Byzantinische Zeitschrift, volume 114, issue 3 (September 22, 2021).

CONTENTS INCLUDE

Manuele Crisolora a Costantinopoli
Fabio Acerbi, Daniele Bianconi, and Anna Gioffreda

The identification of a “new” handwriting of Manuel Chrysoloras allows to assign to him a number of hitherto unpublished witnesses, all preceding his teaching activity in Florence from 1397. This new dossier illustrates Chrysoloras’ youth in Constantinople, providing precious and so far unknown information on his family, his father John, his studies in the anti-Palamite milieux with Isaac Argyros and Demetrios Kydones, and, of course, his books, his graphic education, and his readings. Among these, a special place is occupied by Aristotle’s logic: particular attention is therefore paid to a mock-up of a manuscript containing Aristotle’s Organon with a marginal commentary, here attributed to Chrysoloras and realized in a well-known manuscript by his master Argyros. 

Ephraim of Ainos at work: a cycle of epigrams in the margins of Niketas Choniates
Julián Bértola

This article offers the first critical edition of a cycle of epigrams found in the margins of six manuscripts of Niketas Choniates’ History. This paper also proposes the attribution of the poems to Ephraim of Ainos, an author mainly known for his verse chronicle, which has Niketas Choniates as a source. Our poems occur in a group of manuscripts which we already knew Ephraim had used for his chronicle. Many formal parallels between the epigrams and the chronicle point to the same author and a book epigram connects one important manuscript with the city of Ainos. This paper reassesses the manuscript tradition of the epigrams with special emphasis on the marginalia of Niketas Choniates. The critical text of the poems is accompanied by two apparatuses and an English translation. The edition is preceded by some methodological considerations and followed by two appendices and three indices. 

Justinian, Vitiges and the peace treaty of 540 (Proc. Bell. Goth. 2.29.2)
Marco Cristini

The proposed peace treaty of 540 between Justinian and Vitiges ‒ according to most interpretations of Proc. Bell. Goth. 2.29.2 ‒ included a partition of Italy into two areas, one located south of the river Po and controlled by Justinian and the other located north of the Po and controlled by the Goths. However, a closer examination of Procopius’ wording and of similar passages indicates that Justinian aimed to receive only the tax revenues of southern and central Italy, with the provinces themselves remaining in the hands of the Goths. 

Die zweite Definition der Philosophie der alexandrinischen neuplatonischen Schule in den Werken des Niketas Stethatos
Georgios Diamantopoulos

This paper presents Niketas Stethatos’ use of the definition of philosophy as “knowledge of human and divine things”. The definition, of Stoic origin, was elaborated by the Neoplatonic school of Alexandria (Ammonios, Elias, David, Pseudo-David) together with five other definitions, and was adopted by the Church Fathers. The first part discusses aspects of the definition’s history in ancient, Patristic, and Byzantine literature until the eleventh century, which indicates Stethatos’ uniqueness. The second part presents the definition in his works (phraseology, sources and use), with emphasis on its relation to the φυσικὴ θεωρία. Also the extraordinary often and multifaceted appearance of this definition in Stethatos’ works in his controversy with Michael Psellos is investigated. Stethatos, through his elaborated and systematic reference to the definition, propagates the mystical experience as authentic philosophy against the rise of secular philosophy and its tendency to become autonomous. 

Philip-Philagathos’ allegorical interpretation of Heliodorus’ Aithiopika: Eros, mimesis and scriptural anagogical exegesis
Mircea G. Duluș

The debate over the authorship of the allegorical interpretation of Heliodorus’ novel extant in codex Marc. Gr. 410 (coll. 522) bequeathed to subsequent scholarship the assumption that the text belongs to the Neoplatonic allegorical tradition of reading Homer. This essay aims to revisit this philosophical attribution and argue that the terms and philosophical categories alluded in this allegory are characteristic of a long tradition of Patristic analysis, and more specifically of Gregory of Nyssa and Maximus Confessor’s exegesis. Setting forth new textual evidence, it argues that the exegetical practice displayed in the allegory reflects Maximus Confessor’s anagogical exegesis (i. e., the etymological and numerical speculations) and Gregory of Nyssa’s pedagogy of desire and doctrine of spiritual progress as set forth in the Homilies on the Song of Songs and The Life of Moses. 

Interventi censori nell’Anthologia Planudea
Lucia Floridi

The aim of this paper is to offer a complete survey of Planudes’s moralising corrections in his epigrammatic anthology, as these can be reconstructed through a comparison between Pl and the other testimonies (i. e. P and the Syllogae Minores). On the one hand, this analysis will confirm the inconsistency of the monk in bowdlerising the texts, often remarked by scholars; on the other, it will clarify that corrections intended to make a text morally acceptable are only occasional, and often ex-tempore. The Appendix discusses a further case of possible bowdlerization by Planudes in the Sylloge Laurentiana, composed about twenty years before his major anthology. 

Image and Chalcedonian Eucharistic doctrine: a re-evaluation of the Riha paten, its decoration and its historical context
Benjamin Fourlas

The iconography of the Communion of the Apostles, a theme well established in Byzantine art after Iconoclasm, first appears in a securely dated context in the silver patens from Riha and Stuma. These silver plates were produced in Constantinople sometime between 575 and 578. The iconography with the twofold depiction of Christ is usually explained as a reflection of the liturgical practice of the Eucharist, namely, as a reflection of the two actors in the Eucharistic rite, the priest and a deacon distributing bread and wine. I argue instead that during the early Byzantine period the twofold depiction of Christ is an expression of the two natures of Christ directed against the Miaphysites. I propose that the exceptional appearance of the scene in the two early Byzantine silver patens from church treasures from northern Syria is likely to be explained by its Christological significance with regard to Chalcedonian Eucharistic doctrine during the persecution of the Miaphysites in the 570s. 

A contribution to the technology and sources of lead in Byzantium: lead isotope analysis of ten Byzantine seals
Olga Karagiorgou, Stephen Merkel, and Marcin Wołoszyn

This article presents the results of lead isotope analysis of ten Byzantine seals from the sigillographic collection of Robert Feind (Cologne). The report is preceded by an overview of pre-existing studies on lead use in the Byzantine Empire and a presentation of the investigated seals datable to the Early Byzantine (4 specimens), Middle Byzantine (5 specimens) and Late Byzantine period (1 specimen). Three seals are of imperial issue. The results of the analysis of lead are compared against the results of isotope analysis of other silver and lead artefacts from Late Antiquity and the Late Byzantine period. The isotop analysis leads to the following conclusions: (a) Many of the seals have isotope ratios consistent with Aegean-Bulgaria-Western Turkey sources; (b) Reused lead was also employed in the manufacture of seals; (c) There appear to be significant chronological and regional differences in the lead used for casting blanks in the eastern Mediterranean. The number of lead seals subjected here to analysis is admittedly too small for the results to be fully representative; still, they provide a starting point for more similar studies which will preferably include excavation finds with known and secure provenance. 

The donor inscription of the Monastery of Lefkai (Euboea): new evidence for a μαρμαράριος of the middle byzantine period
Vasileios A. Klonatos

The present article focuses on the dedicatory inscription of St Charalambos, the katholikon of the Lefkai monastery in the village of Avlonari in Euboea. The inscription dates back to the second building phase of the monument, between 1143-1180. Pantelis Zographos was the first researcher who dealt with the dedicatory inscription, making however fundamental mistakes. He was followed by Johannes Koder in 1973. All subsequent researchers adopted and followed Koder’s interpretation. On the basis of new information, an amendment and new reading of the inscription are proposed which lead to a new marble carver’s signature, that of Κοσμᾶς ὁ μαρμαράριος in the dedicatory inscription. Inscriptions with the name of a stone or marble carver from the Middle Byzantine period in Greece are, up to this point, extremely rare. 

The last century of the Chora Monastery: a new look at the tomb monuments
Nicholas Melvani

The present article re-examines the tomb monuments in the parekklesion and the outer narthex of the main church of the Chora monastery, which are generally thought to date from the early Palaiologan period. Based on the analysis of the iconography and style of the frescoes adorning the tombs, it is suggested that some of the burials should be re-dated at least a few decades later. The frescoes in the lunette of the Tomb of Michael Tornikes (Tomb D) appear to have been executed shortly after 1350 and the decoration of Tombs C and E must date from around the same time. The portraits in Tombs F and G date from the 15th century. The epigraphic evidence and the images illustrate the continuing use of the Chora by its patrons, members of various branches of the Tornikes, Asanes, Raoul, and Dermokaites families, during the last century of the monastery. 

Imprisoned martyrs on the move: reading holiness in Byzantine martyrdom accounts
Christodoulos Papavarnavas

This paper shows that the protagonists of Byzantine Passions are often depicted as attaining holiness while on the move: after their arrest by pagan soldiers, Christian martyrs are subjected to travels for legal reasons. Drawing on the anthropological concept of liminality (Arnold van Gennep, Victor Turner), I will suggest that such inflicted travels or transfers in Byzantine Passions serve as liminal phases between interrogation, torture, imprisonment, and execution, by which the protagonists ascend to the state of holiness. The paper, structured in three major sections, focuses on scenes of ‘imprisoned martyrs on the move’ as delineated in both pre-Metaphrastic and Metaphrastic martyrdom accounts (fourth-tenth centuries). After a concise introduction to the theoretical background and the text corpus of this study, the main sections explicate the motif of imposed movement in conjunction with the literary construction of holiness, the spiritual formation of the audience, and the structure of a martyrdom narrative. 

Of the nomophylax: John Xiphilinos’ scholia on the Basilica
Daphne Penna

The aim of the present study is to focus exclusively on the Basilica scholia of John Xiphilinos: to collect and record a list of his scholia and to analyse and evaluate specific lengthy scholia of his in detail. Scholia attributed to Xiphilinos have the heading “of the nomophylax”. We also encounter scholia under the heading “of Ioannes”, and it remains doubtful whether they can also be attributed to Xiphilinos. Based on the evidence some of the scholia with the heading “of Ioannes” are certainly attributed to the antecessor Ioannes Kobidas. Xiphilinos takes into account older legal material including antecessorian writings (Stephanus, Cyril, Theophilus and kata podas translations), as well as works of Athanasius of Emesa and Theodorus of Hermoupolis. Xiphilinos’ references to the rheton raise the question whether he had actually consulted manuscripts of the Digest. Arguments are brought in favour of this hypothesis. 

Christmas presents for John Tzetzes: a new verse epistle from the letter collection
Aglae Pizzone

The corpus of Tzetzes’ epistles edited by Pietro Luigi Leone in 1972 includes 107 letters. However, two of the earliest manuscript witnesses of the collection bequeath a 108th letter consisting of 16 iambs and closing the corpus. The short missive is addressed to one Konstantinos Phyteianos. The present paper provides the first edition and translation into English of this letter, analysing its authorship and contents as well as its rhetorical function within the corpus. 

Der Bericht des Minoïdes Mynas über die Bibliothek des Klosters des hl. Ioannes Prodromos tu Bazelonos
Rudolf S. Stefec

The short catalogue of the manuscripts of the monastery of St. John the Forerunner tu Bazelonos written by Minoïdes Mynas (Par. suppl. gr. 1248, ff. 187v- 190v) in February 1845 is edited and the entries (19) matched with the only other known catalogue penned by A. Papadopulos-Kerameus in 1909 (40 entries), based on a visit to the monastery in 1884. Two of the manuscripts contained in the catalogue of Mynas can be identified (Par. suppl. gr. 613; Petropolit. BPG 743); the rest is probably lost. An inscription contained in manuscript nr. 39 of the monastery and transcribed by Papadopulos-Kerameus identifies Manuel I. Komnenos as the founder of the convent. 

John II Komnenos’ campaign in Cilician Armenia
Konstantinos Takirtakoglou

The present paper challenges the assertion that John II Komnenos’ first campaign against Cilician Armenia (1137) was directly connected with the conflict between the Byzantines and the Principality of Antioch. The supposed anti-Byzantine alliance between the Armenians and the Crusaders is examined within this context; excerpts from the relevant sources not only cast doubt on its existence, but also allow the assertion that during the period under examination the relations between the Armenians and the Crusaders were hostile. Thus, the issue that arises is the following: If Levon was an enemy of the Crusaders, why did he not stand at the Byzantines’ side, instead waging war against them? The assertion of the present paper regarding this policy decision is that it was due to Levon’s alliance with John’s primary enemy in the East, the Danishmends. In fact, the sources indicate that the subjugation of Armenia was of greater priority for the Byzantine emperor in his campaign than the conquest of Antioch. This is demonstrated by the fact that John refused to conclude a treaty with the Rubenid lord similar to that which he had concluded with the prince of Antioch, and is supported by the operational maneuvers of the Byzantine forces during the campaign. To connect John’s activities in Cilicia with his subsequent campaign in Pontus and the Turkish reactions to these Byzantine strategic moves, the present paper asserts that John’s conquest of Cilicia was part of a wider policy of strategic encirclement of the Danishmends. 

Der Islam-Diskurs bei Niketas von Byzanz
Manolis Ulbricht

The article analyzes the anti-Islamic polemical discourse of Nicetas of Byzantium (9th/10th c.), one of the most important Byzantine apologists and polemicists flourishing in the intellectual-theological context of Patriarch Photios in Constantinople. This paper crystallizes the main topics of discussion in Nicetas’ Refutation of the Qur’an (Vat. gr. 681) and presents his argumentation against Islam.To structure and evaluate the wayNicetas perceives Islam, I have developed a methodology of four thematic categories (Theology, Ethics, History, Physiology) with correspondent polemical subcategories. This research approach may also serve as a paradigm enhancing further studies on other sources related to Christian-Muslim interfaith dialogue.