Introduction. Byzantine inscriptions on instrumenta, i.e. portable objects (ceramics, tools, objects of personal piety, etc.), usually attract little attention by researchers. Meanwhile, such inscriptions make it easier to look into the world of an ordinary Byzantine. Analysis. The author publishes (in two cases – anew) seven non-standard inscriptions of this type, found recently or previously unpublished. These are the inscriptions on the phylactery, encolpion, amphorae, jug, and bowl. They have a different character: an apotropaic text, a business letter, a humorous poem, an owner’s inscription. Results. These seven monuments open a window to the world of medieval Rhomaios: the fear of the evil eye and the protective prayers, written from hearing; the cheerful world of wine and wine drinking during the voyage and on a bet; jokes about a broken cup, often expressed in verses, that the Byzantines used for any purpose, including the owner’s inscriptions; the world of merchants, who send their goods overseas, take care of its safety and the well-being of sailors. These inscriptions are distinguished by the peculiarities of spelling and style, which make it possible to better imagine the ordinary Byzantine environment. The travelling of the inscriptions on instrumenta, including pilgrims’ inscriptions, reflect, among other things, the ways of spreading Greek writing.
The article analyzes the role of the Archbishop Nifont in the Novgorod events of 1136. The identification of the church of St. Nicholas, consecrated by him, with the Nikolo-Dvorishchensky Cathedral is proved, and the significance of this act for the new Prince Svyatoslav Olgovich is estimated. The article analyzes Nifont's refusal to marry Svyatoslav, showing that the reason for this lay in canonical problems with his and/or his wife’s previous marriage, but also that the archbishop’s position was not irreconcilable, which allowed this wedding to take place. Good relations between Nifont and Svyatoslav are also confirmed by a mutually beneficial ecclesiastical charter, which is proposed to be dated March-August 1137. Finally, an indication of their mutual amiability is analyzed in the entry of the Kiev Chronicle under 1156, and it is shown that the word “not” is lost in the motivation of this affection in the expression “because Syatoslav did sit [not] without him in Novgorod,” which allows to develop the already put forward hypothesis about Nifont’s role in the invitation of Svyatoslav to Novgorod. Probably, the archbishop met him during his ambassadorial visit to Kiev and Chernigov in the winter of 1135–1136, when the discontent of the Novgorodians with their Prince Vsevolod was already clearly manifested.
Varzahan (modern Ugrak near Bayburt in Turkey) is the completely destroyed church complex located at the junction of cultural worlds: Byzantine and Muslim, Armenian and Kartvelian. Although its churches were known mainly from W. Bachmann’s description and photographs, our recent archival finds (the photographs of N. Okunev’s expedition) allow us to reconstruct the appearance and construction history of the Varzahan churches. For the first time, the construction of the cross-domed church has been reconstructed: it was a triconch inscribed into a cross-like outline; the function of the small church next to the octagon has been discovered: it was a gate church. The author provides many architectural and decorative analogies to the monuments of Varzahan. There is a number of unique details indicating that the patron of the major construction project in Varzahan invited, along with the Byzantine builders from the Asia Minor, two groups of masters from Tao (probably identical with the two crews of David Kuropalates in the 960s – early 970s), one oriented to Cappadocia (the triconch builders), another to the Pontos (the builders of the octagon and the gate church), or including masters from these regions. The most probable date for this “joint work” seems the period between 979 and 988, when the “lords” (strategos/doux) of the theme of Chaldia were David’s allies Chordvanel and Bagrat, the natives of Tao.
The article deals with the biography of Luka Zhidyata, the Bishop of Novgorod. The mention of the consecration of St. Sophia of Novgorod by him probably dates back to the “Primary Chronicle”. Information of the chronicles about his three-year suspension and imprisonment in Kiev is compared with the norms of Byzantine canon law. The only rule by which Luka could be subjected to such punishment is a ban for clerics to play dice or communicate with the players. Such an accusation clarifies the role of his servant Dudika in in Luka’s process. The reason for the punishment of Luka by Metropolitan Ephraim was not revenge after Yaroslav's death for his participating in the election of Hilarion and the appointment of new Russian bishops in 1051, but rather the precarious political situation of Ephraim himself after 1054 and Luka's possible attempt to obtain the status of archbishopric for Novgorod.
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