the Morea (1460)
Chalkokondyles moved either to Athens or in Crete where he wrote the historical
compilation named “Apodeiksis Historion/Demonstrations of Histories”. By arrang-
ing the material that he gathered through years into ten books he narrated the histor-
ical events of the world around him. Therefore, in many passages of his compilation,
he focused his account on the history of the Ottomans Turks and especially on the
acts of the Sultans.
The aim of this paper is to show the image of Ottoman Sultans as they described
by Chalkokondyles in the last six books of the “Demonstrations of Histories” where
he gives the details for the rule of Sultan Murad II and the reign Mehmed II un-
til 1463/64. In order to do this, I will first give some information about the po-
litical circumstances of this period and then I will discuss the probable sources of
Chalkokondyles by whom he derived the information about the Ottoman Sultans.
Finally, I will pass into the discussion of the knowledge of Chalkokondyles on the
Sultans.
Kiril Nenov (Institute for Historical Studies, Sofia, Bulgaria)

Geographical Knowledge of the Danube Delta, c. 1200–c. 1500
On the grounds of various sources, an attempt has been made to systematize the geo-
graphical data for the Danube Delta from c. 1200 to c. 1500. The problem on the cer-
tain degree of relevance between particular texts and maps, as well as the assumption
whether they tell on an ascending tradition of accumulation of geographical knowl-
edge, is taken into consideration. Comparative tables of the regional toponyms are
submitted. The alterations in the geographical pattern have also been traced back.
FC9. MONASTERIES AND CHRISTIAN PAIDEIA
Moderators
Tsvetana Cholova/Bistra Nikolova
Margarita Vallejo-Girvés (University of Alcalá, Spain)

The banishment of Patriarch Macedonius II and the role of
Anasthasius’ circle
Diverse ecclesiastical authors of the Byzantine Constantinople inform us about the

exile to which there was condemned the patriarch Macedonius II. These authors al-
lude to diverse reasons by which Macedonius II was accused of treason and submit-
ted to one of the legal penalties that could be applied to a bishop in the Late Roman
law. All these authors, in addition, coincide in affirming the paper that, to favor or in
opposition to the patriarch, the members of the family of the emperor Anasthasius
I had in this process of sentence; specially, the women of Anasthasius’s circle had a
main participation in this respect.
Attending to this information, our aim in this occasion will consist of analyzing
the possible reasons for which the cohesionated court circle of the emperor Anas-
thasius apparently have been broken before the fall in misfortune of this patriarch of
Constantinople. It, in addition, provides the occasion to study thoroughly the paper
of the woman of the proto-Byzantine court that, to tenor of what can be understood
of the literary documentation related to Macedonius’ case, was more active and influ-
ential than, a priori, it was possible to think.
Petros Koufopoulos (University of Patras, Greece)

The historical topography of Sinai during the pre-Justinian period
The Sinai Peninsula experienced the prosperity of a Christian monastic move-

ment from the fourth to seventh centuries that was located mainly at the south Si-
nai heights, near the small city at Feiran Oasis, and at Raithou on the coast of Suez
Gulf (near present El-Tor). Communities of monks were gradually formed and had a
substantial size when emperor Justinian decided to build the fortress with the grand
church in it and a smaller three aisled basilica on Jebel Musa (the mountain of the
Law). This communication makes a first attempt to present the monastic settlements
and other forms of habitation in the central mountain region of the Sinai granite
massifs during the period before the construction of the Monastery.
Evidence derives at first from literary sources of historians, the writings of the
early fathers, and pilgrims who visited the holy sites, such as Egeria. The basic bibli-
ography consists of publications by the Israeli who surveyed the area during the years
1967–78 (Υ. Tsafrir 1970, I. Finkelstein 1985, U. Dahari 1994, 2000) and P. Gross-
man who excavated in Feiran. In addition to the above more surveys were undertaken
by the author and M. Myriantheos for their personal research, for the St Katherine
Protectorate Development Project (1997), for the needs of surveys for the Hellenic
Archaeological Mission at South Sinai (since 1998, University of Athens, Prof. S.
Kalopisi & Prof. M. Panayiotidi), and more recently for the South Sinai Regional
Development Project (2008–9).
Pre-Christian habitation has been recorded, including Nabatean towers and set-
tlements in the broader area around mount Horeb. It is difficult to date any structures
in the 4th to the 6th century based only on the measured surveys and from observa-
tion, without systematic excavations and finds that will help date buildings or ruins
preserved till today. Therefore some of the well preserved chapels in the mountains
could be dated in the pre-Justinian period based on typology, while there are ruined
structures that have been identified in the 4th and 5th century by the Hellenic Mis-
sion (chapel on Jebel Musa, excavations in Wadi el Deir) or the Egyptian Antiquities
Organization. Concluding the graphic reconstruction of the topography of the sites
around Jebel Musa is attempted, presenting the location of four small centers with
defensive towers that were surrounded with gardens watered from springs or wells
and the possible routes that gave access to the Holy Summit.
Rudolf H.W. Stichel (Technische Universität Darmstadt, Deutschland)

Kaiser Justinian in ‘seiner’ Hagia Sophia: neue Aspekte zur
Interpretation der Architektur und der Liturgie
Das liturgische Geschehen in der Hagia Sophia von Konstantinopel wurde bereits
mehrfach ausführlich untersucht. Doch auf Grund der beschränkten Quellensituati-
on lag der Schwerpunkt bisher nicht auf der Zeit Justinians und seiner unmittelbaren
Nachfolger. Es wird versucht, diese Lücke möglichst zu schliessen.
Dazu dient zunächst eine neue Rekonstruktion der liturgischen Einbauten mit
konsequenter Berücksichtigung der Grössenordnung der Teile, wie sie sich aus der
überlieferten Benutzung ergeben. Damit lässt sich für die Anlage ein weit stärkeres
Ausgreifen in den Raum hinein begründen, als in älteren Vorschlägen angenommen
wird.
Im Zentrum der Untersuchungen zur Liturgie selbst stehen zwei durch die aktive
Teilnahme des Kaisers ausgezeichnete Vorgänge: der ‘Grosse Einzug’ mit dem ‘Che-
rubinischen Hymnus’, dieser unter Justin II. eingeführt, und der ‘Friedenskuss’, in der
gleichen Zeit nachweislich von hoher Bedeutung. In beiden Fällen kann der Kaiser
in jeweils unterschiedlicher Weise wie ein Abbild Gottes gesehen werden, ohne dass
damit andere Deutungsebenen aufgegeben werden. Dabei lässt sich in vieler Hin-
sicht eine Fortschreibung traditioneller römischer Formen und Vorstellungen fest-

stellen, die nun in einen neuen, christlichen Zusammenhang eingebettet sind.
In den zeitgenössischen Aussagen zur Architektur lassen sich gleichartige meta-
phorische Deutungsmethoden beobachten (z.B. Salomon-Vergleich, Goldene Ket-
te), mit denen sich auch neuere Überlegungen zum mathematischen Entwurf verbin-
den lassen. Insgesamt entwickelt sich so ein vertieftes Verständnis der einzigartigen
Architektur und der Intentionen ihres kaiserlichen Auftraggebers.
Sergey Zaplatnikov (St Tikhon’s University, Moscow, Russia)

St Germanus I of Constantinople’s theology on icons
At the very beginning of the 8th century Byzantine Church was faced with the grow-
ing anti-iconic doctrine. The first apologist of the orthodox attitude towards the
icons was patriarch Germanus I of Constantinople. As distinct from other ortho-
dox companions-in-arms – St John of Damascus and Pope Gregory II – patriarch
Germanus found himself in the very center of historical developments, he could see
iconoclastic movement and its participants with his own eyes. Germanus assumed
very difficult mission: he sought to keep the church world in peace and at the same
time he must disprove iconoclastic doctrine (in spite of the dangerous possibility to
be punished for his theological ideas from the emperor Leo III).
So far as more conceptual writings of St John of Damascus were unknown in the
Eastern Church for a long period of time, it is natural to assume that VIIth Ecumeni-
cal Council and, more later, patriarch Nicephore of Constantinople with St Theo-
dore of Studite could in many ways base their teachings on Germanus’ theological
heritage, which therefore seems to be extremely important for the orthodox doctrine
on icons.
Detailed study of the St Germanus’ writings, which still have no full critical edi-
tion, shows that patriarch Germanus was the first theologian, who gathered and pro-
duced citations from the Holy Scripture and patristic tradition in the defense of holy
icons; pointed out the principal difference between pagan idolatry and Christian
honoring of icons; distinguished true worship to God and respectful honoring; for-
mulated the idea of visual Gospel; emphasized the real tie of the Christ’s incarnation
with the icon of Christ and demonstrated that images, which represent saints and
Theotokos, express our particular love to their deeds.
Alexis Chryssostalis (Centre Lenain de Tillemont, Paris, France)

L’emploi des signes marginaux dans les manuscrits théologiques du
IXe siècle à byzance. Le cas des écrits de Nicéphore de
Constantinople
L’étude détaillée des manuscrits du IXe siècle contenant les textes antirrhétiques du
patriarche Nicéphore de Constantinople (758–828) atteste un système complexe de
signes critiques marginaux, qui mettait en évidence l’enseignement orthodoxe (ico-
nophile) et la doctrine condamnée (iconoclaste). Il s’agit en réalité d’une sorte de
langage codifié dont la fonction consiste à donner une exégèse assez complète du tex-
te. Cet appareil remonte à celui qui a été inventé à l’époque hellénistique à Alexan-
drie, repris dans une version modifiée par Origène pour son édition critique de la
Bible grecque et adapté de nouveau dans les manuscrits de textes dogmatiques, en
particulier de Grégoire le Théologien (Grégoire de Nazianze). L’état très développé
du système utilisé pour les textes de Nicéphore témoigne, dans le cas d’un manuscrit,
d’une édition soignée, réalisée sans doute à Constantinople après la restauration défi-
nitive des images en 843.
Despoina Ariantzi (University of Vienna, Austria)

Children in Monasteries
In my paper I investigate the diachronic development of regulations concerning the

age of admission to monasteries on the basis of legal sources (from the 18th Canon
of Basil the Great to the 6th novel of Emperor Leo VI), monastic foundation docu-
ments and other monastic rules. For entry into a monastery the following factors will
be taken into consideration: the desire of the parents (Stephan the Younger, Nicholas
the Studite, Andrew of Crete, Phantinos the Younger, etc.) or of the children them-
selves (Theodoros of Sykeon, Alypios Stylites, Antonios Kauleas, etc.) and the clash
that the decision to enter a monastery provoked between the two sides (as in the cases
of Symeon the New Theologian and of Athanasios in the life of Niketas of Medikion,
who abandoned their careers to follow the monastic vocation and came into conflict
with their fathers); the influence of relatives, such as brothers and uncles, who were
already monks and served as models for the children (Euthymios, Theodoros Stu-
dites, Peter of Atroa, Peter of Argos, etc.); and the particular circumstances of life, for
example being an orphan in the case of Paul of Latros. Vows taken by the parents (the
case of Theodora of Thessaloniki, who gave up her six-year-old daughter, Theodora of
Kaisaris, etc.) and financial problems, such as the inability or unwillingness of parents
to provide a dowry, are considerations of particular importance. Gender-specific dif-
ferences regarding the motivations of men and women will also be included. When a
prospective monk (or nun, as the case may be) is accepted in a monastery, I also look
at his material support, along with the probationary stages he must go through in
order to become a monk and his relations with other monks and the abbot.
Spiros V. Divaris (University of Roskilde, Denmark)

Hospitals in Byzantium
The hospitals of the Byzantine era are establishments where medical science and
nursing is finding place. The doctors (archiatroi), nurses (hypourgoi) and the aux-
iliary staff (hyperetai) had their specific functions within the hospital environment.
Hospitals are the continuation of the xenones or xenodochia.
During the 3rd century, bishop Vasileios is the main actor in the establishement
of hospitals in Caesarea. The geographical placement of the hospitals is primarily in
Constantinople, Caesarea and Asia Minor, Antiochia, Alexandria and Thessaloniki.
Rural monasteries and churches were used as treatment centres.
Bakirtzis refers in p. 8 to the Basilica of St. Demetrios in Thessaloniki as a treat-
ment centre for those in need of medical care.
Many hospitals were established in the 8th and 9th century AD. One of the most
famous hospitals of this period is the Lavra Monastery in Mt. Athos, founded by the
Athanasios of Athos during the reign of the emperor Nikiforos II (963–969).
The first woman to write a thesis on medicine was Jevpraksija, the granddaughter
of Vladimir Monomakh of Kiev, who wrote on hygiene and physiology and ways to
cure common diseases.
Her advice on treatments was successful and she was taking care of the poor and
destitute in a true Christian spirit. In 1122 she married the Byzantine emperor Alex-
ios Komnenos (1122–1142) and received the name of Zoja. She received very much
from the academic environment of Byzantium, she continued to study medicine and
in 1130’s she wrote a dissertation on ointment.
The question is now: What sort of education did the doctors of that time have?
In the beginning their training was an apprenticeship which developed as formal ed-
ucation. The doctors were supposed to study Galen and Hippocrates and at the same
time received clinical training. They could receive their qualification after an exami-
nation before a collegiate body of doctors. It is known that from 1100 AD, doctors
were supposed to hold a diploma as a proof of their qualifications. The qualifications
and fame of the hospital doctors was of such a standard that even kings and aristoc-
racy would let themselves receive treatment at a hospital. Such an example occurred
when the emperor Alexios Komnenos fell ill and he had to be hospitalised at the
Mangana Xenon in Constantinople. Doctors were practising privately as well, but
they offered more time to their hospitalised patients, compared to today. The nurses
received a formal education in the form of apprenticeship.
Lucile Hermay (Université Paris IV-Sorbonne, France)

La place des moines dans les cérémonies à la période
médio-byzantine
Les sources de la période médio-byzantine témoignent de nombreuses interventions

des moines auprès des autorités impériales qui pouvaient prendre des formes variées.
Elles pouvaient être officielles et publiques, notamment lorsqu’ils participaient à des
banquets impériaux ou à d’autres cérémonies se déroulant dans le Grand Palais ou
dans les rues de Constantinople.
Ainsi, des sources, qui semblent pourtant être rédigées plus ou moins à la même
époque mais de natures différentes, n’attestent pas d’une présence figée des moines
dans le cérémonial impérial.
Dans les taktika, les moines sont peu présents aux cérémonies. Par exemple, dans
son Traité, Philotée énumère les quarante-neuf banquets se déroulant annuellement.
Des moines ne participent qu’à trois de ces banquets. Il s’agit surtout de l’élite des
moines, les higoumènes des grands monastères. Ils avaient surtout un rôle représenta-
tif et leur présence témoignait de la bonne orthodoxie de l’empereur.
Dans la Vie d’Euthyme, le saint est convoqué plusieurs fois au Grand Palais par
Léon VI lors des fêtes religieuses. Avant qu’il ne soit nommé syncelle ou higoumène
de Psamathia, l’empereur l’invite à la fête de la mi-Pentecôte, puis à celle de l’Ascen-
sion. Plus tard, Euthyme est convoqué à la fête de la Pentecôte. A ces trois occasions,
il refuse de se rendre au palais.
Surtout, on relève que ce moine est convoqué au palais alors même que la présen-
ce de moines, d’higoumènes ou même de syncelle n’est pas précisée dans les taktika
pour ces cérémonies.
Cet exemple montre que les vies de saints nuancent la vision normative et théo-
rique que donnent les taktika. Aussi, peut-on interpréter ce décalage comme dépen-
dant de la nature des sources ou ne pourrait-on pas lire cette contradiction comme
témoignant de perceptions différentes du rôle des moines dans les cérémonies, voire
même d’une revendication de celui-ci par les moines? Arroger aux moines une parti-
cipation aux cérémonies démontrerait que ceux-ci, et notamment l’élite des moines
auraient pu chercher à disposer d’un rôle politique plus éminent au sein de l’Empire.
Tsvetana Cholova (New Bulgarian University, Sofia, Bulgaria)

The Christian Paideia and the educational traditions in Bulgarian
Middle Ages
In order to perceive the essential characteristics of the education in Bulgaria during

the Middle Ages after the Christianization, we must take into consideration its devel-
opment following the educational philosophy of the Christian Paideia, reproducing
the Byzantine example. After the Christianization in Bulgaria many tractates were
translated and the literature of the Golden Age is abundant as it comes to examples
of appraisal of the knowledge, in accordance with the Christian Paideia, which left a
deep mark on Bulgarian mentality.
We can find an expression of this acknowledgement of the science and the educa-
tion in the creation of the biography of Constantine-Cyril the Philosopher, in the
famous “definition of the philosophy” which is a remarkable synthesized definition
of the Christian Paideia. The apology of knowledge and erudition in Bulgaria was
initiated right after the Christianization and is to be found in the epistle of Photius
addressed to King Boris. In this “kings’ mirror” Photius exposed the basic principles
of the Christian Paideia. Simeon, who, following the expression of the Cremonian
bishop Liudprand, was called “hemiagros” (half-Greek) by the Byzantines because
of his high erudition even in comparison to the high level of the intellectual elite in
Constantinople, was educated following the prescriptions of the Christian Paideia
and had passed all the stages of the “seven liberal arts”. The literary schools were in
fact not only educational but also cultural and religious institutions and had a very
large variety of responsibilities connected with the spread of Christianity, the ideas of
the Christian culture and education.
The history of the Bulgarian Middle Ages’ education cannot be understood, ana-
lyzed or described without taking into consideration its philosophical basis and the
ideas of the Christian scholars. The Christian Paideia was an expression of the con-
cept of the construction of the human personality through education and moral per-
fection. The adhesion of Bulgaria to the family of the Christian peoples affiliated it
to the classical culture and the educational traditions of the Eastern Mediterranean.
Dimo Tchechmedjiev (Université de Plovdiv, Bulgarie)

Les Pouvoirs des saints Bulgares du premier état Bulgare (IXème–
XIème siècles)
Cette étude s’intéresse à la question des reliques de saints chrétiens communs et

bulgares pendant le premier état Bulgare (IXème–XIème siècles). En premier lieu est
fait un examen de tous les «décrets» de culte concernant ses reliques pendant cette
période. De l’attention est accordée à l’accumulation de reliques dans la première ca-
pitale chrétienne bulgare – Preslav.
Un intérêt particulier est prêté à la renaissance de certains cultes paléochrétiens
dans le Premier État Bulgare, tels que celui des Quinze martyrs de Tiberiopolis. Est
spécialement accentué le devenir des pouvoirs des martyrs ainsi que leur rôle dans la
renaissance de ce culte. Est également examiné le problème des cultes purement Bul-
gares s’étant développés durant cette période, tels que celui de St. Clément d’Ohrid,
un des rares saints Bulgares dont les reliques maintenant conservées à Ohrid n’ont
pas été perdues. Enfin, est examiné en détail le problème avec reliques de St. Gorazd,
comme une tentative de justifier le point de vue qu’elles sont fausses, et issues d’une
fiction patriotique locale durant la Renaissance Bulgare.
Bistra Nikolova (Institut de recherches historiques, Sofia, Bulgarie)

Le rôle des empereurs byzantins dans le destin des saints bulgares
Le pantheon des saints bulgares du calendriere orthodoxe est relativement court dans
la période du Moyen âge bulgare (IX–XIV s.). Les saints qui y figurent sont d’une
part ceux qui n’ont jamais en de rapports directs avec les bulgares (comme Constan-
tin et Methodii) d’autre part – ceux qui apparaient dans le cadre des frontières poli-
tiques de la Bulgarie et qui proviennent d’un milieu bulgare étniqie (comme Ivan de
Rila, Gavil de Lesnovo, Prohor Pchinski ets.). Dans le deuzième moitié de XIV s. ont
été faits les premiers pas pour la canonisation de patriarch Euthyme, qui a été érige en
culte de santité, après XIV s.
En une des certaines conditions, ces saints peuvent être devises en deux groupes:
des personnages historiques liés à l’organisation de l’Église bulgare dont l’authencité
historique est confirmée non seulement par les ouvrages hagiographique et himno-
graphique, mais aussi par un grand nombre des sources diverses. L’autres ces sont des
saints qui sont plus aux moins liés aux moines, mais que nous ne connaissons que de
légendes hagiographiques.
Dans le premier cas on peux parler des lieus historiques réels entre le saint et
l’empereur byzantin, qui sont réalises dans un milieu politique et historique diffé-
rent. Quand à Constantin Philosoph qui mène un vie proche au Palais, la liaison avec
empereur est direct. Tandis que ches Metodii qui est un employé byzantin provin-
sial, d’un rang moyen, le rôle de empereure et à sous-entendre. Á ce que conserne de
la prose hagiographique, le lien entre l’empereur et ces deus saints reflète leur status
social et leur importance pour les Palais. Elle devient une force motrice pour les évé-
nements et la politique des empereuts s’avère à la base de leur dévelopement en tant
que les missionaires byzantins.
En ce qui conserne le rôle de l’empereur dans le destin de la vie de patriarch
Euthyme, cette fois il est bien différent. Il est tout à fais clair que la liaison entre les
deux ne represente pas un événement historique réel, mais plutôt une légende ha-
giographique, ayant une motivation idéologique, nourrie par des espoires, liés à la
formation d’une union avec Rome dans la moitié du XIV s. et la rapport du clergé
orthodoxe envers elle.
Dans certains ouvrages portant sur la Vie des saints bulgares, le rôle de l’empereur
byzantin est indirect et nous ne sommes pas au courant dans quelle mesure il repose
sur des événements historiques réels. Or le destin du saint raconte dans les Vies se
heurte à un engagement de la part de l’empereur, ce qui en fait donne une raison aux
auteurs des Vies d’introduire son personage dans le récit. Dans ce cas, dans le récit
consacre à la Vie des saints, l’empereur est presenté à la arrière plan sans qu’il entre en
communication directe avec le personage principale et même sans qu’il manifeste de
l’intérêt.
L’empeteur byzantine occupe une place spécifique dans la vie des saints bulgares
pendant la donination byzantine sur les terres bulgares. C’est ici que la réalité histori-
que et la récit légendair se manifestent de manière différente. Ceci est bien remarqua-
ble dans les Vies bulgare et byzantin de Ivan de Rila.
Independemment s’il s’agir d’une rencontre entre le saint et l’empereur byzantin
historique ou elle est basée sur une légende ce conçue par la population ou bien d’une
sujet propre à l’hagiographie, cet événement à toujours contribuée à la formation de
l’autorité du saint d’une part, et l’autre part à l’achévenement du portrait du souve-
rain chrétien.
Tatjana Starodubcev (Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, Serbia)

The Formation of a Holy Mount in Late Middle-Ages: The Case of
the River Crnica Gorge
The Crnica river is located in the northeastern part of Serbia, which for the most
part of medieval period, held no particular importance. In the region around Crnica,
a border county was located which emperor Dušan assigned to joupanus Vukoslav in
mid 14th century. He was succeeded by his son Crep who faithfully served emperor
Uroš and prince Lazar. The seat of the county was situated at Petrus fortress.
The region gained significance only during the reign of Lazarevic dynasty, after
1371. Monastic life on the banks of the river came to bloom towards the end of 14th
or the beginning of 15th century. Several monasteries with the churches of then-
common triconch ground plan were built during that period.
However, the history of church-building in this region started somewhat earlier
in the village of Lešje. There, joupanus Vukoslav raised a church on the spot where
his successors built an even larger church of which only minimal traces remain. An
inscription mentions the desert of Lešje, which indicates the presence of hermits. Be-
low the Petrus fortress, remnants of Petruša monastery are located which was prob-
ably erected by the members of the Vukoslavic family as well. The most important
monastery near Crnica is Sisojevac. It was founded by the efforts of despot Stefan
and, apparently, a Serbian patriarch. Sisoje the confessor was buried in the church
while the local tradition states that a nearby cave served as his eremitic dwelling.
There is no information about other churches in Crnica gorge. About an hour’s
walk downstream from Sisojevac, the remnants of three modest monasteries have
been found. Several hundred meters further down, the ruins of Namasija monastery
are located, and several hundred meters down the stream, a cave which may have
served as an eremitic dwelling can be seen.

During the final decades of the 14th century, this sparsely populated region was
increasingly inhabited by the Hesychasts. They settled in wooden shelters or caves,
quickly gathering numerous followers, and thus it became necessary to organize coe-
nobia. The caves and the monasteries in the area surrounding Crnica river represent a
testimony of such process of gradual formation of one holy mountain.
Tamar Meskhi (Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia)

Typikon of the Petritsoni Monastery as a Source for the History
of Byzantium and Georgia
A list of chrysobulls and other deeds received by Gregory Pakourianos for his faith-
ful service to the Byzantine Royal Court is found in the chapter 35 of the “Typikon
of Petritsoni”. One of the chrysobulls was issued by the Byzantine Emperor Michael
VII Doukas: «ἡ σημείωσις τοῦ κυροῦ Μιχαὴλ περὶ τῆς κινηθεὶσης τότε ὑποθέσεως τοῦ
Μπατζινάκου» (35,10).
From the above Greek text one cannot see for what kind of services was granted
Gregory Pakourianos this deed. It cannot be learned from the corresponding Georgian
text either. Vagueness is associated with understanding of the word «Μπατζινάκου».
According to certain scholars Μπατζινάκου should denote the nomadic tribe of the
Pechenegs (Печенеги in the Russian historiography). In support of their assump-
tion these scholars cite another piece of text from the same Typikon where the
Pechenegs are indeed implied (. . . τοὺς λίαν δεινοὺς καὶ θρασυτάτους ἐχθροὺς...τοὺς
ἀντιτασσομένους οὐ μόνον τῇ Ῥωμανίᾳ ἀλλὰ καὶ παντὶ τῷ γένει τῶν χριστιανῶν, φημὶ δὴ
τοὺς Πατζινάκους . . . , 2,18). According to other opinion, Πατζινάκους might be an
antroponym.
The following has been established in a course of our studies:
1. «Μπατζινάκου» is a Greek version for the Turkish word Bacanak which means
“brother-in-law”.
As it turned out, the problematic piece of the text from the Typikon contains an
account of significance both for Georgian and Byzantine history:
1. Sebastakrator Issac, the elder brother of Alexius I Comnenus is implied by the
word «Μπατζινάκου» (“brother-in-law”).
2. Isaac Comnenus was one of the initiators of a rebellion against Michael VII
Doukas.
3. Gregory Pakourianos contributed to crushing of the uprising. He was granted
deed for his efforts.
4. By the time of writing of the Petritsoni Typikon (1084), Alexius I Comnenus
was an emperor of Byzantium. Taking into consideration that the emperor endorsed
a conciliatory policy towards the Doukas, recollection of Isaac’s participation in a
plot against Doukas would rouse indignation in him. This is the reason that Isaac
Comnenus is not mentioned by the name, but only by blood relationship.
5. Taking the above-mentioned into consideration, the text of the Typikon is an
excellent example of the Byzantine diplomacy.
6. The authenticity of chapter 24, which mentions guileful Greeks, stands under
suspicion taking into consideration that the Typikon was written very cautiously and
diplomatically.
FC10. CHURCH ARCHITECTURE

Moderators
Alessandra Guiglia/Beatrice Tolidjian
Svetlana Tarkhanova (Russian Academy of Architecture and Building Sciences,

Moscow, Russia)
Genesis of Christian Basilica at the base of Late Antique Palestine
Architecture. Near Eastern Roots
In the Roman Empire of the Late Antiquity we observe a very complicated and di-
verse process of fundamental religious change from ancient traditional religions that
were still alive to the newly emerged Christianity. The parallel to this process in the
history of architecture we see in the creation of a new universal type of building – the
Christian basilica. I consider this one of the most intriguing points for the investiga-
tion of theLate Antique culture. My interest is to understand the ways of synthesis
of old Near Eastern architectural traditions, including Egyptian, Nabatean, Syrian,
Greco-Roman, and Jewish religious buildings that produced the form of Christian
basilica in the beginning of the 4th c. In this respect the Near Eastern monuments
and particularly those from the region of Palestine, seem to provide the most sig-
nificant material in comparison with the central Byzantine regions, where the Greco-
Roman ancient heritage prevailed. In the East we can precisely notice how features
were drifting from one tradition to another, creating new types of buildings. More
precise attention I pay to the North-West church in Hippos-Sussita (Galilee Lake)
that was built at the site of a destroyed Roman temple. The previous building influ-
enced the new one. It can be traced at all levels from the planning and to the small
architectural details. In this polis no synagogue was found, though several of them
are mentioned in historical sources. But many of them are found in districts. So we
can notice common features in both Christian and Jewish monuments. The tradition
of church building in Hippos was very close to the common Decapolis school. At the
eastern edge it emerged into the old Syrian tradition, taking its peculiarities and hab-
its. It was a very elegant process of mutual confluence. New archaeological findings
in these territories give us very rich material, which can widen our understanding of
the basilica genesis.
Elżbieta Jastrzębowska (University of Warsaw, Poland)

Christianisation of Palmyra: Early Byzantine Church in Bels
Temple
According to archaeological evidence (twin churches excavated by M. Gawlikowski),

the famous Roman frontier oasis city in the province of Syria was fully Christianised
already in the 5th century, but its real Christian revitalisation took place in the 6th
century. This was due to the great restoration program attributed to the emperor Jus-
tinian (city walls, inscriptions and other written sources). Besides the great basilica
(currently excavated by G. Majcherek) and three small churches in the middle of the
city build ex novo, there were in Palmyra other churches in well known pagan tem-
ples – their ruins still making a great impression on all visitors of that site. Although
the church in the old Baalshamins Temple is nowadays questioned, the existence of
the church in the old Bels Temple is well evidenced by the presence of remains of
Christian inscriptions and frescos, scarcely preserved on the inner walls of the tem-
ple. The traditional 6th century dating of these paintings is not certain, but prob-
able as the Justinian’s foundation, but their old interpretation of Jules Leroy should
be certainly revised. Thanks to the knowledge of many images dated to the 6th–8th
centuries I would like to propose a new interpretation of one scene of these frescos,
which is “the best” preserved. In any case, in the 8th century the church in the Bels
Temple was abandoned (Islamic graffito from 728/29). In the 12th century this ex-
temple and the ex-church was transformed to a mosque.
Katya Melamed (National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Sofia, Bulgaria)

Early Christian Basilica in Bansko: Local Traditions Following
the Byzantine General Religious Programme
About the mid AD 4th c. a basilica was set up over a terrace at the periphery of Ban-
sko, 1000 m above sea level. The geographical position of the area lies within the
zone of one of the shortest and busiest trading roads to south reaching Chalkidiki.
We have solid grounds to think the region was densely inhabited at least since the
first millennium BC, as we have a plenty of illustrative materials coming from the
territory of Bansko, as well as ceramics of undoubted date.
Initially a Thracian village was organized over the terrace, suggested by stone
houses and ceramics. Then came the basilica. It was constructed by natural stone
without any additional working out. The builders chose natural forms to fit the con-
struction as well as some quasi-columns flanking the entrances. They were fixed up
with yellow clay. They is not any mortar applied. The construction was roofed by
tegulae of local production. In the area of St. Ivan, about 3 km south-east of the ba-
silica we have explored kilns for building ceramics from the Late Antiquity. (As a
matter of fact, St. Ivan = probably St. John the Baptist was also a sanctuary of 3000
years long life, Late Antiquity and Early Christianity including).
The Basilica had glass windows some of them stained. We have a large number of
fragments of pale green glass, some with an edge to form rectangular panels. Certain
fragments bear clear traces of ornaments – a red circle – an aureole? and a flower
bud. Alongside the window glass, we have also fragments of thymiateria and other
glass vessels.
This circumstance comes as one of the peculiar details of the early church build-
ing in Bansko: masonry entirely following the local tradition far away from the stand-
ards of the Empire and alongside – expensive glass windows and containers most
probably imported from Thessalonica. The model finds quite close parallels with the
basilica of the same date revealed in Nova Mahala village, Batak. Obviously the pop-
ulation belonged to a similar culture and mastered similar building manners. We can
also suggest similar origins and historical development.
The plans of both basilicas are also similar. The one in Bansko displays a strongly
elongated naos with well shaped apse, and a northern chapel also terminating in an
apse. Almost in the middle of the nave we find the clear fragments of slabs covering
the floor and a staircase of large stones leading downwards to the lower alter sector.
Most probably the local community newly adopted Christianity and entered the
Diocese of Nicopolis ad Nestum (Garmen village, Blagoevgrad region).
The basilica was burnt about the late 6th c. We associate the fire with the Slavic
raids along the course of Mesta River at that time, well evidenced also in Nicopolis
ad Nestum.
The basilicas in Bansko, as well as in Nova Mahala are a good example of the
Late Antiquity local manners of life and technologies as they conformed the official
programmes but often neglected the official standards and remained unchanged for a
very long period of time.
Marina Oncevska Todorovska (Skopje, Republic of Macedonia)

The Early Christianity and the new Early Christian Basilica in
Skupi
In the first three centuries of the existence of Christianity, two elements had defined
its position: the development of the new era and the fact that it took place in the so-
cial, cultural and religious system of the late Roman empire. The late Roman period
was before all the church era, with all persistence of the new religion to become big-
gest world power. It resulted in the breakout of the Christian buildings throughout
the empire. The development and expansion of the church were occurring gradually
and conditioned of the influences at the different regions of dispersion.
The Constantine epoch was marked as a time of the church construction. Until
350 AD church structures had been built with a lot of basilical variations, adapted to
the requirements of the liturgy, building practice and aspirations of the patrons.
In the 5th century the complex Constantine foundations were excluded. Com-
posite basilical martiriums, the large cross-shaped churches, double cathedrals, multi-
naved, without apses, altars placed in the main nave, had seized to exist or survived
only in backward provinces.
In the 6th century basilicas with galleries, which were standard along the Aegean
coast in the 5th century, were “out of fashion” in Constantinople and surrounding
provinces until 530 AD, but continued in the Balkan the propylaea. The apses of
Constantinople type were practicised, which were three-sided from outside. They
were all completed in the brick technique, common for Thessalonica and south Bal-
kan in the late 5th century.
At the territory of R. Macedonia the accelerated progress of the church construc-
tion contributed numerous church objects to be built in the Episcopal centers Scupi,
Stobi, Heraclea, Bargala, Lihnidos. They were built in the period of the 5th and 6th
century. These basilicas were prolonging the life in the Late Antique cities. They are
holders of the church life in the time of early Christianity, and their huge numbers
shows that the Cristianity in this period was well founded in Macedonia.
The newfound big early Christian basilica in Scupi is situated in the central city
core and its entrance was at the street cardo. Orientation of the church is W-E. The
church has elongated form and from the western side has an entrance into atrium,
from the atrium to the nartex, then into the naos, which at the eastern side ends
with three apses. It was built in the technique of alternate changes of horizontally set
bricks in several rows and stones lined up in malter.
At the time of early Christian period, when intensively many churches were built,
the cites noticeably change experiencing all alternations of the society transforma-
tion from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Age. The most of the cities finished
their urban life in the 6th century, under the force of destruction of barabarian inva-
sions, population impoverishment, and some continued their existence with differ-
ent character and look.
Catherine Vanderheyde (Université de Strasbourg et Université Libre de Bruxelles,

Belgique)
Le décor architectural des églises protobyzantines de la côte
occidentale de la mer Noire
Cette communication présente les premiers résultats d’un projet franco-bulgare ini-
tié en 2007, co-dirigé par Margarita Vaklinova et moi-même, et auquel participent
Bernard Bavant (CNRS, Strasbourg) et Albena Milanova (Institut Ivan Dujcev).
L’objectif principal de ce projet est d’établir un catalogue le plus exhaustif possible
des sculptures byzantines conservées dans les villes de la côte occidentale de la mer
Noire: Varna, Obzor, Nessebar, Pomorie, Burgas, Sozopol et Athopol. Ces villes por-
tuaires constituaient des places commerciales très actives dans l’empire byzantin. La
mer Noire était en effet un lieu d’échanges privilégié entre Constantinople, les Bal-
kans et l’ancienne Russie. L’étude de la sculpture architecturale byzantine conservée
dans les villes du littoral bulgare, jusqu’à présent en grande partie inédite, permet
donc de mieux comprendre le processus d’échanges et d’influences existant entre la
capitale de l’empire byzantin, Constantinople, et la Bulgarie au cours de l’Antiquité
tardive et jusqu’à la période médiévale.
Parmi les éléments architecturaux déjà répertoriés, on constate une proportion
importante de bases, de fûts de colonnes et de chapiteaux. D’autres pièces sculptées
appartiennent aux installations liturgiques des églises, telles les clôtures des sanctuai-
res ou les ambons. La grande majorité de ces sculptures sont en marbre bien que le
calcaire local ait aussi été utilisé à certains endroits. L’examen du décor sculpté indi-
que une filiation certaine avec les sculptures du Constantinople, du littoral de la mer
Noire et des côtes de la mer Egée. Des analyses scientifiques des marbres des sculp-
tures conservées à Sozopol sont actuellement en cours et permettront de déterminer
la part des importations issues de la capitale de l’empire byzantin et la part de la pro-
duction locale de sculptures. L’analyse de ces ensembles sculptés et leurs comparai-
sons permettront aussi de mieux comprendre l’activité et l’origine géographique des
ateliers de sculpteurs.
Боян Кузупов (София, България)

Старата митрополия в Несебър
Построена пред първата половина на V в., “Св. София” е трикорабна базилика

от елинистичен тип. Има триделен нартекс и атриум. Два реда от по 5 стълба,
съединени с арки, разделят наоса. На изток централния кораб завършва с по-
лукръгла абсида със синтрон. В конхата са отворени три прозореца. Западната
стена на храма е запазена, но източната е почти напълно разрушена. Сегашният
под е оформен с каменни плочи, но под стълбовете личат масивните им стило-
бати.
Зидарията е в “opus mixtum” с типичния за времето белезникав хоросан,
примесен с едри керамични парчета.
Оформянето на базиликата отговаряло на изискванията на “Testamentum
Domini nostri...” През централния вход влизал клирът, северният бил за жените,
а южния – за мъжете и катихумените. Често това разделение продължавало и в
наоса чрез зидани или решетъчни прегради между колоните. В Източен Илири-
кум се среща вариант чрез високи стилобати, както е при нашата Митрополия.
Кръщаването било предшествано от поучения в християнските догми. Об-
разувала се е особената прослойка “катихуменати”. В резултат на усилената хрис-
тиянизация обаче катихумените намалявали, а с това и изскването за разделяне

на богомолците в отделни групи. Високите стилобати на Старата Митрополия
обаче пречели за свободно преминаване между централния и южния кораби.
Едва ли обаче това ще да е била единствената причина за интеграция на тези
части от храмовото пространство. Възможно е да са възникнали и фактори от
социално естество. Така, все повече високите стилобати се превърнали в пречка.
Изход бил намерен в повдигане на подовото ниво.
Това довело до необходимост от промени: височината на страничните ко-
раби трябвало да бъде намалена, а праговете на прозорците да останат ниско до
терена. Затова прозорците на централния кораб били подзидани, за да поемат
повдигането на страничните покрития. Същото станало и с абсидните прозор-
ци, за да може да бъде използвана последната седалка на синтрона.
По състав хоросанът на тези преправки е идентичен с оригиналния. Като
знаем, че през Х–ХІ в. в Несебър е използван друг тип хоросан, може да опреде-
лим приблизително времето на тези преустройства около VІІ–VІІІ в.
Старият мозаечен под на базиликата бил засипан. Днес разкриването на
първичната настилка от V в. би придало на този великолепен паметник още по-
висока културно – историческа и художествена стойност.
Anastasios Tantsis (University of Thessaly, Greece)

Henotikon in Stone: Hagia Sophia and the Monophysite
Controversy
In Justinian’s reign, Christianity had already acquired a leading role into the shap-
ing of the Empire’s fate but doctrinal disputes, affecting major areas of governance
and politics, endangered its unity. His predecessors had bequested upon him several
problems and also a legacy of ways of administering the empire from which he drew
inspiration by bringing their example to the max. Many of the previous emperors
had tried to solve ecclesiastic quarrels like the Monophysite dispute, responsible for
a schism with the Roman church. Nearly all of them had used patronage of church
architecture as a means of showing their support to the Christian establishment and
society. Some of them have tried to negotiate with or support the so-called “heretic”
parties but to no effect. Justinian saw no limits to his involvement in all these areas in
his trying to secure the empire’s unity.
As a church builder he financed buildings that incorporated established tradi-
tions and norms in creating something new. Hagia Sophia, the apex of his activity
has been seen as a basilica merging a concentric domed character. It is possible to
look at its architecture as an expression of ideas shaped with regards to the unity of
the church, like an ideal union of two traditions expressed in stone, with more sub-
tlety than the Henotikon but equal dramatic effect: the unity of architectural ideas
from east and west as expressing the union of the respective doctrinal views.
In this light, typology of churches emerges as carrier of meaning transgressing

mere building activity as simple expression of style and taste, acquiring a symbolic
content of cultural significance with political and ideological overtones hitherto
overlooked. The ambivalence between the basilical and the domed octagon type,
found also in the Hormisdas palace church complex, reflects the place of Constanti-
nople’s church between Western and Eastern traditions linked to doctrinal disputes
as well.
Helge Svenshon (Darmstadt University of Technology, Germany)

The Innovation of Tradition – The Dome of the Church of Saints
Sergius and Bacchus at Istanbul
Some of the most outstanding domed buildings, which have survived in their almost
complete original state, were erected in the Justinian Era. Their construction demon-
strates not only the unbroken tradition of Roman civil engineering, but also shows
the creative use of this knowledge to realize innovative spatial constructions such as
Hagia Sophia.
In this context, Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus in Istanbul is most remark-
able because of the unique geometrical concept and shape of its dome. Contrary to
most of the hemispherical domes of Roman times its vault is a combination of a steep
ascending window zone, which is reminiscent of a drum, and a very flat calotte. The
dome was constructed using the geometry of its octagonal floor plan and was built
as a kind of cloistered vault with 16 caps which alternate between flat and concave
vaulting. The form is reminiscent of the Serapeum of the Villa Hadriana in Tivoli.
But contrary to this semidome, which covers only a simple semicircular space, the
central room and the dome of the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus function
as a geometrically harmonized unit. But it is exactly this (unique) spatial integration
that creates an effect that not only serves to divide the dome, but at the same time use
its concave caps, which nearly end at the apex, to create an efficient structure. This
innovative planning concept, which is a combination of geometric principles, spatial
design and constructional logic, was in all probability only possible due to the in-
tensive study of technological writings of ancient times. Specifically, the engineering
‘handbooks’ by Heron of Alexandria, used by the architects of Hagia Sophia, made
such innovations possible.
Alessandra Guiglia (Sapienza University of Rome, Italy)

Saint Sophia in Constantinople in the Middle Byzantine period:
some overlooked evidence
The post-Justinianic life of the Great Church of Saint Sophia in Constantinople is

well known from the extraordinary group of mosaics dating from the 9th to the 14th
century that in part substituted the non-figurative decoration of the 6th century.
However, if we look at the marble sculptures, we do not find the same evidence of a
renewal according to the decorative taste of the Middle-Byzantine period, which is
well attested in most of the other ecclesiastical buildings of the city. The architectural
sculpture of the Justinianic church – capitals, architraves, slabs – still in situ shows
that during the centuries there was no need to modify in anyway the original marble
decoration.
In any case a few isolated evidence reveal in different way and technique some
iconographic and stylistic characters later than the 6th century that show the high
skill of the craftsmen involved in the Great Church. In particular we refer to some
of the wooden beams located in the western gallery, of debated chronology, a large
carved marble slab placed in a secondary room at the south of the apse, and some
pictorial fragments with monograms on a marble soffit in the western gallery.
Oliver Hauck (Darmstadt University of Technology, Germany)

Byzantine architectural planning and engineering:
The construction of the conches of Saint Sophia in Istanbul
regarding late antique technological lore
For the research project “The Saint Sophia of Justinian in Constantinople as a scene
of profane and secular performance in late antiquity” which was funded by the Deut-
sche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) in the framework of
the priority programme “theatricality” a CAD model of this first design of Saint
Sophia in Istanbul has been generated at Technische Universität Darmstadt’s faculty
of architecture. This model which has been shown at the exhibition „Byzantium –
Splendour and Everyday Life“ at the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic
of Germany in Bonn in 2010, is based on the architectural survey of the American
Robert van Nice as well as on personal inspection of the actual building and the an-
cient calculating geometry of Hero Alexandrinus.
We found out very quickly that for recreating the light effects of the architectural
concept it is as essential to reconstruct the number and location of the windows as to
gather all the surfaces accurately. The whole building is a highly complex interaction
between the occurring daylight and the window openings, the materials, and even
some of the detail geometry. The vaults which are mainly covered by gold mosaics
are a major component of the light effects. The vaults reflect the daylight which oc-
curs mostly through the openings of the aisles into the nave. This was the reason why
these vaults but also all the other surfaces of the internal architecture of the building
had to be reconstructed concerning their original geometry as well as light reflecting
qualities.
We merged the three types of sources mentioned above together to find the trace
to the original design of the architects which we then simulated in the 3rd model.
For simulating and reconstructing ancient buildings with computer technology, it
is very important to use the CAD Software in a way architects and engineers of the
6th century would have used it, because there are many geometrical problems like the
construction of the 40° angle, which are solved in a different way today. I will discuss
this method on the basis of the design of the conches of Saint Sophia because they
belong to the most complex parts of the building.
Beatrice Tolidjian (Washington D.C., USA)

On the issue of style in the architectural decoration of certain
Bulgarian medieval churches: a case of importation of artistic
ideas from the Caucasus?
This study which is an expansion of an earlier one, proposes to compare the style of
certain unique features in the external facade decoration of several buildings from
the Asenovgrad region (11th–12th c.) and the north-eastern part of Bulgaria (10th
and 14th c.) with that of certain medieval buildings of the Caucasus. The intent is
to show that these artistic idioms have been borrowed from the Caucasus and in the
case of at least one of them – the earliest extant example is coming from Georgia.
The first ornamental feature of interest here is a twice-recessed blind arcade de-
lineating flat niches that runs along the facades of the Bulgarian buildings of the Pa-
kourianos school. In detail, the arcade is made up of pilasters. In the center of each
pilaster and attached to it is a semi-column. Thus these vertical compositions rise to
form arches that echo the exact same profile, uninterrupted by capitals or imposts. It
is found on the:
· southern, eastern and upper northern facades of the Bachkovo ossuary (last
quarter of 11th c.);
· eastern part of the southern façade of St. Georgi Metoshki (end of 11th or 12th
c.);
· most likely in the original external wall decoration of the monastic Mother
Church at Bachkovo, judging by its depiction on fresco on the wall of the crypt (last
quarter of 11th c.) and subsequent archeological evidence.
This decorative program is well known in the Caucasus. The earliest examples are
from:
· interior of the altar apse at Alaverdi Cathedral in Kutaisi Georgia (1st quarter of
11th c.). Its stylistic kinship to the Bachkovo monuments appears unprecedented –
here the decorative feature is on the inside of the building;
· upper colonnade of the southern façade of splendid Samtavisi cathedral;
· exterior of dome at small church of Gvtaeba (Transfiguration) at Ananuri from
16th or 17th c.;
· exterior of dome at court church at Metekhi, Tbilisi – restoration in brick from
the 16–17th c.
This motif is clearly not a one-time experiment on the part of the Georgian
builders but it makes its appearance several times chronologically and in a diversity
of ways. Such direct parallels are not observed in Armenia. The motif in Armenia ap-
pears in a slightly variant form as it does elsewhere in Georgia as well. In the variants,
the fluidity of the line of the blind colonnade is interrupted by capitals or imposts
from whence spring the arches. A couple of magnificent Armenian examples can be
observed at the Cathedral of the Bagratid capital of Ani (989–1001) and the cathe-
dral of Marmasen (988–1029).
Other variations on the theme in Bulgaria are :
· Church #1 at Bial Briag in the precincts of the capital Preslav in northeastern
Bulgaria (10th c.) – semi-columns attached to pilasters on inside and outside of fa-
cades;
· atrium from the 3rd construction campaign of the Round Church at Preslav –
semi-columns between large exedrae on outside (both from the 1st Bulgarian King-
dom);
· Churches #4 and 2 at the medieval fortress of Cherven in northeastern Bulgaria
from the 2nd Bulgarian Kingdom (1st half of 13th and 1st half of 14th c., respec-
tively) – semi-columns attached to the outside of the facades.
The second motif of interest in this study is a horizontal band under the roof that
wraps around the concavity of the altar apse and has a semi-cylindrical profile. Rare
in Bulgaria it is found at:
· Bachkovo ossuary;
· Church of the Annunciation (Ribenata) in Asenovgrad;
· St. Ivan the Forerunner in Asenovgrad. Curiously it is also found at Church #2
at Cherven at the base of the dome. This motif is found in profusion of styles in me-
dieval Armenia and Georgia:
· the drum in single, double and triple tier design as at Oguzlu (9th c.), Katski
(10th–11th c.) and numerous other buildings;
· occasionally the altar apse;
· interesting triangular gable pattern at the church of St. Barbara, He as far north
as Svaneti.
These design forms are not indigenous/native to Bulgarian architecture and do
not persist. The external embellishment of the Bulgarian churches appears to be
informed by the Caucasian program of ornamental design and supports it. The or-
namental program of the Pakourianos school in the Bachkovo/Asenovgrad region,
while showing awareness of certain stylistic elements experimented with at the 1st
Bulgarian Kingdom, are more beholden to the design aesthetic of medieval Georgia.
In the case of Bial Briag, inspiration from Armenia is definitely plausible, because of
its proximity to Pliska and Preslav, where the Syro-Caucasian school can be invoked
in other forms of architectural decoration. At Cherven, the Bulgarian antecedents at
Bial Briag and Bachkovo in addition to those in Armenian may have been at work.
Gregorios Pakourianos’ connections to the Caucasus are undisputed. There is also
recorded Armenian presence at the founding of the capital Preslav and the Armenian
diaspora in northern Thrace has its roots in the early 7th c. and persists through the
centuries as attested in literary, archeological and numismatic sources. The stylistic
parallels will be examined in light of the foreign/eastern influences that may have
been at work at the three sites discussed.
Pascal Androudis (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece)

Two middle-Byzantine cross-in-square churches in Cappadocia
Our paper discusses two middle-Byzantine cross-in-square built churches in Cappa-

docia; the type in question appeared in the region only in the Middle Byzantine pe-
riod and became very popular in Cappadocia, as it was elsewhere in Byzantium.
The first church discussed here, is Saint Georgios (actually known as “Karagedik
Kilise”), in the valley of Peristremma. Although it is much ruined, and its dome and
narthex do no longer exist, the church still conserves many elements of its specific
architectural type (“composite” cross-in-square). Inside the main church (naos), two
sets of piers divide the apse from the dome. The central polygonal apse was lighted by
three lancet windows and the small side round apses by one window. The surviving
south façade is decorated with gradual round arches. The transepts were also lighted
by three lancet windows. The two chambers west of the side apses were covered with
barrel vaults. There also traces of the construction of a small chapel over the NW
compartment of the naos. Another similar chapel existed over the SW compartment
of the naos. The surviving frescoes of the church, generally attributed to the 11th
century, enable its dating in the same period.
The church of Saint Gregorios of Nazianzos in Karvali (now Güzelyurt), is locat-
ed not far from the valley of Peristremma. Saint Gregorios also built in the composite
cross-in-square type, has underwent repairs and restorations in large scale. The origi-
nal building presents almost the same plan and features with those of the church of
Saint Georgios. We can mention the following ones: polygonal main apse and round
side apses. The lateral façades are decorated with gradual round arches and the system
of niches closely resembled the one at Saint Georgios. The original narthex does no
longer exist, but was reconstructed in the 19th century. In our opinion, the church of
Karvali should also be attributed to the 11th century.
Although the above-mentioned medieval Greek churches display a number of

common features that would be appear to be derived from the architecture of Con-
stantinople, the techniques of wall construction (blocks of rectangular-cut stone) re-
main relatively constant within the old “Cappadocian” tradition. Characteristic are,
for instance, the putlog holes in Saint Georgios, which appear in the stone courses
with a notch cut into the stone, a detail not found in Constantinopolitan system of
construction.
Georgios Pallis (Lamia, Greece)

Colored marbles in Middle Byzantine templon screens of Greece
Τhe use of colored marbles in middle Byzantine sculpture of Greece appears very
restricted, despite the flourishing of this art in the region. It is represented by a small
group of templon screens, where white marble is combined with green, red, purple
and bluish stone of different origins. Colored material is difficult to process; hence,
it is chiefly used in elements with a limited and simple relief decoration, such as colo-
nettes with inherent posts. Colored marbles decorate the templon screens of the
church of Panaghia at Hosios Loukas (after 961) and the katholika of the monasteries
of Vatopedion (last quarter of 10th c.), Ιviron (between 980–982 and 1019–1029),
Hosios Loukas (early 11th c.), Νea Moni of Chios (1042–1055) and Daphni (ca.
1080).
All the above monuments are directly related to the art of Constantinople, be-
ing under its immediate influence, or thanks to the patronage of imperial cycles and
high rank officials. It seems that the donors and the architects of the Greek monu-
ments were inspired by the templon screens of Constantinopolitan monuments,
which served as their models. The capital of the Byzantine state should be also seen
as the main source of colored marbles, being the place where such a valuable material
would be recycled, at times when almost all of the quarries were out of function. The
marbles of the Greek monuments are not homogeneous; they appear to have been in
second use or even that they were transferred ready-made from Constantinople.
To sum up, the use of colored marbles in the templon screens of the Greek terri-
tory is identified as a Constantinopolitan element that reflects the aesthetic values of
the capital. The fact that it was not so widespread may be due to the scarcity of the
raw material, as well as the high costs of it. It is by no chance that colored marbles
were out of use in the area during the twelfth century, a period of wide and independ-
ent advance of the local architecture and sculpture.
Armen Kazaryan (Russian Academy of Architecture and Building Sciences,

Moscow, Russia)
An Unusual Idea in the Medieval Achitecture: the Scheme of
Byzantine Omphalos and the Origin of Armenian Cathedral in
Avan
The cathedral in Avan, built in 690s by Catholicos of the Armenian (Chalcedonite?)

Church John (Hovhannes) Bagaranci, became a sign of the coming “golden age of
Armenian architecture”.
The basic scheme of the interior is a tetraconch with a broad domed square and
rather narrow exedras with rounded niches between them. Through these niches you
may pass into circular corner domed rooms. This type of churches known exclusively
in the countries of Transcaucasia is presented also in the edifices of the 7th century:
Hripsime in Vagharshapat, Jvari in Mtskheta and 16 more.
Rejecting a possibility of the evolutionary development ( J. Strzygowski and oth-
ers), for a long time I have kept an opinion on the creation of the composition of
Avan in the frames of development of the iconography of architecture in the context
of ancient and Early Byzantine edifices (works by A. Grabar, H. Walatek, J.-M. Thi-
erry, my dissertation of 1991).
But there was still an unsolved problem of the origin of circular rooms of Avan,
as well as the question of sources of the idea of construction of a church exclusively of
rounded or strictly circular in plan walls.
Recently, I put attention to omphaloi on the floors of Byzantine churches. One of
the most interesting omphaloi is presented in the catholicon of the Iviron Monastery
in Athos and it is dated back to 1045–1056. The central circle of this omphalos is
intertwined with 12 others, four of which are placed on the axes of the composition,
four others are near the corners of it and four smaller circles are on the diagonals,
between the central circle and the corner ones. This form with 13 intertwined circles
(Christ and the apostles) could be obviously traced back to the Early Christian art.
The distribution of these circles is similar to the composition of the plan of Avan.
Its innovating creators, perhaps, set such scheme of the omphalos in the basis of the
composition of their cathedral. The version enlarges and changes our understanding
of the architectural tradition and methods of work of medieval architect.
FC11. CHURCH ARCHITECTURE II

Moderators
Martin Dennert/Sotiris Voyadjis
Markus Bogisch (Copenhagen, Denmark)

The Utilization of Collective Memory in the Armeno-Georgian
Marchland of Tao: The Foundation Myth of the Cathedral of
Ishkhani (Northeast Anatolia) and its Visual Expression in
Architecture
After the Georgian elite had been driven out of Inner Kartli by the Arab conquerors
of the South Caucasus in the early ninth century, Prince Ashot I and his followers
resettled in the mountainous province of Klarjeti in Southwest Georgia, close to the
Byzantine Empire. Here they began to reorganize the state, greatly helped on their
way by the energetic archimandrite Grigol Khandzteli. Meanwhile, in the neigh-
bouring province of Tao, the Bagrationis found themselves in charge of an Armenian
population, which they included into their nation-building project. In my paper, I ar-
gue that this aim was achieved through appealing to collective memories attached to
specific historical sites, and that these memories were exploited for the construction
of narratives; sometimes, as in the case of the Cathedral of Ishkhani, verbal construc-
tions were even followed up and corroborated by architectural ones. Accordingly,
the builders of Ishkhani did their very best to enhance the notion of revival and con-
tinuity by consciously choosing classicizing forms for the east exedra of the church.
The result was so deceiving indeed that modern scholars for a long time believed that
the eastern exedra of Ishkhani represented a remainder of an older building from the
mid-seventh century.
Martin Dennert (Basel, Switzerland; Freiburg, Germany)

A Medieval Burial Church in Byzantium: The Case of Assos (Troad,
Asia Minor)
The ancient city of Assos in the Troad has a history until the late Byzantine period.
The early Byzantine city was located inside the ancient Greek city walls, the late Byz-
antine settlement on the ancient acropolis. The middle Byzantine settlement has yet
to be discovered.
In 2002 a church, unique in form and function in rural Asia Minor, was exca-
vated inside the Roman necropolis northwest of the city. This well preserved church,
erected according to the dated material after the year 1000 A.D., with a three ailed
ground plan, was used for burial purpose, as various burials in the side rooms of the
church demonstrate. The inner nave of the church was used for liturgical purpose,
indicated by a synthronon, bema, benches along the walls and a well preserved ambo.
Attached to the east were further chapels for the burial of newborn children, addi-
tional burials were found to the west. This medieval church build for elite burial and
the burial of newborn children will be put into context.
Hanna-Riitta Toivanen (University of Helsinki, Finland)

The tetraconch and pseudo-octagon in Early Byzantine
architecture. Questions on the continuity and interruption
An intresting example on a combination of the tetraconch (quatrefoil) and pseudo-

octagon, provided by semi-funnels, is the former Middle Byzantine church, Panagia
Kamariotissa on Heybeliada (Chalke), which is one of the Prince Islands off Istan-
bul. As a tiny church enclosed by the area of the Turkish Naval Academy, Panagia
Kamariotissa has not been the focus of adequate research as much as it should have
deserved although it is a unique architectural monument. Its type is very close to the
tetraconchs of Agrak, Ani and Acht῾amar, but also the quatrefoil of Panagia Panagi-
otissa (Muchliotissa) in the city centre of Istanbul.
Panagia Kamariotissa has been dated to the late 11th century. Its particular ty-
pology arouses many questions on the development chain conducted on this kind
of combination: an irregular octagon and tetraconch in the same building, includ-
ing also high vaults called semi-funnels. Because of the central cruciform space, the
type of Panagia Kamariotissa is classified as a cruciform semi-composed tetraconch with
small diagonal apsidioles and covered with a pseudo-octagonal superstructure.
The pseudo-octagonal superstructure can be combined with different ground
plans in the same way as with the multi-domed superstructure. The type of the 10th
century Bulgarian church in Patlejna is a simple cross-in-square type and it was cov-
ered with a pseudo-octagon. Early Byzantine quatrefoils were nearly always aisled like
in Athens, Perustica, Milan and Syria. The Middle Byzantine tetraconchs, in turn, are
never aisled but free-standing, like the ones of Panagia Panagiotissa (Muchliotissa),
the church of the Monastery of Virgin Eleousa in Veljusa and the church of St An-
dreas in Peristerai. These were covered with one, three or five domes.
The pseudo-octagon is not supported by squinches but by semi-funnels leading
from the floor level towards the dome. Semi-funnels support the drum in the corners
of the tetragonal nave. They are connected with the high arches that extend up and
go along with the main parts of the nave. The curved angles of the central tetragon
were applied at an early stage to solve the problem of supporting the dome. An early
example of this is the church of St Hripsime in Echmiadzin (Vagharshapat), built in
618. A.D.
The multiplicity of different octagonal shapes in Byzantine architecture is enor-

mous. Also the difference between the domed octagons and the domed pseudo-oc-
tagons is variable.
Scholarly opinions suggest that the semi-funnel developed from the Roman ma-
sonry like Domus Transitoria in c. 50 A.D. and the mausoleum of Cassino. Early
pseudo-octagonal dispositions have been found in the church of St Saviour in
Rometta, Messinia and in St Andrea of Rimini. Did the semi-funnel develop into
its final shape in Constantinople or Nicaea, where it emerges in the towers of the
city wall? In Istanbul, traces of semi-funnels have been preserved both in the ruins of
Küçükyalı, dated with great probability to c. 877, and the substructure of the ruined
church of St Georgios in Mangana, built in 1042–1055. The origin and development
of the pseudo-octagon and the tetraconch, combined with each other or occurring
separately, is based, on one hand, on the Roman tradition, on the other hand, on the
early Armenian way of thinking.
Ioanna P. Arvanitidou (Thessaloniki, Greece)

Barrel-vaulted single-nave churches with lateral choirs
The type of barrel-vaulted single-nave churches with lateral choirs represents a very
simple architectural structure. The nave consists of a single room, covered with
a semicircular barrel-vault and the choirs are annexed at the lateral wall-faces. The
interior length of these rather small churches ranges from 4.50m. to 10.50m. and
their width from 2.50m. to 5m. An extended group of churches, mostly appearing
in Western Bulgaria, belongs to this specific architectural type. However, other in-
dividual churches, localized in other parts of the same country, as well as in Serbia,
Albania and Romania, also form part of the same type.
The diameter/chord of the choirs of these monuments ranges from 1m. to 3m.
The choirs are covered with a conch, which is situated lower than the beginning of
the barrel-vault. The sanctuary apse projects outwards to the east, and a small conch
of Prothesis appears at the eastern wall, north of the apse. At the west wall-face there
is a big arch with responds that reach the level of the ground, and the lunette is con-
structed deeper, within 0.25m. to 1.33m. Scarcely, outdoor decoration appears, con-
sisting only of brick bands and frescos. The churches are made of rubble stones and
carved limestone. Limestone is mostly used at the responds. These monuments are
covered with saddleback roof made of stone slabs.
All churches were wall-painted from their lower to upper parts. Nowadays, only
a limited number of frescos survive. In many cases the murals in the choirs are of
great interest, and the use of the choirs themselves is not connected with the sanctu-
ary. They appear to serve as a place for veneration of images, candlesticks, storage
reliquary, offertory table or pew for important persons.
Barrel-vaulted single-nave churches with lateral choirs serve small communities,

either cosmic or ecclesiastical, and thus they can be found as the Katholikon of mon-
asteries or as a parekklesion close to residential areas. The earliest sample of this type
is the church of Saint George in Studena, which dates from the middle to the end of
the 15th century.
Irene Giviashvili (Florence, Italy)

The Monastery Church of Oshki in Tao and its Significance for
Middle Byzantine Monastic Architecture on Mount Athos
Being an iconic building of Georgian architecture, Oshki monastery church

(963–973) remains ignored or misunderstood. Together with other monasteries of
Tao-Klarjeti as Otkhta Eklesia, Parkhali and Khakhuli, built and commissioned by
Georgian King David III Kuroplalates (958–1001), Oshki is a landmark of Georgian
Kingdom on its further south-west frontiers (Erzurum, Turkey). Since the religious
and political borders were changed, Oshki remained as a spiritual and educational
centre; also it became an inspiration of the architectural and aesthetic vision for the
United Georgian Kingdom.
The stone church of considerable size (32x44x37) pioneered the creation of a
mixed structure of Triconch with a dome resting on four freestanding pillars. Tri-
conches were established in Georgia since 8 c. (Telovani – 8th c., Georgia; Isi, 9th
c., neighboring Oshki, Turkey). The skill of putting dome on the columns appears
traditional since the 7th c. (Tsromi, 624–634).
Triconch with a dome on freestanding pillars was established on Mount Athos
around the year 1000 after the reconstruction of Catholicons of Great Lavra and
Vatopedi. Traditionally it remains doubtful what inspired Athonite masons to cre-
ate a monopolized structure ideal for the monastic needs. In that case Oshki can
be considered as a model brought by Georgian monks on Athos. David III whose
strengths was much supported by Byzantine court, commissioned the construction
of Oshki in 963–973 and in 980 founded the Iviron monastery on Athos. It is not a
coincidence that Oshki was built on the lands of Chordvaneli family, commissioned
by Iovane-Tornike Chordvaneli, David’s beloved nobleman – a monk and a military
commander, who in his support to David III in military campaign against the Barda
Scleros (978), was financed to found a Georgian monastery on Athos. It makes clear
that Georgian monks and builders from Tao shared their experience gained from Os-
hki in creating ideal monastic buildings on Mount Athos.
Sotiris Voyadjis (Papagou, Greece)

The initial phase of the Katholikon of the Greatest Lavra
Monastery, Mount Athos through evidence of its phiale
The church is of the athonite triconch type, flanked by side chapels built in 963 by
Hosios Athanasios. In front of the western entrance of the Katholikon, there is a
marble phiale constructed in 1060, covered by a dome leaning on eight marble col-
lonetes. This construction can be dated to 1635 by an inscription. In six of the inter-
columnar spaces marble members, mostly slabs, are imbedded. Some are broken to
fit in, others are intact. Most of them can easily be dated to the 11th century and
probably belonged to the church. Two of them were certainly carved for the mar-
ble templon of the main naos and four of them belonged to the altar screens of the
side chapels. The position of the rest can be debated. Moreover some of the missing
marble parts of the templon can be traced in the second in importance church of the
monastery, Panaghia Koukouzelissa.
In 1814 the original, two storey high, double narthex was destroyed without
trace and a cross-in-square, domed lite took its place. This initial phase was depicted
in the 16th c. painting of Emperor Tsimiskes offering the church, inside the entrance
of the main naos. This drawing shows the western façade of the church with a six
column porch, topped with tripartite domed chambers flanked by two domes. First
Gabriel Millet, then Paul Mylonas proposed reconstruction drawings of the western
façade. However they both missed the fact that the two depicted domes do not cor-
respond to the side chapels, but to domes that originally stood on the second storey
of the narthex. Evidence from the text Barskij the 18th c. traveling monk wrote in
1744, show that on the upper storey of the narthex stood the church of the Holy Five
Martyrs and Hosios Athanasios’ private cell and the first library of the monastery.
The two domes correspond to this cell and the chapel. The opening through which
he could attend mass is still extant. Most important is the fact that four of the marble
slabs of the phiale fit perfectly with the, now lost, 11th century porch. Following the
above observations a new graphic reconstruction of the 11th c. phase can be drawn.
Vsevolod Rozhnjatovskiy (European University at St. Petersburg, Russia)

The Day Illumination Effects as the Program Manifestation of the
Church Decoration in the Middle Byzantine Epoch
The observations inside churches with monumental painting have revealed the har-
monious combination of windows’ light projections with compositional systems of
painting. Light figures become an artistic part of a certain plot or an expressive se-
mantic accent for adjacent compositions or rows of painting. The research of day illu-
mination features in the cathedral of the Mirozhsky Monastery at Pskov has revealed
the initial character of light organization by means of the artists’ and the architects’
skills; similar devices were found out in various monuments. Images painted with
light are easily identified in the frames of iconography and stable rhetorical tradi-
tion. From the analysis of theological and esthetic maintenance of light effects and
taking into account the sign characteristics, the effects are interpreted as an art phe-
nomenon and a program manifestation of symbolical decoration. Let’s list specific
functionality of the day illumination. 1. The light effects in their accordance to medi-
eval chronometry mark the hour rhythm for daily liturgy as well in its seasonal vari-
ations of a certain liturgical hour. 2. Light-painting combinations express the culmi-
nations of the church calendar for a year. 3. Accents of light underline the liturgical
value of certain parts of monumental paintings. 4. Light effects in their image ability
provided specific theological “inspirations” in the practice of ascetic contemplation.
5.Light-painting accents marked votive images and the most important themes of
wall painting. 6.Light images generated the dramatic art of perception to church
decoration and various light effects during a day or different seasons aggravated the
mystical experience. 7.In general, solar images in the combinations with architectural
and wall-painting systems became the dominant ways of expression both for symbol-
ical and program maintenance of church decoration. Arguments are illustrated with
examples from observations in churches with monumental painting (11th–13th c.)
at Kiev, Novgorod, Ladoga, Nerezi and Trebizond.
Evgeny Torshin (Musée de L’Ermitage, Saint-Pétersburg, Russie)

Les églises de St. Michel (Smolensk) et St.Paraskève (Tchernigov).
Certains traits spécifiques du développement du style de
l’architecture russe à la limite du 12 et 13 siècles
Au bout du 12 et au commencement du 13 siècles la stylistique des écoles de l’archi-

tecture russe a subi une transformation profonde. Les monuments les plus connus de
cette période sont les églises de Saint Michel de Smolensk et de Sainte Paraskève dans
la ville de Tchernigov.
La composition du plan et des volumes de l’eglise de Saint Michel de Smolensk
est équilibrée et organisée selon les principes de la symétrie centrale. Toutes les parties
de l’intérieur sont intégrées dans un espace uni. L’ architectonique de l’édifice a été
accentuée par des pilastres de la façade avec la section d’un profil complexe. L’église
de Saint Michel de Smolensk est un type architecturale spécifique, dont la formation
a eu lieu dans la tradition d’architecture de Polotsk.
Sainte Paraskève à Tchernigov ressemble à l’église de Saint-Michel par le tambour
haut de son coupole, par les achèvements des ses façades et par le profil des ses pilas-
tres. L’église a un plan traditionnel de l’architecture de Kièv et Tchernigov. L’archi-
tecture de Sainte Paraskève est beaucoup plus libre et synthétique. Les détails décora-
tifs de la façade remontent aux traditions byzantines. La provenance des traits stylis-
tiques de l’église est liée a l’architecture de Grodno qui a des racines balkaniques.
Les changements stylistiques de l’architecture à la limite du 12 et 13 siècles en
Russie n’avaient d’abord touché que l’école d’architecture de Kiev-Tchernigov. La
tradition architecturale de Polotsk est devenue un nouveau générateur des idées,
c’était elle qui a déterminé un développement de l’architecture de la Russie (grâce
à sa pénétration d’abord dans la principauté de Smolensk qui était fort influente à
l’époque). Mais cette stylistique nouvelle se forme tout d’abord comme un synthèse
des traditions des écoles architecturales russes et sous une influence renouvellée de
l’architecture byzantine.
Xanthi Proestaki (University of Peloponnese, Greece)

The Old monastery of Taxiarches in Stefani, Korinthia
The katholikon of the deserted monastery of Taxiarches, which is isolated and aban-
doned in a deep gorge, is covered with murals. The dedicatory inscription cites the
name of the painter Theodosios Kakavas and chronologically places the adornment
of the church in 1565.
The katholikon belongs to the architectural type of the cross-shaped church of
category A1 according to A. Orlandos’ classification. The iconographic program is
typical of domed churches, with the image of Christ Pantokrator depicted in the
dome. The pictorial themes are distributed in accordance with the symbolic interpre-
tation of the byzantine church and the function of spaces.
The katholikon of Taxiaches is the only monument in which the name of the
painter Theodosios Kakavas from Nafplio is preserved. Here he chooses to be an ec-
lectic painter who in regard to iconography combines elements both from the Cre-
tan school and that of NE Greece. However as far as style is concerned, he is closer
to the school of NE Greece. He is the first painter from the Kakavas family, although
the exact family relationships among the Kakavas painters remain undetermined;
however their family relation has still to be ascertained. We know only the frater-
nal relation between Marinos and Dimitrios Kakavas, from the epigraphic records.
Theodosios must be the forefather of a family of painters, who initiates the occupa-
tion of the Kakavas family with painting. Through his works he proves to be a mature
painter, possessing a tested technique and an expert in the expressive means, capable
of teaching his art to others. He is contemporary with the painters Kondaris and
his work presents many similarities with their paintings in terms of iconography and
style. Their common attitude towards depictions of background and landscapes, the
tall and spare figures with the gentle features and the elegance of design refer to the
style of the Kondaris painters. These Theban brothers must have been apprentices of
another Theban painter Frangos Katelanos. Was Theodosios, a contemporary paint-
er, also an apprentice in the same workshop?

However Theodosios demonstrates a personal style in his paintings. In contrast
with the figures of Katelanos which are characterized by physicality, Theodosios fa-
vors extremely tall and lean figures with long limbs and narrow torsos. The legacy of
Theodosios to the oncoming painters of the Kakavas family is a valuable contribu-
tion to the evolution of mural painting in the 17th century.
Elisabeta Negrău (National University of Arts, Bucharest, Romania)

New Hypotheses on the Armenian Influence in the Architecture of
the Monastery Church from Curtea de Arges (1512–1517)
The Oriental origin of the builders of Curtea de Arges Monastery church – previ-
ously presumed to be Armenian – has a significant role in its unusual architecture
and decoration. The early Christian motive of the 12 columns in the church, sym-
bolizing the 12 apostles, remained in the liturgical sources only in the canon of the
church foundation in the Armenian rite. The Armenian Canon of the foundation of
the church prescribes that in the church foundation to be put 12 stones, forming a
square. According to an old interpretation of the canon, the stones symbolize the 12
apostles who were sent to preach the Gospel to the four corners of the world. Psalm
83 is read repeatedly (six times) in the canon of church foundation in the Armeni-
an rite and the representation of birds – present on the façades of the church from
Curtea de Arges – is very common in Armenian Psalter frontispieces and initials,
until the 15th century. The church from Curtea de Arges presents similar dimen-
sions to the temple from the vision of Ezekiel. References from the book of Ezekiel
(the description of the Temple) were used exclusively in the Armenian canon. The
emphasis put on the Heavenly Jerusalem, revealed by the 12 columns from narthex
signifying the 12 apostles, is a particular tendency in Monophysitism, where theol-
ogy is focused on the Heavenly kingdom. The reference to these rites gives a signifi-
cant probability to the hypothesis that the builder of Arges monastery church was of
Armenian origin. He accomplished with his peculiar creative means and references
to his traditions a command which contained some specific requirements, including
the arrangement of a space in narthex, designed for the founders’ tombs.
FC12. ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE

Moderators
Galina Fingarova/Dimitar Săselov
Annegret Plontke Luening ( Jena University, Germany)

The Mabed in Shaqqa and its cultural interrelations
Shaqqa, one of the centers of Roman Arabia in the South Syrian Hauran, preserves
a very interesting building in good conditions: The square building has in the main
room four pillars which support four barrel vaults in cross shaped form. Above the
cornice resting on these barrel vaults is the covering of the building: flat stone slabs
or ‚beams’ – the typical Hauran ceiling. According to the building sculpture the qual-
itative building was erected c. 300 AD. It has similarities with the long lost but well
known ‚Praetorium’ (Zeus Phanaesius temple) in Musmiye (164–169 AD) and with
the temples of Baal Shamin and ‚Dushara’ in Seeia-Si and the temples in Sahr and
Sur. All these buildings have a tetrastyle cella.
The paper asks for the traditions of the building and looks for cultural interrela-
tions of the building type.
Юлия Вълева (Институт за изследване на изкуствата, София, България)

Византийската елитна къща между края на ІV и края на ІХ в.
Избраните хронологически граници дават възможност да се види конкретното

преобразуване на луксозната къща във Византийската империя, което съпътства
християнизирането на обществото и, успоредно с това, измененията в иконо-
мическата структура на средновековната държава. Перистилният тип къща се
задържа все още солидно до края на V в. и дори в началото на VІ в. (с местни
особености). Следващият период, който обхваща VІІ–ІХ в., колкото и да е беден
на извори във връзка с темата, все пак показва напълно нов тип жилищна (и спе-
циално, елитна) сграда. Къщите се разглеждат на фона на града, но и извън него,
в укрепените имения с развитието на новия тип поземлени отношения в Източ-
ното Средиземноморие. Голямо внимание е обърнато на промените в конструк-
цията, материала и архитектурните форми, както и на вътрешния декор. Раз-
глеждат се (по писмени извори и археологически материал) видовете изкуство,
които намират място във вътрешната украса на елитната къща: стенописи, деко-
ративна скулптура, текстил, луксозни предмети на бита. По този начин елитна-
та къща се изявява като културен комплекс, а избраните хронологически рамки
позволяват да се види ясно как този културен комплекс се променя във времето.
Димитър Д. Съселов (София, България)

Месемврия Понтика през V в. – едно забележително свидетелство
за постиженията на ранновизантийската архитектура
През петото столетие античната Месемврия преживява нов разцвет. Забележи-

телното развитие на градския живот се илюстрира с бурно строителство. Това,
което е най-характерно, се представя от следването на основните принципи на
ранно-средновековното градско планиране. Паралели и вероятни примери за
подражение могат да се отбележат в центровете на Източната Римска Империя
– Ранната Византия и преди всичко Константинопол.
В доклада се разглеждат редица паметници от Месемврия. Те са изграждани
общо взето през периода на V век. До наши дни те са достигнали в различно
физическо състояние. Археологическите изследвания изясняват съществени бе-
лези. Това са на първо място: оригиналният – първоначален план, възможното
обемно пространствено формиране, използвани строителни методи и умения и
вероятни по-късни изменения и прибавки.
Измежду забележителните примери спираме вниманието си на следните:
Крепостните стени в общи черти заместват съществуващите структури
от античия период на Месемврия. В някои случаи ново-изгражданото стъпва
върху по-ранни структури от запазени стени, но по-често се отклонява от тях.
Измества се мястото на главната порта – вход на града и се прилагат нови прин-
ципи за сигурността ѝ. Конструират се различни по вид и очертание бойни
кули. Използват се строителни материали и техники, които са разпространени в
други райони – примерно в Константинопол и по-широко в цялата Римска им-
перия, но дотогава непознати в Месемврия. Покрай това могат да се изтъкнат
много сходства и паралели на тези стени с известната Теодосиева отбранителна
система на Константинопол.
Градската водоснабдителна система в Месемврия създадена през петия век е
значително както по своя замисъл, така и по изпълнението си съоръжение. За-
бележителното явление е, че тази система е преживяла и успешно функциони-
рала в продължение на повече от едно хилядолетие. Тази система също има сво-
ите паралели от същия период в Константинопол и най-вероятно е заимствана
от там.
Важно свидетелство за развитието на градския живот на Месемврия е из-
граждането на градските терми. Градски бани съществуват в многобройни сели-
ща в територията на Балканите и целия Римски свят много преди V век. Терми-
те в Месемврия изглежда са едни от най-късно изградените в този обширен свят
и заедно с прилагането на всички установени общи принципи за организация
на пространство и функция притежават допълнителни конструктивни пости-
жения за формиране на пространството. На това отделяме нарочно внимание.
Друг съществен белег за високо развития градски живот на Месемврия
през петото столетие намираме в построяването на голям брой култови сгра-
ди – християнски базилики върху тази сравнително малка територия. Заедно

с тяхния брой трябва да се отбележат както значителните им размери, така и
принципни сходства с базилики от други ранновизантийски центрове.
Обща съществена особеност на достигналите и до днес, макар и не в пъл-
на физическа цялост структури е обстоятелството, че по-късни прибавки, над-
стройки или преустойства са незначителни. Това позволява тяхното безпогреш-
но прочитане и изясняване на първоначалните замисли, идеи и приложени
архитектурни принципи. От подобна възможност обаче са лишени голям брой
паметници от Византийския свят.
Ариадна Воронова (Православный Свято-Тихоновский университет, Москва,

Россия)
От античной Салоны к средневековому Солину: архитектурное
наследие византийские черты
Главной отличительной особенностью формирования средневековой культуры

восточно-адриатического прибрежного пояса являлось постоянное взаимопро-
никновение различных традиций, происходившее благодаря морским связям
внутри относительно цельной средиземноморской культуры. При этом в При-
морье всегда сохранялась преемственность античной традиции, постепенно
трансформировавшейся в средневековую. Сохранение архитектурного конти-
нуитета, вкупе с развивающимся расхождением западного и восточного хри-
стианства, привело к формированию в Далмации, лежащей на границе между
западной и восточной частями некогда целостной Империи, особой и сложной
архитектурной стилистики.
Примеры подобных памятников сохранились в раннесредневековом посе-
лении Солин, возникшем на окраине античной метрополии Салоны, столицы
римской провинции Далмации, после ее разрушения в VII веке в результате
славяно-аварского нашествия. Примером строительства эпохи «адриовизан-
тинизма» является церковь Св. Марии в Градине на окраине Салоны, которая
своим конструктивным решением и общими стилистическими характеристика-
ми в большей степени несомненно связана с византийскими образцами Юсти-
ниановой эпохи. В IX–X веках в Далмации формируется сложный вариант про-
дольных сооружений с куполом, где раннехристианская традиция продольного
пространства соединялась с византийским компонентом в куполе здания. Фун-
даменты подобного сооружения были открыты в Солине, на острове Госпин
Оток в дельте р. Ядро: это трехнефная базилика Св. Стефана Х века. Еще один
памятник в Солине, сочетавший в своей архитектуре романские и византийские
стилистические черты – церковь Святых Петра и Моисея XI века. Характерной
византийской особенностью этой церкви является трехчастный мраморный
иконостас с уникальной деталью: одна из плит с рельефным изображением вла-
стителя выполнена по образцу композиции «проскинесис», взятой из визан-

тийского дворцового церемониала.
Alessandro Taddei (University of Roma “La Sapienza”, Italy)

Remarks on some architectural problems of the middle
Byzantine period: the spreading of triconch plan buildings in
northern Greece (9th–11th centuries)
The long period between the 9th and the 11th century represents – due to several his-
torical factors – a major turning point in the political, economic and cultural life of
northern Greece. The improvement in the political equilibrium and the reorganiza-
tion of the territories are both reflected, by an increasing building activity. The erec-
tion of new churches, monasteries, wall defences etc., could be noted throughout the
whole area. As we can see, most of the ecclesiastical buildings were conceived on the
basis of the middle Byzantine architectural trends and practices which had become
widespread in large centres such as Thessaloniki and Constantinople. Nevertheless,
several buildings of the area still seem to adhere to more ancient features: this is the
case of the churches built on a triconch plan. Such a typology, clearly of late antique
origin, is well attested throughout the Balkans and its multifaceted evolution is well-
known by the scholars.
The phenomenon appears to be important, for it will lead towards further de-
velopments in some geographical areas, for example the Mount Athos, where the so-
called “Athonite triconch” will play for centuries the role of a landmark in monastic
architecture.
Do the triconch plan churches of northern Greece represent a result of the influ-
ence of a wide artistic Balkan koine or, simply, an anachronistic – and outmoded –
provincial trend?
The aim of this paper is to consider some cases of triconch plan churches in
northern Greece.
Ioanna N. Koukouni (University of Birmingham, UK)

“Capitane Valiso, castrum dicti loci”: military architecture on Chios
Island between Byzantium and the West
A series of towers and castles dispersed in its countryside; toponymy which evokes
its Byzantine ‘potentes’, an area with its own share in the historical record. In other
words, a cradle of historical moments: this is what makes Chios a tempting field to
the scholar. Despite all these characteristics, it is an example of a medieval region,
which fell to oblivion.
Scholarly research has praised unconditionally the Genoese for the creation of an
extensive defensive line across the hinterland and along the coast of the most impor-
tant Genoese colony in the Levant: the island of Chios. The paper seeks to examine
specifically the military network in the northern province of Chios, ‘the most primi-
tive part of the island’ according to early 20th-century ethnographers. What was the
nature of the defensive system there?
The comparison of all available archaeological material and written sources from
the northern part of the island with the surveyed and excavated sites of central and
southern Chios will undoubtedly shed light to the medieval historical topography of
the island.
Marija Obradovic (Institute of Architecture and Urban & Spacial Planning,

Belgrade, Serbia)
The Origins of Morava Building Style in Serbia
Svetlana Maltseva (St. Petersburg State University, Russia)

The Problem of Parallels in Medieval Serbian and Russian
Architecture
It is common knowledge that different Slavic nations that have embraced Orthodoxy,
although separated in space, were closely connected to each other throughout the
Middle Ages through the common source of their culture, Byzantium. Yet, although
both Medieval Russia and the Balkan countries constantly drew inspiration from
Byzantine culture, their own artistic traditions were not exact copies and presented
many variations. It is interesting that some typological, constructive, iconographic
and stylistic aspects of architecture and painting in Russia and the Balkan countries
present remarkable similarities, which cannot be explained through the use of com-
mon Byzantine models. These similarities have given ground for the hypothesis that
emerged about the middle of the 20th c. and was actively discussed both by Soviet
and Balkan scholars, which claimed that Russia was subject of influence from the
Balkans.
As far as 12th–15th c. architecture is concerned, this conventional hypothesis
still remains influential, yet unproved. We would like to analyze some most conspicu-
ous cases of similarities between Medieval Russian and Serbian architecture of the
12th–15th cc. in order to find the methods for explaining their nature and to try to
understand whether we can speak of influence, borrowing or parallel development.
Demetrios Athanasoulis (Corinth, Greece)

The architecture of the Principality of Achaia
Once the Principality of Achaia was founded, the new feudal regime and the place
that Morea acquired in the international trade network ensured economic develop-
ment, which was a vital factor in building activity and the quality of the structures.
With the establishment of the tripartite metropolitan centre of the Crusader state
in the plain of the Morea, the accumulated wealth of the leadership invested there,
made possible the implementation of large building programmes, such as the princely
castle Clermont, and the foundation of Glarentza.
Clermont castle is an ‘implant’ from the French architectural tradition in Byz-
antine cultural territory. The ruler’s material symbol of power and authority acted as
a landmark by both its size and exceptional quality. Together with the Gothic Cru-
sader churches it exerted a decisive influence on the local architectural tradition.
In the core of the Frankish state, contrary to what had once been thought, a steep
increase in the number of Byzantine churches is observed. The shaping of Byzantine
architecture in the Principality was defined by the following basic parameters:
– It is an integral part of Late Byzantine architecture, which gives the basic struc-
tural and stylistic repertoire, despite the break-up of the Empire. This explains the
common features shared with the architecture of Epiros, Mistra and the Duchy of
Athens, given that the idea of the same builders working in all of these places is by no
means far-fetched.
– At the same time, the loss of the artistic centre at Constantinople favoured the
development of local ‘schools’, as well as regional self-expression on a smaller scale, as
in Frankish-occupied Elis.
– It reproduces features of regional tradition, spread by local teams of builders
and shaped by a variety of factors, such as the available building materials.
– It assimilates, to various degrees, features of the Gothic architectural tradition,
mainly in structure and morphology. A group of monuments incorporate Gothic
and ‘Gothicizing’ features in an organic fashion and constitute inseparable parts of a
unified whole in terms of design and execution. The coherent way in which they in-
corporate the new methods and styles both at the design stage and in the execution,
raises the question as to whether they were built by the same workshop.
The large number and the quality of the thirteenth- and early fourteenth-century
buildings, both Gothic and Byzantine, within the Frankish state, their interrelation-
ship, and the individual characteristics, which distinguish them from monuments in
other neighbouring states, emphasize the existence of a hitherto overlooked region-
al artistic centre which developed in the court of the princes, though probably not
without the support of the Greek archons who were incorporated into the feudal
hierarchy.
Stavros Arvanitopoulos (Athens, Greece)

Late Byzantine chapels in Mystras: private or parochial?
Twenty-three chapels have been identified within the walls of Mystras, scattered
among the houses of all three parts of the city (the Citadel, the Upper and the Lower
Town). They are usually vaulted structures, of small dimensions, their wall paintings
having been partly preserved. Apart from two, that belong to the post-Byzantine pe-
riod, the rest date most probably (in some cases: certainly) from the Late Byzantine
era.
Due to the almost complete lack of inscriptions or written sources related to
them, we fail to know with certainty by whom they were used and whether they sug-
gested private property or public oratories. Some of them are in close proximity to
manors, so that they could be acknowledged as part of the estate. The inclusion of a
chapel in the group of buildings forming a magnate’s dwelling is common to other
cities of the empire of the same as well as of previous periods, evidently following the
emperors’ example. Nevertheless, in Mystras, an inscription discovered in the debris
of one of these chapels reveals the fact that although it was private property of its
founder, the latter allowed church services to be conducted in the chapel without
requiring his permission, if not its use as a parochial chapel. The fact that this conces-
sion needed to be pointed out in that particular donor’s inscription is suggestive of
the rarity of the case.
Although most chapels in Mystras seem to have been dedicated to private wor-
ship, the form and number of burials in their interior and all around them, as well as
the offerings for the dead and certain structural characteristics of the small edifices
themselves, suggest that their public or at least mixed (private and public under cer-
tain restrictions) use is quite plausible.
Galina Fingarova (University of Vienna, Austria)

Significance and Meaning of Byzantine Bridges
The significance and meaning of bridges are manifold; they may change from one
historical culture to another, but there is also continuity. Above all, bridges fulfil
functional and rational purposes, and they are works of art as well as engineering.
The builders celebrate human victory over nature and the governing of space and
time. Like other great and representative buildings they also have political meaning,
in other words they are a symbol of and disposition for power. Moreover, all bridges
embody and express, constrain and develop a certain kind of world view.
Byzantines bridges – unlike Roman, Ottoman and West European medieval
bridges – have not attracted the attention of the researchers. Although some arti-
cles have been published, there is not yet a profound treatise on Byzantine bridges.
It is generally accepted that the Byzantines continued the Roman tradition of bridge
construction; in most cases they used further and reconstructed the Roman bridges.
But do they also keep the same understanding of the bridge? Is there a change in
its political meaning during Byzantine times? Was it seen as a secular or as a sacral
monument?
Based on archaeological evidence as well as on written and iconographical sourc-
es, the present paper discusses these questions and accentuates the specific signifi-
cance and meaning that bridges gained in Byzantine times.
Konstantinos Th. Raptis/Styliani D. Vassiliadou (Thessaloniki, Greece)

Early Byzantine architectural sculptures in Hamza Bey Camiı
(Thessaloniki)
Hamza Bey camiı in Thessaloniki, also known as Alkazar after the cinema that was
operating during the second half of the 20th century in the monument, was built
in 1467–8 as a district muslim house of prayer (mesçid), which consisted originally
of the, square in ground plan, domed prayer hall, that was to become the nucleus of
the later architectural complex, and a colonnaded portico (revak) along its western
façade. In the second half of the 16th century two rectangular annexes were built
along the lateral sides of the prayer hall, both connected through an open colonnad-
ed stoa, which substituted the preexisting portico, forming as a whole a perimetric,
Π shaped, ambulatory. During the construction of the ambulatory, a – no longer
existing – minaret was added on the southwest side of the building, signifying its
transformation from mesçid to camiı (mosque). The edifice complex was completed
in the beginning of the 17th century, when an asymmetrical three-sided gallery was
added to the west forming along with the colonnade of the ambulatory a wide quad-
rilateral atrium.
The numerous architectural sculptures of both the ambulatory and the atrium,
consisting of various alterations of Attic-Ionian bases, monolithic columns of differ-
ent sizes, Corinthian and bizonal capitals of various types and undecorated impost
blocks, are spolia, characterized by morphological and dimensional diversities and
date from the 4th to the late 6th century AD. Exceptions are the Ottoman block
capitals with rhombus-shaped designs that crown the columns of the west gallery,
which probably belong on the northwest portico of the first phase.
This paper aims at the presentation and the inference of conclusions about the
typology, the morphological characteristics and the sculptural techniques of the Ear-
ly Byzantine architectural sculptures which in second use were incorporated in the
early 17th century phase of Hamza Bey Camiı in Thessaloniki. Based on the typol-
ogy and the morphological characteristics of the architectural members, the paper
attempts their close chronological attribution, discusses the origin of their material
and the various sculptural techniques used during their formation, while seeks the
Early Christian or Byzantine public buildings of Thessaloniki wherein they were
firstly used.
FC13. HISTORY AND LITERATURE

Moderators
Vassiliki Papoulia/Roger Scott
Vassiliki Papoulia (Université Aristote de Thessalonique, Grèce)

L’argumentum e silentio à l’histoire
L’argument e silentio à l’histoire est une notion polysémantique. Elle couvre une sé-
rie des significations positives, aussi bien que négatives. Époques entières du passé
sont définies, par un silence total des sources écrites, ce qui a pour conséquence la
formation d’une discipline «historique»: de la préhistoire. Bien que cette notion
signifiait exactement qu’il n’avait pas de possibilité d’avoir des informations directes
de la part de diverses peuplades, on pourrait se baser sur d’autres vestiges de nature
matérielle, qui ont conduit à la naissance de l’anthropologie sociale ou même de la
Frühgeschichte, qui a remplacé plus ou moins la notion de la préhistoire. Ce silence
des sources signifie que ces peuplades dont on dispose diverses traces de leur exis-
tence n‘avaient pas la possibilité de l’objectivation de leur vie par l‘écriture. D’après le
nombre et la qualité de ces vestiges on peut comprendre le niveau de développement
de leur structure sociale.
Essentiellement, le sens de ce principe méthodologique est, comme nous avons
mentionné plus haut, tant positif que négatif, c’est à dire d’une côté il nous empêche
d’avoir des résultats positifs en ce qui concerne certains phénomènes, de l’autre, nous
devons trouver, presque deviner, quelle est la signification de ce silence, parce qu’il
peut avoir un contenu concret, qui nous aide de résoudre ou de comprendre certains
problèmes, dont la première approche présente des difficultés. Dans l’herméneutique
du passé, proposée par Paul Ricœur, on distingue divers aspects du silence comme
source historique. Aussi autres historiens et penseurs ont abordé la problématique
«Histoire et silence» comme p.ex. Ch. W. Hedrick Jr.
Dragana Dimitrijevic (University of Belgrade, Serbia)

Classical Echoes in Latin Panegyrics to Constantine the Great
Cicero and other Latin authors considered epideictic oratory as fundamentally

Greek, but this genus of oratory goes back to laudationes funebres in the early days of
the Roman Republic. Furthermore, it was customary for consuls to deliver a speech
of thanks to the senatus populusque Romanus for their consulship, which at an ear-
ly stage became panegyrical. The same practice had its continuity through imperial
times and Pliny’s Panegyricus happens to be the first of such speeches to have sur-
vived.
In 1433 Johannes Aurispa discovered in Mainz a manuscript containing Pliny’s
Panegyricus and eleven other speeches from the ‘Gallic corpus’, which is generally
known as the collection of the XII Panegyrici Latini. Almost a half of the collection
(the speeches 4, 5, 6, 7, and 12, delivered in the period between 307 and 321) is ad-
dressed to the emperor Constantine. It is no surprise that many borrowings from the
Ciceronian oratory may be found in almost all of the speeches, but a more interesting
fact is that they also contain allusions from a number of Cicero’s philosophical trea-
tises. Furthermore, it seems that the authors of the panegyrics knew and used Caesar,
Sallust, Livy, and Virgil as well. This paper explores the already known and other pos-
sible echoes of classical Latin authors, and explains their role within the panegyrics
to Constantine the Great.
Irina Vashcheva (Nizhny Novgorod State University, Russia)

Sense and purport of the late antique ‘Church histories’. Formation
of new identity
The ‘Church histories’ of the IV–VII centuries have been known to researchers for a
long time. But the sense and purport of this kind of compositions are still the object
for discussions in the scientific world. Obviously they were some new type of histori-
cal compositions chronologically and genetically referred to the late antique epoch
itself.
The ‘Church histories’ are quite often taken for propagandistic compositions
written by order of the governing Emperor or the firmly established Christian
Church for the purpose of implanting and spreading of the right view of the past and
the present of the Christian Empire. Another, the antithetical, approach represents
them as a polemical literature genre being created by small religious (confessional)
groups not accepted by official Church for protecting and consolidation of their
own theological beliefs. However the both versions do not answer or explain a great
number of questions and do not bring us closer to understanding of the sense and
purpose of the church historical compositions of Late Antiquity.
In our view one of the main serious problems making sense for all the society
of that epoch became the Roman identity crisis caused by discrepancy between the
traditional values and principles which founded Roman Empire and the life reality
of the new age. Notwithstanding the new society strove hard to save the concept of
“Romans” and “Roman” in the name of the country and the people, the process of
the identity changing was being realised more and more distinctly. The new historical
situation, the life reality the society was placed in cannot anymore be appropriately
interpreted by usual consciousness categories in accordance with all previous histori-
cal experience and traditional Roman values. Stereotypes of historical consciousness
formed over the centuries come into conflict with new experience exceeding the
bounds of usual historical conceptions.
The church historians to a great extent were to resolve the culture-historical con-
flicts appeared under Roman identity crisis or to formulate the principles of new
cultural identity. So the purport of their works was not an apparent or latent con-
troversy with heathens and religious opponents and not an advocacy of the religious
views and principles necessary for church and governance but an attempt to explain
to themselves and to their readers the sense of what was taking place and their own
place in the world. At the historical conjuncture it is the identification function of
the ‘Histories’ that is brought into the foreground: (self )identification of the form-
ing society under the Roman identity crisis, new cultural identity formation and cre-
ation of new reference system allowing to bring together and interpret appropriately
all previous historical experience and the contemporary reality.
The title ‘Church Histories’ itself did not appeared by chance, too. Probably the
key word in this word combination is not Church’ but ‘history’. For authors it was
just a history, new history, the history of society linked with Christianity by destiny,
the history of Christian Empire. And it could not be anything but Church or Chris-
tian history.
In our opinion such an approach enables to understand better the sense and pur-
pose of the ‘Church histories’ of Late Antiquity and to explain the conflicts and pe-
culiarities of compositions of the kind which do not fit in with modern accepted
schemes and models of interpretation.
Rocco Borgognoni (Baggio, Italy)

In search of Lost Friendship. Kin and non-Kin Ties in Evagrius’s
Ecclesiastical History
Since collections of correspondence are absent from the mid-5th century onwards
and hence no longer the main source of information on kin and non-kin ties, other
evidence must be sought to draw from. In these, however, the vocabulary for per-
sonal relationships emerges in different ways and extents. The paper examines how
personal ties between the 4th and 6th centuries appear in a historiographic text, Eva-
grius Scholasticus’s Ecclesiastical History. The work has a two-fold objective namely to
glean useful information on early Byzantine society while noting how social relation-
ships are ‘filtered’ and reinterpreted by ideological needs in this historiographic nar-
ration. In Evagrius’s History, with its ear tuned above all to controversies within the
Church and the political and military enterprises of the Empire, structured relation-
ships prevail especially when one of the two parties is subordinate. They are almost
always described as gathering around a prominent figure and are essentially used in
two settings: first and foremost for the Church referring to the clerics surrounding
a bishop or, during the great Councils, the ecclesiastics who stand alongside a lead-
ing figure, and secondly, in military affairs to indicate the Byzantine or barbarian
forces under a commander. There are few but particularly meaningful attestations of
friendship/philia that involve Gregory, bishop of Antioch in whose employ Evagrius
worked. What is particularly striking in Evagrius’s narration is the close and explicit
connection between friendship and gifts in a public context suggesting a shift in the
conception of this kind of relationship compared to the previous epoch. The overall
picture that Ecclesiastical History confirms is of a hierarchization of early Byzantine
society and a parallel marginalization of the relationship of friendship in the public
sphere with the ensuing vacuum not, however, being filled by family relationships
which, with the exception of the interaction among members of the imperial family,
are not perceived by Evagrius as being the driving force behind political and ecclesi-
astical dynamics.
Andrzej Kompa (University of Łódź, Poland)

George Syncellus and Theophanes the Confessor: is there still
anything to be said on Middle Byzantine Chronography?
After many decades of fruitful and inspiring research it could be presumed that the
chronographies of George Syncellus and Theophanes the Confessor disclosed all of
their secrets and that the major problems concerning the genre are now satisfyingly
explained. There are, however, some still unanswered matters and the exceptional val-
ue and role of both oeuvres in Byzantine historiography entitle us to ask some more
questions. We can focus now on some methods and perspectives, up to now only
partially applied to this section of historical writing which was often perceived as
imitative, unoriginal and predictable. 1. Divided for a time between two disciplines,
both works should be once again perceived as parts of a whole, and as the constitu-
tive part of the tripartite history. The more closely we bind them together, the more
unique project they constitute, and not only due to the similar genetic context of
their creation. 2. Similitudes between historiography and chronicles were in recent
years stressed frequently, and not less often was the relativity of this traditional de-
limitation exposed, that we can accept with even more certainty than before that
Byzantine chronography merges both ways of historical narrativity. 3. There is no
good reason to assume a priori that as far as gender issues are concerned, the views of
George and Theophanes are homogenic and resembling what we would call a typi-
cal monastic, mediaeval or Byzantine perspective. Gender analysis of the chronog-
raphies proves no less useful than in the case of other genres of Byzantine literature
sensu largo. 4. There are some further arguments that lead to the confirmation of
Theophanes’ authorship of his respective account. They stem from the comparisons
within the source itself, with clues in the author’s interjections as well as in the way of
retelling the sources through particular centuries A.M. 5. The very frequent usage of
chronographies by researchers of various fields, despite their ambivalent evaluation,
is interesting enough in itself to be analyzed as a separate phenomenon.
Geoffrey Greatrex (Université d’Ottawa, Canada)

Théophane et ses sources sur la guerre perse d’Anastase Ier
(502–506)
Théophane fournit des détails précieux sur la guerre perse du début du VIe s., dont
certains ne figurent dans aucune autre source, p.ex. la liste des commandants présen-
tée à A.M. 5997 (p.145–6), qui inclut des noms omis par Procope. Bien qu’on puisse
relever certaines similarités avec les récits de Procope et du pseudo-Zacharie de My-
tilène, le chroniqueur semble avoir disposé d’autres sources. Pour les événements du
début de la guerre, notamment le siège d’Amida, on suppose que Théophane aurait
puisé dans l’histoire d’Eustathe d’Épiphanée, mais puisque son œuvre se termina par
le siège, il faut envisager d’autres sources. Nous proposons donc d’examiner de plus
près la version de Théophane afin de préciser d’où il obtient ses renseignements et de
déterminer s’ils sont fiables.
Ilias Taxidis (Université Aristote de Thessalonique, Grèce)

Songes de désirs aux œuvres historiques de l’époque paléologue
Plusieurs d’expériences oniriques que les historiens de l’époque paléologue narrent

dans leurs œuvres, se mettent au nombre des “enypnion”, puisqu’il s’agit des songes
qui se créent du présent et qui influent à celui. Parmi ces cas, quatre narrations (dans
les œuvres de Georges Pachymères, de Nicéphore Grégoras, de Jean VI Cantacuzène
et de Georges Sphrantzès respectivement), en reflétant les séquelles quotidiennes des
personnes qui rêvent, constituent plus exactement l’expression de leurs désirs pro-
fonds et déguisés. Dans cet étude – sauf le contenu des songes de désirs – il s’examine
analytiquement tant leur fonction narrative au récit historique que leurs implications
psychologiques conformément au modèle de la théorie freudienne, selon laquelle le
songe est la rue de la connaissance de l’inconscient, parce qu’il constitue l’accomplis-
sement d’un désir opprimé ou refoulé.
Rui Carlos Fonseca (University of Lisbon, Portugal)

Byzantium as killer and rescuer of mock-heroic epic: Who kills
who in the Battle of the Frogs and Mice?
The Battle of the Frogs and Mice is an ancient Greek poem of uncertain authorship
and dating which we know to have been used as a school text in the Byzantine period.
The scholars of that time read this beast epic as a preliminary study to the Homeric
poetry. If we have nowadays access to this parodic text this fact is due to the Byzan-
tines. Nonetheless, these scholars used to play with it, reordering and rewriting some
of the lines, and borrowing others from Homer. These are the main reasons why the
text arrived to us so mutilated and in a fragmentary version.
The story, of a low topic – the quarrel between the frogs and the mice –, is told in
the epic diction, in order to mocking the mighty warfare between the Achaean and
Trojan heroes. One of the sections affected by the manipulation of the Byzantines
was that of the war sequences, in which one beast warrior kills another. In this paper,
I intend to show how the Byzantine period influenced the textual transmission of the
The Battle of the Frogs and Mice and how it modeled the final version of the poem. I
will pay special attention to the fighting sequences, which are made by repeated imi-
tation and reuse of epic topics and Iliadic scenes.
Romina Luzi (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris, France)
Traduction des romans de chevalerie occidentaux en grec.
Élaboration, nouveauté et tradition
Après la quatrième croisade et la formation d’états latins dans ce qui avait été l’Em-
pire byzantin, les échanges et les contacts entre les Byzantins et les populations latines
deviennent plus étroits.
C’est à la suite de cet événement humiliant pour la sensibilité des Byzantins, cen-
sés être les vrais héritiers de l’empire romain et de sa civilisation, que des textes moins
soucieux de la tradition commencent à apparaître.
Les romans de deuxième génération, c’est-à-dire à l’époque des Paléologues, sont,
en fait, écrits en langue vernaculaire et s’inspirent d’une matière différente de celle
des romans comnènes, qui reprenaient les aventures et les motifs de leurs ancêtres
hellénistiques. Ces romans, que l’on nomme de chevalerie pour les distinguer de leurs
antécédents, reprennent des textes occidentaux: Florios et Platziaflore est une élabo-
ration du roman français de Floire et Blanchefleur, par le biais d’un «cantare» tos-
can, Apollonios de Tyanes d’un autre cantare toscan, la Polemos tou Troados du poème
de Benoît de Sainte-Maure et Imperios et Margarona du roman français Pierre de Pro-
vence et la belle Maguelonne.
Il faut parler d’élaboration et non de traduction, car chacun de ces textes choisit
une stratégie différente: si les trois premiers laissent plutôt inchangée la trame et en-
richissent la narration par des ekphraseis des protagonistes et par des dialogues et des
monologues, le dernier se caractérise par un style plus dépouillé et opère des change-
ments par rapport à son modèle français.
Ces changements visent à inscrire le roman dans la tradition d’autres textes écrits
en langue vernaculaire, par exemple en insérant le motif de la tardive naissance du
jeune prince, qui fait la joie du couple royal, topos que l’on retrouve dans l’Achilleis
et, bien avant, dans certains textes agiographiques.
Malgré certaines différences, ces textes écrits dans une langue plus proche de celle
parlée, mais aussi conventionnelle que la langue docte, et en vers politicos, se présen-
tent comme un groupe marqué par des caractéristiques très similaires: la langue, dont
il est difficile d’apercevoir une coloration dialectale, la répétition de certains vers, ré-
currents dans différents romans, les invocations du narrateur à son public (ces deux
éléments ont amené certains spécialistes à supposer une origine oral de ces textes) et
la fonction de littérature de divertissement.
À différence des romans comnènes, dont les auteurs sont connus, de nos textes
on ignore les auteurs ainsi que la période et le lieu exactes de composition, mais cela
n’empêche pas de discerner une volonté précise de certains écrivains, qui reprennent
des motifs étrangers en les assimilant jusqu’à réaliser un «produit» distinct, répon-
dant aux attentes d’un public bilingue et friand de nouveauté, capable d’apercevoir
les allusions et les conventions utilisées.
Nous entendons montrer comme ces textes ne constituent pas des banales tra-
ductions, mais des œuvres qui naissent d’un échange entre deux traditions littéraires
et qui, profitant de limites moins contraignantes d’un genre flou, comme l’est le ro-
man antique, puisent à des traditions jusque là laissées en ombre par la voie officielle
et fondent leurs propres conventions.
Roger Scott (University of Melbourne, Australia)

Aspects of the Treatment of the Fourth and Fifth Centuries in the
Chronicle of Kedrenos
That the twelfth-century chronicle written by George Kedrenos provides only scant
information of any significance for the early history of Byzantium is well known. Ke-
drenos likewise has a poor reputation as an historian, being usually seen as a com-
piler who simply copied earlier sources more or less verbatim. His significance as a
writer and his value for understanding Byzantine culture (because of the typicality
of his views) were, however, emphasised in an important and sympathetic study just
over a quarter of a century ago by Riccardo Maisano, Note su Giorgio Cedreno e
la tradizione storiografica bizantina, Rivista di Studi Bizantini e Slavi, 3, 1983,
227–248. Maisano’s perceptive treatment was, however, necessarily very general in
that he was dealing with the entire chronicle (some 1,500 pages in the Bonn edi-
tion) and the entire period it covers (Creation to 1057). My paper plans, selectively
in a period of 10 minutes, simply to complement Maisano’s study by drawing atten-
tion to some aspects of Kedrenos’ handling of the Fourth and Fifth Centuries, which
Maisano would not have had space to include but which are distinctive, and so can
shed some interesting light on a twelfth-century chronicler’s creative approach to the
distant past.
Aslıhan Akışık (Harvard University, USA)

Islam as Law-Giving and Mohammed as Hero: The Mistra
Intellectuals Reworking the Category of the Barbarian
It is a commonplace of historical education to mark 1453 as a watershed event that

led to the exodus of Byzantine intellectuals to the west, bringing with them the long-
standing Byzantine learning of the classical world. The Renaissance, particularly the
Italian Renaissance, according to this view, is, thus, intimately connected to the Ot-
toman conquests over the Byzantine Empire.
A particular group of Byzantine intellectuals, among them Plethon, Bessarion,
and Laonikos Chalkokondyles not only witnessed the Ottoman empire-building but
they also revived some aspects of classical Greek learning and applied it to under-
stand contemporary events.
Scholars have studied the Renaissance appraisal of Islam and Islamic Empires to
conclude that humanists employed a historical vision to make sense of the fifteenth
century. However, they have failed to note that the Mistra group was not only inti-
mately familiar with the Ottomans – for example Laonikos Chalkokondyles’ father
was an envoy to Murad II’s court and Plethon, himself was educated in a Turkish city
by a Jewish scholar – but that these Byzantine intellectuals also reworked the cat-
egory of the barbarian to understand the fifteenth-century Ottomans.
Focusing on Laonikos Chalkokondyles, the historian of the fall of the Byzantines
and the rise of the Ottoman Empire, one finds that this intellectual applied the clas-
sical Greek categories of “law-giving” and “hero” to Islam and to the Prophet Mo-
hammed. Plethon, himself, had similarly written about Islam as law-giving in a short
tract, possibly composed for educational purposes. On the other hand, Bessarion,
Cardinal of the Catholic Church, in an encomium of his home-town, Trebizond,
conceived of Islamic states as a continuation of the military confrontation between
the classical Greek world and the Persian Empire.
Importantly, the education of intellectuals in Mistra under Plethon, help explain
the novel approach to make sense of Islam as a living reality. The Mistra intellectuals
did not only understand Mehmed II’s military successes as encroachments on Byzan-
tine territory but, rather, as the success of Islam and made attempts to comprehend
the spiritual component of the recent historical events with the aid of classically in-
spired categories.
Yannis Smarnakis (University of the Aegean, Mytilene, Greece)

The Historians of the Fall (1453) and the Byzantine Identities
The aim of this paper is to present some thoughts on the broader issue of the Byz-
antine identities. During the last years, the concept of “Identity” has emerged, as a
new way of understanding the various Byzantine perceptions of themselves and the
others. The rich bibliography on this issue usually conceives identities, as something
relational and incomplete, a temporary and unstable effect of relations. There’s no
essential content defined by a common origin or a common structure of experience,
in any identity. Moreover, the historical narration is a field where religious, cultural
or ethnic elements are combined together to provide images, stereotypes and new
concepts of “us” and “others”.
My paper focuses on the texts of the four Byzantine historians of the Fall (1453)
and their perceptions of “identity”. I briefly discuss the meaning of terms such as “Ro-
mans”, “Greeks”, “foreigners”, “race”, “homeland” in their works. These authors rep-
resent, in general terms, the main ideological trends of their contemporary Byzan-
tine society. Sphrantzes criticizes the Byzantine accession to the Union of Florence,
while many scriptural references and formal expressions of faith enrich his “minus”
chronicle. Dukas supports the unionist party, but his interpretation of events as the
outworking of a chastening or punishing divine providence points out a rather tradi-
tional concept of history. Critobulus is a unique case in Byzantine historiography as
he writes a laudatory biography of Mehmet the Conqueror. Finally, Chalcocondyles
is a member of the “Hellenic” group around Plethon, he is strongly influenced by the
classical authors and rather indifferent to religious matters. The ideological differ-
ences lead to multiple responses to the main questions faced by the Byzantine elite of
this era: “Who are we?” and “What’s our place in the world of the 15th century?”.
Karolina Wiśniewska (University of Warsaw, Poland)

Image of Constantinople in “Historia captae a Turca
Constantinopolis descripta a Leonardo Chiensi”
The Fall of Constantinople is one of the most significant and symbolic moments in
world history. From the very beginning it aroused the curiosity of numerous writers,
scholars and artists living in the second half of the fifteenth and in the sixteenth cen-
tury. The dramatic events of 1453 were recorded by several Western eye-witnesses of
the siege such as Nicolò Barbaro, Jacques Tedaldi, Ubertino Puscolo of Brescia. A let-
ter by Leonard of Chios addressed to Pope Nicholas V has a special place among the
accounts because it was widely spread in the sixteenth century by the print medium.
This literary testimony of the siege of the city was eagerly read in the Early-modern
Europe and was reprinted several times. The first edition was printed under the title
Historia captae a Turca Constantinopolis descripta a Leonardo Chiensi in Nurem-

berg in 1544, afterwards it was included into editions of Chronicorum Turcicorum
by Philip Lonicer. Noteworthy is especially the edition printed in Frankfurt am Main
in 1578 and accompanied by two woodcuts attributed to well-known graphic artist
Jost Amman. This edition will serve as a reference point for my examination.
The overall aim of my paper is to analyze the image of Constantinople as por-
trayed by Leonard of Chios in his letter to the pope and depicted in the woodcuts
added to his text in 1578. Considered together the text and images show the dy-
namics of perceiving and depicting Constantinople in the mid-fifteenth and in the
sixteenth century. Apart from historical testimony, Historia captae a Turca Constan-
tinopolis also provides the imaginary view of Byzantium and Constantinople that
enables us to better understand their role in the humanist discourse in the sixteenth
century.
FC14. SECULAR LITERARY GENRES I
Moderators
Atanasios Angelou/Dariya Rafiyenko
Dariya Rafiyenko (Cologne University, Germany)

Petros Patrikios and his primary source. A linguistic, stylistic and
contentual comparison
The aim of my PhD research is a new historical-critical edition of the fragments as-
cribed to the history of Peter Patrikios, Greek historian, official and diplomat, who
lived in the 6th century and served at the court of Justinian I. His work has partly
survived in fragments preserved in the excerpta constantiniana. 19 fragments were
incorporated into the collection excerpta de legationibus and 191 fragments into the
collection excerpta de sententiis. Peter’s fragments offer a revision of his sources, some
of which were partly or fully lost until nowadays, as well as his own reports concern-
ing the history of the Roman Empire from 42 BC to 358 AD. Until the year 222 AD
he follows Dio Cassius as his main source.
During my work on the edition I revealed that Peter’s method of handling his
sources in general and his primary source, i.e. Dio, particularly has not yet been stud-
ied sufficiently. In the last case a considerable amount of Peter’s text can be compared
with his source text directly. It is clearly seen that Peter paraphrases much and makes
significant changes to the narrative of Dio on the level of grammar, diction, style and
even content. A detailed comparison revealed some regularity in Peter’s method of
handling the source. During my speech I’ll try to formulate the main tendencies of
these changes. I will also try to show that it is incorrect to regard Peter’s text as ipsis-
sima verba of Dio, what is usually done for the fragments where no parallel account
of Dio is preserved.
Hylkje de Jong (VU Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

Teaching Byzantine law in the 6th century: Stephanus and the
Digest
Stephanus was one of the antecessors, the professors who taught the codification
of Justinian in the Eastern Roman Empire in the middle of the 6th century A.D.,
and presumably professor at the law school of Berytus. The Digest and the Institutes
formed, together with the Codex Justinianus of 534, a compilation of constitutions,
this codification and the study of law as taught by the antecessors. These works were
written almost entirely in Latin. Since the students spoke Greek and possessed a lim-
ited knowledge of Latin the lectures were conducted in Greek at this point in time.
There were two types of lectures. In the first type the antecessor discussed the Latin
text on the basis of a free Greek translation, the index (ὁ ἴνδιξ). In the second lecture
the antecessor explained the Latin text with the aid of paragrafai (παραγραφαὶ) which
are remarks of either a juridical or a linguistic nature. Stephanus’s teaching concern-
ing the Digest contains fragments of the index as well as the paragrafai.
Texts of Stephanus can be found extensively throughout all Byzantine legal lit-
erature and can be recognized by his characteristic style. Most of the fragments of
Stephanus’ lectures are preserved in the old scholia at the Basilica (900). In the mar-
gins of the text of the Basilica so-called scholia, containing remarks on the texts, were
written. Besides the new scholia, which were written after the realization of the Ba-
silica, old scholia from the Justinianic period were inserted around the Basilica text.
Stephanus did not restrict himself to translating and explaining the individual frag-
ments. He connected texts on the same subject and tried to distinguish general prin-
ciples. The style of the teaching of the Digest appears to be characteristic of Stepha-
nus.
Juan Signes-Codoñer (University of Valladolid, Spain)

A lexicon of Eisagoge and Leo’s Novels
My purpose in the present communication is to inform about the project of a Greek-

Spanish Lexicon of juridical terms a Spanish research team of both Valladolid and
Complutense (Madrid) Universities is working in since 2006. We hope to finish it by
December 2012.
The lexicon is based on three Byzantine Law Books of the end of the 9th and
the beginning of the 10th century, namely the Prochiron legum or “Manual of Laws”
(c. 872), the Eisagoge tou nomou or “Introduction to the Law” inspired by Patriarch
Photius (c. 886) and the Novels of Leo VI the Wise (886–912). We will consider
Prochiron only for the passages not repeated in the Eisagoge.
The lexicon will not just provide a Spanish translation for each term, but also
consider syntactical usages and distribute meanings and senses according to semantic
and syntactical markers, trying always to distinguish between general and specialized
values. Examples will be afforded of the main usages and the most frequent combi-
nations of words. Most close terms (synonyms or antonyms) will be also referred to,
when necessary, at the beginning of each lemma. At the end of each specific mean-
ing in a lemma a reference to a semantic field in Spanish will be given. This semantic
field will be at the same time a law term. At the end of the lexicon we will draw a
complete alphabetical list of all these semantic fields and put after each of them the
corresponding Greek terms. Obviously, as many Greek terms include references to
several semantic fields, they will appear more than once in the list. We will also make
an appendix with a hierarchic tree of the semantic fields, arranged as close as possible
according to the fields of law, just in order to make the reader understand that some
of the semantic fields include others. Thus for instance, negocio jurídico (juristic act)
includes contract, inheritance, testament and so on; contract in turn includes loan,
sale, lease and so on. A short glossary will also provide the meaning of the terms we
consider that would eventually require a special explanation for the non-specialists.
We are pretty conscious that the desideratum should be to make a complete lexi-
con of the Basilica or even to include the whole text of the Justinianic Novels (upon
which most passages of the Eisagoge are based), but this went beyond our possibili-
ties, so we considered that a minor lexicon would prove more useful and realistic. The
lexicon has been made possible by some previous philological and historical research
about the texts themselves upon which the lexicon is based.
Francisco J. Andrés Santos (University of Valladolid, Spain)

Real Security in Photios’ Eisagoge
Real security is regulated in Photios’ Eisagoge mainly in its Title XXVIII (Περὶ χρέους
καὶ ἐνεχύρων), one of the most significant sections of the work, since it includes the
famous prohibition of interest in case of loans. In this paper I will not pay attention
to this debated issue (which has already been discussed several times in the past), but
my aim will be trying to explain the meaning and uses of the terms concerning real
security for credits (ἐνεχύρων, ὑποθήκη) in these title and work, the reasons for the
selection of passages from the Corpus iuris civilis as a source for this part of the work,
to what extent these sections differ from the Justinian legislation on the topic and in
which point this work may have influenced anyway the following Byzantine law on
the subject, all of that in order to contribute to identify the peculiar aspects if this
work in the context of the history of Byzantine law and the genuine character of its
author(s).
Dmitry Chernoglazov (St. Petersburg State University, Russia)

Exceeding the limits of epistolary etiquette? Literary analysis of
two byzantine letters
In the Byzantine epistolography there existed a complicated system of rules which

determined the reaction of an epistolographer in different situations. This system of
rules can be called “epistolary etiquette”. To every widespread epistolary situation –
e.g. praise of the received letter, complaint about the long silence, consolatory let-
ter, etc. – corresponded certain traditional motives and clichees. Most of these mo-
tives can be traced to the Late Antiquity, but, at the same time, epistolary etiquette
did not stay immutable during all the Byzantine era – on the contrary, they changed
gradually, according to the main trends of development of the Byzantine literature.
The study of the Byzantine epistolary etiquette and its development is a task of vital
importance: the only way to interprete any Byzantine letter correctly, as a historical
document or literary text, is to learn contemporary “game rules” and analyze the let-
ter in the context of the epistolary etiquette.
The subject of the present paper is literary analysis of two unusual Byzantine let-
ters of the 10th century:
1. Théodore Daphnopatès. Correspondance/Ed. I. Darrouzès, L. G. Westerink.
Paris, 1978. Ep. 25
2. Épistoliers byzantins du Xe siècle/Ed. J. Darrouzès. Paris, 1960. IX. Ep. 50
Two letters are analysed in the wide context of the epistolary etiquette of the
Middle-Byzantine period. The investigation leads to the following conclusion: both
letters, created, probably, in the same intellectual milieu, differ considerably from
contemporary norms, but, at the same time, their style is characteristic for the sub-
sequent period, especially for the 12th century. So, this deviation from traditional
etiquette is not casual: in the letters of Theodoros Daphnopates and his circle new
trends are arising, which will frourish during the Comnenian period.
Christos G. Makrypoulias (University of Ioannina, Greece)

To Teach a King: Byzantine Military Literature at the End of the
Tenth Century
Military historians have long noticed the increased production of Byzantine tactical
manuals during the last decades of the tenth century, attributing this flourishing of
military literature to various reasons. Furthermore, a consensus seems to have been
reached regarding the dating of these treatises. The aim of this paper is to provide a
fresh look at the military literature of the later Macedonian period. We will analyze
the reasons behind the productions of such manuals and present arguments in favor
of revising the dates of some of the most important works of the time, including the
De velitatione bellica and the Taktika of Nikephoros Ouranos.
Kalliopi Mavrommati (University of Athens, Greece)

A Byzantine scholar of the 12th century on the Bulgarian climate
Bulgaria remained under Byzantine rule from 1018 until 1185, when the imposi-
tion of fiscal measures on livestock caused a sharp reaction, which eventually led up
to independence. Shortly before these events occurred, around 1173, a Byzantine
scholar βασσιλικὸς γραμματέας, κριτὴς τοῦ βήλου and ultimately μεγάλος δρουγγάριος
(since 1196) Gregorios Antiochos visited the area accompanying the army of Manuel
I Komnenos. Although the nature of this participation cannot be clarified, the pres-
ence of the army in the Bulgarian lands can be safely linked with the Byzantine effort
to impose the imperial influence and control over Hungary and Serbia.
Two letters have been preserved from his trip: one from Sardiki (Sofia) and an-
other from an unspecified area περὶ τὴν Σαρδικήν, which are both addressed to his
teacher Eustathios, soon to be metropolitan of Thessaloniki. In these texts Antiochos
describes his personal observations for the agricultural strength of the Bulgarian ru-
ral economy and expresses critical perceptions about the local population. Despite
these highly subjective comments, the texts offer comprehensive and generally reli-
able information about the climate and the geophysical image of the Bulgarian coun-
tryside. In an attempt to draw a line between subjectivity and reality in the letters of
the Byzantine envoy, the aim of this study is to present some information about the
geophysical and climatic data of the region in the late 12th century.
Alexander Karnachov (Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg)

Latin scholia by 14th c. in 11th c. Greek manuscript from
Constantinople ( John Chrysostom’s Homilies on Acts, RAIC 112):
signs of translator’s work
A manuscript of the 10th–11th c., bought by the Russian Archaeological Institute

in Constantinople in 1901, contains sermons preached by John Chrysostom on the
Acts of Apostles. The main interest arouses from its glosses in Latin superscribed
almost exclusively over the citations of biblical text. The glossator shows profound
knowledge of different types of Latin texts (Vulgata, Itala, church fathers) and rather
good skills in Greek. Based on the palaeographical facts, we can easily speak of the
nationality of the writer (“Italian” hand), but not of the time the glosses appeared.
The mixture of Carolingian and Gothic traits (the former prevail) points at the in-
terval between the 12th (or even 11th) and 14th centuries. Whoever wrote these
tiny smart letters seems to have been acquainted with notarial calligraphy and the
methods of stenography as well.
The literary history of the book throws some light on the problem. From the lost
Latin translation by Cassiodorus’s “friends” at Vivarium (6th с.) up to the first Ren-
aissance translation of Erasmus (16th c.) we hear of the sole Latin version of Chrys-
ostom’s homilies on Acts presumably made as late as the first half of the 14th century.
Matching this little is our knowledge of pre-Renaissance translators of the prince of
Byzantine eloquence. The most numerous and consistent translations were under-
taken in the 12th c. by an Italian who travelled to Constantinople more than once as
ambassador’s fidus interpres and lawyer and lived there for years. But the comparison
of our interlinear glosses with the hand of Burgundio of Pisa (died 1193) leads rather
to negative conclusions.
And yet, I believe, vague assumptions can grow into more certain literary facts on
behalf of the manuscript now stored at the Library of the Russian Academy of Sci-
ences, Saint-Petersburg (RAIC 112).
Boban Petrovski (SS Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, Republic of

Macedonia)
Common issues in No. 58, No. 94 and No. 103 of Chomatianos’
“Ponemata diaphora”
This communication refers on practically three of more than 150 documents con-
tained in Chomatianos’ “Ponemata diaphora”. These are documents titled as No. 58,
No. 94 and No. 103.
In the communication I am referring to their dating in order to show their time
proximity.
Furthermore, from the contents of these documents it can be seen that all three of
them offer different aspects from the medieval past of northwestern region in Mac-
edonia known as Polog. Namely, although they are in fact juridical acts, the docu-
ments also include information about political, administrative, church and religious,
as well as socio-economics history and every day life of 13th century Polog.
The first abovementioned document has a title “Whether to children and to
grandchildren equally belong patrimony without testimony”. The document argues
about widow Marry (Maria) from Polog who came to church archbishopric court in
Ohrid with written request to return beck the land and properties that legally belong
to her and heir children.
The title of the document No. 94 is “The things that have been not blessed taken,
but through deception, after a while returns to their real owners”. The final decision
in the document refers to disputable piece of land and it shows that archbishopric
court instructs the land to be returned to the suitor monk Gerasimos from Tetovo,
although defendant monk Moshe from Upper Polog village Banishta has already
made it vineyard.
Third document, numbered as No. 103 and titled “About adulterers and people
customs”, argues about Prizren peasant Basil called Dobreshin, who did not allow
his brother-in-low (his wife sister’s husband) to return to his first wife Obrada from
Lower Polog.
Athanasios Angelou (University of Ioannina, Greece)

The Frontier of Religion Redrawn and Withdrawn: Islam in the
Thought of Manuel II Palaiologos
The paper concerns a full-length dialogue on Islam and Christianity based on an ac-
tual encounter in Ankara in the late fourteenth century between Manuel and a Mus-
lim. It explores how and to what extent the established frontier of religion is redrawn
in the course of the dialogue as the interlocutors dismantle each other’s constructs or
move towards the other’s position. It further explores whether this frontier recedes
or is even withdrawn as a consequence of the participants’ culture of civility, personal
readiness to engage in discussion and a philosophical openness to meeting on the
common ground of reason.
Sergey Fadeev (Nizhny Novgorod State University, Russia)

Reconstruction of Political Conception from the Rhetorical
Writings of Manuel Palaeologus
It is well known that the Byzantines generally regarded political theory as an area
of applied philosophy. Thus we can hardly find a lot of works by Byzantine authors
which can be called ‘political treatises’ in terms of systematic description of a political
system. In the past this fact made some scholars think that Byzantine political theo-
retical thinking remained almost unchanged throughout the history after Eusebius
of Caesarea. Byzantine rhetoric formerly was also approached predominantly from
the point of view of its traditionalism and outlandishness. Fortunately, Byzantine re-
search of the last decades showed that Byzantine political theory did suffer an evolu-
tion and rhetoric was a vital part of the social mechanism.
The works of Manuel Palaeologus are especially precious for us in this regard.
He was the last emperor in the sequence of Byzantine ‘philosopher-kings’ combin-
ing the personalities of prolific writers and statesmen. As Barker mentions, he had
every chance of becoming one of the most illustrious Byzantine rulers if the times
had been more favorable to his country. Indeed 14th-century Byzantium was much
different from what it had been before the Fourth Crusade and earlier. This makes
it even more interesting to look at the political conception of Manuel that in some
sense sums up the millennium of its change. However, as with many other Byzantine
authors we cannot read it in systematized form because all Manuel’s works that came
down to us are rhetorical texts (speeches, epistles). In this communication I would
like to share my experience of extracting the information related to political concep-
tion of the author from this particular set of texts. The aspects of analysis include
such issues as the reinvention of the role of Byzantium in the world and history, the
succession of imperial power, the relation between the emperor and elite, legitimacy
of the power of an emperor and some other aspects crucial for our understanding of
Byzantine society at this period.
Florin Leonte (Central European University, Budapest, Hungary)

Literary salons in late Byzantium
The late Byzantine letter collections as well as the multiple pieces of evidence which
can be drawn from manuscripts suggest that, even during the time of deep political
troubles from the end of the fourteenth century, there was a continuous exchange of
ideas and texts between the Byzantine scholars. Among the literati we find people
upholding various religious or political persuasions: lay people or ecclesiastics, anti-
Unionists or supporters of the Union, members of the old aristocracy or people of
lower social status. Even the emperor Manuel II had been a member of this intellec-
tual society from an early stage of his career, and, over time, his connections and uses
of the network multiplied. Owing to his position of political authority, he played a
significant part in maintaining the connections between the members of this group
and often in promoting them to administrative positions.
The activities of this group of individuals with similar literary preoccupations are
attested not only at the abstract level of their correspondence but also by concrete
meetings in the framework of the so-called theatra. These were organized gatherings
with a long tradition in Byzantium where authors read aloud their texts and, follow-
ing such performances, they received comments from their peers. For the Palaiolo-
gan period numerous pieces of evidence indicate that such meetings enjoyed certain
popularity among the authors and their patrons.
The aim of this paper will be twofold: on the one hand to highlight the inter-
actions between different scholars and scholarly groups and, on the other hand, to
set the late Byzantine literary salons in the wider context of the contemporary court
rhetorical practices.
FC15. SECULAR LITERARY GENRES II

Moderators
Efthymia Braounou-Pietsch/Frederick Lauritzen
Rusudan Tsanava (Tbilisi Ivane Javakhishvili State University, Georgia)

Mythopoetic Model of City in Nonnos of Panopolis’ ‘Dionysiaca’
The foundation of a city was an act of major cultural and sacral importance in archaic
societies and ancient civilizations in the Middle Ages and subsequent eras. Accord-
ing to archaic ideas, towns are founded in line with cosmic models. In binary opposi-
tions, town embodies progress and culture. The well-known mythic towns of Thebes,
Troy, and Aea are the primeval towns first created in imagination and then linked
to real geographic places. The foundation of this type of primeval towns is always
linked to the divine will and acquires various overtones in the contexts of various
religious concepts. The analysis of symbols in Nonnos’s poem enables us to conclude
that Nonnos’s view of symbolism is peculiar and syncretic. Nonnos’s symbolism can-
not be described as oriental or occidental, Christian or mythic. This paper analyzes
Nonnos’s view of the mythopoetic symbol of a primeval town – the foundation of
mythic Thebes, which is a primeval town, founded in Greece by Cadmus the Phoe-
nician. Describing the foundation of the town, the writer tells the following story:
A prince, who has left his country, is searching for a “powerful place” according to
the instructions from a deity and finds the place by means of a white cow. Cadmus
became not only king of Boeotia, but also Harmonia’s husband and the enlightener
of the Greeks. The poem further provides a detailed description of how Thebes was
founded. Nonnos emphasizes that Cadmus built the town following the model of
Egyptian Thebes of one hundred gates and the sky sparkling with stars (V, 67–87).
The Dionysiaca makes it clear that primeval towns like Thebes (Ilion, Beroea, Antio-
chia, historic Nineveh, Jerusalem, Babylon, and others) are based on the same mythic
model and they have a certain mission and cultural and historic function.
Delphine Lauritzen (University of Bologna, Italy)

Nonnian Poets: an Attempt of Chronology
This communication proposes further thoughts for a chronological sequence among

the poets of the late 5th to the late 6th Century A. D. whose works were influenced
by Nonnus of Panopolis. This attempt of organization is the necessary prolegomena
leading to a more comprehensive study of the literate and cultural phenomenon
which one has sometimes called ‘School of Nonnus’.
The method here followed consists to take into account the various hints given
both by external perspectives (biographical or historical elements, transmission of

the text, indirect tradition) and internal views (metric, style, intertextuality) in order
to detect the influence that these poets received from Nonnus as well as potential re-
lations between each other. Organized by alphabetical order and restricted to the au-
thors transmitted by the manuscript tradition, the list here addressed gives: Agathias
Scholasticus, Christodorus of Coptos, Colluthus, Cyrus of Panopolis, John of Gaza,
Musaeus and Paulus Silentiarius, among others.
Although areas of uncertainty remain, the present insight into this specific part
of a larger dynamic shaping Modern Poetry in Early Byzantine Age states some pre-
cise issues regarding relative and absolute Chronology and wishes to offer a brief, yet
helpful overview of the problem.
Aleksandar V. Popović (Belgrade University, Serbia)

“Etymological Atlas” of Human Body in Hodegos of Anastasios of
Sinai
Almost nothing is known about the biography of Anastasios of Sinai. His identifica-
tion with Anastasios, the Patriarch of Antioch from the 6th century is today rejected.
All that we know about him is that he was a monk on Mt. Sinai during the second
half of the 7th century and that he died shortly after the year 700. Under his name is
saved a great number of writings, but today most of them are considered unauthen-
tic.
Hodegos is his most famous authentic work. It is a sort of handbook for fighting
the heresies, in the first place Monophysitism and Monotheletism, which the author
designed for his pupils. This is a discussion about the terms, i.e. the categories, which
should be used if the person, the believer, wants to be orthodox. The work is divided
into 24 chapters. In the second chapter Anastasios gives the definitions of the
Theological termini technici which he will use in his polemics. To strengthen his
theological argumentation, he brings more than 120 etymologies of different terms.
Of course, in most cases these are typical “popular etymologies”, but sometimes
he is on the right track. His etymologies are roughly divided into several groups. Nat-
urally, the first group consists of those from the theological field: God, Trinity etc.
After that come the etymologies of the names of the animals, human feelings, virtues
and vices, of the words with the prefix ana- (e.g. anaphora), of the names of the parts
of human body, of the celestial phenomena, geographical terms, as also of the words
from the foreign languages (Latin, Hebrew).
In our article we will pay attention to the Anastasios’ etymologies of the names
of the parts of the human body. There are seventeen etymologies of the words of this
kind: kardia, nephroi, metaphrena, kranion, trachelos, gony, odontes, cheires, podes
and others. Some of these etymologies are very interesting and imaginative, and in
some Atanasios is not completely wrong.
Frederick Lauritzen (Foundation for Religious Sciences John XXIII, Bologna, Italy)
Psellos’ defence before the synod (Or. For. 2 Dennis)
In the 1040s Psellos wrote a speech for the metropolitan of Philippopolis who recited
it during his defence before the Holy Synod. Leaving aside the historical and judicial
aspects of such a document, Psellos appears here to have the same role which some
ancient orators held: a logographer, somebody who wrote speeches for someone else
to be presented in court. In classical Athens it was Lysias who was considered one of
the most famous logographers, but it was Demosthenes’ public speeches which were
the focus of the fundamental manuals of rhetoric of Hermogenes. Thus Psellos stud-
ied and understood the difference between a logographer and a public speaker. Both
the ancient orators were important for their arguments and strategies during court
and assembly hearings. That Psellos could write such a speech means the distinction
between written and spoken oratory was still in current use in eleventh century By-
zantium. Moreover the references in the document reveal that Psellos was conscious
of being within the tradition of public performance of a text, as in the court cases of
Ancient Athens. Thus this speech may be defined according to the classical definition
of the speech of a logographer: a rhetorical work written to be recited by someone
else before a tribunal.
Efthymia Braounou-Pietsch (University of Vienna, Austria)

On the issue of irony in Michael Psellos’ enocomium on Michael
Kerullarios
Psellos’ ideal is not a mere self-centered spirituality, but life in human society. His
model of ideal life is not the single-minded and uncompromising ascetic, but the
politikos anēr, who is able to communicate with his fellow humans, respond to his
interlocutors in a manner appropriate to any given situation, and generally adapt his
behaviour to the particular circumstances.
In Psellos’ opinion (but also in accordance with other sources), some of his po-
litical opponents appear more like the rigorous, uncompromising type of person, giv-
ing themselves the appearance of belonging only to the spiritual sphere. This applies
for instance to Michael Kerullarios, as Jakov Ljubarskij has correctly pointed out in
the relevant part of his monograph on Psellos. For this reason, Ljubarskij regards let-
ter 207 Sathas, in which Psellos extols Kerullarios’ virtues while seemingly belittling
himself, quite rightly as an ironic comparison and sees in Psellos’ prosecution speech
against Kerullarios from the year 1058 the consequence and „the last stage of an old
enmity“.
But how about the later encomium which Psellos delivered in commemoration
of the dead Patriarch Kerullarios? De mortuis nil nisi bene. In addition to it, the enco-
mium contains a palinode of Psellos’ prosecution speech against Kerullarios (which,
incidentally, was never actually delivered). According to Ljubarskij, this text just fol-
lows the rules of the eulogy and adapts to the new cirmustances. My contribution
examines the possibility of discerning an ironic distance on the part of the author
towards the praised person, however well concealed it may be.
Varvara Zharkaya (Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow)

New Features in the Image of Constantine the Great in Mid- and
Late Byzantine Period
In the early epoch church historians drew a picture of Constantine the Great while
deep in polemics with their contemporary pagan writers. By way of denying and
cushioning the drawbacks of his reign and highlighting his personal and imperial vir-
tues, they succeeded in producing an image of a saint wielding the sceptre.
With the course of time, the figure of the first Christian emperor drifts into the
legendary. He miraculously gains the insignia of the emperor’s power, founds a huge
variety of churches and even towns (according to Leo the Deacon, it was he who
founded even the ancient town Dorostolus), establishes all kinds of innovations etc.
Seeing all possible virtues in the founder of the Empire and its capital shouldn’t
surprise us. It is much more amazing that in some texts Constantine is pictured unfa-
vourably. Thus, Patria Constantinoupoleos credits him with establishing brothels in
Constantinople, and a number of “spiritually beneficial tales” has him saying that he
is ready to cover a fornicating priest with his own purple mantle so that Christ cov-
ers his own sins. Strangely enough, the episode, refuted by church historians, with
Constantine killing his wife and son, comes up again in the Mid-Byzantine period.
Instead of tearing this bloody page off the annals of the saintly emperor’s reign, an-
nalists persisted in handing it on, and the hideous drama reverberates in a number
of unexpected contexts. Authors differ in how they treat this episode: some try to
exonerate Constantine, others keep away from making their judgment; there are still
others who try to hush up the murder, however, something makes them bring up em-
peror’s son and depict him as ultimately virtuous (Theophanes, Cedrenus), at times it
is even claimed that Crispus had been converted before the father (Gennadius Schol-
arius). In many cases the “doubts” the authors have are not sounded point-blank, but
rather are put either as something said by Constantine himself (Anastasius Sinaitas,
Glykas) or find expression in most general accounts of his reign (Psellos). Curiously
enough, the author of the Suda encyclopedia defeats the last point in favour of Con-
stantine by conjecturing that it was not before but after his receiving baptism that he
killed his son. All these facts point out that the perception of Constantine in the later
tradition was not as straightforward as it might be expected. It is fascinating to try to
understand why the image of the first Christian emperor grows to be so ambiguous
and dissimilar to what was once created by the church history.
João Vicente de Medeiros Publio Dias (Curitiba, Brazil)

The Alexiad and Digenis Akrites: an indirect relation
Reading the first lines of the Alexiad, when the princess-author describes the early
deeds of her imperial father Alexius Comnenus (1081–1118), it is possible to iden-
tify some traces and characteristics that are very similar to the maturation process of
the heroes of the Byzantine Epic Cycle, which is known nowadays as “Acritic songs”.
This production has its origins as an oral record of the deeds of the Byzantine Eastern
Frontier’s lords in their almost private war against their Muslim counterparts during
the Ninth, Tenth and early Eleventh Century. This Genre finds its peak with the song
of Digenis Akrites, which was composed in the late Eleventh Century. By this time
the described frontier context was in crisis. Based in the methodology presented by
Vladimir Propp in his “Morphology of the Folk-tale”, the study that will be presented
finds evidences of topoi in the maturation process of those Acritic heroes. The same
topoi appear also quite clearly in Anna Comnena’s narration of the early activities of
Alexius I. The proposal is not to create a direct relation between the Alexiad and the
Acritic Songs, but it is very likely that, when she began the narration of her father’s
deeds, Anna Comnena followed a tradition that went back to the ancient Greek his-
toriography and gave a hint of Alexius’ great destiny. However, by doing that, the au-
thor uses a model which is familiar to the aristocratic clique that she came from: the
representation of the frontier heroes, the mythic ancestors of byzantine military elite.
This appear to be an evidence that, after the Defeat in Manzikert (1071) and the rise
of Alexius Comnenos to the purple, this aristocratic heritage started to have an influ-
ence on both the courtesan literature and on the imperial ideal.
Eirini-Sophia Kiapidou (University of Patras, Greece)

The Letters of Michael Glycas and his biography
We all agree that many questions regarding the identity and deeds of Michael Gly-
cas, the well known Byzantine chronicler and scholar from the 12th century, are still
open to debate. It’s not clear yet, for example, whether Glycas’ imprisonment and
partial blindness in the year 1159 should be attributed to his participation in Theo-
doros Stypeiotes’ conspiracy against Manuel I Κomnenos (1143–1180) or his severe
criticism on emperor Manuel’s passion for the astrology (see his letter no. 40). More-
over, the prevailing scholarly view, Michael Glycas should be identified also with the
monk Michael Sikidites, who was responsible in the late 12th century for the theo-
logical controversy on the corruptibility of Christ’s Body and Blood in Holy Com-
munion, though it fills in certain gaps on Glycas’ biography, raises nevertheless some
other questions, that need further discussion.
However, apart from composing a world chronicle till the death of Alexios I
Κomnenos (1118), two poems and a collection of proverbs, Michael Glycas is also
the writer of 95 (according to Eustratiadis’ edition) less known today letters. These
letters are mostly addressed to monks and Byzantine state officials aiming at provid-
ing them persuasive answers on various theological issues that derive from the read-
ing of the Holy Scripture or come up in daily life of either monks or simple faithful
Christians. Some of the topics that Glycas deals with in his correspondence can be
traced in his chronicle as well. The scholar’s theological argumentation is based in
both these works on the constant citation of ecclesiastical sources and their interpre-
tation with a strong sense of logic.
Being currently engaged in a project concerning the letters of Michael Glycas in
comparison with his chronicle as well, in my communication I will focus on the bio-
graphical evidence (direct and allusive) in Glycas’ correspondence and in this frame-
work I will re-discuss the ambiguous data of his highly interesting life and thought.
Marina Bazzani (University of Oxford, UK)

The art of requesting gifts in the poetry of Manuel Philes
Manuel Philes, one of the most prolific poets of the Palaeologan era, earned his liv-
ing dedicating poems to members of the imperial family, court officials and other
wealthy patrons. Although these poems were composed for particular occasions, or
as a way to express gratitude for a gift, more often than not, they stood for a means
to solicit rewards and aid of all sorts. While these compositions mostly convey a high
degree of deference towards the addressees – so much so that a repute of dullness and
servility has long tarnished Philes’ occasional poetry – they also show his ability to
vary endlessly the tone of his poems and to adjust his requests to each benefactor.
In this paper I will analyse some of Philes’ occasional poems in order to illustrate
how diversely the poet expresses his requests, and how he adapts the tone and the sty-
listic register to the status of his addressees and to the level of familiarity he has with
them. For one of the most interesting features of Philes’ poems is the coexistence of
several registers, and several layers of meaning which allow for multiple interpreta-
tions of the text. A detailed reading of these poems will show how the poet strikes
different attitudes to his recipients in different occasions – sometimes the poet tries
to present it as a rapport between equals, other times he places himself in a subordi-
nate position where he needs guidance –, and how he manages to praise his patrons,
to rebuke their lack of liberality or, even, to make fun of them by means of stylistic
and lexical devices. Such analysis will make clear how these poems differ greatly in
depth and complexity, even though they all fall into the same category of occasional
compositions of request.
This paper will also address the occurrence of variations and adjustments of po-
etic tone – a device that contributes significantly to render similar texts never mo-
notonous – in order to understand how these reflect the ways in which the relation-
ship between the poet and his recipients is developed, and how the poet’s requests
are vented – for sometimes they remains unspoken, while other times the author is
much more forthright, if not even blunt, in his demands. This paper will also address
the use of images and puns, not only from a stylistic point of view, but also as a useful
tool for gaining insight into the environment in which Philes operated. Through this
investigation I would like to demonstrate the considerable subtlety and cleverness of
Philes’ poetic process.
Tatiana Kushch (Ural State University, Ekaterinburg, Russia)

Gifting as an Attribute of the Late Byzantine Epistolary Etiquette
Gifting as a total phenomenon could be found in the cultural space of any civiliza-
tion. Gift giving as a form of social communication is typical for the societies of dif-
ferent epochs. Although gifting has a “timeless” nature, every particular case of a gift
exchange reflects ethic-esthetical stereotypes, behavioral norms and mental incen-
tives, typical for particular culture. That is why a gift could be considered as an ele-
ment of cultural identity, which allows defining the personality of the gift giver and
gift receiver from the civilization dimension. Gift giving has its temporal, geographi-
cal and socio-cultural colors.
A gift and a reciprocal gift are often represented in the Byzantine civilization
space. In the frameworks of the Byzantine culture, the theme of gifts could be de-
veloped through different spheres (religious, political, ideological, and social, etc.).
Understanding the limitless of the offered subject, I would like to examine the prob-
lem of gifts on the example of the place of gifts in the epistolary practice, which is a
typical mode of communication between intellectuals. From the one side, this focus
will allow highlighting the peculiarities of the practice of gifts giving in the scale of
the particular social group, and from another side it will help to reveal the norms of
etiquette, which existed in Byzantine society and were certainly projected on intel-
lectuals’ circles.
A gift was an inseparable attribute of the Byzantine intellectuals’ communica-
tion. Very often, it accompanied a letter, the most preferred form of the intimate
rhetoric. Letters contain various information about the nature of the gifts given to
the addressee, feedbacks, gratitude, detailed description of the situations in which
the exchange of the gifts was going on, and even critical references about the received
gifts. Collected and organized facts about the nature and content of such phenom-
enon as a gift provide a better understanding of the Byzantine culture aspects.
Maria Tziatzi (Demokrit-Universität Thrakien, Komotini, Griechenland)

Zu einer neuen kritischen und kommentierten Edition der
Gedichte des Michael Choniates
Es sind 15 Gedichte des Michael Choniates bekannt, von denen zehn in der alten
Ausgabe von Lampros, die übrigen in der ebenfalls alten Ausgabe von Gregorovius-
Lampros vorliegen. Ein paar Gedichte sind vereinzelt neuediert, wie z.B. das hochbe-
kannte über den Verfall der Stadt Athen, von dem wir u.a. über eine textkritische
kommentierte Ausgabe verfügen.
Der Text ist anscheinend ziemlich befriedigend ediert, allerdings meistens auf
Grund einer Handschrift. Ferner sind die Gedichte von klassischen und biblischen
Zitaten bzw. Elementen durchdrungen, die in der Regel noch nicht erforscht sind.
Vor allem die hexametrischen Gedichte bedürfen eines sprachlichen und inhaltli-
chen Kommentars.
Acht Gedichte sind hexametrisch, sieben in Zwölfsilbern verfasst. Wegen des
sehr langen Gedichtes Θεανώ (457 Verse) überwiegen aber die Hexameter bei wei-
tem (595 gegenüber 142). Hierbei stehen wir vor einer eigenartigen Metrik. Die
alten Regeln werden oft vernachlässigt. Erscheinungen, die wir aus anderen Byzan-
tinern kennen, treten bei Choniates besonders häufig auf. Es bleibt übrig zu untersu-
chen, ob Choniates irgendwelche neuen (eigenen?) metrischen Prinzipien (etwa auf
den Akzent basierenden) an die Stelle der klassischen setzt. Bei der Herstellung des
kritischen Textes wird diese metrische Eigenartigkeit uns von Eingriffen metri gratia
abhalten.
Es ist ersichtlich, dass eine textkritische und kommentierte Gesamtausgabe der
Gedichte des M. Choniates ein Desideratum der byzantinischen Philologie darstellt.
Fani Voinou (University of Ioannina, Greece)

A Byzantine intellectual within and outside the Capital. The case
of Michael Choniates
This communication is connected with my research for a PhD thesis on the catecheti-
cal orations of Michael Choniates, a learned intellectual and member of the late 12th
c. ecclesiastic hierarchy. It offers an analysis of the typical and individual features of
his life within and outside the borders of the capital.
Having lived a number of years in Constantinople, Choniates moved later as
archbishop to the faraway humble town of Athens (1182–1204). We attempt to re-
construct the intellectual incentives provided at that time within the capital, to com-
pare them with those of a provincial town at the periphery of the Byzantine world,
and to imagine Michael Choniates at his both environments.
The orations (Κατηχήσεις) which he delivered at his see abound in thought and
phrases illustrative of his new pastoral interests and his feelings as an ‘exilee’. Bring-
ing these to the fore and commenting on them from the point of view of a Byzantine
intellectual’s response to his times constitute the main axis of our communication,
which aims at understanding the inner conflicts and public utterances of a formida-
ble man of letters in medieval Greece.
Demetra Samara (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece)

Gregorios Kyprios – Theodore Mouzalon: the “Contra Beccum”
oration
The “Contra Beccum” oration is a text first published in the Tomos Agapes kata lati-
non, Iassy 1698, 405–413 (= Patrologia Graeca 142: 290C–300B) under the name
of the Patriarch Gregorios II Kyprios. It is introduced as the second part of his wider
opus “De Processione Spiritus Sancti”, written in order to contradict the argumenta-
tion stated by the ex-Patriarch Ioannes XI Beccos in terms of the crucial issue of the
procession of the Holy Spirit. However, two of the manuscripts delivering the above
text, Leidensis B.P.G. 49 and Vaticanus Chisianus R.IV.12, reveal as the author of the
oration Theodore Mouzalon, one of the most prominent former students and by the
time companions of Gregorios II Kyprios, as well as high dignitary of Andronikos II
Palaeologos. The aim of the paper is to study the oration as a literary and rhetorical
work, examine the problem of its writer and present the conclusions which will lead
to a new critical edition of it.
Nikolaos Th. Agiotis (University of Ioannina, Greece)

The metropolitan of Mitylene Leo Magentinus. A Biographical
Sketch of a Byzantine Commentator on Aristotle
The only historical evidence for the existence of a metropolitan of Mitylene and ar-
istotelian commentator bearing the name of Leo Magentinus is provided from ci-
tations found in manuscripts dating from the 13th to the 16th century. Based on
codicological grounds, modern scholars date Leo’s (or the person’s under this iden-
tity) writing activities as having taken place somewhere between the middle of 12th
century and the year 1272.
After having taken into consideration the above mentioned timetable and as-
sumed the writer’s identity as true, we seek to enclose Leo’s writing within a shorter
period of time bound by the years 1261 and 1274. We suggest this briefer frame after
examining (a) the general attitude of Byzantium towards the growing military and
political power of the West in both 12th and 13th centuries, (b) the significance of
Lesbos in this dispute and the island’s ecclesiastical organization until the second half
of the 13th century, (c) the works of Magentinus in relation to the status of the aris-
totelian studies and its objectives after the recapture of Constantinople in 1261, and
(d) the surname of the commentator in its historic-geographic context.
Finally, we attempt to identify Magentinus with an archdeacon by the name of
Leo. References for him lie in byzantine diplomatic documents between the Byzan-
tines and the city of Genoa in 1261. Due to our precedent analysis and after examin-
ing the political-ecclesiastical choises made by Michael VIII during his reign, we con-
clude that Leo the archdeacon serves well our assumption and therefore could have
possibly been Magentinus and could have died or have been deposed by his office as
metropolitan before 1274.
FC16. HAGIOGRAPHY AND HOMILETIC

Moderators
Priscilla Hunt/Erekle Jordania
Anna Lampadaridi (Université Paris IV-Sorbonne, France)

Nouvelles remarques sur la valeur historique de la Vie de Porphyre
de Gaza (BHG3 1570)
La Vie de Porphyre de Gaza (BHG3 1570) se présente comme un texte hagiographi-

que de l’époque protobyzantine écrit par Marc le Diacre. Ce personnage se désigne
lui-même comme le disciple du saint qui raconte la vie de son maître après sa mort
en 420. Pourtant, à cause d’un emprunt à l’Histoire Philothée de Théodoret de Cyr,
la Vie dans son état actuel est certainement postérieure à l’année 444 et ne peut pas
provenir de la plume de Marc, qui n’est que le narrateur. Selon l’hypothèse des édi-
teurs Grégoire et Kugener, la Vie actuelle est le fruit d’un remaniement d’un texte
plus ancien.
Le texte nous offre un témoignage unique sur l’histoire du paganisme et du chris-
tianisme à Gaza à la fin du IVe et au début du Ve s. Ordonné évêque de Gaza en 395,
Porphyre contribue activement à la christianisation de la ville, qui était alors majori-
tairement païenne. Le point culminant de son activité et, en même temps, le noyau
du récit est la démolition du temple principal de la ville, le Marneion, et la fondation
sur ses débris de la «Grande Église» de Gaza. La Vie est le seul texte à nous raconter
avec tant de détails comment la christianisation d’un sanctuaire païen a eu lieu.
Cependant, outre les problèmes concernant l’identité de son auteur et sa data-
tion, la Vie s’est trouvée dès l’époque de Tillemont au centre d’un grand débat concer-
nant sa valeur historique, à cause des anachronismes qui ont été relevés. Grégoire et
Kugener ont fait la distinction entre les éléments appartenant à ce qu’ils ont appelé
«le noyau primitif» et ceux qui sont de l’ordre d’un «roman historique».
Dans le cadre de notre thèse comprenant une nouvelle édition critique du texte,
nous avons repris le dossier embrouillé de la valeur historique de la Vie, en essayant
de prendre de la distance par rapport à la façon dont les deux derniers éditeurs ont
vu les choses. La présente communication regroupe l’essentiel des résultats de notre
recherche et propose d’examiner sous une perspective nouvelle ce document curieux,
qu’est la Vie de Porphyre de Gaza.
Erekle Jordania (Georgian National Committee of Byzantine Studies, Tbilisi)

Trebizond in the Georgian Hagiographic Monuments
The article deals with the issues of the location of the Byzantine-Georgian frontier
area in 8th–9th cc. on the base of the complex historical and philological analysis of
the evidence of Ioane Sabanisdze “Martyrdom of Saint Abo”.
The opinion of the researchers differ to the identification of the mentioned in the
“Martyrdom” geographical points “Apsar” and “Naphsai”, geographical and adminis-
trative-territorial definition of the toponyms “Chaldea” and “Apkhazeti” (“Abazgia”)
and their etymology.
According to the first group of scholars, in 8th–9th cc., Trebizond was included
in within Georgia and its territory stretched to the frontiers of “Chaldea”. The second
one maintains that, in this period, Trebizond, “Apsar” and “Naphsai” were included
in within the limits of “Chaldea” and, accordingly the Byzantine-Georgian frontier
passed in the area of the river Chorokhi. The next group of the researchers argues
that “Chaldea”, including Trebizond, was within the bounds of Georgia.
In the modern historiography, the toponyms “Apsar” and “Naphsai” are iden-
tified accordingly with “Apsaros” (moderm Gonio) and “Nikopsis” (modern
Novomikhailovka). Besides, according to Constantine Porphyrogenitus, the topo-
nym “Abazgia” i.e. “Apkhazeti” defines the territory from “Nikopsis” to “Sotiriupolis”
(modern Borchkha ).
At the same time there is no any direct evidence that in times of existence of the
Byzantine Empire “Chaldea” or Trebizond and its area were ever included in within
Georgia. Comparative analysis of the evidence of the sources reaffirms the presence
of the Kartvelian ethnic element in Pontos and does not confirm the administrative
and territorial belonging of “Chaldea” or Trebizond and its area to Georgia.
Accordingly, in the late 8th and early 9th centuries the Byzantine-Georgian fron-
tier area can be located in Khupati (Hopa) – Borčha (Sotiriupolis) – Gonio (Apsa-
ros) sector. Besides, in our opinion, the coastal part of the Byzantine-Georgian state
boundary in this period passed in the area of “Apsar” (Gonio), the limits of which
stretched to river Makriali.
Priscilla Hunt (University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA)

The Vita of St. Andrew of Constantinople as a Wisdom Genre
This paper will redefine the genre of the mid 10th century Vita of Andrew of Con-
stantinople (VAndrew) to show that it is less a hagiographical biography than a di-
dactic Wisdom text. Analysis will demonstrate that VAndrew consists of a grand syn-
thesis of several kinds of wisdom discourse that exemplify several overlapping models
of knowledge – neo-Platonic, temple-liturgical, and ancient Greek sage. Andrew’s
holy foolishness is first a “sage performance” and secondly a living liturgy that exem-
plifies VAndrew’s integral place in the Wisdom cult of Hagia Sophia of Constanti-
nople fostered during the Macedonian dynasty.
Eliso Elizbarashvili (Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia)

The Miracle of St. George Rescuing the Princess in Georgian
Legend
Amongst the miracles attributed to St. George the rescue of the princess from the
dragon is a later development that emerged and became dominant from the eleventh
century. As it is well known Saint George’s popularity was dramatically enhanced
after this chivalrous act was added to his legend. Scholars on the basis of iconograph-
ic and hagiographic sources suggested that this motif has Eastern or even Georgian
(Christopher Walter) origin. Particularly, the earliest account of this miracle is at-
tested in a Georgian manuscript dated by eleventh century, Patriarchal Library of
Jerusalem, cod. 2, while the oldest surviving Greek text is dated from twelfth to
thirteenth centuries, in Rome, Bibliotheca angelica 46 (C.F.1), ff. 189–91v. The ear-
liest known depictions of the iconographical type corresponding this motif are in
Georgia: Pavnisi (1154–58), Adisi (late eleventh century), Bočorma (c. 1100), Ikvi
(twelfth century), while the earliest Byzantine representation is in the church of the
Anargyroi at Kastoria (twelfth century).
Concerning this problem chronology and policy of translating warrior saints’
hagiography into the Georgian language ought to be considered. The fact, that some
works on warrior saints including St George preserved in the manuscripts of the
tenth century were translated one more time during eleventh and twelfth centuries,
indicates that interest towards these saints was dramatically increased at that time.
Social transformation and establishment of strong feudal monarchy along with the
psychological climate – ideals of knighthood related to the emergence of the Cru-
sader movement are believed to contribute to this process. In this context father
problem concerning traces of the genre of medieval romance in the miracle of rescu-
ing the princess will be discussed. The analysis will be based on the Greek and the
Georgian texts containing this miracle. The theme expects to answer the question of
the possible Georgian origin of this motive and the ways of its transferring it to the
common Byzantine tradition.
Anna Kladova (St. Petersburg State University, Russia)

Different styles in Byzantine hagiography – an attempt of
comparative analysis on the material of two vitae of St. Lazaros of
Mt. Galesio
There are five texts concerning the life of the 11th c. Byzantine stylite St. Lazaros of
Mt. Galesio but the most important among them are the following: the initial exten-
sive Vita by Gregory the Cellarer, Lazaros’ disciple, written shortly after the saint’s
death; and the Vita by Gregory of Cyprus, which dates two centuries later. Differ-
ences between the two texts as far as style and approach to material are concerned
illustrate two different types of hagiography in Byzantium and make possible some
further considerations concerning the perception of hagiographical texts among the
élite of the Byzantine society from late 11th till early 14th c.
Gregory of Cyprus’ text is characterized by: complicated vocabulary and syn-
tax; scholarly allusions; vagueness of the saint’s persona and his life’s circumstances;
pompousness, excessive emotionality and theatricality. The text by Gregory the Cel-
larer, in its turn, is marked by: simplicity of language at both lexical and grammati-
cal levels; allusions made exclusively to the Holy Scripture and various hagiographic
works; abundance of particularities; striking human characters, including that of the
saint himself; mostly colloquial intonation and dry treatment of events.
Gregory of Cyprus’ work could serve as the illustration of the revival experienced
by the Byzantine hagiography in the late 13th c. after the decline it had undergone
since early 12th c. (this process especially affected the top class of the society). Being
interested in the hagiographical genre, Gregory of Cyprus, an intellectual and aris-
tocrat himself, adjusts the Lazaros’ vita in accordance with the literary tastes of his
milieu. Thereupon a special interest of Gregory to the motif of “nobility [εὐγένεια]”
should be mentioned – this aspect could be attributed to the aristocratic ideals typi-
cal of the late Byzantine élite.
Liudmila Avilushkina (St. Petersburg State Theatre Arts Academy, Russia)

The Theological Chapters of Michael Glykas in the Codex Guelf. 73
Gudian gr.
The Theological chapters of Michael Glykas, written in the second part of the 12th
c., are replies to problems addressed to the author and concern various theological
questions. 70 chapters are addressed to monks and lay persons. About 50 codices in-
clude the Theological chapters of Glykas. There are different numbers of the chapters
and names of addresses as well as variant readings of the texts and the titles of the
chapters in codices.
95 Theological chapters of Michael Glykas under the title “On the problems of
Holy Scripture” were published by S.Eustratiades (T. I, Athens, 1906; T. II, Alexan-
dria, 1912). The editor described 43 codices and used only 5 each of which contained
55 chapters (Vind. hist. gr. 155, 28, 159, 160.166). In the review E. Kurtz wrote that
many important problems, concerned with the titles and the texts of the chapters,
were not determined by S. Eustratiades, as he did not use the best 4 codices each of
which contained 92 Glykas’ chapters (Athos Pantel. gr. 212; 13th c.; Paris. gr. 228;
13th c.; Marc. gr. 111; 14th c.; Mosq. 230, year 1603 (now Mosqu. Hist. Mus. Syn.
gr. 219/230 Vlad.) (BZ, 17, 1908, 166–172).
Neither S. Eustratiades nor E. Kurtz mentioned the codex Guelf. 73 Gud. gr. Ac-
cording to the description of the Catalogue, cod. Guelf. 73 Gud. gr. is dated the 15th
c. and contains only 91 epistolae of Michael Glykas (Katalog der Herzog August Bib-
liothek. Die Gudischen Handschriften. Wolfenbuettel, 1913, 45). I studied the co-
dex de visu (Herzog August Bibliothek, Stipendien-Nr.: B 1371, 1.08–31.10.2009).
This codex, written on paper of different quality and size by 5 scribes, contains 92
Theological chapters of Michael Glykas. There are many variant readings of the texts
and the titles of the chapters in this codex in comparison with the Theological chap-
ters of Glykas published by S. Eustratiades.
Thus now it is known that 5 codices contain the collection of 92 Theological
chapters of Michael Glykas which allows us to make the textual and source study
more detailed.
Vasileios Vouvonikos (Gerakas, Greece)

Universalist aspects in Germanos the 2nd homiletic activity
This communication explores and presents those aspects of Patriarch Germanos’ II

(ca. 1175–1240) homiletic activity which link this important preacher of the empire
of Nicea with the traditional universalist themes of Byzantine church rhetoric. Spe-
cial attention will be paid to the question of the nature of his audience: is it intended
to be a real audience of a provincial Byzantine city or is it the constructed audience of
a timeless congregation irrespective of specific historical conditions. And can we de-
tect in Germanos’ homilies a tendency to educate his particular audience into what
he, as patriarch of Constantinople in Nicea, thought his audience should be.
Eleni Kaltsogianni (University of Ioannina, Greece)

Theodoros Metochites and his Logos on the Archangel Michael
The Palaiologan Era was a period when hagiography – and especially what we call
“learned hagiography” – flourished. Almost all leading scholars of the time devoted
part of their activity to this field and produced works that are marked in the first pla-
ce by their rhetorically elaborated high style. Theodoros Metochites, the most prom-
inent figure of the Early Palaiologan Renaissance, also composed among others six
hagiographical texts that have not been treated systematically so far and that remain
partly unedited. My paper will focus on one of the hitherto unedited hagiographi-
cal texts of Metochites, his Logos on the Archangel Michael, a work on which no
comprehensive study exists. I shall discuss various aspects of the work, with special
emphasis on its sources, its place in the homiletic tradition on the Angels as well as its
relationship to other works of Metochites (e.g., the Ἠθικὸς and his commentaries on
Aristotle), where the author treats similar subjects.
Eleni Bazini-Nikolopoulou (EPHE, Sciences religieuses, Paris, France)

Une nouvelle œuvre de Joseph Bryennios: l’Homélie inédite sur
l’Esprit saint
L’Homélie sur l’Esprit saint de Joseph Bryennios (1350–1431 env.) a été proclamée
en 1400 en Crète vénitienne devant une assemblée d’orthodoxes Crétois, très proba-
blement des moines, perturbés par le Discours aux Crétois du latinophrone Maximos
Chrysobergès (P.G. 154, col.1217–1229). L’Homélie sur l’Esprit saint présuppose le
Discours de Maximos et a comme objectif de munir les Crétois d’arguments pour
qu’ils tiennent dans la juste foi de l’Eglise en matière de la procession du Saint-Es-
prit, à savoir la procession du Père seul (thèse phôtienne). Bryennios y examine dans
une première partie les causes de la déviation des Latins sur la procession de l’Esprit
tandis que dans une seconde sera examinée la justesse de l’opinion des Byzantins sur
la question.
L’Homélie a été éditée par son auteur même, à savoir Joseph Bryennios, dans le
cadre de la première édition de ses œuvres, celle des Traités adressés aux Crétois (H.
Bazini, Une première édition des œuvres de Joseph Bryennios: les Traités adressés
aux Crétois, Revue des études byzantines 62, 2004, 104–106, 121, 127). Elle est con-
servée dans une dizaine de manuscrits environ, dont le plus important (très probable-
ment un autographe) est celui de SOFIA, Dujčev 262 (olim DRAMA, Monastère de
Kosinitsa 247). Elle n’était même pas signalée parmi les inédits de Bryennios et c’était
par nous qu’elle a été repérée (Ibid.).
C’est une oeuvre importante car elle nous offre plusieurs tesselles qui manquai-
ent:
à la mosaïque de l’activité de Joseph Bryennios en Crète et surtout de ses contacts
avec le cercle des représentants de la doctrine latine dans l’île;
à la composition philologique de plusieurs œuvres de son homéliaire constan-
tinopolitain parce que c’est surtout cette Homélie qu’il décompose pour écrire ses
Homélies sur la Trinité (œuvres postérieures).
à la périodisation et l’évaluation de sa théologie, parce que c’est dans cette
Homélie qu’il expose pour la première fois les grandes lignes de sa théologie qu’il
reprendra par la suite.
Enfin, la découverte de l’Homélie enrichit la littérature produite en Crète à la fin

du quatorzième siècle par les théologiens orthodoxes et latinophrones sur la proces-
sion du Saint-Esprit.
L’editio princeps, la traduction française et l’analyse de l’Homélie sur l’Esprit
saint constituent la première partie de ma thèse de doctorat.
Ksenia I. Lobovikova (Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia)

George of Trebizond and his martyrology of St. Andreas of Chios:
edition, translation, commentaries
George of Trebizond was well-known fifteenth century Greek emigrant who wrote
both in Greek and Latin. Famous man of letters, he made much for transmission the
Greek culture to the West. George of Trebizond translated a lot of works from Greek
to Latin and became one of the most prolific translators of that time. A curial offi-
cial, talented rhetorician and astronomer he was also an author of several theological
works. After the fall of Constantinople he dreamt about conversion Turkish sultan
Mehmed II to Christianity. He wrote to the sultan theological treatises and letters
in which he tried to convince him that there are not so many differences between
Islam and Christianity. That is why, he thought, if Mehmed II wanted to become the
emperor of the world he would convert to Christianity. George of Trebizond even
visited Constantinople to meet with the sultan.
During one of these trips to Constantinople in 1466 George of Trebisond was so
scared by the sea storm that vowed if he were saved he would write the story of mar-
tyrdom of Blessed Andreas of Chios. In 1468 he fulfilled his promise and wrote the
martyrology. That is the story of creation of the work. It must be noted that George
worshiped the Blessed Andreas to such an extent that he even tried to steal the cor-
pus of St. Andreas from the church of the Virgin in Galata to Rome but he didn’t
manage to do this.
Unfortunately there is no information about survived manuscript of the martyr-
ology which was edited for the first time in 1577, but the edition was incomplete.
The first complete edition was made in 1579. There are also ten latest editions of
the text which were almost the same as the first edition. The latest edition was made
in Patrologia Graeca in the nineteenth century. There are also two paraphrases. But
there is still no modern edition of the text as well there is no any translations of it
from Latin. In my opinion the martyrology deserves to be investigated more thor-
oughly. So if I am not successful in finding the manuscript I will intend to edit the
version of the text which was edited in 1579 with English translation, commentaries
and an investigation of the text.
Why is it important to edit, translate and analyze the text? Firstly, it is necessary
because the martyrology of George is the only (except one anonymous Greek passio)
primary-source about Blessed Andrew. The story of this martyr is interesting in the
context of the history of Christians and Orthodox Church under the Turkish power.
In the spring of 1465 in Constantinople Andreas of Chios was accused as a ren-
egade Muslim. St. Andreas protested that accusation was wrong nevertheless he was
arrested and suffered ten days of public torture and finally died on 29 May 1465. So
this martyrology is important for studying neo-martyrs under in former Byzantine
lands and Islamo-Christians relations after the conquest of Byzantium.
Secondly, this text has important information about George of Trebizond’s atyp-
ical views on Islam. To my mind, modern scholars have a tendency to overestimate
George’s tolerance towards Islam. The investigation of the martyrology may correct
this.
Thirdly, the edition and translation of the martyrology might be interesting and
useful also in the context of Islamo-Christian dialogue of that age. The problem of
inter-confessional communication is becoming more and more important in the
modern world. In this way the study of the past may help to understand the present
situation.
Daria Penskaya (Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow)

The Narration of Our Father Agapius and visions of the Paradise in
Byzantine hagiography
The Narration of Our Father Agapius was very popular in the Slavonic literature. At
least 79 manuscripts of South and East Slavonic origin have survived, not taking
into account a lot of abriged versions included into the East Slavic Prolog, As for its
Greek version it came down to us in only one manuscript of 15th centuary, discov-
ered and edited by prof. R. Pope in 1983 (ms. E. В. Е. 2634 of the National Library
of Greece). The Greek original remains unknown even among scholars.
Our aim is to compare the Narration with other hagiographic texts that describe
journeys to Isles of the Blessed and Paradise, and to discover the constant elements of
the tradition, to define the place of the Narration within the tradition and to specify
the peculiar features of our text.
We compare the Narration with Vitae S. Macarii Romani; S. Zosimi; S. Euph-
rosyni coqui; S. Filareti eleemosynarii; S. Niphontis episcopi Constantianae; S. Andreae
Sali; S. Basilii Junioris. Some motifs of the Narration are in common with Acta An-
dreae et Matthiae in urbe Anthropophagorum.
The comparison helps to precise the dating of the text suggested by R.Pope by
Early Byzantine period and to rank it with such texts as Vitae S. Macarii Romani
and S. Zosimi. The Lifes have a concern with the idea to perform a real journey to
Paradise “in the flesh”. On the contrary texts of later period deal only with visions of
Paradise. There are several special points that mark the Narration out the tradition of
the otherworld journeys.
1. A symbolic communion with milk and honey is performed in Paradise for
Agapius.
2. Agapius receives from Elijah a piece of bread which does not go down and
more over helps him to save sailors from death and to restore to life the son of a
widow. Agapius himself eats this miraculoius piece of bread upto the end of his life.
3. Agapius himself tells us about his death.
The Narration of Agapius is sincere, and very peculiar “hagiographic tale”. Being
composed by the elements cultivated mainly in folk and mythological traditions it
schould be at the same time regarded together with Byzantine descriptions of Para-
dise. The strong belief of the author becomes apparent thanks to a unique trait of
the story: returned from Paradise Agapius brought to this world the most important
thing, immortality.
Natela Vachnadze/Lia Kiknadze (Tbilisi, Georgia)

Georgian’s Share in the History of Byzantine Literature.
The Georgian Translation of Theodore the Holy Fool’s “Life”
Some monuments of Byzantine literature whose originals have been lost have reached
recent days because they have been preserved in the form of translations into Geor-
gian language. One such example is Theodore the Holy Fool’s “Life.”
The Georgian translation of “Life” has reached us in the form of fifteen manu-
scripts. 14 of the latter are kept in Tbilisi, and 1 in Gori. The manuscripts are di-
vided into three parts: 1. of an extensive edition (4 manuscripts), 2. of a short one
(10 manuscripts), 3. metaphrastic (1 manuscript) Part of the lists is complete, part
– incomplete. Tedo Zhordania was the first to describe the manuscript of “Life” and
publish it too, a second time it was published by Ekvtime Takaishvili S 153/=S 1582
manuscript, the oldest of the manuscripts that have reached us (1795). The new de-
scription of the above-mentioned manuscript is given in the 3rd volune of the S col-
lection of the Georgian manuscripts, edited by Elene Metreveli Tb., 1963. The Rus-
sian translation of the incipit, done by R. Metreveli, was published by S. Ivanov. The
Georgian translation of Theodore the Holy Fool’s “Life” from Greek was done by
Ioakim of the Holy Mountain, Georgia’s archimandrite of the border of the 17th–
18th centuries.
Korneli Kekelidze finishes the history of the Georgian translated hagiography
with this “Life” and with another collection of works and concludes that the Geor-
gian literature had not acquired anything important in this sphere since that time.
Theodore the Holy Fool’s “Life” was published in Tbilsi (1896). The unknown
publisher presented the text in the modern Georgian language, simple and easy to
understand. This translation was published a second time (1899). The day of The-
odore the Holy Fool in the calendar of Giorgi of the Holy Mountain is February
25/A-97, A-840/. We are working at the ascertainment of the academic text of the
“Life” at present.
FC17. VARIOUS ECCLESIASTICAL WRITINGS

Moderators
Alessandra Bucossi/Marina Giorgadze
Arkady Avdokhin (Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow)

Early Byzantine Hymnography: looking for a public context
The early Byzantine hymnography, ever since the biggest bulk of it – the kontakia
by Romanos the Melodist – was introduced to the European scholarly community
by cardinal J.B.Pitra in 1888, has been generally considered as personalized literary
texts, to varying degrees thoroughly rooted in literary and scriptural tradition, if not
straightaway bookish. Admittedly, it has been seen so not without a good reason: the
ongoing scholarship revealed its close ties both with scriptural and homiletic tradi-
tions, to point out only the highlights. However, this approach to hymnal texts seen
as a product of solitary literary enterprise undertaken by learned individuals came
to odds with their apparent prominence within the community which actually used
them.
In the present communication I try to delineate the basic ways in which early
Byzantine hymnic texts (by far the largest and one of most significant part being Ro-
manos’ kontakia) can be contextualized within differing public settings and styles.
Firstly, in a sociological and historical perspective, a good case can be made for re-
ligious hymns in Late Antiquity (both Christian and pagan) as an essential part of
public festivities, as well as clashes and riots (primarily, as related by late antique
historians). Secondly, in a more stylistical aspect, dazzling instances of affinity are
there to be realized and appreciated between certain genres of late antique public
inscriptions, honorific and acclamatory (the most insightful evidence coming from
Aphrodisias) and the lexical usus of a number of early Christian hymns (among them
the Akathistos). Thirdly, the purely Christian context of liturgical and paraliturgical
practices and genres, such as homily, exorcisms, torch processions with singing and
prayers (of a kind established by John Chrysostom in Antioch) call for putting them
in their natural public setting. The hymns and psalmodia have close links with the
latter phenomena both stylistically and in terms of a shared Sitz im Leben. By bring-
ing together the various aspects of public involvement of early Christian hymnical
production a somewhat neglected side of its original context and nature is, hopefully,
highlighted.
Francisco M. Fernández-Jiménez (Instituto Teológico San Ildefonso, Toledo,

España)
La mujer vestida de sol en el Comentario al Apocalipsis de Ecumenio
Tres son, principalmente, las interpretaciones que se han dado sobre la identidad de
la mujer, vestida de sol que hallamos en el capítulo 12 del Apocalipsis: unos ven en
esa mujer a la Iglesia, otros a María, la Madre de Dios, y otros a la Iglesia unida a la
figura de María.
Centrándonos en las glosas más antiguas del texto bíblico, especialmente la de los
Comentarios antiguos al libro del Apocalipsis, diremos que la práctica totalidad de
las referencias halladas sobre este libro se inclinan por la primera interpretación: que
esta mujer se refiere a la Iglesia. Debemos llegar hasta el siglo VIII–IX con el Comen-
tario de Autperto para ver en este figura a María como tipo de la Iglesia.
En lengua griega los comentarios al Apocalipsis son, en cambio, muy escasos y
tardíos. Hay que esperar a finales del siglo VI para encontrar el primero de ellos, com-
puesto por Ecumenio, un autor del que todavía existen muchas cuestiones por resol-
ver. El siguiente es el de Andrés de Cesarea casi contemporáneo pero un poco poste-
rior, puesto que depende del Ecumenio, y hacia el año 900 hallamos el de Aretas. En
este primer comentario del Apocalipsis en lengua griega, la mujer vestida de sol es
precisamente María. Nos preguntamos las razones de ese cambio en la interpretación
más seguida en el mundo antiguo. Nuestro autor pudo secundar una corriente her-
menéutica muy minoritaria que hallamos en Teófilo de Alejandría y Epifanio de Sala-
mina, y que podría localizarse en los monasterios egipcios, para quiénes esta mujer es
María, lo cual ayuda con otros muchos datos a situar el comentario dentro la teología
alejandrina, o también, aprovechar esta interpretación para exponer la doctrina ma-
riológica que se sigue en la Iglesia de Alejandría en el siglo VI, como hace con otros
temas dentro de esta misma obra.
Ilse De Vos (University of Oxford, UK)

The Quaestiones ad Antiochum ducem. Us versus them?
The Quaestiones ad Antiochum ducem (CPG 2257), dating from the late-6th or early-
7th century and attributed to Athanasius of Alexandria, consists of 137 questions
and answers on Christianity. It was a most popular text: more than 250 copies have
come down to us, the oldest of which date from the 10th century, it was translated
into Armenian, Arabic and Church Slavonic and it was quoted in later Byzantine
literature, such as the Florilegium Coislinianum.
Within the framework of the so-called DEBIDEM project (DEfining Belief and
IDentities in the Eastern Mediterranean, 6th–8th cent.), I am preparing a critical
edition of this most intriguing text.
The Greek title, Περὶ πλείστων καὶ ἀναγκαίων ζητημάτων τῶν ἐν ταῖς θείαις γραφαῖς
ἀπορουμένων καὶ παρὰ πᾶσι Χριστιανοῖς γινώσκεσθαι ὀφειλομένων, preserved in a great
many manuscripts, suggests we are dealing here with a purely exegetical text. Admit-
tedly, we do come across questions asking how many angels there are and how much
time Adam spent in Paradise. The main object of the Quaestiones ad Antiochum
ducem however, is to explain what it means to be a Christian and more specifically,
what distinguishes Christians from “the others”, i.e. Jews, pagans and heretics. There-
fore, it has been labelled a polemic and more specifically, an anti-Judaic text. As I will
demonstrate however, there is more than meets the eye …
Andrew Stone (University of Western Australia, Perth)

The Career of the Metropolitan of Athens Nicholas
Hagiotheodorites
There has been a long-standing interest in the ecclesiastical careers of various Byz-
antine bishops – I propose to make a brief survey of the career of the metrpolitan
Nicholas Hagiotheodorites, active in Athens in the third quarter of the 12th century,
and dying in 1175. To be sure there have been earlier studies: this one endeavours to
make greater use of panegyrical material. Both Euthymios Malakes and Eustathios of
Thessaloniki composed funeral orations for Nicholas. A truly composite career path
is revealed – including both lay and ecclesiastical posts. For example, postings to the
positions of master of the orators and consul of the philosophers (simultaneously),
megas logariastes (chief financial officer), metropolitan bishop of Athens and, concur-
rently, possibly, the teacher of the gentiles. Although there was nothing unusual about
many different positions, Nicholas differs in the sheer variety and number of them.
Alessandra Bucossi (Stockholm University, Sweden)

The critical edition of a patristic anthology, problems and
possible solutions
A dogmatic anthology prepared for the refutation of “heretical” opponents presents

idiosyncratic editorial problems; the editor needs to take into consideration the fact
that the relationship between a florilegium and its patristic sources is not only im-
portant for an accurate reconstruction of the anthological text, but is fundamental
for the understanding of the development of the theological position of the compiler
and of those medieval authors who quoted the florilegium as a testimony.
The anthology of patristic passages and the collection of syllogisms, contained
in the first half of the Sacrum Armamentarium (Sacred Arsenal) by Andronikos Ka-
materos and assembled for the emperor Manuel Komnenos around 1170, have been
the ‘sounding board’ for a critical apparatus dedicated only to the relation between
the anthological sections and their patristic and theological sources.
The paper presented discusses strengths and weaknesses of this kind of additional
apparatus criticus, and the opportunities that this kind of analysis offers to the recon-
struction of the history of a text and its manuscript tradition.
Luigi Silvano (Institute of Byzantine Studies, Vienna, Austria)

Notes on the manuscript tradition of Maximos Planoudes’ Syllogismi
de processione Spiritus Sancti contra Latinos
The Syllogisms concerning the Procession of the Holy Spirit against the Latins attributed
to Maximos Planoudes have survived in several manuscripts, either as an independ-
ent work or as a part of the refutations written by George Metochites and Cardinal
Bessarion. These two writings are published in volumes 141 and 161 of Migne’s Pa-
trologia Graeca, which are the only available source for the modern reader of the Syl-
logisms. I will discuss the results of my own collation of all the manuscripts for a new
edition of the Syllogisms, and I will highlight the main textual discrepancies among
Migne’s editions and the manuscripts.
Ionuţ-Alexandru Tudorie (University of Bucharest, Romania)

Patriarch Athanasios I and the zealots: notes on an unpublished
canonical-patristic dossier
An uncompromising monk, known for the social and ethical reforms he proposed
(theoretically, also pursued by Arsenites), Patriarch Athanasios I (1289–1293, 1303–
1309) maintained rather unfriendly relationships with the Arsenite representatives.
His reform of Constantinopolitan monasticism, centered on the strict observance
of monastic rules, had many opponents among Arsenite monks, who used to travel
from place to place. All reconciliation attempts between the majority Church and
this schismatic faction, undertaken during his two terms in office, culminating with
the ecclesiastical council of September 1304, highlighted the essentially political na-
ture of the Arsenite zealots’ movement. Canonical-patristic arguments as well as the
specific directions addressed to the Byzantine clergy by a patriarchal letter written
by Athanasios I confirm the intransigent attitude towards this group, as expressed by
Theoleptos, Metropolitan of Philadelphia (1283/1284–1322).
Oleg Rodionov (Institute of World History, Moscow, Russia)

The “Chapters” of Kallistos Angelikoudes: from the Main Corpus
to Separate Series
Kallistos Angelikoudes is one of the most brilliant, and yet most enigmatic late Byz-
antine writers. Most of his works have come down to us in the manuscripts of the
second half of the 14th century, written during Kallistos’ lifetime. A special place
among his literary heritage is occupied by the “Chapters”, due to their wide circula-
tion in the Middle Ages and Modern Period. Their original version, containing more
than 200 chapters, has come down to us as part of two manuscripts: Vat. Barb. gr.
420 and 592, which partially includes pages from the previous manuscript. Unfor-
tunately, some pages were not preserved. This explains the absence of several chap-
ters, which have come down to us as part of a manuscript belonging to the library of
Athos’ Iveron monastery. According to A. Vinogradov, the manuscript preserved in
the aforementioned two codes should be considered Kallistos’ autograph. It is likely,
that Kallistos himself later composed a shorter collection of chapters preserved in
the Iver. 506. The later contains 115 chapters. Subsequently this or a similar abridged
collection split into two independent series of chapters, one of which later began to
circulate under the name of Kallistos Kataphygiotes and the other under the name of
Kallistos Angelikoudes or Patriarch Kallistos. These two series eventually came to be
seen not simply as two separate compositions, but as two works written by different
authors. Paisij Velichkovskij initially translated the Chapters of Kataphygiotes, but
then acquired a Greek manuscript of 115 chapters, which was probably a copy from
Iveron manuscript mentioned above. Paisij translated them as well, omitting sections
that were part of Kataphygiotes’ chapters. The study of the main corpus of chapters
would clarify the theological reasoning of its author, since the initial sequence of
chapters in the main corpus is not interrupted as in other versions of the same work.
The “Chapters” also supplement and clarify the ideas of Kallistos, expressed in the
“Hesychastic Consolation”.
Reinhart Ceulemans (Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium)

The Commentary on Proverbs by Malachias the Monk
In this paper I propose to introduce the Commentary on Proverbs that is one of three
unedited and virtually unstudied commentaries that constitute the oeuvre of the
rather unknown Byzantine author Malachias the Monk, and which can be found in
only one manuscript (the fourteenth-century Scorialensis gr. 508). Discussing a few
passages, I aim to shed some light on Malachias’ identity, origins and sources as well
as on the exegetical methods employed in the commentary. In doing so, I focus on
two particular aspects. Firstly, I compare Malachias’ exegesis with that of the catena
traditions, in order to unravel the level of its originality or its dependency on earlier
commentaries. Secondly, I highlight the critical interest displayed by Malachias with
regard to the Greek Bible text. Often comparing variant readings of the Septuagint
text, Malachias certainly had various biblical manuscripts in front of him.
Alexandros Tsakos (Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany)

A Contribution to Patristic Studies from the backstage of the
Medieval Nubian world
The fact that the Christian kingdoms of Medieval Nubia have been part of the cul-
tural horizon of the Byzantine civilization has been long overlooked. To the recent
tendencies of revisiting this issue through the study of architecture, decoration, and
iconography, the present contribution has the ambition to add to the list of shared
characteristics between the Mediterranean world and the Middle Nile Valley during
the so-called Medieval times a topic from Patristic studies.
Among the Fathers of the Christian faith, no one can claim a larger number of
preserved writings than John Chrysostom. However, the Chrysostomian corpus
contains of course both original and pseudo-epigraphic works. It is highly interest-
ing – but hardly ever observed and even less analyzed – that most of the Patristic
literature found in Medieval Nubia belongs to the pseudo-epigraphic corpus of John
Chrysostom. Thus, the first point in this paper will be to redress the list of the corpus
chrysostomicum nubianum.
The occasion is the finding of (at least) one text of John Chrysostom in the sec-
ond largest cachette of Medieval Christian literature discovered in Nubia, namely
during the excavations of a church on the island of Sur in the region of the Fourth
Cataract. This area has been flooded today by the construction of a huge dam on the
Sudanese Nile that has generated the Merowe Dam Archaeological Salvage Project,
in the frame of which the Humboldt University Nubian Expedition excavated the
church and made the discovery.
During the last Conference on Fourth Nile Cataract Archaeology held in
Gdansk, Poland, in July 2009, I presented the largest text from this cachette. This
was identified as a part of the second section of the second homily of John Chrysos-
tom on Repentance. The importance of the finding for local Christianity has been
scrutinized both at that occasion and in the 12th International Conference for Nu-
bian Studies, held in London, England, in August 2010.
The subsequent analysis in the frame of my Ph.D. thesis at the Humboldt Uni-
versity, Berlin, enlarged the interest deriving from this study to encompass aspects of
the text as part of John Chrysostom’s history and of the ways the Orthodox saint was
received by non-Orthodox Christians, like the Copts; for it is through Egypt that
one still has to understand the links of Medieval Nubia with the rest of the Christian
world.
The results from the elaboration upon all the discovered fragments of parchment
from Sur has widened the perspective and understanding of this Nubian finding and
has made it worthwhile to be included in a presentation addressed to the authorities
of Byzantine Patristics. Even more so, that the Second Homily on Repentance by
Chrysostom has not received the appropriate attention in the relative bibliography.
Filling up this gap will be the ultimate target of the present contribution.
Marina Giorgadze (Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University, Georgia)

Reception of Greek Apologetic Themes in Old Georgian Literature
The Greek Christian literature makes great impact on the literary traditions of other
countries including Georgian literature. Old Georgian authors are well acquainted
with Greek apologists (Aristides, Iustinus, Melito, and Pseudo-Sextus), mention
their names, and make citations from their apologetic works using them in the nec-
essary contexts in an original way. Apologetic themes and motifs frequently appear
in a number of hagiographic texts. The Georgian translation of Aristides’ “Apology”
does not exist in Old Georgian Literature but the study of the Georgian Christian
texts makes it clear that Georgian authors, especially hagiographers, were acquaint-
ed with the author and his work as well as generally they were aware of the ancient
Greek apologetic literature. The ancient tradition of the Georgian hagiographic
monuments, martyrdoms, though the texts might have reached us in later editions or
manuscripts (St. Nino’s Life, Martyrdoms of St. Shushanik, Razhden the first-martyr,
Evstati Mtskheteli, Abibos Nekreseli) reflect the Georgians’ religious struggle against
the Persians (4th–6th cc). The above texts clarify that the impact of the apologetic
texts are greatly significant in the monuments of old Georgian literature. The influ-
ence is the greatest on one of the oldest hagiographic monuments – “The Martyrdom
of Evstati Mtskheteli” (6th c). Though the illustrating passages from the Martyrdom
are relatively short and few, they undoubtedly contain the fragments from Aristides’
apology. The anonymous author knows the apologetic text very well, borrows pas-
sages, arguments and masterfully uses them in his polemics. He treats Aristides’ text
with liberty, displaces the passages, abridges or expands them, partially changes the
text but nevertheless he is close to the Aristides’ text, sometimes it is also possible to
speak about textual coincidences. It is not surprising as this method is quite popular
in hagiographic literature. Protagonists of Martyrdoms are often made to speak with
the passages borrowed from the apologetic literature. The inter-textual study of hagi-
ographic works reveals that it is possible to speak generally about the influence of the
apologetic literature on the old Georgian literature.
Магда Мчедлидзе (Тбилиси, Грузия)

Древнегрузинские переводы трудов Михаила Пселла
Влияние философских взглядов, научных и педагогических методов школы Ми-

хаила Пселла можно с достоверностью проследить в оригинальных трудах и
преподавательской деятельности представителей философского движения Гру-
зии 12-го века.
На древнегрузинском языке сохранились два перевода трактатов Пселла: 1.
Разъяснение тайны праздников Господних (в рукописи 15-го века); 2. О Перво-
родном (в рукописях 12–18-го веков).
Особенное внимание заслужывает грузинский перевод экзегетического
трактата О Первородном, представляющий собой коментарий к 40-й гомилии
св. Григория Богослова (Michaelis Pselli Theologica, vol. I, ed. P. Gautier, Lipsiae,
1989, 182–185), который включён в «Догматикон» – сборник догматических
сочинений, составленный Арсением Икалтойским. Тот факт, что Арсений при-
ступил к работе над сборником во время своего пребывания в Манганском мо-
настыре Константинополя на рубеже 11-го и 12-го веков, а значит, имел доступ,
если не к автографам, то к лучшим рукописям трудов Пселла, придаёт большую
важность чтениям грузинской редакции для установления автентичного текста
греческого оригинала. С другой стороны, сравнительное изучение греческого и
грузинского текстов О Первородном, выявляет разность позиций автора трак-
тата и его переводчика, и тем самым даёт нам ясное представление о характере
и сути различий между двумя противоположными интелектуальными тенден-
циями эпохи: Несмотря на свою высокую оценку догматических рассуждений
знаменитого византийца, недоверие к свойственному ему философскому мето-
ду, языку и стилю, побуждает грузинского переводчика корригировать терми-
нологию оригинала, допускающую неоплатоническую или оригенистическую
интерпретации, в точности сохраняя при этом смысл высказываний Пселла.
Eka Tchkoidze (Ilia State University, Tbilisi)

Efthymios the Athonite According to the Georgian and Greek
Versions of his Life
Efthymios the Athonite is one of the prominent figures who lived and served on
Mount Athos in 10th–11th centuries. His great popularity is evident from many ver-
sions of his “Life” in both Georgian and Greek Languages. The Georgian “Life” is
well-known among international scholars due to its translations into many European
languages (Latin, French and English; the latter was published recently, in 2009).
Completely unknown is his “Life’s” Greek version. This text was published in Tbi-
lisi in 1982 and went almost unnoticed by scholars. It importantly differs from the
Georgian version and its sources are uncertain. The “Bios” under consideration is an
original Greek essay of the first half or middle of the 18th century.
The Greek text presents absolutely different account especially on Iveron Mon-
astery’s founders and foundation. Efthymios, the second abbot of the monastery and
a son of its first abbot, is the central figure of both texts. It is interesting to present
his personality based on both texts. Differences between them and reasons why the
Greek author amended accounts concerning Efthymios will also be a subject of the
present paper.
FC18. BYZANTINO-SLAVICA I
Moderators
Evelina Mineva/Dmitriy Polyvyanniy
Walter K. Hanak (Shepherdstown, WV, USA)

The Structure of the Old Slavonic Rendition of the Annal of
Symeon Logothetes and Metaphrastes: Some Considerations
The Slavonic rendition of the Annal of Symeon Logothetes and Metaphrastes stands
as a singular text, unlike its Greek or Slavonic counterparts. The date of its com-
position has been given as the tenth. Its transmission to Bulgaria, however, poses a
number of questions that are beyond the immediate scope of this paper. It remains
unclear to scholarship and is a subject for disputation: for example, whether it was
transmitted in a Byzantine Greek or Slavonic format; or whether the copyist was a
Greek knowledgeable in Slavonic or a Bulgarian monk fluent in both languages. It
is, however, significant for its content and how this content came to be structured,
albeit being in part an annal, a chronicle, and a chronograph. As I have stressed else-
where, “the work is an important historiographical reservoir for the tenth century
that discloses the sources then available to Symeon and contemporaneous Byzantine
annalists.”
Given its length, 325 leaves, verso and obverse, we can only analyze the structure
of select portions. These selections do demonstrate that the compilation process drew
upon texts from diverse sources, thus rendering the text as an uneven work. Whether
Symeon was cognizant of this, it is not apparent. His main concern was to compile
texts into a whole that reflected his interests and what he sought to emphasize. Be-
cause of its structure and content, the Annal merits careful scrutiny and scholarly
attention, albeit that it stands apart from its Greek and Slavonic counterparts.
Dimitar Peev (Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Bulgaria)

Ideology and Cultural Tradition of the First Bulgarian
Kingdom: Between Byzantine Model and Local Tradition
The paper deals with the ruling concepts of the Bulgarian tsars after the adoption
of Christianity. The research is based on two Old Slavonic historical compilations –
The Archivskij Sbornik and Letopisets Ellinskij i Rimskij – First Recension. They are
known only from Russian codices but bear definite marks of Bulgarian cultural doc-
trine from the 10th century. The monk Gregory’s heading saying that he translated
the Books of The Old Testament from Greek into Slavonic by the order of Simeon I
of Bulgaria at the beginning of 10th century is to be found in the Archivskij Chrono-

graph. The second compilation keeps the Rulers List of Bulgarian Khans. From the
comparative analysis of composition and contents of both compilations it is deduced
that the Heading of monk Gregory is functioning as an introduction that marks the
first appearance of the Bulgarians on the stage of the World history, whereas the Rul-
ers List is used as a substitute of the Bible books Paralipomenon in the composition of
Letopisets Ellinskij i Rimskij. Both the Heading and the Rulers List are seen as parts
of ideological constructs within the christian understanding of history representing
the concept of ruling of the 10th century Bulgarian tsars Simeon and Peter.
Susana Torres Prieto (Universidad Eclesiástica San Dámaso, Madrid, Spain)

‘Holding out for a Hero’: The Alexander Romance in Slavonic
The versions of the Alexander Romance in Slavic present more than one still unre-
solved question. Firstly, the traditional division of the Alexander Romance between
a Khronograph and a Serbian version should be revised in light of the new Byzan-
tine and Greek versions recently discovered. The studies made in its time by the Rus-
sian scholar Istrin in terms of the filiation of the so-called Khronograph Alexandrida
could only take into account the Greek versions described by Tischendorf, none of
which fitted the contents of the version included in the Russian chronographs very
well. The relatively late discovery of other important versions, particularly the Byz-
antine anonymous version (Turmpf 1974), makes it necessary to reassess the prov-
enance of such Russian version and, in particular, the supposed additions made by
Russian copyists. Secondly, the theoretical Serbian origin of the other existent ver-
sion is also to be revised in light of the peculiarities presented by the Kirillo-Beloz-
erski manuscript, whose relation to the above-mentioned Byzantine anonymous ver-
sion is stronger than that of other Serbian and Bulgarian manuscripts, which might
in fact be later and subsidiary to the version made in the Russian monastery. Thus,
the present paper aims at clarifying the situation of the reception of the Alexander
Novel written versions in the light of the new findings and research carried out in
the last decades in relation to other Greek and Byzantine versions and within the
context of parallel works of heroic literature in translation as the genre developed in
the Slavic realm.
Stefan Albrecht (Romano-Germanic Central Museum, Mainz, Germany)

Pope Clemens’ scattered bones
The translation of the relics of the holy pope Clemens from Cherson in the Crimea
to Great Moravia and from there to Rome by the apostles of the Slavs is well doc-
umented in the sources and an oft-discussed event. But there are largely unknown
texts that relate other translations or indicate them at least which militate in favour
of the fact that this well-known Cyrillo-Methodian translation was neither the only
nor even the most familiar one. These “apocryphal” translations and the whereabouts
of the relics should be critically discussed.
Enrique Santos Marinas (Complutense University of Madrid, Spain)

Byzantine-Bulgarian relations according to the Lives of Saint
Clement and Saint Nahum of Ohrid
Michael III, called “the Drunkard”, ruled the Byzantine Empire between 842 and
867. One of his main achievements was the christianization of the Slavs of the Great
Moravia, at the request of prince Rostislav (846–870). Such mission was accom-
plished by the Thessalonian brothers Constantine-Cyril and Method in 863. During
the reign of Michael III the prince Boris I of Bulgaria was baptised too, c. 864/865.
The latter was given the Christian name of Michael after his godfather the emperor.
However, the Bulgarian prince wanted to keep the distance both from Constanti-
nople and Rome, who at that time were rivals. This way, in 866 Boris sent legates to
the Pope Nicholas I (858–867) asking him some doctrinal and practical questions
on the Christian faith. Finally, in the Fourth Council of Constantinople (869–870),
called by the emperor Basil I the Macedonian (867–886), the Bulgarian church fell
under the jurisdiction of Constantinople with the status of “autocephalous” church.
After the death of Method in 885, his disciples were expelled from Moravia by the
Germanic clergy. Many of them were sold as slaves, while Clement and Nahum of
Ohrid together with some others went into exile in Bulgaria. They were received by
the prince Boris, who commissioned them to teach and instruct the local clergy as
well as to translate the liturgical books into Church Slavonic language. Like this, he
replaced Greek by Church Slavonic as the liturgical language with the aim of main-
taining his independence from the Byzantine Empire. That’s why in the early Lives
of Saint Clement and Saint Nahum of Ohrid can be found very interesting details
about the Byzantine-Bulgarian relations in the 9th–10th centuries, and concretely
on the role of the Byzantine Empire in the christianization of Bulgaria.
Mitko B. Panov (SS Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, Republic of

Macedonia)
Accomodating traditions in Byzantium: Theophylaktos and
Chomatenos’ representation of the Life of St. Clement of Ohrid
The Life of St. Clement of Ohrid is analyzed through the prism of Byzantine ideolo-
gy that was represented by Theophylaktos and Chomatenos. It shows that while writ-
ing the Life of St. Clement in different historical periods the two Ohrid Archbishops
have endeavoured to accommodate original St. Clement’s traditions established and
nurtured in Macedonia from the end of 9th century. Their main concern was to por-
tray St. Clement’s traditions as appropriate to Byzantine ideology. This tendency is
understandable since St. Clement original activity was opposed to Byzantium and
inspired the cultural and political mobilization in 10th century Macedonia that re-
sulted in creation of Samuel’s State and Ohrid Archbishopric.
It is indicative that Theophylaktos and Chomatenos in certain significant seg-
ments differ in representing the Life of St. Clement. Chomatenos portrayed St.
Clement and his work in superior and independent position in relation to Bulgarian
rulers Boris I and Simeon, as opposed to the inferior one that was presented by Theo-
phylaktos. Chomatenos depicted St. Clement as responsible for the baptism of Boris
I and Simeon. Conversely Theophylaktos created an impression that St. Methodius
has made Boris his spiritual child.
Their shared tendency was to construct an illusion of the continuous presence
and domination of the Byzantine ideology. To this end they artificially presented
St. Clement and Ohrid Archbishopric as integral part of the Byzantine Oikoumene
from the initial stages. They both entirely exempted Tsar Samuel from the traditions
associated with Ohrid Archbishopric, which reveal their constant tendency for ac-
commodating indigenous traditions and erasing the ones that were not compatible
with the Byzantine ideology and imperial policy.
To be more convincing Theophylaktos even portrayed himself in the role of im-
mediate follower, consumer and representative of St. Clement’s traditions in Ohrid
which was in sharp contrast with the negative narration of the local traditions pre-
sented in his Letters.
Dmitriy I. Polyvyanniy (Ivanovo State University, Russia)

Bulgarian historicism of the 14th c. against the background of
the Byzantine and Orthodox Slav traditions
Bulgarian medieval history writing looks disappointedly poor if compared both with
its Byzantine invariant and with the Russian and Serbian chronicles, chronographs
and other historical works. Only one relatively short period of the reign of Ivan Al-
exander (1331–1371) is marked with sufficient repertoire and contents of the his-
tory writing forms. They give a chance to make some conclusions on the character of
Bulgarian medieval historicism. We understand the latter as a meta-factual and con-
ceptual background of the texts which describe the past or arrange the contemporary
to the author events in the historical environment. The same period opens another
option – to compare the Bulgarian medieval historicism with its analogues within
Slavia Orthodoxa in the beginning of its maximal and last rise.
Our observations are based upon two cases – of the texts, illumination and lit-
erary “convoy” of the historical compilations based upon Byzantine chronicles and
“published” in the 30–40-ies of the 14th c. and of the “royal chancellery literature”
reflected in the official acts and glosses in the manuscripts from the royal library.
Compared with their contemporary analogues from the Moscow Principality and
from the Serbian Kingdom these examples show both common trends of the Ortho-
dox Slav historicism in the time of its relative ripeness and the differences in the im-
agination and construction of history in the proto-national cultures. Another issue is
the perception of historical time, which shows both similar features and differences,
too. These observations may be useful in the further study on the typology of the
cultural segments of the Byzantine oikoumene in its last centuries.
Ilias Evangelou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece)

The Holy Ruler. From the Byzantine to the Orthodox Southern
Slavic Tradition
Constantine the Great was the model of the holy ruler, which dominated the life of
the Roman Empire and particularly its eastern part, which survived the barbarian
invasions.
This model was not limited to Constantinople and its dominion. It was intro-
duced to the rest of the Christian world and especially to the people who had convert
to Christianity due to the Empire and were impressed by its prestige and glory. Thus,
the model of the holy ruler has been passed to the Slavs and especially to the South-
ern Slavs who were under the direct ecclesiastical influence of Constantinople.
The Southern Slavs, Bulgarians and Serbs, have adopted the model of the holy
ruler and they have incorporated it into their own tradition, making use of it accord-
ing to their needs.
Sylvia Arizanova (Sofia, Bulgaria)

The cult of saints in Bulgaria and Byzantium during the 13th–15th
centuries
The cult of saints in Bulgaria and Byzantium is based on common Orthodox faith
that determines its similar manifestations. They are studied on the basis of the Bul-
garian and Byzantine hagiographic literature from 13th–15th centuries, as it reflects
the cult and it has occurred as a result of this particular cult. Bulgarians and Byz-
antines very often worship the same holy personalities but this worship not always
performs the same functions. Linking it with the ruler and his authority or the place
where holy relics are kept triggers specific features in the worship of saints. In the
Middle ages the cult was an expression of religious belief but it also had political and
cultural importance. It was an example to be emulated, it was requiring certain moral
values, it was approving the power of the ruler or the importance of the Bulgarian
capital, it was strengthening the faith and was keeping memories of the past.
Patricia Varona Codeso (University of Valladolid, Spain)

Photios in Ivan the Terrible’s court
Setting aside his political activity at the top of ecclesiastical hierarchy or his outstand-
ing intellectual efforts at preserving the classical heritage, it can be said that patriarch
Photios was one of the main propagandists of Macedonian dynasty because of his
important activity in the shaping of a legitimizing imperial ideology. In this sense his
literary work served well not only the imperial dynasty that had just been established,
but also his own partisan interests.
The reign of Ivan Groznyi (1533–1584) is particularly interesting respect to the
identification of texts and literary registers exploited in the context of a given po-
litical process – mainly of monarchical legitimation or reinstatement –, and also is
quite poorly analyzed from this point of view. Nevertheless, it has been often noticed
that in this period Russian political culture seems to “Byzantinising” itself in order to
justify the predominance of their leaders over their Mongol counterparts. Byzantine
orthodoxy, proclaiming its superiority over other creeds, becomes Russian politics’
main source of legitimation.
Metropolitan Makarii of Moscow (1481/2–1563) was one of the most promi-
nent ideologists of this “militant orthodoxy”. He was actively involved in the Musco-
vite administration and diplomacy and, among other things, sponsored the composi-
tion of a menology (Velikie Minei Chetii) and a chronicle (Stepennaia kniga) among
whose main themes was the tsar’s role as guardian of the orthodoxy.
Even though the political debate in the Russia of the 16th century is supposed
to be monopolized by the quarrel between the supporters of two different models
of theocracy, traditionally defined as “non-possesors” and “possesors” (advocates and

detractors of monastic property), the original theory seems in fact to be firmly based
on Byzantine political thought and its main point seems to be not exactly the monas-
tic property, but the limits of the prince’s power. The theory about the monarch’s two
bodies, which correspond with the person and the function, was introduced in this
moment with the purpose of reproducing in Russia the Byzantine imperial model.
In fact, the two models of theocracy can be identified with that which supported a
princeps legibus solutus and that which advocate his compliance with the moral and
ecclesiastical law.
This paper aims to show that Makarii drew inspiration mainly from the concep-
tion of the monarchy which underlies in Photios’ work to shape his own view of har-
mony (symphonía) between Tsar and Church.
Matilde Casas-Olea (University of Granada, Spain)

Byzantine sources on the Slavs: the role of literary genre
Textual sources about the History of the Slavs have been published in the last century
in Academic compendia (M. Plezia, Greckie i lacińskie źródła do najstarszych dziejów
Słowian, Poznań-Krakow 1952; Fontes Graeci Historiae Bulgaricae, Sophia 1954–;
F. Barišić, Fontes Byzantini Historiam Populorum Iugoslaviae spectantes, Beograd
1955–; V. Iliescu – H. Mihaescu, Fontes Historiae Dacoromanae, Bucarest 1964;
Magnae Moraviae fontes historici, Brno 1969–1979; A. Brzóstkovska – W. Swobo-
da, Testimonia najdawniejszych dziejów Słowian, Seria grecka, Wroclaw 1989; G. G.
Litavrin – S. A. Ivanov – L.A. Gindin, Corpus Testimoniorum Vetustissimorum ad
Historiam Slavicam Pertinentium, Moscow 1994–1995; M. Nystazopulu-Pelekidu,
Πηγές της Βαλκανικής Ιστορίας 6ος–10ος αι. Επιλογή κειμένων, Salonike 1995). Among
the texts previous to the emergence of writing among Slavs, the largest number is lo-
cated in Byzantine literature. These Byzantine texts are either historical genres, such
as chronicles, chronographies and historiae, or military treaties, and religious texts as
hagiographies, epistles and homilies, synod records, and, as secondary sources, epi-
graphic texts and seals.
The historical data about the primitive Slavs are obtained basically from chroni-
cles and similar literary genres, and “non historical genres” are interpreted as sub-
sidiary and questionable sources. However, often these sources include direct records
about interpretations of facts and their social contexts.
The present paper poses the possibility of using “non historical” sources as valid
documentation to extract information about social and ideological contexts of the
great historical facts in the History of the relations between Byzantines and Slavs.
At the same time, the comparison of these sources with historiographical texts can
provide a broader and renewed vision of the historical data.
Evelina Mineva (University of Athens, Greece)

Problems of the critical edition of the Byzantine and Slavonic
services
One must begin by answering the question: can there be a critical edition of a service
which conforms both with tradition and with the methodology of classical philol-
ogy? Even limited recourse to the large number of surviving texts is sufficient to con-
clude that something of this kind is unfeasible in practice. The service has a mosaic-
like structure consisting of a – usually limited – number of given tesserae, plus other
non-standard elements introduced every time the service was copied, transferred and
incorporated into a new context with a new purpose. The only cases in which a critical
edition can be prepared in accordance with the rules of philology are those in which
the authorship of the work is not in doubt and we still have his autograph manu-
script in our possession (as in the case of the works of Markos Eugenikos, Metropoli-
tan of Ephesus). In every other case, the comparison of the various extant variants
could reveal a core which is the oldest part of the service and has come down to us, in
most cases, without deviations; this core alone can be subjected to the procedure of
critically analyzing and publishing the text (as in the case of the services for Agia Par-
askevi of Epivates/of Tarnovo). Otherwise, every service would have to be published
as a unique and self-contained work which has been adapted to specific conditions
and requirements, or even for a particular event (as in the case, for instance, of the
mixed service for Agia Paraskevi of Epivates and the martyrs Nazarios, Gervasios,
Protasios and Kelsios). Given the existence of a large volume of unexplored material
and the absence of a detailed philological study on the development and structures
of the canons and services in either Byzantium or the Slavic Orthodox world, it is
self-evident that this paper can only point out and summarize the problems and is-
sues relating to the critical edition of the services.
Kosta Simić (University of Athens, Greece)

Ἄφρον γηραλέε: A Note on the Nachleben of Kassia’s Poetry
The aim of this paper is to shed new light on the use of the tetraodion Ἄφρον γηραλέε
for Holy Saturday in the Byzantine and Slavonic liturgical practice. Considered an
authentic work of the poetess Kassia (ca. 810–before 867), this tetraodion consists
of four odes – first, third, fourth, and fifth – each comprising one heirmos and two
troparia. It was composed to complement another tetraodion for the same feast day,
a work of Kosmas the Melodist (died ca. 752), which consisted of the sixth, seventh,
eighth, and ninth odes, thereby transforming it into a full kanon. The earliest source
to attribute this addition to Kassia is the Chronicle of George the Monk written in
ca. 872. Beginning in the tenth century, however, several chronicles (Theophanes
Continuatus, Symeon Magister, George Kedrenos, John Zonaras) report that a cer-
tain Mark, the “wisest monk” and oikonomos of the monastery of St. Mokios in Con-
stantinople, expanded the tetraodion of Kosmas in the reign of Leo VI (886–912).
Indeed, the tetraodion Κύριε Θεέ μου, ἐξόδιον ὕμνον, composed by this Mark, is still
in use in the Eastern Orthodox liturgy. Besides, in his commentary on the kanon for
Holy Saturday, Theodore Prodromos (died ca. 1170) relates that the first four odes
of this kanon had been originally written by the “noble and wise virgin Kassia.” Yet,
since it was considered inappropriate to mix “a woman’s words” with those of the
great Kosmas, Mark, bishop of Otranto, was commissioned to replace the troparia
composed by the poetess with new ones. On the basis of these testimonies, schol-
ars have concluded that Kassia’s tetraodion was removed from the Byzantine liturgy
some time during the reign of Leo VI.
One hitherto unnoticed piece of evidence, however, proves that at least the
troparia of the first ode were still in use in the Byzantine church in the middle of the
eleventh century. In the Typikon of the patriarch Alexios Stoudites (1025–1043),
preserved only in a Slavonic translation produced in Kiev between 1067 and 1074,
the entry for the orthros of Holy Saturday gives the incipit of the first troparion of
Kassias’ tetraodion, which reads Безоумьныи старче, mistakenly attributing it to
Mark. The testimony of this Typikon has further significance because it indicates
that the first ode of the tetraodion was in liturgical use among the Slavs as well. In-
deed, it turns up in two Slavonic manuscripts: one, of Macedonian provenance, in
the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts in Zagreb (Ms. IV d 107), dated to the
first quarter of the thirteenth century; and the other in the National Library of Ser-
bia in Belgrade (Ms. 645), precisely dated to 1328. While in the Zagreb manuscript
the first ode of the kanon for Holy Saturday consists only of Kassia’s troparia, in the
Belgrade manuscript these are mixed with the troparia of Mark. It should be pointed
out that the the troparia composed by the poetess are not found in Slavonic manu-
scripts dating from the middle of the fourteenth century and later.
The reference to Mark in the Typikon of Alexios Stoudites suggests that his
troparia may have been used alongside those of Kassia, in the manner in which they
were combined in the Slavonic liturgical practice. This is in fact confirmed by a
twelfth-century Athonite manuscript (Cod. Athous Vatoped. 1189), in which both
sets of troparia are included, first Mark’s and then Kassia’s. It is not impossible, there-
fore, that at the time when Alexios’ Typikon was drawn up, Kassia’s troparia preceded
those of Mark, but subsequently, perhaps under the influence of a misogynist propa-
ganda voiced by the chroniclers, they gave way to Mark’s troparia, only to be removed
from liturgical use in the end. Among the Slavs, however, they fared slightly better
living a prolonged liturgical life.
FC19. BYZANTINO-SLAVICA II
Moderators
Petya Yaneva/Pirinka Penkova-Lyager
Petya Yaneva (Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Bulgaria)

The Hidden Citations in Symeon’s/Svyatoslav’s Florilegium
In the course of study of Symeon’s/Svyatoslav’s florilegium there were lots of specula-

tions about the authors and works that comprise the compendium. It was found out
that in fact there are about 450 excerpts from more than 140 writings of more than
40 authors. But the problem of what indeed was included in this vast volume of texts
still remains.
Part of this problem is the identification of authors and works. Many of the ‘ti-
tles’ do not tell us what was cited and who was cited. Others state that there will
follow a text from a concrete work and author, but as strong as your efforts might be,
you would not be able to find such a passage in the cited author. A third category of
citations is that of the internal quotations without any mentioning of either author
or work or both.
It is obvious that the cases just mentioned are the most interesting and I will de-
vote my paper to them. A number of marginal scholia turn out to be selected from
quite rare texts such as ‘Catena in Epistulam Juda (catena Andreae)’, ‘De passionibus’
which goes under the name of Andronicus Rhodius, ‘Comentarius in Hexaemeron’
which goes under the name of Eustatius, two of Asterius’ Homilies from ‘Commen-
tarii in Psalmos’, etc.
There are quotations from ancient authors, too. The largest passages come from
Herodotus’ ‘History’. Smaller but intriguing excerpts come from Strabo’s ‘Geogra-
phy’ and Plato’s ‘Republic’.
The existence of such hidden quotations shows that Symeons’ Florilegium was a
very rich book, and we cannot but admire it.
Aneta Dimitrova (Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Bulgaria)

Author vs. Translator – Syntactical Criteria for Analyzing Old
Church Slavonic Translations of Byzantine Hagiography
As Old Church Slavonic (OCS) translations of Byzantine prose are called in ques-
tion, some of the most debated issues concern the principles of translation. This
paper draws attention to the importance of analyzing the linguistic features of the
original as well.
Byzantine Greek and OCS are structurally similar. Syntactic synonymy (e.g. the
distribution of infinitives, participles and subordinate clauses) results in both author

and translator having to choose between several options. A close study of their pref-
erences makes it possible to differentiate between the styles of the original and the
translation. If, for instance, we find no declarative infinitives in the OCS translation,
we have to find out whether this correlates with the translator’s choice to use partici-
ples instead, or with the author’s choice not to use such infinitives at all.
On the other hand, the two languages differ in various ways. By the 9th century
there is already a big difference between spoken and literary Greek so that the au-
thors’ styles depend on their education and purposes, on the genre or the literary
trends of the time. OCS, by comparison, is a young literary language, based on the
vernacular and occasionally exposed to Greek influence, which makes it difficult to
define its levels of style. There are also many linguistic differences, such as the use of
the article and the substantivized infinitive, the choice of word order patterns etc.
In each case of linguistic asymmetry the translator has to pick out between possible
solutions and it is on these choices that we can draw conclusions about the style and
the methods of translation.
This paper discusses the results of a detailed linguistic analysis of several Byzan-
tine Vitae (4th–10th c.) translated into OCS during 10th–11th c. It studies the use
of infinitives, participles, absolute and dependent constructions, definite article, verb
government and prepositional phrases and their competing syntactic structures and
so derives syntactical criteria for analyzing both original and translation.
Vessela Valiavitcharska (University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA)

Byzantine Rhetorical Rhythm in the Codex Suprasliensis
The principles of isosyllaby and isotony (also known as “isocolony”) have long been
proposed as organizing patterns in Old Bulgarian and Old Russian poetry ( Jakob-
son, Picchio, Stanchev); more recent studies have demonstrated the transmission
of figures of sound in translated liturgical poetry (Koycheva). My inquiry extends
these conclusions to prose. A study of five homilies in the Codex Suprasliensis shows
that the homilies have attempted to preserve the rhetorical rhythm of their originals.
Following Picchio’s method of counting one stress per major word, it is possible to
see marked correspondences in syllable and stress distribution from clause to clause
in the Greek and Old Church Slavonic text. In addition, rhythm-bearing figures of
sound (alliteration, paromoiosis, and others) have been transmitted as well. The find-
ings align well with what we know from the Byzantine rhetorical commentaries on
rhythm – that is affects the entire clause and is especially emphasized at the end, and
that it is borne not only by stress but also figures of sound. They suggest that the
Slavonic translators were well acquainted with Byzantine rhetorical practices and as-
cribed much importance to the effects of rhythm, in all its components.
Johannes Reinhart (University of Vienna, Austria)

An Old Russian Anti-Judaic treatise, its Greek Original and the
Problem of its Origin
In a 13th century miscellany at the Russian National Library (call number: Q.p.I.18)
we read a text entitled Rěči k židovinu o vъčlověčenii syna božija (= Words to a Jew
about the Incarnation of the Son of God; ff. 180r5–196v21). The text was published
in 1987 by the Polish scholar Halina Wątróbska. At that time the Greek original of
the text could not be identified. The Greek text became available in 1994 with José
H. Declerck’s edition of „Anonymus dialogus cum iudaeis saeculi ut videtur sexti”
(Turnhout – Leuven, Corpus christianorum, Series graeca 30). The Greek text is
known from a single manuscript from Mount Athos (Vatopedi 236, 12th/13th c.).
There are also Georgian and Armenian translations.
The Old Russian miscellany from Petersburg does not contain the whole Anti-
Judaic text, but only excerpts from chapters 3., 4., 5., 12., and, possibly, 13. (the Greek
text has 13 chapters). Apart from that there are some pieces of text the original of
which could not be identified, as yet.
The aim of this paper is to ascertain when and where the Old Russian text was
translated. Most of the texts in the miscellany originated in Bulgaria. At the same
time it comprises some texts which are not of Bulgarian origin, e.g. extracts from the
Czech Church Slavonic Gospel homilies of Gregory the Great, known only in East
Slavic copies, parts of the commentary on Gregory of Nazianzus by Nicetas of Hera-
cleia, as well as the Gospel commentary of Theophylactus of Achrida.
There are two main approaches to the question of the place and time of the trans-
lation. The first is based on an analysis of the the Scriptural quotations and the corre-
sponding Old Church Slavonic, Middle Bulgarian and Old East Slavic texts. The sec-
ond approach focuses on the linguistic make-up of the text. Both approaches make it
probable that the translation originated in Rus. There are a couple of Scriptural quo-
tations which show correspondences with East Slavic texts, and there are also certain
lexical elements which can only be explained as originating from Rus (e.g. ci, koli,
počinъkъ ‘beginning’). A secondary redaction is not probable.
The translation of the Greek Anti-Judaic treatise is thus probably to be ascribed
to an East Slavic author of the 12th century. Those parts of the treatise not yet identi-
fied may contribute to a better understanding of the origin and transmission of the
text in the future.
Maria Čičeva-Aleksić (Institute of Old Slavonic Culture, Skopje, Republic of

Macedonia)
Corpus Areopagiticum and its Influence on the Creaton of the
Christian and Philosophical Terminology in the Slavic Cultural
Realm
The textual and the chronological data for the dissemination of the Slavic translation
of the Corpus Areopagiticum are the key arguments that motivated our discussion.
Our goal is to make a comprehensive comparative analysis of the source text to the
copies made in Slavic languages available to us. By doing so, our intention is to estab-
lish an appropriate, and according to our expectations, extensive corpus of original
terms, paired by their compliant Slavic words and expressions. The analysis of the
way of presentation of the terms, originally found in alloglotic lexical material, by idi-
oglotic lexical means, which besides new findings in the field of history of the Slavic
languages, first and foremost in its lexicology and word-formation, is also expected
to contribute towards the establishment and expanding of the knowledge about the
Christian and philosophical terminology created by the Slavic lexical resources.
Trendafil Krastanov (Sofia, Bulgaria)

ΓPΑΦΩ ΓΡEΚIΣTI BOYΛΓAPOΣ ΩN . . . AUDIATUR ET ALTERA PARS.
The beginnings of Bulgarian and Czech letters and literature
according to sources from the Vatican Library, Russia and the
Sinai monastery
1. ΓPΑΦΩ ΓΡEΚIΣTI BOYΛΓAPOΣ ΩN.

The hypothesis of the beginnings of Bulgarian letters and literature from the 8th–
9th century in Greek and with the use of the Greek alphabet dates from the mid
20th century (Beshevliev 1961, Dinekov 1960 and others), which is also supported
by Bulgarian literature in Greek from the 11th–19th c. (Stoyanov 1973) and par-
ticularly marked in the poetic work of Grigor Parlichev who won a laurel wreath
among the poets writing in Greek in Athens in 1860 with his poem O Αρματολος. In
a letter to P. R. Slaveikov dated 1867 in connection with the fall of Justiniana prima,
he begins with the excuse writing in Greek, as he is Bulgarian. ΓPΑΦΩ ΓΡEΚIΣTI
BOYΛΓAPOΣ ΩN.
2. AUDIATUR ET ALTERA PARS
Czech literature began in Latin. The question stems arises when, where does Bul-
garian Slavic and Czech Slavic letters and literature arise, and who does it serve? New
sources from the Vatican library, Russia and the Sinai Monastert St. Catherine offer
an answer to these questions.
According to A.-E. Tahiaos the first tyranslations of Constantine (St. Cyril) and
his brother Methodius were done in Byzantium for the needs of the Slavs from Eu-
ropean Moesians or the Bulgarians prior to the Moravian mission (863) (Tahiaos
1971). This hypothesis is supported by the Gospel text in Bulgarian from the 10th
century in the Palimpsest Cod. Vat. gr. 2502, which is the oldest copy of the first Bul-
garian book and common Slavic book the Evangelistar or Apracos, or brief Gospel in
Cyrilic (Krastanov 1988, Dogramadzhieva 1997).
What are the translations from Latin into “Slavic” from the 9th–11th century –
Bulgarian from the 9th century or Czech “Church slavonic” from the 10th–11th c.,
according to Mares 1979, Blahova 1995, Konzal 2005–2006?
The liturgical text from the Sinai Monastery in Glagolitic is in its content “west-
ern”, and in its text “south-slavic” (Tarnanidis 1988: 106). This comes to show that
in the 9th century there were translations from Greek and from Latin in Bulgaria,
“western” in their content, considering beyond doubt that between 866 to 870 Bul-
garia was de iure and de facto with Rome, hence, liturgical books and translations
were permitted in 868 “chiefly with Bulgarians in mind” (Иречек 1978:175). In
Rome Peter, John, Martin, George and others were translating from Latin into Bul-
garian (Krastanov 2008).
There are records of John the Exarch “having worked in Rome” and being “a
translator of a Talkovno evangelie” (Angelov 1984), namely 40 homilies of Pope
Gregory the Great, into Bulgarian in the 9th century and later copied in Czechia
in the 10th–11th century, Russia 11th–13th century, however from the Bulgarian
original. The lives of St Benedict of Nursia (the determinative article чюдо то, място
то, манастирь ть), legal monuments and prayers, accepted without justification as
“Czech Church Slavonic” have been translated into Bulgarian.
Smilja Marjanovic-Dusanic (University of Belgrade, Serbia)

The Byzantine apocalyptic tradition: a fourteenth-century
Serbian version of the Apocalypse of Anastasia
The narrative known as the Apocalypse of Anastasia belongs to the literary genre
known as “journeys of the soul”. The four preserved Greek manuscripts are rather
late, copied or compiled between the mid 14th and the mid 16th century. They all
appear in florilegia composed of different kinds of popular religious texts – apocry-
phal, ascetic, biblical, hagiographical, magical, legendary, devotional and homiletic
prose. It seems that the Anastasia Apocalypse circulated mostly inside the Byzantine
Empire and its immediate cultural surroundings, namely the south Italian lands and
among the south Slav population, in Bulgaria and Serbia. The early translation of
the Anastasia narrative into Old Church Slavonic appears in two versions, incorpo-
rated in miscellaneous collections of the zbornik type. Those texts, entitled as slovo
(logos), belong to the various kinds of literary genres of religious prose. Both Slavonic
manuscripts preserved an earlier version of the Greek original; although copied later
than the Greek manuscripts, those two versions actually reveal the earlier stage of the
apocalypse’s existence. The first, now in the National Library of Sofia, is a sixteenth
century copy of the original translation which was made between the twelfth and
fourteenth century. A Serbian version, similar but independent translation of the
same Greek original, is dated in the seventeenth century. As a visionary, apocalyptic
text, the Serbian text named Slovo Svete Anastasije appeared in three more preserved
manuscripts, as a modern, eighteenth and early nineteenth century legendary adapta-
tion of the text, dated in 1750, 1752 and 1812.
Taken as a whole, the preserved manuscripts of the Anastasia Apocalypse, both
Greek and Slavonic, keep different versions of the text, each of them representing a
distinct text tradition. As for the three preserved early modern Serbian manuscripts,
they belong to a different cultural and textual set, maintaining complex interrelations
with the contemporary literary and cultural tradition. The purpose of the present
paper is to examine its form and meaning.
Gregory Myers (Port Moody, Canada)

The Ritual and Music for the Dedication of a Church among the
Medieval Slavs: Byzantine Cathedral Practice Transplanted
An abundance of materials chronicling the transplantation and assimilation of Byz-

antine rituals and music amongst the Medieval Slavs awaits discovery and affords a
glance at the fervor with which a newly baptized culture embraced them. One such
occasion rooted in the ceremonies of the Great Church and absorbed by the Slavs
was the Dedication of a church, a celebratory event involving the entire community.
The accompanying music is associated with the pageantry of the old Byzantine sta-
tional liturgy: Psalm 24 and the kontakion. Among the musical sources preserving
kontakion settings are 3 Medieval Russian sources plus the 14th-century Greek choir
book, Kastoria ms. No. 8, which also includes Psalm 24.
The peculiar notational properties of K8’s chant settings have been touted as a
key to the deciphering of the enigmatic Paleoslavonic kondakarian musical notation.
The existence of this psalm setting is therefore a precious discovery: even though it
is prescribed in the typikon, no Paleoslavonic musical setting exists; K8’s transmis-
sion supplies a missing link. The presence of the Dedication kontakion is even more
fortuitous; its presence has eluded the notice of all scholars who have examined the
manuscript. Here is a choral kontakion setting in Middle Byzantine neumes with a
disposition of great hyperstases that correspond to the kondakarian settings, making
it exemplary for comparative analysis. It also attests to the existence of a complete
corpus of kontakia in this style that had widespread dissemination before the 11th
century.
The significance of this select repertory in terms of the Dedication ritual is de-
finitive. Firstly, even though K8 is an anachronistic late find, its stylistic affinity with
the older kondakarian sources suggests a shared Byzantine cathedral provenance and
attests to the survival of Great Church/Studite practices among the Slavs well into
the period of Neo-Sabbaitic liturgical hegemony. Secondly, as a Balkan source dis-
covered in a region once occupied by Slavs, perhaps we should regard the K8 choir
book as evidence of a common musical heritage shared by both the Southern and
Eastern Slavs during these early centuries.
Pirinka Penkova-Lyager (Kalundborg, Denmark)

The Greek Manuscript No 167 of the Copenhagen Royal Library and
the South Slavic Manuscript No 897 of the national Library in
Sofia
This article compared contents of two cataloged but unstudied Greek menologia
from 11th century and one unstudied South Slavic Menaion for November from 14th
century. Copenhagen menologia contain memories of the saints which have known
in Slavic calendars originated from the 10th century and known in copies of 12th–
13th century. Some of them are suggested as pre-Metaphrastian martyrdom, for ex.:
apocryphal martyrdom of St. Matthew, martyrdom of Jacob the Persian, martyrdom
of Peter of Alexandria (possibly an ancient Latin translation), etc. Three Greek cop-
ies of the fourth volume of Metaphrastian version give a notion for the content of
Greek Synaxarion from 11th century for the period 16 to 30 November. From the
earliest version of illustrated Greek menologion, dated 1055, survived the fourth vol-
ume, held today at the Paris National Library (divided between Cod. Gr. No 580
and No 1499); three other copies of the fourth volume of the 11th century have been
preserved respectively in Frantsoniani Library in Genoa (Bibl. Franzoniani, MS Urb.
No 36) and in the Royal Library in Copenhagen (Det Kongelige Bibliotek, GKS
167, GKS 168). Comparison of miniatures and ornamentation in manuscripts GKS
167 (volume 4) and Gr 175 preserved in the Historical Museum in Moscow (volume
2) gives the N. Shevchenko grounds to assume the same artistic school.
South Slavic monthly menaion No 897 NLCM for November (which was cho-
sen to be compared here by the author) is unique, so far it contains offices for all days
throughout November with cycles stichera for evening (and great vespers for main
celebrations), two canons in the morning office – one from the octoechos and one
dedicated to the saint, and memory of the saint included between canon’s chants in
the morning office. Particularly interesting for dating are Slavic acrostics and acros-
tics in the translation canons.
Slavic author-hymnographer registered his participation with a self-critical note
to the office of November 10, Festival of archangel Michael, with the note: Õîòý
òåáý Ìèõàèëå ïý(ñ) âúñïýòè ëýïîòèâo. íq ñîïëý íå èìýq. (60v). Traces from
Slavic acrostics are in the Canon for the ethereal forces, stichera ‘na stichovne’: Ì×Íß
from Ìmñëúím(ì) ñèëàìú ÷èíîíà÷oëíföè. . . ×èíîíà÷oëíèêú âmøíè(õ) ñèëü.
ìèõàèëü.. . , Íåâåùüñòüíîìó ñúùüñòâó. ìmñëüím(õ) ñèëü. . . , ßêî ÷èíîíà÷oë-
íèêü è ïîñîáíèêü . . . (58r). In the eight chant of the Canon for St. Matthew: ÏßÑÍ
from Ïðèçèðàífå(ì). . . , ßêî ìëúífo . . . , Ñëîâîìú ÷èñòmè(ì). . . , Íà áà. § . . Greek au-
thors of the translated canons in the South Slavic menaion No 897 NLCM: Joseph
the Hymnographer (for the first half of November) and Theophanus (for the second
half ) and their acrostics are pointed out in front of every first chant of the canon.
The publication will include data for each day in November – traces of the origi-
nal Slavic canons (probably composed in 10th century), or translated from Greek by
Slavic men of letters which will be systematically investigated.
Olga Grinchenko (University of Oxford, UK)

Slavonic Kontakaria and their Byzantine counterparts
My presentation is dedicated to a particular type of the Early Slavonic ecclesiastical

manuscripts – Kontakaria, dated from the 11th–13th centuries. These are collections
of hymns, which are to be sung in the Orthodox Office. This type of the liturgical
collections, along with their yet undeciphered musical system, became obsolete by
the end of the 14th century and does not have any Slavonic counterparts. However,
the majority of hymns in the Slavonic Kontakaria are translated from Greek. There-
fore, the Byzantine hymnal collection – Asmatika and Psaltika – can be stated as the
nearest relations of the Kontakaria. The extant Byzantine sources significantly exceed
the Slavonic MSS in number. Yet, none of the Byzantine manuscripts fully conforms
to any Slavonic source of this kind. A careful investigation of all available sources, in
both Church Slavonic and Medieval Greek, is the only way to find answers to the
following questions: how the Slavonic sources appeared in the Slavonic Lands, where
they were translated from Greek, how they were used at the Office and why they fell
out if use. In my presentation I provide a comparative analysis of the contents of the
Slavonic and Byzantine manuscripts as well as their liturgical and linguistic features,
and bring attention to their enigmatic musical notation. This will shed a new light on
the links between liturgical, literary and musical traditions of the various versions of
the Christian Rite and give us a better understanding of the ecclesiastical history in
Medieval Russia, as well its place in a broader context of the international Christian
civilization.
Радослава Станкова (Институт за литература, София, България)

Службата за св. Димитър Солунски с канон от Георги Скилица в
южнославянски преписи от ХІV–ХV в.
Св. Димитър Солунски е светец особено популярен сред южните славяни, счи-
тан за закрилник на престолния град Търново по време на Втората българнска
държава. За него са създавани оригинални старобългарски текстове и преди
това – Похвално слово от Климент Охридски, канон преписван на Методий и
др. Във византийската книжнина са създадени и множество песнопения в чест
на св. Димитър. В славянската традиция за прослава на солунския светец първо-
начално са били актуални два канона за четвърти глас – старобългарският (т.н.
“Методиев”) канон и Теофановият.
Канонът за осми глас, написан от средецкия градоначалник Георги Скили-
ца, написан в края на ХІІ в., по време на византийското владичество в България,
е популярен в славянски превод. Запазен е само в южнославянски преписи от
ХІV–ХV в. и тук се обръща внимание на най-ранните от тях. В гръцката кни-
жовна традиция този канон не намира широко разпространение. Службата за
св. Димитър се разглежда и като доказателство за това как гръцките йерарси
съхраняват вече създадените местни книжовни традиции, и заедно с това до-
пълват текстовете за прослава на особено почитаните светци.
Скилица е съставил и осмогласен химнографски цикъл от канони и житие
на гръцки език за най-популярния български отшелник св. Иван Рилски. Той е
автор и на канони в службите за големите християнски светци, “присвоени” при
южните славяни, св. Георги Победоносец и св. Димитър Солунски. Така през
ХІІ в. се укрепва идеята за религиозната византийско-славянска общност и се
поддържа единството на книжовните процеси на Балканите.
Elguja Khintibidze (Tbilisi State University, Georgia)

Mount Athos: the origin of The Edifying Story of Barlaam and
Ioasaph and its connection with the Slavonic World
One of the highly important questions regarding the authorship of the Edyfying
Story of Barlaam and Ioasaph is the time and place of the emergence of this work in
the Greek world: the early 11th century on Mount Athos – largely the Iviron mon-
astery.
I tried to look into the causes of this fact, i. e. what conditioned the creation of a
work by this time, whose ideological thrust is polemic with paganism and apology of
Christianity.
In my view, the need at the end of the 10th century for a work with this kind
of polemic and apologetic content became clear for the Byzantine church and the
diplomacy of the royal court. The cause of this was the conversion of pagan Russia to
Christianity.
The peripeteias of the activity of the Byzantine royal court towards the Chris-
tianization of the northern neighbours – the Bulgars and the Rus – were often ex-
tremely dramatic. It was in the first half of Basil II’s imperial rule that the necessity
of turning Russia – this ferocious northern pagan neigbour, into an ally, ending with
the Christianization of this country in 988–989. This is why the need arose in the
last decade of the 10th century for the creation of attractive literature involving po-
lemic with paganism, apologetics of Christianity and interpretation of the principal
postulates of the faith.
This order was fulfilled by the monastic corporation of Mount Athos, in partic-
ular the circle of the men of letters of the Iviron monastery. Both these bodies are
known to have been loyal allies of the Byzantine royal court, supporting the young
emperor. This became apparent in the very first years of the enthronement of Basil in
dealing with the rebellion of the feudal lord Bardas Sclerus.
The Greek story of Barlaam and Ioasaph evinces a special interest in criticizing
paganism. The author inserted in full the Apology of Aristides, the oldest work di-
rected against paganism, in the story adapted from an oriental version. By this time
the Apology had been lost in the Greek world, but preserved in the East (Syria, Arme-
nia, Georgia).
The area of diffusion of BI indicates that the interest in the early stage of spread
of this polemic-hagiographic Edifying Story is seen in Slavonic World: the oldest
dated Greek MS (1021) of this work, copied on Mount Athos, is preserved in Kiev.
The Russian translation of BI is the most old and widespread work of the Russian
Christian literature.
Даринка Караджова (Югозападен университет „Неофит Рилски”, Благоевград)

Eдна гръцка подвързия от XIV век
В богатия архивен фонд на Националната библиотека в София е запазен гръцки

ръкопис от средата на ХІV век, чиято подвързия е съвременна на изработване-
то му. В книжовния паметник има съхранени и ценни приписки от културно-
исторически характер. Според някои от тях ръкописът още от времето на съз-
даването си е свързан с историята на светогорските манастири Великата Лавра
и Кутлумуш. Въпреки че сред приписките липсват данни за подвързването му,
всички палеографски и кодикологически признаци, като: външен вид на книж-
ното тяло и дъсчените кори, орнаментика и характеристики на кожата, която
ги обвива, филиграни и др., свидетелстват за съхранила се до днес рядка ранна
подвързия от XIV век. Подобни факти, резултат на естественото движение на
ръкописи през Средновековието или на българо-гръцкия културен обмен, осъ-
ществяван главно в посока към България, са ценни свидетелства както за опре-

делени начини на подвързване и техника на украсяване по кожата на гръцките
ръкописни книги през споменатия период, така и за моделите, които българ-
ските книговезци евентуално биха заимствали.
FC20. BYZANTINE THEOLOGY

Moderators
Serguey Ivanov/Leena Mari Peltomaa
Tamara Aptsiauri (Staatliche Iwane-Dschawachischwili-Universität, Tiflis,

Georgien)
Die Idee der Willensfreiheit und die ἀποκατάστασις -Lehre nach De
Vita Moysis von Gregor von Nyssa
Die Willensfreiheit (αὐτεξουσία) und die freie Wahl (προαίρεσις) sind die zentralen
Begriffe der christlichen Anthropologie. Viele wichtige Aspekte des christlichen
Denkens der Willensfreiheit sind im Schaffen von Gregor von Nyssa gründlich be-
arbeitet worden, darunter nach dem anthropologischen Standpunkt in der vielfach
interessanten allegorisch-mystischen Schrift De Vita Moysis. Sie enthält viele interes-
sante Stoffe, die besonderer Untersuchung wert sind.
Während der Auslegung der biblischen Geschichte des israelischen Volkes und
seines Patriarchen Mose hebt Gregor von Nyssa mehrmals die Idee der Willensfrei-
heit und die Frage von ihrer Bedeutung auf dem Wege der geistlichen Vollkommen-
heit hervor. Im obengenannten Werk treten zwei grundlegende Aspekte der Idee
hervor: a) ihr ontologischer Grund und b) ihre soteriologische Bedeutung.
a) Nach Gregor von Nyssa ist die Fähigkeit der freien Wahl die wesentliche Ei-
genschaft des nach dem Bild und der Ähnlichkeit Gottes geschaffenen Menschen,
was seinen ontologischen Grund darstellt. Der freie Wille des Menschen ist ambiva-
lent, was durch die ontologische Veränderlichkeit der geschaffenen Natur und durch
die dichotomische Struktur des Menschen verursacht ist.
b) Nach dem allgemeinen protreptischen Charakter der Schrift wird die sote-
riologische Bedeutung der Willensfreiheit in De Vita Moysis breiter als ihr ontolo-
gischer Grund betrachtet. Die Fähigkeit der freien Wahl des Menschen ist einerseits
der Grund des Falles und der Eindringung der Sünde in die Welt, andererseits aber
ist sie bei der richtigen Dispositon von geistlichen Mächten eine Voraussetzung für
die Rückkehr in die urspüngliche Vollkommenheit und für die Erlösung.
Im Kontext der freien Wahl wird in De Vita Moysis auch Gregors Idee der uni-
versalen Erlösung (ἀποκατάστασις) betrachtet. Die Idee der eschatologischen allge-
meinen Auferstehung ist mit der göttlichen Gnade verbunden. Das Geheimnis der
Inkarnation, der Kreuzigung und der Auferstehung Christi ermöglicht dem Kosmos
die endgültige Rückkehr in den Schoß Gottes. Der kappadozische Theologe schaut
das Prinzip der ἀποκατάστασις in der existentiellen Abwesenheit des Bösen und sei-
nem Besiegen von dem unbegrenzten göttlichen Gute an. Nach Gregors Idee der
Transzendenz und der Unbegrenztheit Gottes geht der geistliche Fortschritt des
Menschen zu Gott nach der Auferstehung d.h. nach dem Aufhören der räumlich-
zeitlichen Ausdehnung auch weiter, weil das göttliche Wesen immer transzendent
bleibt. Die in De Vita Moysis beschriebene Verdunkelung der Sonne ist das Bild der
vom Abrahams Schoß entfernten Hölle und die Asche des Höllenfeuers. Dieses
Feuer wird in anderen Stellen von Gregor auch als Reinigungsfeuer (καθάρσιος πῦρ)
genannt, in dem das Böse schmelzen und erlöschen wird. Gregor von Nyssa bietet
dasjenige Bild der Rückkehr in die Vollkommenheit und der Einigung des Geschöpfs
mit dem Schoß Gottes an, wenn er mit denen zusammen, die das Gute nach ihrer ei-
genen freien Wahl schon gewählt haben, auch die endgültige Erlösung der sündigen
Seelen und ihr Aufstieg zum göttlichen Gute betrachtet. Die endgültige Aufhebung
des Bösen wird durch die Erlösungskraft des Kreuzes geschehen.
Bénédicte Lesieur (Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, France)

Silent change in Gaza monasticism: the Laura of Maiouma
A group of anti-Chalcedonian sources, among which The Life of Peter the Iberian and
the Plerophoriae by John Rufus, the Life of Severus of Antioch by Zachariah Scholas-
ticus, show us the existence of monasteries situated nearby Maiouma, Gaza’s harbor.
According to the scholarly literature, two monasteries existed in this area between
the 450’s and the end of the 5th century: the laura of Peter (the Iberian), transformed
later in a coenobium and the laura of Severus, later patriarch of Antioch. The monas-
tic organization near Maiouma may have been more complex than this conclusion.
The aim of this communication will be to present another hypothesis on the nature
of this monastic group of Maiouma and also to show what changes happened to it
between 440’s and 520’s, in a context of dogmatic controversies.
We will concentrate on the Syriac vocabulary to show the difficulties of inter-
pretation of the monastic phrases (dayro, ‘umro) used by the sources (Syriac transla-
tions of Greek originals). Some variations of words – knoushyo (gathering), which
appears in the Life of Peter the Iberian and becomes labro/louro (of Maiouma) in the
Plerophoriae and the Life of Severus – and scarce and scattered facts collected in the
sources enable us to notice discreet but important changes in the monastic organiza-
tion at the end of the 5th century. We will also try to give some clues to interpret and
understand those changes.
Tamaz Kochlamazashvili (Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia)

The Contribution of St. Gregory of Nazianzus and St. Gregory of
Nyssa to the Creation of the Prayer of Consecration of Water
Several translations designed as prayer for the consecration of water to be said at the
festival of Epiphany are extant in Georgian. In the earliest Georgian recension of the
Euchologion, coming down to us in several 10th century MSS, an abridged version

of the prayer is presented, beginning with the words “Great Art Thou, Lord”. This is
the closing part of the prayer that in the Greek Euchologion is attributed to Sophro-
nius, Patriarch of Jerusalem. Nevertheless, in the earliest Georgian MSS it is attrib-
uted to Gregory of Nazianzus.
It is known from historical sources that the texts of the Euchologion were trans-
lated anew into Georgian in the 11th century by St. Giorgi the Hagiorite. The origi-
nal of this translation has not come down to us but it is known to us in the form of
several later (12th–14th c.) recensions, based on the translation made by Giorgi the
Hagiorite and differing little from one another. Unlike the oldest translation, it has
a prologue that in some MSS is pronounced to be a work of Gregory of Nyssa. This
attribution must stem from Giorgi the Hagiorite, who diligently identified and re-
corded the authors of the texts translated by him.
In a later translation (18th c.), belonging to Kyprianus of Samtavisi, the version
of Giorgi the Hagiorite is prefaced with an additional prologue, and in the wake of
the Greek original St. Sophronius of Jerusalem is pronounced to have been the au-
thor of the prayer.
Thus, according to the Georgian manuscript tradition, the prayer for the conse-
cration of water on the Epiphany, was originally composed by Gregory of Nazianzus,
then it was expanded with a prologue by Gregory of Nyssa, and the final shape was
given to it by Sophronius of Jerusalem by adding an additional prologue.
Tina Dolidze (Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Georgia)

The Idea of God’s Action and Movement in the Cappadocian
Theology
In the Trinitarian teaching the Cappadocians stress the dynamic and energetic na-
ture of God, conveyed by them in the frequent use of concepts denoting action and
movement. These predicates occur when it concerns God’s relation to the creation
and even when they describe the inner life of the Trinity. Terms denoting action and
movement occur in denoting the interrelationship between the hypostases with Gre-
gory of Nazianzus and Gregory of Nyssa. Both Gregorys successfully use terms of
this semantics in criticising the Neo-Arian view of the Trinity and to prove the dog-
ma of the equality in essence and dignity of the Three Divine Persons. Among these
terms especially bold is the use of the concept of kinesis and words of the same stem,
for Greek philosophy ordinarily related the concept of motion to variability.
From the standpoint of assuming movement in God’s sphere the Cappadocian
fathers stand closest to the Neo-Platonic understanding of transcendental nous.
However, there is a substantial difference as well: in Neo-Platonic metaphysics the
concept of “movement” jointly with “otherness” points to the principle of multiplic-
ity within nous and its logical limit is the concept of stasis. As to the Cappadocian
conception, the concept of movement in their Trinitarian teaching is the principle
of the unity of the Three Persons, being at the same time absolute in its character.
The conception of the Cappadocians on the kinetic nature of God, according to its
peculiarities, stands closer to the image of God’s dynamic power, as represented in
the Scripture. In the chain of receptions a special place should be given to the Judaic.
Hellenic teaching on the unlimited movement of Logos, whose original reception oc-
curs in Origen’s teaching on God.
Svetoslav Ribolov (Sofia University “St. Kliment Ochridski”, Bulgaria)

A New Look at the Condemnation of Theodore of Mopsuestia at
the 5th Ecumenical Council
The author suggests a new analytical perspective by making a close connection be-
tween the condemnations of Origen and of Theodore of Mopsuestia at the Council
of Constantinople (553). Since the second half of the 19th century church historians
have traditionally been explaining the condemnation of them both on the basis of the
balance between the Origenist and the Antiochian traditions that was intentionally
sought for and, respectively, achieved by the state policy of the Emperor Justinian.
According to the author, on the contrary, the main reason for the condemnation of
these two teachers of the Church can be found in the similarity of their understand-
ings of Salvation as an ethical and ascetic process. Such understanding goes against
the common at that time ontological understanding of Salvation as a divinization of
the human being and could explain the profoundly theological reasons for the two
condemnations.
Polyvios Konis (Ministry of Education, Nicosia, Cyprus)

The Virgin Mary as one of the Myrrh-bearers in art and theology
before Iconoclasm
The earliest reference to the post-Resurrection appearances of Christ comes from

the first epistle of Paul to the Corinthians. Peculiarly enough this catalogue excludes
any female presence, thus contrasting with the canonical Gospels where the Myrrh-
bearers play a prominent role. Paul also mentions that Peter was the first to see Christ
resurrected, while in the Gospels, Mary Magdalene and the “other Mary” are the in-
dividuals who see Christ first. However the absence of any reference to the Virgin’s
participation in the post-Resurrection narrative, and thus in one of Christ’s most
important moments becomes very noticeable especially as the Virgin’s cult rises to
prominence.
This paper sets to examine the inclusion of the Virgin in the post-Resurrection
narrative both in the artistic production and the theological literature in the period
before Iconoclasm. Since no mention is made to the Virgin’s presence in the post-
Resurrection narrative, the Theotokos was identified as the “other Mary”. A closer
reading of the Gospels, though, demonstrates that the “other Mary” was Mary the
mother of James and Joses and not the Virgin. The Virgin’s inclusion in the post-Res-
urrection narrative and its subsequent representation in the scenes of the Maries at
the Tomb and the Chairete, shows a relation between artistic production and current
theological trends, as they appear in orations, sermons, hymns and the apocryphal
literature. This will ultimately demonstrate how theology and art interacted.
Leena Mari Peltomaa (Institute of Byzantine Studies, Vienna, Austria)

The intercessory function of Mary as the original catalyst for
the cult of Mary in Byzantine society
The proposal raises from the current project on the early Byzantine cult of Mary (a
period defined as ending with Iconoclasm in 843), running at the Institute of Byzan-
tine Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences since November 2007. The paper
will present results of this project with a radically new approach to the origins of the
Marian cult in Byzantium.
The project’s working hypothesis is that the intercessory function of Mary is the
original catalyst for her cult in Byzantine society. The crucial point is that Mary’s sta-
tus as mother called for a response in the society of late antiquity. The Eastern Roman
Empire of the age was dominated by a highly developed status-consciousness result-
ing from a hierarchically structured society. The response manifests itself at times of
extraordinary stress – fear of death or disastrous circumstances – which tended to
generate an eschatological or apocalyptic atmosphere informed by numerous proph-
ecies linking the end of the world with the end of the Roman Empire and its capital.
God-fearing Byzantine people with a vision of Christ as judge resorted to the experi-
ence of ordinary life, referring to a model that had been employed for ages in nor-
mal social relations: mediation. The status of mother, the mother of the Master, was
decisive. Thus the ancient practice of intercession provided the Byzantines with the
model for calling upon the mother of the son, the judge, as endowed with the neces-
sary influence to intercede with God on their behalf.
Anne Karahan (Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul, Turkey)

The Crux Gemmata versus the Crucifixion Cross in Byzantine
Cappadocia: Patristic Thought (dogmata) and Theological
Significance
My paper will explore the theological signification of the crux gemmata versus the
crucifixion cross motif in Byzantine Cappadocia on the basis of the twofold iden-
tification of God in orthodox tradition in general and in Cappadocian thinking in
particular.
The youngest of the three fourth-century Cappadocian fathers Gregory of Nyssa
underscores how Heaven and Earth meet in Christ through the power of the The-
otokos’ virginity, so that God and humankind is forever brought together (De vir-
ginitate 2.3). He emphasizes that Christ was indeed truly human, even if not so in
every respect – but ‘as a man’ because of the mystery of the virginity (sc. of Mary),
and this in order to make it perfectly clear that Jesus Christ was not subject to the
laws of human nature in everything (Adversus Apolinarem 21=160.3). The human
side of Christ was named by the particular name Jesus received through the revela-
tion (μυσταγωγία) made by Gabriel to the virgin, whereas his divine nature cannot be
expressed by a name but the two (divine and human) became one through their co-
mingling (ἀνάκρασις) (ibid. 161.13). Later Chalcedonian Christology (451) defined
the relation of the two natures in Christ through four negative adverbs: ‘without
confusion’ (ἀσυγχύτως); ‘without change’ (ἀτρέπτως); ‘undividedly’ (ἀδιαιρέτως); ‘in-
separably’ (ἀχωρίστως).
Belief in the reciprocity of human and divine is an orthodox truth that grants the
orthodox believer salvation and eternal life as well as authorizes anthropomorphous
images of Christ and the saints. The triune being of God, the reality and existence of
a transcendent dynamic nature and the image of God (εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ) is a one God
concept.
My hypothesis is that to promote data and verifications of ‘right belief ’ the mo-
tifs of the cross have to concur with the orthodox belief in the one God concept and
the twofold nature of God. The belief that God is neither solely divine nor solely hu-
man constitutes the methodological and theoretical core of Byzantine aesthetics.
Karoliina Schauman (Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland)

The Beauty of God and Man – Theological Aesthetics of Symeon
the New Theologian
Symeon the New Theologian is a brilliant example of an ascetic who values beauty
high and in whose texts beauty has a theological meaning: it is linked to Symeon’s
view on man and on God. Symeon’s view on icons has been questioned by Barber
who claims that Symeon distinguishes the immediate object (the icon) from the
object that is experienced in prayer. According to my interpretation of Symeon, the

icon object is not distinguished from the actual experience in the texts of Symeon as
Barber claims.
In Symeon, beauty and experiences of it are primarily related to God or the Trin-
ity, descriptions of God’s light shining and being reflected in a person, clothed with
beauty. Symeon uses a vocabulary of joy, pleasure, taste and enjoyment when describ-
ing the effects of beauty. Paradoxical expressions in the texts are typical examples
of an apophatic emphasis when describing God or unexpected experiences of God.
Symeon points out that God is not seen or heard with physical eyes or ears, but is
revealed in a spiritual sense, through illumination of the Spirit, with the spiritual eyes
that need to be cleaned by tears and penitence and should be held open. He also men-
tions two preconditions for such experiences: faith and the operation of the Spirit. In
the catechetical discourses is stated that beauty is experienced through the glory and
grace of God. From the aesthetical point of view, it is interesting how essential a part
beauty plays in Symeon’s view on the human being as created as the image of God,
called to be transformed toward the likeness to God.
Serguey Ivanov (American University in Bulgaria, Blagoevgrad)

Theology of Light in New Testament Passages in the
Simeons’/Svjatoslav’s Florilegium (Izbornik) of AD 1073
New Testament extracts occupy a key place in the 1073 Simeon’s/Svjatoslav’s Florile-
gium (the first theological compilation of Christian texts, translated and played a sig-
nificant role in the initial formative period of the Slavic Orthodox terminology and
dogmatics). Passages from the Fourth Gospel with the traditional author John the
Theologian (an earliest Christian evangelist and the founder of the theology of Light
in all later dogmatic tradition of mainstream Christianity) and Homilies by John
Chrysostom (a fourth–fifth century Hellenistic and Christian rhetor, who continued
the development of this specific intellectual and symbolic tradition) are among them
and are dedicated to the fullest exposition of the above stated theological theme.
The proposed presentation will deal with the theology of Light’s main points,
grounded on some particular passages, lexemes, and their semantic analysis within
the context of the 1073 Florilegium. E.g., the Light’s function in God’s universe is to
clarify everything that is human (partly constituting the wider theological notion of
“judgment”); Light is connected with its physical source and with the Sun symbol-
ism, related to the traditional Greek system of general philosophical, explicitly theo-
logical, and sociological speculations about dikaoisyne. Light enlightens and leads to
repentance or katharsis of the one who has been enlightened; Jesus as God the Logos
(in the fullest Greek semiotic space of this term) is the Light of the world; light unites
with light, righteousness with righteousness – i.e. what has dikaiosyne unites with the
similar. Theology of Light uncovers the association between the real life in God with
God’s Light of the world, and between the repentance of an enlightened one and the
final judgment of all done in human history (“Israel” as the Old Testament term for
the faithful God’s community).
Nowadays, dogmatical Christianity is taken for granted as a well structured and
fulfilled unity (the authentic knowledge of its primary slow and painful formation/
development over the first 400–500 years is hidden in the past). For a modern ob-
server (both an affectionate believer and a cool-minded researcher, dedicated to the
study of the genuine mainstream Christianity as a powerful imperial East-Roman
“Byzantine” ideology) each word reflects, clarifies, or obscures the meaning of the
genuine theological concept. Such an observer becomes aware of, or fails to discern
the semantic field of the scrutinized term; especially within the complex multidimen-
sional network of all other terms of the same theological tradition. The written herit-
age of the Hellenistic Christianity represents the latter’s petrified symbolism and is a
narrow slit window to the spiritual life in the Byzantine Middle Ages.
Stefaan Neirynck (Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium)

The edition of Nilus Doxapatres’ De Oeconomia Dei (12th cent.)
Intermediate conclusions & perspectives
From 2006 onwards, the Institute for Early Christian and Byzantine Studies of Leu-
ven University has been hosting a project on Byzantine encyclopaedism. The first
book (of the two books preserved) of the magnum opus by Nilus Doxapatres is one
of the works edited within the research project. The second half of that book, edited
by my colleague I. De Vos is ready to be published in the Series Graeca of the Corpus
Christianorum, while the first half, edited by me, is still being prepared for publica-
tion.
Even if that forthcoming edition offers of this vast work only the first half, main-
ly concerned with Creation and anthropology, it has made available the work to a
much greater extent than it was the case before – scholars had at their disposal only
one chapter edited by Mai, and, more recently, a few by Caruso. Now might thus be
the appropriate time to judge the significance of the work on a more solid basis.
My paper will briefly address the (scanty) evidence for the reconstruction of the
author’s biography (deacon of Hagia Sophia and, later on, monk on Sicily?) and a
few elements of the textual transmission that might play a role in determining the
background of the work.
Moreover, it will be interesting to take a look at the text, its structure and con-
tents, and the indications it provides to determine Doxapatres’ position within 12th
century theology. Even if his work is not very well known, it is often dismissed as be-
ing sterile, uninventive, conformist, highly derivative; or all too much polemical and
political.
The first set of objections seems to be confirmed by the considerable amount of
(patristic) quotations in De Oeconomia Dei, which at first sight make the work high-
ly “unoriginal” to modern eyes. Yet, there are also very specific concerns in the text
which account for the author and his time (even if very often addressing problems
“through the looking glass” of quotations); some speculation is not always shunned.
Against the objection of being polemical and political, one might argue that a
closer reading of the work reveals a very complete and systematic overview of the his-
tory of salvation, with almost no major polemical and political implications. Being
mainly a work of theology, it provides a rather plain insight in the theological con-
cerns of the 12th century, and it gives a clue as to what were the patristic and other
theological sources widely read and used at the time.
Finally, a quick glance at the second book, with a much more Christological tone,
will underline the importance of continuing the edition of this remarkable work.
Sergey Gagen (Prague, Czech Republic)

Who was George of Pelagonia known as an Author of
Anti-Hesychast Tract (Ambrosianus D 28 sup., f. 107r–139v)?
The question of a personality of author is connected with its dating. The description
of Palamas’ triumph connected with far and wide crowd violence and supported by
patriarch is understood to point out the events of 1347. But Akindynos’ Report of
1343 describes violence of Palamitic party after the Tome of 1341 too. The position
of the patriarch John XIV Kalekas on the synod in July of 1341 was ambiguous and
treated by Palamas favorable for his doctrine.
The author might be an eyewitness of the council of June 1341 among some par-
tisans of Barlaam the Calabrian, because he knows Barlaam’s tactics in detail and did
not share Akindynos’ intention to distinguish Hesychasm and Palamism. The great
motive for Barlaam’s departure to Italian was depicted in text as an intention in com-
pany of wise men to revise calmly his theological position. The tract has no mention
about Barlaam’s conversion to Roman Catholicism in the late 1342.
Thus the tract may have dated with the period between the autumn of 1341 and
the spring of 1342. In this case its author may have been George of Thessalonica, one
of Barlaam’s friends who had accompanied his leader to the West. This person had
been mentioned in one of Akindynos’s letters as “the noble George”.
FC21. THE DIALOGUE BETWEEN THEOLOGY AND

PHILOSOPHY IN BYZANTIUM
Moderators
Ivan Christov/Michele Trizio
Μαρία Χρόνη (Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, Ελλάδα)

Χριστιανισμὸς καὶ Νεοπλατωνισμὸς στὸ Βυζάντιο. Ἀντίπαλες ἢ
παράλληλες ἰδεολογίες; Ἀντιλήψεις γιὰ τὸν φυσικὸ κόσμο καὶ τὴν
σχέση του με τὸν ἄνθρωπο
Οἱ χριστιανικὲς ἀντιλήψεις γιὰ τὸν φυσικὸ κόσμο καὶ τὴν σχέση του μὲ τὸν ἄνθρωπο
εἶχαν τελεολογικὸ καὶ ἐσχατολογικὸ χαρακτήρα. Σύμφωνα μὲ τὰ θεολογικὰ κείμενα καὶ
κυρίως τῶν Βασιλείου Καισαρείας, Γρηγορίου Ναζιανζηνοῦ καὶ Μάξιμου Ὁμολογητῆ, τὰ
ὄντα τῆς φύσεως δημιουργήθηκαν προκειμένου νὰ συμβάλλουν στὴν σωτηρία καὶ θέωση
τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. Ὁ Χριστιανισμὸς καὶ ἐπεκράτησε σὲ μία περίοδο, κατὰ τὴν ὁποία ἀνθοῦσε
ὁ νεοπλατωνισμός, βασικὴ ἀρχὴ τοῦ ὁποίου ἀποτελοῦσε ἡ συμπάθεια τῶν ὄντων, σύμφωνα
μὲ τὴν ὁποία τὰ αἰσθητὰ ὄντα τῆς γῆς συμβολίζουν τὰ ἀόρατα ὄντα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ὅλα
μετέχουν τελεολογικὰ στὸ σχέδιο ἑνὸς δημιουργοῦ ποὺ καθορίζει τὴν θέση τοῦ κάθε ὄντος
μέσα στὴν φύση μὲ ἀπόλυτη τάξη. Ἔτσι, παρατηρώντας τὴν φύση μεταβαίνουμε ἀπὸ τὸ
τελευταῖο καὶ πιὸ ταπεινὸ στὸ πρῶτο καὶ ἀνώτερο καὶ διαπιστώνουμε ὅτι τὸ ἕνα ὑπάρχει
μέσα στὸ ἄλλο, ἀφοῦ σὲ ὅλα κοινὸ στοιχεῖο εἶναι ἡ θεϊκὴ οὐσία. Στὸ οὐράνιο ὑπάρχει τὸ
γήϊνο καὶ ἀντίστροφα, τὰ ὄντα τῆς γῆς συμβολίζουν τὰ ἀόρατα ὄντα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ
αὐτὸ χαρακτηρίζεται ὡς συμπάθεια τῶν πάντων μέσα στὴν φύση.
Ἡ παράλληλη ἄνθηση Χριστιανισμοῦ καὶ Νεοπλατωνισμοῦ κατὰ τὴν πρώϊμη βυζα-
ντινὴ περίοδο ἔπαιξε καθοριστικὸ ρόλο στὴν διαμόρφωση τῶν ἀντιλήψεων σχετικὰ μὲ
τὸν φυσικὸ κόσμο στὸ Βυζάντιο, παρόλο ποὺ φαινομενικὰ ὑπῆρξε ἀνοιχτὴ σύγκρουση
μεταξὺ χριστιανῶν λογίων καὶ ἐκπροσώπων τοῦ νεοπλατωνισμοῦ.
Ἡ θεουργία τῶν νεοπλατωνιστῶν καὶ τὸ καθ’ ὁμοίωσιν (=θέωση) τῆς χριστιανικῆς
διδασκαλίας ἔχουν κοινὴ ἀφετηρία καὶ κοινὸ στόχο. Μόνο ποὺ στὴν πρώτη περίπτωση
πρόκειται γιὰ φιλοσοφικὸ στοχασμὸ ἐνῶ στὴν δεύτερη γιὰ θρησκευτικὴ διδασκαλία, ἡ
ὁποία ἀσκεῖ σημαντικὸ ρόλο στὶς ἀντιλήψεις καὶ τὸν καθημερινὸ βίο τῆς βυζαντινῆς κοι-
νωνίας.
Ἡ συμφιλίωση τῆς κατ’ ἐπίφασιν ἀντίθεσης μεταξὺ Χριστιανισμοῦ καὶ Νεοπλατωνι-
σμοῦ ἐπέρχεται τὸν 11ο αἰώνα μὲ τὴν ἀνάπτυξη τοῦ βυζαντινοῦ ἀνθρωπισμοῦ μὲ βασικὸ
ἐκπρόσωπο τὸν Μιχαὴλ Ψελλό, ὁ ὁποῖος ἑρμηνεύοντας τὴν συμπάθεια τῶν ὄντων ὡς νόμο
τῆς φύσεως κάνει λόγο γιὰ ἐσωτερικὲς ἀόρατες δυνάμεις τῶν ὄντων, οἱ ὁποῖες ἐνεργοῦν
ὑπερφυῶς μὲ σύμνοια καὶ ἁρμονία καὶ λειτουργοῦν ἀπόλυτα ὀργανωμένα ὑπὸ τὴν πρώτην
αἰτίαν.
Dimitar Y. Dimitrov (St. Cyril and St. Methodius University, Veliko Tarnovo,
Bulgaria)
The Various Facets of Byzantine Humanism
Byzantine humanism is in the focus of my attention with some important questions

concerning its cardinal features and even its mere existence. New concept of man,
Neoplatonism as philosophical base and critical approach towards Christianity were
traditionally considered to be important pivots of the phenomenon. We have, how-
ever, very intentionally to search for a new approach towards man in late Byzantium.
In a world devoted to cultural models and topoi even the ‘innovations’, like those of
Metochites, concerning the Empire, its neighbours, and the human fate, were to a
great extent a retrieve to never fully forgotten sources in the past, which periodically
inspired the Byzantine literati to respond in one way or another. Without over-em-
phasizing the conflicts among different trends, we have to agree, moreover, with the
fact that Neoplatonism as a language and intellectual mood characterized the whole
Byzantine period, and not just its last part. The Byzantine intellectual tradition had
never the need to ‘recover’ its Graeco-Roman past. Many enlightenments (some of
them called renaissances as well) had been usually followed by, or mixed with, re-
pressions and repercussions, up to the post-Byzantine period. Concerning the anti-
Christian stance, we have to disagree radically with some Positivist and Marxist views
from the past.
When we try to define something, we are usually searching for constituting prin-
ciples, but also for what this something is not. In that context humanism (and es-
pecially Byzantine humanism) was traditionally presented in literature in following
antinomies: ancient tradition vs. Christianity, erudition vs. obscurantism, individu-
alism vs. medieval anonymity, rationalism vs. mysticism (in late Byzantine context
also rationalism vs. Palamism and Unionists vs. anti-Unionists), Platonism vs. Ar-
istotelism and (pro)paganism vs. Christian faith. Concerning the first and second
antinomies, even a glimpse on the intellectual tradition in Byzantium would dem-
onstrate the simple fact that antiquity has never abandoned Byzantine soil. It was
accepted with or without suspicions and ambiguity depending on the person or the
concrete historical or spacial context, but it has, anyway, found its stable place even
in the educational curricula. In an atomized society, like the Byzantine was, individu-
alism, too, was a normal mode of behavior, and not just a humanist boycott against
the “humiliating medieval anonymity”. Byzantine intellectuals, both lay and clerical,
only in rare cases were prone to consider themselves as “dwarfs on the shoulders of
giants”. The next two antinomies, namely rationalism vs. mysticism and, presumably,
Platonism vs. Aristotelism, inevitably throw us deep into the question of the very
essence (and existence) of Byzantine philosophy and theology. Synthesis rather than
opposition was the keyword for the intellectual efforts of the late Byzantine period.
Inclination towards Western models and scholasticism, for example, could hardly be
a sign of humanist behavior, nor could Roman patriotism be styled simply as Medi-
eval Orthodox conservatism. And with the exception of a rather odd figure, as Ple-
thon used to be, the pro-pagan Hellenism was rather an invention of the later Greek
revival, strongly influenced by modern then Western concepts.
The Byzantine humanism was, therefore, an elusive notion, hardly restricted to
the 14th and 15th centuries just in order to coincide with the contemporary trends
in the European West. In Byzantine cultural history we have certain periods and per-
sons, connected with ideas and practices of enlightenment and conservative innova-
tions, and not so much a movement per se. Humanistic trends were claimed for both
the more pro-laic and pro-ancient authors, including Psellos and Metochites, but also
for the Palamites, for the champions of good relations and ‘union’ with the West, but
also for the Orthodox defenders of Rhomaiosyne or even the ‘pro-pagan’ contenders,
like Plethon. As a scholarly convention, Byzantine humanism is a nicely produced
and presented vessel containing a mix of old and new vines, with nice odour and
taste and probably with a discriminating acid flavor.
Emilie van Opstall (VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

Experiencing sacred space from Late Antiquity to Early Byzantium
Buildings like temples and churches, as well as certain natural places like groves and
caves, are sacred spaces where the presence of a divinity is often felt. It seems natural
to assume that they bring the person dwelling in them in closer contact with the in-
visible divine. But is this indeed how people in Late Antiquity and Early Byzantium
experienced sacred space?
Literary texts of this period can tell us something about the symbolic values a
culture attributes to sacred space. What do they reveal about the perception and the
interpretation of the visual and the invisible? Do they show a significant change in
mindset towards sacred space? Is there a difference in perception between the vision
of pagans on the one hand and of christians on the other hand?
This paper elaborates the idea of a ‘religious-philosophical mindset’ as defined by
Jás Elsners (Roman Eyes. Visuality and Subjectivity in Art and Text, Cambridge 2007),
discussing a selection of examples from different genres and taking into consideration
their textual (rhetorical), archaeological (aesthetical) and cultural (religious) aspects,
in order to capture the different ways people could experience sacred space.
Fedor Benevich (St. Petersburg State University, Russia)

A Flourishing of the Dialectic Theology in the 6th century
Byzantine Empire
A special character of the Christian theology in the 6th century has been already
noted by several scholars. Most often this theology was described as philosophical-
ly oriented, logical, or as a “Byzantine scholasticism”. However, the last term is not
right, at least it is anachronistic. In my talk I will try to give a proper definition of this
phenomenon and also to analyze its roots and history.
The 5th century was a century of a flourishing of the Neoplatonic philosophical
schools in Athens and in Alexandria. Following a detailed research of Edward Watts,
one can find a reason for the Emperor Justinian’s decree to close this school in 529.
Before this closing the character of philosophical practices in the Alexandrian school
had been more and more connected with a pagan cult and mysticism. This was be-
coming more and more scandalizing for the Orthodox Empire.
As for the Alexandrian school, it was often under the influence of the school in
Athens. However, two of its main teachers of the 5th century, Hierocles and Am-
monius held a simpler type of Neoplatonism in their teaching, and the Alexandrian
school itself was open to Christians. After the unrest of the 485, most probably an
agreement was made between Ammonius and Christian authorities that he would
refrain from most scandalizing elements of the pagan philosophy in the curriculum
of the School. After this agreement the School had been becoming more and more
popular among the Christians, and finally in the middle of the 6th century it was
headed by Stephanus, who himself was a Christian. This allowed the Alexandrian
school to influence greatly the process of Christian theological debates of that time. I
will show how the teaching of Ammonius and his pupils, that can be called a Neopla-
tonic type of Aristotelism, was transferred on the Christian ground.
Alexandrian school directly influenced Severus (future Monophysite patriarch
of Antioch) and John Philoponus. But indirectly this school influenced practically
all Christological polemics of the 6th century. This influence can be found in the
Corpus Leontianum, in the writing of Pamphilius of Jeruslaem, Anastasuis I. of An-
tioch, Theodore of Raithu, partly in Maximus the Confessor and Anastasius of the
Sinai, as certainly in John of Damascus and dozens of Anonymous treatises.
Main characteristic features of this trend of dogmatic theology are: the special
attention to terminology, the use of the analogy method, arguments through exam-
ples or syllogisms. This methodology, as well as the explicit dialogical character of
the most part of the treatises of this time, clearly shows a close connection of this
theological method with Aristotle’s “Topics”, where a method of dialectic discourse
is developed. This is the reason why I decide to call this phenomenon the “dialectical
theology”.
Thus, in the 6th century there was a flourishing of the “dialectical theology”,
which origin to great extant is grounded in the openness of the Alexandrian school
of philosophy to Christians.
Dionysios Skliros (Sorbonne University – Paris IV, France)

The concept of tropos in the thought of Maximus the Confessor
The concept of tropos (mode) is a fundamental concept in the thought of Maximus

the Confessor, a Byzantine author of the 7th century, who has confronted Monothe-
litism by formulating a theology of two wills in Christ. The term tropos is often form-
ing a conceptual couple with the term logos (reason), in which the logos is referring
to a permanence and the tropos to a modality that does not annul this permanence.
This is rather a conceptual tool by which Maximus succeeds a synthesis between on
the one hand a theoretical and philosophical demand for the permanence of the con-
templated being and on the other a biblical demand for diversity, for freedom (both
divine and human) and for contingency in history. This distinction can take various
forms. For example, the logos is often referring to nature, while the tropos to the per-
son. Or the logos can refer to the natural given and the tropos to its realisation through
the moral act. In our communication we will try to examine some occurrences of the
term tropos without integrating them a priori in a certain metaphysical scheme. We
are rather examining the couple logos-tropos as a strategy of synthesis for the solution
of difficult philosophical and theological questions. Some of them are for example:
i) The paradox that the Christian God is both a Trinity and a Unity; ii) the problem
of the reconciliation between the existence of evil and the rational character of crea-
tion; iii) the right balance between God’s creative action at the level of nature and the
divine interventions at the level of divine economy that are paradoxical, surprising
and miraculous in relation to this nature.
Nevena Dimitrova (Sofia, Bulgaria)

Ignorance as the Vice of the Rational Soul in Maximus the
Confessor Theory of Knowledge
The boundedness of cognition and the limits of knowable realm construct the ba-
sis of Maximus the Confessor’s teaching on human knowledge. This problem is also
linked to the Dionysian “darkness of unknown” or the “infinite ignorance” according
to Maximus’ quotation of Evagrius, which form the iltimate horizon and goal of hu-
man knowledge.
One of the constant tensions in the entire Maximus’ thought is the tension be-
tween different levels of ignorance or not-knowing and different objects of knowl-
edge. This tension is visible in the human’s postlapsarian tropos of existence when ig-
norance (“agnoia”) becomes one of the unavoidable elements of human being, since
the Fall obscures to the human gaze the logoi of creation or the essential structure
and meaning of everything that exists. Thus all human “sciences” or knowings are
ultimately based on ignorance. At the final stage of human perfection that becomes
available due to the self-revelation of the Logos there is another kind of ignorance –
“infinite ignorance” that in itself is the highest form of knowledge.
Maximus shares with the earlier ascetical tradition (e.g., Evagrius) the insistence
on perfection of virtues as a condition for the mind to truly know anything, but nev-
er before this idea had been developed into a coherent picture with psychological,
cosmological and theological aspects. Of main importance in my presentation is the
delineation of practical and theoretical realms as well as the focus on Maximus’ in-
sistence on practice of virtues as a necessary condition for knowledge of being.
Maximus maintains that the ignorance is the first vice of the reasonable soul.
Consequently this term is examined in the various senses of word’s use – in onto-
logical sense – as falling away from God, whereby ignorance is seen as evil, in the said
anthropological sense, as well as in the gnoseological sense with the inability to read
the divine thoughts, wills or wishes (logoi). On the other hand the supreme level of
knowledge is beyond the discourse of thought, beyond any human ability to compre-
hend and in this sense it is ignorance. Thus the ascent of human knowledge can also
be named progression or transformation of human ignorance.
Christophe Erismann (University of Lausanne, Switzerland)

Maximus the Confessor on universals
Maximus the Confessor (ca. 580–662) is a good example of those late Ancient Chris-
tian theologians who had a strong philosophical background in Aristotelian logic. In
support of his theological work, Maximus builds an ontology – i.e. a theory of the
different types of entities which exist in the world. He inspires himself from Aristo-
tle’s Categories, Porphyry’s Isagoge and from the Neoplatonic commentaries on these
two texts on the one hand, and from the thought on logic, which was developed by
earlier Christian authors (in particular by the Cappadocian Fathers Basil of Caesarea
and Gregory of Nyssa and by Maximus’ master Leontius of Byzantium) on the other
hand. Maximus reinterprets some key concepts of Aristotelian logic – primary and
secondary substances, universals and particulars. More precisely, he reformulates the
ontology of the Categories on the basis of the notion of hypostasis, which replaces
the notion of primary substance or individual (atomon). Maximus also sets out a
philosophical theory of immanent universals, which is the subject of my paper. This
doctrine of universals, which is not a general theory of properties, but rather, in the
line of thought of the questions Porphyry enunciates at the beginning of the Isagoge,
a consideration of the ontological status of the genera and species of the sensible
world. It may be distinguished from his exemplarist theory of the logoi of beings, i.e.
divine ideas. Maximus develops a theory of essence (ousia). A specific essence is com-
mon to all individuals of the same species and therefore does not belong properly to
any one of them. Essences are real, universal and immanent. According to Maximus,
“essence” (ousia), “form” (eidos) and “nature” (physis) refer to the same reality, i.e. the
immanent universal. As in the case of most Christian theologians who work on logic,
what Maximus refers to by the word ousia is the Aristotelian secondary substance;
the primary substance is referred to by hypostasis. This allows him to state in Letter
15 (PG 91, 545A) and in Opusculum 14 that essence and nature are the same thing,
and they are common and universal. If universality is understood in a traditional
sense as the fact of being predicated of several individuals which differ in number,
“community” refers to the fact that an entity exists simultaneously in several spatially
and temporally different individuals. The essences do not exist separately from the
individuals, but in them. In consequence, Maximus endorses the suppression argu-
ment which dates back to Alexander of Aphrodisias: if all the individuals of a specific
universal – all its instantiations – disappeared, then that universal would also disap-
pear (Ambigua 10, PG 91, 1189 CD). Following Leontius of Byzantium, Maximus
introduces a lexical innovation, later to be taken up by John of Damascus. He uses
the term enhypostaton – which is also used in another sense in Christology – in or-
der to qualify the way in which a species is in individuals. In this sense, enhypostaton
means that “which by no means subsists by itself, but is considered in others, as a spe-
cies in the individuals subordinate to it” (Letter 15, 557D–560A). In the Opusculum
14, (149 BC), Maximus adds that “that which is common according to the essence,
i.e. the species, is that which subsists really (pragmatikôs) in the individuals which
are subordinate to it, and it is not considered in a pure concept”. This definition uses
the vocabulary of Porphyry’s first question about the status of universal entities in
the Isagoge, which indicates that Maximus’ theory of universals is also a philosophical
answer to this problem.
Smilen Markov (Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Bulgaria)

Photius’ speculation on the acts of will of Jesus Christ –
the reception of John of Damascus
In question 80 of his Amphilochia Photius (810–891/94/97/98) explains in what

way one can speak of a gnomic will in Christ, γνώμη being the state of human will,
which instigates choice. The answer is given within the discussion of the natural and
the hypostatic aspects of Christ’s human will. Photius states, that, as far as he knows,
Maximus Confessor (579/80–662) is the only one in the tradition who clarified the
issue precisely (Amph.80, 5–7). Nevertheless, Photius’ interpretation of the concept
of will, as well as the way he uses it in Christology, rather follow the pattern of John
of Damascus than that of Maximus Confessor. The material borrowed from John’s
work De fide orthodoxa is a compilation of passages from Maximus Confessor, as well
as from Nemesius of Emesa (4 c. A.D.), but it contains also novel formulations. Pho-
tius contrasts the Damascene’s talk about a gnomic will in Christ to the concept of
Maximus, for whom gnomic will implies a causal usage of the natural property to-
wards a certain object and therefore cannot be predicated of Christ. For John, on the
contrary, γνώμη is explicated not by the causal orientation of the will but by the form
of existence, corresponding to the concrete act of will. In this connection Photius
makes a special conceptual emphasis. He identifies explicitly the gnomic will and the
state of will, which enables the choice. In respect of this identification the Patriarch
coins the term “personal will”. In this sense no gnomic will can be predicated of the
hypostases of the Trinity, even if conceptualized as identical for the three persons,
because the divine will is in no way qualified by its objects. But how is then the Da-
mascene’s talk of a gnomic will in Christ to be defended? Photius reminds of the fact
that Christ’s human acts of will interact with other people’s acts of will, which are
gnomic. He explains that this co-operation cannot be ascribed to Christ’s hypostasis,
but to his human person (πρόσωπον), accepted by him voluntarily. Only in this sense
can one speak of a gnomic will, but not as a qualification of the natural one. The in-
teractions in question are elements of the habitus (ἕξις) of humanity, which is seen in
Christ (Amph.80, 280–81). This habitus is much more broader in meaning than the
qualification of will through the γνώμη. The essential content of natural will, accentu-
ates Photius, is not altered by this habitus, just as the axiological characteristic of the
object of will does not qualify the natural will. In fact, this solution is not far away
from the one of Damascene. The difference is that while the latter conceptualizes the
acts of Christ’s human will as uniform with the existential status of the incarnated
God, Photius explains these acts as a function of his personal identity.
Michele Trizio (University of Bari, Italy)

Plato and Aristotle in Disagreement: the Case of Eustratios of
Nicaea
Eustratios of Nicaea’s (ca. 1050–ca. 1120) commentaries on Aristotle argue resolutely

for a fundamental disagreement between Plato and Aristotle, contrary to the Ancient
and Late-Ancient Aristotelian commentators and Eustratios’ immediate predecessors,
Michael Psellos and John Italos. This contradicts the commonly accepted view that
such an argument for disagreement is present only in the very Late-Byzantine and
post-Byzantine thought, when such a topic became crucial thanks to the Greek
émigrés in Italy. As a matter of fact, Eustratios consistently emphasizes the differences
between Plato and Aristotle on matters such as concept formation theory and the
nature of the good, and he definitely sides with Plato. Interestingly, in describing the
position of the Platonists, this commentator consistently uses the words of the Late
Neoplatonist Proclus, whose shadow lurks behind Eustratios’ commentaries on book
II of the Posterior Analytics and books I and VI of the Nicomachean Ethics. It seems
that according to Eustratios, Proclus exemplifies authentic Platonism. Even when
Eustratios promises an autonomous position, other than the Platonic and Aristotelian
one, he ends up reproducing Proclus’s doctrine. Altough shaping these references
to Proclus with some Christian elements of his own, he rarely refers to the terrific
amount of material from the Patristic and Post-Patristic tradition which could have
served as a safer basis for dealing with this or that issue from a Christian point of view.
This fondness for Proclus, although present in works which were addressed to a small
group of erudite readers in the Komnenian court, is extremely interesting if one thinks
that Eustratios’ commentaries were written in a historical moment characterized by a
certain diffidence towards philosophy and Neoplatonism in particular.
Ivan Christov (Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Bulgaria)

The Greek Scholia to the Corpus Areopagiticum in the Works of
St. Gregory Palamas
Being one of the most profound and probably the most enigmatic text in the Chris-
tian tradition, the Corpus Areopagiticum allows for different interpretations and was
used to substantiate diverging theological and philosophical stances. One of the most
controversial issues in the corpus concerns the nature of procession (πρόοδος) – is it
bound to the act of creation or is an emanation of the Divine essence unrelated to it?
In 13 c. Byzantium the Areopagitics was considered to be one of the most authorita-
tive texts after the Scripture. That is why both parts of the Palamite debates drew on
it. Gregory Palamas refers to the corpus on 468 occasions and 34 times to the scholia.
Wrongly attributed to St. Maximus Confessor, the Greek scholia provided him with
a sound argument in favour of his teaching about the Divine energies. It concernes a
particular aspect of the being of God, with which God proceeds towards the world to
be created and enables its participation to Himself. This aspect of being exhibits itself
in the ideas of God’s Intellect, emanating as energies (ἐνέργειαι) of His essence, which
can be grasped directly in the mystical experience or intermediately observed in the
created world, through the λόγοι of things. Their emanation ontologically ‘preceeds’
the act of creation and is not related to it. In this sense it is not simply a stage in the
creative procession of God. Procession takes a wider meaning in the scholia and is not
reduced to the act of creation. It has two phases. The first of it (the emanation) comes
‘before’ (in the sense of ontological preceeding) the second (the act of creation) and
is separated from it. This is why the Greek scholia are among the main sources of the
theology of St. Gregory Palamas and are one of the most important authorities, used
in the course of the Palamite debates.
Divna Manolova (Central European University, Budapest, Hungary)

Connecting Philosophers: Joseph the Philosopher, Sophonias and
Nikephoros Gregoras
At the end of the thirteenth/the beginning of the fourteenth century two cities and
their intellectual elites were competing for the leading role of the most important
cultural center within the already shrunk, in terms of its territories, Byzantine em-
pire. The cultural “rivalry” between Constantinople and Thessaloniki was one of the
moving forces of the so-called Palaiologan revival and resulted in increased literary,
philosophical and scientific production, as well as in various significant debates be-
tween the pepaideumenoi originating from both cities. In order to illustrate the the-
matic content and rhetorical intensity of the intellectual exchanges between scholars
from both cities during the first half of the fourteenth century, I use as a main source
for the present communication the epistolary collection of Nikephoros Gregoras (d.
ca. 1359), one of the leading philosophers and astronomers in the Byzantine capital
during the 1330s and 1340s. Gregoras’ letter collection includes 160 letters written
by him and 22 letters addressed to him by his contemporaries. Two of the letters
Gregoras addressed to the Thessalonian Joseph Rhakendytes (d. 1330), a member of
the scholarly circle around the emperor Andronikos II (r. 1282–1328) and author of
the so-called Encyclopedia, a handbook which served for instruction in rhetoric, log-
ic, natural philosophy, and medicine. Joseph, in turn, was a close friend of Sophonias
the Philosopher (d. 1351), a Latin convert situated in Constantinople, who wrote a
paraphrase of Aristotle’s treatise De Anima, in addition to several other paraphrases
to Aristotle’s logical works. Sophonias and Joseph also exchanged letters; their cor-
respondence, however, still remains unedited.
The main objective of the present communication is to examine the intertextual
relations between Gregoras’ letters to Joseph and Sophonias’ paraphrase of De Ani-
ma, as far as the three texts (the two letters and the paraphrase) are examples of the
reception and the employment of Platonic philosophical theses during the early Pal-
aiologan period. Through analysis of the references to Platonic philosophy found in
the said sources, I hope to ultimately argue for the existence of and to reconstruct the
epistemological discussion Joseph, Sophonias and Gregoras were virtually engaged
in.
Milan Đorđević (Universität zu Köln, Deutschland)

Die Frage über die menschliche Vernunft in der christlichen
Philosophie des Nikolas Kabasilas
Eine der wesentlichen Fragen in der Forschung des philosophischen Denkens des
Nikolas Kabasilas bezieht sich auf die Kompatibilität zwischen die von der aristo-
telischen Philosophie stark beeinflussten Argumentation in seiner Quaestio über
den Wert der Vernunft und die Grundstellungen seiner christlichen Philosophie, die
besonderes in seinen Hauptwerken eine unzweideutig erstrangige und synthetische
Rolle spielt. In diesem Sinne wird es versucht, die Quaestio durch die Brille des do-
minanten christlichen Elements des gesamten kabasilianischen Denkens, und nicht
als eine abstrahierte, in sich geschlossene und an sich selbst verständliche Einheit zu
betrachten. Zu diesem Zweck sind vier Prinzipien der gesamten christlichen Philoso-
phie des Kabasilas zu nennen:
(1) Das eucharistische Prinzip. Es bezieht sich auf den Charakter der Zusammen-
wirkung zwischen Gott und Mensch an der Erreichung des letzten Ziels der mensch-
lichen Existenz – die Vereinigung mit Gott; sie äußert sich am deutlichsten durch die
liturgischen entgegengesetzten Begriffspaare Gabe-Wiedergabe und Darbringung-
Heiligung.
(2) Das Darbringungsprinzip. Es bezieht sich auf die Unterscheidung und den
Zusammenhang zwischen den natürlichen Tätigkeiten, die zur Unterstützung unse-
res natürlichen Lebens gerichtet sind, und den Tätigkeiten, die direkt zum Erreichen
des übernatürlichen Ziels unserer Existenz gerichtet sind.
(3) Das Gemeinschaftsprinzip. Die Natur des Menschen und alle ihre Kräfte sind
von der Gemeinschaft mit Gott bestimmt – der Mensch ist als ein „Gemeinschafts-
wesen“ seiner Natur nach zu betrachten.
(4) Das metaphysische Prinzip. Bei Kabasilas spielt die dominante byzantinische
metaphysische Tendenz eine entscheidende Rolle, der nach das Seiende primär durch
seine Wirkung und nicht durch seine statische Substanz bestimmt wird. Die Wir-
kung wird in dieser philosophischen Tradition als die erstrangige Charakteristik der
Wirklichkeit angenommen.
Dadurch wird gezeigt, dass der Gegenstand der kabasilianischen Diskussion –
die Vernunft an sich – bei Kabasilas eine besondere Bedeutung hat, die von seinem
christozentrischen Gottesdenken untrennbar ist. Kabasilas verteidigt eigentlich die
Möglichkeit, unsere natürlichen Kräfte (bzw. die Vernunft) im gesamten Darbrin-
gungsprozess einzuschließen, worin ihr Beitrag für das Erreichen des letzten Ziels
des Menschen besteht. Es geht aber um ein Ziel, das die menschliche Natur und ihre
Kräfte selbst übersteigt, das aber der Natur im Schöpfungsakt vom Schöpfer aufge-
geben ist. Die Vernunft wird angesichts ihrer von Gott aufgegebenen Wirkung be-
trachtet (und nicht angesichts der Wirkungen, die sie dank ihrer natürlichen Frei-
heit gegen der göttlichen ursprünglichen Wille ausüben kann), und kann insofern
keinesfalls als etwas böses betrachtet werden. Jeder Versuch, die vernünftige Fähig-
keit des Menschen als vergeblich zu bestimmen, impliziert dagegen eine Reduktion
der menschlichen Darbringung und eine Degradierung der von Gott geschaffenen
menschlichen Natur und ihren Fähigkeiten überhaupt. Kabasilas ist einer solchen
Stellung kategorisch entgegengesetzt – obwohl die menschliche Darbringung für die
Erreichung des Endziels unzureichend ist, darf sie keinesfalls als vergeblich betrach-
tet werden, da sie die Vollendung des göttlichen Liebesgesetzes ist, durch den allein
die Menschen ihr richtiges Endziel erreichen können.
Erika Gielen (Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium)

Let us discuss prudence first. The anonymous overview of virtues in
the De virtute of Joseph Rhakendytès
Joseph Rhakendytès, also known as Joseph the Philosopher (ca. 1260–1330), is the
author of a monumental encyclopedia, generally entitled Synopsis Variarum Disci-
plinarum, in which he combines secular and theological knowledge. The second last
section is devoted to ethics.
The first and central part of this treatise De virtute are a more or less verbatim
copy of parts of a work of Maximus the Confessor and of a short treatise of Nicepho-
rus Blemmydes. The third and last part, however, sets more problems to its modern
readers: In the manuscript tradition of Joseph’s De virtute, there have been preserved
two completely different texts as concluding part, i.e. Pseudo-Aristotle’s well known
De virtutibus et vitiis and another (unpublished) overview of virtues. In addition, the
latter overview has a complicated manuscript tradition itself, as it has been handed
down also in two manuscripts that have nothing to do with Joseph’s Synopsis. Yet in
those two manuscripts, “Joseph’s” overview of virtues has been preserved in a long-
er and clearly different version. Moreover, in all witnesses, the text has been copied
down without any reference to the original author(s?).
In this short presentation, we will try to reconstruct the person of this anony-
mous author, the philosophical and cultural milieu he was working in, mainly based
on the sources he has used. In this way, also the last source of Joseph’s De virtute be-
comes more concrete and the original version of his last source text may be recon-
structed.
Grigory Vorobyev (St. Petersburg State University, Russia)

Theodore Gaza’s Translations of Aristotle
The main zoological treatises of Aristotle traditionally united under the title De ani-
malibus had been the basic source of biological knowledge from the antiquity up to
the 18th century.
The tradition of translating and paraphrasing these treatises presents quite a
complicated pattern of interferences and puts a number of textual questions. Yet, re-
searchers did not pay due attention to all of them and there still remain blank spots.
Considering very scarce knowledge of Greek in the West, the medieval scholars
worked only with Latinized Aristotle (translated first by Michael Scot and then by
William of Moerbeke). These translations were made in a scholastic ad verbum, i.e.
word-by-word manner and were aimed to follow closely the Greek syntax, which of-
ten made them incomprehensible.
The quattrocento humanists knew perfectly Greek and considered ancient au-
thors an absolute example to imitate. Quite naturally, they felt a necessity to create
new translations that would replace obsolete and awkward medieval ones. Among
many humanists to translate classical authors in the 15th century Italy there were a
few Byzantines.
In the late 1440s Pope Nicholas V commissioned a famous Byzantine scholar
George of Trebizond to Latinize seven works of Stagirite, including the De animali-
bus. Still, when the translation was finished, the pontiff didn’t find George’s version
satisfying and a few years later a new translation of the De animalibus was started
by another Byzantine, well-known among the Italian humanists Theodore Gaza
(Gazes). Actually, he intended to replace all George’s Aristotelian translations by
new ones, but he did translate only two treatises: the De animalibus and the Pseudo-
Aristotelian Problemata.
The De animalibus by George did not have but very few readers, while that of
Gaza enjoyed extremely wide popularity in the 15th and throughout the 16th cen-
tury. Why?
The George’s translation was full of lapses caused by negligence, but it is much
more significant that it seemed merely old-fashioned to the contemporaries. George’s
approach was that of rendering the original text most closely to the original, even
if it would damage the style of the translation. The humanists, on the other hand,
had elaborated a new method – translatio ad sententiam, observing more the spirit
than the letter of the original, and creating a text in rhetorically refined elegant Latin.
Gaza’s version perfectly met these requirements, resembling often a paraphrase rather
than a translation.
Little has been analyzed so far the question of the sources used by Gaza in his
translation work. It has been proved, that he used Pliny as one of important lexical
sources, but it should be also checked out, if he used the versions of Scot, Moerbeke,
the famous zoological tract of Albert the Great. Some other clue can be provided by
the investigation of the textual relationship between Gaza’s and George’s versions.
So, comparative lexical analysis as well as work on the epistolary legacy of the transla-
tor and his circle can shed some light on the solution of the source question.
Nino Mghebrishvili (Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Georgia)

Theodore Abu-Qurrah’s Treatises in the Dogmatikon by Arseni of
Iqalto
Theodore Abu-Qurrah (7th–8th cc.), the bishop of Harran, is interesting for the
scholarship as one of the first Arab Christian theologians. Having been forgotten for
a long time it was only in the seventeenth century that the western scholarship was
interested in his person. In spite of this apparent oblivion his works stayed in great
demand in the eastern orthodox communities both during and after his lifetime. The-
odore Abu-Qurrah’s works are translated from Greek into Georgian by a Georgian
theologian and scholar, educated in Constantinople – Arseni of Iqalto (11th–12th
cc.). Inclusion of Theodore’s treatises into the collection of dogmatic works sheds
light on the attitude towards Abu-Qurrah by the contemporary Byzantine tradition.
The paper discusses the works attributed to Theodore Abu-Qurrah included in
the Dogmatikon by Arseni of Iqalto, including the problems of their authenticity,
themes, core ideas, and relations with the Greek original.
Especially noteworthy are the treatises attributed to Theodore Abu-Qurrah’s that
are preserved only in their Georgian translation; their study is extremely important
to fill out the lacunae in our knowledge of the life and work of Theodore Abu-Qur-
rah.
Alexey Shchavelev (Institute for World History, Moscow, Russia)

Repressions of Intellectuals: Byzantine Experience and Old Russian
Instances
Old Rus adopted from Byzantine would different traditions of intellectual studies –
from elementary skills of writing to lofty theology and philosophy. But the Old Rus’s
enlightenment attends with the reception of normative prohibitions for scholars.
A classical Byzantine example of a repression of a scholar is a trial over the head
of the philosophical school Ioannis Italos in 1082. F. I. Uspenskiy compared this
trial with famous reprisal over Petrus Abaelardus. In Medieval Moscow Russia such
proverbial example is the case of Maximus the Greek. In all this cases it was not the
straggle against inimical confessions or heresy, but it was reprisals over non-typical
member of native intellectual social environment.
The first oldest instances of the repression of intellectuals in Old Rus were dated
to the pre-Mongolian period. Approximately in the eighties of 11th century in the
Kievo-Pecherskiy Monastery Nikita the Anchorite (in future – the Novgorodian
bishop) was punished for special abilities in grammar skills and humanities. Young
Nikita began to prophesy, at that his clients were even princes and boyars. He learned
all volumes of Old Testament by heart. And he won all disputes with other compe-
tent and authoritative monks. Nikon the Father Superior of a monastery established
the inside court examination. Nikita used the optimal wily tactics – he announced
himself as entirety illiterate, and he was absolved. In the beginning of 13th century,
in Smolensk a monk Awraamiy manifested himself as an outstanding orator. His ser-
mons were popular among people. He was an erudite person and a group of appren-
tices assembled around him. His outstanding talents provoked other monks, urban
priests and parishioners. According to a sentence of a public trial he was isolated in a
monastery. After these repressions Nikita and Awraamiy lost their interests in intel-
lectual studies.
Success in public debates, popularity among the high-society and common peo-
ple, special interests in eschatology and esotericism, grasp of rare languages, out-
standing dimension of knowledge, deviant choice of reading, were the warranty on
the victimization for intellectual monks in Old Rus.
FC22. THE BYZANTINE COSMOLOGIES (4th–7th C.) AND THEIR

THEOLOGICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOURCES
Moderators
Ana Palanciuc/Jan Opsomer
Michel Tardieu (Collège de France, Paris)

Coutumes marcionites dans les abjurations grecques imposées aux
manichéens
Laurent Lavaud (Université Paris 1-Panthéon Sorbonne, France)

La place de l’homme dans le monde: Grégoire de Nysse en dialogue
avec le stoïcisme
L’influence de Posidonius sur le traité de Grégoire, De opificio hominis, a été maintes

fois soulignée. Cette communication aura pour but d’interroger la thématique stoï-
cienne de la place de l’homme au centre du kosmos, en montrant comment Grégoire
reprend cette thèse mais aussi comment il s’en démarque dans une perspective plus
proprement biblique. La comparaison entre l’idée stoïcienne de l’homme-microcos-
me et la notion, centrale chez Grégoire, de l’homme-image de Dieu, sera au cœur de
notre réflexion.
Radu Mărăşescu (EPHE, Paris, France)

Le Seigneur des Puissances. Une image de L’Ascension chez Denys
l’Aréopagite (De Coel. Hier. VII, III, 3)
Le Psaume 23 (v. 7–10), de même que le verset d’Isaïe 63, 1 ont été appliqués par la
typologie patristique à l’Incarnation et à l’Ascension du Christ et c’est à ce titre qu’ils
ont été singulièrement utilisés par la tradition liturgique de l’Eglise d’Orient. Ces
références, avec tous les enjeux d’ordre dogmatique qu’elles procurent, se retrouvent
chez le Pseudo-Denys (CH VII, 3). Elles y témoignent d’un enracinement tradition-
nel mais aussi, peut-être, d’un arrière-plan liturgique de l’exégèse dionysienne. Un
examen de ces thèmes classiques chez Denys servira à replacer l’interprétation diony-
sienne, avec les infléchissements qui lui sont propres, dans le concert des cosmologies
et des angélologies attestées à l’époque.
Jan Opsomer (Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium)

Proclus on motion
In the Elements of Physics, Proclus develops a theory of motion that is heavily indebt-
ed to Aristotle’s kinematics of books VI and VIII of the Physics, and to the beginning
of On the Heavens. In the Elements of Theology this is complemented by the Platonic
theory of self-motion. Whereas at the outset of this project Proclus almost slavishly
copies Aristotle’ arguments and strictly adheres to his train of thought, in the latter
part of the Elements of Physics he applies some subtle modifications that prepare the
Platonic perspective on motion, for which the role of the soul is of central signifi-
cance. Thus the Elements of Physics serves the purpose of an introduction that leads
the way from an Aristotelian analysis of the physical world to a Platonic metaphys-
ics.
Pascal Mueller-Jourdan (Université Catholique de l’Ouest, Angers, France)

La matière première du monde chez Jean Philopon (VIe s.).
Les soubassements métaphysiques d’un cas d’École
Le problème de la Materia Prima est sans doute l’un des plus redoutables de la phy-
sique tardo-antique; du moins s’il faut en croire la difficulté rencontrée, dès l’Anti-
quité, à en circonscrire la théorie dans un traité qui put faire école. Si la matière, en
effet, résiste à toute investigation rationnelle c’est qu’elle est foncièrement sans forme
bien qu’elle soit la condition sine qua non d’existence de toutes les formes du monde
sensible. Il est difficile d’interroger les théories cosmologiques de l’Antiquité tardive
sans se risquer à affronter la question d’un possible substrat fondamental et premier
du Monde sensible tel qu’on l’appréhendait alors.
Ma contribution voudrait tenter de faire un état des lieux de cette question dis-
putée, en plein Empire byzantin, dans le cadre de l’Ecole néoplatonicienne d’Alexan-
drie à la fin du premier quart du VIème siècle de notre Ere. L’une des propositions
les plus audacieuses d’alors ressort du De Aeternitate Mundi. Contra Proclum de Jean
Philopon. Je voudrais essayer de clarifier les soubassements métaphysiques de ce pro-
blème tel qu’il se présente chez Proclus et chez Philopon. J’essayerai d’évaluer alors
les points de contact doctrinaux des deux savants ainsi que les manifestes points de
rupture.
Yannis Papadogiannakis (University of Oxford, UK)

The cosmology of Ps. Kaisarios
The cosmology of the sixth-century collection of erotapokriseis by ps. Kaisarios has

received very little scholarly attention. This paper will focus on the ways in which
the author seeks to articulate a cosmology based on the Bible and more specifically
through his exegetical engagement with the account of creation in Genesis. By con-
textualizing his cosmological views and comparing and contrasting them with other
contemporary ones there will emerge a better understanding of the main principles
that inform his view of the universe as well as of any affinities, similarities and/or dif-
ferences with other works such as the Christian Topography of Cosmas Indicopleus-
tes and the De opificio mundi of John Philoponos.
Bronwen Neil (Australian Catholic University, Brisbane)

Early Byzantine Notions of Divine Providence
Maximus the Confessor’s distinction between the gnomic and natural wills is now
recognised as one of his major contributions to Byzantine understandings of spirit-
ual anthropology. In response to the monothelite controversy, Maximus defined the
gnomic or deliberative will characteristic of every human being since the Fall as that
which deliberates about the right course of action, while the natural will was an es-
sential property of the unalterable natural definition of each being. Christ alone had
no need of a deliberative will since his natural will conformed perfectly to the divine
will. This paper examines three antecedents of Maximus from the fourth and fifth
centuries – Sarapion of Thmuis, Gregory of Nyssa and Theodoret of Cyrrhus – with
respect to their discussions of divine providence, human free will, and the role of
their interplay in determining individual human destinies. I will attempt to uncover
any influence, whether direct or indirect, of these writers on later Byzantine concep-
tions of free will and providence.
Carlos Steel (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium)

Le concept de philosophie naturelle chez Maxime le Confesseur
Ana Palanciuc (Université Paris IV-Sorbonne, France)

La théorie des modes d’être. Reconstitution des sources et
fondation dans la cosmologie de Maxime le Confesseur
Maxime le Confesseur développe dans les Ambigua une théorie des modes d’être qui
rappelle les écrits de Grégoire de Nazianze et de pseudo-Denys, mais aussi ceux de l’éco-
le néoplatonicienne d’Athènes. Bien que la question de l’existence ne soit jamais envi-
sagée en tant que telle, dans les traditions néoplatoniciennes et patristiques suivies par
Maxime elle n’est jamais séparée de l’essence; l’existence est un aspect des conditions
de possibilité interne de l’ousia, une ousia intégrant tout développent de l’ousia-einai.
Dans la reformulation maximienne, le mode (tropos) se verrait assigner le rôle de préci-
ser la participation à l’être, afin de porter à la réalisation ou amener à l’existence le bien
contenu dans son logos propre et vers lequel sont orientées les propriétés essentielles
– venir à l’être par là où le logos vient en tant que «logos de l’être», dans et par ousia.
FC23. MEIDEVAL DISSENT: BOGOMILS AND OTHER RELIGIOUS

DISSIDENTS ON THE BALKANS
Moderators
Georgi Vasilev/Dick van Niekerk
Georgi Vasilev (Sofia, Bulgaria)

Bogomilism – an important precursor of the Reformation
Historical literature contains hypotheses and opinions that Bogomilism and the
movements connected with it, such as Patarenes, Cathars and Lollards have imported
ideas and organisational practice in the pre-Reformation and Reformation. Suffice it
to quote the working title of the book written by the American Methodist historian
Linus Brockett “The Bogomils of Bulgaria and Bosnia (The Early Protestants of the
East (An Attempt to Restore Some Lost Leaves of Protestant History), published in
1879 in Philadelphia.
So far, however, these hypotheses and opinions rested predominantly on asso-
ciations and assumptions. Therefore, in our paper we will try to demonstrate direct
links and cultural traffic between Bogomil teachings and the Reformation. We will
consider the conceptual links between three thinkers John Wycliffe (c.1330–1384)
– Jan Hus (1369 – July 6 1415) – Martin Luther (1483–1546). Modern historical
research provides increasing evidence that the ideas of the Lollards were transferred
to England from the Continent (mainly from Belgium and Flanders) and that there
typological similarity between the dualistic beliefs of Bogomils, Cathars and Lol-
lards. John Wycliffe as a spiritual leader of the Lollards shared these views an expres-
sion of which is his famous phrase: “Deus debet obedire diabolo.” This is actually a
paraphrase of the fundamental Bogomil tenet that the devil is the ruler of this world
(Boril’s Synodicon, 1211). Jan Hus shared the views of John Wycliffe. Both of them
are accused of the same “sins” by the Council of Konstanz (1414–1418). In turn
Martin Luther declared himself a follower of Jan Hus.
Here are some key Bogomil-Cathar ideas that can be discerned in the works of
John Wycliffe, Jan Hus and Martin Luther:
A) Following the example of Bogomils and Cathars the three men translated the
New Testament and the Bible in their native languages.
B) Just as Bogomils deny Christian priests as something superfluous, John
Wycliffe, Jan Hus and Martin Luther deny corrupt papal authority.
C) The Word is spiritual food for Christians. In their interpretations of the Lord’s
Prayer Bogomils, Cathars and Lollards define the Word as the true daily bread. In
his translation of the Lord’s Prayer into English John Wycliffe called the Word “oure
breed ouer othir substaunce,” according to Jan Hus the daily bread referred to in the
Lord’s Prayer must be understood as “bread of the holy teaching of the Word of God”
and according to Martin Luther eating and drinking of the Eucharist is a sacrament
only when accompanied by the words of institution.
Thomas Butler (Harvard University, USA)

Bogomil Cultural Syncretism
This paper treats the movement called „Bogomilism“, a term used to describe what
was really a loose, anti-establishment form of Christianity. I discuss contemporary
documents including Presbyter Cosmas’s „Sermon on the Newly-Appeared Bogomil
Heresy“ (ca. 970 A.D.) and the „Interrogatio Johannis“, as well as the Bilino Polje
Agreement or “Confessio” (1203). I also discuss the struggle between the traditional
pagan tradition and Christianity. In Bulgaria there was a dynamic struggle between
the two religions, causing much bloodshed. King Boris wrote Pope Nicholas that he
had annihilated many resistant boyar families. Meanwhile, according to Cosmas, the
clergy and members of the upper class lived comfortably, sheltered in monasteries or
travelling to the Holy Land.
Théofanis L. Drakopoulos (Suisse)

Questions méthodologiques sur le bogomilo-catharisme
L’hypothèse d’une filiation historico-doctrinale entre les communautés bogomiles et

cathares – bien établie après la deuxième guerre mondiale grâce aux nouvelles sources
découvertes surtout par le père A. Dondaine – semble être hors question pour une
école omniprésente dans la bibliographie de deux dernières décennies, celle du de-
constructionnisme.
Avec notre dissertation nous essayons d’analyser la base méthodologique, adop-
tée par les historiens de cette école et montrer les enjeux idéologiques, héritage d’une
bipolarisation entre le milieu catholique romain et le milieu protestant. En effet,
nous constatons une réorientation du débat actuel sur la nature de l’hérésie dualiste
médiévale vers une autre question, plus précise: Les informations fournies par les hé-
résiologues médiévaux correspondent-elles à la nature profonde de l’hérésie ou s’agit-il
d’une construction imaginaire? La réponse à cette nouvelle question, mise en avant
par les déconstructionnistes a eu comme résultat une bipolarisation aussi parmi les
historiens, exprimée par l’adoption d’un côté d’un positivisme envers la documenta-
tion polémique contre les hérésies dualistes et de l’autre d’un déconstructionnisme.
Ainsi, ces dernières décennies, les historiens du catharisme se concentrent de plus
en plus sur la parole antihérétique et l’évolution institutionnelle de l’Eglise en met-
tant ainsi plus l’accent sur les hérésiologues médiévaux et les institutions ecclésiasti-
ques, que sur l’hérésie elle-même. Parallèlement, le débat de la part de déconstruc-

tionnistes se radicalise. En effet, en déconstruisant la documentation anticathare, ils
en sont arrivés jusqu’au point de nier l’existence de l’hérésie.
Nous allons exposer les trois principes méthodologiques adoptés par les histo-
riens deconstructionnistes et montrer les inconvenants d’une telle approche. Une
pareille méthodologie tend à faire oublier l’unité du bogomilo-catharisme qui en
résulte par une mise en parallèle de leur système doctrinal. En recourant à une ana-
lyse théologique des sources directes, nous pourrions parvenir à la conclusion que
l’hérésie bogomilo-cathare était un phénomène dispersé dans une grande partie de
l’Europe dont l’unité et le dynamisme ont suscité la rédaction de copieux volumes
de traités polémiques tant en Byzance qu’en Occident. Mis à part les sources d’ori-
gine hérétique adoptées par les deux communautés, les similitudes frappantes entre
les sources polémiques rédigées tant par les catholiques romains que par les ortho-
doxes nous amène à la conclusion que devant nous nous avons un mouvement dont
l’homogénéité dépasse la différenciation doctrinale du christianisme byzantinoslave
et latin.
Hisatsugu Kusabu (Osaka City University, Japan)

Approaches of New Heresiology and Beyond – the Bogomils, a case
study
In the context of Bogomil studies, it is impossible for us to overlook the critical is-
sue that in Byzantine heresiologies the defendants of Bogomilism never called them-
selves the “Bogomils,” but instead true Christians. The heresiological terminology of
the Bogomils has helped us understand the thoughts and worldviews of Bogomilism.
Actually, the label was established by heresiologists such as Kozma, Monk Euthymios
and Zigabenos. Based on the label, so far people have discussed Protestantism, abso-
lute and moderate dualism, and monastic mysticism in Bogomilism. They focused
mainly the leading ideologues of the Bogomils and contemporary theologians against
them. The Bogomil studies tend to emphasize the issues of those intellectuals.
However, an important question remains unsolved and requires further investi-
gation. The Bogomils represented a remarkable social phenomenon in medieval east
Mediterranean area, definitely including the support of many sympathizers of the
movement who believed themselves to be simple and “orthodox” Christians. Who
were they in reality? What were the actual contents beyond the forced mask of the
Bogomils? Future scholars seeking to pursue Bogomils studies need to focus on ordi-
nary people including minor teachers, serious faithful peoples, and anyone who lived
in towns, cities countries and regions.
There are two ways of promoting this historical research: a critical and rhetorical
analysis of the Bogomil heresiologies within the context of popular literature, and ar-
cheological and ethnographical investigations of the historical reality of the “people

who happened to be labeled as Bogomils.“ Both projects require multiple interna-
tional and interdisciplinary scholarly contributions.
Надежда Драгова (Югозападен университет „Неофит Рилски”, Благоевград,

България)
Рисуваното богословие на богомилите
Докладът представя постигнатите ми научни резултати в продължение на три

десетилетия изследване богословието на българските богомили от средата на
Х век. Изходна постановка е фактът, че никой от писмените паметници (нито
официални, нито собствено катехични) не може да се приеме като единствен
извор за същността на богомилството. Официалните паметници са предназ-
начени да мотивират присъди и наказания и да скриват неговата същина като
духовно движение за религиозно и нравствено съвършенство, представят го де-
формирано, с оглед на конкретни съдилища и обществена ситуация. Собствени-
те книги на богомилите, дори такива основни, като „Тайната книга”, са от късни
периоди, редактирани и пазени в далечни общности, близки до исконните, но
не и идентични, поради принудителната миграция на тези общности. В новите
местожителства се поемат и регионални черти и евентуално оригиналните осо-
бености се трансформират в някаква степен. Единствено автентични са обра-
зите-символи върху богомилски надгробия на Балканите, наричани стечки, ко-
ито имат предимството да са датирани, етноситуирани и множествени (досега
са каталогизирани към седемдесет хиляди в териториите на бивша Югославия).
Символичният образ има свойството задълго да опазва исконното си значение
и да формира традиция в изобразителните си решения. Рисуваните образи от
тези стечки трябва да бъдат систематизирани и декодирани като език на бого-
милското богословие в балканския ареал, преди то да е възприето на Запад, вече
като европейско явление.
Erika Lazarova (Institute for the Study of Societies and Knowledge, Sofia, Bulgaria)
The Bogomil-Cathar’s philosophy as a theory of total social
criticism
1. The total social criticism of Bogomils and Cathars as a total negation of social or-
ders and religion dogmas, also as a total negation of the status quo;
2. The dualistic heresy contra kings and popes in the times of absolutely antago-
nism rich-poor;
3. The Bogomil-Cathar philosophy and the dissidents of the Middle Age – ideal-
ists and fighters for “New Earth and new Heaven”’ and prophets of the understand-
ing of human being is a person with free ethical choice;
4. The moral revolution of the “Good Christians” as Adepts of Evolution;
5. The “Boni homini” and the spiritual revolution from Pop Bogomil and the
Occitanian Parfaits to Martin Luther and the French revolution;
6. The social theory of Bogomils and Cathars: the Genesis is connected with
God and the negative sides of life are connected with the Mamon or the Satan. The
dissidents of the Middle Age are pioneers of the motto ”To be, not to have”.
Maja Angelovska-Panova/Andrew P. Roach (Skopje, Republic of Macedonia/

University of Glasgow, UK)
Punishment of Heretics: Comparisons and Contrasts between
Western Inquisitors and Eastern Churchmen
The emergence and dispersion of heresies (in this particular case seen throughout
Bogomilism and Catharism) on a broader geographical area between East and West
in general have been accompanied by an appropriate reaction and sanctions from
the church authorities. In fact the aim of the paper, as the title suggests is digressive
presentation of the penalties that church authorities have taken during the period of
Middle Ages for the purpose of identifying and combating heresies.
Priority in the process of the determining the punishment within the frame of
the Bogomils were the level of commitment in the sect, in terms of whether it is an
ordinary devotee, a believer or a perfect, and the degree of dispersion of the heresy on
social and society level. In accordance with the relevant source material punishment
could be treated from superstitious point of view such as anathema, further the eco-
nomic and social as a confiscation of property and excommunication to the brutal
realized through beating and at worst with liquidation. The first example of death
penalty for the heretics within the frame of Orthodox world was promoted by the
measures of Alexius I Comnenus. Actually, he was the first Byzantine emperor who
considering the rigor of the measures was compared with Roman Inquisition.
Starting from 13th century Innocent III and his successors had innovated by
introducing a procedure “per inquisitionem”, whereby a designated official could
begin action against an individual on the slimmest of evidence of rumour or reputa-
tion. The methods of Inquisition were realised on a different instance. Usually they
started with interrogation, than imprisonment and impoverishment, torture and
burning alive as the ultimate punishment.
Dick van Niekerk (Goirle, The Netherlands)

Crossroads of Bogomils and Cathars? New light on the “Church
of the Latins” in Constantinople (12th, 13th century)
In the historiography of Bogomils and Cathars, an almost mysterious shroud has cov-
ered the so-called “Church of the Latins” in Constantinople for a long time. Often, it
was only mentioned in one breath with the other dissident church in the Byzantine
capital: the Greek Bogomil church.
Even nowadays, few sources are available about the “Ecclesia Latinorum”. It is
quite generally assumed that it was the religious community of the Latin Christians
who, having attained true insight in Bulgaria, had settled in the Latin Empire of
Constantinople (1204–1261) as a result of the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204).
However, it seems that this view needs to be revised. A few studies from the last
decade cast – directly or indirectly – another light on the dissident church of the Lat-
ins in Constantinople. There are ever more indications that this religious community
already emerged during the twelfth century, in the years after the First or the Second
Crusade, and that this church must have had strong ties with the large community of
Italian merchants (for instance from Pisa, Florence, Genoa and Venice) who had set-
tled in Constantinople during the second half of the twelfth century.
It is beyond discussion that there was room for a Latin, dissident church in By-
zantium, because during the second half of the twelfth century, Constantinople
and its environment counted thousands of immigrants from Western, Central and
Northern Europe, but particularly from Italy. Around 1175, for instance, the Pisa lay
theologian and diplomat Hugo Eteriano described and analysed the religious ideas
of the Patarenes, living in Constantinople at the time. The Patarenes, preaching in
secret, wholly withdrew from the power of both the Roman-Catholic as well as the
Orthodox authorities.
The Latin church of Constantinople does not appear in any records of the Inqui-
sition, and must, therefore, have been able to develop undisturbed.
All this information evokes a few penetrating questions that will be dealt with in
this paper:
What is the reason that this Latin church does not appear in any records of the
Inquisition, although its existence was known or may have been known? What is the
relationship with the local sister church, the Greek-speaking religious community of
the Bogomils? Has the Latin church of Constantinople been able to play any role in
the development of Catharism in the West?
Grażyna Szwat-Gyłybowa (Institute of Slavic Studies, Warsaw, Poland)

Modern adaptations of the Bogomils dissent: a few thoughts
about the Bulgarian case
The process of Slavic nations’ formation in the Balkan region (widely called „national
revival”), which took place during almost whole of the 19th century and also in the
20th century, was based on numerous paradoxes. Unifying processes of moderniza-
tion brought in a change in civilization paradigm from Osman to European on the
one hand and on the other – motivated the raise in status of everything native. Ex-
traordinary attention was put to those elements of own culture which were of in-
terest to “significant others”. The self portrait of a Bulgarian emerging from the dia-
logue with outer world was a compromise between challenges of the modernization
and secularization era and experience of a life in a pre-modern world. In a tangle of
possibilities the newly discovered Bogomil gnosis was becoming a place of remem-
brance which in a group imagination allowed successful marriage of familiar “folk”
neo-gnosis with European progressivism in its numerous elite and egalitarian varie-
ties. By taking hold in adequately modeled history of Bogomilism, ideas of Western
European civilization gained the attribute of familiarity and at the same time earned
prestige to own national tradition.
Starting from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries the elites amazed with “im-
agined Bogomilism” have been leaning toward treating it as a convincing worldview
alternative to materialism and Christianity which were perceived as oppressive. Many
of the significant texts of modern and post-modern Bulgarian culture remain impor-
tant exemplification of an aspiration to overcome Christian theodicy in such a way
so as to avoid traps of materialism. The Gnostic paradigm (or quasi-Gnostic) which
solves the problem of suffering and evil in the world but is burdened with the risk of
melancholy becomes than a guarantee of emancipation.
Asya Bereznyak (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel)

A Conversion Gone Away? A Different Perspective on the
Christianisation of Bulgaria and the Rise of Bogomilism
Is it possible for forced Christianisations to lead to authentic conversions? While

modern research tends to distinguish between two supposedly different phenomena,
that is, authentic conversions and superficial Christianisations, I would argue that
a re-examination of the evidence from the conversion of Bulgaria suggests otherwise.
In order to demonstrate that the influence of Christianisation was not limited to
a superficial, outward change of behaviour, I will examine several social phenomena,
such as the rise of ascetic monasticism and the popular Bogomil heresy, as well as a
variety of archaeological finds, that indicate that the majority of Bulgarians was truly
converted already in the beginning of the tenth century. I would also argue that it is
the compatibility of the Byzantine methods of Christianisation with the medieval

concepts of conversion that accounts for the mass conversion of Bulgarians.
Moreover, I would argue that the main evidence that suggests that the current
understanding of medieval Christianisation processes in general and of Bulgaria in
particular require a reconsideration is the rise and spread of Bogomilism. Instead of
treating Bogomilism as a phenomenon that indicates a rejection and subversion of
Christianity, I suggest that it should be examined as a strong indication of the suc-
cessful transmission of main Christian ideas to Bulgarians, and understood as a result
of the missionary activity in the area.
Nadejda Miladinova (Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium)

Reuses of a Byzantine anthology in the Early Modern Period –
a case study on the Panoplia Dogmatike of Euthymios Zygadenos
The creation of the Panoplia Dogmatike by Euthymios Zygadenos represented an im-

portant systematization of the Patristic legacy in Byzantium in the twelfth century.
The anthology became a key source on Orthodox theology and on the canon of texts
which were used in theological debates until the eighteenth century. In the recent
years, several studies have been dedicated to this important anthology, all of them
dealing with it from different perspectives – as a heresiology, as a textual testimony
for the preparation of critical editions and from the point of view of reception histo-
ry. In this paper, I discuss these approaches and briefly present the results of my own
research which dealt with the Post-Byzantine period and the existence of scholia in
the manuscript tradition of the text. This research was undertaken in order to obtain
a more detailed view on the only Greek edition which is at our disposal today. This
edition was printed in 1710 in Tîrgovişte (Wallachia) and was reprinted in PG 130.
The results of the research have shown that the edition was initiated by the Or-
thodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem at the time when the Orthodox have recently lost
the protection over the Holy Places. The publication was designed as a powerful
symbol of the Byzantine tradition and an answer to the proselytizing activities of
Catholics and Protestants. For this reason, the editors introduced some subtle altera-
tions which concerned the omission of certain patristic fragments and, in one case, a
re-arrangement of a chapter.
Another aspect which has remained out of scope in the Tîrgovişte edition is the
fact that some of the Greek manuscripts of the Panoplia contain scholia.
This evidence poses a question whether the text which we have today could be
used as a reliable source on the Panoplia of Euthymios Zygadenos. This paper argues
that the fact that is unlikely to have a critical edition of the Panoplia in the immediate
future should not prevent scholars from using the available text but in order to make
a more comprehensive use of it – the research should include as much versions of the
text as possible.
FC24. WARFARE, DIPLOMACY AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE,

10th–12th C.
Moderators
Maciej Salamon/Ian Mladjov
Ian Mladjov (University of Michigan, USA)

Byzantium and Political Legitimation in Medieval Bulgaria
The long coexistence between the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian state could
not fail to produce profound and lasting effects. Since the Byzantine Empire was
steeped in its own immense and time-honored tradition, while the Bulgars had en-
tered the cultural and physical orbit of the Byzantine world, this effect was, culturally
and ideologically, largely one-sided. Any concession by a Byzantine ruler to elements
of Bulgarian tradition, no matter how minor and rare, was stigmatized by Byzan-
tine public opinion; this attitude can be detected even after Bulgaria’s conversion to
Byzantine-rite Christianity. Bulgaria, on the other hand, adopted many elements of
the Byzantine tradition, perhaps gradually and hesitantly at first, but eventually quite
fully, constructing something like a Byzantium in translation.
The acceptance of Byzantine models actually complicated the relationship be-
tween the two societies, as Bulgaria had no desire of becoming a Byzantine satellite.
This dynamic contributed, together with geopolitical factors, to the apex of Bulgaro-
Byzantine conflict in the reign of Simeon I (893–927), who spent a decade trying to
assert himself as the political peer of the Byzantine emperor by force. The adoption
of Christianity and of the imperial title with its court setting reflected, assisted, and
exacerbated the aspects of this cultural relationship all at once.
This pattern continued, perhaps even more emphatically, in the Second Bulgar-
ian State during the 13th and 14th centuries. After seventeen decades of Byzantine
rule it was only natural that the institutions of the restored Bulgarian state would
fully emulate those of Byzantium, and Constantinople would remain the cardinal
compass point of Bulgaria’s cultural, diplomatic, and military concerns. While the
complicated relations continued to manifest themselves in the field, the remains of
literary culture indicate that the constant political, historical, and cultural links be-
tween the societies of Byzantium and its Slavic neighbors had created, in effect, what
we may indeed describe as a Byzantine Commonwealth.
Kirił Marinow (University of Łódź, Poland)

Biblical references and their political meaning in the speech
‘On the treaty with the Bulgarians’
The year 927 brought a peace treaty between Byzantium and Bulgaria, which ended
many years of military struggle between both the states. On this occasion, Theodore
Daphnopates (born around 900 and deceased after 961), a prominent representa-
tive of the intellectual elite of Constantinople of the first half of 10th century and
a secretary to emperor Romanos Lekapenos (920–944), delivered a speech praising
the newly concluded agreement. By means of a variety of hints not only to ancient
history and literature but also to the Bible, the speaker explained reasons which led
the conflict between both the states, lamented sad consequences of numerous mili-
tary operations conducted over the years of the past war, as well as elaborating on the
importance of the newly established peace. In this peculiar imaginary of the declama-
tion (which must have been well understandable for the better educated part of his
audience), there was a hidden but distinct message of the ideological and political
nature.
Daphnopates wanted to convince those who heard his declamation that these
were only the Byzantines who made up the new nation chosen by God and the new
spiritual “House of Israel”. On the other hand, the Bulgarians were compared to a
mere scion, which only recently had been grafted onto the stock of the vine tree of
Jesse. The Byzantines were pictured as fathers and teachers in faith of the Bulgarians
and the speaker wanted to imply that the latter would remain blessed by the Lord
and their state would flourish only on condition that they remained faithful by the
side of the empire and in unity with it. It is essential, however, that by means of the
statement, the speaker included the Bulgarians into the hierarchic order (táksis) es-
tablished on Earth by God himself. On the other hand, he also pointed clearly that
it was their fidelity to Byzantium that enabled them to enjoy the wise lead and firm
protection of the empire.
The blame for the accursed war was to put on (already dead) Simeon I (893–927),
the then Bulgarian ruler, and his ungodly aspirations to the crown of the Byzantine
Empire. It was his personal ambitions that were a real infringement on the above
mentioned God’s earthly order (ataksía), and it was only and exclusively Symeon,
who lead to the appearance of a crack on the “House of the Lord”. Byzantium, in
Daphnopates’ own interpretation, was free of any blame (except the period of Zoe
Karbonopsina’s regency) and only had to suffer its fate as did the biblical “daughters
of Jerusalem”. In his opinion the peace concluded in 927 was a genuine miracle sent
from God, which by no means should be disregarded, and any attempt to dimin-
ish its importance has to be condemned as a heavy sin. The speaker maintained that
the survival of this peaceful coexistence was an important task to which both the
involved parts were obliged to apply themselves seriously in the future. Since peace
was always an eternal attribute of God himself, the establishment of this hopefully
ever-lasting treaty, which was supposed to entirely eliminate war from the relations
between the Byzantines and Bulgarians, was an actual act of imitation of the Lord’s
activities, and by virtue of that achievement both the states moved closer to become
similar to God.
Dmytro Gordiyenko (Hrushevsky Institute of Ukrainian Archaeography and

Source Studies, Kiev)
The features of foreign policy of Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus
The reign of Constantine VII is one of the controversial issues in the historiography
of Byzantium. The period of 47 years is associated with his name. However, he had a
direct impact on foreign policy only after his becoming a sole ruler (945).
The main foreign actions of Byzantium were aimed at Muslim states: 1) the East-
ern Caliphate with its capital in Baghdad; 2) the African Fatimids and 3) the Spanish
Ummayads. At that time the empire was able to go into the offensive on the eastern
border and advance deep into Mesopotamia. In the Mediterranean basin after failure
to enlist support of the Egyptian Fatimids, Constantine VII began to focus on the
Spanish Ummayads that was caused by the Cretan matter, expedition against which
(949) ended in failure.
The ideological interest was concentrated in Italy, where Byzantium struggled for
dominance in the 10th century, sometimes sacrificing its interests in other regions to
this policy. Otto I was the main rival there.
The new current orientation of foreign policy was north, where new political
forces were forming at that time (the Bulgarians, Hungarians, Rus’ people). The rela-
tions with the Bulgarians remained peaceful, in the time of Constantine Byzantium
began an offensive policy against the Hungarians, after their defeat by Otto I (955).
Major changes were taking place under the influence of the Kyivan state forma-
tion, where Princess Olga came to power at that time and it was she who opened a
new chapter in the Rus’-Byzantine relations. However, the «failure» of Olga’s visit
to Constantinople forced the Rus’ Princess to enter into alliance with Otto I, secur-
ing him the eastern rear and letting loose in Italy, thereby affecting the vital interests
of Byzantium.
However, Constantine VII succeeded in settling the Italian matter and keeping
Rus’ in the sphere of influence of Byzantium. During his reign the ground was pre-
pared for a successful attack on the East and West carried out in the time of Nike-
phoros Phokas and John Tzimiskes.
Oleksandr Fylypchuk (Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, Ukraine)

‘The baptized Rhōs’ in Constantinople (De Cerimoniis II, 15)
In section 15.2, the author of the De cerimoniis describing decorations for the re-
ception of the Tarsiote Legates from Sayfaddawla in the Magnaura (31 May 946),
wrote, among other things, about ‘baptized Rhōs’ in Constantinople: ‘…ἔσωθεν δὲ
τῆς χαλκῆς πύλης ἔστησαν ἔνθεν κἀκεῖθεν οἱ Τουλμάτζοι μετὰ φλαμούλων, βαστάζοντες
δόρκας, φοροῦντες τὰ ἑαυτῶν σπαθία καὶ τοξοφάρετρα. ἔξωθεν δὲ τοῦ καγκέλλου τῆς
χαλκῆς ἔστησαν πάχωμα, οἱ μὲν πρὸς τὸ μέρος τῶν νουμέρων, οἱ δὲ πρὸς τὴν καμάραν
τοῦ μιλίου. οἱ λοιποὶ πλόϊμοι καὶ οἱ περισσοὶ τῶν Ταλματζίων καὶ οἱ βαπτισμένοι Ῥῶς μετὰ
φλαμούλων, βαστάζοντες σκουτάρια, φοροῦντες καὶ τὰ ἑαυτῶν σπαθία’ (Constantini
Porphyrogeniti imperatoris De Cerimoniis aulae byzantinae, ed. J.J. Reiske, vol. I–II,
Bonn, 1829, 579.12–579.22). Who were this mercenaries, the οἱ βαπτισμένοι Ῥῶς?
I plan to fulfill this study focusing on one of the most important social groups of
Rus’, an enigmatic group of ‘Christian Rus’ which was mentioned in the Rus’-Byzan-
tine treaty of 944, which were preserved in the Pověst’ vremennykh lět (Rus’ Prima-
ry Chronicle): ìû æå åëèêî íàñú êð–@òèëèño åñìû. êëoõîìño öð§@êâüþ ñò§@ãî Èëüè
âú çáîðíýè öð§@êâè. è ïðåäúëåæàùè ÷ò–@íûìú êð–@òîìú. è õàðîòüýþ ñåþ. < > à
õð–@òüÿíiþ Ðiñü âîäèøà âú öð§@êâü ñò§@ãî Èëüè. ÿæå åñòü íàäú ðiöüåìú êîíý-
öü Ïàñûíü÷ý áåñýäû. è Êîçàðå. ñå áî áý ñáîðíàÿ öð§@êâè. I believe that οἱ βα-
πτισμένοι Ῥῶς in the Byzantine service are identical to the ‘Christian Rus’. Obviously,
this group of mercenaries, the ‘baptized Rhōs’ with banners (φλαμούλων) probably
belonged to sailors (πλόϊμοι). Only they gave their oaths in the ‘church of St Elijah’ in
Constantinople. After the baptism, their status was significantly differed from other
groups of Rhōs’ in campaigns of the Byzantine fleet in 911, 935 and 949. I will shift
focus to the evidence of the ‘forging’ of Christian identity in the middle of the tenth
century.
Aleksander Paroń (Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Wrocław, Poland)

Byzantium and Pechenegs in the 10th century. An attempt at
rethinking their political relation
As a result of the political changes in the last decade of the 9th century, the con-
trol of the steppe niche, i.e. the area located north of the Black Sea, was taken by
the Pechenegs. The special geopolitical location of their new homeland seemed to
make this people enormously significant for the political balance in the region. A
large number of scholars, acting under the influence of De administrando imperio by
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, seems to assume that the Constantinople diplo-
macy appreciated the new inhabitants of the Black Sea Steppe very soon and made
an alliance with them which lasted for the most of the 10th century.
A more detailed analysis of sources which are independent of De administrando

imperio shows a much more complex image of the Byzantium-Pechenegs relations.
Certainly the first attempts at military co-operation directed against Bulgaria about
915 (the mission of John Bogas, a strategos from Cherson) ended in a spectacular
failure. There are no reliable mentions of any co-operation attempts made by either
of the parties in the next two decades. Only the events which took place between
934–944 turned Constantinople’s attention to the Pechenegs. The progressive weak-
ening of Bulgaria was accompanied by incursions of the Rus and Hungarians which
reached the walls of the capital of the empire. It was the Pechenegs to be referred
to by Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus De administrando imperio (edited between
948–952) as the ones who were able to stop the aggression of both of the above men-
tioned peoples. This promotion of the steppe people was accompanied by reducing
the position of the Bulgarians to one of “the northern and Scythian peoples”. If De
administrando... is something more than a lecture on the official political doctrine,
it should be assumed that only in the last 15-year period of Constantine VII’s rule a
lasting Byzantium-Pechenegs alliance could have been formed. At the time of Nice-
phorus Phocas’ rule the concept of making the Pechenegs the guardians of the em-
pire interests at the northern frontiers most probably was slightly disavowed. It is
confirmed by the fact that during the conflict with Bulgaria the Rus were asked for
help. John Tzimiskes sought to maintain the alliance with the Pechenegs, however,
he realised that his influence on them was limited. The partial defeat of archiiereus
Theophilus’ mission did not manage to ensure a safe return to Rus for the defeated
Svyatoslav, which is a clear example of the political independence of the nomads. Af-
ter 971 there were no mentions of any Byzantium-Pechenegs co-operation.
The above observations incline us to interpret the role of the Pechenegs in the
plans of the Byzantium diplomacy in the 10th century more cautiously. Constantine
VII’s concepts did not have to and certainly were not shared by the all Constantino-
ple statesmen. They realised how difficult it was to control and motivate the loose
political organisation of the steppe tribes. Sometimes they were inclined to enter
into an alliance with a more demanding, yet more predictable partner.
Anton Mokhov (Ural State University, Ekaterinburg, Russia)

The Imperial Chancery during the reign of Basil II (976–1025)
The paper is devoted to the problems of the structure and functions of the Imperial
Chancery during the reign of Basil II. From 976 till 985 the bodies of Byzantines
civil administration were under the control by parakoimomenos and proedros Basil
Lekapenus. The emperor had no possibility for serious influence on the activities of
metropolitan departments. Since the beginning of the 80s of 10th century Basil II
had started to restrict the powers of Basil Lekapenus. The Imperial Chancery had
played the main role in the struggle of the young emperor against powerful timeserv-
er. The head of the Chancery was ἐπὶ τοῦ κανικλείου magistros Nikephoros Ouranos.
In 985 Basil Lekapenus was deprived of power and sent into exile. From 985 till 996
the henchmen of Basil Lekapenus were dismissed from central authorities. Besides,
during this period the Imperial Chancery revised lots of chrysobulles which were is-
sued by Basil Lekapenus on behalf of Basil II. The control by imperator was estab-
lished under the metropolitan departments by 1000 year, but the Imperial Chancery
remained the significance until the death of Basil II.
George Tcheishvili (Tbilisi State University, Georgia)

Conquest and Incorporation on the Caucasian Frontiers in the
11th Century
Caucasian frontier had always been critical for the Empire’s security. It was impor-
tant to deal with nomads of the North Caucasian steppes, on the one hand, and on
the other hand, Near Eastern powers like Persians, Arabs, Seljuks. Georgians and Ar-
menian were main players on the Caucasian arena. At the end of the 10th century
the Emperor Basil II paid special attention to the frontier and carried out policy of
direct incorporation of the political entities of the South Caucasus. Imperial annexa-
tion was expanded by Basil’s successors.
In the first half of the 11th c. Georgia lost two border regions to Byzantium: part
of Tao-Klarjeti in the south-west, and the fortress of Anakopia (the province of Ap-
khazeti/Abasgia on the Black Sea) in the north-west. The lands of Tao-Klarjeti were
included in a larger Theme of Iberia, while Anakopia constituted a separate adminis-
trative district.
The policy of incorporation, carried out by the imperial court in Tao-Klarjeti
and Anakopia, can be summarised as the following: devastation of the country and
deportation of the population (whenever needed); holding castles and fortresses; de-
ployment of Byzantine garrisons (in certain cases, using the Frankish and the Var-
angian mercenaries); appointment of Greek officers, judges and supervisors; bring-
ing of the districts under the jurisdiction of the Greek church. Local magnates were
also involved in the imperial administration. The emperors granted to them various
court titles and offices. Feudal rights of the Georgian nobility remained untouchable,
though the Byzantines preferred to move them from their homeland. Local popula-
tion was involved in the imperial military service.
The policy was dictated by both military and commercial interests. Domination
over the region was essential to control strategic and trade routes like Trapezus-Theo-
dosiopolis, route to Persia, and approaches to Alania.
Differences in administration of the two regions are also obvious.
In the 1070s Byzantine suzerainty in the annexed Georgian lands came to the
end.
Wiktor Ostasz (St Peter’s College, Oxford, UK)

The Forging of the Byzantine-Turkish Frontier Society in Western
Anatolia, c.1070–c.1150
The akritic resident defence of western Anatolia that Georgios Pachymerēs exposed
as of c.1261 rested on sturdy prosperous communities, which owed much of their vi-
tality to the Laskarid policies. Yet little is known of the spontaneous development of
the borderland society before it was framed as an imperial institution for a century.
The nomadic Türkmens and their Seljuk overlords are said to have permanently
disrupted the sedentary society of Byzantine western Anatolia. But the depopula-
tion reported in Constantinopolitan sources seems no more genuine than in the case
of the Iberian and Byzantine-Arab frontiers. It instead denotes a collapse of central
administration and served to legitimise a reimposition of authority. The Komnēnian
programme of forcible evacuations from Phrygia, progressive fortification and for-
eign settlement in fact stood for a centralising effort to step up fiscal profits and
administrative control, rather than security. To reconstruct the picture of change
wrought by the Turkish arrival, one has to read between the lines of the Byzantine
court historiography.
While Nikaia or Smyrnē could temporarily thrive as Turkish power hubs, lesser
settlements adapted to the new nomadic-sedentary interface. Cities like Laodikeia
or Pergamon survived well into the twelfth century in an open, dispersed form. The
move to hilltop kastra appears restricted to short spells of insecurity, and in particu-
lar to the time before a modus vivendi with the newcomers was established. A Byz-
antine exodus from Anatolia was soon followed by a wide response to the settlement
incentives offered by the Seljuks, whose policies hint at a relative weakness of the first
Turkish migratory wave. The power balance between the Byzantines and the Turks
had to be constantly re-negotiated, with occasional bursts of violence, but multi-fac-
eted interactions between interest groups came to define the fabric of frontier soci-
ety. Shared exploitation and exchange of services characterised the liquid symbiosis
which came into limelight during the passage of the Second Crusade through Ana-
tolia in 1147.
Maciej Salamon ( Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland)

Greek Prayer at the Polish Royal Court (ca. 1025)
In the dedication of a liturgical liber officiorum offered about 1025 to the Polish king
Mieszko II, son of Boleslav I the Vaillant Princess Mathilda states that the ruler de-
cided to enlarge the number of languages used in his prayers by adding to the Slavic
and Latin language the Greek one: graecam superaddere maluisti. The attitude of the
German princess has rightly been referred to the liking of the intellectual elite of the
Empire for the Greek culture and language which may have been shared by Mieszko.
It seems however doubtful if the Polish ruler learned Greek and started to pray in
that language already in his youth. To the contrary, praying in Greek seems to be
regarded by the author of the dedication a novelty. The new usage at the Polish court
was probably somehow favoured by the presence of some clergymen of Greek ori-
gin after 1018. Most conspicuous personality was Anastasius (Nastas) of Cherson, a
Greek priest (bishop) who accompanied Boleslav I on his return journey from Kiev
not as a prisoner of war but the king’s trusted collaborator. The Pechersky Paterik
mentions a not much later visit by a monk from the St. Mountain Athos who was ob-
viously in contact with the court circles. It seems that the Polish court in the 1020’s
was favourably disposed towards some cooperators originating from the countries of
Byzantine culture and that tendency can hardly be ascribed only to the imitation of
Ottonian models.
Tatjana Bardaschowa (Ekaterinburg, Russland)

Byzantinische Ehediplomatie (X.–XII. Jahrhunderte)
In den X.–XII. Jahrhunderten wurde das von den Traditionen der Großmachtpoli-
tik bewegte Byzantinische Reich in die Kriege mit seinen Nachbarn verwickelt. Die
Byzantinische Regierung setzte in ihrer Außenpolitik ihre Hoffnung nicht nur auf
die militärische Gewaltanwendung, sondern auch auf Diplomatenkunst, ein Teil da-
von war die Ehepolitik.
Während der Periode von 300 Jahren nahm die Anzahl der Ehebündnisse zwi-
schen den Vertretern von byzantinischen und ausländischen herrschenden Häusern
zu. Im Zeitraum von der Regierung der Kaiser von Makedonischer Dynastie in By-
zanz (circa 200 Jahre) wurden 5 Matrimonialbündnisse vollgezogen. In der Wir-
renzeit (es ist nur 27 Jahre) wurden auch 5 Ehebündnisse geschlossen. Zur Zeit der
Regierung der nächsten Dynastie der Komnins (knapp über 100 Jahre) wurden 25
Matrimonialbündnisse vollgezogen. Dabei wird die Minderung des Status dieser
Ehen beobachtet. Insbesondre, der byzantinischen Reichskonzeption gemäß waren,
nur die Ehebündnisse mit den Franken zulässig. Aber dieses Kriterium wurde durch
ein anderes Kriterium durch «Gewinn und Ausrechnung» ausgetauscht. Unter der
Regierung von Komninen wurde das Maß von Würdigkeit des Ehepartners durch die
Possibilität von seiner effektivsten Verwendung für Erreichung der Großmachtpoliti-
schen Ziele des Imperiums bestimmt.
Der Grund der kardinalen Änderungen in der byzantinischen Ehediplomatie in
dem X.–XII. Jahrhunderten liegt in der Außenpolitischen Situation. Das Imperium
fuhr viele Kriege, gabt sein Militär- und Wirtschaftspotential heraus, deshalb musste
seine Ehepolitik revidiert werden.
Die Änderungen in der byzantinischen Ehediplomatie von X–XII Jahrhunder-
ten bedingten keine wichtigen Erfolge in der Außenpolitik. Dynastische Ehen mit
den Franken bedingten Reverenz und Achtung, aber gaben nichtsbedeutende militä-
rische Unterstützung. Gleichzeitig hatten die Ehebündnisse mit den „bisherigen Bar-
baren“ keinen solchen Status aber sie bedingten einen größeren Effekt, und, haupt-
sächlich, machten sie eine Illusion von Wiedergeburt des Römischen Reiches unter
der Leitung von Byzanz.
Ioannis Stouraitis (University of Vienna, Austria)

Theoretical and methodological considerations on Byzantine
war ideology
Byzantine studies have been dominated for a long time by the scientific theorem of
the unwarlike Byzantines. This has been the fruit of a strict positivist interpretation
of written sources, according to which the unwarlike Byzantine ideology is proven if
we combine the numerous Byzantine statements on love of peace with the extensive
use of diplomacy and the predominately defensive character of most Byzantine wars.
The expansive Byzantine wars could ideologically fit into this theorem thanks to the
theoretical construct of defensive imperialism, which was employed to downplay the
theorem’s obvious deficiency in explaining the ideological inconsistency between the
alleged Byzantine unwarlike disposition and the systematic instrumentalization of
war as a main means of territorial expansion and political dominance; alternatively,
the theory of the ideologically “lonely” warlike emperor could be employed, whose
bellicosity was viewed as unorthodox within the standard Byzantine ideological
framework of peace-keeping.
Critical voices towards this established view have already been raised, pointing
out the need to move away from a positivist interpretation towards a comparative
analysis of source material. The present paper will thus deal with Byzantine war eth-
ics from the perspective of the political and moral aspect of war, i.e. its legitimating
mechanisms, as defined by the political and moral content of peace. A theoretical
framework for an analysis of war and peace ideology will be presented, focusing on
the interaction between ideology and politics with regard to the questions of just (of-
fensive – defensive) and holy war. Respectively the ideological dimension of strategy
and diplomacy as well as the theoretical distinction between the just and holy war
concepts will be outlined and evaluated within the Byzantine paradigm. Finally, ex-
amples from the sources will be employed to demonstrate how comparative analysis
of source material within the aforementioned theoretical framework leads to a dif-
ferentiated image of Byzantine war and peace ideology.
Federico Montinaro (École Pratique des Hautes Études, Paris, France)

The Parisian Saint-Denis Papyrus: literally the ‘earliest Crusader
document?’
The earliest Byzantine foreign letter preserved in original lies today in the National
Archives, Paris, a roughly one foot large, five feet long holey piece of papyrus con-
taining the central segment of twenty hugely spaced lines traced in a brownish, well-
formed, ‘colossal’ Greek minuscule. With the help of earlier transcriptions and re-
productions, the paleographer at the best of his game may still grasp the keywords
“army,” “peace,” “restoration,” along with references to “Our (beloved) Son, the King”
and “the Christians’ frontiers.” The further allusion to “Our God-ordained Emperor-
ship” and the presence, at the bottom of the main text, of the red-inked Latin ap-
proval formula legimus leave no doubt as to the document’s origin in the Byzantine
imperial chancery. Unfortunately, the protocol is lost and the date on the dazzled
lower edge of the papyrus fragment is not wholly readable, so that the Letter’s place in
the history of Byzantine diplomacy and diplomatics has not ceased to be a matter of
debate ever since its discovery, in the archive of the Abbey of Saint-Denis, by French
Benedictine scholar Bernard de Montfaucon. However, following Karl Brandi’s 1908
ground-breaking assessment, the search for context has more confidently been lim-
ited to the exchanges between Constantinople and the Frankish court in the first half
of the ninth century, that is at the time of the earliest inferable attempts at building
a common front against the Arabs. In spite of the lack of contemporary parallels,
altogether a pretty narrow set of diplomatic (use of papyrus, absence of chrysography
among other characteristics) and historical arguments (mention of a “Son, the King,”
evidently not the recipient) are today more and less explicitly maintained to hinder
a later dating and thus set the Saint-Denis Letter as a Byzantine ‘erratic’ milestone in
several respects. In 1948, Franz Dölger spoke of it as of the “ältestes Kreuzzugsdoku-
ment.” What Dölger, himself a proponent of the ninth-century dating, appears to
have had in mind is of course the esprit de croisade rather than the actual thing. Lit-
tle attention has been paid to his remark, yet the idea of Christendom and its duties
carried by the otherwise hopeless shreds of the text is indeed, at best, pioneering. Yet
another exceptional feature of the exceptional document? The present paper wishes
to explore the implications of Dölger’s silent clue, by first reconsidering the argu-
ments that have concurred in forming the present-day relative consensus on the Let-
ter’s date. Particular attention id devoted to appraising the aesthetic similarities and
differences between the Saint-Denis Papyrus and preserved eleventh-century impe-
rial documents. The hypothesis is then put forth that the Letter was in fact a request
of military aid against Robert Guiscard sent by Alexius Comnenus to French king
Philip I on 6 May 1081. Having seized Byzantine territories in Southern Italy, Guis-
card was then threatening to head for Constantinople through the Balkans. Alexius’s
massive call-to-Crusade-like appeal to Western powers against the Norman “enemy
of God and the Christians” is recorded by Anna Comnena in what stands in Greek
sources as the only admission of the Byzantines’ heavy reliance on foreign interven-
tion during the years immediately preceding the outburst of the First Crusade. At
that time, the Abbey of Saint-Denis was experiencing the unprecedented revival that
would culminate in the building of the Gothic Basilica under the patronage of Abbot
Suger, the schoolmate and later confident of Philip’s son and heir Louis VI. Suger was
to prove a capable regent during Louis’s participation in the Second Crusade. The
Saint-Denis Papyrus, indeed the earliest Byzantine foreign letter preserved in origi-
nal, is likely to have reached the Abbey exactly through this outstanding personality.
Maximilian C G Lau (University of Oxford, UK)

The Fortresses of John II Komnenos: Indicative of his Grand
Strategy?
John II Komnenos has recently been called the most successful of the Komnenian
emperors for his prudent grand strategy, based around short campaigns whose ob-
jective was the seizure of a castle or city, rather than the strategy of opportunism of
Alexios or the grand expeditions of Manuel. An essential part of understanding this
strategy is to grasp the significance and purpose of the system of fortresses that John
erected, and thus assess whether theories on John’s offensive strategy tally with his
defensive one.
In this paper I therefore assess his fortresses: their construction, location and
role in relation to each other, using both archaeological work on the sites themselves
and their textual record in sources such as John Kinnamos and Niketas Choniates.
Through this analysis we can therefore come to a greater understanding of his strat-
egy, and thus a reign that is central to the Komnenian era that was in many ways a
turning point for the empire.
Roman Shlyakhtin (Central European University, Budapest, Hungary)

Myriokephalon revisited: Note on the sources, context and
consequences of one battle
The battle at Myriokephalon (1176) is still considered to be one of the key defeats of
the Byzantine army in the twelfth century. However, R.-J. Lilie proved that this de-
feat did not have grave consequences for the situation on the Byzantine border. The
aim of this paper is to clear up the state of sources and to propose explanations for
some events connected with the battle.
The main sources for the battle at Myriokephalon are the writings of John Kin-
namos, Niketas Choniates, Michael the Syrian and supposed letter of Manuel Kom-
nenos to king Henry II. I argue that Choniates’ description is biased and should be
used with great suspicion. For Choniates, the battle is the scene of the “Lord’s judg-
ment over the emperor” and a prefiguration of the end of the main branch of the
Komnenoi.
The second point, on which I would like to comment, is why the battle happened
so late. According to Kinnamos, the reason was that mercenaries arrived late. Yet an-
other explanation is possible. According to the NASA calendar of eclipses, the solar
eclipse occurred on 11 April 1176 and was visible in Asia Minor. Manuel is famous
for his zeal for astrology, so one can suppose that the expedition was delayed due to
the bad omen.
The third point is connected with the Byzantine battle plan. According to Cho-
niates, Manuel’s disposition before the battle was based on bad advice. I hypothesize
that battle-plan was based rather on Manuel’s own experience. In 1146 his army had
passed Myriokephalon and in 1176 he regrouped his warriors with the previous ex-
perience in mind.
The fourth point is related to the situation in the Seljuk camp. Sultan Kilic Ar-
slan hired mercenaries from the Seljuks of Mesopotamia. After the battle they were
on the edge of rebellion. For Kilic Arslan victory turned into a problem; it was in his
interest to make peace.
The fifth thing is that the battle seems to have been a personal defeat of Manuel.
He had received an obvious psychotrauma, which could play a role in his death in
1180.
Ioto Valeriev (Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Bulgaria)

The Battles of Dyrrhachium – 1081 and Dristra – 1087 (Comparative
Study on the 11th century Byzantine Military History)
After his accession to the throne Alexios I Comnenus was involved in a series of
wars with the Normans and Pechenegs on the Balkan Peninsula. Some of the cam-
paigns against these rivals were led by Alexios himself. Two great battles took place,
at Dyrrhachium in 1081 (against the Normans) and at Dristra in 1087 (against the
Pechenegs).
The goal of this examination is to investigate the used by the opponents military
tactics during these battles and to research the development of military skills of the
Byzantine commanders and particularly of Alexios I Comnenus. Also a very impor-
tant aspect is the study of the ethnic composition of the armies during these cam-
paigns and especially of the Byzantine army: Nomad allies, Turks, Varangian guard,
Manicheans, Western mercenaries.
The battle of Dyrrhachium between the Normans, led by Robert Guiscard, and
Byzantines, led by Alexius I Comnenus, took place in October 1081 in the vicinity
of the medieval city of Dyrrhachium. The battle is well investigated by J. Haldon and
J. Birkenmeier.
New data can be presented about the battle of Dristra. Many archaeological ma-
terials (coin hoards, seals, weapons, military equipment) could be connected to the
Alexios I Comnenus’ campaign to Dristra during the summer of 1087, and especially
to the retreat of the Byzantine army after the defeat.
The question about where the battle took place remains unanswered. Still no
suggestions about the location of the battle have been made. The only one is by J.
Birkenmeier, who claims several times that the battle occurred at Great Preslav. From
the narrative and the archaeological sources can certainly be assumed that the last
battle between the Byzantine army and the Pechenegs took place in the territories
surrounding the medieval Dristra.
FC25. BYZANTIUM AND THE PAPACY

Moderators
Elisabeth Schiffer/Daria Resh
James Wills (University of London, UK)

The “Schism of 1054” in Byzantine Sources (14th–15th c.)
Alexey Barmin (Center of the History of Byzantium and of the Culture of the
Christian East, Moscow, Russia)
The Talks of 1089–1091 and their Reflections in the Anti-Latin
Polemics
The embassy from the Pope Urban II to Constantinople in 1089 was studied by W.
Holtzmann, who published all the main sources about this event, and A. Becker.
Both of them haven’t seen any connection between the embassy and the develop-
ment of the Byzantine anti-Latin polemics. As P. Gautier surmised later, these talks
could result in the polemical treatise of Theophylact of Ohrid “An address about the
accusations against the Latins”. Some other scholars ( J. Pahlitzsch, T. Kolbaba, P. Ge-
meinhardt) have accepted this assumption without or with little further investiga-
tion.
In fact, the polemical treatise of Theophylact of Ohrid should be written later and
on other occasion – as an echo of the discussions in Constantinople in 1112–1113
between the ambassadors of the Pope Paschal II and the archbishop of Milan Peter
Grossolano, on the one hand, and the Greek theologians Eustratios of Nicaea, Theo-
dore Smyrnaios, John Phournes, Nicholas Muzalon and Nicetas Seides, on the other.
But there are many reasons to believe that the Roman-Byzantine talks of 1089–1091
have resulted in the polemical treatises of John of Antioch, John of Claudioupolis
and Ephrem of Russia.
Maria Isabel Cabrera Ramos (C.E.B.N.Ch., Granada, Spain)

Byzantium and the Genesis of Western Grudge
The history of relations between Byzantium and the West is a story of encounters
and conflicts over the centuries, in which weighed different religious, political inter-
ests and commercial interests in the Mediterranean, but it will be launched by the
West and the Holy See of crusading in the eleventh century to determine definitely
the clash between two worlds. For centuries separated geographically come into pro-
longed contact in the wake of the Crusades, which highlighted the deep cultural nu-
ances, religious and political issues that set them apart.
Through sources, we try to understand how until the eleventh century, Byzan-
tium: the Eastern Christian Empire was considered the bastion of Christianity in
Western Europe that protected the advance of Islam. In just two centuries of Western
crusades they began to see with new eyes the Byzantine world. For Westerners, the
Byzantines went from being the Eastern Christians, to be considered heretics and
infidels finally, in a category quite similar to the Muslim, which clearly explains the
outcome of the Fourth Crusade.
Aphrodite Papayianni (University of London, UK)

Pope Innocent III’s Reaction to the Diversion of the Fourth
Crusade to Constantinople Before the Latin Conquest of the City
In April 1204, the Byzantine capital fell to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade and
the Venetians. In the days following its capture, the Latin conquerors committed
atrocities against the local population and systematically looted the city’s public and
private treasures as well as stealing its numerous relics. The Fourth Crusade had start-
ed with the approval and spiritual guidance of Pope Innocent III. However, it did not
fulfill its initial plan which was the liberation of the Holy Land from the Muslims;
instead, most of the crusaders attacked Constantinople in April 1204. Innocent’s re-
action to the diversion of the Fourth Crusade to Constantinople and the crusader at-
tacks against it before the city fell to the Latins are still questioned by modern histori-
ans. The article aims at dispersing misconceptions that they are still prevalent among
modern historians regarding the pope’s role and reaction to those events.
Elisabeth Schiffer (Institut für Byzanzforschung, Wien, Österreich)

Zur Bildersprache bei Patriarch Germanos II (1223–1240)
Germanos II ist als Patriarch von Konstantinopel mit Sitz in Nikaia vor allem für
seine antilateinische Haltung bekannt, welche aus seiner Korrespondenz und seinen
theologischen Abhandlungen hervorgeht. Zum Lebenslauf des früheren Diakons an
der Hagia Sophia, dessen Patriarchat in eine Zeit fällt, die immer wieder im Hinblick
auf die Frage nach der Identität der Byzantiner in den Mittelpunkt des Forschungs-
interesses rückt, ist kaum etwas überliefert. Auch sein Bildungshintergrund kann so-
mit nur aus den von ihm verfassten Texten, aus deren sprachlicher und stilistischer
Gestaltung, z.B. aus seinen zahlreichen Wortschöpfungen erschlossen werden.
Auf Grundlage ausgewählter, z. T. noch unedierter Reden des Patriarchen soll in
diesem Beitrag ein Einblick in die von Germanos verwendeten Metaphern gegeben
werden. Neben der zu erwartenden biblischen Metaphorik finden wir auch bildhafte
Vergleiche aus dem alltäglichen Leben, wie z.B. aus dem Familienleben, aus Land-
wirtschaft und Seefahrt, oder aus der Tier- und Pflanzenwelt.
Nikolaos G. Chrissis (University of London, UK)

Of heretics and Christian brothers: Pope Gregory IX and the
Greek East
This communication investigates an important aspect of the religious and political

contacts between Greeks and Latins in the thirteenth century. Gregory IX’s pontifi-
cate (1227–1241) marked a turning point in the Roman Church’s efforts to combat
heresy, with the introduction of a centralised inquisition under the direct control of
the papacy. This approach would eventually replace the use of crusading against her-
etics which was favoured by the pope’s immediate predecessors. Heresy was a major
concern for Gregory, who had to deal with the problem in a large scale, in south-
ern France, Germany, Italy and even as far as Bosnia. This paper examines how this
background affected the papacy’s contacts with the Greek East in this period. These
relations were complicated by the fact that the pope attempted to buttress the Latin
empire by calling crusades on its behalf, while also negotiating a possible union with
the Greek Church. Gregory introduced the argument of heresy, and not only the
traditional accusation of schism, in his dealings with the Greeks. This opened up the
possibility for provisions against heresy to be implemented in Romania, as they had
been in the West: for example the ‘deposition’ of rulers who fostered heretics, which
was used against John Asen of Bulgaria (not unlike what had been the case with the
counts of Toulouse). However, this also complicated the effort to find some common
ground with the Greek Church in Constantinople, the Greek mainland, Cyprus and
other areas under Latin rule. It also further shaped the image of the Greeks as ‘oth-
ers’ in western eyes. At a time when attitudes were hardening in the West towards all
kinds of outsiders from the established order and towards any dissent from the norms
set by the teaching and practices of the Catholic Church, this could only profoundly
affect western-Byzantine interaction.
Kiril Gospodinov (Sofia, Bulgaria)

The stand of Bulgarian state on the Union of Lyons (1274) against
the background of Rome and Constantinople interrelations
In the last years, a number of new sources, pertaining to the formal stand of the
Bulgarian state on the Union of Lyons (1274), went into scientific circulation. Two
letters by Pope Nicholas IV (1288–1292), which showed that the government in
Tărnovo was in favour of the union of the churches, and voiced its willingness to
“obey the Roman pope immediately”, were published. These reports caused contro-
versy, not so much as it concerned the up-to-date historical sources, but with the
belief long since adopted by the historiography, that Tărnovo diplomacy openly op-
posed to the union of Rome and Constantinople. What would this matter look like
against the background of relations between Byzantium, the Papacy and Charles of
Anjou’s coalition, and to what extent did the international situation exert an influ-
ence on the stand of the Bulgarian state?
The issues which were roused by the political status quo in 1274 are mainly relat-
ed to the chief circumstance that the Union of Lyons consolidated two forces, which
were traditionally hostile to each other, and whose antagonism following 1261 in-
creased furthermore. This act considerably complicated the international relations in
Central and Southeastern Europe and lead some of the states to the necessity of a
complete change of their political orientation. Charles of Anjou – the most irrec-
oncilable adversary of the Byzantines at the time – signed a one-year truce with the
basileus in the spring of 1275. In the same fashion, the states constituting Charles of
Anjou’s coalition, Bulgaria also taking part, were forced to, at least temporarily, sus-
pend hostilities with the Byzantine Empire, since it would otherwise cause a conflict
with the Papacy. It is why a few of the major European political forces, coerced by the
union of Rome and Constantinople, engaged into two-fold politics, striving after a
balance of their own pursuits and the properties of the international state of affairs.
The Bulgarian stand on the Union of Lyons shaped up under these terms – it made
sense that, having in mind the circumstances – to opt for its support, as it was docu-
mented in the papers of the apostolic office.
Zahari Konkyov (Pontificia Università Gregoriana, Roma, Italia)

La politica della Corte e della Chiesa di Bulgaria a fronte delle
tentativi unionistici di Roma e Costantinopoli fra 1241 e 1291
Scopo: Attraverso lo studio delle fonti e dei studi ci si propone di provare a vedere la
politica della Corte e della Chiesa della Bulgaria a fronte delle tentativi unionistici di
Roma e Costantinopoli fra 1241 e 1291.
Delimitazione: Abbiamo già alluso al periodo storico sul quale intendiamo in-
dagare scientificamente, periodo che si estende fra gli anni 1241 e 1291 d.C., che
appartiene dell’epoca medievale.
Metodo: Per vedere la politica statale e ecclesiale della Bulgaria fra 1241 e 1291
esamineremo criticamente, uno dopo l’altro, tutti gli eventi accaduti prima, durante
e dopo questo periodo quali toccano i rapporti fra Bulgaria, Roma e Costantinopoli
utilizzeremo, perciò, il metodo storico-critico, procedendo per via cronologica.
Status attuale della ricerca: Fino ad oggi, c’è ne sonno studi parziali quali toccano
aspetti particolari di questo problema, ma manca uno studio globale sulla questione.
In gran parte attingiamo i materiali per la nostra ricerca da diversi campi di indagine:
sia dalla vita di papa Nicolo IV sia dalla Storia di Bisanzio e di Bulgaria.
Petar Rokai (Universität Novi Sad, Serbien)

Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der byzantinisch-bulgarisch-
ungarischen Beziehungen
Dieser Beitrag versucht einige Details aus der bisher wenig erforschten Geschichte
des Bulgarischen Banats zu erklären. Bereits der ungarische Historiker M. Wertner
stellte fest, das eine unter dem Jahr 1368 veröffentlichte Urkunde des Königs Ludwig
I von Ungarn, die diese Episode betrifft, in Wirklichkeit 1366 herausgegeben wur-
de. Diese Feststellung ermöglicht dem Verfasser einige Ergebnisse früherer Forscher
zu korrigieren. In dem diese Erkenntnis mit anderen unbenutzten Quellen vergli-
chen wird, kommt der Verfasser zu folgendem Schluße: 1. Daß der Terminus “Banus
Bulgarie” zwischen dem 3. und 11. November 1366 entstanden ist; 2. Daß König
Ludwig im Jahr 1366 zusammen mit dem Grafen Amadeus VI von Savoyen einen
gewißen Druck auf den Bulgarenfürsten Jovan Alexander geübt hat und 4. daß die
Republik Venedig den Bulgaren in diesem Kampf tätig geholfen hat. Kaiser Johannes
und König Ludwig haben sich noch einmal getroffen, worüber die Historiographie
gar nichts wußte.
Nikolaos Th. Agiotis (University of Ioannina, Greece)

The metropolitan of Mitylene Leo Magentinus. A Biographical
Sketch of a Byzantine Commentator on Aristotle
The only solid historical evidence for the existence of a metropolitan of Mitylene and
Aristotelian commentator bearing the name of Leo Magentinus is provided from
citations found in manuscripts containing his commentaries on the Organon. The
most of the modern scholars tend to date Leo’s writing activities as having most plau-
sibly taken place in the first half of the 13th century. Within this frame, a terminus
ante quem is provided by Vat. gr. 244 (anonymously copied and usually dated in the
13th century) and Ambrosianus D 54 sup. (written by Alexios Solymas in 1272). The
terminus post quem is given by Leo’s use of scholia, which can be set in the middle of
the 12th century.
In our communication, we try to demonstrate that Magentinus’ writing activity
should be placed in the second half of the 12th century. Our arguments are based on
paleographical and historical grounds. We suggest that Vat. gr. 244 signifies the work
of Ioannikios, a scribe whose manuscripts are dated in the last quarter of the 12th
century, thus making the Vatican codex the oldest written testimony of Leo Magen-
tinus’ scholia. Furthermore, effort is made to identify the metropolitan of Mitylene
with a certain Leo, “headmaster of the school of the Preachers” (= Sts Paul and Peter)
in Constantinople of the same period. References for him are provided by a 12th
century document.
Alexandru Anca (Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg, Deutschland)

The Byzantine Patriarch as Mediator
The present paper deals with the role of the patriarch of Constantinople as a media-
tor in the inner conflicts of the Late Byzantine Empire especially during the civil war
between Andronikos II and Andronikos III. It shall be attempted to define the posi-
tion of the patriarch as mediator between the conflict parties and to draw attention
to his precarious position since one acting as a mediator could be forced to move
closer to one of the factions in the conflict and thus be perceived and treated by the
other one as a real threat.
Athanasia Stavrou (University of Birmingham, UK)

Political and ecclesiastical discourses and writings in Late
Byzantine Thessaloniki (1382–1430): Points of convergence and
divergence
In this paper I will explore the treatment of certain ideas propagated by the repre-
sentatives of the political and ecclesiastical authorities of the city of Thessaloniki in
the years between 1382 and 1430. This was a turbulent period for Thessaloniki dur-
ing which it experienced the pressure of Turkish attacks, its first conquest by the Ot-
toman Turks (1387), its handing over to the Byzantines (1403) and the Venetians
(1423), and the final subjection to the Ottoman rule (1430).
The texts under discussion will be mainly the discourses delivered to the people
of Thessaloniki by Manuel II Palaeologus and the three archbishops of the city, Isi-
dore Glabas, Gabriel and Symeon, but also other writings such as their personal cor-
respondence. The main aim will be to make a comparative analysis of the ideas pro-
jected by the two spheres of authority in order to demonstrate that, although they at
times converged, they were also characterised by mixed messages and lack of consist-
ency, which would aggravate the inhabitants’ feelings of insecurity and uncertainty.
The organising concepts on which I will focus are the following: i) the policy of
defence, ii) the relation between fatherland and city, iii) collective identity, and iv)
the relationship between the political and ecclesiastical authorities.
Daria Resh (St. Petersburg State University, Russia)

Continuity of Apostolic Devotion: Symeon, Archbishop of
Thessalonica, in his Writings
Symeon was the last bishop of Thessalonica (1416/17–1429) before the Ottoman
conquest of the city. This paper offers a close reading of Symeon’s self-references in
order to discern what picture of himself he wished to remain in the memory of his
contemporaries. First analysis examines the texts written for Thessalonians and then
the second group addressed to those in the capital, because the author’s manner of
self-expression changes according to his audience.
Addressing his congregation Symeon pays a lot of attention to his religious and
social duties. Being suspected to leave Thessalonica settled by Turks, he uses apolo-
getic strategy and argues against his accusers. He adopts an image of martyr, associat-
ing himself with the divine truth violated in the city. Nevertheless, he reveals ambig-
uous attitude towards his rank, claiming his reluctance to be a bishop and weakness
of his miserable nature.
In his letters to Constantinople Symeon finds out the conflict between the mask
he is obliged to wear as well as the conventions to which he is asked to conform, and
his own desire not to represent himself as other people require. He states that he will
look for his reflection in the Holy Scriptures rather than hesitate depending on the
fickle human views. Audaciously he adopts the image of Apostle Paul and therefore
assumes fully his authority as a new Apostle.
The reason for this change lies in eschatological views of Symeon. In his eyes, he
lives in an apocalyptic era. The Roman Empire is crushed and, what is more impor-
tant, the Romans have been assimilated to those Jews in the desert. In whole, eve-
ryone lives as a pagan. Thus there is a need for new Apostles. Despite his humility,
Symeon dares to take on this role precisely. The distance between the ideal Bishop
and the weak man is bridged.
Carlo Virgilio (University of Birmingham, UK)

The privileges granted by John VIII to Florence in 1439
In January 1439 John VIII Palaiologos (1425–1448), together with the Patriarch of
Constantinople Joseph II (1416–1439), moved from Ferrara to Florence to carry on
the Ecumenical Council. The council was transferred to Florence following the dis-
position of Pope Eugenio IV. However, it is very likely that the Florentine political
establishment also had a central role in this decision, which was to promote the city
of Florence as a powerful centre, and to obtain the much-desirable commercial privi-
leges from the basileus. On account of these happenings, it is not wrong to say that the
Union of Churches was a success for the city of the Medici, since it was followed by
the concession of two different privileges to the city by John VIII Palaiologos. Most
importantly, he granted the city of Florence all the rights in Constantinople and in
Romania which had previously belonged to Pisa and give to Florence the right to cre-
ate public notaries (cfr. Müller n. 122 = Lampros, pp. 338–344), while other minor
privileges were endowed to single aristocratic families like the Fedini-Brancacci.
This paper will analyse the privileges granted by John VIII to Florence. As a mat-
ter of fact these grants present many questions which until now have not been dis-
closed. Why, for example, does it seem that the Florentines did not enact the privi-
leges received by the Emperor? Why John VIII granted to Florence the right to cre-
ate public notaries and appointed some of the Florentines to the rank of Palatine
Count?
This is part of my PhD dissertation which relates about the relationship between
the Florentine, Byzantium and the Ottomans under the supervision of Dr. Dimiter
Angelov.
Václav Ježek (Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic)

Byzantine influence on Ethiopian monasticism-some reflections
The communication asseses the possible influences of the Byzantine monastic tradi-
tion on the development of Ethiopian monasticism in the context of continuity or
discontinuity of Christian monastic traditions.
FC26. EMPIRE IN DECLINE I

Moderators
Melek Delilbaşi/Srdjan Pirivatric
Angelina Volkoff (Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia)

Theodore Laskaris (Ist): the formative years of a statesman
During its period of exile in Nicæa, the Byzantine Empire had to address the intricate
issues of securing a governmental structure and resetting its foreign policy and diplo-
matic affairs. Scholars have underlined the ability and the multifaceted talents of the
Laskarids in handling the crisis of the Empire, and for its part, the aptitude demon-
strated by the founder of the so-called Nicæan Empire, Theodore I Laskaris, revealed
itself decisive at the crucial time when the very life of the Empire was at stake. And
so the question of Theodore’s preparation, the development of his political skills, his
military and diplomatic astute, in short, the formation of his ideas of statecraft calls
for an investigation of his pre-imperial biography, though constrained by the scarcity
of directly relevant sources.
The turbulent years of the Angeloi dynasty had been rich in incidences that nat-
urally were to affect the adolescent Theodore. He was of an aristocratic provincial
family with Komnenan ties, at the time in the process of completing his education,
most probably in the capital, and commencing his military career. Presumably, the
Third Crusade, the Balkan hostilities, and the related strengthening authority of the
Papacy, had been most striking. While one cannot infer a direct role in the coup,
Theodore Laskaris had clearly been in the entourage of Alexios III by 1195, as dem-
onstrated by his rapid career rise under the new emperor, who later became his fa-
ther-in-law. The events leading up to the Fourth Crusade obviously influenced the
formation of Theodore’s later policy, not least what concerns the Byzantine relations
with the Papacy. Imprisoned under Alexios IV, Theodore escaped a little after the
ascension of Alexios V at the end of January 1204, and then began in the name of
Alexios III, as his despot, the defense of the eastern provinces of the Empire against
the Crusaders. And so, the investigation of the formative years allows for a different
look at the subsequent activities of Theodore Laskaris and his brother Konstantine
as a kind of co-venture, riddled with family ties, imperial ideals, factual military and
diplomatic successes, and possibly, even a sense of civic responsibility.
Paraskevi Sykopetritou (University of Cyprus, Nicosia)

Ceremonies and Political Ideology in “Exile”: Studying the
Accession Rituals of the Laskarids Emperors of Nicaea
The accession of Theodorus I Laskaris and his successors to the imperial throne of
Nicaea provides an opportunity to examine the effectiveness with which the ceremo-
nies and the political ideology are entwined with the establishment of a new dynasty
in exile. In their historical narratives George Akropolites, Theodore Skoutariotes,
George Pachymeres and Nicephorus Gregoras provide an account of these proce-
dures, each one from his own perspective responding to different ideological or po-
litical needs.
In my communication I will not only highlight the specific ceremonial which the
Laskarids employed for their successful accession to the imperial throne and the es-
tablishment of their dynasty in ‘exile’, but I will also draw the attention to the specific
ideological messages that these acts carried. Having in mind the general sociopoliti-
cal framework of the time, the ceremonial will be examined in the sense of publicly
performed acts of self-representation projecting authority, hierarchical order and
ideological claims.
Finally, the findings will demonstrate that analyzing and explaining the patterns
of non-verbal and symbolic communication concerning the acclamation and corona-
tion rituals of the Laskarid dynasty is a key element in order to understand and cor-
rectly interpret the political culture of this transitional phase of Byzantine history.
For example the participation of the aristocratic families, the church and the army
in the rituals of accession became more essential due to their crucial role both in the
rivalry with the Despotat of Epirus as well as in the struggle to re-conquest Constan-
tinople and restore Byzantine Empire. The coexistence of old Byzantine traditions
alongside with new ones, or better said old traditions slightly transformed, such as
the raising of an emperor sitting and not standing on a shield during the acclamation
ritual is necessary for the Laskarids to legitimate their claims.
Juho Wilksman (University of Helsinki, Finland)

Avoiding pitched battles in Byzantine warfare against the Latins
during the thirteenth century: Benefits and drawbacks
The Byzantines have a reputation for seeking to avoid pitched battles. In the case
of the wars waged against the Latins by the “Nicaean Empire” and the re-founded
Byzantium during the thirteenth century, this reputation appears to have been de-
served, at least apart from the mostly unsuccessful initial encounters following the
Fourth Crusade. In my paper I shall argue that in the thirteenth century this kind
of strategy brought success (in land warfare) to the “Nicaeans”/Byzantines mainly
during defensive campaigns. When it was a question of waging offensive warfare,

this was less true, especially because during this era the Byzantines tended to rely on
heavy siege machines for taking fortifications and these made it difficult to conduct
swift manoeuvers as usually required by a strategy of avoiding battles. The victories
the “Nicaeans”/Byzantines achieved over the Latins tended to occur when they were
defending their own territories. When on the offensive, the “Nicaeans”/Byzantines
were successful mainly during the reign of John Vatatzes, who appears to have out-
classed most of his adversaries in the art of generalship, and on the few occasions in
which the “Niceans”/Byzantines could derive benefit from exceptionally favourable
circumstances.
Георги Н. Николов (Софийски университет „Св. Климент Охридски”,

България)
Византийската империя и сепаратизмът в Българското царство
(края на ХІІ–края на ХІV в.)
Появата на децентрализационни процеси във възобновеното Българско царство

в края на ХІІ в. често се свързва с центробежните сили във Византийската им-
перия. В българските земи обаче опитите за сепаратизъм били в генетична връз-
ка с въстанието срещу византийската власт от 1185–1187 г. Всички отцепници
(Добромир Хриз, Иванко, Йоан Спиридонаки) били противници на василевса
и действали в руслото на политиката на цар Калоян (1197–1207). Икономиче-
ската стабилност била в основата на стремежа за политическа самостоятелност
през първите десетилетия на ХІІІ в. Севастократор Стрез (до 1211 г.) и деспот
Алексий Слав (до ок. 1228 г.) откъснали значителни територии от Българско-
то царство и управлявали почти напълно независимо от Търново. Латинската
власт на Балканите в периода 1204–1261 г. временно преустановила децентра-
лизацията във Византия. За разлика от нея Българското царство продължило
да бъде арена на сепаратизъм, който с всяко следващо десетилетие придобивал
рудименти на самостоятелно държавно съществуване. В края на ХІІІ и началото
на ХІV в. част от сепаратистите (севастократор Радослав, деспот Войсил) в Бъл-
гария били използвани за политическите интереси на Цариград. През ХІV в. и
Българското царство, и Византийската империя се „изравнили” в раздробяване-
то на своите държави. На Балканите се появили около 40 микродържави, част от
които изглеждали като напълно самостоятелни царства. Сред най-големите по
територия и със значителна политическа тежест били Добруджанското деспот-
ство (на братятата Балик, Тодор и деспот Добротица, наследен от деспот Иван-
ко) и Видинското царство (на Иван Срацимир). Тези владения имали твърде
продължителен живот. Тяхната виталност до голяма степен се дължала на обща-
та политическа криза на Балканите и отслабването на централната власт. Визан-
тийската империя използвала някои от обособилите се в Българското царство

сепаратисти за решаването на свои вътрешно и външнополитически проблеми.
Пример за това са действията на родопския храбрец Момчил, както и тези на
Тодор и Добротица в средата на ХІV в. по време на борбата за власт в импе-
рията. Прави впечатление, че Византия преговаряла с тези сепаратисти, като с
равностоен политически партньор. Видинският цар Иван Срацимир пък в цър-
ковно отношение се ориентирал към подчинение на Цариградската патриар-
шия. Политическите връзки на самостоятелните владения в българските земи с
Византийската империя представляват твърде интересен щрих от картината на
балканската децентрализация и държавна дезинтеграция.
Srdjan Pirivatric (Institute of Byzantine Studies, Belgrade, Serbia)

Date of the Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologos’ Chrysobull for
Chilandari: July 1262 or 1277?
July of 1277 is generally accepted as the date when Michael VIII Palaeologos issued
a chrysobull sygillion for the monastery of Chilandari on the Hagion Oros. The em-
peror thus confirmed in general the rights which had previously been given to the
monastery by Alexios III Angelos, and granted himself the village Kastrin as a new
possesion. The document contains the following data helpful for the establishment
of it’s chronology: – month of July and fifth indiction; – signature of George Acro-
polites as megas logothetes; – mention of the village Kastrin. The first two data are not
helpful enough for the dating, since both years 1262 and 1277 are acceptable regard-
ing the indiction and the cursus honorum of Acropolites. In another chrysobull of
Michael VIII issued for the same monastery in April 1271 the possesion of Kastrin is
promised to the monastic family. Therefore it is concluded that the document where
Kastrin is specified as a possesion of the monastery must have been following to that
of 1271 (Dölger; Živojinović, Kravari, Giros). But, it is noteworthy that Kastrin is
not mentioned among the possesions of Chilandari in another general confirmative
act issued by emperor Andronicus II in January of 1299. It was only in 1300 that Kas-
trin was given to the monastery by emperors Andronicus II and Michael IX Palaiolo-
goi on the request of king Milutin (Živojinović). So it seems the mention of Kastrin
as an argument for the datation of the chrysobull in 1277 is not firm enough.
Some other arguments useful for the datation should also be considered. The na-
ture of the document as an act of general confirmation suggests better the beginning
of the emperor’s reign as the time of it’s issuing. There are several chrysobulls of such
a type issued by Michael VIII for monasteries at Hagion Oros (for Lavra, Esphigme-
nou, Dochiarou and Xeropotamou), all of them dating from before the Council of
Lyon in 1274. There are also some other points suggesting that Chilandari was not
among the few monasteries to whom Michael VIII issued acts after 1274 (for Xero-
potamou and Zographou). So there are more reasons to consider July 1262 as the
date when Michael VIII issued his first chrysobull for Chilandari than July 1277. The
conclusion is also of some value as a contribution to the curriculum vitae of George
Acropolites.
Anna Christidou (Courtauld Institute of Art, London, UK)

Via Egnatia, The Ultimate Frontier: art and patronage at the
service of the political ‘survival’ of the Empire in the thirteenth
and fourteenth century
In my recently concluded thesis on art, power and patronage in Medieval Albania

I examine two virtually unknown sets of imperial dynastic portraits decorating the
narthex of the church of Hagia Triada located inside the citadel of Berat and the ex-
onarthex of the church of St. Nicholas at Perhondi. Stylistic and contextual analysis
indicates that the imperial sets were commissioned during the rule of Andronikos II
Palaiologos (1282–1328) who is represented in both. The newly-acquired portraits
add considerably to scant evidence of Late Byzantine imperial portraiture from the
territories of the empire and aids understanding of the iconographic development
of the genre. More importantly though, the identification and interpretation of the
two imperial sets provides valuable insight into the aspirations of the patrons and the
underlying reasons behind their commission in the remote western frontier line of
the Byzantine Empire.
Commencing with this painting evidence from Medieval Albania, this paper ar-
gues that the concentration of a considerable number of imperial portraits and/or
imperially associated patronage along – and in the vicinity of – the Via Egnatia do
not merely represent acts of piety and benefaction. The argument is supported by
additional iconographic and epigraphic evidence from these regions, extending from
the Adriatic entrances of the Via Egnatia to beyond Ohrid. Viewed against the pre-
vailing political and social challenges, these commissions can also be seen to accom-
modate a broader communication policy promulgated through art and patronage.
This ‘policy’ acted to advertise Byzantine authority and omnipotence, to consolidate
local Byzantine identity and ensure solidarity of local populations across the strategi-
cally crucial Via Egnatia. Effectively, this paper will demonstrate the ways in which
art and patronage may have also acted as means to aid Byzantium’s political survival.
Christos Malatras (University of Birmingham, UK)

The “social aspects” of the second civil war (1341–1354)
The second civil war that was fought between the regency for the minor Ioannes V
and Ioannes Kantakouzenos has given birth to many discussions about its nature. It
has been said that the middle and lower classes supported the regency and attacked,
in an act of social reaction, the followers of Kantakouzenos who represented the
landed aristocracy. The regency is supposed to have initiated measures in favour of
the middle and lower classes. This policy is believed to have culminated in the regime
of the Zealots in Thessalonike.
However, a closer examination of the sources reveals that this picture is mislead-
ing. The regency, apart from the confiscations which proceeded against the sup-
porters of Kantakouzenos and which are supposed to have strengthened the state
treasury, did not initiate any other measure against aristocracy. In addition, the con-
fiscated lands seem to have passed to the aristocracy that supported the regency. In
Thessalonike economic activities continued uninterrupted as did the function of the
state authorities. The leaders of the Zealots were none other than aristocrats and the
party does not seem to be anything else than the name for the pro-regency party in
Thessalonike.
The main supporters of Kantakouzenos named in our sources were none other
than his relatives, friends and oikeioi. Many aristocrats adopted a rather ambiguous
attitude and shifted their allegiance according to their needs and the balance of pow-
er. On the other side, it seems certain that the people in most cities of the empire
retained their loyalty to the regency. Their shift of allegiance had only to do with
the growing power of Kantakouzenos in the area. Nevertheless, we should not as-
sume that the uprisings were something spontaneous or necessarily had social roots.
We have definite evidence that in many cases these uprisings were stirred up by the
authorities. No uprisings took place in cities where there was no fear that the cities
might be delivered to Kantakouzenos, while the local aristocracy that did not adhere
to Kantakouzenos remained at the forefront.
Елена Костова (Институт за исторически изследвания, София, България)

Константин Драгаш и неговото княжество (нови изворови
сведения от архива на манастира Ватопед)
Княжеството на Йоан и Константин Драгаш възниква на територията на Ду-

шанова Сърбия, в района на Източна и Североизточна Македония, като по-го-
лемият брат Йоан се споменава за първи път като самостоятелен владетел през
лятото на 1373г.
Настоящото изложение е базирано на три непубликувани документа от ар-
хива на манастира Ватопед, конкретно отнасящи се до имотен спор между два

мелнишки манастира – „Света Богородица Спелиотиса” и „Света Богородица
Катафигион”. Първият акт е с дата – месец октомври 1377 г. и отразява нов етап
в историята на княжеството на Драгаши, изразяващ се с промяна в управлени-
ето. От документа става ясно, че след лятото на 1377 г., властта преминава в ръ-
цете на по-малкия от двамата братя – Константин. Чрез разглеждания митро-
политски акт, реално се санкционира и включването на Мелник в границите на
княжеството.
Вторият документ, имащ отношение към княжеството на Константин Дра-
гаш, е с дата – месец юли 1379 г. и също е митрополитски акт. В него срещаме
интересни податки, засягащи формата на управление в пределите на Деянови-
чите. В документа поземленото владение е наречено „държава” – израз за обо-
собено политическо обединение. В края на грамотата са поставени подписите
на т.нар. „архонти на тукашната държава”, наричащи себе си „слуги” на Констан-
тин.
Третият документ е издаден през 1386 г. и отново е митрополитски акт. Раз-
глеждайки този акт от архива на манастира Ватопед, и ако се абстрахираме от
същината на имотния спор, проличават няколко конкретни факта, засягащи,
както политическата, така и църковната история на мелнишката крепост. От
документа става ясно, че в имотния конфликт се намесва Константинополската
патриаршия, в чийто диоцез се намира Мелник. Чрез посредничеството и пред
пълномощника на Вселенския патриарх става разглеждането и разрешаването
на спора. В акта са проследени и имената на владиците, стояли начело на Мел-
нишката митрополия през последните десетина години на ХІV в. Можем да от-
бележим и още един извод, а именно, че актът бележи края на пребиваването
на Спиридон като митрополит на Мелник и е израз на неговата подготовка за
поемането на патриаршеския престол в Печ.
Boris A. Todorov (Centre for Advanced Studies, Sofia, Bulgaria)

Holy Rulers and the Integration of the Medieval Serbian Space
Between late 12th and early 16th c., Serbian rulers were the object of a continuous
hagiographical tradition, from Stephen Nemanja up to John Branković. Just four of
these kings and princes were included in the Eastern Orthodox calendar, yet many
others were the object of worship. Stephen Uroš I (d. 1277), Dragutin (d. 1316),
and Helen of Anjou (d. 1314) all had their lives composed by the Archbishop of
Peć Danilo II (d. 1337) as hagiography. Helen and Dragutin had their bodies car-
ried in processions similar to the translation of relics and appear in the iconography
of Gračanica (Helen) or Arilje (Dragutin). The final redaction of Danilo’s work, the
Lives of Serbian Kings and Archbishops, contains notices about the remaining mem-
bers of the dynasty, in a hagiographical synthesis that offered after-the-fact rationali-
zation of early Serbian history.

This communication interprets the veneration of Serbian rulers in the late 13th
early 14th c. not as rationalization but as real-time strategy of the Nemanjići to place
their reigns within the spatial, institutional and ideological framework of Nemanja’s
pious foundations. Reading Danilo’s Lives against the background of autobiographi-
cal notes in Serbian and Byzantine prooimia, I suggest that the Nemanjići consciously
blurred the distinction between veneration of relics and praying for the donors’ souls:
from peripheral, the bodies and images of kings became central to liturgical practice
and monastic memory. Their veneration guaranteed the consolidation of property
around pious foundations (zadužbine) and impeded divisions of Serbia’s territorial
core.
Йоанна Бенчева (Софийски университет „Св. Климент Охридски”, България)

На поклонение в Света гора през Средновековието
За съвременника Средновековието е период, в който хората рядко напускат

границите на населеното си място. Действително трудностите съпровождащи
далечните пътувания не са малко, но вярването, че молитвите са по-искрени в
опредени места, свързани със светци и мъченици на Християнството, кара мно-
зина да предприемат пътуване към Йерусалим, Константинопол, Атон или към
по-близки до родното им място светини.
На поклонение в Света гора през Средновековието ходят различни по своя
статус хора – владетели (българският цар Иван Асен II (1218–1241), сръбските
Стефан Неманя (1166–1196) и Стефан Душан (1331–1355), духовни лица (Св.
Сава, първият сръбски архиепископ, бъдещият български патриарх Евтимий),
монаси от целия православен свят (Игнатий Смолянин, Зосим, Епифаний
Мних), но и такива от Запада като флорентинеца Кристофоро Буонделмонти и
мнозина обикновени хора. Сведенията за тяхното поклонение пред светините,
пазени в Света гора ще бъдат обект на настоящето съобщение.
Elisaveta Todorova (University of Cincinnati, USA)

Hierarchy and Dynamics of Ports and Markets in the Black Sea
Area
Since the move of “Rome” to Constantinople the importance of the Black Sea coast
and hinterland were gradually adjusted to the needs of the cosmopolitan capital of
the Eastern Roman Empire. Various ports, protected coves and river estuaries ini-
tially used for military and intelligence purposes were later raised in importance or
sunk into oblivion according to the political shifts in the mainland.
When Byzantium lost provisioning from other areas in the Mediterranean, it

closed the northern end of the Bosporus to outsiders and organized its own fleet and
indigenous Black Sea seamen to deliver the necessary supplies to the “global” market-
place of Constantinople. Thus Cherson, Trebizond, Mesembria and Matracha turned
into trading posts and ports often joined by smaller but important for the moment
outlets developed by enterprising locals, state officials or long-distance merchants
operating along the Silk Roads, the Danube, Dnieper, Dniester and Don waterways
linking the sea with most of Euroasia.
With the westward shift of the Mediterranean maritime activity during the sec-
ond millennium C.E. Byzantine sea trade became gradually restricted to its eastern
part, including the Black Sea. Although Byzantium was able to control access into
it until the Fourth Crusade, Constantinople’s location on the Bosporus, where com-
modities originating from the Pontic area and beyond were marketed, was just whet-
ting the appetites of Mediterranean merchants who have been active in the Byzantine
capital since at least Comnenian times.
Beginning in 1204, Mediterranean seamen were reconnoitering the Byzantine
preserve beyond the Straits, focusing initially on established outlets of local and long-
distance commerce, where infrastructure and established trade networks already ex-
isted. By expanding transactions with their financial power, Venetians and other Ital-
ian merchants carved a niche in the indigenous peoples’ economies, collaborating
and competing with regional agents, at the same time furthering those agents’ activ-
ity with their indirect participation in the Mediterranean trade.
The gradually growing business in the area involved more and more people and
localities; Venetians, followed by the Genoese established colonies in older ports and
looked for new exports either from the Black Sea shores or their hinterland. Con-
temporary sources witness not only the changing nature of business transactions but
also the new orientation beyond major port cities like Soldaia, Caffa, Tana, Trebi-
zond and Vicina. The shifting to secondary ports resulted in the rise or abandonment
of certain harbors, anchorages, landing beaches and mooring places that appeared in
the records.
A comprehensive study of the rise and fall of outlets of varying in size and lon-
gevity will contribute to the Black Sea’s, Byzantine and Mediterranean economic his-
tory of the Middle Ages.
Angeliki Papageorgiou (University of Athens, Greece)

The term δροῦγγος in the Late Byzantine era (13th–15th c.)
For decades historians identified the term δροῦγγος, as used in the Late Byzantine pe-
riod, with a geographical region or mountainous pass, mainly found in sources deal-
ing with Attica, Laconia and Epirus. To justify their theory, many put forth the argu-
ment that the etymology of the aforementioned term since the later 12th century
derived not from the old Latin drungus, but from the Slavic drợgъ. This theory was
based on certain passages of the Chronicle of Morea. In this paper we will try to show
that, although the term δροῦγγος often designated a specific geographical area, it was
not necessarily and exclusively restricted to mountainous regions. We believe that
δροῦγγος was an administrative subdivision, with a history similar to that of the terms
θέμα, τοῦρμα and βάνδον.
André-Louis Rey (Université de Genève, Suisse)

Manuel II Paléologue, un empereur au delà des frontières, et les
Turcs
Manuel II Paléologue, l’un des plus remarquables empereurs byzantins, est certaine-
ment un personnage qui a su dépasser de nombreuses frontières durant sa carrière,
que ce soit pendant les années mouvementées qui précèdent son accession au trône
ou après celle-ci. Tour à tour héritier officiel du pouvoir ou prisonnier de rivaux pro-
venant de sa propre famille, il règne quelques années sur une Thessalonique indépen-
dante, passe en divers lieux et finit par accéder à un pouvoir impérial dans une situa-
tion qui l’oblige à servir le sultan turc Bayezid. Plus tard, il accomplira des voyages
diplomatiques qui l’emmèneront jusqu’à Paris et Londres, à la recherche de soutiens
contre l’expansion ottomane.
Il a cependant bien connu certains Turcs et eu des relations courtoises avec un
membre de la cour de Bayezid chez qui il résida à Ankara, passant de longues jour-
nées d’hiver à discuter de religion.
La présente communication reviendra sur les circonstances ce débat, où les fron-
tières religieuses et les contraintes sociales qui pèsent sur les deux interlocuteurs mar-
quent les vraies limites d’un dialogue exceptionnel, connu par le compte rendu qu’en
a donné Manuel II lui-même, et le complétera par les données de la correspondance
de l’empereur avec les proches restés à Constantinople.
FC26A. EMPIRE IN DECLINE II
Moderators
Elisaveta Todorova/Alexandar Nikolov
Nikolay Pashkin (Ural State University, Ekaterinburg, Russia)

The Objectives of Byzantium’s Foreign Policy in the first half of
the 15th Century and the Problem of Crusade
The history of the relationships of late Byzantium and the West make a question of
the Byzantine emperors’ aims. It is known that helping in the wars with Turks was
the main question in creating political relationship with Latin world. But the forms
of the help were not very clear. The West considered the crusade as the right way to
repulse Ottoman menace. But hardly this way corresponded to the objectives of Byz-
antine policy. Greeks never put this question in the relationships with the West. The
negative experience of the past showed, that the crusade in its classical understanding
could lead to the increase of hostility between Orthodox Christians and Catholics.
Perhaps, that was the reason why Byzantine diplomats did not asked much from
the West. They asked for limited military assistance as in relationship with Venice or
financial donations as in the relationships with Aragon. At the best such policy was
able to hold up Turks’ expansion but not to stop it totally.
However this was not the only one objective. In that period Byzantium tried to
play the role of the mediator which united the forces in European politics. In 1420s
Byzantium tried to suppress Hungarian-Venetian conflict, because both this coun-
tries and Byzantium were united by the one Turks problem. The same happens in ne-
gotiations about the church union. Byzantium negotiated against the background of
the church crisis in Latin world. In this question the main objective of Greek policy
was to reconcile opposite sides – the Council (firstly in Constance, and then in Basel)
and the Papacy. On this stage the main objective of foreign policy of Byzantium was
to help political and religious uniting in the West. This kind of policy could hardly
stop Turks conquest not provoking the crusade in its traditional understanding.
Владимир Петрунин (Орловский государственный университет, Россия)

Исихазм и падение Константинополя в 1453 г.
Падение Константинополя в 1453 г. невозможно адекватно оценить без особо-

го внимания к конфликту Церкви и государства в поздневизантийский период,
обусловленный проуниатской политикой Палеологов.
Как известно, победа исихастов в середине XIV в. позволила христианской
ортодоксии укрепить свои позиции в социально-политической жизни право-

славной ойкумены (политический исихазм). Внутри самой Византии наблюда-
ется удивительная ситуация, когда имперскую традицию начинает олицетво-
рять собой не государство, а Церковь. Обострение конфликта между Констан-
тинопольским патриархатом и проуниатским императорским двором после
Флорентийской унии, приводит к особой актуализации права Церкви отказать
в поддержке государству, если последнее принуждает православных христиан к
отступлению от Христа и Его Церкви.
Именно в таком ключе ортодоксальное православие воспринимало возоб-
новление унии в 1452 г., следствием чего стал призыв Геннадия Схолария о не-
повиновении ромеев Константину XI Палеологу и, соответственно, неучастии
их в обороне города от турок. В пользу этого говорит как число людей, оборо-
нявших город (из 50–60 тысяч населения византийской столицы лишь около 5
тысяч человек принимало участие в обороне города, если не считать западных
наемников), так и оставшиеся, после захвата Константинополя турками, нетро-
нутые кварталы (Фанар, Петрион, Псамафия, Студион и др.). На наш взгляд,
это убедительно свидетельствует о том, что жители этих кварталов добровольно
сдались туркам.
Таким образом, следование политическому учению православия, говоря-
щему о «повиновении больше Богу, нежели человекам» (Деян. 5, 29), привело
к тому, что в момент падения Константинополя, Церковь, усиленная исихаст-
ским возрождением, открыто проявила свое неповиновение государству. Дан-
ное обстоятельство заставляет по-иному взглянуть на распространенный ныне
в византиноведении взгляд на события 1453 г. и на роль религиозного фактора
в гибели Византии.
Ivayla Popova (Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Bulgaria)

The image of the 14th and 15th century Balkans and Byzantium in
the texts of western travelers and pilgrims
The purpose of this communication is to scrutinize western texts describing the

late mediaeval Balkan Peninsula. They were written by pilgrims who traveled to the
Holly Land through the cities of Istria and Dalmatia, and across the Balkan main-
land. It was the weather that sometimes compelled them to stop in towns and villages
along the Adriatic coast, which they briefly described in their memoirs. Such mem-
oirs were written by Mariano from Siena (1431), Gabriele Capodilista (1458), Santo
Brasca (1480), Konrad Grünemberg (1486), Pietro Casola (1494), Niccolò da Mar-
toni (1394–1395), Bernardo Michelozzi (1497–1498), and Bonsignore Bonsignori
(1497–1498). However, the most intriguing details can be found in the accounts of
Felix Fabri, (1480 and 1483–1484), Bernard von Breidenbach (1483–1484), and
Arnold von Harff (1496–1499).
The texts of Bonsignori, Michelozzi, and Arnold von Harff are of primary impor-
tance to us, since they pay more attention the Balkan mainland, than to the Adriatic
coast. Thus they offer us fine descriptions of the Dalmatian shore, the remote west re-
gions of the Balkans, Sofia, Plovdiv, Odrin, and Constantinople. Bonsignori, Mich-
elozzi, and von Harff are remarkable since they even offer us various view points.
Their accounts are uniform only when they refer to the monuments of Constantino-
ple. Von Harff ’s travel notes are particularly rich and informative because they con-
tain abundant ethnographical data concerning the Balkan population – Harff was
especially interested in the religious beliefs of both Muslims and Christians. That is
why he gives us detailed information connected with many aspects of the everyday
life on the Balkans. His information concerns philology, architecture, geography,
and even natural sciences.
Felix Fabri, Bernard von Breidenbach, and Arnold von Harff also provide us pre-
cious data on the Balkan ethnic and social minorities, e.g. the Gypsy and Jewish com-
munities in Modon (Peloponnesus). Bonsignori and Michellozzi even refer to a mi-
nority group known as the Maurovlachi (i.e. the Black Wallachians), which they en-
countered on the Dalmatian coast. Konrad Grünemberg describes with unconcealed
curiosity orthodox marriage festivities he came upon in Zara (Zadar). Most travelers
agree that the Balkan population was prevailingly Slavic.
The pilgrims’ accounts offer us fascinating descriptions of impressing natural
landmarks, localities, and monuments in Istria, Dalmatia, and elsewhere on the Bal-
kans. The western travelers never hid their vivid interest in everything they encoun-
tered, and paid attention to seemingly insignificant details of the customs, costumes,
professions, religious practices, architecture, history, and mythology of the Balkan
population.
Pawel P. Wroblewski (University of Wroclaw, Poland)

The seven arguments attributed to Gennadios Scholarios for the
freedom of the Christian faith in Turkey (1453)
The final fall of the Eastern Roman Empire in 1453 initiated a new era in relations
between Christians and Muslims. In the same year Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II the
Conqueror (1432–1481) taking over the prerogatives of the Byzantine emperor gave
the patriarchal insignia to Gennadios II of Constantinople, also originally known as
Georgios Kourtesios Scholarios (ca. 1400–ca. 1473). It is worth emphasizing that,
firstly, Mehmed in any way did not interfere in the election of the Constantinopoli-
tan Patriarch by the Holy Synod, and secondly, the Sultan took part in the ceremoni-
al ingress of Patriarch Gennadios to the Pammakaristos Church. During the second
ceremony, in the homily Ekthesis tes pisteos ton orthodoxon christianon addressed to
Mehmed II, in the chapters 13–20 whose authenticity is being questioned, Patriarch
Gennadios presents the seven apologetic arguments for the freedom of Christian-
ity in the Ottoman Empire: (1) the faith in Christ brings together different cultural
traditions; (2) the Divine Grace as only one teacher (didaskalos) is the guarantee of
preserving the unity of faith; (3) Christianity is the religion of different social classes
and (4) is aimed at the spiritual life in the God’s love (agape tou Theou); (5) if the
faith of the Christians would not be true, this faith consequently should not have
more followers; (6) there is nothing against the Christians; (7) Christianity was
bloodily fought by the followers of polytheism and idolatry, but the martyrdom is
the basis to strengthen the Christian faith. It does appear that these gestures of Sul-
tan Mehmed II were an expression of respect for the Christian majority living so far
in the Polis and that these two historical events were the realisation of the principle
of state non-interference in the internal affairs of the Greek Orthodox Church and
the principle of promoting the freedom of Christians by the Turkish State, but in fact
all this did not stop the process of organized Islamicization and the establishment of
the Greek millet.
Melek Delilbaşi (Ankara University, Turkey)

Thessaloniki and Ioannina from Byzantine to the Ottoman period
(15th–16th Centuries)
Thessaloniki is located on the network of roads known as Via Egnatia has been an im-
portant commercial center since ancient times. In both the Byzantine and Ottoman
periods it was the second largest commercial center after Constantinople (İstanbul).
Ioannina was the northern center of Greek despotate of Epirus that was founded af-
ter the Latin conquest of Constantinople in 1204. The city on the western part of
the Via Egnatia, which linked the ports on the Adriatic Sea with Thessaloniki and
Constantinople. These two towns were conquered by Sultan Murad II an interval
of seven months. (March–October 1430). As Thessaloniki (Selanik) became part of
the Ottoman realm by conquest, while Ioannina (Yanya) did so by confirming to the
Sultan to surrender. Different policies were applied to the cities by Sultan Murad II
in accordance with Ottoman conquest policy.
Sultan Murad II and the Beylerbeyi of Rumelia Sinan Paşa had sent proposals
written in Greek to the people of Ioannina, offering them amân. These ahidnâmes
(capitulations) are the oldest documents showing the rights and privileges given to
non-Muslims accepting Ottoman suzerainity. After receiving assurances concerning
their future position the city was annexed to the Ottoman territories peacefully. Thus
the autonomous administration of the city from Byzantine period was maintained
under Ottoman rule.
The regions in Epirus such as Zagoria, Malakasi and Agrafa in Thessaly were
also given ahidnâmes. For these privileges, the information is based solely on oral
accounts.
In this paper following topics will be discussed:
I) The policy of Murad II toward the population of the cities;
II) The ahidnâmes to the people of Epirus will be studied from the view point of
the status of non-Muslim communities within Ottoman society.
III) Continuity and change in demography from Byzantine to the Ottoman pe-
riod according to the Ottoman taxation registers.
Alexandar Nikolov (Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Bulgaria)

The treatise “On the Origins of the Turkish Tyrants” of John
Vodnianus Campanus (1597) and the Ottoman Conquest of
Byzantium and the Balkans
The paper is going to discuss a treatise from Early Modern Bohemia, dedicated to the
Ottoman history and thus belonging to the genre “Turcica”, very popular between
the 15th and the 17th centuries. The emphasis would be put on the sections, related
to the Ottoman conquest of Byzantium and the Balkans. In our opinion, despite of
the rather distant and chaotic information, some pieces of relevant data could be ex-
tracted. There will be also an attempt to follow the possible sources of the informa-
tion, namely the “Muslim History of the Turks” and “The Annals of the Ottoman
Sultans” of John Leunclavius, completed and published a bit earlier, respectively in
1591 and 1588. In our opinion these works could supply the researchers with some
additional facts about the Ottoman advance in the Balkans, especially in its inner ter-
ritories during the 14th century, a process, which is still to be investigated.
Bogdan-Petru Maleon (Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Iaşi, Romania)

A Byzantine Custom in Romanian Principalities as reflected in the
Western and Eastern Sources. Mutilation of the Usurpers
In the Byzantine Empire the rulers removed the usurpers from the competition for
the supreme power through various mutilations, like nose cutting off, emasculation
and blindness. It was believed that the ones punished that way would not ever again
dare to claim the throne, as physical and mental integrity were compulsory for get-
ting the imperial dignity. These violent political practices were transmitted also to
the Orthodox peoples, who took over various Byzantine political, cultural and legal
elements. The two medieval Romanian principalities, Wallachia and Moldavia, did
not have direct access to the Byzantine civilization, whose influence they perceived
through Serbians and Bulgarians, and, after the Ottoman conquest of the Balkan Pe-
ninsula, through the Greek Diaspora. This particular way of relating to the imperial
dignity determined the shaping of an original political system, in which succession
was established by the belonging to the ruling family – which by the end of the 16th
century coincided with the descendants of the states’ founders – without being set-
tled the order in which the successors could gain access to supreme power. Moreover,
it was believed that those born outside the marriage also had equal rights to aspire to
the throne, as long as their biological belonging to the ruling family was recognized.
Such a political organization led to numerous conflicts between the claimants, which
made that those who gained power to restrain the circle of competitors by applying
punitive measures. In the first phase of the two principalities’ existence – 14th–16th
centuries – the opponents’ physical elimination was applied, but gradually it was
made appeal to the mutilation of those who failed in the competition for the throne.
The most widely used practice was the nose cutting off, after which the subjects were
forced to take the monastic confinement. The fact that mutilation of usurpers was so
late used on a large scale is to be linked to the Greek influx in the Romanian princi-
palities during the 17th–18th centuries, as they were acquainted with this practices,
and to the change of the succession system so that after the end of the old dynasties
the competition for power was opened to many more families. The analysis of the
ideological justifications when resorting to such political violence is a novel aspect
of this research theme. It highlights the particular feature of the Romanian political
system, largely given by the late and mediated adoption of Byzantine ideology, which
determined the appearance of a series of medieval practices in modern era. Their ap-
plication in public for the representatives of aristocracy was the prerogative of an au-
tocrat sovereign ruling in a traditional political system.
FC27. ART, AESTHETICS, MUSIC. GENERAL QUESTIONS I

Moderators
Bissera Pencheva/Galina Alekseeva
Elizabeta Dimitrova (SS Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, Republic of

Macedonia)
Amazing Vistas: Depiction of Male/Female Beauty in Byzantine
Fresco Painting
Although not in the focus of Byzantine scholars, the depiction of physical beauty of
the saintly images can not be excluded from the investigation of aesthetic categories
of the medieval painting in the Orthodox East. It is well known that the manners of
ideological conception and visual presentation of the holy portraiture in Byzantium
were highly dependent on the religious dogma as well as church canons established
as early as the Late Antique period. However, the sophisticated approach of repre-
sentative Byzantine painters towards the specific and highly distinctive aesthetic con-
figuration of different saintly categories has left a significant testimony to the ways
of construction of the very decisive painterly code for the expression of their “attrac-
tive” physical appearance. In that regard and according to our typological categoriza-
tion, the holy warriors due to their bravery and uncompromising nature, received
the features of masculine and vigorous outlook (energy and resolution); the martyrs,
who have proudly sacrificed themselves for the common religious cause, gained the
physical characteristics of dignified and elegant pillars of the faith (resolution and dis-
tinction), the holy physicians appeared as symbols of corporeal and spiritual health
(distinction and generosity), the bishops as members of the most respected church en-
tourage were represented as noble and erudite leaders of the faithful (generosity and
maturity), while the representatives of the hermitic category were given the look of
ascetic tribunes in “silent” combat for the purity of faith (maturity and purity). On
the other hand, the female saints, according to their hagiographies, were depicted in
two different manners: as nuns and as wealthy and glamorous lady aristocrats. In the
first case, they embody the humble and god-fearing female gender (purity and grace),
while in the second, the images radiate with feminine graciousness and tender physi-
cal attractiveness (grace and fashion).
Anna Arevshatyan (Institute de l’art de l’Académie nationale des sciences de la

république d’Arménie, Erevan)
Grégoire de Nysse et la pensée musicale esthétique de l’Arménie
médiévale
La pensée musicologique théorique et esthétique de l’Arménie médiévale, qui est

passée par une voie particulière de développement, s’est abondamment nourrie de
l’héritage des penseures antiques et paléochrétiens. Ceci est attesté non seulement
par les traductions de grande valeur arméniennes, mais assi par les œuvres originales
des autheurs arméniens. L’héritage littéraire de l’hellénisme et des Pères de l’Eglise
chrétienne d’Orient est transmise à la littérature médiévale arménienne grace aux
néoplatoniciens arméniens, se mettant désormais au service de la nouvelle idéologie
et des exigeances esthétiques posées par la nouvelle Eglise. Grâce aux efforts des saints
traducteurs arméniens et de leurs disciples, on comte parmi les premières traductions
les œuvres des trois Pères cappadociens, dont l’importance et l’influence sur la théo-
logie, la philosophie, la médicine et l’esthétique musicale médiévales arméniennes,
lors de leurs formation, sont difficiles à surestimer.
Parmi les traités arméniens médievaux sur l’interprétation des modes musicaux
il y a un texte interessant, dont le titre et l’incipit est «Du bienheureux Basile sur les
modes (musicaux), d’ou ils proviennent». Cette interprétation nous est parvenue en
trois rédactions.
Le texte de la redaction longue est divisé en trois développements indépendents
qui exposent trois hypothèses differentes sur l’origine des modes musicaux. Le pre-
mier passage rattache l’apparition des modes aux crix d’animaux et des oiseaux. Le
deusième attribue leurs invention à des musiciens mythiques grecs. Et le troisième en
fait remonter l’origine aux prophètes de l’Ancien Testament.
L’interprétation en question est ecrit de toute evidence à la limite du hellenisme
tardif et de la période paléochrétienne. Il n’est pas exclus que le commentaire contien-
ne des fragments d’un traité grec perdu, appartenant sinon à Basile de Césarée, du
moins à un autre auteur grec, son contemporain.
Le texte attire l’attension des arménistes depuis le XIXe s. jusqu’a nos jours. Ils
ont proposé des diverses interpretations, mais la signification du premier passage res-
tait nondeterminée et contradictoire.
Nous proposons une nouvelle interprétation liée aux idées esthétiques de Gré-
goire de Nysse lequelle est fondée sur les paralelles entre ce texte et le passage de
chapitre VIII de l’ouvrage de Grégoire de Nysse «La creation de l’homme». Il est
fort interessant que dans le troisième, dernier passage du texte cité nous trouvons des
traces directes de l’autre œuvre connue de Grégoire de Nysse – «Commentaire des
Psaumes».
L’influence des idées esthétiques de Grégoire de Nysse sur la pensée musicale
esthétique arménienne est mal etudiée. Cependant, les échos des opinions de Gré-
goire de Nysse se remarquent chez les plusieurs auteurs médiévaux arméniens, qui
sont occupé de la théorie et de l’esthétique musicales. Parmi eux – Stépanos Siunetsi,

Hovhannes Vanakan, Vardan Areveltsi, Hovhannes Erznkatsi, Grigor Tatevatsi et les
autres.
Adam Levine (Oxford University, UK)

Early Byzantium and Second Sophistic Values: A Framework for
Interpreting the Image of Christ
In the Early Byzantine period, at least three images of Christ – the infant Christ, the
beardless youth, and the now-canonical image of Christ – were in wide circulation.
Towards the end of the period, the Ancient of Days and the so-called ‘Syro-Pales-
tinian’ types appear. A number of excellent studies have investigated the iconogra-
phy and, more recently, the semiotics of Christ’s image. One area that has remained
markedly under-researched, however, is the variation that exists within Christ’s im-
age types. Instead of categorizing all images of a young, non-infant Christ under the
heading of ‘the beardless youth,’ what, if anything, can the variant iconographies of
the beardless youth tell us about the culture of Early Byzantium?
Scholarship typically has tended to explain different iconographies within types
on the basis of different prototypes. In explaining the link between the prototype
and the image of Christ, the discourse has been concerned primarily with explicating
a theological or narratological correspondence between Christ’s life and acts and the
prototype’s myth and acts. While such an exercise is useful and has added a great deal
to our understanding, such analyses often look to visual and written sources taken
from the entire Early Byzantine period and, often, distant locales. The identification
of single prototypes for Christ’s image types, in other words, often conflates local
variation in the search for a general explanation.
As a clearer picture emerges of Early Byzantium, however, it appears that local-
ism was an important force in negotiating with the imperial ‘center.’ An increasing
number of scholars point to similarities between Early Byzantine and Second So-
phistic values, including the importance of paideia, an antiquarian disposition, and
artistic and literary erudition. In the context of these values local traditions were
blended, often successfully, with imperial policy to create novel amalgams. If similar
values were held in Early Byzantium, which the primary sources seem to attest, then a
similar negotiation between ‘center’ and ‘periphery’ should be expected in the Early
Byzantine period.
In such a framework the image of Christ can be seen as a particularly active site
for negotiating local traditions vis-à-vis the imperial Christian agenda. While the im-
age of ‘God’ was required to be an image of ‘Christ,’ what Christ looked like was
open to interpretation and manipulation. Syncretic depictions of Christ that blend
attributes of New Testament narrative with local iconographies, therefore, can help
to explain the variation of Christ images within types without undermining the ex-
istence of typological categories.
Despoina Lampada (Foundation of the Hellenic World, Athens, Greece)

The “consubstantial image”: Early theology of the image and the
shift in christological iconography in the late 4th C.
Early Christian Christological iconography is by no means an understudied subject.

It is also widely recognised that, already in this early period, art and imagery con-
veyed theological concepts and reflected historical circumstances pertinent to Chris-
tian origins. However, there is still ground to be covered when it comes to the early
theology of the image and its relation to the formation of the early Christian –and
particularly Christological– image.
“Theology of the image” is of course a term mostly associated with the era of
Iconoclasm. And yet, the concept of the image and the question of visibility of the
divine can be traced back to exegetic writings of the first centuries of Christianity
and become powerful arguments in 4th-C. Christology. The notion of image is em-
ployed both to explain the relation between God and the man “made in His image”
and to define the relation between the Father and the Son within the Trinity. That
this served as the foundation of 8th-C. theology of the image has been noted, but
less emphasis has been placed upon the relation between such development in early
Christian thought and the development of actual Christian imagery in the same era.
On the other hand, the relation between these developments is neither simple, nor
one-way. The fact that the same Fathers who elaborated the concept of the image
had generally negative attitudes towards actual, artificial images, only testifies to W.
Otten’s assertion that the tension between word and image lies in the very heart of
Christianity.
The Arian controversy dominates the theological enquiries in the second half of
the 4th century. In order to effectively refute Arian subordinationism it was necessary
to surpass the biblical and exegetical vocabulary: The term homoousios, consubstan-
tial (a quality attributed to the Son as the Image of the Father no less) is introduced
already in the writings of Athanasios of Alexandria. The aim of this communication
is to show how a certain shift in the Christological iconography in the late 4th C. can
be examined both parallel to and in light of this development of doctrinal theology.
Aggeliki Trivyzadaki (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece)

Byzantine visual arts: Soteriology of style or teaching of
iconography
Among the Fine Arts, whose presence is apparent and strong through the Byzantine
era, we can acknowledge a special position to painting and sculpture, the two basic
visual arts. Principal goal of these artistic activities, especially in their pictorial di-
mension, was the creation of works that were visual in nature and capable of express-
ing the ideas and the teachings that derive from the Christian doctrines.
It is obvious that Christianity dominated over and affected every artistic and
creative tendency of Byzantine artists. The question, though, that arises in this point
is whether this sovereign current is to be identified primarily in the stylistic making
or in the iconographic context of images and representations. In other words, style or
iconography could claim priority in the substantial making of Byzantine Art?
The Christian style premises the personal experience of the hagiographer and his
communion with God via his true penitence and participation in the sacramental li-
turgical life of the church, conditions that assure the necessary authenticity of his art
as a material realization of his internal divine contact. In this way, art becomes a fold
of Christian ethics and a form of soteriology, that represents with material means the
reformed through Christ creation.
Nevertheless, this atmosphere of vivid and pure Christian life is not always
present throughout the Byzantine period, since the art must also play a different role
as the media for the imperial ideology and the agent, which serves the earthly de-
mands of the church. Therefore, Christian hagiography transforms into Fine Art,
based on rules and principles, which every man, without conditions, could follow
to make himself artist. It becomes clear that a certain iconography, according to the
above mentioned necessities, should be “unleashed,” in order to meet specific “educa-
tional” needs. Eventually, the outcome of this procedure is the integrated formation
of Byzantine visual arts, where the teaching of iconography prevails over the soteriol-
ogy of style.
Oscar Prieto Dominguez (University of Valladolid, Spain)

Photius and poetry: a new approach
The complex relationship between the patriarch Photius (858–867 and 877–886)
and poetry has not been clarified yet in a satisfactory way.
Since B. Baldwin published in 1978 his well-known article “Photius and Poetry”,
scholars have agreed that this patriarch squarely rejects the poetic genres. The reasons
for this should be found in the contents of classical poetry (often immoral and unfit-
ting for Christianity) and in Photius’ own personal taste, not particularly inclined to
poetry. Nevertheless, this traditional judgment needs to be carefully reconsidered.

First of all, it mainly arose from the study of the Bibliotheca, a work in which Pho-
tius is writing as a literary critic, not as an author. In addition, since 1978 Photius
has been proved to be the composer of several liturgical poems (in honor of Saint
John the Evangelist, the Theotokos, etc.) and of four laudatory poems in honor of the
emperor Basil I. This information coincides with the affirmation of contemporary
sources, such as the Vita Ignatii (509B), where Photius is also told to have cultivated
poetry.
On the other hand, the analysis of Photius’ stylistic practice reveals that he often
used the same composition techniques as poets. It is true that the patriarch wrote
very little in verse, but not few of his letters are really conceived as a kind of prose
poems. For instance, the very contents and composition techniques of his consola-
tory (epp. 31, 59, 105, 131, 173, 201, 234 y 245) and epigrammatic epistles (epp. 12,
16, 25, 32, 41, 42, 48, 50, 52–54, 58, 61, 72, 74, 87, 90, 95, 110, 111, 121, 130, 131,
150, 171, 175, 184, 194, 198, 212, 239, 251, 268) force us to wonder if such texts
(formally belonging to the epistolary genre) can be – or even must be – considered to
be quasi-poetical pieces, in spite of their prose expression.
Natalija Ristovska (University of Oxford, UK)

The Inlaid Brass Door from St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome as
Evidence of Cross-cultural Artistic Interchange in the Middle
Byzantine Period
In the wealth of historical evidence it provides, the silver-inlayed brass door from the
church of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome is unlike any other Middle Byzantine
artefact known to date. Five inscriptions, variously drawn on its metal panels in Latin
(3), Greek (1), and a combination of Greek and Syriac (1), reveal that the door was
manufactured in 1070 at Constantinople, by a Syriac-speaking founder and a Greek-
speaking engraver-inlayer, on the commission of the Amalfitan consul Pantaleone.
This evidence not only attests to the movement of finely crafted objects between
Byzantium and Italy, but also points to the close artistic links the imperial capital
had with the Byzantine- and Islamic-ruled territories in the Near East. As has been
shown in the past, Pantaleone was a member of an influential family of Amalfitan
politicians and merchants, which commissioned other Byzantine doors for churches
in Italy, and had a base in Constantinople as well as commercial contacts with the
Levant (notably Antioch and Jerusalem, where one of its members built hospices). A
closer analysis of the bilingual Greek-Syriac inscription provides clues for the origin
of the master-founder Staurakios: the choice of Syriac alongside Greek, the Armeni-
an form of the craftsman’s name in the Syriac version of the text (K.tš.g<Xač‘ik), and
the use of a loan-word from Arabic to designate his profession (s.abbābā), suggest that
Staurakios may have been of mixed Syrian-Armenian origin and that he hailed from
a region which was at the time, or at some point before, under Muslim control. Judg-
ing by the distribution of the Armenian and Syriac-speaking population in the 10th–
11th centuries, his homeland was most probably located somewhere along the wide
arc extending between Tarsus and Antioch in the west and Lake Van in the east. This
is supported by the style of lettering employed in the Syriac part of the inscription.
The square and open estrangelo which was standard script for the Gospel manuscripts
of the 6th–8th centuries appears to have been revived around the year 999 in the
Melitene area by the Syrian Orthodox patriarch Athanasios V S.alh.oyo (987–1003),
and was shortly thereafter re-introduced in T.ūr ῾Abdīn at the initiative of his associ-
ate, bishop John of Bāsibrīn. Its use is attested in both areas throughout the first three
quarters of the 11th century.
Galina Alekseeva (Far Eastern National Technical University, Vladivostok, Russia)

Mechanisms of the Byzantine culture adaptation in Russia: singing,
miniature, church service
The comparative analysis of singing and theoretical manuscripts terminology of Byz-

antine and ancient Russia presents bilingual a chronotypological vocabulary of sing-
ing terms. This vocabulary will enable the understanding of the Byzantine singing
adaptation in Russia and also the study of the mechanisms of interaction of word
and music in bilingual terminology of characteristic intonational formulas. Two
main methods were used – etymological analysis of Russian alphabet terms based on
methodologies of Slavs translating activity and lines accent structure defining meth-
od, described by Author in monograph 2007 (Византийско-русская певческая палеогра-
фия. Исследование. – СПб.).
Four principles in the translation activities of Cyril and Methodius – transposi-
tion, inheritance, tracing and mentalizasion are considered as defining in the com-
parison of terms of Byzantine and ancient Russian singing theory.
Research of the evolution of the Byzantine miniature in Old Russian manuscripts
presents following results: the dressing of Russian book miniatures is filled by ancient
ornamental Slavic elements, which had the semantic function of a magic sign.
The analysis of church service on every day shows, that texts of singing psalms
from Oktoechos represent a symbolic metaphorical system of images of the Virgin
Maria. The frequency of use of the Acathistus in honour of the Virgin Maria increas-
es in modern divine service practice, which is not fixed yet in the Typicon.
Piotr Ł. Grotowski (Pontifical University, Cracow, Poland)

Metagraphe in Byzantium
Byzantine art inherited from the Antiquity basic principles of depicting persons. The
explanatory inscription accompanying the figure was one of them. Its purpose was
to facilitate the recognition of the represented individual, especially when his/her
features were so ambiguous that proper identification would be impossible without
the name. Found already on archaic Corinthian pottery, the practice gained currency
in the art of the Roman Empire, where text was used to explain not only historical
representations but also mythological figures, as well as complex personifications and
allegories.
Opposite to H. Maguire’s opinion, the vitality of this practice can be observed
already in Early Christian art (catacomb murals, sixth- and seventh-century icons –
especially those of provincial provenance, mosaics). In Byzantine art, subscriptions
were subject to distortion not only due to illiteracy of an artist but also due to pur-
poseful action. One type of distortion is metagraphe – intentional change of an ob-
ject’s meaning by adding a new name or replacing the original one inscribed on it.
This practice, unknown in classical Greek art, became popular under Roman rule
(when many ancient Greek statues received new Roman names) and it was widely
criticized.
Despite negative assessments, one can point out a few examples of metagraphe in
Early Byzantine art. A. Grabar already noted examples of golden semisses and trem-
isses minted during the reign of Justinian II (685–95, 705–11), Philipikos (711–13)
and Anastasius II (713–16), on which the conventional, profile portrait remains un-
changed and the inscription is the only element that allows the identification of the
depicted ruler. More remarkable examples are connected with the practice of trans-
posing Roman art into Christian framework (e.g. the names of Sts Sergius and Bac-
chus placed on an ancient onyx gem with Dioscouri keeping fasces and on the Roth-
schild cameo, which originally depicted Emperor Honorius with his wife).
The practice had never been very popular, but from the seventh century onward,
and especially after the triumph of orthodoxy, it ceased, owing largely to the close
relationship between a saint’s name and his/her depiction, sanctioned by the Refuta-
tion of the Iconoclastic Council (754), proclaimed during the Sixth session of the II
Nicaean Council (787) and reiterated by Patriarch Nicephorus and Theodore the
Studite in their anti-iconoclastic teaching.
Nevertheless, the practice of metagraphe reoccurred in Late and Post-Byzantine
art. This time not only ancient artifacts were Christianized by means of inscription
(a very late example is a Late Roman tombstone from Sveti Vrač, to which the names
of Sts Cosma and Damianos were added probably ca. 1861), but also later, Byzantine
representations were adjusted or even altered to fit the perceptions of contemporary
owners (e.g. a 13th-century Novgorod icon showing the Enthroned Virgin with Sts
Nicholas and Clement of Rome: in the late 15th century, the latter was inscribed as
St Peter, probably due to the physiognomic similarity).
Livia Bevilacqua (Sapienza Università di Roma, Italia)

Dare immagine alle parole: la decorazione della chiesa perduta di
Stiliano Zaoutzas
Stylianos Zaoutzas, high official of the emperor Leo VI, played an essential role in
the history of Byzantine art, as he sponsored the building and decoration of a church,
which included mosaic scenes depicting the Life of Christ. The church is not pre-
served today, but its decoration had been described by Leo VI in his 37th Homily.
This valuable source includes an ekphrasis that, beyond the veil of rhetoric, allows a
punctual reconstruction of the iconographic program. After reading the text itself
and comparing it with other remaining buildings, a hypothesis will be suggested for
the arrangement of the mosaic panels on the interior walls of the church. Thus, the
case of Stylianos’ church appears to be relevant to the question of the making of sa-
cred iconographic cycles in the middle byzantine era, as well as that of the role played
by the aristocracy in the initial circulation of such patterns.
Rossitza B. Schroeder (Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, CA, USA)

Worm of Damnation, Worm of Salvation: Staging Monastic
Contemplation in the Peribletos Church in Ochrid
This paper considers the sophisticated interactions between text and image in the
narthex of the monastic church of the Virgin Peribleptos in Ochrid, which was built
and frescoed in 1295. I will concentrate on the poems inscribed on the unfurled
scrolls of two hymnographers, Cosmas and Joseph the Poet, both of whom are repre-
sented on the north wall of the church’s vestibule. Not only are the two poets in the
Peribletos not the authors of the poems as one might expect, but they are also not
ushered in the grand celebration of Mary as they commonly are in other churches
from this period.
Cosmas’ scroll combines ideas about the misuse of others’ property and the spir-
itual torment it could incur. It cleverly incorporates a reference to the worm of eter-
nal damnation from Isaiah 66:24, conjuring up images of death and Last Judgment
in order to scare the resident monks into salvation. The text on Joseph’s scroll follows
up the moralizing theme on that of Cosmas, but the emphasis here is on the quintes-
sential monastic virtue of obedience and its main prototype, Christ, who went to his
Crucifixion willingly.
What ties the texts on the two scrolls? On one hand, their essentially edifying
tone, and on another their subject matter pertaining to death and dying. The image
of the worm is of essence here for not only does it imply the torments of the Last
Judgment but it also indirectly refers to the tortured body of Christ on the cross.
It is particularly hard to establish a straightforward connection between the po-
ems and the frescoes in close proximity, Sophia Built Herself a House, Ezekiel’s vision
of the Closed Door and the Purification of Isaiah. I will argue against the common
notion that this lack of coordination is a mistake, and consider it instead as inten-
tional, and as fostering an environment in which the monks work hard in order to
come up with possible, but not necessarily, singular meaning.
FC28. ART, AESTHETICS, MUSIC II

Moderator
Liliana Mavrodinova
Liliana Mavrodinova (Sofia, Bulgarie)

La peinture bulgare du XIIIème siècle au carrefour des influences
Après presque deux siècles de domination Byzantine, qui coincidait avec l’essort du
style Comnène dans l’art orthodoxe, en 1185, une insurrection par les boyards de
Tārnovo, les frères Pierre (Théodore) et Assène aboutit à la proclamation du Deu-
nième royaume de Bulgarie. La nouvelle capitale Tārnovo devint le centre politique
et culturel de l’êtat. Les historiens d’art avaient reunis jadis sous le nom d’„Ecole de
peinture de Tārnovo” les peintures connues jusqu’au dernier quart du XXème s. dans
cette capitale, en y ajoutant les peintures de la chapelle à „Góspodev dol” près d’Iva-
novo et celles de 1259 à l’Eglise de Boyana.
Pendant la seconde moitié du XXème s. un bon nombre de peintures dans les
églises médiévales ont été mises au jour par les restaurateurs, ce qui nous a obligé de
corriger le tableau. Il s’est avéré que dans la capitale même, ainsi que dans les monastè-
res et les églises locales, existaient des peintures exécutées par des ateliers de differente
formation. Que la nouvelle tendance „picturale, monumentale du XIIIme s.” avait
atteint la peinture religieuse bulgare de même que celle des pays voisins. Et qu’aux
confins du pays existaient aussi de speciments de type „anticlassique”, ayant de traits
communs aves les peintures des églises rupestres de Cappadoce, des îles de Chypre, de
la Crète et de la mer Egée.
Kristina Lavysh (Institute of Arts, Ethnography and Folklore, Minsk, Belarus)

Byzantine Art Objects in the Urban Culture of Western Rus
In the 11th–13th centuries the towns of Western Rus maintained close contacts with
Byzantium, as evidenced by numerous articles of Byzantine import found during ar-
chaeological excavations.
One of the most interesting groups of Byzantine import to Western Rus is glass-
ware of the highest quality, painted with gold and enamel or decorated with carving
and engraving, which dates back to the 12th–13th centuries (Novogrudok, Turov,
Vitebsk, Polotsk). Findings of the Byzantine glazed ceramics in the territory of Be-
larus are not numerous. They are represented both by first class white clay ceram-
ics with five-colour underglaze painting (Polotsk) and by more simple red clay ware
with a decor in the sgraffito technique (Turov, Minsk) as well as by red clay ceramics
with white engobe under green or turquoise glaze (Novogrudok, Volkovysk). Signifi-
cant objects of Byzantine import to Western Rus were silk fabrics. In the territory of
Belarus fragments of Byzantine silk fabrics were found in twelve archaeological sites
and amounts to 70% of the silk found. Bone goods are represented by a fragment of
the rectangular plate, which decorated the casket (Novogrudok).
In addition to works of secular character, Byzantine devotional objects were
found. They may be divided into two groups. The first one includes the articles which
came to Western Rus from Byzantium (Novogrudok, Volkovysk, Kaplantsy). The
other group consists of the works made by Byzantine masters, who moved to Rus,
first of all to Kiev, from Byzantium after Constantinople had been captured by the
crusaders in 1204 (Pinsk, Minsk).
Most of Byzantine goods imported to Western Rus are luxury goods, belonging
to the elite culture and reflecting the fashion, common to the new European coun-
tries, where Byzantine art was treated as the model of the highest artistic level. To
hold to its traditions was a matter of prestige and meant reaching a very high level of
craftsmanship. Byzantine devotional objects are a material evidence of the spiritual
liaison of Western Rus with Byzantium.
Alexander Preobrazhensky (Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia)

Indepictable Donors and Praying Crowds: Transformations of
Donor Imagery in Late Medieval Russia
Byzantine tradition of donor images, transfered to Rus in 11th century, underwent

great changes in the 15th–16th century Moscow culture. During this period local
donors, including the members of the ruling family and Church hierarchs, stopped
commissioning lifetime donor portraits. Other subjects now demonstrate the idea
of the believer’s connection with the heavenly world. First, donor iconography be-
came the basis for new images of Christ and Virgin together with representations of
praying saints. Second, new compositions of “universal” character begin to appear or
spread, usually illustrating hymnologic texts or depicting a particular religious cer-
emony. They either include images of numerous saints, praising Christ and Virgin
Mary, or portraits of nameless personages, belonging to different classes and, taken
together, forming an ideal picture of an Orthodox kingdom. Among scenes of this
kind we can note those of Byzantine provenance, as well as subjects typical for Rus-
sian art (“In Thee Rejoiceth”, “Intercession”, “Our Lady of the Prayer for the People”,
“St. Catherine with Praying People”). They were based on the notion of the protec-
tion of all-Russian or local heavenly patrons, as well as on the collective identity of
the inhabitants of the Moscow State and on the concept of universal equality and
one’s smallness in the face of the Lord.
Moscow rulers themselves, even though the second wife of Ivan III Sophia Pale-
ologos belonged to Byzantine imperial dynasty, had to submit to the new unwrit-
ten law: all the representations of the grand dukes and tsars on 16th-century icons
and frescoes were posthumous. However even these portraits stressed the distance
between the sovereign and his subjects, including clerics and aristocrats, who were
not portrayed even after their death. This Moscow tradition seems to be unique in
the Byzantine and Post-Byzantine world, where lifetime donor images were still be-
ing made.
Nadejda Fiodorovna Vysotskaya (Minsk, Biélorussie)

Les problèmes principaux dans l’étude de l’art des anciennes villes
de la Biélorussie de IXe–XIVe siècles
L’art des anciennes villes de Biélorussie de IXe–XIVe siècles (Brest, Vitebsk, Volk-
ovyssk, Gomel, Grodno, Mogiliov, Minsk, Novogroudok, Polotsk, Tourov) attirait
depuis longtemps l’attention des savants russes et biélorusses, polonais, italiens, al-
lemands, français anglais en XVIIIe–XXIe siècles. À present il existe plus de 1000
publications sur ce thème. On peut les subdiviser en quelques sujets:
1. Le problème de la christianisation au IXe–XIVe siècles (l’orthodoxie – dans
d’anciennes villes de la Biélorussie – 988; le catholicisme dans la Couronne Polonaise
– 980; le calvinisme, le luthérantisme, le protestantisme – XVe s.) et l’affirmation
d’autres religions – le paganism du IXe–XXIe siècles; les religions des Tatars, les Bo-
hémiens, les Juifs de XIIe–XIVe siècles
2. L’étude des vies orthodoxes des princes définis et de la princesse célèbre Pre-
dyslavy en particulier, qui a accepté a 12 ans la coupé sous le nom d’Evfrosinia De
Polotsk (1101/2–1173), et en 1125 a fondé le refuge Spassky à Polotsk.
3. Les publications de la chronique des faits historiques liées à la création et l’être
des couvents. Il faut mettre en relief l’intérêt pour le couvent Evfrosinievsky à Po-
lotsk au XIIe–XXIe siècles
4. L’étude des temples eux-mêmes du IXe–XIVe siècles, leurs plans, les dates de la
consécration, les reconstructions, les recherches des analogies et les parallèles stylisti-
ques. Parmi eux l’attention spéciale est donnée toujours aux monuments de Polotsk
– Sofia, l’ensemble du couvent Beltchitsky, le temple Spaso-Preobrajensky du cou-
vent Evfrosinievsky, la signification de l’oeuvre du maître Jean qui a créé cette temple
pour le développement de l’architecture pré-mongolaise de la période manifesté à
son influence sur l’architecture de Smolensk, Tchernigov, Novgorod et d’autres villes
de l’Ancienne Russie.
5. Les publications de la chronique de la restauration et l’étude des fresques (les
iconographies, l’hagiographie, le caractère et la technique de la peinture, les recons-
tructions possibles des fragments perdus).
6. À la définition de la corrélation des peintures avec tous les monuments uniques
se trouvant dans les temples. Par exemple, à Polotsk par l’icône livrée en 1151 «la
Notre Dame Odigitriya D’Ephèse» (connu par sa liste plus tardive du XIIe–XIVe
siècles trouvant à présent dans le musée D’État Russe à Saint-Pétersbourg), «à la
Croix d’Evfrosinia De Polotsk» de la taurevtique de Lazar Bogcha en 1161, avec
l’inscription vaste encartée – le chef-d’oeuvre d’art appliqué de l’Ancienne Russie (le
siège est inconnu après 1941).
7. À l’analyse stylistique, comparatif, iconographique, hagiographique – les re-
présentations des fresques de Polotsk, Novogroudok, Vitebsk, Grodno et d’autres
villes de la Biélorussie avec les monuments principaux de la peinture pré-mongolaise
des époques de l’Ancienne Russie, de la Byzance, de l’Italie, de la Bulgarie et d’autres
pays que permettra par la suite de définir la place de la peinture murale (l’église De
Blagovestchensk à Vitebsk, le temple Spaso-Preobrajensky érigé par le maître Jean)
dans le contexte monumental des arts de l’Ancienne Russie, le Byzance et l’Europe
Occidentale.
8. À la révélation des liens, les influences, les coinfluences dans l’art des anciennes
villes de la Biélorussie du IXe–XIVe siècles
9. À l’établissement de la stylistique de l’art de la Biélorussie du IXe–XIVe siè-
cles: les sources byzantines, russes anciennes et locales, les éléments des styles romans,
gothiques, Protorenaissanses.
10. L’étude des monuments de la culture chrétienne et laïque. Leurs corrélations
et la différence.
Svetozara Ratseva-Hristova (“St. Cyril and St. Methodius” University of Veliko

Turnovo, Bulgaria)
Mural “Spinning Discs” – an Indication for Spiritual Relations and
Artistic Influences
This study focuses on a specific type of abstract symbols of Divine light, which ap-
pear in mural decorations after the capture of Constantinople by the Latin crusaders.
Its topography, fixed in the most sacral parts of the church interior is a determining
factor for their active inclusion into the iconographic programs. These transcendent
symbols are known in art history criticism as “spinning discs” because through the
help of the expressive devices of the fresco and tempera painting the halos of a big
group of icons from the 10th–14th centuries create a resemblance to the circular pol-
ishing of gilt. Inspired by the comprehension of the ideas hidden behind the icon
gilt and the great technical possibilities that they offer as a depictive and expressive
means, the mural “spinning discs” are not only a natural result from the transferring
and transformation of elements between panel and monumental artistic forms, but
also an indication for spiritual and artistic influences.
The widening of the circle of monuments known today, the clarification of their
specific semantics, the systematization of their regional spreading and the specifying
of the prerequisites for their appearance seem to be reasons enough to reconsider
some of the aspects in the relationships among the orthodox centers in the medieval
world.
Saška Bogevska (École pratique des hautes études, Paris, France)

The Virgin As Archpriest in Byzantine Art
This communication deals with the unusual representation of the Theotokos as both
queen and priest in Byzantine art of the 14th century (for example in: Treskavec,
Zaum, Marko Monastery, etc). The ordination of women was strictly forbidden in
Byzantium and the author of this communication questions the basis for this par-
ticular iconography. Several considerations ranging from liturgical, dogmatic, and
monastic appear to contribute to the representation of the Virgin as priest. This ico-
nography was already present in Western art before the 14th century and it can be ar-
gued that Byzantine iconographers were inspired by this representation of the Virgin
in Western art.
Petrula Kostovska (Harpenden, UK), Natalija Popovska (Skopje, Republic of

Macedonia)
The Painted Inscriptions in Manastir and Struga Revisited
The extensive painted inscription in the central nave of the church of St. Nicholas
in Manastir, Mariovo (Macedonia) has been a subject of numerous studies. The ep-
igraphic evidence from the inscription is extremely important for the study of the
monument as well as the patterns of patronage of Byzantine monastic establish-
ments. To a smaller extend the donor’s composition with its short accompanying in-
scription is equally valuable as a written source. Few names appear in the inscriptions
that can shade a light on the history of the monastic church. The first benefactor
of the original church was an important military official who was a close relative of
the emperor Alexios I Komnenos. The second donor Akakios has credited himself
as the person responsible for the extensive rebuilt program of monastery and the
katholikon. John, a deacon and referendarios, who is mentioned in the inscription
seems to have had a major role in shaping the painted ensemble. So far, the prevailing
scholarly knowledge is inclined to identify the John’s role as predominantly that of a
advisor and contractor who introduced the donor to painterly workshop. We think
that there is subtle evidence to suggests that John was in fact foremost a painter who
lead a workshop largely responsible for executing the decoration of the majority of
the sacral monuments of the second half of the thirteenth century in the diocese of
Ochrid Archbishopric. The indication from Manastir’s inscription is corroborated
by another donor’s inscription painted on the back of a large St. George’s icon, that
features the name of John this time as a donor and once again as a painter.
Zarko Zhdrakov (New Bulgarian University, Sofia)

Autographic examples from 12th and 13th century
A new theme in the field of science is the choice of the artist to position his sig-
nature in the art work. It was the artist who had always decided where his place
would be in the context of the standard autographic practice, whereas, the no-
tion of anonymity of medieval art was mostly due to lost or undiscovered signa-
tures. The medieval artist in his humbleness, in fact, underestimated his work,
however, he expected to receive salvation, because God was aware of his diligence.
Signatures are there in order to remind about that particular hope of the artist.
As seen, the examples dated from 12th and 13th century reveal the diversity of the
autographic methods as they were in the Middle Ages. The commemorative charac-
ter of the signature determines the choice of the tomb church. Likewise is the Bachk-
ovo ossuary, where the Georgian painter by the name of John and a monk by the
name Neophyte placed their signatures there in mid-12th century – in the heavenly
nature under the feet of Christ and Abraham, the father of mankind from the Last
Judgment. The Boyana Church is a tomb and there are the signatures of three master-
builders and decorators: the signature of Elijah (on a stone block under the entrance
of the grave chapel on the second floor), signature of the painter Vasil from the town
of Serres, registered in the Beadroll of the temple (on the plaster showing The Bap-
tism of Christ, an allegory of Vasil, rescued by St. Nicholas, the painted curtain of the
temple and probably the sword of St. Theodore Stratilat), the signature of Dimitar
(seen on the sword of St. Demetrius and the maphorion of the Virgin Mary from the
Presentation in the Temple, an allegory of Dimitar rescued by St. Nicholas, the secret
Assumption of the Virgin Mary in connection with the death of Vasil). There is quite
an interesting autographic example in an icon from the Monastery of John Prodrom
near Serres, now in Sofia. It was done by Kozma the singer in June 1242, he signed
it as an afterword with mirror-image letters on the opened gospel held by Christ.
Among the many signatures in the church of St. Mary Perivlepta in Ohrid (1292)
there is one not noticed so far and it is situated by the image of St. Nestor, revealing
the Paleologian origin of the studio of protomaster Nicholas, who had been working
with protomaster Michael Astrapa. He had placed his signature on the sword of the
saint and also on the shield, where with monumental letters he pointed out his native
town Pago in the theme Opsikion near the former capital city of Nicaea. The author’s
dedication was atributed to Mikhail Astrapa from a famous icon of St. Mathew,
which, in fact, also sheds light on the origin of the protomaster from the city of Veria.
The secret author’s dedications, commemorative by nature, from the early Paleolo-
gian epoch, reveal a stable autograph tradition. As an eloquent example there are the
identified signatures of the legendary Manuel Panselinos in Protaton (on the sword
of St. Mercury) and in the chapel of St. Eftimiy in Thessaloniki (on the painted cur-
tain of the western wall, southwards from the entrance).
FC29. HISTORY OF BYZANTINE STUDIES

Moderators
Claudia Barsanti/Lubomíra Havlíková
Abra Visconti (Università degli Studi di Roma “Sapienza”, Italia)

«Еlla sogna dittici»: gli avori bizantini e medievali nell’opera di
Anton Francesco Gori (1691–1757)
Anton Francesco Gori (Firenze 1691–1757), ecclesiastico, fu allievo di Anton Mar-

ia Salvini (1653–1729) e Filippo Buonarroti (1661–1733). Noto e apprezzato dai
suoi contemporanei per le sue pubblicazioni sugli Etruschi – argomento in piena
espansione proprio a partire dagli inizi del Settecento – Gori si dimostrò interes-
sato e affascinato dalle Antichità nella più ampia accezione del termine. Lo studioso
fiorentino, infatti, guarda anche alle produzioni artistiche paleocristiane e medievali,
approfondendo lo studio dei manufatti eburnei e, in particolare, dei dittici eburnei
bizantini e medievali. Il principale frutto di tale interesse è il Thesaurus veterum dip-
tychorum (Florentiae 1759), opera postuma, risultato del suo lunghissimo lavoro di
ricerca e collazione di contributi inerenti l’argomento. Nei tre volumi che compongo-
no l’opera, infatti, troviamo – per la prima volta – raccolte e organizzate con metodo
osservazioni di Gori e di altri eminenti studiosi italiani e stranieri impreziosite da
oltre cento incisioni: da Filippo Buonarroti al benedettino Bernard de Montfaucon
(1655–1751). Il ricchissimo epistolario di Gori, conservato oggi presso la Biblioteca
Marucelliana di Firenze, arricchito dal ritrovamento di una parte dei disegni (ugual-
mente custodita nella Biblioteca Marucelliana) che l’erudito fiorentino impiegò per
elaborare le sue riflessioni sui dittici eburnei, ci ha offerto la possibilità di domandarci
quale percezione avesse Gori, e con lui il mondo erudito della prima metà del Sette-
cento, della cultura bizantina (ma anche medievale) e della sua produzione artistica:
quanto della sfera bizantina sia stato “compreso” e quanto “frainteso”.
Anca Elisabeta Tatay (History Institute of the Romanain Academy, Cluj Napoca,
Romania)
The Engravings of Byzantine Tradition from the Old Romanian
Books Printed in Buda (1780–1830)
At the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, the University
Typography of Buda printed books in no less than 16 languages. Within the Roma-
nian section of this very fecund printing house about 240 titles came out between
1780 and 1830. The laic books were numerically preponderant as against the reli-
gious ones, which singles out the typography of Buda, in comparison to the other
similar institutions which then functioned on the Romanian territory. The Roma-
nian books printed in Buda were decorated with title leaves, illustrations, vignettes
achieved in the technique of woodcuts, puncheon prints and lithography.
The religious books include engravings with themes which were used within the
Byzantine-Balkan and Byzantine-Russian environment such as: The Three Visitors
at Mamre, The 40 Martyrs, Constantine and Helen, The Dormition of the Virgin in
Minei, 1804, 1805; Emmanuel in Chalice, Saint Nicholas in Acatist, 1807; Saint John
of Damascus in Octoih, 1811; The Raising of Lazarus, Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem,
Descent to Hell in Strastnic, 1816 – all woodcuts; Jesus High Bishop – puncheon
print in Polustav, 1807.
Stylistically in the religious engravings the following elements of Byzantine tra-
dition are to be remarked: a certain concern to stylize, decorative effects and sym-
metry; the frontal position of the personages and their hierarchic rendering; the iso-
cephaly (placing heads of figures on the same level); the landscape and architectures
are more or less conventional; the compression of plans or the reduced perspective.
While accomplishing the images, some procedures specific to the occidental art were
also used.
The sources of inspiration of the above-mentioned engravings can be found in
the religious books printed on the Romanian territory: Blaj, Râmnic, Sibiu, Braşov,
Buzău or Bucureşti. In their turn, some of these images were inspired after Ukrainian
models (Kiev, Lviv).
The presence of the Byzantine elements in decorating the books of Buda is justi-
fied if we take into account that the majority of the Romanians belong to the Ortho-
dox or to the Greek-Catholic rites.
Silvia Pedone (University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Italy)

The Topography of Constantinople in the Charles Felix-Marie
Texier’s Words and Drawings
The paper aims at making some observations on the unpublished manuscript that the
French architect and archaeologist Charles Felix-Marie Texier (1802–1871) devoted
in the first half of the 19th century to the topography and the major byzantine and
Ottoman monuments of Constantinople (Topographie de Constantinople sous les em-
pereurs byzantins, avec les plans des monuments byzantins existant encore à Constanti-
nople).
The document, now held by the Victoria & Albert Museum (Royal Institute of
British Architects), was drawn up by Texier on the occasion of his journey in Turkey
between 1833 and 1837, but it’s likely that he went on with the work also in the fol-
lowing years and during his next journey in Asia Minor, Armenia and Persia, and
eventually dropped the idea of publishing it.

The volume offers a precious and exceptional witness on the look of the city be-
fore its modern changes, with detailed historical reconstructions and analytical de-
scriptions of the surviving monuments.
So, on one hand, the texts and images (above all drawings) by Texier belong to
the tradition of the European voyagers’ records and memoirs, but on the other hand,
his painstaking observations make a break with the past, transforming the drawing
technique into a tool for scientific investigations more than a medium for artistic
renderings.
Claudia Barsanti (University of Rome «Tor Vergata», Italy)

Restes de la Reine des villes e Broken Bits of Byzantium.
Introduzione all’edizione critica
Sul volgere del XIX secolo, il Reverendo Charles George Curtis, cappellano del
Christ Crimean Memorial Church, assieme alla sorella Mary Adelaide Walker, pittri-
ce e autrice di libri di viaggio, misero mano ad un progetto di una guida archeologica
della città di Costantinopoli. Il progetto non venne realizzato, ma di esso ci restano
due albums litografati: il primo, intitolato Restes de la Reine des villes Ire Partie: De
Yali-Kiosk à Yedi-Koulé, è composto di venti pagine contenenti cinquantatre disegni,
datati dal 1857 al 1891, talora siglati dal Reverendo Curtis, talaltra da Mary Walker
con brevi annotazioni in lingua francese; il secondo album, dal titolo Broken Bits of
Byzantium, Part II: Whithin the City. The Land Wall, contiene ventisette pagine con
ottantun disegni eseguiti tra il 1866 e il 1891 e con note in lingua inglese. Nell’in-
troduzione del primo volume gli autori dichiarano di voler conservare memoria, at-
traverso una serie di disegni, di molte testimonianze costantinopolitane d’interesse
storico ed archeologico, poiché, purtroppo, gran parte di esse erano scomparse sotto
la devastante espansione della città moderna.
Notevole è infatti l’importanza documentaria dei disegni contenuti nei due al-
bum, evidenziata anche dalla consuetudine che con essi hanno da sempre mostrato
gli studiosi di topografia e archeologia costantinopolitana. Ciò ha sollecitato il de-
siderio di approfondirne la conoscenza e anche di far riemergere dall’oblio i suoi au-
tori. E’ così nata l’idea di curare, assieme ad Andrea Paribeni e ad un piccolo gruppo
di colleghi, un’edizione critica dei due albums al fine di metterne appunto in pieno
risalto il loro significato documentario. E gli esempi scelti per questa anticipazione
potranno evidenziare la potenzialità e la ricchezza di spunti di ricerca offerta dalla
appassionata opera di perlustrazione dei monumenti bizantini di Costantinopoli che
per un trentennio ha visto impegnati il reverendo Curtis e la sorella Mary Walker.
Julia Zlatkova (Institute for Balkan Studies with Center of Thracology, Sofia,
Bulgaria)
Byzantism vs. Modernity: Aesthetic Utopia of Constantine
Leontiev
The paper examines the original but highly controversial and provocative views of
the Russian philosopher and diplomat Constantine Leontiev (1831–1891) on Byz-
antine and European history and social development. Leontiev opposed the Byzan-
tine and the Orthodox tradition to the skepticism and the liberal democracy of the
modern West. His dreams of marked social contrasts, diversity, inequality, beauty,
romance, and religiosity were closely associated with his dreams of Byzantium and its
glorious past.
Leontiev thought that Byzantism and Orthodoxy were the only salvation from
the pernicious influence of the „progress” and equality and all the other „benefits”
of the modern world such as techniques, industrialization and rationalization. Espe-
cially dangerous and evil for him was the modern nationalism, which was a form of
neo-paganism that opposed Christianity. The secular nation-state was profane, while
the theocratic Byzantine Empire was sacral; it was blessed by the God. Leontiev’s
aesthetic, naturalistic, and religious views on history led him to seek inspiration and
hope for the future in Byzantium, which was an antipode of the contemporary phil-
istine civilization. The Russian diplomat, however, did not ask himself why Byzan-
tium failed. He was blind for its internal illness, idealized it and even tried to make it
a model for the New Orthodox Civilization.
Leontiev’s social ideal was utopia but he possessed a strong historical and politi-
cal sense and managed to predict and foresee events and processes that became reali-
ty decades later. His views and ideas and his theory of cyclical change of civilizations,
which he worked out in his most remarkable book Byzantism and Slavdom, are of
global significance. They deserve closer examination not just from historical perspec-
tive but also for better understanding of present and even future realities.
Olivier Delouis (Centre d’Histoire et Civilisation de Byzance, Paris, France)

La correspondance inédite d’Athanase Papadopoulos-Kérameus à
Hippolyte Delehaye ou la fabrique des hagiographes (1897–1910)
On ne peut être byzantiniste et ignorer le nom d’Athanase Papadopoulos-Kérameus,

savant grec né en Thessalie en 1856 et mort à Saint-Pétersbourg en 1912, à seulement
56 ans, laissant derrière lui une bibliographie de près de 359 titres dont certains – no-
tamment ses catalogues de manuscrits et ses éditions de sources – demeurent d’usage
courant près d’un siècle après sa mort.
La personnalité d’Athanase Papadopoulos-Kérameus peut se saisir dans les no-
tices biographiques que lui consacrèrent ses contemporains grecs et russes, mais sur-
tout dans les lettres retrouvées chez ses amis grecs dont près de 80 ont été publiées
à ce jour. Récemment, I. Medvedev révélait l’existence de 45 autres lettres inédites
adressées aux byzantinistes russes (1999) tandis qu’A. Karpozilos publiait une syn-
thèse de ce matériel connu (2005).
Tout laissait croire jusqu’ici que le savant grec s’était tenu en marge de ses col-
lègues d’Europe occidentale. Cette opinion doit être révisée grâce à la découverte à
Bruxelles de 59 lettres de Papadopoulos-Kérameus au non moins célèbre bollandiste
Hippolyte Delehaye (1859–1941). Ces documents couvrent la période de 1897 à
1910. Ils révèlent la collaboration appuyée des deux hommes au temps du Synaxai-
re de Constantinople de Delehaye (paru en 1902), plus ponctuelle par la suite. On y
retrouve les inimitiés déjà connues du savant de Saint-Pétersbourg (contre Manuel
Gédéon ou les Assomptionnistes), mais on y voit surtout naître et croître une amitié
méconnue, fondée sur le respect réciproque des travaux menés. Il est regrettable que
les lettres de Delehaye aient disparu, brûlées sans doute avec les effets de Papado-
poulos-Kérameus par la compagne de ses dernières années, E. G. Maslennikova. Bien
qu’à une seule voix, cette correspondance n’en fournit pas moins un complément
d’intérêt à l’histoire de la byzantinologie au tournant du XXe siècle.
Ismo Pellikka (University of Eastern Finland, Savonlina)

Discussions with Russian Pilgrims. The Dispute of the Byzantine
Heritage on Mt. Athos at the End of the 19th Century
The end of the 19th century was a very special period in the history of Mt.Athos.
The Greeks had traditionally enjoyed the status of hosts there. Slowly but steadily
the Russians were gaining the majority status on Mt.Athos. Pious Russian visitors,
pilgrims and laity supported Athos not only by visiting there.
From the Russian point of view the main issues of this period were not just mon-
ey and politics. The question of the Russian cultural heritage was also at stake here.
Mount Athos had always had a special position in Russian Orthodox historiography.
A natural historical turn – from the Russian point of view – was at hand. Which
part, the Russians or the Greeks, was able to defend its legacy on this cradle of the
Orthodox monasticism? In order to be considered reliable informants in the classic
sense, those visiting Mt.Athos were expected to give a clear answer as to this problem
of historical legacy and the question: how the Holy Mountain had become Holy for
the Russians?
The Russian activity on Mount Athos is related, for example, on a comprehensive
body of travelers’ and pilgrims’s accounts. My presentation is a ver short summary
of a more extensive analysis comprising 28 Russian pilgrims’ and travelers’ accounts
published between 1881 and 1914. I have paid special attention to the following
questions: What was the meaning and significance of Mount Athos and its history to
Russia and to the Russian mind?
The authors’ (pilgrims’ and travelers’) testimony is clear: on the basis of their
experiences on Mt. Athos their statement is that the glorious age of Greek monas-
teries is over. The fall of Byzantium put the end to Greek supremacy on Mt. Athos.
The time was rape for some conclusions: it was the Russian, not the Greek, part of
Mt.Athos that preserved a genuine aspect of Byzantine spirituality. The relations in
the Byzantium-Greece-Russia – triangle have thus been rearranged. Byzantium and
Greek monastic traditions have declined and fallen, the Russian ones have not.
Giovanni Gasbarri (Sapienza Università di Roma, Italia)

Illustrare Bisanzio: la rappresentazione dell’arte bizantina tra
’800 e ’900
Nei decenni a cavallo tra XIX e XX secolo, la diffusione delle nuove tecniche foto-
grafiche entusiasmò molti storici dell’arte, tra i più interessati a sfruttare le possibilità
di conoscenza e di studio offerte dai moderni sistemi di riproduzione oggettiva del
vero. Nell’ambito delle ricerche sull’arte bizantina, che in quegli stessi anni stavano
assumendo riconoscibilità e autonomia scientifica, il fenomeno dell’abbandono delle
tecniche tradizionali d’incisione in favore della fotografia assunse caratteri assai pe-
culiari: tale cambiamento coincideva infatti con la necessità crescente da parte degli
studiosi di classificare e sistematizzare le nozioni sull’arte di Bisanzio, un terreno di
ricerca ancora per gran parte inesplorato, e offuscato da decenni di costante sfavore
critico. In un periodo ancora caratterizzato dall’uso massiccio di stampe calcografi-
che e litografiche, si poneva dunque il problema di tradurre nella maniera più fedele
possibile le specificità tecniche e formali dell’arte bizantina. Gli esiti di tali traspo-
sizioni furono assai eterogenei, influenzando in modo considerevole i metodi e, di
conseguenza, i risultati delle ricerche: lo studio e la datazione delle opere erano in-
fatti pesantemente condizionati da illustrazioni in cui le forme venivano edulcorate
in termini classicheggianti, o, al contrario, “esasperate” per sottolinearne i caratteri
astratti e bidimensionali considerati tipici di questa produzione.
Attraverso l’analisi delle principali pubblicazioni edite tra ’800 e ’900, il con-
tributo intende mettere in luce l’influenza che i differenti sistemi di riproduzione
dell’immagine hanno avuto sulla storiografia artistica bizantina. Particolare attenzio-
ne è riservata al contesto italiano, a partire dalle grandi compilazioni ottocentesche
come la Storia dell’Arte Cristiana di Raffaele Garrucci (1872–1881), fino alle ricer-
che dei primi vent’anni del secolo successivo.
Andromachi Katselaki/Maria Nanou (Athènes, Grèce/Volos, Grèce)

Dessins de calque de la Collection Makris-Margaritis et la
question de l’art balkanique pendant le XIXe siècle: les centres
artistiques et les ateliers locaux
L’étude des 24 dessins de calque (anthivola) de la Collection Makris-Margaritis, qui a

fait l’objet d’une publication récente, nous a amené à constater premièrement que la
majorité d’entre eux peu être datée du XIXe siècle et deuxièmement qu’elle doit être
attribuée à la production artistique des ateliers originaires de la Grèce du Nord, et
plus précisément du village de Chioniades en Epire.
A l’issue de cette recherche on a attesté des similarités et des dépendances entre
ces dessins de calque et la production artistique des ateliers les plus importants des
Balkans du sud, actifs pendant cette période au Mont Athos, à Samokov, à Bansko.
Ces affinités concernent soit le schéma iconographique des compositions soit
leur traitement stylistique, et se réfèrent non seulement aux détails mais aussi à la re-
présentation entière. D’autre part, l’étude comparative des 24 dessins avec des icones
portables, des gravures et des objets ecclésiastiques de la meme période, fait appa-
raître le langage artistique commun des ateliers locaux dans les Balkans du sud. Ce
langage, formé grâce à l’influence spirituelle et artistique du Mont Athos, a connu
une vaste expansion dans toutes les regions balkaniques depuis le XVIIIe et tout au
long du XIXe siècle.
Eleni-Anna Chlepa (Athènes, Grèce)

La perception de l’héritage architectural byzantin en Grèce
moderne. Contribution européenne ou réappropriation de la
tradition byzantine?
La question de la perception de l’héritage de l’architecture byzantine, en Grèce mo-

derne, a plusieurs aspects et elle est déjà liée, par plusieurs chercheurs, à l’utilisation
idéologique du passe et la création des identités nationales pendant le XIXe siècle.
La perception de l’héritage architectural byzantin est variable et elle est à l’unis-
son du processus de la revalorisation du Byzance et du parcours historique de la
Grande Idée en Grèce moderne. Elle se reflète également aux soins de l’état pour la
protection du patrimoine byzantin et la législation relative, qui est produite selon les
modèles européens. En même temps, la contribution des européens pour la revalo-
risation de l’architecture byzantine de la Grèce a été reconnue, surtout pendant les
dernières décennies du XIXe siècle.
Donc, il s’agit d’une réappropriation et utilisation de la tradition byzantine ou/
et d’un transfert culturel européen?
Le but de ce rapport est de contribuer au rapprochement de deux questions ci-
dessus par la présentation de quelques nouveaux éléments (documents historiques)

qui éclairent nos connaissances concernant la perception de l’héritage de l’archi-
tecture byzantine pendant le XIXe siècle. Les aspects de la question qu’on touche
concernent: 1. La manière que le patrimoine byzantin était envisagé, surtout par l’
Église, du point de vue de l’expression idéologique de l’État grecque moderne et 2.
L’intérêt européen pour l’architecture byzantine en Grèce.
Dionysios Mourelatos (University of Athens, Greece)

The perception of Byzantium in early 20th c. Greece. The case of
G. Lampakis and his trip to Asia Minor
Nationalism in 19th c. Greece was developed under the influence of European neo-
classicism and Romanticism. The fledgling Greek State focused its interest in the
its ancient past by restoring ancient monuments and excavating ancient sites. At
the same time, Byzantine monuments were considered elements of a period of de-
cline. According to the point of view of the early 19th c. Greek scholars, the modern
Greeks were direct descendants of the ancients and the newly-established state was
seen as a revival of the ancient spirit and culture. They constructed a specific collec-
tive memory that excluded Byzantium from the national past and history.
During the 19th c., however, Byzantium started to be incorporated into national
history and past. Furthermore, the Greek authorities started to restore and preserve
Byzantine Monuments. Gradually the acceptance of the Byzantine past was promot-
ed, since Byzantine and Post-byzantine icons were collected by wealthy Greeks col-
lectors along with ancient coins, inscriptions and vases.
G. Lampakis was a Byzantinist who studied Christian archaeology and theology,
the founder of the Christian Archaeological Society in 1885 with its main purpose
the foundation of a Christian Museum in Greece. Lampakis started a collection of
Christian artifacts and at the end of the 19th c. and the early 20th c. made a series
of trips in Greece and some parts of the Ottoman Empire. Especially, in Asia Minor
he recorded Christian communities, Christian monuments and artifacts along with
Byzantine ruins. It seems that one of his goals was to trace the connection between
the living Christian communities and the Christian monuments.
Main goal of this paper is to explore, through his hand-written personal diaries,
where he recorded Christian monuments and artifacts from Asia Minor, the level of
his scientific approach on the monuments and to re-evaluate the worth of the work
of Lampakis for the history of Byzantine Archaeology in Greece.
Jeroen Geurts (University of Groningen, The Netherlands)

Mexicandad and Rhomiosyne
In the 1920’s hundreds of Lebanese immigrants arrived in Mexico. A collection of

documents at the Archivo General de la Nación tells us that they fled from poverty
or political distress. Nowadays their grandchildren of the Chedraui, Helú and Ha-
dat families provide captains of industry, as well as orthodox archbishops. A peculiar
political landscape arose, which became even clearer around 2008, when not only a
monastery had been built, and the archbishop Antonio Chedraui was honored by
the head of state Félipe Calderón, as well as the head of the Catholic Church Nor-
berto Rivera.
The Chedraui brought Byzantine power structures from their original base at
Beirut. They were able to reenact Byzantinity in the midst of a rich non-Byzantine
culture. Nowadays they sponsor culture as well as industry and most literally the con-
struction of bridges.
As soon as you get into contact with Christian orthodox religious people in
Mexico, you will notice their adherence to Byzantine models of worship and rituals.
There is a Greek community organized around their church near the Hipódromo area
in the Mexican capital, and their use of icons and mural painting resemble that of the
Antioch Church near Reforma Street. Then there is a Mexican orthodox community
officially connected to the Russian Church, performing a Byzantine Palaiologian dis-
play of identity and performing rituals through an iconostasis.
Instead of a battle between the Mexican and the Byzantine identities, a symbio-
sis evolved, where symbols merged into new meanings. The Virgin of Guadalupe,
Queen of Mexico and Empress of the Americas is accompanied by the Hodegetria in
almost all Chedraui buildings. When the Patriarch came to visit the core building of
modern Mexican identity, the Basílica of the Virgin, Antonio Chedraui and cardinal
Norberto Rivera celebrated a Marian mass together with him. A special interconti-
nental Akathistos hymn was written for that occasion. This calls for a demonstration
of the mechanism that allowed for such a successful symbiosis of such powerful iden-
tities as Mexicandad and Rhomiosyne.
Lubomíra Havlíková (Institute of Slavonic Studies, Prague, Czech Republic)

Milada Paulová and her Byzantine world. Contribution to the
relationship between M. Paulová and J. Hussey (To the 120 Paulová’s
birthday anniversary)
Historian and Byzantologist Milada Paulová (1891–1970) devoted her professional

career and scientific work to the history of southeast Europe, particularly the South
Slavic world. She mainly dealt with the modern period (World War I and Czech-
South Slavic relations) and the Middle Ages (the history of the Byzantine Empire).
Of great importance in Paulová’s life was her meeting J. Bidlo, Professor of the medie-
val history at Charles University in Prague. Milada Paulová defended her habilitation
thesis on general history of Eastern Europe and the Balkans at Prague Philosophical
Faculty in 1925 and became the first female Docent in Czechoslovakia. Ten years
later, in 1935 she became the first extraordinary female Professor and was granted
full professorship in 1945 ex post from 1939.
As a Professor of Byzantology at Charles University in Prague, she wrote many
world-renowned studies. As the editor of the journal Byzantinoslavica, she deserved
credit for its post-war revival and its reputation as an international journal, and also
for the Byzantological bibliography that it included.
She established numerous professional contacts with Byzantologists all over the
world, at the first place with Professor Joan Hussey, the famous English Byzantolo-
gist as evidenced by correspondence and Paulová’s “Memoirs”, which she started writ-
ing in 1962 at the impetus of her friend “Jennie”.
Julie Jančárková (Institute of Slavonic Studies, Prague, Czech Republic)

G. A. Ostrogorsky (1902–1976) and Prague
In the speech the relationship between G. A. Ostrogorsky and his colleagues from
the Archaeological Institute named after N. P. Kondakov (in Prague) is analyzed on
the basis of 292 sheets of unpublished Ostrogorsky’s letters to members of the Insti-
tute from 1926 to 1943, which hasn’t been studied yet.
In Prague in 1925 Seminarium named after N. P. Kondakov (Seminarium
Kondakovianum) started its work, later it was transformed into Kondakov’s Institute
where a great number of prominent scholars (G. V. Vernadsky, N. M. Beljaev, N. P.
Toll, D. A. Rasovsky, N. E. Andreev) were involved. Ostrogorsky discussed various
scholarly problems with them. The first letters from 1926 were addressed to historian
Vernadsky. He was just studying Isagoga to vindicate his idea of diarchia between the
emperor and patriarch. The discussion with Vernadsky helped Ostrogorsky, for ex-
ample, consider the question of relationship between the church and secular authori-
ties in Byzantium throughout its historical development.
In the year 1931 a question of Ostrogorsky’s moving to Prague first arose (from
1928 to 1933 a Privatdozent at Breslau University in Germany). In the year 1933,
after the establishment of the Nazi regime, this question was being discussed again
because of Ostrogorsky’s Jewish origin. Then, however, a place of a professor at Bel-
grade University was offered to him and he left Germany. Since 1926 Ostrogorsky
actively participated in Institute activities: wrote articles, did proof-readings, helped
his German colleagues to get involved in the work and he was an Institute distribu-
tor as well. He became a regular member of the Institute and a part of its manag-
ing board. He visited Prague with his reports annually. In the year 1938 Ostrogorsky
with his colleagues from Yugoslavia (V. A. Moshin, A. V. Solovjev) organized an In-
stitute branch in Belgrade. Such scholars as Toll and Rassovsky migrated there from
Prague together with a part of institute library and editing of Institute collections.
J. Boshkovich, N. Vulich, D. Anastasitvich and others took part in monthly public
debates in the branch. The main topic – moving the last part of the library to Bel-
grade – being discussed between Ostrogorsky and Andreev in the years 1938–1940
resulted in a conflict between Prague and Belgrade branches of the Institute. In the
spring of 1941 a German bomb destroyed Institute’s building in Belgrade. An intact
part of the books was returned to Prague, but Ostrogorsky himself did not move to
Prague in spite of the dangerous situation in Belgrade. In the year 1943 Osrogorsky’s
contacts with Kondakov’s Institute in Prague – after seventeen years of cooperation
– stopped.
FC30. BYZANTIUM TODAY – PROJECTS

Moderators
Guentcho Banev/Nicholas de Lange
Valentina Cantone (University of Padua, Italy)

For a Corpus of the Middle Byzantine ornaments. The Greek
manuscripts of the National Library of Venice
During a research four years long in the National Library of Venice, it was possible to
study a group of Byzantine manuscripts from the end of the 9th until the first quarter
of the 11th century known as codices in Laubsäge-Ornamentik. They are decorated
with Π- and band-shaped headpieces enriched by a repertory of elements of classi-
cal origin: foliate rinceaux with trefoils or half-leaves, acanthus scrolls, foliate stems
forming upright or inverted heart-shaped figures containing blue or gilded palmettes
on the white ground of the parchment. A similar ornamentation can be found on
fragments of Middle Byzantine painted stuccoes in the churches of Hagia Sophia in
Thessaloniki and Glyki, as well as on the architectural ceramics that covered surfaces
of the churches, in the sculptures from the Panagia of Hosios Loukas and in many
frescoes and mosaics of the same period. These monuments attest to the success of
such variety of motifs in the Byzantine provinces, where the aristocratic officials were
interested in imitating the luxury arts of Constantinople. During the 9th and 10th
century the same repertory is documented in the glass vessels made in Syria. The in-
fluence of the Constantinopolitan art on parchment on the Eastern culture is well at-
tested by the presence of Byzantine manuscripts in the Abbasid court, because of the
translation into Arabic of the Greek culture, under the patronage of the Caliphs of
Baghdad, impressed by the number of books preserved and by the profusion of gold
that permeated all the aspects of the life in the Great Palace. The analysis of the reper-
tories of ornaments conserved in the manuscripts of Venice can enrich the panorama
of the luxury arts produced in Constantinople, clarifying also the fortune of such a
decorative style along the opposite sides of the Mediterranean sea.
Georgios D. Panagopoulos (Ecclesiastical University of Vella, Ioannina, Greece)

The Dimitrios Chrysoloras’ Project
The Scope of our project is twofold: In a first stage we engage in the preparation of
the still unedited works of the Byzantine theologian and scholar Dimitros Chrys-
oloras (not to be confused with the famous humanist Manuel Chrysoloras, who was
not a brother of our author, us earlier supposed); in a second phase our purpose is to
consider the whole extant and edited work of Dimitros Chrysoloras (simultaneously
to our project two others scholars are still working in London and Athens on the
preparation of the critical edition of some major works of Dimitros Chrysoloras),
in order to prepare the first biographical account of this fast forgotten and unfair
neglected scholar of the late Byzantium.
Our presentation will be mainly concentrated on the problems of the first stage
of the project: the preparation of the critical edition of 4 (four) from the seven (7)
still unedited works of Dimitros Chrysoloras. We intend to focus our attention to the
problems of the manuscript tradition, the question concerning the sources of our au-
thor, and last but not least to the problem of the date of the works. These four works
are panegyrical Orations of religious-theological character. In a first publication will
be concluded the critical edition of the following works: Oration to the Annunciation
of the Virgin Mary and Oration to the sacred Burial of our Lord Jesus Christ. It will be
followed by the critical edition of the two others panegyrical Orations: Oration on
the Birth of Christ and Oration on the miracle of Godmother Mary ἐν τοῖς ὁδηγοῖς. The
last phase of our editorial undertaking will be dedicated to the three last unedited
works of our author, two of which display an obviously secular character (rhetorical
and astronomical).
Kostadin Sokolov ( Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany)

Byzantium and its neighbors: hidden historical maps and sketch
maps from the area of the Byzantine studies and their related
disciplines
Kostadin Sokolov was hired as a student assistant at the Johannes Gutenberg – Uni-
versity of Mainz (not regularly between 15.04.2006 and 15.03.2008) within the
framework of the project „To the periphery of knowledge spaces: the Crimea on the
edge of the Byzantine Empire“, which was part of the Historical and Cultural Studies
Research Center Mainz-Trier (HKFZ Mainz-Trier). He had to create a directory of
hidden modern historical maps to the subject “Byzantium and its neighbors: hidden
historical maps and sketch maps from the area of the Byzantine studies and their re-
lated disciplines”. To fulfill the task of this project he had to search out thematically
relevant maps from all available handbooks, encyclopedias, journals and miscellanies
(apart from historical atlases) in the library of the Byzantine Studies Institute at the
University of Mainz and to enter the collected information about the maps (without
their illustrations) in a previously elaborated grid (raster) according to certain crite-
ria.
One of the main tasks of the map-project is to get a qualitative and quantita-
tive overview by the amount of the registered maps about that which types of maps
can be generally encountered und with what success the problem was solved to map
the different aspects of the byzantine history such as power and religious relations,
transport, trade and economic contacts, administrative divisions, migrations, mili-
tary conflict zones etc. in an area from northern Italy and north-west Africa to Persia
and the Arabian peninsula in the period between 330 AD and 1453 AD i.e. in the
byzantine reign and cultural area and particularly in its peripheral zones.
The maps recorded in the grid are classified by their shape (size and locality in the
book, color and scale), by their temporal (5 categories) and territorial (15 categories)
amount of information and by their content characteristics (political, military, reli-
gious, administrative etc. – totally 47 categories).
The map directory is run by a special program or kind of search engine which
gives the possibility to search in the database for maps according any combination of
the mentioned categories (content, territorial and temporal) or by author last name.
The users can find easily and quickly in this way certain maps they need for publica-
tions, presentations, teaching etc. The collected information in the directory which
includes until now approximate 2300 maps will be published soon for free using
without personal registration as an online catalog on the home page of the Univer-
sity of Mainz. This digital publication and online access to the map directory will
also allow to correct the information in the database and to enrich it systematically
with new entries.
Georgios A. Leveniotes (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece)

Byzantine Dominion in the Balkans during the 7th–8th c. and its
Modern Cartographic Representation
Modern cartographic representation of the political scenery forged in the Balkan

Peninsula during the 7th and 8th c. – i.e. subsequent to the advent and settlement
of Slavs and Protobulgars in the region– tends for its greater part to confine Byzan-
tine dominion, especially during the key 7th c., to the coasts and islands of Dalma-
tia, to southern Thrace (certain maps in particular depict no more than its shoreline
and Constantinople as under Byzantine rule) and to some other coastal areas (their
hinterland excluded) of modern day Greece, in specific those facing the Aegean Sea,
chiefly Thessalonica, Athens and the eastern Peloponnese. Consequently, the authors
of such maps seem inclined to embrace theories of complete and utter collapse of
Byzantine authority over the Balkan hinterland from the 7th c. onwards, save for a
mere handful of towns.
Any modern attempt aspiring to describe and interpret efficiently the historical
developments taking place in the broader region during that time would be incom-
plete and unavailing, if it failed to make comprehensive as well as multidisciplinary
use of a wide range of scientific data available to us today. Evidence currently at our
disposal through careful study of the narrative sources and other sorts of texts (e.g.
State/public and private documents, Church Catalogues/notitiae episcopatuum etc.)

parallel to an examination of regional toponymy, sigillography, and data deriving
from inscriptions, coinage (especially numismatic treasures) and other findings of an
archaeological nature, point to the conclusion that previous theories suggesting an
overall breakdown of Byzantine authority in the region, as well as a complete disin-
tegration of urban living, tend to misrepresent the true events often to an exagger-
ated scale. Furthermore, it is clear that a certain structural continuity of institutions
established in the post-Roman to early-Byzantine eras did persist in some parts of
erstwhile Illyricum and Thrace after the cataclysmic events of the 6th–7th c., despite,
that is, the extensive devastation caused by unrelenting incursions, the partial disrup-
tion of the road systems, which led to severe disturbances in communications, and,
finally, the ensuing transformations in the administrative, military and ecclesiastical
frame.
With specific regard to the newcomers of Slavic origin and to their descend-
ants, the evidence available in contemporary texts and sphragistic source material (cf.
such terms as ὑπὸ πάκτον, ὑπόφοροι, δουλεία, οἰκείωσις, ὑπήκοοι, ἀνδράποδα, ἐναπόγραφοι
πάροικοι, ἐμπεπιστευμένοι ἄρχοντες, σκλαβηνίες and ἀρχοντίες θεμάτων) is indicative of
their political, economic and legal status. Several of the Slavic tribes that had set-
tled in Roman territory from the Lower Danube – where Byzantine ascendancy was
acknowledged under normal circumstances until the arrival of the Protobulgars – to
the Peloponnese, had either entered pact treaties with the Empire, thus acknowledg-
ing its nominal suzerainty, or had come under direct Byzantine rule, thence on be-
coming subject to the regular economic, military or other obligations, whether they
would suffer it or not.
Considering foregoing, we deem it useful, if not necessary, that a large portion of
the modern cartographic approaches to the political rule in the Balkans during the
7th–8th c. as appearing in works of History be re-evaluated, if not revised entirely in
certain cases.
Laurence Foschia (Nantes, France)

Projet RELMIN: le statut légal des minorités religieuses dans
l’espace euro-méditerranéen (Ve–XVe siècles)
Financé par le programme “Idées” du 7ème programme cadre du Conseil Européen

pour la Recherche, le projet de recherche RELMIN (2010–2015) vise à étudier «le
statut légal des minorités religieuses dans l’espace euro-méditerranéen (Ve–XVe siè-
cles). Basé à Nantes, il est dirigé par John Tolan, professeur d’histoire à l’Université
de Nantes et directeur de la Maison des Sciences de l’Homme Ange-Guépin. Les 8
chercheurs qui constituent l’équipe RELMIN, 5 postdoctorants et 3 doctorants, ont
pour tâche de rassembler, publier et étudier les textes légaux qui définissent le statut
des minorités religieuses dans l’Europe pré-moderne. Sont concernés le paganisme, le

judaïsme, le christianisme et l’islam. Le corpus de textes regroupera droit romain (en
particulier les codes de Théodose et de Justinien), droit canon (acta de conseils ec-
clésiastiques, le Décret attribué à Gratien, les Décrétales), droit national ou royal (des
codes barbares aux grandes compilations telles que les Siete Partidas d’Alphonse X),
droit urbain (en particulier les fueros en Espagne chrétienne et les manuels de hisba
en Andalus), responsa des rabbins, collections de fatwas, etc.
La première phase du projet (2010–2013) consistera en la création d’une base
de données de textes légaux tardo-antiques et médiévaux portant sur les minorités
religieuses. Cette base bilingue (français-anglais) comportera les textes en langues
originales (latin, catalan, arabe, grec, hébreu...), leurs traductions, des notes et com-
mentaires ainsi qu’une bibliographie. Cette base de données devrait devenir un outil
important pour l’étude du droit religieux européen et des relations interconfession-
nelles. Dans une deuxième phase (2012–2014), on organisera une série de cinq ate-
liers interdisciplinaires autour de thèmes relatifs à l’histoire des minorités religieuses
afin d’initier de nouvelles lignes de réflexion et de recherche. Enfin, dans un troi-
sième et dernier temps (2014–2015), l’organisation d’un colloque international et la
publication de trois ouvrages (actes du colloque final, anthologie des textes contenus
dans la base de données et monographie synthétique sur le sujet) viendront clore no-
tre projet.
Des informations supplémentaires sont disponibles sur le site de RELMIN:
http://www.relmin.eu/.
Nicholas de Lange (University of Cambridge, UK)

Mapping the Jewish Communities of the Byzantine Empire:
introducing a project
The paper presents a new research project which aims to generate webmaps of the
Jewish presence in the Byzantine empire, using GIS (Geographic Information Sys-
tems). The project, funded by the European Research Council, aims to fill a gap in
two fields, Byzantine history and Jewish history. Additionally, the application of new
technology to the study of a historical subject will furnish a model that can be fol-
lowed in other historical projects.
The project will collate all the information that has so far been published about
the Jewish communities: their whereabouts, their history, their relationships with
each other and with their wider environment, including trade routes and historical
trends, alongside individuals and their relationships with one another. Full biblio-
graphical documentation will be supplied. It also aims to go beyond the published
record and investigate unpublished sources, so as to be as complete and up-to-date
as possible. All data having a date AND a place will feature in the GIS database, and
will form the basis of the maps.

The search for unpublished data containing both a spatial and a temporal refer-
ence is one of the most important aspects of the project. A large mass of such data
exists, notably in inscriptions, colophons in Hebrew manuscripts, and the substantial
and relatively unexplored documents on Crete held in the Venetian State Archives.
Numerous methodological issues beset a project of this nature, and these are dis-
cussed in the paper. Finally we shall consider how this project can contribute to some
of the wider questions concerning the Jewish minority in Byzantium, and indeed to
minority history more generally.
Alexander Panayotov (University of Cambridge, UK)

Putting the Jewish communities of the Byzantine Empire on the
map: sources and methods
This paper will review epigraphic, literary and archaeological sources on the Jewish
communities in the Byzantine Empire between the 9th and the 15th century. I aim to
focus on the problems posed by the reliability of these sources using evidence provid-
ed by the 12th-century Jewish traveller Benjamin of Tudela and other sources. This
will be achieved by comparing his references to the organisation and social position
of the Jewish communities in Byzantine society with other available sources from the
12th century. The results of this comparative analysis will be presented using GIS
(Geographic Information Systems). The methodology applied to the sources on the
Jewish communities in Byzantium in the past has not been sufficient for interpret-
ing their communal organisation and relationships. Using GIS to analyse and present
historical data will help us to establish the place the Jews occupied in the structure of
the Byzantine society during this period.
Gethin Rees (University of Cambridge, UK)

Using Geographical Information Systems to Map the Jewish
Communities of the Byzantine Empire
The ‘Mapping the Jewish Communities of the Byzantine Empire’ project aims to in-
tegrate literary, epigraphic and archaeological data within a Geographical Informa-
tion System (GIS). GIS offers an innovative interpretative framework to study Jew-
ish communities and provides an efficient method for distributing this information
across the world-wide-web. Attributes of communities such as population size, reli-
gious divisions and living arrangements can be depicted and interpreted spatially. So-
cial, political and economic factors had an effect on Jews and our project will use GIS
to model these relationships. Comparative analyses will develop an understanding of

the importance of issues as varied as trade, identity and migration. The GIS will be
made freely available to the general public. It will be possible to search the website to
generate maps that are tailored to the requirements of the individual. The presenta-
tion will provide an introduction as to how the website will work. As the project is
at an early stage of development, data that will be presented comes from two pilot
GIS projects only: Jewish communities living on Crete and those mentioned in the
travelogue of Benjamin of Tudela (mid-12th century). The two studies have raised
methodological issues that are of significance to the use of computing for the study
of history generally, for example, database design and spatial analysis.
Guentcho Banev/Gerasimos Merianos (Foundation of the Hellenic World, Athens,

Greece/Institute for Byzantine Research, Athens, Greece)
Looking for a Byzantine Needle in the Web’s Haystack: A New Tool
for Byzantine Studies on the Internet (a project of the IBR/NHRF)
Information management on the World Wide Web has become extremely problem-
atical and one of the most discussed issues for the last few years. It is a fact that con-
ventional search engines alone are not sufficient to meet the needs of specific scientif-
ic searches. Researchers and institutions are constantly looking for ways of organizing
the data produced and managed on the Web, creating local or thematic criteria tools,
directories and networks, trying to ensure direct access to unlimited on-line data.
In many cases, however, the rapid developments on the Internet overpower any
good effort. The new IBR/NHRF project aims at creating a dynamic tool for the
management of Byzantine Studies data on the Web. It will produce a practical and
structured application rendering access to the on-line scientific material produced
worldwide on Byzantine history and culture easy. The project will be forged by the
collaboration between Byzantinists and IT specialists, developing an original meth-
odology which will answer specific needs for research in Byzantine Studies.
This paper intends to outline the current situation of Byzantine Studies on the
Internet and introduce the innovative approach adopted by the project. Solutions
to a number of the basic problems will be proposed, and new issues and perspectives
will be suggested taking into consideration multilingualism and diversity in Byzan-
tine Studies on the Web. The main goal of the project is to facilitate the work of
researchers on the World Wide Web and to assist the dissemination of scientific ma-
terial within the wider community, using a non-profit academic platform.
In sum, this new project of the IBR/NHRF intends to offer assistance to those
who work in the field of Byzantine Studies. Methodologically it is based on close
cooperation with IT specialists who will adequately be monitoring developments on
the Internet. This academic service will be constantly updated in order to reduce user
time and effort, and to ensure the most accurate search result possible.
Grigorios Papagiannis/Nikolaos Siklafidis (Democritus University of Thrace,

Komotini, Greece/Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini, Greece)
Lexicographical Project “D.I-A.L.G.”
The D.I-A.L.G. (Diachronic Inter-Active Lexicon of Greek) is an ambitious research

project designed and developed in the Department of Greek at the Democritus Uni-
vercity of Thrace.
This is a diachronic Greek Dictionary, whose main difference from the already
existing ones is that, after it has been completely compiled and having taken into ac-
count the most recent findings of lexicographic research, it will incorporate every
existing dictionary in one.
The most prominent advantage of the designed project, however, we hold that is
the fact that it can be perpetually completed and revised.
The dictionary has been already hung, since the very initial stages, on the In-
ternet website http://dialg.helit.duth.gr, and it has been at the disposal of anybody
interested. Consequently, there is no case that it will ever be exhausted unless with-
drawn. On the other hand, it will be always open to corrections and additions based
either on criticism and comments to be made by the users, or on the basis of further
research findings of the members of the editorial board, as well as on the lexicograph-
ic research in general. Therefore, it is not expected to be considered obsolete.
In conclusion, we strongly believe that each dictionary will be inevitably referred
to as such and in the future this designed project is expected to meet the current
needs of the user/researcher of the Greek language.
Keywords: diachronic, greek lexicon, Internet, interactive
Kateřina Horníčková (Institut für Realienkunde, Krems/Donau, Austria)

Introduction to CARMEN – The Worldwide Network of Medieval
Research
The presentation introduces CARMEN, a new communication platform open to all

areas of Medieval Studies, including the Byzantine Studies. The presentation outlines
CARMEN’s benefits for the Byzantinists, and invite individuals and research groups
to use its resources.
Launched five years ago, CARMEN is the acronym for the “Co-operative for the
Advancement of Research through a Medieval European Network”, a worldwide net-
work of medievalists. It links research institutions, universities, interest groups and
individuals with common scholarly interest in the study of the Middle Ages. Based
in Europe, it reaches out to all continents to create an open international platform of
co-operation in the field of medieval research and teaching. It brings medievalists,
scholars and outside specialists together to form international collaborative projects
and research activities, facilitate communication leading to formation of research

projects, and helps researchers apply for grant money.
CARMEN invites interest in comparative medieval and early modern projects
rooted in various cultural areas and traditions; the diversity is often a primary inter-
est of the funding bodies as well. We link partners from Europe and beyond to bring
their respective historical knowledge in generic topics, such as borders, exchange and
cultural diversity, cultural and regional interaction, health, education, government,
social welfare, cultural memories (including technology to maintain cultural arte-
facts), religion, etc. In all these efforts we are keen for projects to have a fully pan-
European approach, and one that places Europe in a global context.
Next to searching for project partners, CARMEN also publicises information
about job openings and research grants calls in all areas of medieval studies all over the
world, including Byzantine Studies. In the presentation, I will speak shortly about all
areas of CARMEN activities that could benefit the Byzantine Studies and related fields.
Диляна Иванова Ковачева (Гранадски университет, Испания)

Научно-изследователска дейност и архив на Центъра по
византийски, новогръцки и кипърски научни изследвания със
седалище в Гранада, Испания
Целта на настоящия доклад е да анализира изследователската дейност и библи-

ографски и документални материали, които са на разположение в Центъра за
византийски, новогръцки и кипърски научни изследвания (CEBNCh.) със се-
далище в Гранада, и да го представи пред всички изследователи, интересуващи
се да сътрудничат в негови проекти и дейности или да имат достъп до неговия
архивен фонд.
Тази институция е основана от гръцката държава с посредничеството на
Посолството на Гърция в Испания през юни 1998 година. В нейния управи-
телен съвет участват като институционални членове Посолството на Гърция в
Испания, Посолството на Кипър в Испания, Университетът в Гранада, култур-
ната служба на Хунта де Андалусия в Гранада и Кметството на Адра, Алмерия.
Центърът е обвързан със споразумение с Университета в Гранада като в същото
време е подписал споразумения за сътрудничество с университетите в Кипър, с
Тракийския университет „Демокрит” и с Университета в Патра. Неговата цел
е да подкрепя и насърчава новогръцки и византийски научни изследвания в
испаноговорящия свят, а освен това играе важна интердисциплинарна изследо-
вателска дейност чрез организирането на конгреси, семинари и публикации на
списания. Също така C.E.B.N.Ch. притежава една от най-богатите библиотеки
по рода си извън Гърция и Кипър, която се състои от повече от 20 000 загла-
вия и 85 периодични издания, научни и литературни изследвания, достъпни за
всеобщо ползване. В библиотеката на Центъра има и крупни дарения, измежду

които бихме подчертали библиографското наследство, предоставено от близки-
те на Константинос Цацос, бивш президент на Република Гърция (1975–1980),
писател, поет и преводач, както и на неговата съпруга Йоана Цацу (Сефериаду),
писателка от поколението на 1930 г., която от своя страна е и сестра на Нобело-
вия лауреат през 1965 г. Георгиос Сеферис.
Павел Кузенков/Николай Быстрицкий (Московский государственный

университет им. М.В. Ломоносова, Россия/Русский исторический институт,
Москва, Россия)
Опыт формализации исторических данных на примере
византийской истории
Открывшиеся новые перспективные возможности по хранению и наглядному

представлению исторических данных, связанные с повсеместным распростра-
нением средств вычислительной техники, требуют сведения массива разнород-
ной исторической информации к универсальной форме, приемлемой для нако-
пления и хранения в цифровом виде. Для этого и последующих этапов компью-
терного анализа и обработки необходима разработка методов формализации
исторических сведений.
Исторической наукой изучаются события и явления, которые определя-
ют состояния и изменение участников (объектов) исторического процесса.
Исследуемые объекты могут осуществлять действия или сами подвергаться
внешним действиям или процессам. Онтологически основные виды действий
или процессов можно разделить на 6 основных категорий согласно их форме
(вещественной или информационной) и содержанию (перемещение, обработ-
ка, хранение). На основе такой классификации устанавливаются операнды дей-
ствия, которые объединяют сходные названия действий (синонимы). Истори-
ческие события (факты) выступают как результаты целенаправленных действий
или нецеленаправленных процессов. События характеризуются конкретными
временными и пространственными параметрами. Для однозначного описания
временных характеристик исторических данных целесообразно использовать
Хронологический юлианский день (последовательный счет суток с 0 ч. 1 января
4713 до н.э.); для пространственных данных применяются традиционные гео-
графические координаты.
Особую проблему представляет формализация достоверности тех или иных
источников исторической информации. В случае нарративного источника каж-
дое сообщение имеет определенную достоверность, связанную с субъективно-
стью автора, степенью его информированности, зависимостью от др. источ-
ника, жанровых особенностей и проч. В отношении археологических и иных
«немых» источников на первый план выходит оценка убедительности иссле-

довательских гипотез и интерпретаций. Данную проблему теоретически можно
решать при помощи ранжирования и вероятностных методов, однако ее прак-
тическое решение нуждается в серьезной апробации на примере конкретного
исторического материала.
В презентации представлен опыт формализации на основе описанных мето-
дов событий византийской истории 900–910 годов.
FC31. PROBLEMS OF ICONOGRAPHY. I. GENERAL QUESTIONS

Moderators
Holger Klein/Ralitsa Rousseva
Eleni Dimitriadou (London, UK)

In Search of Meaning: The Southwest Vestibule Mosaic of Hagia
Sophia at Constantinople
Though one of the least discussed figural mosaics of Hagia Sophia at Constantino-
ple, the southwest vestibule piece (datable to the late ninth or early tenth century) is
without doubt one of the most enigmatic. The panel portrays Constantine the Great
offering a model of the Byzantine capital to the Virgin and Child, while Justinian the
First is presenting a model of Hagia Sophia. The difficulty in interpreting this mosaic
lies in the fact that it is not a typical donor portrait commemorating the piety and
generosity of the mosaic’s patron. It is evident that the emperors represented in the
panel played no role in its commissioning, not least since Constantine and Justinian
lived approximately two centuries apart and the style of the mosaic appears to be
later than the sixth century, when Justinian was on the throne of Constantinople.
The narrative of the mosaic has another dimension, which cannot be easily per-
ceived by the modern-day spectator, and which is closely related to the special func-
tion of the southwest vestibule during imperial ceremonial processions; this very
chamber granted access to the cathedral for the emperor and his entourage. At the
same time, this room served a second purpose; it was the so-called metatorion, the
changing room of the emperor, in close proximity to the Beautiful Gate of Hagia
Sophia. In this chamber, the head of the Byzantine Empire – as an act of respect to
God – was divested of his crown by high court dignitaries and from there, barehead-
ed, he entered the narthex through the north door of the vestibule and continued to
the nave following faithfully the itinerary of his procession. Taking into considera-
tion this significant role of the vestibule and through a discussion of the visual semi-
otics of the mosaic, particularly the images of the Virgin and Child and the models
held by the two emperors, this communication suggests a new interpretation of the
narrative of this panel.
Andrea Ginnasi (Université de Milan, Italie)

Corona et Imperium: témoignages artistiques des premiers
macédoniens
Le but de cette communication est la présentation de l’iconographie typiquement

byzantine du Couronnement impérial par la main divine, ou Couronnement sym-
bolique selon la définition d’André Grabar, dans les décennies de sa formation. C’est
seulement avec la fondation de la dinastie macédonienne par Basil I que la pensée
théocratique byzantine trouve une traduction visuelle avec cette solution qui sera
destinée ensuite à paraître constamment dans la production artistique de Constanti-
nople, par rapport surtout aux objets de luxe et aux émissions monétaires, secteurs in-
dissolublement liés aux ateliers impériaux. Cette représentation, qui consacre le pas-
sage du pouvoir de la sphère céleste au souverain en ratifiant l’ascension, se révèle un
moyen de propagande qui vise à légitimer une succession violente au trône, c’est le cas
de Basil I, consolider l’affirmation de la dynastie, c’est le cas de Leon VI, cacher une
conduite politique irresponsable, c’est le cas d’Alexandre. Les images qui seront pre-
sentées constituent déjà un riche répertoire de solutions différentes: l’Empereur peut
être couronné par un archange, un saint particulier, la Vierge, ou même directement
par le geste de Christ, source de tous les pouvoirs. Pour ce qui concerne l’origine de
ce thème iconographique, bien qu’il naisse et se développe à l’époque macédonienne,
de toute façon il est possible d’indiquer quelque précédent de signification analogue
par rapport surtout à des témoignages de l’antiquité tardive.
Ermioni Karachaliou (University of Manchester, UK)

Deisis Panel: The hidden messages of its evolution
The word Deisis is an addition of the 19th century scholarship and identifies an im-
age of the Byzantine composition of the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist standing
on either sides of Christ. However, the organization of this synthesis included other
deviations as is extensively researched by Antony Cutler in his paper ‘Under the Sign
of the Deisis: On the Question of Representativeness in Medieval Art and Litera-
ture’ (Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 41, pp. 145–154).
This research paper aims to compare what widely forms today a Deisis panel and
its standard figural representation with the selection of figures and their placement
in earlier examples. Early ivory objects depict the Virgin on Christ’s left side and the
Apostle John on his right, contrary to the Middle Byzantine model which follows
the opposite placement. The question I would like to address is whether this earlier
placement, which was mainly seen in ivory caskets and pilgrimage objects, is linked
to the archetype of God’s dual nature, the standard depiction of male and female in
pagan iconography and alchemy.
Plunging into the complexities of pagan and medieval religious symbolism is a

theme which has preoccupied researchers in the past. Man’s conception of nature and
the rhythm of life have been subjects to change over the course of history. Questions
about duality and monism have been addressed in the past in religious discourses.
However, no research has been conducted on the popular theme of Deisis in order to
provide an explanation for this alteration of male and female figures. Images of pagan
art, ivory objects and later icons will open discussion on matters of theological beliefs
and how these influenced art production.
Vlastimil Drbal (Slovansky ustav, Prague, République tchèque)

Socrate et les Sept Sages sur les mosaïques de l’époque
protobyzantine
Le but de ma communication est de présenter le changement de la réception de So-

crate et des Sept Sages dans les œuvres littéraires ainsi que dans les œuvres artistiques
(surtout sur les mosaïques) à l’époque protobyzantine. Les changements de l’icono-
graphie des mosaïques – concernant non seulement Socrate et les Sept Sages, mais
aussi les mythes classiques (Cassiopée, Ulysse) –, attestés surtout dans la partie orien-
tale de l’Empire romain, prouvent un combat intellectuel entre les païens et les chré-
tiens. L’auteur est de l’avis que les païens aient modifié l’iconographie classique pour
montrer la supériorité des valeurs traditionnelles face au christianisme.
Rostislava G. Todorova (Konstantin Preslavsky University of Shumen, Bulgaria;

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece)
The Color of the Sacred Space: Red Mandorlas in Orthodox
Iconography
Present paper deals with the iconographical patterns in which mandorla, colored in
red is used as a visual symbol of the Glory of God. Firstly in broad outlines will be de-
scribed the visual device of mandorla in the Orthodox iconography, its functions and
symbolic meaning. Then special attention will be paid to the red mandorlas, starting
from icons and wall paintings from the Saint Catherine’s monastery at Mount Sinai
(10th–13th c. AD), icons and wall paintings from Mount Athos (11th–13th c. AD),
icon images and wall paintings from Cyprus and some patterns of the Crusader art
from Constantinople and the Holy Land (12th–13th c. AD). Paper will observe ex-
isting theories about reasons for using the red colored backgrounds and mandorlas in
the Orthodox iconography. Accent will be put also on the symbolic meaning of the
red color and its position in the iconographical hierarchy of colors. Will be discussed
the further development and spreading of the patterns with red mandorlas in Byzan-
tine and Post Byzantine Orthodox image tradition. Special place will be given to the
Bulgarian icons and wall paintings from 17th–19th c. AD, where usage of red man-
dorlas is a common practice, as well as to some Russian icons from 17th–19th c. AD,
few icons from Moldavia (16th–17th c. AD), and Crete (17th c. AD). The paper
will observe also some iconographical patterns of hesychastic and post hesychastic
mandorlas in which not the mandorla itself is red colored, but the angular shapes
representing the uncreated light of God’s energies inside it are red. Conclusions of
the present paper will try to connect the usage of red color in drawing the mandorla
with the theological core of the phenomenon of God’s presence revealed in front of
humans.
Alexandra Karagianni (Université Aristote de Thessalonique, Gréce)

Les représentations des rêves dans la peinture de l’époque des
Paléologues: expression et interprétation
Le rêve est considéré comme un événement très important dans la vie de l’homme.
Selon les médecins, les partisans d’Hippocrate, les rêves proviennent des mouvements
de l’âme et grâce à leur symbolisme, fournissent des informations importantes sur la
santé de celui qui rêve. Aristote croyait que les rêves pouvaient être analysés en figures
significatives, nées d’une continuité de stimulations et de mouvements extérieurs.
Cet article envisage les différentes façons avec lesquelles les artistes byzantins ont
représenté les scènes de rêves dans la peinture murale et examine également leur sym-
bolisme. En général, le rêve est protégé par l’Écriture sainte puisque il contribue à
l’interprétation de mystères dogmatiques. Les Pères de l’Église acceptent le rêve et
ils le considèrent comme une prophétie divine, mais ils le distinguent de l’annonce
humaine ou diabolique d’un événement. Ils rejettent pourtant la pratique de l’inter-
prétation des rêves faite selon la divination païenne.
Dans la peinture murale de l’époque des Paléologues, des scènes de rêves allégori-
ques sont représentées assez fréquemment. Il s’agit de rêves qui exigent une interpré-
tation de la part de spécialistes devins pour être compris par le rêveur (rêve de Nabu-
chodonosor, rêves de Pharaon, rêves du chef des échansons et du chef des panetiers).
Les rêves sont importants car ils fournissent une solution à de nombreuses situations
complexes (les deux miracles de Saint Nicolas), transmettent des messages ou bien
des ordres (rêve de Joseph, Père du Christ, concernant la fuite de la famille sainte en
Egypte) et dévoilent la volonté de Dieu (l’échelle de Jacob, rêves de Joseph, fils de
Jacob). De plus, ils témoignent de la croyance populaire et des peurs de l’homme du
moyen âge concernant l’au-delà, tout en fournissant aux hagiographes l’iconographie
en rapport (scènes de Justes de la Deuxième Parousie, de l’Enfer et du Paradis etc.).
Ralitsa Rousseva (Institute of Arts Studies, Sofia, Bulgaria)

Stylistic Trends and Iconographic Paradoxes in Mural Paintings
on the Territory of Contemporary Albania (13th–14th Centuries)
The monuments of Ecclesiastical art on the territory of contemporary Albania, on ac-

count of their natural geographical location and historical fate, became intermediary
between the orthodox tradition and the recurrent western influences. Western Euro-
pean influences enter paintings most actively in the 13th century, which was a direct
result of the historic situation on the Balkans – the crusaders invasion, bringing into
position of the catholic bishops, the negotiations between tsar Kaloyan and Pope In-
nocent III (1204–1207) etc. Testimonies of this influence are the partially preserved
murals of the Church of the Holy Virgin in the village of Ljubonje (circa 1210). The
Church of Christ Soter in Roubik (1272) has a specific place among the examples of
monumental art, both the iconography and the inscriptions indicate combination
and overlapping of Orthodox and Catholic artistic traditions. I would also date the
images in the prothesis of the monastery Church in Apollonia about the end of the
13th century, with style influenced by Romanesque art in Europe. A different stylis-
tic trend represent the fragments from the rock Church in Uraka (late 13th C.)
The relatively large number of preserved examples of mural painting in the region
of Prespa and Korča shows that an active centre of spiritual life was formed there
during the 14th century. There were “regional” iconographic models, which were
dominant and shaped the paintings from region, distinguished by their diversity, as
well as by their own distinctive characteristics. At the same time, concrete historical
events, conceptual movements and personal requirements of the donors influenced
this process.
Another group of monuments dating from the 14th century represent rather
different stylistic trends, including the refectory of the monastery in Apollonia, the
Holy Trinity Church in Berat and St. Nicholas Church in Perundi, which feature un-
expected themes and iconographic interpretations. All three monuments were con-
nected with the imperial court in Constantinople, which probably conditioned these
peculiarities.
Smaragdi I. Arvaniti/Nikos D. Kontogiannis/Anna Christidou (University of

Athens, Greece/University of Athens, Greece/Courtauld Institute of Art, London,
UK)
Byzantium encapsulated in the western fringes of the empire:
the church of the Dormition of Virgin Mary at Labovo y Kriqit,
south Albania
The church of the Dormition of Virgin at the village of Labovo i Kryqit in modern
south Albania, stands among the finest Byzantine monuments of Epiros. So far, stud-
ies have focused on its architecture whereas the important painting decoration has
been totally overlooked. The monument has been attributed to the 10th century and
grouped together with the middle-Byzantine churches of Kastoria, Greece. Thor-
ough examination has revealed different construction phases and raised attention to
the surviving iconography including also wall paintings that were recently uncovered
by the Archaeological Institute of Tirana.
This paper focuses on the iconographic programme of the church, identifies the
various iconographic phases ranging from the 10th to the 19th cent. and attempts
to place them into a broader historical and socio-political context. Based on this
evidence, conclusions will be drawn about the functional relation between the wall
paintings and the architecture of the church, the role of the monument as a continu-
ous local centre of veneration and signifier of the Byzantine artistic tradition and fi-
nally, the position of the region in the Byzantine administrative system.
Irma Matiashvili (Academie de Théologie, Tbilissi, Géorgie)

Iconographie de la façade de Svetitskhovéli d’ouest
La Cathédrale de Svetitskhovéli (1010–1029) a une grande importance pour la vie

de la Géorgie. Á cette espace est liée la Tunique du Seigneur apportée en Géorgie.
La cathédrale de Svetitskhovéli a supportée àmaintesfoisles renouvellements pen-
dant le Moyen Âge. C’est à cause de cela quequelques reliefs du XIe s. ont change
leur emplacement initial.
La composition figurative et les ornements de la façade d’ouest sont contempo-
rains de la construction de l’église et ne font pas l’écart principal à la conception de la
programme iconographique de l’architecte.
La composition principale de la façade d’ouest du point de vue de l’iconographie
est Jesus Christ trônant en compagnie de deux anges volants qui se trouve au fronton,
sur la surface supérieure de deux arcs décoratifs ornés de motifs végétaux de chaque
côtés. Sur la surface de l’arc extérieur figurant deux vignes.
La composition du Christ sur le trône de la façade d’ouest est bien caractéristique
pour les églises contemporaines de Svetitskhovéli (Nikortsminda, Katskhi). Malgré
le même temps de construction le relief de Svetitskhovéli présente la redaction ico-

nographique divers. D’après d’une interpretation cette composition présente la doc-
trine du mystère de l’eucharistie (N. Aladashvili).
Je pense que par sa difference substantielle en comparaison de l’essence du mystè-
re eucaristique et de l’iconographie de cette composition répandue le relief principal
de la façade d’ouest a acquit une idée différente. Pour l’interprétation de cette scène
le role important s’attache aux reliefs des vignes presents en bas et aux arc décoratifs
de la même surface. D’aprèsl’explication de I. Flemming ces deux reliefs de vigne de
la façade d’ouest de Svetitskhovéli doivent symbolizer le Paradis. Et l’arc, selon les
pèresd’église (Gr. De Nicomedie), c’est le symbole du porche en passant duquel on
entre au Paradis.
Ainsi d’uneiconographie de la composition de la Gloire du Christ et des symbols
l’architect de Svetitskhovéli a créé une icone de Jerusalem celeste.
Cesreliefs fontévidentel’idée de cette église comme le symbole terrestre de Jeru-
salem célest. C’est une presentation de la liaison liturgique terrestre et célest.
Le rapport de l’église de Svetitskhovéli avec Jerusalem célest et le service au Chris-
test le leitmotiv dans le texte hymnographique (XIIe s.) dédié à Svetitskhovéli.
Ainsi les reliefs de la façade d’ouest de Svetitskhovéli experiment une idée carac-
terisant l’iconographie de la peinture mural, differenciée de l’époque précédente avec
sa sculpture modeste de façade.
Dobrochna Zielińska (University of Warsaw, Poland)

Aspects of the Iconography of wall-paintings in Nubia as a New
Perspective for Byzantine Studies
The culmination of the Christianization process in the Middle Nile Valley was the
Evangelization of the three Christian Kingdoms of Medieval Nubia by the missions
sent from the imperial court in Constantinople during the reign of Justinian and
Theodora.
The historical circumstances of the Byzantine world (migrations, invasions, and
Iconoclasm) did not leave unaffected the new member of the Christian common-
wealth of the Eastern Mediterranean: Nubia was irreversibly (at least partly) isolat-
ed from the rest of the Christian world after the conquest of Egypt by the Islamic
chaliphate in 641 CE.
Thus, the Nubian Kingdoms had the chance to develop dynamically their Chris-
tian culture, creating imaginative forms based on the Byzantine matter inherited
from this dawn of the Medieval era. Therefore, it has already been stated that Nubia
was a museum of Early Byzantine traditions, lost otherwise in the imperial territory
itself.
The Nubian art of wall-painting exemplifies this process superbly: it clearly joins
the Byzantine roots of the Christian character of this art with the indigenous ambi-
tions and temperament, forming thus an original Nubian mural art.
The paintings preserved and the programs reconstructed permit the ambitious
task of giving to this special field of Nubian Studies a creative role in the enlarging of
the horizons of Byzantine art and culture, and subsequently of Byzantine Studies.
Magdalena Łaptaś (Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, Poland)

Mythological motifs in Nubian art
In medieval Nubian paintings there have survived a few motifs from Greek mythol-
ogy. These are usually figures, or episodes occurring in the background of religious
scenes. These motifs indicate the continuity of ancient traditions in the arts on the
outskirts of Byzantium. Some of these motifs are also found in Coptic art, others are
known only from the land of Nubia, yet.
This subject has been paid to relatively small attention in the studies, in contrast
to research on Coptic art. The aim of my paper is therefore to trace the origins and
development of mythological motifs in the painting of Nubian and to answer the
question what their importance in the religious scenes was.
Julien Auber de Lapierre (École pratique des hautes études, Paris, France)
La diffusion de l’iconographie chrétienne occidentale dans
l’Égypte ottomane – le travail de Yuhanna al-Armani
Actif de 1740 à 1786, année de sa mort, Yuhanna al-Armani al-Qudsi fut l’un des
plus prolifiques peintres d’icônes que l’Égypte ottomane ait pu connaître. Bénéfi-
ciant d’une période économiquement faste, les Coptes d’Égypte ont pu restaurer et
mettre en valeur leur patrimoine religieux, notamment en faisant réaliser de nom-
breuses icônes pour les décorer. Yuhanna al-Armani et son proche collègue Ibrahim
al-Nasikh répondirent à cet appel en développant de grands ateliers prêts à répondre
à toutes ces commandes.
Le résultat est si spectaculaire que, encore aujourd’hui, il est difficile de ne pas
visiter une église copte du Caire sans voir un panneau réalisé par l’un ou l’autre de
ces hommes. Le travail quasi mécanique qui résulta de ce tandem permet en effet de
réunir actuellement un corpus de près de cinq-cents icônes. Les iconographies sont
riches et diversifiées: panneaux illustrant la vie du Christ, déisis destinées aux pan-
neaux de sanctuaires, ciboria, scènes hagiographiques, etc.
Ce qui, peut-être, attire le plus dans ces panneaux tient en fait dans le style. Sou-
vent indéfinissable, comme le remarquait déjà en sont temps A. J. Butler, celui-ci il-
lustre des sources difficiles à remonter. On y trouve à la fois, pêle-mêle, des traditions
issues des peintures des couvents coptes, des évocations de tissus ottomans, des pay-
sages relevant plus de l’Arménie que du désert égyptien, des compositions issues de
tableaux européens.
Cette particularité tient dans un fait bien concret. Yuhanna al-Armani al-Qudsi,
comme son nom l’indique, est issu d’une famille arménienne probablement native
de Jérusalem. Bien qu’étant né en Égypte et ayant épousé une Égyptienne copte, il
n’en demeure pas moins très attaché à ses racines, aussi bien par son lieu d’habitation
au Caire – en plein cœur du quartier arménien – que par ses réseaux sociaux, et par
l’iconographie qu’il utilise dans son art.
Afin de mieux cerner celui-ci, il a d’abord fallu retrouver, réunir, puis compren-
dre les icônes toujours existantes dans les églises du Caire et des environs, et enfin tra-
cer les sources d’inspiration. C’est ainsi au détour d’ouvrages liturgiques imprimés,
principalement arméniens, mais également européens, retrouvés dans la bibliothèque
des pères franciscains du Mouski au Caire, qu’il a été possible de mieux interpréter
l’art de cet arménien de cœur. Les heureuses découvertes se firent également dans les
bibliothèques américaines et européennes (Italie, Pays-Bas, France), mais aussi, plus
simplement dans les fonds arméniens d’Égypte ou dans la bibliothèque du Patriarcat
copte du Caire à travers les manuscrits à peintures des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles.
Comprendre l’art de Yuhanna al-Armani permet ainsi de mieux cerner la diffu-
sion des iconographies chrétiennes en Afrique et au Proche-Orient, par les nombreux
centres d’impressions d’ouvrages basés en Europe.
FC32. PROBLEMS OF ICONOGRAPHY. II. CHRIST AND SAINTS

Moderators
Maria Vassilaki/Emmanuel Moutafov
Leonela Fundić (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece)

Two Scenes of Christ’s Childhood in Byzantine Art
It is well known that the canonical Gospels provide little information about the
childhood of Jesus. This lacuna was remedied by a number of texts from the second
century and later known as the Infancy Gospels. None of these texts has been admit-
ted into the New Testament canon, but the sheer number of surviving manuscripts
attests to their continued popularity, which in turn left an imprint on Christian art,
especially in the West. This paper examines two Byzantine examples of a rare ico-
nography inspired by the Infancy Gospels. The iconography shows the Christ Child
carrying a writing tablet and holding his mother by the hand.
Images of the Virgin Mary with the Child accompanied by different attributes
such as a writing tablet, book, wicker basket, staff, flower, or fruit were common in
Western art. Images of this kind start to appear at the beginning of the thirteenth
century. They are found in a variety of media, from frescoes and stained glass win-
dows to illuminated manuscripts, embroideries, and seals. Scholars have relied on the
attributes carried by the Child, and sometimes by the Virgin too, in order to identify
or name the scene in question. The best known examples have been associated with
the accounts of the schooling of Jesus in the apocryphal Infancy Gospels. In these
images the Child is represented carrying in one hand a writing tablet inscribed with
the alphabet and occasionally a pen too, while holding his mother with the other
hand. Hans Wentzel has suggested that the iconographic motif of the Virgin walking
with the Child, which appeared in the West around 1220, may have been of Byzan-
tine provenance. In fact, this motif is extremely rare in Byzantine art. The remaining
examples include a stone relief from the monastery at Episkopi near Volos in Greece,
which shows the schooling of Jesus, and a fresco in the crypt of Candelora in Massa-
fra (Apulia). In the latter example, the Virgin is shown walking and holding Jesus by
the hand, while he carries a wicker basket, perhaps with fruits or eggs.
Two hitherto unknown frescoes of Christ’s childhood can be added to these ex-
amples. One is found in the cemetery church of St. Marina in the village of Meseleroi
in Crete. In the lowest zone of the north wall the Virgin Mary is depicted walking
with the little Jesus at her side. The Child has a tablet with the Greek alphabet in his
right hand. They are approaching the figure of St. John the Baptist, who is depicted
on the right. St. John holds a scroll in his left hands with a text from the Gospel of
John (1:30 and 1:15), while his right hand is extended towards the Virgin and Child,
as if to greet them. A very similar fresco is found in the church of St. Antony in the
neighboring village of Koutsouras. The scene is poorly preserved, but it is clear that
it exhibits the same iconography. The inscription on the Baptist’s scroll is, moreover,
identical with the one seen at Meseleroi. The inclusion of the figure of St. John, who
appears in the role of a witness of the Messiah, in a scene showing schooling of Jesus
is particularly noteworthy. To the best of my knowledge, the two frescoes have no
parallels in Byzantine art. The wall paintings in both churches are of relatively high
quality and can be dated to around 1300.
Elena Ene D-Vasilescu (University of Oxford, UK)

Aspects of art circulation along Via Egnatia: nursing scene in East
and West
The motif of St. Anna nursing the infant Mary is an interesting variant on the theme
of Virgin Mary feeding Christ (Galaktotrophousa). The literary sources for the im-
agery referring to St. Anna are The Protoevangelion of James (6: 3, 3.1–4.2) in the East
and the Pseudo-Matthew Gospel in the West.
The scene of nursing the infant Mary can be seen artistically represented in Latin
Christianity through a mosaic in the ‘high-profile’ example of San Marco, Venice – a
city easily accessed from Dyrrachium on the Adriatic Sea, at the Western end of Via
Egnatia. As a part of the cycle Life of Mary represented in the cathedral’s mosaics, on
the south transept, scene no. 10 depicts St. Anna nursing. The date when this was cre-
ated is implied in Demus’ works as being the twelfth century; it is a part of the origi-
nal decorative scheme. It is known that as early as 1100 San Marco was compared to
Apostoleion Church in Constantinople and that its mosaics of that period, with their
decorative scenes (perhaps among them, St. Anna nursing), were made by Constan-
tinopolitan masters.
On Mount Athos a mosaic icon from the twelfth century depicting Anna nursing
exists in Vatopedi Monastery. In the East of the Byzantine Empire there are four more
churches which have frescoes depicting this scene: St. George Church, Kurbinovo
Monastery (1191), the Church of the Apostles, Thessaloniki (1310–1314), the
Chapel of St. Demetrius at Peć, dating from the first two decades of the fourteenth
century, and St Mary Zahumska, Trpejca, Macedonia (1361). Significantly, they are
not far away from Venice.
In conclusion, the Egnatian Way remained an important thoroughfare for travel-
lers between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries and both Latin and Eastern church-
men, artists, scribes, as well as images, circulated along it. Church art depicting St.
Anna nursing was created simultaneously close to both of its ends. The paper reveals
some evidence to that effect. Is this situation an indication of a common source or of
a reciprocal inspiration for the painters’ choice of this particular motif, or both? This
paper will also attempt to explore this matter in some detail.
Eirini Panou (University of Birmingham, UK)

St. Anna at the Faras Cathedral: The gesture of silence from
ancient Egypt to Medieval Europe
The role of St. Anna (mother of the Virgin Mary) in the Byzantine world has not
been studied until very recently. This paper will give us the chance to show that her
study sheds light into concepts behind Christian depictions of sanctity, which at the
same time are continuations of older – not necessarily Christian – traditions.
One of the earliest depictions of St. Anna is found in the Cathedral of Faras (to-
day at the National Musem of Warsaw) and dates to the eighth century. The excava-
tions led by Prof. Michałowski uncovered a depictions of St. Anna wherr the saint is
portrayed standing and making the gesture of silence, placing one of her fingers on
her lips. Before the eighth century, the gesture silence is given once more a Chris-
tian concept in sixth-century Bawit (chapel 22), but it is first found in ancient Egyp-
tian and continued to be used during the Renaissance in Europe. This paper aims
to underline the cultural connections between the European heritage and antiquity
through the study of a gesture and its history.
Marka Tomić Djurić (University of Belgrade, Serbia)

The Representations of the Dead Christ and the Mother of God in
the western part of the naos in Byzantine Art
The iconography, liturgical, dogmatic and historical aspects of the Imago Pietatis im-
age were studied by scholars. It is depicted in the prothesis of the churches. It can be
accompanied with the image of the Mother of God. Concerning our knowledge, the
existance of different practice of depicting the same subject can be noticed in the case
of the church of Saint Demetrius at Markov Manastir near Skopje (1376–77).
The depiction of the Dead Christ and the Mother of God is represented as Imago
Pietatis and the Virgin Eleusa. They are depicted on the western pair of pillars, on
the wall that divides the spaces of the naos and the nartex. They are organized as
separated images in the form of the ‘fresco-icon’. This uncommon place of the image
makes the enrichment of the primary euharistic symbolic of Christ as Victim. In the
context of the iconographic program the representation of the Dead Christ and the
Mother of God achieved the connection with the Passion cycle, which is depicted
in the zone above. That correlation is also expressed through the hymnographic and
rhetoric literary structure of the image. It reflects the contents of the Offices for the
Good Friday and Holy Saturday.
From the other side, the appearance and the composition of the image of the
Dead Christ and the Mother of God at Markov manastir resemble diptych type icons
with the same theme. Such a similarity invites for the comparison of the possible con-
nections between frescoes and panel painting. The research about the practice of us-
ing these icons during the Passion rites offers good approach for further research of
the meaning and the function of the iconography of the Dead Christ and the Mother
of God in the western part of the naos.
Emmanuel Moutafov (Institute of Arts Studies, Sofia, Bulgaria)

Why Apostle Paul holds just eight epistles in the frescoes of
Peribleptos’ church?
Among the 13th century frescoes of the Mother of God Peribleptos church in Ohrid
there is a representation of St Apostle Paul holding in his left hand eight scrolls with
mysterious letters written on them, as follows:
Ε Κ Τ Ε
Θ Φ Ρ Γ
An iconographic study usually starts with referring to the famous painter’s man-
ual of Dionysios of Phourna, created in the first half of 18 century. For the type of
St Paul the Athonite artist is quite brief, namely he includes the Apostle among the
descriptions of the other Christ disciples with the following words: „Ο Παύλος φα-
λακρός, βουρλογενής, μιξαπόλιος, βαστών τας ιδ´ επιστολάς του τυλιγμένας και δεμένας
όλας ομού (Ιουλίου κθ´)” (Διονυσίου του εκ Φουρνά, Ερμηνεία της ζωγραφικής τέχνης,
1909, εν Πετρούπολει, σ. 150).
Given the fact that the scrolls are only 8, suspicions about the symbolism of the
concrete artistic decision arise. First of all researchers may presume that in this case
we deal with letters, which designate numbers; however they do not produce any
sensible result: ε´ = 5, κ´ = 20, τ´ = 300, ε´ = 5, θ´ = 9, φ´ = 500, ρ´ = 100, γ´ = 3, i.e.
these do not designate dates in this case. The second hypothesis may lead our reflec-
tions to the clever cryptograms, which are quite abundant in the decorative system of
this church, however their usual place is different and such letter combinations have
not been known until now.
That is why we have to return to the painters’ manual and in particular to the one
of the aforementioned Dionysios, which was compiled and transcribed from older
similar treatises.
In fact, the rule for representing St Paul with his 14 epistles recommended in the
hermeneiai is not broken here, but rather it is ingeniously solved…
Even if the scrolls are 8, the Greek letters on them symbolize all the 14 epistles,
as follows:
Προς
1. Е = Εφεσίους επιστολή.
2. Κ = Κορινθίους Α´ επιστολή.
3. Κορινθίους Β´επιστολή.
4. Κολοσσαείς επιστολή.
5. Ρ = Ρωμαίους επιστολή.
6. Γ = Γαλάτας επιστολή.
7. Φ = Φιλήμονα επιστολή.
8. Φιλιππησίους επιστολή.
9. Θ = Θεσσαλονικείς Α´ επιστολή.
10. Θεσσαλινικείς Β´ επιστολή.
11. Τ = Τιμόθεον Α´ επιστολή.
12. Τιμόθεον Β´ επιστολή.
13. Τίτον επιστολή.
14. Ε = Εβραίους επιστολή.
In other words here we have a clever way of using one letter, which in this case
plays the role of an acronym, to signify all the Paul’s epistles. „K” and „Т” designate
3 epistles each, „Ф” designates 2 epistles, and „Θ” designates the two epistles to the
Thessalonians. Then the counter-question occurs: why only „Е” is repeated . . . I
think this is because the epistles are always 13 and at the end the one to the Jews is
placed, which has a somewhat more special meaning; a few centuries later a debate
on whether in fact this is Apostle Paul’s epistle began.
Here, however, it is too early for such a controversy to have been reflected, but
rather the focus is on the importance of an epistle and perhaps there is some animos-
ity towards the Jews.
With these cuts and other cryptograms Peribleptos’ church is literally put under
mine of messages for the qualified spectator.
Alex Rodriguez Suarez (King’s College, London, UK)

What does the Archangel Michael of Chonai look like? A Middle
Byzantine Iconographic Puzzle
This paper focuses on a specific iconographic type of the Archangel Michael. This
type displays the archangel standing and wearing a military outfit. It is a different
image from the usual Middle Byzantine Archangel Michael wearing the imperial cos-
tume. This is a warrior archangel. He wears armour, a cloak and red boots, like a Byz-
antine general or emperor. More importantly, he is holding in his right hand a sword,
while the left one has the scabbard, giving the impression that he has just unsheathed
his weapon.
It may not seem surprising that the Archangel Michael was depicted as a general.
He was recognized as the biblical angel of the lord, who was the leader of the heav-
enly hosts and so the Byzantines appointed as archistrategos. However, the origins of
this iconography are not clear and it is not known why at some point it became more
widespread. Furthermore, in different periods of time the image was labeled, though
not always. In the Middle Byzantine period, when the type probably emerged, it was
briefly branded Choniates, portraying him as the Archangel Michael of Chonai, the
city that housed his most important shrine in the Byzantine Empire. On the other
hand, and primarily in the late and post-Byzantine periods, the image came to be
branded as Phylax, or the guardian. The latter is more common and well-known, even
if the image is exactly the same. Although known attestations of the former label re-
main very scant, it is in all probability more important because it was connected to
the moment of the creation of the iconographic type.
This study, through the examination of a number of extant examples and some
written sources, attempts to discover the origins of this iconographic type, to explain
its role in the Byzantine world and to understand the reasons for its different labeling
at different times.
Anna Paranou (Philipps-Universität Marburg, Deutschland)

Die Kommunion von Maria Ägyptiaca und die verschiedenen
Interpretationsebenen innerhalb der Kirchenbildausstattung
Die Legende der Seligen Maria Ägyptiaca erzählt die Geschichte einer Frau aus
Ägypten, die trotz ihres unmoralischen Lebens eine Heilige werden konnte. Maria
erreichte den Heiligen Status durch Reue und asketisches Leben. Diese Geschichte
fand Eingang in die bildende Kunst, in illuminierte Handschriften und in die Monu-
mentalmalerei.
Die Kommunion der Seligen war die beliebteste Szene aus ihrem Leben und er-
scheint häufig in der Kirchenbildausstattung. Seit dem Ende des 10. Jahrhunderts
wurde sie im westlichen Bereich des Naos und im Narthex dargestellt und seit dem
12. Jahrhundert, eventuell früher, im Altarraum. Ihre Anbringung im Kirchendeko-
rationssystem ist noch nicht ausreichend untersucht worden.
Die Szene wurde im Bemabereich aufgrund ihres eucharistischen Charakters
illustriert; die Darstellung von Frauen im Altarraum war jedoch ausschließlich der
Gottesmutter vorbehalten.
Die Kommunion erscheint ursprünglich in Grabkontext im westlichen Bereich
des Naos und im Narthex, was aufgrund der Geschichte der Seligen nicht unpassend
ist. Es soll auch berücksichtigt werden, dass das Leben der Maria und ihr Vorbild
den Christen Trost und Ermutigung gaben und eine der wichtigsten Funktionen des
Narthex darin bestand, als Aufenthaltsraum der Exkommunizierten zu dienen. Die
Visualisierung dieser Szene ermutigte diese Gläubigen, dass trotz ihres Fehlverhal-
tens die Vergebung ihrer Sünde bevorstand.
Der Narthex diente auch als Raum für die Beichte, wie aus verschiedenen Typika
hervorgeht, und spielte eine wichtige Rolle in der Karwoche. Hier versammelten sich
die Mönche in der Karwoche für den Gottesdienst, unter anderem am Gründon-
nerstag, dem Tag, an dem die Eucharistie als Mysterium eingesetzt wurde und die
Geschichte der Maria Ägyptiaca ihren Höhepunkt erreicht.
Lit: R. Borissova Roussanova, Painted Messages of Salvation: Monumental Pro-
grams of the Subsidiary Spaces of Late Byzantine Monastic Churches in Macedonia,
University of Meryland 2005.
Spiros Fotinakis (University of Athens, Greece)

The Placement of Saint Monks and Nuns in the Byzantine Church
Decoration
Could middle Byzantine liturgical books, describing the rites of monastic habits,
justify the positioning of holy monks and nuns within the tribunes, exonarthex,
narthex, main church and bema of middle and late Byzantine churches in Balkans,
Cyprus, Cappadocia, Italy, Egypt and Asia Minor? Could they liturgically explain
the coexistence of holy monks and nuns within the same monastery as well as in the
same parish church? Could they define their placement at the back of a church, in
the middle, or in the bema? Could they answer to the presence of holy nuns within
a male monastery and vice versa? Could they explain some epigraphs accompanying
these holy faces and some others related to them?
Could they interpret the relation of holy monks and nuns to other subjects, such
as the Second Coming, the Baptism, the Washing of the Feet, the Communion of
St. Mary the Egyptian, and to some others regarded as symbolically connected to
them, such as the scenes of Christ Miracles? Could they explain the appearance of
specific categories of holy persons related to them, such as saints pillars, Constantine
and Helena, the Bishops, the angels, saint Thecla? Could they define how liturgical
their placement and their positioning is.
The examples from the above mentioned mural decoration of these churches
could show if any conclusions are to be drawn; if these concern only one specific geo-
graphic area, one kind of church, monastic or parish or limited time.
FC33. PRE-FOURTEENTH-CENTURY MURALS AND MOSAICS

Moderators
Ioanna Rapti/Natalia Turabelidze
Anna Zakharova (Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia)

The Groups of Saints in the Wall-paintings of Cappadocia during
the Macedonian Period
This paper is a part of research aiming to find out how and when there developed
the tradition to place the images of saints in certain groups and in certain places of a
church building in the Middle Byzantine period. We know this tradition already in its
mature form in the ensembles of the second quarter of the 11th c., such as St. Sophia
of Kiev, St. Sophia of Ochrid and other. It is obvious that it could form during almost
two centuries that had passed from the restoration of worship of images and saints.
The monumental painting of this period in the European territories of the Byzantine
Empire is known to us only in some scant fragments. On the contrary, Cappadocia
presents dozens of painted churches fairly well preserved. Through the analysis of
this material we would like to show, that the shaping of the tradition in question was
a gradual process that had several stages during the Macedonian period.
Natalia Turabelidze (Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia)

The Sun and the Moon Personifications in the Medieval Georgian
Wall Painting
Personification images, which come from Ancient tradition, continue their life fur-
ther in Christian Iconography.
Among those images particular research focuses on the examples of personifica-
tions of the Sun and the Moon in early Medieval Georgian wall painting. Although,
our source is quite fragmentary and a little, it still provides some information.
Personification images in Georgian wall painting mainly appear in the traditional
scenes like “Crucifixion” and “Theophany”, though after analyzing their location in
iconographic programs of different epochs and monuments we get very interesting
information bearing absolutely different meaning.
These images appear almost in all significant monuments; their importance is
emphasized in many cases. At the first stage of wall painting system (9th c. David
Gareja desert, Dodo), when churches had only apes decoration, personification imag-
es were met in apes. Later when the system spread to the walls of churches (9th–10th
c. David Gareja desert, Sabereebi), personification images appeared in the scenes and
finally in the first anthropomorphic decoration system of dome (11th c. Ishkhani,

Manglisi). To be more precise, personification images of the Sun and the Moon fol-
low the development of wall painting system and move from one place to another
according to the coverage of this system in church interior – from apes to wall and
then up to dome.
Furthermore, when summarizing personifications of the Sun and the Moon stud-
ied on different stages of monumental painting, one characteristic has been defined –
their iconographical variety. Namely, the images expressed in the same iconographic
programs of the same epoch greatly differ and have certain references.
Olga Ovcharova (Moscow Lomonosov State University, Russia)

On the genesis of the style of Nerezi (1164)
Our aim is to demonstrate that the stylistic development of Byzantine painting in

the first half of the twelfth century was not less diverse than in the late Comnenian
age; that the second quarter of the twelfth century was marked by the simultane-
ous development of two different trends, the classical (e. g. the icon of the Virgin
of Vladimir, the mosaics in the apse of the cathedral of Cefalu, the sanctuary of the
King Roger’s Palace Chapel and the church of St. Mary of the Admiral in Palermo)
and the ‘expressionistic’ (the miniatures of the circle of the Homilies of James of the
Kokkinobathos monastery); and that their subsequent fusion became the founda-
tion of the style of Nerezi.
The dependence on the classical style is evident in the following traits of the fres-
coes of Nerezi: the harmonious structure of their compositions and the taste for sub-
tle artistic devices, such as the use of extremely thin, translucent layers of paint in the
faces and the play of colour in the garments, the nobly elongated proportions and
the grace of many figures, the aristocratic refinement of a considerable number of
the faces and the delicate, fused modeling of some of them. The classical component
of the style is also traceable in the treatment of the inner character of a number of
personages – in their contemplative mood, in the nobly reserved or lyrically mild
expression.
The opposite, ‘expressionistic’ trend reveals itself in such traits of the paintings
of Nerezi, as the accentuated flatness of the representations, the dense, contrasting
colours, the tense highlights, the taste for stylization, the tendency to stressing the
wrinkles characteristic of the elderly faces, the interest in the grotesque, the rendering
of strong, unreserved emotions.
Some of the images of Nerezi are clearly gravitating towards the classical type,
whereas some others are closer to the ‘expressionistic’ trend. Yet there is no compo-
sition consisting exclusively of images of one and only type. The classical and the
‘expressionistic’ are consistently balanced in the scenes. Moreover, there is a special
category of the images, in which the traits of both types are so closely intertwined,
that it is impossible to determine which one is dominating. Such is, for example, St.
Symeon in the Presentation in the Temple. While the brown tone of his face, which
looks still darker by contrast with the radiance of the hair; the cheek-bones, which
are protruding intensively as though threatening to break through the dry old man’s
skin; and the thick contracted eyebrows are all sharply expressive traits, the underly-
ing structure of the image – the nobly elongated facial oval, the thin, slightly curved
nose, as well as the slender proportions and the calm, clear silhouette of the figure on
the whole – is undoubtedly classical.
The synthetic nature of the style of Nerezi is less in evidence in such images as
the prophetess Anna. Her face, deeply furrowed with wrinkles and reminding of an
anatomical study, her legs in a swift movement and the gesture full of prophetic fer-
vour leave no doubt as to the ‘expressionistic’ character of the image. Yet even here
the slender proportions of the figure on the whole point to a certain connection with
the classical tradition. In fact, there is hardly an image completely devoid of traits of
either classical or ‘expressionistic’ type in this ensemble.
Thus, the fusion of the classical and the ‘expressionistic’ trends achieved at Nerezi
has two aspects: they are given either in a deep interaction, or more or less independ-
ently from each other, but still slightly modified thanks to the reciprocal influence.
Natallia Tryfanava (Belarusian State University, Minsk)

Polatsk Belchysy Cloister frescos and mural paintings of the 12th
century
In the 11th–12th centuries Polatsk has been one of the centers of the Christian cul-
ture on the Eastern Slavonic lands. After the construction of the St. Sophia Cathedral
(1044–1046) churches have been built in the suburban Monastery of Euphrosyne of
Polatsk and the Monastery of Boris and Gleb. The interiors of the temples have been
decorated with frescos. Separate fragments of the frescos of the St. Sophia Cathe-
dral (the 11th c.) and more completely saved décor of the Saviour Church of the
Monastery of Euphrosyne (circa 1161) are the witnesses, demonstrating the develop-
ment of the Byzantine traditions of mural painting. For better understanding of the
processes, having occurred long before, one should also address him- or herself to the
paintings of a large Cathedral, the Church of Boris and Gleb and the Church of St.
Paraskeva Pyatnitsa, dated back to the 12th century, of the Monastery of Boris and
Gleb in Belchytsy – the environs of Polatsk.
Although monastic churches have been destroyed towards the middle of the 20th
century, however the descriptions in the literature of the 19th century, the results of
the archaeological researches of the 1920s and the period of the 1960–70s allow us
to speak about the peculiarities of the wall paintings of these churches.
A decorating piece of the large Cathedral of the Belchytsky Monastery, discov-

ered by the archaeologists, is a clear evidence of the use of such a typical motive for
the wall painting of the Byzantine and ancient Russian temples as “polylithia” in its
décor. In this regard, the mural painting of the Cathedral finds the analogies with the
wall painting of the St. Sophia Cathedral of Polatsk. The system of pictorial decora-
tion of such temples as Boris and Gleb and the Church of St. Paraskeva Pyatnitsa is
being more completely restored on the basis of the literary sources and the results of
the archaeological researches. Alongside with the tra ditional features a number of
peculiarities, possessing a kind of affinity with the mural paintings of the Church of
the Saviour, are being observed in it. The emphasis on the events of the “Holy Pas-
sions”, which is being truly perceived in the selection process of the Gospel narratives,
and a significant number of one-figured images of the saints, as well as the variations
of traditional ornamental motifs, can be included into these features. Going back to
the Byzantine and Old Russian models in an iconographic decision of the evangelical
scenes, and in the nature of the figures placing the mural paintings of these temples
have been demonstrating a considerable freedom and expressiveness of the manner of
painting.
Antonios Georgiou (Athènes, Grèce)

Quelques remarques sur le décor peu connu du Katholikon de
Hosios Loukas en Béotie : Les peintures de l’Yperôon
Le Katholikon du monastère de Hosios Loukas en Béotie (début XIe s.) conserve

dans sa tribune (yperôon) des peintures murales qui sont restées inédites, à l’exception
de certaines remarques occasionnelles et de quelques considérations générales.
La tribune se déploie comme un espace distinct et unifié, à dimensions inéga-
les, qui couvre les compartiments latéraux du rez-de-chaussée. Les côtés nord et sud
forment des compartiments rectangulaires en série, acquérant ainsi la forme de Π,
disposés en vis-à-vis. A l’ouest, au dessus du narthex, se trouve la partie la plus spa-
cieuse. L’accès de cet espace est assuré par l’extérieur, du côté nord, à travers l’étage
du porche de l’église avoisinante de la Vierge.
L’examen du décor peint de la tribune montre que ces peintures couvraient ini-
tialement la plus grande surface des murs et des voûtes, comme c’est le cas dans les
compartiments latéraux du rez-de-chaussée et dans la crypte de l’église. Seule une pe-
tite partie de ce décor nous est parvenu dans un état de conservation médiocre. La
plupart des peintures conservées sont situées du côté ouest, mais un petit nombre de
représentations ont survécu également au nord et au sud. Il s’agit des figures isolées,
en pied et en buste, à savoir le Christ, la Vierge, des évêques et d’autres saints, ainsi
que des motifs ornementaux, surtout d’imitations de marbre.
Dans cette communication, l’iconographie et le style de ces peintures seront mis
en relation avec le reste du décor mural du monument, celui du rez-de-chaussée et

de la crypte. Ensuite, à la lumière des parallèles iconographiques et stylistiques avec
d’autres églises médiobyzantines, un modèle de restitution du programme peint de la
tribune de Hosios Loukas sera proposé. A titre de conclusion, certaines observations
liées à la fonction de cet espace ainsi qu’à son évolution architecturale seront adres-
sées.
Lorenzo Riccardi (Sapienza Università di Roma, Italia)

Novità sulla pittura bizantina in Calabria: gli affreschi di San
Donato di Ninea
In provincia di Cosenza, nel comune di San Donato di Ninea e precisamente nel-

la chiesa omonima in località Pantano è stato rinvenuto nel 2006 un palinsesto di
pitture murali databile dall’XI al XV secolo. L’attuale edificio consta di una navata
originaria, interrotta a circa due terzi da un gradino, che ne individua l’area presbi-
terale, e di una navatella probabilmente settecentesca aperta sul suo fianco sinistro.
All’interno le pitture sono dislocate in controfacciata, su buona parte del lato destro
e su quello sinistro all’altezza del presbiterio. La lettura stratigrafica, non sempre fa-
cile, consente di individuare sul fianco destro, ove sopravvivono i lacerti di pittura
murale più estesi, almeno quattro strati: il più antico, pertinente forse, sulla scorta di
considerazioni stilistiche, alla metà dell’XI secolo, comprende una successione di sei
santi vescovi stanti, tra cui, identificato dall’iscrizione, Basilio. Allo strato successivo
apparterrebbe invece una testa coronata, inclusa tra i pannelli contenenti un arcan-
gelo e la Vergine da un lato e il Cristo assiso in trono dall’altro. Questi ultimi sono
pertinenti al terzo strato, il più esteso e rilevante del palinsesto, al quale possono es-
sere ricondotti anche una vasta scena a ventuno figure raffigurante la Koimesis, due
santi monaci più grandi del vero e due vignette anch’esse con figure di monaci. A tale
strato appartiene anche la lacunosa Crocifissione in controfacciata. All’interno del
cantiere pittorico di terzo strato è possibile distinguere la mano di due artisti: al più
dotato si devono i raffinati e vibranti santi monaci e il volto del Cristo. Il confronto
di quest’ultimi con alcune figure musive di Monreale indica con tutta probabilità da
quale cultura figurativa provenissero o a quale patrimonio pittorico attingessero gli
artisti di San Donato tra la fine del XII e gli inizi del XIII secolo. A fasi decorative
differenti, tra il XIV e il XV secolo, si devono invece la Madonna con il Bambino
sul fianco sinistro e il frammento pertinente forse a un Trionfo della morte in alto su
quello destro.
Nina Kvlividze (Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow)

Three cultures – one world: a prayer theme in Wall Paintings of
cave churches of Georgia, Cappadocia and Apulia, 10th–11th
centuries
The idea of patronage, personal prayer and intercession is an important feature of

Georgia, Cappadocia and Apulia cave churches wall-paintings, where the depiction
of benefactors is often combined with patron saints and Deesis tier group. Typical-
ly, there is no direct historical knowledge on the dedication and circumstances of
erection of these churches. Studies of body of benefactors, burial appropriation of
premises and special obituary painting programs as well as the body and iconography
of depicted saints allows us to draw a conclusion about liturgical features of monastic
life, in which the commemoration of contributors was of special importance.
An example of a benefactor program in a monastery fresco ensemble is located
in a church of Meryemana, part of the monastery complex located close to Gereme
(capella 33) and painted in 11th c. The painting contains only 4 biblical scenes:
“Journey to Bethlehem”, “Nativity”, “Crusifiction” and “Dormition”. There possibly
were others – the church has endured some serious time damage and southern altar
part has collapsed. The rest of the space, including the walls and vaults of altar spaces
were occupied by saints with nearby inscriptions in good condition. The vaults before
apses contain up-to-chest images of ss. Eudoxia, Marina, Anna, Paraskeva, Anastassia
and Eupraxia, introduced in Oranta postures. Depicted in the same postures are st.
Onuphrius the Great and rev. Zosimus of Palestine. Among the saints depicted on
walls are John Chrysostom, John the Baptist, prophet Daniel in the den of lions, ss.
warrior-martyrs disciples George, Theodore, Christopher, Eustratius, Pantaleon the
Healer, Constantine and Helena of Constantinople. Small figures of benefactors Ni-
cander and Ebonnea are depicted full height on the western wall, kneeling, praying
to the Mother of God with Child. They are located one tier lower, under half-figures
of archangels Michael and Gabriel, placed in niches on both sides of the Virgin, thus
forming a certain hierarchy of composition.
The body of saints and the Oranta prayer position, in which most figures are de-
picted, point to the fact that the monastery complex was the implementation of a
beneficent liturgical program, related to obituary appropriation of the church, the
west part of which contains a burial capella.
Cave churches of southern Italy (Mottola, Matera, Monticchio), unlike Cap-
padocia ones, that were often used for burial, do not bear exequial characteristics.
But painting programs (Deesis and patron saints) as well as praying inscriptions of
benefactors in the church of St. Stefan in Vaste, all point to the existence of a similar
commemoration practice.
Iconographic similarities in paintings of Davidgareja in Georgia speak of a spe-
cial liturgical tradition, existing in cave monasteries in 10th–11th c. And it involved
the commemorating benefactors, that was reflected in fresco painting programs.
Emil Ivanov (Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Bulgaria)

Unknown mural fragments in the newly discovered medieval
church of Rakitovo
The paper announces the results of archeological excavations of a medieval fortress in

the area Kulata-Gradot around Rakitovo carried out in 2010. The preliminary notes
are restricted to presenting the excavation of the medieval church inside the fortress,
as well as to making an inventory of some of the more valuable artefacts – fragments
of the iconography in the church-apsis. The fragments are from the fames scene of
Melysmos. The analysis and the comparison of the fragments with similar monuments
in Balkans substantiates dating the fragments in the 12–13 c.
Mariam Didebulidze (G. Chubinashvili National Research Center for Georgian Art
History and Heritage Preservation, Tbilisi, Georgia)
Impact of the anti-heretical disputes on the wall painting
program of the St. Nicholas Church at Kintsvisi
During the 12th century various heretical teachings spread widely throughout Byzan-
tine World. Several church councils were summoned to condemn these teachings, es-
pecially those denouncing the Eucharist, Trinity and the Incarnation which, in turn,
found a reflection in the content of the wall paintings, including those in Georgia.
The Georgian Church and Georgian Christian art shared main concerns of Or-
thodox Christendom, including the confrontation over heretic teachings.
The aforementioned may serve to explain some of the peculiarities of Georgian
wall painting programmes of the period in question. In this respect, of particular note
is an early 13th century painting programme in St Nicholas’s Church at Kintsvisi.
In the period in question a strong confrontation arose among the Orthodoxes
and the Heretics with respect to the Eucharist and the Sacraments in entire Christen-
dom. Kintsvisi murals share this attitude with the whole Orthodox world.
While discussing the Kintsvisi wall painting programme, the majority of scholars
have paid particular attention to the royal portraits (King Giorgi III, Queen Tamar,
Giorgi Lasha) and the issues of the patronage, considering the whole programme, in-
cluding the selection of particular scenes and saints, against the background of these
portraits
However the key for the correct reading of the Kintsvisi wall painting programme
is a pair portrait of St Nicholas and St Sylvester in the upper tier of the sanctuary that
bears a clearly pronounced anti-heretical message. Moreover, the whole programme
demonstrates a strongly pronounced anti-heretical and anti-monophysite spirit as
the ideas of the Incarnation, Resurrection and the Eucharist are especially highlight-
ed by and through adding to the Christological cycle the scenes from the life of the
Virgin and the Passions, the representation of the First Nicaea Ecumenical Council,
the Three Youths in the Furnace the Tree of Jesse.
Mauro della Valle (Université de Milan, Italie)

Peinture constantinopolitaine paléologue “au royaume des ombres”
Dans le dernier siècle et demi beaucoup de peintures et mosaïques ont été decouver-
tes à Constantinople. Mais, dans la plus part de cases, elles sont apparues avec leur
première publication, en cas isolés elles ont développé un quelque rôle au cours des
années immédiatement suivantes à cette publication-là, elles sont ensuite disparues et
ont été oubliées. Donc, si on veut en sauver la mémoire, une reconnaissance totale de
l’existant est nécessaire, soutenue par une étendue documentation photographique
et graphique, et par un rassemblement systématique de tout ce qui a été publié ou
même seulement mentionné au cours des années passées; ensuite un Corpus de ces
matériaux, qui seul pourra en assurer la survivance et la diffusion, pourra être apprê-
té. Faute de limite de temps, on va traiter ici seulement de trois de ces monuments:
les mosaïques badigeonnés de la Kilise Camii, les fresques de la Sainte-Euphemie à
l’Hippodrome, les mosaïques recemment recuperés dans la Sainte-Sophie. Trois ca-
ses assez differents. La Kilise Camii est aujourd’hui invisible mais très bien documen-
tée. La Sainte-Euphemie, pas aussi bien documentée et publiée, en partie detruite et
en partie invisible, mais existante, dans une hutte. Les mosaïques de la Sainte-Sophie,
grand arc est, pendantif nord-est, tombe ad arcosolium dans la rampe nord-est, vi-
sibile à tous mais pas publiées comme il faut, faute de leur exceptional importance.
Trois commandes qui sont aussi temoignage de différents niveaux de patronage:
l’empereur, l’église, des riches particuliers. C’est bien vrai que pour l’époque paléo-
logue seulement nous disposons de données suffisantes pour nous créer un tableau
pas trop hypothétique du deroulement de la peinture monumentale en Ville, de ses
dynamiques de style et patronage artistique, de la variété des écoles et des ateliers,
des istances idéologiques et religieuses, même des questions relatives aux disponi-
bilités économiques des patrons, empereurs, classes dirigeantes, clergé, bourgeoisie
commerciale, et cela, dans un certain détail, dans les différents moments de ces deux
siècles complexes.
Judith Soria (École pratique des hautes études; Institut national d’histoire de l’art,
Paris, France)
La place du récit dans les peintures murales des XIIIe et XIVe
siècles
L’étude de la dimension narrative des images a été un important sujet de recherche en

histoire de l’art médiéval ces dernières décennies. Pourtant, les byzantinistes ont as-
sez peu abordé la question dans l’aire culturelle qui nous occupe, et nous souhaitons
interroger cette notion de récit pictural dans le contexte byzantin. Gabriel Millet re-
marquait en 1917 dans un article consacré à la présentation de sa méthode iconogra-
phique et évoquant la peinture de l’époque paléologue que «le dogme cède la place
au récit». C’est en effet une observation commune que la peinture des derniers siè-
cles de l’empire devient plus narrative, que les épisodes secondaires se multiplient et
se peuplent de nombreux personnages. C’est particulièrement le cas pour les cycles
de la Passion du Christ, qui se développent dans les peintures murales et qui repré-
sentent bien souvent la plus grande partie du cycle christologique.
Dans le cadre de cette communication, et à partir d’exemples de cycles christolo-
giques dans les peintures murales byzantines de la fin du XIIIe siècle et du début du
XIVe, nous analysons le fonctionnement et la logique narrative de ce récit. Le choix
des scènes, leur ordre et bien sûr leurs emplacements, donnent assez de matière pour
une première analyse. Ainsi peut-on par exemple interroger le rapport entre le cycle
des fêtes, qui condense l’histoire du salut en un nombre restreint d’images faisant
écho à la célébration liturgique, et le récit détaillé de la Passion, qui vient compléter
la représentation du sacrifice, rappeler son occurrence historique, et lui rendre sa di-
mension tragique. En outre, le mythe est mis en récit à travers une alternance d’épi-
sodes, de moments riches en actions, où le temps est comme accéléré – plusieurs ima-
ges s’organisant autour d’un temps bref – et d’épisodes contemplatifs, où le temps
du fidèle rejoint le temps du récit (notamment les lamentations). Ce rythme et cette
mise en scène participent bien sûr au décorum et à l’accomplissement de la liturgie,
et il n’est par ailleurs pas certain que le dogme ait «cédé la place», ce que nous nous
proposons d’interroger ici.
Plamen Sabev (Regional Museum of History, Veliko Tarnovo; Veliko Tarnovo

University, Bulgaria)
Stylistic trends of the mural paintings from 13th century in the
bishopric church Sts. Peter and Paul, Veliko Tarnovo
The church Sts. Peter and Paul in Veliko Turnovo was extensively inquired by many
research-workers. Because of the scanty information and the limitation of technical
possibilities for publishing in the past, it turns out to be difficult to define the exact
localization of the iconographical compositions in the nave of the Bishopric church.

Despite the 1913 earthquake, in the 70’s of the 20th century were revealed preserved
pieces of an earlier layer of murals which are localized in the space underneath the
west under-dome arcs. These are three medallions with the images of three saints –
Samon, Gurii and Aviv. According to an evidence given by St. Patriarch Evtimius in
one of his literary works, the church as a part of a monastery complex was built by
the order of queen Anna-Maria, the wife of king Ioan Asen II in the period between
1221–1237. This earlier layer, implemented most probably in the 30’s of the 13th
century bears the stylistic trends of the art of the Paleologian dynasty. Besides, the
thick line in the murals so typical for the earlier period here is somehow softened and
the saints’ faces are well-fed and lighter than the faces of their predecessors from the
Comnin’s period. In the present study, I have made a new and up-to-date analysis of
the murals in the Tarnovo’s church and those in the “Ascension of Christ” monastery
in Mileshevo, as well as the Panagia Acheiropoietos in Thessalonica. By the means of
modern computer technology I am presenting some written documents and high-
resolution photographs of these historical sites from the restoration process in the
“Sts Peter and Paul” church in Veliko Tarnovo which are the basis of my comparative
analysis of these images.
The main idea of the current work is to trace back the development and the activ-
ity of an artistic atelier working in the Tarnovo’s patriarchy during the time of king
Ivan Asen II and taking its inspiration from the Byzantine monumental style of 13th
century. What about the contributions? An expected result of my study is to draw
the attention of the specialists participating in the XXII International Congress of
Byzantine Studies, as well as to give answers to many questions about the influence of
the pictorial arts in the first half of 13th century and possible connections between
the Bulgarian and the Serbian Orthodox churches in this period.
Nafsika Panselinou (Athens School of Fine Arts, Greece)

The wall-paintings in the apse of the church of St Theodosia in
Chios, Greece
In the southwest part of the island, 32 km from the town of Chios, is the Medieval
village of Olymboi.
St Theodosia (length 8.10 m. x width 4.35 m.) is the smallest church in the vil-
lage, a single-aisle monument built of rubble masonry and covered by a saddle roof, it
terminates at the east end in one semi-cylindrical apse.
The wall-paintings inside the apse are preserved in good condition. An eucha-
ristic iconographic programme is developed in this space: in the conch is the Virgin
in the type of the Platytera or Blachernitissa, symbolizing the Divine Incarnation.
Christ Emmanuel, in a medallion on her chest, has a cross-inscribed halo with the
inscription ‘Ο ΩΝ’ (The Being), a prosonym that appears in the fourteenth century.
Depicted in the upper zone of the apse is the Communion of the Apostles, as re-
membrance of the Last Supper. The representation is accompanied by three liturgical
inscriptions.
In the third zone of the apse is the image of the Melismos, with an extensive in-
scription-commentary. Placed on the altar table in the representation are the holy
gifts, the paten and the chalice. In the paten the eucharistic Christ, naked, alive in
the form of a child, blesses with his right hand. Above him is the asteriskos, partially
covered by a liturgical veil (aer) adorned with cross and fringe. The chalice too is
partially covered by an analogous veil. Inside the chalice is a pair of tongs ending
in a cross finial. In surviving monuments the chalice is accompanied by tongs and
cover from the second half of the fourteenth century. On either side of the altar table
are the concelebrant hierarchs-authors of the established texts of the Divine Liturgy,
John Chrysostom and Basil.
Iconographic details advocate the dating of the wall-paintings in St Theodosia
to the fourteenth century. Their style too is obviously Palaiologan and indeed of the
fourteenth century. This is a work of high artistic quality and pure Byzantine charac-
ter, which we consider to have been executed exclusively by one painter.
Chios was in general a wealthy island with extensive tracts of cultivable land
(vineyards, olive groves, mastic trees) and prosperous inhabitants. In fact, in the four-
teenth century and until 1566 it was an important trading colony of the Genoese,
who in order to serve their mercantile interests avoided religious rivalries, as a conse-
quence of which the indigenous Orthodox population enjoyed religious liberties.
Giedrė Mickūnaitė (Vilnius Academy of Arts, Lithuania)

Maniera Graeca in Europe’s Catholic East: Images for the Neophyte
Imagination
In 2006, fragments of Byzantine wall paintings have been discovered in the parish
church of Trakai in Lithuania. Previously known only from written evidence, these
paintings testify to a complex iconographic programme executed by several masters.
Around 1420, the red brick Gothic hall-church was painted with Byzantine murals
composed typically of contemporary Orthodox churches: images were placed within
horizontal registers, while the northern and western wall contained a more devel-
oped representation of the Last Judgement.
The proposed paper inquires into the iconography, authorship, and ideas ex-
pressed in the wall paintings. The working hypothesis suggests that this mural deco-
ration was one of the tools for the Christianization policies of Grand Duke Vytautas
(r. 1392–1430), the founder of the Trakai church. However, the ideological content
of the imagery might have been brought from the Balkans by Grigorii Camblak
(1364–1419/20), a famous Bulgarian theologian, active at the Lithuanian grand du-

cal court, when the Trakai church was under construction. View at Camblak’s activi-
ties from the Balkans sees him as a follower of Byzantine missionary tradition, which
used images as a means for the formation and control of neophyte imagination. Con-
densed to representation of the Last Judgement, this tradition became instrumental
in fostering Catholic faith among neophyte Lithuanians.
Maria Tsiapali (Kozani, Greece)

Mosaics of a villa in Velvento near Kozani – Greece
This is a presentation of the mosaic floors of a villa excavated in Kamkoutis’ field in

the city of Velvento, near Kozani, Greece. Our excavations so far have revealed that
three of the villa’s rooms are covered with mosaic floors, including the central one
that is identified as the triclinium. The mosaics feature geometrical and floral mo-
tifs, while in the third room a bird and two fishes are depicted. The central section
of the triclinium is divided into many panels. Three decorative borders run around
them forming the framework, clearly articulating the parts and unifying them into a
whole. The dominant colors are red, yellow, blue, black and white. They are preserved
in a rather good condition, but there is evidence of conservative works having been
carried out. The mosaics have similarities with others found in Kozani, in the area of
Veria, in Argos, in Evritania, even in the island of Kos. The depicted motifs are very
popular and are dated from the beginning of the 5th century to the 6th century. We
are not aware of the existence of a mosaic workshop in the area of Velvento, so it is
unclear who crafted them. The excavation is currently ongoing and we anticipate that
further important elements will be brought to light.
George Kakavas (Athens, Greece)

An early Christian complex with mosaic floors at Aghia Kyriaki,
Livanates coast, Phthiotitha, Central Greece
In winter 2009 a rescue excavation was carried out by the 24th Ephorate of Byzan-
tines Antiquities, in an olive grove adjacent to the church of Aghia Kyriaki, at Li-
vanates coast, Phthiotitha prefecture, Central Greece, after an accidental exposure of
a small part of a mosaic floor. The aim of the excavation was to investigate the extent
of the find, as well as the identity of the building to which it belongs.
Remains of a religious building were unearthed, as well as parts of multi-coloured
early Christian floors of high quality, with floral and faunal decoration. Of particular
interest is the discovery of a three-row dedicatory inscription, partially destructed,
and of a stone guide which was used, possibly, for the tenancy of a marble screen.
From the destruction layer, there were unearthed a lot of roof tiles, window glass frag-
ments, a part of a lamp, parts of white marble colonnades, as well as a stone lead pot.
Along with the excavation survey, a geophysical survey was carried out in the
immediate surrounding area, in order to verify the extents and the structure of the
building complex.
This paper aims at presenting and commenting on the most significant of the
finds, and, on the other hand, at setting them in the time and place of their creation
and at connecting them to other known monuments of the region.
Paolo Versienti (University of Milan, Italy)

A further interpretation of the Sant’Aquilino’s mosaics
The two surviving mosaics in the apses of the chapel of Sant’Aquilino and in the
church of San Lorenzo alle Colonne in Milan, are the oldest examples of Christian
iconography in the Western World, made using the precious and costly mosaic tech-
nique.
The literary sources and the prestigious nature of these works of art date back
to the first half of the Eighth Century, and then went through a progressive decline
(also due to a fire in 1075), that however didn’t cancel the memory of them.
Thanks to the restoration in 1981, our understanding of the two half-shells of
the apses mosaic is now much clearer allowing researchers to make several assump-
tions as to their interpretation of them, in particular the mosaic positioned to the left
of the entrance to the octagonal structure.
This study puts forward a further interpretation of the art work, suggesting a
classicist characterization for the stylistic intonation and iconography of its formula-
tion which finds convincing support in the reading of some rhymes of the eglogues
of the Augustan poet Publio Virgilio Marone,who was very much appreciated by the
Christian élite between the Fourth and the Fifth Centuries.
The bases of this interpretation would lead us to read this iconography as the As-
cent into the sky of the Cristo-Helios, according to Joseph Wilpert’s proposal at the
beginning of the Twentieth Century, which over the years was ignored.
FC34. MURAL PAINTING – 14th CENTURY

Moderators
Patrick Lecaque/Georgios Velenis
Smiljka Gabelić (University of Belgrade, Serbia)

On the phenomenon of inappropriatness and derision in late
Byzantine painting
The paper discusses secondary figures of certain scenes within the Passion Cycle in
the monumental paintings in the Balkans, around mid-14th century, characterized
by an inconsistent iconography. This relates to lateral figures of secondary signifi-
cance that are not the main protagonists, but still make an inevitable subsidiary fac-
tor. It has been raised the question of their closer meaning and the role in an overall
symbolism of the scenes presented.
The appearance of a young boy servant, Camillus, and Pilate, have been paid a
special consideration in the scene the Christ before Pilate. As a rule, the boy serv-
ant is bareheaded; though, quite rarely, he may be illustrated with a cap on (Arilje,
Čelopek). The iconography of the guard leading Christ has been analysed in the scene
the Way to Calvary. At Čelopek, a man of an over-dimensioned stature and an ugly
appearance, presents Christ with vinegar. He is bearded but the hair-style and the
ribbon-tied hair contribute to his angel-like appearance. Special detail-related figura-
tion leads to the conclusion that the referred figures are assigned a negative connota-
tion i.e. as persons performing disliked action. The introduction of uncommon, inap-
propriate and malformed details, stretching beyond the frames of a common and, in
an end of itself, ununiform iconography, creates the derision thereof.
Disfigured iconography and the notion of ugliness in Byzantium were consid-
ered to be the consequence of the devil’s actions wherefore the iconographic purpose
of the referred details has been assigned negative implication, aiming to cause harm,
reveal evil intentions or mock. The statement is evidenced substantially by occasional
presentation of the pagans either in the form of winged demons or completely na-
ked figures in the scene Miracle at Chonae, depicted literally in the way as referred
to in the written legend. The same phenomenon of ugliness and inappropriateness,
expressed in a different form, was noted at some other places. It may be observed at
Lesnovo, by excessively lifted clothes of certain figures in the scene Ascent to the Cross;
in the Crucifixion at Pološko, where the effect of mockery was achieved through of-
fensive postures and totally naked scorners of Christ); or at Staničenje, where the
offensive attitude was achieved through unreasonable combination of clothes items
and seemingly excessive garment decorations.
The non-uniform literal statements and local popularity of certain motifs created
the possibility to rely on different sources or models whereby it was enabled to mod-
ify iconography by iconographers and artists, thus expressing, quite possibly, their
disapproval and condemnation.
Mikhail Venshchikov/Oksana Ju. Goncharko (St.-Petersburg State University,

Russia/State Russian Herzen Pedagogical University, St.-Petersburg)
Monumental Painting of the Epoch of Andronicus II Palaiolog in
the Light of Neo-Platonist Ideas
The contradictory interaction of the canon and the rethought antique esthetics un-
derlay the late Byzantine painting style. The crucial interaction problem is that of
the lifelikeness, which is characteristic for the late antique esthetics. Antique painter
was supposed to adequately represent the world. The interaction approach and the
derived problems resulted in different decisions in the capital and in the provinces.
Provincial painters portrayed feelings and impressions of the real life in order to
convey those of evangelical events to the spectator. This gave birth to the genre of
spiritualistic images. Just as it is the case with skillfully staged play, the compound
world of provincial frescos demanded that the spectator be empathized and that he/
she take part in the play by giving simple hints in order to predetermine his/her reac-
tion and feelings.
In Constantinople, the interaction approach resulted in a reversion to Neo-Pla-
tonist thought and to that of early Christian apologists. The main issue was the rela-
tion between images and their divine prototypes. The paintings of the Kariye Camii
reflected the “intellectual work” prevailed at the court of Andronicus II where the
Neo-Platonist ideas of late Antiquity and early Christian epoch were rethought by
theologians and philosophers of that period. One of the most outstanding among
them was Theodore Metochites (the donor of the Chora monastery).
Mosaics and frescos of the Kariye Camii visually illustrate Plotinus’ idea of true
perception requiring the clarification of the soul, which can be reached by excluding
all the superfluous and by detaching sensual images via the unity and transparency of
impression.
In this respect the reference to antique esthetics with its variety of motives hap-
pens to be the most appropriate interpretation, as it corresponds to the true evangeli-
cal way of thought revealing one sense through another and leaving the opportunity
of perception polysemy.
Melina Paissidou (Université Aristote de Salonique, Grèce)

Les peintures murales de l’ermitage de la Vierge «Fontaine de Vie»
au Colchide (Kolchida) de Kilkis (Macédoine, Grèce)
A la Grèce du Nord, dans la préfecture de Kilkis, se situent le village contemporain

de Colchide (Kolchida) et les ruines d’une forteresse byzantine, laquelle fut identi-
fiée à la station militaire Gallicum ou Callicum. Tout près de la forteresse, aux pieds
de la colline, se trouve un ermitage taillé dans le rocher et dédié à la Vierge «Fontaine
de Vie». Le rocher fut plâtré et décoré des peintures murales qui sont fortement en-
dommagés par l’humidité. Les dimensions modestes de l’ermitage ne permettent pas
le développement d’un programme iconographique riche. On y constate seulement
des saints isolés qui se sont figurés en pied, en buste ou bien équestres.
On discerne deux couches des peintures. De la première couche seule la figure de
la sainte Parascève et quelques nimbes d’autres figures se sont conservées. Les traits
stylistiques indiquent une époque après le milieu du douzième siècle et une haute
qualité. La deuxième couche est mieux conservée. Un buste énorme du Jésus domine
dans l’abside de béma flanqué de deux archanges. Il s’agit d’un archaïsme iconogra-
phique qui se réfère aux monuments de la Cappadoce, des iles grecques et de Mani
(Péloponnèse). A la place dédiée au saint patron on voit saint Démètre équestre, trait
indiquant une relation du peintre ou du donateur avec Thessalonique. Deux autres
saints militaires équestres, saint Theodore et saint George, se figurent ensemble, trait
iconographique qui se remonte au premier millénaire. Un autre saint militaire, saint
Procope, se figure en buste.
Malgré la dédicace moderne de l’ermitage à la Vierge, les fresques indiquent plu-
tôt le culte des saints militaires qui forment le cours impérial du Jésus, vers lequel ga-
lopent leurs chevaux. L’absence des figures féminines, la domination du Jésus Christ
dans la conche, la représentation des saints militaires en grande échelle font allusion à
l’héroïsme de la cavalerie byzantine. Une telle interprétation parait être très probable
pour le caractère de ce petit ermitage ou chapelle auprès d’une forteresse militaire.
Du point de vue stylistique les traits indiquent vers le deuxième quart du 14eme siè-
cle, quand le territoire entre les fleuves Gallikos et Axios, au nord de Thessalonique,
fut le champ de l’action d’Andronic le 3eme et de Jean Cantacuzène.
Michalis Kappas/Georgios Velenis (Kalamata, Greece/Aristotle University of

Thessaloniki, Greece)
The frescoes of St. Nicholas church near Platsa, Mani: Addenda et
Corrigenda
The domed basilica of St. Nicholas, near Platsa, Mani, has attracted the interest of
several scholars of Byzantine art and history in the past. The present paper focuses on
some recently discovered elements concerning its frescoes that lead to the reappraisal
of the opinions accepted so far.

The paintings in the nave, associated with the renovation of the church by Con-
stantine Spanis, are securely dated by a long inscription in 1337/1338. They repre-
sent the art of a talented group of painters, up to date with the most innovative ideas
of the contemporary monumental painting of the time.
The south aisle is characterized by a puzzling combination of different styles.
Among them, the full-length portrait of the patron saint and three of the fifteen epi-
sodes of his life are of outstanding quality. Two inscriptions provide valuable infor-
mation both for the chronology and the distinction of the several phases of this part
of the decoration. The older one that runs along the springing of the conch mentions
the date 1343/44, while the second one, placed above the west door, goes back to the
year 1348/49.
Doula Mouriki, in her monograph devoted to the mural decoration of St Ni-
cholas’s church, distinguished the hand of two painters among the frescoes of the
south aisle, assigning to the most talented the three larger scenes of Saint Nicholas’s
biographical cycle. The second one, known by Mouriki’s description as “the painter
of the small scenes” is responsible for eight other episodes of the patron saint’s life.
Mouriki attributed the remaining scenes of Saint Nicholas’s vita cycle to the same
painter, stressing that these last frescoes were repainted in the Post-Byzantine era,
together with those in the lateral walls and in the apse of the south aisle.
Careful examination proved that the monumental paintings of the church have
never been repainted. The ambitious undertaking of Spanis was most probably
abruptly interrupted during the decoration of the south aisle. Following this a local
group of painters were commissioned to continue, starting from the altar (1343/44).
They also painted the frieze with the medallions on the lateral walls of the aisle, as
well as the full-length saints of the lower level. Four years later (1348/49) a less gifted
painter completed the decoration, finishing the four last scenes of the patron saint’s
vita cycle. He was the author of the long inscription above the west entrance to the
nave, and, moreover, he annotated the three larger scenes of Saint Nicholas’s life that
remained unfinished for ten years.
Finally, a different dating is suggested for the decoration in the north aisle, which
Mouriki placed at the early Post-Byzantine period. The study of stylistic, iconograph-
ic and paleographic evidence leads to a dating around the middle of the 14th cen-
tury.
The two latest precisely dated phases of the decoration in the south aisle, as well
as the frescoes in the north one, are closely interrelated, both stylistically and icono-
graphically. The re-examination of the successive phases of the monumental decora-
tion of St. Nicholas’s church sheds light to our knowledge about the development of
the provincial stylistic trends of the Palaeologan painting around the middle of the
14th century.
Maria Constantoudaki-Kitromilides (University of Athens, Greece)

Liturgical function, anti-Latin attitude, reality, and memory in
the frescoes of a Byzantine church in Crete (14th century)
The church of the Transfiguration of the Saviour at Akoumia (Rethymnon district,

Crete), already catalogued by G. Gerola (1908, 1932), comprises an initial single cell
chapel, most probably erected at the beginning of the fourteenth century, and a large
narthex, added several decades later. Both parts were covered with frescoes, and those
of the narthex bear a dedicatory inscription with the date 1389.
In the main church scenes from the dogmatic and Christological cycle, as well
as individual saints are displayed. A Genesis cycle, evangelical scenes, eschatological
themes, figures of saints and other subjects are illustrated in the narthex, underlying
the various religious functions performed there. The rendering of the themes contin-
ues the Byzantine iconographic and dogmatic tradition, with a limited appropriation
of a few western details.
The paper focuses on selected representations, especially from the phase of 1389,
of particular iconographic interest, associated with the use of this sacred space for
specific liturgical functions. It also draws attention to other scenes, alluding to the
religious situation in Crete under Venetian rule and to the anti-Latin climate in the
Cretan province, also underlined in relevant discussions of known theologians. In
this context the involvement of the donor, who was a priest, in the iconographic pro-
gramme of the narthex is examined. Furthermore, elements drawn from contempo-
rary life, such as the rendering of rural and domestic activities, unusual in Byzantine
art, are pointed out. These offer a glimpse into the reality of country people of the
period; they also provide evidence for the character of the settlement, to which the
chapel belongs, as well as for the material culture of Venetian Crete. Moreover, the
presence of funerary portraits and their way of representation in order to preserve
memory is singled out.
Finally, the construction and decoration of the narthex is inserted within the
scheme of collective patronage on the part of social groups in the periphery of the
Byzantine Empire with limited economic means, but with faith in tradition, and a
willingness to participate to a common initiative of their social environment.
Alexandra Trifonova (Centre for Slavo-Byzantine Studies “Prof. Ivan Dujčev”, Sofia,
Bulgaria)
The Frescoes of St George tou Vounou Church in Kastoria and
Their Relation with the Mural Painting of the Second Half of
14th Century in Kastoria and its Region
The mural paintings of the church of St George tou Vounou in Kastoria, which range
among the masterpieces of the last phase of the Paleologan art, are dated by no ktetor
inscription, so we don’t know anything about their ktetor, the exact dating of their
executing, as well as who their painter.
From our research it comes to light that the frescoes of St George tou Vounou
church belong to the artistic trends of workshops from Kastoria from the second half
and mainly from the last quarter of 14th century as they bear iconographical and sty-
listic similarities with murals from churches in this town, like Taxiarches Mitropo-
leos (1359/60), St Nicholas tou Tzotza (1360–1380), St Athanassios tou Mouzaki
(1383/4), St Nicholas tou Kyritzi (1370–1385) and Holly Three Confessors (Abi-
bos, Samonas and Gourias) (1400/1), as well as with murals from monuments of the
same period of the nearby Korce region, like Christ Zoodotes in Borje (1389/90)
and St Demetrios in Boboštica (last quarter of 14th century). Similarity, in icono-
graphic mainly level, is seen also in murals from monuments of south Albania and
Albanian Prespa, like these of Virgin in Cerskë near Leskovik (end of 14th c.), of
Virgin in Mali Grad (1368/9) and of Virgin in Globoko (end of 14th–beginning of
15th c.), as well as in frescoes from the region of Ohrid, like Virgin in Zaum (1361),
St Demetrios in Ohrid (end 14th c.) and St Athanassios in Kališta (end 14th c.) and
from the region of Kavadarci, like St Lazaros in Begnište (hird quarter 14th c.) and
St George in Pološko (1343–1345).
From our research it comes to light that the frescoes of St George tou Vounou
church are painted by an anonymous artist, who worked with his, at least, one, assist-
ant. However, the depiction of saint Gregory Palamas in this church, who’s procla-
mation as a saint by the Ecumenical Patriarchate took place in 1368 is a terminus post
quem for the dating of the frescoes, meaning that they should be dated after 1368.
The frame of their dating goes back to 1385, the year when the town Kastoria fell in
the Turks hands.
Andjela Gavrilović (Serbia)

On the Conceptual Meaning of the Texts written on Prophets’
Scrolls in the Tambour of the Church of the Virgin Hodegetria in
Peć
In the tambour of the church of the Virgin Hodegetria, the foundation of the Ser-
bian archbishop Daniel the Second (1324–1337), in the monastery complex of the
Patriarcate of Peć, in the register below the Celestial liturgy, we find sixteen figures
of prophets. These are: Aaron, Solomon, David, Moses, Micah, Joel, Isaiah, Ezekiel,
Habakkuk, Zachariah, Jeremiah, Jonah, Zephaniah, Elisha, Eliah and Daniel.
Already during the Middle Byzantine period representations of the prophets be-
came an integral part of monumental church decoration and the dogmatic program,
and during the Paleologian era that followed (1261–1453) the formal and theologi-
cal elaboration of this particular group became exeptionally rich. As the dome was
regarded by medieval authors as „heaven of heavens“ and the zone of the tambour
represented border area between the celestial world and earthly one, prophets were
considered as figures on the border beween these two worlds, as interpreters of the
will of God.
The theological messages of the prophets written on their scrolls vary from
church to church. Here, in the church of the Virgin Hodegetria said „of Constan-
tinople“, dedicated to the feast of Dormition of the Virgin (August the 15th), the
polysemic messages that prophets carry written on their scrolls relate directly or im-
plicitly to this very feast. All the texts are excerpted from the Old Testament. Some
of them are unique and we don’t find them anywhere else but in Peć. Others are how-
ever very often used in Byzantine church programes and decorations. Most of them
stress the importance of the Virgin in the Christ’s economy of salvation, by stressing
the significance of the Pascha and the service of the Great Saturday. These are se-
lected in accordance with the funeral character of the church.
Günter Paulus Schiemenz (University of Kiel, Germany)

A New Look at the Narthex Paintings at Lesnovo
In the illustration of the laud psalms at Lesnovo, a panel below the illustration of Ps.
148, 3–4 is enigmatic. The inscription at the upper rim, Ps. 148, 5b, correlates in no
way with the picture. A seated person is depicted speaking to twelve nimbed men.
Because of his name, Moses, the composition has been identified with Moses speaking
to the 12 tribes of Israel. However, iconographically, he is not the AT leader of God’s
Chosen People: His crown and double headed eagles on his cloak fit well for Czar
Stefan Dušan. If the text is not the title, it is what “Moses” speaks to his people. His
speech refers to the waters in heaven of Ps. 148, 4b. Nearby, in the squinches of the
cupola, flying angels communicate the Divine Wisdom to the Fathers of the Church;
there, God’s message materializes to a stream of pure water representing the tenets
of true faith which are received by God’s new Chosen People, the (Orthodox) Chris-
tians.
In conjunction with the huge portraits of Czar Dušan and his family, these paint-
ings reflect Stefan’s fight against Ioannes Kantakuzenos who had become a champion
of the new doctrine of Hesychasm considered as heretic by the anti-Palamites. The
fettering of the unpious kings (Ps. 149, 8) is part of a vigorous battle whose outcome
is not yet decided – as has been the struggle between Orthodoxy and Heresy in 1349.
In the Ps. 148, 5b panel, “Moses” is the prototype of Dušan, since 1346 Emperor of
the Serbs and Greeks, the tribes of God’s new Chosen People. If the unpious kings of Ps.
149, 8 are equated with Kantakuzenos and his court, the kings of Ps. 148, 11 repre-
sent the Nemanjids, first of all Dušan, the leader of the Orthodox Christians.
Branislav Cvetkovic (Regional Museum Jagodina, Serbia)

A Royal Portrait at Markov Manastir: Horn of Anointment or
Trumpet of Victory?
Situated in the vicinity of Skopje (F.Y.R. of Macedonia), Markov Manastir repre-

sents one of the most important monuments in the Balkans. According to preserved
inscription above the south door, the erection of the church was begun in 1344/5,
but the interior was frescoed much after, in 1376/7. Well known among scholars for
unique iconography of wall paintings, the church witnessed military and political
demise of the Serbian Empire. Therefore, long history of its decoration can be un-
derstood only in appropriate context, though written sources on particular parts of
reign of its royal ktetors are but scarce. After discovery in 1964 of royal portraits on
south façade, V. J. Djuric issued hypothesis that a curved horn-like object held by
king Marko in his right hand may be interpreted as horn of anointment, symbolizing
his being New David; he believed that king Marko, though legitimate, had to grasp
for additional ideological support in order to strenghten his weak political position.
The only similar object Djuric found on a lost royal portrait of Manuel I Grand Kom-
nenos of Trebizond. Since then a number of scholars published their own variants of
interpretation of king Marko’s figure, all built on notion that the curved object is
horn of anointment.
However, recently published frescoes from Josanica monastery (painted
1430–33) offer another possibility. Among the figures of prophets in dome above
the narthex there is one holding in his right hand an identical curved object, identi-
fied according to inscription on scroll held in his left hand as trumpet. This church
offers unique appearance of this same object in two different contexts since among
the figures of prophets in dome above nave, prophet Samuel is painted holding this
object, obviously the horn of anointment, his usual attribute. If figure with a trum-
pet in Josanica is correctly identified as Joshua, then a more plausible explanation
both for Marko and Manuel comes to the fore. As victory symbol, trumpet fits well
with belicose character of the latter and to the triumphal iconography of the former’s
church. If object held by king Marko is the trumpet of victory, it opens new perspec-
tives towards more precise dating of portraits regarding their style as distinct from
frescoes in nave, and also towards better understanding of Marko’s reign since the
exact date of his becoming vassal to the Ottomans is still unresolved.
Виктор Банов (Перник, България)

Изковаване на гвоздеите за Разпятието – стенопис от
Земенската църква. Идейни и сюжетни характеристики
Църквата ”Св. Иоан Богослов” е построена в периода X–XI век, но от това

време са останали частични фрагменти от изографисването. Основната част от
стенописите са от XIV век – второто изписване. Сцените “Качването на кръ-
ста”, “Разделяне дрехите на Хрисос” и “Изковаване гвоздеите за разпятието” се
намират в една композиционна рамка, която се намира на източната страна на
протезиса. Легендата за изковаване гвоздеите за разпятието като иконографски
сюжет не се среща в цялата монументална живопис както на Изток, така и на
Запад.
Иконографията на Земенската сцена вероятно е взаимствана от архаични
образци от доиконоборската епоха, които е използвало и западното изкуство,
но също така са включени и редица местни битови елементи. Поради тази уни-
калност сцената “Изковаване на гвоздеите за разпятието” провокира оправдан
интерес както от изкуствоведско, така и от богословско – историческо гледище.
Ioannis Vitaliotis (Academy of Athens, Greece)

A Byzantine depiction of the Mother of God “The dwelling place
of the Uncontainable” (ἡ χώρα τοῦ ἀχωρήτου) in a church in SE
Albania
The church of St Demetrius near the village of Bobostica of the Korça region, in SE
Albania, is a small one aisled basilica. The eastern wall of the sanctuary, as well as the
two faces of the wall that separates the narthex from the main church are decorated
with byzantine frescoes. In the narthex, in a small niche above the entrance to the
main church, there is a fresco with the Virgin and the Child, in the well-known form
of the Hodegetria, bearing the inscription “The dwelling-place of the uncontainable”
(in the original Greek text: ἡ χώρα τοῦ Ἀχωρήτου). In the southern part of the same wall
the patron saint of the church, St Demetrius, is depicted standing together with the
donator, a monk, who is offering him a replica of the church. These paintings may be
stylistically somehow related to the workshop that painted two nearby monuments,
the church in the Mali Grad island, in the lake of Great Prespa (1368/69), that in
Borje, near Korça (1390), as well St Athanasios of Mouzakis church in Kastoria
(1383/84). Therefore, they can be dated from the second half of the 14th century.
The inscription accompanying the fresco of the Virgin is extremely rare. In fact,
it refers to two mosaic images of the Mother of God from the Monastery of Chora in
Constantinople. These images are different from each other as far as the iconography
is concerned, but refer to the same appellation. The epithet of the Virgin “The dwell-
ing-place of the uncontainable” comes from the byzantine Church literature and it
has been deliberately used in the Constantinopolitan monument, so that the pre-
existent name of the monastery (Monastery of Chora) is associated with the person
of the Theotokos. The same can be said about the epithet “The dwelling-place of
the living” (ἡ χώρα τῶν ζώντων) that accompanies two mosaic icons of Christ in the
aforesaid monument.
In the case of the small Albanian monument, that during the time of its decoration
belonged to the jurisdiction of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, the appellation “the
dwelling-place of the uncontainable” shows that the mosaic icons of the Mother of
God in the Monastery of Chora did not get unnoticed by their contemporaries. Τhe
frescoes of St Demetrius church should be related to the person of the monk who
was the donator of the church. Unfortunately, the inscription with his name has not
been preserved, due to the decay of the painting surface.
Patrick Lecaque (Université d’État de Truman, Kirksville, Missouri, États-Unis)

Notes sur l’iconographie des douze fêtes dans l’église dite
«effondrée» près d’Ivanovo en Bulgarie
L’église effondrée près d’Ivanovo dans le Nord de la Bulgarie a déjà fait l’objet de
quelques études dans la deuxième moitié du vingtième siècle et plus récemment en-
core. Il reste peu de choses de la décoration originale, mais ce qu’il en reste a révélé
un programme iconographique qui réserve quelques surprises telles, par exemple, la
représentation de St. Mamas en habits d’évêque ou le nombre inhabituel de saints
anargyres dans la décoration..
Par contre, jusqu’à ce jour aucune attention particulière n’a été portée sur le pro-
gramme iconographique du plafond, sans doute parce qu’après l’effondrement de
celui-ci – ce qui a donné son nom à l’église – il ne reste que quelques tout petit frag-
ments conservés aujourd’hui au Musée de Roussé. A partir des schémas relevés par le
conservateur, Blagoj Dzhivdzhanov, et le rapport qu’en a fait Liliana Mavrodinova
dans son article Stennata zhivopis na skalnite curkvi v lavrata «Arhangel Mihajl» pri
Ivanovo nous procèderons a une analyse détaillée du programme iconographique
originalement identifié comme suit: l’Annonciation, la Nativité, la Présentation au
Temple, le Baptême, la Transfiguration, la Résurrection de Lazare, l’Entrée à Jérusa-
lem, la Crucifixion et la Descente aux Enfers.
A première vue le choix des Fêtes représentées sur le plafond est conforme à la
liste finalisée au XIVe siècle par Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos. Il n’y avait ap-
paremment que neuf scènes sur douze représentées sur le plafond lui-même et vu le
manque de place les scènes étaient disposées l’une à côté de l’autre comme une série
d’icônes selon un schéma courant à l’époque.
D’un point de vue iconographique chaque scène présente des variantes intéres-
santes de types iconographiques courants au XIVe siècle. Dans l’Annonciation, par

exemple, l’ange est arrêté devant la Vierge, une pose ancienne qui réapparait dans
quelques monuments du XIVe siècle comme Dečani ou Markov Manastir. La Nati-
vité présente elle aussi des détails iconographiques rares, de l’orientation du berceau à
la position des bergers.
Nombre d’autres détails iconographiques dans les autres scènes rapprochent les
peintures de l’église effondrée de monuments du quatorzième siècle au Mont Athos
et à Mistra et confirment, si besoin était, les liens artistiques étroits entre les commu-
nautés monastiques du nord de la Bulgarie et la Grèce.
Halûk Çetinkaya (Istanbul Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Turkey)

Byzantine frescoes at a 14th century Gothic church Arap Camii, at
Istanbul
Arap camii, which was formerly known as the church of Ss Paolo e Domenico, is
located in Perşembe pazarı/Galata district of Istanbul. After the earthquake of 1999
frescoes in the section of the apse became partially visible. More frescoes were dis-
covered by the author in 2007 between the modern ceiling and the roof. It was con-
structed as a Gothic church around 1330 under the name of Ss Paolo e Domenico.
This building most probably continued its function as a church until 1475, as there
are gravestones from that date.
Frescoes
The frescoes are grouped in two sections: apse area and ceiling area. Those in the
apse area have three scenes two of which have been identified as the Nativity and
Baptism of Jesus Christ. In the rib vault of the apse are the Evangelists Marc and Mat-
thew, Saint Ambrosius, and Old Testament prophets [ZACH]ARIAS, GIOEL[E],
[E]ZECHIEL[E] and IEREMIAS.
The ceiling area houses an arch with two scenes: Deesis and the Last Judgement
respectively.
Last Judgement scenes survived partially whereas the Deesis is only fragmentary.
The Byzantine iconography, the use of colours and counter perspective definitely
indicate Byzantine painters’ involvement in the frescoes of the Arap camii. Frescoes
are the work of Byzantines probably of the monks who took refuge at Galata in the
1300’s.
Teodora Burnand (Greenleys, Milton Keynes, UK)

The image of the Virgin Hodegetria in the church of the Mother
of God in Dolna Kamenitsa (14th c.)
The painted programme of the fourteenth-century church of the Mother of God in

the village of Dolna Kamenitsa, at present situated in Serbia, displays some unique
and rare iconographic features. There are a few images of the Virgin Mary in the
church, and the one of the Virgin Hodegetria in the narthex on the first floor is of
great significance. It is depicted in a niche above the entrance to the naos, surrounded
by a broad, semi-circular ornamented frame. The image is partially destroyed in its
lower part and the facial features of the Virgin and the child are badly damaged. Nev-
ertheless, it is notable that this representation differs from the common iconography
of the Virgin Hodegetria that is typical for this period. The Mother of God wears a
maphorion in dark red and deep blue, trimmed with a gold braid and with an unusu-
al rich decoration on the shoulders, consisting of two golden circles bejewelled with
precious stones and pearls at the edges. This extremely rare motif is characteristic for
the imperial regalia and is found in some of the early Christian images of the Virgin
preserved in Rome, such as the icon called Madonna della Clemenza in the church
of S. Maria in Trastevere and the representation of the Maria Regina with saints and
Pope Hadrian I in S. Maria Antiqua. Apart from the garment there are other simi-
larities with the Pre-Iconoclastic depictions of the Virgin with the child, such as the
gesture of the little Jesus in Dolna Kamenitsa who holds out his right hand with an
open palm in blessing. Parallels could be made with the gesture of the child on the
Sinai icon of the Virgin and the child, at present in Kiev, and on the icon bearing the
name ‘Salus Populi Romani’ in the church S. Maria Maggiore, Rome. The appearance
of an image resembling the early Christian representations of the Virgin in a remote
fourteenth-century church on the Balkans is extraordinary. Many questions arise as
to whether it is a replica of an early Christian image itself and about the reasons for
its inclusion in the iconographic programme of the church in Dolna Kamenitsa.
Nikolaos Siomkos (Salonique, Gréce)

Fresques sur la façade orientale des églises à Kastoria.
Une pratique byzantine inconnue
Le riche décor peint des églises de Kastoria, qui s’étend parfois même aux façades
extérieures, a attire l’intérêt des chercheurs dès le début du siècle. Toutefois, il reste
toujours inconnu le cas d’une petite série de fresques extérieures, qui ne décore pas
les murs ouest, sud ou nord, mais le fronton est, au dessus de la conque de l’abside. Si-
gnalons le cas de Saint-Nicolas de Kasnitzi, de Saint-Démétrius tîs Eleousis, de Saint-
Nicolas toû Tzotza, de Saint-Jean-Prodrome tîs Omonoias et des Saints-Trois.
Presque toujours il figure le saint titulaire, signe d’abord d’identification du lieu

et, en même temps, image de caractère prophylactique, apotropaïque. Ces représen-
tations, qui permettent d’identifier le saint auquel l’église est dédiée, ils témoignent
souvent de l’ancienneté de la dédicace initiale au saint patron du monument. Alter-
nativement, il y a le cas de fresques, où il est représenté le sujet de la Déisis. La préfé-
rence de représenter l’image de la Déisis ou du saint titulaire sur la façade orientale
est en rapport avec des sujets semblables ou identiques qui ornent les surfaces autour
de l’entrée principale d’autres monuments.
A travers les exemples des églises de Kastoria, il résulte que la majorité de ces fres-
ques datent de l’époque paléologue. La pratique, alors, de décorer le fronton de la
façade orientale de ces monuments constitue un phénomène peu répandu pendant
l’époque byzantine, presque unique. Les églises de Kastoria fournissent alors une im-
portante et unique série d’exemples, qui s’échelonnent pendant les derniers siècles de
l’époque byzantine.
Αριστέα Καββαδιά/Αγγελική Στράτη (Αθήνα, Ελλάδα/Καστοριά, Ελλάδα)

H Παλαιολογεια ζωγραφικη τησ Χιου
Η ανακοίνωση επικεντρώνεται στις σωζόμενες μαρτυρίες της ζωγραφικής της νήσου

Χίου, στην παλαιολόγεια περίοδο. Κατά την περίοδο αυτή το νησί έχει περιέλθει στην
κατοχή της Γένουας (ήδη από το 1346 και μέχρι το1566).
Στο Βυζαντινό Μουσείο της Χίου (Μετζητιέ Τζαμί) εκτίθενται οι αποτοιχισμένες
τοιχογραφίες του Αγίου Γεωργίου από τον ομώνυμο ναό στο Βερβεράτο και του Καλού
Ληστή από την Παναγία «Κυρά Βελίδενα», της πρώτης εικοσαετίας του 14ου αιώνα,
όπως επίσης η Παναγία Βρεφοκρατούσα ολόσωμη και μικρό τμήμα με την Παναγία
Βρεφοκρατούσα, από τη Νέα Μονή, του προχωρημένου 14ου αιώνα. Οι τοιχογραφίες
αυτές χαρακτηρίζονται από υψηλή καλλιτεχνική ποιότητα εφάμιλλη της ζωγραφικής των
μεγάλων καλλιτεχνικών κέντρων της Θεσσαλονίκης και της Κωνσταντινούπολης.
Το αποτοιχισμένο δεύτερο στρώμα της ζωγραφικής του τρούλου του βυζαντινού
ναού της Παναγίας Κρήνας, αποτελούμενο από δώδεκα ολόσωμους προφήτες που κρα-
τούν ειλητάρια, τοποθετείται στα τέλη του 14ου αιώνα και εντάσσεται στο πρόγραμμα
αποκατάστασης του τρούλου μετά από το σεισμό του 1389. Τεχνοτροπικά συνδέεται με
καλλιτεχνικά εργαστήρια της Θεσσαλονίκης του τελευταίου τέταρτου του 14ου αιώνα,
που απηχούν ωστόσο καλλιτεχνικά ρεύματα της πρωτεύουσας, εφόσον ανάλογοι ζωγρα-
φικοί τρόποι απαντώνται όχι μόνο στη Μακεδονία (Παλαιά Μητρόπολη Έδεσσας), στη
Μεσαιωνική Σερβία (Ravanica) και στην Βουλγαρία (Άγιος Γεώργιος Σόφιας) αλλά και
στην Πελοπόννησο (Περίβλεπτος Μυστρά) κ. α.
Τοιχογραφίες αυτής της περιόδου διασώζονται επίσης σε ναούς και μονές στο νησί
της Χίου, όπως στο μοναστήρι της Παναγίας Αγιογαλούσαινας, στην Νέα Μονή Χίου,
στον ναό της Κοιμήσεως της Θεοτόκου γνωστής ως «Παναγιά Αγρελωπούσαινα» κ.α.
Τεχνοτροπικά οι τοιχογραφίες αυτές ακολουθούν μεν το κυρίαρχο ρεύμα της τέχνης των
παλαιολόγειων χρόνων, αλλά παράλληλα διατηρούν και επαρχιακά χαρακτηριστικά.
Συμπερασματικά η Χίος κατά την ύστερη βυζαντινή περίοδο έχει να επιδείξει στενές
σχέσεις με τα καλλιτεχνικά κέντρα της Βασιλεύουσας και της Θεσσαλονίκης, καθώς
και δημιουργίες σημαντικών καλλιτεχνών παράλληλα με έργα τοπικών επαρχιακών
ζωγράφων. Η ζωγραφική της παλαιολογείου περιόδου στο νησί, ακολουθεί με συνέπεια τα
καλλιτεχνικά ρεύματα που επικρατούν στην επικράτεια της βυζαντινής αυτοκρατορίας
Elena Dana Prioteasa (Central European University, Budapest, Hungary)

The “Exaltation of the Cross” in the Churches of Ribiţa and
Crişcior (Hunedoara County, Romania): A Less Usual Iconographic
Type and Its Meanin
The paintings of the churches of St Nicholas at Ribiţa (Hung. Ribicze) and the Dor-
mition of the Virgin at Crişcior (Hung. Kristyor) date from around 1400 and were
commissioned by two knezial families living in the eastern part of the Hungarian
Kingdom. The donors were members of the local Romanian upper class and fol-
lowed the Orthodox rite. The wall paintings in both churches, as well as the scene of
the Exaltation are partially preserved. The Exaltation of the Cross is situated in the
nave, next to the triumphal arch and to the representation of the Holy Kings of Hun-
gary: Sts Stephen, Emeric and Ladislas. From the main protagonists of the scene only
St Helena is visible, standing to the left of the upright Cross. Other preserved details
point to the moment of the finding of the Cross rather than its elevation by Patriarch
Macarius. The type of representation does not fit either the common Byzantine Exal-
tation scene or the representations of Sts Constantine and Helena holding the Cross.
The empress does not wear the typical imperial Byzantine outfit, her garments being
rather an interpretation tributary to Western models. St Helena with the Cross or
the Finding of the Cross occurs in 14th–15th-century wall paintings in Hungarian
Catholic churches, and the painters of Ribiţa and Crişcior were certainly influenced
by these models. The special attention given to the scene in both churches may be
put in relation to the growing threat posed by the Turks, who at the end of the 14th
century reached the borders of the Hungarian kingdom. The role of the knezes was
primarily military and their faithful military service to the King ensured their so-
cial ascension. The menace of the “infidels” concerned both the Orthodox and the
Catholic, who made an effort to leave aside confessional dissent for a stronger unity
under the banner of the Cross. The Holy Kings of Hungary were represented in the
churches of Ribiţa and Crişcior as guarantors of the knezes’ privileges, and expressed
the latter’s loyalty to the Hungarian Crown. The kings’ association with the Exalta-
tion of the Cross suggests that they were also regarded as defenders of Christian faith
and exemplars of Christian rulers.
FC35. MANUSCRIPT ILLUMINATION AND CODICOLOGY

Moderators
Elissaveta Moussakova/Elind Dobrynina
Elina N. Dobrynina (State Institute for Art Studies, Moscow, Russia)

On the developing iconography of the Ascent of the Prophet
Elijah: inscriptions to miniatures and text commentaries in
manuscripts of the 9th to 13th centuries
The monograph by P. Landesmann systematises the written and pictorial sources of

iconography for the Ascent of the Prophet Elijah up to and including the 5th c. AD,
but there has been no research of its subsequent evolution. In her study of the fea-
tures of 9th-century miniatures depicting the Ascent of Elijah, L. Brubaker ascribes
all the images to a single biblical source – IV Kings 2: 11–13.
Researchers have so far disregarded the fact that most scenes portraying the As-
cent of the Prophet Elijah from the 5th c. onwards belong to one of two variants:
in one there is an area of empty space between the Prophet Elijah and Elisha; in the
other they are contiguous – their hands hold the mantle which is clearly at the centre
of the composition. Additional sources on the given topic are cited as grounds for
the proposed typology, specifically the inscriptions to miniatures and text commen-
taries in 9th- to 13th-century manuscripts.
1. The first iconographic variant is found in the miniatures Mosq., GIM, Khlud.
129d, f. 41v, mid-9th c.; Paris. lat. 6 (2), f. 48, mid-11th c.; Vat. gr. 333, f. 109v, late
11th c. The oldest representation, in the Khludov Psalter, contains an original in-
scription with the aoristic participle in the passive voice (Ἡλίας ἀναληφθεὶς). This
describes the event conveyed by IV Kings 2: 11 and repeats verbatim the lexical con-
struction of the verse referring to the Ascension of Christ, Acts 1:11.
2. The second variant is familiar from the wooden door of the Basilica of St. Sabi-
na in Rome, c. 430; from the fresco in the Ayvali Kilise in Cappadocia, between 912
and 920, and also from the following manuscripts: Paris. gr. 510, f. 264v, between
879 and 882; Vat. gr. 499, f. 66v and Par. gr. 923, f. 268v, second half of the 9th c.;
Vat. Reg. 1, f. 302v, late 9th to early 10th c.; Vat. Barb. gr. 372, f. 73, 11th c.; Sinait.
gr. 1186, f. 107v, early 11th c.; Bodl. MS 270b, f. 174, 1240; Laur. Plut. IX.28, f. 146,
11th c. In these miniatures the Prophets Elijah and Elisha are not divided by an inter-
vening space but actually touch the mantle, i.e. they represent a direct transferral of
the mantle, an action not recorded in biblical sources. This shift of emphasis from the
Ascent of Elijah to acceptance of the mantle by Elisha is also reflected in inscriptions
to the miniatures, for example: Ἐλισσὲ δεχόμενος τὴν μηλωτήν, and others. As well
as the altered subject there is a change in the nature of the action, which now corre-
sponds to the grammatical construction used in IV Kings 2: 10–11.
Kallirroe Linardou (Athens School of Fine Arts, Greece)

The originality of the margins: marginalia figurata in codex
coislin 88 of the Bibliotheque nationale
The Heavenly Ladder was written by John, abbot of the monastery on Mount Sinai,
sometime during the first half of the 7th century. Although initially intended for his
fellow-monks as a guide in their struggle for spiritual perfection and ultimately as a
vision of the Divine, it, nevertheless, proved to be an extremely popular text through-
out the Byzantine era. The surviving number of manuscripts containing the treatise
of John – over 700 – reaffirms this assumption.
Illustrated manuscripts of John’s Klimax have come down to us from the 10th
century onwards. The study of their illustration has established that their individual
cycles were created independently and that each manuscript comprises a unique and
original creation without reproducing a given or reverently transmitted tradition of
illumination. It thus deviates from what we actually come upon or simply assume for
other categories of Byzantine illustrated texts.
In the Bibliothèque Nationale of France is kept an illustrated codex containing
the text of the Heavenly Ladder of John Climacus (Coislin 88) dated to the 11th cen-
tury and included in the classical study of the illustrated manuscripts of the Klimax
by J.R. Martin. Its illustration consists of a diligently executed table of contents with
a representation of the Ladder of Ascent, some nicely decorated initials, an elaborat-
ed headpiece and finally a portrait of the author painted much later than the original
creation of the book, most probably during the Palaeologan period.
However, Martin’s description of this specific manuscript has failed to mention
a series of six imaginative and carefully executed marginalia figurata assuming either
the outline of standing birds or a combination of birds and geometrical shapes. Most
notably, the techopaignia of the Hellenistic period, also known as carmina figurata or
visual poems, although of different content and intentions, must have been known to
the Byzantines and most probably they became the point of departure for their own
experimentations.
Taking the examples of the Parisian codex as my case study and given the typical
originality characterizing the illustration of the Climacus text, my aim is to formulate
a series of hypotheses with regard to the Byzantine philokalia (i.e. the love of beauty)
and how it is expressed within what is perceived as “margins”, by employing and high-
lighting the visual qualities of writing itself. Finally, I intend to investigate how far
the choice of the specific scholia, their content as well as their original form can help
us illuminate the circumstances of the book’s creation and provide us with hints that
may lead us to the actual recipient of the book.
Irina Oretskaya (State Institute of the History of Art, Moscow)

The miniatures of the Tetraevangelion (Parma, cod. Palat. 5):
their style and an attempt to precise their date
The Tetraevangelion preserved in the Palatine Library in Parma, famous most of all
for its preface miniatures, attracts scholar’s attention as a work of the transitional pe-
riod from the late 11th to the early 12th century. Stylistically three groups of mini-
atures may be singled out in the manuscript: 1) evangelists portraits, 2) small figures
in the headpieces and initials (miniatures in the so-called style mignon), and 3) Gos-
pel scenes and images of Ammonius of Alexandria and Sts. Constantine and Helena.
Two first groups reveal similarity with the miniatures of the late 11th-century codic-
es, primarily with the Tetraevangelion in Oxford (Bodlean Library, E.D. Clarke 10).
They are substantially classical in style from which only slight deviations exist, such
as some fragility and instability of images and, in a few cases, a sharpness of expres-
sion. Their 11th-century background is evident in artistic devices, found also in the
other illuminated manuscripts of that time, as the Gospel Lectionary (Vat. gr. 1156),
Tetraevangelia (BN, Coislin 21) and (Vat. gr. 358) etc. On the other part, the mini-
atures of the third group have some stylistic features, which we come across in the
Byzantine painting of the 12th century (to compare the image of St. Helena in the
fol. 13 with the Virgin in the mosaic of St. Sophia in Constantinople of 1118, the
profiles of the angels in the Nativity with those in the miniatures by the Kokkinobap-
hos master). Certainly, in the miniatures of the Parma Tetraevangelion forms are gen-
tler and the emotional tension is less pronounced; but the origins of the expressive
style of the mid-12th century can be discerned. The Gospel scenes, especially on fol.
91v stand out for somewhat less detailed elaboration and a sort of condensation. The
compositions are divided from each other by ornamental bands, and are perceived as
separate dramatic episodes of the New Testament narrative. This was quite new for
the Gospel illustrative cycles of the 11th century but widespread in the 12th. Thus,
the Tetraevangelion (Parma, Palat. cod. 5), which unites the features of the late 11th
and 12th century manuscript illumination, can be dated to the period around 1100.
Maria Grinberg (Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia)

The miniatures of the Menologion GIM Syn. Gr. 9.
The manuscript Syn. Gr. 9 from the State History Museum in Moscow is the last
volume of the Metaphrastian Menologion which includes the texts for May through
August. It was brought to Moscow by Arseny Sukhanov in 1655 from the Monas-
tery of St. Nicholas of Stauronikita on Mount Athos. Together with the Sinait. 500
(one missing folio is now in the State Public Library, Saint Petersburg, Gr. 373) the
volume was ascribed to the “edition F” of 1063. The scribe of the edition was the
“Copiste du Métaphraste” as he was labeled by Paul Canart. Together with a deco-

rator, professional chrysographos Euthymios they produced an important group of
richly decorated liturgical manuscripts. There are no indications on the precise loca-
tion of the ergasterion, although some evidences point on its activity in Contantino-
ple during the second half of the eleventh century.
Each of the twelve texts of the Syn. Gr. 9 is preceded by a miniature. As a rule,
the illustrated menologia of the second half of the 11th – beginning of the 12th cen-
turies were decorated with scenes whose iconography was based on Synaxaria tradi-
tion. As Nancy Patterson Sevcenko demonstrated, the iconography of the miniatures
of the Syn. Gr. 9 is not typical. Some narrative miniatures follow very precisely the
text depicting the details of the saints lifes in relatively developed cycles. In addition,
the manuscript contains rare iconographies which are unprecedented in Byzantine
art and obviously were specially invented for the Menologia decoration.
The miniatures of the Syn. Gr. 9 are worthy of special attention from the point
of view of style. They reveal an active search of new artistic approaches that become
typical for the painting of the forthcoming Comnenian period. My scope is to re-
trace the artistic tools which formed this aesthetics. So, the paper deals with stylistic
features of the miniatures of the Syn. Gr. 9 and brings the manuscript into the con-
text of artistic processes of the third quarter of the 11th century. Quite a number of
illuminated manuscripts of a high quality remained from this period. They make it
possible to reveal the consecutive evolution of a new pictorial system. The main ques-
tions which the topic arises are: which is the correlation of the Syn. Gr. 9 with other
illustrated manuscripts of this period; is it possible to single out several tendencies
within the group of manuscripts; which tools were used for the design of images and
how the miniatures can help us to reconstruct the spiritual climate of the epoch.
Simona Moretti (Università IULM, Milano, Italia)

Dalla Grecia a Palermo: riflessioni sull’immagine di una Vergine
Lo statuto della Confraternita clerico-laicale di S. Maria di Naupactos, monastero

femminile nei pressi di Tebe (Grecia), venne redatto nel 1048, ma, corroso, intorno
al 1080 fu scritto e firmato nuovamente.
Questa più recente versione del typicon è giunta a Palermo probabilmente in se-
guito alla conquista di Tebe da parte delle truppe di Ruggero II nel 1147 ed è conser-
vata nel Tesoro della Cappella Palatina (Tabulario n. 1).
Il documento, ben noto, presenta sul primo foglio in alto la miniatura con la figu-
ra stante di Maria in atteggiamento di supplica verso Cristo evocato o forse effigiato
nel quarto di cielo. Si ritiene che la rappresentazione ritragga l’icona venerata dalla
confraternita. Se l’ipotesi è, come credo, corretta, allora si può forse immaginare che
l’icona fosse a smalto o a mosaico: lo dichiarano infatti la cornice interna a crocette
e il ‘pavimento’ a scacchiera (quest’ultimo, ad esempio, lo ritroviamo, seppure con

motivi diversi, su numerose immagini a micromosaico, tipologia nota però solo attra-
verso esemplari di epoca paleologa).
Negli anni successivi al 1147 compaiono a Palermo altre raffigurazioni della Ver-
gine in dialogo con il Figlio, secondo il modello dell’Haghiosoritissa. Lo scopo princi-
pale del contributo è indagare se tra le opere prese in esame e la miniatura/icona della
confraternita greca vi sia una correlazione e tentare di ‘misurare’ l’impatto avuto dal
typicon di Naupactos sull’arte della città normanna.
Nino Kavtaria (National Centre of Manuscripts, Tbilisi, Georgia)

From South Georgia to Antioch: Artistic Transition in Medieval
Georgian Book Art
In historical and literary sources the tight cultural relations between Georgian scrip-
toria, both itself in Georgia and abroad, is well known. Prominent example of such
co-operation and artistic influence appeared among South Georgian (Tao-Klarjeti)
and Antiochene (the Black Mountain) scriptoria.
Present paper is dedicated to introduce the artistic interactions of two schools
of Georgian Book art of the 9–11th centuries: Tao-Klarjeti (South Georgia, now in
Turkey) and the Black Mountain (Antioch, also in Turkey). Simultaneously, we plan
to study the nature of transfer of artistic traditions from one area to another – from
Tao-Klarjeti → to Antioch – and the development of its own features there; investi-
gate the sources of such alterations of artistic form and iconography.
It’s obvious that pioneers of Georgian re-colonization of Antioch were the schol-
ar-monks from Tao-Klarjeti. The construction and foundation of new monastery on
the Black Mountain was sponsored by Jibisdze family. The first dated illuminated
manuscript (the Great Synaxarion, H-2211 of 1042–1044) from Antioch is also
connected with the names of David and Ioane Jibisdze. Alongside literary tradi-
tions they transferred the artistic traditions as well. Thus, the illumination of Great
Synaxarion (H-2211) represents resemblance with the decorations of Chants Book
(S-425) by Michael Modrekili and the manuscripts from various scriptoria of Tao-
Klarjeti of 10–11th centuries (A-35, A-1453, A-135, A-93, A-97 and etc.). Among
the illustrated manuscripts of the 11th century Mestia Gospel should be noted. Cop-
ied at the Oshki monastery the codex is the best representation of the Tao-Klarjetian
school, which united artistic traditions of Tao-Klarjeti and the Byzantine influence
at the same time.
One of the first manuscripts (H-2211 – The Great Synaxsarion) from the Black
Mountain reflects well specified Tao-Klarjetian peculiarities, while the manuscript-
gospels of the following years declare the existence of the synthesis of both artistic
features (A-484 the so-called Alaverdi Gospel – 1054, S-962 – 1054, K-76 – 1060,
A-845 – II half of the 11th c., Iberico I – middle of the 11th c., H-2806 of the II
half of 11th c., A-516 – 12th c. and etc.). Executed at the different, but closely con-
nected monastic centers of Antioch these codices show those peculiarities for what
we call them “Antiochene Manuscripts.” Their interaction displayed in the architec-
tonics and iconography of the Canon tables, in their distinctive (14) quantity (that is
manifested only in Georgian “Antiochene” manuscripts and also in Georgian (Щук.
760–1070) and Byzantine (Sinai, Cod. 158) codices plausibly created under their
influence). Sequence of the Canon Table system and the Leaved Cross is the echo of
local symbolic thought. The portraits of Evangelists are common only for this school.
Alaverdian version of Abgar’s story is completely related to the Antiochene tradi-
tions and inserted into Georgian manuscript, alongside with the other features they
should be considered as a respect to this tradition.
Paper attempts to discuss main trends of the Tao-Klarjetian and Antiochene ar-
tistic schools, their relations with Byzantine and East-Christian manuscripts; deter-
mines also those influences that were established in Georgian book art after intercul-
tural interaction.
Zaza Skhirtladze/Tinatin Karkashadze (Tbilisi State University, Georgia)

Illuminated Liturgical Rolls in Medieval Georgia: The Gelati
Ilitarion
Among the numerous Georgian liturgical rolls preserved in the museums and depos-
itories of Georgia, as well as in the monastic libraries of Jerusalem, Sinai and Mount
Athos only a few are illuminated. The roll of the Kutaisi Historical-ethnographical
Museum – less-known to scholarly circles – stands out among them both by a large
number of miniatures and high level of their execution.
The date of the creation of the roll (so-called ilitarion) becomes clear from the
multi-line text, the so-called diptych, on the third leaf, listing the commemorations
of higher lay and cleric figures. It transpires that the roll was made on the initiative of
Evdemon Chketidze (1543–1578), Catholicos of Abkhazeti, i.e. Western Georgia,
as a part of the activity launched by him and Bagrat III (1510–1565), King of Im-
ereti, after the residence of the Prelate was transferred from Bichvinta to Gelati. This
activity implied the renovation, painting and equipping the seat of the Catholicos
and the royal resting-place – the church of St George at Gelati monastery – with
other attributes necessary for the divine service.
The roll, comprised of thirteen leaves tied one to another (length: 8.2m), is
copied in two columns, on white parchment, in gold ink, in calligraphic Georgian
minuscule script nuskhuri, The verso of the roll contains the liturgies of St Basil the
Great and St John Chrysostomos in the form of parallel texts, while of the recto it
bears the ‘Renewal of Sanctities’ of St Gregory Dialogos. The llumination of the roll
is effected according to a definite programme: along with the authors of the liturgy
(leaf I) and the composition of the Communion (leaf II), presented in it are the fig-
ures of the Apostles and the Church Fathers (leaves VII, X, and XII). The miniature
with the composition of the Communion and the figures of the Church Fathers,
placed in two registres, directly echoes the programme of the chancel decoration of
the church.
The choice of the images of the Apostles along with the Church Fathers in the
illumination of the Gelati roll must have been based on a definite consideration.
Symeon and Matthias, represented on the miniature of the roll, were linked to West-
ern Georgia through their missionary activity. Obviously enough, their links with the
country were stressed specially. This resolution appears quite natural for the adorn-
ment of an ilitarion made on the order of the Catholicos of Western Georgia.
The text of the roll and its illumination were authored by well-trained local mas-
ters, conformably to the order of the country’s supreme Church and secular authori-
ties, reflecting the high trends of Christian Orthodox arts of the time.
Zaruhi Hakobyan (Yerevan State University, Armenia)

The Byzantine artistic influence on a group of 11th century
illuminated Armenian manuscripts
A group of illuminated Armenian manuscripts of 11th century, originated on the

territory of historical Armenia and beyond its borders, reveals the certain byzantine
artistic influence. These are the Gospels of Adrianopolis (1007), Trebizond (mid. 11th
c.), Kars (before 1064), as well as the Gospels N275 (1071–1078) and N10434 (about
1069). V. N. Lazarev called them “Byzantine Armenian” manuscripts.
The codices are of a great significance not only in the context of Armenian art
but also in the art of Byzantium and the countries of Byzantine surrounding as they
have very close parallels in the Byzantine illustrated codices from provincial centers,
in the monumental painting of Cappadocia, in addition to all, there is a number of
contact points with some Georgian manuscripts, which also was made in Byzantium.
In the context of Armenian art, these manuscripts are interesting as they introduce
some other artistic trend and prove the existence of cultural contacts between Arme-
nia and Byzantium in the 11th c. Some of these “byzantic” codices were created in
the environment of Orthodox Armenians (Armenian-Chalcedonians).
The cultural contacts between Armenia and Byzantium in the 11th century was
not accidental, it was caused by the leading role of Byzantine tradition of book il-
lustration, it was the epoch (9–11 c.) of political and cultural upswing in Armenia
(Bagratids), the time of close of political and cultural contacts with Byzantium, as
well as the period of activating of the Orthodox tendencies in Armenia, violated by
the Seljuk invasion. The manuscripts originated both in Armenia and beyond its bor-
ders, reflected the tastes and cultural purposes of the part of Armenian population,
probably Armenian-Chalcedonians, and had great significance for further develop-
ment of Armenian hand-written book.
Satenik Chookaszian (Yerevan State University, Armenia)

Cilician book illumination between Byzantium and Crusaders
The miniature of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia in the 13th century is represent-
ing the most splendid period of Armenian book illumination. The geographical posi-
tion of the Cilician Kingdom (which was a country with an outlet to the Mediterra-
nean Sea), made possible the direct contact with the nations of the East and West.
The book illumination of Cilicia reflects the old traditions inherited from old
Armenian mythological and visual culture, and also from artistic legacy of nations
who once lived or continued to live near the borders of the Armenian Kingdom.
Meantime the miniature painting of Cilicia reflects the influence of Ancient
Greek and Roman traditions through also traces of Greek settlements and Seleucid
kingdom and Roman Empire domination on Mediterranean seashore. The expan-
sion of the Byzantine Empire on that territory brought new waves of Greco-Roman
civilization on Mediterranean seashore with those of Early Christian ones. The later
domination of the Byzantine Empire in that area facilitated the influence of Con-
stantinopolitan art on Armenian art generally speaking. The Armenian painters of
the Kingdom of Cilicia of the end of 13th century in their turn had strengthened the
cultural dialogue with their Byzantine colleagues.
The appearance of Crusaders in Holy Land and the establishment of Latin states
of Jerusalem, also Edessa, Antioch, Cyprus and the development of active commer-
cial and political connections with the Italian cities and France have strengthened the
cultural dialogue between the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia and the Western Euro-
pean civilization. Becoming the ally of Mongols the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
reinforced also the access to Chinese culture.
My work is focused on the phenomena of the meeting of the East and West in
the miniatures of Toros Roslin’s successors who had illustrated the Gospel No. 9422
of Matenadaran, one of the best examples of Royal and Princely Armenian Cilician
manuscripts of 80s of XIII century. The Gospel is decorated with twelve Canon ta-
bles, the portraits of evangelists, the incipit pages of their Gospels and six full-page
miniatures.
Seyranush Manukyan (Yerevan State University, Armenia)

Functional and artistic features of the Byzantine and Armenian
illuminated manuscript Gospels (similiarities and differences)
1. In Byzantium there were two types of Gospels: Four Gospel and “Aprakos” Gos-
pel. In Armenia, in the middle ages, there was only one type of Gospel: Four Gos-
pel. However, with the help of a definite rubrication of its text it was used also as an
“Aprakos” Gospel. So, Armenian manuscript Gospel became bi-functional.
2. For this text the Gospel was subdivided into the so-called “main gospels” –
reading-pericopes during the Liturgy in the church year. Their quantity was indicated
by scribes, at the end of each four Gospels, together with the number of verses, “Euse-
bius Chapters” and “Testimonies”. There were 252 such extracts – “main gospels” in
the whole Gospel.
3. For rapid finding of “the main gospels” for reading the initials of the extracts
were written in bigger and decorative forms of the letters: zoomorphic, ornithomor-
phic, anthropomorphic, florissaie, fishmorphic, mosaic. As well as on the margin
they were identified by marginal pictures: they were simple signs, ornaments, definite
symbolic objects, figures and scenes in the ornamental frame. Marginal pictures on
the text and title pages are artistic peculiarities of Armenian manuscripts differing
them from Byzantine manuscripts and expressing the work of Armenian miniatur-
ists.
4. “Main gospels” had a definite system of numbering. For it the subdivision
of the Gospel into “the weeks” was used, the lettered numbers of which served as a
number of the “main gospels”, as well as they were included in the core of the mar-
ginalia.
5. The rubric of “main gospels” was an “artistic unit” of the Illumination of Ar-
menian manuscripts.
Elissaveta Moussakova (SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library, Sofia, Bulgaria)
The Psalter of king Ioann Alexander in its Slavonic and Byzantine
context (eleventh–fourteenth century)
The Psalter of King Ioann Alexander, A.D. 1337, kept in the Archive of Bulgarian
Academy of Sciences (BAS 2), could be regarded as the only representative of the
so called aristocratic version, of the psalters known in Bulgarian literary tradition to
the fourteenth century. Several points of its making are worth special attention: the
placement of the sole miniature at the mid-Psalm and its subject – Christ Ancient of
Days, accompanied by a ceremonial inscription, the text composition preceiding it
and comprising commented versions of the Creed and Lord’s Prayer, and the Eulogy
to the king, now situated at the end of the book. All these features are investigated
in the light of the codicological peculiarities of the manuscript, the text history of
the additions to the Psalter proper, and the visual approaches to the meaning of the
middle of the Psalter as testified by manuscripts originating in Byzantium and the Slav
countries within the period referred to. The paper is based on author’s earlier works
but is developed further in the perspective of the Byzantine intelectual concepts
adopted and applied by the artists and men of letters in the last golden age of Bulgar-
ian mediæval culture.
Engelina Smirnova (Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia)

Teratological ornament in the 14th-century Russian manuscripts.
On the origin and symbolism of the motives
Teratological ornament dominated in the decoration of the Russian manuscripts

since the second half of the 13th century. Despite the adoption of many of its pat-
terns from the Western codices this type of ornament got its particular character on
Russian soil and became integral part of the Russian Orthodox culture, like such ar-
tistic phenomena as white-stone architecture of Vladimir and Suzdal. Teratological
ornament not only endowed the Russian manuscripts with a special expression but
also considerably widened the range of subjects in the decoration of the Russian me-
dieval manuscripts.
Along with multifaceted symbolism of animalistic images, headpieces and initials
with human figures play an important role. With these compositions the new, previ-
ously unknown (or not widespread) motives, originated from the Early Christian art
and often re-interpreted by Western miniaturists, were introduced into the Russian
art. Such examples as headpieces with human figures twined by serpents (alluding
besides others to the Ascension of Alexander the Great); initials with season labours;
scenes with the deeds of Samson (Hercules); the image of David the Psalmist can be
drawn.
Only in a few cases a direct relationship between a text and a corresponding dec-
orated initial may be found. We don’t have sufficient information to claim that the
original meaning of the aforementioned subjects, especially of those Early Christian,
coming back to the Antiquity, and not so much of those based on the Old Testament,
was properly understood in Russia. Most probably, these compositions were inter-
preted for the most part as conventional protective subjects emphasizing complexity
and spirituality of the Sacred Text. There existed the third, “lower” level of reading:
it is reflected in the inscriptions left by artists next to some initials, and resembled
similar tendencies in the popular culture of the Middle Ages.
Sokol Çunga/Andi Rembeci (General Directory of Albanian Archives, Tirana,

Albania)
The Byzantine and Post Byzantine collection of manuscripts at
the Central State Archive of Tirana and a concordance between
the Kodder-Trap Catalogue of Tirana Manuscripts and their
actual shelf-number
As early as 1868 Anthimos Alexoudes, the Metropolitan of Berat (nowadays Alba-

nia), in his publication about the history of the Metropolis of Berat, gives the infor-
mation about some rare and luxury medieval books that are found in the castle of
Berat. Right after him, in 1887, the French scholar Piere Batiffol publishes the text
of Codex Purpureum Beratinus Φ, as well as a list of manuscripts that he consulted
during his visit in Berat, together with a description of them. Again, between the
years 1896–1902, Alexoudes publishes a catalogue of the manuscripts that are found
in the caste of Berat. In 1967 J. Kodder and E. Trapp, while visiting the Central State
Archive of Tirana, compiled a catalogue of some of the manuscripts. Years latter, in
2003, the catalogue of Th. Popa was published, a work that took about 30 years.
All the aforementioned authors have been giving parts of the history of this
collection, but their goal was not a concise history of the manuscripts. At the same
time, when referred to the manuscripts, each of them has been using a different name
and number (or shelf-number) for each manuscript, creating thus difficulties for the
nowadays scholars. The aim of this paper is to present a document based history of
the Byzantine and Post Byzantine manuscripts collection of Tirana, trying to gather
all the available information regarding the case. We will describe the history of the
manuscripts from their first citation, until their nowadays place and condition in the
Central State Archive in Tirana, Albania. We will also try to compile a concordance
between all the earlier citations or different catalogues, and the actual shelf-number
of the manuscripts in Tirana.
Nina Vutova (SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library, Sofia, Bulgaria)
Greek-Greek filigranological parallels
The object of the study is to examine the Greek manuscripts at the National Library
of Athens and those at the Centre for Slavo-Byzantine Studies “Prof. Ivan Dujčev”
at the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. 247 manuscripts of the collection of
the National Library of Athens were studied de visu by means of the filigranological
approach; for the collection of the Centre for Slavo-Byzantine Studies “Prof. Ivan
Dujčev” is used mostly the study of L. Vasiliev and M. Grozdanovic-Pajic “Filigrano-
logical description and album of the Greek manuscripts from the 14th century at the
Centre for Slavo-Byzantine Studies”, issued in 2004. A part of this collection is also
studied de visu.
The aim of the study is to date the manuscripts at the National Library of Athens
more precisely using the data of the study of the paper and watermarks as well as the
comparative analysis of the filigranological material from both of the collections.
Outcomes of the study:
– Establishing probable common origins of the manuscripts;
– Establishing the periods of time when a paper with a certain watermark was
used and once again about the question of the late use of the paper fabricated ear-
lier;
– Frequency of use of the paper attributed to a certain scriptorium or once again
about the deliveries of paper on the Balkans;
– Comparative analysis of the watermarks of the “black dated” manuscripts.
FC36. ICONS, MINOR OBJECTS

Moderators
Eunice Dauterman Maguire/Jenny Albani
Maria Lidova (Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia)

The Monumental Icon in Early Byzantium. The Virgin Orant from
the Oratory of John VII in Rome
The oratory of John VII (705–707) in the Old St. Peter’s cathedral was one of the
most spectacular examples of the early Byzantine art in Rome. It was destroyed in
the beginning of the 17th century when the last surviving part of the Constantinian
basilica was demolished to be replaced with the new baroque façade. All that remains
from the early medieval chapel of the Virgin are multiple dismantled elements of
mosaic and sculptural décor. However, drawings and watercolors executed on the eve
of the demolishment in combination with a detailed description of this part of the
basilica by the Vatican archivist Giacomo Grimaldi allow us to develop a clear idea of
the original setting of the chapel.
The central place in the vast mosaic cycle dedicated to the life of Christ was given
to a solemn image of the Orant Virgin. Situated above the altar, Theotokos was rep-
resented standing on a pedestal with her hands raised in a gesture of prayer, wearing
imperial garments and a sumptuous crown with pearl pendilia. The Virgin’s unusual
attire underscores her imperial status and indicates that the figure belongs to a specif-
ic type of representation known as Maria Regina. This fragment once detached from
the wall in 1609 was sent to Florence as a gift to the bishop of Arezzo, who placed it
above the family altar in the cappella Ricci in the Basilica San Marco in Florence.
In this paper I will demonstrate that already in its original setting the image of
the Virgin Orant acquired specific characteristics such that it was perceived as a
monumental icon. The creation of monumental iconic images was quite popular in
the early Byzantium. As a rule, they were placed in subsidiary chapels or within the
naos space often oriented in the opposite direction from the main altar. In contrast to
teophanic visions in the apse, due to their lateral position within ecclesiastical sacred
space, they often permitted a direct contact with the worshiper and could become
proper recipients of the personal as well as liturgical prayers.
Inscribed in the sequence and the logic of the monumental decoration, these im-
ages were often placed within a niche or a border that clearly separated it from the
rest of the paintings and sometimes created an individual space that could have been
used for the placement of candles, votive gifts, relics and other sacred objects. In a
number of cases it is easy to reconstruct that these monumental icons were protago-
nists of special liturgical services, often not strictly related to that performed on the
main altar. They often bear the iconographic characteristics known from the images
on wood or quite suitable for the panel paintings. Being analyzed as monumental
icons, these painted or mosaic images could contribute significantly to widen out
knowledge on both the appearance and function of the devotional images in early
Byzantium.
Enrico Pizzoli (Sapienza Università di Roma, Italia)

Da Roma a Berlino: il viaggio di un’icona musiva
Nella letteratura agiografica del mondo ortodosso si parla più volte di icone venerate
che viaggiano per volontà propria, apparendo miracolosamente in luoghi determina-
ti. Anche dal punto di vista della storia del collezionismo, spesso i percorsi delle opere
non sono meno misteriosi.
Il contributo intende ricostruire la storia di un’icona in micromosaico, raffigu-
rante la Crocefissione di Cristo tra la Vergine e San Giovanni Evangelista: l’opera è
attualmente conservata nella Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische
Kunst dei Musei di Stato di Berlino (n° 6431). Del pezzo, considerato di produzione
costantinopolitana e datato alla fine del XIII secolo, si ha notizia solo dall’inizio del
Novecento; conservato fino a quel momento in Sicilia, e più precisamente a Nicosia
(secondo quanto riportato da una etichetta sul retro in parte strappata), esso fu pro-
posto in vendita allo studioso e funzionario ministeriale Paolo Orsi nel 1901 a Ca-
tania, ma a quell’epoca egli non poté acquistarlo per via della situazione finanziaria
dello Stato italiano. Dopo una vendita a privati, probabilmente tedeschi, il pezzo fu
comprato dal Bode Museum nel 1904.
Nel 1995 Helmut Buschhausen ha ipotizzato una possibile provenienza romana
dell’opera, probabilmente da una collezione papale, per via della presenza di una lista
di santi romani sul retro, da mettere in relazione ai fori circolari della cornice (forse
alloggiamenti per reliquie). Le ricerche da me recentemente condotte hanno consen-
tito di verificare, grazie agli inventari di un’importante famiglia nobiliare, la presenza
a Roma, nel XVII secolo, di “un quadro piccolo in tavola con Crocefisso de musaico, con
cornice d’ebano”: l’ipotesi che tale citazione si riferisca all’icona in questione è sug-
gerita dalla coincidenza quasi assoluta tra le dimensioni dell’altezza dell’opera (cm
36,9) e quelle riportate da uno degli inventari (un palmo e mezzo, corrispondente
all’incirca a cm 37,3).
Attraverso ulteriori analisi cercherò di verificare se l’icona in questione sia pro-
prio la stessa che appare menzionata diverse volte negli inventari della collezione no-
biliare romana.
Nina Chichinadze (Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia)

Structuring the Cult Icon: Sinai and Transfiguration Icon from
Zarzma
The present paper will focus of the influence of Sinai in the structuring of the cult of
the particular in Medieval Georgia. The miracle-working icon of the Transfiguration
icon of Zarzma (monastery in the South-West province of Georgia) had a special
importance in the spiritual life of medieval Georgia. Today only the icon’s repousse
revetment is survived, but it gives us a clear idea about original compositional scheme
of this venerable image. The embossed inscription in early Georgian asomtavruli un-
cial script on the lower part of icon states that the icon was adorned (clad) in 886,
this is one of the earliest preserved icons with precious cladding. Later, in the second
decade of the eleventh century, Zviad Eristavi restored the damaged part of the icon
and fixed it on to a new board. He added a silver-gilt repoussé frame with ten scenes
from Dodecaorton.
Compositional analysis as well as narration of Life of Serapion of Zarzma, written
by Basil of Zarzma in 9th or 10th century, containing valuable information concern-
ing the history of this icon, allows shedding more light to spiritual dimensions of the
icon. Throughout the Life stress is laid upon the importance of the “life-giving icon of
Transfiguration” and its miracle-working powers. The author underlines the impor-
tance of Serapion’s mission and compares him to Moses (he is referred as new Moses)
summoned by God to Mount Horeb. Apart from being metaphorical tool this pas-
sage from Life gives additional clues for interpretation of this image and links it with
Mount Sinai. Certain iconographic similarities retraced between repousse composi-
tion of icon and the mosaic of the St. Catherine’s monastery catholicon as well as
the theological interpretation of the compositions leads us to suppose that icon of
Zarzma has a complex spiritual meaning and could be perceived as a manifestation of
the Orthodox faith with clear topographic overtones indicating on the Locus Sanc-
tus – Mount Sinai. In this respect it worth to remember that 9th–10th century is a
period of intensification of Georgian activity at the Monastery and the icon under
discussion is one more evidence of the increasing importance of the Mount Sinai for
the Georgian church and its culture.
Paul Kimball (Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey)

The British Museum Orthodoxia (Nat. Icon Coll. No. 18) and the
Hodegon Scriptorium: from the triumph of Palamism to the death
of Abbot Ioasaph (1351–1406)
In this communication I propose a connection between the first appearance ca.

1380–1400 of a festal icon commemorating the Triumph of Orthodoxy, i.e. the well-
known British Museum “Orthodoxia,” and the hegoumenate at the Hodegon Mon-
astery of the scribe Ioasaph, whose death on 1 November 1406 is attested in three
iambic epigrams by John Chortasmenos and a marginal note to the same effect in the
Vienna Dioskorides (Med. gr. 1). As documented by L. Politis, Eine Schreiberschule
im Kloster ton Hodegon: Der Schreiber Joasaph BZ 51 (1958) 17–36, the Hodegon
scriptorium continued to produce both illustrated manuscripts of the Akathistos
hymn and psalters with marginal illumination throughout Ioasaph’s long career. The
prominent image of the Theotokos Hodegetria in the upper register of the British
Museum icon, and the figures of Theophanes Confessor and Theodore Studites be-
low jointly supporting a clipeate icon of Christ Pantokrator both derive, according to
the communis opinio (e.g. ODB s.v. “Triumph of Orthodoxy”), from the Akathistos
cycle and conventions of marginal psalter illustration respectively.
The Hodegon served as a metochion of Antioch until the fifteenth century, and
was represented by the anti-Palamite Arsenios of Tyre at the council of 1351 which
confirmed Palamas as orthodox (see I. Polemis, Arsenius of Tyre and his tome against
the Palamites JÖB 43 (1993) 241–282), famously depicted in the manuscript copied
by Ioasaph for John Kantakouzenos (Paris. gr. 1242). Arsenios’ nephew Ananias had
been appointed abbot after 1351 but deposed in 1355 on grounds of moral turpi-
tude at the insistence of Kallistos I in a letter to Ignatius of Antioch (MM vol. I no.
169, 379–382). I conclude that if the British Museum “Orthodoxia” represents not
just the earliest known icon for the Feast of Orthodoxy but the exemplar (or close to
it) of the known post-Byzantine icons of this type, the invention of this festal icon
could have signaled the return of the Hodegon to the Orthodox mainstream through
its acceptance of Palamism and the restoration of discipline after the deposition of
Ananias.
Tania Kambourova (Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, France)

Hapax ou reproduction à l’identique: le cas des donateurs dans les
icônes chypriotes du XVIe s.
A quel point la présence d’un donateur/ktitor dans une icône la rend-elle unique et
en même temps l’inscrit dans la série des types iconographiques traditionnels?
Au XVIe siècle, pour des raisons démographiques, on voit croître et se multiplier
les ateliers d’iconographie à Chypre. Il devient de plus en plus courant que des dona-
teurs voire des ktitores soient présents dans les images saintes.
Avant l’avènement du christianisme, une telle présence pouvait se justifier par la
logique de l’ex-voto : je donne à Dieu et je demande une faveur; mais avec le chris-
tianisme, les théologiens d’Orient (saint Jean Chrysostome, les iconodoules etc.) et
d’Occident (saint Augustin) s’accordent pour dire que le don premier à l’homme,
pour la rémission de ses péchés, c’est le sacrifice du Fils. Par conséquent, tout don des
êtres humains n’est qu’un contre-don.
La valeur sémantique de la présence d’une personne dans une icône – objet de

culte privé ou public hautement codifié, est à interpréter dans ce contexte spécifique.
Une icône, surtout avec le victoire des iconodoules, s’inscrit dans une série stricte-
ment codifiée. Toute présence humaine la sort de sa logique sérielle pour l’inscrire
dans une logique singulière.
Comment justifier cet «entre-deux» dans une tradition byzantine en pleine
mouvance?
A travers plusieurs cas de présences humaines, qui côtoient les personnages sur-
naturels, dans les icônes, la question du caractère unique ou sériel des icônes chyprio-
tes du XVIe siècle sera posée.
Svetlana Smolčić Makuljević (Metropolitan University, Belgrade, Serbia)

Ideology and memory: The cult of the Mother of God Trojerucica
(Tricherusa) in medieval Serbia
The wonderworking icons of the Mother of God hold a very important place in Byz-
antine spiritual, political and visual culture. They memorize miraculous events and
have a prominent role in the creation of ideological programs of state. The cult of
Mother of God Trojeručica was one of important wonderworking cults in the medi-
eval Balkans. There are historical testimonies of its presence, such as the metropolitan
church of Mother of God Trojeručica dating from the period of Bulgarian and Byz-
antine rule in Skopje, which was mentioned in the historical sources as of the year
1300 (King Milutin’s charters), and the fresco icon from the constructed iconostasis
of the Bela crkva Karanska (White Church of Karan), from the time of King Dušan
(1332–1337). This paper will try to analyze the ideological significance of this won-
derworking icon in the medieval Serbian state, the creation of memory of its stay in
Serbia and arrival in the Monastery of Chilandari, as well as its importance in the sa-
cred topography of the Chilandar Monastery. Also, the historical foundations of the
legend about the cult of the wonderworking icon of Mother of God Trojeručica will
be reconsidered, as well as its connection with Nemanjić dynasty.
Sevdalina Neykova (National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Sofia,

Bulgaria)
Study of provenience and restoration treatment of the mosaic
icon “The Virgin Hodegetria” from the National archaeological
museum in Sofia
The mosaic icon of the Virgin Hodeghetria is part of the permanent exhibition of
the National archaeological museum in Sofia. It is one of the rarest and most interest-
ing icons in Bulgaria. Its recently completed re-restoration raised questions not only
for the previously introduced conservation treatments but also about icon’s history.
The missing data about painters and donors or place of execution of the icon leads to
a complicated research of its provenience.
It is known that the icon was taken by the Bulgarian army in 1912 from the
present village of Eregli (Marmara Ereglisi) in Turkey during the Balkan wars. In its
past Eregly was known as Heraclea Perinthus – the capital of ancient Thrace, a big
harbour city of commercial importance at the junction of several great sea-routes.
The city was amongst the largest and most vibrant urban centers located on the
coastal area of Thrace.
Before being placed in the iconostasis of the local church “St. George”, the icon
of the Virgin Hodegetria stood at the old metropolitan’s church in the town. One of
the hypothesis for the icon’s history is that it was carried to Heraclea from Constanti-
nople as a gift for the metropolitan’s church.
After several restoration treatments in the past century, the mosaic icon was re-
stored again in 2010. Hundreds of original small tesserae were discovered to be hid-
den under layers of wax introduced in past restorations. During the latest treatment
were executed several EDXRF analysis for determining chemical composition of the
icon’s ground layer and the pigment from the icon’s wooden frame. The type of the
wood from the wooden board was also identified.
Eunice Dauterman Maguire ( Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland,

USA)
A Boar’s Tusk Carved as a Plectrum for Verse or Chant
“Byzantium without borders” describes an identification search in the Johns Hop-

kins Archaeological Museum. One example, exhibited and published before mid-
twentieth century as a “carved bone tusk” from early Christian or Byzantine Egypt,
raises new questions about a boar’s tusk carved along its outer face as a work of art;
shaved back for some unidentified function; and provided with a hole for suspen-
sion. As a late antique or early medieval plectrum the tusk would suggest musical
practice rooted in ancient Greece, while bringing the prestige of hunted boars into
sung music, whether for banqueting or for liturgy.
Seeing it as a musician’s plectrum relies on pictorial evidence. Was the tusk for a
singer to strike or slide across an instrument? Musicians or singers, including Apollo,
Muses, Orpheus, David, and others from classical Athens onward into the early Byz-
antine period and possibly later, apply a bulky implement to the strings or hold it at
arm’s length in preparation. These plectra were used in a manner unlike the pluck-
ing of strings with a more delicate, fine-pointed modern plectrum. Some Roman and
early Byzantine plectra shaped like the Hopkins boar’s tusk are curved, sized to fit
the hand, and tapered from a broad end to a point. A cord or thong in fifth-century
Attic red-figure vase paintings suspends the plectrum so that the player could drop it
to strum or pluck the strings. This practice would explain the placement and integra-
tion of the tusk’s suspension hole in the carved design.
Dating and attributing the carving is not easy. Its mesh of vine-stem lozenges re-
tains some color not yet tested or analyzed. No other boar’s tusks, and no known
bone or ivory carvings from Egypt confirm the tusk as “Coptic.” The pattern of the
mesh best matches the design of marble colonnettes from the lost church of La Dau-
rade, Toulouse, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but ongoing research must
seek further comparisons in a variety of media. Unlike the columns’ carving, the tusk
includes a hare, a vase or chalice, a jug, a radial disk or scored loaf of bread, and a
bird.
Georges Kazan (University of Oxford, UK)

Early Byzantine Marble Reliquaries – Ark of the New Jerusalem
This communication identifies and examines a small group of white marble sarcoph-
agus reliquaries from the Early Byzantine period (330–700), classified by Helmut
Buschhausen in 1971 as part of his so-called ‘Black Sea’ type. Unlike the rest, these
commonly conform to standard measurements and a fine design. Their fabric, based
on observation and stable isotope analysis, appears to be Proconnesian marble. In the
2nd and 3rd c., the quarries of Proconnesus produced sarcophagi and ostotheques
that were exported as far as the Near East, with imitations produced locally in mar-
ble-rich regions along the Anatolian coast. White marble sarcophagus reliquaries
generally appear to have enjoyed similar patterns of distribution. However, examples
of the finer class have only been excavated in the Balkans or Western Anatolia, with-
in a few hundred kilometres of Constantinople. The latest example of this type was
found at Sozopol last summer, 188 kilometres from Constantinople (modern Istan-
bul), where the largest numbers of marble sarcophagus reliquaries have been found.
One of these was stolen in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade: it is inscribed with the
names of the martyrs whose relics it once contained, which had been translated to
Constantinople from nearby Nicomedia in the 6th or 7th. Indeed, the Constantino-
politan Trier Ivory panel illustrates just such a translation, with just such a reliquary
in pride of place. In this case, the fabric, the findspot and the contents all place the
reliquary’s probable place of production in Constantinople or close by. The produc-
tion of ‘quarry-state’ marble reliquaries, prepared in a rough state to protect them
from damage in transit and with the option of being fully finished upon delivery,
would reflect the earlier patterns of production at Proconnesus. Whereas most of the
reliquaries shipped to the Near East remained in this state, the fine finish and slender
proportions of the type under discussion reflects their finalisation at a major centre,
likely to be Constantinople, given its workshops and developed market for reliquar-
ies. From here, these were conveyed with great care, perhaps in relic translations, or as
high-status gifts, to destinations within the orbit of the New Jerusalem.
Gabriella Bernardi (Museo Civico Medievale, Bologna, Italia)

Gli avori “bizantini”della collezione del Museo Lázaro Galdiano
di Madrid The “byzantine” ivories of the Museum Lázaro Galdiano
Collection in Madrid
Presso la Fundación (Museo) Lázaro Galdiano di Madrid è conservata, tra le altre,

una collezione di avori medievali di circa trecento pezzi, in gran parte inedita. Di
alcuni di essi, però, non sempre è certa l’autenticità; per tale motivo, sarebbe necessa-
rio avviare uno studio sistematico sulle opere che la compongono, sulla loro storia e
provenienza. Com’è noto, le opere conservate presso il Museo su citato, sono legate
alla figura di José Lázaro Galdiano (Beirre, Navarra 1862–Madrid 1947), bibliofilo,
editore e collezionista che, prima di morire, donò i suoi beni allo Stato. Quest’ultimo
creò la Fundación omonima che, nel 1951, fu aperta al pubblico.
Tra i pezzi di avorio qui esposti, vanno segnalate alcune interessanti e alquanto
bizzarre placchette, cassettine bizantine o “bizantineggianti”, alcune note, altre anco-
ra da indagare, che vengono presentate in occasione di tale congresso. Ci si riferisce,
in particolare, a una placchetta raffigurante Cristo nel clipeus celestiale sostenuto da
due angeli; a una figura di apostolo di profilo con un rotulo nella mano sinistra; a
una placchetta raffigurante Helios e Selene; a un apostolo seduto, identificato dalle
lettere greche A (Ἅγιος) Yakω (Ἰακώβ); a una placchetta raffigurante la Crocifissione;
a una coppa cilindrica (fig. 4) con scene della Vita di Cristo; a due cassettine cosid-
dette “a rosette”. Infine, una placchetta con l’Incredulità di San Tommaso (fig. 6). Nel
contesto, verrà presa in considerazione anche la figura di José Lázaro Galdiano, la sua
cultura e le sue relazioni con il mondo scientifico-accademico e del mercato artistico.
Mariela Inkova (Musée national d’histoire, Sofia, Bulgarie)

Encore une fois à propos du Limoges “gréco-byzantin”
En 2007, le Musée national d’histoire à Sofia a fait l’acquisition d’un socle de chan-
delier très intéressant, fondu en alliage de cuivre et décoré de médaillons ronds où
s’inscrivent les représentations gravées de deux griffons à têtes d’aigle et deux lions
(chiens?). Les quatre pieds du socle manquent, on sont conservés uniquement les
quatre motifs à la base leur commencement. Les représentations zoomorphes, les rin-
ceaux végétaux entre les médaillons et les motifs géométriques de la bordure, tous
en dorure, ressortent sur un email multicolore de blanc, bleu et vert exécuté selon
la technique du champlevé. Dans son état actuel ce socle n’a pas d’analogues avec
d’autres monuments découverts sur le territoire actuel bulgare et pose ainsi la ques-
tion de son indentification culturelle et historique et plus concrètement encore de la
localisation de son centre de production.
Dans la littérature spécialisée bulgare les artefacts peu nombreux découverts sur
son territoire actuel et exécutés dans la technique de l’email champlevé sur cuivre,
sont qualifiés comme des produits d’import, fabriqués soit dans le centre principal
de production de tels monuments au ХІІe–ХІІІe s. – Limoges, soit dans les ateliers
d’Europe occidentale, très actifs de cette même période, des régions de Rhin, de la
Moselle et de la Castille. Cependant la question d’une production locale dans un ate-
lier sous leur influence dans la capitale Tirnov ne peut pas être exclue même s’il en
manque des arguments catégoriques.
Le répertoire iconographique et les particularités stylistiques du monument en
question démontrent l’influence comme de l’ornementation caractéristique de l’art
roman et gotique tant de la tradition artistique byzantine et même poste-sassanide
(dans une rédaction byzantine). Ainsi, combinant les traits caractéristiques de l’art
occidental et de l’art oriental, le monument se distingue de la production des ateliers
occidentaux travaillant dans la technique de l’email champlevé sur cuivre.
Deux chandeliers aux socles semblables, conservés à la fondation Abegg et un
autre du monastère grec Métamorphosis, aux Météores, travaillés dans la même tech-
nique et d’une décoration similaire élargissent le champs de monuments, produits
dans un atelier encore non-identifié qui fonctionnait sur le territoire de l’empire by-
zantin. A l’appui de telles suppositions, selon K. Otavski, L. Buras et H. Svarjenski,
s’ajoutent quelques encensoirs de type oriental utilisés exclusivement dans la pratique
byzantine (funéraire et liturgique) et décorés d’un répertoire iconographique pro-
pre au XIIIe s. Travaillés dans la même technique ils représentent un parallèle direct
des chandeliers en question. Dans ce contexte la découverte du socle, sujet de cette
recherche, sur le territoire actuel bulgare, c.à.d. dans la sphère de l’espace culturel by-
zantin, augmente le nombre de monuments indiquant le fonctionnement d’un cen-
tre gréco-byzantin, travaillant en „opus limuvicense”.
Jenny Albani (Athens, Greece)

Warrior Saints on Byzantine Cameos
From the tenth century onwards the cult of the warrior saints in Byzantium acquired
a great significance. One aspect of this issue is related to the historical and social cir-
cumstances, mainly the wars waged by the Byzantine Empire against its enemies to
recover territories lost in previous centuries. Military saints were considered as the
celestial guardians of the Empire and the commanders of its army in victorious bat-
tles. The Comnenian dynasty, originating in the military aristocracy, enhanced the
veneration of warrior saints who became emblematic figures on coins and lead seals
of high officials and also appeared on numerous objects of personal devotion. A dou-
ble-sided heliotrope cameo in the Conte Cini Foundation, Venice, attests to the pro-
motion of the cult of military saints by Byzantine emperors. It depicts the emperor
Alexius V Murtzuphlus in a prostrate pose, praying to St. George.
In this historical context depictions of warrior saints on Middle Byzantine cam-

eos became the most popular, except for those of Christ and the Virgin. Portraits of
St. George on Byzantine cameos are the most numerous in comparison to those of
St. Demetrius and Sts Theodores. Representations of other warrior saints on cameos
are not known so far, with the exception of one portrait of St. Procopius on a cameo
of the Sangiorgi Collection, Rome.
The military costume is an almost permanent feature of the portraits of warrior
saints, whether full-length or in bust form. It, apparently, was not simply indicative
of their military status but also of their bravery and their effectiveness as protectors
against enemies. The raised sword is another almost typical element of depictions of
warrior saints on cameos and is probably influenced by the iconography of coins of
Isaac I Comnenus.
The same ideas are reflected by Middle and Late Byzantine cameos carved with
the figure of the archangel Michael in military costume, in his capacity as general of
the celestial forces against the evil. On one specimen, the heliotrope cameo in the
National Library of France, Cabinet des Médailles, Paris, dated to the tenth–eleventh
centuries, the figure of Michael in armour is inscribed as “the guardian” thus recalling
relevant portraits in monumental painting.
Anne Hedeager Krag (University of Southern Denmark, Odense)

Dyestuff identification of the Eagle Silk and other silks from the
shrines in Odense Cathedral, Denmark
In recent years there has been a good deal of research on silk finds from churches and
reliquaries abroad, and this research contributes new information about the Odense
silks, which are unique and belong among Europe’s textile highlights from the twelfth
century.
The silks in the reliquaries in Odense Cathedral are the Eagle Silk and the cush-
ion with the bird pattern. But the monochrome silks in the reliquaries are also inter-
esting. New dye analyses show that the Odense silks were dyed with various vegetable
pigments, two of which are very rare in textiles from prehistory and the Middle Ages.
The red silk is dyed with sappanwood/brazilwood (Caesalpinia sappan), and a yellow
silk has been determined to have been dyed with Persian berry (Ramnus family). The
yellow dye in particular is interesting, for the earliest written source that describes the
assassination of Canute, King and later Saint, in 1086 and his canonization in 1100, is
the account by the English monk Ælnoth, who tells us that at the canonization saffron-
yellow silk was among the gifts. This gives us the proof that the written source from c.
1130 agrees with the scientific pigment analyses done in 2008. In all, six vegetable dyes
were distinguished: two red, madder and sappanwood; two yellow, weld and Persian
berry; and two blue, extracted respectively from the woad and indigo plants.
The patterns on the famous silk finds – the cushion with its bird pattern and the
Eagle Silk – are both interpreted as symbolic patterns associated with Christianity and
royal power, and this symbolic language would with great certainty have been known
to the donor at the deposition in the reliquaries in 1100. The donor is thought to have
been King Canute’s widow, Edel, who had married Roger Borsa, Duke of Apulia, after
the murder of the King in 1086.
Oksana Yurchyshyn-Smith (Cambridge University Library, UK)

Rare paper icons from Mount Athos
Despite the late date of their creation, religious prints from Mount Athos during the
years of the Ottoman occupation kept the traditional Orthodox iconography, deriv-
ing from Byzantine origins, and a conservative style of engraving. This paper is dedi-
cated to the modest, but valuable collection of Athonite paper icons in the National
Museum in L’viv, Ukraine, founded in 1905 by the Metropolitan Andrei Sheptyts’kyi
as the Ecclesiastical Museum.
Among them first of all should be mentioned “The Annunciation of the The-
otokos” (NML, GD-759) by the monk Anthimos Alitzeridis, also known as Anthi-
mos Peloponnisios. The catalogue by Papastratos (D. Papastratos, Paper icons. Greek
Orthodox religious engravings, 1665–1899. Vols.1–2, Athens, 1990) includes five
prints by Anthimos, dated between 1836 and 1847, as well as five undated prints
signed by him. Our information about the engraver comes from the inscriptions
on his works, for example: “by the hand of the Most Holy Antimos Peloponnisios
Alizeridis from the Vatopedi kellion of Saint Nicholas... On the Holy Mountain
in Karyes” (vol. 1, 135, N 126). On the basis of this it is possible to conclude that
the monk Anthimos from Vatopedi monastery worked in one of the four engraving
workshops active in Karyes. Papastratos also suggests that this engraver may be the
same person as the hieromonk Anthimos, the author of two later engravings, dated
1866 and 1868 (vol. 1, 264–266, NN 283, 284). One of the reasons for her hesita-
tion was probably the big gap between the date of the latest of work of Anthimos,
the monk – 1847, and the earliest work of Anthimos, the hieromonk – 1866. Now,
however “The Annunciation of the Theotokos” from the National Museum in L’viv,
dated 10th of September 1857 and inscribed: “Engraved on the Holy Mountain in
Karlis... Anthimos monk” fills this gap, allowing us to make a clearer statement about
the engraver’s identity and career. The elaborate composition of Anthimos’s “Annun-
ciation” is very similar to other Athonite engravings on this subject, as is its very tra-
ditional style.
The second rare paper icon produced in the workshops of Mount Athos is “The
Virgin Galaktotrophousa” (NML, GD-756) by the hieromonk Ignatios Lesvios-
Mytilinaios. It is included in Papastratos’s catalogue together with five other copper
engravings by Ignatios, dated between 1841 and 1853 (vols.1–2, Athens, 1990). As
in the case of the previous engraver Ignatios, his origins in Mytilene, Lesbos and the
place of his work – Karyes, on the Holy Mountain, are known from the inscriptions
on his works. The unusual character of the print from the L’viv collection comes from
the altered state of the copper plate. On its earlier impressions, reproduced by Tomov
(Е. Томов, Български Възрожденски щампи. София, 1975, N 313) and Papastratos
(vol. 1, 112, N 85), there are images of the prophets Elijah and David at the foot,
which were removed from the plate before the time of printing of the L'viv copy. It is
possible to see only the silhouette of David's figure and the elaborate frame around
him. The faded engraver's inscription below the border on the right: “1841 the hand
of Ignatios Hieromonk” is still preserved.
There is also the double icon “The Virgin Glykophilousa” and “Saint Constantine
and Helen” by an unknown artist (NML, GD-757), from which only the first image,
in the damaged condition presented by Papastratos (vol. 1, 121, N 103), and cut into
two separate icons, is included in the catalogue by Khromov (O. R. Khromov, Prints
of the Greek World in the Moscow collections. Moscow, 1997, N 21–22).
There are several others rare objects, which contribute to our knowledge of the
Athonite school of paper icons, its authors, donors, and the methods of production.
The new technique of copper engraving allowed the production of an enormous
number of these religious images, which were taken by pilgrims to the Balkans and
to far away Ukraine and Russia, complementing the function, originally played by
mosaics, frescos and hand-painted icons.
Lilyana Stankova (Paris, France)

Tradition and innovation in the decorative practices in Christian
art in the Balkans during 15th–17th centuries (manuscripts, icons
and liturgical vessels)
The present exposé is meant to express my observations on some innovative tenden-

cies in the decorative practices in the Post-Byzantine art during 15th–17th c. which
are due to the local contact with the ottoman visual culture. As part of the heteroge-
neous Ottoman Empire, the South Slavonic world is in direct contact with the mate-
rial culture coming from the regions of Asia Minor and the Middle East. Commer-
cial relations across the Black Sea also help to enhance the artistic exchange. Daily
contact with the local visual culture of the Muslim population resulted in a number
of changes in the artistic production of the Christians. The process of “orientaliza-
tion” is remarked in the decorative practice in the manuscript production, liturgical
vessels, liturgical textiles, icon and mural ornaments from the 15th century.
In this paper we shall pay attention to the evidence from manuscripts, icons and
liturgical vessels. We can divide the set of the ornamental motifs widespread dur-
ing this period according to their origin into two main groups: 1) modified Byzan-
tine motifs; 2) new Ottoman motifs. The second group of the motifs is represented
by two main stylistic trends of the Ottoman Court Style from the middle of 16th
century. The first one, called Rūmi-Hatai is a combination of the arabesque scrolls
(Rūmi motifs) with a lotus and the peony flowers (Hatai motifs). The second one
is composed of some semi-stylized flowers (tulips, roses, carnations, hyacinths, wild
hollyhock, clouds).
The presence of the ottoman motifs in the decoration of the Slavic manuscripts
has been associated mainly with John Kratovski manuscript heritage. The big fron-
tispieces in the beginning of the Gospels in the three Four Gospels Books – HACI
№34, HACI № 250 and Zograf.I.v.2 and those of the Lectionay RMNR 1/23 show
close stylistic features. The compositional organization of the inner space, the weav-
ing of the miniature into the ornamental elements is something familiar to the Byz-
antine Art during the 13th and 14th century. But what we see here is a new styliza-
tion of the motifs influenced by the Rūmi-Hatai Style.
Ioan Kratovski has also used as a marginal decorative element representing the
idea of the “arbor mundi” a peculiar sheaf of semi-stylized floral motifs, coming out
of a branch linked to the bottom band of the frontispieces or the same sheaf of semi-
stylized floral motifs coming out of a vase which is put on the page without links to
the compositional elements. The flowers Ioan Kratovski has depicted are tulip, rose,
carnation and hyacinth. All of them are known as motifs from a semi-stylized trend,
developed by Kara Memi during the 16th century. Our opinion is that the motifs
used by Kratovski and the type of their stylization are similar to those of the contem-
porary Ottoman Art.
From the 17th century, one can observe for the presence of decorative style in
which the dominant role has intensive colour combinations and an abundance of
decorative elements on the icon panel. Actually, the emergence of additional ani-
conic elements in the post-Byzantine icon were inspired by the desire to emphasize
of the “sacrality” of the image. The main forms in which this decoration occurs are:
in the form of wood-carved or stucco elements that framed the ark of the icon (for
example the icon of St. John the Baptist from 1677, NG, inv. № 951) or fine en-
graving on gold backgrounds around the central images (for example the icon of St.
Demetrius on horseback dated in 1617, National Gallery, № 65-x). In icons, Islamic
motifs appeared mainly in the 17th century as elements of this plastic decoration.
They are identical in type to those applied in the manuscripts. They differed from
manuscript decorative motifs only in visual representations, which was due to the
technique of execution. An interesting feature is the appearance of “patterned” orna-
ments (almond-shaped medallion with floral motif ), which is typical of Ottoman
and Venetian textile ornaments. It most often occurs as an element of incised back-
round around the central image of the icon; also as a motif of garment decoration
of the saints. During the Post-Byzantine period it was replaced and updated only by
the visual form of the ornament (a combination of old and new decorative motifs),
without changing its semantic meaning.

Particular interest to us presents the usage of the Rūmi-Hatai motifs in the deco-
ration of the metal products made in the Balkans during the 15th–17th century. In
the Ottoman documents is attested the presence of the gold and silver mines in Novo
Brdo, Srebrenica, Rudnik, Smederevo, Kratovo and others. The Christian goldsmiths
continued to produce the liturgical church plates in the Byzantine manner, but quite
often their ornaments are enriched with the Ottoman decorative motifs. The most
common type of a plate is a small hemispherical bowl. In the decoration we can see
Rūmi-Hatai motifs combined with figural compositions in the spirit of the iconic
Byzantine art and zoomorphic close to teratology motifs. The objects often have in-
scriptions in Greek and Slavonic languages testifying their origin and the date of ex-
ecution. Besides them a similar interweaving of the Christian iconic images with the
Ottoman motifs – Rūmi-Hatai, hyacinths and tulips is found on the metal repousse
cover and the leather-bound of the Gospels (cf. medallion of the manuscript binding
in the middle of the of the 16th century, Matica Srpska, Novi Sad, 352 – B-2) of the
16th century, Matica Srpska, Novi Sad, 352 – B-2). This type of objects raises the
question of the role of the Balkans as an important production centre of metal works
with specific artistic features in the Ottoman Empire.
In a conclusion, the decorative motifs from the Ottoman court style penetrate
in the orthodox ornament more strongly during the 16th century and maintain
their spreading up to the middle of 17th century. Their presence does not provoke
the emergence of a new decorative style, but enriched the repertoire of the patterns
used before. It should also be noted that the presence of the Ottoman motifs is as-
sociated with the monuments produced in the cultural centres that were simultane-
ously wealthy mining settlements, trade and craft centres, and in the most of the cases
the population was of a mixed confessional affiliation. This fact is a relevant one and
helps us to analyze the possible sources for the above mentioned penetration in the
decoration practices. One reason for the rapid and free transfer of the motifs from
the Ottoman art in the Post-Byzantine art is a pure aesthetic effect, which the artistic
works have created in the Ottoman Empire.
Despite of the fact mostly negative assessments concerning the impact of the Ot-
toman rule over the economic and cultural development in the Balkans have domi-
nated the Bulgarian historiography, it should be noted that the legacy of the Otto-
man Empire aimed to keep the diversity of the Balkan culture. It had his crucial role
as a mediator between the cultures of the people with different ethnic belongings in
a large region of the eastern Mediterranean during a long period of time. Free moving
of people and artworks helped to carry out the extensive contacts with the foreign
cultures within the empire and beyond.
FC37. POST-BYZANTINE ART

Moderators
Georgi Gerov/Nikolaos Mertzimekis
Anthi A. Andronikou (University of St. Andrews, UK)

Sixteenth-century art of Cyprus as reflected in religious painting:
a newly discovered mural painting workshop
As is known, the Venetian domination over Cyprus lasted approximately 80 years

(1489–1571) and ended with the Ottoman siege and consequent fall of Famagusta,
the last stronghold of Venetian resistance. During this period, monumental art and
icon painting had their heyday. A large number of churches were built and embel-
lished with wall paintings, while hundreds of icons were painted. Cypriot painting
was enhanced with new iconographic components and became increasingly narra-
tive and diversified, since it exhibited a variety of stylistic currents. Over the past two
decades, scholars placed some attention on Cypriot art during the Venetian rule;
nonetheless, much work remains to be done.
The present paper focuses on four painted churches almost unknown to scholars.
The wall paintings of these churches were, according to my view, painted by a work-
shop active during the 16th century. The art produced by the artists related to the
workshop was extremely influenced by Western art, both in terms of iconographical
features as well as in terms of style. It is also possible that this workshop used to copy
some models from monuments belonging to the “Italo-byzantine” trend of Cypriot
painting.
To this day, research has focused its interest on the “Italo-Byzantine” style of
Cypriot painting and its three most well known monuments. It has also dealt with
the work of artist Symeon Axentis, who is the most prominent representative of lo-
cal painting. In the meantime, with regards to the rest of the monuments and their
artists, research talks about local painters with average capacities, without answering
the questions of who they were, what style they followed and how we can detect their
activities in specific monuments and areas. I believe that the study of these churches
would be a good starting point. There are plenty of 16th century monuments on Cy-
prus, which are more or less unknown. By studying some of them little by little, we
could better understand the artistic creation in Cyprus during the Venetian domina-
tion.
Katerina Kontopanagou (University of Ioannina, Greece)

Wall-paintings of the 16th century in the region of Ioannina
(Epirus): The case of the unpublished church of Saint Nikolaos in
Theriakisi
The interior of this single-nave church is decorated with wall paintings. An incised
inscription with the date ΕΖΟΑ (=1566) has been preserved. The simple and well
organized iconographic program displays a knowledge of theological issues. In the
lower zone appear the full-length Saints in arched frames. Further up we see bust me-
dallions of male and female Saints and in the upper zone scenes of the Dodekaorton.
It is worth noting the dogmatic interpretation some of the paintings. In the middle
zone of the south wall the prophets are depicted in a horizontal arrangement, which
includes the bust image of the Virgin Vlachernitissa. The prophets and the Virgin
compose the iconographic subject «Ἄνωθεν οἱ Προφῆται», that is dogmatically asso-
ciated with the Incarnation. The position of another scene sheds light on the mean-
ing of the Incarnation: Virgin Mary and Elisabeth Embracing is the first composition
outside of the Sanctuary.
The examination of the style shows that the decoration is the work of one hand.
Regarding the iconography we notice influences from the monuments of northwest
Greece and local art production. Many compositions also present certain similarities
with the Macedonian School of the 16th and 17th centuries. The unknown painter
of the Saint’s Nicolas church seems to be familiar with that tradition. This is most
obvious in individual iconographic themes. The influence of Macedonian art is not
unusual as similar stylistic and iconographical links have been identified in other
churches of that period in Epirus.
The wall-paintings should be dated to the second half of the 16th century.
Svetozar Anguelov (Centre de Recherches Slavo-Byzantines «Ivan Dujčev», Sofia,

Bulgarie)
Sujets iconographiques rares de la peinture murale dans les
régions de Sofia et de Kustendil au XVIe siècle
Les monuments de la peinture murale des régions de Sofia et de Kustendil du XVIe

siècle nous laissent découvrir des scènes et des personnages plutôt rares pour l’art de
l’époque. Ainsi, à l’église de Sainte-Paraskève Samardjiska à Sofia, la composition de
la Résurrection de Lazare est présentée en deux épisodes, ce qui est un cas exception-
nel pour l’art post-byzantin et témoigne d’un retour à des archétypes plus anciens
(XIVe–XVe siècles). Qui plus est, dans le programme iconographique du même tem-
ple est inclus un personnage pratiquement étranger à l’art bulgare: la Sagesse Divine.
La même personnification est représentée à l’église de Saint-Théodore (XVIe s.), près
de Bobochevo, aux environs de Kustendil. On n’a pas fait attention jusqu’à présent
à ces deux fresques, figurant la Sagesse Divine dans l’art monumental en Bulgarie au
XVIe siècle, et personne n’a essayé jusqu’à présent à les interpréter.
Dans les églises de Saint-Théodore (XVIe siècle) à Bobochevo et du Saint Ar-
change Michel (XVIe–XVIIe siècles) près du village de Goranovtsi (région de Kus-
tendil), sont représentés les archanges Uriel et Raphaël, qu’on retrouve très rarement
dans l’art des terres bulgares pendant la période examinée. La même constatation est
valable aussi pour l’Assemblée des archanges Michel et Gabriel, une composition qui ne
fait pas partie des fresques conservées du XVIe siècle, en Bulgarie. Elle est représentée
cependant à l’église de Saint-Nicolas au village de Voukovo (Kustendil). L’analyse de
ces monuments nous permet de constater la coexistence du conservatisme et de l’in-
novation dans l’art monumental sur les terres bulgares au XVIe siècle.
Jerzy Uścinowicz (Białystok University of Technology, Poland)

Byzantine heritage in modern art in Poland. The Orthodox
momasteric church in Suprasl – a project of reconstructing the
architecture and iconography therein
The orthodox monastic church of the Annunciation to the Mother of God in Suprasl
(1503–1511) was a unique temple. It was a one of a kind phenomenon in the history
of architecture. Together with the orthodox churches in Synkowicze and Murow-
anka from the turn of the 15th and 16th century, it created a typologically separate
group of Byzantine-Gothic temples, fortified, rectangular in design, groin or groin-
dome vaulted, four pillar (nine spaced), mono- or triabsydial, flanked by four towers.
Their tridivided central-longitudinal spatial-liturgical structure, being a canon of an
orthodox church, was inveigled in gothic robes. The outer shells resemble those of
western churches, whereas the interiors are of classical, eastern orthodox Byzantine-
Rus churches.
The orthodox church in Suprasl, with its extraordinary architecture and amazing
iconography stemming from the Byzantine range of Balkan culture of the second half
of the 16th century, relates to the tragic history of the Byzantium. Its history – since
the creation until the point of definitive destruction, are a testimony to the ongoing
and purposeful neutralization and elimination of the value of the orthodox church
art, which since the mission of Saints Cyril and Methodius, Apostles to the Slavs, had
its rightful place in Poland. It was a co-creator of the indigenous core of its multina-
tional and multireligious culture. After the monastery was taken by force by the uni-
ates in 17th century, the church loses gradually its primary character of an orthodox
temple. Its greatest values are being eliminated. It loses the original iconostasis, re-
placed in 1664 with a late-renaissance one, being more of a wood carving and jewelry
work than an iconographic work of art, an object of cult or a theological treaty. A
part of unique frescoes is covered, a part is painted over, another is destroyed through
placing a new stucco wall decoration. The interior of the temple is changed com-
pletely, resembling the one of Latin churches. Side altars, a new pulpit and a choir
balcony are created. After the monastery’s return to the Orthodox in 1824, there is
an attempt to partially recreate the original interior design. This process, however,
was interrupted by the forced abandoning of the monastery by the monks in 1918
(the so called “bieżeństwo”) and taking over the church in the period between the
world wars by the Salesians. Destroyed during the Second World War – first by the
Soviet, and after 1941 by the German army – it was blown up on the 23rd of July
1944. It prevailed into the 80s decade of the 20th century as a solid ruin.
After these shameless acts of antireligious and anticultural vandalism only 30
fragments of the original iconography prevailed until modern days. They are the liv-
ing memory of the unique unit of Byzantine wall paintings created, according to the
chronicles of the Suprasl Lavra, by the artel of artists directed by a Serbian monk
„Serbin Naktarij Maler”.
Today, this temple – owing to the great sacrifice and strain of the Polish Auto-
cephalic Orthodox Church – is being raised up from ruin. In its exterior architec-
tural form it is completed. Presently, the restoration of the interior architecture is
being conducted, along with the iconography. The frescoes have their documented
representation in both Polish and Russian photography archives and postinventory
descriptions created in 1911. A special meaning is held by the reconstruction of the
original iconostasis, organically related to the old iconography and architecture of
the temple.
This work is an attempt of representing the reconstruction project of the original
church’s interiors and the idealistic origins thereof. It is represented in the light of the
borderlands phenomenon in Poland, the tradition of co-existence of gothic temples:
both with 16th century Byzantine-Rus and modern iconography, being the work of
Polish Orthodox. The first is represented by the splendid temples of the Jagiellon-
ian Foundation in Wawel in Krakow, Wislica, Lublin and Sandomierz. The latter in
the post-evangelic churches adapted to orthodox churches in Wroclaw, Przemkow or
Gorowo Ilaweckie. Most of them are masterpieces of modern orthodox art, reaching
straight into the Byzantine culture. They are a pretext for in-depth analysis of the
Byzantine culture and its transposition onto modern day Polish orthodox art on the
cultural borderlands of the Christian East and West.
Ioannis P. Houliaras (University of Ioannina, Greece)

New Evidence Concerning the Presence of the Workshop of Theban
Painters in the Zagori Region (Epirus) in the 16th Century
Zagori is a mountainous area of Epirus, which experienced strong economic and in-
tellectual development since the 16th century. The painted decoration of the church
of Saint Nikolaos in Kalyvia of Elafotopos presents close iconographic and stylistic
similarities to the art of the Theban painters Kontaris brothers and allow us to as-
sign the wall paintings of the monument to the immediate works of the local paint-
ing School, known in the academic literature as the School of Thebes or North-western
Greece, and to date them to the end of the 16th century. The name Ioannis, that is
written in the niche of the northern wall probably refers to the name of the painter
of the church, who was most likely a member of the Kontaris brothers workshop. In
another church of Zagori, the Assumption of the Virgin in Skamneli, the style and
the technique of the frescoes of the eastern part of the monument are identical to
those of Ioannis, the painter of Saint Nikolaos in Kalyvia of Elafotopos. This identifi-
cation may contribute significantly to the recognition of one more painter of the lo-
cal painting School, the painter of the above mentioned churches of Saint Nikolaos
and the Assumption of the Virgin.
Georgi Gerov (Nouvelle Université Bulgare, Sofia)

La production artistique de Nessébar à la fin du 16 et au début du
17 siècle. Nouvelles données
Vers la fin du 16 siècle un élan remarquable peut être remarqué dans la production
artistique de Nessébar. Pour un peu plus d’une décennie trois églises sont décorées de
peintures murales et plusieurs icônes sont peintes ou repeintes. Le début de ce pro-
cessus est marqué par l’arrivée en septembre 1594 du nouveau métropolite de la ville
Christophore, qui commence sans perdre du temps la reconstruction de l’église de
la Nouvelle métropolie, dédiée à la Vierge (maintenant Saint Etienne). En 1598–99
celle-ci est décorée entièrement avec des fresques, peintes par une équipe de peintres,
appartenant à l’école crétoise. Le donateur principal était le métropolite lui-même.
L’héritage de son prédécesseur Ignatios a été aussi employé. Le rôle des deux métro-
polites pour l’embellissement de la Nouvelle métropolie a été souligné d’une manière
spéciale par les fresquistes.
Selon l’inscription dédicatoire dans l’entreprise était engagée la majorité de la
population chrétienne de la ville – les clercs, les nobles et même les citoyens ordinai-
res. Un document de l’époque, qui n’a pas été pris en vue jusqu’à présent, nous infor-
me de leurs noms. L’identification des donateurs permet de concrétiser la contribu-
tion de certains d’eux non seulement envers la Nouvelle métropolie, mais aussi vers
d’autres églises dans la ville de Nessébar.

Un des plus importants est Manouil Ioulianou. Une inscription spéciale men-
tionne son nom dans la Nouvelle métropolie. C’est à ses frais qu’a été repeinte une
ancienne icône du Christ, gardée dans l’église, et a été enrichi son revêtement en ar-
gent. Pour une autre église de Nessébar le même donateur a commandé en 1607 deux
grandes icônes – Christ Pantocrator et Saint Nicolas.
Des icônes, probablement pour l’église Saint Georges Mali (le petit) a comman-
dé entre 1603 et 1606 Alexios Veropoulou. C’est dans cette période qu’a été décorée
avec fresques la même église. En 1609 un autre noble chrétien de la ville – Theotoki
Kapadouka commande la décoration murale de l’église de l’Ascension de la Vierge
(maintenant Saint Sauveur). Des personnes, qui n’avaient pas une provenance noble,
comme un certain Tranos deviennent eux aussi des donateurs, mais leur contribution
est plus modeste.
L’intensité des commendes, qui venaient de la part de la population, permit aux
peintres, invités à décorer la Nouvelle métropolie en 1998–99, de rester à Nessébar
plus d’une décennie. Le résultat est une grande quantité d’icônes et trois ensembles
de peintures murales, qui marquent un des sommets de l’art posbyzantin sur le terri-
toire bulgare.
Guillaume Durand (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris, France)
Le phénomène de dédicace des couvents des Pays Roumains aux Lieux
Saints de l’Orthodoxie
Dès la formation des Pays Roumains au XIVe siècle, les voïvodes ont fait preuves de
largesses au profit des Lieux Saints de l’Orthodoxie, le Mont Athos en tête: dona-
tions pécuniaires, exonérations fiscales, octroi de mobilier religieux, de terres, de fa-
milles de tziganes, ou encore d’aides à la réparation des monastères.
Dans le cadre de ces actions de bienveillance, cette communication aura pour ob-
jet d’étudier plus précisément l’origine de la dédicace d’églises et de monastères situés
dans les Pays Roumains.
D’apparition plus tardive, puisque les premières dédicaces sont octroyées à la fin
du XVIe siècle, elles n’en demeurent pas moins l’une des formes privilégiées de la
reprise du flambeau impérial byzantin par les voïvodes roumains au cours des trois
siècles suivants. Ce sont en effet plus d’une centaine d’églises de Valachie et de Mol-
davie qui furent offertes par les hautes autorités des principautés aux communautés
orthodoxes de l’Empire ottoman avec tous leurs biens mobiliers, immobiliers et fon-
ciers. Ce phénomène entraîna de la sorte de formidables courants d’argent, de biens,
d’échanges culturels sans omettre les récriminations et tensions à l’intérieur des cou-
vents dédiés du fait d’une autorité «étrangère» et qui prendront fin lors de la pro-
mulgation de la loi de sécularisation de 1863.
De manière à comprendre les raisons qui ont poussé les voïvodes roumains à of-
frir ces biens, et ainsi mieux percevoir la genèse de ce phénomène, il s’agira d’étudier
la situation des Pays Roumains, des communautés orthodoxes et de l’Empire otto-
man autour du XVIe siècle.
Dimitrios A. Liakos/Nikolaos A. Mertzimekis (Thessaloniki, Greece)

An unknown gift of the Great Komisos Neagoe to Vatopedi
Monastery on Mt Athos
In the old sacristy of Vatopedi monastery, is kept, among other relics, an unpublished
panagiario in gold and silver. It consists of two similar parts (diam. 14 cm) with shal-
low bottom and flat rim, mounted by three pins, which are currently not preserved.
Both sides of the sections have been decorated with theological scenes: Virgin Vlach-
ernitissa and Deisis are depicted in the central issues at the bottom of the home sides,
while Ascension and Annunciation are depicted in the respective positions of exter-
nal faces. The scenes are surrounded by saints, bishops, apostles and evangelists. In
some cases, geometrical and other ornaments fill the spaces between the sacred faces.
The iconographic program is accompanied by four incised majuscule Cyrillic inscrip-
tions. Of these, three are liturgical, while one mentions the donor: ‘This Panagiario
deduced by Zoupanos Neagoe to be mentioned in the (Mount Athos monastery) of
Vatopedi’.
The donor Neagoe whom the panagiario’s inscription mention, was son of Pârvu
Craiovescu and a mare comis in the courtyard of Wallachia from April 24, 1510 until
November 28, 1511. A year later (1512) he was crowned prince of Wallachia, under
the name of Neagoe Basarab and maintained the throne until 1521. During his reign
a strong dedication policy was developed over several monasteries on Mount Athos
(Chelandariou, St. Paul, Koutloumousiou, Xeropotamou etc.), including building’s
construction, financial aid, sacred relics donations and other activities.
The decorative themes in panagiario’s sides where attributed to the champlevé
techniqué in a striking or engraved depth. The striking depth supports a better adhe-
sion of green enamel, which in many parts preserved. The stylistic discussion of the
issues is characterized by schematization and linearity. However, in some cases, such
as the scene of the Annunciation, we can notice the unsuccessful attempt of the artist
in performing volume forms.
The decoration of panagiario is comparable as far as concerns technique and style
to the famous shrine of Patriarch Niphon (1515) in Dionysiou Monastery where
was dedicated by the prince of Wallachia Neagoe Basarab. Another close parallel is
a cross-reliquary of 16th century in Vatopediou monastery, also a gift from Neagoe
Basarab. We can also mention three panagiaria from the monasteries of Moldavia
and Wallachia with close affinities: the first one was donated by Alexander, son of
the prince of Moldavia Stephan, in the church of the Virgin in Bacãu in 1495, the
second was donated by himself, prince Stephan, in Neamt Monastery in 1502. The
third panagiario was dedicated by the brothers Craiovescu in the Tismana monastery
in early 16th century.
A comparative study based on decoration and inscriptions indicates that the
panagiario’s dating can be placed between 1510–1511, a period that Neagoe was
mare comis in Wallachia. It’s donation to the Vatopediou monastery is an early exam-
ple of Neagoe’s dedication policy and proves the generous donations, which will be
continued in the next decade not only in the same monastery but in other Athonite
foundations too.
We believe that this panagiario in Vatopediou monastery has been created from
the same workshop which few years later (1515) commissioned the construction of
Patriarch Niphon’s shrine. The decoration summarizes the main features of the artis-
tic traditions which „cultivated’’ through the goldsmith workshops of the Danubian
Principalities in the late 15th and the beginning of 16th century.
Raluca Betea (Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania)

The Trial of the Soul: Post-Byzantine Visual Representations of
the Tollbooths in the Romanian Churches in Maramureş
This paper will investigate the representations of the aerial tollbooths in the iconog-
raphy of the Last Judgment painted during the seventeenth and eighteenth century
in the Romanian wooden churches, situated in the southern part of the historical
Maramureş (Marmarosh) County. Although the compositional element of ordeals
in the Ukrainian and Russian Last Judgment iconography has been largely dwelt
upon in quite numerous studies, the representations of this subject from the region
of Maramureş have been neglected, a detailed and systematic research of them being
absent at the time.
By analysing the depictions of the aerial tollbooths – which represent the person-
al judgment of the soul – the present paper intends to answer the following research
questions: What are the elements of tradition and innovation contained in the Post-
Byzantine iconography of the tollbooths in Maramureş? How has the motif been
developed during the transitions of the Romanian communities from Orthodox to
Greek-Uniate confession? What are the messages the images of the ordeals intend to
transmit?
In the Last Judgment iconography from Maramureş dominates the design in
which the ordeals are situated in booths arranged vertically, diagonally or even hori-
zontally. In this region the iconographic motif will be characterized by a different
development: the innovations consist of the reduction of the number of ordeals
(sometimes even to three) and the presence of a ‘dialogue’ between the demons and
angels who are contending the soul’s innocence and guilt. In comparison with oth-
er depictions where usually the devil holds a scroll only with the name of the sin,
in Maramureş both the angel and the demon are presenting papers with narrative
descriptions of the bad and good deeds done by the dead man. The study of these
images allows conclusions to be made about the gradation of sins, the good deeds,
and the forms of repentance encouraged by the Church, which will help the souls to
overcome the transgressions. However, these cultural artefacts represent an impor-
tant source not only for the religious mentalities, but also for the social aspects of the
Romanian rural communities in the historical County of Maramureş, because a part
of them reflect local conflicts between parishioners.
Yulia Buzykina (Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia)

Images of Kiev, Novgorod and Moscow in the Russian painting of
the late 14th – mid-16th centuries
Architectural backgrounds in eastern Christian art can ascend to Antique forms or

reflect local architectural realities, depending on subject and style. Increase of specific
local features is typical of relatively late medieval art of Orthodox states.
This process in Old Russian art manifests itself in representations of Kiev,
Novgorod and Moscow as cities enjoying the special protection of the Mother of
God and saints, making these cities invulnerable to the enemies.
Chronological delimitation is dictated by the increase of the local themes in Rus-
sian art in the late 14th century and by changes which took place in Russian art in
the mid-16th century, tied with metropolitan Makari’s workshop.
During this period, Kiev, Novgorod and Moscow illustrate stages in the evolu-
tion of the concept of a Russian city under heavenly protection.
Kiev and its suburb Vyshgorod in scenes of St. Nicolas’ Life and in miniature
manuscript of Lives of St. Boris and Gleb are more designated than represented.
However, some specific details of buildings like character of top, mentioned in the
text are reflected in the architectural motifs of miniatures.
The next stage represented by Novgorod in “Miracle of Our Lady of the Sign”
icons ties up closely protection of Russian city with veneration of the Virgin and her
icons. Representation of the city becomes more detailed and recognizable, enriches
itself with architectural details not mentioned in the texts the icons are based on.
The image of the Russian city in the Russian Mediaeval painting culminates in
the last iconographic scheme, “Meeting of Our Lady of Vladimir”, depicting this idea
most clearly: Moscow resembles Jerusalem through iconography. This moves the
theme of the Russian city under divine protection to a new, very high level, giving it
a new meaning.
Aneta Serafimova (SS Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, Republic of

Macedonia)
Through parallels to the origin: iconographic studies of the
Ohrid painterly discourse of the Akathistos hymn (1364/64) and its
Mt. Athos version (16th to 18th centuries)
The subject of our interest is the possibility of establishing a link between the icono-
graphic features of the Akathistos Hymn in the Ohrid Church of The Holy Moth-
er of God Peribleptos (1364/65) and the representations of the same theme in the
monasteries of Mount Athos (16th to 18th centuries). The answer we are searching
for concerns the probable location of the origin of the iconographic patterns of the
Akathistos Hymn on which the Akathistos representation in the Church of the Holy
Mother of God Perybleptos in Ohrid is based, and of whose origin from Mt. Athos
there is no data.
The theme of the Akathistos Hymn in Palaeologan painting has already been
profoundly researched. Comparative analyses of all wall painted or illuminated cy-
cles in the 14th century have shown that the Akathistos of the Holy Mother of God
Peribleptos in Ohrid has highly distinguished iconographic features, and therefore
there is no doubt concerning its own version re-edited in Ohrid. This conclusion is
based upon the scheme features of the 7th oikos, 7th kontakion, 8th oikos, 8th kon-
takion, 12th oikos and 12th kontakion, the scenes whose iconography is customarily
highly varied.
On the other hand, as part of a wide-scale interest in the themes devoted to the
Holy Mother of God in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Akathistos was also fre-
quently painted in the Post-Byzantine period, especially in the monasteries on Mount
Athos. Although synthetic comparative studies have yet to be done, the phrase
Athonic Akathistos model is frequently used in the published thematic analyses.
The subject of our interest in this article is the iconography of the Athonite Aka-
thistos model, and our objective is to prove that it should be termed an edition; name-
ly, in doing so, we carry out the analyses of the Akathistos Hymn in Lavra (refectory,
1535), Melivokklisia (1536–41), Dochiariou (refectory, 1568), Chilandar (refecto-
ry, 1621), and in the Hermitage of Xenophon (1757). Our attention will be focused
primarily on the Lavra Monastery as a “promotional” Athonite Akathistos depiction.
Our thesis on the possible Athonic edition of the Akathistos will be based upon the
iconographic features of the 7th oikos, 7th kontakion, 8th oikos, 8th kontakion and
12th oikos – 12th kontakion, which we follow in all of these monuments.
We correlate the scenes’ schemes with the same ones from the 14th-century
Ohrid version, in order to provide an especially detailed analysis of the possibility
of establishing a link between the Ohrid redaction and the Post-Byzantine Athonite
patterns/specific features.
This research will include the conclusions based on the comparative analyses
mentioned above that (1) draw a conclusion concerning the development of the
Post-Byzantine iconographic model of the Akathistos and (2) detect the possible lo-
cation of its Athonite origin executed in the Byzantine period whose remains do not
survive.
Smaragdi Ι. Arvaniti (University of Athens, Greece)

Local mural workshops in pοstbyzantine Peloponnese: the case of
the church of Saint George at the province of Kynouria
The church of Saint George is located at the village of Saint John, 20 km west of the
modern city of Astros. The interior of the church is fully decorated with wall paint-
ings. Their iconographic style is generally characterised as local and provincial yet,
accurate and elaborate.
The quality of the wall paintings and their stylistic and iconographic comparison
with those in nearby churches – in particular, the church of Christ the Saviour at
the monastery of Loukou at Astros (probably attributed to the Moschoi brothers,
1649(?)); the church of Saint John the Theologian at Hantakia (painted by Georgios
and Panagiotis Koulidas in 1754); and the church of the Dormition of the Virgin-
Sela at Platanos (painted by Panagiotis Koulidas in 1770) – lead to the conclusion
that the unidentified painter of Saint George probably belonged to the group of local
painters who were active in the area during the second half of the 17th–18th cen-
tury.
Although the church of St. George is a small provincial monument, this paper
argues that the examination of its wall paintings provides valuable insight into the
study of 17th–18th century painting in the Peloponnese, a period marked by the
blossoming of religious architecture and painting. Moreover, the paper discusses the
activity of local mural workshops whose works drew on the style and subject mat-
ter used in adjacent earlier monuments and, possibly, on the same anthivola. These
arguments are supported by iconographic comparison with the above-mentioned
churches. Effectively, this paper aims to demonstrate the continuity of the Byzan-
tine tradition mostly in eastern Peloponnese, as reflected in the artwork produced
by the Kakavades and the Moschoi brothers as well as the family of the Koulidades
painters.
Glycérie M. Chatzoulis (Université Aristote de Thessalonique, Grèce)

Le rideau de l’iconostase (katapetasma) brodé «la peine de
Despoineta» (1694) par la Collection de l’église de la Dormition de
la Vierge (Métropole de Kastoria)
Parmi les trésors de la Métropole de Kastoria s’y trouve le rideau de l’iconostase (Ka-
tapetasma) par l’église de la Dormition de la Vierge. Il s’agit d’une pièce de tissu de
dimensions 103x134 cm, exécutée sur soie rouge, à l’aide du fil d’or et de l’argent.
Le Christ ailé, Ange du Grand Conseil se présente sur le trône en face. Jésus est
entouré de la gloire qui se schématise par les forces angéliques, les chérubins, les séra-
phins, les doubles roues et les symboles de quatre évangélistes qui encadrent la repré-
sentation centrale.
L’équilibre de la représentation ainsi que la technique du dessin montre bien que
cette broderie appartient à une qualité de niveau supérieur.
En dessous de la représentation, parmi les étoiles dans deux cercles s’incluent les
deux inscriptions en lettres majuscules:
1. «ΑΥΤΗ Η ΠΥ/ΛΗ ΕΚΑΛΛΟΠΙΣΘΗ/ΠΑΡΑ Τ(ΟΥ) ΠΑΝΟΣΙΩ-
ΤΑΤ(ΟΥ)/ΚΑΘΗΓΟΥΜΕΝ[Ο]Υ ΚΥΡΙ(ΟΥ)/ΜΑΚΑΡΙ(ΟΥ) Τ(ΟΥ) ΠΕ/ΛΟ-
ΠΟΝΙCΙ(ΟΥ)»
2. «ΔΙΑ ΧΕΙΡΟC/ΔΕ ΚΑΙ ΚΟΠΟΥ/ΜΝΗΜΟCΥΝΟΥ ΧΑΡΙΝ/ΤΗC
ΔΕΣΠΟΙΝΕΤΑC/ΤΟΥ ΑΡΓΥΡΙ ΤIC ΕΚ ΔΙΠ/ΛΟΥ ΚΙΟΝΙ(ΟΥ)».
Ὰ l’espace intermédiaire entre les deux inscriptions on distingue l’année de l’exé-
cution du voile ecclésiastique. «ΑΧ Ϟ Δ» (=1694).
Les deux inscriptions nous renseignent sur les noms du donateur et de l’artiste. Le
rideau de l’iconostase a été commandé au célèbre atelier de la brodeuse de Constanti-
nople Despoineta. C’est l’hégoumène Macaire de Péloponnèse qui s’est enchargé de
la dépense de cette étoffe ecclésiastique.
En concluant, il faut souligner l’importance de l’activité de Despoineta compre-
nant une série de broderies liturgiques (épitaphios, omophores, rideau de l’iconostase
etc.) parsemées aux grands centres de la chrétienté Orthodoxe en tout lieu.
Yuri Pyatnitsky (State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia)

Holy Icons and Money. Religious, Philosophical, and Commercial
Aspects
Traditionally, icons are studied either as artistic or as religious works, with infrequent
attempts to combine these two categories. The icon is usually treated as “a window
into the Heavenly World,” as something sublime, but the icon has a material aspect as
well. The subject of my talk is exactly about the latter, the icon as an object of com-
merce and a part of the everyday life in both Byzantium and Old Russia. This brief
presentation only outlines the main directions for a deeper study of this subject in
the future.
We are analyzing the types of icons found in the Byzantine world: large-format
icons made for the central iconostasis or for gravesites and small icons made for per-
sonal use. Which were painted en mass, which were made on special request, and
what was the process by which the Byzantine artist created the icon – these are the
questions that require scrupulous attention. We provide a comparative data analysis
on the Cretan artists of the 15th and 16th centuries, when the commercial base for
icon painting was strongest. Likewise, we analyze examples from the royal and patri-
archal Russian courts of the 16th and 17th centuries.
The second part of the presentation will describe how the commercial aspect of
the icon fit into the religious and philosophical worldview of the Orthodox culture.
Irini Leontakianakou (Athènes, Grèce)

Bref aperçu des rapports éventuels entre icônes votives et
ex-votos latines (début XVIIe s.–début XVIIIe s.)
Α l’aube du XVIIe siècle, les icônes votives, exécutées en remerciement d’un miracle,
renouvellent le répertoire iconographique traditionnel par la représentation de cet
événement miraculeux considéré contemporain de leur création. Il s’agit d’une per-
sonnalisation de la peinture religieuse traditionnelle qui se fait sentir en particulier
dans les îles ioniennes ou on retrouve, pour la première fois, des icônes commémo-
rant aussi des miracles non navales. L’essor des icônes votives dans les îles ioniennes
pourrait être perçu dans le cadre d’une mutation majeure que subit l’icône tradition-
nelle, au cours de la seconde moitié du XVIIème siècle et des premières décennies
du XVIIIe siècle: l’abandon graduel de ses propriétés léguées de l’ère Byzantine. Ce
phénomène va mener, aux années trente du XVIIIe siècle, aux tableaux religieux de
l’Ecole Ionienne, uniquement tributaires de la peinture occidentale.
Les ex-votos latines, petits tableaux de dévotion privée qui connurent, à partir du
XVIème siècle, une diffusion remarquable dans toute la péninsule italienne, doivent
être considérées comme une source d’inspiration fondamentale pour les icônes voti-
ves. De cela témoignent certains motifs particuliers, des similarités stylistiques, mais
aussi l’idée même de représenter un miracle sur une icône, in memoradum de ce mi-
racle particulier. Or, les icônes votives en question, loin d’être des œuvres populaires
comme les ex-votos latines, reflètent, semble-t-il, le gout savant du public de l’Ecole
Ionienne, les bourgeois de Corfou et de Zakynthos, qui n’hésitent pas à adopter plei-
nement les expressions culturelles d’origine italienne.
Ioannis Tsiouris (Hellenic Open University, Trikala, Greece)

Artistic Trends and Aesthetic Approaches in 18th Century
Monumental Painting in Thessaly (Greece)
The region of Thessaly occupies an extensive area in the centre of Greece, with nu-
merous stretches of mountainous terrain and plains. It is bounded by Macedonia to
the north, Epirus to the west, Sterea Ellada to the south and the Aegean Sea to the
east.
Between the earliest frescoed monument of this period, the church of Dormition
of the Mother of God at Vatsounia (1708) and the latest, the katholicon of the Mon-
astery of the Transfiguration of the Saviour at Agia (1797), a large number of fresco
ensembles survive in the region, in a variety of different monuments ranging from
parish churches and small chapels to the katholica of the monasteries.
In the first half of the century, mainly, most painters followed in a relatively faith-
ful manner the tradition in which they had been trained, without being greatly influ-
enced by other artistic tendencies that were foreign to the locally recognised tradi-
tion, although they did enrich this tradition with a number of individual new fea-
tures, both iconographical and stylistic. However, in as early as the fourth decade of
the century a revival occurred in the local painting tradition through painters being
recalled from other areas or local painters accepting artistic trends that had hitherto
been unknown in the region. At this time the majority of painters came from Epirus,
the Agrapha and Agia near Larissa (the “Workshop of Agia”) and their work dis-
played iconographical influences from the tradition of the Cretan School and that
of North-western Greece, as well as knowledge of engravings. Indeed, some of these
painters, like those of the “Workshop of Agia” and Constantine at the Petra monas-
tery (1784), display the influence of works in the broader Balkan region. In addition,
many of these painters reveal traces of influence of the work of Dionysios of Fourna,
particularly the painters George Georgiou and George Anagnostou (second half of
the 18th century).
The presence of so many painters of different artistic backgrounds created a group
of works that, to a large extent, represents the majority of the trends that occurred
in Orthodox mural painting during this period. However, it should be noted that
there is an absence of works with bold Western influences, either of an iconographi-
cal or stylistic type. This was probably a conscious choice, one that led to a revival
and a search for features that were new to the painting of the time but had emerged
through the continuation of the Byzantine tradition, as expressed in the large fresco
ensembles of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In addition, any Western ele-
ments that might be detected in their work could be regarded as being an organic
part of tradition and belonging to the general aesthetic concepts of the age.
Claire Brisby (Courtauld Institute of Art, London, UK)

The Samokov Painters’ Archive: The Samokov Archive and the
Samokov painters’ perception of Western Art 1800–1850
I present the results of research arising from studying the archive of the icon-painters
from Samokov which focussed specifically on the work of Christo Dimitrov and his
son Zahari Zograph over the period c. 1800–1850. This research culminated in the
year of the 150th anniversary of Zahari’s birth and contributes to the revival of schol-
arship in this field by addressing the question of these icon-painters’ perception of
western art on account of the collections of western prints surviving in their archives.
The paper discusses the developments this study makes firstly to identifying the west-
ern prints and assessing their function from the drawings they inspired, and then to
assessing the significance of Zahari’s documented instruction from French painters
and the implications of this in his treatment of religious subjects. In the context of
the greater perspective on post-Byzantine art in Bulgaria offered by the body of work
recently published in Bulgaria in which the production of Samokov, Bansko and Tri-
avna is now integrated, the paper shows how re-assessment of the Samokov painters’
reception of western art clarifies their role in the development of a distinctive Bulgar-
ian National Revival art of the later post-Byzantine period.
Eka Berelashvili (Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia)

“Mitrophane’s Mitre” – Crown or Mitre?
The topic of this paper is the earliest (XVI c.) Georgian mitre preserved in the Em-
broidery Department of the National Art Museum of Georgia. The lavishly adorned
headgear attracts by its complex imagery and decorative effect. It has four sides with
gold embroidered material stuck onto metal plates. The mitre consists of a “hat” and
a “crown”. Such hats wear secular and ecclesiastical persons on frescos (Tsalenjikha,
14th c., family portrait of Levan II Dadiani, 17th c.) and drawings of Don Cristoforo
De Castelli – (1600–1659) Roman Catholic missionary who travelled in Georgia
and left numerous drawings depicting people he met.
On the basis of this pictorial material arose the question: is it the crown or mitre?
The definition of the function of this headgear becomes clear from its iconographic
program. “Crown” of Bishop Mitrophane’s mitre bears following representations:
Christ the King of King and the High Priest, “Communion of the Apostles”, “ The
Last Supper”; Enthroned Virgin with Child, “The Washing of Feet”; As well as im-
ages of Holy Bishops, St. John the Baptist, St. George. At the top of the “crown”, are
represented Seraphims, the Holy Spirit and Ancient of Days. The mitre is abundantly
decorated with precious stones and pearls. On the “Sky” of the mitre there are seven
crosses made of precious stones.
Selection of the images and their arrangement according to the hierarchical or-
der should bear indication on the Terrestrial and Celestial Churches united with the
grace of, the Holy Spirit. Inscription placed on the inner side of the “crown” men-
tions “High priest” Mitrophane, who the mitre was made for. This is most likely to
be Archbishop of Alaverdi, who had found refuge at the court of Levan II Dadiani,
governor of Samegrelo (Western Georgia) in the mid 17th century. Stylistic features
traits, abundance of precious stones and wide use of turquoise, typical for East Geor-
gian art of this epoch, indicates that the mitre should be executed in Kakheti (eastern
Georgia), in early 17th century.
FC38. VARIA BYZANTINA

Moderators
Erika Juhász/Esra Güzel Erdoğan
Benjamin Moulet (UMR 8167 Orient et Méditerranée, Paris France)

À table! Autour de quelques repas dans les sources byzantines
La reconnaissance par l’UNESCO en 2010 du repas gastronomique des Français au

patrimoine culturel immatériel de l’humanité a permis de mettre en avant le rôle so-
cial actif de ce moment, qui se transmet de génération en génération comme partie
intégrante de son identité. C’est donc l’occasion de s’interroger sur les repas dans
d’autres contextes géographiques et historiques.
Qu’en est-il dans le monde byzantin? Il ne s’agit pas d’évoquer le sujet de l’ali-
mentation et des pratiques alimentaires dans son ensemble, tant le sujet est vaste. Il
convient plutôt de confronter des textes de natures variées (hagiographies, corres-
pondances, sources liturgiques entre autres) pour comprendre la constitution des
repas du quotidien ou des repas de fête, dans des cadres sociaux différenciés. On ne
peut comparer les banquets donnés par l’empereur au Grand Palais avec les repas fru-
gaux que doivent prendre les moines en leurs monastères. Pourtant, il y a des points
communs. Que mange-t-on? Comment se déroulent les repas? Existe-t-il des rituels?
Surtout, quelles valeurs sociales et symboliques sont à l’œuvre dans ces moments es-
sentiels de la journée? À travers quelques exemples, on essaiera de découvrir l’un des
aspects des pratiques alimentaires des Byzantins.
Erika Juhász (Katholische Péter-Pázmány-Universität Budapest, Ungarn)

Quellenstudium zur Osterchronik
Die letzte kritische Ausgabe der im 7. Jahrhundert entstandenen Osterchronik

stammt aus dem Jahr 1832. Der Editor Ludwig Dindorf identifizierte die Quellen
des im CSHB erschienenen Werkes nur marginal, zudem hat die Ausgabe keinen Ap-
paratus Fontium und eine sehr zweifelhafte Kollationsgrundlage.
In den vergangenen 180 Jahren zog das Chronicon paschale in der Fachliteratur
seiner Bedeutung kaum adäquate Aufmerksamkeit auf sich. Obwohl gelegentlich für
einzelne Zeitabschnitte die Quellen des Textes untersucht wurden, ist eine volle Er-
schließung der Quellen der Osterchronik immer noch ein Desiderat der Forschung.
Diese Aufgabe gestaltet sich jedoch sehr komplex, da ein Teil der von dem unbe-
kannten Verfasser benutzten Quellen verloren oder nicht mehr in Originalsprache
erhalten ist. Im glücklichen Fall einer spätantike Übersetzung in eine der National-
sprachen kann selbst bei wortwörtlicher Übereinstimmung nicht sicher festgestellt

werden, ob ein gewisses Werk, dessen Epitome oder nur eine gemeinsame Quelle
dem Verfasser als Vorbild diente.
Noch problematischer ist die Untersuchung der Perioden, für die grundlegend
nur lateinische Quellen vorhanden sind. Schon im 19. Jahrhundert wurde die Frage
gestellt, in welchem Maße in der Chronik mit dem Einfluss von lateinischen Texten
zu rechnen ist. Da die Frage bis heute nicht befriedigend geklärt wurde, bemühe ich
mich in meinem Vortrag Spuren der lateinischen Quellen zu beleuchten. Wegen der
Komplexität der Frage untersuche ich nicht nur Ursache der Veränderung lateini-
scher Namen und Begriffe, sondern versuche auch aus zitierten Inschriften und aus
den in dem griechischen Text interpretatorisch kritischen Stellen Folgerungen zu
ziehen.
Alexandra A. Evdokimova (Institute of linguistics, Moscow, Russia)

Paleography of the Greek Byzantine graffiti. Basic paleographical
types and tendencies (On the material graffiti from Saint Sofia of
the Constantinople, from Cappadocia, from Saint Sofia in Kiev and
in Novgorod etc.)
The fact that Greek graffiti could be written by every Byzantian makes them very
interesting and difficult for research. More often than not these inscriptions don’t
have any date in their texts, also they mix the various paleographical traditions and
testify about dialect of their authors.
Several groups of letters can be marked out in the Greek alphabet, each contain-
ing letters united by some general features and by their peculiarities assisting in dat-
ing of the inscription or identifying it as belonging to a particular region or school,
sometimes place or writer. These groups are: 1) α, δ, λ; 2) β, ρ, φ; 3) ε, σ; 4) μ, ν – mi-
nuscule, 5) κ, χ; 6) π, ω – minuscule.
Presented in this report will be paleographical tables for each of the noted groups,
created basing on Greek graffity from churches, monasteries and monuments from
different regions of Byzantium. Some analogies from other epigraphic sources will be
shown, including examples from dated inscriptions on the artifacts of decorative art.
Presented separately will be results of analysis of evolution and spreading of some
decorative elements characterizing all letters. As an example tracing of a graffito from
Constantinople can be given: a decorative notch in the center of the horizontal has-
ta, parallel to the vertical hastas; vertical hastas heavily turning outside at the top, but
only slightly at the bottom. Analogous variants of tracing of this letter in the Greek
graffiti from Ancient Rus are not observed.
Finally, a summary table with all tendencies and elements making it possible to
date Greek graffiti by paleographical features and peculiarities will be supplied.
Morgan Di Rodi (University of Oxford, UK)

The churches of Jerash: some chronological and topographic
considerations
The city of Jerash (ancient Gerasa) has been famed since the first western explorers
visited it for its churches. In particular the great boon that is born by these churches
is the fact that almost all of them have surviving floor mosaics that bare the founda-
tion inscriptions for the buildings. In my paper I propose to re-evaluate the churches
of Jerash to explore the connections between their typology and chronology. For
this purpose I propose to examine three main axes: position, typology, and the in-
scriptions; in the first axis I propose to explore the connections between the posi-
tion of the churches within the city and the chronology of their construction so as
to explore the occupation of urban space by the Christian community. Secondly I
intend to examine the link between the date of the churches and the typology of the
buildings themselves to explore the evolution of church building in Gerasa. Lastly I
will explore the nature of the foundation inscriptions of the churches in an attempt
to establish the connections between the commission of the buildings, the typology
and the positions within the city. In doing this it is my intention to give a full picture
of the process of Christianisation of the city of Gerasa.
Grigori Simeonov (Universty of Vienna, Austria)

Fruits in Byzantium
Since Ph. Kukules’ Byzantinōn bios kai politismos some important scholarly mon-
ographies and articles on food supply in Byzantium are published. In spite of a few
publications, which increase our knowledge of use of fruits in Byzantine times, we
still lack a comprehensive survey, focusing more than a couple of fruit sorts and their
role in Byzantine diet. In this paper I shall discuss some aspects of the topic Fruits in
Byzantium on the basis of written sources.
First, the development of the terminology on fruits in Byzantine times will be
presented as well as the question, which qualities a plant and/or its fruits should have
had, in order to be classified into fruits by Byzantine sources. The most important
sorts will be given, whereby it will be discussed, how their names changed from Late
Antiquity to the 15th century. Also the problem of identification of Byzantine and
actual fruit names will be discussed in short.
Second, some of the most common methods of preserving fruits will be dealt
with, like drying and conserving with the help of honey, wine and must. Then the use
of fruits as ingredients of different sweets will be touched.
Having in mind that approximately one third of the year was reserved for the
four Lenten seasons, the attitude of the Byzantine Church and its Fathers towards
fruit eating is relevant to our topic. The sources reveal that no unambiguous attitude
prevailed amongst the members of the clergy and it varied from prohibition to con-
sent, anyway.
The paper attempts to give an answer to two important questions: where fruits
were produced and when they were eaten. Some fruits were produced in orchards or
groves, while others were supplied from the wild. In comparison to vegetables, fresh
fuits were not available for a long time. The reason is the difference between these
two botanical groups: in the case with vegetables different parts of the plant can be
eaten, such as leaves or roots, which are present for a longer time, while the time of
ripeness of fruitbearing trees or cucurbitaceae is more limited, resulting amongst oth-
ers in higher prices of fresh fruits.
At the end will be discussed the role which fruits played in the diet of the Byz-
antines. The first factor determining the enjoyment of the fruits was linked with the
season: fresh fruits’ seasons were limited, whereas dried fruits, especially figs, raisins
and nuts were available the whole year. The sweet taste was the other factor which
determined the love of the Byzantines to fruits. A glance into the Ptochoprodromika
shows us that the most desired meals were meat and sweet dishes.
Mircea Duluş (Central European University, Budapest, Hungary)

The Greek Monastic Renewal in the Twelfth–Century Norman
Kingdom: Preaching and Pedagogical Discourses in the Works of
Philagathos of Cerami
Philagathos of Cerami is mostly known as the author of a substantial collection of

homilies for the Sunday readings and the feasts of the liturgical year, the so-called
“italo-griechische Homiliar”. He was very much an itinerant preacher and one of
the most important representatives of the intense cultural renewal from the Nor-
man Kingdom of Sicily, most notably during the reigns of Roger II (1130–1154)
and William I (1154–1166). He also produced an allegorical interpretation of Heli-
odorus’s Aethiopica – Τῆς Χαρικλείας ἑρμήνευμα τῆς σώφρονος ἐκ φωνῆς Φιλίππου τοῦ
φιλοσόφου – (“An Interpretation of the Chaste Charikleia from the Lips of Philippos
the Philosopher”) extant in the codex marcianus graecus 410.
This paper addresses the relation between the exegetical method that Philagathos
systematically employed in his Homilies – i.e. the regular interplay between ἱστορία
(“the literal meaning of the text”) and θεωρία (“the allegorical, figurative meaning”)
– and the pedagogical theories that surface in Philagathos’s works. In a more general
sense it aims at placing Philagathos within the very particular tradition that associates
pedagogy with literal reading and to analyse the modality by which the split between
pedagogical literalism and hermeneutical inquiry is expressed in Philagathos’s alle-
gorical commentary and sermons. It examines the manner in which the Platonic tra-
dition of pedagogical theory that postulates a divorce between pedagogical literalism
and hermeneutical inquiry is advocated by Philagathos in the allegorical interpreta-
tion of Heliodorus’s Aethiopica and the extent to which this tradition is incorporated
into his Homilies. I observe in which manner the divide as elaborated in late-antique
philosophy, between pedagogy and hermeneutics, surface and depth, childhood and
adulthood, that resonated with the scriptural and theological discourses of the literal
and allegorical, the exterior and the interior senses, and bodily and spiritual under-
standing were employed by a twelfth century writer in his two distict works. I con-
sider, then, the relation between preaching, persuasion and pedagogical theory by
exploring the theological imagery about spiritual infancy and adulthood and noting
the skillful employment of rhetorical strategies in the Homilies supported by his out-
standing knowledge of Christian and all the more remarkable, of classical and post-
classical authors.
Michael Heslop (University of London, UK)

Byzantine defenses in the Dodecanese islands: planned or
improvised?
The Dodecanese islands were subject to attack throughout the period c. 650–1306.
Raiders included Arabs from Syria and Crete, Seljuk Turks, Normans, Venetians, Ge-
noese and pirates of various origins.
The raiders’ typical objective was not necessarily to occupy but rather to capture
slaves and steal livestock, destroying housing and crops in the process.
Islanders originally took refuge in Hellenistic fortresses and towers, but over time
new fortifications were constructed on each of the islands.
The question of whether the emergent system of defences was mainly improvised
by locals or planned by the Byzantine authorities has not been properly studied. I
undertake in this paper to deduce, from historical, archaeological and geographical
sources, communication networks that would have given the islanders early warning
of enemy attacks from the sea. My theses will be copiously illustrated with photo-
graphs and maps.
Maria Georgopoulou (American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Greece)

Mediterranean Trade and the Arts. A cross-cultural approach
The thirteenth century was a time of economic and political change as well as an
intense cultural cross-fertilization that resulted in a transformation of the artistic
expression of Italy and Byzantium. The intensification of Italian-dominated Medi-
terranean trade brought about a soaring rise in the number of things produced and
traded: pottery, metal, glass, textiles as well as books and icons. My project explores
the things that survived the long voyage through the Mediterranean and seeks to
flesh out what they may tell us about the confluence of trade and the arts around the
year 1300.
The increased demand for luxury goods allowed merchants and producers of
goods to partake in an international market where manufacturing techniques crossed
ethnic and cultural boundaries. Economic historians have explored the mechanisms
of exchange, banking, commercial partnerships, patterns of production and distribu-
tion, wealth, demography, commercial privileges, tax benefits, and monetary systems
that allowed the intensification of international commercial exchanges. More specifi-
cally Angeliki Laiou has noted the consequences that the loss of Constantinople has
had for the creation of new manufacturing centers in the Byzantine provinces.
The presence of western Europeans in the crusader states of the Near East and
their involvement in trade with the Ayyubid and Mamluk states brought to the
market products made outside the Christian realm in workshops that incorporated
people of various ethnicities and religious faiths. My paper attempts to show how
these objects generated a common aesthetic. The careful study of manufacturing
techniques through art history and archaeology adds a cultural dimension to the ex-
change as it allows us to comprehend the importance of access to new technologies
and the mechanics of transfer which were paramount in the movement of people,
ideas, and wealth.
Ioan Andrei Dumitru (“Lucian Blaga” University, Sibiu, Romania)

Living in a sacred Byzantium. Imperial Palace Vs. Holy Temples
The aim of this study is to reconstruct the imagery of sacred in Byzantium (a) from
the Imperial Palace (b) to the Agia Sophia (c) and to survey theirs coexistence until
the 10th century. The study is based on a systematic analysis of the extant byzantine
documents (hagiographical materials, chronicles etc) from the 4th to the 10th cen-
turies.
The problem will be treated (a) with a quantitative approach to the sources and
(b) with a more qualitative discussion of research results and modern literature. Even
a mere descriptive presentation will be of relevance, since the subject has not so far
been treated exhaustively in a systematic way.
The sacrality of the Imperial Palace, derived from the survival of the emperor
worship, as a veritable institution in the byzantine society for almost six centuries,
was discussed in the first part of the study. Looked as the image of Christ, the emper-
or was the embodiment of sacred and everything what was connected with him was
sacred. Starting from the Imperial Palace to the public buildings where his images
were hosted, all were sacred.
On the other side, the curdle of the byzantine church type, accomplished in the
Basilica of Agia Sophia, sacred for it’s connection to Christ Himself, the true Em-
peror and the development of the Constantinopolitan religious ceremonies, copies

of the imperial court ceremonies, were discussed in the second part of the study.
To conclude we will survey theirs coexistence until the 10th century and the per-
spectives of a sacred and alive Byzantium inside the Church.
The idea of this study is to reconstruct and to understand better the origins, the
development and the peculiarity of sacrality in Byzantium, applying a systematical
analysis to the hagiographical documents and archaeological evidence.
Vladislav Ivanov (Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”)

The “Greek” Project of the Order of St. John
During the second half of 14th C. and the first years of 15th C. the crusader Order
of St. John of Jerusalem (which sometimes is called simply the Hospital) tried sev-
eral times to establish his strong base on the continental Balkan soil – namely in the
territory of contemporary state of Greece. This prolonged and interesting story is
the main subject of our article. It has never been studied and presented yet in all its
length – since 1356 AD when was the first trial of the Order to buy the rights over
the Frankish Principality of Achaia until 1404 AD when the last Knights of St. John
left their recently bought strongholds in the Byzantine Despotate of Morea. In our
research on the subject we approached to some new general conclusions about the
strategic schemes that the Hospital followed in his efforts to acquire broader posi-
tions on the Balkan peninsula and to establish his own rule over large continental ar-
eas. We think that this action was similar in many ways to the activity of the Teutonic
order in the Eastern Baltic region during the same age but was launched in very dif-
ferent and somewhat more difficult political conditions. The aims and motives of the
Knights Hospitaller were doubtless crusaderly approved and therefore their “Greek”
project could be well connected with the advance of the Turks (and especially the
Ottomans) against the Christian states in the Balkans since its very beginning. That
became obvious at the end of 14th C. when the Order of St. John actively took par-
ticipation in the military defense of the gravely threatened by Ottoman’s conquest
Byzantine Despotate of Morea. The Knights of Rhodes also launched one crusade
– passagium particulare under the leadership of the Grand Master John Fernandez de
Heredia (1376–1396) in the lands of the contemporary Northwestern Greece. The
crusade was against the Albanian chief and warlord Ghjin Bua Shpata (1358–1400),
but had been originally organized in response to the pleads for help of the Byzantine
emperor John V Palaeologos (1341–1391) against the Turks. Out of the pure cru-
sade’s aims in their trials for realization of the “Greek” project the Knights very often
pursued their own separate goals connected with the intention to create a strong and
vast continental base under the leadership of the Hospital. Almost every time they
enjoyed the support of the Papacy – sometimes active, sometimes not so. The po-
litical environment in the region of Greece between 1356 and 1404 was extremely
complicated – except the Turks there were other invaders – Albanians and the so
called Navarrese Company of mercenaries, almost constant war among the different
states in the area – the Catalans of Thebes and Athens, the Principality of Achaia, the
Despotate of Morea, the colonies of Venice and various other lords. The local rulers
are almost without exception connected with stronger lordships as vassal states. This
political situation made the task of the Knights Hospitaller even more difficult. But
for a half of century they tried and many times were really close to successfully ac-
complish their project. The examination of the historical problems during this proc-
ess is our main subject in this article. One of our theses is that if this “Greek” project
was eventually realized it could lead to the establishment of a strong military barrier
against the Turkish advance in Greece and to change in the course in the history of
the Order of St. John and Southern Balkans.
Andrea Babuin (University of Ioannina, Greece)

On the introduction of gunpowder artillery in Byzantium
It is generally believed that the introduction of gunpowder artillery in Byzantium

was delayed by lack of funds and technological inferiority. According to specialist lit-
erature, the Byzantine did not have access to firearms technology until the end of the
fourteenth century and may be even later, since the first uncontrovertible evidence
concerning the use of guns by the imperial army dates to 1422, when John Kananos
states that the defenders of Constantinople used “bombards” to repel the Ottoman
besiegers of the city. Literary evidence dating to the middle of the fourteenth century
advocates a reappraisal of generalizations regarding the military capabilities of the
Late Byzantine State. A careful reading of two texts allows to backdate the introduc-
tion of gunpowder artillery in Byzantium to a period in time that is contemporary
with the appearance of these weapons in the Balkans and follows by less than two
decades the first documented use of guns in Western European battlefields.
Annika Asp (University of Oxford, UK)

Apocalypse Now. The significance of prophecies, signs and omens in
accounts on the Fall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople marked the end of an era. After the long and slow weak-
ening of the Byzantine empire during the Palaiologan era, the loss of its capital signi-
fied the final victory of the Ottoman enemy. However, it did not extinguish flicker-
ing hopes for a Byzantine revival, in fact this event nurtured a new genre of literature:
that of the reconquest of Constantinople. This had been the capital of the whole
Byzantine-influenced world, a vast area spreading from Russia to Europe via Italy.
Although politically weak, Constantinople had still stood as the symbol of the once
so magnificent Byzantine empire. Its fall to a 19-year old sultan could not merely be a
sign of the ability of Ottoman warfare – it was an event controlled by divine will.
In Byzantine tradition, Constantinople, seen as the New Rome, had an impor-
tant eschatological function: the Byzantine emperor was seen as the key figure in the
events of the Second Coming of Christ according to apocalyptic prophecies (e.g. of
Pseudo-Methodius). The fall of the city called for a re-interpretation of such prophe-
cies – and for an explanation for why the city had fallen but the world had not end-
ed.
In my paper, I will discuss why authors describing the Fall of Constantinople
(and in growing numbers as time passed) included prophecies, omens and supernat-
ural phenomena. I will show that there is more to this than the traditional cliché of
punishment for sin, instead I will argue that the deeper purpose was to demonstrate
divine control of the event, and their inclusion was therefore a literary device intend-
ed to fit an initially shocking event into a divine plan. I will conclude by suggesting
that these accounts may have been an important source for folklore about a future
liberation of the city.
Esra Güzel Erdoğan (Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey)

Who built Palaiologan Monasteries in Constantinople? Why?
In the history of Byzantine monasticism, one may easily observe the determinant role
of the founder –ktetor. Monasteries were always under the control of three differ-
ent classes, namely, the founders, the state and the ecclesiastical hierarchy. Although
patronage emerged at the same time with monasteries, one cannot see the patron
privileges in the early periods. The ruling class accepted themselves as responsible for
establishing monasteries. The emperor and his immediate family founded monaster-
ies, and also there were limited examples, which were founded by the ruling elite and
state officials and the ecclesiastical hierarchy. In some cases the rivalry among them
had crucial effects over monasticism. On the other hand some of the founders from
the aristocracy accepted the ecclesiastical hierarchy as protector of their monaster-
ies, and they shared patronal privileges with them. So, the point is to determine who
were those patrons. Besides the Emperor and his immediate family, the Palaiologan
period created its own patron group. The new group of patrons were members of the
aristocratic families of the capital who were great land owners, some of them being
court officials, scholars, and some of them belonging to the ecclesiastical hierarchy.
Palaiologan monastic patronage can be seen as the continuation of the previous pe-
riod. Another group of ktetors were the members of the aristocratic families. They
intended to share their property with the monastery in return for founder privileges
that were given by the monastery, such as shelter in old age or in case of trouble, and
a burial place with their entire families.
Димитър В. Атанасов (София, България)

Фрагменти от ежедневния живот във Византия през Късното
средновековие
Изследването има за цел да предложи по-различен поглед върху историята на

Късното средновековие, отправяйки поглед към исторически извори, които
традиционно в науката имат статус на маргинални и слабо информиращи. Ав-
торът прави опит да надникне зад потоците на „големите разкази“ на епохата,
представящи ни едно минало, присвоено от царе, папи и патриарси, в което
спорадично се появяват непристойни подробности, свързани с интимния жи-
вот на великите личности.
Обект на проучване са материали от документален произход с твърде хе-
терогенен характер, които в доминиращия случай позволяват кратковременно
и непълно вглеждане в миналото на фигури, принадлежащи към „мълчащото
мнозинство“, за които обикновено разказът на обичайно ползваните наративни
източници мълчи. Като правило това са лица, присъстващи рехаво и незабеле-
жимо в една фактологически уплътнена среда, изобилстваща от събития, някои
от които – с епохални ефекти.
Текстът прави опит да предложи балансирана визия, лишена от причинени-
те от някои „войнствени“ парадигми крайности. Изследователският метод из-
хожда от разбирането, че картината на историята рядко или почти никога не се
състои от сблъскващи се или конкуриращи се по какъвто и да е начин предста-
ви за настоящето. Макар често пъти различните оптически системи, създаващи
процеса на случване на миналото тогава, когато то е било актуално настояще, да
са били в напрегнати отношения.
Изследва се преплитането на политиката с вярата и неверието, привидяни
през очите на „обикновения човек“, на войната с онова, което той е, на правос-
лавието, имано за изконна същина на света на Европа, със света на Другия.
Anna Calia (Ca’Foscari University, Venice, Italy)

Some Greek Documents of the first Ottoman Sultans
Well beyond the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Ottoman sultans adopted Greek
for their diplomatic communications with the Western powers and the subjected ex-
Byzantine territories.
This practice followed an established tradition in use since the 12th century, dur-
ing the years of the Seljukid Sultanate of Rum. It continued then in the age of the
Anatolian emirates (14th–15th centuries) until the rise of the Ottoman power, the
last Greek document of an Ottoman sultan dating to 1529.
Here we intend to give a rapid overview of these documents, with specific refer-
ence to the evidence offered by the Venetian State Archive, where some interesting
Greek firmans of Mehmed II and his son Bayazid II can be found. They are all con-
cerned with the aftermath of the first two Ottoman-Venetian wars of 1463–1479
and 1499–1502, and they therefore constitute quite an homogeneous group of texts,
if compared to the other extant Greek documents of Turkish authorities.
The documents from the Venetian archives, so far not yet accurately studied,
provide an insight on the activity of the Ottoman scriptorium during the reign of
Mehmed II and Bayazid II, on the identity of the Greek scribes operating there and
their level of literacy. Moreover, they witness an element of linguistic continuity – al-
though limited to diplomatic exchanges – between the Byzantine and the Ottoman
Empire, thus contributing to the long-standing debate on the legacy of Byzantine
institutions in Ottoman ones.
Anca Sapovici (University of Athens, Greece)

The foundation and function of the monarchic institution in
The teachings of Neagoe Basarab: an intertextual reading
The Teachings attributed to Neagoe Basarab have been the object of study by scholars
almost exclusively from the perspective of their authenticity and paternity. The con-
tent meanwhile was unjustly ignored. In the attempt of discerning Neagoe’s vision on
monarchy we analyzed two fundamental sources on the cultural tradition of the Bal-
kan Middle Age. This approach is justified by the fact that, in the text of his Teachings
the author has inserted a series of key-fragments.
The first text was provided to him by Judeo-Christian tradition, later embraced
by the Byzantine tradition as well. The effort of proving his heir to the Wallachian
throne with examples to follow, lead the author to the origins of the royal model
from which he himself took claim: the old testamentary story of the first king of Is-
rael.
In his attempt to create the image of the ideal ruler, Neagoe also went to a popu-
lar source of that époque: The Enkomion of the Saint Emperors Constantine and Hel-
len, by the Patriarch Euthymius of Tarnovo. The Constantinian model provided by
the Euthymian writings to which the Romanian ruler turned to was already consid-
erably old in the ideas tank of the Byzantine ecumenical area. The ideal biography
of the saint was already drawn up within the first years after the death of the great
emperor, by Eusebius, bishop of Palestine’s Caesarea.
Following and analyzing the selections that Neagoe operates within the symbol-
ic inventory provided to him by the Judeo-Christian tradition filtered through the
Byzantine one, one can discern Teachings author’s vision. is ideologically sustained
by byzantine political doctrine, according to which the emperor owns the highest
political and social position, being God’s representative on earth and embodiment
of the divine will, as long as he stays within the lines of Christian tradition fulfilling
his duties towards God and his subjects. His relations to others (those he rules over),
the king is completely depended on exercising his role, the state of his soul in eternity
depends on the honesty and sincerity of his steps.
POSTER SESSION
Moderators
Evangelos Charitopoulos/Nataliia Sinkevych
Nato Gengiuri (Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film Georgian State University,
Tbilisi)
Peculiarities of Baptistery Structure in Georgian Early Christian
Architecture
In Georgia, where Christianity was recognized as the state religion already in the
320s, ancient specimens of architectural spaces designed for baptisteries are attested
from the 5th c. Literary sources suggest that the ritual of baptism was performed in a
river, in the open air, and not in a building. This situation must have continued until
the reign of Vakhtang Gorgasali (2nd half of the 5th c.). In his time the Church of
Kartli obtained autocephaly, rituals were regulated. Presumably, baptisms began to
be performed in baptisteries from that time.
Georgian specimens of baptisteries differ from Roman ones in two basic fea-
tures: 1. A baptistery is not constructed separately from a church and is inserted in
the church structure; 2. They are small and are not intended for a large number of
people; 3. Roman baptisteries are circular or octagonal, whereas ancient Georgian
baptisteries may be divided in three groups as to form:
a) Baptisteries with a double-apse (W-O) inner structure (Bolnisi, 478–493; Ja-
vakheti Tsqarostavi, 5th c.; Ninotsminda, 6th c.);
b) A rectangular, almost square space (Anchiskhati, 6th c.);
c) A rectangular space with the eastern apse (Tsverodabali, 6h c.; Bzipi, 9th c.;
Zhaleti, 9th–10th cc.).
Noteworthy, early specimens of baptisteries (5th–6th cc.) are double-apsed.
Such a structure must be derived from two-apse spaces, characteristic of Late Classi-
cal baths. In Christian beliefs the double-apse space of baptisteries is associated with
cleansing from sins, restoring of soul, struck dead by sin. Subsequently, the double-
apse form did not become a universally accepted rule for baptisteries – Christian
ideas found another way of expression. The double-apse structure occurs as a small,
domed church type (Dort Kilisa, 8th–9th cc.; Kisiskhevi, 10th c.).
Andreas Noback (Darmstadt University of Technology, Germany)

“It abounds exceedingly in sunlight” Lighting simulation and
high contrast representation of the interior of Justinian’s Hagia
Sophia
The interplay of light, space and precious materials within Justinian’s Hagia Sophia
has impressed contemporary witnesses of its building process like Procopius of Cae-
sarea as well as later visitors. However, since the early stages of its construction, open-
ings got closed off or obstructed by massive supports.
The reconstruction we present shows the original design of Justinian’s time. Our
virtual model allows the reversal of constructional changes, the elimination of later
components and the reestablishment of original building parts (ambon, solea etc.)
relating to liturgical practice.
To reproduce the lighting quality of the sophisticated decoration, a catalogue
of material definitions based on photographic measurements was generated and ap-
plied to the surfaces of the model. For the light simulation, the open-source package
Radiance was used. The calculation results in high dynamic range image files; further
processing is needed for this range to be to be visible.
A backlight image presentation technology was developed to present the results
to a wide audience at the 2010 “Byzanz – Pracht und Alltag” exhibition at the Art
and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany. By preserving the high con-
trast between the glaring light from the openings and the dark marble of the columns
and walls, it gives a physical impression of the interior space.
Carolyn S. Snively (Gettysburg College, USA)

Golemo Gradište at Konjuh, R. Macedonia: The Sixth Century City
and its Churches
The anonymous, Late Antique city at Golemo Gradište, Konjuh, was built in the 5th
century AD and by the early 7th century had been destroyed and abandoned. Lo-
cated in a highly defensible position beside the Kriva River, it was the only city in a
line of fortresses that protected a road that run through the Kriva valley as part of the
route from Scupi (Skopje) and Serdica. Our present hypothesis is that the city served
as the administrative center of a mining region in the eastern part of the province of
Dardania.
Three churches have been found at or near the city. A small basilica whose south
aisle sheltered a large vaulted tomb stood in an area of scattered burials at K’šla on
the north side of the Kriva River. The best known church at the site is the Rotunda,
located ca. 200 m south of the city. Excavated by local villagers in 1919, the Rotunda
is still unique in plan and features. In 2008, excavation by a Macedonian-American
project, sponsored by Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA, and the

National Museum of Macedonia, Skopje, revealed a basilica on the northern terrace
within the Late Antique settlement. Ca. 33m in length from apse through narthex,
the church is part of a larger, presumably episcopal, complex centrally located within
the lower city. It shows parallels with the Rotunda in both the arrangement of the
apse, with annular corridor, and figural sculpture. Perhaps the most unusual feature
in the basilica is the existence of two ambos, a small one within the presbyterium and
a larger one at the south side of the nave.
Continuing investigation of the site may provide an explanation for the con-
struction of the Rotunda and for the unusual liturgical features in the ecclesiastical
architecture of the anonymous city.
Julia Reveret (Université Blaise Pascal/Clermont II, Clermont-Ferrand, France)

Quelques aspects de l’architecture chrétienne médiévale comprise
dans une zone géographique délimitée par les frontières actuelles
de la Bulgarie entre les Vème et XIème siècles
Le poster présenté portera sur quelques aspects de l’architecture chrétienne médié-

vale comprise dans une zone géographique délimitée par les frontières actuelles de la
Bulgarie. L’architecture chrétienne du Vème au XIème siècle sera abordée dans son
ensemble afin d’observer ses différentes évolutions avant l’installation du pouvoir
byzantin en 1018. La Bulgarie, par son ancienne appartenance à un empire romain
en voie de christianisation, a été le lieu d’un intense élan de constructions d’édifices
chrétiens dès le IVème siècle et qui s’est accentué avec l’officialisation de la religion
chrétienne en 864 par Boris-Michel Ier. Son emplacement central dans la péninsule
balkanique lui confère en outre un rôle de point de confluences créant un espace de
multiplicité ethnique et culturelle. Ce pays réunit en effet des influences aussi bien
hellénistiques, orientales, occidentales que byzantines. De plus, l’impact de sa proxi-
mité avec la grande capitale impériale byzantine doit être également mesuré car le
pouvoir bulgare entretiendra avec Constantinople des relations passionnelles qui dé-
termineront le taux d’influences culturelles. Lors de la fulgurante croissance bulgare,
Constantinople fut perçue à la fois comme concurrente, obstacle et objet de convoi-
tise mais aussi comme modèle. Aussi, tenterons-nous de comprendre dans quelle
mesure l’architecture cultuelle chrétienne a pu se concrétiser et se définir face à un
héritage culturel et artistique issus de différentes cultures présentes sur ces terres, et à
sa proximité avec le centre culturel et religieux, rayonnant et influent qu’est Constan-
tinople. Pour cela, nous évoquerons ainsi les différents types de plans réalisés et leurs
évolutions, tout en s’interrogeant sur les limites et les questionnements qu’une telle
étude soulève.
Viacheslav Korniienko (National Conservation Area “St. Sophia of Kiev”, Ukraine)

The Latest Studies of Graffiti of St. Sophia of Kyiv
Since 2006, a systematic study of graffiti of St. Sophia of Kyiv has been conducting by
Scientific and Historical Research Department of the National Conservation Area
“St. Sophia of Kyiv”. The main feature of this research is a frontal study of the wall
surface, for the purpose of fixation and introduction to the scientific use of all exist-
ing inscriptions. The technology of graffiti research is standard: each text or picture
is photographed using the side light. Later, using the photos, the sketches are made,
along with field observations of the monument. Currently, two northern naves (Sts.
Peter’s and Paul’s Chapels and St. George’s Chapel) have been completely investi-
gated. The results of these studies have been already published. The graffiti of the
nave are being prepared for publication. In general, over 3 thousand graffiti are taken
into account.
St. Sophia Cathedral graffiti were executed by different authors at various times,
over a period of seven centuries, from the 11th till the beginning till of the 18th c.,
when the walls of the church were plastered and painted again. The inscriptions are
executed using Glagolitic, Cyrillic, Latin, Greek and Armenian alphabets.
Early dated graffiti constitute rather significant group of inscriptions, they are
dated back to 1018/21, 1019, 1022, 1028, 1033 (three inscriptions), 1036, 1039
AD. These inscriptions are indicative of unreliability of information of the chroni-
cles concerning the foundation of St. Sophia by Prince Yaroslav in 1017, and all the
more, in 1037, confirming the correctness of Nadia Nikitenko’s conclusion of earlier
dating of the church: St. Sophia Cathedral was erected during 1011–1018, at the
turn of Volodymyr’s and Yaroslav’s reigns.
An irreplaceable role of graffiti is for studying the murals of the church, in partic-
ular for the determination of images of saints. However, of circa five hundred images
of individual saints, no more than two dozen have preserved the accompanying in-
scriptions. Therefore, graffiti-inscriptions left in the fresco plaster as prayer appeals to
the depicted saint or simply indication of his name is an important historical source
that enables to define just who is depicted in the fresco. Owing to modern research of
epigraphy of the cathedral, more than 50 fresco portrayals, relating to the same figure
have been identified.
Therefore, the latest epigraphical studies of St. Sophia of Kyiv enable to put into
scientific practice a considerable complex of authentic historical sources of the 11th
– the beginning of the 18th c. Historical information, containing in the inscriptions,
substantially complements the data of written monuments and enables to solve some
issues related to the architecture of St. Sophia Cathedral and iconography of its
monumental painting, and also clarify some data of written sources regarding certain
facts of the history of the Middle Ages and Early Modern period.
Irina Margolina (National Conservation Area “St. Sophia of Kyiv”, Ukraine)

The Recent Studies of the 12th c. Frescoes of St. Cyril’s Church in
Kiev
There are unresolved issues in the study of the 12th century St. Cyril’s Church, name-
ly the determination of the name of its founder, the dedication and the time of con-
struction.
On the pillar of the narthex of St. Cyril’s Church, the 12th century fresco with
the shoulder-length portrayal of a woman looking out from behind a curtain was
uncovered from under the 19th painting. It is a portrayal of Princess Maria Mstisla-
vovna, the wife of Kievan Prince Vsevolod Olgovich.
On the donator’s composition (southern nave) Jesus Christ is depicted. Under
his hands, one can see the fragment of nimbus and the upper part of the head (on the
right) and a part of nimbus, a shoulder and a hand, which gives something to Jesus
Christ (on the left). Probably, the person depicted there gave a model of St. Cyril’s
Church to the Lord.
In the corner of this composition, as well as in the fresco of the narthex, woman’s
head, looking out from behind a curtain is depicted. The portrayal of a “woman be-
hind the curtain” is identical with that fresco from the narthex. Princess Maria is also
present in the donator’s fresco, but her “role” of a woman behind the curtain contra-
dicts the place of donator in similar subjects. If she was a donator, then she would be
depicted as one, who gave the model of the church to Jesus Christ, and not as a figure
of secondary importance looking out from behind a curtain.
The cult of St. Cyril of Alexandria in Rus was closely connected with Prince
Oleg, the father of Vsevolod Olgovich. Prince Oleg, being on the island of Rhodes
(Byzantium), entered into a marriage with Theophania Muzalon, a lady from a noble
family. Taking into account that the cult of St. Cyril was respected in Rhodes. The-
ophania arrived in Tmutarakan (the homeland of Prince Oleg) and brought with her
icons and books dedicated to the Life of St. Cyril. Vsevolod Olgovich was baptized
Cyril that is indicative of a special reverence by Theophania to this saint.
On the front of Theophania’s seal, two figures with nimbuses in a posture of the
adoration of an icon, which is seen from above, are depicted. This portrayal is identi-
cal with the fresco composition in St. Cyril’s Church, executed just above the dona-
tor’s composition
It seems as if the portrayal from Theophania’s seal was copied and enlarged in
the fresco of St. Cyril’s Church.
Such similarity testifies to the connection between the seal and the donator’s
composition and bears witness to the connection between the owner of the seal and
the donator of paintings. The location of the image from the seal above the donator’s
composition indicates that the church was built by Prince Vsevolod in memory of
his Byzantine origin and confirms that the foundation, construction and execution
paintings in the monument took place in 1139–1146, during the reign of Vsevolod
Olgovich (Cyril).
Nadia Nikitenko (National Conservation Area “St. Sophia of Kyiv”, Ukraine)

Secular Frescos of St. Sophia of Kiev: a new attribution
The latest studies of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, the original residence of the met-
ropolitans of Rus, the church-memorial of the baptism of Rus, allow us to date it
1011–1018 and attribute the foundation of the church to Prince Vladimir Svyato-
slavich the Baptizer (980–1015) and his son Yaroslav the Wise (1016–1054). The
first began, and the second completed the foundation of St. Sophia. Such dating is
confirmed by the monumental painting of the cathedral, especially the unique secu-
lar frescoes of two towers, leading to the choir loft, a place for the Grand Prince of
Kiev, his family and inner circle in ancient times. Frescoes of the towers are combined
into a triumphal cycle, which tells us about the conclusion of dynastic marriage be-
tween Prince Vladimir and Byzantine Princess Anna in Constantinople, which initi-
ated the baptism of Rus. The frescoes illustrate the receptions of Vladimir’s embassy
by the Emperor at the hippodrome and the Grand Palace. The depicted figures are
personified as the Emperors Basil II and Constantine VIII, their sister Anna and her
nieces Zoe, Theodora and Eudoxia. Festive subjects (Gothic games and carols) allow
us to consider that the engagement took place on Christmas, at the end of 987 – the
beginning of 988. The compositions are distributed in accordance with the division
of the temple into “male” and “female” parts: in the south tower, which was used by
the prince to enter “male” choir loft, a central place belongs to the fresco The Hip-
podrome, in the north tower, leading to “female” loft, the central composition is The
Coronation of Anna. The culmination episodes are depicted on the upper landings –
the scenes of chariots competition near the palace of hippodrome (Catizma) and the
coronation entry of Princess Anna. In the arches of Catizma, numerous spectators are
represented. In the emperor’s lodge, one can see Basil II and the factotum (author-
ized person) of Prince Vladimir. The fresco illustrates the honouring of Vladimir’s
marriage and his envoys on the hippodrome. The plot The Coronation Entry of Anna
depicts the proclamation of Vladimir’s bride as queen by Basil II and Byzantine no-
bility participating in the parade. Such ceremony coincides with the rules of Byzan-
tine court that conferred a title of Caesar upon foreign rulers, who intermarry with
the imperial family.
Plamena Dimitrova (Archives State Agency of the Republic of Bulgaria, Sofia)

Two Ensembles of Monumental Art of Constantinople during the
Komnenian Period: the frescoes in the Bachkovo Monastery’s
Ossuary in Bulgaria and the frescoes in the Holy Cross
Monastery’s chapel in Jerusalem
The known examples of monumental painting of the Komnenian period are few. The
Holy Cross monastery’s chapel in Jerusalem was acknowledged to be one of these, af-
ter prolonged investigation and conservation activities which ended in 1987. This is
a rather important fact because of the chances for retrieval of new evidence about the
stylistic evolution in monumental painting of the Komnenian period. Till present
the concept about the period was based on a well known limited and thoroughly
investigated circle of evidence. The artistic techniques and iconography of the Con-
stantinopolitan workshops of the 11th–12th centuries. were accepted in the whole
Orthodox world and were applied in the frescoes of the main church of the Holy
Cross monastery in Jerusalem. This monument of fresco painting has been docu-
mented in detail without being analyzed within the context of the Komnenian style
evolution. The Ossuary of the Bachkovo Monastery is one of the most impressive en-
sembles of Byzantine art of the 11th–12th centuries: only a few stylistic parallels of
its frescoes were known till recently. The 11th–12th centuries frescoes preserved in
the Holy Cross Monastery in Jerusalem and their later 17th century replicas give am-
ple comparative evidence. The possibility to study these two ensembles of the Geor-
gian art in the context of the history of the Georgian Orthodox church is yet another
proof that in the productive period of the Komnenian dynasty, the expansion of the
Constantinopolitan School reached its climax.
Foteini Spingou (University of Oxford, UK)

Text and Image at the court of Manuel Komnenos: Epigrams on
works of art in Marcianus Graecus 524
Manuscript Marcianus graecus 524 contains various literary and instructional works
in both prose and verse. It is also the only source for many anonymous epigrams and
poems of the eleventh- and twelfth-century. This poster, divided into three parts,
presents work-in-progress on the manuscript, as a whole and on the anonymous epi-
grams on works of art, which may be found therein, and which date from the reign of
Manuel I Komnenos (1143–1180). Emphasis will be given to the research methods
used so far.
The first part of the poster suggests, on the basis of the palaeographical and codi-
cological analysis of the manuscript, that the Marcianus dates from the late thirteenth
century. Moreover, on the basis of handwriting analysis, it argues that the manuscript
was copied by one main scribe, who lived in Constantinople. Furthermore, it sug-
gests a re-arrangement of the quires. Finally, in order to understand the process of its
compilation, the composition of the manuscript is placed in its cultural context.
The second part of the poster is a multi-level analysis of the a hundred and eight-
een epigrams on works of art for Manuel’s court. Following the principles of New-
and Archaeo- historicism, these epigrams are placed in their original socio-historical
and cultural context. This context consists of three main components: genre, the so-
cial world which gave birth to, and initially interpreted, these texts, and the object
to which each epigram refers. Thus, these dedicatory epigrams are interpreted as Ge-
brauchstextes. The historical commentary considers the occasion and the purpose of
their composition, as well as the events, and the individuals, to which the epigrams
allude. These epigrams were originally connected to works of art (icons, works of
the minor arts, and even buildings). Consequently, it is necessary to compare them
to epigrams on extant objects, in order to understand the possible connections be-
tween epigram and object. The ultimate aim of this discussion is to approach, as far
as possible, the manner in which a twelfth century recipient might have perceived the
epigram.
The final part of the poster provides a list of the edited and translated epigrams,
and draws attention to some of their most interesting features.
Zhivko Aladzhov (National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Sofia, Bulgaria)

Thrace and Haemimont – Ethnic Problems 11th–12th c.
After the death of Emperor Basil II a period of dissolution of the system, created by
Emperor Heraclius and preserved by Emperor Basil began. Processes flew at a light-
ning speed, affecting the life in the state in all areas. The disintegration of the rural
and military estates led to decline in the defensive capacity of Byzantium.
The prolonged decline of the local army forces again imposed the use of merce-
naries, which led to a number of additional problems.
The monetary treasure found in the fortress of Markeli, near Karnobat is an evi-
dence for it. It consists of 37 golden coins, 5 gilded loops and a golden ring. The total
weight of the treasure is approximately 200 gr. It was put in a small pot, hidden in a
yurt shaped home, which stone circle is clearly visible on the surface. The home was
situated between the two citadel walls and could be related in general to 11th–12th
centuries.
Probably the treasure was family valuables, accumulated in the 80s–90s of 11th
century, as the accumulation continued during the first decade of 12th century.
The date of the hiding of the coins is defined by themselves. As it has been men-
tioned above the largest number come from Nicephorus Botaniates and the latest
specimens – from Alexius Komnenus and his successor – Emperor John II Komne-
nus (1118–1143).
John Komnenus’ rule started in a comparatively calm situation, however it was
disturbed soon. One of the serious enemies of Byzantium at that time were the
Pechenegs. In 1122 they crossed the Danube in huge crowds, traversed Moesia and
reached Macedonia and Thrace. Near Verea (Stara Zagora) the Byzantine army at-
tacked them and delivered the fatal stroke. A great part of the invaders were slaugh-
tered, other surrendered to the north, and a third part forcibly were settled in the
empire.
Most probably these events and others which went along with them made the
owner hide the treasure in the fortress of Markeli, however later for unknown reason
he could not retrieve it back.
The treasure from Markeli is the first of that period, which except coins is consist
of adornments. Its importance is great because it will help to specify the dating of
materials with kind of “stretchable” dating.
The most well-known treasures in Bulgaria from the end of 11th–12th century
are golden, electronic and bilonic coins, which testify for stormy events during that
period. They mark the territories experienced the historical cataclysms, they prove
the serious problems came to the social and political life in Byzantium, as well as the
ethnic changes coming at that time in Thrace and Haemimont after the middle of
11th century.
Meriç T. Öztürk/Ayşe Esra Şirin/Kerim Kartal (Bosphorus University, Istanbul,

Turkey)
Byzantine coinage and the Saint cult 1204–1261
The capture of Constantinople by the Latins in 1204 gave birth to three different
political entities: Latin Constantinople, Lascarid Nicaea, and Epiros in Greece. From
1204 to 1261, Western Anatolia and Greece lived within a polycentric political en-
vironment which was characterized by coexistence and conflict. This study argues
that the saintly iconography on the coins of the period is an artistic and ideological
outcome of this borderless world.
Saints first appeared on Byzantine coins around the tenth and eleventh centuries.
Yet saint representations became a common feature of the Byzantine coins only from
the twelfth century onwards. St. Georges, St Demetrios and St. Tryphon appeared on
Komnenian coins a total of 7 times. However, in the Nicaean period, there is an even
sharper increase in the number of both the coins with saint figures and of the saints
represented. In the Laskarid Nicaea, twenty-eight different coin types display five
different saintly figures, namely St. Theodore, St. George, St. Demetrios, St. Con-
stantine and St. Tryphon. The Latins of Constantinople also made use of saintly fig-
ures on their coins. Yet, the Latin saints prove to be quite different from the Lascarid
ones, St. John the Baptist, St. Paul, St. Peter and St. Nicholas being among them.
Furthermore, the Epirote coins which are struck in the Thessalonian mint portray
mostly three saints, St. Demetrios, St. Theodore and St. Michael standing next to the
emperor, coronating him or offering him a model of the city.

Yet another important stylistic change is the fact that imperial portraiture disap-
peared from the coins altogether. Either enthroned or standing, emperors were usu-
ally represented accompanied by Christ, Virgin Mary or sometimes by Manus Dei.
Between 1204–1261, portraiture is replaced by full-length figures of the emperors
standing next to various saints at the same size as the emperors. This frontal and con-
cise iconography withdraws the emperor from its primary position.
It can be argued that the coins of this period held more meaning as tools of ideo-
logical claim with respect to earlier periods. In a politically fragmented geography
where all the rivals seem to hold equal strength and equal political claims, ideologi-
cal justification of their rule depend more on their bondage with divine figures. The
Epirote and Nicaean rulers promoted both the patron saints of the cities they ruled
and the military saints which would provide them with military justification, while
the Latin rulers of Constantinople preferred to claim their dominance by promoting
catholic saints.
Evangelos Charitopoulos (University of York, UK; University of Leiden,

The Netherlands)
Medieval and post-medieval landscape in central-western Crete.
Old road network reconstruction and historic building
conservation
In Rethymnon inland, central-western Crete, many historic buildings have survived,

both religious and secular. At the same time, several aspects of the medieval and post-
medieval landscape are still visible in this region. Inside the surviving landscape, there
are numerous villages dated from the Venetian period at the most, which keep the
settlement pattern and building characteristics of the previous centuries. Between
settlements, productive areas and the coastlines, traces of the old road network still
remain, consisting mainly of pathways, earthworks and bridges.
In that context, a theoretical framework and some propositions for the recon-
struction of the old road network and surrounding historic buildings conservation
will be discussed, in terms of highlighting the route from Rethymnon town and the
northern coastline to the inland and the seashore of southern Crete. This approach
will focus on the interaction between the natural and man-made environment as well
as the sustainable re-use after conservation of the historic buildings. The re-use will
be based in authenticity and values that buildings express, in correlation with their
economic and social survival.
This conservation plan will form an ideal way of unifying the monumental sites
and settlements of the countryside with its initial road network. Much more, it will
serve as a management and developing tool of Cretan cultural heritage for specified
tourism categories such as religious and trekking ones.
Christos Karydis (University Ecclesiastical Academy of Thessaloniki & A.TEI of

Ionian Islands, Greece)
The Gold Embroidered Epitaphios of Kokona of Rologa displayed at
the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
After 1453 and the break up of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople remained an
important centre for gold-embroidery. From the 17th century onwards, famous Con-
stantinopolitan embroidresses, who were fully abreast of the latest developments in
their art, signed their handiwork, well aware of their worth. Outstanding examples
of Orthodox ecclesiastical fabrics have been found in regions ranging from Alexan-
dria to Romania, Mount of Athos, Sinai, Ankara and Cyprus.
Gold-embroidery served the need of the Orthodox Eastern Church and its un-
broken continuity from the Byzantine period according to Constantine Porphyro-
gennitos (10th c.) and Pseudo-Kodinos (14th c.).
The aim of the current poster is to reveal the unknown epitaphios work of the
famous Kokona Rologa (the Watchmaker’s Daughter) as an example of high quality
work using a variety of Byzantine embroidery techniques.
The use of epitaphios begun as a fabric to cover the Communion Vessels (called
the Great Aer). In the 14th century its function changed, and thereafter it is only
used during the Good Friday service.
The examination of the epitaphios with microscopic methods (optical observa-
tion) and analytical methods (HPLC-DAD) before its conservation has provided an
opportunity to record and understand the wide range of the materials used.
The epitaphios of Kokona of Rologa is embroidered on a discoloured dark red
pure silk ground fabric (1.00x1.40cm). Extensive use of tir-tir and semiprecious
stones has been used. The figures and letters are worked in relief (padded) execut-
ed with a combination of gold and silver wires, metal strips and metal strips wound
around silk cores.
The scene of Lamentation, with all the usual figures, occupied the entire surface
of the fabric. Christ is depicted lying on the rock, where he has been anointed with
the mixture of aloes and myrrh. On the bottom of the scene in metal thread the dedi-
catory inscription with the signature of the famous embroiderer: ‘+ ΚΟΚΟΝΑ ΤΟΥ
ΡΟΛΟΓΑ ΕΠΟΝΗΣΕ ΤΟ ΚΗΤΜΑΔΑΠΑΝΗ ΤΩΝ ΣΥΝΔΡΟΜΗΤΩΝ ΤΗ
ΘΕΟΤΟΚΩ ΘΗΜΑ αωλζ’.
Nataliia Sinkevych (National Conservation Area “St. Sophia of Kyiv”, Ukraine)

Rus and Byzantium as viewed by Ruthenian Intellectuals: the first
half of the 17th century
Literary controversy around Union of Brest led polemicists to the problems of Byz-
antine history. Ecumenical Councils, “usurpation” of Charlemagne and the church
schism were seen by in Ruthenian literature “through Byzantine eyes”. One of the
main themes in the Orthodox-Catholic disputes of the first half of the 17th century
was the time and circumstances of the baptism of Rus. The main idea of Catholic
and Uniate authors was striving to confirm the unity of the Russian Church with
Rome at the time of baptism and its continued existence throughout the 11th –15th
centuries. The refutation of this concept was the objective for a number of Ortho-
dox writers. In connection with the emergence of this kind of controversy, all known
facts concerning the problems of relationship between Rus and Byzantium were
brought up for discussion and actualized. The basic works of Byzantine chroniclers
John Curopalates (11th century) and John Zonaras (12th century) were used as
the sources of Byzantine history. Special piety of Ukrainian authors (both Uniate
and Orthodox) of the first half of the 17th century for Byzantine texts as sources of
Christian tradition had been repeatedly noted in historiography. We would like to
direct attention to the problem of use and reception of ideas and facts of Byzantine
historiography by Ruthenian authors of the first half of the 17th century, such as Lev
Krevza, Meletius Smotrytsky, Stephen Zyzaniy, Zacharias Kopystensky and Sylvester
Kossov. All these authors have had a considerable influence on the historiographical
traditions; their works were a kind of translator between the ideas of Byzantine au-
thors and East Slavic historiography.
Joel Kalvesmaki (Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC, USA)

Introducing Athena Ruby, a New Font for Byzantine Inscriptions
In this poster session Dumbarton Oaks presents the test version of Athena Ruby,
a comprehensive font for use in the scholarly publication of Byzantine inscrip-
tions. The new font is OpenType and Unicode compliant, taking advantage of
newly emergent standards for publishing on the Web. This session will provide a
panoramic view of all the various letterforms, symbols, and punctuation; exam-
ples of how the font may be used in publishing inscriptions from seals and coins;
and explanations of various technical terms and concepts. Congress participants
may register, either to test a trial version or to be notified of the final release.
Dobrochna Zielińska/Alexandros Tsakos (University of Warsaw, Poland/Humboldt

University, Berlin, Germany)
Five Years of Working on the Corpus of Wall Paintings from
Medieval Nubia
The “Corpus of Wall Paintings from Medieval Nubia” is part of the major project
“Corpus of the Byzantine Wall Paintings”, which was initiated by the Academy of
Athens – Research Center for the Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Art and is carried
out under the auspices of the Union Académique Internationale (No. of the project
40/A).
Its two agents, Dr. Dobrochna Zielinska and Mr. Alexandros Tsakos, have worked
on this project since September 2006, collecting data from institutions in Africa and
Europe that have the honor of hosting murals detached from the churches’ walls
of Lower Nubia. The reason for the finding of the wall paintings from this region
around the world is going back to the 1960s archaeological campaign of UNESCO
for the salvage of the cultural heritage of Nubia flooded by the artificial lake created
by the Aswan High Dam.
In the proposed poster presentation, an overview of these works will be offered
along with examples of the study results in the form of the final publication to be re-
leased according to the norms and with funds from the Academy of Athens.
Lazar Ninov (National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Sofia, Bulgaria)

On caravan’s way – camel finds in the Bulgarian lands
In the Byzantine Empire, an important role in trade and transport of goods and bur-
dens have camel caravans. Evidence of this are the camel bones, which are found in
many archaeological sites in Bulgaria. There are some remains of these animals in
Nicopolis ad Istrum, Novae, Kovachevsko kale, Odesus, Kabile, Serdica, Zuida and
others. These are indisputable physical evidences for the presence of camels in the
Bulgarian lands in Antiquity and later, during the Middle Ages. The bones belong to
different skeleton parts – skull, spine, front and rear extremities. Their amount varies
in the different sites. Due to the fragmentation of bones found during the excavation
we cannot always give a definite answer on the question whether these are artifacts
from one-humped or two-humped camel.
There are written records and images from the Antiquity and Middle Ages where
camels are mentioned. Their biological resources have made them preferable, and
sometimes irreplaceable. They are simple to food, travel long distances and are char-
acterized by good adaptability to different conditions.
In the Antiquity, these caravans have satisfied discriminating tastes of the aris-
tocracy and the troops who have used many eastern spices, foods and delicacies. The
camel remains and the presence of single shells of molluscs from the southern seas
point to trade relations with the southern lands.
It is interesting to trace how far in the north have reached the caravans of camels,
as they were adapted to dry and warm climate. Camel remains are found in Romania,
Ukraine, Serbia, Croatia and Hungary. Obviously, the mentioned above ancient for-
tresses and settlements are important stations in the way of the caravans with goods.
Comparison of the osteological materials found during excavations, written
sources and images of camels has an exceptional importance for the reconstruction of
people’s everyday life and the influence of the Byzantine culture.
INDEX OF SPEAKERS
Agiotis, Nikolaos 152–153, 245–246 Betea, Raluca 380–381

Akışık, Aslıhan 133 Bevilacqua, Livia 273
Akrivopoulou, Sofia 3 Bogevska, Saška 279
Aladzhov, Zhivko 408–409 Bogisch, Markus 109
Aladzhova, Dochka 28–29 Bojanin, Stanoje 81–82
Albani, Jenny 359, 367–368 Bonovas, Nikos M. 42
Albrecht, Stefan 174 Borgognoni, Rocco 128–129
Alekseeva, Galina 265, 271 Braounou-Pietsch, Efthymia 144, 146–147
Anca, Alexandru 246 Brisby, Claire 387
Andriollo, Luisa 63, 68 Bucossi, Alessandra 163, 165–166
Andronikou, Anthi A. 373 Burnand, Teodora 344
Androudis, Pascal 106–107 Butler, Thomas 221
Angelou, Athanasios 136, 142 Buzykina, Yulia 381
Angelov, Petar D. 73, 76 Bystritskiy, Nikolay 302–303
Angelov, Vladimir 82–83
Angelova, Diliana 43 Calia, Anna 398–399
Angelovska-Panova, Maja 224 Campagnolo, Matteo 27–28
Anguelov, Svetozar 374–375 Campagnolo-Pothitou, Maria 26, 32
Antonaras, Anastassios 34 Cantone, Valentina 293
Aptsiauri, Tamara 192–193 Casas-Olea, Matilde 178
Arevshatyan, Anna 266–267 Cecota, Błażej 73–74
Ariantzi, Despoina 88–89 Çetinkaya, Halûk 343
Arizanova, Sylvia 177 Ceulemans, Reinhart 167–168
Arnaoudov, Vasko 44 Charitopoulos, Evangelos 401, 410
Arvaniti, Smaragdi I. 309, 383 Chasapoglou, Stefanos 63
Arvanitidou, Ioanna P. 111–112 Chatzoulis, Glycérie M. 384
Arvanitopoulos, Stavros 123 Chernoglazov, Dmitry 138–139
Asp, Annika 396–397 Chevalier, Pascale 6–7
Atanasov, Dimitar V. 398 Chica, José Soto 56
Athanasoulis, Demetrios 122 Chichinadze, Nina 361
Avdokhin, Arkady 163 Chlepa, Eleni-Anna 288–289
Avilushkina, Liudmila 157–158 Cholova, Tsvetana 85, 90–91
Chookaszian, Satenik 354
Babuin, Andrea 396 Chrissis, Nikolaos 243
Baldini, Isabella 9 Christidou, Anna 253, 309
Banev, Guentcho 293, 299 Christov, Ivan 201, 209
Banov, Viktor 341 Christov, Mihail 12
Bardaschowa, Tatjana 235–236 Chroni, Maria 201
Barmin, Alexey 241 Chryssostalis, Alexis 88
Barsanti, Claudia 282, 284 Čičeva-Aleksić, Maria 184
Bazini-Nikolopoulou, Eleni 159–160 Codeso, Patricia Varona 177–178
Bazzani, Maria 149–150 Codoñer, Juan Signes
Beaudry, Nicolas 6–7 Constantoudaki-Kitromilides, Maria 337
Bencheva, Yoanna 256 Çunga, Sokol 357
Benevich, Fedor 204 Cvetkovic, Branislav 340
Berelashvili, Eka 387–388
Bereznyak, Asya 226–227 Dancheva-Vassileva, Annie 63
Bernardi, Gabriella 366 Day, Rebecca 26
De Vos, Ilse 164–165 Foschia, Laurence 296–297

Decker, Michael 35 Fotinakis, Spiros 319
Deligiannakis, Georgios 10 Fundić, Leonela 313–314
Delilbaşi, Melek 249, 262–263 Fylypchuk, Oleksandr 231
Delouis, Olivier 285–286
Dennert, Martin 109–110 Gabelić, Smiljka 333–334
Dias, João Vicente de Medeiros Publio 148 Gagen, Sergey 200
Didebulidze, Mariam 326–327 Gargova, Fani 70–71
Dimitriadou, Eleni 304 Gartzonika, Elena 69–70
Dimitrijevic, Dragana 126–127 Gasbarri, Giovanni 287
Dimitrov, Dimitar Y. 202–203 Gavrilović, Andjela 338–339
Dimitrova, Aneta 181–182 Gengiuri, Nato 401
Dimitrova, Elizabeta 265 Georgieva, Sashka 77
Dimitrova, Nevena 205–206 Georgiou, Antonios 323–324
Dimitrova, Plamena 407 Georgopoulou, Maria 393–394
Dimov, Georgi 66–67 Gerov, Georgi 373, 377–378
Divaris, Spiros 89 Geurts, Jeroen 290
Djurić, Marka Tomić 315–316 Gielen, Erika 212
Dobrynina, Elina N. 347 Ginnasi, Andrea 305
Dolidze, Tina 194–195 Giorgadze, Marina 163, 169
Dominguez, Oscar Prieto 269–270 Giviashvili, Irene 112
Đorđević, Milan 210–211 Goncharko, Oksana Ju. 334
Dragova, Nadezhda 223 Gordiyenko, Dmytro 230
Drakopoulos, Théofanis L. 221–222 Gospodinov, Kiril 244
Drbal, Vlastimil 306 Gratsianskij, Mikhail 54
Drocourt, Nicolas 59 Greatrex, Geoffrey 130
Drosogianni, Phane 67–68 Grinberg, Maria 349–350
Duluş, Mircea 392–393 Grinchenko, Olga 188
Dumitru, Ioan Andrei 394–395 Grotowski, Piotr Ł. 272
Durand, Guillaume 378–379 Grozdanova, Galina 15
D-Vasilescu, Elena Ene 314 Guérin, Marie 73, 80
Dželebdžić, Dejan 69 Guiglia, Alessandra 96, 103
Dzidrova, Ljubinka 24
Dzierzbicka, Dorota 35 Haarer, Fiona 44–45
Hadzhiangelov, Vesselin 12–13
Elizbarashvili, Eliso 156 Hakobyan, Zaruhi 353–354
Elshin, Denis 18–19 Hanak, Walter K. 172
Enrique, Santos Marinas 174 Hauck, Oliver 103–104
Epitropakis, Periandros 5 Havlíková, Lubomíra 282, 290–291
Erdoğan, Esra Güzel 389, 397–398 Hermay, Lucile 90
Erismann, Christophe 206–207 Heslop, Michael 393
Evangelou, Ilias 176 Høgel, Christian 75
Evdokimova, Alexandra 390 Holmquist, Lena 17–18
Horníčková, Kateřina 300–301
Fadeev, Sergey 142–143 Houliaras, Ioannis P. 377
Fernández-Jiménez, Francisco M. 164 Hunt, Priscilla 154–156
Filipczak, Paweł 43–44
Fingarova, Galina 117, 123–124 Ilieva, Lyuba 77
Fledelius, Karsten 53–54 Inkova, Mariela 366–367
Fonseca, Rui Carlos 131 Ioannisyan, Oleg 18–19
Ivakin, Gleb 18–19 Kontogiannopoulou, Anastasia 72

Ivanov, Emil 326 Kontopanagou, Katerina 374
Ivanov, Serguey 192, 198–199 Korniienko, Viacheslav 404
Ivanov, Vladislav 395–396 Kostova, Elena 254–255
Kostovska, Petrula 279–280
Jančárková, Julie 291–292 Koufopoulos, Petros 85–86
Jankowiak, Marek 56–57 Koukouni, Ioanna N. 120–121
Jastrzębowska, Elżbieta 97 Kouroumali, Maria 48
Ježek, Václav 248 Kovatcheva, Diliana 301–302
Jiroušková, Martina 17 Krag, Anne Hedeager 368–369
Jong, Hylkje de 136–137 Krastanov, Trendafil 184–185
Jordania, Erekle 154–155 Krsmanović, Bojana 63
Juhász, Erika 389–390 Kusabu, Hisatsugu 222–223
Kushch, Tatiana 150
Kaegi, Walter E. 53–54 Kuzenkov, Pavel 302–303
Kakavas, George 1, 331–332 Kuzupov, Boyan 100–101
Kaltsogianni, Eleni 158–159 Kvlividze, Nina 325
Kalvesmaki, Joel 412
Kambourova, Tania 362–363 Lampada, Despoina 268
Kappas, Michalis 335–336 Lampadaridi, Anna 154
Karachaliou, Ermioni 305–306 Lange, Nicholas de 293, 297–298
Karadzhova, Darinka 190–191 Lapierre, Julien Auber de 311–312
Karagianni, Alexandra 307 Łaptaś, Magdalena 311
Karahan, Anne 197 Lau, Maximilian C G 238
Karakaya, Nilay Çorağan 22–23 Lauritzen, Delphine 144–145
Karkashadze, Tinatin 352–353 Lauritzen, Frederick 144, 146
Karnachov, Alexander 140–141 Lavaud, Laurent 216
Kartal, Kerim 409–410 Lavysh, Kristina 275–276
Karydis, Christos 411 Lazarova, Erika 223–224
Katselaki, Andromachi 288 Lecaque, Patrick 61, 333, 342–343
Kavtaria, Nino 351–352 Lecaque, Thomas 61
Kavvadia, Aristea 345–346 Leontakianakou, Irini 385
Kazamia-Tsernou, Maria 2–3 Leonte, Florin 143
Kazan, Georges 365 Leontsini, Maria 1, 4–5
Kazaryan, Armen 108 Lesieur, Bénédicte 193
Khintibidze, Elguja 189–190 Leveniotes, Georgios 295–296
Khrushkova, Liudmila 10–11 Levine, Adam 267–268
Kiapidou, Eirini-Sophia 148–149 Liakos, Dimitrios A. 379–380
Kiknadze, Lia 162 Lidova, Maria 359–360
Kimball, Paul 361–362 Lillington-Martin, Christopher 48–49
Kirilov, Chavdar 38–39 Linardou, Kallirroe 348
Kladova, Anna 157 Lobovikova, Ksenia I. 160–161
Klein, Holger 304 Luening, Annegret Plontke 117
Kochlamazashvili, Tamaz 193–194 Luzi, Romina 131–132
Koleva, Rumjana 38–39
Kominko, Maja 73 Maguire, Eunice Dauterman 359, 364–365
Kompa, Andrzej 129–130 Makrypoulias, Christos G. 139
Konis, Polyvios 195–196 Makuljević, Svetlana Smolčić 363
Konkyov, Zahari 244–245 Maladakis, Vangelos 32–33
Kontogiannis, Nikos D. 309 Malatras, Christos 254
Maleon, Bogdan-Petru 263–264 Neirynck, Stefaan 199–200

Maltseva, Svetlana 121 Nenov, Kiril 84
Manolova, Divna 210 Nesheva, Violeta 64–65
Manucu-Adamesteanu, Gheorghe 20 Neykova, Sevdalina 363–364
Manukyan, Seyranush 355 Niekerk, Dick van 220, 225
Marano, Yuri A. 15–16 Nikitenko, Nadia 406
Mărăşescu, Radu 216 Nikolov, Alexandar 259, 263
Margolina, Irina 405 Nikolov, Georgi N. 251–252
Marinas, Enrique Santos 174 Nikolova, Bistra 85, 92–93
Marinow, Kirił 229–230 Ninov, Lazar 413–414
Marjanovic-Dusanic, Smilja 185–186 Noback, Andreas 402
Markov, Smilen 207–208 Nonveiller, Elena 45–46
Marsili, Giulia 34, 36–37
Martiniani-Reber, Marielle 39 Obradovic, Marija 121
Maślak, Szymon 1–2 Opsomer, Jan 216–217
Matiashvili, Irma 309–310 Opstall, Emilie van 203
Mavrodinova, Liliana 275 Oretskaya, Irina 349
Mavrommati, Kalliopi 140 Osswald, Brendan 71
Mchedlidze, Magda 170 Ostasz, Wiktor 234
Melamed, Katya 97–98 Ovcharova, Olga 321–322
Merianos, Gerasimos 299 Öztürk, Meriç T. 409–410
Mertzimekis, Nikolaos A. 373, 379–380
Meskhi, Thamar 94–95 Paissidou, Melina 335
Métivier, Sophie 26, 33 Palanciuc, Ana 216, 219
Mghebrishvili, Nino 213–214 Pallis, Georgios 107
Mickūnaitė, Giedrė 330–331 Panagopoulos, Georgios D. 293–294
Miladinova, Nadejda 227 Panayotov, Alexander 298
Mincin, Elisabeth 78 Panina, Nataliya 62
Mineva, Evelina 172, 179 Panopoulou, Angeliki 4–5
Mladjov, Ian 228 Panou, Eirini 315
Mokhov, Anton 232–233 Panov, Mitko B. 175
Mollaoğlu, Ferhan Kirlidökme 83–84 Panselinou, Nafsika 329–330
Montinaro, Federico 237–238 Papadatou, Daphne 80
Moreno, Mariel Peñaloza 40–41 Papadogiannakis, Yannis 218
Moretti, Simona 350–351 Papadopoulou, Theodora 61
Morozova, Iana 37 Papageorgiou, Angeliki 257–258
Motsianos, Ioannis 49 Papagiannis, Grigorios 300
Moulet, Benjamin 389 Papathanassiou, Evangelos 14, 21–22
Mourelatos, Dionysios 289 Papayianni, Aphrodite 242
Moussakova, Elissaveta 347, 355–356 Papoulia, Vassiliki 126
Moutafov, Emmanuel 313, 316–317 Paranou, Anna 318–319
Muçaj, Skënder 6–7 Paroń, Aleksander 231–232
Mueller-Jourdan, Pascal 217 Pasca, Valentina de 30
Myers, Gregory 186–187 Pashkin, Nikolay 259
Paunov, Evgeni I. 27
Nanou, Maria 288 Pavlov, Plamen 78–79
Naumowicz, Józef 46–47 Pavlović, Bojana 81
Nechaeva, Ekaterina 55 Pedone, Silvia 283–284
Negrău, Elisabeta 116 Peev, Dimitar 172–173
Neil, Bronwen 218 Pellikka, Ismo 286–287
Peltomaa, Leena Mari 192, 196 Saselov, Dimitar D. 117–119

Penkova-Lyager, Pirinka 181, 187–188 Schauman, Karoliina 197–198
Penskaya, Daria 161–162 Schiemenz, Günter Paulus 339
Pentcheva, Bissera V. 265 Schiffer, Elisabeth 241–243
Petrovski, Boban 141 Schreiner, Peter
Petrunin, Vladimir 259–260 Schrijver, Frouke 79
Pirivatric, Srdjan 249, 252–253 Schroeder, Rossitza B. 273–274
Pizzoli, Enrico 360 Scott, Roger 126, 132–133
Poll, Ingrid 20 Sdrolia, Stavroula 4–5
Polyakovskaya, Margarita 75–76 Serafimova, Aneta 382–383
Polyvyanniy, Dmitriy I. 172, 175–176 Shchavelev, Alexey 214–215
Popov, Ilya 51–52 Shlyakhtin, Roman 238–239
Popova, Ivayla 260–261 Shopov, Boris 50–51
Popović, Aleksandar V. 145 Shuvalov, Petr 55–56
Popović, Ivana 29 Signes-Codoñer, Juan 137–138
Preobrazhensky, Alexander 276–277 Siklafidis, Nikolaos 300
Prieto, Susana Torres 173 Silvano, Luigi 166
Prioteasa, Elena Dana 346 Simeonov, Grigori 391–392
Proestaki, Xanthi 115–116 Simić, Kosta 179–180
Pyatnitsky, Yuri 384–385 Sinkevych, Nataliia 401, 412
Siomkos, Nikolaos 344–345
Rafiyenko, Dariya 136 Şirin, Ayşe Esra 409–410
Ramos, Maria Isabel Cabrera 241–242 Skalec, Aneta 8–9
Rapti, Ioanna 320 Skhirtladze, Zaza 352–353
Raptis, Konstantinos 124–125 Skliros, Dionysios 205
Ratseva-Hristova, Svetozara 278–279 Smarnakis, Yannis 134
Reabţeva, Svetlana 40 Smirnova, Engelina 356
Rees, Gethin 298–299 Smith, Tom 36
Reinhart, Johannes 183 Snively, Carolyn S. 402–403
Rembeci, Andi 357 Sokolov, Kostadin G. 294–295
Resh, Daria 241, 247 Sophoulis, Panos 30–31
Reveret, Julia 403 Soria, Judith 328
Rey, André-Louis 258 Spentzas, Savvas 59–60
Ribolov, Svetoslav 195 Spingou, Foteini 407–408
Riccardi, Lorenzo 324 Stankova, Lilyana 370–372
Ristovska, Natalija 270–271 Stankova, Radoslava 189
Roach, Andrew P. 224 Starodubcev, Tatjana 93–94
Rodi, Morgan Di 391 Stavrou, Athanasia 246–247
Rodionov, Oleg 167 Steel, Carlos 218
Rokai, Petar 245 Stichel, Rudolf 86–87
Rousseva, Ralitsa 304, 308 Stone, Andrew 165
Rozhnjatovskiy, Vsevolod 113–114 Stoufi-Poulimenou, Ioanna 1
Stouraitis, Ioannis 236
Sabev, Plamen 328–329 Strati, Aggeliki 345–346
Salamon, Maciej 228, 234–235 Suarez, Alex Rodriguez 317–318
Samara, Demetra 152 Svenshon, Helge 102
Sánchez-Medina, Esther 49–50 Sykopetritou, Paraskevi 250
Santos, Francisco J. Andrés 138 Syrtsova, Olena 58
Sapovici, Anca 399–400 Szwat-Gyłybowa, Grażyna 226
Saradi, Helen 7–8
Taddei, Alessandro 120 Venshchikov, Mikhail 334

Tantsis, Anastasios 101–102 Versienti, Paolo 332
Tardieu, Michel 216 Vionis, Athanasios K. 14
Tarkhanova, Svetlana 96 Virgilio, Carlo 248
Tatay, Anca Elisabeta 282–283 Visconti, Abra 282
Taxidis, Ilias 130 Vitaliotis, Ioannis 341–342
Tchechmedjiev, Dimo 91–92 Voinou, Fani 151–152
Tcheishvili, George 233 Vojvodić, Dragan 69
Tchkoidze, Eka 170–171 Volkoff, Angelina 249
Terezakis, George 65 Vorobyev, Grigory 212–213
Thierry, Nicole 20–21 Voronova, Ariadna 119–120
Todorov, Boris A. 255–256 Vouvonikos, Vasileios 158
Todorova, Elisaveta 256–257, 259 Voyadjis, Sotiris 109, 113
Todorova, Evelina 38–39 Vus, Oleg 47
Todorova, Rostislava G. 306–307 Vutova, Nina 357–358
Todorovska, Marina Oncevska 98–99 Vysotskaya, Nadejda Fiodorovna 277–278
Toivanen, Hanna-Riitta 110–111
Tolidjian, Beatrice 96, 104–106 Wilksman, Juho 250–251
Torshin, Evgeny 114–115 Wills, James 241
Trajkovski, Kiril 14, 24–25 Wiśniewska, Karolina 134–135
Trifonova, Alexandra 337–338 Wroblewski, Pawel P. 261–262
Trivyzadaki, Aggeliki 269
Trizio, Michele 201, 208–209 Yalçın, Asnu-Bilban 23
Tryfanava, Natallia 322–323 Yaneva, Petya 181
Tsakos, Alexandros 168–169, 413 Yangaki, Anastasia G. 41–42
Tsanava, Rusudan 144 Yurchyshyn-Smith, Oksana 369–370
Tsiapali, Maria 331
Tsiouris, Ioannis 386 Zakharova, Anna 320
Tudorie, Ionuţ-Alexandru 166 Zalesskaya,Vera 34, 37–38
Turabelidze, Natalia 320–321 Zampaki, Theodora 74–75
Tymoshenko, Mariia 16 Zaplatnikov, Sergey 87
Tziatzi, Maria 151 Zelenko, Serguey 37
Zharkaya, Varvara 147
Ünal, Ceren 31–32 Zhdrakov, Zarko 280–281
Uścinowicz, Jerzy 375–376 Zielińska, Dobrochna 310–311, 413
Zlatkova, Julia 285
Vachnadze, Natela 162 Zykov, Petr 19
Vagalinski, Lyudmil 1, 11
Valeriev, Ioto 239–240
Valeva, Yuliya 117
Valiavitcharska, Vessela 182
Valle, Mauro della 327
Vallejo-Girvés, Margarita 85
Vanderheyde, Catherine 99–100
Vashcheva, Irina 127–128
Vasilakis, Antonios 5
Vasilev, Georgi 220–221
Vassilaki, Maria 313
Vassiliadou, Styliani D. 124–125
Velenis, Georgios 57–58, 333, 335–336

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PROCEEDINGS OF THE

22ND INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF BYZANTINE STUDIES

ABSTRACTS OF FREE COMMUNICATIONS

President and Coordinator-in-Chief

Published by Bulgarian Historical Heritage Foundation

© Angel Nikolov and the contributors 2011

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

FC1. Archaeology in the Byzantine space I 1

FC29. History of Byzantine Studies 282

Index of Speakers 415

Ioanna Stoufi-Poulimenou/George Kakavas (University of Athens, Greece/Lamia,

Szymon Maślak (University of Warsaw, Poland)

Maria Kazamia-Tsernou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece)

The identification of pre-constantinian sites of Christian worship is a very compli-

Sofia Akrivopoulou (Thessaloniki, Greece)

Stavroula Sdrolia (Larissa, Greece)

Maria Leontsini/Angeliki Panopoulou (Institute for Byzantine Research, Athens,

Αντόνιος Βασιλακάρης/Περίανδρος Επιτροπάκης (Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού και

Pascale Chevalier/Nicolas Beaudry/Skënder Muçaj (Universitè de

écrêtés jusqu’à un aménagement rupestre dont le front de taille méridional borde un

Helen Saradi (University of Peloponnese, Greece)

Aneta Skalec (University of Warsaw, Poland)

Isabella Baldini (University of Bologna, Italy)

Georgios Deligiannakis (Open University of Cyprus, Nicosia)

Людмила Г. Хрушкова (Московский государственный университет

В 2007–2009 гг. мы провели раскопки двух архитектурных памятников в Пи-

во многих помещениях. Позже здание было возобновлено. В начале X в., когда

Lyudmil Vagalinski (National Institute of Archaeology and Museum, Sofia,

Михаил Христов (Варна, България)

За коректната функционална интерпретация на археологически обект от такъв

Веселин Хаджиангелов (Исторически музей – Самоков, България)

През късноантичния период в района на Самоков е съществувала мрежа от се-

FC2. ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE BYZANTINE SPACE II

Athanasios K. Vionis (University of Cyprus, Nicosia)

Galina Grozdanova (Regional Museum of History – Kyustendil, Bulgaria)

Mariia Tymoshenko (National Taras Shevchenko University of Kiev, Ukraine)

Martina Jiroušková (Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic)

Lena Holmquist (Stockholm University, Sweden)

Gleb Ivakin/Oleg Ioannisyan/Denis Elshin (Institute of Archaeology, Kiev,

In 2005–2010 the archaeological research project of the Desyatinnaya (Tithe) church

Petr Zykov (Musée de l’Ermitage, Saint-Pétersbourg, Russie)

Gheorghe Manucu-Adamesteanu/Ingrid Poll (Musée de la ville de Bucarest,

Nicole Thierry (École Pratique des Hautes Études, Étampes, France)

Notre découverte fortuite d’une citadelle inconnue au Nord-Est d’Altunhisar, à

Evangelos Papathanassiou (University of Birmingham, UK)

The presence of an Armenian population in Thrace, due to compulsory migration, is

Tzintzilouk, of Armenian origin, an associate of the Emperor Constantine IX Mon-

Nilay Çorağan Karakaya (Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey)

Constantinople in Cappadocia based on the high quality of its paintings, pictorial

Asnu-Bilban Yalçın (Istanbul University, Turkey)

Ljubinka Dzidrova (University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK)

Earliest photographed panoramic views of Skopje document the physical condition

Kiril Trajkovski (Museum of Macedonia, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia)

The Byzantine town Morovisdos is confirmed archaeologically by the discoveries in

FC3. NUMISMATICS AND SPHRAGISTICS