The ''Menologion of Basil II'' (also called ''Menologium of Basil II'', ''Menology of Basil II'') is an
illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...
designed as a
church calendar
The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgy, liturgical seasons in Christian churches that determines when feast days, including Calendar of saints, celebrations of saints, a ...
or
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...
service book (''
menologion
Menologium (), also written menology, and menologe, is a service-book used in the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite.
From its derivation from Greek , ''menológion'', from μήν ''m ...
'') that was compiled c. 1000 AD, for the
Byzantine Emperor
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...
Basil II
Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar S ...
(r. 976–1025). It contains a ''
synaxarion
Synaxarion or Synexarion (plurals Synaxaria, Synexaria; el, Συναξάριον, from συνάγειν, ''synagein'', "to bring together"; cf. etymology of ''synaxis'' and ''synagogue''; Latin: ''Synaxarium'', ''Synexarium''; cop, ⲥⲩⲛⲁ ...
'', a short collection of
saints' lives
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...
, compiled at Constantinople for liturgical use, and around 430
miniature paintings by eight different artists. It was unusual for a ''menologion'' from that era to be so richly painted. It currently resides in the
Vatican Library
The Vatican Apostolic Library ( la, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, it, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. Formally es ...
(Ms. Vat. gr. 1613).
A full facsimile was produced in 1907.
[''Codices e Vaticanis selecti phototypice expressi ivssv Pii. PP. X consilio et opera cvratorvm Bibliothecae vaticanae.'' eries maior no. 8, Fratelli Bocca, Turin, Italy, 1907.]
Description
The manuscript is not technically a ''
menologion
Menologium (), also written menology, and menologe, is a service-book used in the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite.
From its derivation from Greek , ''menológion'', from μήν ''m ...
'', but a ''
synaxarion
Synaxarion or Synexarion (plurals Synaxaria, Synexaria; el, Συναξάριον, from συνάγειν, ''synagein'', "to bring together"; cf. etymology of ''synaxis'' and ''synagogue''; Latin: ''Synaxarium'', ''Synexarium''; cop, ⲥⲩⲛⲁ ...
'': a liturgical book containing a list of the saints and their feast days with a short description of sixteen lines of text and a painting of a saint or grouping of saints. The more than 430 images are important examples of
hagiography
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies migh ...
, the veneration of saints, in Byzantine illumination. Text and images cover only half of the religious calendar of the Byzantine
liturgical year
The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and whi ...
(September to February), so it is assumed that there was a second volume to the work, but this was probably never produced, since some pages within the manuscript were left unfinished. The miniatures themselves have no liturgical role—it's possible that their purpose was to act as protectors of the Emperor. The manuscript inspired the illustration of a number of subsequent ''menologia''.
[''The glory of Byzantium'', ]
The work glorifies Emperor Basil II showing him as a warrior defending Orthodox Christendom against the attacks of the
Bulgarian Empire
In the medieval history of Europe, Bulgaria's status as the Bulgarian Empire ( bg, Българско царство, ''Balgarsko tsarstvo'' ) occurred in two distinct periods: between the seventh and the eleventh centuries and again between the ...
, whose attacks on Byzantium are graphically illustrated. Even figures like the archangels were depicted in military guise by the painters.
History
The manuscript was copied and painted at
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
at the command of, or as a gift for, the Emperor Basil II. It was completed between 979 and the early years of the 11th century. In the course of the 14th century it came into the possession of a
Genoese doctor who resided in Constantinople. In the 15th century it was acquired by
Ludovico Sforza
Ludovico Maria Sforza (; 27 July 1452 – 27 May 1508), also known as Ludovico il Moro (; "the Moor"). "Arbiter of Italy", according to the expression used by Guicciardini, , Duke of Milan. At the beginning of the 17th century the cardinal
Paolo Emilio Sfondrati
Paolo Emilio Sfondrati (1560 – 14 February 1618) was an Italian Cardinal.
Biography
Born to a noble family in Milan and the nephew of Pope Gregory XIV, he was the cardinal priest of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, papal legate in Bologna, member of ...
gave it to
Pope Paul V
Pope Paul V ( la, Paulus V; it, Paolo V) (17 September 1550 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death in January 1621. In 1611, he honored ...
and the manuscript now resides in the
Vatican library
The Vatican Apostolic Library ( la, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, it, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. Formally es ...
.
[''The glory of Byzantium'', p.100]
Artists
The artists who produced the images for the ''Menologion'' employed
perspective and moved away from the flat depictions common up to that time. The figures' gestures and drapery are depicted in a lifelike manner, with architecture and backgrounds well-rendered. Facial expressions are painted in a naturalistic style. The work thus demonstrates the painting style of the period which is often referred to as the
Macedonian Renaissance
Macedonian Renaissance ( el, Μακεδονική Αναγέννηση) is a historiographical term used for the blossoming of Byzantine culture in the 9th–11th centuries, under the eponymous Macedonian dynasty (867–1056), following the uphea ...
in which painters returned to ancient models with gusto.
Unusual for a Byzantine manuscript, the name of the painter of each illustration is recorded by a scribe at the edge of each image. A total of eight names can be recognised. One painter, by the name of Pantoleon, who may be referred to in other documents of the time, seems to have been in charge of the group. They likely worked together in a workshop connected to the Imperial court. The other painters are Georgios, Michael the Younger, Michael of
Blachernai, Simeon, Simeon of Blachernai, Manas, and Nestor.
The names are not the signatures of the artists themselves, since they are all recorded in the same handwriting. It is very rare for artistic works from the Middle Ages to record the name of the artist, since it was not the individual artist so much as the meaning of the image which was most important. The reason for the recording of the names of the painters below their works in the ''Menologion of Basil II'' is not clear.
Gallery
Further reading
* ''Il Menologio di Basilio II (cod. Vaticano Greco 1613)''. Turin 1907 (Schwarz-Weiß Faksimile-Gesamtausgabe).
* Francesco D'Aiuto (Hrsg.): ''El "Menologio de Basilio II". Città del Vaticano, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. Gr. 1613; libro de estudios con ocasión de la edición facsímil. Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Città del Vaticano / Diaconía Apostólica de la Iglesia de Grecia, Athen / Testimonio Compañia Editorial, Madrid 2008, , , .
*Evans, Helen C. & Wixom, William D.
''The glory of Byzantium: art and culture of the Middle Byzantine era, A.D. 843-1261'' no. 55, 1997, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, ; full text available online from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries
* Andrea Luzzi: ''El „Menologio de Basilio II“ y el semestre invernal de la recensio B* del Sinaxario de Constantinople''. In: ''El „Menologio‟ de Basilio II: Città del Vaticano, Vat. gr. 1613: libro de estudios con ocasión de la edición facsímil''. Dirigado por Francesco D'Aiuto. Biblioteca Apostólica Vaticana, Città del Vaticano 2008. 47–75.
* Nancy Patterson Ševčenko: ''Menologion of Basil II.'' In: ''Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. '' New York, Oxford, 1991, Bd. 2, S. 1341–1342.
* Ihor Ševčenko: ''The Illuminators of the Menologium of Basil II.'' In: ''Dumbarton Oaks Papers'' 16, 1962, S. 248–276.
Notes
External links
Facsimile of Vat.gr.1613 from the Biblioteca Apostolica VaticanaGreek-Latin edition(Vol 117 of
Patrologia Graeca
The ''Patrologia Graeca'' (or ''Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Graeca'') is an edited collection of writings by the Christian Church Fathers and various secular writers, in the Greek language. It consists of 161 volumes produced in 1857– ...
)
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10th-century illuminated manuscripts
11th-century illuminated manuscripts
Christian illuminated manuscripts
Eastern Orthodox liturgical books
Byzantine illuminated manuscripts
Christian hagiography
Manuscripts of the Vatican Library
Basil II