Church Inscriptions as Documents. Chrysobulls - Ecclesiastical Acts - Inventories - Donations - Wills

Abstract

Valuable historical information can be drawn from the archaeological testimonies concerning official documents, which are written on walls or columns of churches and include offerings or renewals of donations, records of land property, lists of icons, church plate and liturgical codices, as well as wills of private citizens. The Middle Byzantine practice of writing down imperial gifts on the walls of a church was widely diffused in Byzantium during the Palaiologan period and is attested also in gifts of individuals from lower social classes. The durable material on which these documents were inscribed and the publicizing of their content to a wider audience echo the need to secure the donated property in perpetuity.