Anonymous: The Paris Gregory, f440r (879-883)
(Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris, France)
An illuminated page made by an unknown Byzantine artist. This page comes from a book called 'The Paris Gregory' or 'The Homilies of Saint Gregory of Nazianzus'. Saint Gregory of Nazianzus (329-390) was an Archbishop of Constantinople and theologian. He is regarded as a Doctor of the Church in the catholic church; in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches, he is revered as one of the Three Holy Hierarchs. This book is a collection of famous homilies delivered by Saint Gregory in Nazianzus and was dedicated to the Byzantine emperor Basil I ' the Macedonian' (reign 867–886). the book is furthermore richly illustrated. this page shows 4 scenes from the life of the Roman emperor Constantine I ' the Great' ( 272-337). From top to bottom:- The dream of Constantine: before the battle of the Milvian Bridge against his rival Maxentius, Constantine had a dream in which he had a vision in which he was commanded to "delineate the heavenly sign on the shields of his soldiers". Constantine ordered his soldiers to mark their shields with a Christian symbol (either a Latin cross or a Chi-Rho sign).
- The battle of the Milvian Bridge (28 October 312). Constantine managed to defeat his rival Maxentius. This battle marked the beginning of Constantine's conversion to Christianity.
- Saint Helena and councillors. Saint Helena (246/248-330) was the mother of Roman emperor Constantine the Great and had much influence on her son.
- The finding of the holy cross. According to a story, saint Helena took a religious tour of Syria Palaestina and Jerusalem, during which she discovered the True Cross. During an excavating, three different crosses were found. Helena had a woman who was near death brought from the city. When the woman touched the first and second crosses, her condition did not change, but when she touched the third and final cross she suddenly recovered. Helena declared that the third cross was the true cross.
Boom from 879-883.