christopher walter. the origins of the cult of saint george. revue des études byzantines, tome 53,...

8/3/2019 Christopher Walter. The Origins of the Cult of Saint George. Revue des tudes byzantines, tome 53, 1995. pp. 295-326.

1/33

Christopher Walter

The Origins of the Cult of Saint GeorgeIn: Revue des tudes byzantines, tome 53, 1995. pp. 295-326.

Abstract

REB 53 1995 France p. 295-326

Ch. Walter, The Origins of the Cult of Saint George. In this article, the author does not return to the traditional scholar's

thankless task of attempting to discover a historical figure beneath an incrustation of legends, although he considers that these

legends could be fruitfully studied under the guise of contes populaires. He concentrates rather on the meta-historical Saint

George, notably as he is presented in the Life of Theodore of Sykeon. To establish the character of the meta-historical Saint

George, it is not only necessary to take into account the clichs long since currently used for saints and martyrs, but also to

delineate the prestigious contemporaries of Saint George : Thecla, Menas, Demetrius, etc., for none of whom was there a regular

set up of miracula, eulogia, relics, sanctuary, etc. In the case of Saint George, it seems clear that a portrait-type of this

exceptionally handsome young man was established earlier than any icon known to exist today. It was devotion to his icon,

accompanied by beneficent apparitions, rather than veneration of his relics or frquentation of his sanctuary, which maintained

his cult up to this day.

Citer ce document / Cite this document :

Walter Christopher. The Origins of the Cult of Saint George. In: Revue des tudes byzantines, tome 53, 1995. pp. 295-326.

http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/rebyz_0766-5598_1995_num_53_1_1911
http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/author/auteur_rebyz_98http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/rebyz_0766-5598_1995_num_53_1_1911http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/rebyz_0766-5598_1995_num_53_1_1911http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/author/auteur_rebyz_98


2/33

THE ORIGINS OF THE CULTOF SAINT GEORGE

Christopher WALTERAt the fourth international symposium on Georgian art, held in Tbilissi inMay 1983, I presented a paper entitled "Le culte, les lgendes et l'iconographiee saint Georges, un projet de recherche". The organisers had the intention f publishing all the papers given, and, in fact, two volumes did appearin 1989 '. However, mine was not among them. It seems now unlikely thatthe complete acts of the symposium will ever be published. In any case, myown contribution would need to be updated, although I would still considermy main point to be valid: some sort of comparative, structural method isnecessary for the study of Saint George.In my Tbilissi paper, I was particularly concerned with the Lives of SaintGeorge. When the material was studied assiduously at the beginning of the

century, the main concern of scholars in hagiography was to establish whatwas historically exact in the Life of a saint2. Their method was to eliminatelater accretions and so proceed back to the original authentic core. As is wellknown, this method did not work for Saint George. The earliest Life had longbeen recognized to be fabulous, and a main preoccupation of those who laterproduced new versions was to make them historically more plausible. Another method used at that time, particularly when sceptics called in doubt thevery existence of a saint, was to establish the ancientness of his cult. Thus,for Saint George, Hippolyte Delehaye maintained that his cult was "parfaitementocalis: il avait son centre Lydda ou Diospolis en Palestine"3. However this statement may need some qualification.

1. IVe symposium international sur l'art, gorgien, 2 volumes, Tbilissi 1989.2. The most, important publications for this period were: H. Delehaye, Les lgendesgrecques des saints militaires, Paris 1909; K. Krumbacher, Der heilige Georg in dergriechischen berlieferung, Munich 1911; J.B. Aufhauser, Der Drachenwunder des heiligen Georg in der griechischen un d lateinischen berlieferung, Leipzig 1911; Idem, Mira-cula S. Georgii, Leipzig 1913. The bibliographies, regularly published in the AnalectaBoilandiana, help to make access more rapid to the vast Bibliography of Saint George.W. Haubrichs, Georgslied un d Georgslegende im frhen Mittelalter, Knigstein 1977,also gives an extensive bibliography.3. H. Dei.ehaye. Sanclus. Brussels 1927. p. 194.Revue des Etudes Byzantines 53. 1995. p. 295-326.


3/33

296 CH. WALTERLet it be said at once that neither the analysis of the Lives nor precisions asto the origins of his cult can bring us nearer to a historical Saint George.Experts in hagiography do not deny that he actually existed (although theevidence about his cult suggests that perhaps more than one martyr's relicswere venerated under that name4). Cumont considered that the Saint George

of the earliest Life could at least be affirmed to have been a soldier5. For therest dorn Henri Leclercq's lapidary phrase remains valid: "N ? en?; mort ?en?"6. Nevertheless at a certain moment, no doubt in the sixth century, asingle meta-historical (that is to say, known principally from his actions afterhis death), well-defined personality called Saint George does come clearly andirrefutably into existence. There was no question of "doubling", as in the caseof Saint Theodore; moreover, if there was fusion, as in the case of SaintNicolas, we have no evidence which could be used to trace the process.Curiously, the main source for the nature and cult of this meta-historicalfigure has hardly been exploited by hagiographers. I am referring to the Lifeof Saint George's loyal devotee, Theodore of Sykeon7.Perhaps one reason why this source has been neglected is that it providesvirtually no "historical" information about Saint George. There are references only to his "combat" as a martyr and to his connections with Cappado-cia 8. However, the references in the Life of Theodore to Saint George's relicssurely merit more consideration9. On the other hand, this Life, probablywritten in the early seventh century, offers an excellent starting-point fo r anenquiry into the reasons for and nature of Saint George's immense, lastingand universal popularity.If the burdensome, possibly futile, task of establishing any sure historicalfacts about Saint George's life and the origins of his cult can be set aside,there is liberty to study the vast available material texts, inscriptions andartistic representations in other ways. As I argued in my Tbilissi paper(I do not intend to take up the subject here), if the Lives are considered asconies the English equivalent would be folk stories then they can beanalysed as conies, although with a double structure, because, whereas in afolk story Saint George would have, after his various trials, lived "happilyever afterwards", he is in fact executed 10. Consequently the basic structurehas to be set in a wider one, in which, as a reward for his endurance, a happierending may be added, that of immortality. These stories, happy or unhappyin their ending, obviously need to be studied not only in the context of the

4. Haubrichs, op . cil. (note 2), p. 232-233.5. F. Cumont, La plus ancienne lgende de saint Georges, Revue de l'hisloire desreligions 114, 1936, p. 16 .6. H. Leclercq, Georges (Saint), DACL 6, 1924, col. 1021.7. Vie de Thodore de Sykon, edited A.-J. Festugire, Brussels 1970 (cited hereinafter: Festugire, (number), 1 Greek text, II French translation). See alsoM. Kaplan, cited note 122.8. Festugire, 100, I, p. 80 ; 108, I, p. 80-82; II, p. 89.9. Festugire, 100-101, I, p. 80-82; II, p. 83-85.10 . See, for example, V. Propp, Morphologie du conte, a pioneer study, reprinted,Paris 1965; A.J. Greimas, Smantique structurale, recherche de mthode, Paris 1966;J. Calloud, L'analyse structurale de rcit, lments de mthode, Lyon 1973.


4/33

THE ORIGINS OF THE CULT OF SAINT GEORGE 297universal literary genre of contes, but also in that of the more restrictedliterary genre of other early Lives of martyrs. A conte could always be interrupted or prolonged. In fact Saint George's later popularity was enhancedand his more recent notoriety increased (by specious comparisons with Perseus, Mithras, etc.), when the story was added, probably in the eleventhcentury, of his intervention to rescue the princess from the dragon"11.The principal purpose of such stories was to edify 12. However, by no meansall a saint's devotees were attracted to him by his example of enduranceunder torture. Saints in general and martyrs in particular received cultbecause they might or did intervene favorably in the terrestrial life of theirdevotees. Theodore of Sykeon, according to his Life, was not only accompaniednd aided from birth to death by Saint George, but also encouragedothers to look to him for aid. There can, in fact, be few more detailedaccounts of what a devotee might expect or receive from a celestial patronthan that which this Life provides for Theodore and Saint George. However,by the early seventh century, when it was apparently written, the cult ofmartyrs was already well established. This is one reason why the cult of SaintGeorge should be studied in the context of that of other martyrs, in order todetermine what is original and what is derivative.The publications of two great scholars may help or hinder in the task.Hippolyte Delehaye's Les origines du culte des martyrs, with related works,has, if any defect, that of over-standardizing the notion of martyr13. AndrGrabar's Martyrium is rendered difficult to exploit by the number, brillianceand occasional unsoundness of his intuitions14.In the Life of Theodore of Sykeon, Saint George is called a "holy martyr".By the seventh century these words and had acquired theconnotations which they have for us today. However, this was a slow process,during which Christian notions of saintliness and martyrdom changed considerably. Thus the Greek word , rarely applied to persons in pagan tradition, was exploited in the Septuagint to translate over twenty Hebrew wordsand widely used with the general meaning of holy. It was taken up in theNew Testament, with the same meaning, as an epithet applied to God, theangels, the prophets and apostles as well as to the general run of Christians,particularly by Saint Paul in his Letters. The "saints" whom he greets inRome, Corinth or Ephesus are usually paraphrased in translation as God'speople.The Greek word retains its classical meaning of witness in both theSeptuagint and the New Testament. However, in the latter, it takes on aspecial connotation in two cases. One is in Saint Paul's reference to the shedding of blood by Stephen "thy witness" (Acts 22, 20). The other reference is to

1 1 . See appendix.12 . Wanda Wolska-Conus & Ch. Walter, Un programme iconographique dupatriarche Tarasios?, HEB 38 , 1980, p. 247-254.13 . H. Delrhaye, Les origines du culte des martyrs, 2nd edition, Brussels 1933.14 . . Grabar, Martyrium. Recherches sur le culte des reliques et l'art antique, Paris1946.


5/33

298 CH. WALTER"Babylon the great... drunk with the blood... of those who had borne theirtestimony to Jesus " (Apocalypse 17, 6).There is no evidence in the Bible of special cult being offered to "saints" or"martyrs", for every Christian was a potential martyr or saint. The Churchtook over the practice, endemic among the Israelites, of giving a decentburial to the dead. Just as Tobit had risked reprisals during the captivity bygoing out after sunset to bury his dead compatriots (Tobit 1, 16-2, 8), so,when John the Baptist was beheaded, his disciples came to take away hisbody and bury it (Matthew 14, 12). Similarly Stephen, who would come to beknown as the "protomartyr", "was given burial by certain devout men whomade a great lamentation for him" (Acts 8, 2).Also, with one unique exception, there is no evidence in the Bible thatmartyrs or saints were expected to intervene in the life of terrestrial beings,whether as intercessors or protectors. Indeed for the first Christians JesusChrist was the only mediator between God and man (Hebrews 7, 25). Theunique exception is, of course, the vision of Judas, recounted in II Maccabees15, 12-16, according to which he saw Onias and the prophet Jeremiah"praying earnestly for the whole Jewish people".Origen (ca 185- ca 254), who cited this passage from II Maccabees, wasprobably the first of the Christian Fathers to develop a theology of intercession 15. According to him souls and spirits share with the angels the officeof interceding for those who merit God's favour, even without being invoked.They fight at our side against demons. Ambrose will be more useful to hisfamily interceding in heaven than living on earth. Pagan tradition was favorable to such a notion. According to Hippolyte Delehaye, Electra begged thespirit of Agamemnon to make Orestes return from exile, while, in the Symposium,Diotima referred to the intermediaries between gods and mortals, whotransmit men's sacrifices and petitions to the gods and divine orders andrecompense for their sacrifices to men I6.One of Saint George's ways of intervening in Theodore's life was to protecthim from Satan and demons. On his first nocturnal visit to the saint's marty-rium, Theodore was surrounded by demons in the form of wolves and otherfearsome beasts. The "martyr of God" shielded him like a man holding asword 17. Later Satan disguised as Theodore's friend Gerontius, challengedhim to jump off a precipice, a direct allusion to Christ's temptation (Matthew4, 5-7; Luke 4, 9-12). Saint George protected him from "the enemy of thehuman race", and led him to the martyrium 18. When Theodore fell ill, themartyr asked what was the cause of the malady. Theodore referred to ademon which duly appeared. The martyr tortured the demon and sent itaway. He then took Theodore by the hand and cured him 19.

15 . Origen, Commentarium in Joannem (Clavis 1453), John 4, 46-53, PG 14, 509 b;In canticum canlicorum III (Clavis 1433), PG 13, 160; De oratione II (Clavis 1477),PG 11, 448 (-d.16 . Delehaye, op . cit. (note 13), p. 100-101.17 . Festugtre, 8, I, p. 7-8; II, p. 10-11.18 . Ibidem, 11, I, p. 9-10; II, p. 12-13.19 . Ibidem, 17, I, p. 14-15; II, p. 17-18.


6/33

THE ORIGINS OF THE CULT OF SAINT GEORGE 299Thus in Christian spirituality saints had been attributed, as early as Ori-gen, the office of protecting their devotees against demons and evil beasts. Itwould become, along with protection in war, the special function of warriorsaints. In the Life of Theodore, Saint George appears with one of their attributes a sword. He also extended his personal protection to Domnitziolos,nephew of the emperor Phocas (602-610), and saved his life when he wasambushed by the Persians20. However, the attribution of this function towarrior saints was not an immediate development. It will be considered inmore detail later.Meanwhile it would be as well to examine the origins of the cult of SaintGeorge as a martyr in relationship to that of other martyrs. Probably the firstwriter to use the term martyr specifically for someone who accepted deathrather than refuse to witness to his faith in Jesus Christ was Irenaeus of Lyon(died 202): "Thus the martyrs give witness and despise death, not accordingto the weakness of the flesh but according to the promptitude of the spirit"21.This supernatural fortitude when faced with death is a theme which recursregularly in accounts of martyrdom. It had already been attributed to theMaccabees (IV Maccabees 6, 5-7). However, the notion of which Grabar mademuch that the martyr was privileged with a theophany at the moment ofdeath and that it was of this that he was a "witness" does not receive muchsupport from the Passions of the martyrs22. Saint Stephen, indeed, was privileged with a theophany; it was his testimony to it which actually provokedthe Jews to stone him (Acts 7, 55-56). The only other example known to me,which Grabar did not cite, is that of Papylus of Pergamon. On being askedwhy he was laughing as he was led to execution, he replied: "I saw the gloryof my God"23.Grabar was led, by this association of martyrdom with a theophany received t the hour of death, to suppose that the word "martyrium" signified theplace where the martyr had expired, after receiving his theophany, where hisrelics were placed and where a shrine (analogous to a heron) was built. Hewas encouraged to formulate this ingenious but untenable hypothesis by thepuzzling practice of Eusebius who used the word martyrium for the edificeswhich the emperor Constantine commissioned to be constructed on the site ofChrist's various theophanies. However, although Constantine did, indeed,commission martyria to be constructed upon the site of the burial or martyrdomf Saint Peter and Laurence in Rome, this was far from being his generalpractice. Nevertheless, in spite of the fact that, as we have seen, the inter

cessory office of saints in heaven was already currently accepted at the timeof Origen, there is absolutely no reason to associate it with the cult of theirrelics, the construction of shrines in their honour, nor with a possible theophany at the hour of their death. Grabar, obviously, pushed this "contemplative"spect of martyrdom too far. Another example of such exaggeration20. Ibidem, 120, I, p. 96-97; II, p. 100-101.21. Irenafits. Contre les hrsies V 92 , edited A. Rousseau, Paris 1969, p. 110-1 13.22. Grabar, op . cit. (note 14), I, p. 266; II, p. 156-158.23. II. Musurii.i.o. The Ads of the Christian Martyrs. Oxford 1972, p. xv-xvi. 26-27.32-34 (BUG 294, 295).


7/33

300 CH. WALTERwould be his application to early portraits of martyrs with a fixed stare of theword 24. The word, signifying contemplator, was applied in the Eleusi-nian mysteries to those who had attained to the highest grade of initiation25.Signifying overseer, it is used (II Maccabees 3, 39) for God watching overJerusalem. Later Clement of Alexandria would use it, with its cognate terms,for the contemplation of sacred realities26. However, I have found noexample and Grabar certainly does not cite any of this word beingapplied to a martyr contemplating a theophany.To attain to the concept of martyr, with its rich connotations, which wasprevalent in the seventh century, various preliminaries were essential. Thefirst was the commitment of all the "saints" to a conflict "against cosmicpowers..., against the superhuman forces of evil in the heavens" (Ephesians 6,11-12). The second was to establish a connection between this cosmic struggleagainst evil forces and the terrestrial situation of Christians, who would progressively associate Satan and his machinations with the attitude of contemporary society towards them27. After Nero's pogrom (62-63), persecutionuntil the third century was normally limited to a specific region, and initiatedby the local governor in virtue of the ius coercendi, provoked by the localpopulace in the search of a scapegoat. As Tertullian wrote (ca 160-ca 220):"If the Tiber has flooded the city, if the Nile has not flooded the countryside,if it has not rained, if the earth has quaked, if there has been a famine or aplague, at once there is an outcry: The Christians to the lions"28. Actually theusual offence for which Christians were tried was refusal of an act of pietytowards a statue of a god or of the emperor.There were some outstandingly bloody persecutions, notably in Lyon in177 and in Alexandria in 202-203, so that Christians began to accept that theviolent death to which the martyr succumbed distinguished him from other"saints". Since he received special graces, which enabled him to persevere tothe end, he merited special honour or cult. The second period of persecution,which was theoretically universal, was provoked by the emperors themselves.It lasted from the accession of Decius (249-251) up to the promulgation ofConstantine's edict, but it was no continuous. Based on the idea that theEmpire, threatened by barbarian invasion, was, through infidelity, losing thepatronage of the gods, attempts were made to restore a unique and universalcult. The greatest obstacle to this restoration was the Christian Church, bythen the most powerful religious organisation.Decius's edict (249) called for all citizens to sacrifice and to obtain a libellusto that effect. Valerian (253-260) promulgated two edicts 257 and 258

24. Grabar, op . cit. (note 14), II, p. 42-43.25. G. E. Mylonas, Eleusis and the Eleusinian Mysteries, Princeton 1961, p. 237,274-278.26. Clement of Alexandria, Paedagogus (Clavis 1376), edited I. Marrou, Paris1960-1970, I 28.1, I, p. 162-163; I 54.1, I, p. 206-207; II 118.5, II, p. 226-227.27. Marta Sordt, Th e Christians and the Roman Empire, Oklahoma 1986 (for muchof what follows about Christian society under Roman rule).28. Tertullian, Apologeticum 40.2; cf. J.-Cl. Fredouille, Les chrtiens aux lions,Bulletin de l'Association Guillaume Bud 46 , 1987, p. 329.


8/33

THE ORIGINS OF THE CULT OF SAINT GEORGE 301closing churches, confiscating burial grounds, exiling clergy. Whereas Christians had previously been pursued as individual delinquents, it was now recognized officially that the Church existed an institution which must bedismantled. When Gallienus (253-268) rescinded his father's edicts, he alsogave the Church, for the first time, the right legally to exist. Forty yearslater, Diocletian (284-305), together with his co-rulers Maximian (286-305),Galerius (293-311) and Maximinus Daia (305-313), returned to the policy ofValerian with even less success. This was the period of the greatest bloodshed,in which the Passion of many martyrs was set, including the revised Fhissionof Saint George.Yet it would seem that only in the reign of Constantine did it become thepractice to honour a martyr's burial place in a special way, except possibly inthe Roman catacombs. Even there the imagery was funerary and integratedinto the overall decorative programme: the two principal sacraments, Baptism and the Eucharist; the divine interventions in Old Testament history tosave Noah from the flood, the Israelites from the Egyptians, Suzanna fromfalse witnesses and the Three Youths from the furnace29. As Maraval remarked,n his earlier account of the Palestinian martyrs, Eusebius merely observedhat they had a decent funeral and were buried as was customary. In hislater account, he said that the martyrs were subsequently placed in splendidtemples or holy houses of prayer, that they might never be forgotten, buthonoured by the people of God30.Eusebius recorded the names of 120 men and 15 women, martyrs in Palestine, who "carried off the crown of winning athletes in the sacred games ofreligion"31. George's name does not figure there. Moreover we have no recordof their cult apart, perhaps, from the commemoration in some Byzantinecalendars of thirty-three Palestinian martyrs on August 16th32. However,Eusebius's expressions when writing of martyrs are those which becameconventional: the deeds of the "athletes of religion", their victorious courageunder so many trials, the crowns and trophies which they won in theirstruggle with demons and invisible enemies. Thus, for the most part, theauthor of the Life of Theodore of Sykeon used expressions about Saint Georgewhich had been used about martyrs at least since the time of Eusebius.Other martyrs than the Palestinian ones were destined to achieve greaterand more lasting eminence and fame. For purposes of comparison with Saint

29. For the integration of Thecla's delivery from martyrdom, see below. The execution of Saint Achilles, carved on a column of a ciborium in the catacomb of Domi-tilla, like the portraits of three anonymous saints under the church of Santi Giovanni ePaolo, would date from about, 400. Grabar considered them to be later imitations oficonographical types none of which have survided used in the respective sanctuariesf the martyrs in question. Grabar. op . cit. (note 14), II, p. 17 note 3. The martyrdomcene is reproduced by U. M. Fasola, Nereo e Achilleo, Bibliotheca sanctorum 10,54-55.30. P. Maravai., lAeux saints et plerinages d'Orient, Paris 1985, p. 28: Eusebius,Histoire ecclsiastique III, Les martyrs de Palestine XI. 28 , edited G. Bardy, Paris1958. p. 167.31. Ibidem ( Eusebius) 111. p. 12 6 et seq.32. G. I). Gordini. Palestina XXIII Martiri di, Bibliotheca sanctorum 10, 51-55.


9/33

302 CH. WALTERGeorge a few examples will be given here. They are intended above all toshow that the development of their cult was by no means standardized, evenif it did generally depend on three principal factors: the zeal of pilgrims, theexistence of relics and the favours which the martyr was able to obtain for thedevotee.Devotion to Saint Stephen, the protomartyr, was certainly widespread longbefore the invention of his relics in 415 33. There is an eloquent witness in theEncomium of Gregory of Nyssa (ca 334-394), in which he invites his audienceto emulate Saint Stephen, and to participate in the athlete's struggle ratherthan to be simple spectators34. His feast was already celebrated on December26th in the fourth-century Martyrologium syriacum 35. The whereabouts of hisrelics was revealed in a dream. They were fragmented and dispersed particularly in Africa and Europe, where they were responsible for an extraordinaryumber of prodigies, notably miraculous cures; Augustine of Hippogives a long list in his Civitas Dei36. Back in Palestine churches were built inhis honour. The earliest, on the presumed site of Saint Stephen's lapidation,was inaugurated in 439 37.Other churches were built in his honour by the empress Eudoxia and Mela-nia38. Inscriptions witness to the spread of his cult in Syria and Palestine39.The prodigies attributed to him do not abound as in the West, althoughLeclercq does recount one, without clearly indicating his source. The empressEudoxia, accompanied by Melania, tripped and sprained her ankle. Thanksto the prayers of Melania before the relics of Saint Stephen in her oratory, theempress was miraculously cured40. Yet Saint Stephen, in spite of his eminence as the protomartyr, and his status as a New Testament figure, did notacquire outstanding popularity in the East. No eulogia or other early artefacts with his portrait are known41. The situation is rather different for thefirst woman martyr, Thecla.

In his Life of Tarasius, the patriarch's former disciple wrote: "What man,looking at Thecla and Stephen, who were the first, after Christ, to open thedoor of combat to martyrs, Stephen stoned, yet recommending his murderersto God by his prayers, Thecla despising the cruelty of wild beasts..., would

33. S. Vanderlinden, Revelatio sancti Stephani (BHL 7850-7856), BEB 4, 1946,p. 178-217.34. Gregory of Nyssa, Encomium in sanctum Stephanum protomaryrem (Clavis3186; BHG 1654, 1654a), PG 46 , 720 d.35. G. D. Gordini, Stefano protomartire, Bibliotheca sanctorum 11, 1383.36. Augustine of Hippo, De civitate Dei, XXII viii 11-72, edited G. Bardy,uvres de saint Augustin 37 , Paris 1960, p. 578-579, 828-831.37. Gordini, art. cit. (note 35), 1381-1382.38. Vie de sainte Melanie, edited D. Gorce, Paris 1962, p. 258-259.39. Fr. Halkin, Inscriptions grecques relatives l'hagiographie, ludes d'pigraphieet d'hagiographie byzantine, London Variorum 1973, sub nomine.40. H. Leclercq, Melanie la jeune, DACL 11, 228.41. For early representations of Saint Stephen, see Woi.ska-Conus & Walter, art.cit. (note 12), p. 259. See also the sixth-century (?) mosaic at Drres, well reproducedby R. Cormack, Writing in Gold, London 1985, p. 84.


10/33

THE ORIGINS OF" THE CULT OF SAINT GEORGE 303not have immediately learnt not to curse his enemies?"4"-. Thecla, unlikeSaint George, who was miraculously resuscitated after being put to death andonly succumbed, according to the earliest Life, to beheading, was not strictlya martyr. She was, indeed, harassed by wild beasts, a subject which occursearly in her iconography and which persisted into the Byzantine epoch. Shewas also put to be burned, but rain extinguished the fire. Yet she was neveractually executed.Her renown was at first less due to her sufferings than to her associationwith Saint Paul. The Acts of Saint Paul and Saint Thecla are very ancient.They already existed at the end of the second century when Tertulliancondemned them as spurious in his De baptismoAi. They were also rejected byJerome and listed among the apocryphal books in the socalled Gelasiandecree44. Tertullian took exception particularly to a woman being licensed bySaint Paul to evangelise and baptize. Other early Fathers were less squeamish. In fact Thecla enjoyed considerable renown from the third centuryonwards, more, it would seem, at this date than the Theotokos. Methodius ofOlympus, whose Banquet dates from the latter half of the third century,introduced Thecla's eulogy of virginal chastity with the words: "As for evangelical competence, let us not speak of it since it was Paul who formedyou" 4\In the simplest version of the Acts, she went, for no apparent reason, toSeleucia, where, after evangelizing the local inhabitants, she died a naturaldeath. In another version, pursued by lubricious men, she escaped through acrevice in the rocks, which miraculously opened for her and then closedbehind her. In a third version, she then journeyed underground to Rome,where she died and where her relics were venerated. Nevertheless her sanctuary was at Meriamlik (Ayatekla) near Seleucia. It is well attested from the

42. Wolska-Conus & Walter, art. cit. (note 12), p. 250.43. Ada aposlolorum apocrypha, edited R. A. Lipsius & M. Bonnet, Leipzig 1891(reprinted New York/Hildesheim 1972), I, p. 235-269 (BHG 1710-1713); H. Leclercq,Thcle (sainte), DACL 15, 2225-2236; U. M. Fasola, Bibliotheca sanctorum 12 . 174-177;G. Dagron, Vie et miracles de sainte Thcle, Brussels 1978, p. 31-32.44. Standard critical edition by E. von Dobschtz, Das Decretum Gelasianum...,Texte un d Untersuchungen 38, 1912, p. 40-41 (text), p. 273-275 (commentary). Moreeasily accessible in H. Leclercq, Glasien (Dcret), DACL 6, 744. The Lives of George,Cyriacus and Julitta are also, of course, condemned. En passant, it may be noted thatthe oft-repeated statement that the patriarch Nicephorus confirmed the condemnationis not supported by the evidence. Several errors have crept in the course of the transmission of the statement, which, in modern scholarship, probably began withJ.B. Pitra, edited, luris ecclesiastici graecorum historia et monumenta, II, Rome 1868,p. 332, canon 46 , attributed to Nicephorus: ... . (Delehaye, op . cit. [note 2], p. 70 , gives anincorrect reference to this text.) However, the Ordonnances ecclsiastiques (Regestes,n 406), in which this statement would have appeared, are of doubtful authenticity(see the commentary by J. Darrouzs to the ordonnances). Moreover this canon 46is not cited by Glykas, as Darrouzs wrote, but canon 45! M. Gi.ykas, , editedS. Eustratiades, Athens 1906, p. 491.45. Methodius of Olympus. Le banquet, edited H. Misurii.i.o. Paris 1963. p. 200-201.


11/33

304 CH. WALTERfourth to the sixth century46. When Egeria went to the sanctuary inMay 384, she found a flourishing monastic settlement; she was able to readthe Acts in the library47. Gregory of Nazianzus, who highly esteemed Thecla,had stayed at the sanctuary a few years earlier48. In all probability, theemperor Zeno (474-475, 476-491) also visited the sanctuary. He was to have achurch built there in thanksgiving for the recovery of his throne from theusurper Basiliscus. Theodoret of Cyrus records a visit made to the sanctuaryby two women pilgrims, Marana and Cyra49. John Moschus wrote in thePratum spirituale of a visit by the monk John50.The most important source for the sanctuary is the Life and Miracles, longattributed to Basil of Seleucia but actually written by an otherwise unknownpriest of Meriamlik around 450 51. He follows the Acts fairly closely butembellishes them. The Miracles, of a literary genre common at the time, areoriginal. The next is in part apologetical, with explanations, as was customary,ow the cult of saints had superseded that of demons. The authorrecounted that, in fact, the relics of Thecla were not in the sanctuary becauseshe actually lived there. Her thalamus, from which she emerged from timeto time to perform a miracle, was the focal point of her cult, like SaintDemetrius's ciborium in his shrine at Thessaloniki, which he was supposed toinhabit.Excavations have uncovered at least three churches at Meriamlik, but noinformation is available as to how they were decorated. In fact the Arabsmust have destroyed the sanctuary rather early. Although artefacts havesurvived from the period when her sanctuary was still frequented, there isonly the silver reliquary, found at irga in Isauria, which may be plausiblyassociated with Meriamlik, because it was nearby52.Thecla had her sanctuary, then, which was mainly frequented by peoplewho lived nearby. However she was not revered just locally. She has thedouble advantage of being the sort of legendary person who attracted devotion and of having a "biblical" status as the disciple of Saint Paul. Consequently her cult, which was not connected only with her sanctuary, stillremained popular after the destruction of her sanctuary, particularly inEgypt. Representations of Thecla may be divided into two groups53. In thefirst she accompanies Saint Paul. For example, on the ivory in the BritishMuseum Saint Paul is seated teaching, while Thecla listens from a nearby

46. C. Foss, Meriamlik, Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium 2, 1344.47. grie, Journal de voyage, edited F. Maraval, Paris 1982, p. 226-231.48. Gregory of Nazianzus, Carmina II, PG 37 , 1067.49. Theodoret of Cyrus, Histoire des moines de Syrie, edited P. Canivet & AliceLeroy-Mounghen, II, Paris 1979, p. 238-239.50. John Moschus, Pratum spirituale, PG 87 3, 3052.51. Dagron, op . cit. (note 43), p. 31-32.52. H. Buschhausen, Frhchristliches Silberreliquar aus Isaurien, JOB 11-12,1962-1963, p. 137-163; A. Grabar, Un reliquaire provenant, d'Isaurie, CA 13, 1962,p. 49-59.53. C. Nauerth & R. Warns, Thekla, Ihre Bilder in der frhchristlichen Kunst,Wiesbaden 1981; R. Warns, Weiterer Darstellungen de r heiligen Thekla, Studien zurfrhchristlichen Kunst 2, Wiesbaden 1986, p. 75-137.


12/33

THE OH1GINS OF THE CULT OF SAINT GEOBGE 305building. In the second group, Theela is represented between wild beasts. Shefigures thus on the irga casket, on Egyptian ampullae with Saint Menas onthe other side. In the decorative programme of a mausoleum at El Bagawat,she is represented being saved from burning by a shower of rain54. She is alsoprobably represented disappearing under the earth. Her presence here is particularly interesting, because the programme of the mausoleum is the onefamiliar from Roman catacombs: divine interventions in the Old Testament.The analogies of the Three Youths in the furnace and of Daniel in the lions'den are evident.Her popularity by no means declined even when that of the Mother of Godincreased. She was also called , and Nicetas of Paphlagonia, writing of her death, called it a or a :):\ In the illuminatedSeptember Metaphrast, London Additional 11870, f. 174V, the traditionaliconography is maintained of Theela between two wild beasts )(|, andM. Aubineau has noted some thirty patristic or Byzantine texts referring toher57.Thus the "pattern" of cult and iconography was quite different for the two"protomartyrs" Stephen and Theela. It was different again for Menas58. Hissanctuary at Abu Minas, some forty kilometres from Alexandria, was excavatedy Kaufmann at the beginning of the century59; recently the GermanInstitute of Archaeology in Cairo has resumed work on it60. The sanctuary'sproduction of eulogia was exceptionally rich. To judge from the number anddispersion of ampullae, usually decorated with Menas's "iconographicaltype", orans between two camels, his cult must have been particularly popularFigure 1). The exact date wrhen production of them began cannot befixed, although Kiss proposes the reign of Arcadius (395-408) as the terminuspost quemM . His dating is argued from the archaeological evidence in favourof the construction of a sanctuary at Abu Mina under Arcadius. It remainedactive until the Arab invasion of Egypt around 640. It then fell into desuetude and was lost, to be rediscovered by archaeologists at the beginning ofthis eenturv.

54. II. Stern, Les peintures du mausole de l'Exode, El-Bagaout, CA 11, 1960,p. 96-105, fig. 8.55. Nicetas of Paphi.agonia, In laudem sanclae Theclae {BHG 1722), PG 105, 332.56. Ch. Walter, The London September Metaphrast Additional 11870, Zograf 12,1981, p. 18, fig. 16 .57. M. Aubineau, Le pangyrique de Thcle attribu Jean Ghrysostome {BHG1720). An. Boll. 93 , 1975. p. 359-362.58. H. Leci.ercq, Menas (saint), DACL 11, 324-397, a useful ''mosaque" in hischaracteristic style.59. . M. Kaufmann, Die Ausgrabungen der Menasheiligtmer, Cairo 1906-1908; DieMenasstadt, Leipzig 1918; Die heilige Stadl der Wste, Munich 924.60. See P. Grossmann's campaign reports, Abu Mina, Mitteilungen des deutschenarchologischen Instituts, Abteilung Kairo, 38 , 1982, p. 131-134; 40 , 1984, p. 123-151.61. Z. Kiss, Les ampoules de saint Menas dcouvertes Km-el-Dikka (Alexandrie)en 1965, Travaux du Centre d'archologie mditerranenne de Acadmie polonaise dessciences 14, tudes et travaux 7, Warsaw 1973, p. 138-154. For earlier studies of theseampullae by Kiss, see tudes et travaux 3, 1969, p. 153-166; ibidem 5, 1971, p. 145-159.


13/33

306 CH. WALTERAlthough the accounts of how they came there are varied, it would seemthat Menas's relics were believed to be at Abu Mina, possibly brought therefrom Cotyaion (Phrygia), where his cult, or that of another Menas, existed.Unfortunately all the versions of his Passion depend on a lost original, whichwas itself plagiarized from Basil's In Gordium martyrem62. In Delehaye's

judgment, these "actes sont entirement dpourvus de valeur historique".His Miracula, collections of which vary in number according to the languagein which they exist, are also of doubtful authenticity63. They are associatedwith his sanctuary at Abu Mina, where Menas would intervene on horseback.He saved a man, who was taking a pig as an offering to the sanctuary, from acrocodile. His rescues of victims of fraud led to the punishment and conversion f the perpetrator, usually with lucrative consequences for thesanctuary.Menas had a church dedicated to him in Constantinople as early as thesixth century, when the Akoimetoi were established there64. This helps toexplain how his cult survived the destruction of his sanctuary in Egypt. Infact his relics were miraculously rediscovered in Constantinople during thereign of Basil I (867-886) 65. A new Passion was composed, that of Menas,Hermogenes and Eugraphus. This was later revised and incorporated in theMetaphrastic collection66. A new iconography also emerged, in which Menashas a "fiddle-shaped" head with white hair and beard, as in Smbll kilisein Cappadocia67. He also acquired an attribute, a clipeate portrait of Christdecorating his mantle68.One might say that Menas was the most conventional of early martyrs toreceive extensive cult. He had his sanctuary with his relics, where miracleswere perpetrated. There were accounts of his Passion as well as of his Alira-cula. He acquired an iconographical type, regularly reproduced on his eulogia.His cult, having spread from his sanctuary at Abu Mina in Egypt, survivedthe Arab invasions and Iconoclasm. His cult benefited from the foundation ofa church dedicated to him in Constantinople. With a new version of theinvention of his relics and a new iconographical type, he remained popular inmedieval Byzantium, but, perhaps, had few devotees elsewhere.Menas was reputed to have been a soldier, like Theodore Tyron (recruit)and Sergius and Bacchus. Of this latter pair, Sergius was by far the more

62. Basil, in Gordium martyrem {Clavis 2862, BUG 703), PG 31 , 489-508.63. II. Dei.ehaye, Les recueils antiques des Miracles des Saints, An. Boll. 43 , 1925,p. 46-49; P. Devos, Un rcit des miracles de S. Menas en copte et en thiopien,An. Boll. 77 , 1959, p. 451-463; 78 , p. 154-160.64. R. .Ianin, Les glises et les monastres, Paris 1969, p. 333; G. Dagron, La vieancienne de saint, Marcel l'Acmte, An. Boll. 86 , 1968, p. 272, would date the churchto about 425.65. II. Delehaye, L'invention des reliques de saint Menas Constantinople,An. Boit. 29 , 1910, p. 117-150.66. PG 116, 368-416 {BUG 1270, 1271).67. N. & M. Thierry, Nouvelles glises rupestres de Cappadoce, Paris 1963, p. 176.68. Th. Chatzidakis-Bacharas, Les peintures murales de Ilosios Loukas, Leschapelles occidentales, Athens 1982, p. 70-74, fig. 7, 8.


14/33

THE OHIGINS OF THE CULT OF SAINT GEORGE 307popular, although the two are often associated69. Even if it is not certainwhether Sergius was martyred under Maximian or Maximinus Daia (305-315),the place of his martyrdom would have been at a military encampment nearthe Euphrates. The construction of his sanctuary at nearby Rusapha wouldhave begun soon after his death. It was rebuilt and enlarged several times,renamed Sergiopolis and endowed by Justinian with walls, cisterns and otheramenities70.Sergius's cult was particularly developed in Syria, where a number of inscriptions with his name have been discovered71. Theodoret of Cyrus lists himamong the saints venerated in Syria7"2. He was probably invoked above all asa military protector, but he also had a reputation for healing. The prodigieswrought in his sanctuary at Rusapha were known to Gregory of Tours. Thismakes it surprising that no eulogia connected with Sergius are known. However, he was portrayed, according to Choricius, in the dedication picture inthe church built in his honour by Stephen, governor of Palestine, probablybefore 536. Stephen, standing by Sergius, "asks him to accept the gift graciously. Sergius consents, and... lays his right hand on Stephen's shoulder,being evidently about to present him to the Virgin and her Son, theSaviour"73. The surviving church in Constantinople, dedicated by Justinianto Saints Sergius and Bacchus, has, of course, no pictorial decoration74.There is, nevertheless, an ancient iconographical tradition for Sergius andBacchus, who had their badge of office, the maniakon removed when theydeclared themselves Christians75. The earliest examples of a beardless youthwith thick rounded curly hair and a torque around his neck occur on a silverflask in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore76. A mid- to late sixth centurydate has been proposed for it. Since the portraits are not named, it can onlybe inferred that they are Sergius and Bacchus. The seventh-century mosaic inSaint Demetrius, Thessaloniki, has the advantage of a legend, which identitieshe saint as Sergius77. Other objects with the same portrait type but noidentifying legend date from the seventh century. These seem to be Constan-

69. A. Amork. Sergio e Bacco, Ribliotheca sanctorum 11 . 876-879.70. Maria Mundell Mango, Sergiopolis, Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium 3, 1877-1878.71. Hai. kin, op . cit. (note 39), sub nomine.72. Theodoret of Cyrus, Thrapeutique des maladies hellniques (Clavis 6210),edited P. Cavinft, Paris 1958, , p. 335.73. Choricius, Laudatio Marciani, after C. Mango, The Art of the Byzantine Empire312-1403, Englewood Cliffs 1972, p. 62.74. Janin, op . cit. (note 64), p. 451-454; C. Mango, The Church of Sts Sergius andBacchus at Constantinople and the Alleged Tradition of Octagonal Palatine Churches;The Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus once again. Studies in Conslantinopole,Variorum London 1993. Study XIII & XIV.75. Synaxarium Ecclesiae (onstantinopolilanae. 115. line 26.76. Maria Mundeli, Mango, Silver from Early Byzantium, Baltimore 1986. n" 15 ;Age of Spirituality. n 536.77. E. Kitzinger, Byzantium Art in the Period Between Justinian and Iconoclasm.The Art of Byzantium and the Medieval World, edited B. Kleinbauer, BloomingtonLondon 1976, p. 25-26; B. Cormack, The Church of Saint Demetrius: The Water-


15/33

308 CH. WALTERtinopolitan work, having no direct connection with Rusapha. Three furthermartyrs merit brief examination before returning to Saint George. The first,Babylas of Antioch, can be despatched rather summarily. It would seem thathis fame derived largely from the fact that he was one of the first martyrs tohave his relics publicly translated. The Caesar Gallus had them transferredfrom the cemetery of Antioch to a shrine in the suburb of Daphni. Since therelics obstructed the oracle in the nearby temple of Apollo, Julian, Gallus'sbrother, had them removed. When the temple of Apollo was struck by lightning, the prodigy was attributed to God's wrath at Julian's sacrilege. Underbishop Meletius (360-381) a new sanctuary was built on the other side of theOrontes78.Yet, in spite of Babylas's renown known to Eusebius, John Chrysostom,Gregory of Tours79 his cult did not develop locally. Theodoret of Cyrusrefers to him in his Historia ecclesiastical but does not list him among themartyrs venerated locally in his Graecarum affectionum curatio. There are noearly examples of his iconography, although he would later be represented inthe Menologium of Basil //81, while his Metaphrastic Life would be illustratedin the London September volume, f. 52, by a cycle of his passion, which wasshared by three disciples82.The situation is different for Theodore Tyron. His sanctuary at Euchaita,first attested in a homily attributed to Gregory of Nyssa 83, was still active inthe mid-eleventh century, when Theodore's feast was the occasion of a popular air84. Meanwhile his "twin" saint Theodore Stratilates had been translated to Euchaita, where their relics were venerated together. TheodoreTyron's passion was recounted, in the customary way, in the homily attributedo Gregory of Nyssa. The author also provided a developed account ofTheodore's function in heaven: he not only intercedes himself, but also invitesother, more eminent, saints to intercede. His interventions in the life of terrestrial men include, besides the traditional office of warding off demons,protection on journeys, cure of diseases and procuring riches for the poor8;).This extremely valuable text also includes a description of the decorativeprogramme of the sanctuary at Euchaita. There were representations of thesaint's "brave deeds, his resistance, his torments, the ferocious faces of thecolours and Drawings of W. S. George, The Byzantine Eye, Variorum London 1989, II,n 40.78. Jean Chrysostome, Sur Babylas, edited Margaret, A. Schatkin, etc., Paris1990, p. 15-23.79. Gregory of Tours, Historia Francorum, I viii, PL 71 , 175.80. Theodoret of Cyrus, Historia ecclcsiastica (Clavis 6222), PG 82 , 1097alj.81. // Menologio di Basilio II, edited C. Stornajolo & P. Franchi de' Gavalieri,Vatican/Milan 1907. p. 10 .82. Walter, art. cit. (note 56), p. 14, fig. 14 . There was a church dedicated to Bahy-las in Constantinople, which would have existed at the time of the composition of theDe cerimoniis, Janin, op . cit. (note 64), p. 55.83. Gregory of Nyssa, De saneto Theodore (Clavis 3183; BUG 1760), PG 46 , 736-748.84. C. Foss, Euchaita, Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium 2, 737.85. PG 46 , 748'.


16/33

THE ORIGINS OF THE CULT OF SAINT GEORGE 309tyrants, the martyr's most blessed death and the representation in humanform of Christ who presides the contest"86. Unfortunately there is no otherwitness to an early cycle of Theodore's passion in iconography. However aliterary Passion in two states adds to the account given in the homilyattributed to Gregory of Nyssa87. In the second state a legend is introduced,not later than the end of the ninth century, according to which Theodoredestroyed a dragon near Euchaita which was killing many people. The "soldier of Christ" did this first by making the sign of the cross and then bypiercing the dragon's head with his lance 88.Such incidents are fairly commonplace in the Lives of saints. On the otherhand killing a dragon did become a regular element in Theodore's ieonogra-phical type. There is, for example, the wing of the diptych at Sina, whichwas dated by G. & M. Sotiriou later than the seventh century, while Weitz-mann opted for the ninth or tenth century89. Actually the earliest datedrepresentation of Theodore killing a dragon is at Aghtamar (915-921 )90.

In this context a group of objects in terra cotta, found on a site at Vinica informer Yugoslav Macedonia, should be adduced91. For the present they aredifficult to exploit, because, apart from being problematical in themselves, noexternal evidence is available to help determine their date and purpose.These terra cotta reliefs were apparently produced in quantity, althoughnothing quite like them has been found elsewhere. The site itself at Vinicawould seem to have been a kiln, established in an earlier ruin and then abandoned. The legends on the reliefs are in Latin, not Greek. There is a mass ofbroken fragments, but of some subjects several examples exist intact: thearchangel Michael, Joshua and Caleb, Daniel in the lions' den, Saints Georgeand Christopher and profane or unidentified subjects. Theodore is representedon horseback, dressed in armour and holding a lance in his right hand. Withthe lance he impales the head of a dragon placed behind the horse. Thearchaeologist Kosta Balabanov who discovered these objects would attributethem to the fifth or sixth century. If he is right, then Theodore was represent-86. PG 46 , 737-741; Mango, op . cit. (note 73), p. 36-37.87. Delehaye, op . cit. (note 2), p. 11-37.88. Ibidem, p. 20.89. G. & M. Sotiriou, Icnes du mont Sina, I. Athens 1956, " 30; II. Athens 1958.p. 34-35; . Weitzmann, Th e Monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sina, the Icons. I.From the Sixth to the Tenth Century, Princeton 1976, 33-34, p. 71-73.90. Sirarpie Der Nersessian, Aght 'Amar, Church of the Holy Cross, CambridgeMass. 1965, p. 19 .91. These terracottas were first exhibited in the Vatican Museums, Icne dalla Macedonia, Vatican City 1986. A second exhibition took place in Zagreb, Ikone iz Makedo-nije, Zagreb 1987, and a third in Skopje, Terakotni ikoni od Vinica, Skopje 1991. Theintroductory text to the catalogues is in each case by K. Balabanov. See also Idem,Ikoni Makedonija, Skopje (no date); H. Melovski, Keramickite ikoni od VinickotoKale, Ziva Antika 9, 1991, p. 179-187, is prepared to date them from the en d of thefourth up to the sixth century. He detects pagan influence in their iconography. Analogies have been proposed, none entirely convincing, with Arab and Coptic artefacts, aswell as with ninth-tenth century ceramics from Tuzalka, near Preslav. Bulgaria, andother terracottas in the Museo Bardo, Tunis.


17/33

310 GH. WALTERed killing a dragon long before the earliest date attributed to the second stateof his Passion.The cult of Theodore had spread to Constantinople by the fifth century,when Sphorakius, saved from perishing in a fire by the intervention of Theodore, built a more sumptuous church in the saint's honour on the site of anearlier one92. At about the same time, during the reign of his uncle Justin I(518-527), Justinian rebuilt another church dedicated to Saint Theodore93. Itseems that his portrait type was early established. At least there are no rivalsto the identity of the figure with a long, narrow head, dark hair and a darkbeard portrayed on a textile in the Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts,or which a sixth-century date and an Egyptian provenance are proposed94, and on the well-known Sinai icon of the Virgin and Child (sixth orseventh century?)95.Finally Saint Demetrius, who was in due course to succeed Saint TheodoreTyron as Saint George's regular companion, must be adduced96. The developmentnd spread of his cult were quite original. He was primarily, and forlong almost exclusively, the protector of Thessaloniki and its citizens. Untilrecently, no testimony to the first state of his Life in Greek, the Passio prima,was known which was earlier than the ninth century. However, the prologueto bishop John of Thessaloniki's collection of Miracula, made in the seventhcentury, reveals that the author was familiar with the Passio prima (Corneliusde Bye had omitted the prologue in the Bollandist edition of the Miracula).Bishop John quoted the following sentence from the prologue: "By inexpressible signs of great power, prodigies, healings and charisms his efficacitybecame famous everywhere"97. Bishop John, in fact, was more interested inthe meta-historical Demetrius than the historical one. Indeed by the seventhcentury it may have been as impossible to ascertain the facts about thehistorical figure as it is today.

92. Janin, op . cit. (note 64), p. 152-153.93. Ibidem, p. 150-151.94. Age of Spirituality, n 494.95. Ibidem, n 478; Wkitzmann, op . cil. (note 89), 3, p. 18-21, who calls TheodoreStratilates, not Tyron. In any case the identification of both Theodore Tyron/ Strati-lates and George/Demetrius remains hypothetical in the absence of legends. See belownote 110. For the later iconography of both Theodores, see Liljana Mavrodinova,Sv. Teodor razvitie i osobestnosti na ikonografija mu tip srednovekovnata zivopis,Izvestija na Instituta za Iskustvoznanie 13, 1969, p. 33-52.96. Much has been written about Saint Demetrius since I published my article:St Demetrius: the Myroblytos of Thessalonika, Eastern Churches Review 5, 1971, p. 157-178. For some of the later bibliography, see Cormack, art. cil. (note 77); Idf.m, TheMaking of a Patron Saint: The Powers of Art and Ritual in Byzantine Thessaloniki,World Art: Themes of Unity in Diversity, edited I. Lavin, Pennsylvania State University989, III, p. 547-554; Vassilka Tapkova-Zaimova, Le culte de saint Dmtrius Byzance et aux Balkans, Miscellanea Bulgarica 5, Vienna 1987, p. 139-146; J. Radova-novic, Heiliger Demetrius Die Ikonographie seines Lebens auf den Fresken desKlosters Decani, L'art de Thessalonique et des pays balkaniques et les courants spirituelsau xiV sicle, edited D. Davidov, Belgrade 1987, p. 75-88.97. P. Lemerle, Les plus anciens recueils des miracles de saint Dmtrius et la pntration des Slaves dans les Balkans, I, Paris 1979, p. 53.


18/33

THE ORIGINS OF THE CULT OF SAINT GEORGE 311The Passio altra, which is more circumstantial than the Passio prima, isnot for this reason to be regarded as possessing greater verisimilitude98.However the "editor" seems to have been quite differently motivated fromthat of the revised Passion of Saint George. Apart from killing a scorpion by

making the sign of the Cross, the living Demetrius neither performs nor is theobject of prodigies, although he is a powerful intercessor. Thanks to hisprayers, Nestor vanquishes the emperor's favorite gladiator, the VandalLyaeus. In fact the main purpose of the composer of the Passio altra wouldseem to be to clarify or perhaps render more complex Demetrius'double relationship with Thessaloniki and Sirmium. This need not concern ushere, for, once Sirmium had been sacked by the Avars, Thessaloniki had norival as the centre of Saint Demetrius' cult. "He lives for us, he intercedes forus with God and obtains for us what is good", wrote bishop John11.Apart from emerging from his ciborium to perform a miracle, Saint Demetrius lso intervened in battle to protect Thessaloniki from invaders, sometimes walking on the battlements and sometimes, wearing a white cloak,seated on a white horse. Much later, he would perform a similar exploit bykilling the Bulgarian voivod Kalojan. Perhaps only Constantinople, whichwas to put its trust in the Mother of God, had a more efficacious celestialprotector.The question was often debated, without leading to a generally acceptablesolution, whether Saint Demetrius's relics were conserved in his church.Apparently Leontius, Prefect of Illyria, who would have had two churchesbuilt in honour of Demetrius, one in Sirmium and one in Thessaloniki, wishedto take the relics to Sirmium. However, he was allowed to take away only thesaint's bloodstained cloak and orarion (the Sirmium Demetrius had been adeacon).Emperors of Constantinople regularly failed to obtain a relic. Bishop Johnmaintained that the inhabitants of Thessaloniki did not offer cult to the relicsof their saints; generally they did not know where the relics were and preferredo revere their saints in their hearts. When the emperor Justinian soughtrelics, flames rose from the earth at the place where the relics were supposedto be hidden and the emperor was obliged to make do with eulogia made fromthe earth. The emperor Maurice was later fobbed off with the same story l0.Nevertheless Justinian II's edict granting a saltpan exempt from taxes to thechurch refers explicitly to the "venerable temple where lie his holy relics" U)1.The question of where Saint Demetrius' relics were if anywhere wasnot resolved in the Byzantine epoch, nor, later, when excavations began afterthe fire of 1917. Paul Lemerle refused, with acerbity, the suggestion that thebasilica had been built as a martyrium, that is, specifically, to house the

98. Ibidem, II, Paris 1981, p. 199-200; PC, 116, 1185-1201 (BHG 498). For Photius'sversion, see now R. Henry's edition of the Ribliothera "cod. 255".99. Lemerle, op . cit. (note 97), I. p. 48.100. Ibidem. I. p. 87-90.101. .J.-M. Spieser, Inventaire en vue d'un recueil des inscriptions historiques deHyzanee, I, Les inscriptions de Thessalonique, I'M 5. 1973, n" 8, p. 156-159.


19/33

312 CH. WALTERsaint's relics102. Yet, in fact, during the excavations after 1917, there wasdiscovered under the altar a cruciform hole accessible by stairs. It containeda small marble casket, placed within an omphalos. In the casket was a fragment of disintegrated cloth, reduced to powder, and possibly once soaked inblood. Whatever this may have been, it was not the focal point of SaintDemetrius' cult, which was definitely the ciborium 103. Consequently hisapparitions, when he emerged from the ciborium, were particularly soughtafter, although he could travel far to aid citizens of Thessaloniki in distress,"releasing prisoners, curing the sick, helping in war, guiding sailors", evendiverting a ship near Chios which was carrying corn to relieve famine in thecity 104.Fire has often been a determining factor in the history of the sanctuary'sdecorations. The mosaics which survived the disaster of 620 are all ex voto.Some may date back to the fifth century, considerably earlier than the extantliterary sources for Saint Demetrius105. Others, of inferior quality, wereadded after the fire. Owing to the considerable damage caused by anotherfire in 1917, many are now only known from early photographs andW. S. George's water colours. Although he did not describe them, bishopJohn referred three times to icons of Saint Demetrius which made it possibleto authentify an apparition. This use of icons was not unusual; it occurs forSaint George in the Life of Theodore 1()6. However, as Cormack had pointedout, the mosaic portraits of Saint Demetrius do not endow him with strictlyindividual features 107. Except that his hair is more closely cropped and rounded, he resembles the youthful figures portrayed in the nearby Rotonda, whowere themselves modelled on portraits of antique athletes.Evidence for Saint Demetrius extending his patronage to others than citizens of Thessaloniki is, for the early period, extremely rare. He would havehelped the bishop of Thenai, whom he rescued from pirates and guided toThessaloniki, to build a sanctuary in his honour back in Thenai 108. Nothingfurther is known of this project. A second example is provided by an inscriptionrobably dating from the late sixth century in the atrium of basilica A atNicopolis in Epirus 1()9. The bishop Dometius thanks Saint Demetrius for hisprotection. A single portrait, identified by a legend and dated to the seventhcentury, has survived in Santa Maria Antiqua, Rome. Kitzinger has drawn

102. Lemerlr, op . at. (note 97), II, p. 205-218.103. D. Pallas, Le Ciborium hexagonal de Saint-Dmtrius de Thessalonique,Essai d'interprtation, Zograf 10, 1979, p. 44-58.104. Lemerle, op . cit. (note 97), II, p. 190.105. Kitzinger, art. cit. (note 77), p. 21; Cormack, op . cit. (note 41), p. 86.106. For connections between visions, apparitions, icons and relies, see belownote 146.107. Cormack, op . cit. (note 41), p. 86.108. Lemerle, op . cit. (note 97), 313 (but the miracle would have been a lateraddition to the collection).109. . Kitzinger, Studies in Late Antique and Early Byzantine Floor Mosaics, I,Mosaics in Nikopolis, DOP 6, 1951, p. 86-87, 92.


20/33

THE OR IG IN ri OF THE CULT OF SAINT GEORGE 313attention to its startling resemblance to one of the saints on the Sinai icon ofthe Virgin and Child who would otherwise be identified with Saint George 11((.The spread of Saint Demetrius' cult to Constantinople may have been heldback by the refusal of Thessaloniki to surrender his relics. However a churchdedicated to him was restored by Basil I (867-886), another was built byLeo VI (886-912) in, and his portrait figures with that of other military saintsaround Basil II on the frontispiece to Marc, graec. 17 m. It was above all as amilitary saint that he became popular, while the myron, with its therapeuticand apotropaic properties, besides being used for baptism, was poured intocapsules. These were worn like an amulet or encolpion. On that which belonged to Demetrius Palaeologus, Despot of Thessaloniki (died 1340), was aninscription composed by Manuel Philes: "The Despot's bosom is the city ofThessaloniki, because Demetrius reposes there in a golden tomb" 11:i.Thus the origins and development of the cult of the martyr Demetrius alsohave their peculiarities.The Passions were not elaborated like that of Thecla to give an example ofheroic endurance under trial and torture. Dialogues were not attributed tohim, in which he defended sound Christian doctrine against pagan criticism,although, in fact, the Encomium of bishop John is principally devoted to apresentation of the teaching of the fifth general council on the Incarnation 114.There is no evidence for an orderly development of his cult from respect forthe dead to honour given to the relics and then to his icon. During the phasebefore Iconoclasm, Demetrius remained virtually a local saint. Only later didhis cult extend throughout the East and notably to Slav countries. Hebecame immensely popular in the Byzantine Church, but curiously never in the West like Saint George. The situation has not altered to this day.Other saints and martyrs could be examined here, Saint Euphemia, forexample. However these are enough to set the figure of George in relief and tomake it clear that the origin and development of a martyr's cult by no meansfollowed a standard pattern. Thus the martyr might or might not have anauthentic Passion. We must, presumably, accept Stephen's and possibly somedetails from those of Babylas, Sergius and Theodore Tyron, while rejectingthose of Thecla, Menas and Demetrius. For George we can retain, with Theodore of Sykeon's biographer, his military profession, his connection withCappadocia and his cruel death.With two exceptions these seven martyrs had relics. In Stephen's case theywere parcelled and distributed, so that he did not have a single outstandingshrine. The cult of Menas, Theodore, Sergius and Babylas was closely connected to their relics and shrine. Thecla and Demetrius had importantshrines. Thecla's relics were certainlv not believed to be at Meriamlik, while

110. Idem, On Some Icons of the Seventh Century, op . cit. (note 77), p. 137, fig. 4,. See above note 95.111. Janin, op . cit. (note 64), p. 89-90.112. A. Cutler, The Aristocratic Psalters in Byzantium, Paris 1984, p. 116.113. Waitkr. art. at. (note 96). p. 162-165.114. Anna Phii.ippidis-Braat. L'enkmion de saint Dmtrius par Jean de Thessa-miqur. 7"/


21/33

314 CH. WALTERthe whereabouts of those of Demetrius remained a mystery. In any case thesetwo saints (not, of course, exclusively) made an apparition when theywrought a miracle for a client.The case of George's relics is more complicated and perhaps insoluble. TheLydda "dossier" is wellknown. The first pilgrim's account, that of Theodo-sius, dates from about 530: "In Diospolim, ubi sanctus Georgius martyrizatusest, ibi et corpus eius est et multa miracula fiunt"115. His testimony couldhardly be more explicit. It is supported by that of other pilgrims, Antoninusof Piacenza (about 570) and Adamnanus (about 670). The cult of SaintGeorge's relics certainly continued at Lydda. However, we have evidence ofthe cult of the relics of (a) Saint George clearly dated to 514/5.The church of Saint George at Ezra (Zorava) is a fascinating building110.When Melchior de Vogu visited Ezra in the mid-nineteenth century andwrote the first scholarly description of the church, he found that it was stillbeing used for cult. Over a century later, in 1994, this is still true. Moreoverthe dedicatory inscription, which has been copied or recopied by so manyscholars, is still in place. The priest in charge will show the visitor a shaft inthe sanctuary behind the altar, which contains, according to him, the relics ofSaint George. I do not know if this shaft has been scientifically investigated.In any case, Saint George's relics would not have originally been there but inthe southern apse chapel which is accessible only from the main body of thechurch. (The northern apse chapel is accessible only from the sanctuary.)It may be worth while repeating the dedicatory inscription once more: "Ahouse of God has replaced the dwelling of demons. The light of salvation hasshone in a place which darkness previously covered. Where sacrifices weremade to idols, there are now choirs of angels. Where God was provoked, Godis now appeased. A certain man, a friend of Ghrist, the first magistrate Ioan-nis, son of Diomedes, has offered this edifice to God, as a gift at his ownexpense, having deposed there the precious relic of the victorious saint andmartyr George, who appeared to John not in sleep but, in reality" ( [sic] ' ' ).That the erection of a Christian sanctuary on a pagan cemetery eliminateddemons was a fairly commonplace belief. Unfortunately the inscription tellsus nothing about the size or provenance of the relic, which could have been afragment brought from Lydda (not so very far from Ezra). The remark thatSaint George appeared to John in reality, not in a dream, suggests that therewere different qualities of apparition. Once, when Saint George led the youngTheodore to his martyrium "in the form of a youth", he was said to be visible

115. Pilgrims' visits to Lydda: P. Geyer, Itinera hierosolymitana saeculi IV-VIII,Vienna 1898, p. 139 (Theodosius); p. 176-177, 182 (Antoninus); p. 288-294 (Adamnanus).116. The main facts which the church's voluminous bibliography contains Nareperhaps most easily accessible in H. C. Butler's Early Churches in Syria, editedE. Baldwin Smith, reprinted, Amsterdam 1969, p. 122, and in II. Leclercq, Ezra,DACL 5, 1052-1056.


22/33

THE ORIGINS OF THE CL'LT OF SAINT GEORGE 31 f)to the eye () n7. To the wrestler, he appears in a dream11*. Forother apparitions, for example to Theodore's mother and grandmother, themode of the apparition is not indicated119.However this may be, it does seem to be the case, with most of the martyrsdiscussed here, that apparitions were more esteemed than relics, which didnot necessarily exist at the martyr's sanctuary, and which had no formalconnection with the martyr's apparitions. Here the case of Theodore andSaint George's relics is particularly -propos. During the early part, of Theodore's life, in spite of the frequent apparitions of Saint George, the question ofthe saint's relics was never raised. Only after Theodore had built a largechurch in Saint George's honour, did he become concerned about the acquisitionf relics. Meanwhile, he had travelled to the Holy Land, with never arecorded detour to Lydda, the obvious place, if the witness of early pilgrims isto be taken seriously, to obtain relics of Saint George. Instead Theodoreobtained them, with Saint George's help, from Aemilianus, bishop of nearbyGermia: a piece of the martyr's head, a finger of his hand, one of his teeth andanother piece of his body. Where did the bishop of Germia obtain theserelics1'20? Of course we do not know. Perhaps from Lydda or Ezra. A thirdhypothesis might be that relics of another martyr called George existed inCappadocia vi] . But, in the absence of any known sanctuary claiming to havethem, this is unadulterated conjecture. Moreover Theodore's sanctuary didnot keep Saint George's relics after the founder's death. The relics of bothsaints were translated to Constantinople by Heraclius, who had them deposedin a newly built sanctuary near the Adrianople Gate. The Russian pilgrim,Antony of Novgorod, would have venerated them about 1200 '--,There are a number of other traditions about Saint George's relics. Thethirteenth-century Coptic writer, Abu Slih, witnesses to the veneration ofSaint George's relics in Egypt 123. The passage in the Liber pontificalis about achurch built in Saint George's honour in Velabro (Rome) by Leo II (682-683)is of doubtful authenticity. It is more probable that his head was veneratedthere when Zacharias was pope (741-742) 124. It would turn up later in thechurch of San Giorgio in Venice v''.It is extraordinary how widely Saint George's relics and cult spread inWestern Europe. They were known to Saint Gregory of Tours, who recordsthe miracles which the relics produced, much as Saint Augustine did for those

17 . Festugire, 7, I, p. 6; II, p. 10 .18 . Ibidem, 86 , I, p. 73; II, p. 72-73.19. Ibidem, 5, I, p. 4-5; II, p. 8; 32 , I, p. 29; II, p. 31-32.120. Ibidem, 100, I, p. 80; II, p. 83.121. Haubrichs. op . cii. (note 2). p. 233.122. M. Kaplan, Les sanctuaires de Thodore de Sykn, Les saints et leurs sanctuaires Byzanee, edited Catherine Jolivet-Lvy. etc., Paris 1993, p. 75-79.123. Delehaye, op . cil. (note 13), p. 221.124. Le Liber pontificalis, edited L. Duchesne, second edition, Paris 1955-1957,p. 360; cf. p. 362 note 13 ; p. 434 line 12; cf. p. 439 note 51.125. A. M. Setton, Saint George's Head, Speculum 48 , 1973, p. 1-12. The authorwrites that there were tw o or three other well-authenticated heads of Saint George. Ihave not had access to L. Vai.lh. Le reliquie di S. (iioryio, Pavia 1903.


23/33

316 CH. WALTERof Saint Stephen 126. Numerous other references to the precocious cult ofSaint George in Western Europe are given by scholars, often without adequate documentation. Actually in most cases they can be traced back to theremarkable study of Papebroch in the Ada sanctorum 127. However, as herefers to unspecified manuscript sources, it would be an arduous task to verifyhis statements. Among contemporary scholars, Ewig provides the most soberaccount of the spread of Saint George's relics and cult, naming amongchurches dedicated to him in the sixth and seventh centuries those at Mainz,Amay, Metz, Chelles and Saint Bohaire, as well, perhaps, as at Soissons,Paris, Bordeaux and Aries128.Inscriptions referring to Saint George's cult are also given without propercontrol, one scholar transmitting the error of an earlier one 129. An outstanding example of this procedure is provided by the inscription at Saccaea/Shaqqa, which is read as yielding a date of 354/7 (or even 323!, surely suspiciously early). Waddington, in fact, in his Corpus, n 2158, had proposedthis interpretation with reservations, since the era used was not certain. Thefact that Alt and later Thomsen disputed this date, proposing a moreplausible one in the sixth century has largely been ignored 130.Haubrichs gives an impressive list of no less than eighty-six references tothe cult of Saint George, starting in 354/7 (Shaqqa, of course!) and continuingup to the seventh century. However, this list with its references needs toundergo a rigorous control131. For example, for Sykeon (82), Haubrichs citesan Armenian synaxary, with no reference to Theodore's Life, which would, infact, have yielded him up two more churches dedicated to Saint George. Insum, I would maintain that any identification of a building or inscriptionconnected with Saint George's cult earlier than 400 should be treated withcircumspection. This would bring his cult into line with that of the othermartyrs examined here.

In his study of early collections of miracles, concerned only with thosemade of posthumous miracles up to the seventh century, Delehaye did notinclude Saint George for whom the first collections are not earlier than theeleventh century 132. This is true of the surviving Greek collections. However,126. Gregory of Tours (538-594), In gloria rnartyrum, PL 71 , 792-793.127. Ada sanctorum, Aprilis III, Antwerp 1675, p. 132-136.128. E. Ewig, Die Verehrung orientalischer Heiliger im sptrmischen Gallien undim Merowingerreich, Festschrift P. E. Schramm, Wiesbaden 1964, p. 395.129. For early Oriental Christian inscriptions, see above all Halkin, op . cit.(note 39).130. W. II. Waddington, Inscriptions grecques et latines en Syrie, Paris 1870,p. 505-506; A. Alt, Palstinajahrbuch 29, 1932, p. 90 note 1; P. Thomsen, Zeitschriftdes Deutschen Palstina-Vereins 65 , 1942, p. 128. Halkin, op . cit. (note 39), gave theerroneous dating, I, p. 105. He corrected it, ibidem, VI, p. 336. Other scholars have not.been so assiduous. For example, the unconnected date is repeated by A. Kazhdan,George, Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium 2, p. 834.131. Haubrichs, op . cit. (note 2), p. 225-232.132. Delehaye, art. cit. (note 63), p. 5-73. For the later miracles of Saint George,see Miracula S. Georgii, edited J. B. Aufhauser, Leipzig 1913; Collections grecques demiracles, edited A.-J. Festugire, Paris 1971.


24/33

THE OH IG INS OF THE CULT OF SAINT GEOHGE 317there is a Coptic version of a collection of Saint George's Miracula, which,since it contains many Greek words, was probably translated from a lostGreek original, and another in Ethiopie 133. Whatever the date of these translations, the original text obviously belongs to the same literary genre as theearly Miracula which Delehaye published. Most of Saint George's miracles areassociated with the sanctuary at Lydda 134. Their themes, are, usually, atonce familiar: a Jew who robs the church is punished by Saint George; he isconverted to Christianity. Saint George cures a Persian of leprosy; his fathergive 1200 ounces of gold to the sanctuary at Lydda. Gifts vowed to thesanctuary but not actually given go there miraculously. Avaricious peopleand thieves are punished. The collection includes an account of Gonstantine's(no doubt apocryphal) foundation of the sanctuary at Lydda. It also includes,surely a later addition, the wellknown story of Saint George rescuing from theArabs a youth who had been made a steward. The most interesting is perhapsthe miracle concerned with Diocletian, which exists in Coptic and Arabic aswell as Ethiopie 13\ Diocletian sends an official to Lydda. When he breaks aglass lamp before Saint George's icon, a piece of glass sticks in his head. Hedevelops leprosy and dies. Then Diocletian himself goes to Lydda, where thearchangel Michael intervenes. Diocletian goes blind and dies shortly after.Thus we can be fairly certain that an early collection of Saint George'sMiracula did exist in Greek, containing incidents similar to those in the Miracula f Thecla and Menas, for example: healing, "police work", helping toenrich the sanctuary.The Diocletian story does not exactly correspond to the story of Mercurius'intervention to kill Julian the Apostate136. Nevertheless it provides a precious link between the saint and the emperor, which helps to explain theorigin of the iconographical type, particularly prevalent in early Georgianart. of Saint George spearing a fallen man137.By contrast with the large numbers of later pictures of Saint George,whether portraits or biographical, his early dossier is lamentably sparselyfurnished. In most of the examples registered of a representation of SaintGeorge, either the identification or the date or both are too hypotheticalto be of genuine help in establishing the origins of his iconography. Since hewas renowned less as a "healing" saint than as a protector, it is not surprisingthat there should be no eulogia. Unfortunately, there are no objects eitherwhich can be associated with his sanctuary at Lydda.The two earliest surviving portraits of Saint George would seem to be inEgypt, more specifically at Bawt. In the north church, which Cldat wasprepared to date to the sixth century, Saint George is represented full-length

133. E. A. Waixis-Budge, George of Lydda, The Patron Saint of England. Study ofthe (Juttas of Saint George in Ethiopia. London 1931. p. 62-63.134. Ibidem, p. 69-75.135. Ibidem, p. 20-21, 145.136. St. Binon, Essai sur le ryrle de saint Mercure, Paris 1937, p. 12-14, 24.137. See particularly


25/33

318 CH. WALTE Hon a column 138. He is haloed, wears a cuirass under his cloak and has a swordgirded to his left side. He is therefore evidently a warrior. He is beardlesswith abundant hair in a circle round his head. His features are those of ayoung man. The accompanying legend gives his name. In chapel 18 of themonastery of Apollo, he is represented in bust form with similar features andan accompanying inscription: Saint George, martyr139.Unfortunately the Sinai icon of the Virgin and Child accompanied by twosaints is not much help, because the saints are not named and the one so oftenidentified by scholars as Saint George could equally be Demetrius140.More promising, perhaps, is the representation on a processional cross, oncein the private collection of Gustave Schlumberger and now in the Cabinetdes mdailles, Paris141. It is 30 centimetres high and 14 centimetres wide(Figure 2). On the lower part Saint George in military dress and haloed holdsa shield in his left hand and with his right hand draws a kneeling figure to hisfeet. Grabar, who was prepared to accept a sixth-century date for this object,pointed out that the gesture of Saint George is that of the imperial restitutoror liberator; it is, in fact, the gesture of the resurrected Christ drawing Adamfrom his tomb. There are several legends: KE ZOH .There is no knowing who Gennadia was, but Henri Grgoire suggested, in aprivate letter to Gustave Schlumberger, that () couldwell be Mesembrius Theognis, a general whose name is attested fo r theyear 581 14~. On these grounds, Schlumberger dates the cross earlier than theseventh century. Unfortunately, plausible as this dating is, the condition ofthe cross is not such as to give a clear example of Saint George's portraittype. It can only be said that he is beardless with abundant hair.

There do not seem to be any other pre-Iconoelast representations of SaintGeorge which are worth taking seriously. Thus the Syrian manuscript with aminiature of Saint George holding a lance and shield, once placed in theeighth or ninth century, must, it seems, be reallocated to the twelfth orthirteenth century 143. The presence of a dragon in no way permits the identi-138. J. Cldat, Baout, DACL 2, 221, fig. 1263. I have found no trace of the moredetailed study to be undertaken by MM. Chassinat & Palanque, to which Cldat refers(219-220 note 1).139. Idem, Les fouilles excutes Baout, Mmoire de hisliiul d'archologie orientale u Caire 12, 1904, p. ., ., 91.140. See above, notes 95 and 110.141. G. Schlumberger, Monuments byzantins indits, Florilegiiim ou recueil de Ira-vaux d'rudition ddis Monsieur le marquis Melchior de Vogu l'occasion de sonquatre-vingtime anniversaire, Paris 1909, p. 555-559; Grakar, op . cit. (note 14), 1,p. 348-349; II, p. 86.142. Schlumberger, art. cit., quotes Henri Grgoire's letter, p. 556. For Mesem-brios, see Menandros Protector, Excerpla historiae, Bonn 1829, p. 424-425.143. W. Haubrichs, Georg, Heiliger, Theologische Ftealenzyklopdie XII, p. 380-385, lists some early objects of doubtful pertinence, quite apart from transmitting theinaccuracies of earlier scholars. Unfortunately, he gives no reference for a sixth-centuryCoptic textile on which Saint George on horseback fights against a demon. He "dates"


26/33

THE ORIGINS OF THE CULT OF SAINT GEORGE 319fixation of an unnamed saint as George (particularly at so early a date whenhe would have been spearing a man).From a slightly later date may be cited an unidentified saint in the much-restored mosaic in San Teodoro, Rome, dating originally from the pontificates f Leo III (795-816) and Gregory IV (827-844) 144. This could be George,since he was often associated with Theodore at that time. Nevertheless theidentification is purely hypothetical. The Fieschi-Morgan reliquary, for whichall sorts of dates have been proposed, is decorated with, among other subjects, a series of saints on the borders145. On the right side are four martyrs:Platon, Theodore, Procopius and George. Saint George is beardless with darkhair (Figure 3). I am incompetent to enter into discussion in technicalgrounds about the date of this reliquary. However, the developed "echelons"of saints suggest to me that the object would not be pre-Iconoclast. Rather itshould be related to ivories which have similar echelons. On these grounds atenth-century dating would not be, to my mind, too late.Whatever date is attributed to this casket, it does not really help us toestablish an archetypal portrait for Saint George. For this reason the Life ofTheodore of Sykeon becomes particularly precious. It makes it quite clearthat by the beginning of the seventh century a portrait type of Saint Georgehad been established, and that icons of him already existed. There was, infact, whatever had gone to the making of it, a distinct and unique meta-historical Saint in the early seventh (or even the sixth) century, who exists tothis day. The most telling passage in the Life is perhaps the description ofSaint George's features in his apparition to Theodore's grandmother: ... , , , , 14(>. I saw... a young man, of utterbeauty, in shining garments, with curly hair as brilliant as gold, like therepresentations of Saint George.the cross mentioned above to 581 . It is not clear why the stamp of George on horseback(fig. 9) should be dated to the sixth or seventh century. For the Syrian miniature, seeJ. Leroy, Lex manuscrits syriaques peintures. Paris 1964, p. 341-349, pi . 1 17, 4 (BerlinPreuss. Hibl. Sachau 220, f. 50).144. V. Casei.i., Visite a ehiese romane. Rome 19(12, p. 66-68.145. Age of Spirituality, n" 574. The author of the notice (M. E. Phaser) proposesthe sixth to eighth century. Frolow had preferred the tenth or eleventh century.A. Kartsonis, Anastasis. The Making of an Image. Princeton 1986, p. 116. proposesthe first half of the ninth century. This agrees with D. Buckton, British Enamel andthe West, Byzantium and the West c. 85 0 -c. 1200, Amsterdam 1988, p. 242. I thankDavid Buckton for help with this object.146. Festugire, 32, I, p. 29; II, p. 31-32. Compare the and , 9, I, p. 8-9; II. p. 1 1-12, and the wrestlers dream, 86 , 1, p. 73; II, p. 76. Arelic could no doubt guarantee the proximity of the saint whose favours were sought,bu t obviously it was the actual vision of the saint which counted. Great confidenceseems to have been placed in the fidelity of the image to the prototype, and the imageserved as a means of controlling the authenticity of the vision or apparition. Comparethe monk who travelled to Constantinople in order to see the relic of the Holy Face andthus confirm that the person appearing to him in visions really was Christ. VilaS. Pauli iunioris in Monte Latro (Bill', 1474). ed . II. Dei.ehave, An. Boll. II. 1892.i). 150-151.


27/33

320 CH. WALTERHere, then, was the person, to whom requests for intercession were addressed.here can be no doubt that he had an exceptional affective appeal, difficult, perhaps, for us to grasp, since the Byzantines have not bequeathed usmany empirical descriptions of their feelings. Some reconstruction can betentatively undertaken. For example John Eisner has recently published a

remarkable account of what a (highly sophisticated) pilgrim might have experienced on a visit to Mount Sinai 147. Thomas Mathews has studied the affective ttitude of the Byzantines towards their icons and the saints representedon the icons. "One was supposed to fall in love with these saints." Or, elsewhere: "The involvement of the Orthodox beholder with his painted imageswas complete... The believer entered a world of images in a way the modernviewer of paintings cannot accomplish" 148. However, empathy, as a characteristicf human psychology, must keep pace with developments and changesin artistic media. It may therefore not be amiss to quote James Baldwin'sdescription of a budding actor in a film. It seems to me to give some insightinto the way that a Byzantine saw an icon of Saint George: "...the face of aman, of a tormented man. Yet, in precisely the way that great musicdepends, ultimately, on great silence, this masculinity was defined and madepowerful by something which was not masculine. It was not feminine eitherand something... resisted the word androgynous. It was a quality to whichnumbers of persons would respond without knowing to what it was that theywere responding. There was great force in the face and great gentleness... Itwas a face which suggested, resonantly in the depths, the truth about ournatures" 149.

Appendix: Saint George Rescues the Princess from the DragonIt was a regula

christopher walter. the origins of the cult of saint george. revue des études byzantines, tome 53,...

Documents