ABSTRACT

This chapter focuses on the last iconoclast ruler and analyses the development of the emperor George Theophilos as a literary character, which evolved from hatred to love under the pen of the iconodule hagiographers. The traditional role of the iconoclast emperors in Byzantine hagiography is usually limited to their characteristic function as antagonists of the saint. Theoktistos’ new role as champion of the iconodule cause not only clashed with how extremely familiar he was with the iconoclast emperors, but also with his own past, in which he had actively participated in the persecution of the iconodules. According to Markopoulos, the rehabilitation of the iconoclast emperor made use of the creation of oral traditions that little by little came to form part of the written discourse and finally crystallised in autonomous works such as De Theophili imperatoris absolutione, a narrative that has a rich tradition in manuscripts, and De Theophili imperatoris benefactis.