Five Hundred Bones from Constantinople: Monks, Manuscripts, and Memory at the Eastern Borders of Byzantium
This article traces the diachronic uses of the literary motif of "relics coming from Constantinople to monasteries in the East" in Syriac hagiography. Although this motif was seen in Syriac literature as early as the sixth century, there seems to be an increase in the employment of these s...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Cambridge Univ. Press
2022
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| In: |
Harvard theological review
Year: 2022, Volume: 115, Issue: 3, Pages: 363-386 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Abhai, Nizäa, Bischof, Heiliger ca. 5. Jh.
/ Aha, Saint ca. 6. Jh.
/ Saint's life
/ Constantinople
/ Relic veneration
/ Syriac churches
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| IxTheo Classification: | KAC Church history 500-1500; Middle Ages KBL Near East and North Africa KCD Hagiography; saints |
| Further subjects: | B
Syriac Literature
B cultural memory B relic veneration B Hagiography |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | This article traces the diachronic uses of the literary motif of "relics coming from Constantinople to monasteries in the East" in Syriac hagiography. Although this motif was seen in Syriac literature as early as the sixth century, there seems to be an increase in the employment of these stories around the twelfth century in saints’ lives local to northern Mesopotamia. In light of two texts—the Life of Abḥay and the Life of Aḥā—the article argues that stories about Constantinopolitan relics (martyrs’ bones or pieces of the True Cross) were oriented toward different modes of remembering Byzantium in the Syriac Church in the Middle Ages. The article further argues that these stories also created space to reflect on the Syriac Church’s relations with the Armenian Church in the medieval Near East. The article thus shows the power of narrative in creating cultural memory, building communal identity, and catalyzing religious rivalry. |
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| ISSN: | 1475-4517 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Harvard theological review
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/S0017816022000232 |