07-16-2007, 10:47 PM
Peter Raftos\\n[quote]The book is The Eastern Romans 330-1461 AD By Raffaele D'Amato and Giorgio Albertini - put out by Concord Publications: http://www.concord-publications.com/6011/6011.htm . They are a Hong Kong based publisher catering for the military modelling and wargamer market they service through a sister company Universal Models Ltd. (UML). See their history here: http://www.universal-models.com/
I have to agree with Egfroth about the captured Bulgar. The emperors costume is also taken straight from the Menologion of Basil II as well. While I am unfamiliar with the mace form he carries the Toufa of peacock feathers is straight from the front of the Troyes casket. The horse furniture is taken from the Bamberg silk. In my opinion the vexillum with the Taxiarch Michael is perfect but the two Rus helmets are a worry. Stefanos is correct, the Alexander Nevsky helmet is usually dated to 1300 and the Iaroslav helmet is about a century later as well (See http://members.ozemail.com.au/~chrisand ... elmets.htm )
The first plate is a little disconcerting also. The Greek hemiolite is taken from the 11th C version of the Kynegetica Gr Z 479 fol 33r where he bears an identical mace. In the Kynegetica this figure portrays the God Ares who dwells at Mt Haemus in Thrace – which the Byzantines, using their atticising Greek, identified with the Bulgars and therefore he is dressed in a Bulgar hat (which appears many times in the Skylitzes manuscript also) and Bulgar jacket.
The identification of the figure from the enamel with a “ Varangianâ€
I have to agree with Egfroth about the captured Bulgar. The emperors costume is also taken straight from the Menologion of Basil II as well. While I am unfamiliar with the mace form he carries the Toufa of peacock feathers is straight from the front of the Troyes casket. The horse furniture is taken from the Bamberg silk. In my opinion the vexillum with the Taxiarch Michael is perfect but the two Rus helmets are a worry. Stefanos is correct, the Alexander Nevsky helmet is usually dated to 1300 and the Iaroslav helmet is about a century later as well (See http://members.ozemail.com.au/~chrisand ... elmets.htm )
The first plate is a little disconcerting also. The Greek hemiolite is taken from the 11th C version of the Kynegetica Gr Z 479 fol 33r where he bears an identical mace. In the Kynegetica this figure portrays the God Ares who dwells at Mt Haemus in Thrace – which the Byzantines, using their atticising Greek, identified with the Bulgars and therefore he is dressed in a Bulgar hat (which appears many times in the Skylitzes manuscript also) and Bulgar jacket.
The identification of the figure from the enamel with a “ Varangianâ€