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Commentaries of Gregory of Nazianzus, Byzantine, 879-883AD
f.239r (upper register) Gregory of Nazianzus taking leave of Theodosius I


A larger image of Gregory of Nazianzus taking leave of Theodosius I, f.239r, 'Commentaries of Gregory of Nazianzus', Byzantine, BnF Grec 510
s. grégoire de nazianze prenant congé de théodose 1

Titre : Grégoire de Nazianze, manuscrit dédié à l'empereur Basile Ier le Macédonien.
Date d'édition : 0879-0883
Type : manuscrit
Langue : Grec
Format : Parchemin. - 465 fol. - Onciale. - Peint. - 435 x 300 mm
Description : Grégoire de Nazianze, Homélies.

Miniature au folio 239r. Au registre supérieur, Grégoire et l'empereur Théodose: Grégoire suivi de deux évêques s'adresse à Théodose Ier; à droite le trône impérial à côté duquel se tiennent deux gardes.
Miniature on folio 239r. In the upper register, Gregory and the Emperor Theodosius: Gregory followed by two bishops addresses Theodosius I; on the right, the imperial throne beside which two guards stand.

Source : Bibliothèque nationale de France, Département des manuscrits, Grec 510

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Folio 239v (27) (fig. 27) The upper register of f.239r shows Gregory 'conversing' with the Emperor Theodosios (Ο ΘΕΟΛΟΓΟC CΥΝ[ΔΙΑΛΕΓ]ΟΜΕΝΟC ΒΑCΙΛΕΙ ΘΕΟΔΟCΙΩ); the lower shows his departure from Constantinople after he rejected the patriarchal seat in 381.
...
     The upper scene is set against an architectural backdrop painted in blue-on-blue that extends across the register and represents the imperial palace. Gregory, followed by two bishops, faces a frontal Theodosios distinguished by a pearled halo that perpetuates a motif more common in early Byzantine art and may suggest an attempt to provide historical flavour. The emperor occupies the centre of the composition; on the right, an elaborate gold throne is flanked by two bodyguards. Apart from the pearled halo, Theodosios is portrayed as elsewhere in the manuscript (f.355r; fig. 36), and the jewelled throne presents a variation on a type seen in other miniatures as well.⁹³ The throne sits beneath a jewelled ciborium, supported by gem-encrusted columns with capitals in the shape of eagles, the imperial and cosmological significance of which was long ago noted by Karl Lehmann.

⁹³ With David on f. 143v and the 381 Council on f. 355r (figs. 19, 36). This is not the so-called lyre-backed throne sometimes associated with the emperor, though that form is found occupied by Christ on f. 67v and by Julian the Apostate on f. 374v (figs. 11, 39); see also the discussion of f. Av in chapter 4.

Source: pp.132-134, Vision and Meaning in Ninth-Century Byzantium by Leslie Brubaker

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Referenced on p.23, Byzantine Imperial Guardsmen 925-1025: The Tághmata and Imperial Guard by Timothy Dawson
Sts Gregory of Nazianzius and Theodosius, in a miniature of c. AD 880. The Imperial Spathárioi or Protospathárioi, visible here, were equipped with a spathion chrysokanon, i.e. a sword with a golden hilt, as described in De Ceremoniis (II, 574–575, 640) and the Kletorologion of Philotheos (91, 127) as a distinction of the court rank of these Imperial Guardsmen. (Cod. Par. Gr. 510, folio 239r; ex Kolias)