Military Saints in Byzantium and Rus, 900–1200

Abstract

The rulers of the Byzantine Empire and its commonwealth were protected both by their own soldiers and by a heavenly army: the military saints. The transformation of Saints George, Demetrios, Theodore and others into the patrons of imperial armies was one of the defining developments of religious life under the Macedonian emperors. This book provides a comprehensive study of military sainthood and its roots in late antiquity. The emergence of the cults is situated within a broader social context, in which mortal soldiers were equated with martyrs and martyrs of the early Church recruited to protect them on the battlefield. Dr White then traces the fate of these saints in early Rus, drawing on unpublished manuscripts and other under-utilised sources to discuss their veneration within the princely clan and their influence on the first native saints of Rus, Boris and Gleb, who eventually joined the ranks of their ancient counterparts.

Sustainable Governance in Historical Perspective: Impact of The Warrior Saints' Influence on Contemporary Policy for Sustainability

“…The emergence of the cult of Warrior Saints in the early Christian period is associated with Ancient Rome, where Warrior Saints were originally soldiers of the Roman army who suffered persecution from the emperor because of their religion (White, 2013). In the Byzantine Empire, which arose as a result of the division of the Roman Empire into the Western and Eastern parts, the Warrior Saint was revered as a martyr who died for the Christian faith, and as the patron of the Byzantine Caesars (Walter, 2003).…”

“…The British researcher M. White (2013) notes that the tradition of depicting Warrior Saints on seals in Byzantium was less common than in Kyivan Rus since in the empire the connection "holy warriorfamily patron" was not as important. There the image was interpreted as an image of a martyr, and not a family protector or patron.…”

“…Walter (2003), V.S. Shandrovskaya (1994), and M. White (2013), the latter partly concerned with the appearance of this phenomenon in Russian culture. The origination of the cult of St. George in Byzantium and its development on the territory of Kyivan Rus were considered separately by V.P.…”

The cult of warrior saints in Kyivan Rus’

“…Зародженню цього культу в сакральному мистецтві Візантії присвячено фундаментальні праці К. Уолтера [1] та М. Уайт [2], яка частково торкалася появи такого феномена і в українській культурі. Окремо появу та розвиток культу св.…”

Militarne wizerunki przypisywane św. Jerzemu-smokobójcy i ich mitologiczno-religijne konotacje (na przykładzie wczesnośredniowiecznych zawieszek z Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej)

“…np. Walter 2003;Grotowski 2011;White 2013). Przykładem są rozpatrywane zawieszki 13 Jak dotąd nie jest znany żaden pisemny zabytek z XI-XII w., który zawierałby wzmiankę o bezpośredniej walce św.…”