Warrior, Parent, Martyr: Iconographic Variants and Hagiographic Attributes of Saint Eustathius Placidas in the Wallachian Mural Painting (1650-1815)

Abstract

This paper addresses the iconography of Saint Eustathius Placidas in Wallachia during the second half of the 17th century and the 18th century. In this historical region the first part of the selected period still embraced a medieval mindset, while the second one evinces the features of the early modern times. Eustathius Placidas, one of the important military martyrs in Byzantine iconography, was also an influential hagiographic figure in the Post-Byzantine warrior-martyrs paradigm. During the 18th century, his representations multiplied in Romania and were propagated dramatically, contributing to the diversification of iconographic types. The present research aims at investigating this gradual expansion and its cultural motivation. This paper will explore the enactment of a new artistic tradition, the connection between the visual sources and the hagiographic texts, as well as the main ways (methods) of diffusion of the topic across the Orthodox edifices. The intention of this approach is also to investigate the semantics of the juxtaposition of Saint Eustathius’ representations with the ones of the other ‘major’ and ‘minor’ warrior saints. In the interest of examining the typology of this saint in 17th and 18th century Wallachia, a comparative analysis with the Byzantine and Post-Byzantine examples from other South-Eastern Europe areas will be considered.