Bibliotheca 11
Greeks, Latins, and Intellectual History 1204-1500
Edited by
Martin Hinterberger and Chris Schabel
PEETERS LEUVEN - PARIS - WALPOLE, MA 2011 A NEGLECTED TOOL OF ORTHODOX PROPAGANDA? THE IMAGE OF THE LATINS IN BYZANTINE HAGIOGRAPHY
Martin HINTERBERGER
The investigation of how Latins are represented in Byzantine hagiog- raphy might be especially useful for the exploration of the Byzantines' attitude towards the Latins. One reason is that hagiography was a powerful tool of propaganda in the framework of ideological clashes. It was powerful because, more than other genres, hagiographical texts presented the exemplary life and conduct. Furthermore, these texts were firmly connected to the cult of saints, so that they reached a wide public by being read aloud at the saint's feast. Such an investigation will also help to contexrualize better the so-called Martyrion Kyprion, a text describing the martyrdom of the thirteen Cypriot monks of Kantara in 1231, on which Chris Schabel, Alexander Beihammer and I have been trying to shed more light for some time now. As I am still at the beginning of my research, my paper will have more the character of a work-in-progress. I have seen a substantial portion of the hagiographical texts of the Palaiologan period, but not all of them. For this reason whatever conclusion I reach must be considered preliminary.
By hagiography I mean, in a rather broad sense, texts dedicated to a person venerated as a saint and intended to support the cult of this saint, but I have concentrated on texts which can be characterized primarily as narrative (meaning that I have excluded akolouthies and hymns),'
1. All known texts on Byzantine saints are catalogued in F. HALKlN,Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca (Subsidia hagiographica 8a), Brussels 31957, and IDEM, Novum Auctarium Bib/ioth~cM Hagiographica~ Graecae (Subsidia hagiographica 65), Brussels 1984 (= BHG). So far a thorough and general study on Byzantine hagiography has not been accomplished (Stephanos Efthymiadis has announced a comprehensive handbook on the subject in two volumes, which we hope will materialize soon). In addition to the rather short, but informative article by A. KAzHDAN and A.-M. TALBOT, "Hagiography", in: A. KAzHDAN (ed.), The Oxford Dictionary o/Byzantium, Oxford 1991, pp. 897-898, for 130 MARTIN HINTERBERGER
My research has been carried out on the basis of a representative sample of texts written during the period 1100-1500, without being exhaustive, of course. I have focused on texts dedicated to saints who lived in the period under scrutiny, but I have also taken into consideration texts on older saints.' Hagiography is strongly connected to, but not dependent on, the appearance of new saints. In contrast to the practices of the Latin Church, in Byzantium there existed no fixed procedure for the can- onisation of saints. 3 The veneration of a certain saint was always more or less a matter of general consent. There are very few cases where the patriarch interfered with the veneration of a particular saint outside of Constantinople. Nevertheless, the Church had the possibility and the means to support the cult of a saint, if it wished. It was, e.g., with the strong backing of Patriarch Philotheos Kokkinos that in 1368 Gregory Palamas was officially proclaimed a saint." A few words on the development of the genre may be appropriate. In comparison to the previous two centuries, in the Palaiologan period hagiography was a rather productive genre. There is an enormous number of new versions of old saint's lives (totalling 125 out of ca. 160 texts, i.e., 78%), the bulk of these texts having been written during the early part of our period, especially in the reign of Andronikos 11(1282-1328).5 The majority of new saints' lives fit into
a general overview one may consult D.G. TSAMES, A)'toAo)'la TTjr; Oe{)6()o~Tjr; E>e>eATjala" Thessalonica 1999, esp. pp. 19-53. Useful material on Byzanrine saints and hagiography in general is also provided by the Dumbarton Oaks Hagiography Database (http://www. doaks.org/Hagio.html). 2. E. MORINl, "Greci e latini dalle crociare alIa francocrazia nelle fonti agiografiche biz- antine", in: Rivista di Bizantinistica 3 (1993), pp. 183-225, is an insightful study that focuses more on Greek-Latin relationships surrounding the cult of saints than on the hagiographical texts themselves. The article, however, contains interesting observations on the Martyrion Kyprion as well as on the Lift of Sabas, both of which I am going to discuss in detail in the present article. D. ABRAHAMSE, "Byzanrine Views of the West in the Early Crusade Period: The Evidence of Hagiography", in: V.P. GROSS (ed.), The Meetingr ofTwo Worlds: Cultural Exchange between East and West during the Period of the Crusades, Kalamazoo, Mich. 1986, pp. 189-200, also provides interesting information gathered from lZth-cenrury texts. 3. A.-M. TALBOT, "Canonization", in: KAzHDAN, The Oxford Dictionary ofByzantium, p. 372; R. MACRIDES, "Saints and Sainthood in the Early Palaiologan Period", in: S. HACKEL (ed.), The Byzantine Saint: Unioersity of Birmingham 14th Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies, London 1981, pp. 67-87, esp. pp. 79-87. 4. MACRIDES, "Saints and Sainthood", P: 83. 5. A.-M. TALBOT, "Old Wine in New Bottles: The Rewriting of Saints' Lives in the Palaeologan Period", in: S. CURÖC and D. MOURIKI (eds.), The Twilight of Byzantium. A NEGLECfED TOOL OF ORTHODOX PROPAGANDA? 131 one of the following two categories: lives of heroes of the anti-union- ist struggle and lives of heroes of the Hesychast movement. We may already record that in terms of numbers, anti-Latin hagiography, in the sense of hagiographical texts promoting saints who had struggled against the Latins, virtually does not exist. In most texts in which Latins do appear, they are merely mentioned and are not really the centre of arrention. The keywords I looked for in these hagiographical texts were pri- marily AIX't'LVOC;and 'hIXAOC;.6In Byzantine texts, the word AIX't'!:voc;is used in two senses: firstly, AIX't'LVOC;means the speaker of Latin or refers to the geographical provenance of a person, and could thus be translated as "Westerner". Secondly, Aoc't'i:'voc;refers to the denomina- tion, meaning an adherent to the Church of Rome, what we now call a Roman Catholic. In the texts I have examined so far, before the year 1200 the word AIX't'i:'vosrefers primarily to ethnic provenance or to linguistic identity, and in many cases it is specified which of the two is meant.I It is only after ca. 1200 that the word primarily character- izes adherents to the Roman Catholic Church." 'I't'IXAOC;,on the other
Aspects of Cultural and Religious History in the Lau Byzantine Empire. Papers from the Colloquium Held at Princeton University 8-9 May 1989. Princeton, NJ 1991, pp. 15-26, esp. pp. 16-17. On the Lives of new saints see A.E. LAIou-THOMADAKJS,"Saints and Society in the Late Byzanrine Empire", in: EADEM(ed.), Charanis Studies. Essays in Honor of P. Charanis, New Brunswick, NJ 1980, pp. 84-114. 6. On the general usage of AClT!:VO<; in Byzantine texts (with special focus on historic- graphical texts) see J. KODER,"Latinoi - The Image of the Other according to Greek Sources", in: CA. MALTEZOUand P. SCHREINER(eds.), Bisanzio, Venezia eil monda franco-greeo (XIII-XV secolo). Atti del Colloquia lnternazionale organizzato nel centenario della nascita di Raymand-joseph Loenertz O'P. Vmezia, 1-2 dicembre 2000, Venice 2002, pp. 25-39 (with further bibliography). See also A. KAZHDAN,"Latins and Franks in Byzan- tium: Perception and Reality from the Eleventh to the Twelfth Century", in: A.E. LAIou and R.P. MOTTAHEDEH(eds.), The CrusatUs from the Perspective of Byzantium and the Muslim World, Washington, DC 2001, pp. 83-100, who discusses the terrns AClTLVO<; and «pP"YY0<; and their origin. The term «pP"YY0<; is of minor significance in hagiographical texts of the period under investigation here. 7. E.g., AClTLVOL TO y£vo<; in the Life ofNikon (shortly after 1042), ed. D.F. SULLNAN, The Lift of Saint Nikan, Brookline, MA 1987, 74, 1 (p, 250) where the text refers to two brothers from Aquileia, and T"ijv YA(;,TTClV AIXTLVO<; in John Rhodios, Life of Christo- doulos (ca. 1140), ed. K. BOINES,'A;eo).ovOia If(!UTOV oaiov ;eat Ow
Enkomion on Cbristodoulos
The encomium of Christodoulos of Patmos composed by Theodosios Gudelis relates in great detail the posthumous miracles of the saint.'? All of these miracles have to do with the theft or violent removal of the saint's corpse as a whole or in part (and its miraculous restoration to
13. Vita of Lucas I. 325-349 (= ch. 11). 14. On Christodoulos and his monastery on Patmos, see e.g. A. KAzHDAN, "Christo- doulos of Patmos", in: KAzHDAN, Oxford Dictionary of ByMntium, pp. 440-441, and T.E. GREGORYand N. PAITERSONSEVCENKO,"Patmos", ibid., pp. 1596-1597, as well as A. KIRBY,"Hosios Christodoulos: an Eleventh-century Byzantine Saint and his Monasteries", in: BJZIlntinos/avica 57 (1996), pp. 293-309. For the hagiographical texts dedicated to Christodoulos see esp. E.L. BRANUSE,Ta aYIOAoy",a "fLfJeva 'rov oaLovXoia- rodovÄov, lb(!vroii rij<; lv llarfJfp fJ0vij<;,Athens 1966, and EADEM, BvCavTtva lyy(!atpa rijc; Movijr; llarfJov. A' AUTO"(!arO(!t,,a, Athens 1980, pp. *8-*20 and *68-*n. 15. Ed. by BoINES, 'A"oAovIUa, pp. 163-208. On the author see D. TSOUGARAKIs, The Lift of Leontios Patriarch ofJerusalnn (The Medieval Mediterranean 2), Leiden-New York-Cologne 1993, pp. 11-13. 134 MARTIN HINTERBERGER
the monastery). The perpetrators of these crimes are nearlyexclusively Latins, who in the text are primarily referred to as "non-Byzantines" or "foreigners", ßiXpßlXpm.16 They are the men of King William 11of Sicily (in 1186) or King Philipp Augustus of France himself (Septem- ber 1191, after he abandoned the crusaders' allied forces). The latter, after a failed attempt to purchase a part of Christodoulos' body, induces one of his men to steal it. This man, while venerating Christodoulos, bites off part of the skin covering the saint's hand (eh. 40). In Gudelis' text, the Latins clearly are depicted as evil and uncul- tivated, no more than bloodthirsty pirates, especially the men in the service of the king of Sicily.!" But nowhere are the existing dogmatic differences mentioned. Their main flaw is that they are not Byzan- tines, which does not mean that they are exclusively non-Creeks.l'' Besides that, they are closely associated to rebels against the Byzantine emperor (such as Isaakios Komnenos in Cyprus). All in all, the image of the Latins is somehow contradictory, because on the one hand they also worship and venerate Christodoulos piously and in the end are forced to obey the saint's wish to stay on his island (with all his fin- gers), but on the other hand they are also unquestionably bad, because they try to remove the saint from Patmos. This somehow undecided atrirude vis-ä-vis the Latins changes to explicit hostility in Theodosios' other hagiographical work.
Life of Leontios Theodosios Gudelis, who originated from a noble family in Constan- tinople and himself was a monk in the monastery of St John in Pat- mos, also wrote the Life of Leontios (1110/15-85), patriarch of Jeru- salem and former abbot of Parmos.l'' A little after 1176 Leontios was appointed patriarch of Jerusalem. Although his see was under Cru- sader rule and had a resident Latin prelate, Leontios decided actually
16. E.g. Theodosios Gudelis, Enkomion 181, 12. 15; 184,4. 6; 187, 15; 188, 20. 22; 189, 1. 23; 193,8.23. 26. 30. 32; 199,9, whereas Aot' Leontios was saved with the help of God, but this attack on his life and the continued refusal of the Latin authorities to permit him to celebrate mass officially in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre forced Leontios to leave Palestine (surnmer 1178), after a stay of about a year, and return to Constantinople. Before leaving, however, accord- ing to the Life (eh, 87), Leontios was invited by the ruler of Damas- cus (Saladin, since 1174) to come to his land and obviously to trans- fer his patriarchal seat there, which serves as another opportuniry for the author to attack the "innately wicked" Latins by making an unfa- vourable comparison with the Muslims, because "they, the Latins, though calling themselves Christians, had behaved to him worse than those who were completely impious'l.!' The difference we observe in the two texts concerning the treat- ment of the Latins by the author may also be genre-related. In the Encomium the Latins were used for the saint's praise as well, so that they, being worshipers of the saint, could not be depicted as totally depraved. It is interesting to note that in Gudelis' texts, and especially in the Life of Leontios, which surely was written after the events of the 20. THEODOSlOS GUDEUS, Lift of Leontios, p. 85, 23-28. I follow the translation of TSOUGARAKIS, The Lift of Leontios, p. l35; see also the commentary on p. 203. 2 J. THEODOROS GUDELIS, Lift of Leontios, p. l36, 40-41. 136 MARTIN HINTERBERGER Fourth Crusade, there is no developed polemics against the Latins except the rather short passage on the attempt to kill Leontios. BYZANTINE HAGIOGRAPHY AFTER 1204 As we have already mentioned, in the second half of the thirteenth century hagiographical propaganda focused on Latinophiles, not on Latins themselves. Characteristically, even in the first decades after the recapture of Constantinople (1261), hagiographie propaganda con- centrated on the victims of Michael VIII's (1258-82) harsh oppres- sion of anri-unionists.V This goes so far that in the narratives the Church of Rome even assumes a positive role, namely as an ally in the struggle against iconoclasm, but also against the Fitioque.23 In later texts (of the first half of the fourteenth century) as well, when in the framework of a historical flashback the Latin occupation of Constantinople is referred to, there is hardly any expansion on the subject of the evil Latin to be found.P' Occasionally we hear about the pillaging of churches by the Latins, and especially about the steal- ing of relics or the taking of hostages.25 Even in the Life of John 22. MACRIDES, "Saints and Sainthood in the Early Palaiologan Period". 23. E.g., THEODORA RAOULAlNA, Lift of Theodore and Th~ophan~s Graptos (BHG 1793), ch. 12-14, ed. A. PAPADOPOULOS-KERAMEUS, 'AvuA'''Ta 'heOOOAVfJ-m"Fi, l:TaxvoAoyiar;, vol. 4, Jerusalem 1897, pp. 185-223. See on this text TALBOT, "Old Wine", pp. 20-21, and F. Rrzzo NERVO, "Teodora Raoulena: Tra agiografia e polirica", in: l:YNt1El:MOl:. Studi in onore di RosarioAnastasi, vol. 1, Catania 1991, pp. 147-161. On the pope's rejection of the Filioque, as presented by Theodora, see also C. SODE, [erusalem - Konstantinopel - Rom. Die VIten tks Michael Synlullos und tin Brüdu Tbeodoros und Theophanes Graptoi, Stuttgart 2001, esp. 199-200. 24. E.g., KONSTANTINOS AKROPOUTES, Enkomion of Demetrios (BHG 542), 61-62, ed. PAPADOPULOS-KERAMEUS, 'AvaAe"m, vol. 1, pp. 160-215 (and 492-493), esp. pp. 210-211, when lamenting the fall of Constantinople in 1204 the author restricts himself to speak of the "iron narion" and "the hand of the arrogant Italians". For an exception that proves the rule see NlKEPHOROS GREGORAS, Lift of loannes of Htrakkia (BHG 2188), ch. 8, ed. V. LAURENT, "La Vie de Jean, Metropolire d'Heraclee de Ponr", in: 'Aexüov 116VTov 6 (1934), pp. 3-64, here 43, 17-44, 10. 25. Pillaging and theft of relics: Philotheos of Selymbria, Enkomion on Agathonikos (BHG 43), ed. PG 154, cols. 1229-1240, esp. col. 1237C; hostages taken in Nea Patra in 1319, Life of Athanasios of Meteora, ed. SOPHIANOS,• 0 ÖOIOr;'AOavaolO, {, M,uweh1/r;, p. 133, eh. 6; see also the commentary ibid. 40-42; cf. also E. TRAPP, Prosopographisch~s Lo:ikon der Palaiokigmuit, Vienna 1976-1996 (; PLP), no. 359, as well as LAIou- THOMADAKIS, "Saints and Society", p. 92, and D.M. NICOL, M~teora. The Rock Monas- teries of Thmaly, London 1963, p. 88 (English paraphrase of the passage). Damages A NEGLECfED TOOL OF ORTHODOX PROPAGANDA? 137 Batatzis (BHG 933, written by George of Pelagonia in the middle of the fourteenth century), the energetic ruler who led Byzantium back to power and into a position from which after his death the Byzan- tines managed to recapture Constantinople, and whose principal enemies had been the Latins, the latter do not play any special role in the narrative. Instead of attacking the Latins, this text is in fact a libel directed against the ruling Byzantine elite of the author's time, which is unfavourably compared to the erstwhile saviour of the Byz- antine State.26 In texts that support the cause of the Hesychast movement, one recurrent topic is the Italian origin and allegedly concealed Roman Catholic inclinations of Barlaam the Calabrian, the vehement oppo- nent of Gregory Palamas who, in Hesychast hagiography, is the for- eigner scapegoat responsible for the internal strife inside the Orthodox Church.27 Interestingly, this recurrent topic is not used for any kind of anti-Latin propaganda. Generally, the Lives of Hesychast saints focus on the saints' deeds on Mount Athos, although many of them came from, or undertook long journeys to, regions under Latin rule. Nevertheless, accidental, but interesting information is provided in the biography of one of the great Hesychast leaders. Life of Sabas Sabas Tziskas (1283-1349), better known as Sabas the Younger, who had taken monastic vows in the Athenire monastery of Vatopedi, set out to visit the Holy Land shortly after 1307.28 On his way there he afHicted to monasteries: Philotheos of Selymbria, Life of Makarios (BHG 1000), eh, 49, ed. A. PAPADOPOULOS-KERAMEUS,Maveoyoell6.Tftor; {J,{JAtO()~x"1,'AVEx,sOTa aA'1v,xa, Constantinople 1884, pp. 46-59, esp. p. 6. 26. Cf. MACRIDES,"Saints and Sainthood in the Early PaIaiologan Period", esp. pp. 69-71. On the veneration of members of the previous Lascarid dynasty as saints as a fearure of PaIaiologan politics see now T. SHAWCROSS,"In the Name of the True Emperor", in: Byzantinoslaoic« 66 (2008), pp. 203-227, esp. pp. 214-224. 27. E.g. Philotheos Kokkinos, Life of Sabas 72, 12-25, ed. D.G. TSAMES,tP,).oIJiov KWVGTan'J'Ot/1lokWt; TQVKoxxlvo» aYlOAoy'X" [eya. A' 8EooaAov,x&'it; aYlOt, Thessalonica 1985, pp. 159-326; Philotheos Kokkinos, Life of Isidoros, 26, 4-9, ed. TsAMES,ibid., pp. 327-424. 28. On his biographical data sec PLP 27991. His Life (BHG 1606) was composed by Patriarch Philotheos Kokkinos (d. previous note): sec on this text also TSAMES,AytoAoyla, pp. 148-167. 138 MARTIN HINTERBERGER decided to stop in Cyprus, where he had two violent encounters with local Latins. The first time he was nearly beaten to death by the serv- ants of an 'Italian' nobleman because his behaviour was considered insulring.i? The second time members of a 'Latin' convent took him for a thief and, beating him up, nearly killed him.30 These episodes, of course, do have a strong anti-Latin spirir, and sometimes their language is abusive against Latins, but the above-mentioned incidents are described as violent experiences that had to be reckoned with, and Sabas consciously provoked them with his bizarre behaviour as a Holy FoolY The Italian nobleman is insulted because Sabas, due to his vows of silence, does not answer his question concerning his name. That Sabas' behaviour was provocative and socially most inappropri- ate is recognized also by the author of his vita, Patriarch Philotheos Kokkinos, who, trying to explain the saint's strangeness, relates that long afterwards Sabas had told him privately that at that time he was driven by a powerful desire for a martyr' s death.V In the vita of Sabas the Latins thus appear, on the one hand, as a means for Sabas to achieve the aim he had set out for himself, and on the other, as the tool of Satan. That the anti-Laein spirit which undoubtedly imbues these passages has to be seen in a broader context becomes clear from the fact that these are not the only violent encounters Sabas experi- enced on Cyprus. In the episode placed in the vita after the beating by the Italian nobleman's servants and before the near murder by the Catholic monks, Sabas is furiously insulted and stones are thrown at him by the Greek Orthodox inhabitants of the island.33 GREEKS MARITRS AT THE HAND OF LATINS The material I have presented so far stems from texts that belong to the main currents of Palaiologan hagiography. Now I will turn to 29. Philotheos Kokkinos, Life of Sabas 21. 30. Philotheos Kokkinos, Life of Sabas, 24 (11.2-5: auvotywl'7i TL1IL 1tpoa[3ocAAEL TW1I '!-rotAW1I, '!-rotAWV OU TO yl;1IO, 1'-6vo1l XClt ~v ,!,wv~v, OCM:X XClt ~v IT three exceptional cases in which Greeks were put to death by Latins.t" Although the official Greek Orthodox Church, at least in the begin- ning of the occupation of Byzantine territories by the Latins, vividly encouraged its flock to resist any attempt by the Latins to alter the traditional customs of the Orthodox Church, even at the peril of death,35 the following cases seem to be the only instances of such uncompromising resistance. We will see, however, that even in these cases, what was at stake was not merely religious practices. The Martyrdom of the Cypriot Monks The so-called Martyrion Kyprion relates the story of thirteen monks of the Kantara monastery who were put to death by the Latins in 1231 in Nicosia.l" According to the text the monks were involved in a discussion with the Dominican friar Andrew, in the course of which they condemned the use of unleavened bread by the Latins in the Sacrament of Holy Communion and even called the Latins heretics because of their use of azyrna.F The monks are summoned to the 34. To my knowledge, these are the only marryrdoms of Greek Orthodox ar the hand of Roman Catholics arrested in our texts. According to Georgios Pachymeres, History XIII 16 (ed. A FAILLER,G~org~sPachymMs. Relation: bistoriques, vol. 4, Paris 1999, pp. 653- 655), Patriarch Athanasios IIof Alexandria was forced by Latin friars (whether Franciscans or Dominicans is not clear) to choose berween embracing the Roman faith and being burnt as a heretic on Euboia in 1305, but afrer some negotiations he was eventually allowed to leave the island; cf. also PLP 413. 35. In a document issued berween 1216 and 1224, Archbishop Demetrios Chorna- tenos of Bulgaria exhorts the monks of Mount Athos not to waver in their resistance against Latin oppression and assures them explicitly that whoever defends the customs of the Orthodox Church with his body will be regarded as a martyr; Dernetrios Chornarenos, Ponemate diapbora, ed. G. PRINZING,Berlin-New York 2002, 54, 68-74 (p, 200). In a lerrer sent in 1223 Patriarch Germanos IItogether with the Synod of the exiled Constan- tinopolitan Church encouraged the members of the Church of Cyprus to resist any pres- sure in dogmatic matters; cf. the recent discussion of this letter by A BEIHAMMER,Grie- chische Urkunden aus dem Zypern der Kreuzfahrn-uit. Die Formularsammlung eines königlichen Sekretärs im Vaticanus Palatinus graecus 367, Nicosia 2007, pp. 82-85. 36. On the event and its historical context see C. SCHABEL,"Religion", in: A. Nrco- LAOU-KONNARIand C. SCHABEL(eds.), Cyprus. Society and Culture 1191-1374, Leiden _ Boston 2005 (The Medieval Mediterranean 58), pp. 157-218, here 196-198. 37. T. PAPADOPOULLOS,"MOtp-rUPLOV KU1tPLWII", in: TOflo~ avaflvTjaTixor; En! Tfi 50CTYjeitJa TOV nCelOtJlXOV "Ano capital Nicosia in order to be questioned by the Catholic archbishop. When they are brought before the latter, they confirm their belief, as they do again one year and three years later. After their third ques- tioning they are entrusted to the king in order to be executed. Formally, the so-called Marrydom of the Cypriot Monks is not a martyrion, but a narrative, öL~yr)(nc;,38 which does, however, exhibit characteristic traits of the hagiographical genre martyrion. 39 Thus the discussion between the defendants and their judge looms large in the story.40 The archbishop, and even more the Dominican Andrew, are presented as furious and angry and as beasts (e~p), as is their pagan counterpart in traditional hagiography.t! The Latin officials are also called TUpotVVOL, which in medieval Greek evokes several associations, not only that they are cruel and brutal, but also that they exert their power illegally_42 In the text the thirteen monks appear as representatives of their people, not only in a religious but also in a national sense. After the monks have been humiliated and insulted as heretics by the prison guards in front of the gathered people, all 'PW[Lot'i:oL (i.e., Greeks) pray to God:43 38. According to the rirle, Narrative of the Thirteen Holy Fathers, ed. PAPADOPOUL- LOS, p. 320,1: ~t-ljl'l)at~ TWV ocy£wv TptW"" > o Lord, look at our injuries, and see our sorrow: these bloodthirsty beasts have lorded over us all, and they roar like lions. But watch over those chosen by you, rhese fathers of ours who on behalf of the truth surrendered themselves to die and to stand against our evil rulers and tyrants, and give them power and strength against their enemies, so that through them Your holy name may be glorified and the Orthodox faith may be openly pro- claimed and Your humbled and enslaved flock may be exalted. Furthermore, the brutal and humiliating manner of the monks' exe- cution is called an insult to "our nation" and their martyr's death is presented as the Greeks' victory over the Latins.« According to the text, from the very beginning the saints were preparing for their martyrdom. Long before the encounter with the Dominican Andrew is mentioned for the first time, it is repeatedly stated that they are going to die." When they appear before the archbishop for the first time, the thirteen monks sing Psalm 118, the martyr's psalm, and the gathered Greeks, in their prayer, also present the monks as determined to die, so that the stage for the martyrdom is already set.46 Martyrdom of 'Alexios Kallergis A wide chronological gap separates the story of the Cypriot monks from the next Greek text dedicated to the martyrdom of a member humiliating and abusive connotation. The anonymous author also speaks of"our nation" in order to distinguish members of the Greek Orthodox Church from Roman Catholics; Narrative of the Thirteen Holy Fathers, p. 324, 27: d~ TOU~ nj~ X0t6' ~fJ.ii~ '(cv£ii~, &'-Adt XOtL ttc; TOU~ AOtTLVOUe;; p. 324, 30: 'Av8pE:OtV OvOfJ.OtTL, Tii> '(£VtL AOtTi'VOV; p. 327,28: TOUe; TOÜ ljfJ.£TE:pOU yE:voue; op6086~oue; xpLaTLOtVOUC; (see also the following note). The word '(ivoc;, however, may also signify the local provenance, ibid. 328, 5: KU7tPLOL fJ.£V TO '(£Voe;. 44. Narrative of the Thirteen Holy Fathers, p. 332, 23: 7tpOe; ÖßPLV ... TOÜ ~fJ.£T£POU Y£vouc;, p. 336, 24-25: ~~£waOte; ljfJ.iiC; XPCLTTOUC; qlOtvijVOtL TWV XOlTOtp,hwv TOUTWV AOtTLVWV, p. 336, 26-27: ljfJ.CLe; 8£ XptLnOuc; qlOlVM£C; "'WV AOtnvwv. 45. Narrative of the Thirteen Holy Fathers, p. 324, 9 and 20-23. 46. Narrative of the Thirteen Holy Fathers, pp. 330, 17-331, 17 (Psalm 118); P: 329, 22 (np£TLaOtTO &7t060tVtLV) and 25-26 (OCTLVtC;... tOtUTOUC; E~£8(o)xOtv &7to(JOtVti'v). - In the text the Latin crowd is presented as shouting at the monks and calling them dogs and heretics (mlnp£voL), Narrative ofthe Thirteen Holy Fathers, p. 329,15-16. Obviously, the word here has the general meaning "heretics", not the specific meaning "Kathars" (pact E. TRAPP [et alii], Lexikon zur byzantinischm Gräzität, 6. Faszikel, Vienna 2007, sub voce). On the usage of this word in Greek texts see also A. RIGO,Review of J. Hamilton's edition ofHugh Ereriano's Contra Pasarenos. Leiden-Boston 2004, in: Byzantinisch~ ilitschrift 99 (2006), pp. 662-668, esp. p. 666. 142 MARTIN HINTERBERGER of the Orthodox Church. An anonymous, fragmentary text relates the deeds of Alexios Kallergis, a hero of the so-called Revolt of St Tito, the Cretans' rebellion against their Venetian overlords during 1363- 67.47 Alexios is depicted as a splendid and ruthless warrior who liter- ally slaughters a huge number of Venetians or "strangers" in the Vene- tians' service.t" In this case, the Greek hero fights against enemies whose ethnic or religious affiliation is never specified; they are simply called Ex6pot or again 6ijPEC;, "beasts".49 Kallergis' martyrdom, which in the story is announced at an early stage, is depicted as the hero's greatest victory and at the same time is strongly evocative of Christ's death.50 In comparatively long speeches he bids farewell to his fellow warriors and to his wife, and he delivers himself to the enemies in order to rescue his own people. 5 1 Whereas in the previous parts of the text the author's attitude is full of cruel hostility against Kallergis's enemies (the Venerians) and the latter function merely as the negative antipode and as a means for exhibiting the hero's virtues (he defeats 47. G.K. PAPAZOGLOU, "«·0, TOV TOÜ !J."'PTUp(OU ilExE"''''' ,nE,!,"'vov», '0 'AA"~lO, KEA- A£PY'i' xex! !J.(exOCYVlo.)(1T1j~l~Y'i Martyrdom of Anthimos of Athens Probably shortly after 1370 the future patriarch of Constantinople Neilos Kerameus (1379-88) wrote an encomium of his friend Anthi- mos, forrner metropolitan of Athens (BHG 2029).55 At the request of the Greek Orthodox community of Crete, Anthimos was sent to the island during the above-mentioned Cretan rebellion against Venice in order to take over the leadership of the local Church.56 The rebellion finally was suppressed and Anthimos put into prison, where he died in c. 1370. The encomium states that Anthimos died under uncertain conditions, but also makes clear that in all probability he was killed by the Venetians because they buried his body at an unknown place in order to hide the evidence of their crime.V Another reason for the secret burial of Anthirnos's body was the fact that the Venetians feared that he would be venerated as a martyr." The ques- tion whether Anrhimos' death finally was murder or the result of his imprisonment and the inhumane rreatment he had to face in prison, according to Neilos, is irrelevant to the unquestioned fact that he 52. Story of Alexios Kallergis, P: 33, 8-9: w~ should be regarded as a martyr, because, in any case, he died as an adamant confessor of the right faith.'? On the whole, Anthimos is presented as a staunch and vehement opponent of the Latin Church. During his brief stay in Crete, as the leader of the local Orthodox Church he pursued a clear policy of absolute segregation from the Latins and strict opposition against any efforts toward contact between the two Churches. According to the encomium, when the Cretans had temporarily succeeded in throwing the Venetians out, Anthimos took pains to re-establish a purely Orthodox Church, without any concessions to the Larins/" When the rebellion finally failed and the Venetians tried to force the Cretans into a union with the Latin Church, it was Anthimos' advice that strengthened the Cretans' resistance and helped them to evade the pressure put on them by the Latins." It was this kind of activity on the part of Anthimos that the Latin bishop wanted to suppress by putting him in prison and leaving him there to die. Whereas the text has the title Speech on Our Holy Father Anthimos of Athens the Confossor,62it, too, exhibirs typical traits of a classical martyrion, the most conspicuous traditional feature being again the confrontation with the impious and evil prosecutor: three times Anthi- mos is asked by his opponent, the Catholic archbishop of Crete, to recant his faith, which of course Anthimos is unwilling to do.63 This bishop, whose name is not mentioned.r' has all the characteristics of 59. NEILOS, Encomium of Anthimos, P: 76, 34-35: TOÜTO 7toc,n yvwP~fLoV )(Q(t O"oujlec; wc; fLOlP'MJplou l'ipo(l.ov Martyrs of What? Concerning martyrdom as it is described in these three texts, we observe that both Alexios Kallergis and Anthimos are sentenced to 65. NEILOS, Encomium of AnthimoJ, pp. 76, 3. 17; cf. also 69, 14 (Latins in general) and 77, 26. 29; 78, 35 (comparison with tyrants of old). As in the previous cases the saint's opponent is also called "beast", fH)p, ibid., pp. 74, 5. 66. NEILOS,Encomium of AnthimoJ, pp. 69, 16 ("the invisible tyrant"). 67. NElLOS, Encomium of AnthimoJ, pp. 65, 15-31; 75, 39-76, 2. 68. NEILOS,Encomium of Anthimos, pp. 73, 1-9; 76, 16-20. 69. NEILOS,Encomium of Anthimos, pp. 64, 23-65, 6; 66, 14-67,8. 70. NElLOS, Encomium of Anthimos, pp. 69, 12-33. 71. NElLOS, Encomium of Anthimos, pp. 77, 26-78,37, esp. p. 78, 35-37. 146 MARTIN HINTERBERGER death primarily not as defenders of their faith, but as leaders of an insurgence against rulers who happen to be Latins. And also in the case of the Cypriot monks, although here too the religious cause is intertwined with a national one, the reason for their death is that they are not willing to recant their accusations that the Latins are heretics because of their usage of unleavened bread. Even in the Life of Sabas mentioned above, the saint is not attacked because he is a member of the Orthodox Church, but because he wants to be a Holy Fool. This means that in all cases the martyrs are put to death not because they practise their faith or because they are unwilling to violate the prin- ciples of this faith or to abandon them, as it is the case with the martyrs of old, but because they attack the political or spiritual authorities in charge. Moreover, in all cases, the future saints are presented as determined from the beginning to suffer death and as consciously challenging the authorities. Whereas the Narrative of the Thirteen Holy Fathers has a clearly anti-Latin purpose, in the other two texts Latins play an essential role, but they are not the focus of the narrative. From the point of view of the internal logic of these texts, the Latins appear as a necessaty ele- ment without which the saint would not reach the goal he had set out for himself. In Neilos' Encomium Anrhirnos' struggle against the Latin Church is even seen as a continuation of his struggle against the Anripalamires. These texts, thus, aim more at strengthening the Orthodox faith by showing the immense power it can develop than at condemning the Roman Catholic Church. In this sense I would suggest that even these cases do not constitute anti-Latin hagiography, but that their anti-Latin spirit is a by-product of the saints' praise. The Narrative of the Thirteen Holy Fathers is not only strongly anti- Latin, but it presents the martyrs as heroes of a 'national' struggle. We don't know exactly when and by whom this text was written, perhaps in the late 1250s, before the Byzantine recovery of Constan- tinople in 1261.72 Later on it was combined with letters of Patriarch Germanos II concerning ecclesiastical issues of Cyprus, obviously with 72. As C. SCHABEL, "Martyrs and Heretics, Intolerance of Intolerance: The Greek- LatinAzymo Dispute and the Execution ofThirreen Monks in Cyprus in 1231", in: IDEM, Greeks, Latins, and the Church in Early Frankish Cyprus, Aldershot 2010 (Variorum Reprints), study no. Ill, pp. 1-33, based on a thorough textual analysis, has convincingly argued. A NEGLECfED TOOL OF ORTHODOX PROPAGANDA? 147 the aim to provide documentation for the state of the Orthodox Church in Cyprus. Characteristically the two manuscripts (Parisinus graecus 1335 and Marcianus graecus 575) which preserve the Narra- tive also contain other texts related to the "Cypriot national cause" as weH as to anti-Laein and anti-heretical polemics in general_73 The anonymous Story ofAlexis Kallergis is preserved in a manuscript written by and containing also works ofloseph (or Ioannes) Philagres (ea, 1335-end of fourteenth century), a well-known anti-Latin prop- agandist, and in all probabiliry the Story of Kallergis is also a work by the same Philagres, who-and this is rather interesting-had been functioning as Anrhimos's representative (OLXCX[W) from the time of the latter's imprisonment until his death (i.e., 1367-95), when he was hiding in the inaccessible Cretan mountains.Z! Whereas these two texts combine a vehement anti-Catholic spirit with the call for national liberation and their manuscript tradition is dearly linked to anti-Latin propaganda, the Encomium on Anthimos is preserved among a collection of Patriarch Neilos' speeches'" and seems to reflect a purely private act of devotion by the martyr's friend when the latter had not yet ascended the patriarchal throne. This leaves us with the impression that, after the events, none of the three cases of martyrdom was supported actively by the Church of Constantinople, although, besides the well-known fact that Patriarch Germanos 11 had encouraged the Cypriot monks,76 initially the 73. For the contents of Par. gr. 1335 see H. OMONT, Inuentaire sommaire des manuscnts grecs de la Biblioth~qUl! Nationale, vol. 2, Paris 1888, pp. 14-16; cf. also J.A. MUNITIZ, "The Manuscript Tradition", in: JA MUNITIZ, J. CHRYSOSTOMIDES,E. HARVALIA-CROOKand C. DENDRINOS (eds.), The Letter of the Three Patriarcbs to Emperor Theopbilos and Related Texts, Camberley, Surrey 1997, pp. lxxix-xcv, esp. pp. lxxxvi-lxxxvii; for cod. Marc. 575 see E. MIONI, Bibliotbeca« Divi Marci Venenarum codica graeci manuscripti. Volumen Il. Thesaurus antiquus. Codices 300-625, Rome 1985, pp. 481-488. 74. PAPAZOGLOU,"«"0, TOV T,,::i fLIllPT\JPLO\J 8':Z.e:TIllL (JT':tpIllVOV»', pp. 9-10 (with further bibliography). On Ioseph Philagres/Philagrios see also PLP 29730. 75. Codex Parisinus Coislianus 243. See R. DEVREESSE,Catalogue des manuseriss grw. II Le Fonds Coislin, Paris 1945, pp. 223-224. Cf. also H. HENNEPHOF, Das Homiliar des Patriarchen Neilos und die Chrysostomische Tradition. Ein Beitrag zur QuellLngeschichte der spätbyzantinischen Homiletik, Leiden 1963, p. 7, and concerning the scribe E. GAMILL- SCHEG and D. HARLFINGER, Repertorium tkr griuhischen Kopisten 800-1600. 2. Teil, Handschriften aus Bibliotheken Frankreichs und Nachträge zu den Bibliotheken Großbritan- niens. A. Verzeichnis tkr Kopisten, Vienna 1989, No. 362, P: 139. 76. See SCHABEL, «Religion", p. 197, and above, footnore 35. It is also remarkable that the official Orthodox Church of Cyprus, in the years immediately following the 148 MARTIN HINTERBERGER patriarchate had strongly supported the Cretan rebellion by sending Anthimos there as its representative and there is evidence that the parriarchare knew how to exploit the cult of martyrs for its foreign politics." Did the head of the Orthodox Church not want to interfere in the internal affairs of those territories under Latin rule? CONCLUSION Some inconsistencies notwithstanding, unsurprisingly the overall image of the Latin in Byzantine hagiography is entirely negative. The texts tell us that Latins are violent and wicked, but without going into any details. Thus the negative picture remains dim and superficial. What is most impressive in the few texts examined here in detail is the emphasis given by the author to the hero's desire to die and to the active provocation of his death; in the texts examined, the martyr does not appear as a victim, but as a person who, one is tempted to say, is in full control of his life - and death. Concerning this issue, I would like to stress that the violent encounters between Greeks and Latins described in the hagiographical texts I presented have to be investigated not only in their historical-political context, but also in the framework of each single text and its internallogic, as well as its genre-related characteristics. Furthermore, the connection of mar- tyrion and struggle for national liberation as we found it in the event, did not recognize the monks as martyrs. In a lerrer to Emperor Ioannes III Batarzes, issued between May 1231 and 1232, i.e., shortly after the monks' execution, Archbishop Neophytes of Cyprus refers to the martyrs simply as "our glorious brothers the monks, who have been killed"; 00. BEIHAMMER,Griechische Urkunden aus dem Zypern der Kreuz- fohreruit, pp. 180-182 (document 29), here p. 181, H. 40-41. See on this issue also MORlNI,"Greci e latini", p. 213. 77. Obviously in support of Moscovite politics, Patriarch Philotheos I Kokkinos (1353-54 and again 1364-76) canonized - one of the few cases where something like an offical procedure of canonization seems to have taken place - three Lithuanians martyred in 1347 by their pagan compatriots. Later on (probably between 1390 and 1397) an encomium of the martyrs (BHG 2035) was composed by the patriarchal official Michael Balsamen, apparently again in order to support Moscovite ambitions against Lithuania. See on this issue J. MEYENDORFF,BYZIlntium and the Ris« of Russia. A Study of BYZIlntino- Russian Relation: in the Fourteenth Century, Crestwood, NY 1989, esp. pp. 187-188. On the event of the martyrdom itself see also D. BARONAS,"The Three martyrs ofVilnius: a fourteenth-century Martyrdom and Its Documentary Sources", in: Analeeta Boltandiana 122 (2004), pp. 83-134. A NEGLECTED TOOL OF ORTHODOX PROPAGANDA? 149 Narrative of the Thirteen Holy Fathers and the Story of Kallergis is rather remarkable.78 As far as we can reconstruct the events, there was no wide-spread Byzantine anti-Latin propaganda via hagiographical texts during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Given the undisputed rivalry between the Orthodox Church and the Church of Rome, on the one hand, and the propagandistic potential of hagiography, on the other, the fact that there are so few texts to be found (most of them coming from the periphery) is a phenomenon that still awaits interpretation. One reason for this restraint might have been that the Constantino- politan Patriarchate was engaged in internal conflicts between Lati- nophiles and their opponents and during the fourteenth century between Palamires and Antipalamires, with both conflicts overlapping each other. 78. See on the connection between Orthodoxy and the formation of a national Greek identity c.A. MALrszou, "H 8L