On Byzantine origins of figural miniatures of Belgrade Alexandride

Abstract

The late antique literary biography of Alexander the Great known as Pseudo-Callisthenes’ Alexander Romance was remarkably popular reading both in Byzantium and in the West in the middle ages. This literary work was also translated into Serbian Slavonic. Two extensively illustrated manuscripts of the “Serbian Alexandride”, and one decorated with only a few drawings are known. The paper discusses the iconographic features of the oldest of the known manuscripts, the so-called Belgrade Alexandride, which is commonly dated to the second half or the end of the fourteenth century. The research is particularly focused on the costumes of the depicted figures. The findings of the research suggest that the iconographic solutions of the miniatures are of Byzantine origin and that earlier views suggesting West-European influences on their shaping are not founded. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177032: Tradicija, inovacija i identitet u vizantijskom svetu]

Keywords

• Alexander the Great
• Belgrade Alexandride
• illustrated manuscripts
• iconography
• Byzantine court dress