ABSTRACT

Christopher Walter's study of the cult and iconography of Byzantine warrior saints - George, Demetrius, the two Theodores, and dozens more - is at once encyclopaedic and interpretative, and the first comprehensive study of the subject. The author delineates their origins and development as a distinctive category of saint, showing that in its definitive form this coincides with the apogee of the Byzantine empire in the 10th-11th centuries. He establishes a repertory, particularly of their commemorations in synaxaries and their representations in art, and describes their iconographical types and the functions ascribed to them once enrolled in the celestial army: support for the terrestrial army in its offensive campaigns, and a new protective role when the Byzantine Empire passed to the defensive. The survey highlights the lack of historicity among the Byzantines in their approach to the lives of these saints and their terrestrial careers. An epilogue briefly treats the analogous traditions in the cultures of neighbouring peoples. Walter draws attention to the development of an echelon of military saints, notably in church decoration, which provides the surest basis for defining their specificity; also to the way in which they were depicted, generally young, handsome and robust, and frequently 'twinned' in pairs, so calling attention to the importance of camaraderie among soldiers. At the same time, this work opens a new perspective on the military history of the Byzantine Empire. Its ideology of war consistently followed that of the Israelites; protected and favoured by divine intervention, there was no occasion to discuss the morality of a 'just war'. Consequently, when considering Byzantine methods of warfare, due attention should be given to the important role which they attributed to celestial help in their military campaigns.

chapter |6 pages

Introduction

part |2 pages

PART ONE History and Antecedents

chapter 1|30 pages

The Christian and Antique Background

part |2 pages

PART TWO The Byzantine Warrior Saints

chapter II|27 pages

St Demetrius

chapter III|7 pages

St Procopius

chapter IV|8 pages

St Mercurius 109

chapter V|84 pages

St George

chapter VI|17 pages

Sts Sergius and Bacchus

chapter VII|7 pages

St Eustathius

chapter VIII|7 pages

St Kyrion and the XL Martyrs of Sebasteia

chapter IX|4 pages

St Hieron and the Martyrs of Melitene

chapter X|10 pages

St Menas of Egypt

chapter XI|4 pages

St Artemius

chapter XII|5 pages

St Arethas

chapter XIII|6 pages

St Martin of Tours

chapter XIV|7 pages

St Phanourios

chapter 4|1 pages

The Minor Warrior Saints 214

chapter XV|3 pages

St Christopher

chapter XVI|2 pages

St Cornelius the Centurion

chapter XVIII|2 pages

St Joannicius

chapter XIX|2 pages

Sts Juventinus and Maximinus

chapter XX|1 pages

St Longinus of Caesarea

chapter XXI|4 pages

Sts Nestor and Lupus

chapter XXII|3 pages

St Nicetas (Nikita) the Goth

chapter XXIII|1 pages

St Philotheus of Antioch

chapter XXIV|1 pages

St Phoibammon

chapter XXV|3 pages

Sts Polyeuctus of Melitene and Nearchus

chapter XXVI|2 pages

St Sabbas Stratelates

chapter XXVII|2 pages

St Sisinnius of Antioch

chapter XXVIII|1 pages

Sts Speusippus, Elasippus and Melesippus

chapter XXIX|1 pages

St Zosimus of Apollonia

part |2 pages

PART THREE Conclusion

chapter |4 pages

Epilogue