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1882
Volume 5, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 2034-3515
  • E-ISSN: 2034-3523

Abstract

Abstract

The fourteenth-century of the Convent of the Virgin of Sure Hope in Constantinople (Oxford, Lincoln College, MS Gr. 35) has attracted much scholarly attention due to its rich illuminations and text, which provide evidence for life in a Late Byzantine convent. This study concerns one of the most important artistic features of the codex: the significance of the manuscript’s group portrait of thirty-five members of the convent (folio 12r) which reflects, I argue, the social organization within the convent, giving further insight into class systems and the role of work within Late Byzantine monasteries. It is argued that the group and other portraits in the manuscript together express the hierarchy and purpose of the convent, that is, to ensure the salvation of the convent’s elite patrons, a noble Byzantine family.

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2016-01-01
2025-12-06

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References

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