Late Byzantine Period Research Articles

Kelliotic and Idiorrhythmic Monasteries in the Middle and Late Byzantine Periods

Kelliotic and Idiorrhythmic Monasteries in the Middle and Late Byzantine Periods

Поздневизантийское духовное наставничество в письмах митрополита Халкидонского к монахине Евлогии

In Late Byzantium, spiritual correspondence served as a form of spiritual guidance. One form of imparting guidance was through correspondence between a spiritual father and a spiritual child. The 14 unpublished letters from the Metropolitan of Chalcedon to his spiritual daughter, nun Eulogia, found in the codex Paris, BnF, gr. 1372, ff. 155–170v, constitute the extant segment of spiritual correspondence during the Late Byzantine period. Selected by Eulogia herself and transcribed at her request, these letters evolved into a section of a collection of ascetic treatises designed for a monastic audience. The main theme of these little-studied letters is the exploration of Eulogia’s soul and her experience of monastic life. The Metropolitan serves as a vigilant supervisor meticulously noting even the subtlest emotional fluctuations of his correspondent. Within the epistolary narrative, the metropolitan performs a number of functions: therapeutic as a doctor, educational as a counsellor, prayerful as an intercessor before God, and reconciliatory as a mediator between God and Eulogia. The mentioned aspects are characteristic features in the depiction of a spiritual father in the Eastern Christian tradition. The article illustrates how employing these guiding models the spiritual father endeavors to regulate the emotional and physical experiences of his spiritual daughter. The hierarch emphasizes the necessity of struggle with depressive despair through daily confession before God and discourages the adoption of elevated hesychast practices. Furthermore, the hierarch revises the monastic rules of life advising Eulogia who is grappling with a physical ailment to exercise moderation in the number of prayers and genuflections, while also emphasizing the importance of maintaining a healthy balance in terms of food and sleep. Thus, the spiritual father serves as a regulator of ascetic practices demonstrating his desire to personalize Eulogia’s relationship with the sacred and to shape the most suitable path for her to experience monastic spiritual life. The spiritual letters themselves serve as instruments of influence as their function extends beyond communication and maintaining social connections. These spiritual messages are meant to be reread and comprehended during which the spiritual child was again and again immersed in the discourse of instructions.

On some ancient Greek and Latin medical recipes in verse. Their position in the world. Part A

In Part A of our article, we examine medical recipes in verse within Greek literature, spanning from the Hellenistic period to the Roman Imperial era. We also briefly touch upon analogous recipes in Classical and Late Latin, as these two literary forms were intertwined for centuries. A comprehensive analysis of Latin literature in this domain remains a necessity. We explore the motivations behind these didactic poems and the metrical patterns employed in their composition. The article presents fragments of these recipes, all translated into English and several retained in their original language as well, arranged chronologically alongside succinct biographical details of their authors. These include Homer, considered their distant forebear, followed by Ovid, Aglaias of Byzantium, Andromachus the Elder, Philo of Tarsus, Damocrates, Nicander, Rufus of Ephesus, Eudemus of Pergamum, Galen, Serenus Sammonicus, The Carmen graecum de herbis, and Marcellus Empiricus. In Part B, we will continue to explore similar recipes from the Middle and Late Byzantine periods. This section will also feature examples from Medieval Latin and Islamic medical literature, illustrating the intercultural context in which these Greek verses stood. A General Discussion and Conclusions will be provided at the end of Part B.

Carski baldahin nad ulazom u crkvu - oblici, prostorni konteksti, ikonografski programi i smisao kupole u srpskim pripratama XIV veka

The churches commissioned by King (later Emperor) Stephen Dušan, his important dignitaries, and later Serbian rulers-e.g., Holy Archangels near Prizren, Lesnovo, Hilandar, Markov Manastir, Ravanica, and Manasija-often have a narthex or an entrance porch covered by a dome. This architectural element is additionally emphasized by a specific program of painted decoration-as witnessed by several preserved ensembles-which, like the one in the nave's dome, contains some representation of Christ surrounded by members of the heavenly ranks. Through the choice of iconographic elements of Christ or accompanying personages, these compositions are often imbued with a royal subtext. Such an architectural and iconographic solution has its precedents in some Byzantine monuments from the 10th to the 12th century, of which the most important for the Serbian examples, as their potential models, are probably the Athonite katholika and the main church of the Pantokrator Monastery in Constantinople. The prevalence of this architectural element notably increased during the Late Byzantine period, particularly in political entities whose rulers sought independence and even aspired to imperial dignity, such as Epirus, which bordered the Serbian state, and later Mystra. In these Byzantine churches, the specific form of this micro-architectural feature and its strategic placement at the church entrance can be associated with imperial patronage and royal visits. Given the well-supported hypothesis that this paradigm was adopted into Serbian architecture with the same imperial connotation, this study examines its spatial, formal, and iconographic elements, along with its semantic and ideological context. The author's ongoing research of this phenomenon encompasses all preserved and relevant examples within the Serbian Empire, Byzantium, and the broader Byzantine world. However, for the purpose of this article, the discussion will be limited only to Serbian monuments, include an examination of their potential models, and underscore particular nuances in meaning exhibited by their spatial solutions and iconographic programs.

PECULIARITIES OF THE GREEK LANGUAGE OF THE LATE BYZANTINE PERIOD AND IN THE TIMES OF TURKISH RULE

PECULIARITIES OF THE GREEK LANGUAGE OF THE LATE BYZANTINE PERIOD AND IN THE TIMES OF TURKISH RULE

Resurrecting Mitzpe Shivta: connections between monasticism and economy in the Late Antique Negev Desert

Occupation of Mitzpe Shivta in the Negev Desert coincided with times of economic and social upheaval and counterculture movements during the sixth and seventh centuries AD. Inscriptions and symbols found in rock-hewn rooms in the region indicate that while the agricultural economy declined during the late Byzantine period, pilgrimage and monasticism prospered.

Конструктивне рішення віконних рам та використання скла у середньо- та пізньовізантійській храмовій архітектурі

The purpose of the article is to investigate the constructive solutions of windows, window frames, production and use of glass (including stained glass) in temple buildings of the Middle and Late Byzantine periods on the basis of preserved, described in sources and found ar- tifacts. Th e research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, comparative analysis, induction and deduction. An interdisciplinary methodology is used – approaches of global history, which are based on data, fi rst of all, obtained from archaeological, geographical and chemical research, as well as a comparative method and a method of analysis. The scientifi c novelty is due to the need for a thorough study of all aspects of the temple architecture of Byzantium, since today there is a great need for the restoration/reconstruction of the monuments of Roman civilization, both from the point of view of the development of tourism in the region, and for the preservation of material cultural heritage for posterity. Conclusions. The development of window glass production technology actively infl uenced its shape, size and quality. Accordingly, the direction and degree of natural lighting in the Byzantine temple depended on this. Th e shape of the windows (as well as their size) diff ered by location in diff erent parts of a particular temple (gallery walls, dome drums, apses, stair towers, etc.). The traditional types of Byzantine windows, which were found in both temple and palace architecture, are arched, round and semi-round (as well as single, double and triple). Based on the preserved window openings, it can be understood that the glass was made of a small size. For the production of window glass, workshops-ergasterias were used, where glassware was made. Th e main raw material for glass making is silica, i.e. sand, and additional impurities are potash or sodium soda. They could also add lime, ground shells and oxides of various metals to colour the glass. In the Middle and Late Byzantine period, window glass is a very rare fi nd. Th e most common form of window glass was rounded oculi, or “crown glass.” Th e typical design of a Byzantine window consisted of a lattice frame “transene” (plaster, marble, wood or lead) and inserted into it 2 or 3 rows of paired small, round, fl at glasses of the oculi type. Both ordinary col- oured and stained glass were used in Byzantine architecture.

The Maroneia cave in Aegean Thrace. Byzantine period transport amphoras and coarse ware

In western Aegean Thrace, on Mt. Ismaros, the Maroneia cave is located. Its southeastern part was in use from the Late Neolithic period onward, until the verge of the Middle and Late Byzantine periods. The cave lies at a short distance from the homonymous, prosperous, coastal, fortified city. Albeit its southern entrance is well-hidden, the plateau in front of it provides the opportunity for wide observation of the surrounding area. Artifacts deposited in the interior attest that the citizens of Maroneia were hosted here occasionally. The present paper presents the coarse ware, attempting to shed light on: a. the commercial and cultural connections of Maroneia and Aegean Thrace in general with Balkan and Mediterranean sites and b. the various uses of the cave through time; transport amphoras and pithoi reflect its use as a storage area for agricultural and dairy commodities, whereas table- and kitchenware reveals its use as a shelter during the tumultuous times of Aegean Thrace. Invasions of several tribes of the north, e.g., the Goths, Huns, Avars, Normans, Catalans, etc.; the rivalry between the Latin kings; the civil wars of the late Byzantine emperors; and seaward piracy on the coastal region of the Thracian Sea led the Maroneitans to abandon their city occasionally and seek refuge in the nearby cave.

I monaci athoniti e l’Islam nel sec. XIV: le fonti agiografiche

"The article aims to approach the theme of the progress of the Turkish brigades into the Byzantine territories, in particular the Mount Athos, during the fourteenth century. It provides a new perspective for this topic. Indeed, it focuses on the hagiographical sources and how they describe the reaction of the Athonite monks in front of this phenomenon. The sources have been set according to a thematic order: 1) cases of escape from the Holy Mountain after the Turkish raids; 2) reports of or from captivity; 3) the consequences of the Turkish progress into the Asiatic and Western provinces of the Byzantine Empire; 4) the psychological impact on the monastic communities of Athos, and finally 5) the relationship between Athonite monks and Islamic communities in the Holy Land as favorite pilgrimage destination. The perception of the violence of the Turkish troops forces the Athonite communities to a general reconsideration of lifestyle and of ascetical practices. Moreover, it indirectly causes the propagation of the hesychast lifestyle out of the borders of the Holy Mountain during the late Byzantine period. Out of fear for the Islamic enemies the hagiographers take the opportunity to praise the ethical qualities of their monastic champions. On the other hand, in these sources they do not deal with Islamic morals; the violence of the enemies is the unique theme they consider as a priori distinguished feature of Muhammed’s followers. Keywords: Mount Athos, Byzantine monasticism, hesychasm, fourteenth century, Byzantine hagiography, Turkish conquest, Christian–Muslim relations, Kallistos I, Gregory Palamas, Philotheos Kokkinos "

Λογοπαίγνια με κύρια ονόματα στις επιστολογραφικές συλλογές της μεσοβυζαντινής και υστεροβυζαντινής περιόδου (12ος-14ος αι.)

This article discusses the puns on proper nouns in ten different letter This article discusses the puns on proper nouns in ten different lettercollections of the middle and late Byzantine period (12th–14th centuries).Specifically, our main aim is not only to showcase the content, the extentand the purpose of these wordplays, but also to offer an insight into theirfunction in the contemporary letter collections and into their own specialfeatures

On the Coin Circulation in the South-Western Taurica in the Late Byzantine Period: A Few New Numismatic Rarities

The specifics of the monetary circulation of the Taurica during the classical Middle Ages are well known to modern specialists in Byzantine numismatics. It is characterized by the diversity of the money market and a wide variety of issuers. There appeared new discoveries expanding the geography and direction of the Crimean numismatic monuments from the Late Byzantine Period and replenishing them with important information. Among the numismatic finds from the period when the Byzantine Empire collapsed and, later, restored, there are local issues along with, so to speak, the money “brought from across the sea,” which circulated in the markets of the Taurica in this or that way. The coins in question comprised of the money minted by the Empires of Trebizond and Nicaea, Crusader states, and renovated Byzantium. Today, the said interpretation gets extra support from the finds to be introduced into the scholarship: the coins of Megaloi Komnenoi, such as a follaro of John III (1342–1344) and aspri of Manuel III (1390–1417) and John IV (1446–1458); a hyperpyron nomisma of Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes (1222–1254) of Nicaea; a denier tournois of Doux Guillaume (William) I de la Roche (1280–1287) of Athens; a denaro tornese minted by the Genoese government of Chios in 1477–1487; a copper tetarteron of Andronikos II Palaiologos (1282–1328); and some other finds. These new coins are important evidence of trade and economic relations of the south-western Taurica with the regions of the Southern Black Sea, the Balkans and the Mediterranean and an impressive illustration of the administrative and political processes in the Black Sea area in Late Byzantine Period.

Complex translations at the imperial court in Constantinople: The Graeco-Latin imperial treaties with Venice from the Late Byzantine period

The bilingual-Latin-Greek-documents from the Byzantine imperial chancery provide insight into the work on translating texts with many technical terms in Constantinople. A unique source on translation studies are the treaties between the Byzantine emperor and Venice under the Palaiologan dynasty most of which are preserved in original form in the State Archive of Venice. This study outlines the problems these documents pose in their development and critically discusses the commonly held view on original Greek texts and respective Latin translations. Reflecting the process of negotiating a treaty, the translation runs from Latin to Greek at least in some cases. However, the ultimate result, a bilingual contract, depends on several parameters, so the vocabulary, grammar and any prior contracts and repeated phrases or sentences in each document need to be analysed; furthermore, one must determine whether a phrase originally came from Latin or Greek. The bilingual treaty resulting from a very complex process is termed here ?complex translation?. This article approaches the problem through two case studies. It will be pivotal for further studies to compare the wording of the treaty items with the preceding ones. To facilitate a diachronic overview, the study ends with two lists of the addressed issues.

The portrayal of collective identity in the works of Gennadios Scholarios

The paper analyzes the portrayal of collective identity in the works of Gennadios Scholarios, focusing on his autobiographical writings. Tracing his use of the terms Hellene (?????), fatherland (??????), and race (?????), it explores Scholarios? understanding of his collective and political identity before and after the Fall of Constantinople. The portrayal of collective identity of a learned Byzantine and assessment of the elements he used to determine the group with which he identified provide grounds to reconstruct a broader picture of identity questions in the late Byzantine period, especially in the relationship between the terms Rhomaios and Hellene.

Mistra as alterum Byzantium

This research addresses the history of Mistra, which in the Late Byzantine Period was the capital of the Despotate of Morea and the Byzantine stronghold in the Peloponnesos. The historians have interpreted Mistra, which appeared in the thirteenth century, as one of the “new cities/towns,” which shaped with no concern to classical architectural tradition. The feature of historical development of Mistra was determined by its position at a distance from the seacoast combined with the natural landscape factor, as the city appeared at a hillside. This influenced the city-planning regulations, the nature of the private and public urban buildings, and the architectural features. Nevertheless, the city appearance shaped under the influence of the Byzantine capital. A considerable role in the history of Mistra was played by a great degree of autonomy of the despotai of the Morea from Constantinople. Mistra primarily was the administrative centre, where the despotai created their own court and a team of officials following the parallels with the imperial capital. From the second half of the fourteenth century on, Mistra’s status of cultural capital of the empire rivalled that of Constantinople. The climax of sciences and intellectual surge in Mistra, combined with the latter’s growing political importance, made it alterum Byzantium (“Second Constantinople”). Similarly to the capital, Mistra embodied the “imperial idea,” which was realized in the definite court hierarchy, glittering palace, rich urban buildings, and cultural superiority.

Warfare, Fortifications, and their Garrisons in Late Medieval Epirus (Fourteenth through Fifteenth Centuries): An Outline Based on the Evidence of the Castle of Riniasa

Abstract In the late Byzantine period, the region of Epirus was beset by successive military conflicts as Byzantines, Italians, Albanians, Serbs, and Ottomans claimed their own share of its territory. Minor lordships became the dominant type of political entity from the fourteenth century onward and were heavily dependent on a “sophisticated” system of fortifications, consisting of larger and smaller fortresses, castles, forts, and towers. These fortifications were of vital significance for the control of strategic points of interest. But the lack of manpower remained a significant problem; this meant that during serious conflicts, the standing forces were bolstered by civilians or mercenaries. This article describes the conduct of warfare in relation to the fortifications and the defensive structure of Epirus in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Moreover, it examines available information on manpower (captains, crossbowmen, archers, soldiers, etc.) drawn from the sources, which are scarce, fragmentary, and incomplete. Thus, this piece of information allows us to shed light only on the castle of Riniasa on the northwestern coast of Epirus. Its study may offer a clearer image of other similar castles in the region and their role in medieval warfare.

9 A brief history of the BSA Museum Study Collection

The BSA Museum houses a study collection of artefacts donated to the BSA and collected by its members up to the 1960s. The collection provides a valuable resource for teaching and research, enabling scholars to gain first-hand familiarity with objects from a range of material types (including ceramics, metals, stone, terracotta) dating from the Neolithic through to the Late Byzantine period. The collection comprises some 4,000 individual artefacts and over 46,000 sherds of pottery, objects that have been displayed in different parts of the BSA premises over the past 130 years. Of the whole collection, various small sections have been published in the Annual of the BSA. What has been lacking, however, is a narrative about the museum itself: where its objects came from, who studied them, how the collection as a whole has been catalogued and organized. This paper tells that story: from the collection’s humble beginnings, with the first donation of just a few sherds in 1892, through to recently completed digitization and public engagement projects.

Figureless Art: Anti-Figural Trends in Jewish Art During the Late Byzantine and Early Islamic Periods by Noa Yuval-Hacham

Reviewed by: Figureless Art: Anti-Figural Trends in Jewish Art During the Late Byzantine and Early Islamic Periods by Noa Yuval-Hacham Oz Avraham Tamir Figureless Art: Anti-Figural Trends in Jewish Art During the Late Byzantine and Early Islamic Periods Noa Yuval-Hacham Magnes Press: Jerusalem, 2021. Pp. 381. ISBN: 978-965-7776-58-2 Noa Yuval-Hacham's book explores a subject that has, up to this point, not been systematically analyzed, namely aniconism and iconoclasm in the Jewish art of Late Antiquity. Apart from the critical importance of this topic to any examination of Late Antiquity, the book also stands out for its judicious methodological decision to cross-reference the literary sources with material culture. This book, which is based on Yuval-Hacham's doctoral dissertation, deals with changes in the attitude of Jewish society towards figurative art during the late Byzantine and early Muslim periods. Tolerance of figurative decorations declined sharply during this period, and the once-widespread use of figurative symbols ceased to be commonplace in synagogue art. In each of the book's two parts, the author discusses one of two parallel phenomena: aniconism, the avoidance of figurative images, and iconoclasm, the destruction of existing figures. In each part, the author covers the topic from several different angles, including material culture, rabbinic literature, and the context provided by nearby cultures, namely Samaritans, Christians, and Muslims. The book's first chapter analyzes the artistic findings from several synagogues, thus showing the decline in the use of figurative images. Yuval-Hacham discusses the different ways in which the trend toward aniconism was implemented—from less frequent use of figurative images to the elimination of these images—to suggest that these approaches are indicative of the diversity of Jewish society. Since there is no surviving textual-historical documentation of most of the Jewish communities of the period, material evidence is our only source of information about their way of life. In the second chapter, the author examines Jewish written sources to determine whether echoes of the aniconic trend can be found. Her conclusion is that although certain tannaitic, [End Page 555] amoraic, and post-Talmudic sources oppose the use of figurative images, they are few and far between, and no significant evolution appears to have emerged over different eras. Yuval-Hacham wisely notes that Jewish society was comprised of various streams, and it is quite possible that the synagogue communities were not rabbinic. The third chapter takes an intercultural approach by comparing trends in aniconism between Jews and Samaritans, based on the supposition that the Samaritans' avoidance of figurative art can be linked to the emergence of aniconism in Jewish art in the late Byzantine period. Material evidence reveals not only that the Samaritans did not combine human and animal figures, but that there are artistic and theological similarities between the Samaritans and the Jews. On the basis of this evidence, Yuval-Hacham suggests that the Samaritans played an important role in the aniconization of Jewish society. This conclusion may be somewhat overblown. The connection is certainly possible, but her claim of a transition of aniconic ideology from Second Temple Jewry to the Samaritans, and at the end of the Byzantine period from the Samaritans to the Jews, is insufficiently substantiated. The fourth chapter, which begins the second part of the book, focuses on the vandalism of figurative images in synagogues. Yuval-Hacham describes the material findings and presents the people responsible for the destruction and their roles, as well as the eras, causes, and circumstances of the destruction. She proposes that the vandals were members of Jewish groups who deliberately intended to modify the visual space of the synagogue, rather than external vandals. Most acts of vandalism occurred in rural synagogues in eastern Palestine, since many synagogues in other regions had already been abandoned before the iconoclastic trend. This chronological analysis may account for the difference between the extensive damage to stone reliefs and the merely sporadic damage to mosaics; many mosaics were damaged or left untended well before the emergence of iconoclasm. At the same time, the author stresses the halakhic difference between sculpture, which is three-dimensional, and painting or mosaics...

Представления о критериях Вселенского Собора в Византии в первой половине XV в. и концепция пентархии

This article examines the views of Byzantine theologians and church leaders of the 1st half of the 15th century on the criteria for an Ecumenical Council in connection with the controversy about the Union of Florence. The consideration also includes the ecclesiological tradition of the previous century, reflected in the documents of negotiations with Rome on church union and anti-Latin writings of Archbishop Nilus Cabasilas. It also briefly examines the results of Byzantine theological development, formulated in the first decades of Ottoman rule. The author shows that Orthodox theologians of the late Byzantine period, following a tradition dating back to the 1st millennium, did indeed recognize (contrary to popular beliefs) the existence of strict formal canonical criteria for the Ecumenical Council, which were defined in their eyes by the concept of the «Pentarchy» of the ancient Patriarchs: Council could be considered Ecumenical if it was recepted by representatives of the Churches of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. At the same time, other local Churches were assigned a secondary role. The significance of individual bishops was completely leveled out; the subject of church activity was the Patriarchy. This system of ecclesiological concepts by the 15th century already to some extent did not meet the requirements of reality; nevertheless, thanks to its collegial character, it gave the Orthodox Church the means to overcome the crisis caused by the Union of Florence. The rejection of those teachings of the Roman Church, in which it deviated from Orthodox dogma, on the part of the patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem, their rejection of the union (confirmed, among other things, conciliarly in Jerusalem in 1443) and the support of its opponents in the Patriarchate of Constantinople played in this process defining role. Due to this, the Council of Ferrara-Florence could not be considered Ecumenical from the point of view of the Byzantine tradition. At the same time, the development of ecclesiological thought in the 15th century. strengthened Orthodox theologians in the conviction that an Ecumenical Council was possible without the participation of Rome. The «Pentarchy» thus passed into the «Tetrarchy».

Islamicate alchemy in Greek letters on the first page of Marcianus graecus 299

Abstract The famous middle Byzantine alchemical manuscript Marcianus graecus 299 contains annotations from the late Byzantine period, most prominently in its opening quire. This article examines a text on the very first page of the manuscript, a text written in a late Byzantine Greek script, but in a language other than Greek. A number of words in this undeciphered text can be correlated with Arabic technical vocabulary that would also have been used in other Islamicate languages such as Persian and Ottoman Turkish. Certain features such as accentuation on the final syllables of words make Turkish or Persian the most likely candidates.

Late-Holocene paleoenvironmental and land-use changes in Western Greece based on a sediment record from Klisova lagoon

In this study, we present the findings of a sediment core retrieved from Klisova lagoon, Western Greece, an area with a long record of documented human presence. The recovered deposits were subjected to sedimentological, XRF, and micropaleontological analyses. For the last 4700 cal BP, the freshwater influx, the progradation of the Evinos river delta and related geomorphological changes control the environmental conditions in the lagoon. Considering the centennial temporal resolution of our analyses, small offsets of c.a. 50 years due to lack of regional reservoir correction do not considerably impact the reported radiocarbon ages. Prior to 4000 cal BP, a relatively shallow water depth, significant terrestrial/freshwater input and increased weathering in the lagoon area are inferred. Elemental proxies and increased dinoflagellate cyst and foraminiferal abundances, which indicate marine conditions with prominent freshwater influxes, point to the gradual deepening of the lagoon up to 2000 cal BP. The marine and freshwater condition equilibrium sets at 1300 cal BP, with the lagoonal system reaching its present state. Maxima of anthropogenic pollen indicators during the Mycenaean (3200 cal BP), Hellenistic (2200 cal BP), and Late Byzantine (800 cal BP) periods suggest intervals of increased anthropogenic activities in the area.