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22yflK 930.85; EEK 63.3(4); DOI https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu19.2022.104
L. Vinulovic
IRENE DOUKAINA AND THE DOUBLE MONASTERY OF
THE THEOTOKOS KECHARITOMENE AND CHRIST PHILANTHROPOS: RELATION BETWEEN PRIVATE PIETY AND KTETORSHIP
The coming to power of the Komnenian dynasty in Constantinople brought many changes in the administrative, legal, economic, and religious system of the state. One of the biggest roles in those changes was the women from Komnenian genos1. One of them was empress Irene Doukaina, daughter of Andronikos Doukas and Maria of Bulgaria. As a young girl, she was married to future emperor Alexios I Komnenos2. Doukas were one of the most powerful families in Constantinople beside the Komnenians. In his History Nikephoros Bryennios gives an extensive description of agreements made about the marriage between Irene and Alexios3. Irene's mother Maria and Alexios' mother Anna Dalassene were negotiating about this marriage. It was the practice in this period for mothers to arrange of their children's marriages4. The agreement on marriage was written in the form of an encomium to the future empress Irene Doukaina, her parents, and the entire genos of Doukas. Bryennios especially emphasizes Irene's mother Maria of Bulgaria, who strongly supported this marriage5. Maria's husband and Irene's father passed away just before the beginning of the marriage agreement. Maria saw this as an ideal opportunity to provide for her daughter and to make connections
1 Garland L. Byzantine Empresses: Women and Power in Byzantium AD 527-1204. London, 2002. P. 180-225; Hill B. Alexios I Komnenos and the imperial women // Alexios I Komnenos. Papers on the Second Belfast Byzantine International Colloquium, 14-16 April 1989. Belfast, 1996. P. 37-55; Founders and refounders of Byzantine monasteries. Belfast, 2007; Stankovic V. Komninu u Carigradu: (1057-1185): Evolucija jedne vladarske porodice. Belgrade, 2006. P. 98-148.
2 Anna Comnena, The Alexiad. Ontario, 2000. P. 43-44; GarlandL. Byzantine Empresses... P. 182-183; The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Vol. 2. New York, 1991. P. 1009.
3 Nicephore Bryennios, Histoire. Brussels, 1975. P. 219-223.
4 Stankovic V. Komninu u Carigradu. P. 39-166.
5 Nicephore Bryennios, Histoire. P. 219-223.
© L. Vinulovic, 2022
with the Komnenian dynasty. While Maria Bulgaria did everything in her power to marry her daughter to Alexios, Anna Dalassene, on the other hand, certainly tried to prevent this marriage6. The marriage was eventually concluded around 1077/78 with the efforts of the powerful caesar John Doukas and Irene's mother. It was the beginning of an alliance between Doukas and Komnenian that helped Alexios to come to power. Irene was essentially an «instrument» by which Alexios strengthened his political position. From the very beginning of this marriage Anna Dalassene showed open intolerance towards her daughter-in-law and the entire genos of Doukas. She tried to prevent Irene's coronation for empress. However, she did not succeed, and Irene was coronated a week after Alexios coronation, thanks to her grandfather and patriarch Kosmas7.
The first two decades of Irene's life as empress and the mother of the future emperor were tied to the fate of her mother-in-law Anna Dalassene in whose shadow Irena lived until Ana's retreat to her monastery Christ Pantepoptes at the end of the 11th century8. Alexios also did not pay much attention to his young wife. After the wedding Irene stayed with her family while her husband moved into the palace at Boukoleon9. Irene did not have any support in the imperial palace. She could find consolation and refuge only under the auspices of her mother, perhaps in the church of Christ of Chora, Maria's endowment10. On the other hand, the Doukas tried to interfere in running the empire. This family, which once surpassed Komnenoi in strength and prestige tried to maintain its former place at least seemingly in the empire through Irene's position as empress11. She did not have the support of either family, but she had to «fight» for her place in the family and the palace, as well as with the emperor. Although forced into the background, Irene gradually secured her place within the Komnenian genos.
6 GarlandL. Byzantine Empresses... P. 188; Stankovic V. Komninu u Carigradu... P. 26-27.
7 Anna Comnena, The Alexiad. P. 53-54; GarlandL. Byzantine Empresses. P. 189; Stankovic V. Komninu u Carigradu. P. 106, 115.
8 Little is known about Anna's withdrawal from power. According to some data, she withdrew from political life because she was associated with a heretical sect. The claim that she was associated with heretics contradicts the fact that Anna was a patron of monks and monasteries. It is more probable that she has retired to the monastery at the moment when Alexios decided to rule independently, without Anna's interference in state affairs. It is interesting that Ana Komnene does not mention anything about it in the Alexiad (Joannes Zonaras, Epitome Historiarum. Vol. 3 / Ed. by T. Büttner-Wobst. Bonn: Impensis Ed. Weberi, 1897. P. 476; Anna Comnena, The Alexiad. P. 105-107; Garland L. Byzantine Empresses. P. 192-193; Hill B. Alexios I Komnenos... P. 52-53; Leib B. Les silences de Anna Comnene // Byzantinoslavica. 1958. Vol. 19. P. 1-10; Runciman S. The End of Anna Dalassena // Annuaire de l'Institut de Philologie et d'Histoire Orientales et Slaves. 1949. Vol. 9. P. 521-522).
9 GarlandL. Byzantine Empresses. P. 184.
10 According to Nicephorus Gregoras, the church of Christ of Chora was reconstructed by Maria of Bulgaria, the mother-in-law of Alexios I Komnenos. Underwood accepted this theory, he presumed that Maria restored this church between 1077 and 1081 (Ousterhout R. The Art of the Kariye Camii. Gloucester, 2000. P. 11-12; Nicephorus Gregoras, Byzantina historia / Ed. by L. Schopen. Bonn: Impensis Ed. Weberi, 1829. P. 458-459; Stankovic V. 1) Comnenian Monastic Foundations in Constantinople. P. 52-53; 2) Komninu u Carigradu. P. 274-275; Underwood P. A. The Kariye Djami. Vol. 1. Historical introduction and description of the mosaics and frescoes. New York, 1966. P. 8-10).
11 Stankovic V. Komninu u Carigradu. P. 115.
Unlike Ana Dalassene, who, as the mother of the genos, took care of all family members, she took care for the female members of the imperial house, especially her daughters, the princesses born in the purple12. She formed a special branch of the Komnenian family, a female branch headed by Irene herself and her porphyrogenitus daughter Anna Komnene, that would later play an important role in affairs of state after the death of Alexios I13. This division and splitting of the genos would later lead to the separation of the family, which resulted in the disappearance of the family from the political scene and from the life of the capital. Irene justified her turn towards female family members with life situations that could affect the fate of her daughters, during which they could remain unprotected, unlike her son who would become emperor and who did not need maternal help14. It is likely that taking care for her daughters came from Irene's personal destiny and her bad position in the Komnenian family. Guided by her own example, she did not want her daughters to find themselves in the same position in which they would be unprotected and without family support. Irene took over the model of the ideal mother, which was established by Anna Dalassene, but with one important change. She became a model of the ideal mother who is the protector of her daughters, and in that way, she took on the role of the Mother of God and became her reflection on earth15.
After 1094, Irene Doukaina appeared on the political scene of the Roman Empire and finally got her place as empress alongside Alexios. From that time, they were the ruling couple, opposite to the time when Alexios and Anna governed the empire. Ana Komnene has written in the Alexiad that Alexios took his wife with him on military expeditions to take care of him and his health16. The reality was probably different. In 1092, when Alexios proclaimed his eldest son John as his co-ruler, Irene showed open opposition to the emperor's decisions. She tried to put their firstborn child, their porphyrogenitus daughter Anna Komnene, in the foreground17. Alexios apparently did not trust Irene, so he took her with him on military campaigns. He did not want to leave her alone in the capital. She showed her political desires and aspirations immediately after Alexios' death in 1118. Irene tried to take power from her son John with her political like-minded people and put Ana's husband Nikephoros Bryennios
12 During her life, Anna Dalassene witnessed the removal and appointment of several emperors. Through marriages between her children and members of the ruling families, she wanted to establish close ties with each newly appointed emperor. Her primary goal was to supersede the powerful genus of Doukas off the political scene. By dynastic marriages between members of Komnenoi and members of the ruling family, Anna Dalassene created a political network around herself that provided her family with a prominent place on the political scene (Garland L. Byzantine Empresses. P. 187-189; Hill B. Alexios I Komnenos... P. 42-43; Stankovic V. Komninu u Carigradu... P. 17-29).
13 GarlandL. Byzantine Empresses. P. 197-198; Stankovic V. Komninu u Carigradu. P. 116, 121.
14 Stankovic V. Komninu u Carigradu. P. 166.
15 Stankovic V. Komninu u Carigradu. P. 118-119.
16 Anna Comnena, The Alexiad. P. 216-218, 229-231, 235-237, 262-265; GarlandL. Byzantine Empresses. P. 194-195.
17 Joannes Zonaras, Epitome Historiarum. Vol. 3. P. 761-762; Nicetae Choniatae, Historia. Pars Prior: Praefationem et textum continens. Pars Altera. Indices continens: 11. Berlin, 1975. P. 5; HillB. Alexios I Komnenos. P. 39; Stankovic V. John II Komnenos before the year 1118 // John II Komnenos, Emperor of Byzantium: In the Shadow of Father and Son. New York, 2016. P. 116-117.
in power18. This attempt to take power did not succeed only because Bryennios did not show any initiative and desire to become emperor. The coming to power of John II in 1118 was a turning point for the Komnenian genos. The imperial, ruling branch split into two branches that were in conflict with each other: the imperial branch, which ruled and was headed by the emperor and a very influential female branch headed by emperor's mother and sister. In the first years of John's reign, Irene and Anna tried to overthrow him. Because of that, they were forced to retire to Irene's monastery of the Theotokos Kecharitomene, which became from that moment a parallel political court19. She gathered monks for whom she was a patron, but also scholars and rhetors such as Michael Italikos. It is very possible that some of them compiled the text of the monastery typikon of the Kecharitomene. Anna Komnene wrote the Alexiad in this monastery. The writing of Alexiad was probably initiated by Irene so that through Alexios' story the story about her could be told20. This fact testifies to the character of Irene Doukaina and her awareness of the importance of the place she occupied in the empire. Her personal life influenced on her private piety and ktetorship.
Anna Dalassene established a model of Komnenian endowment, which was marked by women's ktetorship. She dedicated her endowment to Christ Pantepoptes (All-Seeing)21. This monastery was an expression of Anna's private devotion to Christ, but also a testimony to the efforts that she, as the mother of the entire Komnenian genos, made to bring her family to power22. Through her endowment Anna Dalassene emphasized her place within the Komnenian family, so this endowment has a political aspect which is reflected in almost all later Komnenian endowments. This was also the place of her eternal rest. However, since the time of Alexios I and Irene Doukaina, the imperial couple had been creating a special image of themselves imbued with both private and public piety. The emperor and empress saw themselves as an earthly reflection of Christ and the Mother of God23. At this time
18 Joannes Zonaras, Epitome Historiarum. Vol. 3. P. 748; Stankovic V. Komninu u Carigradu. P. 122-123; GarlandL. Byzantine Empresses. P. 196-197.
19 GarlandL. Byzantine Empresses. P. 198; Stankovic V. Komninu u Carigradu. P. 122-123.
20 Stankovic V. Komninu u Carigradu. P. 116-117.
21 AngoldM. Church and Society in Byzantium under the Comneni, 1081-1261. Cambridge, 1995. P. 274; Dimitropoulou V. Imperial women founders and refounders in Komnenian Constantinople // Founders and refounders of Byzantine monasteries. Belfast, 2007. P. 92-93; Garland L. Byzantine Empresses. P. 191-193; Janin R. La géographie ecclésiastique de l'Empire byzantin. Le siège de Constantinople et le Patriarcat Oecuménique. T. III: Les églises et les monastères. Paris, 1969. P. 527-529; Korac V., SuputM. Arhitektura vizantijskog sveta. Belgrade, 2010. P. 156-160; Mango C. Where at Constantinople was the Monastery of Christos Pantepoptes? // AeXxiov XAE. 1998. Vol. 20. P. 87-88; Mathews T. F. The Byzantine Churches of Istanbul. A Photographic Survey. University Park, 1976. P. 59-70; Millingen A. van. Byzantine Churches in Constantinople: Their History and Architecture. London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1912. P. 212-218; Ousterhout R. Some Notes on the Construction of Christos Ho Pantepoptes (Eski Imaret Camii) in Istanbul // AeXxiov XAE. 1991-1992. Vol. 16. P. 47-56; Stankovic V. 1) Comnenian Monastic Foundations in Constantinople: Questions of Method and Historical Context // Belgrade Historical Review. 2011. Vol. 2. P. 52-57; 2) Komninu u Carigradu. P. 274-277.
22 Stankovic V. Comnenian Monastic Foundations in Constantinople. P. 53.
23 Erdeljan J. Izabrana mesta: Konstruisanje Novih Jerusalima kod pravoslavnih Slovena. Belgrade, 2013. P. 115-128; Stankovic V. Komninu u Carigradu. P. 270-289.
the private piety of the ruling couple became the official piety of the empire24. It is known that the rulers from earlier periods had a personal relationship with Christ and the Mother of God and that they built churches dedicated to them. However, since the time of Komnenian, there have been changes in the sphere of private piety in which members of the imperial genos especially respected and placed themselves under the protection of the Christ, Mother of God and the Holy Archangel Michael25. Roman empress as the mother of the prince and future emperor identifies herself with the Mother of God who is the mother of Jesus Christ, Heavenly Emperor. Roman emperor reigns his country as Christ reigns celestial sphere, and symbolically represents a direct reflection of the celestial ruler on earth. This new, more personal relationship with Christ and the Mother of God is reflected in the visual culture through the model of double monasteries and the consecration of the churches26. Irene Doukaina is the first empress from the Komnenian dynasty who tended this kind of relationship with the Mother of God, which emphasizes her motherhood, especially towards female members of the genos27. Irene's choice of the Mother of God as her personal protector also had a political aspect. In this way, she especially distanced herself from her mother-in-law Anna and distinguished herself as the empress and mother of the future emperor.
At the beginning of the 12th century Irene and Alexios founded a double monastery. It is quite certain that the church of Christ the Philanthropos was built until 1118 because Alexios, who died that year, was buried in it. This monastery complex was consisted of two churches: a female one dedicated to the Theotokos Kecharitomene, whose founder was Irene, and a male one dedicated to Christ the Philanthropos, whose founder was Alexios I28. Today, this complex no longer exists, it was destroyed probably during the reign of Latins in Constantinople. We know about it based on the preserved typikon of the Theotokos Kecharitomene29. It was in the 10th district of Constantinople where all Komnenian monasteries were located, between the aqueduct of Valence in the south and the Blachernae palace in the north and north of the main street, Mese which was the main triumphal and processional path30. The location of the church of the Holy Apostles had
24 Erdeljan J. Izabrana mesta... P. 117. No. 268; Stankovic V. Komninu u Carigradu... P. 270-288.
25 Stankovic V. Komninu u Carigradu. P. 115.
26 Dimitropoulou V. Imperial women founders. P. 88-96; Korac V., Suput M. Arhitektura vizantijskog sveta. P. 156-161; Stankovic V. 1) Comnenian Monastic Foundations in Constantinople. P. 47-73; 2) Komninu u Carigradu. P. 270-288.
27 Stankovic V. Komninu u Carigradu. P. 115.
28 AngoldM. Church and Society in Byzantium. P. 274-276; Dimitropoulou V. Imperial women founders. P. 88-89; GarlandL. Byzantine Empresses. P. 196; HillB. Alexios I Komnenos. P. 48-49; Janin R. 1) La géographie ecclésiastique. P. 525-527; 2) Les monastères du Christ Philanthrope à Constantinople // Revue des études byzantines. 1946. Vol. 4. P. 135-162; Majeska G. P. Russian Travelers to Constantinople in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries. Washington, 1984. P. 298; Stankovic V. 1) Comnenian Monastic Foundations in Constantinople. P. 55-59; 2) Komninu u Carigradu. P. 277-280.
29 Kecharitomene: Typikon of Empress Irene Doukaina Komnene for the Convent of the Mother of God Kecharitomene in Constantinople / Transl. R. Jordan // Byzantine Monastic Foundation Documents: A Complete Translation of the Surviving Founders's «Typika» and Testaments. Washington, 2000. P. 664-717.
30 Erdeljan J. Izabrana mesta. P. 117; Magdalino P. 1) Srednjovekovni Carigrad: Studija o razvoju urbanih struktura. Belgrade, 2001. P. 46-55, 69-91; 2) Studies on the History and Topography
determined establishment of Komnenian endowments in its immediate vicinity. The church of the Holy Apostles, whose founder was Emperor Constantine the Great, was the mausoleum of the Roman emperors until the 12th century31. «In ideological terms the church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople was a counterpart to the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem»32. This was very important for ktetors especially because their endowments were their final resting places.
The endowment of Irene and Alexios was in a true sense the first actual joined endowment of the Komnenian rulers, which reflected both the private piety of the ruling couple and a political concept. It was founded as the final resting place of the founders who in this way were united with their heavenly role models and protectors33. The consecrations of the churches indicated the attributes that a ruling couple must possess. The male monastery dedicated to Christ Philanthropos (Christ the Man-Loving) contribute to Christ's attitude and devotion to the human race, which emperor, who is Christ's reflection on earth, should also have. The female monastery dedicated to Theotokos Kecharitomene (Mother of God Full of Grace) contribute to the Mother of God's attitude towards people, which the empress should also have. This Mother of God's epithet is related to the written tradition and to the dialogue between Christ and his mother during the Crucifixion, described in the hymn of Roman the Melodist from the 6th century, in which Christ addresses his mother as a Kecharitomene, full of grace34. As Irene is the reflection of the Mother of God on earth, she also has the same attributes as her. She is the one who is, like the Mother of God, full of mercy. She shows mercy not only towards the members of her family, but also towards all the citizens of the Roman Empire. This concept is reflected in Irene's monastery. The monastery was not only expression of her private piety and a votive gift to the Mother of God who is her protector and advocate at the Last Judgement, but it was also a home and refuge for the female members of the imperial house, the princesses born in purple and noblewomen who wanted to join the sisterhood35. The monastery complex was consisted of a catholicon dedicated to the Mother of God, two courtyards, two bathrooms as well as private chambers for the founder and her daughters36.
The typikon of the monastery dedicated to Theotokos Kecharitomene, which dates back to the beginning of the 12th century, has been preserved. It talks about the monastery itself and the arrangement of the monastery and the sisterhood, as well as about the commemorations
of Byzantine Constantinople. Aldershot, 2007. P. 77-84; Stankovic V. Comnenian Monastic Foundations in Constantinople. P. 52; Female Founders in Byzantium and Beyond. Wien; Köln, 2011/2012. P. 247.
31 Grierson P., Mango C., Sevcenko I. The Tombs and Obits of the Byzantine Emperors (3371042) // Dumbarton Oaks Papers. 1962. Vol. 16. P. 3-63; Janin R. La géographie ecclésiastique... P. 46-55.
32 Erdeljan J. Izabrana mesta... P. 77.
33 Nicetae Choniatae, Historia... P. 8, 86; Stankovic V. Comnenian Monastic Foundations in Constantinople. P. 56.
34 Belting H. Slika i kult. Istorija slike do epohe umetnosti. Novi Sad, 2014. P. 330-331.
35 GarlandL. Byzantine Empresses. P. 196; Kecharitomene: Typikon of Empress. / Transl. R. Jordan. P. 670-671; Stankovic V. Komninu u Carigradu. P. 278.
36 Angold M. Church and Society in Byzantium. P. 274, 295-296, 304, 306; Dimitropoulou V. Imperial women founders. P. 88-89; Garland L. Byzantine Empresses. P. 196; Janin R. La géographie ecclésiastique. P. 539-541.
for the members of the founder's family37. In the introductory part, Irene talks about her reasons for founding monastery dedicated to the Mother of God. Through this votive gift, she expresses her gratitude for the protection that the Mother of God gave her during life: «.I myself have built for you, the mother of the Word, a holy temple from those who are around us and are of our kind for you, "the holy and wonderful temple in righteousness". »38 The ktetor emphasizes her personal connection with Mother of God, but also closeness of the entire genos of the Doukas with the Mother of God39. In the part in which she talks about her children, Irene puts a special emphasis on Theotokos as a mother and identifies with her. Typikon testifies about changes that happened in the sphere of private piety during the reign of Alexios I and Irene Doukaina. For the first time, the protective role of the Mother of God, which is connected exclusively with female members of the genos, was emphasized in the typikon. Since the time of Irene Doukaina and her ktetorship, almost all empresses and princesses from later periods have placed themselves under the protection of the Mother of God40. The second part of the typikon speaks about the organization of monastic life and the sisterhood of the monastery whose abbess was the founder herself41. Irene's monastery provided refuge to all women who wanted to become nuns, some of them, those who came from prominent families, had greater privileges than other nuns. In addition to the founder herself, her daughters, and grandchildren, who wanted to join the sisterhood, had the greatest privileges. They owned their rooms and bathrooms as well as maids42. Irene Doukaina had private rooms within the monastery complex in which she lived after Alexios' death.
Although the monastery no longer exists, it is known that it was richly equipped with liturgical objects, icons and mosaics43. It is possible that there was also a marble slabs in the lower zones of church. The church also possessed a large number of relics, from the particles of the Holy Cross through the relics of the princes of the Apostles Peter and Paul to the relics of the holy martyrs, which were placed in special reliquaries44. These relics, along with the icons of Christ and the Mother of God, together with the mosaics, shaped the sacral space of the church and provided sacral protection to the ktetors, the sisterhood and the entire monastery complex. Based on the preserved buildings from the Komnenian period, it can be concluded that Irene's church had a plan of a cross-in-square with a dome on the pillars and a narthex on the west. In the typikon exonarthex is mentioned as the place of burial of nuns, which probably had the role of a parakklesion45. Since it is still not entirely certain how the churches of Christ Philanthropos and the Theotokos Kecharitomene were connected, it is possible that they have been joined by a common exonarthex, as in the case
37 Kecharitomene: Typikon of Empress. / Transl. R. Jordan. P. 664-717.
38 Kecharitomene: Typikon of Empress. / Transl. R. Jordan. P. 665-666.
39 Kecharitomene: Typikon of Empress. / Transl. R. Jordan. P. 664-667.
40 Stankovic V. 1) Comnenian Monastic Foundations in Constantinople. P. 58-59; 2) Komninu u Carigradu. P. 279-280.
41 Kecharitomene: Typikon of Empress. / Transl. R. Jordan. P. 670-700.
42 Kecharitomene: Typikon of Empress. / Transl. R. Jordan. P. 670-671.
43 Dimitropoulou V. Imperial women founders. P. 89; Kecharitomene: Typikon of Empress. / Transl. R. Jordan. P. 714-717.
44 Kecharitomene: Typikon of Empress. / Transl. R. Jordan. P. 714-717.
45 Kecharitomene: Typikon of Empress. / Transl. R. Jordan. P. 655, 699-700.
of the monastery of Christ Pantokrator46. On the other hand, if it was the place where the nuns were buried, it is possible that the exonarthex belonged only to the female, Irene's church. Anna Komnene finished the Alexiad in her chambers in Kecharitomene, looking over the wall at the monastery of her father Christ Philanthropos47. It is quite clear that these two monasteries functioned together as a united complex. It is very possible that there was a wall between them that separated and connected them at the same time. The tombs of the founders were most likely located on the south wall of the western nave or narthex. The private piety of emperor and empress towards Christ and the Mother of God is shaped through the monastery complex which consists of two churches, places where Christ and the Mother of God reside, but also Alexios I and Irene, earthly counterparts of Christ and the Mother of God. Each of these two monasteries functioned independently, but together they formed one whole, just as the Mother of God and Christ are one whole, which is shaped by the dogma of incarnation and salvation. Unity with heavenly models before the Last Judgment was achieved through places of eternal rest, thus placing themselves directly under the protection of their heavenly patrons.
The year of Irene Doukaina's death has not yet been determined exactly, and conflicting opinions that put the year of death in 1123, 1133 and 1136. It is possible that she was alive during the construction of the monastery of Christ Pantokrator, which in a way was John's response to Irene's attempt to take power48. Irene's son sebastokrator Isaac gives a description of his mother's death in the typikon of his monastery of the Theotokos Kosmosoteira: «In the tomb of my mother the oil has been seen to gush forth — she who (oh the marvel of it!), in the presence of the whole family, closed her eyelids with her own hands at the time of her decease. It was not someone else passing his hands over her eyes at the moment of death. For she departed in a holy way for the Lord during the first indiction, on the 19th day of February.»49 Although Irene was never canonized, her death was described as the death of a saint. This was of great political importance to sebastokrator Isaac, who, like his mother, was in conflict with his brother emperor John II50. This fact from the typikon testifies to how much political significance she had for her children even after her death.
By creating a place for herself in the royal palace and within the genos, Irene Doukaina consciously or unconsciously opened the question of gender and place and the role of princesses and female family members within the genos51. She is in the true sense the first of the female Komnenian figure, a mother in the sense of the primordial image of motherhood
46 Erdeljan J. Izabrana mesta. P. 116-126. No. 267; Korac V., SuputM. Arhitektura vizantijskog sveta. P. 160-161; Millingen A. van. Byzantine Churches in Constantinople. P. 219-243; Stankovic V. Komninu u Carigradu. P. 280-282, 284-286.
47 Kecharitomene: Typikon of Empress. / Transl. R. Jordan. P. 705-706; Stankovic V. Comnenian Monastic Foundations in Constantinople. P. 57-58.
48 Stankovic V. Komninu u Carigradu. P. 121, 281-282.
49 Kecharitomene: Typikon of Empress Irene Doukaina Komnene for the Convent of the Mother of God Kecharitomene in Constantinople / Transl. N. Patterson-Sevcenko // Byzantine Monastic Foundation Documents: A Complete Translation of the Surviving Founders's «Typika» and Testaments. Washington, 2000. P. 840.
50 Stankovic V. 1) Comnenian Monastic Foundations in Constantinople. P. 62-64; 2) Komninu u Carigradu. P. 86-88, 90-92, 172-175, 282-284.
51 Stankovic V. Komninu u Carigradu. P. 121, 281-282.
who takes care of her children, primarily the daughters52. Irene established a model of the relationship between the Mother of God and the empresses and princesses, which would later be followed throughout the Komnenian era. This model was also adopted by women from the Palaeologus family, who in every sense relied on the models established by the women of Komnenoi in the 11th and 12th centuries. Irene Doukaina's endowment, the monastery of the Theotokos Kecharitomene, in addition to being an expression of the private piety of the ktetor and her votive gift to the Mother of God, who was her advocate at the Last Judgment, was also an expression of the power of the female part of the Komnenian genos.
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Автор: Винулович, Любица — доктор искусствоведения, научный сотрудник, Факультет философии, Белградский университет, Белград, Сербия, Orc ID 0000-0003-0547-6959; e-mail: ljvinulovic91@gmail.com Заголовок: Irene Doukaina and the double monastery of the Theotokos Kecharitomene and Christ Philanthropos: relation between private piety and ktetorship [Ирина Дукаина и двойной монастырь Пресвятой Богородицы Кечаритомене и Христа Филантропа: связь между частной собственностью и ктеторством]
Резюме: Римская императрица Ирина Дукаина — жена римского императора Алексия I Комнина — в начале XII в. вместе со своим мужем основала двойной монастырь, посвященный Пресвятой Богородице Кечаритомене (Полной Благодати) и Христу Филантропу (Человеколюбивому). Монастырь был расположен в 10-м районе Константинополя, где были сгруппированы все комнинские монастыри, между акведуком Валанса на юге и Влахернским дворцом на севере. В начале XII в. в Константинополе происходили изменения в системе почитании святых. Первой правящей парой, посчитавшей себя «двойниками» на земле Христа и Божьей Матери, были Алексиос I и Ирина Дукаина. В идее создания монастыря отразились новые черты почитания святых царскими особами, выразившиеся через модель двойного облечения и освящения церквей. Монастырь Алексия, посвященный Христу Филантропу, был мужским, монастырь Ирины, посвященный Богородице Кечаритомене, - женским. Во время правления Алексия и Ирины впервые в истории Римской империи защитная роль Божьей Матери оказалась столь очевидно связана исключительно с женщинами императорской семьи. Пресвятая Богородица становится личным защитником и заступником Ирины Дукаины во время Страшного суда. Монастырь Пресвятой Богородицы Кечаритомене являлся обетным даром, но стал также выражением не только личного благочестия Ирины, но и власти императрицы. Сегодня этого комплекса не существует, мы знаем о нем лишь по сохранившемуся типикону Богородицы Кечаритомене. Основное внимание в данной статье уделяется жизни, личному благочестию и политическим аспектам деятельности римской императрицы Ирины Дукаины.
Ключевые слова: Ирина Дукаина, Алексиос I Комнин, Богородица Кечаритомена, Христос Филантроп, типикон монастыря, ктеторство, двойной монастырь, Византия, исследования Средневековья, история культуры.
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2022. № 1 (31). Январь—Июнь
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Information about the article Author: Vinulovic, Ljubica — PhD in Art History, Research Associate, University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy, Belgrade, Serbia, OrcID 0000-0003-0547-6959; e-mail: ljvinulovic91@gmail.com
Title: Irene Doukaina and the double monastery of the Theotokos Kecharitomene and Christ Philanthropos: relation between private piety and ktetorship
Summary: The main preoccupation of this paper is a life, private piety and ktetorship of roman empress Irene Doukaina, as well as the political aspect of her ktetorship. She was the wife of a roman emperor Alexios I Komnenos. At the beginning of the 12th century Irene together with her husband founded a double monastery dedicated to the Theotokos Kecharitomene (Full of Grace) and to the Christ Philanthropos (Man-Loving). It was located in the 10th district of Constantinople where all Komnenian monasteries were grouped, between the aqueduct of Valence in the south and the Blachernae palace in the north. Today, this complex no longer exists, we know about it based on the preserved typikon of the Theotokos Kecharitomene. This monastery complex was the first real common endowments of the Komnenian ruling couple. It was founded as the final resting place of ktetors. In early 12th century in Constantinople some changes happened when it comes to devotion to the saints. Members of the royal family had a special personal relationship with the saints through which the emperor and empress see themselves as a parallel earthly reflection of Christ and the Mother of God. The first ruling couple who saw themselves as the counterpart of Christ and the Mother of God, were Alexios I and Irene Doukaina. This new, more personal relationship with Christ and the Mother of God is reflected in the visual culture through the model of double endowment and the consecration of the churches. Alexios' monastery dedicated to the Christ Philanthropos was male monastery and Irene's monastery dedicated to the Theotokos Kecharitomene was female monastery. During the reign of Alexios and Irene for the first time in the Roman empire the protective role of the Mother of God was so obviously bound exclusively to the female members of the imperial family. The monastery of the Theotokos Kecharitomene, was not only expression of Irina's personal piety and a votive gift for Theotokos who her personal protector and an intercessor at the Last Judgement was but also was an expression of the power of the empress Irene Doukaina. Keywords: Irene Doukaina, Alexios I Komnenos, Komnenian genos, Theotokos Kecharitomene, Christ Philanthropos, the typikon of the monastery Theotokos Kecharitomene, private piety, ktetor, ktetorship, double monastery, medieval studies, cultural studies.
References:
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