The Xylinitai on the Service to Byzantine Emperors: A Seal of Niketas Xylinites, Protospatharios and epi tou koitonos

Introduction. Among the most ancient and noble Byzantine families there were the Xylinitai, who belonged to the first rank of “pure” civil nobility. Nevertheless, only restricted information of this family members survived. Therefore, any new account is of importance not only for the Byzantine prosopography but also for the Byzantine history in general. In this connection, interesting is one sigillographic find which uncovers a new page in the life of one of this family members. According to the seal legend, its owner Niketas Xylinites held the second-class rank of protospatharios and was engaged in the court service at the emperor’s bedchamber, the koiton. There is no doubt that the stylistic features date the molybdoboullon in question to the eleventh century. Analysis and Results. The sources in possession supply information on a few persons bearing this name and belonging to the family in question, who left their footprint in the annals of history in this or that way. All of them were high-ranked courtiers and persons of importance, whose career stages were reflected in different periods of Byzantine history. The comparison of the seal data with other sources allows us to suppose that the owner of the seal was Niketas Xylinites, a member of the milieu of Empress Theodora, related to her ascension to the Byzantine throne following the death of Constantine IX. The sources only inform of his career that he got from the Empress of one of the highest civil offices (logothetes tou dromou) and a high court title of proedros. According to the seal under study, it reflects the earliest stage in Niketas’ career at the court, when he was selected to serve at the emperor’s bedchamber and got the rank of protospatharios. The Seal of Niketas Xylinites probably dates to the late 1030s – very early 1040s, the period before he got the title of patrikios, his works in the Iveron monastery, and Theodora’s ascension to the throne.

“Byzantium on the Volga”: To the Anniversary of Nikolay D. Barabanov

This brief sketch written to the 65th anniversary of Nikolay D. Barabanov, Candidate of Historical Sciences, lecturer at Volgograd State University, specialist in the Byzantine history, medieval folk religion researcher is devoted to his life, scientific and educational activity. The article also presents the publication of complete bibliographic information about the scientist’s works beginning in 1977, or from his learning period.

MICHAEL PSELLUS’ ANONYMOUS ENCOMIUM TO EMPEROR CONSTANTINE X DOUKAS

This paper analyses an addresse-less encomium devoted to Emperor Constantine X Doukas and authored by Michael Psellus, one of the most learned individuals in Byzantine history. The purpose of this paper is to place the encomium, a valuable testament of Byzantine cultural heritage, within the context of the empire’s eleventh century political and social history, and to translate the document into modern English accompanied by scholarly commentary. Additionally, this paper will analyze the representation of the emperor in the speech through a comparative analysis of the encomium and Psellus’ historiographical work, the Chronographia

Glass

This essay discusses the presence and distribution of glass in Byzantium and the different ways in which glass was used. Glassware, employed for the preservation and display of goods and above all as tableware, was in continuous use in throughout Byzantine history, and is found at both urban and rural sites. The greatest part of the glass produced during these eleven centuries was used in architectural decoration, that is, wall and floor mosaics, opus sectile, and as window glazing. Glass was also widely used in the production of jewelry and for the embellishment of metal jewelry and objects.

The Imperial Arts

Images of Byzantine emperors served not only to glorify those depicted, but also as media through which subjects articulated their relationships both to individual sovereigns and to the state. The predominant materials, compositional strategies, and social dynamics that constrained such expressions changed substantially over the course of Byzantine history. After the Late Antique system of dedicating monumental bronze statues collapsed in the seventh century, a more flexible set of practices emerged, whose primary expressions were two-dimensional schemata. In the last empire’s last centuries, diplomatic considerations encouraged the production of scenic tableaux, while the closed series of portraits predominated after 1453. The transactional nature of imperial portraiture, the distinction between individual and office, and the representation of emperors as subjects of historical knowledge will repay further research.

Religious Architecture

This chapter provides a review of major developments in Byzantine religious architecture. During the long period of Byzantine history, ecclesiastical buildings manifested the highest societal aspirations both by their cultural importance and by their aesthetic qualities. The chapter offers insight into church plans as well as the variety of approaches to interior and exterior design. As written records addressing Byzantine building practices are almost nonexistent, construction techniques and elements of architectural styles are here noted as a testament to the various building practices in the Byzantine domain. Emphasis is also given to new methodological approaches that may contribute to further understanding of Byzantine religious architecture.

Pseudo-Dionysius And Christian Visual Culture, c.500–900. (2020) Editors: Francesca Dell’Acqua, Ernesto Sergio Mainoldi, Palgrave Macmillan. Serie: New Approaches to Byzantine History and Culture. ISBN 978-3-030-24768-3; ISBN 978-3-030-24769-0 (eBook). doi:10.1007/978-3-030-24769-0. Review

Pseudo-Dionysius And Christian Visual Culture

The Hippodrome of Constantinople

The Hippodrome of Constantinople was constructed in the fourth century AD, by the Roman Emperor Constantine I, in his new capital. Throughout Byzantine history the Hippodrome served as a ceremonial, sportive and recreational center of the city; in the early period, it was used mainly as an arena for very popular, competitive, and occasionally violent chariot races, while the Middle Ages witnessed the imperial ceremonies coming to the fore gradually, although the races continued. The ceremonial and recreational role of the Hippodrome somehow continued during the Ottoman period. Being the oldest structure in the city, the Hippodrome has witnessed exciting chariot races, ceremonies glorifying victorious emperors as well as the charioteers, and the riots that shook the imperial authority. Today, looking to the remnants of the Hippodrome, one can imagine the glorious past of the site.