ABSTRACT
Despite the unhistorical nature of Katherine’s Passio, its composition provides the most obvious sign that a cult commemorating the saint had begun to develop by the end of the eighth century. It is not, however, the only indication and in this chapter other evidence for the origins of the cult in the Byzantine Empire is examined. Although the Index of Christian Art attributes an early date to this particular ampulla, the Campo Santo Teutonico catalogue suggests a somewhat later sixth- or seventh-century origin. Theophanes was born in Palestine and, along with his brother Theodore, became a monk in the monastery of St Saba. The contents of Theophanes’ canon are more generalized than those of the hymn by the humble monk, which means that it is not possible to compare the canon with the early Passio to see if Theophanes was drawing upon the same or a similar source to the humble monk.
