Original scientific paper
The sarcophagus with sanction formula from Trogir (Aspects of the Byzantine diplomatics tradition in early medieval epigraphy of the Adriatic)
Ivan Basić
orcid.org/0000-0003-4781-1292
; University of Split, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Abstract
A fragment of a lid from an early medieval sarcophagus
originally from Trogir is kept in the Archaeological
Museum in Split. It contains the remains
of relief decoration and an incompletely preserved
Latin inscription. The inscription is best known for
mentioning a Byzantine emperor (Constantine V or
Constantine VI), thus far the only such example in
the early medieval epigraphy of Dalmatia (with the exception of Ulcinj). It has been preliminarily dated
to the 8th century. Although the fragment is known in
the scholarly literature and has been mentioned with
relative frequency in works by specialized researchers
(Lj. Karaman, M. Ivanišević, T. Burić, I. Babić, V. Delonga,
A. Piteša and others), other than the emperor's
name thus far there have been no attempts to interpret
the content of the remaining part of the inscription.
The author recognizes in it a partially preserved sanction
formula (curse, anathema) of the 318 church fathers,
very widespread in the territories in close contact
with the areas under Byzantine law (including the
diplomatics of the early medieval Croatian Duchy),
whence this formula in fact originated. The Emperor
Constantine mentioned in the inscription is identified
as the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VI (780-
797). The work presents the results of research into
the problem of the appearance of the Byzantine legal
formula against desecration of graves, with comparative
materials from the late 8th and early 9th centuries.
This reinforces and narrows the dating of the inscription
and sarcophagus; it simultaneously sheds light on
the appearance of the Byzantine legal culture and its
functioning in Trogir, as one of the Latin-speaking cities
of Byzantine Dalmatia.
Keywords
Early Middle Ages; Dalmatia; Trogir; Byzantium; epigraphy; prosopography; sanction formula; 318 holy fathers
Hrčak ID:
217251
URI
Publication date:
28.12.2018.
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