07-16-2007, 09:47 PM
Quote:I meant the Varangian's headgear Gioi.
It is "VOULGAROKTONOS" = Bulgarslayer not Bulgar-chewer
The advisor of this artist sucks.
The fancy peacock feathers come from the casket though to represent Justinian. Heavy speculation if Vasilios wore them-he was averse to luxury.
The standard bearer wears the "Kremlin helmet" which is dated roughly 200 years later.
The "spatharios" holding the reigns should be wearing white and purple
The captured boyar's attire is more 16th century rather than early 11th and it looks very "hungarian".
Sloppy research in my opinion
Kind regards
About it.
I am sorry to say it, because I am not an arrogant person, and also if I do not agree with the most part of the Osprey, I respect the works of the others.
I have however the idea that You have to suck some artistical, literary and archaeological sources more about Byzantium.
The fancy peacock feathers does not come from any casket, neither exist a casket though to represent Justinian. Maybe You are confusing the still existing drawing of the Justinian statue which stood in Augustaion, wearing the so called Achilles armour and crown with the Toupha, preserved in the Budapest Library. Here it is a crown, with peackock feathers, not a helmet.
But for the toupha of Vasilios II we have used the Bamberg silk, as shown by Egfroth. The personification on the left of the silk wears a crown-helmet, the so called Kamelaukion, as You can read in the book of Pilz about the argument.
Vasilios wore it in his triumph over the Bulgarians, like stated by Kedhrenos and Skilitzès. The Bamberg silk was realized just to celebrate such a triumph. But in the book it is written.
The helmet of the Euthychophoros is copied by the Cremlin one: the existence of such helmets at the time of Vasilios is attested not only by the codes (Psalter 17 of Marciana and many others) but also by the specimen from South Crimea, published by the Kiprchnikov and coming from an area under the control of Byzantium. The only speculative thing is the decoration of the helmet, i.e. if such decoration already existed in 11th cent. AD. Considering that such decoration are already present on helmets from 6th cent. onwards, I have preferred to use it.
The "Spatharios" is not a spatharios. In the book is written. He is the Domestikos ton Scholon, and he is copied from the Joshua of the Menologion of Basil II. The colours of the Menologion correspond exactly to the garments described for him in the Ceremony Book. Also it is written in the book.
Joshua, in the representation of the East-Roman art, is generally represented as the military commander of the whole army. So the armour and the appearance of the Domestikos was often used to represent him by the artists.
The Bulgarian Boyar is copied exactly how he is represented in the Menologion of Basil II. As You know it was done in 1003 AD. The existence of Kaftan like this is already attested centuries before in the Moscevaja Balka graves. And confirmed by the archaeology of the Bulgarian graves, where pair of buttons have been found in couple and disposed in rows. Not only Bulgarian, but generally Slav and Russian also.
What You call a sloppy research is a research of weeks and weeks just only for one subject
But You can free to think what You like of course.
Best wishes
Raffaele
