Inscriptions and their function in byzantine icons

Abstract

Accompanying depicted persons or scenes with inscriptions was a common practice in ancient Greek iconography that continued throughout the Byzantine era. As the cases presented in this paper demonstrate, inscriptions in portable icons were used to identify persons, comment on representations, or convey the faithful’s requests to God. In other words, inscriptions followed and under-scored the three major functions of an icon: preserving the memory of and honoring the divine or sacred person depicted; indoctrinating the faithful; and mediating with the divine. Of particular interest are inscriptions that identify Christ and holy persons, as their use appears to have become systematic in the wake of Iconoclasm and is linked with theories about the depiction of the divine developed during this period. According to iconophile theologians, these inscriptions formed a sort of “seal” confirming the transfer of the model’s characteristics to the depiction, and thus making communication with the original possible.