The Warrior Saints in Byzantine Art and Tradition

382 Pages·2003·16.785 MB·English

by  Christopher Walter

The Warrior Saints in Byzantine Art and Tradition
This book is dedicated to the Society of Bollandists
and its members, past and present.
The Warrior Saints in Byzantine
Art and Tradition
CHRISTOPHER WALTER
First published 2003 by Ashgate Publishing
Published 2016 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright © 2003 Christopher Walter
The author has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Pat-
ents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in anyform or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented,including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system,without permission in writing from the publishers.
.
Notice.
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are
used only for identification and explanation without intent to in fringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Walter, Christopher, 1925–
The warrior saints in Byzantine art and tradition
1.Christian saints–Byzantine Empire 2. Christian saints in
art 3. Art, Byzantine 4. Icons, Byzantine
I. Title
270’ .0922’495
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Walter, Christopher.
The warrior saints in Byzantine art and tradition / Christopher Walter.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
1.Christian saints in art. 2. Art, Byzantine. I. Title.
N8079.5 .W35 2002
704. 9’4863–dc21 2001048703
ISBN 9781840146943 (hbk)
ISBN 9781138253858 (pbk)
Contents
List of Plates ix
Foreword by George Huxley xv
Introduction 1
PART ONE HISTORY AND ANTECEDENTS
1 The Christian and Antique Background 9
The Old Testament 9
The New Testament 12
Pagan Antiquity 15
The early Patristic period 22
The contribution of popular piety to the conception of the
warrior saint 33
PART TWO THE BYZANTINE WARRIOR SAINTS
2 The Major Warrior Saints: The Etat-Major 41
I St Theodore Tiron and St Theodore Stratelates 44
II St Demetrius 67
III St Procopius 94
IV St Mercurius 101
V St George 109
3 Other Major Warrior Saints 145
VI Sts Sergius and Bacchus 146
VII St Eustathius 163
VIII St Kyrion and the XL Martyrs of Sebasteia 170
IX St Hieron and the Martyrs of Melitene 177
X St Menas of Egypt 181
XI St Artemius 191
XII St Arethas 195
XIII St Martin of Tours 200
XIV St Phanourios 206
4 The Minor Warrior Saints 213
XV St Christopher 214
XVI St Cornelius the Centurion 217
v
vi CONTENTS
XVII The Holy Five of Sebasteia with Sts Orestes and
Eustratius 219
XVIII St Joannicius 222
XIX Sts Juventinus and Maximinus 224
XX St Longinus of Caesarea 226
XXI Sts Nestor and Lupus 227
XXII St Nicetas (Nikita) the Goth 231
XXIII St Philotheus of Antioch 234
XXIV St Phoibammon 235
XXV Sts Polyeuctus of Melitene and Nearchus 236
XXVI St Sabbas Stratelates 239
XXVII St Sisinnius of Antioch 241
XXVIII Sts Speusippus, Elasippus and Melesippus 243
XXIX St Zosimus of Apollonia 244
Appendix: Additional Minor Warrior Saints 245
XXX St Alexander 245
XXXI St Andrew Stratelates 245
XXXII St Anicetus 246
XXXIII St Athanasius of Clysma 247
XXXIV Sts Basiliscus, Cleonicus and Eutropius 247
XXXV Sts Bonosus and Maximilianus 247
XXXVI St Callinicus 247
XXXVII St Callistratus 248
XXXVIII Dasius 249
XXXIX Sts Emeterius and Chelidonius 249
XL St Eudocimus 250
XLI St Eusignius 251
XLII Gaza, The XL Defenders of 251
XLIII St Gordius of Caesarea 251
XLIV Sts John and Paul 252
XLV St Justus 253
XLVI Marcellus of Tangier 253
XLVII St Maurice of Agaunum and companions 254
XLVIII Sts Probus, Tarachos and Andronicus 254
XLIX St Sebastian 254
L Sts Trophimus, Dorymedon and Sabbatius 255
LI St Typasius 256
LII St Varus of Egypt 256
LIII Sts Victor and Vicentius 258
CONTENTS vii
PART THREE CONCLUSION
5 Towards a Characterization of the Warrior Saint 261
The terrestrial career of warrior saints 261
The beginnings of the cult of warrior saints 266
The early iconography of warrior saints 270
The emergence of an echelon of warrior saints 274
The function of warrior saints in the lives of terrestrial men 277
The aesthetics of warrior saints 285
Epilogue 291
Bibliography 295
Index 307
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List of Plates
1. St Michael, Archangel surrounded by warrior saints, icon, Tesoro di
San Marco, Venice (c. 1100). Photograph: Mario Carrieri.
2. Sts George and Demetrius, wall painting, Church of the Anargyroi,
Kastoria (late 12th century). Photograph: Nancy P. Sˇevcˇenko.
3. Sts Eustratius, Eugenius and Orestes, wall painting, Church of the
Mavriotissa, Kastoria (second half 12th century). Photograph: Nancy P.
Sˇevcˇenko.
4. Sts Nestor and Mercurius, wall painting, Church of Nicholas tou
Kasnitzi, Kastoria (third quarter 12th century). Photograph: Nancy P.
Sˇevcˇenko.
5. Sts George, Demetrius and Theodore Tiron, wall painting, south
wall of parecclesion, Kariye Camii, Istanbul (14th century). Photograph:
Dumbarton Oaks, Byzantine Photograph and Fieldwork Archives, Wash-
ington, DC.
6. Sts Theodore Tiron, Theodore Stratelates, Mercurius, Procopius and
Sabbas Stratelates, wall painting, south wall of parecclesion, Kariye Camii,
Istanbul. Photograph: Dumbarton Oaks, Byzantine Photograph and Field-
work Archives, Washington, DC.
7. Sts Procopius and Sabbas Stratelates, wall painting, south-west cor-
ner of parecclesion, Kariye Camii, Istanbul. Photograph: Dumbarton Oaks,
Byzantine Photograph and Fieldwork Archives, Washington, DC.
8. St Eustathius, wall painting, north wall of parecclesion, Kariye Camii,
Istanbul. Photograph: Dumbarton Oaks, Byzantine Photograph and Field-
work Archives, Washington, DC.
9. St Artemius or Nicetas, wall painting, north wall of parecclesion,
Kariye Camii, Istanbul. Photograph: Dumbarton Oaks, Byzantine Photo-
graph and Fieldwork Archives, Washington, DC.
ix