Ideas of Peace in an Illuminated Manuscript from Byzantium

This paper examines the iconography of a miniature inspired by Gregory of Nazianzen’s Third Discourse on Peace, which forms part of a Byzantine manuscript of the twelfth century (Basel, University Library, Ms. AN I 8). The most striking feature of the painting is an unusual depiction of a personification of Peace, the iconography of which is without parallels in Byzantine art. I argue that the details of this visual allegory reveal a connection of the Basel codex with the imperial court of Manuel I Komnenos, ruler of the Byzantine Empire between 1143 and 1180. I maintain that the painter aimed to portray the emperor as a great peacemaker who was striving to reunite the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches at a time of intense doctrinal debate.