Branislav Cvetkovi

Imago leonis in Despot Stefans Iconography

UDK/UDC: Branislav Cvetkovi
Regional Museum, Jagodina, Serbia
branicvet@ptt.rs
The article discusses two leonine images from the 15
th
c. monumental art of Serbia. The frst is in the Resava monastery, the
burial church of despot Stefan Lazarevi. The lions adorning the rulers cushion are interpreted as being part of the entrance
iconography near the despots portrait (Christ Anapeson, Gods Hand, David and Solomon), in that the lions allude to the
virtuous ruler who is compared to the whelp of the tribe of Judas. The second is in the Kaleni monastery. There the apse
window contains relief representing a bicephalous eagle and a man fghting a lion. In resolving the meaning of the relief
the analysis centred on the ancient form of the monastery name (Kalinik), its derivation from Greek kallinikos, to kallinikon
(glorious victory), and to the martyr St Kallinikos. The conclusion is that the relief possibly stands for the victorious ruler
disguised as Herakles Kallinikos, and that the church commemorates the battles of Ankara and Graanica (1402), crucial for
despot Stefans rule and the independence of his state, as dates of both of the battles are refected in the dedication of the
church and of the feastday of St Kallinikos, who was martyred also at Ankara.
Key words: medieval art, Byzantium, Serbia, despot Stefan Lazarevi, Resava, Kaleni, lion
The true meaning of animal motifs, though refections of medieval beliefs and aesthetics, has long been a
matter of various interpretations.
1
It is especially so with the art of Serbia, which was infuenced both by the West
and by Byzantium.
2
The images of lions can be seen in full sculpture already in the 12
th
c. at Studenica, and some
150 years later also at Deani, as part of complex foral and geometric reliefs.
3
The lions under the Christs throne
at Deani ft the Gospels prologue of Irenaeus, that the lion presents the royal and most imperial power of God and
the Lord,
4
as in Martial: the lions know whom they serve.
5
Apart from monumental art of medieval Serbia, the feline
masks appear even on relic boxes, profane and sacred silks, which all belonged to the court context.
6
Here I shall
analyze leonine images in Resava and Kaleni, the monasteries built and frescoed ca. 1420. The frst was con-
ceived as the burial church of despot Stefan Lazarevi (1389-1427), one of the most infuential statesmen of late
medieval Europe.
7
Intended to be the cultic center within a huge fortifed monastery, it was part of a much larger
project which included rebuilding of Belgrade, the new capital of Serbian Despotate.
8
Konstantin of Kostenec, the
author of despots Vita, refers that the city structures and the sophisticated decoration of the fve-domed Trinity
church employ the New Jerusalem symbolism.
9
He says that Stefan built the Resava monastery in imitation of and
as a path to the Heavenly Jerusalem..., because he desired to dwell and talk with the hermits.
10
Stefans lavish portrait refects much more than the standard rulers likeness. He is presenting his founda-
tion to the Trinity residing at the New Sion. The animal fgures on his suppedion, previously thought to be wolves
or grifns, are only recently identifed as lions.
11
The curved body line and mane are characteristic for heraldic
lions en passant. Given that in Byzantium suppedia normally had bicephalous eagles, the Resava example is al-
most unique. So, what did the embroidered lions stand for? Do they refect Stefans western liaisons, since as the
Knight of the Dragons Order he was the ally of the Hungarian court?
12
But, one has to remember that his father,
Prince Lazar, had himself owned a costume adorned with leonine fgures.
13
The cushion with the lions under his
foot may recall the Psalm 90,
14
and the mosaic in the Archbishopric chapel, Ravenna, where Christ is shown tram-
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pling snake and lion under foot.
15
According to Theophanes, this old gesture was used at triumph celebrations:
so, when Justinian II trampled Leontius neck, the usurpers very name had made the crowd utter: You will tread
on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
16
Though tempting it may be,
this ancient formula does not really match iconography of despots portrait, and the heraldic form of the lions
is similar to Bosnian and western gisant tombs and royal seals.
17
They do not ft either depiction of a ferce lion
upon a man, as in the Khludov Psalter, which follows typology of the roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour
(1 Peter, 8),
18
or of a benign lion in the Munich Psalter, which belongs to paradisiacal context.
19
The Resava lions
also prevent any connection to the liturgical overtones, as in the Mass for St Prince Lazar, although one fnds
there direct references to the Sultan who is: the wild beast and great enemy devouring everything, Murad and his
son, the ofspring of aspis, basilisks whelp and lion.
20
I would argue instead the possible model is Byzantine, and
the only known analogy so far is the portrait of John II Komnenos, in the manuscript Urb. gr. 2, whose suppedion
is also adorned with lions.
21
Unlike possible negative allusions, as in the last miniature in the Munich Psalter, the
Resava lions must certainly be explained as part of the entrance iconography.
22
That broad context opens up in
the lunette frescoes fanking despots portrait, as are the Anapeson, Gods Hand with souls of the righteous, David
and Solomon. The importance of the prophets is explained by the despots Vita, where its author made multiple
comparisons of Stefan to both David and Solomon. It is noteworthy that Solomon is twice more often referred
to than David, and the statistics is in accordance with the fact that the former is painted nearer the ruler.
23
Given
that despots suppedion and the cushion of Christ Anapeson have identical form, fabric and colour, it was the way
the painter sent a message hidden in the intertwined threads linking triumphal iconography of despots portrait
and the profound theological structure of the Anapeson theme. Being inspired by the liturgical, exegetical and
homiletic texts, and on the Old Testament and Psalms, the Anapeson implies comparison of Christ to the whelp of
Judas.
24
Therefore, the suppedion adorned with the lions and despots royal dress embroidered with bicephalous
eagles, clearly point to him as the God-loving monarch who belongs to the righteous tribe of Judas.
The second prominent leonine feature in the Serbian monumental art of the 15
th
c. is a low relief sculpted
above the altar window of the monastery church in Kaleni. It renders a man killing a lion and the heraldic bi-
cephalous eagle, the stately symbol of all medieval Serbian dynasties.
25
Kaleni was probably the joint foundation
of despot Stefan and of his high court ofcial, protovestiarios Bogdan.
26
The emphasized triumphal iconography
of both the painted and sculpted programs can help date the erection of Kaleni to the period following decisive
victories over the Ottoman Turks.
27
The churchs dedication is the Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple; its rich
faades recreate Heavenly Jerusalem, as recently shown.
28
The historic portraits comprise both Bogdans family
and despot himself. The Virgins cycle in the narthex is adapted to suit special ideas, with deliberate exclusion of
the Massacre of the Innocents, and the emphasis put on the Flight into Egypt and on the Enrollment for Taxation.
The former is painted in the zone above the portraits, as an authentic expression of the ktetors faith, while the lat-
ter brings forth the set of ideas from the iconography of Akathistos hymn, the homilies of George of Nicomedia,
and from the Epistles, all building on the open scroll as the symbol of Logos, and recalling words of Jesus rejoice
that your names are written in heaven (Luke 10, 20).
29
The both scenes operate with political overtones in compar-
ing despot to the models of perfect rulers. In the frst one, the personifcation of Egypt, dressed as an Emperor
and superposing the rulers fgure, makes direct comparison of despot to the Pharaoh Ptolemy Philadelph. It is
founded on Stefans love of books and on his own literary achievements, which is why the intellectuals of the
time, Gregorios of Chilandari, Dositheos, and Konstantin of Kostenec, use the same motif and compare him to
Ptolemy, who was renowned for having the Bible translated.
30
In the Enrollment for Taxation there is another com-
parison, now with the Emperor Augustus, in that he was given despots facial features. Representing Augustus
instead of Kyrenius, the painter had not the Gospel story in mind, but Byzantine legendary accounts on Augustus
as the crypto Christian Emperor,
31
but also the old Serbian chronicles with imagined genealogy of despot, ex-
tending to Constantine and Augustus, in which way the Serbs were included into the world history.
32
This context
Cvetkovi, Imago leonis in Despot Stefans Iconography
1. Monastery Resava, 1418.
2. Despot Stefan, Resava, 1418.
3. Lion on the suppedion, Resava, 1418.
4. Urb. gr. 2, fol. 10v, ca. 1128.
5. Lunette of the nave, Resava, 1418.
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6. Monastery Kaleni, ca. 1420.
7. North wall of the narthex, Kaleni, ca. 1420.
8. Emperor Augustus, Kaleni, ca. 1420.
leads towards the real meaning of the relief of a man killing a lion on the apse window, sculpted with the heraldic
bicephalous eagle. Though it lacks an inscription, it is rarely identifed as Samson kills the lion.
33
This hypothesis is
not without logic, since for his courage despot is indeed compared to Samson in his Vita,
34
while the Samson tale
is widely present in imperial iconography, from the foor mosaics in the Pantokrator monastery in Constantinople
and in Mopsuestia, to the imaginary palace of Digenes Akrites, and the famous Samson silks.
35
The same model
stands for David, who was the lion killer too, as witnessed by the David plates, connected to the Persian victory of
the Emperor Heraclius.
36
But the most notorious among the lion killers is Herakles, and his Slaying of the Nemean
lion is by far the best known version.
37
According to the Vita Basilii, the Herculean deeds of the Emperor Basil II
were once painted on the Kainourgion ceiling in Constantinople, and Manuel Chrysoloras says that Herakles cycle
in marble plaques adorned the Golden Gate of the Imperial Palace.
38
But what makes problem of precise iden-
tifcation of the Kaleni relief more difcult is existence of parallels such is the one in Par. gr. 36, which possibly
represents personifcation of the Force.
39
What may help is the monasterys name. The oldest sources and the early 19
th
c. inscriptions on the tem-
plon refer to Kalinik, which is a derivative from Greek kallinikos and to kallinikon, meaning gloriously victorious,
glorious victor.
40
As a calque this adjective appears already in the Vita of St Symeon Nemanja, but it has not been
noted so far.
41
However, it was the most frequently used epithet of Herakles (Kallinikos).
42
Is it, then, possible to
identify the Kaleni relief with Herakles? One has to recall despot Stefans legendary genealogy stretching back
to Constantine I,
43
who had himself believed to descend from Herakles.
44
Moreover, the Serbian chronicles and
the despots Vita present much more data on his presumed ancestors among whom, besides Constantine I, one
fnds Maximian Herculius, who too descended from the lordship of the famous Augustus the Caesar, in whose time
Christ was born as the man.
45
What may point to the resolution of this rather complex problem is the martyr St
Kallinikos, whose relics had been cherished among medieval Serbs and Bulgars.
46
It would appear both cult of St
Kallinikos and the Herakles victorious epithet are preserved in the actual name of Kaleni. But how? The answer
lies within the calendar, or more precisely, in the paramount signifcance of the two major military clashes which
eventually led to the establishment of the personal reign of despot Stefan and to the independence of his Serbian
despotate: the battle of Ankara, named by the chronicles the Timurs war, took place on the eve of St Kallinikos
feastday, July 28/29, 1402, and also the subsequent battle of Graanica, named the Despots war, took place on
November 21, 1402, i.e. the feastday of the Virgins Presentation in the Temple, the dedication of Kaleni.
47
The far
reaching consequences of the major Ottoman defeat at Ankara, the fact that St Kallinikos martyrdom took place
at Ankara, and the battle of Graanica as the crucial victory Stefan won on domestic soil in the aftermath of the
Ankara onslaught all these must have been more than a fertile ground for an exegesis, as such a coincidence by
medieval standards was only understood as direct proof of Gods mercy. Put in other way, the Kaleni monastery
probably commemorated the glorious events of which despots charters abound with a number of references.
48

The church might have been the place of special veneration of a miraculous icon, the war banners, or the relics
connected to the outcome of the military campaigns which brought liberation from the Ottomans. Specially
composed encomium by Demetrius Chrysoloras for the annual commemoration of the Ankara battle is the best
proof of the importance of the Turkish disaster, and of the general feeling of the Byzantines.
49
It is possible a mi-
raculous icon of the Virgin with the relics of St Kallinikos may have been the cultic focus which gave the name to the
monastery.
50
But, whoever stood behind the iconography of the apse window, he must have been aware not of
the political circumstances only, but also of the many rhetorical devices in promoting despot Stefan. If the sculp-
tor had been instructed to depict the victorious ruler disguised as Herakles Kallinikos, it is the despots Vita that
corroborates the thesis as there Stefan is compared to Herakles in a totally overlooked passage which covers the
battles of Ankara and of Graanica.
51
Konstantin of Kostenec takes combined episodes from Homer, Pindar and
Apollodorus of the heros conquer of Troy, and of his fght against Ares and Cycnus, with the literal translation of
the famous Greek proverb: not even Herakles against two.
52
This not only points to the high level of Konstantins
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education, but adds new information on presence of the Herakles theme in medieval art and literature. The same
proverb was used in an epigram on St Theodores icon, composed by Manuel Philes for Theodore Komnenos
Palaiologos: I painted the champions (Theodores) armed, so that Satan, humbled, may turn his back and may not
assault us boldly, because not even Hercules, they say, is a match for two.
53
At the time, Byzantine Emperor Manuel II
Palailogos compared himself in one of his famous letters to Alexander the Great,
54
while the epithet kallinikos was
widely used in Byzantine hymnography as well.
55
The analogies for the victory symbol on the apse window in the Kaleni monastery recall the well known
fact that medieval art was always imbued with meaning and symbolism.
56
The unprecedented richness of ar-
chitecture and a number of triumphal features in painting and sculpture reveal Kaleni as the commemorative
church with powerful political statements.
57
9. Apse window, Kaleni, ca.
1420.
10. Par. gr. 36, fol. 94v, ca. 1400.
Cvetkovi, Imago leonis in Despot Stefans Iconography
1 Cf. ODB, 1, p. 101; H. MAGUIRE, The Profane Aesthetics in Byzantine Art and Literature, in: DOP, 55, Washington D.C., 1999,
pp. 189-205.
2 For a survey, cf. J. MAKSIMOVI, Srpska srednjovekovna skulptura, Novi Sad, 1972.
3 Cf. J. MAGLOVSKI, Studeniki juni portal. Prilog ikonologiji studenike plastike, in: Zograf, 13, Beograd, 1982, pp. 13-27;
ID, Znamenje Judino na studenikoj trifori, in: Zograf, 15, Beograd, 1984, pp. 51-58; ID, Deanska skulptura - program i
smisao, in: Deani i vizantijska umetnost sredinom XIV veka. Beograd, 1989, pp. 193-223. The antagonistic qualities
of the lion symbol are founded on the Physiologos: Fisiolog. M. LAZI ed., Beograd, 1989, p. 31; ODB, 3, p. 1674. Cf. W.
DEONNA, Salve me de ore leonis, in: Revue belge de philologie et dhistoire, 28, Bruxelles, 1950, pp. 479-511.
4 R. NELSON, The Iconography of Preface and Miniature in the Byzantine Gospel Book, New York, 1980, pp. 25-26. Cf. LCI, 3,
cols. 112-119; ODB, 2, pp. 1231-1232.
5 E.P. EVANS, Animal Symbolism in Ecclesiastical Architecture, London, 1896, p. 19.
6 Cf. D. POPOVI, Shrine of King Stefan Uro III Deanski, in: Byzantium. Faith and Power (1261-1557), New York, 2004,
pp. 114-115; W. T. WOODFIN, Embrodiered Belt, in: Ibid, p. 310; S. MILEUSNI, Pall for the Face of Prince Lazar (Jefmijas
Embroidery), in: Ibid, pp. 320-321.
7 B. TODI, Manastir Resava. Beograd, 1995 (with bibliography).
8 M. POPOVI, Beogradska tvrdjava, Beograd, 2006.
9 Cf. J. ERDELJAN, Beograd kao Novi Jerusalim. Razmiljanja o recepciji jednog toposa u doba despota Stefana Lazarevia,
in: ZRVI, 43, Beograd, 2006, pp. 97-109.
10 Konstantin Filozof i njegov ivot Stefana Lazarevia despota srpskoga, in: Glasnik SUD, XLII, Beograd, 1875, p. 288. On
topoi, cf. N. RADOEVI, Laudes Serbiae. The Life of Despot Stephan Lazarevi by Constantine the Philosopher, in: ZRVI,
24-25, Beograd, 1986, pp. 445-451.
11 B. CVETKOVI, Vladar kao slika Boga: primer Resave, in: Koreni, V, Jagodina, 2007, pp. 13-24. Cf. S. TOMI R. NIKOLI,
Manasija. Istorija ivopis, in: Saoptenja, VI, Beograd, 1964, p. 55, T. VIII/8 (wolf ); S. TODI, Manastir Resava, p. 100 (grif-
fn).
12 Cf. M. ANTONOVI, Despot Stefan Lazarevi i Zmajev red, in: Istorijski glasnik, 1-2, Beograd, 1990-1992, pp. 15-24.
13 D. STOJANOVI, Tkanine, in: Istorija primenjene umetnosti kod Srba I, Beograd, 1977, pp. 296-299. Textiles with leo-
nine images are mentioned already in the Vita of St Sava, cf. B. MILJKOVI, itija Svetog Save kao izvori za istoriju sred-
njovekovne umetnosti, Beograd, 2008, pp. 145-146.
14 Cf. B. POPOVI, Ornament sa ivopisa uz oltarski prozor Banje Pribojske. Dvoglavi orao i lav u krugovima, in: Mileevski
zapisi, 6, Prijepolje, 2005, pp. 101-108.
15 V.N. LAZAREV, Istoria vizantiiskoi zhivopisi, Moskva, 1986, p. 43.
16 M. McCORMICK, Eternal victory. Triumphal rulership in late antiquity, Byzantium, and the early medieval West, Cambridge
University Press, 1986, p. 74.
17 D. POPOVI, Srpski vladarski grob u srednjem veku, Beograd, 1992, pp. 131-134; P. ANDJELI, Historijski spomenici Konji-
ca i okoline I, Konjic, 1975, pp. 313-314.
18 M. V. SHCHEPKINA, Miniatury Chludovskoi psaltiri, Moskva, 1977, fol. 5 verso.
19 J. MAKSIMOVI, Srpske srednjovekovne minijature, Beograd, 1983, fg. 44.
20 Spisi o Kosovu, M. GRKOVI ed., Beograd, 1993, p. 123, 155.
21 J. C. ANDERSON, The Gospels of John II Komnenos, in: The Glory of Byzantium. Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine
Era A.D. 843-1261, New York, 1997, pp. 209-210. Cf. I. SPATHARAKIS, The Portrait in Byzantine Illuminated Manuscripts,
Leiden, 1976, p. 81, fg. 46 says that the lions are hindquarters of two animals, while L. HADERMANN-MISGUICH, Tissus
de pouvoir et de prestige sous les Macdoniens et les Comnnes. A propos des coussins-de-pids et de leur representations,
in: DChAE, 4, Athens, 1994, p. 128, misidentifes them for cats.
22 For colour plate, cf. MAKSIMOVI, op. cit, fg. 51; B. CVETKOVI, Model and Message: On the Usage of Art, in: XX
e
Congrs
International des tudes Byzantines, III. Paris, 2001, p. 407.
23 CVETKOVI, Vladar kao slika Boga: primer Resave, pp. 17-18.
24 B. TODI, Anapeson. Iconographie et signifcation du theme, in: Byzantion, LXIV/1, Bruxelles, 1994, pp. 134-165.
25 For the bicephalous eagles, cf. A. MUTHESIUS, The Byzantine Eagle, in: EAD, Studies in Silk in Byzantium, London, 2004,
pp. 227-236 (with reference to earlier literature).
26 B. CVETKOVI, Gerasimov zapis i ktitori Kalenia, in: Saoptenja, XXIX, Beograd, 1997, pp. 107-122; I. KOLOVOS, A Biti of
1439 from the Archives of the Monastery of Xeropotamou (Mount Athos), in: Hilandarski zbornik, 11, Beograd, 2004, pp.
295-305.
27 Cf. I. STEVOVI B. CVETKOVI, The Monastery of Kaleni, Beograd, 2007; B. CVETKOVI, Reljefna predstava Bogorodice
s Hristom u Kaleniu, in: Glasnik DKS, 32, Beograd, 2008, pp. 90-92.
28 I. STEVOVI, Kaleni. Bogorodiina crkva u arhitekturi poznovizantijskog sveta, Beograd, 2006.
29 Cf. B. CVETKOVI, Some Hierotopical Aspects of the New Jerusalem Programs in the Fifteenth-Century Serbia, in: New Je-
rusalems. The Translation of Sacred Space in Christian Culture. Material from the International Symposium, Moscow,
2006, pp. 133-135 (despots comparison to Daniel, too).
30 Stari srpski zapisi i natpisi, M. PAVI ed., Beograd, 1986, pp. 95-98, 101-102; KONSTANTIN FILOZOF, Povest o slovima
(Skazanije o pismeneh) izvodi, Beograd, 1989, p. 49, 52.
31 . DAGRON, Car i prvosvetenik. Studija o vizantijskom cezaropapizmu, Beograd, 2001, p. 32, 153, 161, 185, 225, 313,
368; A. KAZHDAN, Constantin Imaginaire. Byzantine Legends of the Ninth Century about Constantine the Great, in: By-
zantion, 57, Bruxelles, 1987, pp. 196-250.
32 Stari srpski rodoslovi i letopisi, LJ. STOJANOVI ed., Sr. Karlovci, 1927, no. 3, 419.
33 Cf. STEVOVI, op.cit., p. 176.
34 Konstantin Filozof i njegov ivot, p. 327.
35 R. OUSTERHOUT, Architecture, Art and Komnenian Ideology at the Pantokrator Monastery, in: Byzantine Constantinople.
Monuments, Topography and Everyday Life, Leiden-Boston-Kln, 1997, pp. 133-150; E. KITZINGER, Observations on the
Samson Floor at Mopsuestia, in: DOP, 27, Washington D.C, 1973, pp. 133-144; C. MANGO, The Art of the Byzantine Empire
312-1453. Sources and Documents, Englewood Clifs, 1972, p. 216; A. MUTHESIUS, Byzantine Silk Weaving AD 400 to AD
1200, Vienna, 1997, pp. 67-68, 213-214.
36 H. MAGUIRE, The Art of Comparing, in: Art Bulletin, 70, New York, 1988, pp. 93-94; M. MUNDELL MANGO, Imperial art in
the 7
th
century, in: New Constantines. The Rhythm of Imperial Renewal in Byzantium 4
th
-13
th
centuries, Aldershot, 1994,
pp. 122-131.
37 See the silver platter in Bibliothque nationale, Paris, cf. F. GUIRAND, Greek Mythology, in: New Larousse Encyclopedia
of Mythology, New York, 1968, p. 174.
38 MANGO, The Art of the Byzantine Empire, pp. 196-197, 251. Also, see ODB, 2, pp. 917-918.
39 A. XYNGOPOULOU, Fortitudo, in: Zograf, 10, Beograd, 1979, pp. 92-93.
40 Grko-hrvatski ili srpski rjenik, Zagreb, 1983, p. 212. Cf. B. CVETKOVI, Ikonostas u hramu manastira Kalenia, in:
Saoptenja, XXXIX, Beograd, 2007, pp. 229-246.
41 As dobropobedno telo, in: Stefan Prvovenani, Sabrani spisi, Beograd, 1988, p. 99; Staroslavianski slovar, Moskva,
1999, p. 191. Cf. DJ. DANII, Rjenik iz knjievnih starina srpskih I, Beograd, 1863, p. 281 (instead of Greek, here is only
a Latin reference - victor egregius).
42 Cf. Th. PANOFKA, Zeus Basileus und Herakles Kallinikos, in: Siebentes Programm zum Berliner Winckelmansfeste, Berlin,
1847, pp. 3-12. Also, see: S. WEINSTOCK, Victor and Invictus, in: Harvard Theological Review, 50, Cambridge MA, 1957,
pp. 211-247, and G.K. GALINSKY, The Herakles Theme. The Adaptations of the Hero in Literature from Homer to the Twen-
tieh Century, Oxford, 1972.
43 On St Constantines relics in Serbia, cf. E. A. MORSHAKOVA, Reliquary of the Right Hand of St. Constantine the Great, in:
Christian Relics in the Moscow Kremlin, Moscow, 2000, pp. 126-128.
44 PL, VII /VI/ 2, 5; F. DVORNIK, Early Christian and Byzantine Political Philosophy. Origins and Background I, Washington D.C.,
1966, p. 172; B. KRSMANOVI N. RADOEVI, Legendarne genealogije vizantijskih careva i njihovih porodica, in: ZRVI,
41, Beograd, 2004, pp. 71-94.
45 Konstantin Filozof i njegov ivot, p. 256; Cf. R. REES, The Emperors New Names: Diocletian Jovius and Maximian Herculius,
in: Herakles and Hercules. Exploring A Graeco-Roman Divinity. The Classical Press of Wales, 2005, pp. 223-239.
46 Syn CP, col. 854; E. BAKALOVA, Rilskata chudotvorna ikona-relikvarii, Konstantinopol i Mara Brankovich, in: Bulgaria i
Srbia v konteksta na vizantijskata civilizacia, Sofa, 2005, pp. 193-228.
47 Stari srpski rodoslovi i letopisi, pp. 220-221; G. KRIVANI, Angorska bitka (28. jula 1402), in: Vojnoistorijski glasnik, XV, 2,
Beograd, 1964, pp. 53-76; ODB, 1, p. 102.
Cvetkovi, Imago leonis in Despot Stefans Iconography
48 A. MLADENOVI, Povelje i pisma despota Stefana. Tekst, komentari, snimci, Beograd, 2007, p. 184, 185, 296, 299, 347,
352, 362, 408.
49 P. GAUTIER, Action de grces de Dmtrius Chrysoloras a la Thotokos pour lanniversaire de la bataille dAnkara (28. juillet
1403), in: REB, 19, Paris, 1961, pp. 340-357.
50 On late medieval icons containing relics, cf. BAKALOVA, op. cit., pp. 193-228.
51 K. KUEV G. PETKOV, Sbrani schinenia na Konstantin Kostenecki. Sofa, 1986, p. 390, 457, the editors misidentify Herak-
les (Araklia) for Heraclea Lincestis, antique name of the town Bitola.
52 Homeri Illias, 5. 640-2; APOLLODORUS, Library and Epitome. J. G. FRAZER ed., Cambridge MA-London, 1921, pp. 245-
246; GALINSKY, op. cit, p. 15, 20, n. 19.
53 Manuelis Philae Carmina. E. MILLER ed., Amsterdam, 1967, p. CLXXI, 1-4; Cf. S. T. BROOKS, Intaglio Gemstone with Saint
Theodore Teron, in: Byzantium. Faith and Power, pp. 239-240.
54 MANUEL II PALAEOLOGUS, The Letters, G. T. DENNIS ed., Washington D.C., 1977, no. 59; N. RADOEVI, Pisma Manojla
II Paleologa u okviru vizantijske knjievnosti XV veka, in: Srpska knjievnost u doba Despotovine, Despotovac, 1998, p.
181.
55 Cf. E. FOLIERI, Initia hymnorum ecclesiae grecae, Vol. II. Citt del Vaticano, 1961, pp. 258-259; M. GLIGORIJEVI - MAKSI-
MOVI, Slikarstvo XIV veka u manastiru Treskavcu, in: ZRVI, XLII, Beograd, 2005, p. 97.
56 Cf. J - P. ROUX, Le Taureau sauvage maitris, in: Syria, XLVIII, Beirut, 1971, pp. 187-201; C. JOLIVET, LIdeologie princiere
dans les sculptures dAghtamar, in: The Second International Symposium on Armenian Art, III, Yerevan, 1978, pp. 86-94;
L. JONES, The Church of the Holy Cross and the Iconography of Kingship, in: Gesta, XXXIII/2, New York, 1994, pp.104-117;
EAD, Between Islam and Byzantium. Aghtamar and the Visual Construction of Medieval Armenian Rulership, Ashgate,
2007.
57 Cf. C. L. CONNOR, Hosios Loukas as a Victory Church, in: Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 33/3, Durham NC, 1992,
pp. 293-308.