Η σελασφοροσ - the Prizren representations of the Virgin the Light-bearer (Philological appendix by Darko Todorović)

Abstract

The paper discusses the distinctive and mutually almost identical apsidal representations in three churches in Prizren and its area. They comprise the Virgin enthroned, the Child Christ in her lap, and the archangels bowing to them, their wings raised along the edge of the conch. In two of those monuments, the accompanying inscription describes the Mother of God as the Light-bearer (ἡ Σελασφόρος). This epithet has not been recorded so far in her depictions in Byzantine and post-Byzantine art. Whatever the origin of the distinctive solution in the apses of the three Prizren churches from various periods might have been, it was widely accepted in the Prizren area, becoming part of the local tradition.

Keywords

• prizren churches
• theotokian/marian epithets
• apsidal representations
• early serbian art