DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.55205#0034
28 THE MOSAICS OF THE SOUTHERN VESTIBULE
of Our Lady. Thus were illustrated the hymn ‘Thou bringest the joy’ and the
Sticheron of Christmas [44]. To this group belong also the composition called
‘Laudation of the Mother of God’, certain representations of the Tree of Jesse,
the icon of ‘the Virgin of the Source’, &c.
Such a design as that of Santa Pudenziana bridges the gap that separates the
examples cited from the mosaic of St. Sophia, for in the latter it is to be noted
that the attendants on the Virgin are not Angels, nor Magi, nor yet two Saints,
but two Emperors of whom one only is designated in the inscription as a saint.
The effigies of Emperors either as builders or personalities endowed with
Divine Power [45] often appear in the decoration of churches and in the
ornamentation of objects of ceremonial usage. Thus we recall the embroidery
that is said to have envisaged figures of the Mother of God with attendant
Emperors [46], with which Justinian adorned the altar of St. Sophia. Such
imperial semblances, including those in the panel, were regarded, it may be
believed, less as portraits than as iconic embodiments like the Mother of God and
her Son themselves in whose veneration the Emperors here together shared.
It has been already pointed out that the artist of the mosaic in depicting the
two Emperors, who are represented as precisely balancing figures, has been
careful in every possible way to assert the radiant appearance of Constantine,
the saint, and to contrast it with the more mundane aspect of Justinian. He did
not rest content with the clear assertion of Constantine’s sainthood contained
in the inscription at the Emperor’s side. In the matter of the relative hierarchical
dignity of the two Emperors in the Byzantine Church, Constantine is a
canonized saint and bears the title ‘’Icyairoo-ToAos’ (equal to the Apostles); his feast
and that of his mother Helena is celebrated on the 21st of May [47]. On the
14th of November the Eastern Church Calendar mentions Justinian and his
wife Theodora [48]. Although Justinian is commemorated by the Orthodox
Church as euo-Epf)s pao-iAeus (pious emperor), still his rank in ecclesiastical tradition
remains somewhat undetermined.
It seems at first a peculiarity of the panel of St. Sophia that Constantine, the
saint, is placed on the left hand of the Virgin, while his hierarchical inferior,
Justinian, occupies the place of honour on the right. The order of precedence,
which is illustrated in the Creed (‘and sitteth on the right hand of the Father’),
was less strictly observed in the tenth and eleventh centuries than at a later date.
Numerous instances can be cited where, in compositions of a Deesis, John the
Baptist stands on the right hand of Christ and the Virgin on the left. Such
examples may be explained in virtue of the principle that there was no special
preference given to positions that were near the central figure, all such places
were regarded as equally privileged. The relative positions of the Emperors
of Our Lady. Thus were illustrated the hymn ‘Thou bringest the joy’ and the
Sticheron of Christmas [44]. To this group belong also the composition called
‘Laudation of the Mother of God’, certain representations of the Tree of Jesse,
the icon of ‘the Virgin of the Source’, &c.
Such a design as that of Santa Pudenziana bridges the gap that separates the
examples cited from the mosaic of St. Sophia, for in the latter it is to be noted
that the attendants on the Virgin are not Angels, nor Magi, nor yet two Saints,
but two Emperors of whom one only is designated in the inscription as a saint.
The effigies of Emperors either as builders or personalities endowed with
Divine Power [45] often appear in the decoration of churches and in the
ornamentation of objects of ceremonial usage. Thus we recall the embroidery
that is said to have envisaged figures of the Mother of God with attendant
Emperors [46], with which Justinian adorned the altar of St. Sophia. Such
imperial semblances, including those in the panel, were regarded, it may be
believed, less as portraits than as iconic embodiments like the Mother of God and
her Son themselves in whose veneration the Emperors here together shared.
It has been already pointed out that the artist of the mosaic in depicting the
two Emperors, who are represented as precisely balancing figures, has been
careful in every possible way to assert the radiant appearance of Constantine,
the saint, and to contrast it with the more mundane aspect of Justinian. He did
not rest content with the clear assertion of Constantine’s sainthood contained
in the inscription at the Emperor’s side. In the matter of the relative hierarchical
dignity of the two Emperors in the Byzantine Church, Constantine is a
canonized saint and bears the title ‘’Icyairoo-ToAos’ (equal to the Apostles); his feast
and that of his mother Helena is celebrated on the 21st of May [47]. On the
14th of November the Eastern Church Calendar mentions Justinian and his
wife Theodora [48]. Although Justinian is commemorated by the Orthodox
Church as euo-Epf)s pao-iAeus (pious emperor), still his rank in ecclesiastical tradition
remains somewhat undetermined.
It seems at first a peculiarity of the panel of St. Sophia that Constantine, the
saint, is placed on the left hand of the Virgin, while his hierarchical inferior,
Justinian, occupies the place of honour on the right. The order of precedence,
which is illustrated in the Creed (‘and sitteth on the right hand of the Father’),
was less strictly observed in the tenth and eleventh centuries than at a later date.
Numerous instances can be cited where, in compositions of a Deesis, John the
Baptist stands on the right hand of Christ and the Virgin on the left. Such
examples may be explained in virtue of the principle that there was no special
preference given to positions that were near the central figure, all such places
were regarded as equally privileged. The relative positions of the Emperors