Gerst El Kari Ye

8/13/2019 Gerst El Kari Ye

1/39

KhoraParekklesionu,HuzurluAhiretmidiveMan

astrbadetUygulamalar|SharonE.J.Gerstel

1951de Amerka Bzans Ensttsnden br konservatr Khora pa-rekklesonunun muhteem resmlernden lkn, Jarusun Kznn Drl-tlmes sahnesn tamamen aa kard.11958e kadar devam eden al-malarda restorasyon ekbnn yeler Osmanl dnemnde duvarlara yap-lan beyaz badanay ve altndak azz fgrlernn el ve yzlerne uygulan-m sar aboyas ve parlak krmz boyalar tamamen temzled.2Blmadamlar gn na kartlan Khora resmlernn slubunu belrl brslubu olan ve saraya uygun olarak tanmlad ama bu k term portrele-

rn gzelln ve ykleyc kompozsyonlarn karmakln tam olarakyanstmyor. Ad blnmeyen br usta ve asstanlar3tarafndan yaplan buerken 14. yzyl freskolar kend zamanlarnda ble aheser kabul edlyor-du.

Yaklak 1321 cvarnda tamamlanmalarn zleyen yrm yl ndeKhora resmlernn slubu, Selank tek br manastrn yan sra Mstradabrka klsenn bezemesne esn kayna olmutu. 14. yzyln sonuna ge-lndnde Khora slubu Romanyaya kadar ulamt; Karye Cam re-smler, Curtea-de-Argesdek Azz Nkolaos Klsesnn program n dernek tekl ett.4 Bunun sonucunda bu klseler de Khora slubunu,

1 P. A. Underwood, First Preliminary Report on the Restoration of the Frescoes in the KariyeCamii at Istanbul by the Byzantine Institute, 19521954, Dumbarton Oaks Papers 910(1956): 25588.

2 C. Wales, The Treatment of the Wall Paintings at the Kariye Camii, Studies in Conservation3.3 (1958): 12024.

3 Susan Youngn ikna edici irdelemesine gre hem mozaik hem de fresko bezemelerinden tek birekip sorumluydu. Bkz. S. H. Young, Relations between Byzantine Mosaic and FrescoTechnique: A Stylistic Analysis,Jahrbuch der sterreichischen Byzantinistik25 (1976): 26978.

4 O. Demus, The Style of the Kariye Djami and its Place in the Development of PalaiologanArt, bk: The Kariye Djami 4, ed. P. A. Underwood (Princeton, N.J., 1975), 139, 153; M.

Musicescu ve G. Ionescu,Biserica domneasca din Curtea de Arges(Bkre, 1976)

Khora Parekklesionu,Huzurlu Ahiret midi ve

Manastr badet UygulamalarSharon E. J. Gerstel

kariye+ozy.indd 107 1/10/11 1:07 PM


2/39

108

Konstantnopolsten uzak blgelerdek kend etk alanlar ersndekantlarn sslemesne kazandrmlardr. Khorann ressamlar daha youn

br modelleme, ncelm kol, bacaklar, el ve ayak parmaklar, orantszcaklm balar ve renklerde ufak tonlama farkllklarnn karakterze et-t ve btn elemanlarnn, Makedonya le Srbstanda epeyce gzde olanar ve szde kbst formlarn kullanld, usta ressam MkhaelAstrapasn eserlernn de rnek tekl ett uslpla kyasya rekabete gr-t yen br fgr anlay cat ett. Brs Bzans bakentnn rn derBzansn knc neml kentnn rn olan bu k slup arasnda doangerlm hal 14. yzyln antsal resm tartmalarnn merkeznde yernalmtr.

Paul Underwood ve Srarpe Der Nersessan ve daha yakn tarhlerde

de Robert Ousterhout ve Engn Akyrek, Khora gney apelnn resmle-rnn hem slubunu hem de konusunu rdelemtr (ek. 1).5Yakn zaman-da yaplan almalar, lk kez 1906 ylnda Feodor Shmt tarafndan ortayaatlan, daha sonra 1975 ylnda Der Nersessan ve 1977 ylnda da GeorgeStrev tarafndan dkkate alnan dar ve uzun meknn aslnda br za-manlar manastrn yemekhanes olduu dncesn artk rafa kaldrd. 6Artk Bzans sanat tarhne gnmz metodolojk yaklamlarndan yolakarak amzn blm adamlar bu mekn mezar apel olarak tanml-

yor; resmler cenaze ltrjs mercenden grerek, brncl olarak Yarg,Ruhan Kurtulu ve Yenden Drl le lgl konografy rdeleyerek vesahneler le yaztlar rtel ve dua srasnda sylenen ayetler, mgeler ve ha-

reketlere balant kurarak byle tanmlyorlar.

Fzksel Ortamapel anlaymzda ok sayda gelme olmasna karn hl cevaplanma-m brok soru var. Khora parekklesonunun resmlerne younlamadannce bulunduklar fzksel ortam, apeln lk nas ve bezenmesnden

5 Underwood, First Preliminary Report, 25588; ay., Second Preliminary Report on theRestoration of the Frescoes in the Kariye Camii at Istanbul by the Byzantine Institute, 1955,

Dumbarton Oaks Papers 11 (1957): 175220; ay., Third Preliminary Report on the Restoration

of the Frescoes in the Kariye Camii at Ista nbul by the Byzantine Institute, 1956,DumbartonOaks Papers12 (1958): 23765; ay., Fourth Preliminary Report on the Restoration of theFrescoes in the Kariye Camii at Istanbul by the Byzantine Institute, 195758, DumbartonOaks Papers13 (1959): 187212; S. Der Nersessian, Program and Iconography of the Frescoesof the Parekklesion, bk: The Kariye Djami4, ed. P. A. Underwood (Princeton, N.J., 1975),30549; 10760; R. Ousterhout, Temporal Structuring in the Chora Parekklesion, Gesta34(1995): 6376; E. Akyrek, Funeral Ritual in the Parekklesion of the Chora Church, bk:

Byzantine Constantinople: Monuments , Topography and Everyday Life, ed. N. Necipolu(Leiden, 2001), 89104; ay., Bizansta Sanat ve Ritel. Kariye Gney apelinin konograf isi ve

levi (stanbul, 1996).6 F. I. Shmit,Kakhrie-dzhami . Izvestija Russkago Arkheologicheskago Instituta v Konstantinople

11, 2 cilt (Sofya-Mnih, 1906), 1:92, 98; Der Nersessian, Program, 3067; G. Strievi,Review of The Kariye Djami 4, ed. P. A. Underwood. American Journal of Archaeolog y 81

(1977): 261. Bu sav, Metokhitesin bir iirinde yemekhaneden sz etmesine dayanyor.



3/39

109



sonra neml derecede deme urayan fzksel ortam tekrar ncelemel-yz. apeln freskolarnn ortaya kar lmas ve temzlenmesnn yan sra

Bzans Enstts 1957 ve 1958 yllarnda parekkleson nde etl nokta-larda kazlar gerekletrd.7Meknn tabannn yenden denmes ve na-ostak muhteem buluntulara dayanlarak yaplan arkeolojk almalar b-rncl olarak apeln dou ucunda odakland ve kuzey duvarda br mezarnaa kartlmasn da kapsad. Bu ncelemeler takp eden renovasyonlarsonucu parekklesonun grnts neml lde det ve freskolara vur-gu yaplrken apeln lk tasarmnn btnlek ve tmden etks br mk-tar det.

apel ana klseye k grle balanmaktayd. Br ge, parekklesonuklsenn naosuna ve br oratoryum der se depo olablecek k kk

odaya balyordu.8

Ancak mezar apelne ana gr batdak k brmden-d; bu k brm ve d narteksten apele erm salyordu; zellkleBzansn anakent merkezlernde 14. yzylda yaygn olarak grlen ve k-lselern yan meknlarnn da mezar lev stlend br dnemde mezar-lar bu yan meknlara da yaylmt. Bugn zyaretler ak parekklesonadorudan gneybatdak brmlerden eryor. 14. yzylda k stununarasna na edlen blme duvar apel klsenn ger kalanndan ayryor-du. Bu blmlenmey, Trk dnem eklentlernn kaldrld en son res-torasyon ncesnde, br asr nce eklm fotoraflara bakarak tasarlaya-blrz. Sbah ve Joallern 1892 tarhl br fotorafnda k stun ve l-nettek kk pencerey kapatan kaln krgr br duvar grlyor (ek. 2).

1906ya gelndnde, Feodor Shmtn br fotorafnda grld zerepartsyon duvarnn st ksm kaldr lm, stun balklar, lnet pencere-s ve kemerler ortaya karlmt (ek. 3).91936ya kadar se krgr duvar

7 D. Oates, A Summary Report on the Excavations of the Byzantine Institute in the KariyeCamii: 1957 and 1958, Dumbarton Oaks Papers 14 (1960): 22331, yayn birincil olarakkilisenin ina evrelerine odaklanyor. Yapdaki kazlar, zellikle de parekklesiondaki kazlarzerine youn bilgi ieren yayn yokluu birok bilim adamnn dikkatini ekmi durumda.Bkz. A. Cutler, Review of The Kariye Djami4, ed. P. A. Underwood. Speculum 52 (1977):105859. AJAdekideerlendirmesinde (y.n. 6) Strievi (s. 261) yle diyor: Arkeologlarnkreklerinin yegne yardmda bulunaca ve bir ipucu mit edeceimiz bir baka husus da

parek klesionun ilev i hak knda olabilirdi. Profesr Der Nersessiann bu yaynda bas lan vefresko bezemesine dayanarak bu apelin cenazelerle ilgili ilevini kantlamaya almasndakihayranlk uyandrc abalarna karn parekklesionun ilevi konusu hl karanlktadr.

8 Underwood, bu odann kk bir apel veya oratoryum olduunu ve iinde srekli yananmumlarn ve adak kandillerinin eliinde ikonalarn saklandn ve anma ayinleri yapldnne sryor; P. A. Underwood, The Kariye Djami, 3 cilt (New York, 1966), 1:271. Ousterhoutise bu odann zel meditasyon amal bir kei hcresi olabileceini, veya, belki de bir depoodas olabileceini ne sryor; R. G. Ousterhout, The Architecture of the Kariye Camii in

Istanbul, Dumbarton Oaks Studies 25 (Washington, D. C., 1987), 63.9 Duvarn st ksm larn n ne zaman yk ld belli deildir. 1892 ile 1906 yllar arasnda iki

kk onarm hakknda bilgi sahibiyiz: Birincisi 1898 ylnda Alman Kayzeri II. Wilhelminziyareti nedeniyle Sultan II. Abdlhamid tarafndan ve ikincisi de 190304 ylnda RusArkeoloji Enstits taraf ndan yaplmt r. Bkz. G. Young, Constantinople(Londra, 1926), 89;

M. Schede, Archologische Funde,Archologische r Anzeiger(1929): 343; W. Mller-Wiener,



4/39


5/39

111



nuz, buras daha lo ve ok sayda kk penceres var derken parekkleso-nun lo ortamna aret edyor olablr.16

Zemn demesndek deklkler de k sevyesn etkleyp meknngrnmn detrm olmaldr. Osmanl dnemnde apel altgen p-m toprak levhalarla kaplyd ve zerlerne hal serlyd. Apsstek kazlar-da saptanan kesme ta ve pembems har zler orjnalde zemnn, dne-mn lks yaplarnda ok yaygn olduu zere beyaz mermer levhalarlakapl olduuna aret edyor. nce keslm Prokonnessos mermernden be-

yaz Bzans demes mekna gren yanstacakt.Bugnk durumda, ok renkl brka enn ya nem azald ya da ta-

mamen kaldrld; renkl varlklaryla parekklesonun orjnal dekorasyo-nu gzellep bugn deneymlenenden ok daha uyumlu br etk olutura-

caklard. Mekna grte yer alan k stun balnda ok renkllk zlerhl mevcut ve mekn kat eden krler de br renk unsuru daha katyor.Bu krler orjnalde ahapla kaplyd ve zerler krmz ve koyu kahve ze-mn zerne altn yaldzl kvrml dallarla bezelyd (ek. 5).17Krler ze-rndek desenler pencere sofftler zernde boyayla ve mekndak mezarla-rn bordrlernde oyma olarak yer alan dekoratf motfler ynelyordu. B-zans Enstts tarafndan yaplan renovasyon almalar srasnda dmeaamasna gelm olan ahap krler kaldrlarak yerlerne yapy stablzeetmek amacyla metal ubuklar taklmtr. Sslemel krlern kayb, re-smler ve yontuyu yapnn dokusuna oturtan ssleme altyapsn nemllde tahrp ett.

Parekklesondak mezarlarn doas tam olarak anlalamamtr. Yan-larda kerden toplam drt arkosolyumun asl dekorasyonlarndan zlermevcuttur.18 Fzksel kalntlar balamnda, parekklesondak mezarlar-dan yalnzca br kazlm ve demenn 1.3 metreden daha da altndakrgr rgl boluk saptanmtr (ek. 7).19Bu boluun kubbe ve btk-tek oratoryuma gre konumu, arkosolyumun dernl ve lahdn ta-mamlanm ebatlar le mezarn yontulu alnlnn gsterl bezemesnedayanarak bu mezar Theodoros Metokhtesn mezar olarak tanmlanm

ve bu tanmlama neredeyse herkes tarafndan kabul grmtr.20

Ernest Hawkns, 3 Eyll 1959 tarhnde yazd br mektupta lk kez bu

mezar manastrn yenden kurucusuyla lntlendrd. Paul Underwooda

16 Auss diesem gehet man in den 4ten gewlbten/auch gemahlten aber etwas finstern und vielkleine Fenster in sich haltenden Ort. S. Gerlach, Stephan Gerlachs dess Aeltern Tage-Buch(157378) (Frankfurt, 1674), 45556; R. Ousterhout A Sixteenth-Century Visitor to theChora, Dumbarton Oaks Papers 39 (1985): 119, ise bu cmlenin diakonikonu kast ettiieklinde yorumlad. Bu metni benimle birlikte irdeleyen L. Theisa teekkr ederim.

17 Ernest Hawkins, bugn Washington D.C. Dumbarton Oaksta Grnt Koleksiyonu ve Sahaalmas Arivleri Kutu 44 (Klasr 1)de saklanan 1951 yl defterinde kaplama tahtalarzerindeki renkleri not etmiti.

18 Underwood,Kariye Djami , 2:26999; 3: lev. 53353.19 Ousterhout,Architecture, 59.

20 Underwood,Kariye Djami 2:270 71; Ousterhout,Architecture, 59.



6/39

112

alelacele ve alakalem yazlan ve aada olduu gb verlen bu mektuptamezarn ndek buluntular kayda geyor:

Rapor edlecek lgn br ey! Dn ve bugn Metokhtenn mezar ka-zld. Vururken boluk ses alnca kazld. Gevek toprakla dolu oldu-unu grdk, tulalarla ve krk mermer paralaryla dolu, yaklak 1.5metre dernle nyor kafatas ve kemkler ve braz da Tornkes meza-rnn tasarmnda br de br mparatora at y oyulmu br kabartma!Bnada hbr yere at del bu. ok sayda krk cam paras ve r-m aa paralar. Bunlardan gmme prosedr hakknda br eylerrenleblr. Kanmca bu mezar yap camye evrld sralarda, amadaha sonra del, ellenm gb. Sebep: ndeklere baknca sank bna

bakmszm gb ve der kant olan yontu ba sank kopartlm ve bu-raya srklenm gb.21

Underwood burada muhtemelen Metokhtesn gmldn ner-mesne karn bu gmte Mezar A dyor.22Duvar boyunca bulunan der mezar kazlmad ama Trk dnem zemn demesndek yer detr-meler bu mezarlarn br noktada ellendn dndrtyor. Elmzde s-keletlere at bulgu olmad srece bu mezarlarn brncl gmtler n m

yoksa mezarlarndan kartlan kemklern parekklesona gmlmes nm veya tek br kye m attler yoksa brden fazla boyama portre bulun-mas nedenyle akla gelen oklu gmtler n m kullanld konusunda

hbr fkre sahp olamyoruz.Apss kazsnda 2.10 m. uzunluunda br baka mezar daha bulundu

(ek. 8).23Ousterhouta gre bu mezar apele sonradan eklenm.24Ancakmezar sandn oluturan tulalar 0.29 m. uzunluk ve 0.03 m. kalnlkla-ryla, Khorann 14. yzyl evresne at der yerlerde bulunanlara uyuyor.Dou-bat ynl ve apssn tam ortasnda yan alt meknlarn tonozlararasnda bulunan bu mezarn Ge Bzans dnemnde na edld ve yer-lemnn de resm programyla lgl olmas mmkndr. Br noktada,olaslkla bnann klse lev sona erd zaman, mezarn zemnnn kaz-lp, sarn olablecek daha alttak meknlara ulama abas grlyor. Ap-

ss mezarnn ersnde bulunan kk br stun bal na (20x20.3 cm.;

21 Tpkbasm verilen mektup Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C. Grnt Koleksiyonlar veSaha al mas Arivleri (DIV, Kutu 1)de saklan yor. ok saydaki yazm hatas Hawkinsinbu mektubu aceleyle yazdn akla getiriyor.

22 Underwood,Kariye Djami, 1:27071.23 L. Majewski 10 Kasm 1958 tarihli bir mektupta Paul Underwood ve Jack Thachera u ekilde

rapor veriyor: Bu kesinlik le tek kiilik bir mezar, phesiz kapakta ad yazan adamn. Bu kapakkesilmi. Belki de baka bir yerden buraya tanrken krlm ve krk yerinden dzgncetralanmt. Ortadaki delik Trk dneminde alm. Mezarn zerindeki alanda sonradanTrk dneminde ellendii dnlen tek nokta buras. Dumbarton Oak s, Washington, D.C.Grnt Koleksiyonlar ve Saha almas Arivleri.

24 Ousterhout,Architecture, 60.



7/39

113



ek. 6) at br paracn gney sarnta bulunmas bze mezar boluununaltndak duvar rgsnde br zamanlar br delk bulunduunu gsteryor.

Parekklesonun k dnem arasndak balant yapldktan sonra her ksde tekrar kullanlan 14. yzyl paralar olan k mermer levha le mezarnst rtlmt (ek. 9). Yukarda da sz edld zere daha kk olanlevha parekkleson portalnn alt srasndan gelyor olablr. Tekrar kulla-nlan br laht nyz olan der para se kuyu az bmnde ortadanoyulmutu k, bu durum Trk dnem zemnn talarnda da bellyd.Aklk daha sonra doldurularak Trk dnem altgen plakalarla kaplan-mtr.

Bu mezar Ge Bzans dnemne at olduu takdrde mezar apelnnorjnal plannda yer almas gerekr. Dkkat ekc konumu ve Bamelek

Mkhaeln tam altnda ve Anastassn hemen nndek yeryle bu mezarneml br bnnn, belk de Theodoros Metokhtesn lml kalntlar-n erm olmaldr.25Mezarn, ruhun koruyucusu bamelen konasnnhemen altnda yer almas elbette anlaml. Ba batya yerletrlen l he-men zerndek bamele grecekt. Dolaysyla bu mezar sahb le ba-melek arasndak yakn lk kolay kolay gz ard edlemez. Metokhtesnzellkle bamelee sayg gsterd ne srlmtr. ArkhstrategosaHtabnda (Logos 3) Babakan Yarg Gnnde kends n merhamet d-lemes n Bamelee yalvaryordu.26Bamelek Mkhaeln tuttuu kredesra d eklde YunancaKhrstos Dkaos Krtes(Adl Yarg Mesh) kar-l ksaltmas grlyor k, bu yarg referans konann hemen al-

tnda gml olan ve dualarnda merhumu anan herkesle dorudan lnt-l olacakt.27

Br baka unsur da Mezar Ann Metokhtesn mezar olarak tanmlan-masna kar kyor ve Babakann aslnda parekklesonda baka br nok-taya defnedld olasln gndeme getryor: meknn yan duvarlarn-dak asker azzlern durular. Mezar B, C ve Dnn k yannda yer alan as-ker azzler ya mezara doru dnkler ya da slahlarn o yne uzatmlarhlbuk Mezar Ann yanndak asker azzler da dnkler. Aada da g-recemz zere asker azzlern konumlar neml olablr.

25 Bizans kiliselerinin apsislerinde, zellik le de mezar apellerindeki gmler hakk nda ok azbilgi mevcuttur. Ancak Marcianus 501, f. 290,da yer alan bir bilgi 28 Haziran 1235 tarihindelen Manuel adl kiinin Meryem Kilisesinin bemasnn altna gmldn belirtiyor. Bkz.

J. Darrouzs, Textes Synodaux Chypriotes,Revue des tudes byzantines37 (1979): 30 dn. 29.Bir apsis mezar hakknda arkeolojik bilgi iin Paul Arthur tarafndan talya-uattroMacinedeki 10. yzyl Bizans kilisesi hakkndaki yayna baknz: Masseria uattro Macine a deserted medieval village and its territory in southern Apulia: an interim report on fieldsurvey, excavation and document analysis,Papers of the British School at Rome64 (1996): 181237. Bu materyali dikkatime sunan ve kazlan yapnn fotoraflarn gnderen Linda Safranateekkrlerimi sunuyorum.

26 Metokhitesin Bamelek Mikhael ile arasndaki iliki iin bkz. Der Nersessian, Program, 331.27 Ayn ba harflerin kullanm hakknda Atina Bizans ve Hristiyan Mzesindeki bir 14. yzy l

Bamelek Mikhael ikonasna da ayrca baknz. M. Acheimastou-Potamianou, Icons of the

Byzantine Museum of Athens(Atina, 1998), 3637.



8/39

114

Huzurlu Ahret mdOsmanl dnemnde ve gnmzde parekklesonda yaplan cdd renovas-

yonlar resmler hakkndak grlermz geltrd. Bu durumda parekk-lesonu br zamanlar klsenn ana bedennden ayrk, ok daha renkl amadaha karanlk olarak gzmzde canlandrmak bze kalyor: resmlerdek

ve krlerdek parldayan yaldz kullanmnn da aret ett zere mumveya kandl nda grlmes tasarlanan br mekn. Mezarlarn kendlerve br zamanlar lernde barndrdklar kemklern bze syleyecek fazlabr eyler kalmam. Yere kazma vurmadan ble bu mezarlarn her brnnasrlarca nce, yap slam kullanma getkten sonra, yamalandn ra-hatlkla syleyeblrz.28

Bylece resmlere dnerek, parekklesonun lev ve Bzansllarn lm-

den sonrak yaam nasl grdkler ve de zellkle belrl br ekonomk vesosyal sevyeye ulam Bzansllarn ahret nasl grdkler hakknda bzene tr blgler sunduunu rdelemek styorum. Resmler ve rtel, nan

ve sosyal durum aynas olarak levlern ncelemek n ncelkle onlaryaptran adamn zhnyetn anlamak zorundayz nk KhoraManastrnn bezemesnn ou, Srarpe Der Nersessan ve yakn zaman-da da Robert Nelsonun gsterd zere ktetorTheodorosun ksel dam-gasn tayor.29

Theodoros Metokhtesn dnemn nceleyen blmsel almalardaGe Bzans dnemnde, lenlern gmlmes ve ruhlarna dua edlmesamacyla der zamanlara gre ok daha fazla klse ve apel na edld

kesn br eklde ler srlr. Bu olgu n ne srlen ok sayda sebeparasnda syas stkrarszlk, byyen varla sahp bn snfnn tekrarortaya kmas ve sradan halkn dndarlnda demler saylablr. Yk-sek tabakadan veya yksek mevklerdek breylern gmld klselern

varl daha ncek yzyllardan da blnmesne karn ge dnemden g-nmze ulaan mezar ve mezar apellernn says statstksel adan ol-duka yksek olup ans eser demek ok zor. Madd kantlar, zengn yazlkaynaklar, zellkle de toplumun sekn yeler n yazlm ok saydakadal eulogalar tarafndan da desteklenyor. Metropoln kantlar, GeBzans dnem kylerndek mezar apellernn saysnda art gzlenen

hnterlandnda da yansyor.Palaologoslar dnemnde lm, yaayanlarn zhnnde neml br yergal edyordu. Yazl kaynaklarn, zellkle de st snf yelernn yazdmektup ve rler ncelendnde yeryznde lenen gnahlarn kurtuluolasln azaltaca eklnde dern br korku aka grlyor. Bukonu, Metokhtes grevnden ve zengnlnden azledlp br srelne

28 Hatrlanaca zere Lips Manastr ndaki mezarlarn akbeti buydu. T. Macridy v.d., TheMonastery of Lips (Fenari Isa Camii) at Ista nbul,Dumbarton Oaks Papers18 (1964): 269.

29 R. S. Nelson, Taxation with Representation: Visual Narrative and the Political Field of theKariye Camii,Art History22 (1999): 5682; ay., Heavenly Allies at the Chora, Gesta43.1

(2004): 3140; R. Ousterhout, The Art of the Kariye Camii(London, 2002).



9/39

115



Ddymotekhona srgne gttkten sonrak yazlarnda srekl ynelenenbr temadr. Br rnde de dle getrd zere Khora Manastrn yenden

na etmesnn altnda yatan motvasyonlar, strap veren hatalarn dualarve Meryemn yalvaryla dengelemek htyacndan kaynaklanyordu:

[Khorada] bundan sonras n m braz umutla doluyor: Manastrsayesnde, orada yaamalar n br araya topladm brok ken du-alar araclyla ve sa Meshe bana kar merhametl olmas, y gzlebakmas ve acmaya hazr olmas n dua etmeleryle, hayatmda led-m ok sayda gnahtan dolay yardm gelecek; umutlarm zellkleOnun annesne baladm, nde barndrlamaz, her tarafa ve her e-

yn tesnde olan Onun bakre ve tam kutsal, en engn Khorasna

[Kale]. Onun [Meryem] adna na ettm bu manastr, na ettm vebelk son derece hoa gdecek br bmde sunduum bu adak onunadna.30

Ruhan kurtulu vaadne karlk br manastr kuran veya yenden naeden, o dnemde yalnzca Theodoros deld. Konstantnopolste mpara-torluk hanedan ales yeler ve yksek saray erkn, nhayetnde kend ka-lntlarn da barndraca anlayyla klse naat veya renovasyonu ger-ekletryordu. 1327de len devlet adam ve Metokhtesn rakb Nkep-horos Khoumnos, Meryem Gorgoepekoos Manastrn kurmu ve muhte-melen de oraya gmlmt.31 13. yzyln sonlarna doru Protostrator

Mkhael Glavas Tarkhanotes, Pammakarstos Manastrn yenled ve1304 cvar lmnden sonra da klseye e tarafndan eklenen br apeledefnedld.32Bakentn dnda se vakflar ve gmtler, zengnler ve g-ller arasnda benzer br yol zled. Bu tr faalyetler yalnzca erkekbnlerle snrl deld.33

Fakat bu bnler ney baarmay ve hang yolla baarmay mt edyor-lard? Theodoros Metokhtesn 13 Mart 1332de lmnden yaklak on

yl sonra, olduka anlalmaz br Grek yazar, Aleksos Makremboltes, 14.yzyl ortas Konstantnopolsnn sosyal ortamnda geen zengn ve yok-

30 J. M. Featherstone, Theodore Metochitess Poems To Himself(Viyana, 200 0), 131 (iir XIX).31 V. Laurent, Une fondation monastique de Nicphore Choumnos. La Na Moni de la Thotokos

Gorgoepikoos,Revue des tudes byzantines12 (1954): 3244.32 Cyril Mangonun irdelemesine gre Mikhael 1310 civarnda ld. H. Belting, C. Mango ve D.

Mouriki, The Mosaics and Frescoes of St. Mary Pammakaristos (Fethiye Camii) at Istanbul,Dumbarton Oak s Studies 15 (Washington, D.C., 1978), 15.

33 A.-M. Talbot, Building Activity in Constantinople under Andronikos II: The Role of WomenPatrons in the Construction and Restoration of Monasteries, bk: Byzantine Constantinople:

Monuments , Topography and Everyday Life, ed. N. Necipolu (Leiden, 2001), 32943; ay,Empress Theodora Palaiologina, Wife of Michael VIII, Dumbarton Oaks Papers46 (1992):295303; ay, Empress Theodora Palaiologina, Wife of Michael V III,Dumbarton Oaks Papers46 (1992): 299. Elit kadnlarn manastrlara gmlmesi konusunda bkz. J. Albani, FemaleBurials of the Late Byzantine Period in Monasteries, bk:Les Femmes et le monachisme byzantin,

Actes du symposium dAthnes, 2829 March 1988, ed. J. Perreault (Atina, 1991), 11117.



10/39

116

sul arasnda br konuma yaratt. Dyalogun br yernde bakahramanlarlm ve gmlme konusunda sohbet edyor ve bzlere baz bak alar su-

nuyor. Metokhtes gb yoksullarn emeklernden kendlern zengnletr-mekle sulanan varsllar kplern altnla doldurmalarn yle aklyor:

Akrabalarmz altnlarmzn krtsn duymazsa ne bz zyaret ederne de bze bakar Ne de ldkten sonra bz, kutsal aynlermz yernegetrmeye layk grr. Farkl klseler arasnda bzm gmlmemz nekme olmayacak, muhteem ve gzel mezarlar bz barndrmayacak;ne br mezmur ne br lah okunacak, vazlerden hbr euloga olmaya-cak; ne br k sel, ne de cenaze kortejmze katlmak n ler gelenlertoplanacak Dolaysyla bunlardan mahrum kalmamak n man-

tkl gelen odur k, altn sevmelyz [ve] kend ruhumuzdan daha de-erl tutmalyz.34

Hayal br konumadan daha ok, bu dyalog, zengnlern kend mezar-larn tasarlama ve kend mezar yaztlarn yazma veya yazdrma yollardhl dnemn ok sayda gereklne dokunuyor. Bu konuda brka r-nek verleblr. Dul mparatore Theodora Palaologna, 1303 ylnda l-mnden ok daha nce yaptrd ve bezed htaml br mezaradefnedld.35Kend mezarn kends n hazrlatan blnmeyen br ze-rne balkl ksa br rnde Manuel Phles, kend mezar yaztn hazrla-

yan brne ses veryor: Kend lmm aka grerek dyor, kalntlar-

mn konutunu donatyorum.36Unutmayalm k, Khora parekklesonu daMetokhtesn lmnden ok nce 1321 ylnda tamamlanmt.

Br manastr dhlnde defnedlmek, zellkle de len knn kurduumanastrda gmlmenn hem pratk hem de ruhan yararlar vard. Ma-nastrdak mezar, ly korumal br ortamda barndryordu, mezar hr-szlarnn tehdtlernden uzakta. Metokhtes ve Makremboltesn zaman-larnda ble Konstantnopols saknler mparator II. Basleosun lmlkalntlarnn kefnn skandal yksn blyordu. yknn ayrntlar-n Georgos Pakhymeres bldryor. 1025 ylnda Hebdomonda Azz ncl-c Yuhanna Klsesnde defnedlmt fakat 1260 yl nda plak ve bozul-

mam beden klsenn harabeler arasnda kefedlmt: Daha sonralarLatn obanlara atfedlen br oban kaval azna sokulmu halde br ke-ye dayanmt.37Makremboltesn dyalogunda yoksullar, ssl mezarlar-

34 I. evenko, Alexios Makrembolites and his Dialogue between the Rich and the Poor,Zbornik Radoa Vizantolo kog Instituta6 (1960): 214 satr 25; 215 satr 10; 227.

35 A. Failler, Chronologie et composition dans lHistoire de Pachymrs, Revue des tudesbyzantines48 (1990): 51 dn. 177. Ayrca bkz. Talbot, Empress Theodora Palaiologina, 3023.Theodorann kendi mezarn hazrlamas konusunda bkz. A. Sideras, 25 Unedierte

Byzantinische Grabreden(Thessa lonike, 1990), 259 satrlar 1617.36 Manuelis Philae Carmina inedita, ed. A. E. Martini (Napoli, 1900), 123 n. 86.37 George Pachymeres, De Michaele Palaeologo, ed. A. Failler, 2 cilt (Paris, 1984), 2:17477.

Desekrasyonu Latinlere atfeden anonim bir kaynak iin bkz. J. Mller,Byzantinische Analekten:



11/39

117



nn talan edlmesn hatrlatarak zengnlerle alay ederken phesz yaygnbr duruma atfta bulunuyor: Dnyev mezarlarnzdan ou zaman d-

manlarnz tarafndan atlrsnz.38Bedenn gvenl n duyulan end-e anla lr br durumdur. Daha 11. yzylda Mytlenel Khrstophoros brmezarlk yangnnda llern gyslern yamalayan korkun cenaze leva-zmatlar hakknda br r yazyor ve talhsz ve kmrlem cesetler-den ansl br rzk karmaya hevesl olduklarn sylyordu.39Orta a-dan mezar talar zerne yazlan uyarlarda bedenn bozulmas ve mezarsoygunu korkusunu greblyoruz. 13. veya 14. yzylda yaam Tesalyalbr metropoltn br zamanlar kalntlarn rten ta zernde yle yazl:Bu kk ta, kutsal br klsenn kurucusu ve ruhan srlern obanolarak blnen ben, Donysos Kampsorymes, Synkellosu rtyor ve sakl-

yor. Korkun yarg gnnde hesap vermek stemyorsanz kutsal lnnemr adna gnlern sonuna kadar bu ta rahat brakn.40

ann brok ks gb Metokhtes de mezar yernn rahatsz edl-mesnden ende duyuyor olmalyd. Daha 1328 yl Mays aynda kentte-k ayaklanmalar srasnda kend saray yamalanm ve tahrp edlmt.41Yukarda da dkkat ekld zere Khora parekklesonu ana klseden ka-

plarla ayrlmt; bu eklde kapanan mekn erde gml olanlar nbr gvenlk nlem salyordu. Fakat bu mezar odas dhlnde sra dolarak gksel gler de burada yatanlar korumak zere toplanmt; du-

varlarda alt srada yer alan asker azzler aralarnda yatanlar korumak ama-cyla kllarn knlarndan ekyor ve kalkanlarn tayorlar (ek. 10).

Byk olaslkla apel, ruhlarn koruyucusu Bamelek Mkhaele adanm-t ve bu koruyucu azz tab k adan, yan Tornkes, veya ona br r ya-zan Metokhtes gb brsn koruyacakt. Bamelek gc kantlanm brsavayd. Tornkesn mezarnn zerndek sra d sahnede de betm-lend gb, Kuds Assur ordusundan koruyordu. Yarm boy portres seapssn ortasndak mezara bakyor ve orada yatan knn gksel korun-masna gvence veryor. Dolaysyla bedenn fzksel korunmas gelen vey tahkmatl br manastrn snrlar ersnde defnedlmek n tevkedcyd.

aus Handschrif ten der S. Markus-Bibliothek zu Venedig und de r K. K. Hof-Bibliothek zu Wien(Viyana, 1852), 452522 satrlar. Ayrca bkz. T. Macridy ve J. Ebersolt, Monuments funrairesde Constantinople,Bulletin de cor respondance hellnique46 (1922): 38688.

38 evenko, Makrembolites, 215 dize 14; 227.39 Christophoros ho Mytilenaios, Die Gedichte des Christophoros Mitylenaios, ed. E. Kurtz

(Leipzig, 1903), 5253.40 Yazt hem 11. yzyla (A. Avramea ve D. Feissel, Inventaire dun recueil des inscriptions

historiques de Byzance. IV. Inscriptions de Thessa lie, Travaux et mmoires10 (1987): 36970)hem de 13. yzyl veya 14. yzy l balarna (G. Soteriou, Ai christianikai Thebai tes T hessalias,

Archaiologike Ephemeris (1929): 37475) tarihlenmitir. Erken Bizans dneminden mezartalarnda lanetlerin kullanlmas hakknda bkz. D. Feissel, Notes dpigraphie chrtienne(IV), Bulletin de correspondance hellnique 104 (1980): 45975. Kampsorymes iin bkz.

Prosopographisches Lexikon der Palaiologenzeit, ed. E. Trapp v.d. (Viyana, 197696), 10853.

41 Featherstone,Metochitess Poems, 122 dizeler 23138 (iir XI X).



12/39

118

Fakat br manastr ersnde gmlmek cennete grte ruhan yardmda gvence altna alyordu ve en nemls de na etme ve bezemeye olan bu

motvasyondu. Ke veya rahbelern dualar da, lnn dnyev gnahla-rn yenmesnde zellkle etkl kabul edlyordu. Konstantnopolste Az-ze Euphema Klsesnde metropolt Stephanosun mezarna at br pano-da yle yazl: Ruhan kardelerm, dualarnzda ben hatrlaynz.42Dul mparatore Theodora manastr vakfyesnde Tanrsal kzkardelernden genel ve zel dualarnda onu srekl zkretmelernstyor.43Sekn klern brou lmeden nce manastr detne uyarakruhan olarak tekrar vaftz edlyor ve esk smleryle ayn harfte balayan

yen smler alyordu. lmeden nce gnah kartan Metokhtes, Theo-leptos adyla ebedyete yatrld ve Nkephoros Khoumnos da Nathanel

adn ald. Byk konostaulosMkhael Tornkes, Makaros adyla tekrarvaftz olmutu. Toplumun daha aa sevyelerndekler de ayn det zle-d. Parekkleson apssnn Trk dnem zemn demesnn altnda yap-lan kazlarda merkez mezarn zerne yerletrlm, delnm br lahtalnl bulundu (ek. 9). Plakann belk de y l ve ndktonkaytl br yz

yenden kullanm srasnda tralanm olmasna karn harf stl 14. yz-yl akla getryor. Metnde Tanrnn kulu Leon Skastes uykuya yatt;kutsal ve meleks dete gre ad ke Leontosa detrlmt, blgs yeralyor.44

Klse programndak unsurlar Bzansllarn lmle lgl zhnyethakknda krtk grler salyor. Cenaze ltrjsne referanslar ok olup,

bu hususa dkkat eken blm adamlar bunu yalnzca mezar yer del aynzamanda cenaze ve anma aynler yer olarak da gryor. Cenaze ltrjsmetnyle balantlar, Karyede tonoz boyunca bulutlarda yzen, apsstekAnastass betmnde, kucanda br ruhu tutan Hz. brahm betmnde veCennet kaplarnn betmnde seknler korolarnn resmnde tezahr ed-

yor. Kubbe pandantflernde betmlenen lah yazarlar ellernde dorudancenaze ltrjsyle lgl metnler tutuyor.45Metn ve mge arasndak bulkler dnem n sra d deldr. Mstra Hodegetra Klsesndek ma-nastr bapapaz Pakhomosun ve Konstantnopolste Pammakarstos a-

pelndek Glavas Tarkhaneotesn mezar apellernn programlar, metn-

sel benzerlkler farkl ekllerde tezahr etse de, bu ltrjnn szleryle ederecede doludur. Mstra klsesnde, Pakhomosun yatt kk kare b-

42 R. Naumann ve H. Belting,Die Euphemia-Kirche am Hippodrom zu Istanbul und ihre Fresken,Istanbuler Forschungen 25 (Berlin, 1966), 8788.

43 Byzantine Monastic Foundation Documents , ed. J. Thomas ve A. Hero (Washington, D.C.,2000), 1281, ksm 52; H. Delehaye,Deux typica byzantins de l poque des Palologues(Brksel,1921), 132.

44 . Hjort, The Sculpture of the Kariye Camii,Dumbarton Oaks Papers33 (1979): 264 65.45 Betimlenen azizler aml Ioannes, air Kosmas, air Iosephos ve Theophanesdir. aml

Ioannes ve Theophanesin yazd metinler srasyla Cenaze Litrjisi in diomela ve Sradannsanlar in Cenaze Treni Kanonunun paralard r. Bkz. Underwood,Kariye Djami, 1:217

19.



13/39

119



ml apeln duvarlarna trmanan seknler korosunun eller, yukardatemsl edlen sa Meshe yalvararak uzanyor.46Hyperagathos olarak ad-

landrlm Pammakarstostak sa Mesh betm de, bu etketn brkakez kullanld cenaze ltrjsnden kaynaklanyor.47

Fakat baka kltrel unsurlar da sahnede olablr. apeln bezemes,burada yatanlar yakndan lglendren ruhun yarglanma srecnn kar-makln gzler nne seryor. Dnemn yazarlar, Metokhtes de dhlolmak zere, gklerdek kutsal yarg le aa dak dnyev yarglarn yoz-lam yargs arasnda kyaslamalar yapyor.

Nha yarg korkusu phesz Bzans yarg sstem deneymlerndenbeslenyordu. Mazarsn Hadese Yolculuk veya mparatorluk Mahkemes-nn BelrlMemurlar Hakknda l Adamlarla Grmeler, Khora pa-

rekklesonunun bezenmesnden tam br asr sonra 1414 Ocak ay le 1415Ekm ay arasnda kaleme alnmt. Fakat bu metn, Metokhtesn yaad- dnemdeknn ayns sosyal ve syas ortam, olduka hcv ntelndetanmlyor. Metnn ana karakter Mazars kendsn Hadeste buluyor ve oortamdak mahkemenn nasl yargladn soruyor. Yant: Adlce ve ta-rafszca, yozlama veya ltmas olmakszn; ne dalkavukluk ne de rvet[yarglar] etkleyeblr.48zleyen dnyev mahkeme tasvr, arpc dere-cede modern grnyor: Dnyev yarglar, dostum kendlern taltf vedalkavukluklara kaptryorlar ve br davada her k taraftan da rvet al-

yorlar; adalet gdnce hak, etklnn ya da daha ok deyenn yannda olu-yor ya da ar derecede glnn, ok kuvvetlnn ve de ar derecede

zengnn.49Parekklesonun bezemes batan sona yargyla lgl. Tornkes, mezar

ktabesnde Tanrdan onu affetmesn styor ve hayattayken adl dorulu-uyla vnyor.50Khora apelne hkm tema, sttek tonozun da bykblmn kaplayan ve herkesn topland yargdr. Bu gen olarak len-m an Khoradak sahney ada k lse programlarndak sslemelerdenayrr.

Parekklesonun bezemes ayn zamanda Bzansllarn Cennet br bah-e olarak grdklernn de altn zyor k, apokalptk metnlerde karla-lan bu dnce ge Bzans dnem duvar resmlernde gderek daha ok

fade edlyordu. Ge Bzans dnemne at eulogalar ve ktabelerde sk skAden veya Cennet bahelerne atflar grlr. rnen Yedkulenn res-torasyonu srasnda bulunan 14. yzyla at br mezar tanda yoldan ge-

46 G. Babi, Les chapelles annexes des glises byzantines: Fonction liturgique et programmesiconographiques(Paris, 1969).

47 Belting v.d.,Pammakaristos, 56 dn. 49.48 MazarisinJourney to Hades or Interviews with Dead Men about Certain Offi cials of the Imperial

Court, tercmesi Seminar Classics 6 09, New York Eyalet niversitesi Buffalo (Buffa lo, 1975),1617.

49 age. , 1819.

50 Underwood,Kariye Djami , 1:27677.



14/39

120

enlere yle seslenlyordu: Sen, bu mezarlar gren ey yabanc, ben, rah-be Ksene Eugenanenn, hazzn ml bahesnde Baba le brlkte otur-

mam n dua et.51Ge Bzans dnemnde ller ou kez ekler aanbr manzarada temsl edlr k, bu da yaayanlarn dualarn yerne getre-cek br cennet mdn fade eder. Bu dnce tarz, dnemn yazl metn-lernde llern her tr btk yaamyla kyaslanmalarnda da dle gelyor keslm asmalardan hasada hazr buday saplarna kadar. rlerndenbrnde Metokhtes, Hadesn ster boynu bklm olsun sterse hldmdk, gl ve yrekl olsun, saplar dbnden kesmek n kaldrdoraklara atfta bulunuyor.52 Khora apel, tonozda, pencere sofftlernde,kubbe pandantflernde ve krlerde boyal ekler ve asmalarla ek a-

yor. Klsenn ger kalannda hkm sren geometrk motf ler burada yer-

lern halkalar yapan, kvrlan ve ek aan organk bmlere brakarak,zlenen cennet nceden haber veren dsel br bahe yaratyor.

Yaayan llerArstokratk gmler bn perspektfnden grme alkanl vardr an-cak bu mezarlar kelere de hem pratk hem de ruhan yarar salyordu.Zengn breylern manastr snrlar ersnde defnedlmesnn getrdekonomk kazan, cemaat uzun yllar gendreblrd. Altn, kona vehatta zm balar ve buday tarlalar gb armaanlar manastr dahln-dek gmler, anma trenlern ve mezarlar zernde kandller yaklmas-n garant altna alablrd.53

Dua amal meknlarda lahtlern baskn eklde tehr, Ge Bzansdnemnde yaayan kee, manastra kapanmasnn yaayan lm anlam-na geldn fzksel olarak hatrlatma konusunda krtk nem olan ruha-n br boyuta sahpt. Manastr dahlndek mezarlar ve bezemelernnhem lenn hem de mezar grenn tvbekrlk ve kefaret dncelernakla getrmede oynad rol, Ge Orta ve Erken Modern alarda Bat nncelenm olmasna karn Konstantnopols ve Bzans n rdelen-memtr.54Ortodoks badetnde, ken tvbe ve anma eylemler n br

yer olarak mezarn rol manastrn ruhan yaam n hayat neme sahp-t, tpk arstokrat mezarlarnn ekonomk getrlernn manastrn mal

varl n hayat neme sahp olduu gb. Manastr topluluunun grd- ve okuduu mezar ktabeler tehrnde ok zarf dzeyde hatrlatmalargreblrz: Manastra kapanm yaamnda, dnya le gkler arasnda br

51 stanbul Arkeoloji Mzeleri, env. no. 6144. C. Mango ve I. evenko, Some Recently AcquiredByzantine Inscriptions at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum, Dumbarton Oaks Papers32(1978): 1415, Res. 18.

52 Featherstone,Metochitess Poems, 138 dizeler 14045.53 Byzantine Monastic Foundation Documents, 1362 (para, ikona, zm ba); 156668 (buday

tarlas).54 rnein bkz. J. C. Long, Salvation through Meditation: The Tomb Frescoes in the Holy

Confessors Chapel at Santa Croce in Florence, Gesta34 ,1 (1995): 7788.



15/39

121



yerde yer alan ke, dnya-tes ve zaman-tes blgede duruyor ve sreklolarak brnden ayrlmak ve derne g rmek n dua edyordu. Dolaysy-

la Tornkesn mezar yaztnda burada fakr br ke kemkler arasndayatyor55ded zaman aslnda her br ke te dnyada kend yaamnkend kafasnda canlandryordu. Manastr dhlndek mezarlar, manas-tr mensuplarnn dndar medtasyonu n neml grsel katklar salyor-du. Mezar na ettren le mezar gzle gren arasndak bu ortak yaamadar lk, Ge Bzans dnem manastr yaamnn ruhan altyapsnda ha-

yat neme sahp br unsurdu.En temel manastr metnlernden br olan ve Ge Bzans dnemnde

yaygn eklde okunan ve kopyalanan Gksel Merdven, ken manev ya-amnda lm tefekkrnn roln bze anlatyor: Nasl ekmek tm y-

yeceklern en gereklsyse, dyor yazar, lm dnces de tm lern entemeldr karmaadan uzakta yaayanlar n [lm dnces] gnlkendelerden kurtarr ve srekl duay ve zhn korumay besler 56

Ken ruhsal yaamnda lm hakknda dorudan dern dnme-nn yan tefekkrn zellkle de Ge Bzans dnemndek rol, yalnzcaPalaologos dnemnde ortaya kan Ruhun Kanonunun antsal temslle-rnde en y eklde gsterlr. Nancy evenko ve Monka Hrschbchlernde gsterd zere Khlandar Manastrnda yer alan lmn endekruhun grsel betm, byk olaslkla onu grecek olan ken tvbe uygu-lamalar n tasarlanmt.57Betm br kulenn tepesndek oratoryumda

yer alyor ve alt katlarda se llern kemkler saklanyordu bylece lm

hakknda tefekkr daha da dolaysz hale gelyordu. Khora parekklesonun-da olduu gb Khlandarda da ke, ruhun kader konulu antsal betm-ler hemen yakndak etsz kemklern gereklyle kyaslamaya davet ed-lyordu. Ke n, bedenn rmesnn hatrlatclaryla donatlm pa-rekkleson hem defn yeryd hem de dua etme, tefekkr ve ne kadar glolursa olsun tm nsanlarn kadern hayalnde canlandrma yeryd.

Parekklesonun manastrla lgl dua yer olduu dncesne deste,betmler arasnda mezar aynleryle lgl olmayan sahnelern yer almasn-da buluyoruz rnen Musa ve Yanan al gb k, bu tr sahneler ouzaman manastrlarn tefekkr altrmalaryla lgl apel veya kncl

meknlarnda grlr. Khora parekklesonunda bu tr sahnelern ve f-grlern betmlenmes, lah ve aynlerde sz edlen Meryemn yaygn n

55 Underwood,Kariye Djami , 1:277.56 John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, tercmesi C. Luibheid ve N. Russell (Londra,

1982), 13235. Yunanca metin iin bkz. PG 88:793902.57 B. Todi, 13th-Century Frescoes in the Parekklesion in the Tower of St. George in Chilandar,

Hilandarski Zbornik 9 (1997): 3573; D. Popovi, Funerals and Tombs in the Middle Ages,Hilandar Monastery, ed. G. Suboti (Belgrat, 1998), 20514; N. evenko, The Journey of theSoul from Death to Judgment in Byzantine Art, Dumbarton Oaks Symposium 1999(yaynlanmam); Monika Hirschbichler, Contemplating Death: The Murals of the Canonfor the Dying in the Pyrgos of St. George at Chilandar Monastery (2004 yl Bizans

Aratrmalar Konferansnda sunulan bildiri, Baltimore, MD).



16/39

122

tasarmlar balamnda deerlendrlegelmesne karn Musa ve Yakub,Tanry tefekkr yan dern dnme ve dua yoluyla gren ahsyetler,

yan znde manastr davrannn modellern temsl eder.58 Khora pa-rekklesonunun bezemes bylece manastr mensuplarna olduu kadarktetora, meslektalarna ve alesne sayglarn sunmak zere manastra g-reblen brka kye de byle konuuyordu. Khora parekklesonunun beze-mes, Metokhtes hl hayattayken kends n delse ble, ken tefek-kr altrmalarna yardmc olmak amacyla byle dzenlenm olablr.

Khora Manastrnn katholkonu Ge Bzans dnemne at antlar ara-snda hakknda en kapsaml yayn yaplandr. Yne de parekkleson ncele-meler hl klsenn kends, dnemn gmme uygulamalar, bnlk mo-tvasyonlar, mezarlara saygszlk edlmes korkusu ve gereklkler le 14.

yzyl kelernn manev yaamlar hakknda neml soru aretler orta-ya karmaya devam edyor. Narteks ve naostan ayrlm, altn varakl asmadallaryla evrlm, azzlerle doldurulmu ve llern kemkler zernde

ykselen bu mekn, Bzansl n youn kutsallk atmosfer, vaat edlenbahe, br yarg yer ve br dua ve tefekkr yer salam olmaldr. Br b-lm adam olarak Metokhtes, na ett ve bze brakt bu zengn llst-rasyonlu kaynan, brok adan hl br kef yer olduunu blmektenmemnunluk duyablrd ancak.

58 S. Gerstel, Moses Removing His Sandals before the Burning Bush, bk:Holy Image, Hallowed

Ground: Icons from Sinai, ed. R. S. Nelson ve K. M. Col lins (Los Angeles, 2006), 255.



17/39

123

KhoraParekklesionu,HuzurluAhiretmidiveManastrbadetUygulamalar

TheCh

oraParekklesion,theHopeforaPeacefulA

fterlife,andMonasticDevotionalPractices

SharonE.J.G

erstel

ek. 1 Karye Cam, stanbul. Parekklesonun grnm (fotoraf: yazar)Fig. 1 Kariye Camii, Istanbul. View of the parekklesion (photo: author)



18/39

124

ek. 2 Karye Cam,stanbul. Parekklesonagr, 1892 (fotoraf:

Sbah ve Joall er)Fig. 2 Kariye Camii,Istanbul. Entrance tothe parekklesion, 1892(photo: Sbah and

Joaillier)

ek. 3Karye Cam,stanbul. Parekklesonun

bat duvar, 1906(fotoraf: F. Shmt)Fig. 3 Kariye Camii,Istanbul. West wall ofthe parekklesion, 1906(photo: F. Shmit)



19/39

125


TheCh



SharonE.J.G

erstel

ek. 5 Karye Cam, stanbul. Kr bezemeler. Ernest Hawknsn not defter (fotoraf:Dumbarton Oaks)Fig. 5 Kariye Camii, Istanbul. Decoration of tie beams. Notebook of Ernest Hawkins (photo

courtesy of Dumbarton Oak s)

ek. 4 Karye Cam, stanbul. Apss penceresnn al ereves (fotoraf: Dumbarton Oaks)Fig. 4 Kariye Camii, Istanbul. Plaster frame from apse window (photo courtesy of Dumbarton Oaks)



20/39

126

ek. 6 Karye Cam, stanbul. Yaldzl ve boyal stun bal, apsstek mezarda bulunmu,stanbul Arkeoloj Mzeler, env. no. 74.144 (fotoraf: stanbul Arkeoloj Mzeler)Fig. 6 Kariye Camii, Istanbul. Capital, gilded and painted red, found in tomb of apse, IstanbulArchaeological Museums, inv. no. 74.144 (photo courtesy of Istanbul Archaeological Museums)

ek. 7 Karye Cam, stanbul. Mezar A aldktan sonra (fotoraf: Dumbarton Oaks)

Fig. 7 Kariye Camii, Istanbul. Tomb A after opening (photo courtesy of Dumbarton Oaks)



21/39

127


TheCh



SharonE.J.G

erstel

ek. 8 Karye Cam, stanbul. Kapak ta kaldrldktan sonra apsstek mezar(fotoraf: Dumbarton Oaks)Fig. 8 Kariye Camii, Istanbul. Tomb in apse after removal of covering slab(photo courtesy of Dumbarton Oaks)

ek. 9 Karye Cam, stanbul. Apsstek mezar rten kabartmal ta, batdan grn(fotoraf: Dumbarton Oaks)Fig. 9 Kariye Camii, Istanbul. Relief slabs covering tomb in apse, from west (photo courtesy of

Dumbarton Oaks)



22/39

128

ek. 10 Karye Cam, stanbul. Mezara btk asker azzler (fotoraf: Dumbarton Oaks)Fig. 10 Kariye Camii, Istanbul. Militar y saints adjacent to tomb (photo courtesy of DumbartonOaks)



23/39

TheChoraParekklesion,theHopeforaPeacefulAfterlife,an

dMonasticDevotionalPractices|SharonE

.J.Gerstel

In 1951 a conservator from the Byzantine Institute of America fullyrevealed the first of the magnificent paintings of the Chora parekkle-sion, Christ Raising the Daughter of Jairus.1Continuing through 1958,members of the restoration team removed the layer of lime whitewash thathad covered the walls of the chapel as well as the underlying yellow ochre

paint and bright red dye that had been applied in the Ottoman period tothe hands and faces of the saints.2Scholars described the style of the fullyuncovered Chora paintings as mannered and courtly, though neither

of these words fully captures the beauty of the portraits and complexityof the narrative compositions. Created by an anonymous master and hisassistants,3the early 14th-century frescoes were considered a masterpieceeven in their own time.

Within two decades of their completion (ca. 1321), the style of theChora paintings had inspired the decoration of several churches in Mistraas well as that of a monastery in Thessalonike. By the end of the 14thcentury the Chora style had traveled as far as Romania; the paintings ofthe Kariye Camii served as one model for the program of St. Nicholasat Curtea-de-Arges.4 In turn, these churches introduced the Chora style

1 P. A. Underwood, First Preliminary Report on the Restoration of the Frescoes in the KariyeCamii at Istanbul by the Byzantine Institute, 19521954, Dumbarton Oaks Papers 910(1956): 25588.

2 C. Wales, The Treatment of the Wall Paintings at the Kariye Camii, Studies in Conservation3.3 (1958): 12024.

3 Susan Young has persuasively argued that a single group of artisans was responsible for both themosaic and fresco decoration. See S. H. Young, Relations between Byzantine Mosaic andFresco Technique: A Stylistic Analysis,Jahrbuch der sterreichischen Byzantinistik25 (1976):26978.

4 O. Demus, The Style of the Kariye Djami and its Place in the Development of PalaiologanArt, in The Kariye Djami 4, ed. P. A. Underwood (Princeton, N.J., 1975), 139, 153; M.

Musicescu and G. Ionescu,Biserica domneasca din Curtea de Arges(Bucharest, 1976).

The Chora Parekklesion,the Hope for a Peaceful Afterlife,

and Monastic Devotional Practices

Sharon E. J. Gerstel



24/39

130

into the decoration of monuments within their own spheres of influencein regions far from Constantinople. The Chora painters invented a new

figure form characterized by greater modeling, attenuated limbs, fingers,and toes, heads that were disproportionately small, and nuanced colorgradationsall elements of style that vied with the heavy or so-calledCubist forms popular in Macedonia and Serbia and exemplified by the

work of the master painter Michael Astrapas. The tension between thesestyles, one, the product of the Byzantine capital and the other, the productof Byzantiums second city, falls at the center of discussions of monumental

painting of the early 14th century.Paul Underwood and Sirarpie Der Nersessian and, more recently,

Robert Ousterhout and Engin Akyrek have addressed both the style and

the subject matter of the paintings of the Chora south chapel (fig. 1).5

Themore recent studies lay to rest an idea first forwarded by Feodor Shmit, in1906, and reconsidered by Der Nersessian in 1975 and by George Strieviin 1977, namely that the long and narrow chamber once served as the monas-terys refectory.6Instead, following current methodological approaches inByzantine art history, modern scholars now identify the space as a burialchapel; they do so by viewing the paintings through the lens of the funeralliturgy, discussing iconography that is primarily concerned with Judgment,Salvation and Resurrection and linking scenes and inscribed texts to theimages, actions, and verses evoked in the course of ritual and prayer.

The Physical SettingDespite the numerous advances in our understanding of the chapel, howev-er, many questions remain. Before turning to the paintings of the Chora

parekklesion, we should reexamine the physical space that they covered,one that has changed substantially since the chapels initial construction

5 Underwood, First Preliminary Report, 25588; idem, Second Preliminary Reporton the Restoration of the Frescoes in the Kariye Camii at Istanbul by the Byzantine Institute,1955, Dumbarton Oaks Papers 11 (1957): 175220; idem, Third Preliminary Report onthe Restoration of the Frescoes in the Kariye Camii at Istanbul by the Byzantine Institute,

1956,Dumbarton Oaks Papers12 (1958): 23765; idem, Fourth Preliminary Report on theRestoration of the Frescoes in the Kariye Camii at Istanbul by the Byzantine Institute, 195758,Dumbarton Oaks Papers13 (1959): 187212; S. Der Nersessian, Program and Iconographyof the Frescoes of the Parekklesion, in The Kariye Djami4, ed. P. A. Underwood (Princeton,N.J., 1975), 305 49; 10760; R . Ousterhout, Temporal Structuring in the Chora Parekk lesion,Gesta34 (1995): 6376; E. Akyrek, Funeral Ritual in the Parekklesion of the Chora Church,in Byzantine Constantinople: Monuments, Topography and Everyday Life, ed. N. Necipolu(Leiden, 2001), 89104; idem,Bizansta Sanat ve Ritel . Kariye Gney apelinin konog rafisi ve

levi(Istanbul, 1996).6 F. I. Shmit,Kakhrie-dzhami , Izvestija Russkago Arkheologicheskago Instituta v Konstantinople

11, 2 vols. (SofiaMunich, 1906), 1:92, 98; Der Nersessian, Program, 3067; G. Strievi,Review of The Kariye Djami 4, ed. P. A. Underwood. American Journal of Archaeolog y 81(1977): 261. This hypothesis is based on the mention of a refectory in one of Metochitess

poems.



25/39

131



.J.Gerstel

and furnishing. In addition to revealing and cleaning the chapels frescoes,the Byzantine Institute carried out in 1957 and 1958, selective excavations

within the parekklesion.7Occasioned by the repaving of the chamber andspurred by the spectacular finds in the naos, archaeological work focusedprimarily on the east end of the chapel; it included some clearing of a tombon the north wall. Renovations following these investigations substan-tially altered the appearance of the parekklesion, ultimately highlightingthe frescoes but changing to some degree the overall, integral effect of thechapels initial design.

The chapel was connected to the main church by two entrances. Onepassageway linked the parekklesion to the naos of the church and totwo small chambers, one that may have served as a small oratory and the

other, perhaps, as a storeroom.8

The main entrance into the burial chapel,however, was through the two bays that extended from the west side; theseprovided access to the chamber from the inner and outer narthexes where,in later years, the addition of other tombs extended the burial function ofthe churchs subsidiary spaces, a phenomenon common in the 14th centu-ry, particularly in Byzantiums metropolitan centers. Today the visitorenters directly into the open parekklesion from the southwest bays. In the14th century a partition wall set between the two columns of the parekkle-sion isolated the chamber from the rest of the church. We can imagine theeffect of this division from photographs taken a century ago before theTurkish furnishings were stripped from the building. An 1892 photograph

by Sbah and Joaillier shows that a thick masonry wall enclosed the twocolumns and the small window of the lunette (fig. 2). By 1906, as seen in a

photograph by Feodor Shmit, the upper register of the partition wall hadbeen removed, exposing the capitals and revealing the lunette window andupper archways (fig. 3).9By 1936, the masonry wall had been removed in its

7 D. Oates, A Summary Report on the Excavations of the Byzantine Institute in the KariyeCamii: 1957 and 1958, Dumbarton Oaks Papers14 (1960): 22331, focuses primari ly on thebuilding phases of the church. The un fortunate absence of a substantive report on excavationsin the buildingespecially those of the parekklesionhas been noted by a number of scholars.See A. Cutler, Review of The Kariye Djami4, ed . P. A. Underwood, Speculum52 (1977): 1058

59. In his AJAreview (see above, note 6) Strievi (p. 261) writes: Another point where thearchaeologists spade might have offered unique assistance and one would hope, a clue, would bein the parecclesion, whose function remains unresolved in spite of the admirable efforts ofProfessor Der Nersessian, in the study published in this volume, to prove, through the study ofits fresco decoration, the funerary function of this elongated chapel flanking the church.

8 Underwood suggests that the chamber was a small chapel or oratory in which icons withperpetual ly burning candles and votive lamps might be kept and commemorative rites havebeen performed; P. A. Underwood, The Kariye Djami, 3 ols. (New York, 1966), 1:271.Ousterhout suggests that the chamber may have served as a monks cell for private meditation,or perhaps, as a storeroom; R. G. Ousterhout, The Architecture of the Kariye Camii in Istanbul,Dumbarton Oaks Studies 25 (Washington, D. C., 1987), 63.

9 It is unclear when the upper portions of the wall were removed. Two minor restorationcampaigns are documented for the period between 1892 and 1906: the first, in 1898 by

Abdlhamid for the visit of Kaiser Wilhelm II and the second, in 190304 by the Russian



26/39

132

entirety; this is the current state of the entryway.Investigations of the building have demonstrated that in the 14th

century stone dividers were set between the columns and flanking walls.10Grooves in the wall reveals of the antae show that there were two levels atwhich plaques or other dividers may have been attached.11Carved marbleplaques, such as the bilaterally worked piece, 77 x 99 cm, found in theexcavation of the apse, may have been inserted into the lowest level (fig. 9).12The upper sections of the portal may have been filled with glass roundels.13Indeed, traces of the plaster frames for the glass were found during renova-tion of the building. Finally, a door would have been set between thetwo columns. In the 1950s Ernest Hawkins observed traces of a bivalve

portal on the threshold, but this paving stone was replaced and any signs

of the doors existence are now lost.14

The evidence demonstrates that thechamber, as in the Ottoman period, was almost completely separated fromthe main body of the church, an architectural feature that has implicationsfor the use of the parekklesion as well as the understanding of its decora-tion.

In the late Byzantine period the level of illumination differed from thatof todays artificially lit chamber. The principal sources of natural light arethe eight windows of the dome, the three windows of the apse, and the two

windows on the south wall. Based on archaeological evidence, the windowsof the apse were originally filled with clear and colored glass; fragments of

yellow and blue window glass were found in the 1958 excavation.15The

plaster frames for the window glass were also recovered (fig. 4). We might

Archaeological Institute. See G. Young, Constantinople (London, 1926), 89; M. Schede,Archologische Funde,Archologischer Anzeiger(1929): 343; W. Mller-Wiener,Bildlexikon

zur Topographie Istanbuls(Tbingen, 1977), 162.10 Ousterhout,Architecture, 57, fig. 86.11 R. Ousterhout, The Architecture of the Kariye Camii in Istanbul, (Ph.D. dissertation,

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1982), 43. See also Underwood, Kariye Djami, 1:21.

12 Ousterhout gives the dimensions as 99 x 77 cm. He notes that [t]his slab, used to cover part ofthe tomb in the parekklesion, was noted by Hjort, who could not locate it for study. It was

drawn and measured but not photographed by the present author. When uncovered, the upperside was detailed with a simple border. The opposite side was decorated with an incised Greekcross, similar to the example illustrated by Hjort, figs. 9 091. Its function as a tomb cover seemsto have been its second reuse. What was presumably originally a rectang ular panel had been cutto form an irregular trapezoid with a section of one corner missing. In this form, it is close to

what would have been necessary for the parapets f lank ing the entrance to the parek klesion. . . .If this were the case, the piece was either reused af ter the parekklesion closure was removed, or

perhaps was found unsuitable for this function and given a less prominent position as tombcover. Ousterhout, Architecture, 218, pl. 156.

13 Ousterhout,Architecture, 57.14 Ibid.15 A. H. S. Megaw, Notes on Recent Work of the Byzantine Institute in Istanbul,Dumbarton

Oaks Papers17 (1963): 365, n. 106. Cyri l Mango, who was present during investigations of the

building, noted the presence of blue glass in a photo caption.



27/39

133



.J.Gerstel

imagine that the windows of the dome and south side were also filled withplaster frames holding inset glass roundels, though this hypothesis is not

based on surviving physical evidence. Thus the chamber must have beenquite dark in its original form. Visiting the Chora in February of 1578,Stephan Gerlach, commented that one proceeds into the fourth vaultedand painted place, which is a bit darker and has many small windows, areference, it would seem, to the dimmed atmosphere of the parekklesion.16

Changes in the pavement would have also affected light levels andaltered the chambers appearance. In the Ottoman period, the chapel was

paved with hexagonal terracotta floor tiles that were covered with rugs. Yet,traces of cut stone and the pinkish plaster setting bed revealed in the apseexcavation suggest that the original floor was composed of white marble

slabs, the most common paving technique of the period for luxury build-ings. The Byzantine white pavement, formed of thinly sliced Prokonnesianmarble, would have reflected any light entering the chamber.

In its present condition several polychrome elements are now dimin-ished in importance or have been removed completely; their colorful

presence would have augmented the original decoration of the parekkle-sion, to create a far more harmonious effect than the one experienced today.The two capitals at the entrance to the chamber both preserve traces of

polychromy, and a further element of color was provided by the tie beamsthat spanned the chamber. The latter were originally encased in woodenboards decorated with a gold foliate design on a red or dark brown ground

(fig. 5).17The designs on the beams repeated decorative patterns painted onthe window soffits and carved as borders on the chambers tombs. In thecourse of renovations by the Byzantine Institute, the wooden tie beams,

which were in danger of falling, were removed and were replaced by metalrods in order to stabilize the structure. The loss of the decoratively encasedbeams effectively destroyed the ornamental infrastructure that anchoredthe paintings and sculpture to the very fabric of the building.

The nature of the burials within the parekklesion is not fully under-stood. Four arcosolia, two on each side of the parekklesion, preserve

portions of their initial decoration.18In terms of physical remains, only one

of the tombs in the parekklesion was excavated, revealing a masonry-linedcavity extending over 1.3 m below the pavement (fig. 7).19 Based on the

16 Auss diesem gehet man in den 4ten gewlbten/auch gemahlten aber etwas finstern und vielkleine Fenster in sich haltenden Ort. S. Gerlach, Stephan Gerlachs dess Aeltern Tage-Buch(157378) (Frankfurt, 1674), 45556; R. Ousterhout A Sixteenth-Century Visitor to theChora,Dumbarton Oaks Papers 39 (1985): 119, has interpreted this sentence as referring to thediakonikon. I thank L. Theis for reviewing the passage with me.

17 Ernest Hawkins made color notations on the casing boards in his 1951 notebook, today housedin Box 44 (Folder 1) in the Image Collection and Fieldwork Archives at Dumbarton Oaks,

Washington, D.C.18 Underwood,Kariye Djami , 2:26999; 3: pls. 53353.

19 Ousterhout,Architecture, 59



28/39

134

position of the cavity in relationship to the dome and adjacent oratory,the depth of the arcosolium and the reconstructed size of the sarcopha-

gus, and the ornate decoration of the tombs sculpted awning, it has beenidentified as the tomb of Theodore Metochites, an identification that hasgained nearly universal acceptance.20

Ernest Hawkins first associated the tomb with the monasterysre-founder in a letter of September 3, 1959. Addressed to Paul Underwood,the hastily scribed letter reproduced here as it was written records thefinds within the tomb:

Something interesting to report! Metokhites tomb was excavatedyesterday and to-day. This was owing to the fact that a hollow sound

was heard while pounding. We found that it was found filled with looseearth, full of bricks and broken bits of marble, going down to a depth ofnearly 1.5 mtres skull and bones, and a bit of the design of the Tornikestomb as well as a fine scultored relief head of an Emperor! Which doe[s]not seem to fit anywhere in the building. A great number of brokenglass, and rotten pieces of wood. These might through [throw] somelight on burial procedure. I have a feeling that this tomb was disturbed

just about the time when the building was turned into a mosque, butnot later. Reason: the things that seem to be in it look as though thebuilding was in disrepair, and the sculptured head, another evidence,hacked off and then swept into this place. 21

Underwood refers to the burial site as Tomb A, although he suggeststhat Metochites was most likely placed in the grave. 22None of the threeremaining tombs along the lateral walls was excavated, although thedisplacement of the Turkish floor tiles in these locations suggests that thegraves had been disturbed at some point. Without skeletal evidence, wehave no idea whether these tombs were intended for primary burials or forthe transfer of disinterred bones to the parekklesion or even if they werefor single burials or for multiple burials, as the multiple painted portraitsabove the tombs might suggest.

One additional tomb, 2.10 m in length, was found in the excavationof the apse (fig. 8).23Ousterhout considers the tomb a later addition to the

20 Underwood,Kariye Djami2:270 71; Ousterhout,Architecture, 59.21 The letter, reproduced as written, is located in the Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives,

Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C. (DI V, Box 1). The large number of errors in the writingsuggests that Hawkins typed the letter rather quickly.

22 Underwood,Kariye Djami,1:27071.23 In a letter of November 10, 1958, L. Majewski reported to Paul Underwood and Jack Thacher:

it is def initely a tomb for apparently only one man, no doubt the man whose name appears onthe lid. This lid has been cut back. Perhaps it was broken when it was being moved from someother place and neatly trimmed at this break. The hole in the middle was broken through in

Turkish times. T his is the only area over the tomb where the soil seems to have been disturbed



29/39

135



.J.Gerstel

chapel.24The size of the bricks that line the cist, 0.29 m in length x 0.03m in thickness, however, is in keeping with those found elsewhere in the

14th-century building phase of the Chora. It is likely that the tomb, orient-ed east-west and positioned at the exact center of the apse, i.e., betweenthe vaults of the lower chambers, was constructed in the late Byzantine

period and that its placement was related to the painted program. At somepoint, presumably when the building had ceased to function as a church,an attempt seems to have been made to dig through the floor of the tomb,

perhaps in order to access one of the lower vaulted chambers, which mayhave functioned as a cistern. The discovery in the south cistern of a chipthat connected to a small capital (20 x 20.3 cm; fig. 6) recovered from theinterior of the apse tomb suggests that a hole once pierced the masonry

below the burial cavity. After the connection was made between the twolevels of the parekklesion, two marble slabs, both re-used 14th-centurypieces, were placed over the tomb (fig. 9). The smaller slab, as noted above,most likely derives from the lower register of the parekklesions portal. Theother, a reused sarcophagus frontal, was pierced at the center for use as a

wellhead, a feature that was outlined in stones in the Turkish floor above.The opening was later filled in and covered by the Turkish hexagonal

paving tiles.If the tomb dates to the late Byzantine period, then it was already

included in the original plan of the burial chapel. Given its prominentlocation and its position below the Archangel Michael and before the

Anastasis, the tomb must have housed the mortal remains of an importantbenefactor, and perhaps even those of Theodore Metochites.25The locationof the tomb immediately below the icon of the archangel, the guardian ofthe soul, is meaningful. Laid within the tomb with his head toward the

west side, the deceased would have faced the archangel immediately above.The intimate relationship between the archangel and the person placedin this tomb, therefore, cannot be easily dismissed. It has been proposedthat Metochites particularly venerated the archangel. In his Address tothe Archistrategos (Logos 3), the Prime Minister begged the Archangel

during Turkish times. Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives, Dumbarton Oaks,Washington, D.C.

24 Ousterhout,Architecture, 6025 There is little information about burials in the apses of Byzantine churches, specifically in

burial chapels. One mention, however, is found in Marcianus 501, f. 290, concerning the deathon June 28, 1235, of Manuel, who was buried below the sanctuary in the Church of the Virgin.See J. Darrouzs, Textes Synodaux Chypriotes,Revue des tudes byzantines37 (1979): 30, n.29. For archaeological evidence of an apse burial, see the 10th-century Byzantine church atuattro Macine, Italy, published by Paul Arthur in Masseria uattro Macine a desertedmedieval village and its territory in southern Apulia: an interim report on field survey,excavation and document analysis, Papers of the British School at Rome 64 (1996): 181237. Ithank Linda Safran for providing me with this material and with photographs of the excavated

building.



30/39

136

to intercede for him on the Day of Judgment.26 The sphere held by St.Michael is unusually inscribed with the Greek letters XK, an abbrevia-

tion for Christos Dikaios Krites(Christ the Equitable Judge), a reference tojudgment that would have been immediately relevant to the person buriedbelow the icon and to those who recalled the deceased in prayer.27

One additional element argues against the identification of Tomb Aas the burial site of Metochites and raises the possibility that the formerPrime Minister was, in fact, laid to rest in another location within the

parekklesion: the pose of the military saints painted on the lateral wallsof the chamber. The soldier saints that flank Tombs B, C, and D eitherturn toward the burial or extend their weapons toward the opening; thoseflanking Tomb A turn away. As we shall see, the positioning of the military

saints may have been significant.The Hope for a Peaceful AfterlifeThe substantial renovations of the chamberOttoman and modernhaveenhanced our view of the paintings. It is left to us to envision the parekkle-sion as it once was, isolated from the main church, more colorful but atthe same time far darker: a room that was meant to be seen by candle orlamplight as evidenced by the prominent use of gleaming gold on the paint-ings and tie beams. The graves themselves and the bones they once heldhave little left to say. Even without placing pick to ground, one can safelyassert that each of the tombs would have been looted centuries ago after the

building was converted to Islamic use.28And thus I would like to turn to the paintings in order to consider what

information they reveal about how the parekklesion functioned and howthe Byzantines envisioned life after death, particularly how Byzantinesof a certain economic and social level imagined their afterlife. In order toexamine the paintings and their function as a mirror of rite, belief, andsocial standing, we must first understand the mindset of the man whocommissioned them, since so much of the decoration of the Chora monas-tery, as Sirarpie Der Nersessian and more recently Robert Nelson havedemonstrated, bore the personal stamp of the ktetor, Theodore.29

It is commonplace in scholarship looking at the period of TheodoreMetochites to assert that the late Byzantine period more than any other

26 On the relationship of Metochites and the Archangel Michael, see Der Nersessian, Program,331.

27 See also a 14th-century icon of the Archangel Michael in the Byzantine and Christian Museumin Athens for the use of the same initia ls. M. Acheimastou-Potamianou,Icons of the Byzantine

Museum of Athens(Athens, 1998), 3637.28 This, we might recall, was the fate of the tombs in the Lips monastery. T. Macridy et al., The

Monastery of Lips (Fenari Isa Camii) at Ista nbul,Dumbarton Oaks Papers18 (1964): 269.29 R. S. Nelson, Taxation with Representation: Visual Narrative and the Political Field of the

Kariye Camii,Art History22 (1999): 5682; idem, Heavenly Allies at the Chora, Gesta43.1

(2004): 3140; R. Ousterhout, The Art of the Kariye Camii(London, 2002).



31/39

137



.J.Gerstel

was marked by the construction of churches and chapels intended forburial and prayer for the souls of the deceased. Numerous reasons have

been adduced for this phenomenon, including political instability, there-emergence of a class of patrons with expendable wealth, and changes inlay piety. Although burial churches of high-born or well-placed individualscan be documented from earlier centuries, the number of preserved tombsand burial chapels is statistically higher in the late period and this seems tobe more than an accident of survival. The material evidence is supportedby a wealth of written sources, especially the large number of elaborateeulogies penned for elite members of society. The evidence for the metrop-olis is furthermore reflected in the hinterlands, where there was an upsurgein the number of burial chapels in late Byzantine villages.

In the Palaiologan period death was very much on the minds of theliving. An examination of the written sources, especially letters and poemscomposed by members of high society, demonstrates an acute fear that sinscommitted on earth would hinder the possibility of salvation. This is arecurring theme in the late writings of Metochites after he was strippedof his power and wealth and, for a time, exiled to Didymoteichon. Hismotives for rebuilding the Chora Monastery, as he expresses in a poem,stem from the need to counteract his grievous faults through prayer andthe intercession of the Virgin:

In [the Chora], I had some hope for my hereafter: that thence will come

help for the many sins I have committed in my life, through the prayersof the many monks I have brought together to live inside it and praythe Lord Christ be merciful and well-disposed and ready of compassiontoward me; and I had this hope especially in His mother, the virginaland all-holy container [Chora] most broad of Him who is uncontain-able through and beyond all things. In her name did I build this monas-tery; to her is this offering I built and brought perhaps most pleasing.30

In constructing or renovating a monastery in exchange for the promiseof salvation Theodore was not unique among his contemporaries. In

Constantinople, members of the imperial family and high court officialsundertook the construction and renovation of churches with the under-standing that they would eventually house their remains. The statesmanand rival of Metochites, Nikephoros Choumnos, who died in 1327, found-ed the monastery of the Virgin Gorgoepekoos where he was presumablyburied.31 Beginning in the late 13th century the Protostrator MichaelGlavas Tarchaneiotes renovated the Komnenian monastery of the Virgin

30 J. M. Featherstone, Theodore Metochitess Poems To Himself, Byzantina Vindobonensia 23(Vienna, 2000), 131 (Poem 19).

31 V. Laurent, Une fondation monastique de Nicphore Choumnos. La Na Moni de la

Thotokos Gorgoepikoos,Revue des tudes byzantines12 (1954): 3244.



32/39

138

Pammakaristos; he was buried, following his death around the year 1304,in a chapel his wife added to the church.32Outside of the capital, founda-

tions and burials followed a similar pattern among the wealthy and power-ful. Such activities were not limited to male donors.33But what were suchpatrons hoping to achieve and by what mechanism? Approximately tenyears after the death of Theodore Metochites on March 13, 1332, a fairlyobscure Greek writer, Alexios Makrembolites, invented a conversationbetween the rich and the poor, which was set within the social context ofmid 14th-century Constantinople. In one part of the dialogue the protag-onists touch on the subject of death and burial and their voices provideus with some insights. Accused like Metochites of enriching themselvesthrough the labors of the poor, the wealthy justify the hoarding of gold

coins in the following manner:If our relatives hear not the ring of our gold, they never will visit or takecare of us. . . . Nor will they think us worthy of the holy rites after ourdeath. There will be no struggle between the different churches for ourburial, no splendid and beautiful graves will receive us; no psalms orchants, no eulogies from the orators [will resound]; no flood of lights,no dignitaries will assemble to follow our funeral cortge . . . Thus,in order not to be deprived of these things . . . it stands to reason that

we should love gold [and] that we should value it higher than our verysoul.34

More than an imagined conversation, the dialogue touches on a numberof realities of the period, including the practice the wealthy follow in design-ing their own tombs and commissioning or composing their own epitaphs.A few examples illustrate the point. Theodora Palaiologina, the dowagerempress, was laid to rest in a sumptuous tomb that she had prepared anddecorated years before her death in 1303.35In a short poem entitled On an

32 Cyril Mango has argued that Michael died ca. 1310. H. Belting, C. Mango, D. Mouriki, TheMosaics and Frescoes of St. Mary Pammakaristos (Fethiye Camii) at Istanbul, Dumbarton Oaks

Studies 15 (Washington, D.C., 1978), 15.33 A.-M. Talbot, Building Activity in Constantinople under Andronikos II: The Role of Women

Patrons in the Construction and Restoration of Monasteries, in Byzantine Constantinople:Monuments, Topography and Ever yday Life, ed. N. Necipo lu (Leiden, 2001), 32943; eadem,Empress Theodora Palaiologina, Wife of Michael VIII,Dumbarton Oaks Pape rs46 (1992):295303; eadem, Empress Theodora Palaiologina, Wife of Michael VIII, Dumbarton Oaks

Papers46 (1992): 299. On the burial of elite women in monasteries, see J. Albani, FemaleBurials of the Late Byzantine Period in Monasteries, inLes Femmes et le monachisme byzantin ,

Actes du symposium dAthnes, 2829 March 1988, ed. J. Perreau lt (Athens, 1991), 11117.34 I. evenko, Alexios Makrembolites and his Dialogue between the Rich and the Poor,

Zbornik Radoa Vizantolo kog Instituta6 (1960): 214 line 25; 215 line 10; 227.35 A. Failler, Chronologie et composition dans lHistoire de Pachymrs, Revue des tudes

byzantines48 (1990): 51, n. 177. See also Talbot, Empress Theodora Palaiologina, 3023. On

Theodoras preparation of her tomb, see A. Sideras, 25 Unedierte Byzantinische Grabreden



33/39

139



.J.Gerstel

unknown person who prepared his own tomb for himself, Manuel Philesgives voice to a man who commissions his own epitaph: Clearly foresee-

ing my own death, he writes, I am furnishing the dwelling-place of myremains.36The Chora parekklesion, one should recall, was completed in1321, more than a decade before Metochitess death.

Entombment within a monastery, particularly in one established by thedeceased, held benefits that were both practical and spiritual. The monas-tic tomb encased the dead within a protected environment one that was

presumably safe from tomb robbers. Even in the periods of Metochites andMakrembolites the residents of Constantinople were surely familiar withthe scandalous story of the discovery of the mortal remains of the emper-or Basil II. The details of the story are reported by George Pachymeres.

Buried in 1025 in St. John the Evangelist at the Hebdomon, the emperorsnaked and uncorrupted corpse was discovered in 1260 within the ruinsof the church, propped in a corner with a shepherds flute stuck in hismouth, an evil deed later ascribed to Latin shepherds.37In Makrembolitessdialogue, the poor taunt the rich with the plundering of their elaboratetombs, referring no doubt to common practice: From earthly graves youare often thrown by your enemies.38Concerns for the safety of the body

were understandable. Even in the 11th century Christopher of Mytilenehad composed a poem about gruesome undertakers who plundered thegarments of the dead as a cemetery burned, anxious to make a prosperouslivelihood from unfortunate and charred corpses.39We can see the fear

of tomb robbery and the corruption of the body in warnings carved ongravestones of the medieval period. A stone that once covered the remainsof a 13th- or 14th-century metropolitan from Thessaly reads: I, who wasknown as the founder of a holy church and the shepherd of spiritual f locks,this small stone hides and encloses me, Dionysios Kampsorymes, Synkel-los. In the name of the commandment of the all holy Trinity, leave it in

place until the end of days if you do not want to give account on the day ofthe terrible judgment.40

(Thessalonike, 1990), 259, lines 1617.

36 Manuelis Philae Carmina inedita, ed. A. E. Ma rtini (Naples, 1900), 123, n. 86.37 George Pachymeres,De Michaele Palaeologo, ed. A. Fai ller, 2 vols. (Paris, 1984), 2:17477. For

an anonymous chronicle attributing the desecration to the Latins, see J. Mller,ByzantinischeAnalekten: aus Handschrif ten der S. Markus-Bibliothek zu Venedig und der K. K. Hof-Bibliothekzu Wien (Vienna, 1852), lines 452522. See also T. Macridy and J. Ebersolt, Monumentsfunraires de Constantinople,Bulletin de correspondance hellnique46 (1922): 38688.

38 evenko, Makrembolites, 215, line 14; 227.39 Christophoros ho Mytilenaios, Die Gedichte des Christophoros Mitylenaios, ed. E. Kurtz

(Leipzig, 1903), 5253.40 The inscription has been dated both to the 11th century (A. Avramea and D. Feissel, Inventaire

dun recueil des inscriptions historiques de Byzance. I V. Inscriptions de Thessalie, Travaux etmmoires 10 (1987): 36970) and to the 13th or early 14th century: (G. Soteriou, Aichristianikai Thebai tes Thessalias, Archaiologike Ephemeris(1929): 37475). For the use of

maledictions on tombstones of the early Byzantine period, see D. Feissel, Notes dpigraphie



34/39


35/39


36/39

142

in highly satirical form, the same social and political milieu as that ofMetochites. The central figure of the text, Mazaris, finds himself in Hades

and asks how the court in that sphere judges a soul. The answer: Justly .. . and impartially, without corruption or favoritism; neither flattery norbribes can inf luence [the judges].48The ensuing description of the earthlycourt rings strikingly modern: Earthly judges, my friend . . . let themselvesbe carried away by favor as well as flattery, and they accept bribes fromboth parties in a suit; for when justice is gone, the right is on the side of theinf luential and those who pay better, or rather of the extremely mighty, the

vastly powerful and the excessively wealthy.49The parekklesion decoration refers to judgment throughout. Tornikess

epitaph asks God to grant him pardon, and boasts of his judicial acumen

while living.50

The theme that dominates the Chora chapel, occupy-ing much of the vault overhead, is the judgment to which all have beensummoned. This extended moment sets the Chora scene apart from repre-sentations in contemporary church programs.

The decoration of the parekklesion also emphasizes the Byzantine viewof Paradise as a garden, an idea found in apocalyptic texts and one that isincreasingly expressed in wall paintings of the late Byzantine period. Eulogiesand inscriptions of the last Byzantine centuries make frequent reference toEden or the gardens of Paradise. For example, a 14th-century tombstonefound in the course of the restoration of the Yedikule, once called out to

passerby: You, O stranger, who are beholding these tombs, pray that I, the

nun Xene Eugeniane, should dwell with the Father in the grassy gardenof delectation.51In the late Byzantine period, the deceased are frequentlyrepresented in a flowering landscape, expressing their hopes for a paradisethat fulfills the prayers of the living. This manner of thinking is furtherexpressed in the comparison of the deceased in contemporary texts to allmanner of plant lifefrom cut vines to stalks of wheat ready to be harvested.Metochites refers in one of his poems to the sickles that Hades raises to cutthe stalks down to earth, be they already bent over or still standing stifflyupright, strong and hearty.52The Chora chapel blooms with flowers and

vines painted in the vault, in the window soffits, on the pendentives of the

dome, and on the tie beams. The geometric forms prevalent in the rest ofthe church here give way to organic shapes that loop and scroll and flower,creating a fictive garden that foreshadows the longedfor Paradise.

48 MazarissJourney to Hades or Interviews with Dead Men about Certain Off icials of the ImperialCourt, trans. Seminar Classics 609, State University of New York at Buffalo (Buffalo, 1975),1617.

49 Ibid. , 1819.50 Underwood,Kariye Djami, 1:27677.51 Istanbul Archaeological Museum, inv. no. 6144. C. Mango and I. evenko, Some Recently

Acquired Byzantine Inscriptions at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum, Dumbarton OaksPapers32 (1978): 1415, fig. 18.

52 Featherstone,Metochitess Poems, 138 lines 14045.



37/39

143



.J.Gerstel

The Living DeadIt is customary to view the benefits of aristocratic burials from the perspec-

tive of the patron, but the burials provided the monks as well with practicaland spiritual benefits. The economic gains that were accrued through theburial of wealthy individuals within the walls of a monastery could sustaina community for many years. Gifts of gold, icons, and even vineyards andfields of wheat could secure intramural burials, commemorative services,and the lighting of lamps over graves.53

But the prominent display of sarcophagi within spaces intended forprayer also had a critical spiritual dimension in providing a physical remind-er to the late Byzantine monk that his cloistered existence was meant tobe a living death. The role played by intramural tombs and their decora-

tion in conjuring ideas of penitence and redemption, both of the deceasedand of the beholder, has been explored for the late medieval and earlymodern West but never for Constantinople and Byzantium.54In Ortho-dox practice, the role of the tomb as a locus for the monks penitential andcommemorative exercises was as vital to the spiritual life of the monas-tery as the economic incentives of aristocratic burials were to its financialhealth. In the display of epitaphs that would have been viewed and readby the monastic community we can see subtle reminders that in his clois-tered state, somewhere between heaven and earth, the monk inhabited atrans-temporal and trans-spatial zone, constantly praying to leave the oneand enter the other. Thus when Tornikes states in his epitaph here rests

a poor monk among bones,55 it is every monk who through associationenvisions his own afterlife. The tombs within the monastery provided thebrethren with important visual aids for pious meditation. This symbioticrelationship between the tomb builder and the tomb viewer was a criticalcomponent in the spiritual infrastructure of late Byzantine monasticism.

One of the most fundamental monastic texts, the Heavenly Ladder,widely read and copied in the late Byzantine period, spells out the role ofthe contemplation of death in the spiritual life of the monk: Just as breadis the most necessary of all foods, the author states, so the thought ofdeath is the most essential of al l works . . . for those living away from turbu-

lence [the thought of death] produces freedom from daily worries andbreeds constant prayer and guarding of the mind . . . 56The role of the direct contemplation of death in the spiritual life of the

monk, particularly in the late Byzantine era, is best illustrated in monumen-

53 Byzantine Monastic Foundation Documents, 1362 (money, icon, vineyard); 156668 (field ofwheat).

54 See, for example, J. C. Long, Salvation through Meditation: The Tomb Frescoes in the HolyConfessors Chapel at Santa Croce in Florence, Gesta34 ,1 (1995): 7788.

55 Underwood,Kariye Djami , 1:277.56 John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, trans. C. Luibheid and N. Russel l (London, 1982),

13235. For the Greek text, seePG88:793902.



38/39

144

tal representations