Lay Authority and Meaningful Portraiture on Mount Papikion, Thrace

Abstract

This article examines instances and modes of interaction between monasticism and lay society in Late Byzantium. Offering a rare view of the little-known and decontextualized monastery of Linos located on Mount Papikion in Thrace, the hinterland of the empire, this study attempts to unveil the devotional practices and philanthropic activity of local communities in the fourteenth century. An anonymous donor portrait discovered in the narthex of the monastic church sheds light on the key role of lay families in making and sustaining rural monastic establishments amidst the turmoil of war, political dysfunction, and territorial shrinkage. In contextualizing and reconsidering the foundation process of the Linos Monastery, this analysis reveals the nature and magnitude of lay patronage within the broader social realities of the fourteenth century. Unlike data for other parts of the empire, the evidence on monastic renewal or production of painted decoration in Thrace tends to lack social documentation, especially in a period that has often been characterized as the age of patronage. Though numerous monastic complexes across the Byzantine countryside bear witness to an exceptional trend of generous benefactions on the part of laymen and women, the difference in the case of Linos lies in its setting on a holy mountain. A close reading of the archaeological site and the fragmentary painted decoration contributes to our understanding of women’s accessibility to holy mountains through pious donations and the commissioning of their images on church walls.