The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste Mural in the Church of Saints Peter and Paul

“A SPECTACLE TO THE WORLD, BOTH TO ANGELS AND TO MEN” Michael J. K. Walsh Multiculturalism in Medieval Famagusta, Cyprus, as seen through The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste Mural in the Church of Saints Peter and Paul St. Basil the Great, whose homily to “The Forty” is central abstract to our memory of them, spoke uncompromisingly about the power of art and proclaimed that “what the orator’s In 2012 the fifteenth-century mural of The Forty Martyrs narration presenteth to the ear, the silent eloquence of Sebaste in the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Fama- of painting proclaimeth to the eye” (1979: 7). Likewise gusta, Cyprus, underwent a major restoration funded Gregory of Nyssa’s “Homily on Theodore” contains the by Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) and passage “For painting, even if silent, is capable of speaking the World Monuments Fund. It had been singled out from the wall and being of the greatest benefit” (Leemans for priority treatment not only because of its advanced 2000: 124). This article, while being mindful of Burgin’s state of decay, but because of the wealth of information stark warning cited in my epigraph, and both Saints Basil’s it could offer historians working on the cultural histo- and Gregory’s belief in the value of art, interrogates that ries of medieval Cyprus. This article looks at some of “silent eloquence” to see what can be learned from the the questions raised about multiculturalism in medieval image of The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste in relation to multicul- Famagusta and offers some tentative suggestions for a turalism in Famagusta. Can The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste in “reading” of the mural. the Church of Saints Peter and Paul provide a lens through which we observe a microcosm of societal blending, or indeed (as some have argued), a “Cypriot Renaissance” When I say that the work of art aims at the context of (Eliades 2006: 18)? Was the mural, and others like it, a social phenomena, that does not mean that it necessarily sophisticated response to or expression of a “multicultural coincides with this context in such a manner that without and multi-confessional society” (Bacci 2006: 209) and did further ado it can be understood as immediate testimony it encapsulate overlapping cultural spheres of contact and for it, or a passive reflection of it . the work of art can patterns of assimilation, confrontation, and segregation never be exploited as a historical or sociological document in Famagusta (Schryver 2005: 178–79)? Conversely, can unless its documentary value, i.e. the quality of its rela- we see in the composition a hermetically sealed “style,” tion to the given context of social phenomena, has first resistant to outside influences, imported, and acting stub- been interpreted. ( Burgin 2011: 154) bornly as a bastion of cultural homogeneity? I propose that, through the lens of art, evidence of both harmony and dissonance can be observed, and a historical context journal of eastern mediterranean archaeology developed that will allow for a more sophisticated reading and heritage studies, vol. 1, no. 3, 2013 Copyright © 2013 The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. of The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste itself. 194 | “A SPECTACLE TO THE WORLD, BOTH TO ANGELS AND TO MEN” A Word about Multiculturalism for its cosmopolitan and multilingual population. Economically it benefitted from a negotiated balance of From the outset, it must be acknowledged that multi- trade between east and west to become unimaginably culturalism is more than simply religion. It encompasses wealthy. But it was infamous too for corruption, politi- the wider qualities of culture including art, linguistics, cal intrigue, and treachery. During the century-long customs, politics, social institutions, economic and power government of the Genoese (1373–1464 CE), a decline relations, etc., eventually becoming a study of “…a complex began which not even the maritime and enterprising system of visible and invisible bonds” (Arbel 1996: ii). might of the Venetians could arrest when they took over the island (1489–1571 CE). Yet they invested heavily in Famagusta, with all the artistry and engineering of the Famagusta—Cultural Crossroads Renaissance, blending what M arie-Luise von Wartburg described as “monumental elegance with the expres- Famagusta, located on the eastern coast of Cyprus, rose sions of power and defiance” (von Wartburg 2003: 67). to prominence after the fall of Acre in 1291 CE (Fig. 1). The mortal blow for Famagusta came later in the same As a major port city with a natural harbor, it was famous century with the arrival of the Ottoman war machine FI G. 1 A drawing showing Famagusta circa 1486 CE. (From Grünenberg 1490: Ms. chart A541, ff. 41v–42r.) JOURNAL OF EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND HERITAGE STUDIEs | 195 and one of the most infamous sieges in the history expertise and funding that a city of this importance of warfare (1570–1571 CE). In the years that followed and beauty would normally warrant. the city was cleared of Christians and a bandoned by merchants and seamen, though it continued to capture the imaginations of Renaissance writers far The Church of Saints Peter and Paul from Cyprus. To them Famagusta was the stage-set on which other great dramas could be played out, the most The east–west-oriented church was built between celebrated of which was William Shakespeare’s Othello 1351–1369 CE (Figs. 2–3). Although there is some (1603 CE). But in Famagusta itself, centuries of neglect debate as to whether it was founded for the Latin rite began which, combined with exposure to the elements, (hence, the name) or for the Nestorians (see Mogabgab earthquakes, plague and flooding, left the city almost 1951: 188 for a discussion of Syriac inscriptions found completely ruined at the time of the British arrival inside; see also Edbury 1999), it appears that the in 1878. As Famagusta lies within the boundaries of former was its purpose. It remained in use as a church an unrecognized “state” today, it does not receive the until 1499 CE when the Venetians reportedly closed it FI G. 2 A map of Famagusta, showing the location of the churches and principal monuments of the city. (From Baedeker 1914: Frontispiece.) 196 | “A SPECTACLE TO THE WORLD, BOTH TO ANGELS AND TO MEN” FI G. 3 T he Church of Saints Peter and Paul, Famagusta in 2013, view from the southeast. (Photo by M. J. K. Walsh.) (for an account of its use as a grain store imm ediately the interior vaulting, but only on the upper level. following its closure, see Hill 1948: 369 n. 3). Father The later substantial buttressing added on the south Stephen Lusignan, writing toward the end of the side probably dates to after two sixteenth-century sixteenth century, shortly before the Ottoman inva- earthquakes (Fig. 5). Due to significant demolition sion, commented that even in its re-used state it was work in the mi d-twentieth century, the west façade has “most beautiful and seemly in its size and very stately now been cleared. in construction” (Enlart 1987: 133). After coming under The interior of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul Ottoman control, it was converted into a mosque and has a symmetrical plan, measuring approximately all images and Christian decorations were removed (see 24 x 17 x 20 m with two apsidal chapels, all of which the account of French pilgrim Jean Palerne in Enlart are semi-domed (Fig. 6). Undecorated molded Gothic 1987: 134). arches rise above the succession of bays from plain Its Gothic exterior has two entrances, though circular piers with undecorated capitals. The columns originally there would have been three. The west of the upper bay level are not heavy like on the lower façade is pierced with three portals (Fig. 4). These sup- bay level due to being broken down visually into smaller port remarkably plain tympana with sharply pointed subcomponents, which create the illusion that very arches. Originally, a wooden narthex would have little weight is being borne (Fig. 7). The stained glass is leaned against the west façade. The north portal is the long since gone and no record exists of its appearance most ornate, housing marble columns capped with before the Ottoman invasion of 1571 CE. All remaining elaborately carved motifs and some of the very few interior decoration is fragile, including a ship graffito sculpted figures to survive anywhere in Famagusta on the interior of the west wall at gallery level and the (for a detailed d escription, see Walsh 2004: 4–5). mural of The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste in the third bay of Heavy flying buttresses drain the pressure away from the south wall (Figs. 8–10). JOURNAL OF EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND HERITAGE STUDIEs | 197 FI G. 4 View of the west façade of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul from 1938. (Photo by T. Mogabgab.) FI G. 5 View of the south façade of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul. Note the heavy buttressing added after the sixteenth-century. (Photo by M. J. K. Walsh.) 198 | “A SPECTACLE TO THE WORLD, BOTH TO ANGELS AND TO MEN” FI G. 6 Plan of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul created from three-dimensional laser scan data. (Courtesy of Solvo-tek Engineering, Istanbul.) FI G. 7 An interior view ortho image of the west façade created from three-dimensional laser scan data. (Courtesy of Solvo-tek Engineering, Istanbul.) JOURNAL OF EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND HERITAGE STUDIEs | 199 FI G. 8 Above the blocked up door and beneath the window in the third bay from the right is the plaster fragment on which the remains of The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste can be found.

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