Byzantine Monastic Architecture

Il saggio analizza la possibile destinazione materiale degli epigrammi di Teodoro Prodromo (XII sec.) sulla vita dei santi Tre Gerarchi, ipotizzando un loro utilizzo nei cicli figurativi attestati per la chiesa principale (katholikòn) del monastero costantinopolitano del Pantokrator.

The monumental complex at Potamos, which is located to the west of the Karlovasos set-tlement, includes the churches of Panagia and Agios Nikolaos, as well as a small fortress, known locally as Kastraki. The church of Panagia is a rather small simple, four-column, cross-in-square type church, with a, nowadays, ruined narthex. Its plan is a slightly elongated rectangle. Despite past assumptions that the church underwent a radical modification, the interior of the church re-mains, beyond doubt, authentic, except for the rebuilt dome. The overall articulation of the inte-rior space is typical for a four-column, cross-in-square type church, with certain limited peculiar-ities.
Moreover, despite the fact that the monument has indeed undergone some alterations, the authentic articulation of volumes remains largely intact. A vaulted structure that served as an sacristy also survives in a ruinous state on the east end of the church’s south façade. A masonry pier survives to the northwest of the church; this pier is what remains of a structurally independ-ent portico that was built at the same time or slightly after the construction of the church, which probably enveloped the building on three sides. The façades of both the church and the sacristy, as well as those of  the portico were initially decorated with inscribed and painted plaster, in the well-known and widespread middle and late Byzantine practice. The church has a complex building history, its original construction phase, however, can be safely dated to the second half of the 11th century.
A short distance away, north of the church of Panagia is the of old ruined single-nave church of Agios Nikolaos. The church is built on a raised terrace, under which were two long, underground spaces that obviously served as ossuaries. The church was covered with a barrel vault, reinforced with two arches. Its façades were almost completely covered in render that was decorated in a similar manner as those of the Panagia church. In terms of dating, the church of Agios Nikolaos exhibits such similarities, both in construction and morphology, as that of Panagia, that it can be reasonably assumed that the two buildings are concurrent.
Despite their small size and a certain degree of carelessness in their design, both churches of Potamos are without a doubt important middle Byzantine monuments of the Aegean, and their architecture is closely linked to the so-called School of Constantinople. Hence, they constitute two more specimens of “imported” architecture of high quality into the lagged behind island region. As for their original function, again it is reasonable to assume that the two churches and the fortress that rises over them are the remains of a, yet unidentified, important middle Byzantine monastery, which was founded or re-founded in the late 11th century by monks from Latmos, and  was further renovated during the 13th century, during the Lascarid Period.

Reusage was a common phenomenon in the ancient world. Throughout the history of Egypt, from the very early beginnings until modern times, tombs, temples, quarries or loose architectural elements were adapted for new purposes. The Temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahari (Upper Egypt) was no exception. Our knowledge about the Graeco-Roman to Late Antique periods comes mainly from the movable artefacts such as ostraka, papyri and secondary epigraphy preserved on the walls. In 2018, an attempt was made to recapture the faint, but still noticeable, drawings and texts left there by monks and Christian visitors. Contrary to previous studies, a more contextual approach was applied in the course of this re-examination. 'Secondary epigraphy', a term that has lately gained popularity in the academic community, can be explained as 'inscriptions that do not belong to their medium in its original state, whether built or open, but redefi ne it'. 1 Following this defi nition, all graffi ti or dipinti not directly connected with the original context (i.e. the pharaonic temple in Deir el-Bahari) can be regarded as secondary epigraphy. The subtle diff erence between graffi to and dipinto is also quite relevant. The former, deriving from the Greek verb γρᾰφω, is often understood collectively as all textual or pictorial markings, regardless of their manner of execution (engraved with a hard tool or inscribed with a kalamos). 2 Ergo, dipinti (from the Latin verb depingo) can be considered as a subtype of graffi ti. Nevertheless, in this article both terms will be used to distinguish scratched texts or pictures (graffi ti) from those which were painted (dipiniti).

On the island of Lemnos during the Late Byzantine period the land property of each athonite monastery is organised in agricultural units (metochia) that constitute their main supply source of essential products.

The architecture of metochia generally describes a group of buildings that serves various purposes: housing, defense, production, manufacture and storage. According to monastic documents the metochia of Lemnos are a complex with chapel, residences, mills, wine vats and storehouse, organised around a courtyard enclosed by a simple stone wall or, occasionally, by a fortified enclosure (kastellion, kastellos) with tower (pyrgos). Towers were used as refuges in case of raid, as observation posts (vigla) but mostly for the storage of agricultural products.

The chapel serves the religious needs of the monks and laymen, because metochia are small monastic foundations. The courtyard provides space for the movement of people, animals and loads, while offers a shelter in case of threat, when it is surrounded by a fortified enclosure. There are resindences for the monks (kellia) –probably of two storeys (anogeokatoga)– and laymen (oikimata) next to the complex. Nearby wine vats are built or watermills or windmills for the proccessing of the agricultural production. There is also a fountain for water supply. Appropriate places (mandrostasia, mandres) are used for animal husbandry, e.g. goats and sheep.

The monasteries maintain metochia also inside the urban centres of Lemnos, e.g. Palaiokastron, Kotzinas, with two-storied residences and chapel around a closed courtyard. Furthermore, similar properties kept in the commercial district (emporion) extra muros and together with harbour installations (skala), ensure the unhindered transportation of agricultural production from metochia to the monasteries in Mount Athos and the distribution of production surplus to the nearby markets.

The available historical and archaeological evidence regarding the territory of the Municipality of Thermi during the Byzantine period is relatively scarce and scattered in space, in contrast to what is known about Byzantine Thessaloniki. Excavations, as well as the few surviving written sources, highlight the importance of the Byzantine rural settlement of Sedes, located where modern Thermi lies, as numerous researchers argue nowadays. The settlement was administratively subject to the Thessaloniki «Thema» (administrative division) and extended with its particularly fertile lands in the valley of Kalamaria. The great economic boom of the village of Sedes during the 7th and 8th centuries AD was probably due to the agricultural reforms of the period, which aimed at restoring and strengthening the class of farmers and stockbreeders. By the 10th century AD, many lands of the settlement were acquired by the imperial monasteries of Thessaloniki, such as the Akapniou and Hortaitou monasteries, as well as by the larger monasteries of Mount Athos, such as the Iviron monastery. A prominent archaeological find is the vaulted stone aqueduct, reinforced with plaster, discovered during rescue excavations on Mandritsas Street, in 1994. Excavations continued over the following years, hence, about 195 meters of the aqueduct resurfaced in sections across the urban network of Thermi.

Essentielles à tout édifice, les portes, situées entre deux espaces distincts, constituent à la fois une séparation et une transition. Elles marquent les divisions structurelles nécessaires à l'articulation et la hiérarchisation de l'espace des lieux de culte. Prenant appui sur un corpus d'étude représentatif des églises monastiques érigées entre le Xe et le XVe siècle dans le territoire de l'empire byzantin et ses environs, cette thèse s'attache, par une étude holistique et pluridisciplinaire, à examiner les fonctions et les significations des lieux de passage et de leurs décors. Jalonnant les parcours effectués par les officiants et l'assistance vers l'église et en son sein, les portes et leurs abords sont le support privilégié de décors sculptés, en mosaïques ou peints. Les images et les signes graphiques qui les composent contiennent des messages divers et contribuent à appréhender les significations attribuées aux seuils dans la pensée chrétienne à Byzance. Les utilisations et les affectations des portes sont plurielles. Elles participent à la mise en scène des services liturgiques et à l'instauration d'un ordre social au sein de l'espace monastique. Ainsi les lieux de passage sont ceux d'expériences multiples. Le franchissement d'une porte s'inscrit dans un cheminement gradué conduisant l'assemblée vers la communion avec Dieu. Il produit une expérience spatiale, temporelle et spirituelle, mais aussi sensorielle et cognitive. Cette étude raisonnée des lieux liminaires des églises byzantines propose une nouvelle lecture du patrimoine architectural et iconographique, en mesure d'apporter un éclairage supplémentaire sur la vie et la spiritualité monastique, comme sur ses pratiques religieuses et sociales. Elle remet en question l'exclusivité de la perception verticale de l'espace religieux byzantin et réévalue les normes prédominantes de la compréhension et de l'appréciation des portes, telles que les notions d'entrée principale ou secondaire et de séparation entre le sacré et le profane.

Liminal Places and their Decoration in Byzantine Monastic Churches (10th-15th century): Function, Meaning and Experience of Doorways and Passageways

Essential to any building, doorways, i.e. the areas located between two distinct spaces, are both a separation and a transition. They mark the structural divisions necessary for the articulation and internal hierarchy of space in church buildings. Based on a representative selection of monastic churches located within the territory of the Byzantine Empire and its surroundings, dated from the 10th to the 15th century, this dissertation analyzes the function and the meaning of passageways and their decoration through a holistic and multidisciplinary approach. Punctuating the paths taken by officiants and the audience towards the church and within it, the doors and their surroundings are important settings for sculptures, mosaics or paintings. The images and graphic signs displayed on and around them convey a variety of messages and contribute to our understanding of the significance of thresholds in Byzantium. The use of doorways and the assignments given to them are many and various. They participate in the staging of liturgical services and in the establishment of a social order within the monastic space. Thus, they are the place of multiple experiences. The crossing of a doorway is part of a gradual itinerary leading the assembly towards communion with God. It produces a spatial, temporal and spiritual experience in addition to a multisensory and cognitive impact. This study of liminal places of Byzantine churches proposes an alternative reading of the architectural and iconographic heritage and attempts to shed new light on monastic life and spirituality, as well as its religious and social practices. It challenges the exclusive vertical perception of the Byzantine religious space and reconsiders the prevailing norms of understanding and appreciation of doorways, such as the notions of main or secondary entrances and the hermetic barrier between the sacred and the profane.

During the late Byzantine period the extended landed property of the Mount Athos monasteries and Saint John's of Patmos dominates on Lemnos. The property of each one is organized in productive units (estates) of agricultural and animal husbandry product, that are named metochia, and constitute the main source of supply for monastic foundations on Mount Athos and Patmos; first with the essential for the service of daily needs, while additionally contribute to their wider economic expansion via the sale, mainly, of the production surplus in the empire's commercial centres, but also with other ways. The above information is provided by the documents kept in the extensive monastic archives of the late Byzantine period.
The monastic landed property on Lemnos was exploited by depended farmers of two categories, proskathemenoi, who did not usually own any assets and did not possibly come from the region, and paroikoi, who had the essential ad vantage of holding cultivable land and paid tax for their lot.

Main cereal products were the wheat (Triticum dururn) and less the barley. In the same time, viticulture for wine production was very common and profitable. Great parts of metochia, mainly unsuitable for cultivation, were used for sheep and goat husbandry. Information on the produced quantities is not provided by the monastic documents, while the lack of evidence is successfully covered by the early ottoman Tapu-Tahrir Defter #25 for Lemnos dated 1490, very close to the period we study.
Finally, the income of monasteries was supplemented with extensive tax exemption and other permissions or benefits granted by the state for each metochion.