Italo Greek Hagiography PDF

© Copyrighted Material
m
.co
ate
hg
as
w.
Italo-Greek Hagiography
ww
m
.co
ate
hg
as
w.
ww
Mario Re
m
.co
ate
hg
as
w.
ww
m
.co
ate
hg
as
w.
Introduction
ww
m
.co
ate
Italo-Greek hagiography is constituted by a corpus of about 40 texts. From the as
hg
oldest Passions of the fifth century to the vitae of the thirteenth, we have a fixed
w.
ww
number of texts, which will be the subject of the present chapter.1 Analysing them
m
.co
will allow us to assess the development through the centuries of the topics and
ate
hg
forms of hagiographic production in Greek concerning the saints living in Sicily

as
w.
and Southern Italy.

ww
m
This corpus is defined by the place of birth of the protagonists rather than by
.co
ate
the origin of the texts which preserve their memory. A theoretical study of the
hg
as
concept of ‘Italo-Greek hagiography’ is still desired. Surveys generally exclude

w.
ww
those works that, while dedicated to saints of Italo-Greek origin, were written
m
.co
outside of Byzantine Italy.2 For instance, in the narrative about Agrippina the
ate
hg
Martyr worshipped in Mineo, a passage interpolated in the Imperial Menologion

as
w.
of Michael IV the Paphlagonian (BHG 2018); also the various vitae of ‘oriental’
ww
m
origin dedicated to St Leo of Catania (BHG 981b, d–e); the vita of Gregory Bishop
.co
ate
of Agrigento written by Niketas David Paphlagon (BHG 708); the texts of ‘oriental’
hg
as
origin referring to St Euplios (BHG 630m–p) and to the Sicilian Martyrs Lucia and
w.
ww
Agatha – such as the Panegyric of John Tzetzes dedicated to the former (BHG 996)
m
.co
ate
hg
1
No vitae have been included here that are, with at least reasonable certainty,
as
w.
ww
translated from the Latin: these are the texts cited in Follieri, ‘I santi’, 10, and also the vita of
m
St Apollinaris of Ravenna (BHG 2038) concerning which see Follieri, ‘Vite ed inni greci’.
.co
ate
2
In this regard, Philippart’s ‘L’hagiographie sicilienne’, 168–74, proves most useful, as
hg
as
it emphasises the problems in relation to an exact delimitation of the hagiographic literary

w.
ww
corpus of any region. The most recent and complete among the general articles is Follieri, ‘I
m
.co
santi’. Among partial summaries, besides those by Da Costa-Louillet’s ‘Saints de Sicile’ (a

ate
rather dated article), we should point out the following: Hester, Monasticism (tenth–twelfth
hg
as
centuries); Pricoco, ‘Monaci e santi’ (hagiography concerning saints from Sicily); Morini,
w.
ww
‘Aspetti organizzativi’ and Caruso, ‘Sicilia e Calabria’ (tenth–twelfth centuries); Acconcia

Longo, ‘Il contributo’ (holy bishops); Efthymiadis, ‘Les saints d’Italie méridionale’ (ninth–
twelfth centuries).
The Ashgate Research Companion to Byzantine Hagiography
and the Enkomion of the Patriarch Methodios (BHG 38) as well as that by Michael
m
Psellos dedicated to the latter (BHG 38b). Similarly, Follieri excluded the tenth-
.co
ate
century Life of St Phantinos the Younger (BHG Nov. Auct. 2366z) from her analysis
hg
as
of Italo-Greek hagiography, because it is a work composed in Thessalonike.3 The
w.
ww
case of Gregory the Pagurite’s Enkomion of St Pankratios of Taormina (BHG 1411) is
m
.co
different: although the author was a monk in the Constantinopolitan monastery of
ate
hg
Pagourion, Cynthia Stallman, to whom we owe the edition of the text, has found
as
w.
sufficient evidence to maintain that it was in fact written (or recited, at least) in
ww
m
Sicily during the Second Iconoclasm.4
.co
ate
As is shown by this last example, it is not always easy to determine the limits
hg
as
of Italo-Greek hagiography if we take as our point of reference not the origin of
w.
ww
the saint but rather the origin of the text. There are many cases for which we lack
m
.co
exact information concerning the author and/or the place of composition. This is
ate
hg
particularly true for the earliest texts, namely the Passions or the Acta of the fifth
as
w.
to the seventh centuries. In keeping with the traditions of their genre, these do not
ww
m
reveal their place of origin. Whether a work originated in Sicily, or in Lucania,
.co
ate
or in Rome as in the case of St Vitus (BHG 1876–1876c), may be postulated only as
hg
from the place of the saint’s martyrdom. Indeed, this chapter will include vitae of
w.
ww
the following centuries which, if not anonymous, are attributed to authors who
m
.co
are mere names to us.5 Fortunately there are numerous instances in which the
ate
hg
hagiographer’s words enable us to locate the work within the sphere of a particular
as
w.
monastic community. The two vitae written around the turn of the eleventh century
ww
m
by Orestes, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, are an exception here. They are dedicated
.co
ate
to St Sabas of Collesano (BHG 1611) and Sts Christopher and Makarios (BHG 312),
hg
as
the father and brother of Sabas, respectively. The hypothesis has recently been
w.
ww
advanced that Orestes might have been of Italo-Greek origin and, as he seems
m
.co
to have been closely acquainted with the saints about whose feats he wrote, it
ate
hg
is probable that he had lived in Southern Italy for some time.6 Furthermore, the
as
w.
themes and spiritual aspects of these two works fit perfectly with the modes of
ww
m
Italo-Greek hagiographic production in the tenth and eleventh centuries.

.co
ate
It seems that Italo-Greek hagiography might well be seen as literary history or,
hg
as
to use the words of Guy Philippart, history of texts and authors rather than history
w.
ww
m
.co
ate
hg
as
w.
3
Follieri, La Vita di San Fantino, 273.
ww
m
4
Stallmann-Pacitti, ‘The Encomium’, 334–6.
.co
ate
5
In some cases, suggestions for identification have been put forward, without,
hg
as
however, meeting with unanimous consensus. For instance, Neilos Doxapatres, a Greek
w.
ww
theologian of the Norman period, has been suggested as the author of the vita of St Philaretos
m
(Caruso, ‘Sull’autore’; but cf. Follieri, ‘I santi’, 28–9). Also, the proposed identification of
.co
ate
Philagathos of Cerami, an Italo-Greek writer of homilies who also lived during the Norman
hg
as
period, as the author of the vita of St Bartholomew of Simeri (Zaccagni, Il Bios, 203–4) is
w.
ww
awaiting confirmation [cf. S. Caruso’s review of Zaccagni, Il Bios, in Bizantinistica 1 (1999),

305–49, especially 315–18, and the reply of Zaccagni, ‘Considerazioni’, 42–4].
6
Cf. Burgarella, ‘Chiese d’Oriente e d’Occidente’, 202–7.
228
of saints.7 As observed above, it is worth pointing out that a purely geographical
m
criterion, based on the origin of the authors or the composition of their works is
.co
ate
a tendentious criterion for defining a coherent corpus. If we were to apply this
hg
as
criterion strictly, we would have to regard as Italo-Greek the works of the Patriarch
w.
ww
Methodios who was born in Syracuse while, unless the hypothesis of Orestes’ Italo-
m
.co
Greek origins is confirmed, the vitae of St Sabas and Sts Christopher and Makarios
ate
hg
would have to be excluded.8 Thus it would be much more appropriate to assess
as
w.
whether and to what degree individual texts express the values, the particular
ww
m
spirituality, or, in a word, the ‘worldview’ of the Greek-speaking communities of
.co
ate
Sicily and Southern Italy. From this perspective, not only the works of the Patriarch
hg
as
Orestes but also the Life of St Phantinos the Younger, as will be shown below, could
w.
ww
be at least in part included into a discussion of Italo-Greek hagiography.
m
.co
These, then, are a few of the questions that will need to be considered from the
ate
hg
perspective of a literary history of Italo-Greek hagiography. We might also request
as
w.
the inclusion of those writings, such as the Life of Pope Martin I, that were produced
ww
m
in monastic circles in Rome, and the two Enkomia by the Sicilian Leo of Centuripe
.co
ate
(eleventh–twelfth centuries) for St Nektarios (BHG 2284) and to St James the Elder as
hg
(BHG 768d). While the latter works are dedicated to saints who were not themselves
w.
ww
of Italo-Greek origin, they were produced in the Greek-speaking Sicilo-Calabrian

m
.co
sphere.9 However, even today a priority remains to rely on good critical editions
ate
hg
for those texts hitherto inedited or those insufficiently edited; also, in particular
as
w.
in the case of the oldest martyria, to resolve the complex editorial affairs that are
ww
m
frequently a hindrance to distinguishing between the various editions, and, in the

.co
ate
case of bilingual texts, to determine which one is the original, Greek or Latin.10
hg
as
w.
ww
m
.co
ate
The Genres and the Texts

hg
as
w.
ww
m
The oldest texts that have come down to us were written about martyrs of the first
.co
ate
centuries. None among them, however, appears to be going further back than the
hg
as
fifth century, a period to which we can date the Passio I of St Lucia (BHG 995).11 The
w.
ww
m
.co
ate
hg
as
7
Philippart, ‘L’hagiographie sicilienne’, 168–9.
w.
ww
8
The same fate should also apply to the vita of St Philaretos the Younger which, beyond
m
.co
the fact that it could be attributed to Neilos Doxapatres, does seem to be the work of a
ate
hg
hagiographer of Eastern origin, possibly from Constantinople: cf. Caruso, ‘Il Bios di s.
as
w.
Filareto’, 96, 110 (n. 74), 118.

ww
9
Cf., respectively, Sansterre, Les moines grecs et orientaux à Rome, I, 138–40, and Follieri,
m
.co
‘Per l’identificazione del grammatikòs Leone Siculo’.

ate
hg
10
Cf. Pricoco, ‘Monaci e santi’, 241–6; Follieri, ‘I santi’, 10–11; Philippart, ‘L’hagiographie
as
w.
ww
sicilienne’, 179–83.
11
More precisely, during the first decades of the fifth century. This is the opinion of the
editor of the text, Rossi Taibbi, Martirio di s. Lucia, 23.
229
Passio of St Agatha (BHG 37–37d) which, according to recent studies,12 followed an
m
original edition in Latin, can be dated to a later time (after the sixth century), while
.co
ate
the Acta of St Euplios of Catania (BHG 629) in their oldest edition can be dated to
hg
as
the fifth or sixth century, according to the opinion of Pio Franchi de’ Cavalieri.13
w.
ww
Several editions survive of the Passio of St Vitus, assumed to originate in the sixth
m
.co
or seventh century; all these are still inedited.14 In this text, the traditional narrative
ate
hg
scheme is already beginning to expand towards the more romanticising forms
as
w.
which characterise Italo-Greek hagiography in the eighth to ninth centuries.
ww
m
The vitality of the genre is also demonstrated in the centuries that followed, as
.co
ate
may be seen from the Passio II of St Lucia (BHG 995d), which is a rewriting of the
hg
as
Martyrion of the fifth century and can be dated, with all probability, in the ninth
w.
ww
century and attributed to an anonymous Syracusan hagiographer.15 However, its
m
.co
basic structure appears to have been modified significantly and tends to assume the
ate
hg
form of the panegyric by means of the rhetorical exaggeration of the material, the
as
w.
dramatic intensification of narrative elements and the frequent use of quotations
ww
m
taken from classical literature. As Francesca Rizzo Nervo has pointed out, there is
.co
ate
an obvious intention of making use of ‘a literary form already historically codified as
hg
and tested by time’ as this would ‘provide the ninth-century hagiographer with
w.
ww
a certain means of communication; a new version of a well-known text and the

m
.co
authority of a martyr whose cult was already established “in the world” ensured
ate
hg
the circulation of the text and at the same time guaranteed the trustworthiness of
as
w.
new elements the writer might wish to add’.16 However, it must not be overlooked
ww
m
that while, on the one hand, the cult of martyrs continued to exercise a remarkable
.co
ate
fascination in nearby Rome in the ninth century, on the other hand, the iconoclastic
hg
as
persecution had brought the martyrial form, albeit in a style more appropriate to
w.
ww
new historical reality, back into fashion in the cultural world of Byzantium.17
m
.co
The changes in this form, up to embracing radically different styles, appear to

ate
hg
have been achieved in the vita of the three brothers of Lentini, Alphios, Philadelphos and
as
w.
Kyrenos and the numerous addenda (still inedited in the original Greek). All this
ww
m
is still of primarily martyrial character (BHG 57–62, 2021), and its date has so far
.co
ate
hg
as
w.
ww
m
.co
12
Cf. Philippart, ‘L’hagiographie sicilienne’, 182. See also Pricoco, ‘Monaci e santi’,
ate
hg
242–4. For his hagiographical dossiers related to Agatha and Lucia, see the recent study of
as
w.
Milazzo, ‘La Sicilia: Agata e Lucia’.

ww
13
Franchi de’ Cavalieri, ‘Note agiografiche’, 1. The Acta, in which ‘an original basis
m
.co
has been recognised’ on the basis of the studies of this same Franchi de’ Cavalieri (Pricoco,
ate
hg
‘Monaci e santi’, 248), have been inserted in the collection by Musurillo, The Acts, 314–18.
as
w.
ww
14
Cf. Pricoco, ‘Monaci e santi’, 244. I was able to go through the version transmitted in
m
Vaticanus gr. 866, ff. 356v–359v (BHG 1876a), integrating the final lacuna of the codex thanks
.co
ate
to the Ottobonianus gr. 1, ff. 282v–287v (BHG 1876b).

hg
as
15
Cf. Rossi Taibbi, Martirio di s. Lucia, 23–30.
w.
ww
16
Rizzo Nervo, ‘Tradizione narrative’, 256.
17
Cf. Leonardi, ‘L’agiografia romana nel secolo IX’; Rydén, ‘New Forms of Hagiography’,
540; Auzépy, L’hagiographie et l’iconoclasme byzantin, 21–46.
230
been fixed around the end of the eighth and beginning of the ninth centuries.18 This
m
text consists of successive sections which make up, in fact, a romanticising cycle
.co
ate
which contains, firstly, the martyrdom of the three brothers. The traditional pattern
hg
as
of the saints confronting their persecutors, is, however, still recognisable, albeit
w.
ww
blown out of all proportion by such means as interpolation of frequent journeys
m
.co
or the alleged transcription of whole letters and imperial decrees. In addition it
ate
hg
contains the martyrdom of other figures of the narrative, some minor events and,
as
w.
most importantly, the story of the foundation of the bishopric at Lentini and of its
ww
m
first bishops. A hagiographical romance good and proper is the vita of St Pankratios
.co
ate
of Taormina, so far inedited (BHG 1410–1410b), which can also be dated to around
hg
as
the turn of the ninth century.19 It contains the saint’s Bios and Martyrion as well
w.
ww
as two relevant digressions concerning the feats of St Markianos of Syracuse and
m
.co
the story of Tauros and Menia,20 who are linked to the myth of the foundation
ate
hg
of Taormina. The protagonists of two further texts that may be listed among the
as
w.
hagiographical romances are also martyrs. The first is the Passio of St Nikon and
ww
m
his 199 companions, the iconoclastic motivation of which was recently identified by
.co
ate
Acconcia Longo and whose composition can be most probably dated to the second as
hg
phase of the controversy. The same scholar has also shown that on the formal level
w.
ww
it combines the genres of romance and epic Passions.21 The second is the Passio of Sts
m
.co
Senator, Viator, Cassiodorus and Dominata, recently dated to a period straddling the
ate
hg
ninth and tenth centuries.22 This text survives in three versions (BHG 1622–1623c),
as
w.
all of them so far inedited, and shows once more in the pattern of its plot the vitality
ww
m
of the martyrial form. There are, however, modifications in the form of inserted
.co
ate
narratives, one at the beginning which would fit better into the genre of Bios, and
hg
as
one at the end which deals with the invention and translation of relics.23 Should
w.
ww
the suggested date of the Passio of St Senator and his companions prove to be correct,
m
.co
this text would then be a fruit out of season, as it were. Its composition would have
ate
hg
been placed after the Muslim conquest of Sicily (827–904), a period during which
as
w.
only monastic biographies were written.24

ww
m
.co
ate
hg
as
18
Cf. Gerbino, ‘Appunti’, 35, who argues, however, that the date of the text must be
w.
ww
reconsidered in the light of its heterogeneous character: it is possible that older material was
m
.co
merged into it as well. Cf. also Strazzeri, ‘I Giudei’, 666–7; and Re, Il codice lentinese, 13 and n. 1.
ate
hg
19
Cf., finally, Acconcia Longo, ‘La data’. This is probably another case where the text
as
w.
that has come down to us is the result of successive and gradual layering; cf. van Esbroeck
ww
and Zanetti, ‘Le dossier’, 157–8.

m
.co
20
The vita Tauri is one of the few passages of the vita of St Pankratios so far edited
ate
hg
(Angiò, ‘La Vita di Tauro’, 122–42). Concerning other excerpts that may be read in various
as
w.
publications, see Angiò, ‘Divinità pagane’, 49, n. 1; 56–76. That part of the vita Pancratii in
ww
m
which St Markianos plays a part has been published in Italian translation by Amore, S.
.co
ate
Marciano di Siracusa.
hg
as
21
Acconcia Longo, ‘La Passio di s. Nicone’.
w.
ww
22
Burgarella, ‘A proposito’.
23
Ibid., 48.
24
Cf. Acconcia Longo, ‘Santi monaci’, 163–4; Acconcia Longo, ‘Il contributo’, 179–80.
231
The genre of the Enkomion was used with moderation in the Italo-Greek world.
m
The Enkomion of St Markianos, the legendary proto-bishop of Syracuse (BHG 1030),
.co
ate
is usually dated to the beginning of the eighth, certainly no later than the mid-ninth
hg
as
century.25 This work appears to have been commissioned by Bishop Theodosios,
w.
ww
the prelate who represented Syracuse at the Roman Synod in 680; indeed, the text
m
.co
praises him as the organiser of a procession which culminated in the consecration
ate
hg
of an altar before the demon-infested cave in which Markianos was said to have
as
w.
lived.26 It is safe to say that, at least as regards the second part of the text, it is an
ww
m
Enkomion of Theodosios rather than of Markianos himself.
.co
ate
The aforementioned Enkomion to St Pankratios by Gregory the Pagurite dates
hg
as
back to the first half of the ninth century, while the end of the First Iconoclasm is the
w.
ww
most probable date of the vita of St Phantinos the Elder of Tauriana (BHG 1058–9). The
m
.co
latter is really an Enkomion by Peter, a ‘Western’ bishop probably from Syracuse,27
ate
hg
in which the narrative content is continually interspersed with lengthy digressions
as
w.
of a didactic and rhetorical nature. The vita Phantini is followed by a collection
ww
m
of 20 miracles. Acconcia Longo has shown that the first 18 must be ascribed to
.co
ate
someone other than Bishop Peter (who, however, is the author of miracles 19 and as
hg
20), someone less gifted in terms of literary skill. This author would have written
w.
ww
his works with the purpose of ‘emphasising and publicising the role of a small
m
.co
provincial sanctuary’, some time between the late seventh century and the Muslim
ate
hg
conquest of Syracuse (878), but the earliest date could also be moved to before
as
w.
the start of the invasion of Sicily (827).28 The Miracula Phantini 1–18, if regarded
ww
m
as independent text, are the only Italo-Greek instance of this hagiographical type;
.co
ate
they belong to a ‘mixed’ genre: they recount not only healings, but rather Phantinos
hg
as
is described as intervening in a whole series of diverse circumstances.

w.
ww
Turning to the genre of Enkomion we have to leap several centuries in order to

m
.co
find a last example, namely, the Enkomion of St Bartholomew the Younger, third abbot
ate
hg
of the monastery of Grottaferrata.29 This was written by the monk John of Rossano
as
w.
on the occasion of the translation of the relic that was the saint’s head into a silver
ww
m
reliquary (11 November 1229). Rather than praising Bartholomew or the monastery
.co
ate
of Grottaferrata, the author’s intention is to praise his native city, Rossano, home of
hg
as
Sts Neilos and Bartholomew.30

w.
ww
Moving on to the vitae, we must start with the assumption that many among them
m
.co
contain rhetorical elements typical of the Enkomion, as is the custom in Byzantine

ate
hg
as
w.
ww
25
Cf. Acconcia Longo, ‘Siracusa e Taormina’, 62–4; Acconcia Longo, ‘L’encomio’, 78–9.
m
.co
26
Acconcia Longo, ‘Il contributo’, 192–3.
ate
hg
27
Acconcia Longo, ‘La Vita e i Miracoli’, 36.
as
w.
ww
28
Ibid.; Acconcia Longo, ‘I Miracula’, 45–6, 52.
m
29
We might also mention two Homilies by Philagathos of Cerami, who flourished
.co
ate
during the time of Roger II (1130–1154) and William I (1154–1166). One is in praise of St
hg
as
Bartholomew of Simeri (for which see Zaccagni, ‘Considerazioni’), the other in honour of St
w.
ww
Pankratios of Taormina (BHG 1412): ed. in Rossi Taibbi, Filagato da Cerami. Omelie per i Vangeli
domenicali e le feste di tutto l’anno, 191–8, 232–8.
30
Cf. Follieri, ‘I santi’, 28.
232
hagiography of any era. The most ancient appears to be that of St Zosimos, monk
m
in the monastery of St Lucia of Syracuse and later bishop of that city, which
.co
ate
survives only in a Latin translation (BHL 9026) and should be dated to the end of
hg
as
the seventh or, at the latest, beginning of the eighth century. In it the monastic ideal
w.
ww
is joined to the daily practice of the good bishop, using literary models hallowed
m
.co
by tradition.31 This is a text with a simple plot containing remarkably reliable
ate
hg
historical dates, although there is no dearth of the usual ‘tricks’ of the genre which
as
w.
may hide or change the realistic date.32 In this way it contrasts notably with the
ww
m
typical characteristics of Italo-Greek hagiography in the age following Iconoclasm
.co
ate
which is distinguished by its frequent use of ‘wondrous Christian’ motifs (with
hg
as
angelic forces and demonic beings appearing in all kinds of situations), of blatant
w.
ww
anachronisms and of expanding the geographical (by means of numerous journeys)
m
.co
as well as the social framework.
ate
hg
We have already mentioned the vitae of St Pankratios of Taormina and Alphios,
as
w.
Philadelphos and Kyrenos of Lentini as examples of what we now call the
ww
m
‘hagiographical romance’. These, however, are only two among the most famous
.co
ate
examples: besides, there is the Life of St Gregory, Bishop of Agrigento, written some as
hg
time between 750 and 830 by Leontios of the monastery of St Sabas in Rome
w.
ww
(BHG 707).33 Furthermore the vita of St Leo, Bishop of Catania, a text of iconoclastic
m
.co
motivation that was in all likelihood written during the second phase of the
ate
hg
controversy (BHG 981). It survives only in a censored version and is the ideological
as
w.
counter-altar to the iconophile Life of St Pankratios.34 Finally the vita of St Philip of

ww
m
Agira (BHG 1531) by the monk Eusebios which was most likely written towards the
.co
ate
end of the ninth century.35 The two Passions mentioned above, namely of St Nikon
hg
as
and his companions and of St Senator and his companions, may also be added to
w.
ww
the list, due to their imaginary and adventurous nature.

m
.co
It must be pointed out that, unlike the deprecating judgements passed by

ate
hg
scholars of the past, more recent studies have proved that the texts in this series
as
w.
have turned out to be among the more interesting. It is true that the historical
ww
m
dates given are on the whole unreliable and essential hagiographic coordinates
.co
ate
are missing altogether for most of the saints celebrated; however, these texts do
hg
as
contain a wealth of ideological and cultural motifs.36

w.
ww
As already mentioned, the Muslim conquest of Sicily appears to have been a

m
.co
turning point in the production of Italo-Greek hagiography. From then on and until
ate
hg
the end, the protagonists are saintly monks with the only exception of St Luke,
as
w.
ww
m
.co
31
Cf. Re, ‘La Vita’; Re, ‘Ancora sulle fonti’.
ate
hg
32
Cf. Acconcia Longo, ‘La Vita di Zosimo’; Acconcia Longo, ‘Il contributo’, 183–5.
as
w.
Luzzi’s analysis of the vita Nili should also be seen from this perspective.
ww
m
33
Berger, Leontios Presbyteros, 47–8.
.co
ate
34
Acconcia Longo, ‘La Vita di S. Leone’, 43–61.
hg
as
35
Pasini, Vita di S. Filippo, 26–32.
w.
ww
36
E. Patlagean’s study Les moines grecs played a pioneering role in this sense. More
recent articles include those by Acconcia Longo, quoted in the preceding notes. See also
Pricoco, ‘Monaci e santi’, 261–83.
233
Bishop of Isola Capo Rizzuto (BHG 2237). Many of these monks fled from Sicily to
m
Calabria in order to escape the Muslim invasion. The most important characteristics
.co
ate
of these texts are the wealth and, on the whole, precision of the historical dates and
hg
as
the realistic picture they paint of contemporary Italo-Greek society. According to
w.
ww
Follieri’s inspired definition,37 the vita of Elias the Younger of Enna (BHG 580) is a
m
.co
product of the transition between the two series. This text was written between
ate
hg
930 and 940 by an anonymous monk of the Calabrian monastery of the Salines
as
w.
founded by that very Elias.38 The first part is mostly fairytale and best analysed
ww
m
using Vladimir Propp’s categories;39 the second part consists of the story of the
.co
ate
saint’s deeds on Calabrian soil until his final journey towards Constantinople at the
hg
as
request of the Emperor Leo VI (886–912), interrupted by his death in Thessalonike
w.
ww
in 903. The vita of St Elias Speleotes (BHG 581), written in the second half of the tenth
m
.co
century, is the work of a Calabrian monk of the monastery of Melicuccà founded by
ate
hg
the saint.40 It also has two recognisable parts: the first one is more adventurous and
as
w.
has a well-structured plot (to a lesser degree, however, than the vita of Elias of Enna),
ww
m
the second one, which opens with the saint’s final return to Calabria, then gives a
.co
ate
long sequence of miracles worked by him ante and post mortem. The author imitated as
hg
the Life of St Euthymios by Cyril of Skythopolis (BHG 647–8) in some passages.41
w.
ww
Several vitae are dedicated to saints who began their monastic career in the
m
.co
Sicilian monastery of San Filippo di Agira, then emigrated to Calabria and from
ate
hg
there to Lucania where they became in their turn founders of monastic communities
as
w.
in the regions of Mercurio and Latiniano. These are the aforementioned vitae of
ww
m
Sts Sabas the Younger, Christopher and Makarios, written by Orestes, Patriarch of
.co
ate
Jerusalem. The first was composed not long after Sabas’ death (991);42 the second
hg
as
(chs. 20–23, the part dealing with Makarios, are in the form of a short Enkomion) is
w.
ww
usually assigned to the period between Makarios’ death – which, as said at the end
m
.co
of the Bios (ch. 23), occurred 10 years after Sabas’ (i.e. in 1001) – and Orestes’ own
ate
hg
death in 1005. They are followed by three further vitae which only survive in Latin
as
w.
translation: firstly, of Leo-Luke of Corleone (a town in the province of Palermo)

ww
m
(BHL 4842) which is of uncertain date but can generally be placed in the tenth
.co
ate
century.43 Secondly, the Life of Luke of Demenna (in Sicily) or of Armento (in Lucania)
hg
as
w.
ww
m
.co
ate
37
Follieri, ‘I santi’, 13.
hg
as
w.
38
Rossi Taibbi, Vita di Sant’Elia, XVI–XVIII.
ww
39
The analysis is by Guidorizzi, ‘Motivi fiabeschi’, 461–2. Cf. also Pricoco, ‘Monaci e
m
.co
santi’, 285–7; Follieri, ‘I santi’, 13–16.

ate
hg
40
In the Latin translation from the early Norman period, edited by Strazzeri, ‘Una
as
w.
ww
traduzione dal greco’, we find the more specific information (p. 86, ch. 21) that the author of
m
the original Greek was called Kyriakos; cf. Efthymiadis, ‘The Byzantine Hagiographer’, 73, n.
.co
ate
40. One Kyriakos was also the author of several hymns in honour of Elias Speleotes (ibid., 18).
hg
as
41
Follieri, ‘I santi’, 16–18.
w.
ww
42
Cf. Caruso, ‘Sicilia e Calabria’, 573, n. 39.
43
Some uncertainty, however, remains: cf. Stelladoro, La Vita di san Leone Luca, 20–24;
Caruso, ‘Sicilia e Calabria’, 564 and n. 6; Acconcia Longo, ‘Santi monaci italogreci’, 146, n. 10.
234
(BHL 4978), which may be dated to the years following Luke’s death (984);44 and,
m
finally, that of Vitalis of Castronovo (in Sicily) (BHL 8697), whose vita, while it dates
.co
ate
from the eleventh century, was written at least 30 years after the saint’s death. Thus
hg
as
we find the narratives (chs. 20–24) of the events concerning the translation of the
w.
ww
relics which took place after that time; the problem is that there is no certainty as
m
.co
to when Vitalis actually died, whether in 994 or in 1033, or indeed, at another time
ate
hg
sometime between those two dates.45
as
w.
These vitae narrate the deeds of men who, together with St Neilos of Rossano
ww
m
and St Phantinos the Younger, may be considered the main protagonists of
.co
ate
northern Calabrian monasticism in the tenth and eleventh centuries. The texts have
hg
as
many points in common: the kind of spirituality;46 the historical and geographical
w.
ww
framework, illustrated by frequent Saracen attacks that forced the saintly monks
m
.co
time and again to undertake pilgrimages, and adorned with mostly realistic detail;
ate
hg
the relationships linking the protagonists among themselves; and the reference to
as
w.
common hagiographical topoi. They all, in short, represent ‘a link with the history
ww
m
and society of that period, reflecting its problems and needs’.47
.co
ate
The vita of St Neilos of Rossano (BHG 1370) is unanimously considered to be the as
hg
masterpiece of Italo-Greek hagiography, and it is certainly the text best known
w.
ww
among, and most analysed by, modern scholars.48 It was composed in the monastery
m
.co
of St Mary of Grottaferrata just a few years after Neilos’ death (1004) by one of his
ate
hg
disciples who showed pronounced literary ability and good narrative capacity.
as
w.
The master of asceticism, Phantinos the Younger, plays a part in it; his vita, to
ww
m
which we have already referred, is the work of an anonymous hagiographer from

.co
ate
Thessalonike, written around the end of the tenth century,49 that can be divided
hg
as
into two parts. The first is the ‘Italian’ one that shows very close analogies with
w.
ww
Italo-Greek hagiographical production; the second is ‘Greek’, following Phantinos’

m
.co
move to Thessalonike, to which we will return below. Two vitae written by a monk
ate
hg
named Neilos date from the second half of the eleventh century:50 the vita of St
as
w.
Nikodemos of Kellarana (BHG 2305), dated to the years 1060–1065;51 and the vita
ww
m
of St Philaretos the Younger (BHG 1513), datable to around the turn of the twelfth
.co
ate
hg
as
w.
ww
m
44
Caruso, ‘Sicilia e Calabria’, 578–81; Acconcia Longo, ‘Santi monaci italogreci’, 146–52.
.co
ate
45
The problem is discussed in Caruso, ‘Sulla cronologia’. See also Caruso, ‘Sicilia e
hg
as
Calabria’, 582; Acconcia Longo, ‘Santi monaci italogreci’, 161; Follieri, ‘I santi’, 21–2.
w.
ww
46
These have been examined in great depth by Morini, ‘Aspetti organizzativi’. Cf. also
m
.co
Morini, ‘L’eredità ascetica’.

ate
47
Acconcia Longo, ‘Santi monaci italogreci’, 161.
hg
as
w.
48
See the studies assembled in Atti del Congresso Internazionale su S. Nilo di Rossano.
ww
49
Follieri, ‘I santi’, 24–5.
m
.co
ate
50
The opinion is widespread that this is one and the same person, despite the stylistic
hg
differences between the two works: cf. Arco Magrì, Vita di S. Nicodemo, 30–36; Conti Bizzarro,
as
w.
ww
‘La lingua’, 227; Caruso, ‘Sicilia e Calabria’, 587. Follieri, however, has cast doubts: ‘I santi’,
28–9.
51
Arco Magrì, Vita di S. Nicodemo, 35.
235
century.52 With them we return to the sphere of southern Calabrian monasticism.
m
The former frequently mentions Elias Speleotes, but also Elias of Enna; in the latter,
.co
ate
Elias of Enna is a constant point of reference for the protagonist who was a monk
hg
as
in Elias’ monastery of the Salines until his death. As for narrative structure, it has to
w.
ww
be noted that the vita of St Philaretos is of a form midway between the two genres of
m
.co
vita and Enkomion: the rhetorical element tends to supersede the narrative content
ate
hg
which is consequently rather restricted overall. This is especially noticeable in the
as
w.
long introduction which contains, among other passages, extensive praise of the
ww
m
saint’s home in Sicily (pp. 3221–406).53
.co
ate
The Life of St Bartholomew of Grottaferrata (BHG 233) also dates back to the
hg
as
second half of the eleventh century. It has been suggested, but based on ‘fairly
w.
ww
shaky arguments’,54 that its author was Luke, the sixth abbot of the monastery
m
.co
in Grottaferrata (from 1060 to 1072). This text also takes the form of an extended
ate
hg
panegyric and contains hardly any reference to the historical reality of the time.
as
w.
Indeed, it appears that these two last vitae, of Bartholomew of Grottaferrata and of
ww
m
Philaretos the Younger, mark the twilight of the great age of monastic biographies
.co
ate
during the tenth and eleventh centuries. as
hg
Thus we move on to the last period of Italo-Greek hagiographical production
w.
ww
that followed the establishment of Norman domination (1071–1194). The vitae

m
.co
written during this period show, on the whole, a marked reduction in the narrative
ate
hg
motifs (they are rather short texts, certainly in comparison with those of the
as
w.
preceding era). They do, however, also embrace new elements prompted by the
ww
m
changed political circumstances in Southern Italy and a Sicily that became once
.co
ate
again part of the Christian world. Thus we come up once more against a bishop’s
hg
as
biography, the aforementioned Life of St Luke of Isola di Capo Rizzuto in the Ionian
w.
ww
side of Calabria. This is the work of an anonymous author, written in all likelihood
m
.co
shortly after the saint’s death (1114), between 1116 and 1120,55 and set out in the
ate
hg
form of a series of juxtaposed episodes or anecdotes. The vita of St Bartholomew of

as
w.
Simeri (a small village in southern Calabria) (BHG 235) is of greater literary merit;
ww
m
this text was probably written no later than the middle of the twelfth century.56
.co
ate
Here, the geographical horizon expands once again, with journeys to Rome (ch.
hg
as
21), to Constantinople followed by a mission to Mount Athos (chs. 25–26), while

w.
ww
the narrative returns to being concrete and coherent through the development of
m
.co
the plot. The vita of St Marina of Scanio, a place maybe near Termini Imerese (in the
ate
hg
province of Palermo) (BHG 1170), also belongs to the twelfth century and is an
as
w.
ww
m
.co
52
Caruso, ‘Il Bios di s. Filareto’, 109.
ate
hg
53
On this subject, see Caruso, ‘Sicilia e Calabria’, 592–3; Caruso, ‘La Sicilia nelle fonti
as
w.
ww
storiografiche bizantine’, 99–101 (with Italian tr. of the passage); Merendino, ‘Letteratura
m
greca e geografia araba’.

.co
ate
54
Follieri, ‘I santi’, 27. The question has been re-addressed in Paroli, La Vita di san
hg
as
Bartolomeo, 59–63.
w.
ww
55
This is the dating proposed by the editor of the text; cf. Schirò, Vita di S. Luca, 5–6.
56
Caruso (‘Il santo’, 70, n. 100) has established a possible terminus ante quem in the year
1149.
236
altogether fantastic narrative written by an anonymous Sicilian.57 In its structure,
m
this text comes very close to being a panegyric; it has elicited hardly any interest
.co
ate
among modern scholars, although it does present several interesting characteristics
hg
as
on which we must linger briefly. Firstly, except for the texts dedicated to the two
w.
ww
virgins Lucia and Agatha, this is the only surviving Italo-Greek vita of a female
m
.co
saint. Secondly, here we find once more the topos of the woman disguised as a
ate
hg
monk58 (a stratagem employed when undertaking the journey to the Holy Land,
as
w.
ch. 9), which was ‘out of fashion’ in Byzantine hagiography. There is an interesting
ww
m
variation to the well-known topic, in that there is no mention of any discovery of
.co
ate
Marina’s female identity, which would normally take place after the saint’s death.
hg
as
The saint also pretends to be a holy fool (chs. 6–7), another motif indicative of
w.
ww
a declining style.59 Thus this text appears to be truly unique in the overview of
m
.co
twelfth-century hagiography, Italo-Greek and otherwise.
ate
hg
Two biographies survive about St John Theristis (‘the Mower’), who probably
as
w.
lived during the tenth century, called vita A (BHG 894a) and vita B (BHG 894); the
ww
m
latter is a rewriting (on a rather low level) of the former. Vita A was composed
.co
ate
reworking earlier material and has recently been dated to the years 1217/1218.60 as
hg
Beyond reiterating several motifs typical of the hagiographical tradition of the
w.
ww
ninth and tenth centuries, the main aim of these two texts is to document that the
m
.co
monastery of St John Theristis near Stilo in Calabria could legitimately lay claim to
ate
hg
certain property. The Life of St Cyprian of Calamizzi (near Reggio) (BHG 2089), a saint
as
w.
who died around 1210–1215, is thought to date from the middle of the thirteenth
ww
m
century;61 this is a text without any recognisable plot whatsoever, and it must be
.co
ate
considered as an extended synaxarion notice rather than a true vita. Its protagonist
hg
as
is a saintly physician who cures people because of his humane principles without
w.
ww
resorting to miracles.
m
.co
Whereas the Life of St Cyprian appears to be, as it were, the twilight of Italo-
ate
hg
Greek hagiography, the pseudo-Athanasian Life of St Philip of Agira (BHG Nov. Auct.
as
w.
1531b) marks its definite end. It, too, is a short text in which a small series of eight
ww
m
numbered miracles has been inserted in what appears to be an imitation of the

.co
ate
hg
as
w.
ww
57
Rossi Taibbi, Martirio di S. Lucia, 75–7.
m
.co
58
On this subject cf. Patlagean, ‘L’histoire de la femme déguisée en moine’; Schein,
ate
hg
‘The “Female-Men of God” and “Men who were Women”’, 16–25; Ivanov and Pichkadze,
as
w.
‘Eupraxia of Olympus’; Morini, ‘Santità monastica femminile’; Constantinou, Female

ww
Corporeal Performances. The only precedent that can be traced in the Italo-Greek environment
m
.co
ate
(pointed out in Cataudella, ‘Vite di santi’, 934, and in Luongo, ‘Itinerari’, 53) concerns the
hg
case of the monk James in the vita of St Elias Speleotes (ch. 82), who disguises his sister who is
as
w.
ww
possessed by an impure spirit, in order to smuggle her into the monastery where the saint’s
m
relics are kept.

.co
ate
59
Cf. Rydén, ‘New Forms of Hagiography’, 540, 547–8. For episodes of ‘instantly folly’
hg
as
with regard to some Italo-Greek saints, chiefly Neilos and Fantinos the Younger (with a
w.
ww
short reference to St Marina) cf. Déroche, ‘Les variantes italiques’.

60
Acconcia Longo, ‘S. Giovanni Terista’.
61
237
genre of Miracula; the events narrated are utterly fantastic and do not always match
m
those related in the earlier Life by the monk Eusebios. In his recent edition of the
.co
ate
text, Pasini attributes it to the time around the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
hg
as
He has shown that the hagiographer’s intention was to link the person of the late
w.
ww
great miracle-worker with the monastery of St Philip the Great near Messina, to
m
.co
which the author was obviously affiliated.62 For the metrical vita of St Leo of Catania
ate
hg
(BHG 981c), a dating to the thirteenth century and an attachment to an Italo-Greek
as
w.
milieu have recently been put forward.63 If so, this would the unique example of an
ww
m
Italo-Greek vita in ‘political’ verse.
.co
ate
hg
as
w.
ww
m
.co
Narrative Motifs
ate
hg
as
w.
It would be impossible to analyse in few pages, however summarily, the numerous
ww
m
topics that can be found within the corpus of Italo-Greek hagiography and examine
.co
ate
how they are fitted into the plots of individual texts. It is through necessity, then, as
hg
that we will (in the words of one of the most abused commonplaces of hagiography)
w.
ww
‘select but few out of the many’.

m
.co
The narrative structures of the oldest texts in the martyrial form are, as usual,
ate
hg
basic, and their climax is the confrontation between the saint and his persecutors.
as
w.
Overall, they are not noticeably different from other Greek Passions; it has been
ww
m
remarked, however, that the figure of the demon is hardly ever found in Italo-
.co
ate
Greek works.64 The only exception is the Passio of St Vitus, the narrative structure of
hg
as
which is much more intricate (the journey motif begins to occupy a more prominent
w.
ww
position here, which will be even more noticeable in the later texts). We also find
m
.co
‘the enemy’ present, but rather than being part of the plot, he is almost always
ate
hg
conjured up (by St Vitus himself, no less); furthermore, the protagonist is a child

as
w.
with all the characteristics of the puer senex (‘aged boy’), a type often found in the
ww
m
early Christian hagiography of the martyrdom.65

.co
ate
The texts that were produced, roughly, between the end of the seventh and
hg
as
the mid-ninth century are distinguished by complex narrative structures which

w.
ww
contain themes from the literary tradition of the romance, ideological motifs and
m
.co
Church propaganda. The exception, as we have already mentioned, is the Life of

ate
hg
St Zosimos which is, not by coincidence, older than the other texts in this series of
as
w.
hagiographic romances; we find in it at least two motifs which would be further

ww
m
developed in the works of the iconoclastic era. The first of these (ch. 19) concerns
.co
ate
the hostility against the Jews shown by the bishop of Syracuse, who forbade them
hg
as
to build a synagogue saying, with reference to Psalm 138, that he hated from the
w.
ww
m
.co
ate
62
Cf. Pasini, ‘Edizione’, 192–6. Cf. also Pasini, ‘La figura’, 51–2.
hg
as
63
Cf. Acconcia Longo, ‘Note sul dossier agiografico’, 18–22.
w.
ww
64
Pricoco, ‘Monaci e santi’, 258–61.
65
Cf. Scorza Barcellona, ‘Infanzia e martirio: la testimonianza della più antica letteratura
cristiana’.
238
depth of his heart all those who hate Christ. Anti-Jewish motifs are also found in the
m
Life of St Pankratios (the Jews are associated with the Montanists),66 in the Enkomion
.co
ate
of St Markianos,67 in the Martyrion of Alphios, Philadelphos and Kyrenos (in association
hg
as
with the Monotheletes).68 Rather more veiled anti-Jewish sentiment occurs in the
w.
ww
Life of St Leo of Catania where it manifests itself in the person of the Jewish magician
m
.co
who helps Heliodoros, the saintly bishop’s enemy, in his pact with the devil (ch. 4).
ate
hg
In the vita of St Gregory of Agrigento, there are two instances: in the first one, the
as
w.
bishop of Ancira brands Gregory’s detractors as people ‘ἰουδαϊκὸν ἔχοντες φρόνημα’
ww
m
(ch. 8110–11); this expression is very similar to that used in many treatises against the
.co
ate
iconoclasts.69 In the second one (ch. 100), the bishop of Agrigento removes the idol
hg
as
of Eber, who was supposed to be the Jews’ forefather, from a temple he wishes to
w.
ww
consecrate to the Christian cult. These anti-Jewish motifs appear to reflect the real
m
.co
historical situation in and around the Byzantine empire where from the seventh
ate
hg
century onwards and particularly, as is well known, during the iconoclastic
as
w.
controversy hostility against the Jews grew ever more pronounced.70 It reappears
ww
m
in the eleventh century and in particularly virulent form in the Life of St Neilos of
.co
ate
Rossano,71 while the vita of Elias the Younger contains a long and elaborate anti-heretic as
hg
discourse against the Muslims,72 which includes the verb ἰουδαΐζω (ch. 24449–50; the
w.
ww
reference is to the practice of circumcision), a ‘technical term’ of polemic directed

m
.co
against those Christians who would follow customs pertaining to the Jewish faith.73
ate
hg
The other aspect of the vita Zosimi that must be highlighted concerns the pre-
as
w.
eminent part played by Pope Theodore, to whom Zosimos owed his election to
ww
m
the episcopal throne of Syracuse. The recognition of the papal authority becomes
.co
ate
one of the pontifical theses (namely, supporting the claims of the Holy See in any
hg
as
‘hot’ topics of the iconoclastic crisis: defence of images, ecclesiastical jurisdiction in

w.
ww
Illyricum and Northern Italy, absolute authority in questions of dogma). According

m
.co
to Patlagean,74 these are characteristic of several Italo-Greek hagiographical texts

ate
hg
of the eighth and ninth centuries: the vitae of St Pankratios, of Alphios and his
as
w.
ww
m
.co
ate
66
Concerning the validity of this association cf. Acconcia Longo, ‘Siracusa e Taormina’,
hg
as
59 and n. 30.
w.
ww
67
For the first three texts, cf. Pricoco, ‘Monaci e santi’, 267, 270–72.
m
.co
68
Cf. Gerbino, ‘Appunti’, 34–5 and n. 50, where he points out the unusual character of
ate
the combination. Cf. also Strazzeri, ‘I Giudei’.

hg
as
w.
69
Cf. Andrist, ‘Les Objections des Hébreux: un document du premier iconoclasme?’, 109
ww
and n. 39.
m
.co
70
Several publications have been dedicated to this subject in recent years. Among the
ate
hg
more recent ones see Dagron and Déroche, ‘Juifs et Chrétiens dans l’Orient du VIIe siècle’;
as
w.
Limor and Stroumsa, Contra Iudaeos; Külzer, Disputationes graecae contra Iudaeos; Déroche, ‘À
ww
m
propos des sources byzantines’.

.co
ate
71
An incisive analysis of the passages in question can be found in Luzzati Laganà,
hg
as
‘Catechesi’, 713–25; a short commentary in Külzer, Disputationes graecae contra Iudaeos, 71–2.
w.
ww
72
See the commentary in Rossi Taibbi, Vita di Sant’Elia, 143–8.
73
Cf. Dagron, ‘Judaïser’.
74
Patlagean, ‘Les moines grecs’.
239
brothers, of Gregory of Agrigento and of Philip of Agira. Various later articles have
m
modified and rearranged this scholar’s conclusions to some extent:75 pointing out,
.co
ate
in particular, how difficult it is to cover all the details of these complex texts in one
hg
as
theory. It should suffice to mention that in the Life of St Gregory it is the pope (whose
w.
ww
name is never given) who orders the arrest of the unjustly slandered saint, who is
m
.co
then freed on the orders of the basileus (i.e. the Byzantine emperor); the comment
ate
hg
of the narrative voice accuses the pope of injustice and wickedness, even though in
as
w.
the end the devil is blamed for everything (ch. 6913–18).76
ww
m
Today it is obvious in any case that the legendary motif of the apostolic origins
.co
ate
of the Sicilian dioceses found in several of these texts (Syracuse and Markianos,
hg
as
Taormina and Pankratios, Lentini and the three brothers) is an instrument of
w.
ww
promotion in the ecclesiastical hierarchy rather than a sign of support for the
m
.co
‘pontifical theses’. We have here a ‘fashion’ which also concerns the churches in
ate
hg
Ravenna (St Apollinaris), Catania (St Beryllus), Reggio Calabria (St Stephen) and
as
w.
the monastery of St Philip of Agira, and which indicates that there was a contest
ww
m
between the Sicilian churches for primacy on the island.77
.co
ate
Of course, the miraculous event usually plays a predominant part in Italo-Greek as
hg
hagiography. There are numerous instances of healings, often successful only after
w.
ww
human medicine has failed,78 with frequent reference to the Gospel story (Mk 5,
m
.co
25–34) of the woman who had an issue of blood and who had sought help from
ate
hg
many physicians, spending all her possessions.79 On the opposite side, however,
as
w.
belongs the later vita of St Cyprian of Calamizzi, where the protagonist is a saintly
ww
m
physician who does not resort to miracles.

.co
ate
Exorcisms are just as frequent (the specialist here is St Philip of Agira, the
hg
as
πνευματοδιώκτης par excellence),80 as are cases in which the saint is able to read
w.
ww
in the soul of the people who turn to him; and also tempests either calmed (vita
m
.co
Christophori, ch. 13) or prevented (Encomium Pancratii, ch. 3) by the saint. There is no
ate
hg
lack of instances of resurrections (cf. e.g. vita Philippi by Eusebios, ch. 12; vita Sabae,
as
w.
ch. 23) and other wonderful happenings (visions, curing infertility, miraculous
ww
m
.co
ate
75
Cf. Mango, ‘La culture grecque’, 704–5; Sansterre, Les moines grecs et orientaux à Rome,
hg
as
131–6; Pricoco, ‘Monaci e santi’, 263–6; Acconcia Longo, ‘Il contributo’, 201–5.

w.
ww
76
Cf. Berger, Leontios Presbyteros, 33–46, according to whom the vita Gregorii on the
m
.co
whole expresses the ideal of harmony between the papacy (from whose pretence to primacy,
ate
hg
however, it distances itself) and the Byzantine emperor. Mango, ‘La culture grecque’, 704–5
as
w.
and n. 85, on the other hand, speaks of anti-Roman text.

ww
77
Cf. Acconcia Longo, ‘Siracusa e Taormina’, 64–73; Acconcia Longo, ‘Il contributo’,
m
.co
ate
180, 202–5; Pricoco, ‘Monaci e santi’, 265–6. The motif is confirmed in the pseudo-apostolic
hg
Acts which were to be circulated in several regions between the sixth and eighth centuries;
as
w.
ww
cf. van Esbroeck and Zanetti, ‘Le dossier’, 157–8.

m
78
See, e.g., vita Zosimi, ch. 25; vita Heliae Iun., ch. 62; vita Sabae, chs. 37, 41. Cf. also the
.co
ate
pages dedicated to this discussion, with reference to the monastic biographies of the post-
hg
as
iconoclastic period, in Hester, Monasticism, 288–305.

w.
ww
79
Passio I Luciae, ch. 1; vita Leonis, ch. 17; vita Philippi by Eusebios, ch. 16; vita Sabae, ch.
33 (here the beneficiary of the healing is a man who suffered bleeding for three years), ch. 44.
80
Cf. Pasini, ‘La figura’, 43–9.
240
liberation of prisoners and repelling enemy attacks). Another gift that acquires
m
particular importance in the monastic Lives of the tenth to twelfth centuries is
.co
ate
prophecy; those blessed with it include Elias the Younger, Elias Speleotes, Luke of
hg
as
Demenna and Neilos of Rossano.81
w.
ww
There are, however, some texts in which the working of miracles and miraculous
m
.co
events in general play only a limited part or are missing altogether. This is the case
ate
hg
in the vitae of St Zosimos, of St Neilos (despite the gift of prophecy we have just
as
w.
mentioned), of Philaretos the Younger, or, also in the Life of St Cyprian, where the
ww
m
only ‘miraculous’ event is that the saint foresees the day on which he will die. Still,
.co
ate
in some commenting passages, the same hagiographers express their own surprise
hg
as
at the importance of miracles in the definition of sainthood. Thus the introduction
w.
ww
to the vita Zosimi (ch. 1) states that good deeds are more important than the
m
.co
excellence of miracles, while the author of the vita Philareti Iun. (pp. 11416–1818) has
ate
hg
a lengthy passage which intends to justify the ‘hero’ by stating that he did not work
as
w.
a single miracle during his life (and of the many miracles he was prophesied to
ww
m
work after his death, only a single one is related). This is above all a gift from God;
.co
ate
virtue, then, is not practised with an eye on miracles but in order to achieve eternal as
hg
beatitude. This ‘anti-miracle’ attitude finds its clearest expression in the Life of St
w.
ww
Neilos, in two passages (chs. 14 and 95) which state clearly that what counts is the
m
.co
saintliness of one’s life, not the miracles that impress the minds of stupid people.82
ate
hg
This ‘rationalistic’ tendency, which was prompted by strong doubts towards the
as
w.
miracle, had asserted itself in Byzantium from the sixth century onwards, and
ww
m
apparently it was also gaining ground in the Italo-Greek world.83

.co
ate
Another aspect that unites Byzantine monastic ‘oriental’ hagiography of the

hg
as
post-iconoclastic period and the contemporary Italo-Greek production concerns

w.
ww
the gradual rise of the coenobite monastery which, however, did not entail the
m
.co
rejection of the anchoretic ideal.84 On the contrary, the holy Italo-Greek monks
ate
hg
of the ninth to eleventh centuries showed themselves to be great admirers of the

as
w.
anchoretic life and frequently proved their high ascetic ability; at the same time,
ww
m
the final outcome of their biographies was invariably coenobite. Bartholomew of

.co
ate
Simeri, the founder of the two most important Greek monasteries of the Norman
hg
as
period (St Mary of Patir at Rossano in Calabria and St Saviour of the Pharos near
w.
ww
Messina in Sicily), showed the characteristics of the great ascetics of the past as late
m
.co
ate
hg
as
w.
81
Cf. Hester, Monasticism, 289–91, with the relevant passages indicated.
ww
m
82
The analysis is in Luzzati, ‘Catechesi e spiritualità’, 710–11. Cf. also Hester,
.co
ate
Monasticism, 304–5 (which also refers to the Bios of St Philaretos); Follieri, ‘I santi’, 26–7;
hg
as
Follieri, ‘Echi’, 23.

w.
ww
83
Cf. Dagron, ‘L’ombre d’un doute’; and Auzépy, ‘L’évolution de l’attitude face au
m
miracle’. Concerning parallel tendencies in the West, see Dierkens, ‘Réflexions sur le miracle
.co
ate
au haut Moyen Age’. This tendency is especially manifest in such works as the vitae of St
hg
as
Theodore the Stoudite (BHG 1754) and St Athanasios the Athonite (BHG 187); cf. Flusin,
w.
ww
‘L’hagiographie monastique’, 42–3.

84
Cf. Flusin, ‘L’hagiographie monastique’, 34–42; on Italo-Greek reality see Morini,
‘Aspetti organizzativi’; Morini, ‘L’eredità’.
241
as the twelfth century. The vitae of these saints, who were ‘hesychasts by vocation
m
despite being coenobites by profession’,85 consequently appear quite close to the
.co
ate
model of sainthood exemplified in Athonite hagiography, or in texts relating to the
hg
as
monks of Mt Olympos in Bithynia. A much greater distance separates them from
w.
ww
the Stoudite model, in which every form of rigorous asceticism is rejected.
m
.co
The gradual decline of the ascetic ideals allowed, among other things, the
ate
hg
possibility of maintaining family ties. This was a reflection of the blurring of the
as
w.
clear contrast between, on the one hand, secular society and, on the other, the world
ww
m
of the saints as described in the biographies of holy anchorites in late antiquity. The
.co
ate
subject of monastic family becomes apparent here, as in the cases of Euthymios
hg
as
the Younger or Theodore the Stoudite.86 In the Italo-Greek environment, the
w.
ww
subject is well documented in the Lives of St Sabas the Younger and of Christopher
m
.co
and Makarios, which also mentions Christopher’s wife Kali, the mother of Sabas
ate
hg
and Makarios: a whole family of monks who stayed in contact until they died.
as
w.
Luke of Demenna was rejoined by his sister Catherine and her two children, all
ww
m
of whom took monastic vows (ch. 15), while Vitalis of Castronovo was joined by
.co
ate
a nephew (chs. 20–21). Bartholomew of Simeri (ch. 20) received his parents, who as
hg
were tonsured under his guidance, and persuaded many other relatives to do the
w.
ww
same; the hagiographer, in fact, emphasises with praise the natural affection that
m
.co
links parents to their children. It might be added that St Neilos (ch. 28) exerted
ate
hg
himself to find a monastery that would welcome the mother and sister of the
as
w.
blessed Stephen, his favourite disciple; Stephen went to visit them every year at
ww
m
harvest time for as long as they lived. In the Life of Sabas the Younger (chs. 29–30)
.co
ate
the hagiographer theorises on the subject, for here we read a short reflection on the
hg
as
nature of the parents’ love for their children: if parents lose their children, life is
w.
ww
not life anymore. This passage is immediately followed by the account of a monk
m
.co
who kept his own son by his side, a circumstance which is considered not at all
ate
hg
unseemly by either the hagiographer or by Sabas; the latter, in fact, healed the
as
w.
youth when he was ill, after he had consented to wear monastic habit once more.
ww
m
If we compare these texts (dating from the tenth to twelfth centuries) to the
.co
ate
works dating from the preceding era, the social and geographical reality portrayed
hg
as
appears very different and more limited.87 Cities, which were at the centre of many
w.
ww
Lives in the preceding centuries (Syracuse in the vita of St Zosimos, Taormina as well
m
.co
as Antioch and Jerusalem in the vita of St Pankratios, Catania and Constantinople

ate
hg
in the vita of St Leo, and Agrigento, Rome, Jerusalem and Constantinople in the
as
w.
vita of St Gregory) are, on the whole, only mentioned in passing. Thus Rome is
ww
m
mentioned in relation to the pilgrimages undertaken by the respective saints

.co
ate
(Sabas, Christopher, Leo-Luke, Vitalis, Neilos), or some missions to free hostages

hg
as
with which Sabas was entrusted. Mountains and small fortified towns are the
w.
ww
m
.co
ate
85
Morini, ‘L’eredità’, 42; Morini, ‘Aspetti organizzativi’, 307–9.
hg
as
86
Cf. Patlagean, ‘Sainteté et pouvoir’, 98–101; Rydén, ‘New Forms of Hagiography’,
w.
ww
540; Flusin, ‘L’hagiographie monastique’, 48–9; Efthymiadis and Featherstone, ‘Establishing

a Holy Lineage’, 13–25.
87
See, for instance, the observations in Acconcia Longo, ‘Il contributo’, 180–82.
242
main locations. The social framework is mostly inhabited by the rural population,
m
although there are appearances by representatives of political or religious power,
.co
ate
as we shall see shortly. The picture painted by the vita of St Neilos is rather more
hg
as
detailed,88 as the hagiographer follows his hero’s trajectory from his home in
w.
ww
Rossano to his final destination in Grottaferrata, with stops in Mercurio, St Adrian
m
.co
(near Rossano), Capua, St Michael of Valleluce (a filial foundation of Monte
ate
hg
Cassino) and Serperi (near Gaeta). Similarly, in the Life of St Bartholomew of Simeri
as
w.
we read of how he went to Rome on behalf of the Monastery of Patir in order
ww
m
to obtain the papal bull that would guarantee the monastery immunity from the
.co
ate
bishop of Rossano. He also travelled to Constantinople and Mount Athos where
hg
as
he put in order the discipline of what was to become known as ‘the Calabrian’s
w.
ww
monastery’. Besides the customary pilgrimage to Rome, Elias Speleotes stayed
m
.co
at Patras for eight years together with his master Arsenios (chs. 22–30); however,
ate
hg
they both retired immediately into a tower which they only left in order to return
as
w.
home. The only person besides the two hermits to be given a prominent part in this
ww
m
macro-sequence is the city’s bishop who tried to prevent their return to Reggio by
.co
ate
means of a false accusation of theft. From this point of view the vita of St Elias the as
hg
Younger once again proves to be a product of transition. The geographical picture
w.
ww
within which it is set is indeed much more detailed than later texts. Elias, who was
m
.co
definitely an ‘expert’ when it came to pilgrimages,89 on his journey visited all the
ate
hg
major towns of the Mediterranean: Syracuse, Carthage, Jerusalem and all holy sites
as
w.
in Palestine, Sinai, Alexandria, Tripoli, Palermo, Taormina, Sparta, Corfu, Rome,

ww
m
Reggio, Patras, Amalfi, Naupaktos and Thessalonike.90 There is no doubt that, as

.co
ate
far as Italo-Greek hagiographical production is concerned, the travel motif91 is at

hg
as
the height of its prominence in the vita of St Elias the Younger.

w.
ww
There is a clear distance between the Italo-Greek products of the tenth century
m
.co
and later, and the contemporary ‘oriental’ Byzantine hagiography in all aspects
ate
hg
relating to the social and geographical environment. As we know, the urban

as
w.
dimension is well-documented in Byzantine hagiography – of course, with

ww
m
Constantinople playing the main part – and social appearances are differentiated.
.co
ate
hg
as
w.
88
Cf. Falkenhausen, ‘La Vita’.
ww
89
Kaplan, ‘Les saints en pèlerinage’.
m
.co
ate
90
Cf. Malamut, Sur la route des saints byzantins, 256–8 and passim, with a map (257)
hg
pointing out the stages of Elias’ itinerary. Throughout the text there are also short
as
w.
ww
observations regarding the journeys of Neilos (48–59 and passim) and of Bartholomew of
m
Simeri (127 and passim). Concerning the pilgrimages undertaken by holy Italo-Greek monks,
.co
ate
cf. Luongo, ‘Itinerari’, 46–51; Re, ‘From Greek Southern Italy’.

hg
as
91
This is part of the romantic tradition and extremely common in hagiography of any
w.
ww
time or origin. It is nearly always present in Italo-Greek hagiographical texts, with greater
m
.co
or lesser prominence. It quite often becomes fantastic in the hagiographical romances of

ate
the eighth and ninth centuries, as exemplified by Heliodoros’ ‘magical’ journeys along the
hg
as
Catania–Constantinople route in the vita of St Leo; cf. Acconcia Longo, ‘La Vita di S. Leone’,
w.
ww
24–7. For further ‘romantic’ motifs found in the Italo-Greek vitae, cf. Cataudella, ‘Vite di
santi’. Of course, the literary origins of these topics do not imply that they are without
historical substance. The evaluation will take place for each individual case.
243
There is ever stronger emphasis on aristocratic environment and centres of both
m
ecclesiastical and temporal power of which both authors and commissioners were
.co
ate
often part, as well as the saints themselves.92 As Flusin pointed out, the urban space
hg
as
and society have changed and become hallowed.93
w.
ww
It would seem natural to ascribe the differences we have emphasised so far
m
.co
to the different historical context which characterises, on the one hand, Greek
ate
hg
society in Sicily and Calabria, and on the other, the cities of the Byzantine empire.
as
w.
The Life of St Phantinos the Younger (which, as will be remembered, was written
ww
m
in Thessalonike towards the end of the tenth century) appears to reflect these
.co
ate
differences most clearly. It consists of two parts, one that precedes his move to
hg
as
Greece and shows perfect consistency with the motifs and settings of Italo-Greek
w.
ww
monastic hagiography, and one (from ch. 34) which is set in the Macedonian
m
.co
metropolis, ‘a densely populated city with all its various people and its economic
ate
hg
and social tensions … Here Phantinos could not avoid coming in contact with his
as
w.
peers, whichever condition, gender or social class they might have belonged to’.94
ww
m
The same motivation may be called upon if we consider the theme of the
.co
ate
‘political saint’, which is clearly linked to the preceding one. In Byzantine as
hg
hagiography produced in Constantinople and other areas of the empire during
w.
ww
the centuries following the end of Iconoclasm, this subject matter is widely
m
.co
documented. It usually forecasts the saint’s complete integration into the circles
ate
hg
of civil and ecclesiastical power. Some of the protagonists of Italo-Greek monastic

as
w.
biographies also enjoyed secure prestige with the powerful. St Elias the Younger,
ww
m
as has already been stated, was invited to Constantinople by Leo VI (ch. 66) and
.co
ate
even after his death, the basileus continued to honour his memory by giving to his
hg
as
monastery a number of possessions and rents. The strategos Romanos sent Sabas of
w.
ww
Collesano to Rome as his ambassador to the court of the Saxon Emperor Otto II (ch.
m
.co
22) who (or it may have been his son Otto III)95 showed great deference to the saint.
ate
hg
This became clear when the prince of Salerno entrusted Saba with the mission of
as
w.
freeing the emperor’s son (ch. 46) who had been taken hostage; the patrician of
ww
m
Amalfi entrusted the saint with a similar task: his last one before he died after the
.co
ate
happy outcome of the mission (chs. 47–9). The emperor’s wife attended his funeral
hg
as
(ch. 50). Great honours were heaped upon St Neilos when he came to see Pope
w.
ww
Gregory V and the Emperor Otto III to plead (in vain) the cause of the antipope
m
.co
John Philagathos or John XVI (ch. 89); not much later the same Otto would come as
ate
hg
a penitent to see the saint (chs. 92–3). St Vitalis was received with great honours by
as
w.
the catapan Basil at Bari (chs. 10–11), while Bartholomew the Younger persuaded
ww
m
Pope Benedict IX to abdicate. He also carried out a mission to liberate a hostage,

.co
ate
hg
as
w.
ww
92
Cf. Morris, ‘The Political Saint of the Eleventh Century’, 43–50; Patlagean, ‘Sainteté
m
et pouvoir’, 96–101; Ševčenko, ‘Levels of Style in Byzantine Prose’, 300–303; Rydén, ‘New
.co
ate
Forms of Hagiography’, 537–40; Lackner, ‘Die Gestalt des Heiligen’; Flusin, ‘L’hagiographie’,
hg
as
45–50; Efthymiadis, ‘The Byzantine Hagiographer’, 59–61.

w.
ww
93
Flusin, ‘L’hagiographie’, 49.
94
Follieri, La Vita di san Fantino, 36. Cf. also Follieri, ‘Un santo monaco’, 467–8.
95
Cf. Acconcia Longo, ‘Santi monaci’, 162.
244
namely the Duke of Gaeta who had been imprisoned by the prince of Salerno (chs.
m
10–11). Finally, we have already emphasised how the basileus Alexios I received
.co
ate
Bartholomew of Simeri with gifts and honours; it should also be noted that the
hg
as
saint enjoyed the financial support of the admiral Christodoulos, a prominent
w.
ww
dignitary of the Norman court, when he was founding the Monastery of Patir (ch.
m
.co
17). There is no lack of further episodes of a ‘political’ nature, but they are always
ate
hg
and in every case only ever episodes. The Italo-Greek saint, though he may accept
as
w.
gifts and honours, may on occasion assume a ‘political’ part, will always keep his
ww
m
distance from the centres of power and, not infrequently, voice his criticism of their
.co
ate
representatives. The world of the saint and the world of power remain separate.96
hg
as
w.
ww
m
.co
ate
Style
hg
as
w.
ww
m
To date, there has not been a comprehensive study dedicated specifically to stylistic
.co
ate
and formal aspects of Italo-Greek hagiography.97 Apart from the observations in as
hg
recent editions (vitae of St Leo of Catania, St Gregory of Agrigento, St Philip of
w.
ww
Agira, St Elias the Younger, St Phantinos the Younger), there are also only few
m
.co
studies relating to individual texts.98 One obstacle is posed by the fact that several
ate
hg
texts have still not been published, and that many editions are not at all reliable and
as
w.
may well lead research astray.99

ww
m
Generally speaking, the larger part of the texts that have come down to us may
.co
ate
safely be assigned to the lowest level. Martyrial texts, hagiographical romances

hg
as
of the eighth and ninth centuries and a large part of the monastic biographies are
w.
ww
clothed in ‘popular’ linguistic garment. This does not mean, of course, that they
m
.co
do not contain interesting aspects. Although the Life of St Pankratios has still not
ate
hg
been edited in its entirety, it has been shown to possess unusual lexical liveliness,
as
w.
such as frequent use of neologisms and a wide variety of syntactic solutions.100

ww
m
The same holds with the Martyrion of Alphios, Philadelphos and Kyrenos and the
.co
ate
verse Life of St Leo of Catania.101 The vita of Gregory of Agrigento is also of ‘low’ level;
hg
as
w.
ww
m
.co
96
Cf. Caruso, ‘Sicilia e Calabria’, passim; Cilento, Potere, 89–130. On this, see also
ate
hg
Efthymiadis, ‘Les saints d’Italie méridionale’.

as
w.
97
The only available study is Garzya, ‘Lingua e cultura’, but it only contains a few
ww
general remarks. There are also some observations in Hester, Monasticism, 147–9.
m
.co
ate
98
Vita of St Pankratios: Angiò, ‘Osservazioni’. Vita of St Elias Speleotes: Matino, ‘Stratigrafia
hg
linguistica’. Vita of St Neilos: Garzya, ‘Note’; Tartaglia, ‘La clausola’; Conti Bizzarro, ‘Lingua
as
w.
ww
colloquiale’; Matino, ‘Osservazioni lessicali’. Vita of St Nikodemos of Kellarana: Conti Bizzarro,

m
‘La lingua’ (also refers to the vita of St Philaretos the Younger). Vita of St John Theristes: Matino,
.co
ate
‘Per la configurazione’. It has to be said that it may not be possible to quite agree with all the
hg
as
observations found in these studies.

w.
ww
99
One ought to look at the remarks in Acconcia Longo, ‘S. Giovanni Terista’, 121–2, n. 6.
100
Cf. Angiò, ‘Osservazioni’, 34. See also Acconcia Longo, ‘La Vita di S. Leone’, 66.
101
Cf. Acconcia Longo, ‘Note sul dossier agiografico’, 18–22.
245
the history of the text, however, is so complex that it is impossible to attempt a
m
definite reconstruction of its original form.102 It is distinguished, though, by the rare
.co
ate
coherence of its plot103 and by the use of a particular process of narrative analepsis
hg
as
in three individual passages. These are three micro-sequences within the only
w.
ww
part of the text in which Gregory himself does not appear (chs. 19–25). In each
m
.co
one, a different person recalls events in the past (sometimes in exactly the same
ate
hg
words) which serve to reconstruct the whole life story of the future bishop as told
as
w.
in the preceding paragraphs: from his birth up to his arrival in Jerusalem. Each
ww
m
one of these narrators in the second degree begins his narrative in a form typical
.co
ate
of characters in epic or romantic literature, thus showing himself to be the ‘official’
hg
as
narrator.104
w.
ww
The form of the Enkomion, as is characteristic of the genre, is on the whole much
m
.co
neater. Thus in the Enkomion of St Markianos, it is obvious that the narrator was
ate
hg
constantly striving to elevate his style: in the final part (ch. 13) in particular there is
as
w.
an accumulation of lengthy sequences of vocatives, rhetorical questions, conceptual
ww
m
opposites, synkriseis, furnished with various rhetorical figures such as polyptoton
.co
ate
and etymological figure. The periods, however, end up twisted to the extent of as
hg
being anacolutha (ch. 10). From a formal point of view, the best work would
w.
ww
appear to be the vita or rather the Enkomion of St Phantinos of Tauriana because of

m
.co
the rhetorical elaboration of the phrase and the constant use of rhythmic clauses.105
ate
hg
Of the monastic Lives of the tenth to twelfth centuries several are written in
as
w.
a more elevated style. This is, however, still very far from the elegance and
ww
m
refinement of the best works of the contemporary ‘oriental’ Byzantine hagiography

.co
ate
in the ‘high’ style. Furthermore, the latter alternates between a wider range of
hg
as
levels.106 As rhetorical tradition demanded of the panegyric, the introduction (and

w.
ww
sometimes also the epilogue) is the most refined part. To give but one example, the
m
.co
long introduction to the vita of St Philaretos is formally elaborate; indeed, the whole
ate
hg
text is a good example of the panegyric form in which the rhetorical element ends
as
w.
to supersede historical and biographical elements.107 It repeats several traditional

ww
m
topoi: such as, firstly, the hagiographer’s hesitating between his duty to record
.co
ate
the saint’s virtues for posterity and his awareness of his limitations, secondly the
hg
as
example set by the good which then impels to virtue all those who hear of it, and
w.
ww
finally the statement that it cannot be right that ‘an abyss of silence’ should cover
m
.co
the luminous life of Philaretos. Furthermore, its period structure is so elaborate as

ate
hg
to become excessively artificial in places, using frequent rhetorical figures such as

as
w.
ww
m
.co
102
Cf. Berger, Leontios Presbyteros, 75.
ate
hg
103
See its analysis in Conca, ‘La narrazione’, 656–60.
as
w.
ww
104
For instance, ch. 2115–17: ‘Listen, father, and I shall tell you … There was a man living
m
in a village’; ch. 2318–20: ‘When the archdeacon had risen from his seat, he began to speak:
.co
ate
Listen, father, and all my brethren’; ch. 241–2: ‘Hear, o brethren and fathers and all the church,
hg
as
the miracle that has happened in these days’.

w.
ww
105
Cf. Acconcia Longo, ‘La Vita e i Miracoli’, 26.
106
Cf., in this context, Garzya, ‘Lingua e cultura’, 1183.
107
Cf. Conti Bizzarro, ‘La lingua’, 235–6; Caruso, ‘Il Bios di s. Filareto’, 118–20.
246
chiasmus, polyptoton, long exaggerations, the metaphor of the ‘little boat of wit’
m
against the ‘ocean of the subject matter’. Introductions distinguished by their formal
.co
ate
sophistication are also to be read in the vitae of St Elias the Younger, St Neilos and
hg
as
St Bartholomew of Simeri. These are texts that display more refined forms; thus
w.
ww
in the two last vitae research has shown the high percentage of ‘regular’ rhythmic
m
.co
clauses.108 The vita of St Bartholomew, furthermore, shows (at least up to ch. 20)
ate
hg
intelligent plot construction characterised by narrative cohesion and consistency of
as
w.
individual episodes, both of which are ensured by the author’s use of sophisticated
ww
m
connectors and anadiplosis (chs. 12–13). After ch. 20 the narrative ‘accelerates’ (the
.co
ate
story occupies clearly larger space than the discourse) and the connectors seem to
hg
as
be more extrinsic.
w.
ww
As has already been mentioned, it is the Life of St Neilos that must be considered
m
.co
as the masterpiece of Italo-Greek hagiography. Its ‘elaborate linguistic garment,
ate
hg
which makes use of the richest of vocabularies and a wise eurhythmy in its
as
w.
phrase structure’109 has been pointed out especially. Also, several stylistic levels
ww
m
alternate within this text: passages in which the narrative voice is speaking are
.co
ate
more elaborate and rhetorically structured (chs. 14, 18, 26, 59, 67, 68, 79, 82, 84, as
hg
95, 99), whereas narrative passages are of a more ‘popular’ nature. The vita of St
w.
ww
Sabas, written by the Patriarch Orestes, is more elaborate in parts, especially the
m
.co
introduction, the epilogue and also some of the episodes. It is remarkable for its
ate
hg
story of a terrible famine which led to instances of cannibalism: here the narrative
as
w.
uses words pertaining to tragedy (terms such as τραγῳδία and ἄγος): fathers eating
ww
m
their children, children eating their fathers, women their husbands. However, the
.co
ate
sentence structure becomes artificial in places, with its frequent use of the rhetorical
hg
as
figure of hyperbaton.
w.
ww
The problem of style is linked, of course, to the question of which audience the
m
.co
text was addressing. These vitae undoubtedly assumed readers or listeners who are
ate
hg
on average only a little educated, and it thus seems natural that hagiographers such
as
w.
as the anonymous author of the vita of Elias the Younger or the vita of Neilos (but also
ww
m
Orestes) should adapt themselves to the level of their audiences, even though they
.co
ate
themselves undoubtedly possessed a solid cultural background.110

hg
as
A final thought arises from the study of the dates of the manuscript tradition of
w.
ww
individual texts. Many works of the pre-iconoclastic period appear to have enjoyed
m
.co
wide circulation, even beyond the Italo-Greek environment. This is indicated by

ate
hg
the number of codices prior to the fifteenth century in which the texts survive.
as
w.
Notably, priority is taken by all the major vitae in a romanticising style: there are
ww
m
five manuscripts transmitting the vita of Leo of Catania, the vita of St Philip of Agira
.co
ate
by Eusebios and the martyrium of the saints of Lentini. The vita of St Pankratios
hg
as
w.
ww
m
108
Tartaglia, ‘La clausola’, 560; Zaccagni, ‘Il Bios’, 198.
.co
ate
109
hg
as
110
With reference to the vita of St Elias one ought to look at the remarks of Efthymiadis,
w.
ww
‘The Byzantine Hagiographer’, 72–3. He notes how, despite the author’s high cultural level,
the vita cannot be considered an example of ‘hagiography in high style’, and concludes that
‘we may speculate that its potential readership extended beyond the educated few’.
247
survives in eight manuscripts, and 20 manuscripts in fragments in four codices in
m
majuscule are counted for Leontios’ vita of Gregory of Agrigento. The Passio I of St
.co
ate
Lucia can also lay claim to a substantial number of copies, namely 14.111 The success
hg
as
of the vita Pancratii, on the other hand, is documented by the fact that Theodore the
w.
ww
Stoudite and the Patriarch Nikephoros owned copies;112 not to mention the various
m
.co
translations into Oriental languages.
ate
hg
Each of the monastic vitae of the centuries following the ninth (and also the
as
w.
vita of Bishop Luke of Isola di Capo Rizzuto) survives in a single copy (rarely two).113
ww
m
It is probable that the circulation of these texts was not wide outside the monastic
.co
ate
circles that produced them and the environment linked to these.114 Once again the
hg
as
break, frequently referred to, that was caused by the Islamic conquest of Sicily is
w.
ww
shown to be a decisive watershed in the field of Italo-Greek hagiography.
m
.co
ate
hg
as
w.
ww
Bibliography
m
.co
ate
hg
as
w.
ww
(a) Editions of Primary Sources Cited by Saint

m
.co
ate
hg
Modern editions (later, however, than the AASS and the PG) requiring revision are
as
w.
preceded by an asterisk (*).

ww
m
.co
ate
hg
as
Agatha (third c.)

w.
ww
Passio (BHG 37–37d – after the end of the sixth c.): PG 114, 1331–46.
m
.co
ate
hg
as
w.
Alphios, Philadelphos and Kyrenos of Lentini and Addit. (third c. or early fourth c.)
ww
m
Passio (BHG 57–62, 2021 – late eighth to early ninth c.): AASS Maii II, 772–88.
.co
ate
Additions only in Latin tr.: ibid., 528–49.

hg
as
w.
ww
111
Cf., respectively, Acconcia Longo, ‘La Vita di S. Leone’, 76–7; Pasini, Vita di S. Filippo,
m
.co
47–75; Gerbino, ‘Appunti’, 27; Rossi Taibbi, Martirio di S. Lucia, 33–8; Angiò, ‘La Vita di
ate
hg
Tauro’, 117; Berger, Leontios Presbyteros, 83–9 (I have excluded the manuscripts containing
as
w.
the two editions BHG 708f and 708p from my tally, as they are abbreviated rewritings of the
ww
vita as written by Leontios). That Gregory of Agrigento and Leo of Catania attracted great
m
.co
ate
notoriety beyond the borders of the Italo-Greek world is also borne out by the wealth of the
hg
iconographic material about them: cf. Falla Castelfranchi, ‘I ritratti dei monaci italo-greci
as
w.
ww
nella pittura bizantina dell’Italia meridionale’, 148–50.

m
112
Cf. Acconcia Longo, ‘La data’.
.co
ate
113
The collected dates can be found in Hester, Monasticism, 164–253. Concerning the vita
hg
as
of St Luke, cf. Schirò, Vita di S. Luca, 65–9.

w.
ww
114
In this context, it might be useful to point out that the Bios of St Elias the Younger is
mentioned in the vita of St Elias Speleotes (ch. 6) as well as that of St Philaretos the Younger (p.
6825–9); cf. Caruso, ‘Il Bios di s. Filareto’, 110.
248
Bartholomew of Simeri (d. post 1130)
m
vita (BHG 235 – mid-twelfth c.): ed. G. Zaccagni, ‘Il Bios di san Bartolomeo da Simeri
.co
ate
(BHG 235)’, RSBN n.s. 33 (1996), 205–74 (with Italian tr.). Previous ed.: AASS
hg
as
Septembris VII, 792–826.
w.
ww
m
.co
ate
hg
Bartholomew the Younger of Grottaferrata (d. ca. 1050)
as
w.
vita (BHG 233 – second half of the eleventh c.): ed. E. Paroli, La Vita di san Bartolomeo
ww
m
di Grottaferrata (BHG e Novum Auctarium BHG 233), Comitato Nazionale per
.co
ate
le Celebrazioni del Millenario della Fondazione dell’Abbazia di S. Nilo a
hg
as
Grottaferrata (Rome 2008), 106–35 (with Italian tr.). Previous ed.: G. Giovanelli,
w.
ww
San Bartolomeo Juniore confondatore di Grottaferrata (Grottaferrata 1962), 29–41.
m
.co
Enkomion (BHG 233b – 1229): ed. G. Giovanelli, San Bartolomeo Juniore confondatore
ate
hg
di Grottaferrata (Grottaferrata 1962), 123–39 (with Italian tr.).
as
w.
ww
m
.co
ate
Christopher and Makarios (tenth c.) as
hg
vita by Orestes, Patriarch of Jerusalem (BHG 312 – between 1001 and 1005): ed. *I.
w.
ww
Cozza-Luzi, Historia et laudes SS. Sabae et Macarii Iuniorum e Sicilia auctore Oreste
m
.co
Patriarcha Hierosolymitano (Rome 1893), 71–96.

ate
hg
as
w.
ww
m
Cyprian of Calamizzi (d. ca. 1190)

.co
ate
vita (BHG 2089 – mid-thirteenth c.): ed. G. Schirò, ‘Vita inedita di S. Cipriano di
hg
as
Calamizzi dal cod. Sinaitico n. 522’, BollBadGr [n.s.] 4 (1950), 88–97.

w.
ww
m
.co
ate
hg
Elias Speleotes (d. 960)

as
w.
vita (BHG 581 – second half of the tenth c.): AASS Septembris III, 848–87; Latin tr.,
ww
m
M.V. Strazzeri, ‘Una traduzione dal greco ad uso dei Normanni: la Vita latina
.co
ate
di s. Elia lo Speleota’, Archivio Storico per la Calabria e la Lucania 59 (1992), 1–108.

hg
as
w.
ww
m
.co
Elias the Younger (d. 903)

ate
hg
vita (BHG 580 – 930–940): ed. G. Rossi Taibbi, Vita di Sant’Elia il Giovane, Istituto
as
w.
Siciliano di Studi Bizantini e Neoellenici. Testi 7 (Palermo 1962), 1–123 (with

ww
m
Italian tr.).
.co
ate
hg
as
w.
ww
Euplios (early fourth c.)

m
.co
Acta (BHG 629 – fifth/sixth c.): ed. H. Musurillo, The Acts, 314–18.
ate
hg
as
w.
ww
249
Gregory of Agrigento (sixth/seventh c.)
m
vita by Leontios, Presbyter of Rome (BHG 707 – ca. 750–830): ed. A. Berger, Leontios
.co
ate
Presbyteros von Rom. Das Leben des Heiligen Gregorios von Agrigent. Kritische
hg
as
Ausgabe, Übersetzung und Kommentar, BBA 60 (Berlin 1995), 141–272 (with
w.
ww
German tr.).
m
.co
ate
hg
as
w.
John Theristis (eleventh c.)
ww
m
vita A (BHG 894a – 1217/1218): ed. *S. Borsari, ‘Vita di San Giovanni Terista’, Archivio
.co
ate
Storico per la Calabria e la Lucania 22 (1953), 135–51 (with Italian tr.). Other ed.: A.
hg
as
Peters, Joannes Messor, seine Lebensbeschreibung und ihre Entstehung (Bonn 1955).
w.
ww
Both ed. are not completely reliable (cf. Acconcia Longo, ‘S. Giovanni Terista’,
m
.co
121–2, n. 6).
ate
hg
vita B (BHG 894 – shortly after 1217/1218): ed. *S. Borsari, ‘Vita di San Giovanni
as
w.
Terista’, Archivio Storico per la Calabria e la Lucania 22 (1953), 135–51.
ww
m
.co
ate
hg
as
Leo of Catania (eighth c.)

w.
ww
vita (BHG 981 – 815–829): ed. A. Acconcia Longo, ‘La Vita di S. Leone vescovo di
m
.co
Catania e gli incantesimi del mago Eliodoro’, RSBN n.s. 26 (1989), 80–98.
ate
hg
metrical vita (BHG 981c–thirteenth c., in any case before 1307): ed. *D. Raffin, ‘La
as
w.
Vita metrica anonima su Leone di Catania. Dal cod. Messin. gr. 30’, BollBadGr
ww
m
[n.s.] 16 (1962), 37–48.

.co
ate
hg
as
w.
ww
Leo-Luke of Corleone (ninth c.)

m
.co
vita (BHL 4842 – tenth c.): ed. M. Stelladoro, La Vita di San Leone Luca di Corleone
ate
hg
(Grottaferrata 1995), 70–111 (with Italian tr.).

as
w.
ww
m
.co
ate
Lucia (early fourth c.)

hg
as
Passio I (BHG 995 – late fifth c.): ed. G. Rossi Taibbi, Martirio di Santa Lucia. Vita di
w.
ww
Santa Marina, Istituto Siciliano di Studi Bizantini e Neoellenici. Testi 6 (Palermo

m
.co
1959), 49–71 (with Italian tr.).

ate
hg
Passio II (BHG 995d – ninth c.): ed. S. Costanza, ‘Un “martyrion” inedito di S. Lucia
as
w.
di Siracusa’, Archivio Storico Siracusano 3 (1957), 5–53 (with Italian tr.).

ww
m
.co
ate
hg
as
Luke, Bishop of Isola Capo Rizzuto (d. 1114)

w.
ww
vita (BHG 2237 – ca. 1120): ed. G. Schirò, Vita di S. Luca vescovo di Isola Capo Rizzuto,
m
.co
Istituto Siciliano di Studi Bizantini e Neoellenici. Testi 2 (Palermo 1954), 79–125

ate
hg
(with Italian tr.).

as
w.
ww
250
Luke of Demenna (d. 993)
m
vita (BHL 4978 – late tenth c.): AASS Octobris VI, 337–41.
.co
ate
hg
as
w.
ww
Marina of Scanio (d. 1062)
m
.co
vita (BHG 1170 – twelfth c.): ed. G. Rossi Taibbi, Martirio di Santa Lucia. Vita di Santa
ate
hg
Marina, Istituto Siciliano di Studi Bizantini e Neoellenici. Testi 6 (Palermo 1959),
as
w.
79–107 (with Italian tr.).
ww
m
.co
ate
hg
as
Markianos of Syracuse (third c.)
w.
ww
Enkomion (BHG 1030 – early eighth to mid-ninth c.): AASS Iunii II, 788–95.
m
.co
ate
hg
as
w.
Neilos of Rossano (d. 1004)
ww
m
vita (BHG 1370 – early eleventh c.): ed. G. Giovanelli, Bίος καὶ πολιτεία τοῦ ὁσίου πατρὸς
.co
ate
ἡμῶν Νείλου τοῦ Νέου (Grottaferrata 1972), 46–135. Italian tr., G. Giovanelli, Vita di as
hg
S. Nilo fondatore e patrono di Grottaferrata (Grottaferrata 1966).
w.
ww
m
.co
ate
hg
Nikodemos of Kellarana (tenth/eleventh c.)

as
w.
vita (BHG 2305 – mid-eleventh c.): ed. M. Arco Magrì, Vita di S. Nicodemo di Kellarana,
ww
m
Testi e studi bizantino-neoellenici 3 (Rome and Athens 1969), 53–138 (with

.co
ate
Italian tr.).
hg
as
w.
ww
m
.co
Nikon and his companions (third c.)

ate
hg
Martyrion by Chaeromenos of Syracuse (BHG 1369 – Second Iconoclasm): AASS

as
w.
Martii III, 15*–18*.

ww
m
.co
ate
hg
as
Pankratios of Taormina (first c.)

w.
ww
vita by ‘Evagrios’ (BHG 1410–1410b – between 787 and 815): Inedited. Edited
m
.co
passages in F. Angiò, ‘La Vita di Tauro dall’anonima Vita di s. Pancrazio di

ate
hg
Taormina’, Sileno 20 (1994), 122–42; F. Angiò, ‘Divinità pagane e sacrifici umani

as
w.
nella Vita di San Pancrazio di Taormina’, BollBadGr n.s. 52 (1998), 56–76; A. Amore,
ww
m
S. Marciano di Siracusa. Studio archeologico-agiografico, Spicilegium Pontificii

.co
ate
Athenaei Antoniani 12 (Vatican City 1958).

hg
as
Enkomion by Gregory the Pagurite (BHG 1411 – second decade of the ninth c.): ed.
w.
ww
C. Stallman-Pacitti, ‘The Encomium’, 346–65 (with English tr.).

m
.co
ate
hg
as
w.
Phantinos of Tauriana (fourth c.)

ww
vita and Miracula by the ‘occidental’ Bishop Peter (BHG 1058–9 – end of first
iconoclastic period): ed. (utterly unreliable!) V. Saletta, Vita S. Phantini Confessoris
251
ex Codice Vaticano Graeco N. 1989 (Basil. XXVIII) (Rome 1963), 39–51; 72–5. Latin
m
tr., AASS Iulii V, 556–67.
.co
ate
Miracula 1–18 (BHG 1059 – before 878 or 827): ed. V. Saletta, Vita S. Phantini
hg
as
Confessoris ex Codice Vaticano Graeco N. 1989 (Basil. XXVIII) (Rome 1963), 51–71.
w.
ww
m
.co
ate
hg
Phantinos the Younger (d. ca. 974)
as
w.
vita (BHG Nov. Auct. 2366z – late tenth c.): ed. E. Follieri, La Vita di san Fantino,
ww
m
400–471 (with Italian tr.).
.co
ate
hg
as
w.
ww
Philaretos the Younger (d. 1070)
m
.co
vita (BHG 1513 – late eleventh to early twelfth c.): ed. *U. Martino, Nilo. Vita di S.
ate
hg
Filareto di Seminara (Reggio Calabria 1993), 26–137 (with Italian tr.). Μany edited
as
w.
passages in Caruso, ‘Michele IV’, and Caruso, ‘Il Bios di s. Filareto’. Latin tr.,
ww
m
AASS Aprilis I, 606–18.
.co
ate
hg
as
w.
ww
Philip of Agira (fourth c.)

m
.co
vita by the monk Eusebios (BHG 1531 – mid to late ninth c.): ed. C. Pasini, Vita di S.
ate
hg
Filippo di Agira attribuita al monaco Eusebio, OCA 214 (Rome 1981), 119–201 (with
as
w.
Italian tr.).
ww
m
vita by pseudo-Athanasios (BHG Nov. Auct. 1531b – thirteenth/fourteenth c.): ed. C.

.co
ate
Pasini, ‘Edizione della Vita pseudoatanasiana di san Filippo di Agira vergata da

hg
as
Georgios Basilikòs nel codice Athen. Gennad. 39’, RSBN n.s. 36 (1999), 201–20
w.
ww
(with Italian tr.).

m
.co
ate
hg
as
w.
Sabas of Collesano (tenth c.)

ww
m
vita by Orestes, Patriarch of Jerusalem (BHG 1611 – after 991): ed. *I. Cozza-Luzi,
.co
ate
Historia et laudes SS. Sabae et Macarii Iuniorum e Sicilia auctore Oreste Patriarcha
hg
as
Hierosolymitano (Rome 1893), 5–70.

w.
ww
m
.co
ate
hg
Senator, Viator, Cassiodoros and Dominata (second c.)

as
w.
Passio (BHG 1622–1623c – ninth/tenth c.): Inedited. Latin tr. from one review: H.
ww
m
Houben, Die ‘Passio SS. Senatoris, Viatoris, Cassiodori et Dominatae’. Ein Beispiel
.co
ate
für griechisch-lateinische Übersetzetätigkeit in Montecassino im 11. Jahrhundert,

hg
as
in Litterae Medii Aevi. Festschrift für J. Autenrieth zu ihrem 65. Geburstag, ed. M.
w.
ww
Borgolte and H. Spilling (Sigmaringen 1988), 145–60.

m
.co
ate
hg
as
w.
Vitalis of Castronovo (d. 994)

ww
vita (BHL 8697 – first half of the eleventh c.): AASS Martii II, 26–34.
252
Vitus (early fourth c.)
m
Passio (BHG 1876–1876c – sixth/seventh c.): Inedited. Manuscripts used: Vat. gr. 866,
.co
ate
ff. 356v–359v; Ottob. gr. 1, ff. 282v–287v [lengthy excerpts from this codex may
hg
as
be read in A. Acconcia Longo, Analecta Hymnica Graeca e codicibus eruta Italiae
w.
ww
inferioris, I. Schirò consilio et ductu edita, X: Canones Iunii (Rome 1972), 73–85].
m
.co
ate
hg
as
w.
Zosimos of Syracuse (seventh c.)
ww
m
vita (BHL 9026 – late seventh c.): AASS Martii III, 839–43.
.co
ate
hg
as
w.
ww
(b) Secondary Literature
m
.co
ate
hg
Acconcia Longo, A., ‘La data della Vita di s. Pancrazio di Taormina (BHG 1410)’,
as
w.
BollBadGr n.s. 55 (2001), 37–42.
ww
m
Acconcia Longo, A., ‘La Passio di s. Nicone e cc. mm. (BHG 1369): un nuovo testo
.co
ate
agiografico iconoclasta?’, RSBN n.s. 38 (2001), 27–68. as
hg
Acconcia Longo, A., ‘Il contributo dell’agiografia alla storia delle diocesi italogreche’,
w.
ww
in A. Acconcia Longo, Ricerche di agiografia italogreca, Testi e studi bizantino-

m
.co
neoellenici 13 (Roma 2003), 179–208.

ate
hg
Acconcia Longo, A., ‘I Miracula s. Phantini e la società calabrese dell’epoca’, in

as
w.
A. Acconcia Longo, Ricerche di agiografia italogreca, Testi e studi bizantino-

ww
m

.co
ate
Acconcia Longo, A., ‘La Vita di Zosimo vescovo di Siracusa: un esempio di

hg
as
“agiografia storica”’, in A. Acconcia Longo, Ricerche di agiografia italogreca, Testi

w.
ww
e studi bizantino-neoellenici 13 (Roma 2003), 9–22.

m
.co
Acconcia Longo, A., ‘La Vita e i Miracoli di s. Fantino di Tauriana e l’identificazione

ate
hg
dell’imperatore Leone “eretico”’, in A. Acconcia Longo, Ricerche di agiografia

as
w.
italogreca, Testi e studi bizantino-neoellenici 13 (Roma 2003), 23–36.

ww
m
Acconcia Longo, A., ‘L’encomio per s. Marciano di Siracusa (BHG 1030): un’opera
.co
ate
di età normanna?’, in A. Acconcia Longo, Ricerche di agiografia italogreca, Testi e

hg
as
studi bizantino-neoellenici 13 (Roma 2003), 75–84.

w.
ww
Acconcia Longo, A., ‘Santi monaci italogreci alle origini del monastero di S. Elia
m
.co
di Carbone’, in A. Acconcia Longo, Ricerche di agiografia italogreca, Testi e studi

ate
hg
bizantino-neoellenici 13 (Roma 2003), 145–64.

as
w.
Acconcia Longo, A., ‘S. Giovanni Terista nell’agiografia e nell’innografia’, in

ww
m
A. Acconcia Longo, Ricerche di agiografia italogreca, Testi e studi bizantino-

.co
ate

hg
as
Acconcia Longo, A., ‘Siracusa e Taormina nell’agiografia italogreca’, in A. Acconcia

w.
ww
Longo, Ricerche di agiografia italogreca, Testi e studi bizantino-neoellenici 13

m
.co
(Roma 2003), 53–74.

ate
hg
Acconcia Longo, A., ‘Note sul dossier agiografico di Leone di Catania: la trasmissione
as
w.
della leggenda e la figura del mago Eliodoro’, RSBN n.s. 44 (2007), 3–38.
ww
Andrist, P., ‘Les Objections des Hébreux: un document du premier iconoclasme?’,

REB 57 (1999), 99–140.
253
Angiò, F., ‘La Vita di Tauro dall’anonima Vita di s. Pancrazio di Taormina’, Sileno 20
m
(1994), 117–43.
.co
ate
Angiò, F., ‘Osservazioni sulla lingua della Vita di Tauro’, Rudiae 7 (1995), 13–34.
hg
as
Angiò, F., ‘Divinità pagane e sacrifici umani nella Vita di San Pancrazio di Taormina’,
w.
ww
BollBadGr n.s. 52 (1998), 49–76.
m
.co
Atti del Congresso Internazionale su S. Nilo di Rossano (28 sett.-1° ott. 1986) (Rossano-
ate
hg
Grottaferrata 1989).
as
w.
Auzépy, M.-F., ‘L’évolution de l’attitude face au miracle à Byzance (VIIe–IXe siècle)’,
ww
m
in Miracles, prodiges et merveilles au Moyen Age. XXVe Congrès de la S.H.M.E.S.,
.co
ate
Orléans, juin 1994 (Paris 1995), 31–46.
hg
as
Auzépy, M.-F., L’hagiographie et l’iconoclasme byzantin: le cas de la Vie d’Étienne le
w.
ww
Jeune, Birmingham Byzantine and Ottoman Monographs 5 (Aldershot 1999).
m
.co
Burgarella, F., ‘Chiese d’Oriente e d’Occidente alla vigilia dell’anno mille’, in Europa
ate
hg
medievale e mondo bizantino. Contatti effettivi e possibilità di studi comparati, Istituto
as
w.
Storico Italiano per il Medio Evo. Nuovi studi storici, 40 (Rome 1997), 179–212.
ww
m
Burgarella, F., ‘A proposito della Passione di san Senatore e compagni’, RSBN n.s.
.co
ate
36 (1999), 47–73. as
hg
Caruso, S., ‘Sull’autore del Bios di S. Filareto il Giovane: Nilo Doxapatres?’, EEBS
w.
ww
41 (1979–1980), 293–304.
m
.co
Caruso, S., ‘Michele IV Paflagone in una fonte agiografica italo-greca’, in Studi

ate
hg
albanologici, balcanici, bizantini e orientali in onore di Giuseppe Valentini S.J. (Florence

as
w.
1986), 261–84.
ww
m
Caruso, S., ‘La Sicilia nelle fonti storiografiche bizantine’, in Sicilia e Italia
.co
ate
suburbicaria tra IV e VIII secolo. Atti del Convegno di Studi (Catania, 24–27 October
hg
as
1989) (Soveria Mannelli 1991), 99–128.

w.
ww
Caruso, S., ‘Il Bios di s. Filareto il Giovane (XI sec.) e la Calabria tardo-bizantina’,
m
.co
in Sant’Eufemia d’Aspromonte. Atti del Convegno di studi per il bicentenario

ate
hg
dell’autonomia (Sant’Eufemia d’Aspromonte, 14–16 dic. 1990), ed. S. Leanza,

as
w.
Bibliotheca Vivariensis 5 (Soveria Mannelli 1997), 91–121.

ww
m
Caruso, S., ‘Sulla cronologia del dies natalis di s. Vitale da Castronovo di Sicilia’,
.co
ate
BollBadGr n.s. 52 (1998), 117–39.

hg
as
Caruso, S., ‘Il santo, il re, la curia, l’impero. Sul processo per eresia contro Bartolomeo
w.
ww
da Simeri (XI–XII sec.)’, Bizantinistica 1 (1999), 51–72.

m
.co
Caruso, S., ‘Sicilia e Calabria nell’agiografia storica italo-greca’, in Calabria Cristiana.

ate
hg
Società Religione Cultura nel territorio della Diocesi di Oppido Mamertina-Palmi, ed.
as
w.
S. Leanza, I (Soveria Mannelli 1999), 563–604.

ww
m
Cataudella, Q., ‘Vite dei santi e romanzo’, in Letterature comparate. Problemi e metodo.
.co
ate
Studi in onore di E. Paratore, II (Bologna 1981), 931–52.

hg
as
Cilento, A., Potere e monachesimo. Ceti dirigenti e mondo monastico nella Calabria
w.
ww
bizantina (secoli IX–XI) (Florence 2000).

m
.co
Conca, F., ‘La narrazione nell’agiografia tardo greca’, in Le trasformazioni della

ate
hg
cultura nella tarda antichità. Atti del Convegno tenuto a Catania (27 sett.–2 ott. 1982),
as
w.
II (Rome 1985), 647–61.

ww
254
Constantinou, S., Female Corporeal Performances. Reading the Body in Byzantine
m
Passions and Lives of Holy Women, Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, Studia
.co
ate
Byzantina Upsalensia 9 (Uppsala 2005).
hg
as
Conti Bizzarro, F., ‘La lingua della Vita di S. Nicodemo da Kellarana’, in XVI
w.
ww
Internationaler Byzantinistenkongress (Wien, 4–9 Okt. 1981). Akten II/3 = JÖB 32/3
m
.co
(1982), 237–45.
ate
hg
Conti Bizzarro, F., ‘Lingua colloquiale nella Vita Nili’, in Atti del Congresso, 567–76.
as
w.
da Costa-Louillet, G., ‘Saints de Sicile et d’Italie méridionale aux VIIIe, IXe et Xe
ww
m
siècles’, Byz 29–30 (1959–1960), 89–173.
.co
ate
Dagron, G., ‘Judaïser’, TM 11 (1991), 359–80.
hg
as
Dagron, G., ‘L’ombre d’un doute: l’hagiographie en question VIe–XIe siècle’, DOP
w.
ww
46 (1992), 59–68.
m
.co
Dagron, G. and V. Déroche, ‘Juifs et Chrétiens dans l’Orient du VIIe siècle’, TM 11
ate
hg
(1991), 17–273.
as
w.
Déroche, V., ‘À propos des sources byzantines sur les Juifs’, Byzantinorossica 3
ww
m
(2005), 75–84.
.co
ate
Déroche, V., ‘Les variantes italiques de la folie en Christ’, Nea Rhome 2 (2005), 193–203. as
hg
Dierkens, A., ‘Réflexions sur le miracle au haut Moyen Age’, in Miracles, prodiges et
w.
ww
merveilles au Moyen Age. XXVe Congrès de la S.H.M.E.S., Orléans, juin 1994 (Paris
m
.co
1995), 9–30.
ate
hg
Efthymiadis, S., ‘The Byzantine Hagiographer and His Audience in the Ninth and
as
w.
Tenth Centuries’, in Metaphrasis and Audiences in Middle Byzantine Hagiography,

ww
m
ed. C. Høgel (Oslo 1996), 59–80 [= Hagiography in Byzantium: Literature, Social

.co
ate
History and Cult, Variorum Reprints (Farnham 2011), VIII].

hg
as
Efthymiadis, S., ‘Les saints d’Italie méridionale (IXe–XIIe s.) et leur rôle dans la
w.
ww
société locale’, in Byzantine Religious Culture: Studies in Honor of Alice-Mary Talbot,

m
.co
ed. E. Fisher, S. Papaioannou and D. Sullivan, The Medieval Mediterranean 92

ate
hg
(Leiden 2011), 347–72.

as
w.
Efthymiadis, S. and J.M. Featherstone, ‘Establishing a Holy Lineage: Theodore

ww
m
the Stoudite’s Funerary Catechism for his Mother (BHG 2422)’, in Theatron.
.co
ate
Rhetorische Kultur in Spätantike und Mittelalter/Rhetorical Culture in Late Antiquity

hg
as
and the Middle Ages, ed. M. Grünbart (Berlin 2007), 13–51.

w.
ww
Falkenhausen, V. von, ‘La Vita di S. Nilo come fonte storica per la Calabria
m
.co
bizantina’, in Atti del Congresso, 271–305.

ate
hg
Falla Castelfranchi, M., ‘I ritratti dei monaci italo-greci nella pittura bizantina
as
w.
dell’Italia meridionale’, RSBN n.s. 39 (2002), 145–55.

ww
m
Flusin, B., ‘L’hagiographie monastique à Byzance au IXe et au Xe siècle. Modèles

.co
ate
anciens et tendances contemporaines’, in Le monachisme à Byzance et en Occident

hg
as
du VIIIe au Xe siècle. Aspects internes et relations avec la société = Revue Bénédictine

w.
ww
103 (1993), 31–50.

m
.co
Follieri, E., ‘Vite ed inni greci per i santi di Ravenna’, RSBN [n.s.] 2–3 (1965–1966),
ate
hg
193–203.
as
w.
Follieri, E., ‘Per l’identificazione del grammatikòs Leone Siculo con Leone da
ww
Centuripe’, RSBN [n.s.] 24 (1987), 127–141 [= eadem, Byzantina et italograeca.
255
Studi di filologia e di paleografia, by A. Acconcia Longo, L. Perria and A. Luzzi,
m
Storia e letteratura. Raccolta di studi e testi 195 (Rome 1997), 399–411].
.co
ate
Follieri, E., La Vita di san Fantino il Giovane, SH 77 (Brussels 1993).
hg
as
Follieri, E., ‘Un santo monaco calabrese a Tessalonica: Fantino il Giovane’, in
w.
ww
Calabria Cristiana. Società Religione Cultura nel territorio della Diocesi di Oppido
m
.co
Mamertina-Palmi, ed. S. Leanza, I (Soveria Mannelli 1999), 463–75.
ate
hg
Follieri, E., ‘I santi dell’Italia greca’, RSBN n.s. 34 (1997), 3–36.
as
w.
Follieri, E., ‘Echi della Vita di Antonio nella Vita di Nilo da Rossano’, in L’Ellenismo
ww
m
italiota dal VII al XII secolo, Fondazione Nazionale Ellenica delle Ricerche. Istituto
.co
ate
di Ricerche Bizantine. Convegno Internazionale 8 (Athens 2001), 19–26.
hg
as
Franchi de’ Cavalieri, P., ‘Note agiografiche, 7’, Studi e Testi 49 (Rome 1928), 1–54.
w.
ww
Garzya, A., ‘Note sulla lingua della Vita di S. Nilo da Rossano’, in Atti del IV
m
.co
Congresso storico calabrese (Cosenza 1966) (Napoli 1969), 77–84.
ate
hg
Garzya, A., ‘Lingua e cultura nell’agiografia italogreca’, in La Chiesa greca in Italia
as
w.
dall’VIII al XVI secolo. Atti del Convegno storico interecclesiale (Bari, 30 apr.-4 magg.
ww
m
1969), III (Padova 1973), 1179–86.
.co
ate
Gerbino, C., ‘Appunti per una edizione dell’agiografia di Lentini’, BZ 84–5 (1991– as
hg
1992), 26–36.
w.
ww
Guidorizzi, G., ‘Motivi fiabeschi nell’agiografia bizantina’, in Studi bizantini e

m
.co
neogreci-Atti del IV Congresso Nazionale di Studi Bizantini (Lecce–Calimera, aprile

ate
hg
1980), ed. P.L. Leone (Galatina 1983), 457–67.

as
w.
Hester, S.P., Monasticism and Spirituality of the Italo-Greeks, Analecta Vlatadon 55

ww
m
(Thessalonike 1992).
.co
ate
Ivanov, S.A. and A. Pichkadze, ‘Eupraxia of Olympus, an Unknown Transvestite

hg
as
Saint’, AB 126 (2008), 31–47.

w.
ww
Kaplan, M., ‘Les saints en pèlerinage à l’époque mésobyzantine (7e–12e siècles)’,

m
.co
DOP 56 (2002), 109–27.

ate
hg
Külzer, A., Disputationes graecae contra Iudaeos. Untersuchungen zur byzantinischen

as
w.
antijüdischen Dialogliteratur und ihrem Judenbild, Byzantinisches Archiv 18

ww
m
(Stuttgart and Leipzig 1999).

.co
ate
Lackner, W., ‘Die Gestalt der Heiligen in der byzantinischen Hagiographie des 9.
hg
as
und 10. Jahrhunderts’, in The 17th International Byzantine Congress. Major Papers
w.
ww
(New York 1986), 523–36.

m
.co
Leonardi, C., ‘L’agiografia romana nel secolo IX’, in Hagiographie et société IVe–XIIe
ate
hg
siècles (Études Augustiniennes), Paris 1981, 471–90.

as
w.
Limor, O. and G.G. Stroumsa (eds), Contra Iudaeos. Ancient and Medieval Polemics
ww
m
between Christians and Jews (Tübingen 1996).

.co
ate
Luongo, G., ‘Itinerari dei santi italo-greci, in Pellegrinaggi e itinerari dei santi nel
hg
as
Mezzogiorno medievale, ed. G. Vitolo, Europa mediterranea-Quaderni 14 (Napoli

w.
ww
1999), 39–56.
m
.co
Luzzati Laganà, F., ‘Catechesi e spiritualità nella Vita di s. Nilo di Rossano: donne,
ate
hg
ebrei e “santa follia”’, Quaderni storici n.s. 93 (1996), 709–37.

as
w.
Luzzi, A., ‘La Vita di san Nilo da Rossano tra genere letterario e biografia storica’,
ww
in Les Vies des saints à Byzance, 175–89.

Malamut, E., Sur la route des saints byzantins (Paris 1993).
256
Mango, C., ‘La culture grecque et l’Occident au VIIIe siècle’, in I problemi
m
dell’Occidente nel sec. VIII, SettStu 20, II (Spoleto 1973), 683–721 [= Byzantium and
.co
ate
its Image (London 1984), VI].
hg
as
Matino, G., ‘Osservazioni lessicali al testo della Vita Nili’, in Atti del Congresso, 577–86.
w.
ww
Matino, G., ‘Per la configurazione del greco nella Calabria medievale: le due
m
.co
redazioni della Vita di S. Giovanni Terista’, in Contributi alla cultura greca nell’Italia
ate
hg
meridionale, I, ed. A. Garzya, Hellenica et Byzantina Neapolitana 13 (Napoli
as
w.
1989), 259–83.
ww
m
Matino, G., ‘Stratigrafia linguistica nella Vita di S. Elia lo Speleota’, JÖB 32 (1982),
.co
ate
237–45.
hg
as
Merendino, E., ‘Letteratura greca e geografia araba nella cultura normanna del XII
w.
ww
secolo: la Siciliae laus del bios di s. Filareto di Calabria’, MEG 5 (2005), 207–13.
m
.co
Milazzo, V., ‘La Sicilia: Agata e Lucia. Note agiografiche’, in Giustina e le altre. Sante
ate
hg
e culti femminili in Italia settentrionale dalla prima età Cristiana al secolo XII. Atti del
as
w.
VI Convegno di studio dell’Associazione italiana per lo studio della santità, dei culti e
ww
m
dell’agiografia (Padova, 4–6 ottobre 2004), ed. A. Tilatti and F.G.B. Trolese (Roma
.co
ate
2009), 243–70. as
hg
Morini, E., ‘Aspetti organizzativi e linee di spiritualità nel monachesimo greco in
w.
ww
Calabria’, in Calabria Cristiana. Società Religione Cultura nel territorio della Diocesi
m
.co
di Oppido Mamertina-Palmi, ed. S. Leanza, I (Soveria Mannelli 1999), 251–316.

ate
hg
Morini, E., ‘L’eredità ascetica del monachesimo calabro-greco’, ELLHNIKA

as
w.
MHNYMATA n.s. 6 (2002), 31–47.

ww
m
Morini, E., ‘Santità monastica femminile in abiti maschili nell’Oriente cristiano’,

.co
ate
in Giustina e le altre. Sante e culti femminili in Italia settentrionale dalla prima età
hg
as
Cristiana al secolo XII. Atti del VI Convegno di studio dell’Associazione italiana per
w.
ww
lo studio della santità, dei culti e dell’agiografia (Padova, 4–6 ottobre 2004), ed. A.
m
.co
Tilatti and F.G.B. Trolese (Roma 2009), 271–92.

ate
hg
Morris, R., ‘The Political Saint of the Eleventh Century’, in The Byzantine Saint, ed.
as
w.
S. Hackel (London 1981), 43–50.

ww
m
Musurillo, H., The Acts of the Christian Martyrs (Oxford 1972).

.co
ate
Pasini, C., ‘Edizione della Vita pseudoatanasiana di san Filippo di Agira vergata da
hg
as
Georgios Basilikòs nel codice Athen. Gennad. 39’, RSBN n.s. 36 (1999), 177–222.
w.
ww
Pasini, C., ‘La figura di Filippo d’Agira nella tradizione agiografica ed innografica
m
.co
italogreca’, Cassiodorus 6–7 (2000–2001), 37–53.

ate
hg
Patlagean, E., ‘Les moines grecs d’Italie et l’apologie des thèses pontificales (VIIIe–
as
w.
IXe siècles)’, Studi Medievali s. III 5 (1964), 579–602.

ww
m
Patlagean, E., ‘L’histoire de la femme déguisée en moine et l’évolution de la sainteté

.co
ate
féminine à Byzance’, Studi Medievali s. III 17/2 (1976), 567–623.

hg
as
Patlagean, E., ‘Sainteté et pouvoir’, in The Byzantine Saint, ed. S. Hackel (London
w.
ww
1981), 88–105.
m
.co
Philippart, G., ‘L’hagiographie sicilienne dans le cadre de l’hagiographie de

ate
hg
l’Occident’, in La Sicilia nella tarda antichità e nell’alto medioevo. Religione e società,

as
w.
Atti del Convegno di Studi (Catania–Paternò, 24–27 sett. 1997), ed. R. Barcellona
ww
and S. Pricoco (Soveria Mannelli 1999), 169–204.
257
Pricoco, S., ‘Monaci e santi di Sicilia’, in Monaci, filosofi e santi. Saggi di storia della
m
cultura tardoantica, ed. S. Pricoco (Soveria Mannelli 1992), 239–95.
.co
ate
Re, M., ‘La Vita di s. Zosimo vescovo di Siracusa. qualche osservazione’, RSBN n.s.
hg
as
37 (2000), 29–42.
w.
ww
Re, M., ‘Ancora sulle fonti letterarie della Vita Zosimi. Postilla ad un articolo
m
.co
recente’, Orpheus n.s. 23 (2002), 105–9.
ate
hg
Re, M., Il codice lentinese dei santi Alfio, Filadelfo e Cirino. Studio paleografico e filologico,
as
w.
Istituto Siciliano di Studi Bizantini e Neoellenici. Quaderni 16 (Palermo 2007).
ww
m
Re, M., ‘From Greek Southern Italy to Jerusalem: Monks, Saints and Pilgrims’,
.co
ate
in Routes of Faith in the Medieval Mediterranean: History, Monuments, People,
hg
as
Pilgrimage Perspectives. International Symposium (Thessalonike, 7–10 November
w.
ww
2007), ed. E. Hadjitryphonos (Thessalonike 2008), 171–6.
m
.co
Rizzo Nervo, F., ‘Tradizione narrativa e mutamenti semantici nella letteratura
ate
hg
agiografica siciliana’, in Sicilia e Italia suburbicaria tra IV e VIII secolo. Atti del
as
w.
Convegno di Studi (Catania, 24–27 ott. 1989) (Soveria Mannelli 1991), 249–61.
ww
m
Rossi Taibbi, G., Filagato da Cerami. Omelie per i Vangeli domenicali e le feste di tutto
.co
ate
l’anno, I, Istituto Siciliano di Studi Bizantini e Neoellenici. Testi 11 (Palermo as
hg
1969).
w.
ww
Rydén, L., ‘New Forms of Hagiography: Heroes and Saints’, The 17th International
m
.co
Byzantine Congress, Major Papers (Washington, DC 1986), 537–51.

ate
hg
Sansterre, J.-M., Les moines grecs et orientaux à Rome aux époques byzantine et
as
w.
carolingienne (milieu du VIe s.–fin du IXe s.) vols I–II (Brussels 1983).
ww
m
Schein, S., ‘The “Female-Men of God” and “Men who were Women”. Female Saints
.co
ate
and Holy Land Pilgrimage during the Byzantine Period’, Hagiographica 5 (1998),
hg
as
1–33.
w.
ww
Scorza Barcellona, F., ‘Infanzia e martirio: la testimonianza della più antica

m
.co
letteratura cristiana’, in Bambini santi. Rappresentazioni dell’infanzia e modelli

ate
hg
agiografici, ed. A. Benvenuti Papi and E. Giannarelli (Turin 1991), 59–83.

as
w.
Ševčenko, I., ‘Levels of Style in Byzantine Prose’, JÖB 31/1 (1981), 289–312.
ww
m
Stallman-Pacitti, C., ‘The Encomium of S. Pancratius of Taormina by Gregory the

.co
ate
Pagurite’, Byz 60 (1990), 334–65.

hg
as
Strazzeri, M.V., ‘Una traduzione dal greco ad uso dei Normanni: la Vita latina di s.
w.
ww
Elia lo Speleota’, Archivio storico per la Calabria e la Lucania 59 (1992), 1–108.

m
.co
Strazzeri, M.V., ‘I Giudei di San Fratello’, in ‘Ubi neque aerugo neque tinea demolitur’.
ate
hg
Studi in onore di Luigi Pellegrini per i suoi settanta anni, ed. M.G. Del Fuoco (Napoli
as
w.
2006), 647–89.
ww
m
Tartaglia, L., ‘La clausola ritmica nella Vita Nili’, in Atti del Congresso, 559–65.
.co
ate
Van Esbroeck, M. and U. Zanetti, ‘Le dossier hagiographique de S. Pancrace de

hg
as
Taormina’, in Storia della Sicilia e tradizione agiografica nella tarda antichità. Atti del
w.
ww
Convegno di Studi (Catania, 20–22 maggio 1986) (Soveria Mannelli 1988), 155–69.
m
.co
Zaccagni, G., ‘Considerazioni sulla paternità del Bios di san Bartolomeo da Simeri’,
ate
hg
in Liturgia e agiografia tra Roma e Costantinopoli. Atti dei Seminari di Studio (Roma-
as
w.
Grottaferrata 2000–2001) (Grottaferrata 2007), 33–44.

ww
258

Italo Greek Hagiography PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Italo Greek Hagiography PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

© Copyrighted Material

forms of hagiographic production in Greek concerning the saints living in Sicily

and Southern Italy.

concept of ‘Italo-Greek hagiography’ is still desired. Surveys generally exclude

Martyr worshipped in Mineo, a passage interpolated in the Imperial Menologion

it emphasises the problems in relation to an exact delimitation of the hagiographic literary

santi’. Among partial summaries, besides those by Da Costa-Louillet’s ‘Saints de Sicile’ (a

‘Aspetti organizzativi’ and Caruso, ‘Sicilia e Calabria’ (tenth–twelfth centuries); Acconcia

Italo-Greek hagiographic production in the tenth and eleventh centuries.

awaiting confirmation [cf. S. Caruso’s review of Zaccagni, Il Bios, in Bizantinistica 1 (1999),

of saints.7 As observed above, it is worth pointing out that a purely geographical

of Italo-Greek origin, they were produced in the Greek-speaking Sicilo-Calabrian

frequently a hindrance to distinguishing between the various editions, and, in the

The Genres and the Texts

Filareto’, 96, 110 (n. 74), 118.

‘Per l’identificazione del grammatikòs Leone Siculo’.

Passio of St Agatha (BHG 37–37d) which, according to recent studies,12 followed an

a certain means of communication; a new version of a well-known text and the

The changes in this form, up to embracing radically different styles, appear to

Milazzo, ‘La Sicilia: Agata e Lucia’.

to the Ottobonianus gr. 1, ff. 282v–287v (BHG 1876b).

only monastic biographies were written.24

and Zanetti, ‘Le dossier’, 157–8.

is described as intervening in a whole series of diverse circumstances.

Turning to the genre of Enkomion we have to leap several centuries in order to

Sts Neilos and Bartholomew.30

contain rhetorical elements typical of the Enkomion, as is the custom in Byzantine

counter-altar to the iconophile Life of St Pankratios.34 Finally the vita of St Philip of

the list, due to their imaginary and adventurous nature.

It must be pointed out that, unlike the deprecating judgements passed by

contain a wealth of ideological and cultural motifs.36

As already mentioned, the Muslim conquest of Sicily appears to have been a

translation: firstly, of Leo-Luke of Corleone (a town in the province of Palermo)

santi’, 285–7; Follieri, ‘I santi’, 13–16.

which we have already referred, is the work of an anonymous hagiographer from

Italo-Greek hagiographical production; the second is ‘Greek’, following Phantinos’

Morini, ‘L’eredità ascetica’.

century.52 With them we return to the sphere of southern Calabrian monasticism.

that followed the establishment of Norman domination (1071–1194). The vitae

form of a series of juxtaposed episodes or anecdotes. The vita of St Bartholomew of

21), to Constantinople followed by a mission to Mount Athos (chs. 25–26), while

greca e geografia araba’.

altogether fantastic narrative written by an anonymous Sicilian.57 In its structure,

numbered miracles has been inserted in what appears to be an imitation of the

‘Eupraxia of Olympus’; Morini, ‘Santità monastica femminile’; Constantinou, Female

relics are kept.

short reference to St Marina) cf. Déroche, ‘Les variantes italiques’.

‘select but few out of the many’.

conjured up (by St Vitus himself, no less); furthermore, the protagonist is a child

early Christian hagiography of the martyrdom.65

the mid-ninth century are distinguished by complex narrative structures which

Church propaganda. The exception, as we have already mentioned, is the Life of

hagiographic romances; we find in it at least two motifs which would be further

reference is to the practice of circumcision), a ‘technical term’ of polemic directed

‘hot’ topics of the iconoclastic crisis: defence of images, ecclesiastical jurisdiction in

Illyricum and Northern Italy, absolute authority in questions of dogma). According

to Patlagean,74 these are characteristic of several Italo-Greek hagiographical texts

the combination. Cf. also Strazzeri, ‘I Giudei’.

propos des sources byzantines’.

physician who does not resort to miracles.

131–6; Pricoco, ‘Monaci e santi’, 263–6; Acconcia Longo, ‘Il contributo’, 201–5.

and n. 85, on the other hand, speaks of anti-Roman text.

cf. van Esbroeck and Zanetti, ‘Le dossier’, 157–8.