Dumbarton Oaks Papers

This volume begins with a substantial investigation of the murder of several members of the imperial family during the summer of 337, following the death of Constantine. Two other major articles are devoted to well-known Byzantine illustrated manuscripts, the ninth-century Sacra Parallela and the fourteenth-century collection of theological works by the emperor John VI Kanta-kouzenos, both now in Paris. A third art historical paper presents a detailed analysis of the architectural decoration of the church of the "Red Monastery" near Suhag in Egypt. Other studies treat the mystery of the Incarnation as well as the earliest version of the Life of the Virgin and its relationship with the cult of Marian relics in Constantinople. The volume concludes with three papers from a colloquium on the hymnographer Romanos the Melode.