Jahrbuch der Österreichischen Byzantinistik, band 69 (2019).

CONTENTS INCLUDE

Byzantine Rechenbücher: An Overview with an Edition of Anonymi J and L 
Fabio Acerbi

This article presents an overview of Byzantine Rechenbücher and an edition of two of them, earlier than any other published Rechenbuch. Along with the edition, a translation and a commentary are provided, as well as a complete thematic Greek-English glossary and an edition of the earliest known Byzantine table of decomposition of common fractions into unit fractions.

The Problem of Evil and the Theory of Contraries from Alexandria and Athens to Armenia in Late Antiquity
Benedetta Contin

The purpose of this paper is to trace the reception of the problem of evil in Armenian philosophical literature in Late Antiquity. As preliminary material, it offers a detailed discussion of the philosophical tenets of the debate as developed by the Neoplatonists, and especially by the Greek Alexandrian commentators, with a particular focus on David the Invincible. It provides the edition and theoretical analysis of an Armenian pseudepigraphic text, the so-called “Every Evil Is Punishable”, which is attributed to David the Invincible in the Armenian tradition, and has been generally considered as the Armenian translation of (pseudo-)Gregory of Nyssa’s Contra Manicheos. The paper also draws a comparison between the Armenian text and (pseu do-)Gregory of Nyssa’s Contra Manicheos, on the one hand, and between the Armenian text and two other Greek texts, namely Didymus the Blind’s Contra Manicheos and John of Caesarea’s Syllogisms, on the other.

Another True Cross: Psellos, Heraklios, and the Cross of the Archangel Michael at Sykeon
Barbara Crostini

This paper reads Psellos’ Oration to the Archangel Michael as a pointed political piece couched as a pious sermon about Christian miracles. It argues that, under the narrative of the theft of the “holy cross” from the shrine at Sykeon, Psellos veils a reference to a contemporary event, namely, the rebellion of Roussel of Bailleul against Michael VII. The aim of the oration is to restore credibility to the monastic community after their misplaced support of the Norman rebel. The allusion is constructed rhetorically through an elaborate etiology for the monastery, combining the dedication to the Archangel with the True Cross through the agency of Emperor Heraklios. This unexpected reference to the precious relic has so far gone unnoticed.

The Church of All-the-Saints (olim St Theophanô) at the Holy Apostles: a Reappraisal of the Dossier of Sources
Beatrice Daskas

The article provides a review of the textual evidence for the lost church of All-the-Saints (olim St Theophanô) added by Emperor Leo VI as an annex to the complex of the Holy Apostles. The consideration of a neglected passage in the Vat. gr. 163 version of Symeon Logothetes’ Chronicle, which states that the church was joined (κεκολλημένος) to the mausoleum of Constantine, combined with a reappraisal of De cerimoniis II 6–7, allows situating the church in the southeast corner of the Holy Apostles. The analysis of textual evidence is followed by a discussion of the location of the church in the Fatih area.

Organization of the Church in Medieval Nubia in the Light of a Newly Discovered Wall Inscription in Dongola
Tomasz Derda and Adam Łajtar

The paper offers an edition of a Greek inscription written on a wall of the so-called Church B.V in Dongola, the capital of the Christian Nubian Kingdom of Makuria. The inscription commemorates the inauguration or a renovation of the church, accomplished by the archbishop of Dongola Aaron. It says that the ceremony of the church consecration was attended by nine bishops in addition to Aaron, and lists their names and the names of their sees. The bishops stayed in Dongola for seven days, probably taking part in a synod of the local Church. The content of the inscription casts light on the organization and functioning of the Makurian Church. Prosopographical indications, especially the mention of Ioannes bishop of Faras, suggest that the event took place either between AD 804 and c. 815 or AD 999 and 1002.

Der Exarchat von Ravenna unter Kaiser Herakleios. Transformation und Kontinuität staatlicher Herrschafts- und Verwaltungsstrukturen in den Peripherien des byzantinischen Reiches in der ersten Hälfte des 7. Jahrhunderts
Nikolas Hächler

By focusing on the Exarchate of Ravenna in the first half of the 7th century, this paper contributes to the study of the rapidly changing administrative, political and military structures of the Byzantine state in its western peripheries within a quickly fragmenting Mediterranean world. First, it will analyse aspects of transformation and continuity in its administrative organization. It shall be demonstrated that there was no centralized imperial strategy to systematically face the imminence of the expanding Lombards. Secondly, this contribution examines the role of individual exarchs who were of greatest importance for Byzantium’s reign in Italy as the emperor’s representatives on site. The final section focuses on the relation between the exarchate of Ravenna and the papacy of Rome, which will provide grounds for studying the reign of Honorius I (625–638) in particular.

Sattel und Hufeisen – Pferd, Muli oder Esel im Mar Salomon-Kloster in Doliche
Constanze Höpken

During excavations on the Dülük Baba Tepesi within buildings of a Byzantine monastery, several iron objects were found which are connected to horses and horse riding: horseshoes and probable elements of a saddle. On the one hand they prove that equine animals, probably horses, were housed in one room. On the other hand, questions come up concerning the role of animals in the mobility of monks and the supply of the monastery but also the mobility of tradesmen and goods and their connection in that region and beyond. Finds of Persian glass vessels and ultramarine blue made of Afghan Lapis Lazuli show that Doliche was connected to long distance trade via roads and the Euphrates.

Attitudes towards Fasting in Constantinopolitan Monasticism (Fifth to Eleventh Centuries)
Dirk Krausmüller

This article seeks to identify changes in attitudes towards fasting in Constantinopolitan monastic milieus. Exhaustive analysis of the surviving evidence shows that two frameworks existed side by side: fasting that went well beyond what ordinary human beings would undertake and led to competition between practitioners, and fasting that was moderate and did not allow a practitioner to stand out. Agonistic and competitive asceticism was prevalent in the fifth century and in the post-Iconoclastic era. By contrast, the alternative lifestyle of moderate asceticism was promoted in the sixth century, during Iconoclasm, and in the 11th and 12th centuries.

The Encomium of the Apostle Philip by Michael the Monk (BHG 1530a). Edition and English Translation
Dirk Krausmüller

This article contains an edition and English translation of the Encomium of the Apostle Philip by Michael the Monk, a prolific hagiographer who flourished in the late ninth and early tenth century. It is of particular historical interest because it seems to have been delivered at the saint’s cult centre in Hierapolis. The first part of the text is an elaboration of Biblical passages in which Philip is mentioned, and the second part is a reworking of the late antique Passio of Philip according to rhetorical convention. Instances of direct speech, however, are reproduced without change, which suggests that Michael considered them to be exact representations of what Philip had once said.

The Epitomator Ioannes Xiphilinos and the Eleventh-Century Xiphilinoi 
Marion Kruse

Ioannes Xiphilinos, the nephew of the eponymous patriarch Ioannes VIII Xiphilinos (1063–1075), played a critical role in the transmission of the text of the Roman historian Cassius Dio. Despite his importance, however, scholars continue to reproduce an inaccurate and arbitrary biography according to which he was a monk and the author of three works: the Epitome of Cassius Dio, a collection of fifty-three homilies, and a Menologion dedicated to Alexios I Komnenos. The current article lays out the shortcomings of the prevailing consensus before surveying the evidence for the family of the Xiphilinoi in the eleventh century and positing an identification of our epitomator informed by the testimony of lead seals and the letters of Michael Psellos. It argues that our epitomator was not a monk, but was likely a student of Psellos and a high-ranking member of the imperial administration whose only extant work is the Epitome of Cassius Dio.

La sténographie de Michel Psellos
Paolo Odorico

The aim of this article is to contribute to our understanding of a very controversial passage in Psellos’s Encomium of Symeon Metaphrastes, where this author alludes to a team working for Metaphrastes, that is composed of three groups of copyists. Though it has recently been suggested again in recent studies, the conventional interpretation of this passage according to which stenography could be in play, is far from convincing. Two solutions are proposed here: either the redaction process of the Menologion of Metaphrastes was different from how it has been conceived, or—more likely—Psellos is referring to another work by Metaphrastes.

Neues zu Leben und Werk des Isidor von Kiev. Kritische Bemerkungen zu zwei Biographien
Peter Schreiner

This article discusses two recently published monographs about Cardinal Isidore of Kiev: Marios Philippides, Walter K. Hanak †, Cardinal Isidore. C. 1390–1462 [sic]. A Late Byzantine Scholar, Warlord and Prelate. London – New York 2018, and Sergej Ju. Akišin, Митрополнт Исидор Киевский (1385/1390–1463). Ekaterinburg 2018.

A Note on the Dossier of Geographical Glosses Used by the Compilers of the So-called Version B of the Logothete Chronicle under the Macedonian Emperors 
Juan Signes Codoñer

The article explains the list of geographical references included in the chronicle of the Pseudo-Symeon 705.16– 707.10 (Bekker) as the result of the careless copying of a dossier of glosses connected with the preparatory work for a lost volume of the Historical Excerpts of Constantine VII. Comparison is made with other contemporary chronicles, such as Book VI of Theophanes continuatus and the so-called Logothete Chronicle B in order to substantiate this hypothesis. It is suggested that Ps-Symeon worked on a copy of the Logothete Chronicle A, which he used as a basis to create a new version of the text expanded with new sources and materials. The problems thus detected make it necessary to reconsider the position of Logothete B in the stemma and to take into account the use of dossiers and the “contamination” (i.e. sharing of sources) among the various versions of the Logothete complex.

Symeon the Logothete and Theophanes continuatus
Staffan Wahlgren

The chief aim of this paper is to clarify some points relevant to a new edition of the so-called Version B of the Chronicle of Symeon the Logothete. The genealogical relationship between Symeon’s chronicle, Version B, and the so-called Theophanes continuatus (the ms. Vat. gr. 167) is analysed, and the different stages in the development of the tradition are described, particularly in terms of how consecutive layers of text are added. Furthermore, contamination between Version B/Theophanes continuatus and the Chronicle of Pseudo-Symeon is discussed.