148-161

"The vision of Proclus" in miniatures of metaphrastian menologia

• Μητσάνη, Αγγελική

The composition of John Chrysostom’s expository homilies on Paulines Epistles is related by four of his biographers to the episode of the Vision of Proclus. Proclus, Chrysostom’s pupil and secretary, had a vision in which the apostle Paul inspired Chrysostom by whispering in his ear as he was writing his commentaries on the Epistles.In byzantine iconographty two types of this theme may be distinguished: one is a narrative type, composed of three figures, and is known as the «Vision of Proclus» (Chrysostom as an enthroned writer, Paul standing behind him and Proclus at the entrance of the building on the right: five examples); the other is a synoptic type of the same scene (a group with Chrysostom and Paul inspiring him: two examples). Both iconographie types were used as the basis of the scene of Chrysostom as «Fountain of wisdom», a portrait of the orator-teacher (streams of water gush from John’s desk, from which clerics and laymen drink: five examples).The figures of Chrysostom and Paul, as it is the usual practice of the middle Byzantine period, follow the iconographie scheme of the enthroned evangelist with his inspirer, most probably that of Luke with Paul. The figure of Proclus at the entrance of the building on the right may also be derived from similar figures in representations of the evangelists. An appropriate synthesis of these two known iconographie types resulted in the new narrative scene of the «Vision of Proclus», and this appears subsequently to have influenced the portraits of other writers. The creation of this scene, which is «new» to the iconographie repertoire of the period, was most probably invented at the end of the 10th-beginning of the 11th century for the illustration of the Metaphrastian Menologia, which includes abiography of Chrysostom with a detailed description of the Episode and is accompanied by a relevant illustration of it (cf Athens 2535, f. 22lv and Sina, gr. 500, f. I75r, both of the 11th century). It was the period during which the composition of the Metaphrastian Menologion (end of the 10th century) was completed, and also when the iconographie type of the enthroned writer accompanied by a figure who inspires him was revived and acquired its definitive form.If our opinion is right, therefore, the «new» scene of the «Vision of Proclus» may be regarded as a specific example of the revival of the iconography of the Menologion of the Meta- phrast. As a result it may de added some modifications to the absolute view that no new scene was created for the illumination of this kind of manuscript, which was conventional and traditional in its general form. Moreover, this composition based on known iconographie types is a representative example of the measure of originality and of the kind of creativity that we recognize in the «new» scenes of the Metaphrastian Menologia.

• History and Archaeology

• Αρχαιολογία
• Επιγραφές
• Archaeology and art

Αισθάνομαι υποχρεωμένη να ευχαριστήσω θερμά τους υπεύθυνους του τμήματος χειρογράφων της Εθνικής Βιβλιοθήκης της Ελλάδος και του Institut de Recherche et d’Histoire des Textes του CNRS της Γαλλίας για τις άπειρες διευκολύνσεις που μου προσέφεραν κατά τη μελέτη χειρογράφων ή μικροταινιών χειρογράφων, καθώς και για την παραχώρηση φωτογραφικού υλικού., Πίνακες 51-58 βλέπε τέλος τεύχους, Το άρθρο περιέχεται στο τεύχος: Μέρος Α'-Μελέτες