The Monastery of Stoudios in the 15th Century

Abstract

The article examines the history of the Stoudios monastery during the Late Palaiologan period and traces its impact on Constantinopolitan public life during the last decades of Byzantium. Although Stoudios was already restored in the early Palaiologan period, it was only during the reign of emperor John V Palaiologos (1341–1391) that it began once more to emerge as a leading monastery in a way reminiscent of its Middle Byzantine heyday. In the late 14th and early 15th centuries the monks of Stoudios, led by figures such as Patriarch Euthymios II and Joseph Bryennios, often challenged official imperial policies. Later, during the reign of John VIII the monastery was intimately connected with the imperial administration. Throughout this period, Stoudios played an active role in the discussions about the Union of the Churches. The textual evidence also provides information on the appearance and status of the monastery’s building complex and reveals its importance within the urban landscape of Late Palaiologan Constantinople.