{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_66302/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_66302","id":"gutenberg_66302","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66302","summary":null,"tags":["Ayasofya M\u00fczesi","Category: Architecture","Category: Art","Category: History - European","Category: Religion/Spirituality"],"text":"SANCTA SOPHIA\n CONSTANTINOPLE\n\n\n\n\n \u201cA work as they report surpassing every edifice in the world.\u201d\n\n _William of Malmesbury._\n\n\n \u201cThe fairest church in all the world.\u201d\n\n _Sir John Mandeville._\n\n\n \u201cA marvellous and costful temple, clept St. Sophie.\u201d\n\n _Capgrave\u2019s Chronicle._\n\n\n\n\n THE CHURCH OF\n SANCTA SOPHIA\n CONSTANTINOPLE\n A STUDY OF BYZANTINE\n BUILDING\n BY W. R. LETHABY &\n HAROLD SWAINSON\n\n [Illustration]\n\n 1894\n\n Macmillan _&_ Co. London _&_ New York\n\n\n\n\n RICHARD CLAY AND SONS, LIMITED,\n LONDON AND BUNGAY.\n\n\n\n\n_PREFACE_\n\n\n_Sancta Sophia is the most interesting building on the world\u2019s surface.\nLike Karnak in Egypt, or the Athenian Parthenon, it is one of the four\ngreat pinnacles of architecture, but unlike them this is no ruin,\nnor does it belong to a past world of constructive ideas although it\nprecedes by seven hundred years the fourth culmination of the building\nart in Chartres, Amiens, or Bourges, and thus must ever stand as the\nsupreme monument of the Christian cycle. Far from being a ruin, the\nchurch is one of the best preserved of so ancient monuments, and in\nregard to its treatment by the Turks we can only be grateful that S.\nSophia has not been situated in the more learned cities of Europe, such\nas Rome, Aachen, or Oxford, during \u201cthe period of revived interest in\necclesiastical antiquities.\u201d Our first object has been to attempt some\ndisentanglement of the history of the Church and an analysis of its\ndesign and construction; on the one hand, we have been led a step or\ntwo into the labyrinth of Constantinopolitan topography, on the other,\nwe have thought that the great Church offers the best point of view for\nthe observation of the Byzantine theory of building._\n\n_It may be well for us to state how, in the main, we have shared\nour work. The one of us--by the accident of the alphabet, second\nnamed--has done the larger part of the reading and the whole of the\ntranslation required. The first has undertaken more of the constructive\nside of the book and the whole of the illustrations. We both visited\nConstantinople, and wish to thank Canon Curtis for help then and since.\nMr. Ambrose Poynter has read the proofs. In our text we have thought it\nwell to incorporate so far as possible the actual words of the writers\nto whom we have referred. The dates when the more ancient authors\nwrote are given under their names in the index; so are the years of\nthe accession of the Emperors mentioned in the text. Although we have\nmade full use of Salzenberg\u2019s great work in the preparation of some of\nour illustrations, none are mere transcripts from his book. In some\ninstances where scales are given to details, the scales are but rough\napproximations._\n\n_Much remains to be observed at S. Sophia; the Baptistery, the\nCisterns beneath the church, and the Circular Building to the east are\npractically unknown, and any fact noted in regard to them will almost\ncertainly be new. But it is still more important that building customs,\nrecipes, and traditions should be recorded. Byzantine art still exists\nnot only on Mount Athos but all over the once Christian East--at\nDamascus the builders are still Christians, and the Greek masons of\nTurkey, M. Choisy says, are still the faithful representatives of the\nbuilders of the Lower Empire, and their present practice is a sure\ncommentary on the ancient buildings._\n\n_A conviction of the necessity for finding the root of architecture\nonce again in sound common-sense building and pleasurable craftsmanship\nremains as the final result of our study of S. Sophia, that marvellous\nwork, where, as has so well been said, there is no part where the\nprinciples of rational construction are not applied with \u201chardiesse\u201d\nand \u201cfranchise\u201d In estimating so highly the Byzantine method of\nbuilding in its greatest example, we see that its forms and results\ndirectly depended on then present circumstances, and then ordinary\nmaterials. It is evident that the style cannot be copied by our\nattempting to imitate Byzantine builders; only by being ourselves\nand free, can our work be reasonable, and if reasonable, like theirs\nuniversal._\n\n\nL\u2019ART C\u2019EST D\u2019\u00caTRE ABSOLUMENT SOI-M\u00caME.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n CHAPTER I. Byzantium. New Rome, The Acropolis, The Augusteum.\n First and Second Churches of S. Sophia. _page_ 1\n\n CHAPTER II. Justinian\u2019s Church. Account of Procopius. Fall of\n Dome and Restoration. Accounts of Agathias and Evagrius. _page_ 21\n\n CHAPTER III. The Descriptive Poem of Paul the Silentiary, Parts\n 1 and 2. _page_ 35\n\n CHAPTER IV. The Silentiary\u2019s Account, Part 3. The Ambo.\n Coronations in the Ambo. _page_ 53\n\n CHAPTER V. Main Divisions. Bema. Altar. Ciborium. Crowns,\n &c. Altar Veils. Iconostasis. Prothesis and Diakonikon. Holy Well\n and Metatorion. Solea. The Nave and Pavement. Font. Crosses.\n Miraculous Marbles, &c. Water Vessels. Images and Tombs. Hangings.\n Carpets. Synods. Clergy and Ritual. Adoration of the Cross.\n Procession to the Church. _page_ 66\n\n CHAPTER VI. \u00a7 1. The True Cross and Relics of the Passion.\n Other Treasure. Accounts by Russian Pilgrims. \u00a7 2. The Lighting of\n the Church. _page_ 97\n\n CHAPTER VII. \u00a7 1. Later History. Occupation of the Church by\n the Crusaders. Fall of Constantinople. \u00a7 2. The Anonymous Account\n of the Church. \u00a7 3. Legends. _page_ 122\n\n CHAPTER VIII. Fossati\u2019s Reparations. Salzenberg\u2019s Description of\n Design, Materials, Construction, and Decoration. _page_ 148\n\n CHAPTER IX. Precincts of the Church, &c. Palaces. Hippodrome.\n Augusteum. Milion. Horologium. S. Peter\u2019s Chapel, &c. Boundaries\n of Church. Atrium. Phiale. Pavement. West Front. Belfry.\n Cisterns. Exterior generally. _page_ 173\n\n CHAPTER X. \u00a7 1. Byzantine Origins. \u00a7 2. The Builders of the\n Church. \u00a7 3. Original Form of the Church: Dome and N. and\n S. Arches, Atrium, N.W. and S.W. Angles, Baptistery and Loggia.\n \u00a7 4. Structural System. Arch Forms. Vaulting. Dome Construction.\n Chainage and Walling. Mortar and Cement. _page_ 198\n\n CHAPTER XI. \u00a7 1. Building Procedure. \u00a7 2. Marble Quarries and\n Identification of the Marbles. \u00a7 3. Application of Marble to the Walls.\n \u00a7 4. Marble Masonry. Seven Orders of Byzantine Capitals. Distribution\n and Dates of Capitals. Shafts and Bases. Responds. Cornices\n and Skirtings. Windows, &c. Carving. _page_ 234\n\n CHAPTER XII. \u00a7 1. Bronze Doors, &c. \u00a7 2. Mosaics. Salzenberg\u2019s\n Description. First Scheme. Later Scheme. Fossati\u2019s Description.\n Tesserae and Fixing. \u00a7 3. Glass. Plaster. Painting. \u00a7 4. Monograms\n and Inscriptions. _page_ 264\n\n\n\n\nS. SOPHIA CHAPTER I\n\nTHE CITY OF CONSTANTINE AND THE FIRST CHURCH\n\n\n_Byzantium._--Where the narrow swift-flowing Bosporus, which divides\nAsia from the most eastern part of southern Europe, flows into the Sea\nof Marmara, a crescent-shaped arm of the sea runs westward into the\nland, leaving a narrow promontory, which, like the prow of a boat in\nprofile, puts out to the east. The point of this promontory is a mass\nof rock rising steeply from the sea: divided by a slight transverse\ndepression from the rest of the land, it forms the first hill of the\nseven which were afterwards inclosed by the walls of Constantinople.\n\nOn this crest (by the present Seraglio Point), commanding the passage\nto the Euxine, was built, in the seventh century B.C., by colonists\nfrom Megara--with whom Dionysius couples the Corinthians--the\nAcropolis, the sacred city and citadel, and within certain limits the\nlines of its containing walls may still be traced. The lower city\ngathered about the slopes outside the Acropolis, and had other walls\ndefining its landward limits. Dionysius, the ancient Byzantine writer,\nwho describes the city before the siege of Severus, 196 A.D., says\nthat this citadel of Byzantium was on the promontory of the Bosporus,\nabove the bay called Keras (the Golden Horn). \u201cAt a little distance\nover the height is the altar of Athena Ecbasia--of the landing--where\nthe colonists fought as for their own land. There is too a temple\nof Poseidon, an ancient one and hence quite plain, which stands over\nthe sea.... Below the temple of Poseidon, but within the wall, on the\nlevel ground are stadia and gymnasia, and courses for the young.\u201d[1]\nThis Acropolis is roughly outlined in Fig. 1, the evidence being the\ncontours of the hill, remains and records of certain walls to be\nmentioned later, and the boundaries between the first four regions in\nConstantine\u2019s city as given in the _Notitia_,[2] a description of the\ncity written in the beginning of the fifth century. The Acropolis so\ndefined has a striking resemblance to other Greek hill cities--Tiryns,\nMycenae, Acrocorinth, and the Acropolis of Athens. In Fig. 1 the\ncross shows the site of the present Church of S. Sophia; the arrow\nshows the Hippodrome, which, still existing, is the great monument\nof pre-Constantinian times, and forms the key for all study of the\nsubsequent city; O shows the position of the column said to have been\nerected by Claudius Gothicus about 270 A.D., which stands at the north\nend of the Acropolis overlooking Seraglio or Demetrius Point.\n\nOf the ancient Greek town few positive remains have come down to\nus, with the exception of the coins. A publication by the Greek\nPhilological Society of Constantinople mentions as among several\npre-Constantinian inscriptions a marble slab found in \u201cthe tower next\nto the _Zouk Tsesm\u00e9_ gate on the left as one ascends to S. Sophia,\u201d\nwhich refers to the stadium erected by Pausanias the General in\n477 B.C., \u201cwithin the walls of Byzantium and below the temple of\nPoseidon.\u201d[3] The coins also go back to the fifth century B.C. The\nearly ones show a cow standing on a dolphin, with the letters BY. In\nthe third century we have Poseidon seated on a promontory, and later\nagain a dolphin twined round a trident--all the types having evident\nreference to the sea-washed city. Another relic of ancient Byzantium\nis still to be seen below the curve of the Hippodrome, where a white\nmarble capital of good Greek Doric work lies neglected on the seaward\nbank of the new railway.\n\nIn addition to the ancient buildings already mentioned, we learn\nfrom Dionysius that the city possessed a temple of G\u00e9 Onesidora--the\nfruitful earth--which consisted of \u201can unroofed space surrounded by\na wall of polished stone.\u201d Near by were \u201ctemples of Demeter and the\nMaiden (Persephone), with many pictures in them, relics of their former\nwealth.\u201d This author was also shown the sites of temples to Hera and\nPluto, \u201cthe former having been destroyed by Darius, and the latter by\nPhilip of Macedon.\u201d He also speaks of a large round tower joined to the\nwall of the city.\n\nSome records or legends of the ancient city are also contained in the\n_Paschal Chronicle_.[4] After the siege Severus \u201cbuilt the public bath\ncalled Zeuxippus. Now in the middle of the four-porticoed[5] space\nstood a bronze _stele_ of the sun, below which he wrote the name of\nthe sun. The people of Thrace indeed call the place Helion, but the\nByzantines themselves call this same public bath \u2018of Zeuxippus\u2019 after\nits original name, although the emperor ordered it should be called\nSeverion. Opposite to it in the acropolis of Byzantium he built the\ntemple of Apollo, which also faced the two other temples formerly built\nby Byzas--one to Artemis with the olive, and the other to Phedalian\nAphrodite. And the figure of the sun was taken from the four-porticoes\nand placed in this temple (of Apollo). Opposite the temple of Artemis\nhe built large kennels, and a theatre opposite the temple of Aphrodite.\nHe bought houses and gardens from two brothers, and after pulling down\nthe former and uprooting the latter he built the Hippodrome. Severus\nrestored the Strategion as well. It was first named by Alexander of\nMacedon, who, in his campaign against Darius, reviewed his troops there\nbefore attacking the Persians.\u201d\n\n\n_New Rome_.--It was about 328 A.D. or the following year that\nConstantine decided to enlarge this city, which had long been under the\ndomination of Rome, and to make it his capital. The work of building\nwas pushed forward with great energy, and it was consecrated in May\n330. By an edict engraved on a stone erected in the Strategium, it was\ncalled the New Rome of Constantine. In the documents of the patriarchs\nof the Greek Church the city is still called New Rome.\n\nThe quarries of easily wrought marble of large crystalline structure\nand soft white colour found in such abundance in the island of\nProconnesus, only a few miles away over the sea to which it has given\nits name of Marmara, then as now furnished a perfect building material;\nwhile the still worked quarries of Egypt and Thessaly provided imperial\npurple and green. But a richer quarry was doubtless found in the\nporphyry and cippolino shafts of the old temples of many a declining\ncity.\n\nConstantine\u2019s city does not appear to have been so completely Christian\nas the ecclesiastical writers would have us suppose. Zosimus tells us\nthat Constantine erected a shrine to the Dioscuri in the Hippodrome,\nand he mentions the temples of Rhea and the Tych\u00e9 of the city in a\nlarge four-porticoed forum. A whole population of bronze and marble\nstatues was brought together from Greece, Asia Minor, and Sicily. The\nbaths of Zeuxippus alone are said to have had more than sixty bronze\nstatues,[6] a still greater number were assembled in the Augusteum and\nother squares, and in the Hippodrome, where, according to Zosimus,[7]\nConstantine placed the Pythian tripod, which had been the central\nobject in the temple of Apollo at Delphi. On the triple coils of the\nbronze serpents in the At-Meidan can still be read the names of the\nGreek states, which, after the battle of Plataea, dedicated a tithe of\nthe spoil to the Delphic oracle, as described by Herodotus.[8]\n\nAn extremely valuable description of ancient Byzantium and the\nreconstruction by Constantine is given by Zosimus, writing not much\nmore than a century after the transformation. \u201cNow the city lay upon\nthe crest of a hill which forms a part of the isthmus that is made\nby what is called the \u2018Horn\u2019 (\u03ba\u03ad\u03c1\u03b1\u03c2) and the Propontis. And formerly\nit had its gate (\u03c0\u03cd\u03bb\u03b7) at the end of the colonnades which Severus\nbuilt.\u201d ... \u201cAnd the wall on its western part descending along with the\ncrest reached to the temple of Aphrodite, and the sea of Chrysopolis\n[Scutari] which is opposite; and in the same way from the crest the\nwall descended northward to the harbour which is called Neorion,\nand from thence up to the sea which lies directly in front of the\nstraits through which one enters the Euxine.\u201d ... \u201cThis then was the\nancient size of the city. And Constantine erected a circular forum\n_where formerly was the gate_, and surrounded it with porticoes of two\nstoreys. He set up two very big arches of Proconnesian marble opposite\neach other; through them one entered the porticoes of Severus or issued\nfrom the ancient city. And wishing to make the city much larger he\nfurther continued the old wall fifteen stadia, and inclosed the city\nwith a wall which cut off the isthmus from sea to sea.\u201d\n\nIt is clear from this that the ancient land gate of Byzantium stood on\nthe crest of the ridge close to the site now occupied by the Porphyry\nColumn (which was set up by Constantine in the New Forum), and formed\nthe end of a street of columns built by Severus (the _Mese_). From\nthis gate the wall ran southwards to a temple of Aphrodite, and along\nthe shore of the Propontis opposite Scutari. Northwards it descended\nto the Golden Horn at the Neorion port, and turned along the shore to\nSeraglio Point. Now the Neorion port was just outside the entrance to\nthe modern Galata bridge,[9] and the account agrees perfectly with the\n_Notitia_ in which we find the following: \u201cThe sixth ward at entering\non it is level ground for a short distance, all the rest is upon the\ndescent; for it extends from the Forum of Constantine to the stairs\nwhere you ferry over to Sycae [Galata]. It contains the porphyry pillar\nof Constantine; the Senate House in the same place, the Neorion port;\nthe stairs of Sycae, &c.\u201d\n\nIt is evident that the city which Constantine found had been virtually\nrebuilt by Severus in the style of the East. From the days when\nAlexandria and Antioch were planned a city had become a whole to be\ndesigned according to rule. Essential features of such cities--of\nwhich Palmyra is the best representative--were long avenues of columns\nforming the main streets, and a triumphal arch with a central \u201cgolden\nmilestone.\u201d The main street of columns at Constantinople, which we\nlater hear of by the name of the _Mese_ as forming the way from the\nMilion to the Forum of Constantine, cannot be any other than the\n\u201cPorticoes of Severus\u201d just mentioned. In the fifth century we find\nthe _Mese_ referred to in the building laws of Zeno. \u201cWe ordain that\nnone shall be allowed to obstruct with buildings the numerous rows\nof columns which are erected in the public porticoes, such as those\nleading from what is called the Milion to the Capitol,\u201d any shops\nor booths between the columns \u201cmust be ornamented on the outside at\nleast with marble, that they may beautify the city and give pleasure\nto the passers by.\u201d[10] Mordtmann shows that this great columned way\noccupied very nearly the line of the present Divan Yiulu; indeed, it is\nhardly possible to divert the great arteries at any stage of a city\u2019s\nevolution, and the _Mese_ itself probably followed the course of a\nfoot-track to the gate of the Acropolis.\n\nBy building walls across the land between the Golden Horn and the sea\nat distances farther and farther from Seraglio Point, the city has been\nsuccessively enlarged; the great land walls, within which the shrunken\ncity now lies, are mainly the work of Theodosius II. These, the walls\nof the Constantinople known to the Crusaders, are still comparatively\nperfect; a triple line on the land side and a single line around the\nsea margin, some fourteen miles of walls, eight or ten to fifteen\nfeet thick, strengthened by great towers, completely girdles the city\nround about. The land-wall of Constantine\u2019s city, situated between the\nAcropolis and the present walls, has disappeared, but its course has\nbeen traced (see Fig. 1).\n\n\n_Acropolis._--The topography of ancient Constantinople has engaged\nthe attention of generations of writers, and an approximation to true\nresults has undoubtedly been reached. First we must mention Pierre\nGilles, usually called Gyllius, who, travelling to collect MSS. for\nFrancis I., resided in the city for many years, and died in 1555. Then\nDu Cange, in his great work _Constantinopolis Christiana_, 1680, by\na careful comparison of the authorities, certainly made discoveries\nin a country he had never visited. The folios of Banduri[11] followed\nin 1711; and in 1861 Labarte published a more detailed study of the\nImperial quarter, chiefly based on the ample notices in the Book of\nCeremonies of Constantine Porphyrogenitus. This work, _Le Palais\nImp\u00e9rial de Constantinople et ses Abords_, shows remarkable insight and\ncritical acumen. Buzantios in _Constantinopolis_, 1861, and Paspates in\nhis _Byzantinae Melatae_, 1877, made several further identifications.\nThe latter followed with _The Great Palace of Constantinople_, recently\ntranslated by Mr. Metcalfe, which goes over the same ground as Labarte;\nbut the excavations for the railway, which now circles Seraglio Point,\nhad in the meantime exposed some remains, and made the examination of\ncertain walls possible.\n\nAlthough Paspates made several valuable suggestions, many of his\nconclusions are certainly not sustained by his reasoning; indeed,\nLabarte in many points of divergence was probably much nearer the\nfacts. Paspates\u2019 views were accepted by Mr. Bury,[12] to be followed\nin turn by Mr. Oman in _The Byzantine Empire_ of the \u201cStory of the\nNations\u201d Series. A work in Russian has recently been devoted to the\nstudy of the Palace quarter.[13] Unger\u2019s collection of topographical\nreferences in _Quellen der Byzantinischen Kunstgeschichte_ is also of\nthe greatest service.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Plan of Constantinople showing its development.]\n\nIn 1892 appeared Dr. Mordtmann\u2019s _Esquisse_, together with a large plan\nof the city, on which the probable identifications of the ways and\nbuildings were laid down; this was prepared at the instance of the\nComte Riant, who, in his _Exuviae Constantinopolitanae_, contributed\nthe result of much research to our knowledge of Byzantine antiquities.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 2.--Plan of the Acropolis, &c., of Constantine\u2019s\ncity.]\n\nDr. Mordtmann, by a study of the whole of the city area and its entire\ncircumvallation as we have it to-day, in comparison with the written\ndescriptions, has laid a firmer grasp on the problem. Labarte, he\npoints out, was chiefly misled by a confusion of the buildings in\nthe Forum of Constantine and those in the Forum Augusteum--a mistake\nelaborated in some respects by Paspates. Labarte thus placed the\nporphyry column of Constantine, which still marks the site of the\nformer, together with other buildings that were quartered about it,\nall within the Augusteum, which last he rightly identified with the\npresent open space to the south-west of S. Sophia. Texier, who in 1834\nmade a careful study of the ancient city, rightly distinguished the two\nfora.[14]\n\nFig. 2 will assist in making clear our views as to the transformation\nof the Acropolis under Constantine. The Byzantine brick walls which\nnow inclose the old Serai Labarte regarded as of late work, and we\nthink the style of the building would very well bear out Paspates\u2019\nopinion that they were erected by Michael Palaeologus. The excavation\nfor the railway exposed some remains of a wall near O in our Fig. 1\nwhich Paspates describes as \u201cbuilt of large stones as much as 10 feet\nlong by 2\u00bd broad, and 1\u00bd thick.\u201d[15] The rest of the seaward wall still\nforming the substructure of the retaining wall of the sea-front of the\nold Serai, and running in a direction parallel to the Hippodrome, is\nalso of stone. This wall is probably ancient or follows the course of\nthe ancient Acropolis inclosure which is described by Dion Cassius as\n\u201cbuilt on rising ground and projecting into the sea.... The walls are\nvery strong, formed of large squared stones bound together with copper,\nand the inside is so strengthened with earth and buildings that the\nwhole seems one thick wall.\u201d[16]\n\nThe late Anonymous author edited by Banduri says that the wall of\nancient Byzantium commenced at the Golden Horn near the gate of S.\nEugenius to pass along by the Golden Milestone.[17] We place no\nreliance on the Anonymous for early history, but there is much to\nconfirm Mordtmann\u2019s view that an ancient wall occupied this position\nand that the Milion--which the Anonymous says was the land gate--was\nsituated upon its course and formed indeed the entrance from the\nStreet of Columns. This wall, which Mordtmann says passed on the land\nside of the old Serai in front of the modern museum (Tchenli Kiosk)\nwhere there is a high retaining wall, and continued to the west of\nS. Sophia not far from the narthex, we consider must be that which\nformed the landward inclosure of the Acropolis. The fourth region of\nthe city, Mordtmann says, was separated from the second by the rock\nof the Acropolis and this wall. We are confirmed in our acceptance\nof the other wall described by Paspates as the seaward wall of the\nAcropolis, not only because it is built against the steep escarpment\nof the rock, but by finding that in the division of the city into the\nwards or regions of the _Notitia_ the first ward exactly comprised the\nspace between the wall and the sea; the second region contained the old\nAcropolis itself, with a triangle of lower ground at the north against\nthe Golden Horn, where was probably the sea gate; while the third was\ndivided from the fourth by the great way which left the Milion gate\non the old landward wall of the Acropolis. Such pre-existing features\nnaturally formed the boundaries of the wards.\n\nWe now give from the _Notitia Dignitatum_ the descriptions of the\nfirst four regions of the fourteen into which Constantine\u2019s city was\ndivided, which will show how Constantine occupied the old areas with\nthe royal and public quarters of his new city. Twelve regions were\nincluded within the walls, and two others were formed by the suburbs of\nBlachernae and Galata.\n\n\n REGION I.\n\n Contains the house of Placidia Augusta; the house of most noble\n Marina; the Baths of Arcadius; 27 streets or alleys; 118 houses;\n 2 porticoes; 15 private baths; 4 public cornmills; 15 private\n cornmills; 4 terraces of steps. It is under one curator, who looks\n after the whole region; it has 1 vernaculus, a slave (or messenger)\n for all regions; 25 collegiati, who are selected from different\n Guilds (Corporati), and help at fires; and 5 street wardens, who\n watch the city at night.\n\n\n REGION II.\n\n Gradually rises with a gentle ascent beginning from the smaller\n theatre, and then descends abruptly to the sea. It contains the\n Great Church; the Ancient Church; the Senate; the Tribunal built\n with porphyry steps; the Baths of Zeuxippus; the theatre; the\n amphitheatre; 34 streets or alleys, 98 houses; 4 large porticoes; 13\n private baths; 4 private cornmills; 4 terraces of steps. It had also\n 1 curator, 1 vernaculus; 35 collegiati, 5 street wardens.\n\n\n REGION III.\n\n Is a plane surface in its higher part, where is the Circus, but from\n the end of this it descends steeply to the sea. It contains the\n Circus Maximus; the house of Pulcheria Augusta; the new harbour; a\n semicircular portico, called by the Greeks Sigma; the Tribunal of the\n Forum of Constantine; 7 streets; 94 houses; 5 large porticoes; 11\n private baths; 9 private cornmills. It had 1 curator; 1 vernaculus;\n it had also 21 collegiati; and 5 street wardens.\n\n\n REGION IV.\n\n From the Golden Milliarium is prolonged, with hills rising to right\n and left in a valley leading to an open space. It contains the\n golden Milliarium; the Augusteum; the Basilica; the Nymphaeum; the\n Portico of Fanio; a marble ship--the monument of a naval victory--the\n church or martyrium of S. Mennas; the Stadium; the Scala Timasii; 32\n streets; 375 houses; 4 large porticoes; 7 private baths; 5 private\n cornmills; 7 terraces of steps. It had 1 curator; 1 vernaculus; 45\n collegiati; 5 street wardens.\n\n\n_Augusteum._--Thus Region I., occupying the land between the Acropolis\nwall and the sea, was partly reserved for palaces; Region II. coincided\nwith the Acropolis, and had its south end devoted to the Forum\nAugusteum and the Christian Basilicas of S. Sophia (\u201cthe Great Church\u201d)\nand St. Irene (\u201cthe Old Church.\u201d). It will be observed that in the\n_Notitia_ the Augusteum is given to Region IV., to which it does indeed\nadjoin; Mordtmann[18] considers that the Augusteum, like the buildings\nround it, must have belonged to Region II., but suggests that there\nmay have been a continuation of the open space farther to the west in\nRegion IV., and some such space as this certainly seems required by\nseveral of the references.\n\nGyllius first made the identification of the Augusteum with the present\nopen space on the south of S. Sophia; in this he was followed by\nLabarte, and Mordtmann concurs. Paspates in making the Augusteum occupy\nthe ground along the east side of the Hippodrome stands alone against,\nas it seems to us, all evidence. For example, he is compelled to shift\nthe inscribed pedestal of the statue of the Empress Eudoxia, which we\ncannot but believe was found in its original position (see Mordtmann,\np. 64, and Paspates, p. 105, and below, p. 13). The _Mese_ moreover he\nmakes the centre of his Augusteum. Mr. Bury thought it proved that the\nAugusteum \u201cwas also called the Forum of Constantine,\u201d because a passage\nin _Cedrenus_ speaks of the Senate House (\u03c4\u1f78 \u03c3\u03b5\u03bd\u03ac\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd) as in the Forum\nof Constantine. It is perfectly clear however from the _Notitia_ that\nthere were two Senate Houses--one in the Forum mentioned in the extract\nwe have given from the description of the sixth ward, and the other\nincluded in the second region as just quoted.[19]\n\nIn the Augusteum was erected a Senate, its front facing the west. \u201cThe\nSenate,\u201d says Mordtmann, \u201cwas placed where to-day stands the Tribunal\nof Commerce.\u201d That is, on the east side of the present place of S.\nSophia against what must have been the eastern side of the Augusteum\nand the ancient Acropolis, on the seaward wall of which it was probably\nfounded. In digging the foundations of the Tribunal of Commerce in\n1847 the ancient pavement was found, at a depth of twelve feet, and\nthe base of the celebrated statue of Eudoxia, with an inscription,\nmarked it as the site of the Courts of Justice (Mordtmann, p. 64). The\nstatue, Socrates[20] says, was \u201cof silver, and it stood upon a lofty\npedestal (_bema_), not far from the church called S. Sophia, with a\nroad between.\u201d\n\nThe Augusteum, following the Hippodrome, does not lie four-square with\nthe cardinal points, but almost diagonally to them: for convenience,\nhowever, we shall speak of the directions as North, South, East, and\nWest, calling the side towards the _Mese_ the west. On the north side,\nand following the same system of alignment, is the present S. Sophia.\nThe palace of the Patriarch probably adjoined the church, on the north\nside of the square.\n\nThe royal palaces mentioned in the _Notitia_ were on the south of the\nAugusteum. According to the _Paschal Chronicle_, written about 630\nA.D., Constantine the Great made a palace beside the Hippodrome, \u201cand\nthe ascent from the palace to the stand of the Hippodrome was by means\nof the stair called the spiral\u201d (Paspates, _Great Palace_, p. 47).\nThis palace does not seem to have become of great importance until\nJustinian\u2019s time. The _Notitia_ merely mentions the House of Placidia\nAugusta, and the House of the most noble Marina, the daughters of\nArcadius, in the first ward; and the House of Pulcheria Augusta in the\nthird; and speaks of several other royal palaces in the 9th, 10th, and\n11th wards. The palace of the emperor at this time was in the 14th\nward, which was outside the walls and isolated, making \u201cthe figure of a\nsmall city by itself;\u201d this is the celebrated palace of Blachernae.\n\n\n_The Church._--It was in May 328 that Helena is said to have discovered\nthe true cross and other relics at Jerusalem. And this event, which\nsynchronizes exactly with Constantine\u2019s choice of Byzantium as his\ncapital, was probably not without direct relation to the foundation\nof the church dedicated to Christ. Socrates writes, \u201cA portion of the\ncross she (Helena) inclosed in a silver chest and left in Jerusalem as\na memorial, but the other part she sent to the king.\u201d[21]\n\nTheophanes, Cedrenus, Glycas, Paul the Deacon, Nicephorus Callistus,\nand other late historians agree in making Constantine the founder of\nthe first Church dedicated to the Second Person of the Trinity as\nthe Divine Wisdom; and Cedrenus even gives a name--Euphrates--to the\narchitect.[22] Codinus, who wrote in the fifteenth century, alone\nrelates that Constantine purified a previously existing temple and\ndedicated it to Christian uses.\n\nThere is much evidence to show that the church could not have been\ncompleted by Constantine even if he had founded it, or contemplated\nits foundation. In the life of the emperor, the Church of the Holy\nApostles, which was built near the Forum of Constantine, and in which\nthe emperor was buried, is described at length,[23] but it does not\nmention S. Sophia, although the author takes pains to enumerate the\nChristian objects in the city--saying that there were \u201cmany Oratories\nand Martyria, and by the fountains in the middle of the agorae were\nfigures in gilt bronze of the Good Shepherd and of Daniel with the\nlions; in the palace was a cross wrought in gold with many coloured\nprecious stones.\u201d[24]\n\nIn the fifth century _Notitia_, as we have seen, S. Irene is called the\nOld Church and S. Sophia the Great Church.\n\nThe historian Socrates, probably the best authority, says that\nConstantine \u201cbuilt two churches, one he called Irene and the other the\nApostles,\u201d[25] and he attributes S. Sophia entirely to Constantius.\n\u201cThe King built the great church which is called Sophia and joined\nit to that called Irene, which the father of the king had previously\nincreased and beautified, and now both churches were included within\none wall and had one title.\u201d\n\nUpon its completion, it was dedicated, with magnificent ceremony,\nby the patriarch Eudoxius on Sunday, February 15th, 360 A.D., \u201cin\nthe thirty-fourth year after its foundation.\u201d[26] This would fix its\nfoundation in the year 326 A.D., two years after Constantine, having\ndefeated Licinius, had begun to reign alone. Cedrenus writes, \u201cEudoxius\nconsecrated a _second_ time the Church of the Divine Wisdom, because\nafter its first completion, and the dedication by Eusebius, it had\nfallen and been again restored by Constantius,\u201d[27] and he places this\nevent in the twenty-second year of Constantius\u2019 reign.\n\nCedrenus is a late and credulous writer, and in attributing a first\ndedication to Eusebius--who would certainly have told us himself--he\nshows how untrustworthy is the whole story. Altogether we cannot\ndo better than accept the account of Idatius and that given in the\n_Paschal Chronicle_, with perhaps a little suspicion on the part which\nrefers to Constantine, \u201cIn this year (360) in the month Peritius was\ndedicated the great church of Constantinople, in the thirty-fourth\nyear from the time when Constantine had laid the foundations. For the\nopening ceremony (_encaenia_) Constantius brought many offerings of\ngold, and great treasure of silver; many tissues adorned with gold\nthread and stones for the sanctuary; for the doors of the church\ndifferent curtains (_amphithuriai_) of gold; and for the outside\ngateways (_puleones_) many others with gold threads.\u201d According to\nthe late Anonymous author (see page 129), \u201cin the reign of Theodosius\nthe Great (\u2020 395) and in the patriarchate of Nectarius (381-398),\nseventy-four years after the church was built, the roof of the church\nwas destroyed by fire;\u201d he probably really meant the fire of 404 in\nArcadius\u2019 reign. At that time S. John Chrysostom, incurring the dislike\nof the Empress Eudoxia, was banished. He was brought back at the end\nof two days, once more preached in S. Sophia, and was exiled again,\nwith disastrous results, for his partisans set fire to the church and\ndestroyed it. \u201cThis happened on the 20th of June, in the consulship of\nHonorius and Aristaenetus\u201d (404).[28]\n\nThe fire was by some thought to be of supernatural origin. Palladius,\nthe bishop\u2019s biographer, writes, \u201cThen a flame seemed to burst from the\ncentre of the throne in which he used to sit, and climbed up by the\nchains [of lamps] to the roof ... and crept like a wriggling snake upon\nthe back of the houses of the church.\u201d There was also burnt the Senate,\n\u201clying many paces to the south opposite the church; and the fire spared\nonly the little house, in which the sacred vessels were kept.\u201d\n\nThe church was again injured by fire, restored by Theodosius II.,\nand rededicated in 415.[29] Fresh relics were required for this\nrededication.[30] One fact of importance in regard to this church is\nrelated by Sozomenus of the Empress Pulcheria. \u201cShe dedicated an altar\nin the church of Constantinople, a most wonderful work of gold and\nprecious stones, on behalf of her virginity and her brothers\u2019 empire.\nAnd she wrote this on the face of the table so that it might be clear\nto all.\u201d[31]\n\nFrom this time until the outbreak known as the Nika sedition, in\nJanuary 532, the church is not said to have been further altered.\nAccording to Cedrenus, the records and charters perished with the\nchurch.\n\nThere cannot be a doubt that the present S. Sophia occupies the site\nof the first church. A church once made holy by dedication and the\nreception of relics could not be transported. Indeed it is possible\nthat it may occupy the site of one of the Greek temples, for there\nwas a constant tendency to this supersession on one sacred site; and\nthe present church stands on the very crest of the old Acropolis. If\nthere were any sufficient reason to identify the site with that of the\naltar of Pallas, the dedication of the church itself would evidently\nbe one of the many instances of a transference of title from the old\nworship. The Parthenon--where Hellenic rites survived to the sixth\ncentury--became a church in this way dedicated to the Holy Wisdom.[32]\nThe axis of the church seems to point somewhere between 30\u00b0 and 35\u00b0\nsouth of east, where there is a considerable sea prospect and a low\nhorizon. This direction, either by accident or intention, must agree\nvery closely with sunrise at the winter solstice:[33] the latitude\nof the church being 41\u00b0 0\u2032 26\u2033. The plan will show that the ancient\nHippodrome, and probably the other buildings, were set out in relation\nto this axis.\n\nIn comparing the early Basilicas of Constantinian date, both those\nthat exist and those of which we have descriptions, we find that they\ngenerally, if not invariably, had their doors of entrance at the _east_\nend, and their apses towards the west, exactly the opposite of the more\nrecent custom. Rohault De Fleury says this was usual in the East till\nthe fifth century, and the custom continued much later in Rome. Kraus,\nin the best study of the subject,[34] writes: \u201cS. Agatha at Ravenna\nmust be mentioned as the first which had its altar at the east end: it\nwas built in 417, and in this century the practice became general.\u201d\n\nSocrates (\u2020 440) says of the church of Antioch that \u201cthe altar stood\nnot at the east but at the _west_,\u201d but he speaks of this as contrary\nto the usual custom at the time he wrote. This church was founded by\nConstantine and finished by his son. The Church of the Apostles at\nConstantinople, built by Constantine to contain the relics of S. Luke,\nseems also to have been entered at the east, for S. John Chrysostom[35]\nspeaks of the emperor being buried \u201cin the part in front of the doors,\u201d\nand an anonymous author, who wrote about the imperial sepulchres, says\nthat Constantine\u2019s sarcophagus was \u201cin front towards the east.\u201d[36]\n\nWe shall thus be following the reasonable suggestion of comparative\narch\u00e6ology in saying that the first church of S. Sophia almost\ncertainly had its entrance doors at the east--the sanctuary end of the\npresent church.\n\nThe church was probably only of medium size; the length of the present\nchurch is about 250 feet, its vastness being in its width. The _Paschal\nChronicle_ speaks of \u201cits stupendous and marvellous columns all being\n\u1f10\u03ba \u03c4\u03b5\u03c4\u03c1\u03b1\u03ad\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u201d; but owing to a variant reading it is difficult to\ndetermine whether it means that the pillars were square, or were set\nin a square, or formed four bays. Glycas and Codinus, who wrote a\nthousand years after the foundation of the church, say that it was\nbasilican (_dromika_), and had a wooden roof (_xulotroullos_), and the\nlatter says that the church of Theodosius had cylindrical vaults. As\nit is evident from the rapid destruction by fire that the roofs of the\nearly churches were of wood, they were probably Basilicas. Only a few\nminor particulars, such as the existence of an atrium, and the right\nof sanctuary in the bema (_thusiasterion_), can be gathered from the\nhomilies of S. Chrysostom. Socrates tells us that this patriarch was\nwont to preach \u201cin the ambo for the sake of being better heard.\u201d[37]\nFrom Palladius we learn that there was a baptistery (in which the\nSixth Council of Constantinople, A.D. 394,[38] appears to have met)\nattached to the church, and it was here Chrysostom took leave of the\ndeaconesses at his banishment, as described in a passage difficult to\ninterpret. \u201cHe went out of the baptistery on the east side, for there\nwas no western (exit). The mule which he usually rode was made to stand\nwestwards before the gate to the church, where is the porch, so that he\nmight escape the people who were expecting him.\u201d The passage from the\nsame author about the waters of the font being stained with blood does\nnot, as is sometimes supposed, necessarily refer to S. Sophia.\n\nIn applying the plan of a church of mean size so that the doors should\nface eastwards, we are at once struck by finding that the western\nhemicycle of the present church would lie about the apse; and we cannot\nbut suggest that in this we may have the very _raison d\u2019\u00eatre_ of the\nremarkable plan of the present church, which it would seem might be\nproperly classed with those churches which have apses at both ends,\nlike the early basilica at Orleansville near Tunis;[39] the MS. plan of\nS. Gall is the best known example; our own early church at Canterbury\nwas another instance, the result of adding to a church with a western\napse; France furnishes Besan\u00e7on and Nevers, and Germany numerous\nexamples.\n\nIt is indeed possible that some parts of the old structure may have\ngiven practical and positive reasons contributing to this result, and\na thorough examination of the cisterns beneath the present floor of S.\nSophia may yet yield full evidence of the first basilica; or if these\nvaults were entirely built for Justinian\u2019s church, their material would\nalmost certainly be derived from the earlier building.\n\nWe suggest that the circular brick building lying at the north-east\nangle of the present church belonged to the pre-Justinian church, and\nformed its baptistery. It is about forty-five feet exterior diameter,\nand the plan as given by Salzenberg shows great resemblance to other\ncircular structures of the Constantinian age; such as S. Constantia in\nRome, the \u201ctomb of Helen\u201d at Rome, and the round tomb buildings which\nadjoined S. Peter\u2019s as shown in the plan of Ciampini.[40]\n\nThe entrance doorway of this building was to the _east_.\n\nAs to its use. In the contemporary account of Justinian\u2019s church,\nthe poet Paulus, describing the north aisle, says, \u201cOn the north is\na door admitting the people to the founts that purify the stains of\nmortal life and heal every scar.\u201d He does not mention the present\nsouth-west building, nor has he any other reference to a font. We\nsuppose therefore that this isolated building on the north-east escaped\nthe Nika fire, and served as the baptistery of the new church, until\nthe square building, on the side of the church towards the Augusteum,\nwhich is spoken of in the _Ceremonies_ as the \u201cGreat Baptistery by the\nHorologium,\u201d was erected for or diverted to this purpose.\n\nWe very probably have some relics of the earlier buildings in certain\ncapitals which Salzenberg found in the church:[41] the inscribed\nbricks,[42] and a Byzantine Corinthian capital now lying in the\ncourtyard, may likewise have belonged to it. The fine bronze doors\nto south porch are evidently earlier than the present church, and so\nprobably are the slabs of which the screen on south side of first floor\nis partly made up.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\nJUSTINIAN\u2019S CHURCH\n\n\n_The New Church._--The pre-Justinian church was burnt on the 15th\nJanuary, 532[43]--the first day of the sedition--and the work of\nreconstruction was begun on the 23rd of the following month.[44]\n\nTheophanes[45] says the period employed in the construction was five\nyears eleven months and ten days; the statements therefore of Codinus\nand Glycas, that it took seventeen years to build, are completely at\nvariance with this more credible author.\n\nThe solemn dedication took place, as Marcellinus Comes describes,[46]\non 26th December, 537, Indiction 15, in the eleventh year of\nJustinian\u2019s reign.\n\nA description of this dedication ceremony is given by Theophanes.[47]\n\u201cThe procession started from the church of Anastasia, Menas the\npatriarch sitting in the royal chariot, and the king walking with the\npeople.\u201d\n\nIn the thirty-second year of Justinian\u2019s reign an earthquake destroyed\na great portion of the newly erected church.[48]\n\nNow Procopius, whose contemporary history of the edifices built by\nJustinian was, according to Krumbacher,[49] finished and published in\nthe year 558 or the spring of 559 at latest, makes no mention of this\nearthquake of 558, though he describes in full how, during the building\nof the church, which was completed in 537, the piers of the eastern\narch threatened to give way before it was finished. We may therefore\nconclude that he describes Justinian\u2019s church in its first state.\n\nThe translation from Procopius here given is based on that of Mr.\nAubrey Stewart, published by the Palestine Pilgrims\u2019 Text Society,\nwhich has been compared with the original. We give in Fig. 3 a plan of\nthe church as built by Justinian, so far as the evidence will allow of\nan approximately certain restoration.\n\nAs the several different curved portions of the plan are difficult to\ndistinguish, we propose so far as possible to reserve certain words\nfor separate parts. The small eastern semicircle and its vault will be\ncalled apse and apsoid respectively. Hemicycle and semidome will refer\nto the great semicircle at the east or west and its vault. The pairs of\ncurved spaces forming the lateral recesses in the hemicycles we propose\nto name exedras and their half-domes conchs.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 3.--Plan of S. Sophia as built by Justinian.]\n\n_Procopius._--\u201cThe lowest dregs of the people in Byzantium once\nassailed the Emperor Justinian in the rebellion called Nika, which\nI have clearly described in my _History of the Wars_. To prove that\nit was not merely against the emperor but no less against God that\nthey took up arms, they ventured to burn the church of the Christians\nwhich the people of Byzantium call Sophia, a name most worthy of God.\nGod permitted them to effect this crime, knowing how great the beauty\nof this church would be when restored. Thus the church was entirely\nreduced to ashes; but the Emperor Justinian not long afterwards adorned\nthe new one in such a fashion, that if any one had asked the Christians\nin former times, if they wished their church to be destroyed and thus\nrestored, showing them the appearance of the church which we now\nsee, I think it probable that they would have prayed that they might\nso soon as possible behold their church destroyed, in order that it\nmight be changed into its present form. The emperor, thinking not of\ncost of any kind, pressed on the work, and collected together workmen\n(_technitai_) from every land. Anthemius of Tralles, the most skilled\nin the builder\u2019s art, not only of his own but of all former times,\ncarried forward the king\u2019s zealous intentions, organised the labours of\nthe workmen, and prepared models of the future construction. Associated\nwith him was another architect (_mechanopoios_) named Isidorus, a\nMilesian by birth, a man of intelligence, and worthy to carry out the\nplans of the Emperor Justinian. It is indeed a proof of the esteem\nwith which God regarded the emperor, that He furnished him with men\nwho would be so useful in effecting his designs, and we are compelled\nto admire the wisdom of the emperor, in being able to choose the most\nsuitable of mankind to execute the noblest of his works.\n\n\u201cThe church consequently presents a most glorious spectacle,\nextraordinary to those who behold it, and altogether incredible to\nthose who are told of it. In height it rises to the very heavens, and\novertops the neighbouring buildings like a ship anchored among them,\nappearing above the rest of the city, while it adorns and forms a part\nof it. One of its beauties is that being a part of and growing out of\nthe city, it rises so high that the whole city can be seen as from a\nwatchtower. The length and breadth are so judiciously arranged that it\nappears to be both long and wide without being disproportioned.\n\n\u201cIt is distinguished by indescribable beauty, excelling both in its\nsize, and in the harmony of its measures, having no part excessive and\nnone deficient; being more magnificent than ordinary buildings, and\nmuch more elegant than those which are not of so just a proportion.\nThe church is singularly full of light and sunshine; you would declare\nthat the place is not lighted by the sun from without, but that the\nrays are produced within itself, such an abundance of light is poured\ninto this church. _The Apse._--Now the head (_prosopon_) of the church\n(that is to say the part towards the rising sun, where the sacred\nmysteries are performed in honour of God) is built as follows. The\nbuilding rises from the ground not in a straight line, but setting\nback somewhat obliquely, it retreats in the middle into a rounded form\nwhich those who are learned in these matters call semicylindrical,\nrising perpendicularly. _Apsoid and Semidome._--The upper part of\nthis work ends in the fourth part of a sphere, and above it another\ncrescent-shaped (_menoeides_) structure is raised upon the adjacent\nparts of the building, admirable for its beauty, but causing terror by\nthe apparent weakness of its construction; for it appears not to rest\nupon a secure foundation, but to hang dangerously over the heads of\nthose below, although it is really supported with especial firmness and\nsafety. _Exedras._--On each side of these parts are columns standing\nupon the floor, which are not placed in a straight line, but arranged\nwith an inward curve of semicircular shape, one beyond another like the\ndancers in a chorus. These columns support above them a crescent-shaped\nstructure. Opposite the east wall is built another wall, containing\nthe entrances, and upon either side of it also stand columns, with\nstone-work above them, in a half-circle exactly like those previously\ndescribed. _Great Piers and Arches._--In the midst of the church are\nfour masses of stone called piers (_pessoi_), two on the north, and\ntwo on the south sides, opposite and alike, having four columns in the\nspace between each pair. These piers are formed of large stones fitted\ntogether, the stones being carefully selected, and cleverly jointed\ninto one another by the masons,[50] and reaching to a great height.\nLooking at them, you would compare them to perpendicular cliffs. Upon\nthem, four arches (_apsides_)[51] arise over a quadrilateral space.\nThe extremities of these arches join one another in pairs, their ends\nresting upon the piers, while the other parts of them rise to a great\nheight, suspended in the air. Two of these arches, that is those\ntowards the rising and the setting of the sun, are constructed over the\nempty air, but the others have under them some stone-work, and small\ncolumns. _Dome and Pendentives._--Now above these arches is raised a\ncircular building of a curved form through which the light of day first\nshines; for the building, which I imagine overtops the whole country,\nhas small openings left on purpose, so that the places where these\nintervals occur may serve for the light to come through. Thus far I\nimagine the building is not incapable of being described, even by a\nweak and feeble tongue. As the arches are arranged in a quadrangular\nfigure, the stone-work between them takes the shape of a triangle,\nthe lower angle of each triangle, being compressed where the arches\nunite, is slender, while the upper part becomes wider as it rises in\nthe space between them, and ends against the circle which rests upon\nthem, forming there its remaining angles. A spherical-shaped dome\n(_tholos_) standing upon this circle makes it exceedingly beautiful;\nfrom the lightness of the building, it does not appear to rest upon\na solid foundation, but to cover the place beneath as though it were\nsuspended from heaven by the fabled golden chain. All these parts\nsurprisingly joined to one another in the air, suspended one from\nanother, and resting only on that which is next to them, form the work\ninto one admirably harmonious whole, which spectators do not dwell\nupon for long in the mass, as each individual part attracts the eye to\nitself. The sight causes men constantly to change their point of view,\nand the spectator can nowhere point to any part which he admires more\nthan the rest. Seeing the art which appears everywhere, men contract\ntheir eyebrows as they look at each part, and are unable to comprehend\nsuch workmanship, but always depart thence, stupefied, through their\nincapacity. So much for this.\n\n\u201cThe Emperor Justinian and the architects Anthemius and Isidorus used\nmany devices to construct so lofty a church with security. One of\nthese I will now explain, by which a man may form some opinion of the\nstrength of the whole work; as for the others I am not able to discover\nthem all, and find it impossible to describe them in words. It is as\nfollows: The piers, of which I just now spoke, are not constructed in\nthe same manner as the rest of the building; but in this fashion; they\nconsist of quadrangular courses of stone, rough by nature, and made\nsmooth by art; of these stones, those which make the projecting angles\nof the pier are cut angularly (_engonios_), while those which go in the\nmiddle parts of the sides are cut square (_tetragonos_).\n\n\u201cThey are fastened together not with lime (_titanos_), called\n\u2018unslaked\u2019 (_asbestos_), not with asphaltum, the boast of Semiramis at\nBabylon, nor anything of the kind, but with lead, which, poured into\nthe interstices, has sunk into the joints of the stones, and binds them\ntogether; this is how they are built.\n\n\u201cLet us now proceed to describe the remaining parts of the church. The\nentire ceiling is covered with pure gold, which adds to its glory,\nthough the reflections of the gold upon the marble surpass it in\nbeauty. There are two aisles one above another on each side, which do\nnot in any way lessen the size of the church, but add to its width. In\nlength they reach quite to the ends of the building, but in height they\nfall short of it; these also have domed ceilings adorned with gold.\nOf these two porticoes one [ground floor] is set apart for male and\nthe other [upper floor] for female worshippers; there is no variety in\nthem, nor do they differ in any respect from one another, but their\nvery equality and similarity add to the beauty of the church. Who\ncould describe these gynaeceum galleries, or the numerous porticoes\n(_stoai_) and cloistered courts (_peristuloi aulai_) with which the\nchurch is surrounded? Who could tell of the beauty of the columns and\nmarbles with which the church is adorned? One would think that one had\ncome upon a meadow full of flowers in bloom! Who would not admire the\npurple tints of some, and the green of others, the glowing red and the\nglittering white, and those too, which nature, painter-like, has marked\nwith the strongest contrasts of colour? Whoever enters there to worship\nperceives at once that it is not by any human strength or skill, but\nby the favour of God, that this work has been perfected; the mind\nrises sublime to commune with God, feeling that He cannot be far off,\nbut must especially love to dwell in the place which He has chosen;\nand this is felt not only when a man sees it for the first time, but\nit always makes the same impression upon him, as though he had never\nbeheld it before. No one ever became weary of this spectacle, but\nthose who are in the church delight in what they see, and, when they\nleave, magnify it in their talk. Moreover it is impossible accurately\nto describe the gold, and silver, and gems, presented by the Emperor\nJustinian; but by the description of one part, I leave the rest to be\ninferred.--That part of the church which is especially sacred, and\nwhere the priests alone are allowed to enter, which is called the\nSanctuary (_thusiasterion_), contains forty thousand pounds\u2019 weight of\nsilver.\n\n\u201cThe above is an account, written in the most abridged and cursory\nmanner, describing in the fewest possible words the most admirable\nstructure of the church at Constantinople, which is called the Great\nChurch, built by the Emperor Justinian, who did not merely supply the\nfunds for it, but assisted at its building by the labour and powers\nof his mind, as I will now explain. Of the two arches (_apsides_),\nwhich I lately mentioned--the architects (_mechanopoioi_) call them\n_loroi_[52]--that one which stands towards the east had been built up\non each side, but had not altogether been completed in the middle,\nwhere it was still imperfect; when the piers (_pessoi_) upon which the\nbuilding rested, unable to support the weight which was put upon them,\nsomehow all at once split open, and seemed as though before long they\nwould fall to pieces. Upon this Anthemius and Isidorus, terrified at\nwhat had taken place, referred the matter to the emperor, losing all\nconfidence in their own skill. He at once, I know not by what impulse,\nbut probably inspired by Heaven, for he is not an architect, ordered\nthem to complete this arch; for it, said he, resting upon itself, will\nno longer need the piers (_pessoi_) below.[53] Now if this story were\nunsupported by witnesses, I am well assured that it would seem to be\nwritten in order to flatter, and would be quite incredible; but as\nthere are many witnesses now alive of what then took place I shall\nnot hesitate to finish it. The workmen performed his bidding, the\narch was safely suspended, and proved by experiment the truth of his\nconception. So much then for this part of the building; now with regard\nto the other arches, those looking to the south and to the north, the\nfollowing incidents took place. When the arches called _loroi_ were\nraised aloft during the building of the church everything below them\nlaboured under their weight, and the columns which are placed there\nshed little scales, as though they had been planed.\n\n\u201cAlarmed at this, the architects (_mechanikoi_) again referred the\nmatter to the emperor, who devised the following scheme. He ordered\nthe upper part of the work that was giving way to be taken down where\nit touched the arches for the present, and to be replaced afterwards\nwhen the damp had thoroughly left the fabric. This was done, and the\nbuilding has stood safely ever since, so that the structure, as it\nwere, bears witness to the emperor\u2019s skill.\u201d\n\n\n_Fall of Dome and Restoration._--On the 7th of May, 558, the eastern\npart of the dome, \u201cbuilt by Isaurian workmen, with the apse, was\nthrown down by an earthquake, destroying in its fall the holy table,\nthe ciborium, and the ambo.\u201d[54] Reference is made to this in the\nopening lines of the Silentiary\u2019s poem (see Chapter III.). According\nto Theophanes \u201cthe architects attributed its fall to the fact that to\nsave expense the piers had been made too full of openings. The emperor\nrestored the piers and raised the dome twenty feet.\u201d The church was\nagain consecrated in the fifth year after the catastrophe by Eutychius\nin the thirty-sixth year of Justinian, on the 24th of December.[55]\nTheophanes[56] describes the emperor and patriarch as riding together\nto the church in a chariot, and bearing the gospel with them, \u201cwhile\nthe people chanted the \u2018Lift up your gates.\u2019\u201d\n\nThe church, after its repair, is described by three contemporary\nauthors--Paul the Silentiary, Agathias, and Evagrius. The poem of the\nfirst of these is given in the next chapter.\n\n\n_Agathias._--Agathias, surnamed the scholar, was born in 536 at\nMyrina in Asia Minor,[57] studied at Alexandria, and came in 554 to\nConstantinople, where he became known as a historian and a poet, and\ndied in 582.\n\nJustinian, he says, restored several buildings after the earthquake,\nhis especial care however was the great church of S. Sophia.[58]\n\u201cNow the former church having been burnt by the angry mob, Justinian\nbuilt it up again from the foundations as big and more beautiful\nand wonderful, and this most beautiful design was adorned with much\nprecious metal. He built it in a round form with burnt brick and lime,\nit was bound together here and there with iron, but they avoided the\nuse of wood, so that it should no more be easily burnt. Now Anthemius\nwas the man who devised and worked at every part.\n\n\u201cAnd as by the earthquake the middle portion of the roof and the higher\nparts had been destroyed, the king made it stronger, and raised it to\na greater height. Anthemius was then dead, but the young man Isidorus\nand the other craftsmen, turning over in their minds the previous\ndesign, and comparing what had fallen with what remained, estimated\nwhere the error lay, and of what kind it was. They determined to leave\nthe eastern and western arches (_apsides_) as they were. But of the\nnorthern and southern (arches) they brought towards the inside, that\nportion of the building which was on the curve.[59] And they made these\narches wider so as to be more in harmony with the others, thus making\nthe equilateral symmetry more perfect. In this way they were able to\ncover the measurelessness of the empty space, and to steal off some of\nits extent to form an oblong design. And again they wrought that which\nrose up over it in the middle, whether orb (_kuklos_), or hemisphere,\nor whatever other name it may be called. And this also became more\nstraightforward and of a better curve, in every part agreeing with the\nline; and at the same time not so wide but higher, so that it did not\nfrighten the spectators as formerly, but was set much stronger and\nsafer.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 4.--Longitudinal Section, having regard to Dome as\nfirst built.]\n\n\n_Evagrius._--This historian was born in 536 A.D.[60] at Epiphania on\nthe Orontes. In his _Ecclesiastical History_ we learn of the suffering\ncaused by the invasion of Chosroes in 540. From this time all Syria was\ncontinually disturbed, and the educated Christians fell back more and\nmore on Constantinople. Evagrius came to Constantinople in 589, though\nhe returned to Antioch afterwards. His history commences with the\nCouncil of Ephesus in 431 and extends to the year 593. He says[61]:--\n\n\u201cIn the city of Constantinople Justinian constructed many churches\nof wonderful beauty in honour of God, and the saints--among them was\na great and incomparable work of a kind that none like it was ever\nremembered--the great church of S. Sophia; which excelling in beauty,\nfar surpasses power of description.\n\n\u201cAs far as I can I will explain it. The nave (_naos_) of the temple has\na dome (_tholos_) over it spreading its weight on four arches, raised\nto such a height, that to those looking from below it is difficult\nto see the whole hemisphere. And those who are above, however bold\nthey are, never dare to bend over and look on to the ground: and the\narches are open from the base up to their crown. On the right and left\nhowever, opposite to one another, are ranged columns of Thessalian\nmarble. These with other neighbouring columns carry upper chambers,\nwhich offer a place to lean forward for those who wish. Here it is that\nthe empress is wont to attend service on festal days.\n\n\u201cBut the arches to east and west are left so that nothing interferes\nwith admiration of their size. Now the arcades of the just mentioned\nupper chambers are supported from beneath by columns and small arches,\nwhich greatly add to the work. In order that the wonder of this\nbuilding may be more easily grasped, I have here placed in feet the\nmeasures of the length, breadth, and height; and of the arches their\ndiameter and height. The length then from the door opposite the holy\napse, where is offered the bloodless sacrifice, to the apse itself is\n190 feet; the breadth of the nave from north to south is 115. The\nheight from the centre of the dome to the ground is 180 feet. And of\nthe arches, the width of each in feet is [no number given]. And the\nlength from east to west is 200 feet. The width of the opening is 75\nfeet.[62] There are also to the west two fine porticoes, and everywhere\nopen courts of wonderful beauty.\u201d\n\n_Paul the Silentiary._--As this author\u2019s really detailed account of\nthe church is of considerable length, we have reserved it for the next\nchapter, although it was written before the descriptions just given\nby Agathias and Evagrius. For the little that is known of the author\nwe are almost entirely indebted to his friend Agathias, who says: \u201cIf\nany one living perchance far from this city, wishes to know and see\neverything as if present and looking on, let him read what Paulus, son\nof Cyrus, son of Florus, has written in hexameter verse; he is chief\nof the Royal Silentiaries, and sprung from a noble race; inheriting\nancestral wealth, yet zealously brought up in the study of letters, by\nwhich he was the more glorious and famous. He wrote a number of other\npoems worthy of memory and praise, but it seems to me that that which\nhe wrote on the Great Church is completed with the most skill and\nlabour, even as its subject is more worthy than any other. For you will\nfind in his poem the arrangement of the form, and the nature of the\nstones explained; the beauty and purpose of the curtains; the lengths\nand heights, what is curved and what straight, what projects and what\nis suspended. You will learn, too, how with silver and gold the more\nsacred part, intended for the divine mysteries, was adorned; as well as\nwhatever ornament great or small is there, which those who frequent the\nchurch may see.\u201d\n\nThe Silentiaries, of whom Paulus was one, were court officials.\nTheir office was an exalted one, as they ranked with the senators,\nand were employed on all kinds of service, not unfrequently becoming\nthe historians of the emperor. Paulus belonged to the cultivated and\nliterary circle, who during Justinian\u2019s reign interested themselves in\nliterature, and to him are attributed more than eighty poems in the\nAnthology.[63]\n\nThe description or rather explanation of S. Sophia was most probably\nwritten and recited as an Opening Ode at the _Encaenia_ of December\n24th, 563. K\u00f6rtum (in Salzenberg) conjectures that the poem was\nrecited in \u201ca hall of the Imperial Palace,\u201d but Du Cange is probably\nmore correct in assigning only the first eighty lines to the Palace.\nThe succeeding lines he says \u201cwere addressed to the clergy in the\nPatriarch\u2019s Palace,\u201d but we believe, from the antithesis between the\nPalace of the Emperor and the House of God, that the address to the\npatriarch was spoken within the walls of the church itself, and that\nthe whole poem, which is divided into three parts, was written to be\nrecited in connection with the opening ceremony mentioned above.\n\nIt shows us how much architecture was esteemed by Justinian, that the\nhistorian of his wars wrote also a history of his buildings; and the\ncourt poet was employed to celebrate the greatest of them in verse. On\nmany accounts the poem is the best ancient architectural description\nextant. It is exact in accuracy, most orderly in its sequence when read\nwith a knowledge of the building, and must have been written within its\nwalls. A close and careful study written when architectural ideas were\nin the ascendant--the chief subject of thought in times of peace--it is\nno futile attempt to explain a work of genius in terms of mechanics and\nfoot-rule measurements, after the manner of an architectural lecture,\nbut it translates the ideas of the artist into the words of the poet.\nThe conceit of Homeric metre and phrasing is almost a charm at this\ndistance of time, the poet\u2019s enthusiasm being quite sufficient to carry\noff the affectation of attempting an architectural epic. It is not\nhowever in its form but in its stimulus to imagination that we see its\nchief value.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\nTHE SILENTIARY\u2019S POEM--PART I\n\n\nThe first eighty lines of the Prelude are an eulogy on the emperor. The\nsucceeding lines were addressed to the clergy. \u201cWe come to you, sirs,\nfrom the home of the emperor, to the home of the Almighty Emperor, the\nDeviser of the Universe, by whose grace victory cleaves to our lord.\nThe august head of our state lent a kindly ear to our words, as he sat\nin the hall; now we see the chief of the sacred priests. May he too\nfavour us, and may none of those who listen carp at our words.\u201d\n\nThe poem itself, in long Homeric hexameters, begins by describing the\ngeneral peace throughout the Roman world at the time of the restoration\nof S. Sophia. Dr. K\u00f6rtum notes the following references to events\nonly then recently passed. The rule of the Vandals in Africa had been\ndestroyed by Belisarius (534), and a later insurrection quelled (545);\nthe reign of the Ostrogoths in the West had come to an end (554), and\npeace had just been concluded with the Persians (561). There is also an\nallusion to the conspiracy of this same year, when an attempt was made\non the emperor\u2019s life.\n\nThe poet then, describing the ruin caused by the earthquake (558) at\nS. Sophia, tells us that \u201cthe very foundations of the dome failed, and\nthick clouds of dust darkened the midday sun. Yet the whole church did\nnot fall, but only the top of the eastern vault, and a portion of the\ndome above. Part lay on the ground, part open to the light of day,\nhung suspended in the air.\u201d \u201cBut the emperor soon began to build again,\nthe Genius of New Rome by his side.\u201d\n\nWhen the emperor went to the ruins of the church he praised the skilful\ncraft of Anthemius; \u201che it was who laid the first foundations of the\nchurch, one skilled to draw a circle or set out a plan.[64] And he gave\nto the walls strength to resist the pushing arches, which were like\nactive demons. This time it was not merely the crown of the arch that\ngave way [see above, p. 28], for the very piers were shaken to their\nfoundations.\u201d\n\nThe poet now describes the building: \u201cWhoever raises his eyes to the\nbeauteous firmament of the roof, scarce dares to gaze on its rounded\nexpanse sprinkled with the stars of heaven, but turns to the fresh\ngreen marble below, seeming as it were to see flower-bordered streams\nof Thessaly, and budding corn, and woods thick with trees; leaping\nflocks too and twining olive-trees, and the vine with green tendrils,\nor the deep blue peace of summer sea, broken by the plashing oars of\nspray-girt ship. Whoever puts foot within the sacred fane, would live\nthere for ever, and his eyes well with tears of joy. Thus by Divine\ncounsel, while angels watched, was the temple built again.\n\n\u201cAt last the holy morn had come, and the great door of the new-built\ntemple groaned on its opening hinges, inviting emperor and people to\nenter; and when the inner part was seen sorrow fled from the hearts of\nall, as the sun lit the glories of the temple. \u2019Twas for the emperor\nto lead the way for his people, and on the morrow to celebrate the\nbirth of Christ. And when the first gleam of light rosy-armed driving\naway the dark shadows, leapt from arch to arch, then all the princes\nand people with one voice hymned their songs of prayer and praise; and\nas they came to the sacred courts, it seemed to them as if the mighty\narches were set in heaven.\n\n_Apse and Exedras._--\u201cTowards the East unfold triple spaces of\nsemicircular form; and above, on an upright band of wall, soars aloft\nthe fourth part of a sphere. Even so, high over its back and triple\ncrest, shimmer the tail feathers of a peacock, with their countless\neyes. These crowning parts men learned in the builder\u2019s art call\nconchs; and certain it is they call them so from a shell of the sea, or\n\u2019tis a craftsman\u2019s name.\n\n_Apse._--\u201cThe middle apse holds the stalls (_thokoi_) and steps\n(_bathra_) ranged circle-wise. Some on the level of the ground are\nmassed close together round the centre; and as they rise higher, with\nthe spaces between them, they widen out little by little, until they\ncome to the stalls of silver. Thus with increasing circles they ever\nwheel round a fixed circle in the pavement.\n\n_Bema._--\u201cNow the apse is separated [from the nave] by a space between\nvertical walls built on strong foundations, with an arch[65] above, not\na portion of a sphere, but in the form of a cylinder cleft in twain.\n\n_Exedras._--\u201cAnd westwards again are two conchs on columns, one on\neither side; projecting as if stretching out bent arms to embrace the\npeople singing in the church. They are borne by columns of porphyry,\nbright of bloom ranged in semicircular line, and with capitals\n(_karenoi_) of gold, carrying the weight of the arches (_kukloi_)\nabove. These columns were once brought from the cliffs of Thebes,\nwhich stand, like greaved warriors, by the banks of Nile. Thus, on\ntwo columns, on either side, rise the lower parts of either exedra\n(_apsis_). And for the support of each, the skilled workman has bent\nfrom below three small semicircular arches (_apsides_); and, beneath\ntheir springing, the tops (_kareata_) of the columns are bound with\nwell-wrought bronze, overlaid with gold, which drives away all fear.\nNow above the porphyry columns stand others from Thessaly, splendid\nflowers of fresh green. Here are the fair upper galleries for the\nwomen. These too have arches, as may be seen from below, though they\nshow six Thessalian columns and not two. And one wonders at the power\nof him, who bravely set six columns over two, and has not trembled to\nfix their bases over empty air.[66]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 5.--Ground Plan.]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 6.--Plan of Gynaeceum Galleries. The left-hand side\nof each plan shows the vaults, and the right-hand side the iron ties\nand wood struts at springing of vaults.]\n\n\u201cNow the workman has fenced all the spaces between the Thessalian\ncolumns, with stone closures, on which the women can lean and support\ntheir elbows. Thus as you raise your gaze to the eastern arches\n(_antuges_) a never-ending wonder appears.\n\n_Eastern Semidome._--\u201cAnd upon all of them, above the curved forms\nrises yet another vault (_apsis_), borne on the air, raising its head\naloft up to the wide-reaching arch, on whose back are firmly fixed the\nlowest courses of the divine head-piece (_koros_) of the centre of the\nchurch. Thus rises on high the deep-bosomed vault, borne above triple\nvoids below; and through fivefold openings, pierced in its back, filled\nwith thin plates of glass, comes the morning light scattering sparkling\nrays.\n\n\nPART II\n\n_Western End._--\u201cAnd looking towards the sunset, one might see the same\nas towards the dawn, though a portion differs. For there in the centre\nit is not drawn round in a circle, as on the eastern boundary, where\nsit the learned priests on seats of resplendent silver, but at the west\nend is a vast entrance (_puleon_); not only one door, but three.\n\n_Narthex._--\u201cAnd outside of the doors (_pulai_) there stretches a long\nporch (_aulon_), receiving beneath wide portals (_thuretroi_) those\nthat enter; and it is as long as the wondrous church is broad. In the\nGreek speech this part is called the narthex. Here through the night\nswells the melodious sound, pleasing to the ears of Him who giveth life\nto all; when the psalms of David are sung in antiphonal strains--that\nsweet-voiced David, whom the divine voice of the Almighty praised, and\nwhose glorious posterity conceived the sinless Son of God, who was in\nVirgin\u2019s pangs brought forth, and subjected to a Mother\u2019s care. Now\ninto this porch open seven wide holy gates (_puleones_), inviting the\npeople to enter. One of them is on the south of the narrow porch, and\nanother opens to Boreas, but the others are opened on creaking hinges\nby the doorkeeper (_neokoros_) in the west wall. This wall is the end\nof the church.\n\n\u201cWhither am I carried? What breeze has driven, like a ship at sea, my\nerrant speech? The very centre of the famous church is all forgotten;\nreturn, my muse, to see the wonders scarcely to be believed when seen\nor heard.\n\n_The Four Piers._--\u201cAlongside of the eastern and western curves\n(_kukloi_)--the half-circles with their pairs of columns from\nThebes--stand four strong well-built piers (_toichoi_), naked to look\non in front, but on their sides and backs they have supporting arches,\nand the four rest on strong foundations of hard stones. In the joints\nthe workman has mixed and poured the dust of fireburnt stone, binding\nall together with the builder\u2019s art.\n\n\u201cAbove them spring measureless curved arches like the many-coloured\nbow of Iris: one opens towards the home of Zephyr, another to Boreas,\nanother to Notus, and yet another to the fiery Eurus. And every arch\n(_antux_) has its foot at either end fixed unshaken, and joined to the\nneighbouring curves. But as each rises slowly in the air in bending\nline, it separates from the other to which first it was joined.\n\n_The Pendentives._--\u201cNow the part between these same arches (_apsides_)\nis filled with wondrous skill. For where, as needs must be, the arches\nbend away from one another, and would have shown empty air, a curved\nwall, like a triangle, grows over, touching the rim of the arches on\neither side. And the four triangles, creeping over, spread out, until\nthey become united above the crown of each arch. The middle portion\nof the arches, as much as forms the curved rim, the builder\u2019s skill\nhas formed with thin bricks (_plinthoi_), and has thus made fast the\ntopmost curves of the house of stone.\n\n\u201cNow in the joints they have put sheets of soft lead, lest the stones,\nas they lie on one another, adding weight to weight, should have their\nbacks broken. Thus with the lead inserted, the pressure is softened,\nand the stone foundation is gently burdened.\n\n_Cornice of Dome._--\u201cA rim (_antux_) curving round, is firmly fixed on\nthe backs (of the arches), where rests the base of the hemisphere[67];\nthis is the circle of the lowest course which they have set as a crown\non the backs of the arches (_apsides_). And just under the projecting\nfirmament (_kosmos_), the hanging stones form a narrow curved path, on\nwhich the man who cares for the sacred lights can walk fearlessly, and\ntrim each in turn.\n\n_The Dome._--\u201cAnd above all rises into the immeasurable air the great\nhelmet [of the dome], which, bending over, like the radiant heavens,\nembraces the church. And at the highest part, at the crown, was\ndepicted[68] the cross, the protector of the city. And wondrous it is\nto see how the dome gradually rises, wide below, and growing less as it\nreaches higher. It does not however spring upwards to a sharp point,\nbut is like the firmament which rests on air, though the dome is fixed\non the strong backs of the arches.\u201d\n\n(Here is a lacuna in the Greek text; two broken lines, 94, 95, speak of\n\u201cwindow openings made in the apses, through which streams the splendour\nof the golden morning light.\u201d)\n\n\u201cWith dauntless pen I will describe what plan the emperor devised for\nthe broad church, and how, with builder\u2019s skill, both the curves of the\narches and the vault of the wide-extended house were formed with thin\nbricks (_plinthoi_), and raised on firm foundations. Thus the skilful\nmaster-man, well versed in every craft, formed a ceiling to the lofty\nnave. Yet he did not send to the hills of Ph\u0153nician Lebanon, nor to\nsearch the dark woods of the Alpine crags, nor where some Assyrian\nor Celtic woodman goads on the oxen in dense forests, nor did he\nthink to use fir (_peuke_) or pine (_elate_) to roof the house. From\nneither the glades of Daphne[69] by Orontes, nor from the wooded crags\nof Patara[70] came cypress wood, to form a covering for the mighty\ntemple. For our noble king, since nature could produce no timber great\nenough, had it covered with stones (_lithoi_) laid in a round form.\nThus on the four arches (_apsides_) rose, like a beauteous helmet, the\ndeep-bosomed swelling roof (_kaluptra_): and it seems that the eye, as\nit wanders round, gazes on the circling heavens. And beneath the two\ngreat arches (_apsides_), to the east and to the west, you must know\nthat it is all open, and extended in the air.\n\n\u201cBut towards the murmuring south wind and the cold dry north, a wall,\nmighty in strength, rises to the under side of the rounded arch\n(_antux_). Now this wall is made bright with eight windows, and rests\nbelow on great props of marble. For beneath it six columns, like the\nfresh green of the emerald, in union support untired the weight of\nwall. And these again are borne on strong columns fixed immovable on\nthe ground, glittering jewels of Thessalian marble, with capitals above\nthem like locks of golden hair. These separate the middle portion\nof the glorious nave from the neighbouring aisle (_aithousa_) that\nstretches alongside. Never were such columns, blooming with a many-hued\nbrightness,[71] hewn from the craggy hills of sea-washed Molossis.\n\n_North Aisle, Centre Division._--\u201cAnd in the aisle itself, in the\nmiddle space Anthemius of many crafts, and with him Isiodorus the\nwise,--for both of them, acting under the will of the king, built the\nmighty church--have placed two pairs of columns, and in measure they\nare less than those others near them, but they are as bright with fresh\ngreen bloom, and they came from the same quarry.\n\n\u201cYet their bases are not placed in a row, one after the other, but they\nstand on the pavement two facing two opposite; and above their capitals\non fourfold arches (_seireai_) rises the underside of the women\u2019s\ngalleries. And close by these columns on the north side is a door,\nadmitting the people to the founts that purify the stains of mortal\nlife, and heal every deadly scar.\n\n\u201cThus on four columns of beautiful Thessalian stone, in order, placed\nhere and there, towards the twilight and to the dawn, along the length\nof the aisle (_aithousa_) there curves a weight of bending vaults\n(_kulindroi_) extending to the walls, which are pierced with openings;\non the northern side they lean on the spaces that join the twin\nwindows,[72] but on the south, instead of windows are empty spaces like\na colonnade.\n\n_North Aisle, East and West Divisions._--\u201cAnd again towards the east\nand west stand two columns from Thessaly, with lofty crests, and twin\npiers (_stemones_) from famous Proconnesus, fixed close by the doors.\nTowards the east there is but one door, though on the side of the cold\nnorth they walk through twain.\n\n_South Aisle._--\u201cOn the south you will see a long aisle as on the\nnorth, yet made bigger. For a part is separated off from the nave by\na wall, and here the emperor takes his accustomed seat on the solemn\nfestivals, and listens to the reading of the sacred books.\n\n_Gynaecea._--\u201cAnd whoever mounts will find on both sides of the church\nthe aisles for women similar to those below, and there is yet another,\nthough not like those on either side, above the narthex.\n\n_Atrium._--\u201cNow on the western side of this divine church you will\nsee a great open court (_aule_) surrounded by four cloisters. One of\nthese joins on to the narthex, but the others spread round the sides,\nwhere stand their several paths. In the very centre of the wide garth\nstands a spacious phiale, cleft from the Iassian peaks; and from it\nbubbling water gushes forth and throws a stream into the air, leaping\nup from the pressure of the brazen pipe--a stream that purges away all\nsuffering, when the people, in the month of the golden vestments[73]\nat the mystic feast of Christ, draw the unsullied waters in vessels by\nnight. And the water shows the power of God; for never will you find\ndecay on its surface, even if it remains in its vessel, and away from\nthe fountain for more than a year.[74]\n\n\u201cEverywhere the walls glitter with wondrous designs, the stone for\nwhich came from the quarries of seagirt Proconnesus. The marbles are\ncut and joined like painted patterns, and in stones formed into squares\nor eight-sided figures the veins meet to form devices; and the stones\nshow also the forms of living creatures.\n\n\u201cAnd on either side along the flanks and outskirts (_antuges_) of the\nbeautiful church, you would see open courts (_aulai_). These were all\nplanned about the building with cunning skill, that it might be bathed\nall round by the bright light of day.\n\n_The Marbles._--\u201cYet who, even in the measures of Homer, shall sing the\nmarble pastures gathered on the lofty walls and spreading pavement of\nthe mighty church? These the iron with its metal tooth has gnawed--the\nfresh green from Carystus, and many-coloured marble from the Phrygian\nrange, in which a rosy blush mingles with white, or it shines bright\nwith flowers of deep red and silver. There is a wealth of porphyry\ntoo, powdered with bright stars, that has once laden the river boat on\nthe broad Nile. You would see an emerald green from Sparta, and the\nglittering marble with wavy veins, which the tool has worked in the\ndeep bosom of the Iassian hills, showing slanting streaks blood-red and\nlivid white. From the Lydian creek came the bright stone mingled with\nstreaks of red. Stone too there is that the Lybian sun, warming with\nhis golden light, has nurtured in the deep-bosomed clefts of the hills\nof the Moors, of crocus colour glittering like gold; and the product\nof the Celtic crags, a wealth of crystals, like milk poured here and\nthere on a flesh of glittering black. There is the precious onyx, as\nif gold were shining through it: and the marble that the land of Atrax\nyields, not from some upland glen, but from the level plains; in parts\nfresh green as the sea or emerald stone, or again like blue cornflowers\nin grass, with here and there a drift of fallen snow,--a sweet mingled\ncontrast on the dark shining surface.\n\n_Sectile and carved Spandrils._--\u201cBefore I come to the glitter of\nthe mosaic,[75] I must describe how the mason (_laotoros_), weaving\ntogether with skill thin slabs of marble, has figured on the flat\nsurface of the walls intertwining curves laden with plenteous fruit,\nand baskets, and flowers, and birds sitting on the twigs. And the\ncurved pattern of a twining vine with shoots like golden ringlets,\nweaves a winding chain of clusters; little by little does it put forth\nshoots, until it overshadows all the stone near with ripples like\nbeauteous tresses. Such ornament as this surrounds the church.\n\n_The Capitals._--\u201cAnd the lofty crest of every column, beneath the\nmarble abacus (_peze_), is covered with many a supple curve of waving\nacanthus--a wandering chain of barbed points all golden, full of grace.\nThus the marble in bulging forms crowns the deep red columns, as wool\nthe distaff; the stone glittering with a beauty that charms the heart.\n\n_The Floor._--\u201cAnd gladly have the hills of Proconnesus bent their\nbacks to necessity, and strewed the floor with marble. In parts too\nshimmers the polish of the Bosporus stone, with white streaks on black.\n\n_The Mosaic._--\u201cNow the vaulting is formed of many a little square\n(_psephos_) of gold cemented together. And the golden stream of\nglittering rays pours down and strikes the eyes of men, so that they\ncan scarcely bear to look. One might say that one gazed upon the midday\nsun in spring, what time he gilds each mountain height.\n\n_Iconostasis._--\u201cOur emperor has levied from the whole earth, and\nbrought together the wealth of the barbarians of the west; for as he\ndid not deem stone a fitting adornment for the divine, eternal temple,\non which [New] Rome has centred the expectancy of joy; he has not\nspared enrichments of silver, and so the ridge of Pangaeus[76] and\nthe height of Sunium[77] have opened all their silver veins, and many\ntreasure-houses of our subject kings have yielded their stores.\n\n\u201cFor as much of the great church by the eastern arch as was set\napart for the bloodless sacrifices, no ivory, no stone, nor bronze\ndistinguishes, but it is all fenced with the silver metal. Not only\nupon the walls, which separate the holy priests from the crowd of\nsingers,[78] has he placed mere plates of silver, but he has covered\nall the columns themselves with the silver metal, even six sets of\ntwain; and the rays of light glitter far and wide. Upon them the tool\nhas formed dazzling circles, beautifully wrought in skilled symmetry\nby the craftsman\u2019s hand, in the centre of which is carved the symbol\nof the Immaculate God, who took upon Himself the form of man. In\nparts stand up an army of winged angels in pairs, with bent necks and\ndowncast mien (for they could not gaze upon the glory of the Godhead,\nthough hidden in the form of man to clear man\u2019s flesh from sin). And\nelsewhere the tool has fashioned the heralds of the way of God, even\nthose by whose words were noised abroad, before He took flesh upon Him,\nthe divine tidings of the Anointed One. Nor had the craftsman forgotten\nthe forms of those others, whose childhood was with the fishing-basket\nand the net; but who left the mean labours of life and unholy cares to\nbear witness at the bidding of a heavenly king, fishing even for men,\nand forsaking the skill of casting nets to weave the beauteous seine of\neternal life. In other parts art has limned (_kategraphe_) the Mother\nof Christ, the vessel of eternal Light, whose womb brought Him forth in\nholy travail.\n\n\u201cBut on the middle panels of the sacred screen, which forms the barrier\nfor the priests, the carver\u2019s art has cut one letter that means many\nwords, for it combines the name of our king and queen. And he has also\nwrought a form like a shield with a boss, showing the cross in the\nmiddle parts. And through the triple doors the screen opens to the\npriests. For on each side the skilful hand of the workman has made\nsmall doors.\n\n_The Ciborium._--\u201cAnd above the all-holy table of gold rises in the air\na tower (_purgos_) indescribable, reared on fourfold arches of silver.\nAnd it is borne aloft on silver columns, on whose tops every arch rests\nits silver feet. And above the arches rises a figure like a cone, yet\nit is not complete. For at the bottom its edge (_antux_) does not turn\nround in the circular form, but has an eight-sided base, and from\na broad plan it gradually diminishes to a sharp point, having eight\nsides of silver. And at the juncture of each to other is, as it were,\na long backbone (_rachis_) which seems to join with the triangular\nfaces of the eight-sided form, and rises to a single crest, where is\nartfully wrought the form of a cup. And the edges of the cup bend over\nand assume the form of leaves, and in the midst of it has been placed\na shining silver globe, and the cross surmounts it all. May it be an\nomen of peace! But above the arches many a curve of acanthus twines\nround the lower part of the cone, and the plant shows sharp projections\nwhich rise up from the groundwork like the fruit of a fragrant pear,\nglittering with light.\n\n\u201cNow where the fitted edges join the flat base are fixed and set bowls\nof silver. And in each cup stands as it were a candle, though it is a\nglittering symbol not made of wax, and beauty flashes from them and not\nlight. For they are made round of silver, brightly polished. Thus the\ncandle flashes a silver ray not the light of fire.\n\n_The Altar._--\u201cAnd on columns of gold is raised the all gold slab[79]\nof the holy table, standing on gold foundations, and bright with the\nglitter of different stones.\n\n\u201cWhither am I carried? whither tends my unbridled speech? Let my voice\nbe silent, and not lay bare what is not meet for the eyes of the people\nto see.\n\n_Altar Curtains._--\u201cBut, ye priests, as the sacred laws command you,\nspread out the curtain dipped in the red dye of the Sidonian shell\nand cover the sacred table. Unfold the veils (_kaluptrai_) hanging on\nthe four sides of silver, and show to the countless crowd a multitude\nof beautiful designs in gold of skilful handiwork. On one side is\ncunningly wrought the form of Christ. And this was not worked by\nskilful hands plying the needle on the stuff, but by the web, the\nproduce of the worm[80] from distant lands, changing its coloured\nthreads of many shades. A garment shimmering with gold, like the rays\nof rosy-fingered dawn, flashes down to the divine knees, and a chiton,\ndeep red from the Tyrian shell dye, covers the right shoulder beneath\nits well-woven web. The veiling upper robe has slipped away, and pulled\nup across the side it only covers the left shoulder, while the forearm\nand the hand are bare. He seems to point the fingers of the right\nhand, as if preaching the words of Life, and in the left hand He holds\nthe book of the divine message,--the book that tells what the Messiah\naccomplished when his foot was on the earth. And the whole robe shines\nwith gold; for on it a thin gold thread is led through the web, as if\na fair chain was laid on the cloth in a groove or channel and bound\nwith silken thread by sharp needles. And on either side stand the two\nmessengers of God--Paul, full of divine wisdom, and also the mighty\ndoorkeeper of the Gates of Heaven, binding with both heavenly and\nearthly chains. One holds the book pregnant with sacred words, and the\nother the form of a cross on a staff of gold. And both the cunning web\nhas clothed in robes of silver white, and over their sacred heads rises\nupward a temple of gold, with triple apses fixed on four columns of\ngold.\n\n\u201cNow on the extreme borders of the curtain shot with gold, unspeakable\nart has figured the works of mercy of our city\u2019s kings; here one sees\nhospitals for the sick, there sacred fanes, while on either side are\ndisplayed the miracles of Christ; such is the grace and beauty of the\nwork.\n\n\u201cBut on the other curtains you see the kings of the earth on one side\nwith their hands joined to those of the Virgin, on the other side with\nthose of Christ, and all is cunningly wrought by the threads of the\nwoof with the sheen of a golden warp. Thus is everything adorned with\nsplendour. Thus may you see all that fills the eyes with wonder.\n\n_The Lighting._--\u201cNo words can describe the light at night-time; one\nmight say in truth that some midnight sun illumined the glories of the\ntemple. For the wise forethought of our king has had stretched from\nthe projecting rim (_antux_) of stone, on whose back is firmly planted\nthe temple\u2019s air-borne dome, long twisted chains (_seirai_) of beaten\nbrass, linked in alternating curves with many windings. And these\nchains, bending down from every part in a long course, come together\nas they fall towards the ground. But before they reach the pavement,\ntheir path from above is checked, and they finish in unison on a circle.\n\n\u201cAnd beneath each chain he has caused to be fitted silver discs,\nhanging circle-wise in the air, round the space in the centre of the\nchurch. Thus these discs, pendent from their lofty courses, form\na coronet above the heads of men. They have been pierced too by\nthe weapon of the skilful workman, in order that they may receive\nshafts[81] of fire-wrought glass, and hold light on high for men at\nnight.\n\n\u201cAnd not from discs alone does the light shine at night, but in the\ncircles close by a disc you would see the symbol of the mighty cross,\npierced with many holes, and in its pierced back shines a vessel of\nlight. Thus hangs the circling chorus of bright lights. Verily you\nmight say that you gazed on the bright constellation of the Heavenly\nCrown by the Great Bear, and the neighbouring Dragon.\n\n\u201cThus through the temple wanders the evening light, brightly shining.\nIn the middle of a larger circle you would find a crown with\nlightbearing rim; and above in the centre another noble disc spread its\nlight in the air, so that night is compelled to flee.\n\n\u201cNear the aisles too, alongside the columns, they have hung in order\nsingle lamps (_lampter_) apart one from another; and through the whole\nlength of the far-stretching nave is their path. Beneath each they have\nplaced a silver vessel, like a balance pan, and in the centre of this\nrests a cup of well-burning oil.\n\n\u201cThere is not however one equal level for all the lamps, for you may\nsee some high, some low, in comely curves of light; and from twisted\nchains they sweetly flash in their aerial courses, even as shines\ntwin-pointed Hyas fixed in the forehead of Taurus.\n\n\u201cOne might also see ships of silver, bearing a flashing freight of\nflame, and plying their lofty courses in the liquid air instead of the\nsea, fearing no gale from south-west, nor from Bo\u00f6tes, sinking late\nto rest. And above the wide floor you would see shapely beams (with\nlamps), running between two-horned supports of iron, by whose light\nthe orders of priests, bound by the rubrics, perform their duties.\n\n\u201cSome there are along the floor, where the columns have their bases,\nand above again others pass, by far-reaching courses, along the\ncrowning work of the walls. Neither is the base of the deep-bosomed\ndome left without light, for along the projecting stone of the curved\ncornice the skilful workman suspends single lamps to bronze stakes.\nAs when some handmaid binds round the neck of a royal virgin a\ngraceful chain shining with the glitter of fiery gold; even so has our\nemperor fixed round all the cornice lights in circle-wise, companions\neverywhere to those below.\n\n\u201cThere is also on the silver columns [of the Iconostasis], above their\ncapitals, a narrow way of access for the lamp-lighter, glittering with\nbright clusters; these one might compare to the mountain-nourished\npine, or cypress with fresh branches. From a point ever-widening\ncircles spread down until the last is reached, even that which curves\nround the base; instead of a root, bowls of silver are placed beneath\nthe trees, with their flaming flowers. And in the centre of this\nbeauteous wood, the form of the divine cross, pierced with the prints\nof the nails, shines with light for mortal eyes.\n\n\u201cA thousand others within the temple show their gleaming light, hanging\naloft by chains of many windings. Some are placed in the aisles, others\nin the centre or to east and West, or on the crowning walls, shedding\nthe brightness of flame. Thus the night seems to flout the light of\nday, and be itself as rosy as the dawn. And whoever gazes on the\nlighted trees, with their crown of circles, feels his heart warmed with\njoy; and looking on a boat[82] swathed with fire, or some single lamp,\nor the symbol of the Divine Christ, all care vanishes from the mind. So\nwith wayfarers through a cloudless night, as they see the stars rising\nfrom point to point; one watches sweet Hesperus, another\u2019s attention is\nfixed on Taurus, and a third contemplates Bo\u00f6tes, or Orion and the cold\nCharles\u2019 Wain; the whole heaven, scattered with glittering stars, opens\nbefore them, while the night seems to smile on their way.\n\n\u201cThus through the spaces of the great church come rays of light,\nexpelling clouds of care, and filling the mind with joy. The sacred\nlight cheers all: even the sailor guiding his bark on the waves,\nleaving behind him the unfriendly billows of the raging Pontus, and\nwinding a sinuous course amidst creeks and rocks, with heart fearful\nat the dangers of his nightly wanderings--perchance he has left the\n\u00c6gean and guides his ship against adverse currents in the Hellespont,\nawaiting with taut forestay the onslaught of a storm from Africa--does\nnot guide his laden vessel by the light of Cynosure, or the circling\nBear, but by the divine light of the church itself. Yet not only does\nit guide the merchant at night, like the rays from the Pharos on the\ncoast of Africa, but it also shows the way to the living God.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\nTHE AMBO\n\n\nThe third part of the description of the Silentiary is devoted to the\nambo, the chief feature in Justinian\u2019s reinstatement of the interior.\nIt stood far out from the bema, on the central axis of the church.\nGermanus, Patriarch of Constantinople from 715-740 A.D., and Simeon\nof Thessalonica both speak of this as the right position for ambones;\n\u201cthe most holy bema should be towards the east, with the ambo in front\nof it, if there is room.\u201d[83] The two flights of steps, by which the\nambo--the name of which is derived from the Greek for ascending--was\nreached, were on the east and west sides. In the ambo the Gospel was\nread, and here was recited a prayer[84] at the conclusion of the\nliturgy, which seems to have been a compendium of those previously\nuttered in the sanctuary; the priest left the bema, ascended the ambo\non the east side, and prayed with his face towards the west. Important\noffices in coronations were also performed here.\n\nPaulus\u2019 description of the ambo opens with a preface of thirty iambic\nlines in praise of the emperor, who has added the \u201cone thing needful\nto our all-glorious church.\u201d The importance of this work is made an\nexcuse for interrupting the \u201cusual pursuits of his hearers even for a\nthird time.\u201d Twenty hexameter lines are devoted to an invocation to the\napostles and saints, and then follows the description of the ambo.\n\n\u201cNow in the central space of the wide temple, yet tending rather\ntowards the east, rises a tower (_purgos_), fair to look upon, set\napart for the reading of the sacred books. Upright it stands on steps,\nreached by two flights, one of which stretches towards the west, but\nthe other towards the dawn. So are they opposite to one another, and\nboth lead to a space formed like a circle. Now one stone curves round\nto form this circular space, though it is not altogether equal to a\ncomplete curve (_tornos_), but it agrees with it except where the edge\nof the stone is lengthened; for towards east and west a flight of steps\nis drawn out like a neck, projecting from the circled stone.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 7.--Plan of the Ambo both above and below.]\n\n\u201cAnd up to the height of a man\u2019s girdle our godlike king has formed,\nwith the help of silver, beauteous walls curving like crescents. He has\nnot bent silver right round the stone, but a silver plaque (_plax_)\nis spread out in the centre, to adorn the circling wall. Thus has the\nskilful workman spread out two sure crescents and opened on either side\na flight of steps.\n\n\u201cNor does fear seize those descending the sacred steps, because the\nsides are unfenced; for hedge walls of glittering marble have been\nreared there; and they are high above the steps for the hand of a\nman to hold as he mounts, grasping them to ease his way; so on each\nside they grow upwards in a rising line, and stop at length with the\nsteps which are between them. Thus good use is made of the stone;\nfor they have quarried savage hill, and steep promontory, to have a\nfar-stretching safeguard to the long flight. And the whole is cunningly\nwrought with skilful workmanship, and glitters with ever-changing\nbrightness. In parts it seems that whirlpools eddy over the surface,\nintertwining circles winding under the wandering curves of other\ncircles. In parts is seen a rosy bloom, mingled with wan paleness,\nor fair gleams of light, as from bright spearheads; in other places\nshines a softer glory, like the radiance of boxwood, or the delightsome\nbees-wax, which mortal men ofttimes lay on the unsullied cliffs, and\nturn over beneath the rays of the sun, while it changes to a silver\nwhite; yet not completely altering its substance, it still shows veins\nof gold. Even so the deep-stained ivory of many a year\u2019s growth expands\nits gleaming flesh on the curved breast. At times it seems to have a\npale green hue. Yet the craftsman has not left it pallid and unadorned,\nfor he has fixed it in fair and cunningly wrought designs on the stone.\nThus over all in many a curve its beauty is displayed. In parts the\nbroad surface is tinged with the choicest tint of the pale crocus, or\nappears almost without colour, like light creeping round the pointed\nhorns of the new-born moon.\n\n\u201cNow near a rocky hill stands the sacred city--Hierapolis--which gives\nits name to a well-known marble; and of this is made all the fair floor\nof the place where they read the divine wisdom of the holy books;\nand it is fitted by the craftsmen\u2019s skill on eight cunningly wrought\ncolumns. Two of these are towards the north, two towards the southern\nwind, two towards the east, and two towards the home of evening. Thus\nis the floor raised up. And beneath there is as it were another space,\nwhere the priests continue their sacred song. The stone is a covering\nto those below, but above it is like a spreading plain, untouched by\nthe feet of mortals. And the underside the mason (_laotomos_) has cut\nout and hollowed, so that, by the craftsmen\u2019s skill, it rises from the\ncapitals, curving over like the hollow shell-back of the tortoise, or\nsome oxhide shield held up over the helmet, when the warrior leaps in\nthe mazes of the Pyrrhic dance.\n\n\u201cNow the rugged surface (_metopon_) of the stone they have girdled\neverywhere with the silver metal; and there the skilled workman,\ncutting, with the point of his iron, twining foliage and lovely\nflowers, has inlaid the beauteous leaves of ivy, with its clusters and\nbudding shoots.\n\n\u201cBut with all its steps and floor and the columns as well, the\nartificers have formed for it a fixed foundation, and raised a base\n(_krepis_), the height of a man\u2019s foot, above the floor of the church;\nand in order that they might widen the foundation of the space they\nhave placed on either side, round the belly (_gaster_) in the middle,\nhalf-circles in stone, and they have surrounded the space with separate\ncolumns arranged in semicircles. Thus the whole belly is widened by\nmeans of four rich columns on either side, to north, and to south; and\nthe cave space (_speos_), like a house, is surrounded on all sides by a\nfence of circling stone.\n\n\u201cSome of the fair columns that the masons have set up are from the\nPhrygian land, towards the Mygdonian heights, hewn with strong axes:\nand looking on these flowers of stone, one would say that white lilies\nmingled with rose cups, or the soft petals of the shortlived anemone.\nHere is abundance of red and a mere tinge of white, there thin sinews\nmix with the veins which dye the columns deep red, as with drops from\nthe Laconian shell.\n\n\u201cFirst then at the bottom they have placed the fairly wrought plinth\n(_krepis_) supporting all, made beautiful with twisting curves; and\nabove it they have set stone bases, firmly fixed, cut from the rich\nquarries of the Bosporus. Quite white, they glitter, and in branching\nveins a deep blue line wanders in the shining flesh. And the bases on\nthe eight sides the mason has adorned with moulded bronze rings fixed\ncircle-wise round each base, as round a neck. And through the space of\nthe whole church shines the glory of each column fixed on its polished\nbase, like a white cloud wrought into patterns by the ruddy rays of the\nrising sun.\n\n\u201cThus are ranged in half-circles the company of four, and this half\nwith the other four they have connected by a fair chiton of stone,\neven round the well-formed hollow (_antron_); for the three spaces\nbetween the four columns have been closed by the skilful mason with\nfencestones of marble from Hierapolis, firmly fixed on the plinth\n(_krepis_). And it is meet that this crown of stone on the fair floor\nof the sacred fane should be called of \u2018the Holy City\u2019 (_Hierapolis_).\nIn the boundary is placed a door, slightly curved, through which enters\nthe priest, to the floor of the hollow cavern (_antron_).\n\n\u201cNow you must know that the curve (_spelunx_), with columns, and plinth\n(_krepis_), and fence wall, is alike on either side, towards Garamas\non the south and towards Arimaspus [to the north]. But the doors the\nworkmen have not fixed in like places, but one is westwards and the\nother eastwards--the western one inclines towards the north, but the\nsouthern gate is towards the east. Moreover the fence-walls do not\nstand the same height as the columns, but they rise above the beauteous\npavement, as much as to hide a man in the hollow space (_antron_). But\nthe eight columns with fair carved capitals come out above the fence\nwall, and stand round it on the base with equal spaces between them,\neven on the stone plinth. The capitals shine with gold, like high peaks\nwhich the golden-rayed sun strikes with its arrows.\n\n\u201cAnd all the capitals on high are crowned above in circled order by\nan embracing rim of beams (_douratea antux_), which binds the columns\ntogether in one curve, though at the same time each column is separate\nfrom its fellow. And fixed upon the rim you might see trees, with\nclusters as of fire,--the glitter of silver boughs shining afar. Nor\ndoes each sapling wander at will, but it is restrained in a cone-like\nform of many edges, from a wide circle ever lessening to a point at the\ntop. Now the fair girdle (_zoster_) that forms the rim is all crowned\nwith golden ivy-leaves, and coloured with the sapphire dust. But\ntowards the home of Zephyr, and also towards the fiery-winged Eurus,\nthere are fixed upon the rim (_antux_) two crosses of silver, with a\ncurved spike (_h\u00ealos_) above each, bending like a shepherd\u2019s crook,\nflashing a thousand lights to the eyes.\n\n\u201cIn this manner is the shining ambo made; thus have they called it \u2018the\nplace ascended\u2019 (_ambatos_), by holy paths, and here the people direct\ntheir eyes, as they gaze on the divine gospel.\n\n\u201cAnd it is to good purpose that they have placed the cut stones in\nsteps, on whose white surface one might descry thin veins of deep red\nlike the dye of the sea-shell. For the unpolished stones the mason\nhas hewn into a long flight (_rachis_) of steps, a strong support for\nthe feet of men, lest any one slipping from above and falling should\ndescend all unsteady to the floor; thus in order and in continuous line\none stone, as it rises above another, recedes from it, even as much as\na man ascending plants one step in turn in front of another.\n\n\u201cAnd as an island rises amidst the swelling billows, bright with\npatterns of cornfields, and vineyards, and blossoming meadows, and\nwooded heights, while sailors, as they steer by it, are gladdened, and\nthe troubles and anxieties of the sea are beguiled; so in the middle\nspace of the boundless temple rises upright the tower-like ambo of\nstone, with its marble pastures like meadows, cunningly wrought with\nthe beauty of the craftsman\u2019s art. Yet though it stands in the middle,\nit is not quite cut off, like an island girdled by the sea, but is\nrather like some wave-washed land, extended by a narrow isthmus through\nthe gray billows into the middle of the sea, and were it not for this\nbinding chain, it would be cut off and seen as a true island; but\nthough it projects into the ocean, it is still joined to the mainland\ncoast by the isthmus, as by a cable.\n\n\u201cSuch is the ambo; for a long path starts from the last step of its\neastern flight, and stretches out until it comes to the space by the\ntwin silver doors, even striking with its lengthy plinth the fence wall\nof the sacred rites; and the path is warded on both sides by walls. Now\nfor these fence walls they have not placed lofty slabs, but they are as\nhigh up as the navel of a man standing by them; and here the priest, as\nhe holds the golden gospel, passes along, and the surging crowd strive\nto touch the sacred book with their lips and hands, while moving waves\nof people break around.\n\n\u201cThus is this path prolonged like an isthmus, wave-washed on either\nside, and it leads the priest as he descends from the distant ambo with\nits lofty cliffs, to the shrine of the holy table. And the whole path\non both sides is fenced with the fresh green stone of Thessaly; and the\nabundant rich meadows of the stones bring the delight of beauty to the\neyes. Now at both ends of each slab from Thessaly stand posts of equal\nheight, not like a cylinder in form: one skilled in figures would say\nthat the posts were not equal-sided, but have the shape of a lengthened\ncube. And the masons (_laotoroi_) have made the joints of the Molossian\nslabs, by wedging one stone into another; it is from the Phrygian\nland that the stone-cutter (_laotupos_) has had these posts quarried.\nAnd resting the wandering glance there one might see snake-like coils\ntwining over the fair marble, winding in beauteous paths; there white\nand fiery red are set alongside of one another and a flesh colour\nbetween both, the lines bending in alternating coils, as they roll\nround in their courses. First on one side, then on another, are seen\nthe forms of the moon and stars.\n\n\u201cAnd on the uppermost rim of the fence wall they have fitted another\nlong stretching stone, quarried from the same foreland crag, so that\nthe Thessalian slab is fixed below on the firm foundations of the\nplinth, and is bound above by another band of marble; and the edges of\nthe Thessalian slabs are joined together as in a chain by the square\ncolumns, which are set upright and firm on the foundation.\n\n\u201cAnd as when one winds the gold twisted thread in and out over the\nmany-coloured surface of a Tyrian robe, and adds a fitting pattern\nround the bottom edges, or in the fair centre of the robe, or about the\nsleeve-holes for the arms while the fresh green web of the cloak shines\nlike a meadow in spring,--the glory of the golden warp adding beauty to\nbeauty, and decking it as if with flowers; even so the cunning workman\nhas cast on the fresh green stones of the sacred rock the glitter of\ngolden rays, giving a brighter beauty to them.\n\n\u201cBut at the eastern end of the passage, by the holy fence walls of the\naltar, they have cut off the isthmus, so as to form a speedier path for\nthose who pass from side to side.\n\n\u201cSuch works as these has our emperor, bestowing splendid gifts, built\nfor God the King. For to the great bounties of his peaceful reign he\nhas added this much-praised temple, so that with divine foresight he\nmight prepare a gift for the Creator of the world, Christ, King of All.\nBe thou, O glory of the eternal Trinity, thrice favourable to this city\nof Rome, to our citizens, our emperor, and our much-loved temple.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\nIn following this description we see that it begins on the raised\nfloor of the ambo which was rounded on two sides, the others being\nopen to the steps at the east and west. The breast wall on each side\nwas largely covered with applied silver wrought into patterns; and\nthe rest, together with the parapet slabs to the steps, were inlaid\nin ivory, probably carved like the contemporary bishop\u2019s throne at\nRavenna. The body of the ambo inlaid thus with ivory and silver was\nupheld on eight columns, the underside of the floor stone being\nhollowed into a flat dome like the fluted soffite of the still older\nambo at S. Apollinare at Ravenna. On either side, around the ambo, was\na semicircle of large columns of rosy-veined Synnada marble on white\nbases with bronze annulets and gilt capitals; between the columns\nbreast-high slabs of Hierapolis marble inclosed a space. The circle of\ncolumns stood on a raised step, and above they were bound together by\na carved beam, the pattern being gilt with the interspaces painted in\nultramarine. On this to east and west stood silver crosses; their upper\nlimbs \u201cbent like shepherds\u2019 crooks\u201d doubtless formed the \u03a7\u03a1 monogram.\nSilver candelabra, cones of diminishing circles, stood round about on\nthe top of the beam. From the eastern steps a passage way ran back to\nthe step of the iconostasis, inclosed on both sides by marble slabs\ngrooved into posts, bearing a top rail. This closure of Verde antique\nslabs was inlaid in white and red patterns and gold mosaic.\n\nIn this description two separate parts appear, the ambo proper reached\nby the narrow inclosed way and ascended by steps; and the space entered\nby two doors screened off about it by the circle of large columns and\nclosure slabs, \u201cwhere the priests continue their sacred song.\u201d So in\nConstantine Porphyrogenitus\u2019 _Book of the Ceremonies_[85] we read of\nthe \u201cpsaltae\u201d placed in the ambo singing, \u201cChrist is risen.\u201d\n\nWe know little of the later history of the ambo. The Anonymous Author,\nwho probably wrote not earlier than the twelfth century, comparing the\nmythical splendour of an earlier ambo destroyed by a fall of the dome\nto another which he attributes to Justinian\u2019s nephew, Justin, says\nthey made the latter of marble, with columns covered with silver, and\nwith silver screens going round the solea. It had no dome. Immediately\nafter he compares the pavement which he says was destroyed at the same\ntime with one that _now is_. So that we may assume that he wrote of\nan ambo then existing, and that therefore in this instance he may be\ntrusted.[86] The work attributed to Justin by the Anonymous is really\nthe restoration under Justinian; he seems to have confused the nephew\nof the architect who was then employed with the nephew of the emperor.\nRohault De Fleury,[87] who accepts this story, suggests that a canopied\nambo which appears in the _Menologium_ of Basil (976-1025) figures one\nin S. Sophia which may have replaced the former ambo after the fall\nof the dome in 975. Robert de Clari (1200) merely says, \u201cThe place\nfrom which they read the Gospel is so rich and noble, that we do not\nknow how to describe the making of it.\u201d[88] The ambo of that time was\ndestroyed by the Crusaders (1203).[89] Clavijo, the Spanish ambassador,\nwho saw S. Sophia two hundred years later, has left this description\nof the covered ambo then existing. \u201cOn the floor in the centre of the\narea is a pulpit placed on four columns of jasper; and the sides of it\nare overlaid with panels of jasper of many colours, and this pulpit is\nsurmounted by a cover, which stands on eight very large jasper columns;\nand here they preach and read the Gospel on feast days.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\n_Coronations._--We shall now quote two descriptions of the ceremonies\nassociated with the ambo at coronations. These are of the age of the\nPalaeologi, and the first is especially interesting as describing the\n_Megale Eisodos_ and the Celebration.\n\n\u201cAnd about the second hour of the same day the prince who is to be\nanointed is set upon a shield;[90] the reigning emperor, who may be his\nfather, and the patriarch take hold of the front part of the shield,\nwhich is also held by the officials of rank and the nobility. They\nthen raise it, and show the new emperor to the assembled populace.\nAfter he has been greeted with acclamation, they attend him into the\nchurch, where the rest of the ceremony must be completed. Now a little\nedifice of wood has previously been prepared for this very purpose,\ninto which they lead the new emperor, and put on him the purple and\nthe diadem, which have been blest by the bishops. And round his head\nit is customary to put only a chaplet. After this the service of the\nMass (_mustagogia_) proceeds. And near the erection just mentioned a\nset of movable steps, also of wood, are prepared, and these they cover\nwith purple silk. And upon it are placed golden thrones, according to\nthe number of the princes, not like other thrones, but raised on four\nor five steps; here the princes take their seats. The princesses also\nascend with them, and sit on the thrones, wearing their crowns, but\nshe that is about to be crowned wears a chaplet. Now before the hymn\n_Trisagion_ is sung, the patriarch comes out of the bema and ascends\nthe ambo, and with him are the rulers of the church, all wearing their\nsacred robes. He then dismisses them, and summons the princes, and\nthey immediately arise from their thrones and come to the ambo, while\nprofound silence is kept by the whole congregation. Then the patriarch\ngoes through the prayers appointed for the anointing, some silently by\nhimself, others out loud, praying for the blessing of God on him who\nis about to be anointed. After this the new emperor removes from his\nhead whatever he is wearing, and then it is right for all, as many as\nare present, to stand with bared heads. Then the patriarch with the\nholy oil anoints the head of the emperor with the form of the cross,\nsaying with a loud voice \u2018Holy\u2019; and as soon as they hear it those\nstanding on the ambo pronounce it three times, and after them all the\npeople. After this the crown is brought by deacons from the bema where\nthey keep it (now it is not above the Holy Table as some say), and\ntaken to the ambo. If any previously crowned emperor be there, he and\nthe patriarch take the crown together, and place it on the head of the\nprince, the patriarch saying \u2018Holy\u2019 in a loud voice. Those in the ambo\nrepeat it three times, and the people, as after the anointing. Then the\npatriarch repeats some more prayers, and the prince descends from the\nambo, not on the side by which he ascended, but on the side which is\nturned towards the solea. If he is unmarried he then ascends the steps\nand reseats himself upon his throne, but if he has a wife then she also\nmust be crowned. She is then led, as she rises from the throne, by two\nkinswomen one on either side, or if she has no relatives, eunuchs lead\nher down from the steps, and stand with her before the solea. Then the\nemperor descends from the ambo, and takes the crown held ready by the\nkinswomen or eunuchs, and places it upon the head of his wife, and she\nkneels before her husband, swearing fealty to him. And the patriarch,\nstanding by the solea, offers up a prayer for the emperor and empress,\nand all their people. Thus the emperor crowns his own wife. And then\nboth ascend the steps, and sit upon their thrones, and the rest of the\nmysteries are proceeded with. But at the singing of the _Trisagion_, or\nat the reading from the apostolic writings, or the Gospels, they stand\nup.\n\n\u201cAnd on both sides of the nave, on wooden steps made for this\npurpose, are those called protopsaltae, and domestici, and others of\necclesiastical rank who know how to sing, and who are called because\nof this _kraktai_;[91] all these sing anthems especially made for the\noccasion. But when the part of the mysteries which is called _The\nGreat Entrance_[92] is beginning, the chief of the deacons comes and\nsummons the emperor, and he comes with them into the prothesis, where\nare set out the Holy Elements, and, standing outside the prothesis,\na golden mantle is put upon him over the diadem and the purple; and\nin the right hand he holds the cross, which he usually carries when\nhe wears his crown, but in the left he carries the rod, which he who\nis called _deputatus_ usually carries. With these in both hands the\nemperor leads the sacred entrance, and on both sides of him march\nthe Varangi with their axes, and the sons of the nobility armed and\nunarmed, about a hundred in all, follow; and immediately behind him\ncome the deacons in order, and the priests, carrying the vessels for\nthe service--and other most holy things. And after going round the\nnave, as is their wont, when they come into the solea, all the others\nstand outside, but the emperor alone enters the solea and finds the\npatriarch standing at the sacred screen, and after bowing to one\nanother the patriarch goes inside, but the emperor remains without, and\nthen the deacon who followed immediately after the emperor, holding in\nhis right hand a censer, and in his left what is called the _maphorion_\nof the patriarch, approaches and censes the emperor. The emperor bows\nhis head, while the deacon with a loud voice calls out, \u2018May the Lord\nbe mindful of the power of thy kingdom in His universal kingdom, now\nand always and for ever and ever, Amen.\u2019 And in order the rest of\nthe deacons and the priests approach and say the same. And when this\nis finished the emperor bows to the patriarch, takes off the mandya,\nwhich is taken away by the refendarius. The emperor again ascends the\ntribune and sits down on the throne, but he stands during the creed,\nthe Lord\u2019s Prayer, and the elevation of our Lord\u2019s body. And after the\nelevation, if he is not prepared for the Communion he remains seated\ntill the end of the service. But if he is prepared, the deacons again\ncome and summon him. And with them he enters into the bema and, having\nbeen given a censer, he censes the Holy Table, looking first of all to\nthe east, then north, west, and south, and having again censed towards\nthe east, he censes the patriarch also. The patriarch bows to him and\ntakes the censer, and censes the emperor in return. After this the\nemperor removes the crown, and gives it into the hands of the deacons.\nThen the patriarch puts into his hand a portion of our Lord\u2019s body,\nand after that he drinks of the life-giving blood, not from a spoon\nlike the rest of the people, but from the cup itself like the priests.\nThen the emperor replaces the crown, and comes out of the bema, and\nafter the congregation has shared in the Communion, and he has been\nblessed by the patriarch, and the priests, and has kissed their right\nhands, they lead him to the part called catechumena to receive the\nacclamations of the people. When this is finished, he comes down again,\nand he and the empress mount on horseback, and ride back to the palace\nto partake of a banquet.\u201d[93]\n\nCodinus Curopalata[94] has also a description, almost in the same\nwords, but with some additions. The future emperor is \u201cled to the\ntriclinium called Thomaites, which looks on to the Augusteum, where\nare standing the populace with the army. But before the emperor shows\nhimself, what are called epicombia are thrown to the people by one\nof the senators, whom the emperor has selected. These epicombia are\nmade as follows. They cut pieces of cloth, and in each piece they\nbind up three gold and as many silver numismata and three obols, and\nthen throw them to the people, and they scatter as many thousands of\nthese as the emperor shall arrange. Now it is customary to throw these\nepicombia in the proaulion of the great church, that is in the part\ncalled Augusteum;--he who scatters them standing above the steps of\nthe Augusteum.\u201d Inside the church a wooden tribunal had been prepared\nin the gynaeceum, and at the end of the ceremony \u201cthe young emperor\nwith his wife the empress, and the emperor, his father, and his mother,\nascend. But the golden velothyra hide the tribunal, so that they shall\nnot be seen. Then the psaltae sing \u2018Lift up,\u2019 and immediately the\nvelothyra are raised, and the princes in the gynaeceum are greeted with\nacclamations by the people.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\nTHE RITUAL ARRANGEMENTS AND INTERIOR PARTS OF THE CHURCH\n\n\n_Main Divisions._--Du Cange, in the commentary to his edition of the\nSilentiary\u2019s Poem, was the first to make a serious attempt to elucidate\nthe interior arrangements of S. Sophia. This appeared with the poem in\nthe folio of 1670,[95] but a revised edition was incorporated in his\n_Historia Byzantina_, 1680.[96]\n\nIn the first his knowledge of the actual state of the church seems\nto have been limited to the description of Gyllius unassisted by any\nplan. Drawings of S. Sophia were desiderata at that time, and Grelot\ntells us how he was induced to attempt to make them by a knowledge that\nothers who had been commissioned by the King of France had failed.\nBefore the publication of his revised edition of 1680 Du Cange had\nobtained a plan. This appeared in the same year as Grelot\u2019s work, and\ndivergences seem to show that the plans were, in great measure at\nleast, independent of one another. The main text of his commentary\nhowever remained the same, and the alterations, although crucial, were\nmostly made by the omission of a few lines here and there without any\nattention being specially called to the fact.\n\nThis has been the cause of much confusion, as it has unfortunately\nhappened that the first edition has been reproduced without remark\nin the series of Byzantine texts published at Bonn and in Migne\u2019s\n_Patrologiae Cursus Completus_. In this Du Cange placed the iconostasis\n\u201cunder the great eastern arch which supports the dome,\u201d and thus\nincluded the whole eastern hemicycle in the bema. He devoted the whole\ncentral square under the dome to the \u201cpriests and singers,\u201d separating\nit from the western hemicycle by \u201cmarble columns,\u201d which were obtained\nby a curious misreading of Gyllius\u2019 description of the verde antique\ncolumns in the western opening on the _first_ floor. In the centre\nbetween these \u201cmarble columns\u201d he placed the \u201cBeautiful\u201d or \u201cRoyal\nGate,\u201d and the western hemicycle outside this was alone allotted to\nthe people. In the corrected edition of 1680 the bema is confined to\nthe eastern extension, the eastern hemicycle became the solea, and the\ncentral area and western hemicycle are given to the people.\n\nThere is actually very little diversity of opinion in regard to\nthe main divisions of the church between Du Cange, Neale,[97] and\nSalzenberg, but Rohault de Fleury has been misled into making an\nengraving of the iconostasis, stretching across the whole hundred feet\nof the hemicycle.\n\n_Bema._--A church, as Simeon of Thessalonica writes, is properly\n\u201cdivided into three parts, the pronaos, the naos, and the bema.\u201d\nThe bema (see Plan, Fig. 5) is the raised part within the screen or\niconostasis included by the apse. This was the place set apart for the\npriests, who are hence sometimes called \u201cthey of the bema.\u201d[98] Decrees\nwere passed from time to time to enhance its sacred character; as that\nno member of the laity should pass beyond the screen, except with the\nconsent of a bishop. Even the emperor was only allowed there during a\nfew portions of the liturgy.\n\nThe bema of S. Sophia was indifferently called the _adyta_,\n_hierateion_, _thusiasterion_. The history of Michael Attaliotas also\nspeaks of it as the \u201csecond skene, that is, the Holy of Holies.\u201d[99]\nThe apse proper is by Paulus mentioned apart from the space contained\nby the straight walls, and it is possible that this is the _kuklios_\n(cyclius) of Porphyrogenitus. From the poet we gather that the priests\u2019\nstalls against the wall were plated with silver. The upper part of\nthe curved wall is incrusted with precious marble of sombre golden\ntones, beneath which the surface has been disturbed and is now covered\nby plain gray slabs. When we recall the immense quantity of silver\nthat Procopius says was used in the sanctuary, and remember that the\niconostasis and the altar-ciborium were of silver and the Holy Table of\ngold, it seems likely that the plating of the silver stalls covered the\nwhole of this narrow strip, which would not be more than six or eight\nfeet above the top seat, the level of which we suppose is marked by the\nprojection of the lower part of the wall. In the small oratory of the\nSaviour built by Basil in the palace \u201cthe whole pavement was of massive\nsilver wrought by the hammer and enriched by niello, and the walls to\nthe right and left were covered with great plates of silver damascened\nin gold and glistening with precious stones and pearls.\u201d[100] To this\nspace we should refer the four panels with images in the wall mentioned\nin the _Novgorod Chronicle_,[101] which we suppose were of embossed\nsilver or enamel. The most eastward point of the apse was occupied by\nthe patriarch\u2019s throne.[102] A bishop\u2019s chair with a canopy preserved\nin the cathedral church of S. George at Constantinople, said to have\nbelonged to S. Sophia, is in any case quite late. It is of wood,\nornamented with inlaid work representing the two-headed eagle, which\nwas not adopted earlier than the tenth century.\n\nIn Fig. 8 we give an outline of a miniature in the _Menologium_ (Jan.\n16) of the adoration of S. Peter\u2019s chains, which were kept in the\nchapel of S. Peter attached to the great church. We have here a bema\nfully represented with the altar, ciborium, and apsidal stalls for the\nclergy. We can hardly suppose that these latter could have belonged to\na small dependent chapel, and hence the miniature in the symbolic way\nof these old drawings is probably intended as a view of the great apse.\n\n_Altar._--The central object of the bema was the altar, which stood\nbeneath the cylindrical vault, on the under side of which the two\ngreat watching angels are represented in the mosaic. Paulus says, \u201cOn\ncolumns of gold is raised the all golden slab of the Holy Table; it\nstands too on a base of gold, and from it gleams the brightness of\nprecious stones.\u201d The doubtful Anonymous says that it was \u201csupported\non four columns, overlaid with gold,\u201d and again that \u201cit was set up on\nsolid columns of gold, studded with precious stones;\u201d and that beneath\nthe altar was a \u201csea\u201d (_thalassa_) ornamented with gold and precious\nstones.[103] This seems to refer to the \u201cbase of gold\u201d beneath the\ncolumns.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 8.--View of Bema from the _Menologium_.]\n\nAccording to Labarte, the description by the Anonymous (see p. 138)\nshows that the altar itself was decorated with the bright diversity of\nenamel. This he seems to prove by passages in Suidas[104] and Cedrenus.\nThe last-named writes: \u201cIt is formed of gold, of silver, of every kind\nof stone and metal and wood, and everything which earth, sea, or the\nwhole universe contains. Of all these he (Justinian) collected the\nmost valuable, with some small amount of commoner ones. He then melted\nthose that would melt, added those that were dry, and poured them\ninto a mould till it was filled. He wrote upon it, \u2018We (Justinian and\nTheodora) thy servants, O Christ, bring thee of thine own, praying that\nthou wilt graciously accept it, O Son and Word of God made flesh and\ncrucified for us. Strengthen us in the true faith, increase and guard\nthis state, which thou hast intrusted to us, through the mediation of\nMary, the holy Virgin, the Mother of God.\u2019\u201d\n\nHowever doubtful these late Greek writers are as authorities for\nJustinian\u2019s time, enamel was used in later days in the most extravagant\nmanner, and we cannot doubt that at the time when the Crusaders took\nthe church the altar was of enamel.[105] Robert de Clari,[106] writing\nat this time, says, \u201cthe chief altar of the church (S. Sophia) is so\nrich that one cannot value it; for the slab which forms the altar is of\ngold and of precious cut stones (_esquartel\u00e9es_) and pearls (_molucs_)\nall thrown together.\u201d Nicetas is even clearer; describing the capture\nof Constantinople and the sack of the church, he says: \u201cThe Holy Table,\nmade of all kinds of precious materials, cemented together by fire,\nand formed into a many-coloured harmony so as to be the wonder of all\nnations, was broken in pieces and distributed by the soldiers.\u201d[107]\n\nIt is very probable that some of the enamels added to the Pala d\u2019Oro\nat Venice after the sack of Constantinople came from the sanctuary\nof S. Sophia, possibly from its altar. Sylvester Sguropulus[108] who\naccompanied John Palaeologus to Venice in 1438, describes the Pala\nd\u2019Oro as \u201can icon which is formed out of many, and we heard that some\nof these were taken from the Church of S. Sophia.\u201d It may be only a\ncoincidence that one of the panels of the Pala contains the figure of\nSolomon with the Greek inscription, \u201cWisdom hath builded her house,\u201d\nthat being the usual legend for Solomon.\n\nThe altar would have been covered, like the altars shown in the mosaics\nat Ravenna, and the illustrations of the _Menologium_,[109] by a cloth\nreaching on all sides to the floor. These cloths bear very simple\ndevices--in the centre a plain cross, circle, or star, and at the four\ncorners _gammidae_ \u26f6 which in the code of symbolism probably expressed\nthe four corners of that world, for which the daily sacrifice was\noffered.\n\nOthers however were more richly embroidered. In the _Liber\nPontificalis_ of Agnellus[110] it is said that Maximian, the Archbishop\nof Ravenna in Justinian\u2019s time, ordered a most precious altar-cloth\n(_endothis_) of byssus, on which was embroidered the whole history of\nthe Saviour. \u201cIt is not possible to imagine the human figures, or the\nbeasts and birds which are made on it.\u201d The figure of the archbishop\nwas represented with the inscription, \u201cPraise the Lord with me, for\nhe hath raised me from the dust.\u201d The Continuator of Theophanes\nalso speaks of an altar-cloth on which \u201cthe birth of the Lord was\nrepresented.\u201d[111]\n\nThe general Greek name for altar-cloth was _endute_. Those at S.\nSophia are thus spoken of by the Anonymous, and we read that Michael\nPalaeologus sent to the Pope \u201can _endute_ of the Great Church, of rose\nred, with gold and pearls worked on it.\u201d[112]\n\n_Ciborium._--The altar stood under a canopy of silver called a\n_kiborion_, as is fully described by Paulus. According to the Anonymous\nit was patterned with niello or damascening (see p. 138). Such ciboria\nare frequently spoken of in the _Lives of the Popes_.[113] Thus Gregory\nI. made for S. Peter\u2019s a \u201cciborium with four columns of pure silver,\u201d\nand Leo III. \u201cmade for the basilica of S. Paul a ciborium with large\nand beautiful columns of the purest silver.\u201d The ciborium of S.\nDemetrius at Salonica, a fifth-century work described in the _Acta\nSanctorum_, was also of silver. It supported at the top \u201ca solid sphere\nof silver, with wonderful lily-leaves curved round it, and a cross\nabove.\u201d[114]\n\nAn illustration[115] in an eighth-century Gospel preserved at Venice\nrepresents a ciborium, like that at S. Sophia. We see four arches on\nfour columns, and from the flat top above rises an octagonal cone.\nAt the four corners stand bowls, and in each bowl is a candle or a\nrepresentation of one, as the Silentiary describes. Pope Leo III.\nplaced \u201cabove the altar of S. Peter four large cups of the purest\nsilver, every one having in its centre a candle of silver-gilt.\u201d[116]\n\nThe ciborium at S. Sophia described by Paulus may have lasted till\n1203; Robert de Clari, writing at this time, says: \u201cAround the altar\nthere are columns of silver, which carry a canopy (_abitacle_) over the\naltar, made like a tower (_clokier_), which is all of massive silver,\nand so rich that one cannot estimate its value.\u201d\n\n_Crowns, &c._--From the first a crown and dove of gold would have\nbeen suspended from the centre of the canopy; such doves are spoken\nof as being in use in Constantinople during the Council of 536.[117]\nTheophanes says: \u201cOn Easter Day Sophia, the widow of Justin II., and\nConstantia, the wife of Maurice, gave the Emperor Maurice a crown of\nexceeding value. When the emperor saw it, he took it to S. Sophia, and\nhung it above the Holy Table by triple chains of gold and precious\nstones.\u201d[118] This, Nicephorus Callistus says, was preserved there till\nthe taking of the city by the Latins.[119] According to Buzantios, the\nemperor Leo IV. and his wife Irene also suspended crowns here. Nicetas\nspeaks of the \u201ccrown of the great Constantine, which hung above the\nHoly Table;\u201d and again of one \u201cJohn, surnamed Crassus, who rushed into\nS. Sophia and placed on his head a small crown, one of those which hang\nround the Holy Table;\u201d[120] and it appears from the account of the\nRussian pilgrim Anthony, given in the next chapter, that just before\nthe Crusade there were thirty crowns suspended from the ciborium--a\nbeautiful symbolism.\n\nThe splendid hanging crowns at Monza and in the Cluny Museum show us\nthat these votive crowns were broad circlets of gold incrusted with\nlarge uncut rubies and emeralds with borders of pearls, and strings\nof jewels, and other pendants hanging from the rim. A small enamelled\ncrown for suspension above an altar which is amongst the Constantinople\ntreasures at S. Mark\u2019s is inscribed \u039b\u0395\u039f\u039d \u0394\u0395\u03f9\u03a0(\u039f\u03a4\u0397\u03f9); this, according to\nLabarte, must be Leo VI., who died in 911.[121]\n\n_Altar-veils._--Round the four sides of the ciborium were suspended the\ncurtains described in such detail by Paulus. They were all the more\nwonderful at this time as being silk-woven and not embroidered.[122]\nThe gold thread however seems to have been \u201claid\u201d on. By the later\nGreeks those curtains were named tetrabela. They were often of deep\nred embroidered with gold, and were usually hung on rods going from\ncapital to capital of the ciborium, as some of the illustrations in the\n_Menologium_ show, though others seem to have been suspended from the\ncurves of the arches.\n\n_The Iconostasis._--For a description of the screen in front of the\nbema, with its columns, beam, panels, and doors plated with silver,\nwe refer to the Silentiary. A screen of this kind, from the sacred\npaintings with which it is adorned, is now called the iconostasis, but\nby the Byzantine writers it is usually named _herkos_, _druphrakta_,\n_kinklidai_, or _kankelloi_. Such screens were generally of bronze or\nmarble. The Church of S. John the Evangelist, built by Galla Placidia\nat Ravenna, had a screen of silver. At the Church of the Apostles\nat Constantinople, built by Constantine, the iconostasis was gilded\nbronze. The screen of S. Peter\u2019s in Rome was formed by the twelve\nbeautiful antique columns which figure in Raphael\u2019s tapestry, standing\nin two rows.[123] Eusebius connects twelve columns which stood about\nthe tomb in the Sepulchre church with the number of the apostles, and\nit is possible, as De Fleury suggests, that in the six pairs of pillars\nforming the iconostasis at S. Sophia a reference may be seen to the\ndismissal of the apostles two by two. From the narrowness of the bema\nit seems certain that the coupling of the pillars was transversely to\nthe screen as shown on our plan, Fig. 5. Thus they easily supported the\npassage way, where stood a great gemmed cross and a row of branched\nsilver candelabra. This was the \u201cnarrow way for the lamp-lighter above\nthe silver columns\u201d described by the Silentiary.\n\nThe decoration of the silver plating of the breastwork and the beam by\nfigures of apostles, prophets, and angels, and with circles bearing\ncrosses and monograms, may have been formed in _repouss\u00e9_, like a\nbeautiful gilt panel with a figure of the Virgin and Greek inscription\nnow at Kensington Museum, which formed a part of the decoration of\nthe screen at Torcello, but we think it more probable that it was\ndamascened with gold like the silver work in Basil\u2019s chapel.\n\nThe iconostasis probably reached up to the base of the porphyry strip\nwhich forms the border of the marble plating of the bema; if so it was\nabout twenty feet high; it had three doors--\u201cThe Holy Doors\u201d--that in\nthe centre being the largest.\n\nThe \u201cgold and silver columns in the middle of the temple\u201d seen by\nBenjamin of Tudela, 1173, must refer to the iconostasis.\n\nWhen the Crusaders practically sacked the church, the iconostasis,\nciborium, and altar were broken up and distributed. Nicetas says, \u201cThe\nfurniture of surpassing beauty, the silver, which went round the screen\nof the bema, the ambo, the doors, and many ornaments, in which gold was\nused, were carried away.\u201d The _Novgorod Chronicle_[124] gives a fuller\naccount of the eventful morning when the doors were broken through and\nS. Sophia was invaded. \u201cThey broke down the podium of the priests,\nornamented with silver, the twelve silver columns, the four panels\nin the wall, decorated with images, and the Holy Table. They also\ndestroyed the screen walls of the altar placed between the columns, and\ntwelve crosses which stood above the altar; amongst these were crosses\nof metal, like trees, higher than a man. All these things were made of\nsilver.\n\n\u201cThey carried off also the wonderful table, with the gems and a great\npearl; so great a crime did they commit in ignorance. Moreover they\nsnatched away forty cups standing on the altar, and silver candelabra,\nwhose number was so great that it is not possible to enumerate them,\nas well as the silver vessels which the Greeks use, more especially on\nfeast days.\n\n\u201cThey stole a Gospel, that was used for the services, and sacred\ncrosses and single images and the covering which was above the altar,\nand forty censers made of pure gold: they laid hands on all gold and\nsilver and on priceless vessels in the cupboards, walls, and other\nplaces, in such quantity that they cannot be numbered.\u201d\n\nGrelot says that before the Turks altered the church the iconostasis\nhad figures of the Virgin and S. John Baptist between the central and\nside-doors and the Twelve Apostles over.[125]\n\n_Prothesis and Diakonikon._--Two chapels that in Byzantine churches\nalmost invariably occur right and left of the bema with which they\ncommunicate directly are usually called the prothesis and diakonikon;\nthey were sacristies, used respectively for the preparation of the\nmass and as a treasury or vestry. Du Cange in both editions placed\nthem in the two exedras of the eastern hemicycle, and in this he is\nfollowed by Salzenberg. The impossibility of this arrangement is shown\nby Neale, who suggests that two chambers on either side of the bema\nwhich Du Cange thought were only supplementary were the sacristies\nin question. The chapels at the east end of S. Sophia have now been\nbuilt up, but the doors that led into them still exist. We are not\nhowever certain that these chapels were built with the church. Paulus\ndoes not mention them, and there do not appear to have been chapels\nin this position at S. Sergius. In regard to the use of the prothesis\nand diakonikon, Dr. Freshfield[126] considers that the procession with\nthe bread and wine called the _Megale Eisodos_, described in our last\nchapter, only became a part of the ritual in the reign of the successor\nof Justinian, to whose time the Cherubic Hymn sung during the ceremony\nis referred. The earlier liturgies, he says, contain no directions for\nthis ceremony, but merely speak of the deacon as moving the elements\nfrom the prothesis table to the altar, and he concludes that the two\nside-chapels found in so many churches belong to a time subsequent to\nJustin II. Two narrow passages however, right and left of the bema, at\nS. Sophia, S. Sergius, S. Irene, and S. Vitale seem to show that they\nwere intended for access to lateral portions used in connection with\nthe bema, even if these parts were merely screened from the aisles,\nand a comparison of many early churches in Syria and Asia Minor proves\nthat such chapels were in frequent use if not essential long before\nJustinian built his church.[127] See our figures 31 and 32, and compare\nCattaneo, page 60.\n\nThe prothesis and diakonikon of S. Sophia are very infrequently\nmentioned by those names. In the catalogue of the Constantinopolitan\npatriarchs we read of \u201crelics being kept in the diaconicum.\u201d[128]\nThe diakonikon is also named where Codinus speaks of the emperor\nas \u201chearing the prayers of S. Basil near the diakonikon,\u201d and the\nprothesis is mentioned in the passage on p. 63. Certain divisions\nof the church at the east end are however frequently mentioned by\nPorphyrogenitus, the Anonymous, and the Russian pilgrims. Thus we have\nthe skeuophylakium (treasury of vessels) and other chapels referred to.\nThe skeuophylakium of the Anonymous seems to be the same as the \u201clesser\nsanctuary\u201d of Anthony, by which stood the cross which gave the exact\nheight of Christ. This lesser sanctuary, or skeuophylakium, is probably\nthe diakonikon--\u201cthe oratory in front of the metatorion\u201d--where the\nrelics of the Passion were kept.[129] Again we read: \u201cThen by the\nright-hand side of the bema, they enter the oratory where stands the\nsilver crucifix ... after worshipping they ascend by the cochlea\n[spiral stair, we suppose at south-east angle where minaret now is]\nwhich is by the part called the Holy Well, to the eastern part of the\nright-hand catechumena.\u201d Again, \u201cThen by the right-hand side of the\nbema, they enter the oratory where stands the silver crucifix.\u201d[130]\n\n_The Holy Well and Metatorion._--The Holy Well, so frequently mentioned\nin the _Ceremonies_, seems to have been not merely an object but a\ndivision of the church. Labarte makes it a chamber external to the\nchurch on the south side, but the Anonymous shows that it was to the\neast, by speaking of \u201cthat part of the temple in which was the Holy\nWell, the bema, and the ambo.\u201d The author of an account of \u201cthe miracle\nin the Holy Well of the Great Church\u201d speaks of a picture of Christ\nas being by the eastern gate, \u201cwhere is the holy mouth of the well of\nSamaria.\u201d[131]\n\nThe Russian pilgrims generally speak of the Samaritan well, from which\nflowed water from the Jordan, as \u201cin the sanctuary:\u201d the Anonymous\nRussian says \u201cin the chapel to the right.\u201d At this time it was probably\nin one of the eastern chapels, which, may have been identical with\nthe prothesis or diakonikon. Some passages of the _Ceremonies_ seem\nto imply that in the tenth century the Holy Well was without the\nbuilding; thus we hear of the \u201cembolos [portico] of the Holy Well:\u201d\nand again, \u201cfrom the Holy Well, they enter by the door leading to the\nchurch;\u201d[132] possibly it was moved later, but probably one of the\neastern attached chapels will fulfil the conditions. In our Fig. 5\nwe have followed Du Cange\u2019s ground-plan in the distribution of these\neastern chapels. It is possible that the round north-east building\nwas used as a great sacristy as Salzenberg suggests; Grelot calls it\nso on his plan, and T. Smith says this was a tradition. The Anonymous\ndefinitely distinguishes the Skeuophylakium, the Holy Well, and the\nChapel of S. Peter.\n\nThe Metatorion, frequently spoken of together with the Holy Well,\nLabarte and Paspates place on the south side, external to the church.\nWe think it was probably the name of portions of the side-aisles\nscreened off by curtains. This would agree with Unger,[133] who\nthinks that the word means a \u201cquarter of the church\u201d (_metatio_),\nand that Du Cange was mistaken in deriving it from _mutatorium_.\nIn the _Ceremonies_,--\u201cThe princes go out of the right side of the\nbema and enter the metatorion.\u201d Again, the patriarch stands within\nthe iconostasis \u201con the right-hand side of the bema, towards the\nmetatorion.\u201d From the metatorion a small door led to the Holy Well.\nAgain, \u201cthey leave the bema by the right-hand side through the small\nholy door (in iconostasis) and proceed to the porphyry columns (of\nexedra), and by the staircase of the metatorion they enter the\ncatechumena.\u201d[134] Again, \u201cthe emperor takes off his crown in the\nmetatorion within the Beautiful Gate,\u201d and \u201cwithin the veil, hanging\nin the metatorion at the back of the narthex door.\u201d Metatoria in the\ncatechumena of S. Sophia and of S. Sergius are also referred to.[135]\n\n_Solea._--The later writers often mention the solea of S. Sophia. Thus\nCantacuzenus speaks of the emperor passing through the solea up to the\n\u201cHoly Doors.\u201d[136] It was immediately outside the iconostasis, and must\nhave closely agreed with the choir of the singers in a Western church.\nPaulus does not use the word, but he describes the singers as occupying\nthe space in front of the Holy Doors, and embraced by the exedras. The\nambo, with its long passage of approach from the step of the Holy\nDoors, divided this space in two, so it is clear that the singers stood\non either side of the ambo. The portion round about the ambo screened\nby the circle of columns was reserved for the leaders of the choir,\nthe Protopsaltae.[137] We cannot infer from the Silentiary that there\nwas any other screen to the Solea, and no stalls for the singers are\nmentioned.\n\nIt is possible that in the tenth century, when the _Book of the\nCeremonies_ was written, the ambo had been modified at least in\nregard to the approach from the bema, and that a considerable space\nwas interposed between it and the Holy Doors, in front of which\nthere was at this time a porphyry omphalion stone (see our page 96).\nPaspates[138] says this is still quite intact, somewhat oval in shape,\nseven feet across, and adorned with a mosaic of marbles. It seems\nprobable from the Anonymous that in these later days the solea was\ninclosed by a screen which he says was of silver.[139]\n\nPaulus describes a part on the south side as being inclosed for the\nemperor, and in Porphyrogenitus we read that the emperor had his\nseat \u201cnear the Holy Doors on the right-hand side.\u201d It is probable\nthat opposite the emperor\u2019s throne there was another bishop\u2019s chair,\nfor that in the bema might only be occupied by the bishop in his own\ndiocese. Grelot indeed reports that the emperor\u2019s and bishop\u2019s thrones\nwere opposite one another.\n\n_Nave._--We now come to the central division of the church, the naos or\nnave, the square space beneath the dome contained between the four main\npiers: its centre was called _omphalos_, _mesomphalos_, or _mesonaos_.\n\nThe pavement, according to the poet Paul, was covered with white\nProconnesian marble and darker Bosporus stone. In the opening lines\nof the description before given he seems to compare the veined marble\nto flowing streams, or foam-flecked sea, and the ambo is likened to\nan island rising from the sea. According to Glycas and Codinus the\nfirst pavement was of various hues like the ocean. The Anonymous, in\ncomparing a pavement which he says was laid down afterwards with this\nsupposed earlier one, says that \u201cmessengers were sent to Proconnesus,\nand marble of a green colour was worked there, as is seen now like\nrivers flowing into the sea.\u201d Codinus says, \u201cfour rivers of leek-green\nmarble were like the four streams which flow from Paradise to the sea.\u201d\n_As is seen now_ certainly seems to bring something definite before our\neyes, and so far as the pavement can be seen through the narrow chinks\nof the matting there is much to confirm this part of the Anonymous.\nGrelot tells us that the pavement is laid in compartments. It is of\nwhitish gray Proconnesian marble, laid in slabs about 4 \u00d7 10 feet, with\nhere and there strips of verde antique about 2 feet wide, which suggest\nthe quartering of the floor by a great cross. Moreover the square of\nrich Alexandrine work still existing, and figured by Salzenberg, lies\non a diagonal, and would thus exactly occupy one of four square spaces\nleft in the angles (see Fig. 5). Now in the palace the floor of the\nbedchamber of Basil had four rivers or streams of Thessalian-green\nmarble which seemed to flow away from the centre, and the quarters\nwere filled with mosaics of large eagles.[140] It may also be noticed\nthat four rivers are depicted as flowing away from the cross on the\ncentral bronze door of narthex. Many parallel examples of pavements,\nstill existing, confirm the Anonymous in this respect. The mosaic\nfloors of Italy furnish many instances where the four rivers of Eden\nare represented in the several angles as human forms pouring from urns,\nwaters which are inscribed with the names Gihon, Tigris, Euphrates, and\nPison. The design of the pavement of the Baptistery at Florence has\nbeen much disturbed, but it seems to have represented flowing streams,\nwhich led from the font in the middle to the doors like four paths. It\nhas been pointed out that the carpet of Chosroes, which is described\nas having represented a garden with flowing streams, was a traditional\npattern of which an example showing four streams quartering the field\nis in the possession of Mr. Colvin.[141] We understand that a similar\ncarpet is now in New York.\n\nWe give here a representation of a square of pavement at the centre of\nthe Western Gynaeceum; it is of Proconnesian slabs with border, and a\ndisc of verde antico.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 9.--Marble Pavement at centre of West Gallery.]\n\n_Font._--A fine marble font formerly in the precincts of the Mosque\nZeinab Sultana at the west of S. Sophia, and now in the Imperial\nMuseum, is the one referred to by Paspates as being probably the font\nof S. John Baptist (the Baptistery). He writes that there were only\ntwo remaining in Constantinople, the other being a smaller font in\nthe precincts of the Mosque Kotza Mustapha Pasha.[142] The font in\nthe museum which we illustrate is 8 feet 2\u00bd inches long, 6 feet 1\u00bd\ninches wide, and 4 feet 6 inches high, wrought out of one fine block\nof Proconnesian marble. The outside is carefully finished, which shows\nthat it stood above the floor. The inside is formed into steps, and\nabout the rim are several roughly sunk crosses, which we suggest\nwere filled by inlaid votive crosses of metal. Similar fonts are\nshown in the mosaics at S. Mark\u2019s and other places. Texier found one\nin the marble quarries of Synnada with steps inside, and others are\nfound in Palestine, one of which, illustrated in the _Memoirs_ of the\nExploration Fund,[143] closely resembles this at Constantinople, which\nwe may therefore look on as a typical Byzantine font.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 10.--Font from Constantinople.]\n\n_Consecration or other Crosses._--On the great verde antico columns of\nthe north side of the nave, about six feet above the floor, appear sunk\ncrosses about six inches high; on the south side shallow sunk panels\noccupy similar positions, formed we may suppose by the Turks for the\npurpose of destroying the crosses. Similar sunk crosses occur on some\nof the marble columns in the gallery at S. Sergius and at Bethlehem; at\nSinai the nave columns bear inlaid bronze crosses. From the character\nof those at S. Sophia we should suppose that they were also formerly\nfilled by inlaid metal; their similarity in size and the regularity\nwith which they are placed seem to show that they are of the nature of\nconsecration crosses rather than being merely votive, or rather that\nthey were made by the builders, just as a farmer crosses his bags of\nwheat. In most of the cisterns of Constantinople one column at least\nbears a large fairly wrought cross.\n\n_Miraculous Marbles and Mosaics._--Clavijo describes a large white slab\nin the right of the gallery naturally figuring \u201cthe Virgin with Christ\nin her most holy arms:\u201d beneath this was an altar in a little chapel\nwhere they said mass. These marbles, in which accidental resemblances\nto figures might be traced, were evidently much valued. Felix Fabri\ndescribes a slab at the Holy Sepulchre in which S. Jerome and his\nlion appeared. \u201cThis picture was not produced by art, but by simple\npolishing alone.\u201d\n\nThe column of S. Gregory Thaumaturgus, mentioned by Anthony of Novgorod\nas by the entrance and \u201ccovered with bronze plates,\u201d may possibly be\nthe celebrated \u201csweating column,\u201d which is the first square pillar in\nthe north aisle. At about five feet from the floor it is cased with\nbronze, in which a hole is left over the cavities in the pillar which\nare supposed to exude the dampness. The indents are smooth, and look\nlike natural cavities discovered in the marble when it was wrought.\nCanon Curtis, who was kind enough to examine the pillar for us, says\nit was perfectly dry, and the attendants assured him that water never\noozed out of the cavities, although \u201ca few drops of water might be\neasily kept in each of them.\u201d Sweating columns are well known in the\nlegends of the middle ages. Benjamin of Tudela speaks of two in\nRome which sweated on the anniversary of the fall of Jerusalem, and\nMandeville mentions four pillars in the Holy Sepulchre \u201cthat always\ndrop water, and some men say that they weep for our Lord\u2019s death.\u201d\nStephen of Novgorod speaks of a mosaic of Christ in S. Sophia from\nwhich holy water flowed from the wounds of the feet.\n\n_Water Vessels._--At the west end of the church in the right and left\nexedras stand two large white Proconnesian marble urns about seven\nfeet high, of beautiful gourd-like forms. They rise from the centre of\npolygonal basins, and water is drawn from them through bronze taps.\nIt has been said that they were brought from Pergamus or Marmora\nby Sultan Murad III.[144] The carving of the turban-like tops is\ncertainly Turkish, but the vessels seem to be of Byzantine form, and\nwe are disposed to agree with Grelot, who saw them in their present\nposition before 1680. He says they were kept full of water \u201cto cool the\nMohammedans overheated by their devout gesticulations.\u201d \u201cIf they are\nnot very ancient, they stand in the place of others, which contained\nholy water for the Christians who entered the church.\u201d He associates\nwith these the palindrome inscription given by Gruter (see our page\n191), which he says was written on these, or similar, vessels in gold\nletters.[145]\n\nNow a beautiful cantharus in the Church of S. Peter and S. Andrew, on\nthe island of Murano,[146] which is almost identical with those of S.\nSophia, is stated to have been brought back thence with the Venetian\nbooty, and bears a Byzantine inscription:--\n\n \u0391\u039d\u03a4\u039b\u0397\u03f9\u0391\u03a4\u0391\u0399 \u00b7 \u03a5\u0394\u03a9\u03a1 \u00b7 \u039c\u0395\u03a4\u0391 \u00b7 \u0395\u03a5\u03a6\u03a1\u039f\u03f9\u03a5\u039d\u0397\u03f9 \u00b7 \u039f\u03a4\u0399 \u00b7 \u03a6\u03a9\u039d\u0397 \u00b7\n \u039a\u03a5 \u00b7 \u0395\u03a0\u0399 \u00b7 \u03a4\u03a9\u039d \u00b7 \u03a5\u0394\u0391\u03a4\u03a9\u039d \u00b7\n\n(\u201cDraw the water with gladness, for the voice of the Lord is upon the\nwaters\u201d); together with a monogram which reads \u039d\u0399\u039a\u039f\u039c\u0395\u0394\u039f\u03a5. Beneath the\nmonogram appears a stopping where evidently a tap was fixed, in exactly\nthe position of those to the urns in S. Sophia. The first half of the\nlatter inscription is on a small vessel of lead found at Tunis, which,\nfrom the character of the decoration, cannot be later than the fourth\nor fifth century. The first mention of the vessels in S. Sophia which\nwe have been able to find is by an English traveller, Fynes Moryson\n(1595), who says, \u201cI did see two nuts of marble of huge bigness and\ngreat beauty.\u201d\n\nWe give in Fig. 11 the vessel in the south exedra at S. Sophia,\ntogether with that of Murano, and for further comparison some beautiful\nvessels from a relief of Justinian\u2019s time on the ivory throne at\nRavenna. We have omitted the Turkish top of the former. Canon Curtis,\nwho has specially examined them, writes to us that between the top and\nbody of each vessel is a copper band which conceals the joint, if there\nis a joint.\n\n_Images and Tombs._--Very few fragments of Christian sculpture remain\nin Constantinople. The Silentiary does not mention any sculpture at S.\nSophia. Probably the feeling which was mature in Leo the Isaurian was\nalways latent; Oriental Christians sharing in the dislike with which\nJew and Moslem regarded statues. Canon Curtis writes: \u201cOn the northern\nside of the sweating column I used to see parts of a bas-relief\nrepresenting, as I thought, a procession, but it was almost concealed\nby the metal plates, and now it is entirely hidden.\u201d The wealth of\nthe church in icons at a late period may be gathered from incidental\nreferences. Not until a late time do we hear of any tombs in the\nchurch. S. Chrysostom and most of the other patriarchs were buried in\nthe Church of the Holy Apostles.\n\nPachymeres mentions \u201cthe stele of the three Germani (Patriarchs of\nConstantinople) near the porphyry columns on the west.\u201d Nicephorus\nGregoras[147] also writes that the remains of the patriarch Arsenius\nwere buried in the great Church of S. Sophia.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 11.--Water Vessels from S. Sophia and Murano.]\n\n_Hangings._--The descriptions on several occasions mention veils and\nhangings by the names of _vela_ and _velothyra_. With mosaics and\nminiatures to help us it is possible to judge of the lavish way in\nwhich these hangings were used.\n\nThe mosaics at Ravenna show veils hanging at the door of the church\nthrough which Theodora is about to enter, and the large elevation of\nthe Palace of Theodoric, likewise in mosaic, shows hangings in all the\narches of the portico. Such textiles suspended at entrance doorways\nare often mentioned by contemporary authors.[148] At S. Sophia the\ndoors entering the narthex, and those between it and the church, all\nhave bronze hooks, to which such \u201cdoor veils\u201d were suspended; and\nembroidered Turkish hangings, which roll up from the bottom by means of\ncords and pulleys, are still hung to them. In the Byzantine mosaics the\nhangings are often shown raised by being gathered into a loose knot, or\nby being drawn to the sides and passed once round the pillars between\nwhich they hang.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 12.--Vessels of Sixth Century: from Ivory Throne,\nRavenna.]\n\nThe account of the coronation ceremony describes how the royal persons\nwere seated in the gynaeceum, screened by \u201cgolden velothyra,\u201d so\nthat they should not be seen until the psaltae sang the \u201cLift up,\u201d\nwhen immediately the velothyra were raised. Of these hangings in the\ninterior we have a picture in the account given in the continuation\nof Theophanes of an ambassador, Iber Curopalates, who visited\nConstantinople in 923, and \u201cwas taken to the church of S. Sophia, that\nhe should inspect its beauty and size and precious ornaments. Now\nthe walls were all draped with cloth of gold before they led him in,\nand he, struck with the great size of the church and its wealth of\nadornment, exclaimed, \u2018Truly this is the house of God,\u2019 and returned\nhome.\u201d[149] The _Ceremonies_ mention gold hangings in Catechumena above\nRoyal Door.[150] Nicetas tells us how the Crusaders \u201cspared neither\nthe house of God nor His ministers, but stripped the great church of\nall its fine ornaments and hangings, made of the richest brocades of\ninestimable value.\u201d\n\nWe have no doubt that S. Sophia was frequently adorned inside by the\narcades of both tiers having hangings suspended from the iron bars,\nwhich cross all these arches at their springing, exactly like those\nshown in the mosaic of Theodoric\u2019s palace. Indeed Ignatius of Smolensk\n(_circ._ 1395), who was present at the coronation of Manuel, says that\nthe women in the galleries remained behind curtains of silk so that\nnone might see their faces.[151]\n\nThese hangings seem either to have had simple figures such as squares\nwith large \u201cgammidae\u201d at the corners worked on them, probably in\ngold, or they were patterned over with figures, animals, and flowers,\nwoven in the stuff like the elaborate veils of the altar described by\nthe Silentiary. The linen vestments found at Panopolis in Egypt show\nus that the \u201cgammidae\u201d originated in embroidered shoulder straps,\nwith seal-like ends applied on either side of the neck opening. Fig.\n13 shows two of the door veils represented at Ravenna; that on the\nright is from the mosaic in S. Apollinare Nuovo showing the palace.\nThe gammidae are here exactly of the form found on the early Coptic\nlinen vestments, and it cannot be doubted that they were \u201capplied\u201d in\na similar way. The pattern on the left is the door-hanging from the\nmosaic of S. Vitale; the plain squares are of gold. The designs on the\nrobes in this mosaic are interesting. Justinian\u2019s chlamys is covered\nwith birds in circles, the border of Theodora\u2019s robe displays the three\nMagi making their offerings; one of her attendants has a robe powdered\nwith swimming ducks and a mantle with four petalled red roses on a gold\nground, and another robe has five pointed leaves scattered over its\nfield. Many examples of the figured silks are preserved in museums.\nThere is at South Kensington Museum a piece of pictured silk of this\nkind, probably of Justinian\u2019s time, which is covered with circles, in\neach of which is figured a man and a lion. More than a century before\nthe time of Justinian, Asterius, Bishop of Amasius, had made these\nelaborately figured stuffs a subject of satire: \u201cWhen men so draped\nappear in the streets the passers-by regard them like painted walls.\nTheir clothes are pictures which little children trace out with their\nfingers. There are lions, panthers, and bears, also rocks, woods, and\nhunters. The most devout carry Christ, His disciples, and His miracles.\nHere we may see the marriage in Galilee and the pots of wine; there\nis the paralytic carrying his bed, the penitent woman at the feet of\nJesus, or Lazarus come again to life.\u201d[152]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 13.--Door Veils of the Sixth Century: Ravenna\nMosaics.]\n\nLater the patterns became more heraldic and larger in scale, figuring\nfor the most part great displayed eagles, and griffons, or lions\naffronted. A piece of a textile of this kind in the museum at\nD\u00fcsseldorf, of which there is a full-size copy at South Kensington,\nbears golden lions about two feet six inches long, and the names of\nConstantine VIII. and Basil on a pallid purple ground. Frauberger[153]\ncompares this with another signed example of the same age and similar\ndesign preserved at Siegburg, and a third at Autun, \u201call of which\nwere intended for church hangings.\u201d The same writer says that after\nJustinian\u2019s introduction of silk weaving in 552 and the loss of Bosra\nwith its purple-dye vats to Chosroes, an imperial textile industry was\nestablished by the Golden Horn, which existed until the fourteenth\ncentury. Here these hangings were probably produced.\n\n_Carpets._--Portions of the floor of S. Sophia were almost certainly\nstrewn with carpets. Porphyrogenitus relates of the New Church of Basil\nthat \u201cwoollen carpets (_nakopetai_) called prayer carpets, of wonderful\nsize and beauty, and resembling the bright plumage of peacocks, were\nlaid one over another, completely covering the mosaic pavement of\nvaluable stones.\u201d The carpets and prayer-rugs of the mosques thus had\ntheir direct parallels, if not their prototypes, in the Byzantine\nchurches.\n\n_Synods._--The patriarchal registers, dating from the fourteenth\ncentury, speak of synods sitting \u201cin the right-hand catechumena\u201d; this\nprobably refers to the south gallery, where the vault has displayed in\nmosaic the descent of the Holy Ghost on the Apostles.\n\nAcross this gallery there is at present a screen, which possibly, as\nPaspates suggests, shut off the part used by the Synods. (See dotted\nline on Fig. 6.) The screen is made up of two marble slabs, each\nsculptured into the form of panelled double doors, with architraves\nand carved panels. Above the opening left between these is a coloured\nmarble slab. At the top is a carved wood beam, which, being exactly\nlike the permanent vault ties, is evidently of Justinian\u2019s age; but the\nwhole is certainly not an original assemblage of the parts. Each slab,\nwhich imitates a pair of wood doors, has a representation of a bronze\nring handle and a lock-plate on one half, and a hasp on the other, all\nexactly copied in sculptured marble. We believe that these imitation\ndoors are earlier than the church; the idea was common in late classic\ntimes. De Vog\u00fc\u00e9 and Dr. Merrill[154] found several tomb doors,\nsimilarly panelled, studded with imitation nails, and having elaborate\nknockers, all carved in stone. An example in marble now in the museum\nat Leeds closely resembles the S. Sophia slabs.\n\n_Clergy and Ritual._--In the time of Justinian the total number of\nclergy was 525, but at the time of Heraclius this had been increased to\n600.[155] They were thus divided:--\n\n Presbyters 80\n Deacons 150\n Deaconesses 40\n Subdeacons 70\n Readers 160\n Singers 25\n Doorkeepers 75\n ---\n Total 600\n\nThe subdeacons, according to the forty-third canon of the Council\nof Laodicea, stood by the doors. Porphyrogenitus[156] speaks of the\nemperor \u201cpassing through the narthex of the gynaeceum, where the\ndeaconesses have their usual place.\u201d The same author also mentions[157]\n\u201chypurgi of the narthex, readers for alternate weeks, ostiarii of\nthe Holy Well, a domesticus of the subdeacons, and deputati of S.\nSophia.\u201d A series of seals of the officers of S. Sophia is given by\nSchlumberger;[158] the seals are those of the klerikos, diakonos,\nmanglabites, ekdikos, deuteroboetes, protospatharios, and the\nchartophulax. An anonymous author[159] gives a list of the officers of\nthe \u201choly and great\u201d church which is too long to be given in full, but\nwe may note some of the duties mentioned.\n\nThe Oeconomus held \u201cone of the flabella, and stood at the right hand of\nthe altar, when the patriarch was officiating;\u201d while \u201cthe sacellarius,\nholding a napkin, stood on the left.\u201d The skeuophylax stood in front of\nthe skeuophylakium, so as to be ready to hand any vessel that might be\nwanted. The chartophulax stood near the \u201choly doors,\u201d and pronounced\nthe words of the service, \u201cApproach, ye priests.\u201d The castensius holds\nthe censer, and draws the curtain at the _Trisagion_. The refendarius\nand deputati carried the orders of the patriarch to the princes and\nnobles, and summoned them to his presence. When the patriarch was\nofficiating, the protopapas took precedence of all the other priests,\nand even gave the communion to the patriarch. The protopsaltes \u201cstood\nin the middle of the church between the right and left choirs,\u201d and led\nthe singing. On one occasion the number of priests was so great \u201cthat\nthe church of S. Sophia, though it is the greatest of all on the earth,\nseemed then too small.\u201d[160]\n\nUp to the eleventh century, services were only performed in S. Sophia\non Sundays and Saints\u2019 days. In the middle of the eleventh century,\nMonomachus arranged that the service should be every day, and for this\nextra salaries were given.[161]\n\nSome idea of the ritual of the services may be gathered from the\noffices in the _Euchologium_, edited by Goar, the Cherubic and other\nhymns, together with the _Ceremonies_ of Porphyrogenitus. An account\ngiven by Anthony of Novgorod is quoted in the next chapter. Bertrandon\nBrocqui\u00e8re writes: \u201cI was curious to witness the manner of the Greeks\nperforming divine service, and went to S. Sophia on a day when the\npatriarch officiated. The emperor was present accompanied by his\nwife, his mother, and his brother, the despot of the Morea. A Mystery\nwas represented, the subject of which was the three youths whom\nNebuchadnezzar had ordered to be thrown into the fiery furnace.\u201d\n\nHaving in our last chapter quoted the description of the procession\nand celebration of the Mass, we now give the accounts of the Adoration\nof the Cross given by Arculf[162] in the seventh century, and by\nPorphyrogenitus in the tenth; together with the directions for the\nemperor\u2019s procession to the great church.\n\n_The Adoration of the Cross._--\u201cIn the northern part of the interior\nof the house (S. Sophia) is shown a very large and beautiful aumbry,\nwhere is kept a wooden chest, in which is shut up that wooden cross of\nsalvation on which our Saviour hung for the salvation of the world.\nThis notable chest, as the sainted Arculf relates, is raised with its\ntreasure of such preciousness upon a golden altar, on three consecutive\ndays after the lapse of a year. This altar also is in the same round\nchurch, being two cubits long, and one broad. On three consecutive\ndays only throughout the year is the Lord\u2019s cross raised and placed\non the altar, that is on the day of the supper of the Lord, when the\nemperor and the armies enter the church, and, approaching the altar,\nafter that sacred chest has been opened, kiss the Cross of Salvation.\nFirst of all the emperor of the world kisses it with bent face, then\ngoing up one after another in the order of rank or age all kiss the\ncross with honour. Then on the next day, that is on the sixth day of\nthe week before Easter, the queen, the matrons, and all the women of\nthe people approach it in the above-mentioned order, and all kiss it\nwith reverence. On the third day, that is on the Paschal Sabbath, the\nbishop, and all the clergy after him, approach in order with fear\nand trembling and all honour, kissing the Cross of Victory which is\nplaced in its chest. When these sacred and joyful kissings of the\nsacred cross are finished, that venerable chest is closed, and with\nits honoured treasure it is borne back to its aumbry. But this should\nalso be carefully noted, that there are not two but three short pieces\nof wood in the cross, that is the cross beam and the long one which\nis cut and divided into two equal parts; while from these threefold\nvenerated beams when the chest is opened, there arises an odour of a\nwonderful fragrance,[163] as if all sorts of flowers had been collected\nin it, wonderfully full of sweetness, satiating and gladdening all in\nthe open space before the inner walls of the church, who stand still as\nthey enter at that moment; for from the knots of those threefold beams\na sweet-smelling liquid distils, like pressed-out oil, which causes\nall men of whatever race, who have assembled and entered the church,\nto perceive the above-mentioned fragrance of so great sweetness. This\nliquid is such that if even a little drop of it be laid on the sick,\nthey easily recover their health, whatever be the trouble or disease\nthey have been afflicted with.\u201d\n\nThe passage from the _Book of the Ceremonies_[164] describing the\nExaltation of the cross on September 14th begins with the emperor\n\u201cpassing through the palace Manaura, and the upper corridors, ascending\nby the wooden staircase, and entering the _catechumena_[165] of the\ngreat church.\u201d After he has reached the catechumena and \u201clighted\ncandles, and prayed, he takes his seat in the part on the right-hand\nside.\u201d \u201cThe emperor then summons the patriarch, who remains for a\nshort time with the emperor, and then goes out, and comes to the small\nsecretum, where is kept the Holy Wood, and receives the emperor there.\nAnd as the congregation begin the \u2018Glory to God in the Highest,\u2019 the\nemperor enters, and kisses the Sacred Wood, and comes out into the\ngreat secretum. Then the emperor, following the Cross, descends by the\ngreat winding staircase, keeping to the left, and passes through the\nDidaskalion,[166] where the paschalia are inscribed, and having gone\ndown the steps, he enters through the great gate of the narthex, and\nreaches the royal doors and stands there. The emperor and patriarch now\npass through the middle of the nave, and on the right of the ambo into\nthe solea; here the emperor stands before the Holy Doors, and gives\nthe candle he is carrying to the praepositus. He then enters the bema,\nand having kissed the Sacred Wood, and turning round, he comes out\nagain, and passes through the solea, then mounts the third or fourth\nstep of the ambo and stands there, holding the candle. The patriarch\nthen comes out of the bema and mounts the ambo with the Sacred Wood,\nand the emperor gives his candle to the praepositus, and remains there\nuntil the Wood has been elevated in the four quarters of the ambo. The\nemperor and patriarch then descend from the ambo and enter the bema,\nand the Wood being placed before them the emperor prays and kisses it,\nand coming out through the side of the bema he is conducted by the\npatriarch to the Holy Well, and having kissed it, he continues to the\npalace.\u201d\n\nIt would almost appear that whereas in the time of Arculph (_circa_\n680) the Cross was kept in one of the north-eastern chambers by the\nbema, in the time of Porphyrogenitus (tenth century) it was preserved,\nduring certain periods, in a secretum accessible from the gynaeceum.\nPossibly the small upper chapel on the south side with mosaic ceiling,\nand the additions over the south porch, both built about the tenth\ncentury, may be the chambers in question. At the end of the ceremony\nthe Cross was left in the bema, and it may be that only on the\noccasion of the Festival of the Cross was it taken up to the gallery,\npreparatory to a procession through all parts of the church.\n\n_Procession to the Church._--The following is an account of a pageant,\nwhich is the first in the _Book of Ceremonies_--the order of the royal\nprocession to the Great Church. On the day preceding the feast, notice\nwas given so that the way might be adorned with flowers. The emperor\nand princes carried gifts, and processional candles, and the Cross\nof St. Constantine.[167] Priests were sent to receive him with the\nCross of the Lord, which was taken from the church by the Sacristan\n(_skeuophulax_).\n\nIn proceeding to the church there were six \u201creceptions.\u201d Three were\nin various parts of the palace, \u201cand the princes come to the gate\n(Chalk\u00e9), and the fourth reception takes place outside the barrier of\nChalk\u00e9; the fifth reception takes place in front of the Great Gate\nwhich leads into the Augusteum; and the sixth reception is at the\nHorologium of S. Sophia.\u201d[168]\n\n\u201cAnd from thence the princes enter through the Beautiful Gate, and\nhave their crowns removed by the praepositi within the curtain that\nhangs in the chamber, that is to say, the propylaeum of the narthex.\nAnd the patriarch receives them at the door of the narthex with the\nusual ceremony.... The lords remove their crowns, kiss the holy Gospel\ncarried by the archdeacon, greet the patriarch, and proceed up to the\nroyal doors. Bearing the candles and bowing thrice, the entrance is\nmade after a prayer by the patriarch; then those carrying the sceptres\nand vessels stand right and left of the church; but those bearing the\nbanners and the books stand on either side in the solea; and the Cross\nof St. Constantine is placed on the right side of the bema. And when\nthe lords come to the Holy Doors and to the porphyry omphalion, the\npatriarch alone enters within the screen, by the holy door on the left.\nThe princes, after bowing thrice, enter with the candles, following\nthe patriarch, and coming to the holy table they kiss the holy cloth,\nand they place as is usual on the holy table the two white veils, and\nkiss the holy chalices, and the two discs and the holy corporal cloth,\nwhich are handed to them by the patriarch. And then by the right-hand\nside of the bema the princes enter with the patriarch the _Kuklis_,\nwhere is placed the Holy Crucifix of gold, and again they bow with the\ncandles three times praising God; and the patriarch gives the censer to\nthe emperor and he censes the crucifix: then they kiss the patriarch,\nand take leave of him and enter the oratory, which is in front of the\nmetatorion, and there, bowing three times and praising God, they kiss\nthe Holy Cross as well as all the Instruments of our Lord\u2019s Passion,\nand then enter the metatorion.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\nRELICS, TREASURE, AND THE LIGHTING OF THE CHURCH\n\n\n\u00a7 1. RELICS.\n\n_The True Cross._--There would seem to be little doubt that a discovery\nwas made about 326 of what was supposed to be the true Cross. S. Cyril\nof Jerusalem, writing some twenty-five years later, says that portions\nof the Cross were spread all over the world. We have seen (p. 14) that\nearly historians relate that a portion of this precious relic was sent\nto Constantinople by Helena. The principal part however remained at\nJerusalem until it was taken by Chosroes. It is described by some of\nthe pilgrims to the holy city as being encased in silver. Brought back\nfrom Persia by Heraclius in 628 together with the spear and sponge,\nit rested for a brief interval in S. Sophia, where it was \u201cuplifted\u201d;\nbut it was again returned to Jerusalem until 636,[169] when under the\nfear of the coming troubles the larger portion at least was removed.\nRohault de Fleury, who devoted a folio volume to the Instruments of the\nPassion, quotes a letter from Anseau, a priest of the Holy Sepulchre\nin the twelfth century, which was sent to Paris with a portion of\nthe Cross. According to this account the Holy Wood was divided into\nnineteen small Crosses, of which Constantinople possessed three besides\nthe \u201cCross of the Emperor,\u201d and Jerusalem retained four. We have\npositive evidence that in the century before Heraclius Constantinople\nwas a centre where portions of the Cross were to be obtained: thus\nRadegunde, wife of Clothaire, received a fragment from Justin II. and\nSophia in 569.[170] At this time, according to John of Ephesus, there\nwas \u201ca day of the adoration of the Holy Cross of our Saviour; on this\nfestival the Cross is brought out and set up in the Great Church, and\nthe senate and all the people of the city assemble to worship it.\u201d[171]\nProbably the Exaltation was celebrated concurrently at Jerusalem and at\nConstantinople.\n\nWhen we more definitely hear of the True Cross at S. Sophia, it is\nevident, from the frequent occasions in which it is transported to\ndifferent parts of the church, and to the palace, that it was quite\nsmall, a relic in fact.\n\nArculf (_circa_ 680), as we have seen, describes it as kept in a chest,\non a golden altar, which was only two cubits long by one broad. He\nsays: \u201cit should be specially noticed that there are not two but three\nshort pieces of wood in the cross; that is, the cross beam, and the\nlong one divided into two equal parts.\u201d\n\nNow in the _Menologium_ of Basil we have a representation of the\nExaltation of the Cross, which the patriarch is uplifting in an ambo.\nIt is represented as a double cross made up of three pieces, not of\ntwo. A miniature of the finding of the Cross in the National Library of\nParis shows the same form. Didron remarks that the cross with double\nbranches probably originated in Greece, \u201cfor it is constantly seen in\nAttica, in the Morea, and on Mount Athos.\u201d This form appears frequently\non the later coins of Constantinople, and we find that most of the\nrelics of the True Cross which still exist on Mount Athos and other\nplaces are made up with double arms. A reliquary for the fragment,\nsaid to be that which was sent to Radegunde, was preserved in the\nmonastery of S. Cross at Poitiers in the last century. The field was of\n_cloisonn\u00e9_ enamel, blue with here and there a red flower. A drawing of\nthis relic, of which we give an outline,[172] shows that this fragment\nof the True Cross was made up in the double-armed form, which was\nrepeated in the relic at the Ste. Chapelle.[173] Two such relics now\nat Venice are doubly interesting, for besides a cross of this form two\nsupporting figures are represented which are inscribed Constantine and\nHelena.[174] Now Cedrenus and other late writers say that in the Kamara\nof the Milion were the figures of Constantine and his mother, with the\ncross between them. The same composition appears in the mosaics at\nthe monastery of S. Luke. The two Venice relics bear the names of the\nEmpresses Maria (1180) and Irene (1350).\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 14.--Showing form of True Cross at S. Sophia.]\n\nFig. 14 represents the Poitiers reliquary; the True Cross as shown in\nthe _Menologium_; and a cross from a late coin. We cannot doubt that\nthe Cross at Constantinople was of this form. Was it the result of the\nconjunction of three pieces as mentioned by Arculph, or did the upper\narm from the first represent the label?\n\nWith the Cross were associated the other Instruments of the\nPassion--the Crown of Thorns, the Sponge and Spear, and slabs from the\nTomb.\n\nThe catalogue of relics by Nicholas Thingeyrensis (1200) says, \u201cIn S.\nSophia is the Cross of the Lord which Helena the Queen brought;\u201d[175]\nbut at that time the greater part of the Cross and other relics of\nthe Passion seem to have been transferred to the chapel in the palace\nof Boucoleon, where they were seen by Robert de Clari (1200). The\nanniversary of the day on which they were moved from S. Sophia, August\n14th, was kept as a holiday. According to Paspates all the relics of\nthe Passion were removed in 1234. Baldwin II. took the Crown of Thorns\nwhich was acquired by S. Louis. It is evident, however, from the later\nPilgrims quoted below, and from Mandeville, that a part of the Passion\nrelics remained or that others were acquired.\n\n_Other Treasure and Relics._--\u201cNot only kings and patriarchs, but also\nprivate individuals and monks brought to Constantinople relics of the\napostles and martyrs, ancient ikons, and all kinds of sacred objects\nconnected with the saints of the church. Anything of value in the\nwhole land of Palestine was for the most part moved to Constantinople,\nand such was the reverence for relics that no church, monastery, nor\noratory was built without them.\u201d[176] So early as 415, when S. Sophia\nwas rededicated, it was necessary to have fresh relics (see page 16).\n\nA description of the relics and the treasure of Constantinople is given\nin the letter supposed to have been written in 1095 by Alexius Comnenus\nto Robert, Count of Flanders, in which he craves the assistance of\nthe West against the Turks. After enumerating the relics scattered\nthroughout the city, he continues, \u201cIf you do not care to fight for\nthese, and gold will tempt you more, you will find more of it at\nConstantinople than in the whole world, for the treasures of its\nbasilicas alone would be sufficient to furnish all the churches of\nChristendom, and all their treasures cannot together amount to those of\nS. Sophia, whose riches have never been equalled even in the temple of\nSolomon.\u201d\n\nThe dispersion of the relics and treasures of S. Sophia and the other\nchurches at Constantinople has been exhaustively treated by Count\nRiant.[177] The description by Anthony, Archbishop of Novgorod, who\nvisited S. Sophia in 1200, three years before the capture by the\nCrusaders, furnishes the best account of the accumulated riches of the\ngreat church. We give this in full from the French version contained in\n_Itin\u00e9raires Russes en Orient_.[178]\n\n\u201cI, Antonius, Archbishop of Novgorod, an unworthy and humble sinner, by\nthe grace of God and by the help of S. Sophia, who is the Wisdom and\nthe Eternal Word, reached in safety the imperial city, and entered the\ngreat Catholic and Apostolic Church. We first worshipped S. Sophia,\nkissing the two slabs of the Lord\u2019s sepulchre. Furthermore we saw the\nseals, and the figure of the Mother of God, nursing Christ. This image\na Jew at Jerusalem pierced in the neck with a knife, and blood flowed\nforth. The blood of the image, all dried up, we saw in the smaller\nsanctuary.\n\n\u201cIn the sanctuary of S. Sophia is the blood of the holy martyr\nPantaleon with milk,[179] placed in a reliquary like a little branch\nor bough, yet without their having mixed. Besides that there is his\nhead, and the head of the Apostle Quadratus, and many relics of other\nsaints: the heads of Hermolaus and Stratonicus; the arm of Germanus,\nwhich is laid on those who are to be ordained patriarchs; the image of\nthe Virgin which Germanus sent in a boat to Rome by sea; and the small\nmarble table on which Christ celebrated His Supper with the disciples,\nas well as His swaddling clothes and the golden vessels, which the Magi\nbrought with their offerings.\n\n\u201cThere is a large gold \u2018disc\u2019 for the mass, given to the patriarch by\nOlga, a Russian princess, when she came to the imperial city to be\nbaptized.[180] In this disc there is a precious stone which displays\nthe image of Christ, and the seal-impressions from this are used as\ncharms; but on the upper side the disc is adorned with pearls.\n\n\u201cIn the sanctuary is likewise preserved the real chariot of Constantine\nand Helena, made of silver; there are gold plates, enriched with pearls\nand little jewels, and numerous others of silver, which are used for\nthe services on Sundays and feast days: there is water also in the\nsanctuary coming out of a well by pipes.\n\n\u201cOutside the smaller sanctuary[181] is erected the \u2018Crux Mensuralis,\u2019\nwhich shows the height of Christ when on earth; and behind that cross\nis buried Anna, who gave her house to S. Sophia, where now is the\nsmaller sanctuary, and she is buried near. And near this same smaller\nsanctuary are the figures of the holy women and of the Virgin Mother\nholding Christ, and shedding tears which fall on the eyes of Christ.\nThey give of the water of the sanctuary for the blessing of the world.\n\n\u201cIn the same part is the chapel of S. Peter the Apostle, where S.\nTheophania is buried. She was the guardian of the keys of S. Sophia,\nwhich people used to kiss. There is also suspended the carpet of S.\nNicholas. The iron chains of S. Peter are kept there in a gold chest;\nduring the feast of \u2018S. Peter\u2019s Chains\u2019 the emperor, the patriarch,\nand all the congregation kiss them [see Fig. 8]. Near by, in another\nchapel, is also shown the crystal of the ancient ambo, destroyed when\nthe dome fell.\n\n\u201cBy the side of [the images of] the holy women is the tomb of the son\nof S. Athenogenius.... There are no other tombs in S. Sophia except\nthat, and a lamp hangs in front of it, which once fell, full of oil,\nwithout being broken. The place is inclosed by a wood screen, and the\npeople are not allowed to enter.\n\n\u201cWhen one turns towards the gate one sees at the side the column of\nS. Gregory the Miracle-Worker, all covered with bronze plates. S.\nGregory appeared near this column, and the people kiss it, and rub\ntheir breasts and shoulders against it to be cured of their pains;\nthere is also the image of S. Gregory. On his feast day the patriarch\nbrings his relics to this column. And there placed above a platform is\na great figure of the Saviour in mosaic; it lacks the little finger of\nthe right hand. When it was finished, the artist looked at it and said,\n\u2018Lord, I have made thee as if alive.\u2019 Then a voice coming from the\npicture said, \u2018When hast thou seen me?\u2019 The artist was struck dumb and\ndied, and the finger was not finished, but was made in silver-gilt.\n\n\u201cAbove the gate is depicted on a large panel the Emperor Leo the Wise,\nand in front of it is a precious stone, which illuminates S. Sophia at\nnight-time. This same Emperor Leo took a certain writing from Babylon,\nwhich was found in the tomb of the prophet Daniel. It was copied, and\non it were written the names of the Greek emperors. At the royal gate\nis a bronze romanistum[182] or bolt by which the door is closed. Men\nand women are brought to it, and if they have drunk serpent poison or\nany other poison, they cannot remove the bolt from the mouth, until all\nthe evil of the disease has trickled away with the saliva.\n\n\u201cBy the great altar on the left is the place where an angel of the Lord\nappeared to the boy who was guarding the workmen\u2019s tools, and said,\n\u2018I will not leave this spot as long as S. Sophia shall remain.\u2019 Three\nfigures are shown in this place, for the angels are painted there; and\na multitude of people come there to pray to God. Not far from there\nis the place where they boil the holy oil, burning underneath it old\nikons, whose features one can no longer trace. With this oil they\nanoint children at baptism. Above the sanctuary there rises in the air\na great hollow vault covered with gold. In the sanctuary are eighty\ncandelabra of silver for use on feast days, which occupy the first\nplace, besides numberless silver candelabra with many golden apples.\n\n\u201cAbove the great altar in the middle is hung the crown of the Emperor\nConstantine, set with precious stones and pearls. Below it is a golden\ncross, which overhangs a golden dove. The crowns of the other emperors\nare hung round the ciborium, which is entirely made of silver and\ngold. Thus the altar pillars and the sanctuary and the bema are built\nof gold and silver, ingeniously made, and very costly. From the same\nciborium hang thirty smaller crowns, as a remembrance to Christians of\nthe pieces of money of Judas. To the ciborium were attached curtains,\nwhich were formerly drawn by the bishops during the services. We asked\nwhy they did so, and they answered so that the priests should not see\nthe women and the people, but should serve the supreme God with a pure\nheart and soul. Later the heretics,[183] when nobody could see them as\nthey were behind the curtains, took the body and blood of Christ, and\nspat them out, and trampled on them. The Spirit warned the fathers of\nthis heresy, and the fathers fixed the curtains to the columns of the\nciborium, and set an archdeacon near the patriarch, metropolitan, or\nbishop, so that they should worship God holily without heresy.... When\nJerusalem was taken by Titus many sacred vessels and curtains were\nbrought to [New] Rome with the royal treasures and given to the church\nof S. Sophia. In S. Sophia also are preserved the tables of the Law, as\nwell as the Ark and manna. The subdeacons, when they sing \u2018Alleluia\u2019\nin the ambo, hold in their hands tablets like those of Moses. During\nthe procession of the Holy Sacrament the eunuchs commence to sing, and\nthen the subdeacons, and then a monk chants alone. Then many priests\nand deacons carry the Holy Sacrament in procession; at this time all\nthe people not only below, but also in the galleries, weep in great\nhumility. What then ought to be the fear and humility of the bishops,\nthe priests, and the deacons in this holy service?\n\n\u201cHow magnificent are the gold and silver chalices, garnished with\nprecious stones and pearls! When the splendid chest, called Jerusalem,\nis brought out with the flabella, there rises amongst the people a\ngreat groaning and weeping.... But here is a wonderful miracle, which\nwe saw in S. Sophia. Behind the altar of the larger sanctuary is a\ngold cross, higher than two men, set with precious stones and pearls.\nThere hangs before it another gold cross a cubit and a half long, with\nthree gold lamps, which hang from as many gold arms (the fourth is now\nlost). These lamps, the arms or branches, and the cross, were made by\nthe great Emperor Justinian who built S. Sophia. By virtue of the Holy\nSpirit the small cross with the lamps ascended above the big cross,\nand again slowly came down again without going out. This miracle took\nplace after matins, before the commencement of the mass: the priests\nwho were in the sanctuary saw it, and all the people in the church who\nsaw it cried with fear and joy, \u2018God in His mercy has visited us.\u2019 ...\nThis great and wonderful miracle was wrought by God in the year 6708\n[A.M.] on Sunday, May 21st, being the Commemoration of S. Constantine\nand his mother Helena, during the reign of the Emperor Alexius and\nthe patriarchate of John. It was on the feast of the 318 fathers.\nIverdiatinus Ostromitza was then living at Constantinople; he was an\nambassador from the great Roman duke. Nedanus, Domagirus, Demetrius,\nand Novgaro were also there.\n\n\u201cAt S. Sophia on the right near the sanctuary is a piece of red marble,\non which they place a golden throne; on this throne the emperor is\ncrowned. This place was surrounded by bronze closures to prevent people\nwalking on it; but the people kiss it. At this place the Holy Virgin\nprayed to her Son, our Lord, on behalf of all Christians; a priest who\nwas guarding the church at night saw her. On the same side is also\nthe grand icon of S. Boris and S. Glebe, which artists copy. When\nofficiating, the patriarch holds it high up in the tribune.\n\n\u201cIn the chapel behind the altar are affixed to the wall the upper\nslab of the Lord\u2019s sepulchre, the hammer, the gimlet, and the saw,\nwith which the cross of the Lord was made; also the iron chain which\nwas hung to the gate of S. Peter\u2019s prison, and the wood of the cross\nwhich Christ\u2019s neck touched. This is inserted in a reliquary in the\nform of a cross. In this chapel above the door is painted S. Stephen,\nprotomartyr, and a lamp is hung before him; when any one has bad eyes,\nthey put round his head the rope by which this lamp is hung, and his\neyes are healed.\n\n\u201cThere is also the figure of Christ whose neck the Jew struck,[184] and\nthe bronze trumpet of Joshua, who took Jericho, and the marble mouth\nof the well of Samaria. Near it Christ said to the woman of Samaria,\n\u2018Give me to drink;\u2019 the well mouth has been cut in half, and the\nSamaritans still draw water [from the other half].\n\n\u201cThere lie also the bodies of S. Abercius, S. Gregory, and S.\nSylvester, and the heads of Cyrus and John, and many other relics.\nThere also is the Baptistery, upon which is painted all the history of\nthe baptism of Christ by John in the Jordan: and how John taught the\npeople, and how little children and men threw themselves in the Jordan:\nall this was executed by Paul the Skilful during my lifetime, and there\nis no painting like this. There are there wooden supports, upon which\nthe patriarch has had placed the figure of Christ, thirty cubits high;\nPaul first painted the Christ with colours made of precious stones and\ncrushed pearls mixed with water; this image is still at S. Sophia.\n\n\u201cAnd when they sing matins at S. Sophia, they sing first before the\ngreat doors of the church, in the narthex, then they enter and sing in\nthe middle of the church; then they open the paradise gates, and sing\nthe third time before the altar. Sundays and saints\u2019 days the patriarch\nassists at matins and at mass, then he blesses the singers from the\nambo, they stop singing and then say the _polykronia_: then they begin\nto sing again, and sing as harmoniously and sweetly as the angels till\nthe Mass. After matins are finished, they put off their surplices\nand then go out and ask the patriarch\u2019s benediction for the mass.\nAfter matins the prologue is read in the ambo till the mass; when the\nprologue is finished, the liturgy is commenced, and, after the service\nis over, the chief priest in the sanctuary recites the prayer called\n\u2018Of the ambo,\u2019 while the second priest recites it in the church on the\nside of the ambo, away from [the sanctuary]: both, when the prayer is\nfinished, bless the people. In a similar way vespers are sung. There\nare no bells at S. Sophia, but a little hand-bat [_hagiosid\u00e8re_]\nwhich they strike for matins, though they do not strike it for mass\nand vespers, as in other churches: they follow the precepts of the\nangel in having this bat; the Latins have bells.... When they built S.\nSophia, they inclosed holy relics in the walls of the sanctuary. There\nare also many cisterns at S. Sophia. Above [evidently _under_] the\ngalleries are the cisterns and storehouses of the patriarchs and of\nthe Church. Vegetables of every kind [suitable for the table] of the\npatriarchs, melons, apples, and pears are preserved at the bottom of\nthe cisterns in baskets hung by cords: when the patriarch wants to eat,\nthey bring them up quite fresh: and the emperor eats them also. The\nbath of the patriarch is also above [under] the galleries; the water\nof the fountains mounts by pipes, and the rainwater is preserved in\ncisterns. On the galleries are painted all the patriarchs and emperors\nof Constantinople, and those who shared their heresies. In the choirs\nof the church are five heads ornamented with pearls like a silver [word\nindecipherable].... Lazarus, the image painter[185] ... first painted\nat Constantinople, in the sanctuary of S. Sophia, the Virgin holding\nChrist and two angels.... S. Sophia has 3,000 priests; 500 share in the\nbenefices of the church and 1,500 have no share; when one of the 500\npriests dies, his place is taken by one of the 1,500.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\n_Frankish Occupation and After._--Three years after the visit of\nAnthony, Constantinople was taken by the Latins. One of the Crusaders,\nVillehardouin, writes, \u201cOf holy relics I need only say it contained\nmore than all Christendom combined; there is no estimating the quantity\nof gold, silver, precious vessels, jewels, rich stuffs, silks, robes\nof vair, gris, and ermine, and other valuable things--the production\nof all the climates in the world. It is the belief of me, Geoffrey\nVillehardouin, mar\u00e9chal of Champagne, that the plunder of this city\nexceeded all that has been witnessed since the creation of the world.\u201d\n\nMuch of the accumulated wealth of six centuries--the gifts from\nemperors and private individuals of \u201csacred vessels of gold and pearls\nand precious stones\u201d[186]--was removed by the Venetians and Franks.\nMany of these precious objects are lost beyond hope of recovery; such\nare the candlesticks and crosses. As some representation of these we\ngive a figure of a gemmed processional cross, with its _seizae_ of\njewels, from the _Menologium_ of Basil (Fig. 15).\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 15.--Jewelled Processional Cross.]\n\nIn the treasury of S. Mark\u2019s at Venice there is however a rich hoard of\nvessels, lamps, and other objects, which were taken from the churches\nof Constantinople; and many of these crystal lamps, agate cups, and\nenamelled book-covers doubtless belonged to S. Sophia.\n\nAmongst these may be mentioned an agate chalice with the name\nSisinnius. This may probably be referred to a Patriarch of\nConstantinople of that name in 996; another with the name Ignatius to a\npatriarch in 877; a third with the inscription \u201cLord help Romanus, the\nOrthodox Emperor\u201d to Romanus Lecapenus (919-944).[187] Extracts from\nthe Venetian historians mentioning objects brought from Constantinople\nare given by Riant. Paulus Maurocenus speaks of \u201cthe many holy relics,\nand small figures, and chalices and patens and other beautiful things\nfrom the church of S. Sophia;\u201d also, \u201cthe very same doors which now\nclose the church of S. Mark\u2019s ... and two censers of gold from S.\nSophia of such grace and beauty that one cannot see them without being\nastounded.\u201d He also mentions, though it is not quite clear if he\nassociates this with S. Sophia, \u201cThe palla of silver-gilt with the\nfigures of our Lord, the Virgin, the Apostles, prophets, doctors, and\nmartyrs, which is now placed in the church of S. Mark.\u201d[188]\n\nThe head of S. Pantaleon was taken by Heinrich Ulmen to the church of\nthe saint at Cologne.\n\nAfter the interregnum, S. Sophia was visited by several other Russian\npilgrims, who have left accounts of the church which agree very\nclosely. Of the fullest of these, which is by an anonymous Russian\nwriter, 1424-1453, we give a condensed abstract, as it contains one or\ntwo more points, shows the acquisition of other relics in the place\nof those lost, and is useful for comparison with the anonymous Greek\nauthor translated in the next chapter:--\n\nNear the west door in the middle of the narthex are the doors of the\nark of Noah and the chain which bound the apostle Paul. Above the\ndoor is the miraculous image of the Saviour, and a lamp is suspended\nbefore it. In the sanctuary is the life-giving Cross on which the Jews\ncrucified Christ. The stone on which He sat and conversed with the\nwoman of Samaria is in the chapel on the right. Here is the table of\nAbraham. At the bottom of the church against the wall to the right\nof the altar is the bed of iron on which martyrs were burnt. Here is\na stone coffer with relics of Martyrs and the Innocents. To the left\nis the tomb and the whole body of Arsenius: the doors of the ark: the\nbench where Jeremiah the prophet wept, and a column by which Peter\nwept. To the left are buried S. George and S. Theologos. On the left is\na little shrine beautifully built; it contains the image of the Virgin\nwhich wept when the Franks held Constantinople. Her tears, resembling\npearls, are kept in a coffer before the image. The instruments of the\nPassion are exposed from Thursday to Saturday. Beyond is the image of\nChrist in marble, and the cross of S. John chained to the wall. Near\nthe Holy Table in the bema is the tomb of S. John Chrysostom, covered\nby a plank overlaid with gold and gems. To the right on entering the\nchurch are situated a well and large basin of marble in which the\npatriarch baptizes. One leaves S. Sophia by the south door; at some\nsteps from the gate, to the left, is the Church of the Holy Saviour;\nabove the door is suspended an image which an emperor attempted to\ndestroy. Behind the bema of S. Sophia is the church of S. Nicholas.\nNear by in front of the door which is behind the altar of S. Sophia is\nthe place where they bless the water, plunging in the Cross; a roof\ncovered with lead surmounts the basin of green marble. It is here they\nbaptize the emperors; four cypresses and two palms form a crescent\nin this place. Some distance in front of the ambo of S. Sophia is a\npedestal of marble which supports the holy chalice; it is within a\nstone inclosure, and is covered by a vault of gilt copper. From the\nentrance of the church to the ambo is 66 cubits, and it is 30 beyond to\nthe sanctuary, which is 50 long by 100 wide. The church is 200 cubits\nwide and 150 high. Above the first door is Solomon in mosaic in a\ncircle of azure.\n\nThat these accounts accurately relate the stories of the guardians of\nS. Sophia is sufficiently proved by La Brocqui\u00e8re, who was told in 1433\nthat S. Sophia possessed \u201cone of the robes of our Lord, the end of the\nlance that pierced His side, the sponge that was offered to Him, and\nthe reed that was put in His hand. I can only say that behind the choir\nI was shown the gridiron on which S. Lawrence was roasted [the iron\nbed], and a large basin-like stone on which they say Abraham gave the\nangels food when they were going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.\u201d\n\n\n\u00a7 2. LIGHTING.\n\nThe description by the Silentiary[189] of the lamps and candelabra\nwhich illuminated the Great Church forms one of the most fascinating\nparts of the whole poem. Although the multitude of lamps which once\nlit up the interior have long disappeared, the main features of the\nlighting may be brought back to our imaginations by comparing the\ndescription with illustrative examples. First then in the central\nspace under the great dome, chains fell from the height of the upper\ncornice, where they were probably attached to strong bronze arms which\nprojected far out like the present metal stakes which project in the\nexedras on the first-floor cornice. These chains all terminated at\nsome height above the floor in supporting the great sweep of a metal\ncircle to which were suspended flat circular discs of silver, each of\nwhich was pierced with holes into which were dropped glass oil vases\nwith rims which prevented them falling through. With these discs were\nassociated crosses of metal which also carried lamps. These, cross and\ndisc together, or alternately, hanging round in a great circle made a\n\u201ccircling chorus of bright lights\u201d within which was a large corona of\nother lamps and above it a large central disc.\n\nThen along the sides of the church were rows of lamps in the forms of\nsilver bowls, and ships; other rows of lights were attached to beams\nsupported above the floor by metal standards, and to projecting metal\narms, or suspended rods. Upon the beam of the iconostasis was a row\nof candelabra, each with a series of horizontal circles diminishing\nupwards about the stem, like a fir-tree, issuing from a silver bowl.\nAbove the centre of the iconostasis was a great standard light-bearing\ncross. Round about the ambo similar light trees were placed.\n\nLight coronae, crosses, or single lamps were favourite gifts to a\nchurch, and in these objects S. Sophia probably became much more\nwealthy as time went on. Michael III., for instance, gave to the church\nin 867 \u201ca circle (_kuklos_) for lights which they call a polycandelon,\nas big as any of the others but all of gold weighing sixty pounds. To\nit was given the first and most holy place.\u201d[190] \u201cA chalice and paten\nsuperior to all the others, as well as a polycandelon in the form of\na cross with many lamps,\u201d are also mentioned as given by Michael. His\nsuccessor Basil I., \u201cas there was a danger of the sacred lamps being\nextinguished for want of oil,\u201d assigned for the use of the church \u201cthe\ntribute called mantea, so that the light might never be quenched.\u201d[191]\nThe Anonymous doubtless exaggerates beyond belief with his 300\npolycandela and 6000 lamps all of gold, but the kinds of candelabra he\nspeaks of must have been perfectly well known (p. 140).\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 16.--Polycandelon or Disc, for Seventeen Lamps, in\nthe British Museum.]\n\nAt the end of the twelfth century, Robert de Clari, the knight of\nAmiens, wrote--\u201cThroughout the church hang one hundred candelabra, and\nthere is not one which does not hang from a silver chain as thick as a\nman\u2019s arm, and each candelabrum has quite twenty-five lamps or more,\nand there is not a single candelabrum which is not worth two hundred\nsilver marks.\u201d Benjamin of Tudela mentions \u201ccandelabra, lamps, and\nlanterns, of gold and silver more than any man can name;\u201d and Stephen\nof Novgorod (1350) speaks of \u201ca multitude immense, innumerable, of\nlamps.\u201d\n\nOf the great brilliance of illumination obtained in the early churches\nthere can be no doubt. Paulinus writes that at his church at Nola the\nlights were suspended in such profusion that they seemed to float in a\nsea. An interesting account of the method of lighting followed at the\nLateran, illustrated by a plan of the circles, is given by Rohault de\nFleury.[192]\n\nA Byzantine lamp-holder lately sent to the Louvre from Constantinople\nis probably almost identical in general form with the \u201cdiscs\u201d of\nPaulus. This polycandelon is a broad flat ring of bronze pierced with\neight holes for as many lights, and suspended by four chains. It bears\na votive inscription which reads, \u201cLord, remember thee of Thy servant\nAbraham, son of Constantine.\u201d[193]\n\nIn the British Museum is a much more ornate example of the same kind of\ndisc. This is also of bronze, about sixteen inches diameter, pierced\nwith seventeen holes for the lights, the interspaces being cut away\nto form a radiating pattern. We give a drawing of this interesting\nlamp, with which we have associated a small pierced plate for a lamp\nchain in the same collection (Fig. 16). In the Arch\u00e6ological Museum at\nGranada there is an ornamental disc closely resembling the example in\nthe British Museum. It came from the mosque of Elvira, and probably\nbelongs to the ninth century. We mention this because the bottom plate\nof the modern mosque lamp with the small holes which take glass tubular\nvessels eight or ten inches long and only about two inches in diameter,\ncontinues the tradition of the Byzantine polycandela, and the oil\nvessels well represent those like spear shafts mentioned by the Poet.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 17.--Silver Polycandelon from Lampsacus, in the\nBritish Museum.]\n\nIn another example in the British Museum the disc is not quite flat but\nof the form of a dinner plate, the holes for the lamps being around the\nrim. This lamp-holder is of silver, and was brought from Lampsacus near\nGallipoli with several altar vessels inscribed with a monogram which\nreads \u039c\u0397\u039d\u0391 or \u0391\u039c\u0397\u039d. In Fig. 17 we have restored the oil vases. Another\nbronze polycandelon has recently been brought from Egypt by Professor\nFlinders Petrie: this is about eight inches across (Fig. 18[194]).\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 18.--Coptic Polycandelon for Four Lamps.]\n\nOn Mount Athos we probably find the best existing parallel to the\ncircle of discs at S. Sophia in the monastery of Docheiareiu (see Fig.\n19).[195] In the words of the Silentiary, \u201cthese discs form a coronet.\u201d\n\nThe second crown of lights, which hung within the great circle of discs\nat S. Sophia, would also have had a circular rim supported by chains\nwith lamps suspended beneath, or attached to arms projecting from the\nrim. S. Bernard speaks of a church where were placed \u201cnot crowns but\nwheels with precious stones and lights around them.\u201d To these circular\ncandelabra ecclesiastical writers usually give the title of coronae.\nLeo III. gave to the basilica of S. Andrew at Rome a \u201cgold corona of\nlamps set with gems.\u201d Other authors call crowns with lamps of this kind\n_phara_; we read in Leo Ostiensis of a \u201cpharum or large crown of silver\nwith six and thirty lamps hanging from it.\u201d[196] They are also spoken\nof as _cycli_, but more generally as _polycandela_. The _Chronicon\nCassinense_ mentions \u201ca pharos or crown of silver, weighing a hundred\nlibrae, twenty cubits round about, with twelve towers projecting from\nit, and thirty-six lamps hanging from it. This was fixed outside the\nchoir, before the great cross, by an iron chain adorned with seven gold\napples.\u201d[197] The same chronicle also speaks of a \u201csilver-gilt corona,\ncoloured with precious stones, with six crosses hanging from it.\u201d The\ngreat circles of Aix and Hildesheim are the best-known examples of the\nancient coronae. These have twelve towers like that just mentioned, and\nthey symbolised the New Jerusalem. R. de Fleury suggests that relics\nwere contained in such turrets. An extremely beautiful pharos in the\nHermitage Museum represents a basilica.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 19.--Corona with Lamp Discs, Mount Athos.]\n\nThe light crosses were very generally known throughout Christendom,\nand the historian Socrates mentions that crosses of silver with\nburning candles upon them were carried in processions in the time of\nChrysostom. According to Anastasius, at S. Peter\u2019s there was a large\npharos \u201cin the form of a cross which hung before the presbyterium\nhaving 1,370 candles;\u201d this was lighted four times a year; also \u201ca\ngold carved cross hanging before the altar with twelve candles,\u201d\nand \u201ca cross lamp with two little ships and three fishes.\u201d The lamp\ncross hanging in S. Mark\u2019s is the best-known example remaining. It\nis possible that those at S. Sophia mentioned with the discs hung\nhorizontally to four chains.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 20.--Single Lamp with Votive Inscription.]\n\nAt S. Sophia, in addition to the discs, crosses, and circles, there\nwere, according to Du Cange, lamps hung from nets. The word which he\ninterprets in this way is that translated \u201cskiff\u201d (line 480), as it\nmeans a small row-boat. How he gets his interpretation of nets it is\ndifficult to see. We mention it here for its intrinsic beauty only: it\nwas a familiar arrangement for lamps. Anastasius in his Lives of the\nPopes speaks of one of the churches at Rome having \u201ca pharos in the\nform of a net,\u201d and again of a large pharos \u201clike a net with twenty\nbaskets,\u201d and also \u201ca bronze net with silver baskets.\u201d\n\nThe hanging lamps in the form of ships mentioned by our poet would\nhave carried the oil vessels round their sides. A most interesting\nexample of a lamp of this kind is given in the _Dictionary of Christian\nAntiquities_ (Smith and Cheetham). It represents a small vessel with\na mast and sail, containing two figures, one steering, and the other\nlooking out from the prow. These figures are either Peter and Paul\nor more probably Christ and Peter. The symbolism of the ship for the\nChurch is too familiar to need comment; the mast in the centre, without\nwhich the ship is unsafe, as S. Ambrose says, typifies the cross\nwithout which the church is unable to stand. The galley form of lamp\nwas well known also in antiquity. In the Christian era it was only one\nof the many beautiful and suggestive forms in which lamps were made;\nsome resembled birds, crystal fish, or shells, others again were bowls\nof white or emerald glass.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 21.--Sixth-century Candlestick.]\n\nIn the sanctuary there would have been suspended large single lamps\nwhich burnt perpetually (_Akoimetoi_). A very fine single Byzantine\nlamp of this kind is shown in the fifteenth-century picture by Marco\nMarziale in the National Gallery, in which the interior of S. Mark\u2019s\nfigures as the temple. In Fig. 20 we give a restoration of fragments\nof a beautiful early Christian bowl-shaped lamp bearing a votive\ninscription figured by Rossi. On Mount Athos Dr. Covel noticed a lamp\nof beaten gold set with jewels.\n\nThe treasury of S. Mark\u2019s probably still contains lamps which hung in\nS. Sophia: one of especial beauty is a glass bowl with circles cut on\nthe outside and attached to a metal rim on which is inscribed in Greek,\n\u201cSt. Panteleon, succour thy servant Zacchariah, Archbishop of Iberia,\nAmen.\u201d[198]\n\nIn illustration of the tree-like candelabra which stood above the beam\nof the iconostasis, and round the ambo, we may mention the well-known\nclassical examples. A lamp-bearer in the museum at Brussels is\ndescribed as \u201can _arbuste_ of considerable size and irregular trunk and\nbranches with lamps suspended from the extremities of its boughs.\u201d\nAnastasius mentions a \u201ctree of bronze with candlesticks to the number\nof fifty in which were placed wax candles, thirty-six lamps as well\nhung from the boughs.\u201d Paulinus also speaks of hanging candelabra\nat Nola \u201cwith branches like a vine bearing little glass cups which\nresembled burning fruit; when they were lighted it was like the sudden\nburst into life of spring flowers.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 22.--Candlesticks.]\n\nBesides all these oil lamps there would have been a great number of\nstanding candlesticks in the sanctuary. The Anonymous speaks of some\nthe height of a man. One constant type is represented in Fig. 21; this\nis inlaid in mother-of-pearl on the apse walls at Parenzo, and is of\nJustinian\u2019s time. Fig. 22 shows two others from the _Menologium_. Wax\ncandles, which are frequently mentioned, were patterned and coloured.\n\nThe miracle of the moving cross of lights mentioned by Anthony reminds\nus of a remarkable custom in regard to the great coronas of lights\nin Byzantine churches which is observed on Mount Athos, and also at\nSinai, and is probably ancient. A part of the great festival service\nat Vatopedi consists in singing the _Polyeleos_. \u201cWhen the last of the\nmultitude of candles had been lighted in the great coronas under the\ndomes, the monks fetched long poles, with which they pushed out the\ncandelabra to the full extent that their suspending chains permitted\nand then let them go, the result being that in a few minutes the whole\nchurch was filled with slowly swinging lights.\u201d[199]\n\nThe method of lighting described by the Silentiary has not changed in\nthe unchanging East. S. Sophia is still lighted by a myriad little\nlamps arranged in rows, or suspended in circles. The single lamp is a\nsmall glass vessel of oil on which floats the wick; the two typical\nforms being like a bowl or an elongated tumbler. These cups are hung\nby three chains, or inserted in a ring, at the end of a metal arm,\nprojecting from the wall or from the rim of a suspended circle.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 23.--Hanging Rods for Lamps in S. Sophia until\n1850.]\n\nUp to the time of Fossati\u2019s restoration there was an immense polygon of\nprobably some sixty feet diameter of iron rods suspended from the dome.\nGrelot[200] described it in 1680 as a large circle of iron rods hanging\ndown to within eight or ten feet of the pavement and having fixed to\nit \u201ca prodigious number of lamps, ostrich eggs, and other baubles.\u201d\nIn the mosque of Achmet, several rings are bound together by straight\nrods, making overhead a geometrical arrangement of bars, from which\nthe lamps are suspended; although these are all Turkish, the system\nremained from Byzantine times. Fig. 23 is re-drawn from Fossati. (_Aya\nSophia_, Constantinople, 1852.) One of the most beautiful methods is\nthat of suspending the lamps to long straight iron bars running the\nwhole length of the building as at S. John Studius.\n\nIn the mosque of Damascus, before the recent fire, there were hanging\nassemblages of circles one above another somewhat similar we may\nsuppose to the trees of the poet. At Salonica a network of lamps\nwhich hangs almost like a curtain before the bema of S. Demetrius may\nillustrate the \u201cnets\u201d if nets there were. During Ramazan festoons of\nlamps are hung from minaret to minaret arranged in inscriptions; in\n1676 Dr. Covel of Cambridge saw illuminations before the Sultan at\nAdrianople which represented \u201ccastles, mosques, peacocks, Turkish\nwritings, &c., extremely pleasant and wonderful to behold.\u201d These were\nformed by lamps hung to light frames; the method was probably derived\nfrom Byzantine illuminations such as the fireworks mentioned as being\nexhibited in the Hippodrome.\n\nThe four marble pillars that stand up out of the parapet at the western\ngallery of S. Sophia (Fig. 41) must always have carried lights on metal\nbranches at the top, much as at present; and the long metal stakes with\nhook ends, that project from the first cornice at the angles of the\nexedras, and from which chandeliers hang, are possibly original in some\ncases.\n\nThe multiplication of small lights is the most brilliant system of\nillumination, for not only is there light everywhere but flame, and\nhence no shadows. Whoever sees the great church lighted for the solemn\nservices of Ramazan, when, according to Fossati, \u201csix thousand lamps\nare suspended at various heights,\u201d may imagine the splendour of the\nlighted interior in Byzantine times. When, after one of the services,\nthe lamplighters walked round and extinguished the lamps with a whisk\nfrom long fan-shaped brooms, we saw the need of the passages above the\ndifferent cornices; and leaving Constantinople one April evening, as\nwe slowly wound round the point, while the circle of windows in the\nlighted dome seemed to hang above the city, we realised that it was no\nidle saying of the poet\u2019s that the mariner guided his laden vessel \u201cby\nthe divine light of the church itself.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\nLATER HISTORY AND LEGENDS\n\n\n\u00a7 1. HISTORY.\n\nFrom the date of the completion of Justinian\u2019s restored church it has\nhad to withstand the frequent earthquake shocks which, as we have so\nrecently seen, devastate the city from time to time. Von Hammer[201]\ncalculates, from the accounts of the Byzantine historians, that from\nthe beginning of the seventh to the middle of the fifteenth century\nthere were twenty-three severe earthquakes, one of which, in 1033,\nlasted intermittently for 140 days. In the Turkish records, from 1511\nto 1765, ten earthquakes are mentioned. It is remarkable that in this\nlength of time the delicately poised construction of the church should\nonly have required restorations which are relatively unimportant.\n\nIt is difficult to say how far the church suffered during the struggles\nabout image worship, which raged for more than a century. The question\nwill be considered more fully when we deal with the mosaics of the\nvaults. The restoration of images was finally accomplished in 842,[202]\nby Theodora and Michael.\n\nA belfry was built in the centre of the west front about the year\n865:[203] and the eastern walk of the atrium was probably transformed\ninto an exonarthex at the same time. The first regular restoration\nwas also undertaken in the second half of the ninth century, under\nBasil the Macedonian: \u201cFor the wide and lofty western arch of the great\nchurch called S. Sophia was showing rents and threatening to fall. With\nthe help of the workmen he girded it round and rebuilt it, so that it\nwas safe and strong. And on it he figured the Virgin with her Child\non her arms, and Peter and Paul, the chief of the apostles, on either\nside.\u201d[204]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 24.--Plans of Additions to West End. A and C North\nand South Porches; B Belfry.]\n\nThe north and south porches and great lateral stairways, which\ninjuriously altered the exterior, must also have been built by Michael\nor Basil, as we find them mentioned in the _Book of Ceremonies._\n\nIn October 975 an earthquake caused the \u201chemisphere with the western\narch (_apsis_) to fall.\u201d[205] They were restored again by the same\nemperor in six years: he spent, Scylitzes says, \u201con the machines for\nmounting for the workmen to stand on, and for raising the scaffolding,\nto build what was fallen; ten centenaria of gold.\u201d[206] According to\nGlycas, Romanus Argyrus (1028) beautified the capitals; Scylitzes also\nsays this emperor \u201cmade bright with silver and gold both the capitals\nof the great church and of our Lady of Blachernae.\u201d[207]\n\nThe injuries wrought by the Crusaders to S. Sophia are referred to\nin Chapter V. Baldwin was crowned here in 1204, and for fifty-seven\nyears Catholic priests read masses at its altar. On the recapture the\nByzantine emperors made an effort to restore, but the church never\nrecovered its former splendour. The patriarch Arsenius during the\nreign of Michael Palaeologus \u201crestored the bema and ambo and solea at\nthe king\u2019s expense, besides enriching the church with vestments and\nsacred vessels.\u201d[208] In the first half of the fourteenth century,\nAndronicus Palaeologus, the elder, strengthened the north and east\nsides. Nicephorus Gregoras says the emperor \u201cheard from several\nexperienced builders that in a short time the parts towards the\nnorth and east would give way, and fall unless strengthened. And he\nbuilt pyramidal structures from the foundations and prevented the\nthreatened destruction,\u201d but bricks and mosaic continued to fall.[209]\nThe pyramidal structures to the east must be the four great sloping\nbuttresses which stand over the low attached buildings on that side;\nthey are shown on Fossati\u2019s plan. Gregoras also inveighs against the\nEmpress Anna as having, in the reign of Cantacuzenus, robbed the church\nof furniture and ornaments, and says that tyranny and oppression were\nthe chief causes of the destruction of the church. Cantacuzenus, in his\nown history,[210] speaks of the damage caused by an earthquake in 1346,\nwhen about a third of the roof fell, destroying \u201cthe great stoa by the\nside of the bema\u201d (perhaps the iconostasis). This is also referred to\nby Gregoras, \u201cthe easternmost of the four arches which rival heaven\nfell, dragging with it the part of the house which rested on it. The\nhidden beauty of the bema was destroyed as well as its ornaments of\nsacred icons.\u201d[211] The stoa and bema were restored by the Empress\nAnna, the wife of Andronicus Palaeologus, Phaceolatus being prefect\nof the works, but the upper parts with the roof had to wait until the\naccession of Cantacuzenus in 1347. He restored the decoration both\nin marble and mosaic, a work which John Palaeologus finished. Both\nemperors were helped \u201cby one Astras, in many things a clever man, but\nespecially in building, and by John, surnamed Peralta, one of the Latin\nsubjects of the emperor.\u201d[212]\n\nThe church was necessarily much neglected in the last days of the\nEmpire. Clavijo, who gave a careful account of the church in 1403 (see\nChapter IX.), says \u201cthe outer gates by which the church was approached\nwere broken and fallen.\u201d He notes that \u201cthe Greeks do not call\nConstantinople as we name it, but speak of it as _Escomboli_.\u201d This\nclearly proves that the derivation of the Turkish name Istambul from\n\u03b5\u1f30\u03c2 \u03c4\u1f74\u03bd \u03c0\u03cc\u03bb\u03b9\u03bd, \u201cto the city,\u201d is correct.[213]\n\nThe Florentine Bondelmontius, who was there in 1422, says that \u201conly\nthe dome of the church remained, as everything is fallen down and in\nruins.\u201d This exaggeration is probably explained by a story given by\nthe Chevalier Bertrandon de la Brocqui\u00e8re, who visited the city eleven\nyears later, in the course of his remarkable ride from Damascus to\nDijon along the route of the present Oriental express. He attended\nservice in the church, and writes:--\u201cThere the patriarch resides, with\nothers of the rank of canons. It is situated near the eastern point,\nis of a circular shape, and formed of three different parts, one\nsubterranean, another above the ground, and a third over that. Formerly\nit was surrounded by cloisters, and was, it was said, three miles\nin circumference.[214] It is now of smaller extent, and only three\ncloisters remain, all paved and inlaid with squares of white marble,\nand ornamented with large columns of various colours. The gates are\nremarkable for their breadth and height, and are of bronze.\u201d[215] The\nvisit of the Chevalier Bertrandon brings us within twenty years of the\nfall of the great city.\n\nThe incidents of the later years of the empire, the vain efforts to\nget help from Europe, and the schemes for uniting the Greek and Latin\nchurches, are described by Chedomil Mijatovich.[216] In the year\nbefore the Fall the negotiations with the West had proceeded so far,\nthat, on the 12th of December 1452, a _Te Deum_ after the Latin rite\nwas sung by Cardinal Isidore in S. Sophia, but this did not meet with\nfavour from the populace. Ducas speaks of the church after that time as\nbeing nothing better than a Jewish synagogue or heathen temple. Five\nmonths later, on the 28th of May 1453, the last Christian service was\nheld within its walls. At the vesper service on that solemn evening,\nthe emperor, after praying with great fervour, left his imperial chair,\nand, approaching the iconostasis, prostrated himself before the figures\nof Christ and the Madonna on either side of the great central door. He\nthen asked for pardon from any whom he might have offended, and the\nritual proceeded.\n\nOn the morrow at the first capture of the city the Janissaries rushed\nto the great church, which they conceived was filled with gold, silver,\nand precious stones. They found the doors fastened, but broke them\nopen, and at once began to pillage. The sultan as soon as possible rode\nto S. Sophia. Dismounting on the threshold, with the mystic symbolism\nof an Oriental, he stooped down, and, collecting some earth, let it\nfall on his turbaned head, as an act of humiliation. Then he entered\nthe edifice, but stopped in the doorway some moments, and gazed in\nsilence before him.\n\n\u201cHe saw a Turk breaking the floor with an axe. \u2018Wherefore dost thou\nthat?\u2019 inquired the conqueror. \u2018For the faith,\u2019 replied the soldier.\nMahomet in an impulse of anger struck him, saying, \u2018Ye have got enough\nby pillaging, and enslaving the city, the buildings are mine.\u2019\u201d\n\nA letter to Pope Nicholas V., written in 1453, describes how \u201cthe\nprofane heathen broke into the marvellous temple of S. Sophia,\nunsurpassed by Solomon\u2019s; they reverenced not the sacred images, nay,\nrather broke them in pieces; they put out the eyes of the priests,\nscattered the relics of the saints, and seized on the gold and\nsilver.\u201d[217]\n\nDucas, who died eleven years after the Fall, bewails \u201cthe Great Church,\na new Sion which has now become an altar of the heathen, and is called\nthe house of Mahomet.\u201d \u201cThe dogs hewed down the holy ikons, tore off\nthe ornaments, the chains, the napkins, and the coverings of the holy\ntable. Some of the lamps they destroyed, and others they carried away.\nThey stole the sacred vessels from the skeuophylakium. Everything made\nof silver and gold or other precious materials was taken away, and the\nchurch was left naked and desolate as it had never been before.\u201d\n\nWith the exception of the removal of much of the treasure, the church\ndid not immediately suffer great harm from its new masters.\n\nOn the outside however the destruction of many of the low attached\nchambers, and the addition of the minarets, have very much changed\nits appearance. The first minaret, which was indeed the first in\nConstantinople, was built at the south-east corner by Mahomet the\nConqueror. Selim II., who reigned from 1566 to 1574, built the second\nat the north-east corner, and also restored the eastern apse which had\nbeen again damaged by an earthquake: Amurath III. erected the last two\nminarets at the western corners.[218]\n\n\u201cThe description of the church of S. Sophia as it now appears,\u201d\nwhich forms one of the chapters in Gyllius\u2019 (\u2020 1555) _Topography of\nConstantinople_, describes the church before the addition of these\nthree last minarets. It is interesting to note that he remarks how\nlittle the building had been altered, \u201cand it is despoiled of nothing,\nexcept a little of the metal work [mosaic?] which shows itself in\ngreat abundance through the whole church. The Sanctum Sanctorum,\nformerly holy and unpolluted, into which the priests only were suffered\nto enter, is still standing, though there is nothing remaining of\nthe jewels and precious stones which adorned it, these having been\nplundered by its sacrilegious enemies.\u201d This is later supported\nby Grelot,[219] who writes, \u201cIt is decorated with everything that\nhuman industry and skill could devise to render the work absolutely\nperfect.... I say nothing about the beautiful pictures, the faces of\nwhich have been destroyed by the Turks.\u201d It is clear from Tournefort\n(1702) and Lady Mary Montagu (1717) that the mosaics were not wholly\nobliterated; the latter writes, \u201cthe figures were in no other way\ndefaced but by the decays of time: for it is absolutely false that the\nTurks defaced all the images they found in the city.\u201d On the other\nhand, an Italian MS. description of S. Sophia in the British Museum,\nwritten in 1611, says, \u201cThe Turks took away all the beautiful work and\ncovered everything with whitewash.\u201d[220] It is evident from Dr. Covel\u2019s\nMS., quoted later, that much was destroyed, defaced, and plastered\nover. Dr. Walsh tells us that one of the smaller vaults fell in about\n1820, scattering its mosaic over the floor.\n\n\n\u00a7 2. THE ANONYMOUS ACCOUNT.\n\nWe must now examine the description of the church by the writer\ngenerally called the Anonymous of Combefis (otherwise of Banduri or\nLambecius). Codinus, who is believed to have died soon after the\ncapture of Constantinople by the Turks, has so closely copied the\nAnonymous that the accounts differ only in a few minor particulars.\nCombefis says that the text of the Anonymous was collated by Lambecius,\n\u201cwho produced it from the royal archives\u201d with the _Chronography of the\nLogothetae_, a tenth-century work to which the same account is added\nas a separate treatise. Labarte however considers that it was written\nin the eleventh century: Choisy assigns it to the fourteenth, a view\nwith which we are inclined to agree; but in any case we cannot think it\nearlier than the twelfth century.\n\nThe description by Paulus is so precisely accurate where we can--as is\nso largely the case--check it by the existing work, that there cannot\nbe a doubt of his entire accuracy. With the Anonymous this is not so;\nand it must first of all be borne in mind that he professes not to\nwrite of the church as he saw it, but to celebrate its splendour when\nfirst completed by Justinian; in this his account differs entirely\nfrom the Silentiary\u2019s, which there is no sign to show that he had\never read. The Anonymous has been very largely used by scholars of\nthe ability of Labarte and Bayet, but we believe him to be entirely\nunreliable where he speaks of the former state of the church. He simply\ngathers the legends which had grown up, because facts were forgotten,\nand enumerates the relics.\n\n\u201cThe great church,[221] known as S. Sophia [formerly a place of heathen\nworship--Codinus], was first built of an oblong (_dromica_) form,\nlike those of S. Andronicus and S. Acacius. On its completion it was\nadorned with many statues. This building lasted seventy-four years.\nBut in the reign of Theodosius the Great, at the time of the second\nsynod of Constantinople, an Arian uproar arose, during which the roof\nof the church was destroyed by fire. The most holy patriarch Nectarius\ntook up his office at S. Irene, a church which was also built by\nConstantine. Then for two [Codinus and Glycas say sixteen] years S.\nSophia was without a roof, until Theodosius, with Rufinus as his master\nworkman (_magistros_), covered it with cylindrical vaults. After this\nit remained unhurt for thirty-nine years, making altogether eighty-five\nyears (_sic_) from the time of Constantine, until the fifth year of\nJustinian\u2019s reign. This was after the massacre in the Circus, in which\nthirty-five thousand men were killed, when a faction elected Hypatius\nemperor. However, in the fifth year of Justinian\u2019s reign, the Most High\nGod put it into his mind that he should build a temple to surpass all\nthat had ever been built from the time of Adam.\n\n\u201cHe wrote therefore to the strategi, toparchs, judges, and satraps\nof the different provinces, that with all zeal they should look for\nmaterials--columns, piers, panels, and lattice-doors--everything in\nfact that would be useful for building. Obeying the emperor\u2019s letter,\nthey quickly sent all that could be found from the shrines of the pagan\nidols, from baths, and private houses, from every province of east,\nwest, north, and south, and from all the islands.\n\n\u201cEight porphyry columns from Rome, which, according to Plutarch,\nJustinian\u2019s secretary, a widow Marcia had received as dowry, were\ntransmitted to Constantinople. They had formerly stood in a temple of\nthe Sun built by Valerian, who surrendered himself to the Persians.\nEight others of green, of marvellous beauty, were quarried and sent\nfrom Ephesus by the praetor Constantine. The Marcia, whom I have just\nmentioned, wrote to the emperor as follows: \u2018I send thee, master, eight\ncolumns from Rome of equal length and size, and the same weight, for\nthe safety of my soul.\u2019\n\n\u201cOf the other columns some were brought from Cyzicus, some from the\nTroad, others from the Cyclades and Athens. And when sufficient was\ncollected for the work seven and a half years had been spent. Then in\nthe twelfth year of Justinian\u2019s reign, the church built by Constantine\nwas destroyed with the foundations; the old materials were put aside,\nas a sufficient amount of fresh had been prepared; and Justinian began\nto buy up the neighbouring houses. The first of these was one belonging\nto a widow named Anna, of which the price was estimated at eighty-five\nlibrae. She was however unwilling to sell it to the emperor, and\nrefused to give it up under five hundred librae; nor did the emperor\ngain his purpose by sending the nobles of the court to win her over.\nHe finally went himself and begged her to sell her house at any price.\nBut when she saw him as a suppliant, she fell at his feet, saying,\n\u2018Lord and King, I can accept no moneys for my house from thee; I ask\nonly that I may obtain reward in the day of judgment, and that I may\nbe buried in a tomb near the future church, so that the memory of my\ngift may live for ever.\u2019 The emperor promised that when the church was\nfinished she should be buried there, for the land which she had given\nup, that the memory of it might live for ever. The part which she gave\nto the great church is that now occupied by the skeuophylakium, and the\nchapel (_naos_) of S. Peter.\n\n\u201cThen the part which is occupied by the Holy Well, and all about\nthe thysiasterium, and the place of the ambo, and the middle of the\nnave, was the house of a certain eunuch, Antiochus, which was valued\nat thirty-eight librae. He was offended because the emperor had not\noffered him a proper price for it. Now the emperor was much distressed,\nwondering what to do. But the Magister Strategius--a guardian of the\ntreasures, the adopted brother of the emperor--promised that the\nemperor should gain his point by a little guile, and that the other\nshould sell his house. Now this Antiochus was an eager frequenter\nof the Circus, and especially favoured the blue faction. When the\ngames were about to be given, he was arrested and imprisoned in the\nPraetorian prison. Then Antiochus called out from the prison that if he\ncould only witness the games he would do whatever the emperor wished.\nHe was then led by the emperor\u2019s orders to his empty seat, and made\nto sell his house before the games commenced, the Quaestor and the\nwhole Senate being witness. Now there used to be the custom, that as\nsoon as the emperor ascended to his seat the charioteers should begin,\nbut because they stopped then, until the eunuch had accomplished his\ndeed of sale, even to the present day the chariots for the races are\naccustomed to enter at a slow trot.\n\n\u201cThe whole of the right-hand part of the Gynaeceum[222] up to the\ncolumn of S. Basil, and some portion of the nave, was the house of an\neunuch, Chariton, nicknamed Chenopolus, who sold it as a favour for\ndouble its value, which was twelve librae.\n\n\u201cThe left part of the Gynaeceum[222] up to the column of S. Gregory\nThaumaturgus was the house of one Xenophon, a cobbler. When they wanted\nto buy this house, besides asking twice the value, which was fourteen\nlibrae, he also demanded that, on the day of the games, the four\ncharioteers of the four factions should do obeisance to him as well as\nto the emperor. The emperor decreed that it should be done as he had\nasked, but made him a laughing-stock for ever. For on the day of the\ngames he was set midway in the boundaries, so that the charioteers, by\nway of joke, bowed to his back before beginning their courses, and so\nit is still done, and the man is styled \u2018Chief of those below.\u2019 He\nwears a white chlamys, woven with byssus.\n\n\u201cOn the area of the naos, the four nartheces, the louter, and the parts\nadjacent, was the house of Damianus, a noble of Seleucia, the value of\nwhich he estimated at ninety librae, and gladly gave to the emperor.\n\n\u201cNow Justinian, when he had measured out the site, and found a stone\nto act as centre, from the thysiasterium as far as the lower [western]\napse, laid the foundations of the great dome in circle-wise. Now from\nthe apses right away to the most outside narthex, the foundations\nwere laid in marshy and spongy ground. And when it had been begun, he\nurged Eutychius the patriarch to offer up prayers to God for its safe\nbuilding, and then, taking with his own hands lime and stone, giving\nthanks to God, he himself laid the first stone in its place. Now\nbefore the church was built he constructed the oratory of S. John the\nPrecursor with a gilt vault, and various ornamentations of precious\nstones. This is generally called the Baptistery, and is situated near\nthe Horologium. He built at the same time the adjacent portion of the\nMetatorium, that he might frequently rest there with his court, and\nrefresh himself with food. Then also he built the whole of the portico,\nwhich leads from the palace up to the Great Church, so that, as often\nas he liked, he might cross over and devote his time to the building,\nwithout being seen by any one. There were one hundred master workmen,\nand each had a band of a hundred men under him, making ten thousand men\naltogether. Fifty bands took one side, and fifty the other; and by the\nemulation between them, the work quickly progressed.\n\n\u201cThe form of the church was shown to the emperor in a dream by an\nangel. And the first Deviser (_mechanikos_) of the builders was skilful\nand full of sound wisdom, and well versed in building churches. Barley\nwas put into cooking pots, and its decoction, instead of water, was\nmingled with unslaked lime (_asbestos_) and tiles [crushed]. The\nmixture, when warm, became viscous and sticky. At the same time they\ncut slips off willow trees, which were cast into the cooking pots with\nthe barley; they then made solid masses, having a length of over fifty\nfeet, and fifty feet broad, and twenty feet deep, and placed them in\nthe foundations. They were put there, not hot, nor yet quite cold, that\nso they might bind better, and above these masses they placed large\nsquare stones.\n\n\u201cWhen the foundations had arisen from the earth two cubits, they had\nspent four hundred and fifty-two miliarisia of gold. Money was brought\ndaily from the palace, and placed in the Horologium, and each of those\nwho carried stone received a piece of silver, lest any slackness should\ncome upon them, or they should be tempted to complain. Some of them,\nwhen carrying stone, gave way under the weight, and fell head foremost\nand were hurt. Strategius, whom I have mentioned, distributed the\nwages: he was a Count of the royal treasury, and foster-brother of\nJustinian.\n\n\u201cNow when the piers (_pinsoi_) had been finished, and the great\ncolumns, both those from Rome and the green ones, had been put in their\nposition, the emperor left his noonday sleep and devoted himself to\nthe work, and inspected, with Troilus, a count of the household, all\nthe polishers (_lithoxooi_), stonecutters (_laotomoi_), carpenters\n(_tektonikoi_), and labourers (_oikodomoi_), promising them each week a\nnummus more, or as much as each might ask, above their fixed wages. He\nused to come to see how the work was proceeding, clad in a white linen\ngarment, his head covered with a kerchief, and holding a stick in his\nhand.\n\n\u201cAnd when they had raised the vaults (_apsides_) of the upper floor,\nthose on the right and on the left, and had covered over these vaults,\nthe emperor decreed that no miliarisia should be carried from the\npalace on Sundays. Now it was the third hour of the day, and Strategius\nordered the men to go to their dinners. As Ignatius, the first\n_mechanikos_ of the builders whom I have mentioned above, came down,\nhe left his son on the right-hand side of the upper floor, where he\nhad been working, with strict orders to watch the workmen\u2019s tools. He\nwas a boy of about fourteen. As he was sitting there, a eunuch, clad\nin shining garments, and fair to look upon, like one sent from the\npalace, appeared to him and said, \u2018What is the reason why the workmen\ndo not quickly finish the work of God, but have left it and gone to\neat?\u2019 To him the boy answered, \u2018At the earliest hour, my lord, they\nwill be here.\u2019 But he cried, \u2018Go quickly and bring them.\u2019 When the boy\nsaid that he was not to leave, lest the tools should disappear, the\neunuch said, \u2018Go quickly and summon them here, for I swear to thee, my\nson, by the Holy Wisdom, whose temple is now being built, I will not\ndepart, since, by the command of the Word of God, I am to minister and\nguard here until you return.\u2019 When he heard this, the boy quickly set\nout, leaving the angel of God as guard. And when he had got down, and\ngone to his father and the rest, he related everything in order; then\nthe father took his son and led him to the emperor\u2019s table. For the\nemperor was then dining in the oratory of St. John the Precursor, by\nthe Horologium. When he heard the story, he summoned all his eunuchs,\nand showed each in turn to the boy. Then the boy calling out that he\nsaw none like the one that had appeared, the emperor knew that it was\nan angel of the Lord who had addressed the boy, and this was made more\nclear, as the boy said that he was clothed in a white robe, his eyes\nglittering like fire; then the emperor praised God, saying, \u2018God has\naccepted my temple.\u2019 And as he had been wondering what name to call it,\nhe named it S. Sophia, according to interpretation \u2018Word of God.\u2019 And\nthe emperor took counsel with himself and said, \u2018I will not allow the\nboy to return, so that the angel may guard it for ever, as he promised\nby his oath. For if the boy return, the angel will depart.\u2019 Having\nconsulted with the principal senators and the bishops, the emperor\ncommanded that the boy should not be sent back to the temple, so that,\nby the grace of God, it should have a guardian till the end of the\nworld. And then the emperor loaded the boy with gifts and honours,\nand, with the consent of his father, sent him to the Cyclades. Now\nthe conversation of the angel with the boy happened on the right-hand\nside of the pier of the upper arch, as one ascends towards the dome.\n[Codinus says, \u201cnear the Syllagonum,\u201d for this it has been suggested\nto read Syllagoeum, or \u201cthe place of the council\u201d].\n\n\u201cWhen the workmen had continued the work up to the second catechumena,\nand the upper columns and arches were built, and they were roofing\nthe adjacent parts, the emperor began to be anxious for want of\nfunds. But as he was standing in the upper part of an arch, as they\nwere about to begin the dome, at the hour of the Sabbath just before\ndinner, an eunuch appeared to him, clad in white, and said, \u2018Why are\nyou distressed for money? To-morrow bid some of your nobles to come,\nand they shall have as much gold as they wish.\u2019 On the following day\nthe eunuch came and showed himself to the emperor. The emperor sent to\nfollow him Strategius, and Basilides the quaestor, and Theodorus the\npatrician, and Colocyns who was a praefect, besides fifty servants,\ntwenty mules, and twenty paniers. With all these he marched out of the\nGolden Gate. And when they had come to the Tribunalium, there seemed\nto those who were sent to be built there palaces of stupendous beauty.\nBut when they had dismounted, the eunuch bade them ascend a wonderful\nstair, and then, producing a splendid gold key, he opened the door of\na room, and, as Strategius says, the whole floor was heaped with gold\ncoins. Taking a shovel, the eunuch filled each panier with four hundred\npounds of gold, amounting altogether to eight thousand, and with these\nhe sent them back to the emperor; and having closed up the room with\nthe key, he said to them, \u2018Take the gold to the emperor, and bid him\nspend it on the work.\u2019 The eunuch left them there, and they came and\nshowed the emperor the gold they had received. He was astonished, and\nasked them where they had been, and where the eunuch dwelt. They told\nhim all in order, and how the wealth of gold was spread on the floor\nof the room. The emperor hoped that the eunuch would return, but as\nhe was disappointed he sent a slave to the place. When the slave had\nfound the place where the palace had been, and saw that there were\nno houses there, he returned, and told all to the emperor. He was\nthen astonished, but understanding how it was, said, \u2018Truly this is a\nmiracle as all may see;\u2019 and he praised God.\n\n\u201cNow when they were going to build the thysiasterium and let in the\nlight through glass windows, the Deviser (_mechanikos_) suggested\nthat the apsoid (_muax_) should have one light. Then he changed his\nmind, and suggested that it should have two, so that it should not be\nheavy, because no wooden ties (_ikriomata_) were placed there as in the\nnarthex, and on the sides of the church. But the rest of the craftsmen\nwere opposed, saying that one arch (_kamara_) would light the holy\nplace. Then the chief builder (_protooikodomos_) was at a loss what\nto do, because the emperor said at one time that there should be one\narch (_apsis_), and at another time two. Whilst the master (_maistor_)\nwas thus pondering and anxious, on the fourth day, at the fifth hour,\nappeared an angel of the Lord, like the emperor, with royal robes and\nred shoes, and said to the craftsman, \u2018I will that there be a triple\nlight, and that the conch be made with three windows,[223] in the\nname of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.\u2019 He then disappeared\nquickly. Then the master, struck with wonder, rushed to the palace,\nand said to the emperor, \u2018You keep not to your word. Until to-day you\nwanted one window, and then two, to light the bema; but now, when the\nwork is all but finished, you come to me and say, three windows shall\nlight the bema, as a symbol of the Trinity.\u2019 Now the emperor knew that\nday that he had not left the palace, and he recognised that an angel of\nthe Lord had spoken. He said, \u2018As I have bidden thee, so do.\u2019\n\n\u201cAll the piers (_pessoi_) inside and outside were made strong by iron\nbars (_mochloi_), so that they were bound together, and made immovable;\nthe joints of the piers were made with oil and _asbestos_; and upon\nthem was placed a plating of many marbles (_orthomarmarosis_).\n\n\u201cThe emperor sent Troilus the Cubicular, Thedosius the Prefect, and\nBasilides the Quaestor, to Rhodes to have bricks (_besala_) of Rhodian\nclay, made all equal in weight and length, with the words engraved on\nthem, \u2018God is in the midst of her, therefore shall she not be moved;\nGod shall help her, and that right early.\u2019[224] And they sent bricks\nof measured sizes to the emperor, twelve of them weigh one of ours;\nfor the clay is light, spongy, fine, and white; hence arose the common\nidea that the dome is built of pumice stone (_kiserion_); but this is\nnot so, though it is light and of a white colour.\n\n\u201cThus the four great arches were built; and when they had been raised\nto the level of the dome (_troulos_), on the completion of every\ntwelfth course, prayers were uttered for the church, and relics of the\nsaints built in. Thus arose the building; it was then adorned with\nmarble and covered with mosaic. And into the piers, arcades, and larger\ncolumns they placed relics of the saints. And when the marble plating\nhad been finished, they applied gold to the margins of the slabs, and\nto the capitals of the columns. And the carved work, and the ornaments\nof the upper galleries, both of the parts with two stories, and with\nthree (_diorophoi_ and _triorophoi_), were all covered with pure gold.\nThe thickness of the gold plating (_petalos_) was two inches.[225]\n\n\u201cBut all the vaults (_orophoi_) of the upper galleries, of the parts\nwith two stories on the sides, and the vaulting of the nave, and of the\nparts adjacent, and of the four nartheces, he gilded with glass mosaic.\nHe gilded even the proaulia, with their upper chambers, and columns,\nand marble slabs.\n\n\u201cThe floor of the nave was adorned with various marbles, both with\nthe Roman of a rue-green colour and others of a rosy red; and these\nwere all laid down and polished. The walls outside and all round were\ncovered with large and valuable stones.\n\n\u201cThe thysiasterium was of shining silver, the barrier (_stethea_),\nand its large columns, with the doors, were all of silver. All the\nsilver was dipped in gold. Four tables were set up in the thysiasterium\nsupported on columns, and these were gilt. The seven seats of the\npriests, on which they sat on either side, with the throne of the\npatriarch, and the four columns, were all gilded. And it was forbidden\nto go up into the holy place, the _Kuklios_, also called the Holy of\nHolies, which is above the steps.\n\n\u201cHe set up also large columns of silver-gilt, and the lilies with\nthe ciborium. And the ciborium he made with silver and nielloed\n(_arguroencauston_). Above the ciborium was a globe of solid gold,\nweighing 118 pounds, and golden lilies, weighing six pounds, and above\nthem a golden cross, with most precious and rare stones, weighing\neighty pounds. Such was the design he made.\n\n\u201cAnd as he wished to make the holy table more beautiful than the\nrest, and more precious with gold, he collected numerous craftsmen,\nand consulted with them. Their opinion and advice was to cast into\nthe melting pot (_choneuterion_) gold, silver, stones of every kind,\nand pearls, copper, electron, lead, tin, iron, glass, and every other\nmetallic substance. And they ground them all together and formed them\ninto masses (_olboi_), and poured them into the pot; and when it had\nbeen melted, they took it from the fire and poured it out into a mould\n(_tupos_). Thus the holy table was made. And it was then set up by the\nemperor on solid columns of gold, studded with precious stones. And\nthe \u2018sea\u2019 (_thalassa_) of the holy table was ornamented with gold and\nprecious stones. Who can see the holy table without being astonished?\nand who can gaze at it on account of the many glinting surfaces? so\nthat at one time it all appears of gold, from another place all of\nsilver, and in another of glittering sapphire; and altogether there are\neighty-two different colours of metals and stones and pearls.\n\n\u201cHe made also, above and below, carved ivory doors overlaid with gold,\nto the number of 365. In the first entrance into the louter he made\nthe doors of electron; doors also of electron were in the narthex,\ntwo of them smaller than the middle one, which was much larger, and\nof silver dipped in gold (_chrusembaphos_). The architraves also were\noverlaid with gold. Three or the doors inside, instead of being made\nof new wood, were made of wood from the Ark. He wished to make the\npavement entirely of silver [Codinus says gold], but his advisers\ndissuaded him, saying that in the future poor emperors might have it\ntaken up. And those who persuaded him were Maximian and Hierotheus,\nAthenian philosophers and astronomers, saying that in the latter days\npoorer rulers would come and take it all away. And following these\ncounsels the thought was given up. And every day the emperor had 2,000\nmiliarisia put in a heap and mingled with earth; and when work was\nfinished, in the evening, the craftsmen dug out the mound and found the\nmiliarisia, and this the emperor did that they might be eager for their\nwork. And collecting the materials, as was said, took seven and a half\nyears. But the completion of the temple, even with the crowd of workmen\nI have mentioned, all labouring with the greatest eagerness, took nine\nyears two months.\n\n\u201cThe ambo with the solea he paved with sardonyx, and inserted precious\nstones; its columns were of solid gold, with carbuncles and crystals\nand sapphires; and he overlaid the upper part of the solea richly with\ngold. The ambo had also a golden dome studded with pearls, lychnites,\nand emeralds.\n\n\u201cThe gold cross of the ambo weighed 100 pounds. It had also\nseizae,[226] and lychnites, and was embroidered with pearls. And the\nambo above had a hat-shaped covering (_petasion_), upon[227] supports\n(_stethea_).\n\n\u201cThe top of the Holy Well was brought from Samaria. It was considered\nsacred, because Christ had sat on it, and talked to the woman. And\nthe bronze trumpets, which stand by the Holy Well, were brought from\nJericho; they were those at whose blasts by angels the walls of Jericho\nfell down. The honoured Cross, to-day in the skeuophylakium, which was\nthe measure of our Lord\u2019s height, was eagerly sought for in Jerusalem\nby the faithful and brought hither. And for this reason they surrounded\nit with silver, and all kinds of precious stones, and overlaid it\nwith gold. And to this day it works healing wonders, and drives away\ndiseases and demons. And in every column [of the church] both above and\nbelow is placed one sacred relic.\n\n\u201cHe made also golden vessels for the twelve solemn feasts, according\nto the sacred Gospels: basins (_cherniboxeses_), ewers (_orkioloi_),\nchalices (_diskopoteria_), and patens (_diskoi_); they were all of\nsolid gold, set with precious stones and pearls. And the number of\nthe sacred vessels was 1,000; altar-cloths (_endutai_), with rows\nof jewels, 300; crowns, 100. Every festal day had its own chalice\ncovering (_poterokalumma_). There were paten covers (_diskokalummata_)\nof gold, with pearls and precious stones, to the number of 1,000;\nfour-and-twenty gospels, each worth two centenaria; thirty-six\ncensers of solid gold with precious stones; 300 lamps (_luchnitai_)\nweighing forty pounds; 6,000 candelabra (_polycandela_), and clustered\nlights[228] of solid gold, for the ambo, the bema, the two gynaecea,\nand the narthex.\n\n\u201cThe revenues of 365 farms in Egypt, India, and all the East and West\nwere devoted to the maintenance of the church. For each holy day was\nset aside 1,000 measures of oil, 300 measures of wine, and 1,000\nsacramental loaves. Similarly for the daily services, the clergy,\nincluding the lowest, numbered 1,000, with 100 singers divided into\ntwo for alternate weeks. For the clergy there were cells round the\nbuilding; for the singers there were two monasteries.\n\n\u201cHe made five gold crosses, each weighing 100 pounds, which were\nadorned with all kinds of precious stones, so that they were each\nvalued at eight centenaria: also two candlesticks of gold incrusted\nwith pearls and precious stones, valued at five centenaria, as well\nas two other large carved candelabra (_manoualia_) of gold; these\nhad golden feet, each worth 100 pounds, to stand below the golden\ncandelabra. He made fifty others too, of silver, of the height of a\nman, to stand by the altar. On the adornment of the ambo and solea was\nspent 100,000 pounds, which was the tribute levied by Constantine on\nSaroboris, King of the Persians, and on many others. The whole church\nwith the parts outside and around--with the exception of the vessels\nand ornaments, which were given by the emperor--cost 800,000 pounds.\n\n\u201cNow Justinian alone began and alone finished the church with no other\nhelping him, or even building a part of it. Its beauty is wonderful\nto behold; all kinds of pearls glitter there like the sea, and one\nseems to see the ever-flowing waters of great rivers. Now the four\nboundaries[229] of the church he called after the rivers that flowed\nfrom Paradise, and he made a law that whosoever was excommunicated\nshould stand there for his sins. And for the phiale in the centre he\nmade twelve arcades, and lions belching out water for the people to\nwash in. On the right side, however, of the right-hand gynaeceum, he\nmade a basin (_thalassa_) of one cubit for the water to come up in,\nand one flight of steps (_klimax_) for the priests to cross above the\nwater. He placed too in the front of the basin (_dexamene_) an open\ntank for the rain (_ombusia_), and carved twelve lions, twelve pards,\ntwelve deer, and eagles, and hares, and calves, and crows, twelve\nof each, and these spouted out the water for the use of the priests\nalone. The place was called the place of the lions (_leontarion_)\nand metatorion, because there was a golden couch there, that the\nemperor might rest on his way to the temple. But who can describe the\ncomeliness and beauty of the temple, overlaid with resplendent gold\nfrom the crown to the pavement?\n\n\u201cWhen the temple and the sacred vessels had been all completed, on\nthe 24th of December he marched in solemn pomp from the palace to the\nGate of the Augusteum, opening into the Horologium; and he killed\n1,000 oxen, 6,000 sheep, 500 deer, 1,000 pigs, 1,000 fowls, and gave\nthem to the poor and needy, as well as 30,000 measures of wheat. And\nthe distribution of these on that day took three hours, and then the\nemperor entered with the cross, and the patriarch Eutychius, and at\nthe royal entrance he left the patriarch and walked alone to the\nambo; then, stretching out his hands to heaven, he cried, \u2018Glory be\nto God who has thought me worthy to finish this work. Solomon, I\nhave surpassed thee.\u2019 And when the ceremony was over he distributed\nlargesse, and with the help of Strategius gave away three hundred\npounds of gold. But on the following day he solemnly opened the temple,\nand killed even more oxen, and feasted every one for fifteen days\nuntil the feast of Epiphany, praising God. In such a way as this was\nthe great work completed.\n\n\u201cNow the new dome which was built by Justinian, and the gorgeous and\nwonderful ambo, with the solea, and the patterned pavement of the nave,\nlasted seventeen years. But after the death of Justinian, his nephew\nJustin succeeded, and in the second year of his reign, and the fifth\nday, at the sixth hour the dome fell, and destroyed the wonderful ambo\nwith the golden supports, and the solea, and all the sardonyx, and\nchoice pearls and sapphires. But the arches, and the columns, and the\nrest of the building remained unhurt. Then the emperor summoned the\nskilful mastermen, and inquired what had caused the fall of the dome.\nBut they answered and said to the king, \u2018Your uncle took away too\nquickly the supports (_antinux_) for the dome, which were of wood, to\ncover it with mosaic; and made it too high so that it should be seen\nfrom everywhere, and thus the craftsmen, by destroying the scaffolding\n(_skalosis_) before the foundations had been sufficiently set, caused\nthe fall of the dome.\u2019 Thus spake they to the king, and they added that\nif he wished to build a dome like a hollow cymbal he should follow his\nuncle\u2019s example, and send to Rhodes, and should order bricks made in\nthe same way and of the same weight as the previous ones. The emperor\ngave the order, and bricks were brought from Rhodes, similar to the\nprevious ones. So once more the dome was built, with fifteen fathoms\ntaken from its height, and formed like a drum so that it should not\nagain fall. The supports were left for a year, until they knew that\nthe dome had become well set. But the ambo and solea, which they were\nnot able to build of an equal magnificence to the former ones, they\nare made of marble, with columns covered with silver, and there was\na silver inclosure (_stethos_), round the solea. But the dome of the\nambo he did not build again, frightened by the expense. And for the\npavement, as he was not able to find slabs of such beauty and size\nas heretofore, he sent Manasses, a Patrician and Praepositus, to\nProconnesus, and marble was worked there as is seen now, of a green\ncolour, like rivers flowing into a sea.\n\n\u201cBut when they wished to cut away the scaffolding of the dome, and\nto take away the timbers, they filled up the church with water to a\nheight of five cubits, and threw down the beams into the water, and\nthus the lower parts of the walls were uninjured. And he covered it\nall with mosaic. Hence there are some who say that Justin, Justinian\u2019s\nnephew, built the church, but in this they lie. Let us rather give\nthanks to our God who has willed that the great structure should remain\nuntouched, so that we can enter it, and give the praise that is due to\nChrist; for He is worthy of all glory, honour, power, and worship, now\nand for ever, Amen.\u201d\n\n\n\u00a7 3. LEGENDS.\n\nMany of the points in this celebration of the wonders of S. Sophia seem\nto be traceable to the writer\u2019s absorbing traditions of the work of\nBasil--who built like a goldsmith at his new church--into his account.\nIn the destructive rapacity of the Crusaders and the interregnum that\nfollowed while they occupied S. Sophia we find such a satisfactory\ncause for this half-mythical retrospect undertaken in all good faith\nthat we cannot think it was written until after the Frankish ascendency.\n\nWe need not suppose that the Anonymous invented even the wildest of\nthese stories; such stories grow up as a matter of course, and to-day\nvarious forms of some of them are told within the walls of many other\nbuildings. The accounts given by the Russian pilgrims (see Chapter VI)\nagree so closely in many respects with the Anonymous description that\nwe might think the writer had been their guide in the church. That the\nstories were widely told in Constantinople at this time is proved by\nthe account of S. Sophia given by El Harawi, an Arab traveller, who\nvisited the city in the thirteenth century. \u201cHere is also Agia Sophia,\nthe greatest church they have. I was told by Yakub Ibn Abd Allah that\nhe had entered it: within are 360 doors. And they say one of the angels\nresides there; round about this place they have made fences of gold,\nand the story they relate of him is very strange.\u201d[230]\n\nThis story of the angel recalls the Wingless Victory of the Athenian\nacropolis, but it is probably more closely related to the \u201cAngels of\nthe Churches\u201d in the Revelation. An interesting reference to this\nthought is made by Palladius in his Life of Chrysostom. Before he left\nS. Sophia for ever the patriarch entered it saying, \u201cCome let us pray\nand say farewell to the Angel of the Church;\u201d but, adds his biographer,\n\u201cthe Angel departed with him.\u201d We give here an account of the church\nfrom a thirteenth-century English MS., in the British Museum, _Vit.\nA._ xx. 14, which refers to the more commonplace part of the story as\ntold by the Anonymous. \u201cThat famous city is endowed with wonderful and\ninestimable wealth. In it may be seen the famous church Agia Sophia,\nthat is the Holy Wisdom; an angel of God appeared and taught the\nworkmen as they were building. Underneath the church in its cisterns\nthere is refreshing water, some of which is salt and some of it\nrainwater. The church below is borne on one hundred and seventy-three\ncolumns of marbles, and above on two hundred and forty-six. Round the\nchoir from the top to the bottom it is covered with silver gilt. And\nthis same choir has an altar \u2018starred\u2019 (_stellatum_) all over with\nmost wonderful and precious stones. In the church are lamps of the\npurest silver and gold, and their number cannot be counted. The church\nis opened and closed by seven hundred and fifty-two double doors, and\nthere are windows innumerable. There are seven hundred prebendary\npriests, of which three hundred and fifty take each week in turn. Now\nthe Patriarch of Agia Sophia has in that city one hundred metropolitans\nand archbishops, and each metropolitan has seven suffragans in the same\ncity.\u201d\n\nThe idea of competition with Solomon\u2019s Temple and the Tabernacle would\nbe sure to suggest itself, and, once received, it would be justified by\nmany assertions; indeed a tendency to imitate the biblical accounts may\nbe detected in the Anonymous author. For instance, we have Justinian\u2019s\nintention to cover the floor with silver, the description of the gold\nvessels for the altar, and the \u201csea\u201d for the priests. Justinian\u2019s\noft-quoted speech on entering the completed church may be assigned\nto this leading idea, which we find expressed as early as the sixth\ncentury by Corippus, the poet-bishop, who says, \u201cPraise of the temple\nof Solomon is now silenced, and the Wonders of the World have to yield\nthe preeminence. Two shrines founded by the wisdom of God have rivalled\nHeaven, one the sacred Temple, the other the splendid fane of S.\nSophia, the Vestibule of the Divine Presence.\u201d[231] Glycas, who tells\nmany of the stories given by the Anonymous, continues the idea further.\nJustinian, he says, set up a statue \u201crepresenting Solomon as looking at\nthe Great Church and gnashing his teeth with envy.\u201d[232]\n\nIn the Book of Proverbs we read, \u201cWisdom hath builded her house, she\nhath hewn out her seven pillars.\u201d This was also seized upon, and\nMichael Psellus speaks of S. Sophia as \u201cthe very beautiful temple, the\nincomparable home which the Divine Wisdom built in His own name and\nwhich He raised on seven pillars.\u201d[233] Modern writers, Tournefort,\nVon Hammer, &c., have delighted to point out that the church has 107\ncolumns; indeed, with a little humouring, 108 may be counted. The\nsymmetrical number of the workmen employed according to the Anonymous\nmay be matched in a legendary account of the building of S. Luke\u2019s,\naccording to which there were twenty-four protomaistores, each of whom\nhad twenty-four workmen under him.\n\nThe story of Justinian mixing money with the earth is parallel to\nthe account, given by Vasari, of Brunelleschi\u2019s scheme for building\nthe dome of S. Maria del Fiore in Florence. It is impossible that\nthe church should have been flooded with water, as described by the\nAnonymous. There appears to be no basis for the supposition that the\ngreat dome was gilt outside. In the texts of Codinus the dome is said\nto be of ivy-wood (\u03ba\u03b9\u03c3\u03c3\u03b7\u03c1\u03af\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2): this is evidently somebody\u2019s misreading\nfor pumice-stone (\u03ba\u03b9\u03c3\u03ae\u03c1\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd).\n\nThe stones were actually supposed to be specifics for diseases by the\nRussian pilgrims and others. Clari the Knight of Amiens[234] (1200)\nspeaks \u201cof the Minster (_Moustier_) of S. Sophia, and the riches which\nwere there.... There are vaults all round over the church, which are\ncarried on large columns, very rich; for there is not a column but is\nof jasper, or porphyry, or some precious marble, and every column has a\nmedicinal quality; some keep off _Mal des rains_, some _Mal du flanc_,\nand other diseases: and there is nothing in this minster such as a\nhinge (_gons_) or band (_verveles_) generally of iron, which is not of\nsilver.\u201d\n\nCodinus concludes his account of the church with a story, which may be\nclassed with a large series, as \u201cthe gratitude of employers to their\narchitects;\u201d imprisoning and blinding them, or cutting off their hands.\nIt is in a sense one of the truest of stories! The master workman of\nthe great church, \u201cIgnatius (_sic_), owing to the great favour which\nhis work won for him from the people, was shut up by the emperor in\nhis statue in the Augusteum.\u201d To parallel other tales this must be the\nartist\u2019s own work which is the instrument of his torture. Here he would\nhave died of hunger had it not been for his faithful wife, who threw to\nhim a rope besmeared with liquid pitch; afterwards fire destroyed all\nevidence of his flight.\n\nWe have also the customary tales of statues found in the ground when\nthe church was begun. Gyllius, quoting from Suidas, says that Justinian\ndiscovered more than seventy statues of the Greek deities, the figures\nof the twelve signs of the zodiac, and eighty statues of Christian\nprinces and emperors. The travels that bear the name of Sir John\nMandeville relate that once when an emperor made a grave in S. Sophia,\n\u201cthey found a body in the earth, and upon the body lay a plate of\ngold, that said thus in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, \u2018Jesus Christ shall\nbe born of the Virgin Mary, and I believe in Him.\u2019 It was laid there\n2,000 years before the birth of Christ, and is still preserved in the\ntreasury of the church. And they say that it was Hermogenes, the wise\nman.\u201d\n\nThe legends were not forgotten after the taking of the church. Sandys,\nthe English traveller, who was in Constantinople about 1610, tells\nus that \u201cone of the doors was famed to be the ark of Noe, and is\ntherefore left bare in some places to be kissed by the devoted people,\u201d\nand \u201cthe total number of doors was said to be as many as the days of\nthe year.\u201d\n\nWhen this, the church of the world, fell into the hands of the Turks,\nmany stories came to the West, or arose there without coming. The\npoetry of the Fall required the miraculous salvation of the priest\ncelebrating mass, and the prophecy of his return as told by Theo.\nGautier. It also required a massacre in the church, the riding in of\nthe proud conqueror, and the mark of his blood-stained hand, which\nindeed is still pointed out some twenty feet above the pavement!\nMijatovich, in his history of the last of the emperors, regards the\nmassacre as unhistorical.\n\nAn English romance almost contemporary with the Fall tells us how the\nTurks took possession,\n\n \u201cFor to let theyr hawkys fly\n In the chirch of Saint Sofy.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\nFOSSATI\u2019S REPARATIONS. SALZENBERG\u2019S DESCRIPTION.\n\n\nSancta Sophia seems really to have been in a dangerous condition when,\nin 1847, the Sultan Abdul Mesjid began a much-needed work of reparation\nwhich was carried on under the guidance of the Italian architect\nFossati, who appears to have taken great pains, and notwithstanding\nsome alterations and \u201crestorations\u201d in the worst sense he deserves\nour gratitude for probably saving the building. In the preface to his\nlithograph views published in London in 1852 he says, \u201cThe portions of\nthe building that looked most threatening were reconstructed, and the\nlead roofs were repaired. The dome was relieved of four heavy buttress\narches, whose function was taken by a double ceincture of iron around\nits base. Thirteen columns of the gynaeceum, which were inclining under\nthe thrust of the great arches that support the dome, were put straight\nagain.\u201d The marble work of the interior was cleaned, and the gold\nmosaic vaults were cleared of the crust of limewash which concealed\nthem. All representations of figures were however covered again. The\nsultan\u2019s tribune was built, Fossati says, \u201cin the Byzantine style.\u201d The\nwalls outside, after being repaired, were covered with a coating of\nplaster on which red stripes were painted.\n\nSince this time various remains of the Great Court, which existed as\nlate as 1873, have entirely disappeared, and the broad bare space, in\nfront of the exonarthex, has little now to recall the atrium with its\nfountain and quadriporticus.\n\nAll study of the church in its condition at that time must be based\non the exhaustive plates and text of Salzenberg.[235] M. Texier had\nin 1834 made some drawings at Constantinople, which are now preserved\nin the library of the Royal Institute of Architects; and several\ncoincidences seem to point to Salzenberg\u2019s having had the use of\nTexier\u2019s ground plan. In any case Texier was the first to make correct\nplans including the upper floor, also the atrium, baptistery, and the\ncircular building at the north-east. As Salzenberg made full use of the\nunique opportunity afforded by the scaffolding, when the building was\ngiven over to the workmen, we have thought it wise to give a condensed\nparaphrase of his account where it is descriptive of the structure,\neven at the risk of some repetition. Our remarks in other places\nwhere they may overlap are the result of our own observation, from\ndifferent points of view. The rest of this chapter is an abridgment of\nSalzenberg\u2019s text and descriptive of his plates, and we add nothing\nunless in notes or square brackets.\n\n_Design._--The exterior walls of the atrium, with several entrances,\nwere built of brick, but the inner sides had marble columns between\nsquare brick piers, two columns to one pier. These carried semicircular\narches. The atrium walks, as remains showed, were barrel-vaulted, and\nthe vaults were formerly covered with mosaic. The parts for which there\nwas evidence remaining are shown in darker hatching in Salzenberg\u2019s\nplate vi. The outer wall on the north side, with several arched\nopenings; and traces of the western boundary still existed.\n\nThe long vestibule in front of the narthex has groined vaulting, and\nlarge windows in its west wall; there are some Turkish additions to\nthis part. A door from each lateral cloister, and two others from the\nopen atrium, led into it. On either side of the two doors from the\ncourt are strong projecting piers, connected above by a wide arch,\nforming a porch-like shelter over the doors. These four piers rise\nabove the roof of the vestibule.[236]\n\nDouble tiers of buttress arches spring from each of these piers to the\nwest wall of the church. A close examination of the wall and piers\nled to the conviction that they are not contemporary with the church,\nbut were built later, though partly of old material.[237] The upper\ncornices for instance differ. [Modifications here can be explained by\nremoval of Bell Tower, see p. 194.] The piers were probably erected by\nByzantine builders, to strengthen the western vault.\n\nFive doors lead to the narthex, the windows of which are above the roof\nof the outer vestibule. The walls are covered with marble, and the\nvaulting with mosaic; while the walls and ceiling of the exonarthex,\nare quite plain. Two other doors enter the narthex at its north and\nsouth ends, and nine lead from it into the church; the large central\nentrance being the Royal Door.\n\nThe walls of the church form approximately a square, the length of\nwhich in the interior, exclusive of the apse, is 241 feet, and the\nbreadth 224.[238]\n\nThe dome measures 100 feet across from the edge of the cornice, but\nabove the cornice the vaulted space is 104 feet across; it is 179 feet\nfrom the floor to the vertex. The dome rises above the square area on\nfour huge arches, with a large semidome to the east and another to the\nwest, each of which embraces three smaller spans. The lateral openings\nwhich thus pierce the east and western semidomes are covered by\n_conchs_, but the middle opening in each case has a cylindrical vault,\nthat to the east being prolonged into the eastern apse.\n\nAt the corners of the central square of the nave rise four large piers,\nwhich are joined by arches to four buttress piers in the northern and\nsouthern walls behind them. The arched openings connect the three parts\ninto which the aisles are divided by the piers. On either side of each\nof the central openings from the eastern and western hemicycles rise\nother piers, which are pierced by narrow arched passages, running from\nnorth to south. The piers, eight altogether, carry the whole vaulting\nof the nave, as well as a part of that of the side aisles. Between the\nmiddle division of each aisle and the nave are four large columns with\nfive arches on the ground floor, and on the first floor six smaller\ncolumns with seven arches. Above again is a wall with windows, filling\nup the great arches on the north and south sides under the dome. Each\nexedra has, on the ground floor, two large columns with three arches,\nand, on the floor above, six small columns with seven arches.\n\nThe vault of each division of the aisles is supported on four columns.\nThose next the east and west walls of the church, eight in all, are\nsquare, the others are round. The divisions of the galleries follow\nthose of the aisles underneath. The four main piers however were\npierced by additional arched openings [now filled up] between the\ngalleries and the nave. The part over the narthex opens to the nave by\nthree arches, on coupled columns. Above is the immense semicircular\nwindow which fills up the central barrel vault at the western end.\n\nAll the openings towards the nave in the upper aisles have marble\nparapets. The vaulting of the lower aisles rests on forty round columns\nand eight square ones, and in the galleries on sixty round columns, not\nincluding the coupled columns at the west; this makes in all a hundred\nround columns. Possibly the eight square pillars in the aisles were\nemployed, so that this number should not be exceeded.\n\nIn the walls are numerous large windows, and the dome is pierced by\nforty just above the cornice; thus light streams into the church from\nevery quarter. Much of the dome, including the central circle of mosaic\nat the crown, can be seen from the Royal Door.\n\nThe greater number of the buildings which formerly surrounded the\nchurch are either destroyed, or so altered by Turkish minarets and\nbuttresses that it is difficult to conjecture their original form.[239]\n\nOn the north and south of the narthex are long porches of Byzantine\nworkmanship, with cylindrical vaults. In the northern one is a flight\nof fourteen steps leading down from outside to the narthex. The\nsouthern porch is called by Von Hammer the Vestibule of the Warriors.\nIt is mentioned by Nicetas as the place where the Archangel Michael\nwas represented in mosaic. It was through this porch that the emperor\npassed to the church, and here some of the bodyguard would remain. The\nvaulting still bears the remains of mosaics which are now covered up.\n\nOn the east sides of both the northern and southern porches are\naccesses to the gynaeceum, formed of a series of inclined planes. The\nentrance to the northern one is from the porch, but the southern stair\nis reached from a narrow passage between it and the baptistery. To the\nwest of the northern and southern porches, in the angles between them\nand the outside walls of the atrium, are the two minarets built by\nMurad III.\n\nOn the first-floor level, above the southern porch and part of the\nadjacent staircase, is a series of chambers,[240] of which the purpose\nis not known. The walls of the two larger chambers are covered with\nmarble, and their ceilings with mosaic.\n\nOnly one stairway is now extant at the east. The minaret built by\nMahomed II., which helps to buttress the south-east corner of the\nchurch, occupies the position of a second. Salzenberg\u2019s Plate xiv.\nshows the stairway restored, but in Plate xiii. the northern one is\nremoved to explain the arrangement of the part of the building to the\nsouth of it. On entering at the door of this north-eastern stairway\none can either mount the ascending planes which wind round a well for\nlight, or go to the left through a small lobby into the church. On the\nright steps ascend to the round building adjacent. The light \u2018well\u2019\nonce ascended the whole height of the staircase, which seems to have\nbeen formerly still higher, as the eastern wall of the church, which is\nhere prolonged northwards, rises about four feet above the present roof\nof the stairway, and shows the remains of a window. These stairways may\nhave been built by Andronicus Palaeologus in the fourteenth century,\nwhen he erected the buttress masses which are called pyramids by\nNicephorus Gregoras. All these stairways however were additions to the\nbuilding, probably built when the dome abutments were strengthened.\nThe original staircases to the gynaeceum were in the four piers by\nthe northern and southern walls of the church, and the steps from the\ngynaeceum to the base of the dome still remain.[241]\n\nIn the eastern buttress pier on the south side is a portion of one of\nthe original staircases, leading _downwards_ from the gynaeceum, though\nbeneath on the ground floor there is now a vaulted passage.[242] In the\nwestern buttress pier on the south side, at the ground-floor level,\nis a vaulted passage adorned with mosaic, and a door leading to an\nexternal addition. In the similar position on the gynaeceum level, the\nstaircase, which formerly led higher, has been destroyed, to make a way\nto the upper floor of this same late annex.\n\nThe south-east porch may have been used by the emperors on non-festal\ndays, as it was close to the southern aisle where they sat. Three\ncolumns are now placed on each side of this porch; the two outer ones\nare of porphyry, and have capitals with a design of a basket and\ndoves.[243] These capitals are fine Byzantine work, although the arch\nabove may be Turkish. Here seven steps descend into the church. The\nother porch on the north of the east end was destroyed at the last\nrestoration to make an entrance for the Sultan. Remains of a series\nof chambers can still be traced on the east side between the porches:\ntheir roofs must have been below the lower windows of the eastern\nwall. The chambers are now built up; but their original plan may be\nconjectured from the lead saddle-roofs, which have gutters that conduct\nthe rainwater through the outer wall. Two doors from the porches, and\ntwo doors from the church--all four now blocked up--show the previous\ncommunication with this row of chambers, which probably contained the\npriests\u2019 vestments, and the vessels for the altar.\n\nAmongst the buildings that surrounded the church must be mentioned\nthe skeuophylakium, in which was kept the sacred furniture. Here were\nplaced biers for the state funerals: conspicuous amongst them was\none quite covered with gold, the gift of Studios and Stephanos. This\nprobably was the isolated round building at the north-east of the\nchurch, reached by the steps previously mentioned. It now has two\nfloors of wood; for security there were no windows, but only twelve\nniches in the wall, in one of which is the door. This building now\nserves as a storehouse for the army kitchen (imareh) adjacent, and\nis much injured. Windows have been made in the walls, and the door\naltered.[244] The baptistery [south-west building] is square outside,\nbut octagonal with four niches within. It is vaulted by a dome without\nribs. On the east side is an apse, and on the west a porch. The\nAnonymous says that the baptistery was formerly called the Chapel of\nS. John, and that it was built by Justinian. [Entrance to this is now\nobtained by a door, which has been pierced in its north-eastern angle.\nThe western wall has a semicircular-headed opening, of the same size as\nthe niches, leading to a narthex or vestibule to which there is now no\naccess from the outside.]\n\nIn addition to the western entrance, a door on the north, now blocked\nup, led through an open porch into a small court. The large cylindrical\narch of this porch had a screen at its northern side, the columns and\ndoor-frame[245] of which are still extant, but the marble lattice is\ndestroyed. Through an arch in the east wall of this porch the addition\nwhich was made outside the south-west buttress pier could be reached,\nwhere there was a passage into the church. Salzenberg\u2019s plan[246] of\nthis addition is taken at the level of a landing reached by a staircase\nfrom the passage through the south-west buttress pier. This landing\nseems at one time to have been connected with a chamber above the\nnorth porch of the baptistery, and from thence with the stairway at\nthe south-west angle of the church. Leading upwards from this landing\nis the original staircase to the gynaeceum, and at this level there is\na small chapel vaulted with a cupola.[247] The vault is adorned with\nmosaic; figures of angels stand in the four pendentives. Originally the\nchapel was not lighted; but at the last \u201crestoration\u201d a hole was made\nin the roof, which was filled with glass; a passage from this chapel to\nthe gynaeceum is probably Turkish. The chapel is supposed by the Greeks\nto be the one into which the officiating priest disappeared at the\ncapture by the Turks.\n\nThe Turks turned the baptistery into a storeroom for the oil used in\nlighting the church, but on the sudden death of the Sultan Mustapha\nI. it was converted into a turbeh. Almost the whole of the church is\nraised above vaulted cisterns. An opening in the south aisle[248] gives\naccess to the water, and there is another opening in the north-west\nexedra. The depth of the water prevented a close inspection.\n\nOf the two additions made in Byzantine times to the centre of the north\nand south walls on the outside, and intended to buttress the aisles,\nthe southern one has been further lengthened by the Turks. To preserve\nthe use of the door and window in the wall of the church, each addition\nwas pierced by a passage. Remains of stairways and side passages have\nalso been found here.[249] Other remains of buildings existed on the\nnorth and south sides of the church, but they were too insufficient to\nbase any conclusions on them.\n\n_Materials._--The principal materials employed are brick, and a kind of\npeperino stone. The latter is used in those parts of the building which\nhave to stand great pressure, such as the four large piers in the nave,\nthe piers to east and west, and the extra projections from the buttress\npiers in the side aisles and gynaeceum. In addition a horizontal course\ntwo feet deep runs round the whole building four feet from the floor.\n\nThe outside walls of the original building, like the vaulting, were\nentirely of brick, but in the later additions they are formed of\nalternate layers of brick and stone, and some of the later buttress\nmasses are almost entirely of stone.\n\nThe bricks are as a rule about fourteen inches long and two inches\nthick; some vaulting bricks brought from the ruins by the porch on the\neast measured fourteen inches square and two inches thick; on one side\nof them were scratched lines probably made by the three fingers of the\nmaker, and on the other was an oblong label inclosing an inscription\n(1); another had a different inscription (2); and a third, not from\nthis vault, but of the same size, was also inscribed (3).\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[(1) Reads Constantius or Constantine. (2) May be rendered \u201cthe\nchurch which is being erected,\u201d by reading a participle of \u1f10\u03b3\u03b5\u03af\u03c1\u03c9 for\nthe second and third letter. (3) This is also given in the _Revue\nArch\u00e9ologique_, 1876, with some slight differences in second and third\nlines; it is there said to have been found between SS. Sophia and\nIrene. It probably reads, \u201cLord, help Philemon: Indiction 7.\u201d The two\nfirst vowels of Philemon have changed places, and the contraction form\nafter \u201c\u0399\u039d\u0394\u201d is also turned the wrong way.]\n\nAt the base of the dome the bricks are 27 \u00d7 9 inches, and two inches\nthick. Some appear to be twenty-seven inches square; but at the apex\nof the dome, by the hole intended for the lamp-chain, the thickness\nis twenty-four inches. There was no trace of the light bricks made in\nRhodes which the Anonymous mentions; although in the pendentives a\nlight substance, whitish, with impressions of plants in it, was used in\nirregular masses. The mortar has a red colour, and was evidently mixed\nwith crushed brick; the joints are from one to two inches thick.\n\nThe marble of Proconnesus, which somewhat resembles the architectural\nmarble of Carrara, is employed for the cornices, capitals, and bases of\nthe columns, and for the windows.\n\nIn Salzenberg\u2019s plans the materials are expressed by different depths\nof tint; the darkest being marble, slightly lighter is stone, and a\nstill lighter brickwork; the additional buildings are represented in\nthe lightest tones, and the Turkish buildings with strokes and dots.\n\n_Construction._--The outside walls average a height of seventy feet:\nthose on the north and south have a thickness of three and a half\nfeet, that on the east is four and a half feet, and that on the west\nbetween the nave and narthex five feet. Where the arches rest on the\nwalls there are piers which project about two feet: thus the west wall,\nfor instance, has in parts a thickness of seven feet. As a general\nrule, the interior vaults of wide span continue through the walls, and\nappear as arches on the outside face. The window and door openings are\nsemicircular. The marble finishings were inserted after the completion\nof the walls.\n\nThe dome at first sight seems to rest upon four arches each of 100\nfeet span; it is, however, only on the east and west that these arches\nare open. From north to south the main piers are 106 feet apart, and\ntheir breadth in this direction is fifteen feet eight inches; but on\neither side of the nave there are projections, narrowing the opening to\n100 feet, and giving the open arches abutments of eighteen feet eight\ninches.\n\nBehind each of these main piers again, at a distance of twenty-nine and\na half feet from them, stands one of the buttress or staircase piers,\nwhich, including the outside wall, is seventeen feet four inches by\ntwenty-four and a half feet in area. Round arches, which appear below\nthe vaults, transmit the thrust of the great arches from the main piers\nto these buttressing piers. Above these each of the immense buttress\nmasses which stand right across the aisles, and rise to within eighteen\nfeet of the springing of the dome, bear upon two relieving arches of\ndifferent radii, so as not to load the vaulting beneath.[250]\n\nThe cylindrical arches, which, at the ground-floor aisles and the\ngynaeceum, connect the great piers with the outer buttress piers, are\neach reinforced by two extra arches, standing on stone additions to\nthe main piers, from which they project five feet.[251] These arches,\nthough thus strengthened, are almost all out of shape; those by the two\nnorthern main piers have been pushed out nearly fifteen inches.\n\nA drawing given in Salzenberg\u2019s text shows the south arch which\nsupports the dome with the mosaics removed. The piers from east to west\nare seventy-two feet apart, and accordingly the span of the arch is\nseventy-two feet, its soffite being fifteen feet eight inches. The arch\nis five feet deep, formed of two unconnected rings, and on each side\nthe lower part is laid in horizontal courses so that the portion with\nradiating joints is only three quarters of the whole arch. The window\nwall which fills the arch opening is four feet thick, and is bonded\nwith the horizontal courses, but a movement of the arches has caused a\nfissure, which is shown in the diagram. These window walls on the south\nand north sides have cracked in several places. The upper part of the\nwindow wall on the north side is only twenty-nine inches thick. The\nwindows have been reduced and strengthened by inserting stone jambs.\n\nOn the north and south side are also two large arches, which project on\nthe inside three feet from the window wall and rest on the main piers,\nhaving the same height and span as the arches on the east and west.\nThey complete the square form under the cornice of the dome, and give\nthe idea that the dome is carried on four arches of 100 feet span:\nwhereas in reality, as has just been shown, the real supporting arches\non the north and south side are concealed in the window wall, and are\nnot suggested in any way in the interior decoration, being only visible\non the outside.[252]\n\nThe four principal piers are very carefully built of shaped stones, the\njoints, according to Procopius, being run with lead, but the Silentiary\nmentions a cement as being used here.\n\nThe height from the floor to the springing of the great arches is\nseventy-three feet.\n\nThe arches of seventy-two feet span have abutments of twenty-four and\na half feet, which are increased above the vaults of the gynaeceum to\ntwenty-nine feet.\n\nThe great arches under the springing of the dome are about four bricks,\nor five feet, thick. The depth at the top, including the cornice of\nthe dome, is about six feet and three quarters. The centre of the\narches is two and a half feet above the springing, so that they are\nmore than semicircular. In the internal angles formed by them are\nthe four pendentives. The cornice has a projection of about two feet\nnine inches. The lead mentioned by the Silentiary may be found in the\ninterstices of its stones.\n\nThe dome springs from the cornice on forty piers, about three feet five\ninches broad on the inside, and about eight and a half feet deep in\nthe direction of the radius. They are connected by arches which form\nwindows four feet nine inches wide. On the outside the piers project\nbeyond the arches, and may perhaps at one time have been connected with\nother arches, forming a drum for the dome: within they form part of the\nribs of the dome.\n\nIn the interior the ribs project at the springing six inches from the\nsurface of the dome, which is there twenty-nine inches thick, but their\nprojection gradually diminishes, till they are lost in the great\ncircle of thirty-seven and a half feet diameter in the centre. In the\ninterior from rib across to rib is 104 feet, so that all round on the\ncornice is the passage two feet nine inches wide, which, according to\nPaulus, was used by the lamp-lighter. The dome rises forty-six feet\nnine inches above this gangway, so that it is considerably less than a\nsemicircle in section. The original dome, according to Agathias, must\nhave been even flatter. Theophanes states the increase in height to\nhave been twenty feet, and Zonaras twenty-five.[253]\n\nThe dome has now many swellings and depressions which are not visible\nfrom the ground. At the same time we see how immovable domed vaulting\nis, if only its supports remain uninjured.\n\nAt the east and west ends of the nave the two cylindrical vaults are\neach forty-seven feet across. They rest on the four lesser piers, and\nhave an abutment of fifteen and a half feet. The four exedras are each\nforty-one feet across. All the conchs and semidomes have drums outside,\nwhich are pierced by the windows. The conchs which cover the exedras\nhave strong arches, where they intersect the semidomes. The weight\nof the exedra conchs is chiefly supported by the columns; the upper\ncolumns of the south-east exedra, at the time of the last restoration,\nwere much inclined, and had to be brought back to the vertical, by\npropping the arches, cutting away the old bases, and inserting new\npieces--the columns being surrounded and supported by wooden cradling.\nThe thickness of the western barrel vault is four feet; the eastern\napse is about three feet thick. The western semidome received an\nadditional thickness at the restoration.\n\n_Vaulting of the Aisles._--The three principal divisions of each\naisle are covered by domical vaults. The vault arches rest partly on\ncolumns; and the spaces between these columns and the outside wall are\nalso vaulted. The middle division of the north and south aisles has\ntwo domical vaults, separated by a barrel vault that opens towards\nthe nave arches, and to the window in the outside wall. The arches\nhave iron ties four inches thick, which stretch from the outer wall\nto the columns of the nave, and grip them tightly. The four columns\nin the aisles which carry the vault are much lower than those between\nthe aisles and nave, and for this reason the narrow vaulted space,\nwhich joins the aisle vault to the nave arcade, is formed by a stilted\nquadrant.\n\nThis arrangement only applies to the lower aisles: above is a stilted\ncylindrical vault, running lengthways between the main gynaeceum\nvaults, and the arcade towards the nave.[254] Here, besides the iron\nties, there are wooden beams.\n\nThe large arches in the aisles are twenty-nine and a half feet from\ncolumn to column. The domical vaulting of the aisles is very flat--a\ncombination of cross groining and a dome. For, though it starts with\nangles at the four corners, it gradually merges into a dome at the\napex. The vaulting bricks are arranged in horizontal circles.[255]\nA diagonal band of mosaic starts from each corner, and merges into\na central circle.[256] In the gynaeceum the vaulting is higher and\nconsists of spherical domes, the radii being half the diagonals of the\nspaces covered. The mosaic decoration here again follows the form.[257]\n\n_Narthex._--The narthex is covered with vaults, similar to those of\nthe lower aisles of the nave. Each vaulted space is separated from\nthe next by a segmental arch, six and a half feet wide with a span of\ntwenty-six and a half feet, which abuts on the west wall of the nave,\nand the piers of the outer wall. The vault spaces vary from sixteen and\na half feet in the middle to thirteen and a half feet towards the ends.\nThe piers of the outer wall are connected together by arches above the\nwindow openings, and the spaces below the windows are filled up with\nthin \u2018screen\u2019 walls. The upper floor of the narthex is covered with a\nsemicircular vault, intersected by the window arches between the piers\nof the outer wall. These piers are the continuation of those beneath,\nand have a width of six feet, and a depth of seven. They had to bear\nthe thrust of the barrel vault of twenty-six and a half feet span:\nthe buttresses previously mentioned, springing from the piers of the\npropylaeum, were subsequently added to strengthen them.\n\nIn the exonarthex there are cross groins with arches between. The\narches have a span of fourteen and a half feet and an abutment of\nseven feet. This seems to be of a later construction than the rest of\nthe vaulting, and not improbably, as well as the piers, belongs to a\nreconstruction of this porch, undertaken to strengthen the west wall of\nthe narthex.\n\nAll the arches of the nave which stand on columns have iron ties; and\nto the three large openings of the gynaeceum at the west end of the\nnave there are wooden binders as well. In the lower rows of windows\nbeneath the dome on both the north and south sides of the nave iron\nties can be seen, which seem to stretch across the whole width of the\nlarge arches which support the dome.\n\n_Roofs._--All the exterior vaults are covered with lead about a quarter\nof an inch thick, which rests on a layer of wooden battens placed\nimmediately upon the brick vaults. There are several passages and\nstaircases for access to the roofs. Access to the exterior of the side\naisles and narthex is gained by the staircases in the buttress piers:\nthe stairs are supported on brick arches. In the north-east pier the\nstair space is only four feet eight inches by six feet seven inches,\nand in this are placed the flights of stairs two feet eight inches\nwide, with a space of fifteen inches between.[258] At the top of each\nflight spaces are hollowed out in the wall, which serve as landings\nfrom one flight to another.\n\nThese stairs ascend above the roofs of the side aisles to the upper\npart of the buttress piers, from which open passages, with breast-walls\non either side, lead above the buttress piers to the angles at the\nbase of the dome. There were two flights of steps leading to the\nplatform of the dome: one of these on the south-east, which Salzenberg\nshows dotted in Plate viii., is still quite preserved, though injured\nat the upper end; remains too can still be traced of the north-west\nstair. A door now built up, on the north side of the south-east stair,\nand remains of vaulting in the north-west stair, seem to show that\nother passages must have existed.\n\nThe roof of the cylindrical vaulting at the west end of the nave is\nreached by means of stairs in the small round towers, which flank it\non the outside.[259] These turrets can also be reached from the roof\nof the narthex. Another passage runs along under the narthex roof at\nthe west (Salz., Plate ix.), which has an opening close to the upper\nsurface of the vaulting, and from thence any part above the nave can\nbe reached. Probably this was formerly used for the lighting of the\nchurch. To reach the cornice at the foot of the dome there was an\nopening in the wall under one of the dome windows.\n\n_Decorative Work._--All the constructional forms were shown boldly on\nthe outside without any adornment; the west front of the narthex next\nto the atrium was alone covered with slabs of Proconnesian marble,\nsome of which are still preserved, but the upper wall surfaces were\nperfectly plain.\n\nIn the interior the whole of the walls are plated with rare variegated\nmarbles, and the vaults are covered with glass mosaic. Two chief\nmasses of colour in the nave are separated horizontally by a cornice,\nand another cornice forms the springing for the vaulting. There are\nalso cornices at the foot of the dome, and around the walls of the\naisles. All these are of carved white marble in simple profiles. The\nlower range of arch spandrils between the piers of the nave is formed\nof slabs of white marble completely covered with carving: the upper\nspandrils above the gynaeceum arches have sectile work of coloured\nmarbles. The carving is sharply cut, but conforms very closely to the\ngeneral surfaces; according to the old descriptions it was gilt, and\nremains of colour still extant show some of the leaf-ornament coloured\nwith a dark red.[260]\n\n_Columns._--Amongst the columns are beautiful examples of the dark\ngreen Thessalian marble, now called _verde antico_. Of this are formed\nall the round columns in the nave and ground-floor aisles, with the\nexception of the eight in the four exedras, which are of dark Theban\nporphyry. It could not have been always possible to find a sufficient\nnumber of columns of the same height and diameter, and the transport of\nthem must have been frequently accompanied by injuries of one kind or\nanother. There are differences between similarly situated columns, and\nin many cases mended fractures appear on the surface of the marble. In\nno cases are antique capitals placed on these columns. All the capitals\nand bases are of Proconnesian marble, and were wrought by Byzantine\nchisels.\n\nThe greater part of the capitals are similar in design, though their\nsize varies in proportion to the height of the columns which support\nthem. Salzenberg, in Figs, 1 and 3 of his Plate xv., shows one of the\ncapitals of the great order. The leaf-work on them--partly acanthus\nand partly palm--is very deeply undercut, and lies almost clear of the\nground underneath. In the middle of front and back are monograms.\n\nUnder the capitals are bronze rings eleven and half inches high; each\nis composed of three members, with a wrought lock on the side towards\nthe nave, on which is repeated the monogram of each capital. At the\nfoot of the columns above the bases are similar rings nine inches high.\nThese rings occur on all the old columns, with the exception of the\ntwo dual columns of the west gallery. They seem to be let into the\nshaft, and, according to the description of the Silentiary, they were\ngilded. In addition to these rings, there are on other columns--as,\nfor instance, the porphyry columns of the exedras--simple rings,\nrectangular in section, in positions where cracks and injuries appear;\nthere being three or four such rings on a column at different heights.\nIt is possible that some of these are of Turkish origin.\n\nThe bases as a rule have much the same form as the Attic base; the\nporphyry columns of the exedras have pedestals[261] below them, because\nthe shafts were not long enough.\n\nEach of the great verde antique shafts has a height of twenty-five and\na half feet, and the bronze base-ring has an inside diameter of three\nfeet seven inches. The capital is three feet ten inches high, and the\nupper part five feet eight inches wide, the whole height, including\nbase and capital, being thirty-three and a half feet.\n\nThe porphyry columns of the western exedras have a total height of\nthirty-one feet; the shafts are twenty-two feet and three-quarters\nlong, and the diameter at the bottom is three feet one inch. The\ncapital is four feet high, and the abacus above measures towards the\nnave four feet nine inches, and towards the aisles four feet eleven\ninches. In the direction of the thickness of the arch the side of the\nabacus measures five feet, the variation being due to the circular plan\nof exedras.\n\nThe columns of the upper storey, which separate the gynaeceum and\nthe nave, also of verde antique, stand nearer to one another and are\nsmaller than those below. The total height of those in the middle\ndivision is twenty-two feet five inches; those in the exedras are\ntwenty-one feet, with a diameter at the bottom of two and a quarter\nfeet. The capitals are three and a half feet high, and the bases,\nincluding a six-inch bronze ring, two feet one inch.[262]\n\nThe parapet is three feet ten inches high, and of white marble.[263]\nIt stands between the columns, and like them is set on a stylobate one\nfoot six inches high, above the lower cornice. It should be noticed how\nthe wide vaulting of the aisles is contrived, so as not to interfere\nwith the view through the arched openings of the lower range of columns.\n\nThe columns in the interior of the ground-floor aisles are about\ntwenty-four feet seven inches high. These capitals are similar to those\nalready described. Those in the interior of the gynaeceum, with shafts\nof Proconnesian marble, have capitals of quite another form.[264] They\nare very similar to others in the church of SS. Sergius and Bacchus;\nthe twin columns in the gynaeceum at the west end of the nave have\nsimilar capitals; the columns being verde antique. In these capitals,\nhowever, the volutes are not arranged diagonally, but show \u201ccushions\u201d\nat the side.\n\nThe capitals in the atrium resembled those of the twin columns; though\nthe cushion was shorter and the top had less projection, and it was\ncrowned with a flat egg and tongue moulding. The capitals and shafts\nwere of white marble. The beautiful square capitals of the eight square\nwhite marble pillars in the aisles are shown in Salzenberg\u2019s Plate xvi.\n\nThe arches of the great order have an elaborate leaf-ornament round\nthem, continuing above the capitals in a horizontal line, resembling in\nfact an architrave. [In the centre above each capital is a cross, and\nat the crown of the arch is a four or six-armed cross.] The spandrils\nare filled with acanthus-ornament, and in the centre of each is a disc\nof coloured marble-surrounded by a carved circle in the white marble.\nThe ornament of the intrados of the arches consists of five divisions\nin the width: these are covered with a continuous pattern, seven slabs\ncasing the intrados of the arch. [The five bands are only carved\nalternately, the centre and lateral ones being plain.] See our Fig. 50.\n\nThe respond on the main pier at each end of this arcade is a kind\nof pilaster strip,[265] surmounted by a capital in low relief, and\nsurrounded by a notched border.\n\nThe two cornices running round the nave, which serve as galleries\nfor the lamplighters, have an extremely simple profile. The\nslanting under-surface, divided horizontally by a row of beads, has\nacanthus-leaves in the upper part forming a cymatium, and in the lower\nmodillions carved with ivy and acanthus, and between them, panels with\ndifferent leaf-ornaments. Beneath the aisle cornice is a frieze of\nmarble mosaic. The base mouldings or skirtings are worked out of thin\nslabs.[266]\n\nSalzenberg\u2019s Plate xx. contains a collection of architectural details,\nwhich seem to belong to different periods; Figs. 1, 2, 3 represent\none of the white marble capitals which adorn the two porphyry columns\nof the south-east porch. The arch above them is Turkish, and hence it\nmay be questioned if this was their original position: they seem more\nintended for an ornamental structure than to support a load, and they\nmay perhaps have belonged to a ciborium above the holy table. The two\nmarble capitals (Figs. 4 and 5), only three inches thick, were found\nin the chamber in the north-east buttress mass, above the gynaeceum\nroof, together with broken pieces from a window. They may originally\nhave belonged to the upper part of the building, such as the window\nwall under the north arch of the dome.[267] The workmanship is very\ndifferent from that in the rest of the church, and is more closely\nallied with ancient treatment. Perhaps they are fragments from the\nearlier church which found a fresh application in Justinian\u2019s building.\nThe parapet pillars between the twin columns of the western gynaeceum,\nwith tall pedestals, are each formed in one piece of verde antique.\nTheir capitals resemble those of the windows,[268] with the exception\nthat the former are rounded underneath instead of being square.\n\nThe wood ties which span different arches are adorned on the sides and\nbeneath with carvings.[269]\n\n_Windows and Doors._--The lighting of the church is most brilliant;\nwherever space or construction permitted, windows of considerable size\nwere opened, so that light floods the whole church. At the foot of the\ndome the light streams in through forty windows, and each of the seven\napses has five openings. The eastern sun sends its first rays through\nthe six windows in the apse, and the setting sun shines through the\ngreat west lunette. There are twenty-four windows in the two great\ntympana, besides large windows in the aisles.\n\nThe windows in the conchs of the exedras are now closed up, the grouped\nwindows in the great tympana on the north and south are diminished to\ninsignificant openings, and the large arched openings at the sides\nor the end divisions of the aisles seem even in Byzantine times to\nhave been reduced in size; at least the remains of piers, shown in\nSalzenberg\u2019s Plate xiii., indicate that there was originally an opening\nwith pilasters, similar to those at the eastern end of the side\naisles.[270]\n\nIt is said that Justinian gave instructions that combustible materials\nshould be avoided. If so, these instructions were followed even to the\nwindows and doors, for the lattice-work of the former is of marble, and\nthe panels of the latter are of bronze, or rather they are covered with\nbronze.\n\nSalzenberg[271] gives the inside elevation and section of a window on\nthe south side of the gynaeceum, with details on a larger scale. The\nopening in the wall is brick-arched, and the framework consists of\nupright posts, with a thin horizontal architrave dividing the window\ninto two parts. Between these posts were fitted the breast-wall and\nlattice-work. The posts are narrow towards the outside, and the ends of\nthe architrave rest on thin pieces against the jambs.\n\nThe \u2018breast-wall\u2019 at the bottom of the opening and the \u2018lattice-work\u2019\nare formed of marble, three inches thick. The openings pierced in\nthe slabs are about seven or eight inches high, filled with panes of\nglass. Between the panes the marble has a width of three and a half\ninches, slightly splayed on the inside. A second row of slabs fills the\nlower part of the windows pierced with openings, surrounded by wider\nmargins.[272]\n\nThe great semicircular west window is divided vertically by two columns\nwith plain capitals and bases; the horizontal division from column\nto column is similar to the crowning member of the breast-wall of\nthe other windows. The lower part is filled with marble slabs, which\nconceal the roof of the western gynaeceum. Each panel is ornamented\nwith a cross upon a circle, and within the latter is a monogram.\n\nThe small windows are simply filled with marble lattice for the glass.\nInside the apse windows of the east end are other windows having\ncoloured glazing; but these are evidently Turkish.\n\nMarble door jambs were placed in the openings left in the walls,\njust as the posts were inserted in the windows; the middle, or Royal\nDoor, from the narthex to the nave, is of bronze. All the frames were\nmoulded, and above are fixed door-hooks, like bent forefingers; these\nheld rings and leather fastenings, from which were suspended the\ncustomary door-hangings.\n\nThe lintel of the bronze door-frame bears a relief. This represents an\narch, supported by columns above a throne with the book of the Gospel\nand the descent of the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove. On it are the\nwords of S. John, \u2018The Lord said, I am the door of the sheep; through\nme if any man enter, he shall enter and shall go out, and shall find\npasture.\u2019 The simple bronze door-plating now remaining does not seem to\nbe original. [See p. 265.]\n\nSalzenberg,[273] as an example of the marble frames, gives the east\ndoor of north aisle. Like all Byzantine door-frames, the head does\nnot cut across the jamb, but mitres. This perhaps made it easier for\nfixing within the openings left in the walls. Salzenberg[274] also\nrepresents the arched opening, which stands between the Baptistery and\nthe small court on the south side of the church.[275] There are two\ntiers of columns, with a thin architrave band between them. The door\nstands between the lower columns; to avoid concealing them the frame is\nmade as small as possible, as the plan shows. A similar arrangement is\nfound in the earlier church of S. John Studius.[276]\n\nThe bronze door-plating on the exterior of the south porch entrance is\nextremely interesting.[277] A wooden foundation four or five inches\nthick is covered with ornamental bronze casings. The borders to the\npanels are beautifully modelled, and must be ancient. The other outer\nmargins, with knobs and rosettes, and the four panels, which are\ndecorated with monograms, belong to the Byzantine school. In the more\nancient parts the metal is one-eighth to one-fourth inch in thickness,\nin the latter it is three-eighths to half an inch. Antique doors must\nhave been enlarged and fitted with new panel plates.\n\n_Marble Plating._--Broad horizontal bands run round the nave at\ndifferent heights, and the spaces between them are filled with single\npanels and vertical sheathing. All the bands and panels have notched\nfillets, 1\u00bd\u2033 wide, of white marble as borders. The more important\npanels have sculptured white marble frames, eleven inches wide with a\n\u201cpater noster\u201d and notched-fillet borders on either side.\n\nThe spandrils of the upper arches and the bands beneath the topmost\ncornices are incrusted with designs of leaves, flowers, fruits, and\nbirds formed of different kinds of marble.\n\nThe marble casing to the walls of the nave is arranged as follows.[278]\nAbove the skirting is a [3\u2032.10\u2033] band of verde antique, then the\nnotched fillet, then a [1\u2032.5\u00bd\u2033] yellow band [oriental alabaster]; above\nthis is a vertical sheeting [7\u2032.10\u2033] formed of Pavonazzetto marble,\nalternating with a yellowish brown marble; then another horizontal band\nof yellow.\n\nAbove this stretches a series of panels round the whole nave--a panel\nof _rosso_, with two vertical slabs of a dark marble like _porto\nvenere_ on either side, each surrounded by the sculptured frames. The\nspace from the top of this series to the lowest cornice is adorned with\ntwo bands of yellow [alabaster], and between them is sheathing similar\nto that below.\n\nThe upper division of the nave starts above the cornice with horizontal\nbands of white and verde antique; above which are vertical panels of\nporphyry, set in a frame of yellow [alabaster], with slabs of the\nrusset marble on either side. [Then follows another horizontal band of\noriental alabaster, and above it a range of vertical slabs of verde\nantique alternating with Synnadan.]\n\nBeyond this again, and immediately below the upper cornice, is the band\nmade up of different marbles[279] [_opus sectile_]. A dark brown marble\nforms the groundwork, the tendril ornament is white, and the rest is of\nred, like rosso antico, and of green serpentine. Similar work incrusts\nthe spandrils of the gynaeceum arcade. The centre of each is a disc of\ngreen marble, and the whole spandril is edged by a three-inch strip of\npale red. Above the centre of each arch in this spandril decoration are\ndiscs containing crosses, from the arms of which hang seals.[280] The\nsoffites of the arches are covered with glass mosaic. The aisles are\nlined with marbles similarly arranged to those in the nave.\n\nThe walls of the bema are covered with panels of inlaid marble.[281]\nThese panels in pairs are separated by a plain slab of porphyry. By the\nside of the arched opening into the gynaeceum is a panel of porphyry\nwith a pattern in slight relief, and surrounded with yellow alabaster.\nThe arched opening into the gynaeceum is closed with a parapet of white\nmarble, with a carved framework above, formerly fitted, as holes show,\nwith a metal lattice.\n\nThe lower division of the bema walls is decorated by two rows of\npanels, divided by a horizontal band of verde antique. Salzenberg\u2019s\nPlate xxii., Fig. 6, shows the frieze directly below the bema cornice,\nand the top of a porphyry pilaster-strip with a capital of white\nmarble; a similar pilaster fills the narrow space on each side of the\napse.\n\nThe walls of the apse are shown on Salzenberg\u2019s Plate xxi. The frieze\nbeneath the cornice is given in Plate xxii., Fig. 8. The porphyry\nground has an inlaid pattern which slightly projects: the serpentine\nin the frieze, Fig. 6, also projects from its rosso ground. The lower\nportion of the apse, formerly occupied by the seats of the priests,\nis now plated with a white gray marble. This is probably Turkish. The\nheight of this probably gives the height of the iconostasis, as there\nis no sign of any change in the decoration above.\n\nThe marble is fixed to the wall with a dark brown resin. In the\nopus sectile, pieces of coloured marble about a quarter of an inch\nthick were cut to the forms of the design, and then laid with their\npolished faces downward at the bottom of a mould; on this was poured a\nthree-quarter inch backing of resin mixed with bits of stone and brick.\nWhen set, the slabs so formed were attached to the wall with cement.\nThe large marble slabs are one to two inches thick, and, besides the\ncement, are fastened to the walls by iron [? bronze] clamps. The\npavements of ground floor and gynaeceum are of white marble with dark\ngray stripes. [Proconnesian.] In the south-east angle of the square\narea under the dome is a square of marble mosaic, of which details\nare given in Salzenberg\u2019s Plate xxii., Figs. 9-15. It is formed of a\ncircular centrepiece of a gray brown granite, ten feet two inches in\ndiameter, round which are arranged coloured marble discs of various\nsizes, set in a mosaic of marbles, with a little glass mosaic in the\nangles.\n\nIn the centre of the west end of the gynaeceum is a square [of about\ntwenty-four feet] in the pavement laid with slabs of \u201cgray cipollino\u201d\n[Proconnesian], having a border of verde antique, with a patterned\nedging[282] of giallo and rosso on one side, and giallo and serpentine\non the other. [Between this and the parapet is a circular slab of verde\nantique four feet seven inches in diameter.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX\n\nTHE ANCIENT PRECINCTS AND EXTERNAL PARTS OF THE CHURCH\n\n\n_Palace._--Before entering on particulars of the exterior of the\nchurch, it will be well to have a clearer view of the edifices in its\nimmediate neighbourhood as they appeared in the time of Justinian.\n\nThe group of buildings of which the Augusteum was the centre was\nprofoundly modified by the fire of the Nika Sedition, and by the\nbuilding energy of the emperor. The researches of Labarte and Paspates\nhave been almost entirely confined to the elucidation of the palace as\nit existed in the tenth century.\n\nA restoration of the relative position of the several parts of the\npalace, unless by the discovery of remains positive evidence is\nobtained, is certainly impossible; the attempt of Labarte was worth\nmaking, but Paspates, in bringing forward another scheme, seems only to\nhave succeeded in showing how conjectural the whole matter is, although\nhe speaks of certain scraps of walls as belonging to this or that part\nof the palace with as much confidence as if he had found them labelled.\nHis work carries internal evidence of the greatest inexactness and\nconfusion, and has proved most misleading, although his citations are\nvaluable.\n\nIt should not be assumed that wherever a palace is mentioned by the\nhistorians the \u201cGreat Palace\u201d is the one referred to, and it must\nbe remembered that the palace described in the _Ceremonies_ was the\nresult of gradual growth: indeed, what is required is a chronological\nanalysis of its history. We have seen in the first chapter that\naccording to the _Paschal Chronicle_ Constantine built a palace by the\nhippodrome, and the _Notitia_ mentions the palaces of Placidia and\nMarina in the same neighbourhood. According to Procopius the palace\nwas almost rebuilt by Justinian, but he only specifically mentions the\nChalk\u00e9.\n\nRemains of a palace now on the sea-wall, exactly to the south of the\ncurve of the hippodrome, are thought to be portions of the palace\n\u201cHormisdas\u201d which Justinian occupied before he came to the throne (B,\non Plan, Fig. 2). Close to the sea-wall farther to the west was the\ndouble church of SS. Sergius and Bacchus and SS. Peter and Paul, of\nwhich the first survives as Little Sancta Sophia (A, on Fig. 2). These\nwere early works of Justinian, and his monogram and that of Theodora\nappear on the capitals of S. Sergius.\n\nProcopius tells us that the church of S. Sergius was \u201cclose to the\nking\u2019s palace which was formerly called by the name of Hormisdas. This\nwas once his own private house,\u201d and when he became emperor \u201che joined\nit to the other imperial apartments.\u201d The Great Palace was higher up\nthe slope, against the hippodrome and Augusteum, to which its gates\nopened.\n\nIt was long after Justinian that the great palace reached its maximum\ndevelopment; the Chrysotriclinum was erected by his successor Justin\nII. The houses of Marina and Placidia were still in use at the end of\nthe sixth century, although this is mentioned by neither Labarte nor\nPaspates. The wedding of the daughter of Phocas was celebrated in the\nformer,[283] and \u201cthe Royal palace of Placidia\u201d is referred to by John\nof Ephesus. The writer tells us that Tiberius II., the successor of\nJustin II., made large additions to the palace. Before he reigned alone\nthe wife and daughters of Tiberius occupied the house of Hormisdas,\n\u201cas it was situated just below the palace, and he would go down and\nspend the evening with them and return early in the morning to the\npalace.\u201d[284]\n\nJustinian II. also added to the palace, and in the ninth century\nTheophilus built the Triconcha. Basil the Macedonian still further\nincreased the assemblage of buildings.\n\nIt is clear that in the time of Justinian there were at least four more\nor less separate palaces grouped together--the Great Palace, Hormisdas,\nand those of Marina and Placidia.\n\n_Hippodrome._--The information in regard to the hippodrome brought\ntogether in the works before mentioned, and by Gyllius, cannot be\nrecapitulated here.[285] As the ground fell away steeply towards the\nsouth, that end had to be raised high on vaults, and this retaining\nwall, perhaps forty feet high, forming a semicircular curve, still\nexists.[286] On either side rose the tiers of the marble seats. At the\nnorth end was the royal stand, called Kathisma, from which the emperors\nwatched the games; this was raised above arched chambers, where the\nchariots for the arena were kept. The south-west end was called\n_Sphendone_--The Curve. A rough draft of Constantinople, made early\nin the fifteenth century for Bondelmontius, reproduced by Mordtmann,\nshows columns standing on the retaining wall around this curved end. A\nclear representation of this semicircle of columns is also given in the\n_Nuremberg Chronicle_. Banduri reproduces from Panvinius, who wrote in\nthe middle of the sixteenth century, a drawing of the hippodrome which\nseems to have been made with considerable care. Beneath it is written,\n\u201cThe ruins of the circus or hippodrome of Constantinople as they were\na hundred years before the capture of the city by the Turks.\u201d[287]\nBut that it should have been in a ruinous state at this time is not\nborne out by the accounts of writers like Clavijo and Bondelmontius,\nwho described it in the generation before the Fall: on the contrary,\nwe should suppose this to be one of the draughts for the Venice\nview of the city published about 1570, with which it agrees in many\nrespects.[288] This bird\u2019s-eye view shows the monuments on the Spina,\nthe Grand Stand and its \u201cPodium\u201d of vaults, and also the high external\nretaining wall of the curve, above which the columns again appear, but\nset back from its face, so as to leave a passage outside the columns,\nthe outer wall being finished with a battlement. It is true that in\nthe engraving it is rendered as if these columns were attached to a\nwall, or rather as if a wall were built between the columns, for they\nappear both inside and out; but this interpretation cannot be given\nto a description of this colonnade by Gyllius.[289] \u201cIn the front of\nthe hippodrome facing the Propontis there was a range of seventeen\npillars of white marble standing when I first came to Constantinople,\ngoing round that part of the hippodrome which lies between south and\nwest.\u201d They stood on a low wall, about two feet six inches high towards\nthe hippodrome, but outside it was fifty feet to the ground. They\nwere of the Corinthian order, three feet five inches in diameter and\ntwenty-eight feet high, standing eleven feet apart on pedestals; above\nthem was an architrave to which rings were fixed for curtains. \u201cAbove\nwas another range of pillars, which were remaining some time after the\ntaking of the city by the Turks.\u201d These last were only reported to\nGyllius; and if we accept such a second tier we may suppose that it\nranged with a colonnade surmounting the containing wall of the terraces\nof seats. Paspates makes from this account a wonderful and impossible\narrangement; he supposes the first-mentioned columns to have been\ncontinued along the external sides of the hippodrome, he further rears\nthe second range on them, and this he thinks upheld the immense mass of\nthe rising seats. \u201cIf we suppose,\u201d he says, \u201cthe height of those in the\nupper row to have been twenty-one feet, we have about fifty-six feet\nas the height of the wall on which the seats for the spectators were\nbuilt.\u201d\n\nThese columns probably formed an open screen through which the\nspectators might see the sparkling waters of the Propontis, set with\nthe blue jewels of Prince\u2019s Islands and the white peaks of Olympus\nrising far away to the left--one of the most beautiful scenes in the\nworld. This addition of a natural spectacle behind the scene was\nfrequently obtained in ancient theatres: the best known is that at\nTaormina. Clavijo[290] speaks of the hippodrome as being \u201csurrounded\nby white marble pillars,\u201d but he adds \u201cthirty-seven in number.\u201d The\nanonymous Russian who wrote about the same time says \u201cthirty columns\nand their summits are united by an architrave.\u201d See Fig. 2. An \u201copen\nhippodrome\u201d and a \u201ccovered hippodrome\u201d are mentioned by the Byzantine\nwriters. Labarte distinguishing them, placed the latter within the\npalace. Byeljayev, however, conjectures that the covered hippodrome\nwas a part of the Great Hippodrome. Be this as it may, the \u201crings for\ncurtains\u201d of Gyllius suggest that portions were sheltered by a Velarium.\n\nBondelmontius[291] writes thus of the hippodrome: \u201cIn it those cf noble\nbirth joust in the presence of the people, and there are combats and\ntournaments. It is 690 bracchia long and 134 wide, and it is built\nabove vaults, in which a cistern of the best water covers the whole of\nthe space mentioned. At the head of the hippodrome are high pillars [of\nKathisma] where the emperor sits with his nobles, and on both sides in\nits length are seats of marble arranged in steps where the people sit\nand see all the games.\u201d On the outside towards S. Sophia there was the\nchurch of S. Stephen, \u201cfrom the galleries of which the ladies watched\ntheir chosen champions.\u201d On the Spina he notices a fountain where the\nwounded were laid, the two obelisks, and the three serpents \u201cwith open\nmouths from which, it is said, on days of jousting water, wine, and\nmilk used to spout.\u201d At the end of the Spina were four small marble\ncolumns where the emperor sat on feast days.[292]\n\nBesides the bronze serpentine column from Delphi, there still stands\nin the hippodrome an Egyptian obelisk, set up by Theodosius I. on a\npedestal sculptured with a representation of the emperor viewing the\ngames from the Kathisma, and a record of the methods used in erecting\nthe obelisk by means of ropes and winches. Nicetas in his life of S.\nIgnatius says that a brazen pine-apple surmounted this obelisk. A\nthird monument is a large built-up obelisk of stone, pitted all over\nwhere pins which attached bronze plates were inserted. An inscription\noften quoted, records that Constantine, father of Romanus, repaired it\nand added to its beauty. The casing of bronze was probably covered with\nreliefs and ornament, as was the case with the pillar in the Augusteum,\nand the anemodulium, which was set up by Theodosius in the Forum\nTauri. This last was an obelisk entirely cased with bronze, \u201chaving\nreliefs[293] of cattle, sheep and skipping lambs; peasants labouring or\nplaying on their pipes, and birds; there was also represented the sea,\nand sea-gods, and cupids playing at ball. On the point was a statue of\na woman which turned to the slightest breath of the wind.\u201d\n\nAmong the statues in the hippodrome mentioned by Nicetas as having been\ndestroyed was the colossal bronze Hercules, and a sundial which was in\nthe form of an eagle with wide expanded wings trampling on a serpent.\nThe twelve hours were marked out beneath its wings, six on either side,\nand the sun shining through a hole in each wing marked the hour or the\nday. Near the eastern goal was a row of statues of charioteers, driving\ntheir chariots and turning the goal. Besides these there were many\nother statues of persons and animals; an elephant with a proboscis that\nmoved is mentioned, but it is not clear however that this last was in\nthe hippodrome.\n\nSigurd, King of Norway, saw the games given here in 1111; there was\na spectacle in which people appeared as if riding in the air, some\nsort of fireworks, also music with playing of organs, harps, and other\ninstruments.[294] Benjamin of Tudela (1161) says, \u201clions, bears, and\nleopards were shown, and all nations of the world were represented,\ntogether with surprising feats of jugglery.\u201d The hippodrome was used\nfor spectacles after the change of masters. An Italian MS. of 1582\nin the British Museum describes the ambassadors and princes sitting\non staging, with a large stand for the band in the \u201cpiazza\u201d of the\nhippodrome; the Sultan and his son sat on an inclosed and covered\nthrone.[295]\n\n_Augusteum._--\u201cIn front of the palace,\u201d says Procopius, \u201cthere is a\nforum surrounded with columns. The Byzantines call this forum the\nAugusteum. On the eastern side stands the Senate-house.\u201d Other writers\nspeak of it as the Agora of the Milion, or simply as the Milion,\nfrom the building which adjoined it. Zonaras seems to call it the\nProaulion of the Great Church. Round its sides were peristyles, and the\nbuildings mentioned in the first chapter, most of which were rebuilt by\nJustinian. It was laid with a marble floor of long slabs, a portion of\nwhich was discovered many feet below the present level, together with\nthe inscribed base of the silver statue of Eudoxia, when Fossati built\nthe new government offices in 1848.\n\n\u201cOutside the palace the public baths of Zeuxippus and the great\nporticoes and all the buildings on either hand as far as the Forum\nof Constantine are the work of the emperor Justinian.\u201d[296] Large\npillars have frequently been found which appear to have formed part\nof colonnades in the Augusteum. Gyllius saw seven large Corinthian\ncolumns, forty-six feet high over all and \u201ctwenty foot ten digits\napart.\u201d On the shaft of one was cut the name of Constantine, with the\nsignal of the cross he saw in the heavens, and the inscription \u0395\u039d \u03a4\u039f\u03a5\u03a4\u03a9\n\u039d\u0399\u039a\u0391. These, he seems to suggest, may have belonged to the Milion. On\nthis is built up a characteristic piece of restoration by Paspates,\nwho sees in the seven columns, standing over twenty feet apart, and\nobviously in a straight line, \u201ca square building resting on seven\ncolumns,\u201d to which he adds an upper range of pillars supporting a domed\nchamber. Bondelmontius, who is also cited for these columns, says\nthere were six, and _all in a row_. They were almost certainly a part\nof the nine columns seen by Clavijo[297] before the Fall, when he was\ntold that \u201ca great palace used to stand on the top of them, where the\npatriarch and his clergy held their meetings.\u201d\n\nThis great square, surrounded by colonnades, contained so many statues\nand other works of art that Labarte well calls it an open air museum.\nTo the north, opposite the south-west corner of the church, was the\ncolossal bronze equestrian statue of Justinian surmounting a pillar,\nwhich, according to Procopius, stood on seven stages of steps and was\ncovered with bronze reliefs. The king looked to the east, and carried\nthe orb of the earth surmounted by a cross in his hand. The pillar\nhad originally been erected by Arcadius to support a silver statue of\nTheodosius his father. The statue of Justinian, which replaced that\nof Theodosius, was destroyed by lightning in 1492.[298] The fragments\nwere seen by Gyllius, and, from measurements which he gives, it seems\nto have been from twice to three times natural size. Bondelmontius says\nthe pillar was seventy cubits high. A very good drawing of the statue,\nnow amongst the MSS. of the Serai library, made about the year 1340, is\nreproduced by Mordtmann. This pillar and its statue is often called the\nAugusteum, and it probably gave its name to the place in which it stood.\n\n_The Milion._--It is probable that the city milestone existed before\nConstantine, who may have built the structure over it. According to\nDu Cange[299] the Augusteum, with which it was so closely associated,\nwas often called by its name; so that Codinus tells us that the church\nof S. Phocas was built \u201cin the Milion.\u201d It appears to have formed the\nwestern boundary and gate of this forum, or at least of its inner\npart, if divided, and to have been connected with a colonnade running\nnorth and south as well as with the _Mese_. It is spoken of as a\ncolonnade (_embolos_), as vaulted (_kamara_ and _phournikon_), or as\nhaving many arches (_apsides_). Cedrenus and other writers speak of\nstatues in the apsis or kamara of the Milion. It can hardly be doubted\nthat it had four large arches facing different ways. A structure of\nthis kind remains at Lattaquieh, which is about ten metres square and\nwas surmounted by a dome. De Vog\u00fc\u00e9[300] compares it with ruins of a\nsimilar erection found at Palmyra, the Mesomphalion of Nicaea, and the\nUmbilicus of Antioch described by Dion Chrysostom, and others. This\nlast stood at the centre of the two great colonnaded streets that ran\neast to west and north to south through the city.\n\nThe principal reference to the Milion is the description by\nNicetas[301] of the struggle with the insurgent troops in the reign of\nAlexius Manuel. \u201cAs many buildings as adjoined the Great Church and\ncommanded the Augusteum were seized by the rebels, who scaled the large\n_apsis_ which stands over the Milion, and also fortified the church\nof S. Alexius, which is joined to the Augusteum. But the imperial\ntroops made a sally from the great palace and established themselves\nin the church of S. John called Diippus; and the agora was full of men\nwho were injured by those on the _apsis_ of the Milion, and on the\nchurch of S. Alexius. But fresh troops from the palace filled all the\nthoroughfares and passages leading to S. Sophia. The rebels, coming out\nof the temple and passing by the Augusteum, became engaged with the\nothers in the narrow ways, and the conflict remained uncertain, until\nthe imperial troops drove back from the streets those who had come out\nof S. Sophia and shut them within the Augusteum. The imperial troops\nbroke open the gates of the Augusteum, and the rebels were forced from\nthe top of the Milion by the troops mounting the _apsides_, while the\nrest of them, being worsted in the Augusteum, gave way; but a shower\nof missiles was kept up from the part called Macron, overlooking the\nAugusteum, and the neighbouring chamber of Thomais. They took refuge\nin the pronaos of the church, where is the Archangel Michael in mosaic\nstanding with drawn sword as if on guard. The imperial troops, because\nof the narrowness, were unable to follow them with advantage, nor\ndid the insurgents dare to trust themselves out again. The patriarch\ndescended into the _proskenion_ or _protekdikeion_ of the church, and\nthen harangued them to prevent further sacrilege.\u201d\n\nIn the _Ceremonies_ we twice read of the emperor passing through the\nnave of S. Sophia and its Royal Gate, then across the narthex, and, by\nthe _louter_ (fountain), reaching the steps of the _athyr_ (atrium).\n\u201cThen he passes through the Milion, and along the Mese and reaches\nthe Forum, where is the Chapel of S. Constantine.\u201d Labarte, wrongly\nexplaining this as the Forum Augusteum, instead of that of Constantine,\nmakes the _louter_ the baptistery, and the _athyr_ its porch. Other\nprocessions from the Palace to the Church through the Milion have been\ngiven by Labarte.\n\nThe colonnades adjoining the Milion are mentioned in the account of a\nfire which attacked a part of the Great Church in the reign of Isaac\nAngelus. \u201cThe parts by the apsis of the Milion, and the Macron, and\nthe place called the Synods were burnt. The porticoes of Domninus were\nreduced to ashes, as well as the two covered ways starting on both\nsides of the Milion one of which reaches to the Philadelphion.\u201d[302]\nThe Philadelphion was towards Constantine\u2019s forum, and the other way\nprobably led from the Milion north and south to the church and the\npalace gate.\n\nWe learn from Agatho the Deacon[303] that in the porticoes (_stoai_)\nof the Milion were represented the seven \u0152cumenical Synods of\nConstantinople; this is probably what is meant by Nicetas, where he\nspeaks of \u201cThe Synods\u201d as quoted above (see, however, Mordtmann, p.\n68). The seven synods is one of the iconographic schemes given by the\n_Byzantine Manual_, and they are represented in the mosaics at the\nNativity Church at Bethlehem.\n\n_Horologium._--In close connection both with the Milion and the church\nwas the court of \u201cthe time-measure\u201d--a sundial or water-clock. At the\ntriumphal entry of Basil \u201cthey passed along the Mese up to the Milion,\nand entered through the embolos of the Milion into the Horologium, and,\nhaving put off their crowns in the metatorium within the Beautiful\nGate, they entered the narthex.\u201d[304] The Horologium is constantly\nspoken of as being near the baptistery, and was certainly on the south\nside of the church.\n\n_Baptistery._--In our first chapter we have given reasons for\nsupposing that the round building at the north-east formed part of\nthe earlier church and became the baptistery of Justinian\u2019s building.\nBuzantios considered that the former was the baptistery \u201cperhaps\nalso used as a sacristy.\u201d A knowledge of an earlier baptistery would\nseem to be implied in the way the south-west building is spoken of\nby Porphyrogenitus and later writers as the \u201cGreat Baptistery by the\nHorologium.\u201d\n\nAccording to Codinus and the Anonymous the Great Baptistery was built\nbefore the church, and Salzenberg thought the style was earlier\nthan that of the church. Is it possible that this was built as an\nindependent church and only ultimately became the baptistery? It\nappears from the account of the Russian pilgrim Anthony that in the\ntwelfth century its dome was painted with the baptism of Christ in\nJordan, a scheme which agrees with the two baptisteries at Ravenna.\n\n_St. Peter\u2019s Chapel, &c._--To the east there were some detached\nbuildings, at least in later times. The Anonymous we have seen mentions\na chapel of St. Peter as near the skeuophylakium. Anthony speaks of\nthis chapel, in which St. Peter\u2019s chains and the carpet of St. Nicholas\nwere preserved, as behind the altar. The anonymous Russian says a\nchapel of St. Nicholas was behind the bema, and also speaks of a marble\nbasin covered with a lead roof, \u201cwhere they baptise the emperors\u201d as\nbeing behind the altar, in a space set round with cypresses. Anna\nComnena also mentions \u201cthe chapel of the Hierarch Nicholas\u201d as part\nof the Great Church and a place of sanctuary.[305] The passage of St.\nNicholas is also referred to. It is possible that this chapel was\notherwise known as St. Peter\u2019s, and either this or \u201cthe place where\nthey baptise the emperors\u201d may be the present round building--the\nancient baptistery as we suppose. That St. Peter\u2019s chapel was of some\nimportance and detached seems clear from the _Menologium_. On January\n16 was celebrated the adoration of St. Peter\u2019s chains. It is explained\nthat after Peter\u2019s release, \u201cthe chains were found by some believers\nand guarded from generation to generation until they were brought to\nConstantinople by a pious emperor and placed in the church (\u03bd\u03b1\u1f78\u03c2) of\nSt. Peter which is near St. Sophia.\u201d We have given a picture of the\nchains in Figure 8. A tradition of some of these buildings may be\npreserved in an Italian MS. of 1611 in the British Museum. \u201cThe ancient\nbuildings round the church have been ruined by the Turks except a\nsmall part of the close (_canonica_), where they have made dwellings;\nthere is also the sacristy and the place of the baptistery, which\nhad originally three vaulted ceilings, one above another. It was of\nwonderful architecture and made with six angles. From the sacristy to\nthe base of the dome is an arquebus shot; between it and the Seraglio\nlies a road.\u201d\n\n_Boundaries._--Probably the fullest and clearest account of the\napproach to the church through the Augusteum is given by the Spanish\nambassador Clavijo, who was at Constantinople in 1405, at a time when\nmany of the buildings in the precincts had been destroyed. In a court\nin the front of the church, he saw \u201cnine very large columns of white\nmarble,\u201d and he was told that before his time a palace had been here,\nwhere the patriarch met the canons in chapter. \u201cAnd in the same place\nbefore the church stands a stone pillar of marvellous height, on the\ntop of which is a horse of copper as large as four horses put together;\non the horse was an armed knight with a great plume on his head like\na peacock\u2019s tail. The horse has chains of iron round its body secured\nto the column to prevent it from falling, or being moved by the wind.\nThe horse is very well made, and one fore and one hind leg is raised,\nas if it were in the act of prancing. The knight, on its back, has his\nright arm raised, with the hand open, while the reins are held with\nthe left hand. This marvellous horse is said to have been placed here\nby the Emperor Justinian, who erected the column. At the entrance to\nthe church under an arch in front of a gate, is a place adorned with\nfour columns, and below is a little chapel very rich and beautiful.\nAnd beyond this chapel is the gate to the church covered with bronze\nvery great and high; beyond again is a little court surrounded by high\ngalleries [horologium?]. Afterwards there was another gate of bronze\n[the south porch]. Beyond this gate there is a \u2018nave\u2019 vast and high,\nwith a ceiling of wood [the exonarthex]. And on the left hand there is\na cloister very large, and beautiful [the atrium], with many stones of\njasper of infinite variety of colour. On the right hand under the said\nnave-covered as I have said--and after the second gate, you arrive at\nthe body of the church, which has five doors, high and large, covered\nwith bronze, of which that in the middle is the greatest.\u201d[306]\n\nThe present south porch we should suppose is the pronaos mentioned\nby Nicetas as that where the Archangel Michael stood on guard. The\nexonarthex is now vaulted, but not covered with mosaic; it is bare and\nrough, and it seems possible that at one time there may have been a\nceiling of wood.\n\nStephen of Novgorod (1350) says that the first gate of the church was\nby the column of Justinian; then there was a second, a third, fourth,\nfifth and sixth and by the seventh you entered the great church. This\nmay be exaggeration, but Gyllius speaks of the south entrance formerly\nbeing by six _valvae_ of brass, \u201cnow there are only three, ingeniously\nworked,\u201d so that there would appear to have been at least one more\ndouble door in his time than the two now existing. If we consult the\ncareful drawings made by Grelot, which take us half way back to the\nconquest, we shall see that the boundaries of the cypress garden on\nthe south side agree entirely with the present walls. The first of\nthe turbehs was built here about a hundred years after the conquest,\nand we may almost safely assume that it was backed against the outer\nwall, as at present. Now when we find Clavijo, some fifty years before\nthe conquest, in approaching the church from this side, speak of an\nouter gateway and a court before the church was reached, we shall\nalmost certainly be justified in placing this outer gate on the present\nboundary. The fountain in the south court we suppose occupies the site\nof an ancient fountain. A comparison of Grelot\u2019s plan (1680) with\nFossati\u2019s (1850), will make clear the south boundaries of the church,\nas they existed at the time of the conquest. The octagonal building\nattached to the south side of the church shown in Fossati\u2019s plan must\nbe Turkish, probably the library of the sultan mentioned by Pococke.\n\nThe palace of the patriarch, with the library of the Thomaites, we\nwould place on the ground between the south boundary and the church,\nthe gardens which belonged to it occupying the ground of one of the\ncourts. It had evidently been destroyed by the time of Clavijo\u2019s visit,\nand for what is known as to the buildings we must refer to Paspates.\n\nThe courts to the north of the church were probably occupied by the\ncells of the clergy and the college called Didaskalion (see our page\n49); Bondelmontius speaks of \u201cthe way of a thousand columns in pairs\u201d\n(the Mese) through which the emperor walked to S. Sophia \u201cwhere the\nhouses of the 800 clergy were round the church.\u201d[307]\n\n_The Atrium._--The street lying at an angle to the west wall of the\nentrance courtyard, rising steeply towards the hippodrome, is probably\nancient.\n\nSome considerable remains of the atrium colonnade were in existence in\nthe present century, but they were finally destroyed in 1873.[308] The\npresent boundary of the western court appears to occupy the position\nof the exterior west wall of the atrium. Outside it there is a level\nroadway, beyond which the ground falls rapidly to the street. As the\nchurch stands across a hill the ground had to be made up to a level,\nand this, together with the position of the street, would account\nfor the court not having been square as was usually the case. As\nexcavations have shown that the pavement of the Hippodrome and the\nAugusteum were eight or ten feet below the present level,[309] steps\nwould have been required to attain the level of the church at the west.\nThe _Ceremonies_ show that the royal processions entered and left the\nchurch on the south side through the Augusteum, which served as a great\nforecourt to the church on this side. Without doubt this was the\nprincipal entrance. Clavijo and other visitors all appear to have\nentered the church from the south. When Grelot\u2019s western view was made\n(before 1680) no west doors to the atrium existed, but it was entered\nfrom the north and south only. In our plan we have therefore shown only\none door in the west wall of the atrium, possibly there was none (Fig.\n3).\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 25.--Original state of West Front as built by\nJustinian.]\n\nOutside the present south-west entrance of the court there remained\nuntil 1869 a stone inscribed\n\n \u271a\u03f9\u0391\u03f9\u0398\u03f9\u0395\u039d\u0398\u0391\u0394\u0395\u039a\u0391\u03a4\u039f\u0399\u039a\u0399\u039c\u0397\u0394\u0395\u0399....\n\nIts form suggests that it was a step, or it may have been a lintel from\none of the doors into the atrium or the rim from a fountain.[310] The\nwords \u201cThe Holy God dwelleth here let no....\u201d may be compared with the\ninscriptions for fountains and gates given on pages 84 and 264.\n\nThis atrium court of S. Sophia was called by the Byzantine\nauthors _aule_, _mesaulion_, _aithria_, and by some late writer,\n_gar\u00e7onastasion_, which Du Cange explains as \u201cthe place where pages\nwait.\u201d The cloistered walk originally surrounded it and formed a\nquadriporticus; although the eastern walk, the present exonarthex, is\ninclosed and entirely different from the other colonnaded walks, the\natrium is often referred to as \u201cFour-porticoed\u201d (_Tetrastoon_). It\ncannot therefore be doubted that the exonarthex with its great piers\nreplaced the original eastern walk, for the sake of greater abutment\nto the church. This is equally clear from the building itself and the\ndescription of the poet. (See Figs. 3, 24, 25, 29). The \u201cPropylaeum\u201d\noften spoken of must either be this exonarthex, or the gateways in the\natrium.\n\nThe cloister walks were vaulted, and the walls covered with marble. One\nof the capitals remained in the courtyard as lately as 1873, when it\nwas drawn by Canon Curtis; it resembled those in the gallery inside,\nwith deep sculptured dosseret and small volutes below. More than one\nwriter remarks on the great beauty of the marble shafts. They were\nset in close order, and we may see from Salzenberg that, when we add\nfor their bases, they were some twenty-two feet high, and must have\nmade a fine portico to the west front. In 1852 two of the pillars\nwere represented on the plan of Fossati as still _in situ_: now every\nevidence of the atrium has entirely disappeared.\n\n_Phiale._--In the middle of the court was placed a fountain, where,\naccording to the Silentiary, was a \u201cbubbling stream leaping into the\nair from a bronze pipe.\u201d The name given to such a fountain by Greek\nwriters was phiale or colymbethra, and, by the Latins, cantharus or\nnymphaeum. At S. Sophia it was also called \u201cThe Laver of the Atrium\u201d\n(\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u1f74\u03c1 \u03bc\u03b5\u03c3\u03b1\u03c5\u03bb\u03af\u03bf\u03c5).[311] The louter or loutron, with its colymbethra,\nformed a sanctuary for the pursued: we read in Procopius of their\n\u201cfleeing to the church of S. Sophia, and coming to the holy loutron,\nand laying hold of the colymbethra which was there.\u201d[312]\n\nAccording to the Anonymous author, on whom we place no reliance, the\nphiale had twelve arcades or columns, and lions spouted out the water.\nCanopied phialae it is true still exist at St. Demetrius at Salonica,\nand in the monasteries of Mount Athos. The canopy of the phiale at old\nSt. Peter\u2019s was of bronze; under it the great pine cone, which still\nremains, threw out water in innumerable little threads. On the canopy\nwere probably placed the beautiful bronze peacocks, which also still\nexist.[313] A very beautiful fountain of this kind, at Constantinople,\nwas placed before the church built by Basil in the palace. The basin\nwas marble, from which rose a pine cone pierced with holes. Above on\nthe cornice were placed cocks, stags, and rams, of cast bronze, from\nwhich the water flowed.[314]\n\nIn the Court of the Lions at the Alhambra, the basin of the fountain\nrests on lions, and the water runs away from the fountain in four open\nstreams to the four sides of the cloister. This work was certainly\nexecuted under Byzantine influence, and it is curious to find more than\none small garden fountain at Constantinople in which the water issues\nfrom the mouth of lions. On the other hand it seems probable that the\nAnonymous imitated the description of the temple of Solomon and the\nlaver, which stood on twelve oxen. The other washing place he describes\n(see page 141) with the different kinds of animals represented, seems\nto be founded on the description of that of Basil\u2019s church.\n\nPorphyrogenitus speaks of the \u201ccup of the phiale\u201d; and it seems most\nprobable, considering the simple description of the Silentiary,\nthat, as in so many ancient churches, it was at first merely a bowl,\nstanding on a pillar rising from a polygonal basin. In the time of\nMichael Palaeologus, there was such a basin on the sides of which \u201cwas\nengraved on the marble the honoured form of the cross.\u201d[315] A bowl\nfigured by Gruterus[316] in 1602 as \u201cnewly found at Constantinople,\u201d\nhas been spoken of by Du Cange and others as having belonged to S.\nSophia, although the evidence of this is not very positive.[317] This\nwas a circular bowl very similar to the well-known representation of a\ncantharus of Justinian\u2019s time in the Ravenna mosaic. The inscription\naround the rim read equally well in both directions.[318] This circle\nbeing horizontal, we cannot but think, as it would necessarily be\nread from outside, that Gruterus was mistaken in putting the bottom\nof the letters toward the centre; we have therefore reversed this\nin our figure. The words \u201cWash thy sins, not thy face only,\u201d almost\ncertainly refer it to a phiale. Eusebius, for instance, speaking of\none of these fountains, says, \u201cit is not meet for an unclean foot to\nstep on the sacred place within the temple,\u201d and Paulinus tells us\nthat at Nola those who entered the church washed their hands in a\nsimilar place.[319] Probably, so accurate a writer as Du Cange had good\nreasons for referring the bowl in question to S. Sophia. Dr. Covel of\nCambridge, who was at Constantinople from 1670 to 1677, and has left\na valuable MS. now in the British Museum, which we shall have further\noccasion to quote, also gives the inscription, which he says came from\nthe fountain of S. Sophia, but again, it is possible he derived this\nfrom Du Cange, or from Grelot, whom he appears to have met, for some of\nthe Frenchman\u2019s drawings are included in the MS.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 26.--Inscription on Phiale from Gruter.]\n\nIn this collection are drawings of two beautiful phiale cups, which\nexisted at Ephesus when visited by Dr. Covel. From the simple elegance\nof their forms we suppose that these bowls cannot be later than the\nsixth century.[320] See Fig. 27.\n\n_Pavement of the Court._--When the Anonymous tells us that the four\nboundaries of the church were called after the rivers that flowed from\nParadise, it is quite evident from the context that he is speaking of\nthe atrium; and it seems probable that immediately before, where he\nspeaks of \u201cever flowing waters of great rivers,\u201d he is describing the\npavement of the court as figuring four streams. This certainly would\nfurnish a reason for the walks taking their names from the four rivers\nof marble which flowed towards them, like the four real streams flow\nin the court of the Alhambra. There is much to countenance this theory.\nFor instance, the atrium of old St. Peter\u2019s was called Paradise:\nSimeon of Thessalonica tells us the part outside the doors of a church\nrepresented the creation, as the bema symbolised heaven; and the idea\nmight easily be referred to the words used in the service for blessing\nthe waters of the phiale.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 27.--Phiale Bowls from Ephesus.]\n\nThis custom of blessing the waters on the eve of Epiphany, to which\nPaulus the Silentiary alludes (see page 44), was practised as early\nas the end of the fourth century.[321] Goar gives the ritual.[322]\nAfter the evening service the priest with the censer and candlestick\nproceeds to the \u201c_luter_ of the _mesaulion_,\u201d chanting \u201cthe voice of\nthe Lord is upon the waters.\u201d Part of the ceremony of blessing included\na prayer, \u201cWe beseech thee, O Almighty Father ... who fixed Paradise in\nEden and bade its quadruple spring flow far and wide ... who blessed\nthe waters for Jacob, and hast bidden us, through thy prophet Isaiah,\nto draw water in gladness from the fountains of the Saviour.\u201d The\naccount of the Anonymous may be a duplication of his description of the\ninterior, but outside Charlemagne\u2019s church at Aix there is a pine cone\nwhich formerly belonged to a phiale; the water rained from it through\nlittle holes, and about the foot are verses referring to the rivers of\nParadise and Baptism.\n\n_West Front._--On the east side of the atrium court, against the\nwest wall of the exonarthex, rise four great piers from which spring\nflying arches to the west wall of the church. Salzenberg thought that\nthe upper arches were Turkish, and that the piers were originally\nintended to support equestrian statues, which he therefore shows in\nhis drawings. Other writers, amongst whom is Fossati, say that the\nbronze horses now on the gallery outside the west front of S. Mark\u2019s\nat Venice, taken from Constantinople in 1204, came from this position;\nbut there is not the least authority for this statement, and the horses\nat Venice are not half the size of those that would be required to\njustify the suggestion. Bondelmontius in 1422 describing the columns\nof the city, speaks first of that of Justinian, \u201csecondly of that of\nthe Cross, where are seen four upright porphyry columns; and on them\nwere placed four bronze horses which the Venetians took to S. Mark\u2019s at\nVenice, but the columns remain.\u201d Brocqui\u00e8re, writing ten years later,\nsays that \u201cwestward [in the city] is a very high square column with\ncharacters traced on it, and bearing on the summit an equestrian statue\nof Constantine in bronze. He holds a sceptre in his left hand, with his\nright extended towards Turkey in Asia and the road to Jerusalem as if\nto denote that the whole of that country was under his government. Near\nthis column are three [_sic_] others placed in a line, and of single\npieces which bore the three gilt horses now in Venice.\u201d Brocqui\u00e8re\nhas here certainly confused the column of Justinian, and that of\nConstantine, but we may safely accept Bondelmontius. The porphyry\ncolumn of Constantine, situated in the Forum Constantine, at this time\nbore a cross with the inscription \u201cHoly, Holy, Holy.\u201d Many modern\nwriters place the four horses in the hippodrome, as Nicetas speaks\nof \u201cthe arched starting-places for the racers, above which are fixed\npowerful horses of gilt bronze, curving their necks and facing one\nanother as if eager for the course\u201d (Ed. Bonn, p. 150).\n\nBetween the four great piers of the west front there are now three\ndoorways. If, however, we refer to the plates of Salzenberg, we shall\nfind that only the two lateral ones are there shown, and that the\nposition of the central door is occupied by a window; this arrangement\nwas seen by Texier in 1834, and is shown in a MS. drawing of his,\nnow in the library of the Royal Institute of Architects. Referring to\nthe views and plan which Grelot published in 1680, we see the central\nbay occupied by a belfry, with a pyramidal top rising above the roof\nof the exonarthex. Now in Goar\u2019s _Euchologium_[323] there is a note\nto this effect, \u201cThe Greeks first took up the use of bells from the\ntime when Urso Patricio, Doge of Venice, in the year 865, sent them to\nMichael the emperor, who greatly valued them, and built a tower for\nthem against S. Sophia.\u201d We have already seen that large repairs were\nmade to the west front of the church about this time (page 123), with a\nview of counteracting the thrust of the vaults. Before the belfry was\nbuilt the Semantron would have been used; this was a plate of bronze or\nwood suspended in the atrium and struck like a gong (see Fig. 28). It\nappears from the Russian pilgrims that the bells remained in use for\nonly a short time. A sixteenth century French MS. in the British Museum\nspeaks of the old square tower and bells. Grelot[324] says \u201cthis tower,\nformerly the belfry, is now void, the Turks having exchanged the music\nof bells for the noise of cannon.\u201d It was not fifty _toises_ high, and\ncould not have held many bells, or large ones.[325]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 28.--Semantron at Constantinople, from Lenoir.]\n\nThe upper story of the narthex, Grelot tells us was supported by six\nflying buttresses, and both his exterior views show three complete\npiers and flying arches on each side of the tower. The bay next the\nbelfry on the right was occupied by a low building with a pent roof, in\nwhich were descending steps, at the bottom of which they drew off water\nfrom \u201cthe great cisterns under the church, from which it was said a boat\nmight reach the sea.\u201d As to the doors there were three towards the west,\nused when Grelot made his plan, two being those at the extreme north and\nsouth, opposite the lateral atrium walks, and the other, which was less,\nand little used, was next the belfry on the left, and is in fact the\nleft one of the three present doors. The arches, which cover two of the\nspaces between the piers and make them into porches, are shown in the\nview by Fossati of the unrestored state of the front.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 29.--West Front as altered in the Ninth Century.]\n\nComparing the drawings of Grelot and the plan given by Du Cange, both\npublished in 1680, with the present remains, it would appear that there\nwere formerly ten of these buttresses; two being merged in the central\nbelfry, and the two outside ones incorporated in the minarets, on the\nsides of which traces of them may still be seen. Two others have either\nbeen destroyed by the Turks, or Grelot\u2019s drawings are wrong to this\nextent, as no trace seems to remain of more than eight. Of these eight\nwhich now in part remain, Salzenberg only reserves the four at the\ncentre, on which he places the horses. Our Figs. 26 and 29 represent\nthe original west front and the altered fa\u00e7ade of the ninth century;\nsee also Plan, Fig. 24.\n\n_Cisterns._--On the south side of the right-hand pier is a small arch\nwhich gives access to a little recessed chamber in the buttress. From\nthis and from a similar recess north of the central entrance, water\nfrom the cisterns beneath the church was probably obtained: a cross on\nthe wall of the little chamber would seem to show that it was a \u201choly\nwell.\u201d[326]\n\nClavijo says the cisterns beneath the church would float ten galleys,\nand C. Lebrun (1714) speaks of ten cisterns and forty columns standing\nin the water. The only real description of the cistern we have been\nable to find is in Dr. Covel\u2019s MS. diary in the British Museum. In 1676\nhe writes, \u201cWe went to see the vaults under S. Sophia; they were full\nof water, then 17 feet deep, and overhead, from the water up to the\ntop of the arch was about 2 yards and 6 inches. Every pillar is square\n(4\u00bd feet), and distant from another just 12 feet. The bricks are very\nbroad, thin, and well baked; [it is] not plastered within, the mortar\nvery hard. They say it goes under [the] At-Meidan, but we could not\nenter it. The waste water of the Aqueduct enters into it, and [going]\nout of it passing through the Seraglio, goes into the sea by the\ndunghill. [There is] severe punishment to [those who] have houses with\noffices [draining] into it; or [for those who] throw any filth into it:\nthe well of S. Sophia [opens] into it and many wells in the Seraglio.\u201d\nHe gives a diagram plan, showing two rows of eight piers and a third\nrow of three, although, as no boundary is shown, it is impossible to\nsay if this is the whole extent (see below).[327]\n\n_Generally._--Some of the exterior was doubtless cased with marble like\nS. Mark\u2019s; indeed some of the marble plating remained in Salzenberg\u2019s\ntime. \u201cThe walls outside (the Anonymous writes) were covered with\nlarge and valuable stones.\u201d Where not so incrusted the narrow coursed\nbrickwork showed in thin red lines, almost equalled by the thick joints\nof the mortar. From this brickwork the marble lattices of the windows,\neach with its slab at the bottom charged with a cross, shone out fair,\nand the gray lead of the many domes rose above all, curve on curve in\npearly gradation of light. The courts were doubtless closely set with\ncypresses, like those which now rise about the turbehs on the south\nside.\n\nMany passages in the Byzantine authors show how much beauty of site was\nregarded as essential for a fair church.[328] Procopius, describing\nthe Church of the Fountain at Constantinople, says, \u201cthere was a grove\nof cypresses in a rich meadow of blooming flowers, a garden abounding\nin fruit, with a gently bubbling spring of sweet water, everything\nsuggested the site of a church.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X\n\nBUILDING FORMS AND THE BUILDERS\n\n\n\u00a7 1. ORIGINS.\n\nIt may be well to say a few words on the growth of the Byzantine\narchitecture, of which Justinian\u2019s church is the perfect flower. This\nbuilding is often spoken of as if it were at once the first and the\nmaturest essay in this great style, but this we might know would have\nbeen impossible, even though the links that led up to it were lost,\nwhich is not entirely the case. It is perfectly true, however, as Mr.\nMorris says, that \u201cthe style leaps into sudden completeness in this\nmost lovely building.\u201d\n\nThe new wants of the Church soon evolved the complete Christian\nbasilica, which, it has been said must have been in the mind of the\nwriter of the Apocalypse as the type of the entire arrangement of\nthe altar, the twenty-four elders, and the great congregation, in\nhis vision of the heavenly worship. In the time of Constantine, and\nin Rome, alongside of work which was entirely classic, the churches,\nwith fewer ties to the past to limit development along truly rational\nlines, had developed a manner which was a more direct outcome of\nthe necessities of building with a minimum of merely perfunctory\n\u201carchitectural\u201d forms--those conventions for the thoughtless\nexpenditure of the workers\u2019 labour, which in still worse times make\narchitecture a burden to them instead of a delight.\n\nThis transitional style is rightly called early Christian, or\nConstantinian. In the East, the vital part of the empire at this time,\na greater change was taking place that brought back life once again\nto the arts of decoration; this may be expressed in a formula as the\nre-orientalization of classic art--the linking of simple massive Roman\nbuilding to a new decoration, vividly alive and inventive, frank,\nbright, and full of colour, and yet as rational in its choice and\napplication as the construction. In the modern sense the Romans may be\nsaid to have invented building, and the Byzantine-Greeks architecture.\n\nThe Roman system of arched building, covered with brick and concrete\nvaulted shells and domes, had been masked by non-functional pillars,\ntablements, and pediments in what was thought the true Athenian manner;\nat the same time many beautiful decorative expedients were also in use,\nsuch as the lining of walls with large thin marble slabs, or small\npieces of glass of various forms and colours. Mosaic of gold glass\nseems to have been known before the time of Constantine.[329] Gold\ntesserae probably originated in an at first almost accidental use of\nportions of the Roman glass vessels which are decorated by patterns in\ngold leaf protected by a thin layer of glass over the surface. Parts of\nsuch vessels are found used decoratively in the Catacombs.\n\nByzantine architecture was developed by the use of brick in the\nfrankest and fullest manner, especially in domical vaulting. Wide spans\nwere kept in equipoise by other smaller domes. The more concentrated\nsupports were marble monoliths, and the wall and vault surfaces were\ncovered by incrustations of marble slabs and glass mosaic. Directness,\nan economy of labour relative to the results obtained, is perhaps the\nmost essential characteristic of the art both in construction and\ndecoration in the great period. This freedom and rationality mark\nit out from all other styles of building, or rather make it include\nall other styles, for this reaches the universal. M. Choisy rightly\ninsists on the fact that the Byzantine builders endeavoured to suppress\npreparatory and auxiliary work, and to execute their vaults and domes\nwithout centring. \u201cThe greater number of their vaults,\u201d he says \u201crose\nin space without any kind of support.... Their method is not a mere\nvariation of that of the West, but it is quite a distinct system, not\neven derived from a Roman source, but Asiatic. Byzantine art is the\nGreek spirit working on Asiatic elements.\u201d Here we have an extreme\nstatement in one direction, and the word Roman must be used in a narrow\nsense; for these Asiatic elements in construction, of which alone M.\nChoisy seems to be speaking, whatever were their remote origins must\nhave been completely absorbed into the larger Rome of the Empire, and\nwe have no knowledge of any other system of construction in western\nAsia from the first to the fourth century than \u201cRoman,\u201d unless we\nsubdivide this into Palmyrene, Herodian, or construct an imaginary\nPersian style out of what went before and came afterwards. Choisy\nhimself shows that a large use of burnt brick was first made by the\nRomans, and that the system of building vaults in sections known in\nAssyria and Egypt had been adopted by Roman builders in the East in\nthe time of Constantine. But this was the essential germ of Byzantine\nconstruction. It was the falling away of a dead scholasticism that\nleft Roman building in the East free to be shaped into Byzantine\narchitecture. Mr. Bury, who is extreme in the opposite direction, and\nmakes the same claim for the continuity of Roman art as he does for the\nEmpire, suggests that Romaic would be a better term than Byzantine. But\nwhatever name is given to the political system we must remember that\nthe arts are shaped by the people, and that the people were truly Greek\nwho, in the age of Justinian, thought out and left to the modern world\nthe last great gift of Hellenic genius--medi\u00e6val Greek architecture.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 30.--Roman Tomb in Palestine.]\n\nWhile the art of building in the East, particularly in Syria and Asia\nMinor, and possibly in Egypt, was still distinctly Roman, a ferment and\nchange may be detected which cannot be matched in Rome itself. Both in\nconstruction and ornamentation there is much already at Palmyra and\nBaalbec that belongs to the new, and repudiates the rules of merely\nofficial art.\n\nIn Rome the dome never appears to have been finally adapted to a\ncomposite building by being directly applied to a square plan. The dome\non pendentives, so far as we know, was invented and perfected entirely\nin the East. M. Choisy figures a building from Jerash, which may be\nof the third or fourth century which he considers the earliest known\ndome on pendentives. This building, although it is plainly early, has\nnothing characteristically Roman about it. A building of the same class\nhowever, recently discovered by the Palestine Exploration Society at\nKusr en N\u00fbeij\u00ees in eastern Palestine,[330] is an ornate example of late\nRoman work; Ionic pilasters and carved entablature mask the outside,\nwhile within we have a perfected dome on pendentives covering a central\nsquare area, counterpoised by four barrel vaults. We agree with the\nMemoir that--\u201cthere can be little hesitation in ascribing this building\nto the second century A.D.\u201d This building, probably a mausoleum, in\nadjustment of parts, and geometrical development might be a Byzantine\nchurch of three hundred years later. It is a little Sancta Sophia, and\ntaken together with the Jerash building it makes a class invaluable\nas a fixed point to work from.[331] This however like most Syrian\nbuildings is of stone.\n\nA church at Koja Kalessi in Isauria,[332] Fig. 31, which there is a\ngreat reason to suppose of early fifth century work, furnishes an\nimportant link. We have here an approximation of the square domed\nbuilding to the columned basilica which is most interesting. This\nchurch is substantially complete with women\u2019s galleries opening to the\nnave by a second tier of arcades just as at S. Sophia.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 31.--Plan of a Church in Isauria.]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 32.--Church of the Trinity, Ephesus.]\n\nThe next building we should place in the sequence is the church of the\nTrinity at Ephesus of which H\u00fcbsch, Wood and Choisy give plans. The\nformer furnishes a restoration, and speaks of it as probably one of the\nearliest of Christian churches, but there is no reason to suppose it\nearlier than the beginning of the fifth century. Choisy speaks of it as\na curious monument of transition already Byzantine in structure. Before\nseeing H\u00fcbsch\u2019s restoration, we had placed an arcade in the lateral\narches, agreeing in every respect with his suggestions; and that this\nwas the original form is strongly confirmed by the next church--as it\nseems to us--in the development. This is the church of S. Sophia at\nSalonica, which has long been assigned to Justinian\u2019s reign at a time\nsubsequent to the erection of S. Sophia, but is now thought to belong\nto the fifth century. M. Petros Papageorgios in the _Hestia_[333]\nof Athens for October 3rd and November 14th 1893, gives the mosaic\ninscription of this church, which he thinks definitely fixes its\ndecoration in the year 495.[334]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 33.--Church of S. Sophia, Salonica. Scale about\nforty-five feet to an inch, for three plans.]\n\nThe churches at Cassaba, Ancyra and Myra in Asia Minor engraved in\nTexier\u2019s _Asie Mineure_, and repeated by Salzenberg relate themselves\nso closely to this chain of development that we believe they will\nbe found to belong rather to the fifth and sixth centuries than to\nthe seventh or eighth as those writers thought. The square type with\na central dome persisted independently without coalescing with the\nbasilica. Such was the domed church at Antioch founded by Constantine\nand completed by Constantius; here the central dome was surrounded by\naisles, and formed an octagon. In the churches of St. George at Ezra,\nand St. Sergius at Bosra we have domes standing over a central octagon\ncontained in an external square. These were built about 515, and they\nfurnished the type that was followed at St. Sergius at Constantinople\nwhich was built only a few years before S. Sophia.\n\n\n\u00a7 2. THE BUILDERS OF THE CHURCH.\n\nIt is noteworthy that the architects who built S. Sophia as well as the\nhistorians who chronicle the work, all, so far as their birth-places\nare known, come from Syria and Asia Minor. The flourishing city of\nEphesus was one of the great centres of the transformation of the art\nof building; and it was from the neighbouring cities of Tralles and\nMiletus, that Anthemius and Isidorus came to Constantinople.\n\nOf the two master builders who appear to have been employed together by\nJustinian, it seems clear, from Procopius and the other writers, that\nAnthemius was more especially concerned in the preparation of the first\ndraft or model, and that Isidorus, by birth a Milesian, was associated\nwith him in the conduct of the works.\n\n\u201cAnthemius,\u201d says Paulus, \u201cskilled in setting out a plan, laid the\nfoundation.\u201d \u201cAnthemius was the man who devised and worked at every\npart,\u201d writes Agathias, and this author gives some account of his life.\n\u201cNow this Anthemius was born at Tralles, and he was an inventor of\nmachines; one of those who apply designs to material, and make models\nand imitations of real things. He was distinguished in this and had\nreached the summit of mathematical knowledge, just as his brother\nMetrodorus was distinguished in letters. Besides these there were three\nother brothers, Olympus, famous for his knowledge of law, and Dioscorus\nand Alexander, both skilled in medicine. Of these Dioscorus lived in\nhis native land and Alexander in Old Rome. But the fame of the skill\nof Anthemius and Metrodorus reached the emperor, and they were invited\nto Constantinople, where they spent the rest of their lives, each\npresenting wonderful examples of his skill. One taught letters; the\nother raised wonderful buildings throughout the city and in many other\nplaces; these, I think, even if nothing were said about them, as long\nas they remained unharmed, would be sufficient to win for him perpetual\nglory.\u201d\n\nStories of his mechanical ingenuity are told by Agathias one of which\nis as follows. Anthemius had a quarrelsome neighbour whose room\noverhung his ground. He placed here large kettles of water, with an\narrangement of leather pipes and a tube like a trumpet up to the\nprojecting part; and making the other parts secure, \u201che heated the\nwater so that the whole thing burst up like an earthquake.\u201d\n\nAs to the scheme prepared by the master builders for the building, an\nexamination of the evidence seems to suggest the following antecedent\nconditions and governing ideas. 1. The ground levels required a short\nand wide church (_ante_, p. 186). 2. An old western apse possibly\nsuggested the western hemicycle of the new church (_ante_, p. 19). 3.\nThe plan, while a direct outcome of traditional forms as we have shown,\nseems a synthesis of the three types which were then current; the\nBasilican like S. John Studius; the square church with a dome like S.\nSergius, and the cross plan of the Church of the Apostles.\n\nAt S. Sergius, the expedient of planning columned exedras to fill out\nthe angles of the square beneath a domed vault had proved its utility\nand beauty. For the influence of the cross type we need only turn to\nthe plan, and observe that the width across the \u201ctransepts\u201d is exactly\nthe same as the length included by the eastern and western hemicycles.\n\nThe master builders not only designed the church, they came \u201cand worked\nat every part,\u201d and lived with their building until their death; they\ncertainly graduated as workmen, and we hear nothing of their honours\nor position, only of their genius.[335] In the words of M. Choisy, \u201cIn\nJustinian\u2019s time, to build was the essential _r\u00f4le_ of the architect.\u201d\n\nBoth master builders are again mentioned as working together on the\noccasion of the fortifications of Dara in Mesopotamia, having been\ninjured by floods. The emperor on hearing of it at Constantinople\n\u201cstraightway summoned those most celebrated architects Anthemius and\nIsidorus mentioned before, and inquired what might be devised.\u201d The\nscheme of Chryses, the engineer of the works at Dara, was however\nadopted.[336]\n\nThe younger Isidorus who re-erected the dome of S. Sophia Procopius\nmentions as having been employed by Justinian in rebuilding the city\nof Zenobia in Mesopotamia with its fortifications, churches, baths\nand porticoes. \u201cAll this work was done under the superintendence of\nIsidorus and Joannes, of whom Johannes was a Byzantine and Isidorus\na Milesian by birth, being the nephew of that Isidorus I mentioned\nbefore.\u201d\n\nTo the master builders Procopius, Paulus, and Theophanes give the\nnames _mechanikos_, _polumechanos_, _mechanopoios_, to which other\nwriters add _protooikodomos_--\u201cfirst of the builders,\u201d _magistros_ and\n_maistor_. The craftsmen appear to have been classed as _technitai_\nwith a foreman over each subdivision. The Latin names of the different\nbuilding crafts are given both in Theodosius\u2019 code,[337] and in the\nedict of Diocletian,[338] which fixed their wages. This edict is\nbilingual, but unfortunately the Greek synonyms for the workmen are\nwanting. In the description of the building of S. Sophia, Procopius\nspeaks of the _lithologos_ or \u201cstone-layer,\u201d who built the big piers,\nPaulus and the Anonymous use _laotoros_ and _laotomos_ a \u201cmason\u201d and\n\u201cstone-cutter,\u201d wherever marble workers are mentioned, to which must\nalso be added _lithoxos_ \u201cstone polisher.\u201d The general bricklayers,\n&c. are comprised as _oikodomoi_. _Tektonikos_ implies a carpenter.\nS. Gregory of Nyssa, in describing a church of S. Theodore, calls the\ncraftsman who arranged the mosaic tesserae, \u1f41 \u03c3\u03c5\u03bd\u03b8\u03ad\u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03c4\u1ff6\u03bd \u03c8\u03b7\u03c6\u03af\u03b4\u03c9\u03bd.\n\nA list of the chief classes of workmen employed in the sixth century\non a monumental building in Italy given by Cassiodorus,[339] names the\nfollowing--Instructor-parietum, sculptor-marmorum, camerarum-rotator,\ngypsoplastes, and musivarius. The instructor-parietum is probably\nthe man who set out the work, the camerarum-rotator is he who turned\nthe vaults. The gypsoplastes, a literal transcription of \u03b3\u03c5\u03c8\u03bf\u03c0\u03bb\u03ac\u03c3\u03c4\u03b7\u03c2,\nsignifies a worker or modeller in stucco, corresponding to the\nplastes-gypsarius of the edict of Diocletian. The musivarius is the\n\u201cputter together of tesserae\u201d of S. Gregory. Workmen who understood the\nmysteries of \u201cvault turning\u201d seem to have been especially appreciated,\nas Theophanes tells us that Isaurian workmen were employed to build the\ndome of S. Sophia.\n\nIn the humblest work the personality of the maker is often delightfully\nexpressed. A Byzantine brick in the British Museum is stamped \u201c\u03a7\u03a1. made\nby the most excellent Narsis,\u201d and a late Roman glass cup bears the\nlegend \u201cEnnion made this. Think of it, O buyer.\u201d\n\nIn his inquiry as to the methods of workmanship, M. Choisy says the\nByzantine Greeks did not efface from buildings all traces of the\nworkman\u2019s individuality. \u201cThe workman is no mere passive instrument,\nobedient, without any regard to initiative or responsibility, to the\nworkshop foreman; he is treated as an intelligent power, and finds in\nfront of him liberty, and a field open to his imagination.\u201d\n\nIn Roman times the system was that we call \u201cdivision of labour.\u201d\n\u201c_L\u2019art roman est un fait d\u2019organisation._\u201d The workman was not an\nindependent citizen working at his own pleasure for his daily wants;\nhe was a _functionnaire_, and compulsorily a member of an association\norganised by the state on the model of military service. In the East\nan altogether freer system seems to have obtained. The guilds were\nindependent associations, and in Palestine the Carpenter\u2019s Son and the\ntentmaker followed their callings irrespective of state authority.\n\u201cIn Byzantine buildings the same name occurs in turn upon columns,\ncapitals, or simply squared blocks of stone, and there is nothing to\nshow that the foreman of the works kept one man at one particular kind\nof work. The East never changes; at present the absence of division of\nlabour in Oriental buildings is most striking. The proprietor chooses a\nmaster workman (_protomaistor_); to this improvised architect he adds\na certain number of head workmen (_maistores_) and their companions,\nand these same men will work at digging the foundations, at the masonry\nof the walls, and at the carpentry of the roof; even the ironwork and\njoinery is scarcely reserved for special workmen.\u201d The terms masters\nand companions suggest an arrangement which merits consideration. Like\nwestern workmen the Greek artizans were affiliated to corporations\nwhich have lived to our days. These associations (_sunergasiai_) had\na council, composed exclusively of those, who, by apprenticeship and\ntrial, had earned the title of masters (_maistores_).\n\nEach society was presided over by a \u201cprotomaistor\u201d helped by\nsecretaries (_grammateus_ and _kerux_) to summon the meetings. It was\nat once a corporation of workmen, a religious brotherhood, and a mutual\naid society: and such societies engaged in mutual acts of hospitality\nand assistance between one town and another.\n\nAll workers in the East seem to have been thus associated into guilds,\nand municipal life was organised on the guilds. This is evident\nat Constantinople as early as the _Notitia_, see p. 11 above. The\nmembers of the guilds had to help at fires, and Lydus gives the cry\nwhich brought them together, \u201c_Omnes Collegiati_.\u201d Demetrius, the\nsilversmith of Ephesus, called together the _Sunergasia_ when the\ncraft was in danger; we even hear of strikes. Even unskilled labourers\nhad their guilds, and Mr. Ramsay has described the Guild of Street\nPorters of Smyrna in Roman times (_American Journal of Arch\u00e6ology_,\nVol. I.). The existence of the guilds is the most significant fact of\nthe social history of the middle ages. In such craft organisation of\nlabour, free of the financial middlemen who now rightly call themselves\n\u201cContractors,\u201d we see the only hope that building for service, and\nornamenting for delight, can again be made possible.\n\nOur studies have convinced us that \u201cshop production\u201d went on side by\nside with the building organisation. This shop production will be\nat once allowed for such things as gold cups and altars, lamps and\nbronze doors, but we believe that decorative marble work was largely\nproduced in this way, and that just as enamelled cups and damascened\ndoors were \u201cordered\u201d in Constantinople, so also were sculptured slabs\nand capitals. It would be possible to account for mere resemblance by\n\u201cinfluence,\u201d but absolute likeness between the capitals and sculptured\nor inlaid slabs found in contemporary buildings, at cities so far\napart as Constantinople, Salonica, Parenzo, Ravenna, and Rome show\nthat in the fifth and sixth centuries such works were dispersed from a\ncommon centre. So early as the fourth century S. Gregory Nazianzenus\nspeaks of a priest who came to Constantinople \u201cfrom Thasos bringing\nwith him the gold of the church wherewith to buy slabs (_plakes_) of\nProconnesian marble.\u201d[340] These things were not only bought, but\nspecially commissioned; for instance, the marbles of St. Clemente,\nwhich are almost certainly Constantinople work, bear fine monograms of\nJohn, afterwards elected pope in 532. The great contributing cause for\nthis, besides the political and artistic position of Constantinople,\nwas doubtless its possession of an absolutely perfect material in\nboundless profusion--the coarse white marble, which we may see to-day\nso delightfully wrought in small shops into the tombs, each of which\nhas its carved tree of cypress, palm, or rose.\n\n\n\u00a7 3. ORIGINAL FORM OF THE CHURCH.\n\n_Dome_, &c.--Agathias tells us that when Justinian rebuilt the dome it\nwas made higher, and that large alterations were made to the sustaining\narches on the north and south sides. Salzenberg cites Theophanes and\nZonaras who give the increase of height as twenty and twenty-five feet\nrespectively. If we examine the longitudinal section we shall see that\nthe great semidomes of the hemicycles and the apsoid of the bema show\nmuch less of their curvature outside than the present central dome. The\nwindows in these do not stand above a cornice, but are pierced through\nthe vaults at middle height; the domical surface being unbroken by\nany cornice from springing to crown. The cupola of the baptistery is\nalso continuous with the pendentives. A dome of this kind, however,\ncontinuing the pendentives, would seem to be impossibly flat, and would\nbe some thirty feet less than the present height--see A in Fig. 4, the\nexisting dome rising to B. If a curve between these two be obtained\nby lowering the crown of the dome about fifteen feet to C, it may be\nnoticed that a straight line tangential to the curve of the eastern\napsoid, and also to the great semidome would form similar contact with\nthe dome.\n\nSalzenberg, understanding an account of Cedrenus as to a strengthening\nof the abutments of the dome to refer to the great buttress masses\nwhich rise above the gynaeceum roof, considers that the external\nparts of these masses were additions made at the time of Justinian\u2019s\nrestoration. These great vertical piles are so essential to the\nstructure, to the logical beauty of the design, and to the staircase\nservice of the building; moreover the preparation for them beneath\nis so adequate, that we cannot accept this suggestion, and therefore\nfollow Choisy in considering them original. Now Choisy, examining the\nexternal base of the dome where it forms a square, found that the\nfour angles had been increased, and that it did not originally form a\nsquare, but rose above the piers and the lateral arches as shown in\nFig. 34, and in Fig. 37, where the first base is shown by hatching and\nthe additions by dotted lines, A A. \u201cThis alteration,\u201d he writes, \u201cis\nnot hypothetical. I verified the entire absence of bond between the\nfirst base of the dome and the added work\u201d (p. 138). These additions\nwere built on the lateral arches, and on the top of the piers, altering\nthe form shown in our Fig. 35 to the present form given by Salzenberg.\nThat Choisy is right, is borne out by seeing the resemblance of\ntreatment that there would have been between the growth of the dome on\nthe north and south and the semidome on the west (see Fig. 34).\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 34.--View of Vaulted System of S. Sophia, adapted\nfrom Choisy.]\n\nAgain, Salzenberg hardly makes it sufficiently clear that the large\narches in the walls which fill the great vertical semicircles over the\narcades on north and south sides, are in fact the inner surfaces of the\narches which pass between the pairs of piers on north and south sides\n(seventy-two feet apart in this direction), and being the whole width\nof those piers (fifteen feet eight inches) on soffite they form the\nimmense arches so well known on the outside. The semicircles of wall,\neach of which contains twelve windows, are now filled in beneath these\narches, flush with their _inner faces_, and the arches therefore do not\nshow to the interior through the decoration (Figs. 4, 36, 38).\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 35.--Plan of Upper Gallery as first designed.]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 36.--Section of Aisles and Gallery.]\n\nNow Agathias (see page 30) says that at the restoration after the\nearthquake in 558, at the north and south arches they brought towards\nthe inside \u201cthe portion of the building which was on the curve.\u201d This,\nwe think, must refer to the filling wall, in the arches of seventy-two\nfeet span, which we suppose was formerly on the exterior, and thus left\nan upper gallery twelve feet wide and seventy-two feet long open to the\ninterior. \u201cAnd they made the arches wider to be in harmony with the\nothers, thus making the equilateral symmetry more perfect. They thus\nreduced the vast space and formed an oblong design.\u201d That is the arches\nof seventy-two feet, when filled up on the inside, were no longer\nvisible, and the dome appeared to stand over arches of 100 feet span on\nnorth and south, as already on east and west, the transverse dimension\nof the church being lessened between these points by some twenty-four\nfeet. Salzenberg understanding Agathias to refer to the apparent arches\nof 100 feet span on north and south is unable to offer any explanation.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 37.--Plan of Basis of Dome as originally designed,\nwith Additions A A containing stairs.]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 38.--Section between Great and Secondary Orders.]\n\nThe actual evidence in the church, we believe, fully bears out the\ninterpretation here suggested. What we have called the secondary order\nof columns would pass exactly beneath the position given to this wall.\nThese columns on the gallery floor are very strong, and a very strong\nrow of arches runs along over them (see Fig. 38). Moreover the curtain\nwalls in every other instance throughout the church are flush with the\nexterior.\n\nThat this space is not available to the interior of S. Sophia has\ncaused Choisy to criticise the design in this respect as \u201ca solution\nundecided, _moyen terme_, _f\u00e2cheux_; the large arches by a departure\nfrom ordinary rule being thrown on the outside so that the space\ncovered by them was lost. S. Sophia Salonica redressed this error.\u201d We\nwonder that Choisy\u2019s views as to the original base of the dome did not\ncause him to take the further step we have here suggested. The present\nform, in which the lateral arches support the square base of the dome,\nis at least a possible one; but that the arches when they carried\nnothing and thus were actually vaults (as before shown by Choisy) were\nnot filled with a screen but were mere arches twelve feet on soffite,\nlying against the sides of the building seems inconceivable. In our\nFigure 34 we have amended Choisy\u2019s view in this respect. Looking on\nthese lateral arches as vaults we have filled them with a window like\nthe western vault, and the harmony which results between the sides\nand the west end amply verifies our conclusions. One point further.\nThe upper surface of the base of the dome on the west side should not\nbe wholly level as shown in Fig. 34, the central third _curves up_\nfollowing the line of the top of semidome. In other words, the great\narch of the interior pushes itself up through the base of the dome, and\nthis treatment thus recurred at various heights--over large windows of\naisles, over western and lateral lunettes, as we have shown, and over\nthe semidome.\n\nOriginally, before the interior was narrowed in the way we have\nexplained, there was a much clearer suggestion of a cross plan:\nbarrel vaults at north and south being filled at their ends with\nlarge lunettes like the west vault. We suppose that the failure was\nmainly in the secondary order, and that the window screen and all\npossible weight was entirely removed and transferred to the great\norder. Salzenberg was satisfied that there had been great alterations\nin this part of the building, and Choisy\u2019s view of the window-wall,\nPlate xxv., entirely confirms his opinion. If it could be shown that\nthe alteration spoken of by Agathias will not bear the interpretation\nwe put on it, there were earlier troubles at this part mentioned by\nProcopius. The best proof, however, we suggest is found in the design.\nIt has been before pointed out that Choisy and other writers have\ntoo hastily assumed that S. Sophia Salonica was built after the great\nchurch of Constantinople. That it preceded it enforces the present\nargument. Grelot (1680) writes that upper galleries remained in the\nchurch in these positions, but he based his assertion on the row of\nseven arched recesses just above the main cornice which he thought were\nformerly open. It is clear however from an examination of the section\nthat the arches could only have opened to the vault of the first floor\ngynaeceum. That these small arches did open to the vault of the first\nfloor, seems to be borne out by the fact that above the centre of the\nsecondary order, where its arch is low, a similar piercing is made,\nthrough which (or the higher arches on each side) and through the seven\narches, a mysterious perspective into the immensity of the dome might\nhave been obtained by those in the gynaeceum (see Figs. 4, 36, 38).\nShallow arched recesses merely used decoratively seem to have been\nlittle known to early Byzantine art, and arches on the first floor\nthrough the great piers are blocked in a similar way. Moreover such\nopenings would explain why the vault between the two orders of columns\nis so much stilted up into mere darkness.\n\n_Atrium._--To explain the present confused arrangement of the exterior,\nwe must remember that from the time of the description of the church by\nthe Silentiary to its description by Gyllius was a thousand years--as\nlong as from the time of Alfred to the present day--and in this time we\nmay well expect alterations and accretions.\n\nIn Chapter IX. we have shown that the present form of the exonarthex,\nwith its great external piers, was an alteration, made about the time\nthe belfry was added in the ninth century. Before that time the atrium\nwas alike on all four sides--a true _quadriporticus_--one of the most\nbeautiful features of the ancient churches. (See Figs. 3 and 25.)\n\n_North and South Porches._--Much of the confusion at the north-west\nand south-west angles is the result of Turkish attachments, including\nthe western minarets, which were built in the last quarter of the\nsixteenth century. The plan of gynaeceum floor furnishes the best key\nto the former arrangement, for where there is Byzantine work above,\nit must once have existed below. Comparing the first floor and roof\nplans in Salzenberg with the ground plan, it becomes apparent that the\nmain block was originally finished both at north-west and south-west\nangles to the general square of building. The two staircases now at\nthese angles were added as extra buttressing masses; the original\nstairs being the four in the piers of north and south sides. The north\nand south porches, with extra building above the latter on the first\nfloor, were also additions. Besides the irregularity and inferior\nstyle of these buildings the following evidence should be noticed.\nThe actual form of the north-west angle on the gallery floor; and the\nnatural reading of the three plans when laid one over the other; broad\narches, which pass across the porches; the fact that the arch in south\nporch (dotted in C on Figure 24, see also Fossati, Plate i.) now has\nno office; and that above the door at this end of narthex, there is a\nwindow which now merely opens into the south porch.\n\nAn examination of the exterior on the south side shows that the\nsouth-west staircase was built before the porch, or the part above it\nat least, because a straight joint in the walling, and the form of the\nroofing, here clearly make evident that the apex of the gable roof was\noriginally over the centre of the staircase, and that the slope has\nbeen subsequently run forward to cover the part above the porch.\n\nIn considering all the other irregularly attached buildings, together\nwith the historical evidence, it seems clear that the church as\ndesigned and first built was externally a regular parallelogram,\ninterrupted only by the projection of the apse at the east end; which\nwas itself masked by a range of low chambers against the east wall,\nthrough which there were two entrances to the church as at present,\nand to which other two doors, in the east wall, still visible but now\nblocked, gave access. The other external doors, besides those from\nnarthex, being two on the north and one in the south wall; together\nwith two external doors at the gynaeceum level, one of which probably\ngave access to the gallery along which the emperor passed to the\nchurch, and the other, to the north, may have led to the cells of the\nclergy.\n\n_Baptistery and Loggia._--Of early buildings detached from the church\nwe have the round building at the north-east, which we regard as having\ndescended from the earlier church, and the south-west baptistery, with\na loggia attached to its north side. The space between the church\nand the baptistery on plan looks like a covered way, leading from\nthe church with a screen in the middle, but the part next the church\nis, and always must have been, open. The part next the baptistery is\ncovered with a large semicylindrical vault, arched _transversely_\nto the \u201cscreen,\u201d and penetrated by a less cylinder in the direction\nof the length of the loggia. Rebates (on baptistery side) round the\ndoorway which stands between the pair of columns show that there was a\ndoor, and strips down the sides of the pillars, which stand above the\ntransom, show that pierced slabs or other closures filled the arched\nfront of the vault. If we add breast-high closures in the lateral\nopenings, as in the portico of St. John Studius, the whole becomes\nan inclosed loggia against the baptistery. Salzenberg states that\nthere was a door in the north wall of baptistery, and Labarte places\nanother in the western compartment of south aisle of church, but for\nthe latter there does not appear to be a particle of evidence; and\nconsequently the court and loggia cannot have formed a direct passage\nto the baptistery. 1. Salzenberg on his plan draws the transverse axis\nof the baptistery, and that of the western bay of the church; these\ndo not agree by a foot or two, but the doorway of \u201cscreen\u201d agrees\nwith _neither_, nor is it a mean between them, but varies by excess.\n2. In the section (Salzenberg, Plate xi.) it is seen that the present\nlevel of floor in this loggia is that of baptistery, and is below\nthat of church; but the columns have no bases, therefore the loggia\nfloor was beneath both church and baptistery. 3. A large arch is shown\nbetween the church and west pier of this loggia, from which it springs\nproperly, while at the other end it is cut off incomplete by the wall\nof the church. These reasons together lead us to suggest that the\nloggia is possibly older than the church, and that it may be a part of\nan arcade retained when the present church was built. The style of the\nscreen would readily allow of its being twenty or thirty years older\nthan S. Sophia. The capitals are not found elsewhere in the church,\nwhile similar ones form the chief order at S. Sergius; and the door is\ninserted between the two columns, exactly as in the portico of S. John\nStudius. We do not however insist on its being earlier than the church\nso much as on the evidence pointing to its being part of a continuous\narcade (see plan, Fig. 39). Doubtless it might be determined from a\ncareful examination whether the loggia or the baptistery was built\nfirst.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 39.--Restoration of Loggia by the Baptistery. Scale\nabout eight feet to an inch.]\n\nThe way by which the \u201cGreat Baptistery\u201d was reached from the bema, as\nmentioned in the _Ceremonies_ was probably by this cloister, which\nperhaps inclosed one of the courts on the sides of the church, spoken\nof by Procopius and the Silentiary. The portion drawn by Salzenberg\nstill remains, although sadly plastered over and mutilated.\n\n\n\u00a7 4. STRUCTURAL SYSTEM AND VAULTING.\n\nThe geometrical scheme of this building, which in its final form\nmust be the result of hundreds of adjustments, modifications, and\nexpedients, to meet newly discovered emergencies, is withal so\nseemingly simple, that it may be read as a bare mechanical solution of\nthe primary conditions.\n\nThe great central area, excepting only the narrow bema, is surrounded\nby two stories of vaults; the thrust of the dome over the square of\nabout 100 feet is not only resisted by these, but by the four immense\nbuttressing masses (or rather chambers for they are built hollow)\nwhich, pierced by arches, pass right across the aisles. East and\nwest the dome is sustained by the semidomes of the great hemicycles,\nand these in turn by the vaults of the three subdivisions of the\nhemicycles. The thrusts are thus distributed in a regular pyramid.\nThe external wall, which incloses the whole, being built out to the\nextremity of the great buttress piers of the north and south sides,\nand the lesser piers east and west, is thus little more than a screen,\ninclosing the more active parts of the structure.\n\nOne of the most remarkable expedients of this marvellously planned\nbuilding is that by which the vaults of the side aisles,--which, having\nlarge spans, necessarily spring comparatively low down--are received\non the secondary order of columns, standing behind the pillars of the\ngreat order. This allows of the stately colonnade on either side of the\ncentral space and those in the four exedras being only controlled by\nthe height of the upper floor, which is forty-four feet above the area\nas is explained by Figs. 36, 38. These secondary pillars also transform\nthe spaces left by the exedras into square compartments.\n\n_Arch Forms._--The great arches under the dome have their centres two\nfeet six inches above the springing line. Those in the principal arcade\nappear to be semicircular. In the adjoining exedras, the porphyry\ncolumns not being nearly so long as the green ones, they were set on\npedestals, and the arches are \u201chorseshoe\u201d in form, at least towards the\nnave, for they are built \u201cwinding,\u201d so as to approach a square impost\non their caps. We say approach, for there is a gradual modification;\nthe caps being an inch or two wider towards the aisles, the impost\nincreases this by a few inches more. The openings from gynaeceum at\nwest end are segmental, some arches to the side windows and the lateral\nwindows of west elevation, Fig. 25, are bluntly pointed. The transverse\narching of narthex is semielliptical, or rather three-centred, a\nsegment with the curve at the ends quickened to become tangential\nto the wall. The pointed arch is used in the great aqueduct near\nConstantinople and in one of the city cisterns: both appear to be of\nthe age of Justinian.[341]\n\n_Vaulting._--The vaulting is executed with the mastery and freedom\nthat comes of confidence in direct methods. Certain portions are\ncylindrical, and others are formed by cylindrical cross-penetrations.\nThe octagon of the baptistery, and the square compartments of the\ngynaeceum, are covered by domes which penetrate down into the angles\nwith continuous pendentives. The larger compartments of the vaults of\nthe aisles require some explanation.\n\nWhere four semicircular arches open about a square or oblong space,\nand it is desired to make the vault conform exactly to them, this may\nbe accomplished by a semispherical dome, the span of which is equal to\nthe _diagonal_ of the compartment to be covered; such a vault presents\nan unbroken surface. Or two cylindrical vaults may penetrate at\nright angles, when the vault is broken by the intersection into four\nsurfaces. At S. Sophia it was evidently desired to keep the springing\nhigh for the sake of the monolith columns, and yet to maintain, so far\nas possible, a domical surface.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 40.--Construction of Vaults.]\n\nThus in Fig. 40 the dome springing out of the angle requires the height\n_a_, the radius being equal to half the diameter; but it was wished to\nflatten this to _b_, and yet for the vault to rise everywhere from\nthe arched line _e_, _c_. Now if the vault conforms to the surfaces\ngenerated by the revolution of the arc _d_, _f_, _b_, about the axis\n_o_, _d_, intersecting with a similarly generated surface at right\nangles, we get a mean between the domed and cylindrical forms--a\ndomical vault. The intersections, instead of being everywhere square\non plan as at _x_, _x_, and rising just to the crown of the vault, as\nwould be the case with cylindrical penetrations, will be obtuse as at\n_i_, _i_, and not rising so high will practically leave a large concave\nsurface unbroken at the crown of the vault. This is the principle of\nthe vaults of S. Sophia; the gradations being gentle and the means less\nobvious, the forms are more like those found in nature, and the result\nis extremely beautiful. The forms are further softened by every edge of\narch and vault being rounded, so that the mosaic completely envelops\nthe whole like a vast embroidered gold tissue.\n\nThere would be no difficulty in construction, for the vault falls\neverywhere on an arch in the angle _e_, _f_, _b_ that is in planes\nwhich are radii to the arch. The vaulting of the narthex is made up of\na series of compartments, much narrower than the span, divided by plain\narched bands. To meet the requirements of such oblong spaces two gauges\nwould be needed. The \u201cwinding\u201d of the lines of intersection was not to\nbe feared, as they were so soon lost in the more domical surface of the\nupper part of the vault.\n\nAfter the above was written we found the geometrical and practical\nconstruction of these vaults explained in _L\u2019Art de B\u00e2tir chez les\nByzantins_, in a manner which differs from that here given. M. Choisy\u2019s\nmethod is first of all to design the curve of the intersection over the\ndiagonal of the plan as a segment of a circle: then he considers all\nsections of each compartment of the vault, taken parallel to its arch,\nand therefore perpendicular to its axis, to be also segments of circles\nspringing from a series of points on the diagonals, their centres being\non the axis of each vault.\n\nWe cannot agree with this, for, although theoretically the vault so\nconceived differs immaterially from the solution we have proposed, yet\npractically its erection would be full of difficulty. M. Choisy\u2019s\nmethod is that proposed by M. Viollet-le-Duc for the later Romanesque\nvaults, in which, the materials being poor rubble, centring must have\nbeen required. In these Viollet-le-Duc thinks that diagonal centres\nwere used, and then planks were placed from them to the generating\narches, and the additional height of a domical vault made up by a layer\nof earth. It is to be noticed that diagonal centres in this case almost\nimmediately produced diagonal stone ribs.\n\nM. Choisy in his most interesting book shows that the chief\nconsideration in the construction of the Byzantine vaults was to avoid\nwooden centring. With this view we entirely agree, but in the system\nexplained in _L\u2019Art de B\u00e2tir_, the lines of construction would be\narrived at by an elaborate system, which required fixed axes to the\nvaults and either a diagonal centre or a rod revolving in a vertical\nplane over the diagonal. Then two rods, forming an angle with its apex\ntouching any given point in the diagonal curve and the ends resting on\nthe axis of the vault as a base, revolved as a trammel for that course\nof the filling. This had to be repeated for a series of points.\n\nBy the method we have suggested nothing was required except a single\ntemplate to a fixed angle, the upper arm cut to the curve from the\ncrown of the arch to the crown of the vault; we may suppose this to\nsweep round the generating arches like a trammel, but practically\ntesting the work with it at the crown, as it gradually grew forward,\nwas doubtless found sufficient (see Fig. 40). Thus the vault surfaces\ngave the conditions of the problem and the intersections found\nthemselves.\n\nWe did not notice the curious \u201ccurve of inflection\u201d of which M. Choisy\nspeaks; certainly it does not generally exist, although according to\n_L\u2019Art de B\u00e2tir_ \u201cS. Sophia is the most curious example which remains\nof this singular conception, where the spirit of Greek logic did not\nhesitate before anomalies of form\u201d (p. 55). We believe this curve is\ndeduced only by the logic with which M. Choisy\u2019s follows up his method\nof geometrical projection, which certainly generates such an inflected\ncurve. We cannot say this without at the same time expressing our\ngreat admiration for _L\u2019Art de B\u00e2tir_; its freshness of sight,\nclearness, vitality, and logic are entirely delightful. Strzygowski and\nForchheimer[342] follow Choisy\u2019s demonstration; and give an elaborate\nand analytical explanation of the curve and its points of inflexion.\nOne of the cisterns they say showed the inflected line in the axial\nsections of the vaults (p. 71).\n\nNow the cistern vaults are roughly built and some of them may\nhave settled down; some indeed may have been designed so that\nthe axial section is horizontal for some distance from the walls\nbefore the doming is commenced, especially in the long direction\nof parallelogramic compartments. The essential points are two. Did\nthese vaults grow forward from the walls and the intersections find\nthemselves, or was the curve of intersection first designed? Are\nhorizontal sections through the intersection of two vault surfaces just\nabove the springing obtuse or acute? The vaults at S. Sophia have the\nangles of intersection so obtuse that this first drew our attention to\nthe subject.\n\nFor a general view of the vaulted system of S. Sophia we would\nespecially refer to Choisy, whose remarks on the construction of these\nvaults are most interesting. He clearly shows how the large flat bricks\nmade possible the construction of vaults without centring. The extrados\nof the arches from which the vaults spring being splayed to a skew\nback, the large surfaces of the thin light bricks allowed them to be\nstuck up against this skew back, or any part already done, much as if\nthey were square sheets of cardboard (see left side of Fig. 40). Indeed\nthe bricks seem sometimes to have been placed quite vertically, but the\nbetter plan seems to have been to incline the beds, the vaults were\nthus built in _sections_ rather than in layers. To take the simplest\ninstance, a cylindrical vault, the arching would begin at one end\nagainst the vertical wall, the rings of large thin bricks being placed\n\u201con edge\u201d in planes of say 60\u00b0 right down the vault. In other words,\nin a longitudinal section of such a vault the joints instead of being\nhorizontal might be vertical, or a mean between the two. This method\nwas known in ancient Egypt and at Khorsabad, and the immense vault at\nCtesiphon is built in this way. Although the mosaic covers most of the\nvaults at S. Sophia, a vast number are exposed in the contemporary\ncisterns, and Choisy seems to have found a cylindrical vault uncovered\nin a chamber in one of the buttress masses (Plate ii.), he also shows\nthe construction of the aisle and narthex vaults (Plates ix. and xi.),\nbut he does not say if he had any authority for these. We agree with\nhim that the vaults of S. Sophia owe much of their exceptional beauty\nto the fact that arches do not break up the curving expanse of the\nvaulting to any appreciable degree; in the narthex the arches become\none with the vault, see Fig. 41.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 41.--Section of Narthex and Gallery over showing\nRoyal Doors. Scale twelve and a half feet to an inch (1/125).]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 42.--Dome Construction.]\n\n_Domes._--In elaborating his theory of Byzantine dome construction\nChoisy refers to a passage in Eton\u2019s _Turkish Empire_[343] which\ndescribes domes the latter saw built without any kind of centring.\nThe builders put a post in the middle about the height of the walls.\nTo this is fixed a pole reaching to the _inside_ surface of the dome,\nwhich is _free to move in all directions_. Below is attached to the\npost another pole, which reaches to the outside and describes the\noutside curvature of the cupola. These give the thickness at the top\nand bottom and at every intermediate point. \u201cWhere they build these\ncupolas of bricks they use gypsum instead of lime, finishing one layer\nall round before they begin another. Scaffolding is only required for\nthe workmen to close the opening at the top.\u201d Our diagram A, Fig. 42,\nrepresents this fascinating scheme of building: with such a rod any\npoint in the whole curvature is defined in a moment; it equally gauges\nthe horizontal courses and the rise of the dome. Choisy suggests a\nsecond scheme which will be made clear by B. There is no reason, he\npoints out, why the beds of the bricks in a dome should radiate to the\ncentre of the curve: in the Byzantine domes the beds were flattened\nso that they radiated more or less accurately to the springing of\nthe opposite side of the dome. The thrusts were thus minimised, and\nthe construction was facilitated. If rods forming a triangle revolve\nabout a vertical post as shown, the horizontal curvature is gauged\nand the top rod will define the slope for the bed. These rods can\nthen be raised to another position as shown in the figure. We should\nhave supposed that little care would be taken with the slope of the\nbeds, as from the thin bricks used the construction practically became\nhomogeneous.\n\nChoisy even thinks that the great dome of S. Sophia may have been built\nin the air without centring. C, in Fig. 42, gives his representation of\nthe construction of the semidomes, which he thinks were built out some\nway entirely without support. The outer arch was then built on a centre\nand the filling completed \u201cin space\u201d (a straight joint between the arch\nand the dome filling is shown in the figure in Salzenberg\u2019s text). We\nthink it more likely that in all the larger domes auxiliary support was\nrequired \u201cto close the opening at the top,\u201d when the space had been so\ncontracted that a light centring resting on the part already completed\nwas all that would be needed.\n\nFrom the importance attached to wood ties or girdles built into the\nsmall domes of Mount Athos, we may be certain that some system of\nchaining was applied to the great dome of S. Sophia. Choisy gives an\nexample of the former, and also a dome constructed by interlocking\nsemicircular bricks, \u201ctwo courses of which make a circlet absolutely\ninextensible.\u201d See B in Fig. 45. The dome of S. Vitale at Ravenna is\nbuilt of layers of earthenware pots or tapering tubes, the end of one\nfitting into the next and rising in a continuous spiral course, round\nand round from the bottom to the crown of the dome.\n\nThe question of dome construction without centring is of the greatest\ninterest, and much might doubtless be gathered of the traditional\nmethods still followed in modern Greece, Egypt, Persia, and S. Italy.\nOur Fig. 43 represents modern domes in Persia, the upper diagram being\nan ordinary type of exterior from a photograph of Koum. The dome\nbeneath, Fig. 44, is from a sketch made in a Persian caravanserai\nby Mr. Wm. Simpson,[344] who describes it as built of burnt brick,\nsquare below, round above. \u201cAs I was told that centring was never\nused in Persia I presume this one was constructed without it.\u201d This\nbeautiful form may be considered as four conical squinches penetrating\na hemisphere as at A, or as a gradual transition from square to round,\nB. Ancient Persian domes of substantially the same form, in which a\nhemisphere penetrates a pyramid, are shown by Dieulafoy.[345]\n\n[Illustration: FIGS. 43 and 44.--Modern Domes built without Centring.]\n\n_Chainage and Walling._--In the East the frequency of severe\nearthquakes necessitated a manner of construction which should resist\ndisruption. The massive walls of stone of the Classic period are\ncramped together with metal. The stone Byzantine church at Ezra has\na course of interlocking stones forming a chain around the octagon\nbeneath the dome (Fig. 45 a). At S. Sophia the continuous courses of\nstone some feet above the floor, mentioned by Salzenberg, are almost\ncertainly converted into a chain by cramps; and the stone course at\nthe springing of the great arches probably has the same function.\nIn brickwork lateral cohesion was usually obtained by a system of\ncontinuous wood ties, which is described by Choisy as built into the\nwall at every five or six feet of height. According to the Greek\narchitect, M. Kouppas, ties of bond timbers were used in this way in\nthe construction of the cisterns, \u201claid not only along the outside\nwalls but also in parallel rows beneath the lines of pillars and\narches;\u201d other rows of timber were built in either as ties or struts in\ncontinuous lines at the springing of the vaults.\n\nAt S. Sophia there was doubtless a large use made of temporary ties of\nthis kind during the construction. In many places at the springing of\nthe gynaeceum vaults the ends of such provisional ties, which have been\nsawn away, appear. Besides these there is a series of wood beams which\nfrom the first were intended to be permanent, for they are richly carved\n(C in Fig. 45); these are shown by double lines on the right-hand side\nof Figs. 5 and 6, the single lines showing the iron ties. These carved\nbeams, as Choisy points out, are struts rather than ties. If we take one\nof the columns standing in an angle in the aisles, an impost of marble\nconnects it with the wall to which it is nearest, and a carved wood beam\nforms a strut to the other wall. The beam across the central bay of\nsecondary order (Fig. 5) forms a rigid strut to the two wider arches\n(see Fig. 38, where, however, by oversight the beam has been omitted; it\nis at the springing of narrow arch high above iron tie). Choisy asserts\nthat \u201cthe architect intended to preserve only the struts, all the ties\nsubject to extension were removed, but their suppression was disastrous,\nand they had hastily to replace them by bars of iron which were fixed\nwith difficulty.\u201d We do not know what reason Choisy had for supposing\nthe system of iron ties to be an afterthought, unless it is because in\nsome cases they appear directly above the ends of the removed wooden\nties. Now we believe they occur equally above the carved beams in the\nopenings from the gallery to the nave, and there is no sign of wood ties\nhaving been removed from the ground-floor vaults, where the iron bars\nfulfil such an important function. It is certain that the iron bars to\nall the nave arches are original, for the marble casing shows no sign of\nalteration, and they are evidently threaded continuously through the\nimposts. The important iron ties across the aisles are shown in Fig. 45:\n_d_ is the attachment to the column of great order, _e_ to impost of\nsecondary order behind it, _f_ is a king rod. Across the west gallery\nthe span is lessened by stone corbels beneath the ties _g_.\n\nWith a view of binding the vaults and walls together into a homogeneous\nmass, the arched vaulting of the interior was carried through the\nthickness of the walls: in some cases these arches were left open, to\nbe afterwards filled with a screen of windows. The walling of the sides\nof the church is built independently of the great piers, as straight\njoints on the exterior show, and Choisy remarks that the independence\nof masonry unequally charged was a leading idea in Byzantine\nconstruction; indeed it is obviously necessary where the quantity of\nmortar is so great that the brick at times becomes secondary to the\njoints.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 45.--Methods of Chainage.]\n\n_Mortar and Cement._--The mortar used by the Byzantine builders\nwas called Keramotos, from the crushed pottery or tiles which was\nused in its composition. In an article in the _Transactions_ of the\nPhilological Society of Constantinople M. Kouppas[346] enters fully\ninto the methods which have been traditionally followed in cistern\nbuilding, and describes this mortar as formed of powdered unslaked lime\n(_asbestos_), crushed pottery, coarse sand, and tow or hair, fully a\nthird being lime, another third the crushed pottery, about a fifth the\ncoarse sand, and the rest or 10 per cent. of hair or tow. These were\nthen mixed together in water.\n\nM. Kouppas also describes a hydraulic cement made of \u201ccoarse lime\n(_titanos_) slaked by water into powder, sifted and laid in layers\nwith cotton shreds. This was thoroughly mixed, and then olive oil was\npoured in, and the whole gradually brought to a homogeneous mass.\u201d\nAndreossy[347] describes a mixture (called _lukium_) made of a hundred\n\u201cocques\u201d of lime, freshly slaked in the form of powder, twenty-five\n\u201cocques\u201d of linseed oil of the best quality, and twenty drachms of\nfilaments of cotton. This was reduced to a dough, and then before using\nfresh oil was added. Strzygowski[348] also speaks of a Turkish cement\n\u201cof six parts by weight linseed oil, eight parts slaked and powdered\nlime, and one part of cotton.\u201d He refers to a Roman mixture mentioned\nby Pliny of \u201coil and quicklime.\u201d\n\nBy far the best and earliest account of the methods used for obtaining\nlime and making cement at Constantinople is contained in Dr. Covel\u2019s\nMS. in the British Museum (1670-7). The lime was burnt in a pit dug\nin the ground, the stone, which was hard and black and like \u201cPlymouth\nstone,\u201d being piled up in and above it like a beehive hut, an opening\nbeing contrived in the side for inserting fuel, and a smaller pit\ndug in the middle for the ashes; it was fired for three days. Then\nhe describes in detail how a cement was made which recalls what the\nAnonymous says of the joints of the piers at S. Sophia being made of\nunslaked lime (_asbestos_) and oil: \u201cTo make good lukium (a strong\ncement as I may call it) they take the above said calx or burnt stone\nand slake it with water, and so soon as it is moulded and turned into a\nmeal (even while it is warm) they work it with linseed oil and cotton\ntill it is well saturated and brought to the consistency of plaster,\nand make present use of it, for it will not rest in its perfection\nabove one day or two at most, and if they use it immediately after it\nis tempered it is certainly the best. In the works of their Bagnos so\nsoon as it is laid on [as a plastering, understood here] they let the\nwater come to it, which, by tempering the heat of the lime, hinders\nit from cracking. Cotton is better to be mixed amongst it than hair,\nit being more tenacious and apt to incorporate.\u201d He again describes a\nsimilar cement (\u201clukium, an excellent mortar\u201d) used in some waterworks.\n\u201cIt is made of unslaked lime and beaten brick most finely powdered and\nsifted, cotton wool very thinly pulled and strewed on, and then all\nslaked with linseed oil and mixed together: then they use it whilst it\nis fresh made, otherwise it hardens immediately.\u201d[349] Such a cement\nmust have had the hardening qualities of gesso; the oil cements or\nmastics used in England some fifty years ago were closely allied in\ntheir composition. Modern mortar has lost much by our neglecting the\ntradition of using crushed brick.\n\nEastern builders spared neither labour nor time in preparing and\ntesting their materials. Tavernier tells us the waterproof terraces of\nthe Persian houses were formed of \u201ca layer of lime beaten for eight\ndays, which became hard like marble.\u201d The materials used in Byzantine\nbuilding were tested by long exposure, slaked lime was sealed up in\npits for one or two years; and stones, bricks, and tiles they had\nfound should not be used new, for, as Vitruvius says, \u201cthe only way\nof ascertaining their goodness is to try them through a summer and\nwinter.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI\n\nMARBLE MASONRY\n\n\n\u00a7 1. BUILDING PROCEDURE.\n\nThe method and sequence of the building operations as followed by\nthe Byzantines seem to have been very much as follows. After the\nform of the building had been more or less decided, the first thing\nnecessary was to collect marble monolithic shafts. At S. Sophia the\neight verde-antique shafts match one another very closely; they are\nall of one length, and vary from 7\u00bd to 8 diameters in proportion. The\nfour pairs of porphyry shafts in the exedras differ much more; and,\nas we have remarked, those in the western exedras seem to be made\nup of separate drums. The proportions of these vary from less than\n7 diameters on one side to 8\u00bd on the other. The great monoliths are\nthe largest known, and of nearly normal classic proportion, so we can\nreadily see that it was necessary to have a certain knowledge where\nsuch marbles might be quarried or otherwise obtained, before even the\nfoundations were prepared, for the columns decided the heights and\npoints of support of the building. These once assured, the body of\nthe structure was proceeded with as a brickwork shell without further\ndependence on the masons, who were only required to prepare bases and\ncapitals, and then the cornices; everything else was completed as a\nbrick \u201ccarcase.\u201d\n\nAt S. Sophia the main square piers are in fact stone, but this was only\nfor strength, not because they were to be seen finally, any more than\nthe rough brick.\n\nThe building completed in this form we must remember was made up of\nvast masses of thin bricks, of which the mortar occupied probably a\nhalf of the aggregate; this had to thoroughly settle down and dry\nbefore the rest of the marble masonry was inserted, and the wall\ncasings applied. The marble work, however, was all the while being\nprepared, and, the building once ready, the windows were inserted as\nscreens in the openings previously left; marble jambs and lintels for\nthe doors were placed in position also, with windows above them filling\nout to the brick arches. The walls were then sheeted with their marble\ncovering, the vaults were overlaid with mosaic, and the pavement was\nlaid down. In this way, as the bricklayers had not to wait for the\nmasons, the carcase was completed in the shortest possible time; and\nby reserving the application of the marble until the structure was dry\nand solid, it was possible to bring together unyielding marble and\nbrickwork that must have settled down very considerably.\n\n\n\u00a7 2. MARBLE QUARRIES.\n\nMuch confusion exists as to the marbles of which the ancient writers\nspeak; this has been occasioned necessarily by wrong identifications\nwhen but few ancient quarries had been recovered, and most\nunnecessarily by a persistence in using antique names for modern\nvarieties, long after the true provenance has been discovered, when\nthe ancient marbles are not \u201cin the market.\u201d It is the Italian names\nthat have been corrupted in this way, and it would be a great advantage\nif they were discarded in England, or better still, used only in\nconjunction with the geographical names. In this case as the Italian\nnames are descriptive, and, as many varieties of marble are found in\nthe same or neighbouring quarries, we should get a safe nomenclature.\nSynnadan would thus be qualified as Pavonazzetto or Fior de Persico,\nand the banded varieties from Carystian, Proconnesian, or modern\nquarries might without confusion be called cipollino.\n\nIn endeavouring to identify the marbles mentioned by the ancient\nwriter on S. Sophia, we have made use of Salzenberg\u2019s notes to the\nPoem of the Silentiary, and of the researches of Garofalo,[350]\nCorsi,[351] and C. O. M\u00fcller;[352] and we have also been helped by the\npractical knowledge of Mr. W. Brindley. The account of ancient marbles\neasily accessible in Professor Middleton\u2019s _Ancient Rome_, 1892, is\nsubstantially an extract from Corsi.\n\n_Porphyry._--The \u201cporphyry powdered with bright stars\u201d of the poet is\nused for the columns of the exedras, and for some of the panels on\nthe walls. The Anonymous author states that these columns came from a\ntemple of the Sun, but the Silentiary says \u201cthey loaded the boats on\nthe bosom of the Nile,\u201d and there seems no reason to doubt that the\ncolumns came direct from the porphyry quarries at Mons Porphyrites in\nEgypt. This porphyry mountain is at Djebel Dochan, twenty-five miles\nnorth-east from Thebes. Lepsius[353] seems to prove that the quarries\nwere worked as long as the Nile canal remained open; and ships still\nsailed on the canal till the appearance of Islam. Letronne[354] gives\ndetails of the method of transit. The porphyry was brought from the\nquarry to the Red Sea, and then by the Nile canal to the Lower Nile,\nand hence into the Mediterranean.\n\nOn this evidence we would say that the porphyry used at Constantinople\nin Justinian\u2019s reign was quarried for the purpose, and not brought from\nRoman buildings.\n\n_Marmor Molossium._--\u201cThe marble that the land of Atrax yields,\u201d is\ncalled elsewhere in the poem \u201cThessalian,\u201d and, from the province in\nThessaly where it was found, \u201cMolossian.\u201d Corsi and Garofalo both\nwrongly describe Molossian as _Fior di Persico_. The marble really is\nthe brecciated serpentine and limestone, now called Verde Antico, the\n_Lapis Atracius_ of the ancients, of which the eight great columns in\nthe nave and many others are formed. Here again it has been said that\nthese eight large columns were taken from a building at Ephesus, but\nthe Silentiary says, \u201cNever were such columns hewn from sea-washed\nMolossis,\u201d and we can hardly doubt that they were quarried especially\nfor S. Sophia, together with the rest of the enormous quantity used in\nthe church. The quarries were near Atrax in Thessaly, and the marble is\nbest named as by French writers, Thessalian green.\n\n_Lapis Lacedaemonius._--\u201cThe fresh green, like emerald, from Sparta,\u201d\nwas probably the porphyry quarried in Mount Taygetus in Laconia. This\ngreen porphyry, called by Corsi _serpentino_, is used in the opus\nsectile of S. Sophia. As a green porphyry is obtainable in Egypt, the\nformer should be distinguished as Spartan.\n\n_Proconnesium._--\u201cThe hills of Proconnesus,\u201d according to Paulus,\n\u201cstrewed the floor.\u201d The same marble was also used for the columns\nin the upper aisles, for the eight square columns below, and for the\ncapitals, door frames, window lattices and other structural parts;\nalso for the plating of the lower arcade and other parts of the\nwall-surfaces, and as frames to the coloured marbles. It is a soft\nwhite, or white with gray-banded streaks. The quarries of Marmora are\nstill worked. This marble was greatly prized in Classic times, and\nPliny mentions that it was used at the palace of Mausolus, where, it is\nsaid, the method of plating brick walls with marble was first applied.\nIt closely resembles gray Carystian but they should not be confounded.\n\n\u201cThe Bosporus stone with white streaks on black,\u201d used for the floor,\nwas probably the ordinary limestone--black with white veins--used at\nConstantinople.\n\n_Marmor Carystium._--\u201cThe fresh green from Carystus,\u201d is the marble now\nknown as cipollino; it was quarried at Carystus, at the foot of Mount\nOcha, in the island of Euboea. Its beautiful greenish white surface,\nmarked with broad wavy lines of green or purplish gray, was often\npraised by the later classical writers. Its resemblance to the markings\nof a sliced onion is the origin of its name. Modern cipollino need not\nbe confused with true _Carystian marble_, which the ancient material\nshould always be named.\n\n_Marmor Phrygium._--\u201cThe marble hewn from the Phrygian land towards\nthe Mygdonian heights,\u201d spoken of as \u201cmany-coloured,\u201d has been\nidentified as the marble which came from Dokimion near Synnada in\nPhrygia. The descriptions by Statius and Claudianus of the deep\nred-veined marble of Synnada agree closely with the Phrygian and\nMygdonian stone as described by Paulus. It is a brecciated marble of\na rosy colour, slabs of which alternate with verde antique in the\npanelling of the side aisles of S. Sophia.\n\nThe quarries at Dokimion were visited by Leake and Texier, and a\nrecent examination of them by M. Leonti[355] disclosed all shades of\n\u201cviolet and white, yellow, and the more familiar brecciated white and\nrose-red.\u201d This beautiful material is best called Synnadan, as the\nmodern Italian name Pavonazzetto is also used for the streaked marble\nquarried at Carrara.\n\n_Marmor Hierapolitanum._--\u201cThe stone from the sacred city Hierapolis.\u201d\nThis marble has been identified by Professor Ramsay.[356] It was found\nat Thiounta about ten miles N.W. of Hierapolis in Asia Minor. It is\nvariegated like Synnadan, and was much used for sarcophagi; indeed\nProfessor Ramsay says, \u201cOn every occasion when its use is mentioned,\nit was employed to make sarcophagi.\u201d It was called by the name of the\ngreat city which is not far distant, \u201cand to which doubtless orders\nfrom the outer world were sent. Similarly the marble found at Dokimion\nwas always called Synnadic marble from the time of Strabo, yet Dokimion\nwas thirty-two miles from Synnada.\u201d\n\n_Marmor Iassense._--The \u201cIassian, with slanting veins of blood-red\non livid white,\u201d was used for the phiale. Corsi identifies this with\nPorta Santa, but Porta Santa, Garofalo says, came from Chios, and this\nconclusion we believe is now accepted. Garofalo thought Iassian to be\nthe same as the Carian marble mentioned by Porphyrogenitus in his _Life\nof Basil the Macedonian_, and says it was quarried on the island quite\nclose to the coast of Caria. A \u201cstone mingled with streaks of red\u201d is\nalso mentioned by Paulus as brought from \u201cthe Lydian Creek.\u201d Possibly\nthe port of Iassus is again intended. The ordinary Lapis Lydius was a\nblack touchstone. The \u201crosy cipollino,\u201d in which wide bands of deep\nred alternate with white, used in the panelling of the aisles does not\nseem to be mentioned specifically by Paulus; unless this is the Iassian\nmarble to which his words would very well apply. A variety of rosy\ncipollino, the splendidly figured red and white marble, is obtained in\nLaconia.\n\n_Marmor Numidicum._--\u201cThe stone, nurtured in the hills of the Moors,\ncrocus colour glittering like gold,\u201d is the beautiful warm yellow\nAfrican marble from Semittu Colonia, about fifty miles from Tunis, so\nhighly prized by the Romans, and now called giallo antico. It is used\nin S. Sophia in the sectile work.\n\n_Marmor Celticum._--\u201cThe product of the Celtic crags, like milk poured\non a flesh of glittering black,\u201d has been identified as the Bianco e\nNero Antico, quarried in the Pyrenees.[357] The black marble with white\nstreaks, which occurs in some of the panels in the nave, is probably\nthe one to which the poet refers.\n\n_Onychites._--\u201cThe precious onyx\u201d mentioned by the poet is the\nalabastrites or onychites of the ancients. It is the oriental alabaster\n(aragonite) used in the horizontal bands of the nave, and some of the\npanels. It is a translucent, fibrous stalagmite formation, generally\nof a clear honey-colour. Some of the varieties are strongly veined\nwith white, and others are much darker. Large ancient quarries of this\nEgyptian alabaster have been discovered on the east bank of the Nile.\n\nPaulus appears to make no mention of the dusky black with dull golden\nveins used in the bema apse, which closely resembles the \u201cPorto Venere\u201d\nquarried at Spezzia.\n\nThe marble blocks were roughly hewn into shape with picks while still\nattached to the rock, and were then separated by the aid of metal\nwedges. Many objects discovered show that they were sometimes completed\nat the quarry, at other times the blocks were roughly brought to the\nsizes and forms required. The quarries appear to have been officially\ninspected. Texier found many architectural fragments and blocks at\nDokimion bearing the signs of the inspectors of the block. Professor\nRamsay writes: \u201cThe route from Dokimion to the coast is commercially\nalmost the most important in Asia Minor. The road along which the\nenormous monolithic columns were transported passed through Synnada,\nwhere the central office for managing the quarries was situated.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 46.--Marble Slabs and Frieze in Narthex.]\n\nEphesus and Alexandria were most important centres for the working\nand export of marble, of which such an enormous quantity was required\nby the Byzantine builders. The method of slicing up the blocks into\nveneer is described by an Eastern pilgrim, Nasiri Khusrau, in 1047. He\nsays: \u201cIn the city of Ramlah there is marble in plenty ... they cut the\nmarble here with a toothless saw which is worked with Mekkah sand.\u201d This\nsand he tells us came from Haifa near Acre (Pal. Pilgrims\u2019 Text Soc.\nCompare Pliny, _Hist. Nat._ xxxvi.)\n\n\n\u00a7 3. APPLICATION OF MARBLE.\n\nAt S. Sophia the application of the thin sheathing and incrustations\n(the \u201ccrustae\u201d of Pliny) of the \u201cdelectable variety\u201d of marbles is\nmade in many ways. First there are the large sheets of the grayish\nProconnesian, opened out side by side \u201cso that the veining of one\nfollows from the next.\u201d Then the richer varieties are set in bands\nand panels with narrow notched fillets between them, and still more\nprecious slabs are framed round with carved margins of white. Over the\ndoors entering the aisles at the west there are panels with especially\nwide and rich borders of meanders growing from chalices. The large\npanels are very often of two pieces with matched veining. Fig. 46 shows\none of a row of strongly veined panels from the narthex with the frieze\nabove. All the wall plating is arranged with delightful variety as to\nsize, and in the alternate placing of light against dark, so that there\nis no rigidity or over-accurate \u201csetting out.\u201d\n\nBesides this constant change of size, colour, and arrangement, there\nis a great variety in the surface treatment. We have the shallow\nchannelling into continuous mouldings of the skirtings, some portion\nof which has a stiff fret sunk in the surface in addition. Then there\nare panels on either side of the great door, and on the faces of the\nprojections from the great piers in the aisles, coming just above\nthe eye, (Fig. 48) of plain russet-red or brown which bear severe\nabstract patterns, made out by slight sinking into the surface. The\ncentre in some cases is overlaid with an oval or square of another\nprecious material such as red or green porphyry or the \u201conyx\u201d; the\nwhole of the sunk portions may have been filled by inlays, or in some\nthe sinking alone may have formed the design. The upper part of the\nbema is incrusted with slabs patterned in this way, and here the sunk\nportions are entirely inlaid; several parts of this are represented by\nSalzenberg. In this work \u201ccasements\u201d are sunk into the rosso or other\ndeep coloured field, and green porphyry and other materials, set off by\nyellowish-white lines and spaces are inlaid in geometrical panels, or\nfriezes of stiff foliage.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 47.--Portion of Marble Lining of Aisles. Scale\nabout 1/50.]\n\nOur Fig. 47 shows the arrangement of the marble plating on the great\npiers towards the middle compartment of the aisles; in this we have\nshown one of the enriched panels now only sunk, as inlaid. Fig. 48\ngives outlines of others of these panels. The marble used in the aisles\nis as follows. First comes the moulded skirting of white Proconnesian,\nthen a 3\u2032\u00b73\u2033 band of the streaked variety of the same marble. A band\nof verde antique 2\u2032\u00b70\u2033 wide follows, above which is a row of slabs\nalternately verde antique and Synnadan. A second similar row of slabs\ncomes above a band of rosy cipollino. The frieze below the cornice is\nof marble sectile work. The passages through the piers are lined with\nslabs of streaked Proconnesian marble, nearly fourteen feet high.\n\nThe gynaeceum has two bands at the bottom and an upper band of rosy\ncipollino; the wall space between is covered with a row of vertical\nslabs of streaked Proconnesian, except the central space on north side\nwhere the slabs are of rosy cipollino. In the spandrils of gynaeceum\narcade at the west are roundels of oriental alabaster.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 48.--Marble Panels with Sunk and Inlaid Panels.\nScale about 1/30.]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 49.--Inlaid Marble Slabs above Royal Door. Scale\nabout 1/50.]\n\nDirectly over the Royal Door is a very beautiful arrangement of\ndecorated slabs. First there is an immense upright piece of verde\nantique in the middle, ten or twelve feet high, with two lateral\nhorizontal pieces making a great cross, in the quarters of which are\npanels with sunk and inlaid designs. At the head of the cross is a\nfifth panel which displays a still richer form of decoration. It\nrepresents a vaulted recess or ciborium between the columns of which\nhang curtains, looped back, and displaying a dark field. Here is the\nmatrix of a cross which was probably of silver; right and left of the\ncross are other matrices, in which were set crowns or other objects,\nnot to be determined from below. The two upper lateral panels have\nsunk geometrical designs. The lower pair are inlaid; their centres are\ncharged with circles, above and below which are pairs of dolphins.\nThese inlaid designs are made out in porphyry and green, which\nare separated by white lines and spaces which shine out bright, and\nare probably of mother of pearl like similar inlaid panels of this\ndate around the apse at Parenzo. These panels at Parenzo are so much\nlike those of S. Sophia that we do not doubt they were sent from\nConstantinople. There are very similar panels in the baptistery at\nRavenna.\n\nFinally we have the enriched surfaces of the two ranges of arcade\nspandrils. The upper row being sectile work of coloured morsels put\ntogether to form a pattern of scrolls and foliage, and the lower series\nhaving the surface entirely sculptured with the exception of discs of\nprecious substance which are set in them.\n\nThis uttermost splendour is quiet and soft in its result. The surface\nof course has not that mechanically even, repellently smooth, painfully\nfitted appearance of modern work. The planes are waved under the hand\nsawing, and the face is smooth but hardly polished. The colour in\nconsequence, gray and russet rising to full yellow, green and reds,\nveined, waved, and flowered in all manner of gradations and lovely\ncombinations, _vibrates_ with a wonderful \u201cbloom\u201d which doubtless owes\nmuch to age; but it is very probable that the marble was polished with\nwax encaustic which was so generally used for finishing surfaces by\nancient workers. The wax deepens and mellows the colour and leaves\na dull pleasant polish. We suppose the method followed was that\nrecommended by Vitruvius for the encaustic polishing of coloured stucco\nwalls. \u201cLay on with a brush a coat of melted Punic wax tempered with\noil; then with a brazier of hot charcoal heat all the waxed surface,\nforcing the wax to melt in an even way over the whole surface; finally\nrub the wall with a wax candle and then polish it with a clean linen\ncloth just in the way the nude marble statues are treated. This\npractice is called \u03b3\u03ac\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03b9\u03c2 by the Greeks.\u201d Felix Fabri, who travelled\nin Palestine at the end of the fifteenth century, describes the rows of\ncostly columns at Bethlehem, \u201cand they are polished with oil so that a\nman can see his face in them as in a mirror.\u201d\n\nIn regard to the wall plating we wish especially to point out the\nextremely easy way in which it is applied, without thought of disguise.\nThe slabs of great size are placed vertically, entirely the reverse of\nsolid construction; moreover the slabs of the finer panels are opened\nout side by side so that the veinings appear in symmetrical patterns.\nAt the angles the lap shows in the most open way; while it is mitred\nwhere restored. The best account of the actual methods of fixing the\nmarble slabs to walls by metal clamps which notch into the edges of\nthe sheet before the adjoining one is fixed, is given by Professor\nMiddleton, who figures an example of the second century from Rome which\nmight belong to S. Sophia.\n\n\n\u00a7 4. MARBLE MASONRY.\n\nAfter more than a thousand years of working marble through one\ncomplete development, Greek builders, by considering afresh the prime\nnecessities of material, and a rational system of craftsmanship, opened\nthe great quarry of ideas in constructive art which is exhaustless.\nIn a hundred years architecture became truly _organic_, features that\nhad become mere \u201cvestiges\u201d dropped away, and a new style was complete;\none, not perhaps so completely winning as some forms of Gothic, but the\nsupremely logical building art that has been.\n\nIf anywhere this vitalising had not been completed, it would have been\nin the more decorative forms; but here we find no mere exercise in\napplying architectural orders, everything is as real and fresh as in\nthe structure. Having the Corinthian and Ionic capitals before their\neyes and without forgetting or rejecting them, the Byzantine builders\ninvented and developed an entirely fresh group of capitals fitted in\nthe most perfect way for arched brick construction. As Mr. Freeman has\nsaid (_Hist. Essays_, iii. p. 61) of the new architecture: \u201cThe problem\nwas to bring the arch and column into union--in other words to teach\nthe column to support the arch.\u201d This was done by shaping the block\nof marble which formed the capital so that a simple transition from\nthe square block to the circle of the column was formed. When they\nwere sculptured, and most of them are most elaborately sculptured,\nthe general form is not altered but the carving enriches the surface\nonly. The new \u201cImpost capital\u201d is found throughout the great cistern\ngenerally known as that of Philoxenus which is usually referred to\nthe time of Constantine. In their study of the vaulted cisterns of\nConstantinople Forchheimer and Strzygowski have contributed much\nthat is new to our knowledge of the architecture of the city and\nshow that the evidence is entirely against this theory, which was\npropounded by Gyllius, whom more recent writers have been content to\ncopy. This cistern, known to the Turks as Bin Bir direk (thousand and\none columns), they identify with a great cistern which the _Paschal\nChronicle_ says was built by Justinian in 528. We believe with them\nthat the architecture of the cistern agrees entirely with what we might\nexpect as an outcome of the special circumstances in the time of the\ngreat building era. \u201cBin Bir direk exhibits the highest development\nof the art of cistern building, and it thus in its particular sphere\nresembles S. Sophia; like it the boldness of its construction was\nnever again equalled by the Byzantines. It would be an explanation of\nthe bold achievement if it might be assumed that Anthemius proved his\ncapability in this subterranean work before he made his supreme effort\nin S. Sophia. Technical features, however, make it seem probable that\nthe builder was an Alexandrine.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 50.--Columns of Great Order.]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 51.--Capital now Outside Porch at S. Sophia.]\n\n\u201cIt is of the widest significance for the history of Byzantine art that\nhere throughout the new \u2018impost capital\u2019 is employed in its plainest\nconstructive form. It seems not improbable that the daring builder of\nthe cistern was the first to make use of this form of capital which\ncompletely broke with classical tradition and is in such perfect accord\nwith the exigencies of arch-architecture.\u201d This is to go too far; for\nif the cistern is rightly referred to 528 it is probable, as we shall\nshow, that the impost capital had at that time been for many years in\nuse.\n\nAt S. Sophia the four main varieties of the new capital are all found.\nIn the cistern the change of form is made by rounding away the angles\nat the bottom without reference apparently to any geometrical idea;\nbut in other capitals which belong essentially to this type the method\nseems to have been that explained in Fig. 53 which represents the form\nof the caps of the lamp pillars on the front of the western gynaeceum.\nThey are most delicately carved with a network of ornament, but the\ngeneral form is undisturbed as we have explained. The plain capitals of\nthe west window and the isolated sculptured capital Salzenberg found in\nthe north aisle are also of this form, which we shall call the Impost\nCapital type I. The profile can be made convex or inflected, we are\nonly speaking of the simplest method of changing the form from a circle\nto a square.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 52.--Columns in Gallery.]\n\nTwo capitals now used as mounting blocks outside the east porch, which\nwe illustrate (Fig. 51), furnish us with a sculptured example of a\nsimilar capital in two stages of development, one of them never having\nbeen completed. We give here an outline of the blocked out capital, in\nwhich the method of workmanship may be plainly seen. First, the block\nwas cut away below convexly to meet the circular shaft. In this state\nit exactly resembles the capitals of the cistern. Secondly, on this\nwas marked a border all round the top; also centre lines running down\neach of the faces, about the centre point of each of which a circle of\nabout seven inches diameter was drawn; and at the bottom the width for\nthe necking was marked off. Thirdly, the intermediate spaces were sunk\nabout two inches; the hollow of the abacus was formed; the necking,\nand edge of the circular discs were rounded. This brings the capital\nto the stage shown in the diagram, the point to be observed being that\nthe abacus, boss, and necking lie in one surface, first obtained, and\nthe rest in another face, sunk some two inches below the former. It\ncannot be doubted that the style of these capitals is contemporary with\nthe work at S. Sophia, and the finished one bears a monogram which\nappears to read \u0398\u0395\u039f\u0394\u03a9\u03a1\u039f\u03a5; it is, however, almost identical with that\nof Theodora, which occurs on the capitals of the interior. MM. Curtis\nand Aristarches,[358] who have written on these monograms, think it\nbelonged to a portico, restored in 409 by an eparch called Theodoros.\nWork of this style was not done at that time, and these capitals\npossibly belonged to some of the outer courts of the church mentioned\nby Procopius. They resemble the great capitals so closely that they\nmight almost be preliminary studies. The strips which are left down two\nsides of the capitals were customary in the capitals of a Byzantine\ncolonnade, especially where screens were inserted between.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 53.--Rudimentary Form of Capital. Type I.]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 54.--Rudimentary Form of Capital. Type II.]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 55.--Rudimentary Form of Capital.]\n\nThe two capitals in the loggia by the baptistery furnish a well-defined\nvariety of the impost capital. The square at the top is here wrought\ninto curves recalling the antique abacus. These are gathered together\ninto the circle of the necking in a beautiful convex form which may be\ncalled the Melon type II., see Fig. 54.\n\nWe give in Fig. 50 an outline of the whole column of the great order in\nthe interior of the church, and in Fig. 56 a diagram of the blocking\nout of the capital. The columns here and throughout the great church\nbeing monoliths of fine material, the supporting area is very small\ncompared to the area of the arch imposts, which are of brick sheeted\nwith marble. It will be seen that the projection is just that required\nby the impost, which springs directly from the outside edge.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 56.--Rudimentary Form of Capital. Type III.]\n\nThe great capitals of S. Sophia are remarkable examples of the\nevolution of beautiful forms on the mason\u2019s banker; the workman\n_finding form_ in the stone block by the application of practical\nmethods. The lower half of the capital is circular like the shaft,\nrising in a slightly swelling curve of a bowl; the upper part is square\nlike the impost. The basis of form is that of a bowl with a tile placed\nabove it, and is thus that of the Greek Doric. This type III. in which\nthe circle does not pass by transition into the square impost, but\nchanges abruptly, we may call the bowl and tile capital.\n\nAt S. Sophia the surface of the form obtained as shown in the figure is\nwrought into crisp acanthus and palm foliage; and is in many places,\nespecially at the tips of the leafage and behind the monograms,\nentirely undercut. The cutting being so sharp, and the shadows so deep,\nwhile at the same time the general form with its broad gradation of\nlight and shade is so little modified by surface modelling, the effect\nis almost that of inlaying black on white. The capitals of the columns\nstanding in the aisles, and those of the first floor ranged against\nthe central area, are similar to the great order, but simplified and\nreduced.\n\nThe columns of the aisles on the first floor have block capitals, with\nsmall volutes below; Fig. 57 will make the elementary form clear. This\ntype IV. is really a Byzantine Ionic. The dual columns of west gallery\nhave a capital in common, which is a variation of these, and the\ncapitals of atrium were also similar. One capital of the north gallery\nis entirely different from all the rest, the block, not being carved\nall over continuously, is broken up into several horizontal lines of\nornament.\n\nFor the capitals of the square pillars of ground floor, and others to\nthe windows, we must refer to Salzenberg; they are all of the simple\nblock form delicately sculptured.\n\nSalzenberg also figures two capitals, now on the porphyry columns\nat the east porch. These are comparatively small, and may possibly\nhave belonged to some position in the interior of the church, such\nas Justinian\u2019s first ambo. The form is that of a basket with four\ndoves perched on the rim, and crosses between. Doves associated with\ncrosses symbolized the Church. Now in St. Clemente at Rome there are\ntwo capitals of this kind which belonged to the ciborium, set up as\nthe inscription shows while Hormisdas was pope (514-523), they are\nfigured by Cattaneo, Fig. 7, who says they obviously were sculptured by\nGreek chisels. It is thus extremely possible that ours may have been\nlate additions to the pre-Justinian church, where they also may have\nbelonged to the ciborium. Rohault de Fleury believed that this form of\ncapital was intended to represent an offerings basket.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 57.--Rudimentary Form of Capital in Gynaeceum. Type\nIV.]\n\nTo these Bird and Basket capitals, type V., may be added varieties\nof the great class of derivatives from the Corinthian of which this\nis in fact one. These were in general use before the block type of\ncapital was developed. We will here only mention two of these acanthus\ncapitals. Those in which the leaves are set upright on the stem of the\nshaft we will call Byzantine Corinthian and type VI. Those in which the\nleaves turn over and bend round the capital we will, with Mr. Ruskin,\ncall \u201cWind-blown acanthus,\u201d and type VII.\n\n_Distribution and Dates of Capitals._--We have referred before to our\nbelief that Constantinople was a marble working centre from which\nsculptured marbles were dispersed to all parts of the Roman world.\nHaving the chief types of Byzantine capitals before us it will be\nconvenient to consider this more fully. We suppose that as white\nmarble had to be bought in any case, the custom grew up of obtaining\nthe capitals fully wrought. Importation was, of course, a general\nantique practice in regard to figure sculpture, columns, and other\nobjects of marble. Proconnesian marble seems to have been the common\nstone of Constantinople so that it is used for the columns and capitals\nof the cisterns. We believe that careful examination of the capitals\nat Ravenna, Parenzo, and other Byzantine centres will show that they\nare in the main of this material. As to design the capitals lying\nneglected about the city, together with those _in situ_ in the churches\nand cisterns, furnish a perfect museum of the types with which others\ndispersed through the whole area of the empire agree in the minutest\nparticulars of design and workmanship.\n\nTo take the types we have mentioned:\n\n_Impost Capital, I._--This capital is found with the surface richly\nsculptured at S. Sergius. Capitals identical in form and decoration\nwith the isolated capital of S. Sophia (Salz. Pl. xx., fig. 8) are\nfound at Parenzo and in Jerusalem. The splendid examples of this type\nat S. Vitale, Ravenna, are well known; here the fretwork of sculpture\nis almost entirely relieved from the ground. We found an example\nabsolutely similar at Constantinople. Mr. Ruskin\u2019s \u201cLily Capital\u201d which\nbelongs to this group is found at S. Mark\u2019s, at S. Vitale, at Parenzo,\nand at Alexandria. Another variety is covered all over with horizontal\nbands of zigzag fillets; an example rests in the Tchenli-Kiosk Museum,\nothers are found at Athens, at Mistra, and a third now at S. Mark\u2019s is\nfigured in the _Stones of Venice_. The capitals at S. Sophia, Salonica,\nfigured by Texier are probably the earliest of type I. to which an\napproximate date can be given; it was certainly in general use at the\nend of the fifth century.\n\n_Melon Form, II._--These magnificent eight-lobed capitals form the\ngreat order at S. Sergius, and are found at the church usually called\nAgia Theotokos. Similar capitals belong to the upper order at S.\nVitale, and others are found at S. Mark\u2019s. Some of the nave columns\nof S. Demetrius at Salonica have fine capitals of this type which\nalthough evidently derived from the last probably also originated in\nthe fifth century.\n\n_Bowl Type, III._--These, the great capitals of S. Sophia, seem to have\nbeen especially designed for the metropolitan church: the beautiful\npalm foliage, however, with which they are sculptured is found again\nat Parenzo and on a capital in the Ravenna museum said to have been\nbrought from Pomposa. The church at Parenzo was begun in 535.\n\n_Byzantine Ionic, IV._--These occur in their perfected form of block\ncapital fully sculptured in S. Sergius and at the palace of Hormisdas\nin Constantinople, also in the upper order at S. Sophia, Salonica.\nExamples are also found at Venice.\n\nIn their earlier form of transition from the \u201cIonic with a plain\ndosseret\u201d an immense number are found in the subterranean structures of\nConstantinople. An example has been found in Chalcis.[359]\n\n_Bird and Basket, V._--S. Sophia furnishes two examples, but there is\nno proof that they originally belonged to the building. Another example\nis in Cairo. That at S. Clemente, Rome, is signed with the name of John\nMercurius; Piranesi figures a capital of this kind from the Palazzo\nMattei, bearing a monogram which is indecipherable in his plate.\nPeriod, end of fifth century and beginning of sixth.\n\n_Byzantine Corinthian Type, VI._--These are of great variety; we will\nonly mention one. In the portico of John Studius the acanthus leaves\nare doubled, one leaf lying over and within another, so that a double\nrow of serrations is shown around the margins (see figure in Salz.).\nSimilar capitals are found in S. Demetrius, Salonica, and at S. Mark\u2019s,\nVenice. This particular form is probably nearly concurrent with the\nlast, possibly a little earlier.\n\n_Wind-blown Acanthus, VII._, is represented at Constantinople by two\nexamples forming bases for the posts of a wooden porch to a house near\nG\u00fbl Jami, and another is found in the cistern usually called after\nArcadius or Pulcheria. Absolutely similar capitals are found in S.\nSophia, Salonica (circa 490) and one occurs at S. Demetrius. At Ravenna\nfine examples are dated by bearing the monogram of Theodoric. Others\nat S. Apollinare in Classe resemble the last so closely that we doubt\ntheir having been made specially for the church built in 534-549. An\nexample was found in Chalcis with the Ionic capital just referred to\nand De Vog\u00fc\u00e9 figures one from Syria. Period, say 425 to 525.\n\nThe seven most typical Byzantine orders were thus being wrought\nconcurrently at the end of the fifth century, and it seems that the\nthree last did not long outlast this century. The others in their\ncentral types probably did not continue in use much beyond the sixth\ncentury. After this time somewhat coarse varieties of Byzantine\nCorinthian, or Type I., were mostly used.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 58.--Bronze Annulets of Columns.]\n\nThe evidence of the original block in the fully sculptured finished\nwork which we find in the most characteristic examples of the Byzantine\ncapitals is of primary importance in all marble sculpture, and\ndifferentiates the work of the chisel from being a mere stone model\nof a clay model which is practically what most modern sculpture has\nbecome. In many of these capitals the vertical strip shown in Fig. 55\nleft in the finished work furnishes a further suggestion of the block\nfrom whence they were hewn.\n\n_Shafts and Bases._--The usual theory that the Byzantines wrought but\nfew new marble shafts does not bear scrutiny. Byzantine shafts have\nneckings of very slight projection, thus obviating the waste of labour\nand material of Roman work.[360] The shafts of the baptistery loggia at\nS. Sophia, figured by Salzenberg, furnish good examples; sometimes the\nnecking, as to the square marble pillars, is a simple broad fillet of\nabout a quarter of an inch projection. The hundred round shafts of S.\nSophia exhibit a remarkable and beautiful structural expedient by which\nthe necking is entirely suppressed, and bronze annulets surround the\nshaft under the capital and above the base; which prevent the shafts\nfrom sliding or splitting, and retain the lead beds from being forced\nout by the weight (see Choisy, p. 15). Large monolithic shafts were the\nmore apt to split, as they had to be set up contrary to the direction\nof the quarry strata.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 59.--Marble Pedestals and Skirting Slabs.]\n\nFig. 58 represents these bronze zones in association with the great\ncapitals and bases. The pedestals of the exedra columns A _a_, next\nfigure, are worked together with the bases in one stone. In these\nprofiles we again see how little the mouldings disturb the original\nform.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 60.--Cornice Profiles.]\n\n_Responds._--A very remarkable feature in the interior, is the way in\nwhich the colour of the marble columns of the arcade is reflected as\nit were on the responds, where the arches fall on the great square\npiers. A strip of porphyry or verde antique, the width and height\nof the free shafts, is inlaid into the marble casing of the piers\nabsolutely flush, the edge being only defined by a line of the notched\nfillet. A flat sculptured slab at the top echoes the capital, and a\nbase slab of mouldings worked in a vertical plane ranges with the\nbases of the columns. Salzenberg\u2019s plate does not render this feature\nproperly, the \u201ccapital\u201d is flat and has straight sides and instead of\nthe \u201cbase\u201d he shows a portion of the wall skirting. Fig. 59 shows this\nbase in elevation (B), and section (C), ranging with the pedestals of\nthe exedra, Columns (A). The way in which the sculptured and inlaid\nspandrils of the arcades stop against the plain veneering of the great\npiers is also most noteworthy.\n\n_Cornices and Skirtings._--We give here (Fig. 59, D and E) two\nprofiles of the skirtings where the principle of working out of thin\nveneering-slabs is applied to moulded work. The parapet slabs of first\nfloor are worked in a very similar way; Salzenberg shows design of\nfront, and they bear flat lozenges between two crosses at the back. See\nFig. 61.\n\nThe cornices of the interior, which really formed walks for the\nlamplighters, are made up of no regular combination of curves; they\nproject steeply forward, the general slanting plane being little\ndisturbed (A, Fig. 60); they are decorated with rows of acanthus, the\ncurved tips of which catch the light in bright points. The cornice of\naisle is given at B. We also give a profile of the door-head, which\nshows how the mouldings conform to a plane of least labour (C). By the\njambs and heads being mitred together, the difficulty of working stop\nends was also obviated. The mouldings are not sharp and accurate, as is\nsuggested by Salzenberg\u2019s engravings.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 61.--Closures between Pillars, Front of Gynaeceum.]\n\nWe may mention here that all the doors entering the church from the\nnarthex have raised marble thresholds, that of the Royal Door being a\nmagnificent piece of verde antique which rises some seven inches above\nthe level of the floor; the others are of white marble.\n\n_Windows, &c._--The pierced lattices of the windows also furnish\nexamples of another beautiful method of marble slab construction. The\nlarge windows are subdivided by marble posts, between which the pierced\nlattices make a mere screen. Salzenberg, who found a store-room full of\nbroken fragments, gives a section of a bar. Windows over the western\nentrances, and another at the foot of the south-west stair, which are\nsimilarly pierced out of sheet marble, have a simple meander carved\non the bars (Fig. 62); this we suppose to be of the ninth or tenth\ncentury. The lower part of the window openings going down to the floors\nare filled with marble closures, some of which bear flat sculptured\ndevices, such as a fish in a lozenge, and on the outside a cross; above\nthis came a second tier of slabs pierced with square openings, which\nwere possibly covered by marble slabs as opening casements.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 62.--Marble Window Lattice.]\n\nSome of these closures are translucent; one in the West Gallery\nover narthex is the well-known \u201cShining Window\u201d which is mentioned\nby Grelot. These transparent slabs of \u201cPhengites\u201d were much used\nin Byzantine architecture. The transparent marble slab windows of\nS. Miniato are well known. At Ravenna there is a sculptured slab\naltarfront, through which shone the light of candles placed behind.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 63.--Cipollino Slabs with Cross.]\n\nPlaced against the east side of the marble screen now in south\ngynaeceum are slabs of cipollino, which bear large crosses standing\non circles; the relief being very slight and the edges softened these\nshow in the faintest way; each cross extends over two slabs, the joint\nbeing down the middle. A similar slab with a cross is now placed in the\nopening on south side of bema. These cross slabs some seven feet high\nare beautiful examples of the proper use of marble. (Fig. 63.)\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 64.--Forms on Carved Impost Moulding.]\n\n_Carving._--Of the carved ornament we can only stay to remark on the\nlarge use made of the drill in obtaining points and chains of sharp\nshadow: and that in the design new motives and old--the acanthus and\nthe vine are found side by side, both equally alive. The acanthus\nhas been redrawn from the leaves which tracery the stones along the\nshore; and even the archaic lotus, for centuries degraded into \u201cegg and\ntongue,\u201d buds once again into leaf.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII\n\nBRONZE, MOSAICS, INSCRIPTIONS\n\n\n\u00a7 1. BRONZE WORK.\n\nOne of the most interesting facts in connection with the building is\nthe lavish use of bronze in construction and decoration. There is\nevery reason to suppose that the bronze casing of the Royal Doorway\nentering the church from the narthex, was applied long subsequent to\nthe building of the church. We give in Fig. 65 a sketch of the bronze\ncornice of this door, with its hooks for the door hangings; the left\nhand shows the form towards the narthex, the right hand the interior.\nThe deep-splayed casing of the cornice resembling a sarcophagus may\nhave suggested the story quoted by Buzantios,[361] that the body of S.\nIrene reposed above this doorway. By comparing it with the adjoining\nmarble doorways, it is apparent that the bronze must be laid over\nsimilar marble forms, and that this deep-splayed casing simply covers\na marble cornice hacked back to one slanting face. Salzenberg gives\na detail of the panel at the centre, and the inscription has already\nbeen quoted. Such inscriptions were general at the entering in of\nancient churches. For instance, a small church[362] in Palestine has\nthe legend, \u201cThis is the gate of the Lord, the righteous shall enter\nin thereat,\u201d and a similar inscription is on the lintel of the early\nchurch at Corfu.[363] An isolated lintel at Constantinople has \u201cOpen\nme the gates of righteousness, that I may enter and praise the Lord.\u201d\nPaulinus says that at the door of his church at Nola was written,\n\u201cPeace be to thee with peaceful heart and pure, who comest within the\nsecret place of Christ.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 65.--Bronze Casing to Royal Doorway. Scale 1/60.]\n\nIn a paper on the inscriptions at S. Sophia, by C. G. Curtis and S.\nAristarch\u00eas in the _Transactions_ of the Philological Society[364] of\nConstantinople the authors point out that S. Sophia was greatly injured\nby earthquake on the 25th of October, 975, and restored six years\nafterwards, and say that the form of the letters of the inscription\nsuggests that it was written at this time. Possibly an earthquake\ngave a very sufficient reason for such a casing, by fracturing the\ngreat marble lintel, but there appears to have been a whole series of\nadditions and alterations at this end of the church before this period,\nand it might very well have been done at the same time as the mosaic\nabove it.\n\nAll the doors opening into or from the narthex, with one exception,\nare cased in bronze on a wood foundation about five inches thick,\nformed into panels. They are all hung in two leaves, and the back\nedges against the frame are rounded continuing top and bottom as\npivots on which they revolve. The nine doors entering the church are\ncomparatively plain, each leaf being divided into three panels.\n\nThe central doors entering the narthex are two panels high, each of\nwhich bore a large cross; these were applied separately, the upper one\nunder a round arch on pilasters, and the lower beneath a gable also\nsupported by pilasters. The lower cross is planted on a rock, from which\nflow the four rivers, symbol of the Gospel preached to the ends of the\nearth. Part of a verse in the mosaic of the apse at Nola as given by\nPaulinus makes this symbolism clear.\n\n \u201cChrist the rock\n Of all the church, the base of rock sustains\n From which as living streams four fountains flow;\n The four evangelists, whose words are gone\n Through every land.\u201d\n\nThe margins, framing the panel of this pair of doors, are decorated\nwith elliptical hollows and pairs of small rosettes alternately (see\nFig. 66).\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 66.--Central Bronze Door entering Narthex. Scale\nabout three feet to an inch.]\n\nThe two doors right and left of this central door are less in size;\nhere each leaf is again divided into two panels. The top one has a\nrelief of a chalice from which rises the stem of a cross with crisp\nacanthus foliage on either side. The lower panel has a large plain\ncross. These reliefs are all applied to the panels, the crosses being\nmade up of four arms, which are separately inserted into a central\nboss. The horizontal arms, and in many instances the whole crosses,\nhave been removed by the Mahommedans. The styles and rails of these\ndoors are inlaid with strap-like forms and gammidae in silver, and\nengraved with a representation of a setting of gems (see Fig. 67).\nThese inlaid straps, with seal-like ends, exactly repeat the forms\nfound on door-hangings. See Fig. 13. At S. Sophia the forms have\ncertainly been taken from similar veils. The large simplicity of the\ndesign of these beautiful bronze doors suggests that they may be of\nJustinian\u2019s time.\n\nThe doors still further from the centre, right and left, that is to\nsay the two end doors of the five entering the narthex, have each leaf\ndivided into three panels. The top and bottom panels are charged with\ncrosses; and the centre one, which is smallest, bears an annular boss;\nthe styles are studded with discs. The south door of narthex, and also\nthe end doors in the west wall of the nave are similar to these; the\nothers in this wall, including the great central door from the narthex,\nhave the big panel in the centre and two smaller ones with circular\nboss top and bottom (see Fig. 68).\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 67.--Bronze Door of Narthex. Scale about four feet\nto an inch.]\n\nThe outer doors of the porch at the south end of narthex are still more\nremarkable. The panel margins are made up of cast bronze decorated\nwith meanders, frets, and leaf mouldings, very delicately modelled\nin high relief. These are evidently of antique workmanship, possibly\nthey may be as late as the fourth century, but they can hardly have\nbeen wrought later. The ancient doors have been enlarged by adding\nouter margins, consisting of later relief work, and flat metal studded\nwith little leaf ornaments which form the heads of pins. The panels\nhave been filled with plates of bronze, which bear an inscription\ningeniously made up of monograms, arranged on crosses in circles; these\nare deeply engraved into the metal plates and filled with silver.\nIt is interesting to find here an example of the damascened work of\nwhich some of the doors in Italy brought from Constantinople are such\nremarkable specimens.[365] The letters are beautifully designed, and in\nall cases the horizontal arm of the cross is above the centre of the\ncircle in which it occurs.\n\nGood engravings of these doors are given by Salzenberg, who however\nincorrectly transcribes and arranges the inscription on the panels. Of\nthis we here give a corrected version, Fig. 69. (The top line in the\nfigure is actually above the right-hand monograms.)\n\nThe inscription has been deciphered in the previously mentioned\n_Transactions_ of the Greek Syllogos at Constantinople.\n\n [\u0398\u0395\u039f\u03a6\u0399\u039b\u039f\u03a5 \u039a\u0391\u0399] \u039c\u0399\u03a7\u0391\u0397\u039b \u039d\u0399\u039a\u0397\u03a4\u03a9\u039d\n \u039a\u03a5\u03a1\u0399\u0395 \u0392\u039f\u0397\u0398\u0395\u0399 \u0398\u0395\u039f\u03a6\u0399\u039b\u03a9 \u0394\u0395\u03f9\u03a0\u039f\u03a4\u0397\n \u0398\u0395\u039f\u03a4\u039f\u039a\u0395 \u0392\u039f\u0397\u0398\u0395\u0399 \u0398\u0395\u039f\u0394\u03a9\u03a1\u0391 \u0391\u03a5\u0393\u039f\u03a5\u03f9\u03a4\u0397\n \u03a7\u03a1\u0399\u03f9\u03a4\u0395 \u0392\u039f\u0397\u0398\u0395\u0399 \u039c\u0399\u03a7\u0391\u0397\u039b \u0394\u0395\u03f9\u03a0\u039f\u03a4\u0397\n \u0395\u03a4\u039f\u03a5\u03f9 \u0391\u03a0\u039f-\u039a\u03a4\u0399\u03f9\u0395\u03a9\u03f9 \u039a\u039f\u03f9\u039c\u039f\u03a5 S\u03a4\u039c\u0398 \u0399\u039d\u0394.\u0394\n\n (of Theophilus and) Michael Conquerors\n (1) Lord, help (2) Theophilos Emperor\n (3) Mother of God, help (4) Theodora Augusta\n (5) Christ, help (6) Michael Emperor\n (7) Year from the creation (8) of the world 6349. Ind. 4\n\nThe sixth and eighth monograms show evidence of having been altered.\nThe silver has been removed from the earlier form, and the grooves\nhaving been filled up with bronze fresh letters were inlaid: the\nlines stopped out however show a different colour from the original\nground, and so the palimpsest can be read. The revision was made\n\u201cafter the birth of Michael the first son of Theophilus in 839 and\nhis coronation in the year 840.[366] Before this time the monogram of\nJohn the patriarch, which may still be traced, occupied the position\nof Michael\u2019s monogram: and instead of 6349 Indiction 4, the date was\n6347 Indiction 2, thus giving the year beginning September 838, when\nJohn the Sixth was Patriarch of Constantinople.\u201d[367] The inscription\n\u201cMichael Conquerors\u201d (which is formed by piercing a bronze plate,\nnot by damascening, as shown by Salzenberg) occupies the top of the\nright-hand leaf of the door: that on the left corresponding to it\nis lost. MM. Curtis and Aristarches have restored this as above. The\nexisting words, it is evident, must have been added after Michael\u2019s\nbirth and with the alteration of the monograms probably form a memorial\nof his coronation. _Murray\u2019s Handbook_ 1893 suggests that the word\nNik\u00eat\u00f4n refers to the restoration of images; but the revision of the\ninscription was made during the lifetime of Theophilus, who was the\nlast of the iconoclastic emperors. According to Muralt[368] Theophilus\ndied Jan. 20 A.M. 6350 (842). Just before, feeling himself to be dying,\nhe made the empress swear not to re-establish images, and not to depose\nthe patriarch John. Three weeks however after the emperor\u2019s death,\nMethodius was named patriarch. \u201cThe victory of the image-worshippers\nwas celebrated by the installation of the long-banished pictures in S.\nSophia on the 19th of February 842, just thirty days after the death of\nTheophilus.\u201d[369] It is almost certain that the conjectural restoration\nis correct for Theophilus and Michael are thus associated in a\nmural inscription[370] and Niketes was a common title from\nConstantine downwards. On the panels are certain pin-holes[371] placed\nsymmetrically between the monograms; these must have been for the\nattachment of reliefs.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 68.--Bronze Doors in Narthex. Scale about four feet\nto an inch.]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 69.--Inscription Damascened in Silver on Bronze\nDoor.]\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe Anonymous author speaks of doors of \u201celektron\u201d and of silver dipped\nin gold, but we cannot rely on this any more than on his 365 doors of\nivory.\n\nElectrum is incorrectly translated as amber in the last edition of\n_Murray\u2019s Guide_ (1893). Labarte pointed out that enamel forms the\nright equivalent, and for this interpretation he has ample authority.\nTheophilus, the Byzantine writer on the arts, continually uses the\nword for glass enamels, either set as separate jewels, or fused as\ntranslucent enamels to a metal base. A note in the English edition of\nthis writer explains that this use of the word was probably extended\nfrom amber to cover other transparent bodies of similar appearance.\nFrom the lavish way in which enamel was used about the tenth century\nit is possible that some of the doors such as those in the iconostasis\nmight have been enamelled.\n\nAs to the \u201cdipping\u201d of silver or bronze with gold the Silentiary tells\nus that Justinian \u201coverlaid with gold\u201d the bronze zones of the columns;\nand the annulets of the porphyry columns at the east entrance still\nshow gilding. Buzantios[372] quotes from a MS. chemical treatise in\nthe Paris library which mentions \u201cdipping bronze like the doors of S.\nSophia,\u201d and Fossati says the head of the Royal Door was gilt.\n\nTheophilus explains in detail how bronze or silver might be gilt by\nfire-gilding, the process here called dipping. The copper in the bronze\nhad to be pure and free from lead. The gold was ground very fine and\ncooked with mercury. This amalgam was then applied to the surface with\na copper bit, like that plumbers use in soldering, and polished with a\nwire brush.\n\nWe have given sketches of the bronze collars which surround the\ncolumns, at the junction of capital and shaft, and just above the\nbases. The porphyry columns in the two western exedras have many\nintermediate annulets at unequal heights; these in some cases were\ndoubtless intended to bind up longitudinal fractures in the shafts,\nwhich show in many places; but in other instances they appear to cover\nthe junction of separate drums of porphyry. These are all shown in\nGrelot\u2019s interior view. The principal collars are certainly of the time\nof Justinian; those under the capitals have square metal bosses or\nboxes covering the point where they meet and are pinned together. These\n\u201cseals\u201d of the great order bear the monograms of Justinian and Theodora.\n\nThe annulets at the base are made continuous at the joint, and have\nthe appearance of being brazed: those of the main order are now kept\nbrightly polished. One of the base annulets in the north gallery is\nsigned by a monogram as the work \u201cof Stephen.\u201d[373]\n\nBesides the hooks, in the form of upturned fingers, for the hangings at\nthe bronze door, similar hooks occur in the marble lintels of the doors\nin the narthex and the exonarthex.\n\n\n\u00a7 2. MOSAIC.\n\nThe mosaics of figures exposed at the time of Fossati\u2019s repairs are\nmany of them figured by Salzenberg, although his harshly coloured\ndiagrams can but very inadequately represent the beauty of the\noriginals. We give here his descriptive text in a slightly condensed\nform as a basis for our own remarks. Dethier[374] asserts that only a\npart of the mosaics discovered were published by Salzenberg, and that\nFossati preserved others inedited in his portfolios.[375]\n\nThe mosaics are formed of glass of various colours cut into small\npieces and applied to the vaults with a cement. The gold mosaic was\nmade by laying leaf gold on the glass, which was then covered by a\nthin film of glass to protect the surface. Silver mosaic was made in\nthe same way. The gold was used, in spite of its apparent abundance,\nwith great economy. For instance, in vertical spaces high up and only\nvisible from almost immediately beneath, the tesserae are arranged\nin horizontal rows at a distance of two or three tesserae from each\nother with their upper edges projecting. The projecting edge of the\nlower row hides the bare space between it and the row above. There\nis thus a saving of more than half the material, and great play of\nlight is obtained. The tympana of the aisles are covered in this way.\nThe coloured tesserae are set in the usual way, as the difficulties\ninvolved by the other method in the curves of the ornament would\noutweigh the saving of material.\n\nBesides gold and silver, red, blue, and green are the principal\ncolours; though others are used in the heads of the figures. The\nvaulting throughout was covered with a background of gold, on which are\nconventional patterns that follow the forms of the construction. Some\nof the spaces have representations of figures.\n\nIn the bands of ornament are gamma-crosses [_swastikas_], hearts,\nleaves, and crosses, placed in circles, squares, and other figures.\nThere are no sharp arrises to the vaults, but patterned bands are\nplaced on the rounded edges.\n\nThe vault of the narthex has its wide transverse bands adorned with\ngamma-crosses. In the domed portions between the transverse arches are\ndiagonal bands which culminate in a circle inclosing a cross.[376]\n\nThe vaults of the gynaeceum, perhaps because they were visible from\nthe nave, are more elaborate than those of the aisles below.[377]\nSalzenberg\u2019s Plate xxv. shows the western dome on the south side, on\nwhich is represented the descent of the Holy Spirit: the arches have\nthe same ornament as those below.[378]\n\nDetails of the dome are given in Salzenberg\u2019s Plate xxvi. The edges of\nthe ribs and window openings are covered with bands of ornament. The\nfaces of the ribs have alternate squares and crosses, which decrease in\nsize as they get higher. The central space has lost its figure subject,\nbut it is surrounded by a wide border.[379] The sides of the window\nopenings are lined with silver mosaic. The lower part of the dome is\nnot decorated, as the projecting cornice hides it from below.[380]\n\nThe edges of the exedra-conchs have bands similar to those on the great\narches, and the same pattern occurs again on the edges of the eastern\nbarrel vault, and the bema apse.[381] The rest of the decoration of the\nsurface of the apses has disappeared.\n\nOver the centre door from the narthex to the nave is represented Christ\non a throne, holding a Gospel open at the words, \u201cI am the Light of\nthe world: Peace be with you.\u201d A monarch is prostrate before him, and\nin medallions on either side are Mary the Intercessor, and Michael the\nProtector.[382]\n\nThe nimbus of Christ has three rays, and His hand blesses in the Greek\nmanner, by which the fingers represent the initial and final letters of\nJesus Christus. The undergarment has broad gold stripes worked on it,\nand the lights are given in silver; it seems to be of silk, the upper\ngarment appears to be of a white woollen stuff.\n\nThe great western arch has a medallion of the Virgin at the crown,\nand full lengths of Peter and Paul at the sides, Peter on the south;\nhowever, only a few remnants of these figures are now left. The border\nwhich surrounds the medallion of the Virgin has colours of the rainbow,\nthe circle of her halo is red; the flesh colour is fair, and the eyes\nare blue. The veil is blue, with a gold cross, and the cloak is also\nblue. Under the veil is a kind of band round the head, like that which\nthe Spanish Jews of Constantinople wear; it is of a blue green colour\nwith dark stripes; the hair is not visible. Her nimbus has three silver\nrays on a gold ground; her hands rest on the shoulders of the Child,\nwhose right hand blesses, while the left holds the book of the Gospel.\n\nPeter\u2019s face is dark, the nimbus is blue, the garment is bluish green,\nand the gold rod, surmounted by a cross, has red and blue bands. He\nthus has the same insignia as the St. Peter on the Ciborium Curtain,\nand it is this which, in the mosaic, identifies the figure as Peter,\nfor there is no inscription. Porphyrogenitus, in his life of Basil,\nmentions that when the western arch was restored the pictures of the\nVirgin, and the Apostles Peter and Paul were placed there by that\nemperor. The figure of Paul has an upper garment of green with silver\nlights, and the undergarment is a greenish yellow. The whole figure is\nabout seventeen feet high, but the head is wanting.[383]\n\nOn the large semicircular walls beneath the northern and southern\ndome-arches are a number of figures in mosaic. The seven arched\nrecesses were filled with representations of martyrs and bishops;\nabove, between the windows, were six smaller figures of prophets, and\na larger figure at each end. At the height of the upper row of windows\nwere probably the archangels, but of these only the feet remain.\n\nThe figures that now exist are the following. In the recesses on the\nsouth side, the second from the east is Anthimos, Bishop of Nicomedia,\nmartyred in 311: in the third is Basil, Bishop of Caesarea, martyred in\n379.[384]\n\nThe fourth recess from the east has Gregory Theologos, Patriarch of\nConstantinople from 378 to 383. The next figure is Dionysius the\nAreopagite; who was converted by St. Paul, and became, tradition says,\nBishop of Athens. In the sixth recess is Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, who\ndied in 330. This figure is partly destroyed. The seventh, is Gregory,\nBishop of Armenia, who died in 325.[385]\n\nThe figure of Isaiah, which is to the east of the row of windows,\nhad been covered up (when Salzenberg made his drawings), but it was\ndescribed by Fossati as having an undergarment of green with silver\nlights, and over it a cloak of a white woollen stuff. The right hand\npointed towards the bema, and in the left was an open scroll with the\ninscription, \u201cBehold, a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son.\u201d Under\nthe figure was a monogram.[386] Higher up again on the same wall was\nthe inscription:--\n\n \u0391\u0399\u0393....\u03a4\u0397\u03f9\u0391\u0398\u0391\u039d\u0391\u03a4\u039f\u03a5 \u03f9\u039f\u03a6\u0399\u0391\u03f9\n \u0397\u03a1\u0391....\u03a4\u039f\u03a5\u039a\u0395\u0391\u039a\u0397\u03a1\u0391\u03a4\u03a9\u039d....\n\nThe recesses of the north wall have no mosaics [see below, p. 287.]\n\nAt the height of the windows, the first figure beginning from the east\nis Jeremiah.[387] The undergarment has stripes of blue and red, and\nthe upper represents a russet-coloured woollen stuff. The right hand\nblesses, the left has an open roll [with the inscription shown in the\nplate, \u201cThis is our God; no other shall be compared to Him.\u201d].[388]\n\nThe figure between the first and second window is probably Jonas, as \u0391\u03f9\nstill remains on the right side of the head, and there is only room for\nthree letters on the other side. The undergarment is a greenish blue\nwith silver lights, and has broad red stripes. The nimbus is blue.\n\nOver the head of this figure is found the remnant of an inscription\n\u039d\u03a4\u0399\u0394\u039f\u03f9. This may have belonged to one of the figures above, of which\na sandaled foot and edge of a garment alone remain. The foot does not\nstand upon green earth, like the prophets below, and therefore probably\nbelonged to an angel. Only a part remains of the third prophet from the\neast, which was inscribed Habakkuk.[389]\n\nThe mosaics on the soffite of the eastern arch were covered before\ndrawings were made. At the crown is a medallion with a white ground.\nIn this is a low throne of gold, with two green cushions upon it; over\nthem is thrown a blue cloth with a white hem, and upon that is placed\na golden book. Above is also a gold cross with three arms; the middle\none is the longest, and at its intersection with the upright member\nis a circle. On the south face of this eastern arch is the figure of\nJohn the Baptist, with long hair, and a brown shaggy garment; his right\nhand blesses, and his left holds a cross with three arms. Opposite, on\nthe north side is the Virgin, with uplifted hands in the attitude of\nprayer. She has a white undergarment, bound with a golden girdle, a red\nupper garment, and a veil of a green-blue, with a gold hem. Under her\nis John Palaeologus, who restored this part, and to whose time these\nfigures and designs certainly belong. The emperor wears a crown, with\nstrings of pearls on either side. He has a closely fitting undergarment\nof gold, decorated with pearls and embroidery. A magnificent cloak\nhangs down from the left shoulder, and round the neck and breast is\na kind of broad gorget richly embroidered. In his right hand is a\nsceptre, and in his left a roll.\n\nThe archangel on the south side of the bema vault[390] has a globe in\nthe left hand, and a staff in the right. He is clad in white, with\nimperial red shoes. The arch of the apse bears an inscription, which\nends with the letters \u03f9\u0395\u0399\u0395 \u03a0\u0391\u039b\u0399\u039d.\n\nOn the conch of the apse is the Mother of God upon a throne, holding\nthe Child between her knees; her upper garment, which is blue, conceals\nthe whole figure, except that at the breast, under the arm, and above\nthe feet, the white and gold garment beneath is visible. The Child\nhas his right hand uplifted and his left against his breast. He wears\na white garment, with a gold girdle. His hair falls down freely, and\nthe nimbus has three streams of light. The throne is gold with red\nornaments, but is without a back, and the footstool is of green silk.\n\nIn the dome pendentives are Cherubim with six wings. Each head is four\nfeet two inches high. The upper feathers of the wings are a light\ngreen, and the under feathers brown.[391] The great centre-piece of the\ndome, which, according to Du Cange, represented Christ as Judge of the\nWorld seated upon a rainbow, no longer exists.\n\nOnly one of the domes of the gynaeceum preserves its mosaic ornament\nof figures. This[392] represents the descent of the Holy Spirit. Only\na part remains of the throne in the centre; on it is a green cushion,\nand a blue cloth with gold patterns. Groups of spectators fill the\npendentives of the vault.\n\nAbove the doorway which leads from the western gynaeceum to the\nchambers over the south porch, are remains of figures, which can no\nlonger be identified.[393] In the ceiling of the chamber over the\nstairway is a design of green tendrils on a gold ground.[394]\n\nThe small dome in the chamber which opens out of the western buttress\nof the south side on the first-floor level has four angels with\nuplifted hands, supporting a medallion in the centre. This design is\nsimilar to that in the side chapel at S. Prassede at Rome.\n\n\u201cThe figure representations belong to the time of Justinian, though the\nSilentiary, otherwise so accurate, does not describe them.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\n_First Scheme._--A reading of Salzenberg\u2019s notes on the figure mosaics\nwill show how little ground there was for his impression that these\nbelonged to the time of Justinian, which the last sentence expresses.\nSeveral of these mosaics are dated as being parts of restorations. Thus\nhe shows that Basil I. placed figures on the arch of the great western\nhemicycle, and that those of the great eastern arch are the work of\nPalaeologus.\n\nThe subject has been much obscured by insecure assumptions and inexact\nassertions. Labarte, who was one of the first to doubt that Justinian\nwas intended by the figure of the kneeling emperor before Christ over\nthe Royal Door, thought that the Silentiary described figure-mosaics\nas covering the interior.[395] Gerspach in _La Mosa\u00efque_ calls the\nemperor \u2018Justinian\u2019 and appears to mistake the Pentecost cupola for\nthe great dome. In regard to the date of the lunette containing the\nemperor, Labarte suggested that it was a work of the seventh century,\nand that the emperor was Heraclius.[396] Woltmann and Woermann placed\nit still later and write, \u201cThere is no kind of resemblance between\nthe beardless portrait of Justinian at Ravenna and this bearded,\ngray-headed man. It is more likely to be Basil I. the restorer of the\nwestern apse, and this opinion is supported by the miniatures of his\ntime.\u201d The pilgrim Anthony seems to refer to it as Leo the Wise, but\nthe Russians ascribe so many works to this emperor without reason that\nthis is inconclusive. The forms of the letters in the inscriptions,\nhowever, show that the mosaic is late. Bayet,[397] who has considered\nthe mosaics afresh, and thinks the silence of Paulus is conclusive as\nto the absence of figure-mosaics when the poem was written, about 562,\nhimself seems to misread some parts of the poet\u2019s description; thus he\nthinks patterns in mosaic are intended in lines 607-612. The animals of\nthe atrium may possibly have been of glass mosaic: but we think it more\nlikely that inlaid marble like the dolphins of the interior (Fig. 49)\nis intended. The baskets of fruit, branches with birds, and the golden\nvine in the church, spoken of in lines 668, &c. seem to refer to the\ncarved and gilt surfaces of the spandrils of the arcade, not to the\nmosaic, as Bayet supposes.\n\nThe figure scheme, so far as it can be traced, closely agrees with the\nByzantine Manual of Painting: and the subjects and treatments can be\nassociated with work in other churches of the ninth and tenth centuries\nwhich have in several cases almost identical designs. Altogether it\nmay be doubted if a single figure belongs to a time anterior to the\niconoclastic period of the eighth century.\n\nWe believe the original scheme of decoration is best accounted for\nwithout figures, and even if this were not so, we can hardly believe\nthat in the Patriarchal Church at the door of the Palace figures\nwould have lasted through the reigns of the iconoclastic emperors and\npatriarchs, as they may well have done in remoter churches where the\nclergy were on the other side. Leo issued his first decree against\nimages in 726. Its purport was not, as is often stated, that pictures\nshould be hung higher in the churches in order that people should not\nadore them by kissing: \u201cit commanded that they should be totally\nabolished.\u201d[398]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 70.--Mosaic of small Vault Compartment next the\nBema.]\n\nIt is well known that a figure of Christ over the entrance to the\npalace was destroyed by Leo the Isaurian. Dr. Walsh, who was chaplain\nto our embassy at the Porte about 1820, writes, \u201cThere stood till very\nlately in Constantinople an inscription over the gate of the palace\ncalled Chalces. Under a large cross sculptured over the entrance to the\npalace were the following words:--\n\n\u201c\u2018The emperor cannot endure that Christ should be represented\n(_graphes_) a mute and lifeless image graven on earthly materials. But\nLeo and his young son Constantine have at their gates engraved the\nthrice-blessed representation of the cross, the glory of believing\nmonarchs.\u2019\u201d[399]\n\nIn 768 Nicetas, the patriarch under Constantine, Leo\u2019s son, is said to\nhave destroyed \u201cthe images of gold mosaic and wax encaustic\u201d in all the\nchurches of Constantinople.[400] And in the life of Theophilus we read,\n\u201cthroughout every church the figures of the saints were destroyed, and\nthe forms of beasts and birds were painted in their places.\u201d[401]\n\nIt is quite certain from Procopius and the poem of the Silentiary that\nthe vaults of Justinian\u2019s church were covered with mosaic. They both\ndescribe the brilliance of the gold glittering surface, but do not\nmention any figures. In such detailed descriptions this silence goes\nfar to show that there was originally no storied scheme of imagery,\nlike that which the Poet so fully traced out on the curtains and\niconostasis. It seems equally certain that where, describing the dome\non the strong arches, overhanging the interior like the firmament which\nrests on air, he says, \u201cat the highest point was depicted (_epigraphe_)\nthe cross, Protector of the City,\u201d we are to understand that a great\ncross in mosaic expanded its arms on the zenith of the dome, and that\nthe background was strewn with stars. Now this is a well-known scheme,\nand it is found at an earlier date in the chapel of Galla Placidia at\nRavenna, and later it is mentioned by Porphyrogenitus in a description\nof a domed apartment in the palace. The stars on the dome are more\nthan once referred to in the poem (page 36), and it is probable that\nthe surfaces between the ribs as well as the central circle had gold\nstars set in azure, the ribs being of gold; nothing less would seem to\njustify \u201cthe firmament of the roof its rounded expanse sprinkled with\nthe stars of heaven.\u201d\n\nIt is evident that, however easily figures and pictures might be added\nhere and there at various dates, the church, being once incrusted with\nmosaic, would at no subsequent time have had the enormous areas of\ntesserae removed to be again renewed.\n\nIt follows that the ground, and any patterns evenly distributed in\nevery part of the vaults, are assuredly of the first work. First among\nsuch designs is a jewelled cross thirteen feet high, which is blazoned\non both ground floor and gallery vaults, and which must have been\nrepeated some twelve times twelve. We give an outline of one of the\nsmallest vault compartments in the church, the irregular space to the\neast directly south of the bema: here three of the crosses can still\nbe seen through Fossati\u2019s colouring, their interlocking arms spreading\nover the whole field. This form of cross, with lobed ends, is found set\nin a circle of stars, in the mosaic apsoid of S. Apollinaris in Classe.\n(Fig. 70.)\n\nA similar argument applies to other forms which occur with equal\nfrequency. A square panel of ornament which alternates with the\ncrosses, certain diapers, the bands up the edges of the aisle vaults,\nand the small circles each containing the six-armed cross or monogram\nat the centre of these compartments, would all seem to be parts of the\noriginal work, and these simple elements we believe formed the first\nscheme of decoration. Texier figures a mosaic from Salonica made up of\ncrosses. The splendid simplicity of such a scheme seems entirely in\nharmony with S. Sophia, for even figures would disturb the beauty of\nthe expanse which at each movement glitters like a web of golden mail\nswayed by a breeze.\n\n_Later Mosaics._--For the mosaics displaying figures we refer back to\nSalzenberg\u2019s description. Much further information might have been\ngathered if he had given copies of the inscriptions which exist, in\nhowever incomplete a state. His section (Plate x.) shows that a long\ninscription surrounded the arch of the apse, but in his text he only\ngives the last few letters \u03f9\u0395\u0399\u0395 \u03a0\u0391\u039b\u0399\u039d; this possibly belonged to\nthe words \u1f00\u03bd\u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03ae\u03c3\u03b5\u03b9\u03b5 \u03c0\u03ac\u03bb\u03b9\u03bd, \u201cSet up again,\u201d and the whole may have\ncontained the name of the emperor under whom this restoration was\neffected. (See below, p. 287.)\n\nOn the great lunette of the wall of the south side also, where the\ntiers of saints and prophets seem a part of a scheme representing\nthe Church triumphant, or a _Benedicite_, two monograms occur (see\nSalzenberg\u2019s Plate ix.); only the first, which reads \u039a\u03a5\u03a1\u0399\u0395, is figured\nin the text; it is evidently a part of the well-known invocation,\n\u2018Lord, help,\u2019 which requires the name of an emperor or artist to\ncomplete it.\n\nAn inscription between these monograms is partly given in the text; and\nsupposing it to be correctly rendered the whole probably read \u201cLord,\nhelp\u201d (_name_ who painted this wall) \u201cof the Immortal Wisdom\u201d (with the\nfigures) \u201cof the saints\u201d.\n\nThe entire later scheme of the mosaics must have corresponded closely\nto that in the New Church in the palace built by Basil, which is\ndescribed by Porphyrogenitus. Here, at the centre of the dome, was the\nhuman form of Christ embracing the whole world in His regard; below\nwere ranges of angels. In the apse was the figure of the Virgin with\narms uplifted in prayer, \u201ca choir of apostles, martyrs, prophets and\npatriarchs filled the other spaces of the whole church.\u201d This in turn\nresembles very closely the iconography at S. Luke\u2019s.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 71.--Restoration of Throne at Crown of Pentecost\nDome.]\n\nThe following instances may be given of the agreement of the mosaics at\nS. Sophia with the instructions of the Painter\u2019s Manual. For example,\nit directs that over the door of entrance from the narthex Christ be\nrepresented throned, holding the Gospel open at the words, \u201cI am the\nDoor: by me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved.\u201d At each side the\nVirgin and the Prodromos are to be represented. The figure to Christ\u2019s\nleft at S. Sophia, called Michael by Salzenberg, Grelot tells us was\nthe Prodromos and he probably followed the traditional ascription,\nalthough the type seems to agree better with an archangel.\n\nAgain, \u201cInside the Sanctuary at the centre of the vaults draw the\nVirgin seated on a throne holding Christ as a little child.\u201d[402] This\nexactly describes the apsoid mosaic at S. Sophia. The cupola of the\ngynaeceum, representing the descent of the Holy Spirit, is also in\nclose agreement with the directions given in the Manual:--\u201cThe Holy\nSpirit is seen in the form of a dove, twelve tongues of fire go out\nfrom it and rest on the apostles.\u201d This subject is treated at S. Luke\u2019s\nin a manner almost identical to that at S. Sophia, and it is also found\nin a dome at S. Mark\u2019s.\n\nDiehl in his examination of the mosaics at S. Luke\u2019s has pointed out\nthat the central circle of the Pentecost cupola at S. Sophia as shown\nby Salzenberg in Plate xxxi. is quite insufficient to have contained\nthe figure of Christ as shown in the restoration given on Plate xxvi.,\nand that consequently the Holy Spirit as a Dove really occupied this\nposition as at S. Luke\u2019s. In Fig. 71 we give an amended restoration\nof this centre; it will be seen from Salzenberg\u2019s text that he had no\nevidence for a figure. The two angels above the sanctuary are described\nby Salzenberg as bearing lances or banner poles; these were doubtless\nsurmounted by Flabella bearing the words\n\n \u0391\u0393\u0399\u039f\u03f9\n \u0391\u0393\u0399\u039f\u03f9\n \u0391\u0393\u0399\u039f\u03f9\n\nas at S. Luke\u2019s and Nicaea.[403] There is a very similar angel holding\na flabellum of this kind in the tenth century Menologium; and the words\nHoly, Holy, Holy, are directed to be put on flabella in the manual.\n\nAgain the Manual says, \u201cAt the summit of these vaults (opening from the\ndome) draw the holy Veil to the east and opposite to it the holy Cup.\u201d\nNow in Grelot\u2019s view of the interior, made when many of the mosaics\nwere still visible, he shows a large square mosaic at the crown of the\nbema vault directly over the altar, which he says was \u201cthe picture of\nChrist\u2019s face upon a napkin called Veronica.\u201d\n\nThe representation of the throne at the centre of the soffite of the\neastern arch (see p. 277) is one of the most beautiful symbolisms of\nByzantine art. At Nicaea the same design occurs in a similar position\non the triumphal arch, and it is inscribed \u0395\u03a4\u039f\u0399\u039c\u0391\u03f9\u0399\u0391 \u03a4\u039f\u03a5 \u0398\u03a1\u039f\u039d\u039f\u03a5. This\n\u201cPreparation of the throne\u201d referred to the second coming of Christ.\nOur figure represents a throne of this kind which we offer as an\nillustration of that at S. Sophia; it is based on a throne inscribed \u0397\n\u0395\u03a4\u0397\u039c\u0391\u03f9\u0399\u0391 which appears on the cover of a Byzantine Gospel book at S.\nMark\u2019s.[404] The small dome of the little chapel on the first floor,\nSalzenberg says, resembles a dome at S. Prassede. The latter is a work\nof the ninth century.[405]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 72.--Restoration Throne at Crown of Great E. Arch.]\n\nSalzenberg\u2019s description seems to account for all the figured mosaics\nmentioned by Grelot (1680) except the \u201cVeronica over the sanctuary.\u201d\nWhen Grelot made his drawing there was no figure at the crown of the\ndome but only the bands rising to the central wreath. Clavijo however\nwrites, \u201cThe vault of the square is covered with very rich mosaic work,\nand in the middle of the vault high over the great altar the image\nof God the Father very large is wrought in mosaics of many colours;\nbut it is so high up that it only looks the size of a man or a little\nlarger though really it is so big that it measures three palmos between\nthe eyes.\u201d This must be the Pantocrator of the Manual--\u201cdraw near the\nsummit of the cupola a circle of different colours like a rainbow seen\non clouds in rainy weather. In the centre represent Christ with the\nGospel and this inscription, Jesus Christ, the Almighty.\u201d\n\nSince the above has been in type we have found a pamphlet published\nby the brothers Fossati in 1890,[406] describing a collection of\ndrawings of S. Sophia, shown by them at Milan. From this we gather the\nfollowing additional particulars of the mosaic subjects.--Over the door\nof the south porch \u201cwas a remarkable mosaic representing the Virgin\nand Child, to whom Justinian presents the Church and Constantine the\nCity.\u201d--A representation of Christ, the Virgin, and S. John, forming\nthe Trimorphion (Pantocrator, Pantochrante, Pantepopte.)--Two groups\nof the Fathers of the Church, thirteen altogether: Ignatius Oneos,\nMethodius, Ignatius Theophorus, Gregory Thaumaturgus, John Chrysostom,\nCyril, and Athanasius. [These must occupy the seven recesses on\nthe north window-wall, as the six others agree with those given by\nSalzenberg on the south side].--The Pantocrator on a throne [? supposed\ncentre of Pentecost dome].--John Palaeologus [? with the Virgin on\nnorth side of great east arch, p. 278].--John Comnenus and Irene with\nthe Virgin between them.--Constantine XI. and Zoe with Christ between\nthem.--Alexius Comnenus X. or XI.--Alexander, the brother of Leo [some\nof these also were doubtless on the great east and west arches].--Three\nVirgins.--S. John with six apostles surrounded by cherubim [? in higher\npart of one of the window-walls, p. 277].--Prophets [? of window-wall,\np. 276].--A circle with colossal Pantocrator [? the destroyed centre of\nthe great dome].--Different emblems with Greek and Latin descriptions.\nBesides these, a drawing of Cherubim \u201csaved from the Atrium Portico\u201d\nis mentioned; and the inscription on the arch in front of the apse is\ngiven as follows, and may be compared with Salzenberg\u2019s Plate x.:--\n\n \u0397\u0399\u0391\u039d\u0399\u03a1\u03f9\u0395\u0399\u0391\u03a1 \u0397\u03a1\u0391\u039d\u0398\u0395\u039f\u0397\u0391\u03a1\u0399\u0397\u0391\u03a1 \u0398\u0395\u03f9\u0399\u03f9\u0397\u039d\u0391\u039d\u0395\u0391\u0399\u03f9\u0395\u0399\u0395\n \u03a0\u0391\u03a1\u0399\u039d.\n\nThe earliest description of the mosaics entering into any particulars\nis that of Dr. Covel\u2019s MS. 1670-7 in the British Museum. \u201cIn those\ncupolas [of gynaeceum] are imagery of Saints and the story of the\nBible which the Turks have in many places quite defaced and plastered\nthem all over; in other places only scratched out or disfigured their\nfaces as the cherubims in the corners under the great dome.\u201d He then\nenters into details of the pentecost dome which was the only figured\nvault entire; and then describes mosaics in the western gallery not\notherwise mentioned. \u201cIn the sides of the second window [from the\nsouth], is Christ coming up from Jordan and the Descent of the Holy\nGhost with these words, Matt. iii., 17:--\u039f\u03a5\u03a4\u039f\u03f9\u0395\u03f9\u03a4\u0399\u039d, &c., on one side\nand over against it, Christ between Moses and Elias with these words,\nMatt. xvii., 5:--\u039f\u03a5\u03a4\u039f\u03f9, &c.\u201d The window jambs of the western gallery\nare now plastered, it is probable that a series of mosaics of the life\nof Christ covered them. Up to 1840 every visitor seems to have been\noffered tesserae, which for better assurance were broken out before\nhis eyes. The Italian MS. of 1611 also in the British Museum (Harl.\n3408), after saying that the walls of the church were lined with marble\nadds, \u201cthe porch as well, except that this is all worked in mosaic with\ngrowing leaves of great beauty down to the pavement of the porch.\u201d[407]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 73.--Mosaic Tesserae, actual size.]\n\nSignor Boni has noticed that some of the gold tesserae at Parenzo\nare inserted at an angle of 30\u00b0 to the plane of the wall, so as to\nbe normal to the line of vision, just as Salzenberg describes at S.\nSophia; the same thing occurs at the Dome of the Rock. This, besides\nsaving the material, aided in flashing the light, a property of the\ngold tesserae which was much valued, as several inscriptions from the\nmosaics show.[408] In S. Maria in Domnica, the apse--\u201c_Nunc rutilat\njugiter variis decorata metallis_,\u201d again in S. Maria in Trastevere the\nvault \u201c_divini rutilat fulgore decoris_,\u201d and at S. Paulo fuori le\nMura the mosaic--\u201c_fulget fulgente decore_.\u201d\n\nWe have examined a handful of gold tesserae from S. Sophia through\nthe kindness of Mr. James Powell. The cubes average a quarter of an\ninch in size, the glass is yellowish, slightly amethyst or dark green.\nThe surface layer equals stout paper in thickness. At the back of the\ntesserae a dusty red appears, which under a glass proves to be of\npowdered tile. This roughens and adheres to the surface of the glass,\nwhich was evidently sanded with the powder while in a molten state, and\nof course before it was broken into morsels. The first purpose of this\nwithout doubt was to increase the hold of the cubes to the cementing\nmaterial, but the reddening--almost like a coat of vermilion paint--may\nprobably have assisted the gold to show out better than if the tesserae\nhad been fixed without it into the perfectly white stucco which forms\nthe bed. The cementing material was an inch or more in thickness,\nformed of lime with broken reed for binding, and a considerable amount\nof crushed white marble, in the part next the mosaic at least.\n\n\n\u00a7 3. GLASS, PLASTER AND PAINTING.\n\nThe Romans probably largely used coloured glass for windows. The\nlattices were sometimes bronze or thin slabs of marble pierced\ninto a pattern.[409] Sidonius (\u2020 484), describing the basilica of\nTours, clearly mentions the patterned windows of green and sapphire\nglass.[410] It has been suggested that some of the windows at S.\nSophia were filled with glass of brilliant colour. Theophilus, in his\npreface to the section of his work dealing with coloured glass, says,\n\u201cI have approached the atrium of Holy Sophia, and beheld the chancel\nfilled with every variety of divers colours.\u201d He proceeds to describe\nwindows of painted glass in which the pieces are united by leads: but\nassuredly, if coloured windows did exist in the apse of S. Sophia, the\nglass was inserted in pierced marble, like the plaster lattices of\nthe Orientals. Beautiful windows of brilliant-hued glass exist in the\nmosques and turbehs. The Arab lattices show us what beautiful mosaics\nof jewels may be formed in this way; the singular charm of them is the\nspreading and blending of the colours, by reflection from the sides\nof the thick dividing bars; lumps of crystal seem to have been used\noccasionally in place of glass. Most beautiful \u2018braided\u2019 Byzantine\nlattices of marble are to be found at S. Mark\u2019s which would be well\ncharacterised as \u03b8\u03cd\u03c1\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b4\u03b5\u03b4\u03b9\u03ba\u03c4\u03c5\u03bf\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03b1\u03b9 which according to Lenoir was the\nname of these windows. If coloured glass was used in S. Sophia, we\nthink it can only have been in small windows of this kind in the apse\nand conchs. Labarte thought, from the descriptions of Procopius and\nPaulus, that the windows were of white glass which allowed the rays of\nthe sun to shine through unaltered. It is hardly possible to conceive\nof the great windows being of anything else than white glass.\n\nA fragment of \u201cancient crystalline\u201d glass from S. Sophia was exhibited\nat the Society of Antiquaries in 1876. It is described as only\n\u201cone sixteenth of an inch thick, and nearly colourless except for\niridescence.\u201d\n\nGrelot remarked that the plain glazing was \u201cof round panes set\nin plaster,\u201d but this must refer to the gradual filling round of\nthe panes by repairs, as may at present be seen in the baptistery\nwindows; although circular panes in a plaster setting were much\nused in Byzantine work, the glass being spun in separate discs of\nslightly varying sizes was inserted in marble or plaster slabs in\ndifferent combinations. Windows of this kind remained in the apse of\nthe Theotokos church twenty years ago. Dr. Covel is precise as to S.\nSophia in 1676; he says the windows were \u201ccut out of entire stone into\nquarries exactly square,\u201d 10 by 12 or 14 inches. \u201cIn the first window\nof the west gallery (coming in on the south side), are several pieces\nof white transparent stone which I take to be Indian alabaster.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\nModelled stucco work was much used by late Greek, Roman, and Byzantine\nbuilders. Paulinus tells us that at Nola \u201ca cornice of gypsum\u201d\nseparated the mosaic and marble of the apse. A large number of\nexamples from the fourth to the sixth century are found in Rome,\nParenzo, and Ravenna. \u201cAbout the middle of the fifth century Galla\nPlacidia built the church of S. Croce in Ravenna \u2018of very precious\nstones, and with stucco (gypsea) modelled with the tool\u2019 (Agnellus.\n_Lib. Pontif._ i. 283). Decorative stuccoes in the apse of S. Ambrose\nat Milan were destroyed thirty years ago, as they were supposed to be\n\u2018Baroque.\u2019 Dartein analysed the material and found that it contained\n85 per cent. of plaster (gesso), a little lime, sand and brick-dust or\npozzolana.\u201d \u201cThe rich decoration of the Chapel of S. Maria at Cividale\n(eighth to tenth century), and the Arab-Norman modelled stuccoes of\nSicily show that the traditions of this kind of ornament were not lost\nat a later time.\u201d[411] In the churches of Greece this material is\nlargely used, and its application in Arab work was due to Byzantine\nexample. At S. Sophia an ornamental plaster frieze runs along both\nsides of the south porch: this is a scroll throwing out acanthus leaves\nand fruits like poppy seed-vessels. The background is coloured blue.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 74.--Plaster Friezes of Gynaeceum.]\n\nThe flat frieze-like cornice of the first floor ornamented with two\npatterns of leafage appears to us to be of stucco; we figure these\nhere, but we have not been able to verify the material. If of stucco,\nas we suppose, it is cast or stamped in small square panels as shown:\ncertainly some of the Byzantine plaster-work, as for instance that\nforming the cornice of the apse at S. Apollinare in Classe, was cast in\nshort sections and then applied.\n\nThe blue background of the plastered frieze just mentioned may remind\nus of the decoration of the beam above the columns of the ambo with\ngold ivy leaves on a background coloured ultramarine as described by\nthe poet. (The spade-like leaves which occur in several places in the\nmosaic must be ivy.) This decoration of gold and \u201csapphire\u201d seems\nto have been general in Byzantine work. The sculptured beam of the\niconostasis at St. Luke\u2019s has the blue background nearly intact, and\nhere and there the gold is visible (Diehl, p. 26).\n\nTraces of the blue ground may also be noticed in the sculptures of Mone\ntes Choras at Constantinople. The notched fillet, which separates the\nmarble panels in S. Sophia, is used so extensively at Venice that Mr.\nRuskin called it the Venetian dentil; the complete intention of this\nfillet, he writes, is now only to be seen in pictures, \u201cfor like most\nof the rest of the mouldings of Venetian buildings it was always either\ngilded or painted--often both, gold being laid on the faces of the\ndentils and the recesses coloured alternately red and blue.\u201d[412] It is\nclear from Paulus that at S. Sophia the sculptured capitals were all\ngilt (Part II., lines 129 and 244), as apparently were also the carved\nsurfaces filling the spandrils of the lower arcade (line 236). The red\ncolouring which Salzenberg notices was probably the preparation for the\ngold. It is thus almost certain that the notched fillets and carved\nframes of white marble surrounding the marble wall panels were gilt, as\nthe Anonymous says, and coloured, thus reflecting as it were from the\nwall surfaces the brighter hues of the mosaic vaults.\n\n\n\u00a7 4. MONOGRAMS AND INSCRIPTIONS.\n\nThe poet Paulus speaks of the iconostasis as bearing the names of the\nemperor and empress, combined in a monogram--\u201cone letter that means\nmany words.\u201d\n\nSuch ciphers or monograms had been in use for some centuries, and at\nthe end of the fifth century they were used as signatures in discs left\nin the capitals. They appear at Ravenna in the time of Theodoric; and,\nin Constantinople, S. Sophia, S. Sergius, and S. Irene display similar\nciphers of Justinian. At S. Sophia almost every capital is charged with\ntwo monograms which are carved on the bosses on opposite sides of the\ncapitals. The background is entirely hollowed away, and the monograms\nshow sharp and clear in the nest-like cup which is held by the serrated\nedges of the acanthus leafage. There are four or five main varieties of\nwhich Salzenberg somewhat inaccurately figures two without offering any\nexplanation. The first type appears on two or three of the coins of\nJustinian, of which we have figured an example at large on the\ntitle-page, and in these instances they have been deciphered by Sabatier\nas the monogram of that emperor. A ceramic inscription given in the\n_Revue Arch\u00e9ologique_ for 1876, repeats the same form. We had made out\nthat the second variety was probably the word _Basileos_, when, at\nConstantinople, we were referred to the paper by Canon Curtis and M.\nAristarches.[413] In this article the monograms are classified according\nto their main types and the whole series is figured. Although the\nfigures are small, this is a thoroughly good piece of work, in the\nresult obtaining many pairs reading Justinian, Basileos, other pairs\nwith Theodora Augusta, and one with a date.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 75.--Monograms on Capitals of Nave.]\n\nThe capitals of the sixteen great columns of the nave, the capitals of\nthe lower side aisles--with the exception of those on the eight square\ncolumns,--and the thirty-six columns on the floor above, which screen\nthe side gynaecea from the nave, bear monograms. We were fortunately\nable to examine and draw all of them, but give in Fig. 75 only those\non the back and front of the sixteen great columns of the nave. They\noccur in the order in which they are placed on the illustration from\nthe first column on the left (north) side on entering at the west, to\nthe corresponding one on the south side.[414] Many of those monograms,\nespecially those of the galleries, bear evidence of having been\nrestored. We may recollect that the capitals were said to have been\nrestored by Romanus (p. 123). It is possible that Fossati tampered\nwith them; the Italian MS. of 1611 in the British Museum states that\n\u201cthe Turks have destroyed some figures which were anciently carved\n(_intagliarsi_) on the capitals.\u201d\n\nThere are fifty-six examples on the capitals which Curtis and\nAristarches give as being monograms of Justinian; in all these the\nletter \u039d forms the main lines, to which additions are made, so that the\nletters \u0399\u039f\u03a5\u03f9\u03a4\u0399\u039d\u0399\u0391\u039d\u039f\u03a5 can be traced out. Some of these have crosses in\naddition.\n\nThe next monogram is that read \u0392\u0391\u03f9\u0399\u039b\u0395\u03a9\u03f9. It occurs in all on fifty-five\ncolumns, the examples of it in our illustration are B.1, E.2, H.1, P.1,\nC.2, P.1, G.2, J.2, L.2, N.2, Q.2, the remnant of K.1, shows that this\nwas similar. This monogram is found also on the capitals of S. Sergius\nand Bacchus, and on three beautiful Basket Capitals at S. Mark\u2019s.[415]\n\nSeveral of the fifty-six, classed together as Justinian, furnish\nvarieties from the clearest typical form. In some a letter appears\nwhich may be read either as \u0395 or \u0392, also an \u03a9 and a sign of\ncontraction: see M.1 and O.1; possibly this is a combination of\nJustinian and Basileos or only a variant spelling: this form occurs in\nthe church of S. Sergius as well as at S. Sophia.\n\nOn twelve capitals is carved the monogram \u0398\u0395\u039f\u0394\u03a9\u03a1\u0391\u03f9. This is either\ndesigned on the cross form as B.2 F.1, another in the side aisles, and\nthree in the gynaeceum above, or else as in E.2 it approximates to\nBasileos. Two of this latter type also occur in S. Sergius, which shows\nhow early Justinian associated his wife with him in his architectural\nlabours.\n\nFinally from S. Sophia, and from there only, we have twelve examples of\n\u0391\u03a5\u0393\u039f\u03a5\u03f9\u03a4\u0391\u03f9. Typical ones are shown in G.1, and A.1-A.2; possibly some of\nthese, as A.1, may have been read Augustus, if any care was taken in\ntheir distribution. The letters on the last capital Q.1 have been read\nby Curtis and Aristarches as \u03dc\u039c\u0392\u0392. They take \u03dc to be a capital form of\nthe obsolete letter which is used for 6 or 6,000, \u039c is as usual 40, and\n\u0392 is 2. Hence they get 6042 for the year of the world. The lower \u0392 is\nthen explained as the year of an Indiction, reading it as \u0399\u0392, or 12.\nOne Indiction period of fifteen years would have ended in 522 A.D.,\nand the twelfth year from that would be 534 A.D. equalling 6042 A.M.\nTherefore this gives a date, two years after the church was begun, when\nthey suggest that this capital was put in its place. This ingenious\nexplanation requires too much adjustment for it to be conclusive, and\nthe \u03dc form is at least unusual. This monogram looks very white, as if\nit had been made up in plaster; if we were assured as to how much is\nancient we might perhaps, if it proved different from the others, find\nhere the inserted monogram of a later emperor who made repairs.\n\nSalzenberg gives some monogram signatures from the closures under the\ngreat west window, which are carefully carved and entirely different\nfrom rough masons\u2019 marks, although some of the forms occur amongst\nthose. We were unable to examine them, and taking Salzenberg\u2019s\nrepresentation, we can only suggest that they may be the signatures of\nmaster-workers; one appears to be Phocas.\n\nM. Choisy[416] has investigated the masons\u2019 marks of S. Sophia; besides\nthe ordinary signs, he makes out a system of numbering in the pavement\nslabs of the galleries.\n\nStrzygowski[417] pursues the subject of Byzantine marks in general,\nmuch further. He points out the same signs on the columns of S.\nVitale, of Pomposa, and of Parenzo, and in the cistern Bin-Bir-direk\nat Constantinople. From this we gather that not only \u201cthe columns of\nRavenna, but also the similar architectural features of Constantinople,\nSalonica, Parenzo, in fact along the whole coast of the Mediterranean\u201d\nwere taken from the quarries of Proconnesus, and in the lettering\non the different members we can recognise the working signs of the\nquarrymen or masons belonging to the guild, which sprang into existence\nthere at the founding of New Rome, and which even as early as the end\nof the fourth century was exporting to the islands of the \u00c6gean.\n\nA few other inscriptions on the marble may be briefly noticed. On the\ninner border of the marble parapet of the north gallery is scratched,\n\u201cPlace of the most noble Patrician Lady Theodora,\u201d ending with an\nabbreviation that may mean S. Sophia,[418] and again on a panel of the\nparapet of the north gallery at the west end is seen, \u201cTimothy, keeper\nof the vessels.\u201d Coteler in his _Monumenta Ecclesiae Graecae_ finds\nmention of one Timothy, who was skeuophylax of the Great Church at the\ntime of the Monothelite heresies about 622.[419]\n\nOn a column in the southern gynaeceum occurs the word Teodorus, but the\nfact that it is spelt with the Latin T and D proves it to have been\nwritten during the Western supremacy, 1204-1261.\n\nIn the south gallery is a slab forming a part of the paving; \u201cmarks in\nthe face of which seem to suggest that a railing inclosed the space\nwithin which a sarcophagus used to stand, supported by pillars.\u201d This\nis inscribed with the name of the blind Doge who led the Venetians\nagainst Constantinople in 1204, and died the following year, \u201cHENRICUS\nDANDOLO.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nNOTE\n\n\nThe following additional inscription from the mosaics is given in\nClarke\u2019s _Travels_ (1812). It was taken, he says, in one place, \u201cfrom\nthe ceiling of the dome,\u201d but in another place he seems to associate it\nwith the eastward semidomes:--\n\n \u039f\u03f9\u039a\u0391\u0399\u03a7\u03a1\u03a5\u03f9\u039f\u03a5\n \u03a0\u0395\u039d\u03a4\u0397\u039a\u039f\u039d\u03a4\u0391\n \u03a4\u0391\u039b\u0391\u039d\u03a4\u0391\u0398\u0395\u039f\u039a\n ..\u039d...\u039f\u0399\u03f9\u039d\u0395\n .\u0395\u039a\u0395\u0399.....\n\n\n\n\nINDEX\n\n\n A\n\n Abdul Mesjid, restoration by, 148\n\n Acacius, S., church of, 129\n\n Acanthus, 46, 166, 167, 254, 257, 261, 263\n\n Acropolis, 1, 2, 7, 10, 11, 12, 17\n\n Additions to church, 154, 155\n\n Adoration of Cross, 98\n\n Agathias (6th c.), 30, 33, 159, 204, 212, 214\n\n Agatho the Deacon, 182\n\n Agora of Milion, 179, 181\n\n Aisles, 27, 43, 44, 151;\n lamps in, 51;\n marble, 171, 243;\n mosaics, 247;\n vaulting, 160, 220, 221\n\n Aix, 116, 192\n\n Akoimetoi lamps, 118\n\n Alexandria, 6, 249;\n capital of S. Mark\u2019s at, 255\n\n Alexius, S., 181\n\n \u201e Comnenus (1081), 100, 105, 181\n\n Altar, 16, 29, 48, 68, 69, 100;\n cross placed on, 92;\n cloth, 71.\n See also Holy Table\n\n Ambo, 18, 29, 53, 57, 94, 98, 124, 130, 139, 140;\n candelabra round, 111, 118;\n singers in, 79, 104;\n coronations in, 61, 63\n\n Amiens, Knight of;\n see Robert de Clari\n\n Amurath III., 127\n\n Anastasia, S., church of, 21\n\n Anastasius, 116, 117, 119\n\n Ancyra, church at, 203\n\n Andreossy, 232\n\n Andronicus, S., 129\n\n \u201e Palaeologus, 124, 152\n\n Anemodulion, 178\n\n Anna Comnena (12th c.), 183, 186\n\n Anna, Empress, 124\n\n Annulets round shafts, 259, 273\n\n Anonymous Author (12th c. ?), 24, 26, 28, 30, 36, 43, 204, 248, 270\n\n Anthemius, 24, 26, 28, 30, 36, 43, 204, 248, 270\n\n Anthony of Novgorod;\n see Novgorod\n\n Antioch, 6, 17, 44, 181, 203\n\n _Antux_, 37, 41, 43, 45, 47, 49, 57\n\n Apollinaris, S., 258, 283\n\n Apostles, church of, 14, 15, 18, 74, 85, 205\n\n Apse, 19, 22, 24, 29, 32, 37, 67, 69, 132, 150, 216\n\n _Apsides_, 25, 28, 30, 41, 43, 133, 180, 182\n\n Apsoid, 22, 25, 209, 210\n\n Arcadius (395), 16, 180;\n baths of, 11;\n cistern, 257\n\n Arch, 210, 213;\n western restored, 123;\n forms, 220\n\n Architraves, marble, 138;\n bronze, 264\n\n Arculf (7th c.), 92, 95, 98\n\n Ark of Noah, 109, 138, 147\n\n Arrises of vaults, 244\n\n Arsenius, 86, 109, 124\n\n Asbestos, 27, 132, 136, 231\n\n Athos, Mt., 98, 115, 118, 119, 189, 227\n\n Atrax, marble, 45, 236\n\n Atrium, 18, 44, 122, 148, 152, 182, 185, 191, 215;\n capitals of, 166\n\n Attaliotas (11th c.), 67\n\n Augusteum, 4, 9, 10, 12, 20, 141, 146, 173, 178, 180, 184, 186;\n steps of, 65, 95\n\n _Aule_, 44, 45, 188\n\n\n B\n\n Baalbec, 201\n\n Baldwin, I., 124;\n II., 100\n\n Banduri, 7, 10, 175, 190\n\n Baptism of Christ, 44, 106, 183;\n of Emperors, 110, 183\n\n Baptistery, 18, 19, 20, 81, 106, 132, 152, 155, 183, 209, 217\n\n Barley in concrete, 132\n\n Base of dome, 210, 214\n\n Bases, 165, 258, 260\n\n Basil, S., 131, 143, 276;\n I. Emperor (867), 111, 123, 175, 182, 279;\n church built by, 68, 70, 90, 143, 189\n\n Basil II. (976), 89;\n see under Menologium\n\n Beams with lamps, 50, 111\n\n Beautiful Gate, 67, 95, 182\n\n Belfry, 122, 194, 215\n\n Bells, 106, 150, 194\n\n Bema, 18, 37, 62, 63, 65, 67, 78, 94;\n view of, 69;\n restored, 124;\n walls of, 171, 242;\n see also Thusiasterion\n\n Benjamin of Tudela, 83, 113, 178\n\n Bertrandon de la Brocqui\u00e8re, 92, 110, 125, 193\n\n Bethlehem, church of, 83, 182, 240;\n built by Justinian, 17\n\n Bin Bir Direk, cistern, 248\n\n Bishop\u2019s throne, 68, 79\n\n Blachernae palace, 11, 123\n\n Blessing the water, 110, 192\n\n Bondelmontius, 125, 175, 177, 179, 186, 193\n\n Bosporus, stone of, 46, 56, 79, 237\n\n Bosra, 90, 204\n\n Boucoleon palace, 99\n\n Bricks, 155, 161, 199, 224, 226, 234;\n size of, 155;\n inscriptions on, 136, 156, 207\n\n Bronze, 172, 180, 189, 264, 272;\n hooks, 86, 109, 264, 273;\n panels, 168, 170, 265;\n rings, 56, 60, 164, 259;\n horses at Venice, 193\n\n Bruin Code (1700), 196\n\n Bury, 7, 12, 200\n\n Buttress, 150, 157, 210, 216, 219, 226\n\n Buzantios, 7, 183, 264\n\n Byeljayev, 8, 177\n\n\n C\n\n Camerarum rotator, 206, 207\n\n Candelabra, 60, 74, 80, 103, 119\n\n Candles on ciborium, 48, 72\n\n Cantacuzenus (1341), 62, 65, 124\n\n Canterbury, 19\n\n Cantharus, 84, 189\n\n Capitals, 37, 43, 46, 55, 137, 164, 188, 218;\n distribution of, 255;\n types, 250, 254\n\n Carpets, 81, 90, 102, 183\n\n Carystus, marble of, 45, 237\n\n Cassiodorus, 206\n\n Catechumena, 65, 90, 94, 135\n\n Cedrenus (11th c.), 13, 14, 16, 99, 157, 180, 210\n\n Cells of clergy, 140, 186, 217\n\n Celtic marble, 45, 237\n\n Cements, 231, 289\n\n Ceremonies, book of (10th c.), 7, 20, 60, 92, 95, 123, 173, 181, 186,\n 219\n\n Chainage, 228\n\n Chains (lamp), 16, 49, 50, 51, 111;\n S. Peter\u2019s, 68, 183\n\n Chalk\u00e9 Gate, 95, 174\n\n Chalices, 96, 104, 108, 110, 111, 140, 242, 267\n\n Chalkis, 257\n\n Chambers at East-End, 153, 216\n\n Chapels, 68, 105, 154, 155, 184\n\n Cherubic Hymn, 63, 92\n\n Cherubim in mosaic, 278, 287\n\n Choir;\n see Solea\n\n Choisy, 128, 199, 200, 207, 210, 214, 222, 224, 226\n\n Chosroes, 32, 90, 97\n\n Chrysopolis, 5\n\n Chrysostom (4th c.), 16, 18, 44, 85, 109, 116, 144\n\n Chrysotriclinium, 174\n\n Ciborium, 29, 47, 68, 72, 167\n\n Cipollino, 263;\n rosy, 241, 242\n\n Cisterns of Constantinople, 83, 224, 226, 248, 257;\n of S. Sophia, 19, 106, 155, 196\n\n Clamps, 247\n\n Clavijo, 61, 83, 125, 175, 177, 179, 184, 186, 188\n\n Clemente S., church at Rome, 209, 254, 257\n\n Clergy, 91, 140\n\n Cloister on south side, 219\n\n Codinus (15th c.), 14, 21, 63, 65, 79, 128, 180, 183\n\n Columns, 55, 56, 60, 69, 109, 137, 138, 163, 165, 234, 236;\n of S. Basil, 102, 131;\n of S. Gregory, 102, 131;\n of Hippodrome, 172\n\n Colymbethra, 189\n\n Conchs, 22, 37, 150, 168, 180\n\n Constantine, 4, 6, 10, 14, 15, 99, 101, 103, 105, 129, 179, 180, 193,\n 198, 203;\n cross of, 95, 96;\n Forum of, 3, 5, 6, 9, 12, 14, 179, 182, 193;\n VII. Porphyrogenitus (912), 178;\n VIII. (1025), 89;\n XI. (1059), in mosaic, 287\n\n Constantius (337), 15\n\n Coptic linen, 88\n\n Cornices, 150, 163, 260, 261;\n of dome, 41, 150, 159, 163, 166\n\n Corona of lights, 50, 51, 111, 115, 119\n\n Corippus, 145\n\n Corporations, 11, 208\n\n Corsi, 236, 238, 239\n\n Covel, 118, 121, 128, 191, 232, 288, 290\n\n Cross, the true, 14, 92, 93, 94, 96, 98, 105, 109;\n adoration of, 92;\n exaltation of, 94, 98;\n of light, 116, 117;\n votive, 82\n\n Crowns, 63, 64, 72, 73, 103, 140\n\n Crusaders, 6, 161, 70, 87, 100, 124, 143\n\n Crust\u00e6, 241\n\n Crux Mensuralis, 102, 139\n\n Curtains, 33, 48, 49, 95, 103\n\n Curtis, 83, 85, 186\n\n Curve of inflection, 223\n\n\n D\n\n Damascening, 67\n\n Dara, 205\n\n Deacons, 63, 64, 65, 91\n\n Deaconesses, 18, 91\n\n Delphi, serpents from, 4, 177\n\n Demetrius, S., church of Salonica, 72, 121, 189, 202, 203, 214, 215,\n 257\n\n Deputatus, 64, 91\n\n Dethier, 273\n\n De Vog\u00fc\u00e9, 90, 180\n\n Diakonikon, 102\n\n Didaskalion, 94, 188\n\n Didron, 98\n\n Diehl, 285\n\n Diocletian, edict of, 206\n\n Dion Cassius, 10\n\n Dion Chrysostom, 181\n\n Dionysius, 13\n\n Discs (lamp), 50, 111, 113\n\n Division of labour, 207\n\n Dokimion, 238\n\n Dome, 201, 220, 226;\n of S. Sophia, 26, 29, 35, 42, 123, 142, 150, 157, 159, 169, 209,\n 210, 219;\n mosaics in, 274, 278, 286\n\n Domninus, porticoes of, 182\n\n Doors of church, 40, 57, 58, 138, 143, 147, 168, 193, 216, 267;\n Holy, 79, 94, 96\n\n Doorkeepers, 91\n\n Door veils, 88\n\n Drill, use of, in carving, 263\n\n Du Cange, 7, 34, 44, 53, 180, 186, 190;\n editions of, 66, 67;\n plan by, 78\n\n Ducas (15th c.), 126\n\n\n E\n\n Earthquakes, 21, 22, 122, 212, 228, 265\n\n Eastern chapels, 78\n\n Egypt, 4, 177, 200, 226, 228\n\n Elektron, 70, 138, 272\n\n Embolos of Milion, 180, 182\n\n Enamel, 68, 70, 272\n\n Encaenia, 15, 21, 34, 36, 141\n\n Endute, 71, 140\n\n Ephesus, 32, 130, 191, 202;\n building centre, 98;\n John of (6th c.), 98\n\n Equestrian statues, 149, 193\n\n Escomboli, 125\n\n Etoimasia, 286\n\n Euchologium, 62, 92, 194\n\n Eudoxia, 16;\n statue of, 12, 13, 179\n\n Eudoxius, 15\n\n Eugenius, gate of, 10\n\n Eusebius (4th c.), 14, 74, 190\n\n Eutychius, 29, 132, 141\n\n Exedras, of S. Sophia, 22, 25, 36, 151, 164, 168, 219, 234, 259;\n at S. Sergius, 205\n\n Exonarthex, 122, 148, 150, 162, 185, 188, 193, 215\n\n Exterior of S. Sophia, 215, 219;\n cased with marble, 197\n\n Evagrius (6th c.), 29, 32, 33\n\n Ezra, 204, 228\n\n\n F\n\n Fabri, Felix, 83, 246\n\n Fall of city, 125, 126, 147, 175, 179\n\n Fanio, portico of, 12\n\n Figure scheme in mosaics, 280, 283\n\n Fillet, notched, 170, 260, 292\n\n Flabella, 91, 104, 285\n\n Fonts, 19, 20, 81\n\n Fortunatus, 81\n\n Forum of Constantine, 3, 5, 6, 9, 12, 13, 14, 179, 182, 193;\n Tauri, 178\n\n Fossati, 84, 120, 148, 179, 185, 287\n\n Foundations, 132\n\n Fountains, 177, 185, 188\n\n\n G\n\n Galata, 5, 11\n\n Galla Placidia, 74, 282\n\n Galleries to S. Sophia, 212, 217\n\n Gammidae, 71, 88, 267\n\n Ganosis, 246\n\n Garconostasion, 188\n\n Garofalo, 236\n\n Germanus (8th c.), patriarch, 85, 100\n\n Giallo antico, 172, 239\n\n Gilding, 272\n\n Glass, 46, 169, 290;\n enamels, 272;\n mosaic, 172, 273\n\n Glycas (12th c.), 21, 79, 123, 129, 145\n\n Goar (17th c.), 69, 92, 122, 192, 194\n\n Gold, 33, 46, 48, 49, 60, 70, 199, 293\n\n Golden Gate, 135;\n Horn, 1, 5, 6, 10, 11, 90\n\n Gregory, S., of Armenia, 276;\n S., of Nazianzene, 209;\n S., of Nyssa, 206, 207;\n Thaumaturgus, 83, 102, 106, 131, 276, 287\n\n Grelot, 66, 78, 84, 120, 127, 185, 188, 190, 193, 215, 285, 291\n\n Gruter, 84, 190\n\n Gyllius, 12, 66, 127, 146, 175, 177, 179, 185, 193, 248\n\n Gynaeceum, 27, 44, 65, 87, 91, 131, 140, 147, 161, 164, 242;\n accesses to, 152, 154, 157;\n domes, 222;\n doors, 210;\n pavement, 172, 215;\n windows, 168, 171\n\n Gypsoplastes, 206\n\n Gypsum, use of, 226\n\n\n H\n\n Habakkuk in mosaic, 277\n\n Haifa sand, 241\n\n Hangings, 86\n\n Helena, 14, 97, 99\n\n Hemicycle, 19, 22, 67, 205, 219\n\n Hemisphere, 30, 32, 41, 123\n\n Heraclius (610), 91, 97\n\n Hierapolis marble, 55, 57, 60, 238\n\n Hippodrome, 2, 3, 4, 10, 12, 13, 17, 121, 174, 175, 186, 193\n\n Holy table, 29, 48, 63, 68, 70, 96, 138;\n see also Altar;\n well, 78, 91, 95, 105, 130, 139;\n wood, 94, 97, 105\n\n Hormisdas, palace of, 174, 257\n\n Horologium, 20, 95, 132, 141, 182\n\n Hypurgi of narthex, 91\n\n\n I\n\n Iassian marble, 44, 45, 238\n\n Iconoclasts, 280\n\n Iconostasis, 46, 51, 60, 68, 74, 126, 172;\n lamps on, 111, 118\n\n Icons, 71, 85, 105, 129\n\n Idatius (5th c.), 15\n\n Jerash, 201\n\n Jeremiah in mosaic, 277\n\n Jerusalem, 14, 84, 97, 104, 256\n\n Ignatius, 88, 108, 133, 140, 177, 287\n\n Images, Restoration of, 85, 122\n\n Indiction, 21, 269\n\n Inscriptions, 90, 190, 205, 264\n\n Instructor parietum, 206\n\n Instruments of Passion, 96, 97, 109\n\n John Studius, S., church of, 120, 218, 257\n\n Jonah in mosaic, 277\n\n Joshua, trumpets of, 105, 139\n\n Irene, S., 12, 129, 264;\n Empress, 287\n\n Iron ties, 161, 162, 230\n\n Isaiah in mosaic, 276\n\n Isauria, church in, 201, 202\n\n Isaurian workmen, 29, 207\n\n Isidorus, the elder, 24, 26, 28;\n the younger, 30, 43, 204, 206\n\n Justinian I. (527), 14, 20, 24, 29, 34, 61, 70, 88, 90, 104, 119,\n 154, 167, 190, 198;\n figure of in mosaic, 287;\n equestrian statue, 180\n\n Justinian II. (685), 174\n\n Justin II. (565), 61, 97, 142, 174\n\n Ivory inlaid, 55, 60\n\n\n K\n\n Kamara, 99, 136, 180\n\n Kathisma, 175, 177, 193\n\n Klerikos of S. Sophia, 91\n\n Kouppas, 228\n\n Kraus, 17\n\n Krumbacher, 22, 30, 32\n\n Kuklios, Kuklis, 68, 90, 138\n\n\n L\n\n Labarte, 7, 9, 10, 12, 68, 128, 173, 177, 180, 217\n\n Lamplighter, 74, 261\n\n Lamps, 111, 144, 250\n\n Laotomos, 55, 133, 206\n\n Laotoros, 45, 59, 206\n\n Lateran, lighting at, 113\n\n Lattaquieh, milion at, 180\n\n Lattices, window, 154, 168, 197, 261, 290\n\n Lazarus, the painter, 107\n\n Lead, 27, 41, 150, 259\n\n Leo, Pope, 72, 115\n\n Leo III. (717), Emperor Edict of, 280\n\n Leo VI. (886), Emperor, 73, 103\n\n Leo the Deacon (10th c.), 123\n\n Lighting, 49, 52, 110\n\n Lithologos, 25, 206\n\n Lithoxooi, 133, 206\n\n Loggia of Baptistery, 217, 252, 258\n\n Louter, 132, 138, 182, 189, 192\n\n Lukium cement, 232\n\n Luke, S., monastery of, 99, 145, 284, 285\n\n Lybian marble, 45, 239\n\n Lydian marble, 45, 239\n\n Lydus, John (6th c.), 3, 6, 42, 208\n\n\n M\n\n Macron, 181, 182\n\n Magistros, 129, 206\n\n Mahomet II., 126, 127, 152\n\n Maistor, 136, 206, 208\n\n Manaura, palace of, 94\n\n Mandeville, 84, 146\n\n Manual Byzantine, 182, 284\n\n Manuel (1143), 181\n\n Marbles, 45, 170, 235;\n export of, 240;\n application of, 241, 260\n\n Marcellinus Comes (6th c.), 21\n\n Marina, House of, 11, 14, 174, 175\n\n Mark, S., church of, at Alexandria, 256;\n at Venice, 82, 108, 109, 193, 197, 256;\n monograms, 294\n\n Marmora, 84\n\n Mass, 62, 92, 106\n\n Mechanikos, 29, 132, 133, 136, 206\n\n Mechanopoios, 24, 28, 206\n\n Megale Eisodos, 62, 63\n\n Mekkah Sand, 240\n\n Menas, patriarch, 21\n\n Menologium, 61, 68, 98, 108, 119, 183;\n date, 71\n\n Mese, 5, 6, 12, 13, 180, 182, 186\n\n Mesomphalos, 79\n\n Metatorion, 77, 78, 96, 131, 141, 182\n\n Methodius, 287\n\n Michael III. (842), 111, 122, 123, 269\n\n Miletus, 24, 204\n\n Milion, 6, 10, 11, 70, 99, 180, 181, 182\n\n Minarets, 127, 151, 152, 215\n\n Molossus, marble of, 43, 59, 238\n\n Monograms at S. Sophia, 47, 60, 164, 169, 170, 174, 251, 268, 272, 295;\n at Ravenna, 292;\n at Venice, 294\n\n Mordtmann, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 175\n\n Mortar, 156, 231, 235\n\n Mosaics, 42, 46, 69, 199, 206, 282;\n figures, 273, 287;\n first scheme, 279;\n at S. Luke\u2019s, 99;\n at S. Mark\u2019s, 82;\n at Ravenna, 71, 86\n\n Mouldings, 242, 260\n\n Murad III., 152\n\n Murano, 84, 85\n\n Mygdonian marble, 56, 239\n\n\n N\n\n Naos, 32, 67, 79, 132\n\n Narthex, 40, 44, 106, 140, 150, 182, 216, 225;\n vaults, 137, 222, 226;\n frieze, 241;\n mosaics, 274, 287;\n propylaeum, 92, 95, 162, 188\n\n Nectarius, 16, 129\n\n Neorion Port, 56\n\n New church of Brazil, 90, 284\n\n New Rome, 4, 36, 46\n\n Nicaea, 181, 285\n\n Nicetas (13th c.), 70, 150, 177, 181\n\n Nicephorus Callistus (14th c.), 14\n\n Nicephorus Gregoras (14th c.), 86, 124, 152\n\n Nicholas, 102, 110, 183;\n of Myra, 276;\n Thingeyrensis, 99\n\n Niketes, 272\n\n Nola, church at, 113, 119, 190, 267, 291\n\n Notitia, 2, 5, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 174, 208\n\n Novgorod, Anthony of, 83, 92, 100, 183;\n Stephen of, 84, 113, 185;\n Chronicle (13th c.), 68, 75\n\n Nuremberg Chronicle (15th c.), 175\n\n\n O\n\n Octagon Church, 203;\n Baptistery, 186, 220\n\n Officers of church, 91\n\n Oikodomoi, 133, 200\n\n Oil in cements, 136, 232, 233\n\n Omphalos omphalion, 89, 96\n\n Onyx, 239, 241\n\n Opus sectile, 45, 162, 171, 220, 225, 242, 246\n\n Orientation, 17\n\n Organic architecture, 247\n\n Original form of church, 209\n\n Oriental alabaster, 170, 171, 239, 242\n\n Ostiarii, 91\n\n\n P\n\n Pachymeres (13th c.), 71, 85\n\n Palace, 7, 13, 132, 173, 174, 175;\n of Blachernae, 11, 123;\n of Hormisdas, 174, 175;\n of Marina, 11, 14, 174;\n of Patriarch, 13, 14, 107, 179, 186;\n of Placidia, 174, 175\n\n Pala d\u2019Oro, 71, 109\n\n Palaeologus, 61;\n Andronicus II. (1328), 124, 152;\n John I. (1356), 124, 278, 287;\n John II. (1425), 71, 190;\n Michael (1261), 10, 71, 124, 190\n\n Palladius (4th c.), 16, 18, 144\n\n Palmyra, 6, 181, 201\n\n Panels, marble, 68, 171, 241\n\n Pantocrator, mosaic, 287\n\n Parenzo, 209, 219, 246, 256, 257\n\n Paschal Chronicle (7th c.), 3, 13, 15, 174\n\n Paspates, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 79, 81, 84, 90, 100, 173, 176, 179, 186\n\n Passion, instruments of, 96, 99, 100\n\n Patriarch, 4, 62, 91, 95, 96, 104, 107, 125, 137, 144, 181\n\n Patriarchs\u2019 tombs, 85\n\n Paul, S., figure of, 49, 109, 118, 123, 275\n\n Paul the Deacon (8th c.), 41\n\n Paulus Maurocenus, 108\n\n Paulus Silentiarius (6th c.), 20, 33, 67, 70, 79, 128, 159, 160, 204,\n 206\n\n Paulinus (5th c.), 113, 119, 190, 267\n\n Pausanias, 2\n\n Pavement of nave, 79, 80, 137, 138, 142, 172;\n of atrium, 141, 191;\n cloisters, 125;\n gynaeceum, 81;\n Basil\u2019s church, 68;\n Augusteum, 186\n\n Pavonazzetto, 170\n\n Pendentives, 26, 41, 201, 209\n\n Peperino, 155\n\n Peter, S., figure of, 49, 118, 123, 275;\n chains of, 68, 102, 183;\n chapel of, 68, 78, 102, 130, 183, 184;\n church of, at Rome, 72, 74, 116, 189, 192\n\n Pharos, 116, 117\n\n Phengites, 262\n\n Phiale, 44, 141, 189, 190, 191\n\n Philoxenus, cisterns of, 248\n\n Phrygian marble, 45, 56, 59, 237\n\n Piers, 22, 25, 28, 29, 41, 79, 133, 157, 159;\n of stone, 155, 234;\n of west front, 193\n\n Plane of least labour, 261\n\n Polishing marble, 246\n\n Pointed arches, 220\n\n Polycandela, 111, 112, 114, 115, 140\n\n Porches, 69, 70, 91, 123, 151, 183, 190, 215, 288;\n south, 185;\n doors of, 268, 270\n\n Porphyry, 37, 134, 236\n\n Porticoes of Domninus, 182;\n of mese, 6;\n of milion, 182;\n of Severus, 6\n\n Porto-Venere marble, 171, 239\n\n Pozzolana, 291\n\n Praepositus, 94, 95\n\n Priests, 47, 67, 91, 107, 140, 144\n\n Proaulion, 137, 179\n\n Procession to the church, 95\n\n Proconnesus, marble of, 4, 44, 46, 79, 80, 81, 156, 163, 164, 166,\n 172, 209, 237, 242, 243, 256\n\n Procopius, (6th c.), 21, 22, 68, 159, 174, 180, 189, 197, 206, 214\n\n Pronaos, 67, 181, 184\n\n Prothesis, 63, 64, 75, 77\n\n Protomaistor, 145, 207\n\n Protooikodomos, 136, 206\n\n Protopapas, 91, 93\n\n Protospatharios, 91\n\n Protopsaltae, 63, 79, 92\n\n Psellus (11th c.), 145\n\n Pulcheria, 12, 16\n\n Purgos of ciborium, 47;\n of ambo, 54\n\n\n Q\n\n Quadriporticus, 215\n\n\n R\n\n Ramazan illuminations, 121\n\n Ravenna, 17, 71, 80, 88, 183, 209, 246\n\n Readers, 160\n\n Receptions on way from Palace, 95\n\n Refendarius, 64, 91\n\n Relics, 16, 97, 100, 106, 137, 139\n\n Resin fixes marble to walls, 172\n\n Restoration of image worship, 122;\n of S. Sophia, 22, 29, 123, 210, 212\n\n Rhodes, bricks from, 136, 142, 156\n\n Riant, 19, 100, 108\n\n Ribs of dome, 159, 275\n\n Robert de Clari (13th c.), 61, 70, 72, 113, 115\n\n Rohault de Fleury, 17, 61, 67, 74, 113, 116\n\n Roman system of building, 199\n\n Romanus Argyrus, (1028), 123, 295\n\n Rome, 2, 17, 123, 200, 209\n\n Rosso antico, 171, 242\n\n Round N.E. building, 78, 154, 217\n\n Royal Door, 67, 150, 151, 181, 204;\n slabs over, 242\n\n Russian Pilgrim, 65, 143, 145\n\n\n S\n\n Sacellarius, 91\n\n Sacristy, 78, 154, 184;\n see Skeuophylakium\n\n Salonica, see under Demetrius, also Sophia\n\n Salzenberg, 19, 20, 34, 42, 67, 78, 149-172, 203, 210, 213, 216, 219,\n 273\n\n Sanctuary, 28, 68, 78, 101, 102, 105, 107, 109;\n smaller, 77, 101;\n right of in S. Sophia, 189\n\n Scaffolding, 123, 142, 226\n\n Schlumberger, 91\n\n Screen to solea, 79;\n in South Gallery, 90, 262\n\n Sculptor Marmorum, 206\n\n Scylitzes (11th c.), 123\n\n Secondary order of columns, 213, 214, 219, 230\n\n Selim II., 127\n\n Semidomes, 22, 24, 40, 150, 209, 219, 226\n\n Senate, 6, 11, 12, 179\n\n Sepulchre Holy, slab of, at S. Sophia, 101, 105;\n Church of, at Jerusalem, 41, 74, 83, 84\n\n Seraglio, 10, 180, 184;\n Point, 1, 2, 5, 6\n\n Sergius S., church of, at Bosra, 204;\n Church of, at Constantinople, 83, 166, 174, 204, 205, 218, 256,\n 257, 295, 296\n\n Serpentine, 171, 172\n\n Services in S. Sophia, 92, 126\n\n Severus, 1, 3, 6;\n porticoes of, 5, 6\n\n Shop production, 208, 256\n\n Silver, 28, 33, 37, 40, 46, 47, 54, 56, 60, 70, 74, 75;\n in pavement, 68;\n in mosaic, 273;\n in monograms, 268\n\n Simeon of Thessalonica, 67, 192\n\n Sinai, Mt., 83, 119\n\n Singers, 60, 91, 140\n\n Skeuophylax, 91, 95, 297\n\n Skeuophylakium, 78, 91, 127, 130, 139, 154, 183\n\n Skirtings, 241, 260\n\n Socrates (5th c.), 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 116\n\n Solea, 63, 64, 67, 96, 139, 140, 142\n\n Solomon, 71, 100, 110, 126, 141, 144, 190\n\n Sophia S., church of, at Salonica, 202, 203, 214, 257\n\n Sozomenus (5th c.), 16\n\n Spandrils of arcades, 45, 163, 166, 170, 242, 260, 293\n\n Spartan marble, 65, 239\n\n Sphendone, 175\n\n Spina, 175, 177\n\n Stairways, 94, 123, 162, 210, 216\n\n Stalls, 37, 40, 66, 137, 172\n\n Strategion, 3, 4\n\n Stucco, 291\n\n Subdeacons, 91, 104\n\n Suidas (10th c.), 70, 146\n\n Sundial, 178, 182\n\n Sunergasia, 208\n\n Synnadan marble, 60, 82, 171, 238, 243\n\n Syria, influence of, 201, 204\n\n\n T\n\n Technitai, 24, 206\n\n Tektonikos, 133, 206\n\n Temples at Byzantium, 1-4\n\n Tesserae, 45, 274, 288\n\n Texier, 10, 149, 193, 203, 283\n\n Theodora, wife of Justinian, 70, 86, 88, 294;\n wife of Theophilus, 122, 269\n\n Theodoric, 86, 88, 257\n\n Theodosius I. (379), 16, 129, 177, 180;\n Code of, 206\n\n Theodosius II. (408), 6, 16\n\n Theophanes (9th c.), 14, 20, 29, 72, 100, 207, 209;\n Continuator (10th c.), 71, 87, 90\n\n Theophilus, Emperor (829), 175, 269;\n writer, 272, 290\n\n Thessaly, marble of, 32, 37, 40, 44, 58, 59, 130, 164, 236\n\n Thomaites, 65, 181, 186\n\n Throne, 62, 105;\n of bishop, 68;\n in mosaic, 277, 279\n\n Thusiasterion, 18, 28, 67, 130, 132, 136\n\n Tiberius (578), 174\n\n Titanos, 27, 232\n\n Tombs in S. Sophia, 102\n\n Tralles, 24, 204\n\n Transparent slabs, 262\n\n Trees of light, 51, 57, 118, 119\n\n Tribunal with porphyry steps, 11\n\n Triconcha, 175\n\n Turks capture city, 126, 127, 147\n\n Turrets at west end, 163\n\n\n U\n\n Ultramarine, 60, 291\n\n Undercutting in carving, 254\n\n Unger, 8, 78\n\n Urns, marble, 84\n\n\n V\n\n Varangi, 64\n\n Vaults, 69, 150, 160, 161, 199, 200, 207, 219;\n mosaic on, 274\n\n Vela, 65, 86, 87\n\n Venice, 71, 72, 99, 175, 193\n\n Verde antique, 67, 81, 82, 164, 165, 166, 167, 170, 172, 242, 260, 261\n\n Veronica, 286\n\n Villehardouin, 107\n\n Virgin, figure of, 83, 109, 123, 275, 278, 284\n\n Vitale, S., at Ravenna, 88, 227\n\n Von Hammer, 145, 152\n\n\n W\n\n Walls of church, 155, 157;\n marble casings, 285\n\n Wax, encaustic, 246\n\n Well, Holy, 78, 91, 95, 105, 130, 139\n\n West front, 192\n\n Windows, 42, 43, 158, 168, 209, 261\n\n Wood, Holy, 94, 95, 97, 105\n\n Wood tie beams, 161, 162, 168, 227, 228, 230\n\n\n Z\n\n Zeno, building laws of, 6\n\n Zenobia, city of, 206\n\n Zeuxippus, baths of, 3, 4, 11, 179\n\n Zonaras (11th c.), 29, 160, 179, 209\n\n Zosimus (5th c.), 4, 5\n\n THE END.\n\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES\n\n\n[1] \u1f08\u03bd\u03ac\u03c0\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u0392\u03bf\u03c3\u03c0\u03cc\u03c1\u03bf\u03c5, ed. C. Wescher, 1874, p. 5.\n\n[2] _Notitia Dignitatum_, eds. Pancirolus, Venice, 1602, and Seeck\nBerlin, 1876. The date given by Seeck for the _Notitia_ is 411-413 A.D.\n\n[3] \u1f19\u03bb\u03bb\u03b7\u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u1f78\u03c2 \u03a6\u03b9\u03bb\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03b9\u03ba\u1f78\u03c2 \u03a3\u03cd\u03bb\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2; \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03ac\u03c1\u03c4\u03b7\u03bc\u03b1, 1885.\n\n[4] Ed. Bonn, i., p. 494.\n\n[5] Lydus speaks of a fire spreading from the \u201cForum of Zeuxippus\u201d to\nthat of Constantine (p. 265). The baths of Zeuxippus are placed at the\nnorth end of the Hippodrome by Labarte and Mordtmann.\n\n[6] Christodorus, a fifth-century poet.--F. Baumgarten, 1891.\n\n[7] _Hist._ ed. Bonn, p. 97.\n\n[8] Rawlinson\u2019s _Herodotus_, 1875, vol. iv., p. 467.\n\n[9] Mordtmann, _Esquisse topo. de Constantinople_, p. 48 and map.\n\n[10] _The Museum of Classic. Antiq._ 1857, p. 305. The Capitol was\nbeyond Forum Cons. Lydus speaks of \u201cthe porticoes that pass through\nthe city and lead to the Forum of Constantine, and the broad space is\nscreened symmetrically with great and beautiful columns. [Some of]\nthese porticoes are said to have been built by men from Naples and\nPuteoli who came to Byzantium to please Constantine.\u201d (Ed. Bonn, p.\n266.)\n\n[11] _Imperium Orientale_, Paris, 1711.\n\n[12] Bury, _A History of the later Roman Empire_ (395 A.D. to 800\nA.D.), vol. i., p. 57. Mr. Bury, in an excellent review of Paspates\u2019\nbook in _The Scottish Review_, Ap. 1894, gives up the position assigned\nto the Augusteum by that author.\n\n[13] D. By\u00e9ljajev, _Byzantina_, St. Petersburg, 1891, reviewed in\n_Byzantinische Zeitschrift_, 1892, p. 344.\n\n[14] MSS., plans, and descriptions, in the Library of R. Inst. Brit.\nArchitects.\n\n[15] Paspates, _The Great Palace_, p. 20. Mr. Metcalfe\u2019s translation is\nintended throughout.\n\n[16] Lib. lxxiv., ch. 10.\n\n[17] Mordtmann, _Esquisse_, pp. 4 and 5.\n\n[18] _Esquisse Top._ p. 3.\n\n[19] Zosimus (p. 139) and Lydus (p. 265) say that the Emperor Julian\nbuilt a Senate. So also according to Sozomen (ii. 3) and the _Paschal\nChron._ did Constantine.\n\n[20] _Hist. eccles._ lib. vi., ch. xviii.\n\n[21] _Ecc. Hist._ lib. i., xvii.\n\n[22] Du Cange, _Descriptio S. Sophiae_, ed. Bonn, p. 62.\n\n[23] Eusebius, _De Vita Cons._ lib. iv., cap. lviii-lix.\n\n[24] _De Vita Cons._ lib. iii., cap. xlviii.-xlix.\n\n[25] _Eccl. Hist._ ii., xvi.\n\n[26] Du Cange, p. 63. He quotes the fifth-century author Idatius.\n\n[27] Ed. Bonn, i., p. 523, and i., p. 530.\n\n[28] Socrates, _Hist. Eccl._ vi., 18.\n\n[29] Du Cange, \u00a7 3.\n\n[30] _Pasch. Chron._ ed. Bonn, i., p. 572.\n\n[31] _Eccl. Hist._ ix., 1.\n\n[32] See Tozer\u2019s note, Finlay, vol. i., 45.\n\n[33] Justinian\u2019s church was opened at Christmas.\n\n[34] Art. \u201cOrientirung\u201d in _Real Encyklop\u00e4die der Christlichen\nAlterth\u00fcmer_, 1886, based on Mothes\u2019 schedule in _Die Basilikenformen_,\n1865. We hope to show on another occasion that the present church at\nBethlehem which points to the east was entirely rebuilt by Justinian.\nThere is no proof that S. George Salonica is older than fifth cent.\n\n[35] _Homilies_ xxvi. and lx.\n\n[36] _De Sepulcris Imperatorum_, Migne S. G., vol. 157, p. 726.\n\n[37] Migne, p. 674.\n\n[38] Bingham, _Antiquities of the Christian Church_, vol. iii., p. 120.\n\n[39] _Revue Arch\u00e9ologique_, vol. iv., p. 659, and Kugler, _Geschichte\nder Baukunst_, vol. i., p. 372.\n\n[40] For similar early circular baptisteries see Martigny, _Dict.\nChrist. Antiq._\n\n[41] See Salz., plate xx., figs. 4, 5.\n\n[42] _Ibid._ p. 19.\n\n[43] _Chron. Pasch._ ed. Bonn, p. 622.\n\n[44] Zonaras also gives the true date; according to the Byzantine era\nthe year of the world 6040. In Cedrenus it appears as 6008, a copyist\u2019s\nerror in writing \u03b7\u02bc for \u03bc\u02bc.\n\n[45] Ed. Bonn, p. 338.\n\n[46] Migne, _S.L._ vol. li., p. 943.\n\n[47] Ed. Bonn, p. 378.\n\n[48] _Theo._ p. 359.\n\n[49] _Geschichte der Byzantinischen Litteratur_, 1893, p. 42. Ramsay\nsays it could not have been completed until 560. See _Historical\nGeography of Asia Minor_, p. 205.\n\n[50] \u03bb\u03b9\u03b8\u03bf\u03bb\u03cc\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2--really one who picks out and lays stones.\n\n[51] \u1f01\u03c8\u03af\u03c2, \u201ca binding together,\u201d used for either an arch or a semidome.\n\n[52] \u03bb\u03c9\u03c1\u03cc\u03c2, \u201ca thong\u201d or a belt.\n\n[53] The author seems here to mistake the piers for the temporary\nsupport of the arch while it was being built.\n\n[54] Theophanes, _Chronographia_, ed. Bonn, vol. i., p. 359.\n\n[55] _Chron. Pasch._ ed. Bonn, and Zonaras.\n\n[56] _Chron._ ed. Bonn, p. 369.\n\n[57] Krumbacher, p. 49.\n\n[58] Agathias, lib. v. ed. Bonn, p. 296.\n\n[59] \u03c4\u1f74\u03bd \u1f10\u03c0\u1f76 \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6 \u03ba\u03c5\u03c1\u03c4\u03ce\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03bf\u1f30\u03ba\u03bf\u03b4\u03cc\u03bc\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd.\n\n[60] Krumbacher, p. 53.\n\n[61] _Hist. Eccles._ iv., chap. 31.\n\n[62] The dimensions appear so inaccurate that we do not attempt to\nexplain them.\n\n[63] Salz. _Alt. Baud._\n\n[64] \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03ba\u03ad\u03bd\u03c4\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd \u1f15\u03bb\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c3\u03c7\u1fc6\u03bc\u03b1 \u03c7\u03b1\u03c1\u03ac\u03be\u03b1\u03b9.\n\n[65] \u1f04\u03bd\u03c4\u03c5\u03be, the circular rim of a shield. Used here for the bema-arch.\n\n[66] Column does not stand directly over column.\n\n[67] \u03c3\u03c6\u03b1\u03af\u03c1\u03b7\u03c2 \u1f21\u03bc\u03b9\u03c4\u03cc\u03bc\u03bf\u03b9\u03bf, the \u1f21\u03bc\u03b9\u03c3\u03c6\u03b1\u03af\u03c1\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd of Agathias and Evagrius. This\nword is used by Eusebius for the dome of the Holy Sepulchre.\n\n[68] \u1f14\u03b3\u03c1\u03b1\u03c6\u03b5 leaves no doubt that a mosaic cross on the interior is\nintended, and not, as Salzenberg suggests, a cross on the outside.\nThe full expression for representations in mosaic was \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1\u03b3\u03c1\u03ac\u03c6\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd\n\u03c8\u03b7\u03c6\u1fd6\u03b4\u03b9: as in Joannes Lydus (\u2020 550), De Magistratibus ii. 20, in his\ndescription of the palace built by the Praetorian Prefect.\n\n[69] Near Antioch.\n\n[70] A town of Lycia.\n\n[71] \u1f04\u03bd\u03b8\u03bf\u03c2, a bud, sprout or flower; hence brightness and bloom\ngenerally.\n\n[72] \u03b8\u03cd\u03c1\u03b5\u03c4\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 is elsewhere a door. But \u201ctwin doors\u201d has no meaning\nhere. See plan.\n\n[73] January; the consuls then entered on their year of office, and\nwore chitons of gold thread. See Du Cange, _S. Sophia_, \u00a7 22.\n\n[74] This custom at Antioch is mentioned as early as the time of S.\nJohn Chrysostom in a sermon on the Baptism of Christ.\n\n[75] \u03c8\u03b7\u03c6\u1fd6\u03b4\u03b5\u03c2--pebbles. The usual word for mosaic tesserae.\n\n[76] In Macedonia. The mines are mentioned by Herodotus.\n\n[77] The promontory on the south of Attica. The mines were at Laurium.\n\n[78] \u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03c5\u03b3\u03bb\u03ce\u03c3\u03c3\u03bf\u03b9\u03bf \u1f41\u03bc\u03af\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5, the choir.\n\n[79] \u03bd\u1ff6\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd, a back, and hence, any wide, flat surface.\n\n[80] \u03bc\u03cd\u03c1\u03bc\u03b7\u03be, the ant; here the silkworm.\n\n[81] \u03bf\u1f50\u03c1\u03af\u03b1\u03c7\u03bf\u03c2. Used in Homer of the butt end of a spear; hence long\nnarrow glass lamps. See our Fig. 17.\n\n[82] \u1f10\u03c0\u03b1\u03ba\u03c4\u03c1\u03af\u03c2, a small row-boat.\n\n[83] See Du Cange, _S. Sophia_, \u00a7 70.\n\n[84] Called \u1f40\u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03b8\u03ac\u03bc\u03b2\u03c9\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u1f50\u03c7\u03ae, the \u201cback\u201d of the ambo.\n\n[85] Ed. Bonn, p. 74. See also our page 79.\n\n[86] See Nicetas also on our p. 75.\n\n[87] _La Messe._, Art. \u201cAmbon,\u201d vol. iii., p. 9.\n\n[88] Hopf, _Chroniques Gr\u00e9co-Romanes_, p. 96.\n\n[89] See our p. 75.\n\n[90] Cantacuzenus, _Hist._ lib. i., chap. 41, ed. Bonn, p. 196.\n\n[91] A shortened form of \u03ba\u03b5\u03ba\u03c1\u03ac\u03ba\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9.\n\n[92] \u1f21 \u03bc\u03b5\u03b3\u03ac\u03bb\u03b7 \u03b5\u1f34\u03c3\u03bf\u03b4\u03bf\u03c2, when the Bread and Wine are brought from the\ntable of the prothesis and placed upon the Holy Table, while the\nCherubic Hymn is sung in honour of \u201cthe King of all, invisibly attended\nby the spears of the Angelic Hosts.\u201d See Dr. Freshfield\u2019s article\nin the _Archaeologia_, vol. xliv., p. 386; he translates a parallel\naccount from Codinus.\n\n[93] A Russian pilgrim describing the coronation of Manuel in the\nfourteenth century says, \u201cThe imperial procession advanced so slowly\nthat it took three hours to walk from the royal door to the thrones.\u201d\n_Soc. de l\u2019Orient Latin, s\u00e9ries g\u00e9og._ vol. v., p. 143.\n\n[94] _De Officiis Palatii_, chap. xvii., ed. Bonn, p. 87.\n\n[95] In _Nicephori Bryennii ... Pauli Silentiarii comment._\n\n[96] _Hist. Byz. duplici commentario illustrata._\n\n[97] Introduction to the _History of the Eastern Church_.\n\n[98] Du Cange, _S. Sophia_, \u00a7 49.\n\n[99] Ed. Bonn, p. 259.\n\n[100] Cons. Porphyr. in Labarte, _Pal. Imp\u00e9rial_, p. 92.\n\n[101] See our p. 75.\n\n[102] See Anon. p. 138 below.\n\n[103] The _Euchologium_, ed. 1647, p. 499, speaks of taking the\ngarments of those about to become conventuals and placing them on or\nin the \u201clittle sea\u201d (_thalassidion_) of the Holy Table. Here Goarus\ninterprets it as \u201cthe hollow recess of the Holy Table,\u201d which seems to\nhave been beneath the table, and used for washing the vessels, like the\npiscina in the later Latin church.\n\n[104] \u201c\u1f14\u03bb\u03b5\u03ba\u03c4\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd or \u1f00\u03bb\u03bb\u03cc\u03c4\u03c5\u03c0\u03bf\u03bd united with glass and fine stones; such is\nthe material of which the Holy Table of S. Sophia is made.\u201d _Glossary\nof Suidas_ quoted by Labarte in _Recherches sur la Peinture en Email_,\np. 89.\n\n[105] Porphyrogenitus describes the table in the chapel built by Basil\nthe Macedonian as \u201ca mixture of all precious materials placed in order\nand bound together by fire into a many-coloured mass of surpassing\nbeauty, which is the wonder of all nations.\u201d We also read of \u201cHoly\nTables of silver, having gold and precious stones and pearls poured\nover them, forming a compact union together.\u201d\n\n[106] Hopf, _Chroniques Gr\u00e9co-Romanes_.\n\n[107] Nic. _Chron. Hist._, ed. Bonn, p. 758.\n\n[108] _Vera Historia Unionis_, Hague, 1660.\n\n[109] A MS. Greek service-book made for Basil II. (976-1025) now in the\nVatican Library. A folio was printed from it at Urbino in 1727.\n\n[110] Migne, S. L. vol. 106, p. 610.\n\n[111] Migne, S. L. vol. 106, p. 603.\n\n[112] Pachymeres, _de Mich. Pal._ ed. Bonn, vol. ii., p. 385.\n\n[113] Du Cange, _S. Sophia_, \u00a7 57.\n\n[114] Texier, _Arch. Byz._, p. 134.\n\n[115] De Fleury, _La Messe_, vol. ii. and plate cii.\n\n[116] Du Cange, \u00a7 58.\n\n[117] Bingham, _Antiq. Christ. Church_, vol. iii., p. 123, note.\n\n[118] Ed. Bonn, vol. i., p. 433.\n\n[119] Migne, _S. G. Tom._ 147, p. 414.\n\n[120] Ed. Bonn., pp. 450 and 697.\n\n[121] Figured in Ongania\u2019s _Il Tesoro di San Marco_.\n\n[122] Bayet, _L\u2019Art Byzantin_.\n\n[123] De Fleury, _La Messe_.\n\n[124] Hopf, _Chroniques Gr\u00e9co-Romanes_.\n\n[125] Compare our p. 126.\n\n[126] _Archaeologia_, vol. xxxiv.\n\n[127] Paulinus, describing the church at Nola, writes: \u201cCum duabus\ndextra laevaque conchulis intra spatiosum sui ambitum apsis sinuata\nlaxetur, una earum immolanti hostias jubilationis antistiti patet,\naltera post sacerdotem capaci sinu receptat orantes.\u201d Migne, _S.L._,\nvol. 61, p. 337.\n\n[128] Suicerus, _Thesaurus Ecclesiasticus verb. Diaconicum_.\n\n[129] See p. 96.\n\n[130] _Cer._ pp. 636 and 565.\n\n[131] Du Cange, \u00a7 76.\n\n[132] _Cer._ p. 27. A Holy Well is frequently found in the Prothesis.\n\n[133] _Quellen f\u00fcr Byzantischer Kunstgeschichte._\n\n[134] _Cer._ pp. 17 and 167.\n\n[135] _Cer._ pp. 157 and 160.\n\n[136] See account of Coronation in previous chapter and of Adoration of\nCross below.\n\n[137] On Mount Athos; \u201cthe Kanonarches, or master of the choir, prompts\nthe cantors, who sing without books.\u201d A. Riley\u2019s _Mount Athos_.\n\n[138] _The Great Palace_, p. 96.\n\n[139] Compare S. Germanus; _La Messe_, iii., p. 91.\n\n[140] _Theoph. Contin._, ed. Bonn, p. 333.\n\n[141] Mr. Conway in _Art Journal_, 1891.\n\n[142] _Great Palace_, pp. 120, 129.\n\n[143] Vol. iii., p. 321.\n\n[144] Fossati: also Paspates\u2019 _Byzantinae Meletai_, p. 343.\n\n[145] _Relation d\u2019un Voyage de Constantinople_, p. 160. This idea\nhe may have obtained from Rosweyd\u2019s note to Paulinus (1569), saying\nfountains in front of churches were succeeded by lustral vases placed\nat the vestibule of the temple. \u201cThe rim of such a one seems to be\nfigured in Gruter, p. 1046, with an inscription which was selected from\nthe Anthology, as is shown by Rigaltius. This line was [also] written\non the sepulchre of St. Diomede.\u201d\n\n[146] Paciaurdi 1758, _De sacris Balneis_, tab. vi.\n\n[147] Ed. Bonn, vol. i., p. 262.\n\n[148] E. Muntz, _Tapisserie_.\n\n[149] Ed. Bonn, p. 402 and p. 894.\n\n[150] _Cer._ I., p. 591.\n\n[151] _Soc. Orient. Latin, s\u00e9ries G\u00e9ographique_, vol. v. 1889, p. 143.\n\n[152] See E. Muntz, _Tapisserie_, and M. F. Michel, _Recherches sur ...\ndes \u00e9toffes de Soie_.\n\n[153] _Jahrbuch des Vereins von alterthumsfreunden in Rheinlande_,\n1892, p. 224.\n\n[154] _Across the Jordan._\n\n[155] See Paspates and Salz.\n\n[156] Ed. Bonn, vol. i., p. 182.\n\n[157] Vol. i., p. 801.\n\n[158] _Sigillographie de\u2019 l\u2019Empire Byzantin._ The seal of the church\nitself represents Justinian and the Virgin or Theodora supporting the\nbuilding. _Cp._ Lenormant, _Revue Numismatique_, 1864, p. 268, pl. xii.\n\n[159] _Explicatio Officiorum sanctae ac magnae Ecclesiae, Auctore\nincerto a Bernardo Medonio edita_, 1655. A Tupikon or Ritual Book of S.\nSophia has been recently found at Patmos: _Byz. Zeit._, 1893.\n\n[160] _Cantacuzenus_, Bonn, ii., p. 15.\n\n[161] _Cedrenus_, vol ii., p. 609.\n\n[162] Pal. Pil. Text. Soc.\n\n[163] In the _Ceremonies_, book ii., we read that the three crosses\nkept in the palace were anointed by the protopapas with balsam, before\nbeing shown. Ed. Bonn, p. 549.\n\n[164] Ed. Bonn, p. 125.\n\n[165] \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b7\u03c7\u03bf\u03cd\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b1, a \u201cplace for instruction,\u201d used both of upper and\nlower aisles.\n\n[166] The college with a provost (_didaskalos_) and twelve fellows was\nbetween S. Sophia and the Chalkoprateia (see Bury, ii., p. 433), and\ntherefore according to Mordtmann north of S. Sophia. Descending steps\nare only found in the north porch, and this is conclusive against\nLabarte and Paspates, who saw in the Didaskalion a mere passage\nattached to the south side of the church. Paschalia are the tables of\nEaster.\n\n[167] At this time more than one \u201clife-giving cross\u201d was kept at the\npalace and occasionally taken to S. Sophia. _Cerem._ 549.\n\n[168] Ed. Bonn, p. 14.\n\n[169] Drapeyron, _L\u2019Empereur Heraclius_, 279.\n\n[170] Fortunatus celebrated its acceptance by a hymn.\n\n[171] _J. of Ephesus_, ed. R. P. Smith, 140.\n\n[172] Figured in Molinier\u2019s _L\u2019Emaillerie_, Paris, 1891.\n\n[173] Figured in Schlumberger\u2019s _Nicephorus Phocas_.\n\n[174] See Ongania, _Il Tesoro_, Fig. 33 and p. 102.\n\n[175] Riant, _Ex. Sac. C.P._, vol. ii., p. 213.\n\n[176] Paspates, _Byzantinae Meletae_, p. 285.\n\n[177] _Des D\u00e9pouilles Religieuses enlev\u00e9es \u00e0 Constantinople au xiii\nsi\u00e8cle par les Latins_, 1875, and the fuller work, _Exuviae Sacrae\nConstantinopolitanae_, 1877.\n\n[178] _Soc. Orient Latin. S\u00e9ries G\u00e9og._, vol. v.\n\n[179] Alluded to on a single page of MS. in the British Museum (_Cott.\nClaud._ iv.)\n\n[180] In the reign of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, see _Ceremonies_,\nvol. ii., ch. xv.\n\n[181] The French translation has _Diakonikon_: Riant, in _Exuv. Sacrae,\nC.P._ says \u201csmaller sanctuary:\u201d the Anon. says _skeuophylakium_.\n\n[182] This must be the same as Robert de Clari\u2019s \u201cbuhotiaous\u201d fastened\nto the ring of the great door of S. Sophia.\n\n[183] _I.e._, the iconoclasts, of whom a number of stories are told by\nthe Russian pilgrims.\n\n[184] See this story in _Golden Legend_, \u201cExaltation of the Cross.\u201d\n\n[185] Lazarus was a martyr in the cause of image-worship. See Bayet,\n_L\u2019art Byzantin_.\n\n[186] Cedrenus, ii., p. 609. Irene gave a cross \u201cdistinguished for its\npearls\u201d: Theo. Cont., p. 703.\n\n[187] Ongania, _Il Tesoro di San Marco_, pp. 57, 59. Rohault de Fleury,\n_La Messe_.\n\n[188] _Exuviae Sacrae Constantinopolitanae._\n\n[189] See our p. 49.\n\n[190] Theoph. Contin., ed. Bonn, p. 211.\n\n[191] _Ibid._, _Life of Basil_, ch. 79.\n\n[192] _La Messe_, vol. vi., p. 78.\n\n[193] See fig. in _Byz. Zeitschrift_, 1893, p. 142.\n\n[194] In the figure 18 the attachment for the chain is shown at A, the\nchain of monograms is taken from Rossi, B shows the provision for the\nchains in the last example (Fig. 17), where there is a slight mistake,\nthe alternate piercings in the rim being crosses as here shown.\n\n[195] Adapted from a photographic view in A. Riley\u2019s _Mountain of the\nMonks_.\n\n[196] Du Cange.\n\n[197] Lib. iii. This was at Milan.\n\n[198] For this and other lamps see especially _La Messe_ and _Il\nTesoro_.\n\n[199] A. Riley, _Mountain of the Monks_.\n\n[200] P. 154.\n\n[201] _Constantinopolis und aer Bosporus_, vol. i., pp. 36-44.\n\n[202] The images were restored in S. Sophia on the 19th of February.\nPagi. Critica in _Universos Annales Baronii_, vol. iii., p. 587.\n\n[203] Goar\u2019s _Euchologium_, 1647, p. 560.\n\n[204] Cons. Porph. _Life of Basil_, ch. 79.\n\n[205] _Leo Diaconus_, ed. Bonn, p. 176.\n\n[206] Du Cange, _S. Sophia_, \u00a7 35.\n\n[207] Paspates, _Byzantinae Meletae_.\n\n[208] _Pachymeres_, ed. Bonn, i., p. 172.\n\n[209] _Hist. Byzan._, ed. Bonn, p. 273.\n\n[210] Ed. Bonn, lib. iv., p. 29.\n\n[211] Nicephorus Gregoras, p. 749.\n\n[212] Cantacuz., ed. Bonn, p. 30.\n\n[213] Compare Tozer\u2019s _Turkey_, i. 97. He says Constantinople is still\nconstantly called \u201cthe City\u201d all over the Levant.\n\n[214] Gyllius reports a similar story.\n\n[215] Wright\u2019s _Early Travels in Palestine_.\n\n[216] \u201cConstantine, the last emperor of the Greeks.\u201d\n\n[217] Brit. Mus. MSS. Add. 6,417.\n\n[218] Salzenberg, _Altchristliche Baudenkmale_.\n\n[219] _Relation d\u2019un Voyage de Constantinople_, 1680.\n\n[220] MS. Harl., 3,408.\n\n[221] From _Originum Rerumque Constantinopolitarium, variis auctoribus,\nmanipulus_, F. Franciscus Combefis, Paris, 1664. The same anonymous\ndescription is also given by Banduri, _Imperium Orientale_, ed. 1711,\nvol. i.\n\n[222] Evidently meant for lower aisles.\n\n[223] If this interpretation can be accepted for \u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03b1\u03af.\n\n[224] Bricks stamped with long inscriptions of this kind were\nfrequently used: one from Sirmium is mentioned in _Byzantinische\nZeitschrift_ for 1894, p. 222: \u201cO Lord Christ, help this city, keep off\nthe Avars and guard Romania and him who writes this, Amen.\u201d\n\n[225] This may mean the thickness of the marble wall lining in some\nplaces gilt--if it has a meaning.\n\n[226] \u03c3\u03b5\u03b9\u03b6\u03b1\u1f76, a network, studded with jewels, suspended from\nprocessional crosses, and from the sides of crowns, see Fig. 15.\n\n[227] Reading \u1f10\u03c0\u1f76 for \u1f00\u03bd\u03c4\u03af.\n\n[228] \u03b2\u03bf\u03c4\u03c1\u03c5\u03b9\u03b4\u03cc\u03bd, \u201clike bunches of grapes.\u201d\n\n[229] \u03c6\u03af\u03bd\u03b5\u03c2, Graecised form of the Latin _fines_.\n\n[230] Quoted in Ibn Batuta, Orient. Trans. Socy.\n\n[231] Du Cange, notes on Bondelmontius.\n\n[232] Glycas, _Annalium, Pars V._, ed. Bonn, p. 498.\n\n[233] Du Cange, _op. cit._\n\n[234] Hopf, _Chroniques Gr\u00e9co-Romanes_, Berlin, 1873, p. 67.\n\n[235] _Altchristliche Baudenkmale von Constantinopel_, published by\nthe Prussian Government, Berlin 1854, with metrical version of the\nSilentiary\u2019s poem by Dr. K\u00f6rtum.\n\n[236] Salzenberg here suggests that these formerly supported equestrian\nstatues. See his plates ix.-xii. and compare our fig. 29.\n\n[237] Salz. xx., figs. 9 and 10.\n\n[238] All dimensions in this chapter are in Prussian feet, 100 of which\n= 103 English.\n\n[239] See Salz., plate vi.\n\n[240] Salz., plate vii.\n\n[241] Salz., plates vii., viii., and illustration of stairs in text.\n\n[242] Salz., plate vi.\n\n[243] _Ibid._, plate xx.\n\n[244] Only a short time was allowed to Salzenberg for its examination.\nHe was convinced it was not a baptistery, but gives no reasons.\n\n[245] Salz., plate xviii., figs. 9, 13.\n\n[246] Salz., plate vi.\n\n[247] Salz., plate vii.\n\n[248] Salz., plate vi.\n\n[249] Salz., plates vi., x.\n\n[250] It is probable, writes Salzenberg, that originally the buttress\nmasses reached only up to the roof of the gynaeceum, level with the\nspringing of the great arches; as Cedrenus describes how Justinian, at\nthe restoration after the fall of the dome, made outside the building,\nin the neighbourhood of the main piers, above the roof of the gynaeceum\nfour staircases, \u201ccochleas\u201d which reached up to the dome \u201cto strengthen\nthe vaulting.\u201d Theophanes also speaks of new piers which Justinian\nerected to strengthen the dome. The circumstances mentioned by\nProcopius seem to indicate that the abutments of the great arches were\nnot sufficient. See our chap. x., \u00a7 1, for another interpretation.\n\n[251] These Salzenberg thought later additions, \u201cfor the stone\nprojections are not bonded to the piers, and the Silentiary says\ncolumns stood in these positions.\u201d We do not so interpret the lines\nof the poem, and, although Choisy here follows Salzenberg, it is\nimpossible to see, if there were additions subsequent to the completion\nof the building, how it is that the perfectly symmetrical disposition\nof the marble panelling shows no disturbance, and the beautiful carved\ncornice which mitres round these projections has had no additions made\nto it (our Fig. 47). The straight joints, which Choisy in another place\nspecially notes as a method of Byzantine building, were here most\nwisely applied; for on one side the great pier was of stone, and on the\nother the buttress pier is of brick.\n\n[252] Salzenberg conjectures from Agathias that these arches were\na later addition made when the dome was restored by Justinian. But\nwithout them, as he remarks, there would not have been originally a\nsquare base for the circle of the dome. See explanation of original\nform, p. 210.\n\n[253] Salzenberg assumes from Paulus that \u201cthe dome was surmounted by a\ncross\u201d: the cross was of mosaic inside.\n\n[254] See Salz., plate x. The right-hand side is a section through one\nof the domical vaults, and the left through the barrel-vault which\nconnects two domical vaults. The plans, plates vi. and vii., and the\nsection plate xi., show how close some of the columns stand to the\npiers, to which they are joined by small barrel-vaults, intersecting\nthe domical vaulting.\n\n[255] A mistake for vertical circles; the large number of cisterns\nwhere the vaults are uncovered make this certain. See our p. 221.\n\n[256] Salz., plate xxiv.\n\n[257] Salz., plate xxiii.\n\n[258] See figure in Salzenberg\u2019s text.\n\n[259] Salz., plate xi.\n\n[260] Preparation for the gold.\n\n[261] Salzenberg\u2019s plate xv., fig. 6. The inclination of the sides of\nthat shown is much exaggerated, if in any case it exists.\n\n[262] Salz., plate xvi., fig. 1, 5.\n\n[263] Plate xvi., figs. 5, 6.\n\n[264] Salz., plate xvii., figs. 12 and 13. Fig. 14 gives the base, fig.\n2 a complete column.\n\n[265] Salz., plate xv., figs. 7, 8.\n\n[266] See Salz., plate xv., figs. 1, 4, 5 for lower cornice; plate\nxvi., 2 and 3 for upper, figs. 3, 4 for dome cornice, fig. 9 aisle\ncornice. This last, says Salzenberg, \u201cis mended in many places with\ngypsum, and comes from an earlier building.\u201d We do not know what\nearlier building could have furnished a quarter of the quantity used in\nS. Sophia. Is it possible that the whole of it is of gypsum? (See our\nchapter xii.) The marble skirtings are shown on plates xv. and xvi.\n\n[267] In a note Salzenberg draws attention to Paulus speaking of eight\nwindows in this wall, and conjectures that instead of the five upper\nwindows there was one large opening here.\n\n[268] Salz., plate xx., fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a capital that was found on\none of the four parapet posts, and removed at the \u201crestoration\u201d; fig.\n7 was not found in S. Sophia; fig. 8 was an isolated capital in north\naisle; figs. 9-11 show upper mouldings to the piers of the propylaeum.\n\n[269] Salz., plate xx., fig. 12 shows the underside of the beam in the\nmiddle of the west gynaeceum; fig. 15 is the side, and fig. 16 the\nunderside of one in the south gynaeceum; figs. 13 and 14, one in the\nnorth gynaeceum.\n\n[270] Salz., plate xiv.\n\n[271] Plate xvii., figs. 1-7.\n\n[272] See Salz., plate xvii. Fig. 3 is the upper capital, fig. 4\nthe lower, figs. 5 and 6 the base, and fig. 7 the under side of the\narchitrave. Figs. 8, 9, 10 are details of large west window.\n\n[273] Salz., plate xviii.\n\n[274] Plate xviii., figs. 10-14.\n\n[275] See plates vi. and xi.\n\n[276] Salz., plate iii., fig. 7.\n\n[277] Salz., plate xix.\n\n[278] See Salz., plate ix.\n\n[279] Salz., plate xvi., fig. 4.\n\n[280] Salz., plate xvi.\n\n[281] Salz., plates xxi., xxii. Plate xxii., fig. 1 shows the upper\nfrieze and the panels beneath.\n\n[282] Salz., plate xxi., fig. 18, and our fig. 9.\n\n[283] Bury, vol. ii., 202.\n\n[284] J. of Ephesus wrote _circa_ 590, R. Payne Smith\u2019s translation.\n\n[285] See also Rambaud, _Revue des Deux Mondes_, Aug. 1871.\n\n[286] See plan and view in Strzygowski und Forchheimer, _Die\nWasserbeh\u00e4lter von Konstantinopel_.\n\n[287] _Imperium Orientale_, p. 664.\n\n[288] See _Ancien Plan de Constantinople imprim\u00e9 entre 1566 et 1574,\navec Notes explicatives par Caedicius_, 1890.\n\n[289] Ed. 1562, p. 91.\n\n[290] Hakluyt Society, 1859, p. 34.\n\n[291] Migne, _S.G._ vol. 133, p. 695.\n\n[292] Texier figured in the _Revue Arch\u00e9ologique_, 1845, a small\nfountain found near the hippodrome to which it probably formerly\nbelonged.\n\n[293] Nicetas, ed. Bonn, p. 857.\n\n[294] An organ is shown on the sculptured base of the obelisk of\nTheodosius.\n\n[295] MS. Mus. Brit., Sloane 2742, xvi. c.\n\n[296] Procopius.\n\n[297] Hakluyt Soc., p. 36.\n\n[298] _Nuremberg Chronicle._\n\n[299] _Constantinopolis Christiana_, lib. i., ch. xxiv.\n\n[300] _La Syrie Centrale_, p. 75.\n\n[301] Ed. Bonn, p. 307 _et seq._\n\n[302] Nicetas, p. 733.\n\n[303] Quoted by Buzantios.\n\n[304] _Ceremonies_, appendix _ad lib._ i., p. 502.\n\n[305] Ed. Bonn, v., p. 266.\n\n[306] Hakluyt Soc. series.\n\n[307] Anna Comnena also speaks of the houses of the Great Church.\n\n[308] See Curtis, _Broken Bits of Byzantium_, part 2.\n\n[309] Paspates, p. 40.\n\n[310] See Curtis, _Broken Bits of Byz._, part 2.\n\n[311] It may be mentioned that an Italian cantharus, or font, of the\ntwelfth century, in the possession of Mr. Brindley, has the Latinised\nform of the same word in an inscription around its rim which reads\n\nArtificum summus cui nullus in orbe secundus Hunc luterem clarum\nsollerer sculpsit aquae....\n\n[312] Quoted by Paspates, _Byzan. Mel._ Note on p. 340.\n\n[313] Lanciani, _Pagan and Christ. Rome_.\n\n[314] Labarte, _Pal. Imp._\n\n[315] _Pachymeres de Michael Palaeol._, ed. Migne, p. 703. See also Du\nCange, _S. Sophia_, \u00a7 22.\n\n[316] _Inscriptiones Antiquae totius orbis Romani._\n\n[317] Grelot is vague in regard to it. Banduri understood him to\nmean that the inscription was on the inner water vessels. The Greek\npatriarch Constantios accepts it as having belonged to the Phiale.\nBuzantios wildly says baptistery.\n\n[318] An inscrip. in Baptistery Florence, reads--\n\n EN GIRO TORTE SOL CICLOS ET ROTOR IGNE.\n\n\n[319] See p. 84 and Kraus for other similar inscriptions.\n\n[320] The first, he says, \u201cstands by the entrance to an old Bagno,\u201d it\nwas 4\u2032 3\u00bd\u2033 in diameter. \u201cThe second stands in the midst of the cistern\nin the square court of the supposed St. John\u2019s Church.\u201d This was 2\u2032 6\u2033\nin diameter.\n\n[321] Migne, _Pat. Cur. Com. Series Graeca_, vol. i.\n\n[322] _Euchologium_, ed. 1647, p. 463.\n\n[323] Ed. 1647, p. 560.\n\n[324] _Relation Nouvelle d\u2019un Voyage de Constantinople._\n\n[325] In Fig. 29 we have followed his drawings disregarding his\nestimate of height.\n\n[326] Curtis, _Broken Bits of Byz._, Part II.\n\n[327]\n\n . . . . . . . .\n . . . . . . . .\n . . .\n\n\n[328] See P. D. Kouppas, _The Building of Byzantine Churches_. \u1f19\u03bb\u03bb\u03b7\u03bd.\n\u03a6\u03b9\u03bb\u03bf\u03bb. \u03a3\u03c5\u03bb\u03bb. \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03c1. vol. 20-22, p. 38.\n\n[329] For gold tesserae of second cent. see _Bull. Soc. des Ant._,\n1893, p. 76.\n\n[330] _Eastern Palestine Memoirs_, 1889, p. 172.\n\n[331] See Fig. 30.\n\n[332] From the Hellenic Society\u2019s supplement to their journal.\n\n[333] See also _Byzantinische Zeitschrift_, 1894.\n\n[334] The inscription states that the work was done while Paul was\narchbishop. And--\n\n \u039c\u0397\u039d\u0399\u039d\u039f\u0395\u039c\u0392\u03a1\u0399\u03a9\u0399\u039d\u0394\u0399\u039a\u03a4\u0399\u039f\u039d\u0399\u03a4\u0395\u03a4\u0391\u03a1\u03a4\u0397\u0395\u03a4\u039f\u03a5\u03f9 \u0391\u03a0\u039f\u039a\u03a4\u0399\u03f9\u0395\u03a9\u03f9\u039a\u039f\u03f9\u039c\u039f\u03a5\u03f2\u0323\n\nThe vital numerals were defaced, but there seemed no doubt that the\nlast fragment was a part of S (6000) and as the writer states that\nthere was only room for one more letter, S\u0394 or 6004 (495) is the only\nyear that will fit the fourth indiction. \u201cThe architect Bubroff is\nabout to show that the church was built in the fifth century.\u201d\n\n[335] A book on mechanics (\u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u1f76 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03b4\u03cc\u03be\u03c9\u03bd \u03bc\u03b7\u03c7\u03b1\u03bd\u03b7\u03bc\u03ac\u03c4\u03c9\u03bd) has been\nascribed to Anthemius.\n\n[336] Procopius in _Pal. Pilg. Text._, p. 48.\n\n[337] Lib. xiii., tit. iv.\n\n[338] Edit. by Waddington, p. 18.\n\n[339] Giacomo Boni, _Il Duomo di Parenzo_, in _Archivio Storico\ndell\u2019Arte_, 1894, p. 5.\n\n[340] _Migne_, S.G., vol. xxxvii., p. 1090.\n\n[341] There is no doubt about these arches being truly _pointed_.\nThey were drawn so by Dr. Covel about 1675, they appear so in the\ncareful engraving in Miss Pardoe\u2019s _Bosphorus_, and these are fully\nconfirmed by Strzygowski and Forchheimer, _Die Wasserbeh\u00e4lter von\nKonstantinopel_, pp. 12 and 71. The use of the pointed arch in the east\nis probably an unbroken tradition from early days in Egypt.\n\n[342] _Die Wasserbeh\u00e4lter_, p. 130, &c.\n\n[343] 1799, p. 236.\n\n[344] _Journal of Roy. Inst. Brit. Archts._, Jan. 1893.\n\n[345] See also p. 247, 1892, for the conditions of stability of dome of\nS. Sophia.\n\n[346] \u1f19\u03bb\u03bb\u03b7\u03bd. \u03a6\u03b9\u03bb\u03bf\u03bb. \u03a3\u03c5\u03bb\u03bb. \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03c1. vol. xx., 1892.\n\n[347] P. 485.\n\n[348] _Die Byzantinischen Wasserbeh\u00e4lter_, p. 22.\n\n[349] In another place Covel gives the following. Lukium--unslaked\nlime, burnt brick (both in a fine powder), cotton wool very fine pulled\nand strewed on, linseed oil. Cistern plaister--Lime, burnt brick,\ncotton or flax, water [use] almost dry, smooth it and saturate with oil.\n\n[350] _Blasii Caryophili opusculum de antiquis marmoribus_, 1743.\n\n[351] _Trattato delle pietre antiche_, 1833.\n\n[352] _Ancient Art._\n\n[353] _Chronologie von Egypten_, p. 365.\n\n[354] _Revue des deux Mondes_, 1841.\n\n[355] In MS. notes lent by Mr. Brindley.\n\n[356] _Histor. Geography of Asia Minor_, p. 433.\n\n[357] See Boni, who corrects Corsi, in _La Basilica di San Marco_.\n\n[358] \u1f19\u03bb\u03bb\u03b7\u03bd. \u03a6\u03b9\u03bb. \u03a3\u03c5\u03bb\u03bb. \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03c1. 1885, p. 10.\n\n[359] _Mittheilungen, etc._, _Arch. Inst. Athens_, 1889, xiv. 286.\n\n[360] Mr. Brindley has shown us a photograph of a half worked Byzantine\ncolumn with a flat necking, still attached in a horizontal position to\nthe rock on its underside while the upper part is rounded.\n\n[361] \u0397. \u039a\u03c9\u03bd\u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd\u03bf\u03c5\u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03b9\u03c2, p. 500.\n\n[362] _Survey of Western Palestine_, vol. iii., p. 357.\n\n[363] Walsh, _A Residence at Constantinople_, \u201cErrata\u201d to p. 80.\n\n[364] \u1f19\u03bb\u03bb\u03b7\u03bd. \u03a6\u03b9\u03bb. \u03a3\u03c5\u03bb\u03bb. \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03c1., vol xvi., 1885, p. 34.\n\n[365] See Bayet, _L\u2019Art Byzantin_.\n\n[366] A.M. 5508 of Byzantine chronology coincides with A.D. 1 up to\nSeptember 1st. Indictions were cycles of fifteen years commencing\nin 312 A.D. Both the years of the world and the Indictions began on\nSeptember 1st.\n\n[367] \u1f19\u03bb\u03bb\u03b7\u03bd. \u03a6\u03b9\u03bb\u03bf\u03bb. \u03a3\u03c5\u03bb\u03bb. \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03c1., vol. xvi., p. 30.\n\n[368] _Essai sur la Chronologie Byzantine._\n\n[369] Finlay, vol. i., p. 165.\n\n[370] Mordtmann, p. 36.\n\n[371] Shown in Salzenberg\u2019s plate.\n\n[372] \u0397. \u039a\u03c9\u03bd\u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd\u03bf\u03c5\u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03b9\u03c2, vol. i. p. 500\n\n[373] Curtis, _Broken Bits of Byz._, part ii.\n\n[374] _Le Bosphore et Constantinople_, 1873.\n\n[375] See below, p. 287.\n\n[376] See Salz., plate xxiii. Fig. 2 is one of the tympana, the centre\none has figures: fig. 3 transverse arches; fig. 5 soffite of a window.\n\n[377] Salzenberg\u2019s plate xxiv. gives details of the lower aisles.\n\n[378] Fig. 2 is the barrel vault near the window; fig. 3 arches and\nvault adjoining; fig. 6 the intrados of the arches opening to the nave;\nfig. 7 a pattern of the west gynaeceum.\n\n[379] Plate xxvi., fig. 6.\n\n[380] See fig. 3 for this cornice, the band beneath, and the edges of\nthe great arches.\n\n[381] Fig. 7 gives the borders of the windows in semidomes.\n\n[382] Salz., plate xxvii.\n\n[383] Salz. xxxii., fig. 4.\n\n[384] Salz., plate xxviii.\n\n[385] Salz., plate xxix.\n\n[386] Reading \u039a\u03a5\u03a1\u0399\u0395.\n\n[387] Salz., plate xxx.\n\n[388] The figure of Jeremiah at S. Clemente, Rome, bears the same\ninscription.\n\n[389] Salz., plate xxv., fig. 3.\n\n[390] Salz., plate xxii.\n\n[391] Salz., plate xxxi.\n\n[392] Salz., plate xxxi.\n\n[393] Salz., plate xxxi., fig. 7.\n\n[394] _Ibid._ fig 8.\n\n[395] _Arts Industriels._\n\n[396] _Hist. of Painting_, vol. i., p. 234.\n\n[397] _Recherches._\n\n[398] Bury, vol. ii. 432.\n\n[399] R. Walsh, _Essays on Ancient Coins, &c._, 1828, gives the Greek.\n\n[400] _American Journ. Arch\u00e6ol._, iv. 143.\n\n[401] Theoph. Cont. ed. Bonn, p. 99.\n\n[402] A composition of this kind at Parenzo appears to go up to the\nsixth or seventh century.\n\n[403] See Diehl in _Byz. Zeits._, 1893.\n\n[404] _Il Tesoro._\n\n[405] P\u00e9rat\u00e9, _Arch\u00e9ol. Chr\u00e9tienne_, with figure, p. 265.\n\n[406] Relievi storico artistici sulla architettura Bizantina.\n\n[407] See note above the index.\n\n[408] _Il Duomo di Parenzo_, p. 26.\n\n[409] Middleton, _Anc. Rome_, i. 31.\n\n[410] See Labarte, _Arts Indust._, vol. iii., p. 331.\n\n[411] Boni, _Il Duomo di Parenzo_, pp. 4, 5.\n\n[412] _Stones of Venice_, I., xxiii., 13.\n\n[413] \u1f19\u03bb\u03bb\u03b7\u03bd. \u03a6\u03b9\u03bb. \u03a3\u03c5\u03bb\u03bb. \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03c1., vol. xvi., 1885, p. 13.\n\n[414] In our illustration the same capital is distinguished by a\nletter, the two sides by 1 and 2, the monograms reading in the\ndirection of the reference to their position. Those of \u201cN. Aisle\u201d for\ninstance read from left side of page.\n\n[415] Two varieties of monograms on capitals at S. Mark\u2019s have been\nthe subject of much study which Cattaneo sums up in Bo\u00efto\u2019s text of\nthe great monograph on S. Mark\u2019s, but they have never been deciphered.\nOne (see Photos, vol. ii., p. 127) is a perfect example of Justinian;\nthree which show in capitals of the upper stage south side are perfect\nexamples of Basileos--if corresponding monograms probably on the hidden\nsides of these capitals are examined, they too may be found to contain\nthe Justinian monogram. For monograms at S. Sergius see _Byz. Zeit._\nfor 1894.\n\n[416] In _L\u2019Art de B\u00e2tir_ and _Revue Arch\u00e9ologique_, 1876.\n\n[417] _Die Wasserbeh\u00e4lter von Konstantinopel_, p. 245.\n\n[418] Curtis, _Broken Bits of Byzantium_, pt. ii.\n\n[419] \u1f19\u03bb\u03bb. \u03a6\u03b9\u03bb. \u03a3\u03c5\u03bb\u03bb. \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03c1., vol. xvi. p. 29.\n\n\n\n\nTRANSCRIBER\u2019S NOTE\n\n\nThis eBook makes the following corrections to the printed text:\n\n Pg 8\n Quellen der Byzantinischen Kunstgeschicht\n Quellen der Byzantinischen Kunstgeschichte\n Pg 9\n placed the prophyry column\n placed the porphyry column\n Pg 22 (footnote)\n Geschichte der Byzantinischer Litteratur\n Geschichte der Byzantinischen Litteratur\n Pg 24\n that he furnished him\n that He furnished him\n Pg 32\n and the saints among them\n and the saints\u2014among them\n Pg 35\n the restoration of S. Sophia\n the restoration of S. Sophia.\n Pg 56\n rings fixed circlewise round each base\n rings fixed circle-wise round each base\n Pg 94\n reaches the royal doors and stands there.\u201d\n reaches the royal doors and stands there.\n Pg 109\n by Henrich Ulmen\n by Heinrich Ulmen\n Pg 118\n above the beam of the iconastasis\n above the beam of the iconostasis\n Pg 120\n running the whole longth\n running the whole length\n Pg 122\n from time to time\n from time to time.\n Pg 124\n patriarch Arsenius during the reign of Michael Palaeologos\n patriarch Arsenius during the reign of Michael Palaeologus\n Pg 124\n the wife of Andronicus Palaeologos\n the wife of Andronicus Palaeologus\n Pg 132\n is generally call the Baptistery\n is generally called the Baptistery\n Pg 135\n in order. and how the wealth\n in order, and how the wealth\n Pg 136\n said to the craftsman. \u2018I will\n said to the craftsman, \u2018I will\n Pg 150\n floor to the vertex,\n floor to the vertex.\n Pg 151\n immense semircircular window\n immense semicircular window\n Pg 152\n pyramids by Nicephorus Gregoras\n pyramids by Nicephorus Gregoras.\n Pg 160\n was used by the lamplighter\n was used by the lamp-lighter\n Pg 160\n and Zonoras twenty-five\n and Zonaras twenty-five\n Pg 179\n most of which were re-built by Justinian\n most of which were rebuilt by Justinian\n Pg 186 (footnote)\n See Curtis Broken Bits of Byzantium\n See Curtis, Broken Bits of Byzantium\n Pg 191 (footnote)\n This was 2\u2032 6\u2033 in. diameter\n This was 2\u2032 6\u2033 in diameter\n Pg 192\n Symeon of Thessalonica tells us\n Simeon of Thessalonica tells us\n Pg 204\n and St. Sergius at Bozra\n and St. Sergius at Bosra\n Pg 212\n Figs, 4, 36, 38\n Figs. 4, 36, 38\n Pg 217\n above the transome\n above the transom\n Pg 223\n Viollet-de-Duc thinks that\n Viollet-le-Duc thinks that\n Pg 232\n filaments of cotton.\u201d This was reduced\n filaments of cotton. This was reduced\n Pg 233\n It is made of unslaked lime ...\u201d\n \u201cIt is made of unslaked lime ...\u201d\n Pg 268\n the horizonal arm of the cross\n the horizontal arm of the cross\n Pg 294\n ceramic inscription given in the Revue Arch\u00e9oogique\n ceramic inscription given in the Revue Arch\u00e9ologique\n\n Make punctuation consistent in section headings.\n\n Replace Roman numerals with Arabic numerals for section headings\n in Chapter VII.\n\n Paspates\u2019 book, \u0392\u03a5\u0396\u0391\u039d\u03a4\u0399\u039d\u0391\u0399 \u039c\u0395\u039b\u0395\u03a4\u0391\u0399, is cited variously as Byzantinae\n Meletai, Byzantinae Melatae, and Byzantinae Meletae. These citations\n are left unchanged.\n\nThis eBook makes the following adjustments to the Byzantine inscriptions:\n\n Use \u03a9 (capital omega) where the printed text used a large \u03c9.\n\n Use \u03a5 (capital upsilon) where the printed text used a\n V-shaped character.","title":"The Church of Sancta Sophia, Constantinople: A Study of Byzantine Building","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":100352}