THE MONK, EQUAL TO THE MARTYRS? MOLDAVIAN ICONOGRAPHIC INSTANCES

Abstract

This paper deal s with an aspect of the iconographic selection in Moldavian mural paintings (15th - 16th centuries). Instigated by cases which insert monks in the program of the bay linking the apse to the naos, the analysis tries to reveal the strategies of including monas tic presences in the naos, to point at several late byzantine parallels and to advance an interpretation for this peculiar option. Its diverse contexts involve also slight changes of meaning, which are addressed as well. The iconographic syntax at stake in vites to „erudite‟ analysis, but a more flexible exploration, aware of the oral aspect of cultural transmission, might prove just as suitable.

Keywords

• Moldavia
• 15th - 16th century
• iconography
• Late Byzantine art
• monasticism
• Byzantine literature