TRAVAUX ET MÉMOIRES | Tome XXVII

Denis Feissel & Andrey Vinogradov, Deux inscriptions byzantines de Macédoine et de Thrace découvertes par F. Uspenskij en 1898 et 1912

pp. 541-52 Two previously unpublished Greek inscriptions from the 6 th century have been found in the collection of squeezes of the former Russian Archaeological Institute at Constantinople, kept in Saint Petersburg. 1) The epitaph of Laurentios had been discovered in 1898 in Bitola, ancient Heraclea Lyncestis. Described as an "orthodox father" and "crowned by the seats of priests," Laurentios, who died in 536, was probably bishop of Heraclea. This is probably also the case with Epiphanios, whose epitaph is republished here because some of its formulas are also present in that of Laurentios. 2) The epitaph of the priest Adolios, discovered in 1912 at Didymoteichon, ancient Plotinopolis, is dated to the consulate of Belisarius in 535.

Dmitri Grishin & Natalia Pak, with an introduction by Dmitri Afinogenov,

The Life of St. Nicholas the Studite by Antonios Mauros in Slavonic translation pp. 457-90 More than twenty years ago, the late Dmitri Afinogenov argued that the Slavonic Life of St. Nicholas the Studite ( † 868) did not go back to the known Greek Life of this saint (BHG 1365) but to an earlier version, of which the preserved Greek text is a rhetorical adaption. Afinogenov also discovered in the text the name of its author, Antonios Mauros, who knew the saint in his youth and was called upon in his old age to write his Life. Afinogenov's analysis has been disputed, but the debate has been hampered by the fact that the Slavonic text was only available in a manuscript. The present study offers the first edition and English translation of St. Nicholas' Life preserved in Slavonic, providing, according the editors, visual confirmation of the anteriority of its lost Greek Vorlage over the preserved Greek Life.

Gaëlle Herbert de la Portbarré-Viard, Le discours sur Sainte-Sophie dans l'Éloge de Justin II de Corippe et son ekphrasis singulière pp. 259-79 The aim of this article is to explore the discourse on Saint Sophia in vv. 264-328 of Book IV of Corippus' Praise of Justin II and its relationship to the notion of ekphrasis. I will present here some reflections on what can be considered a paradoxical ekphrasis, on its status in the poem, on how, with its particularities, it fits into the discourse on Hagia Sophia present in Book IV and into the tradition of discourse on Christian buildings.

Eszter Istvánovits & Valéria Kulcsár, A 5 th -6 th -century catacomb grave from Kótaj-Verba Farm (Hungary, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County) pp. 105-30 The catacombs closest to the catacomb grave from Kótaj-Verba Farm published here can be found in the Budjak steppe, that is to say, more than 600 km far. Chronological analogies can be mentioned from the first half of the 5 th century the latest, which means at least a half-a-century time gap compared with the Kótaj finds. At the same time, this type of burial rite is missing in the second half of the 5 th -first half of the 6 th century in the Carpathian Basin and territories west, south, or north of it. We may suggest that it formed locally. However, this surmise is unacceptable, for being a unique case, at least up to now. Prototypes should still be searched in the East.

Objects of the grave assemblage are "international," that is to say, these are types known both east and west of the Carpathian Basin. Especially the appearance of the pair of brooches and earrings in a catacomb burial is peculiar. Such a combination of the grave goods and the burial rite is matchless. It would be irresponsible to make ethnic or historical conclusions based on our present data. Olga Karagiorgou, "So admirably matched like the marbles of the city which are in Hagia Sophia..."

pp. 233-58 Paul Silentiarios' ekphrasis of Hagia Sophia offers a vivid account of the plethora of precious, multicoloured marbles and decorative stones used in the adornment of the Great Church and underlines the aesthetic and intellectual stimulation that this kind of decoration conveyed to the beholder. Apart from the eight impressive columns of Egyptian porphyry, which are clearly reused, all other major marble decoration in the Great Church (including 64 verde antico columns) was produced to order. Paul Silentiarios' enthusiastic description and enumeration of all the provinces, cities and areas of the empire that contributed marble to the embellishment of the Great Church (Karystos, Phrygia, Nile, Laconia, Iassos, Lydia, Libya, the Pyrenees, Thessaly) accords well with the encomiastic purposes of an ekphrasis. To what extent, however, does his text reflect contemporary realities on the systematic exploitation of quarries and the immediate availability of all these types of marble in the capital? The present paper revisits Silentiarios' "verbal volume" in the description of each type of marble used in Hagia Sophia with respect to recent scholarly advances on marble studies and proposes new methodological approaches that could further delineate the boundaries between truth (contemporary realities) and convention (topoi) in a text that is often regarded as our major source for the archaeology of Hagia Sophia, as well as the economy and the technical advances of the Byzantines during the sixth century.

Nikolaos L. Kostourakis, Two prosopographic studies on the second Iconoclasm: the identity of Thomas "the Slav" and the kinship between John the Grammarian and Photios pp. 491-506 This article aims to resolve two long-standing prosopographic issues related to the second Iconoclasm. The first is whether the two irreconcilable traditions about Thomas "the Slav," preserved in tenth-century chronicles, pertain to two distinct homonymous individuals or a single person. The second involves the potential tie of kinship between Patriarchs John VII the Grammarian and Photios; a relation that, if real, was purposefully silenced in Byzantine sources. Answering these questions extends beyond prosopographic reconstructions, as it might deepen our understanding of the working method of tenth-century chroniclers, as well as the perception of Iconoclasm in modern scholarship.

Lev Lukhovitskiy, Some corrections to the treatise On councils and heresies by Germanos, pp. 337-53 Scholars of Byzantine Iconoclasm treat the heresiological text entitled On councils and heresies and attributed to Germanos of Constantinople with caution, because its anti-iconoclastic chapters are considered to be later additions. Whereas the arguments in favor of the interpolation theory are inconclusive, any thorough discussion of the text's stratigraphy, authorship, and date must be preceded by a new critical edition. The present article takes a step in this direction. A brief presentation of the available manuscripts and previous editions is followed by two sections. The first demonstrates how the readings of the early-11 th -c. manuscript of the Lambeth Palace Library help to improve the text's syntax and inner logic proving its author to be a more ambitious writer and a more skilled theologian than it is usually assumed. In the second section are discussed several cases in which the Lambeth Palace manuscript appears to be, by contrast, less reliable than other witnesses, and an anti-Arian fragment, which is corrupted in all available manuscripts. Sophie Métivier La Vie anonyme du patriarche Méthode (BHG 1278) : apologie pour un patriarche pp. 435-56 The anonymous Life of Methodius (BHG 1278) has often been neglected or devalued by historians. The allusive, if not obscure, style of the Life itself has undoubtedly contributed to this situation. However, the author presents and comments on Methodius' actions, as an ascetic and martyr and, above all, as patriarch, and sets out the foundations of his authority in the context of the abolition of Iconoclasm. Now that the work has been republished and translated into French, this study proposes a new reading: in writing this carefully constructed Life, which draws on Methodius's own writing, its author first and foremost intends to defend the function of the patriarch and the position of the patriarchate of Constantinople.

Etleva Nallbani, Réseau routier et sites fortifiés dans les provinces de Prévalitaine et de Nouvelle Épire (iv e -viii e siècle)

pp. 151-85 The construction of defenses represents one of the most obvious archaeological aspects of the investments made in the Balkans during late antiquity. This phenomenon in the two provinces of Praevalitana and New Epirus, discussed in this paper, is closely related to the circulation network, the maintenance of the main imperial roads, Egnatia and Lissus-Naissus and the dynamics of regional communication. This resulted with the gradual increase of hill-top protected settlements, from the 4 th century up to the Justinian period, confirming the importance of this network for the economy and the security of the territory. The evident heterogeneity of settlements, due to the granting of municipal status in the 6 th century and the establishment of episcopal seats concurred to the redistribution of population. Living on hill-top settlements became the common way of life. Some of them developed permanent and increased population, assuming important administrative, religious and military functions, sustained even during the 8 th -11 th centuries. Philipp Niewöhner, An empty stage for the performance of the Christian liturgy alone: a positivist approach to early Byzantine Hagia Sophia pp. 197-210 This essay views early Byzantine Hagia Sophia as sumptuous, but empty, void of images and with so many crosses that none stood out and propagated any particular message. The same emptiness and lack of specific messages is shared by other early Byzantine churches in western Asia Minor and appears to have been characteristic of the regional Christianity. This contrasts with elaborate early Christian iconographies in other parts of the oecumene and with later Byzantine churches, including in Constantinople and Asia Minor. It also contrasts with later perceptions of Hagia Sophia that, through time, was imbued with a plethora of meanings. However, the early Byzantine building and its interior decoration appear to have been informed by a desire to avoid any particular message, presumably in order to focus attention on the liturgy alone. Dominic J. O'Meara, Symbolisme géométrique néoplatonicien dans l'architecture de Sainte-Sophie pp. 211-20 In this paper I discuss the metaphysical symbolism suggested by the central interior architectural design of Hagia Sophia. Bringing out the connections of the architects of the building, Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus, with the Neoplatonic schools of Alexandria and Athens, in particular with Eutocius of Alexandria, I discuss the metaphysical meaning of the geometrical sequence point -line -circle -semi-circle -(spherical) triangle -square, as explained in the commentary by Proclus on Euclid's Elements. I will argue that this sophisticated intellectual background, rather than various unscientific popular or religious notions, is more relevant to discerning the intentions of the architects of Hagia Sophia and that it throws light on the logic governing the articulation of geometrical forms in space in the central body of the church. I explore the thesis that the disposition of a geometrical sequence of forms in space in the centre of the church both illustrates the emanation of reality, through various stages of development, from a transcendent single source of existence, and leads the soul of the observer up, through these stages, in a return to the transcendent source.

Patrick Périn & Luc Buchet, Quelques réflexions sur les tombes mérovingiennes et l'archéologie du genre

pp. 131-49 Since the 1990s, the discovery of Anglo-Saxon tombs diagnosed as female and accompanied by one or more weapons has fuelled theories about "warrior women" in the early Middle Ages. The same has recently been done for the Merovingian world, on the basis of a very limited number of cases-around ten-which are critically examined here. The results show that, to be reliable, most anthropological sexual determinations require further analysis and, in several cases, the arbitration of DNA analysis, with the usual reservations. We can only be astonished at the cultural and social interpretations that contemporary historical sources do not support. The question of archaeological and biological transgenderism is also addressed in the few cases of men wearing specifically feminine jewelry. In the final analysis, and barring exceptional cases that have yet to be fully established, Merovingian populations, as numerous contemporary paleoethnological and ethnological examples attest, did not transgress existing gender rules.

Stéphanos Petalas, Lire et copier la chronique de Georges Kédrènos à Constantinople

pp. 621-31 Codex Norimbergensis Cent. V App. 13 of the Synopsis historiôn by George Kedrenos was copied in 1556 in the environment of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The patriarch's cartulary and deacon Alexander Apotyras collaborated with Constantine Rhesinos and two other scribes to produce a copy for the printing press. The copyists used as a model an ancient manuscript, which they call ἀντίγραφον and which is of a great interest for the manuscript tradition of Kédrènos. Codicological accidents that occurred in this manuscript have been passed on in the manuscript tradition, as well as marginal annotations providing evidence of the text being read at the imperial court by a person close to Emperor Isaac II Angel (1185-95 and 1203-4). We argue for dating this reading to Isaac II's first reign. We also demonstrate the use of the ἀντίγραφον in the making of the codex Vaticanus gr. 1903 (12 th -13 th cent.), Kedrenos' oldest preserved manuscript.

Joan Pinar Gil, M. Aceto, E. Calà, F. Robotti, S. Castronovo, M. Gulmini, M. Labate & A. Agostino, About the "Roman-barbarian" jewellery set from the Desana treasure pp. 75-84 The Desana treasure has been recently the subject of an interdisciplinary study, in which the single objects has been investigated from the point of view of materials science employing a non-invasive analytical approach with portable equipment. One of the groups may be interpreted as jewellery sets dating from the last decades of the 5 th century or from the very beginning of the 6 th century, formed by objects of Roman-Mediterranean tradition, on the one hand, and of Ponto-Danubian tradition, on the other. The results of the analyses performed at Desana suggest that the kit may have been produced by a single workshop, which mastered a number of technological and decorative techniques and was supplied with varied raw materials, thus being able to assort customers with "Romano-barbaric" tastes.

François Ploton-Nicollet, La symbolique de Sainte-Sophie dans l' Éloge de Justin II de Corippe pp. 281-90 Probably composed in Constantinople by the African rhetorician Corippus between the end of 566 and the beginning of 568, the poem In laudem Iustini Augusti minoris is entirely devoted to celebrating the accession of the nephew and successor of Justinian the Great, who acceded to the imperial throne on 15 November 565. The basilica of Saint Sophia, which is mentioned in vv. 264-94 of Book IV, occupies a very special place in the poem, since a section of around thirty verses is devoted to it, and it is the monument on which the poem nearly closes, at least as it has come down to us. This study will begin by assessing the place of Saint Sophia in the economy of a work profoundly marked-indeed structured-by the symbolism of places. A binary complementarity unites it with the Imperial Palace, the seat of civil power. The two monuments appear to be the instruments of imperial munificence, placing Constantinople at the intersection of two axes: the first, horizontal, is that of the world, over which the empire has claims to universal domination; the second, vertical, is that of transcendence. Secondly, we will study the rhetorical dimension and ideological significance of the passage devoted to Saint Sophia. There is very little description of the monument's physical features, and the passage is marked by allegory. The poet focuses mainly on two aspects: the name of Saint Sophia, which he considers to be an omen imperii, and the superiority of the basilica over the Temple of Jerusalem, which is a typical example of rhetorical synkrisis.

Dieter Quast, Des trophées de guerre ? Un trésor inhabituel de la fin du iii e siècle à Suluc (județ de Tulcea, Roumanie) pp. 49-73 In 1911, a most remarkable treasure find from the last third of the 3 rd century was discovered in Suluc near the small town of Măcin (jud. Tulcea) in the province of Moesia inferior. The contents of the treasure find can be reconstructed on the basis of preserved originals and old photos. It contained four Roman gold coins (Hostilian and Gallienus), the golden head of an emperor's bust, two silver cups of the Leuna type, a golden crossbow brooch and three golden arm rings. One of them is a type C snake-head arm ring after Hildebrand.

Some of the objects were already in second or even third use and were obviously worn as jewellery or as "trophies," such as the coins and the imperial head. It is obvious (but impossible to prove) that the treasure is connected with the numerous Gothic incursions into the Roman Empire in the second half of the 3 rd century.

The treasure find from Suluc is completely out of the ordinary, because a comparable composition does not exist in the eastern part of the Roman Empire. There, deposits in the 3 rd century mainly contained coins, but occasionally also precious metal jewellery. Silverware, on the other hand, has only been deposited more frequently since the 4 th century. It is therefore possible that the treasure find from Suluc was hidden by a non-resident within the Roman Empire.

Guillaume Saint-Guillain, Giovanni Ferro et les empereurs de Constantinople pp. 633-79 The Latin Empire of Romania, founded in 1204 after the Fourth Crusade, was a joint creation of the Frankish Crusaders and of Venice, which was then one of its most active supporters during its decline, from 1230 to 1261, particularly during the reign of Emperor Baldwin II (1240-73). Venetians were well-disposed lenders for Baldwin, faced with serious financial difficulties, including for two famous loans, one secured on the Crown of Thorns, the empire' most prestigious relic, and the other on his own son and heir Philip. This second loan was granted by a consortium of merchants headed by the brothers Giovanni and Angelo Ferro, whose family, belonging to the Venetian ruling elite, had interests in Constantinople and long-standing ties with its imperial family. Giovanni's hitherto unpublished 1271 will, edited in the appendix, and a number of other documents (two of which are also edited) allow us to reconstruct much more precisely the profile of this family and the history of its exchanges with the Latin emperors. This relationship was not merely opportunistic and predatory, with unscrupulous bankers taking advantage of the misery of a fallen dynasty to the point of requiring its child heir as collateral. Giovanni's will, influenced by then arising Franciscan principles, and the whole story of his family reveal far more complex ties, within the framework of a value-creating economy which is symbolic as much as monetary, circulating gold in various currencies as much as religious relics, social prestige and historical fame. It is a relation founded on trust, honour, sense of the past and a form of loyalty. This case study invites us to dissociate Venice's manifold relationship with the Latin Empire from the simplistic image that is still often conveyed, artificially opposing cold economic opportunism with religious ideals and chivalric delusions.

Élodie Turquois, A tale of two drums: Procopius of Caesarea's account of Hagia Sophia and the Holy Apostles

pp. 221-31 This paper provides a new literary analysis of two parallel passages of Procopius's Buildings which describe the central domes of Hagia Sophia and the Holy Apostles. While its principal aim is to shed new light on a part of the description of Hagia Sophia misunderstood and downplayed in previous scholarship, this close reading of the role played by the description of the drum in the architecture of the text may also lead to reconsider the question of the configuration of the original dome of the Great Church which collapsed shortly after its dedication. The previous consensus in scholarship that the original dome was a dome-on-pendentives has led to deny the presence of a drum. Accordingly, the literary function of the drum's description has been passed over, whereas Procopius attributes to it a crucial role in constructing Hagia Sophia's aesthetic impact. The contextual analysis highlights key features of Procopius' text, such as the use of mimetic syntax to depict architecture or the push-and-pull between repetition and variation, shaping the Buildings as an endless experimental play around the catalogue as a literary device.

Tivadar Vida, From mask to face: changing meaning of an image in the early medieval Carpathian Basin pp. 85-104 Migration-and early medieval-period mask and face representations from the Carpathian Basin, discussed in this paper, are associated with contemporary beliefs, religion and rituals. In their appearance, they preserve ancient Germanic pagan traditions, which were transformed by Mediterranean (late Roman and early Byzantine) cultural influence. The symbols, chosen and created by communities living in the Carpathian Basin express the identity of their members and, at the same time, indicate intensive relations between ethnic groups and their elites in northern, western, east-central and southern Europe. Furthermore, the representations signify a transformation and expansion of meanings in the artistic expression of pagan Germanic beliefs, allowing for the representation of Christian content. The syncretic reinterpretation of the meanings conveyed by mask and en-face representations in the Migration-and early medievalperiod "barbarian" world exemplifies the much-discussed cultural influence of the late antique Mediterranean on "non-Roman" contexts.

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