The “grave covering” of St Demetrios between Byzantium and Rus
Much scholarly attention has focused on the role of St Demetrios in the maintenance of the civic identity and cultural independence of Thessalonika, the Byzantine Empire’s second city. Yet Thessalonika did not always win this struggle with Constantinople. In the mid-twelfth century, the emperor Manu...
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| Format: | Article |
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Institut za književnost i umetnost, Beograd
2014
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30949/ |
| _version_ | 1848794097282711552 |
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| author | White, Monica |
| author_facet | White, Monica |
| author_sort | White, Monica |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Much scholarly attention has focused on the role of St Demetrios in the maintenance of the civic identity and cultural independence of Thessalonika, the Byzantine Empire’s second city. Yet Thessalonika did not always win this struggle with Constantinople. In the mid-twelfth century, the emperor Manuel Komnenos launched an aggressive campaign to transplant Demetrios’ cult to the capital by requisitioning an item described as the saint’s ‘grave covering’. This relic, with its miraculous oil-exuding properties, became a new focus for the veneration of Demetrios beyond the control of the Thessalonian church authorities. It also exerted a profound influence on the Rus prince Vsevolod Iurevich, who spent a number of years in exile in Byzantium in the 1160s. After returning to Rus, Vsevolod imported a similar relic to adorn the city of Vladimir, demonstrating both his understanding of contemporary developments in Demetrios’ cult and his desire, like that of Manuel, to transplant its most noteworthy features to his own capital. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:10:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-30949 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:10:46Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | Institut za književnost i umetnost, Beograd |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-309492020-05-04T20:17:59Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30949/ The “grave covering” of St Demetrios between Byzantium and Rus White, Monica Much scholarly attention has focused on the role of St Demetrios in the maintenance of the civic identity and cultural independence of Thessalonika, the Byzantine Empire’s second city. Yet Thessalonika did not always win this struggle with Constantinople. In the mid-twelfth century, the emperor Manuel Komnenos launched an aggressive campaign to transplant Demetrios’ cult to the capital by requisitioning an item described as the saint’s ‘grave covering’. This relic, with its miraculous oil-exuding properties, became a new focus for the veneration of Demetrios beyond the control of the Thessalonian church authorities. It also exerted a profound influence on the Rus prince Vsevolod Iurevich, who spent a number of years in exile in Byzantium in the 1160s. After returning to Rus, Vsevolod imported a similar relic to adorn the city of Vladimir, demonstrating both his understanding of contemporary developments in Demetrios’ cult and his desire, like that of Manuel, to transplant its most noteworthy features to his own capital. Institut za književnost i umetnost, Beograd 2014 Article PeerReviewed White, Monica (2014) The “grave covering” of St Demetrios between Byzantium and Rus. Književna istorija (=Literary History), 46 (152). pp. 9-28. ISSN 0350-6428 Vsevolod Iurevich Manuel Komnenos St Demetrios relics reliquaries grave covering/slab hagiography http://knjizevnaistorija.rs/editions/152White.pdf |
| spellingShingle | Vsevolod Iurevich Manuel Komnenos St Demetrios relics reliquaries grave covering/slab hagiography White, Monica The “grave covering” of St Demetrios between Byzantium and Rus |
| title | The “grave covering” of St Demetrios between Byzantium and Rus |
| title_full | The “grave covering” of St Demetrios between Byzantium and Rus |
| title_fullStr | The “grave covering” of St Demetrios between Byzantium and Rus |
| title_full_unstemmed | The “grave covering” of St Demetrios between Byzantium and Rus |
| title_short | The “grave covering” of St Demetrios between Byzantium and Rus |
| title_sort | “grave covering” of st demetrios between byzantium and rus |
| topic | Vsevolod Iurevich Manuel Komnenos St Demetrios relics reliquaries grave covering/slab hagiography |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30949/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30949/ |