Piroska and the Pantokrator: Dynastic Memory, Healing and Salvation in Komnenian Constantinople

362 Pages·2019·62.768 MB·English

by  Marianne Sághy, Robert G. Ousterhout

19
CEU Medievalia Contributors
ISSN 1587-6470
“She established a monastery in the name of RME PIROSKA
Series Editor: József Laszlovszky the Pantokrator, which is among the most OBARdit Attila Bárány (Debrecen)
outstanding in beauty and size. Such was EIed
Volumes 1–8 are out of print this empress.” This is how John Kinnamos RT GANN by AND THE Elif Demirtiken (Edinburgh)
succinctly sums up Empress Piroska-Eirene’s .E Roberta Franchi (Budapest)
Vol. 9. Catalogues of the Slavonic Cyrillic character as reflected in the great building she O S
MLibanraursycripts of the National Széchényi patronized. USTÁGH PANTOKRATOR Michael Jeff reys (Oxford)
Ralph Cleminson, Elissaveta Moussakova and EY Etele Kiss (Budapest)
This collection of essays contributes to R
Nina Voutova, eds., 2006 the rich crop of new scholarship on the Han
Od Maximilian Lau (Oxford)
Vol. 10. ....at usque ad ultimum terrae. Pantokrator Monastery with thirteen papers U
T
Th e Apostolic Pententiary in Local Contexts by international scholars. The chapters Christopher Mielke (Jerusalem)
Gerhard Jaritz, Torsten Jørgensen and Kirsi examine Piroska in context, highlighting her P
Salonen, eds., 2007 Robert Ousterhout (Philadelphia)
Árpádian heritage and the flourishing Greek spirituality and culture in the Kingdom I
R
Vol. 11. Th e Edges of the Medieval World of Hungary, and scruitinizing Eirene’s life, image, and impact in Constantinople. The Marianne Sághy (Budapest)
Gerhard Jaritz, Juhan Kreem, eds, 2009 volume offers new insights on the cultural and religious history of early Árpádian O
Hungary, Hungarian–Byzantine diplomatic relations and shared devotion to the Mother S Roman Shlyakhtin (Istanbul)
Vol. 12. Promoting the Saints. Cults of God, Constantinopolitan imperial representation, dynastic holiness, Byzantine art K Dynastic Memory,
and Th eir Contexts from Late Antiquity Foteini Spingou (Oxford)
and architectural history. Piroska-Eirene played an active role in conceptualizing the
until the Early Modern Period A Healing,
Pantokrator Monastery as an innovative foundation that developed in the lifetime of
Ottó Gecser , József Laszlovszky, Balázs Nagy, Béla Zsolt Szakács (Budapest)

Marcell Sebők, Katalin Szende, eds., 2010 its founders from a religious establishment into a monument of Komnenian piety and A
and Salvation
victory, from a monastery into a multifunctional medical and social complex. Tyler Wolford (Ithaca)
N
Vol. 13. Th e Hospitallers in the Medieval
Kingdom of Hungary c. 1150–1387 Modern Istanbul preserves not one, but two portraits of Piroska-Eirene. One is the D in Komnenian
Zsolt Hunyadi, 2010 famous mosaic in the gallery of Hagia Sophia; the other is the Pantokrator. For which
of the two would the Empress Piroska-Eirene wish to be remembered? The essays in this T Constantinople
Vol. 14. Isolated Islands in Medieval Nature,
Culture and Mind volume will help answer this question. H
Torstein Jørgensen, Gerhard Jaritz, 2011 E

Vol. 15. Angels, Devils. Th e Supernatural P
and its Visual Representation
Central European University A Edited by
Gerhard Jaritz, ed., 2011
Department of Medieval Studies N
Vol. 16. Violence and the Medieval Clergy http://medievalstudies.ceu.hu MARIANNE SÁGHY
T
Gerhard Jaritz, Ana Marinković, eds., 2011
O
Central European University Press and
Vol. 17. Th e Harbour of All Th is Sea and
K
Budapest–New York
Realm. Crusader to Venetian Famagusta
ROBERT G. OUSTERHOUT
Michael J.K. Walsh, Tamás Kiss, http://www.ceupress.com R
Nicholas Coureas, eds., 2014 A
Vol. 18. Pagans and Christians T
in the Late Roman Empire. New Evidence, O
New Approaches (4th–8th centuries) Hungarian Academy of Sciences – University of Debrecen
R
Marianne Sághy, Edward M. Schoolman, eds., Lendület “Hungary in Medieval Europe” Research Group
2017.
M E D I E V A L I A
PIROSKA AND THE PANTOKRATOR
Piroska 00 book.indb 1 2019.09.04. 15:22
CEU MEDIEVALIA 19
Series Editor: József Laszlovszky
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Piroska and the Pantokrator
Dynastic Memory, Healing and Salvation
in Komnenian Constantinople
Edited by
Marianne Sághy and Robert Ousterhout
CEU Department of Medieval Studies
&
Central European University Press
Budapest–New York
Budapest, 2019
Piroska 00 book.indb 3 2019.09.04. 15:22
© Editors and Contributors 2019
1st edition
This volume is a joint publication by
Central European University
Department of Medieval Studies
Nádor u. 9, H-1051 Budapest, Hungary
Telephone: [phone], Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected], Website: http://medievalstudies.ceu.edu
and
Central European University Press
Nádor utca 11, H-1051 Budapest, Hungary
224 West 57th Street, New York NY 10019, USA
Tel: [phone] or 327-3000
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.ceupress.com
Cover design for the series by Péter Tóth
Cover Illustration: Komnenos panel, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul. Courtesy of Robert. S. Nelson.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, without the permission
of the Publisher.
ISSN 1587-6470 CEU MEDIEVALIA
ISBN 978-963-386-295-7
Library of Congress Control Number:
2019941681
Printed in Hungary
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Illustrations .................................................................................................. vii
Preface ...................................................................................................................... ix
Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1
Marianne Sághy
Greek Monasteries in Early Árpádian Hungary ................................................... 11
Marianne Sághy
What did Piroska see at Home? New Trends in Art and Architecture in the
Kingdom of Hungary around 1100 ....................................................................... 39
Béla Zsolt Szakács
Diplomatic Relations between Hungary and Byzantium in the Eleventh–
Twelfth Centuries .................................................................................................... 63
Attila Bárány
Piroska-Eirene and the Komnenian Dynasty ....................................................... 97
Michael Jeffreys
Komnenian Empresses: From Powerful Mothers to Pious Wives ...................... 121
Roberta Franchi
Piroska-Eirene, First Western Empress of Byzantium: Power and Perception .. 143
Maximilian Lau
The Many Faces of Piroska-Eirene in Visual and Material Culture .................... 153
Christopher Mielke
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vi TABLE OF CONTENTS
Imperial Women and Religious Foundations in Constantinople ....................... 175
Elif Demirtiken
To Each According to their Need: Medical and Charitable Institutions in the
Pantokrator Monastery ........................................................................................... 195
Tyler Wolford
Piroska and the Pantokrator: Reassessing the Architectural Evidence ............... 225
Robert Ousterhout
Piroska-Eirene and the Holy Theotokos ............................................................... 261
Etele Kiss
“A New Mixture of Two Powers:” Nicholas Kallikles and Theodore
Prodromos on Empress Eirene ............................................................................... 291
Roman Shlyakhtin
Ritual and Politics in the Pantokrator: A Lament in Two Acts for Eirene’s
Son . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Foteini Spingou
Concluding Remarks .............................................................................................. 323
Robert Ousterhout
Appendix 1 Synaxarion ........................................................................................... 327
Appendix 2 Theodoros Prodromos, “Epitaph of Empress Eirene” ..................... 332
Appendix 3 Nicholas Kallikles, “On the tomb of the Despina” .......................... 333
Index ......................................................................................................................... 335
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Sághy
Figure 1. The Veszprémvölgy Donation Charter, 1109. MNL OL DL 11 ©
Hungarian National Archives .................................................................. 21
Figure 2. Seal of King Coloman on the Veszprémvölgy Donation Charter, 1109.
MNL OL DL 11 © Hungarian National Archives ............................... 22
Figure 3. Ruins of the Veszprémvölgy Greek Nunnery ........................................ 23
Figure 4. Map: Greek Monasteries in Árpádian Hungary ................................... 24
Szakács
Figure 1. Pécs, cathedral, interior of the crypt ...................................................... 40
Figure 2. Eger, reconstructed ground plan by Károly Kozák ............................... 42
Figure 3. Dömös, the reconstructed crypt ............................................................ 44
Figure 4. Somogyvár, view of the ruins from the north-east ............................... 44
Figure 5. Kosztolány, fresco in the nave, Visitation scene with servant .............. 45
Figure 6. Pécsvárad, fresco in the apse, Angel ....................................................... 46
Figure 7. Holy Crown of Hungary, Greek crown, frontal view, Christ
Pantokrator ................................................................................................ 47
Figure 8. Holy Crown of Hungary, Latin crown, top, Christ Pantokrator ....... 48
Figure 9. Dombó, stone fragment from the Benedictine Abbey with palmette
decoration, Muzej Vojvodine, Novi Sad ................................................. 49
Figure 10. Gyulafehérvár, tympanum of the first cathedral ................................ 52
Bárány
Table 1. The Dynastic Relations of Piroska ............................................................ 96
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viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Franchi
Figure 1. Seal of Anna Dalassene (obverse/reverse), 11th century. © Dumbarton
Oaks Research Centre, Trustees for Harvard University, Washington,
D.C. ............................................................................................................. 125
Figure 2. Solidus of Empress Irene, 797–802, Constantinople. © Dumbarton
Oaks Research Centre, Trustees for Harvard University, Washington,
D.C. ............................................................................................................ 128
Mielke
Figure 1. Empress Piroska-Eirene on the Komnenos Panel in the South Gallery
of the Hagia Sophia (Istanbul) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Figure 2. Seal of Eirene Doukaina. Inventory Number BZS.1955.1.4349 ....... 157
Figure 3. Seal of “Empress Eirene”, possibly seal of Piroska-Eirene as junior
empress ....................................................................................................... 157
Figure 4. Seal of Piroska-Eirene as sole empress ................................................... 159
Figure 5. Folio 19v of the Tetraevangelion, Jesus Christ, flanked by ‘Mercy’
and ‘Justice’ crowning John II and Alexios Komnenos ......................... 161
Figure 6a. “Empress Eirene” from the Pala d’Oro ................................................ 165
Figure 6b. “Empress Eirene” from the Pala d’Oro, detail ..................................... 166
Figure 7. Electron coin, special coronation issue, Constantinople, 1092/3. ...... 167
Demirtiken
Figure 1. Urban Monasteries in Constantinople. © Gunder Varinlioglu ........... 174
Ousterhout
Figure 1. Monastery of Christ Pantrokrator (Zeyrek Camii), seen from the
east, 2005 ................................................................................................... 241
Figure 2. Same, plan showing phases of construction ......................................... 241
Figure 3. Same, south church, interior, looking southeast, 2002 ....................... 242
Figure 4. Same, south church, reconstructed west façade ................................... 242
Figure 5. Same, south church, hypothetical reconstruction of the bema
windows .................................................................................................... 243
Figure 6. Same, south church, opus sectile floor before conservation, late
1950s ......................................................................................................... 243
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ix
Figure 7. Same, south church, opus sectile floor, detail of the wheel of the
zodiac, after conservation, late 1950s ..................................................... 244
Figure 8. Same. South church, opus sectile floor, detail of the life of Sampson,
showing (counterclockwise) Sampson and the gates of Gaza,
Sampson smiting the Assyrians, Sampson and the lion, late 1950s ..... 244
Figure 9. Same, central chapel, interior looking west, showing proposed
locations of tombs and mosaic imagery ................................................. 245
Figure 10. Same, central chapel, section, showing relative heights and sizes of
domes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Figure 11. Same, east façade, showing the connection between the central
chapel (left) and the north church (right, with the joint marked by
an arrow, 2005 ........................................................................................... 247
Figure 12. Same, domes and roof of the central chapel and north church,
looking north, after the replacement of the lead sheeting and
windows, 2002 .......................................................................................... 247
Figure 13. Same, exonarthex seen from the northwest, with the indication of
the change in elevation marked by an arrow, 2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Figure 14. Same, section through south church, narthex, and exonarthex,
showing the position of the gallery dome above the narthex ............... 249
Figure 15. Same, central chapel, bema window, showing remnants of mosaic
in the reveal, with traces of gold leaf on the cornice above, 2004 ........ 250
Figure 16. Same, exonarthex, north window, showing remnants of fresco in
the reveals, 2005 ........................................................................................ 250
Figure 17. Same, view of the complex from the west, ca. 1840, with the
so-called sarcophagus of Eirene to the right ........................................... 251
Figure 18. Distant view of the complex from the east with the domes of the
Fatih Camii rising behind it ..................................................................... 252
Kiss
Figure 1. The Holy Virgin from the Hungarian Coronation Mantle (author) .. 273
Figure 2. Visegrád: Fragments of frescoes from the “Deanery Church” ............ 274
Figure 3. The Holy Theotokos with Child, Komnenos panel, Hagia Sophia,
Istanbul ...................................................................................................... 275
Figure 4. Alexios, Komnenos panel, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul ................................ 276
Figure 5. Emperor John II Komnenos and Alexios crowned by Christ. Cod.
Urb. Gr.2, 19v © Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana .................................. 277
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