2026-03-14
Arkadiusz Urbaniec
The object of the present article is to collect and analyse passages from narrative sources concerning monasticism in the Byzantine prefecture of Africa in the sixth to seventh centuries, in an attempt to determine the nature and extent of the monastic movement in the area. Due to the fragmentary nature of the surviving source base and its concentration around events of a political nature and relating to Christological controversies, the narrative texts (including the works of Procopius of Caesarea, the chronicle of Victor of Tonnona, and hagiographic literature) were also confronted with epistolographic and normative material, allowing for a more complete picture of the subject under study. The analysis has shown that there is no apparent continuity in the existence of monastic foundations between the Late Roman period, Vandal rule and Byzantine times; moreover, the information appearing in the sixth and seventh centuries basically concerns only monasteries and monks active in the area of Africa Proconsularis. The largest amount of data is provided by the Greek sources, which refer mainly to the situation in the first half of the seventh century and the Monothelite controversy, showing Africa as a place of settlement for numerous Eastern monks, but without mentioning the Latin-speaking monastic structures that had existed there before. The picture obtainable from the narrative of Byzantine monasticism in the area is therefore fragmentary and in many places hypothetical.
2026-03-14
Szymon Wierzbiński
The issue of the earnings of Byzantine soldiers is one of the most frequently discussed topics. A topic that still raises controversy is the financial situation of thematic soldiers, who are often omitted in available sources. The aim of this text is an attempt to determine the amount of earnings and purchasing power of thematic soldiers in the period of the 9th - 10th centuries. The analysis consists in confrontation of sources and a response to the current state of research. The main conclusion of the text is that the financial situation of theme soldiers was varied and depended on whether the recruit derived his main income from the soldiers' land or was a volunteer with no better prospects for life. In the latter case, only the veteran status allowed one to achieve income sufficient to support a family.
2026-03-14
Jan Wolski
The social significance of the Bogomil movement in its earliest phase has been the subject of much analysis in the academic literature. Despite the poor source base, many hypotheses have been formulated in this regard. By reaching out to the primary studies of the topic, I attempt to trace the reasoning presented in them and assess the quality of the arguments used. Most of the claims concerning the social significance of Bogomilism turn out to be detached from the sources.
2026-03-14
Magdalena Garnczarska
Lighting was one of the most vital aspects of everyday life in the Byzantine Empire. This problem also affected churches. This was even more so when one considers that a dark church was deemed unsuitable for worship – the house of God should be well illuminated. For example, Procopius of Caesarea made this clear when he explained why Emperor Justinian I had to rebuild so many temples. The most prominent church in the empire had to serve as a model in all aspects. There is no shortage of written (or artistic) sources on the issue of the lighting of this church. Among them, verses 806-835 from the “Ekphrasis of the Divine Wisdom Church” (Ἔκφρασις τοῦ ναοῦ τῆς ἁγίας Σοφίας) by Paul the Silentiary hold a special place. In this article, I assume that light in Byzantine culture was not only a practical necessity but also a theological and aesthetic medium of divine manifestation, and that Paul’s ekphrasis combines poetic erudition with an extraordinary precision of description, rarely found in such texts. The aim is to examine this fragment in detail to reconstruct the evening lighting system of Hagia Sophia’s dome in Justinian’s time and to explore its symbolic and artistic significance. By doing so, the study demonstrates how a literary source can provide both insight into architectural solutions and evidence of the ideological message conveyed by the illuminated sacred space.