John Xiphilinos: Metaphrastic and Imperial Menologia

Towards the end of the eleventh century John Xiphilinos dedicates his expanded version of the Metaphrastic Menologion to emperor Alexios I Komnenos. This marks yet another imperial interest into the genre of the menologion, coming after – to mention the most important – the production of the imperial menologia and of illuminated Metaphrastic menologia, which all have clear connection to the imperial court. The over-all question in this may therefore be what kind of interest emperors and the court took in this liturgical book type, containing the long versions of the saints’ lives. Monastic communities, the institutions that allowed for such frequent if not daily readings come to mind, and it is these possibilities that will be explored in the presentation. Since the monastery of Evergetis, founded by Paulos on the outskirts of Constantinople in mid-eleventh century, offered the model for many monastic foundations in the following century and more, we may see a pattern of Metaphrastic interest reaching from the monasteries founded by aristocratic monastic leaders to those founded by the emperor.