OLTRE L’ALTO MEDIOEVO:

ETNIE, VICENDE, CULTURE

NELLA PUGLIA NORMANNO-SVEVA
Atti del XXII Congresso internazionale di studio
sull’alto medioevo

Savelletri di Fasano (BR), 21-24 novembre 2019

FONDAZIONE
C ENTR O I TALI ANO DI STUDI
S U LL’ALTO M EDIOE VO
SPOLE TO
2020
ISBN 978-88-6809-303-7

prima edizione: agosto 2020

 Copyright 2020 by « Fondazione Centro italiano di studi sull’alto medioevo »,

Spoleto.

Volume stampato:

con il contributo di in collaborazione con

FONDAZIONE

S. DOMENICO
 SOMMARIO

Consiglio di amministrazione e Consiglio scientifico della

Fondazione Centro italiano di studi sull’alto medioevo ..... pag. VII
Elenco dei partecipanti .................................................... » IX
Programma del Congresso ............................................... » XI
GIANCARLO ANDENNA, L’espansione dei Normanni tra Occidente
e Oriente nei secoli X-XII .............................................. » 1
BRUNO CALLEGHER, La Puglia bizantina alla vigilia della conqui-
sta normanna: un’area ad economia monetaria ai confini del-
l’impero ...................................................................... » 45
FRANCESCO VIOLANTE, Alle origini della conquista: i primi nor-
manni nel dispositivo difensivo bizantino ........................... » 69
VICTOR RIVERA MAGOS, Dal particolarismo della conquista all’unità
del Regno ................................................................... » 101
FRANCESCO PANARELLI, L’impatto della conquista sulla rete degli
insediamenti in Puglia ................................................... » 135
PIETRO DALENA, Politiche urbanistiche e di viabilità in età nor-
manno-sveva ................................................................ » 151
KRISTJAN TOOMASPOEG, La rete castellare tra ordinamento milita-
re e civile .................................................................... » 175
DONATELLA NUZZO, Bari dal praetorium bizantino alla cittadel-
la nicolaiana: le trasformazioni di un’area urbana alla luce del-
le fonti scritte e della documentazione archeologica ................ » 203
JEAN-MARIE MARTIN, Compresenze, persistenze e resistenze etniche
nella transizione dai Bizantini ai Normanni ...................... » 227
VI SOMMARIO

FABRIZIO LELLI, Gli ebrei in Puglia in età normanno-sveva ............ pag. 241
UMBERTO LONGO, Il monachesimo benedettino come fattore di
coesione territoriale e l’incontro di tradizioni e usi monastici al
tempo della Riforma della Chiesa. Nuove ipotesi ................. » 259
ADELE CILENTO, Il monachesimo greco in Puglia nell’età normanna
fra resistenza e integrazione ............................................ » 281
GIACOMO PACE GRAVINA, Ius Regni Siciliae. L’esperienza giuridi-
ca dell’età normanno-sveva: alcune riflessioni storiografiche ......... » 303
PASQUALE CORDASCO, La documentazione tra concezioni tradi-
zionali e spinte innovative .............................................. » 321
EDOARDO D’ANGELO, La produzione letteraria latina nella Puglia
normanno-sveva ............................................................ » 339
MARCO ANTONIO SICILIANI, I libri latini in Puglia fra XI e XIII
secolo. Contesti, tipologie, scritture .................................... » 365
ANDREAS RHOBY, The Greek inscriptions of Norman-Staufian
Apulia in the late eleventh, the twelfth and the thirteenth cen-
turies: texts and contexts ................................................ » 393
ANTONIO ENRICO FELLE - PAOLO FIORETTI, Epigrafi latine in
Puglia nell’età normanna ................................................ » 419
VALENTINO PACE, Identità e integrazione: committenza, progetti e
artefici nella Brindisi protonormanna ................................. » 473
MARINA FALLA CASTELFRANCHI, Ancora sulla decorazione pittorica
dell’abbazia di Santa Maria a Cerrate (LE). L’immagine nell’ab-
side e il ruolo della figura della Vergine ................................ » 493
GIOIA BERTELLI, Passaggi di testimone. Tendenze di conservazio-
ne e di innovazione nella scultura di epoca normanna in Terra
d’Otranto ................................................................... » 499
MARCELLO MIGNOZZI, Paradigmi e declinazioni dell’architettura
sacra in età normanno-sveva: la Capitanata ........................ » 517
ROSANNA BIANCO, San Nicola e i miracoli del mare. Note icono-
grafiche ....................................................................... » 553
 ANDREAS RHOBY

THE GREEK INSCRIPTIONS OF NORMAN-STAUFIAN

APULIA IN THE LATE ELEVENTH, THE TWELFTH
AND THE THIRTEENTH CENTURIES:
TEXTS AND CONTEXTS

Numbers and statistics will be given at the beginning of my paper.

First, I will offer the numbers of Greek inscriptions in Apulia dating
between the late eleventh and the second half of the thirteenth century,
i.e. to the period of Norman and Staufian rule over Apulia 1. Second, I
will present statistics about the chronological and regional distribution.
And third, I will show the various inscriptional categories to which
these epigraphs belong.
The overall aim of my paper is to present the context in which the
Greek inscriptions of Apulia under Norman and Staufian rule appear.

1. NUMBERS AND STATISTICS

The number of Greek inscriptions produced in Apulia under Norman

and Staufian rule is considerable. This testifies to the continuation of
Greek culture in Southern Italy long after the Byzantines had lost this
region in the eleventh century. The last Byzantine stronghold in Apulia,
Bari, was conquered by the Normans in 1071. Greek continued to exist
throughout the centuries, and as we know, the Greek element of Apulia is
still extant today with Greek speakers (speakers of griko or grika) in some
communities south of Lecce 2. The continuation of Greek-Byzantine

1. On the Norman and Staufian rule in Apulia, see J.-M. MARTIN, La Pouille du VIe au XIIe
siècle, Rome, 1993 (Collection de l’École Française de Rome, 179); Die Staufer und Italien. Drei
Innovationsregionen im mittelalterlichen Europa, 2 vols., ed. by B. SCHNEIDMÜLLER, St. WEINFURTER
and A. WIECZOREK, Darmstadt, 2010; Federico II e l’Italia. Percorsi, luoghi e strumenti (Roma,
Palazzo Venezia, 22 dicembre 1995 - 30 aprile 1996), ed. by C. D. FONSECA and V. PACE, Rome,
1995; L. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento. Art and Identity in Southern Italy, Philadelphia, 2014.
2. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit. (nota 1), pp. 55-56.
394 ANDREAS RHOBY

culture is, of course, not only testified to by the production of Greek

inscriptions. It is also attested by the production of Greek documents
and charters 3 and by authors who wrote in Greek. One famous example is
Nicholas-Nektarios of Otranto, abbot of the monastery of St. Nicholas
in Casole, who lived between the middle of the twelfth century and the
first half of the thirteenth century. As a Grecophile he wrote in Greek,
but he also translated Greek into Latin 4. In addition, the production of
Greek manuscripts in Southern Italian monasteries after the end of the
Byzantine rule was outstanding as well 5.
As is widely known, the peak of Byzantine-Greek culture in the
Mezzogiorno in the Middle Ages was the Norman court of Sicily in the
mid-twelfth century under King Roger II 6. At that time, inter alia, many
Greek manuscripts (for example, the famous manuscript Scylitzes
Matritensis, Cod. Matr. Gr. Vitr. 26-2) 7 and Greek inscriptions were
produced in Palermo and other sites 8. The epigraphs were attached to

3. H. ENZENSBERGER, Charters and Administration in Norman Italy, in The Society of Norman

Italy, ed. by G. A. LOUD and A. METCALFE, Leiden-Boston-Cologne, 2002, pp. 117-150.
4. J. HOECK and R. LOENERTZ, Nikolaos-Nektarios von Otranto, Ettal, 1965 (Studia Patristica
et Byzantina, 11); F. CEZZI, Il metodo teologico nel dialogo ecumenico. Uno studio su Nicola d’Otranto
abate italogreco del sec. XIII, Rome, 1975.
5. Cf., e.g., S. LUCÀ, Scritture e libri in Terra d’Otranto fra XI e XII secolo, in Bizantini,
Longobardi e Arabi in Puglia nell’alto medievo. Atti del XX Congresso internazionale di studio
sull’alto medioevo (Savelletri di Fasano [BR], 3-6 novembre 2011), Spoleto, 2012 (Atti dei
Congressi, 20), pp. 487-548; ID., La produzione libraria, in Byzantino-Sicula VI. La Sicilia e Bisanzio
nei secoli XI e XII. Atti delle X Giornate di Studio della Associazione Italiana di Studi Bizantini
(Palermo, 27-28 Maggio 2011), ed. by R. LAVAGNINI and C. ROGNONI, Palermo, 2014 (Istituto
Siciliano di Studi Bizantini e Neoellenici “Bruno Lavagnini”, Quaderni, 18), pp. 131-174.
6. H. HOUBEN, Roger II. Von Sizilien. Herrscher zwischen Orient und Okzident, Darmstadt,
(2nd), 2010; D.M. HAYES, Roger II of Sicily. Family, Faith, and Empire in the Medieval Mediterranean
World, Turnhout, 2020 (Medieval Identities: Socio-Cultural Spaces, 7); A. ACCONCIA LONGO, La
letteratura italogreca nell’ XI e XII secolo, in LAVAGNINI and ROGNONI, Byzantino-Sicula VI cit. (nota
5), pp. 107-130.
7. V. TSAMAKDA, The Illustrated Chronicle of Ioannes Skylitzes, Leiden, 2002; E. N. BOECK,
Imagining the Past. The Perception of History in the Illustrated Manuscripts of Skylitzes and Manasses,
Cambridge, 2015.
8. A. GUILLOU, Recueil des inscriptions grecques médiévales d’Italie, Rome, 1996 (Collection de
l’École Française de Rome, 222), pp. 154-234; A. JACOB, Épigraphie et poésie dans l’Italie
méridionale hellénophone, in L’épistolographie et la poésie épigrammatique: projets actuels et questions de
méthodologie. Actes de la 16e Table ronde organisé par W. Hörandner et M. Grünbart dans le
cadre du XXe Congrès international des Études byzantines (Collège de France - Sorbonne,
Paris, 19-25 août 2001), Paris, 2003 (Dossiers byzantins, 3), pp. 161-176; A. RHOBY, Byzantinische
 THE GREEK INSCRIPTIONS OF NORMAN-STAUFIAN APULIA 395

buildings, objects and tombstones that were commissioned by the court

and the Grecophile aristocracy.
What is also remarkable is the co-existence of Greek and Latin, of
Byzantine and Western traditions. As for epigraphs, those in Latin and
those in Greek co-exist with each other. Bilingual inscriptions played a
vital role, not only in Sicily but also in Apulia 9. One also has to take into
account a considerable number of Jewish inscriptions which were executed
simultaneously. They are preserved in Sicily but also quite numerously
in Apulia, as Linda Safran clearly demonstrated in her book about medieval
Salento a couple of years ago 10. Therefore, Peter of Eboli’s statement of
Palermo as urbs felix dotata populo trilingui in his panegyric poem De rebus
Siculis, written in 1194 when Henry VI acceded to the throne of Sicily
and southern Italy 11, was not only true for Palermo and Sicily but also
for Apulia.
What follows now are several lists exhibiting numbers and statistics
of Greek inscriptions in Apulia. The Greek inscriptions that I collected
date between the year 1071 (the year of the capture of Bari by the Hautevil-
le army) and the year 1268/69 (the fall of Frederick II’s grandson Conradin
to Charles I of Anjou) 12. Since not all inscriptions can be dated precisely
– because they do not bear a date –, the list also encompasses inscriptions
which, e.g., date to the eleventh/twelfth centuries, the thirteenth/four-
teenth centuries etc. I counted 78 Greek inscriptions (see Appendix)
which date to the mentioned period 13. Only 22 of them can be dated

Epigramme auf Stein (= Byzantinische Epigramme in inschriftlicher Überlieferung, 3), Vienna, 2014
(Veröffentlichungen zur Byzanzforschung, 35), pp. 405-412, 417-420, 422-431, 464-506.
9. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit. (nota 1), pp. 51-54. On bilingual inscriptions in Byzantium,
see A. RHOBY, The Context of Bi- and Multilingual Inscriptions in Byzantium, in Language Multiplicity
in Byzantium and Beyond, ed. by E. BONFIGLIO, E. MITSIOU and C. RAPP, Vienna (in print).
10. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit. (nota 1), pp. 41-46.
11. Th. KÖLZER and M. STÄHLI, Petrus de Ebulo. Liber ad honorem Augusti, sive de rebus siculis,
Codex 120 II der Burgerbibliothek Bern. Eine Bilderchronik der Stauferzeit. Textrevision und
Übersetzung von G. BRECHT-JÖRDENS, Sigmaringen, 1994, p. 45 (l. 56). Cf. B. ZEITLER, “Urbs felix
dotata populo trilingui”. Some Thoughts about a Twelfth-Century Funerary Memorial from Palermo, in
« Medieval Encounters », 2/2 (1996), pp. 114-139; see, also V. VON FALKENHAUSEN, Una Babele di
lingue. A chi l’ultima parola? Bilinguismo sacro e profano nel regno normanno-svevo, in « Archivio
storico per la Calabria e la Lucania », 76 (2010), pp. 13-35.
12. But, of course, Greek inscriptions were also produced before 1071, and the production
of Greek inscriptions also continued after that period, namely also in the fourteenth century and
beyond. See, e.g., GUILLOU, Recueil des inscriptions grecques médiévales d’Italie cit. (nota 8).
13. There is, of course, no guarantee of completeness, and I left out inscriptions painted on
scrolls of saints and similar pieces.
396 ANDREAS RHOBY

precisely to one specific year because they are dated according to the
Byzantine era.
The chronological distribution is as follows:
– 11th c. (after 1071): 9 inscriptions
– 11th-12th c.: 2 inscriptions
– 11th-14th c.: 1 inscription
– 12th c.: 29 inscriptions
– 12th-13th c.: 2 inscriptions
– 12th-14th c.: 10 inscriptions
– 13th c. (until 1268/69): 17 inscriptions
– 13th-14th c.: 7 inscriptions
– late medieval: 1 inscription 14
The fact that the majority of the collected Greek inscriptions date to
the twelfth century is not surprising if we compare this evidence with
the quantity of Greek inscriptions which were created at the same time
under Norman rule in Sicily.
As to categories, the following numbers can be mentioned:
– Epitaphs (most of them with the formula ’Ekoimäqh – ‘he/she fell
asleep, i.e. died’ or ’Enqáde keîtai – ‘Here lies’): 24 inscriptions
– Invocations (many of them starting with Kúrie boäqei – ‘Lord,
help’): 16 inscriptions
– Commemorations (starting with Mnäsqhti – ‘Remember’): 15
inscriptions; according to Linda Safran the popularity of Mnäsqhti, Kúrie
(‘Remember, Lord’) in Apulia is not paralleled in other regions, including
Greece, Cappadocia and the Balkans 15.
– Dedicatory/building inscription: 5 inscriptions
– Cryptograms/Tetragrams (two of them IC XC NIKA – ‘Jesus
Christ conquers’): 5 inscriptions
– Date (just the date with Greek letters according to the Byzantine
era): 3 inscriptions
– Devotional inscription (starting with ‘Upèr a’fésewv a‘martiøn –
‘For remission of sins’): 1 inscription
– Label of a depicted person: 1 inscription
– Mention of a birth: 1 inscription

14. The date of this inscription is unknown: cf. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit. (nota 1), p.
287: « Late antique triconch with late medieval paintings ».
15. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit. (nota 1), pp. 49-50.
 THE GREEK INSCRIPTIONS OF NORMAN-STAUFIAN APULIA 397

– Function unknown (because the inscriptions are too fragmentary): 7

inscriptions
Most of the Greek inscriptions are still preserved in situ, others are to
be found in museums – many of them in Lecce in the Museo Provinciale
‘Sigismondo Castromediano’. The preserved material is divided between
inscriptions on stones (incised, not in relief) and painted fresco inscriptions.
A considerable number of Greek inscriptions are inscribed in the rock-
cut cave churches of Apulia.
These grotto churches (‘chiese ipogeiche’) are generally localized in
southern Apulia, in Taranto, in the neighborhood of Taranto and in the
modern province of Lecce:
– Taranto: churches Santa Chiara alle Petrose, Chiesa del Redentore
– Crispiano (north of Taranto): church Santi Crispo e Crispiniano
– Massafra (northwest of Taranto): churches San Giovanni, San
Marco, San Posidonio, Santa Marina
– Mottola (northwest of Taranto): church Santa Margherita
– Palagianello (northwest of Taranto): churches Santi Eremiti,
Sant’Andrea, Santa Lucia
– Faggiano (east of Taranto): church San Nicola
– Carpignano Salentino (south of Lecce): church Santa Cristina
– Miggiano (south of Lecce / south of Maglie): church Santa Marina
– Poggiardo (south of Lecce / southeast of Maglie): church Santa
Maria degli Angeli
– San Vito dei Normanni (west of Brindisi): Cripta di San Giovanni
– near San Vito dei Normanni (west of Brindisi): church San Biagio
– Valle delle Memorie (near Otranto): church San Nicola
– Uggiano la Chiesa (southwest of Otranto): church Sant’Angelo

2. FORMAL AND INFORMAL GREEK INSCRIPTIONS OF APULIA

(ELEVENTH-THIRTEENTH CENTURIES) 16

Most of the epigraphs in these rock-cut churches are informal inscrip-

tions, this means rather simple, unpretentious commemorations or

16. Inscriptions are quoted with their numbers in the Appendix, where the bibliographic
references are also presented. Unless otherwise indicated, English translations are taken from
SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit. (nota 1).
398 ANDREAS RHOBY

invocations. They follow a standardized formula, which is also used in

other parts of the Byzantine commonwealth. They are not executed
officially but are personal records of the churches’ visitors. For modern
scholarship, they are of specific interest, because they are a treasure of
names and prosopography respectively: Greek names, and sometimes
Latin names in Greek transcription 17.
Very often, it is not only one person for whom help or remembrance is
requested, but the inscription mentions an entire family including wife
and children. At Uggiano la Chiesa, in the rock-cut church Sant’Angelo
in Valle dell’Idro, even the parents of a certain supplicant Basil are
mentioned. The inscription (no. 53), dating between the twelfth and
fourteenth centuries, is placed under the right wing of the Archangel
Michael:Mnäsqhti K(úri)e toû d(oú)l(ou) s(ou) Ba[si]läou kè t(oû) patéra
tou kaì tæn mhtéra tou. ’Amän (‘Remember, Lord, your servant Basil and
his father and his mother. Amen’). In this case, it seems as if Basil was a
very young man, apparently unmarried, and with his parents as his closest
relatives.
Occasionally, Latin inscriptions are preserved alongside Greek ones.
This is, for example, the case in the rock-cut church San Marco in Massafra:
in this church, only two simple Greek inscriptions – one fragmentary
commemoration (no. 73: Mnä(sqhti) K(úri)e...) and one fragmentary
invocation (no. 74: K(úri)e boäqou toû doú[lou ...]) – are preserved. The
number of preserved Latin epigraphs is much bigger: a graffito in the
south arcosolium in the narthex mentions a monk Radelchis (?) 18.
Another graffito, here transcribed according to Linda Safran’s edition,
preserves the name of the priest John (Iohannes), who asks the visitors of
the church to pray for him: EGO IO(HANNES) CO(N)VEN(I)E(N)ES
AD ISTUM ... SIDI (?) ORATE O(M)NE(S) PRO ME (‘I, John,
coming to this ... all pray for me!’) 19.
In the rock-cut church of Santa Lucia, at Palagianello, one encounters
Greek invocations and commemorations alongside Latin epigraphs.
Also, in this case, the officials of the church (priest, deacon) have their
graffiti written in Latin 20, while the Greek epigraphs (nos. 46, 47) seem

17. Ibid., pp. 17-37 (chapter 1 “Names”).

18. Ibid., p. 285, no. 66.D: RADELC[HIS?] Safran.
19. Ibid., p. 285, no. 66.I.
20. Ibid., pp. 299-300, nos. 94.B-G, I-M.
 THE GREEK INSCRIPTIONS OF NORMAN-STAUFIAN APULIA 399

to stem from non-officials, this means from visitors to the church and
members of the church’s congregation respectively.
Only very rarely are formal Greek inscriptions preserved in the mentio-
ned rock-cut churches. In the church of San Biagio (Grotta di San Biagio)
near San Vito dei Normanni (west of Brindisi) a substantial building
inscription (no. 24) is painted on the ceiling (though not fully
preserved) 21. It is shaped on the traditional pattern of such inscriptions:
[’Anoi]kodomäqh kaì a’[nistorä]qi o‘ pánseptov naòv t(oû) a‘gí(ou)
‘ieromárthrov Bla[síou toû p]atròv [h‘møn e’pì 22 toû] kär(ou) h‘goumén(ou)
Benedít(ou)v kaì dià sundro(mñv) 23 toû M[atq]aíou ten... kaì dià ceiròv
mafistrou Danhæl k(aì) Mar[tín(ou)?] (mh)nì ’Okt(wb)r(í)o h’, eºtouv, cye’,
’ind(iktiønov) ie’ (‘The most sacred church of our father the holy hiero-
martyr Blasius was built and decorated by the lord abbot Benedict and
with the financial support of Matthew and by the hand of Master Daniel
and Martin (?), on the 8th of October, year [6]705 (= 1196), indiction
15’).
The date is corrupt because instead of stigma (v) (the letter for 6000)
the painter wrote chi (c) (the letter for 600). This might mean that the
painter or the member of the workshop who was responsible for the
painting of the inscription was not fully familiar with the meanings of
the Greek letters for dating. The abbot of the monastery, to which the
church belonged, had a Latin name (Benedictus) which was transcribed
in Greek as undeclined Benedítouv 24. It is of interest from a linguistic
point of view that the Latin name is reproduced in Greek with Beta (spo-
ken as wita) at the beginning 25, while in Byzantine (and Post-Byzantine)
vernacular literature we find the name transcribed with My-Pi (Mp) at
the beginning 26. My-Pi (Mp) was and still is (in Modern Greek) the
equivalent of (Latin) B (because B is otherwise W). This, and the wrong
transcription of the date, may indicate that the painter did not have Greek
as his mother tongue. If we take a closer look at the paleography 27, the

21. See, also A. GUILLOU, Aspetti della civiltà bizantina in Italia, Bari, 1976, p. 71.
22. epo Safran.
23. sundro(mhn) Safran.
24. Cf. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit. (nota 1), p. 50.
25. Cf. also inscription no. 49.
26. Cf., e.g., P. SCHREINER, Die byzantinischen Kleinchroniken, vol. 1, Vienna, 1975 (Corpus
Fontium Historiae Byzantinae, 12.1), p. 302, no. 37.21: Mpenedétov.
27. See, SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit. (nota 1), p. 309, fig. 109.A.
400 ANDREAS RHOBY

Greek letters resemble Latin letters, which underlines the hypothesis

that the painter was of Western origin.
Unfortunately, we are not informed about the background of the
sponsor of the church, Matthew, because this part of the inscription
does not exist anymore. What is remarkable, however, is the mention
of the painters (Daniel and Martin [?]). In Byzantium painters are hardly
mentioned in inscriptions before the Palaiologan period 28.
The rock-cut church of Santa Chiara alle Petrose at Taranto, whose
paintings date between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, is another
testimony for the mention of the painter in an inscription. The painter’s
devotional inscription (no. 48) on the lower stratum of the northwest
wall runs as follows: [‘U]pèr a’féseov a‘marthøn (toû) taphnoû ’Iw(ánnou)
zougrá[fou] (‘For remission of sins of the humble painter John’). The
spelling zougrárov instead of zwgráfov is a vernacular form, which,
however, is not particularly typical for Southern Italian Greek, because
words with zougraf- instead of zwgraf- occasionally also appear in
other texts (charters, inscriptions) from Byzantium 29.
The rock-cut church of Santa Marina at Miggiano (in the province
of Lecce, south of Maglie), probably to be dated to the thirteenth century,
represents one of the rare cases in which the Greek labels of depicted
persons are preserved 30. On the perpendicular wall to the lower right of
Saint Michael two persons are depicted. They are labelled as Leon and
Nicholas, and we learn from their labels (no. 68) that they were monks:
Léou m(on)acoû and Níkola monacoû 31.
The phrase Níkola monacoû is preceded by pro[s]känisiv (‘worship’),
and we can assume that the term proskúnhsiv also existed in front of
Léou m(on)acoû. Also, this inscription is of linguistic interest: Léou is the
genitive of the proper name Léov which is a side- and vernacular form
respectively of Léwn, -ontov. According to Caracausi’s dictionary there

28. Cf. S. KALOPISSI-VERTI, Painters in Late Byzantine Society. The Evidence of Church
Inscriptions, in « Cahiers archéologiques », 42 (1994), pp. 139-158; generally on artists’ signatures
in Byzantium, see also M. LIDOVA, Manifestations of Authorship. Artists’ Signatures in Byzantium, in
« Venezia Arti », 26 (2017), pp. 89-105.
29. Cf. E. KRIARAS, Lexikò tñv mesoaiwnikñv e‘llhnikñv dhmådouv grammateíav, 1100-1669, vol. 7,
Thessalonica, 1980, s. v. zwgrafiá, zwgrafízw, zwgrafistóv and zwgráfov.
30. Since the evidence is very scarce, most of the depicted persons seem to have been
unlabeled in the rock-cut churches of Apulia.
31. Safran reads monakou, but as a closer look at the image (SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit.
[nota 1], p. 288, fig. 73.A.1) reveals, at least Léou m(on)acoû is written with Chi.
 THE GREEK INSCRIPTIONS OF NORMAN-STAUFIAN APULIA 401

are also other attestations of this form in medieval Greek documents of

Southern Italy 32.
It is also worth having a look at the inscription (no. 67) on the orb of
Saint Michael the Archangel, who is depicted on the left side of the
monks. It consists of four letters which are inscribed in the corners of
the cross. Such cryptograms or tetragrams (because they consist of four
letters or four pairs of letters) – the most common ones of these are IC
XC NIKA (‘Jesus Christ conquers’) and FCFP (‘The light of Christ
shines for all’) – are attested hundredfold in connection with images of
the cross on various media (frescoes, stones, icons, portable objects, and
in manuscripts) 33. Their meaning is apotropaic and protective, and they
stress the significance of the cross for the salvation of humanity. The one
used here, M[.]PT (the second letter is, unfortunately, destroyed) 34, is
not attested elsewhere, and we can, therefore, only speculate about the
solution of the letters 35.
A very similar depiction of the Archangel Michael with an orb and
an inscribed cross on it containing a tetragram (no. 63) is also preserved
in the rock-cut Cripta di San Giovanni in San Vito dei Normanni,
which seems to date to the thirteenth century. The cross has the letters
MQPF inscribed, which is not attested elsewhere either. At San Mauro,
north of Gallipoli, a similar tetragram (no. 65) on the orb of the Archangel
Michael is preserved as well. The frescoes of this rock-cut church may
date to the late thirteenth century 36. Perhaps the same painters’
workshop was responsible for the decoration.

32. G. CARACAUSI, Lessico greco della Sicilia e dell’Italia meridionale (secoli X-XIV), Palermo,
1990, s. v. Léov.
33. Cf. Chr. WALTER, IC XC NI KA. The Apotropaic Function of the Victorious Cross, in
« Revue des Études Byzantines », 55 (1997), pp. 193-220; A. RHOBY, Secret Messages? Byzantine
Greek Tetragrams and Their Display, in « in-scription: revue en ligne d’études épigraphiques »,
2017: https://in-scription.edel.univ-poitiers.fr/index.php?id=180; ID., “Das Licht Christi leuchtet
allen” - Form und Funktion von “Tetragrammen” in byzantinischen Handschriften, in Byzantine and
Post-Byzantine Art: Crossing Borders, ed. by E. MOUTAFOV and I. TOTH, Sofia, 2018, pp. 71-90.
34. See, SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit. (nota 1), p. 288, fig. 73.A.1.
35. L. SAFRAN, Greek Cryptograms in Southern Italy (and Beyond), in « in-scription: revue en
ligne d’études épigraphiques », 2017: https://in-scription.edel.univ-poitiers.fr/index.php?
id=177, § 15 reads M QU P T but this is doubtful. SAFRAN (ibid.) also interprets M Q U as the
abbreviation of Mäthr Qeoû but this is hardly likely either because tetragrams traditionally refer to
Christ and/or the cross and never to the Mother of God.
36. Cf. M. FALLA CASTELFRANCHI, Gli affreschi della chiesa di San Mauro presso Gallipoli. Note
preliminary, in « Byzantion », 51 (1981), pp. 159-168.
402 ANDREAS RHOBY

The use of cryptograms/tetragrams in Apulia (and Southern Italy in

general) does not seem to have been very widespread. However, the
mentioned examples of depictions with the Archangel Michael and
tetragrams on his orb testify to the knowledge of the apotropaic and
protective power of such compositions.
With the cross and the tetragram the magically protective potential
of the Archangel Michael 37 is given even greater emphasis. In the ima-
gination of the contemporary beholders, this was the ultimate protection a
church could have.
The following Greek inscription, preserved in a rock-cut church of
Apulia, is the most impressive one – and this for several reasons: the
frescoes of the rock-cut church Santa Cristina (formerly Santa Marina e
Cristina) at Carpignano Salentino (northwest of Otranto) can be traced
back to the tenth century. Some devotional inscriptions are even dated;
their time range is from the middle of the tenth to the middle of the
eleventh century 38. The inscription in question, which apparently dates
to the last decades of the eleventh century, actually consists of two
inscriptions, namely two epitaphs (nos. 7, 8). One (no. 7) reports the
death of a certain Strategoules, a child, who is mourned by his father.
Both inscriptions are very mutilated, but one can learn from the second
inscription (no. 8) that Strategoules’ father, whose name was perhaps
Magiouréllhv (possible reconstruction of the lacuna in v. 6) (spoken as
Majourélles) 39, sponsored the painting of new images (ei’kónev) in the
church and also provided his tomb.
Inscription no. 7:
¢En[qa té]qaptai Stratigoúlaiv o‘ prâov,
o‘ fältat[óv] mou k(aì) poqhtòv toîv p[â]sin,
[pa]tróv tai légw k(aì) tîv m(h)tr(ó)v tou [pá]noi,
tøn a’delføn tou o‘moû k(aì) e’xadélfwn,
5 tøn [f]íl[w]n pántwn o‘moû k(aì) sunskoleítwn,
t[øn]n yucaríwn aºfqwnov cwrhgía.
w√ sper strouqäon eº[fug]en e’k ceirøn mav,
e’lúpisén tai pat[éran] k(aì) mhtéran,
toùv kasignítav sùn tøn fhltátwn fäl[w]n.

37. Cf. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit. (nota 1), p. 163.
38. Ibid., pp. 262-266.
39. Cf. A. RHOBY, Byzantinische Epigramme auf Fresken und Mosaiken (= Byzantinische
Epigramme in inschriftlicher Überlieferung, vol. 1), Vienna, 2009 (Veröffentlichungen zur
Byzanzforschung, 15), pp. 271-272.
 THE GREEK INSCRIPTIONS OF NORMAN-STAUFIAN APULIA 403

10 a’ll’ w ¥ María, qeå<p>tiv k(aì) kuría,

w‘ v ou¥sa pigæ tøn(n) carismátwn pántwn,
sùn Nikoláo to swføı pumenárcei,
sùn a’qlhfår<wı> k(aì) m(á)r(turi) Cristäni,
e’n [kó]lpoiv táxon tò fúltatón mou téknon
15 toû patriár]cou] ’Abraàm toû me[gálou],
[....................................]
[....................................]

Here is buried the gentle Strategoules, my very dear child loved by

all and above all, I would say, by his father and his mother, by his
brothers and at the same time by his cousins, by all his friends and at
the same time by his schoolmates, a generous benefactor of slaves. Like
a sparrow, he flew from our hands and filled with sadness his father
and his mother, his brothers and his beloved friends. O Mary, divine
mistress, since you are the source of all graces, with Nicholas, the wise
shepherd, with the victorious martyr Christine, place my very dear child
in the bosom of the great patriarch Abraham ...
Inscription no. 8:
[’E]pamfíasa ’ikónav k(ai)nourgíaiv,
túmbon w º ruxa pròv tafæn k(aì) kideían
toû såmatóv mou toû giänou plasqéntov.
peræ dè au’toû w ’ nómatov légiv.
5 h¥ täv ei¥ k(aì) póqen h¥ı o‘ mérwy ouƒtov;
[...]ura[...] touºno[m]a, kalòv toîv tråpo[iv],
sp[a]q[ár]ióv t[e] oi’kôn e’n Kar[pi]niána,
u‘pou[rgòv] Crist[oû kaì] tøn a‘gíon toútwn,
tîv panacrántou Despoínoiv Qewtókou
10 k(aì) [Ni]koláou t[oû] Múrwn [e’piskópou]
[........................ ............].

I have recovered with new images, I have excavated a tomb for the shrouding
and burial of my body, which was formed of earth. But regarding the name itself,
you say, Who could this mortal have been, and from where is he? Magiourellis
(?) is his name 40, virtuous his habits, spatharios and resident of Carpignano,
servant of Christ and of the saints seen here, the all-immaculate Lady Theotokos
and Nicholas of Myra ...
Both inscriptions differ from the others from rock-cut churches of
Southern Apulia: they are composed in verse form. In comparison with

40. ...yra... is his name Safran.

404 ANDREAS RHOBY

verse epitaphs produced in Byzantium (some of them by famous poets

such as John Mauropous, Theodore Prodromos or Manuel Philes), the
epitaphs of Carpignano Salentino are of very mediocre quality because
the prosody of the dodecasyllabic trimester 41 is not regarded 42. What
we learn from these epigraphs is the following: the father bears the title
spatharios; this rank, however, had already lost its significance by that
time, although it is attested in Southern Italy as a mark of dignity as late
as the year 1086 43. Their aristocratic household also had servants
(which is a better translation of the Greek term yucária than ‘slaves’ as
translated by L. Safran), and the deceased young Strategoulis was a
benefactor for them 44. Strategoulis’ tomb inscription also testifies to the
existence of a ‘school’ since his schoolmates (no. 7, v. 5: suscolîtai) are
mentioned. It would not be surprising if the author of the verses were a
teacher at this school.

3. VERSE INSCRIPTIONS

Out of the collected 78 Greek inscriptions which date to the Norman

and Staufian period of Apulia, only 9 of them are written in verse form
as are the two previously discussed inscriptions from Carpignano
Salentino. This relatively low number, however, is not surprising. On
the contrary, it more or less coincides with the percentage of metrical
inscriptions within the inscriptional heritage of Byzantium, especially
after the sixth century 45.

41. On the Byzantine iambic trimeter (= dodecasyllabic verse), see P. MAAS, Der byzantinische
Zwölfsilber, in « Byzantinische Zeitschrift », 12 (1903), pp. 278-323 (= ID., Kleine Schriften, ed. by
W. BUCHWALD, Munich, 1973, pp. 242-288).
42. Cf. RHOBY, Byzantinische Epigramme auf Fresken und Mosaiken cit. (nota 39), p. 272.
43. A. JACOB, L’inscription métrique de l’enfeu de Carpignano, in « Rivista di Studi Bizantini e
Neoellenici », n.s. 20-21 (1983-1984), pp. 103-122, at 112. On Spatharios, which is also attested
as family name in Southern Italy, see St. G. GEORGIOU, The Name Spatharios in Twelfth and
Thirteenth Century Southern Italy, in « Aiônos. Miscellanea di Studi Storici », 22 (2018-2019), pp.
135-144.
44. On slaves in late Byzantium, see G. PRINZING, Zu Sklaven und Sklavinnen im Spiegel des
Prosopographischen Lexikons der Palaiologenzeit, in Koinotaton Doron. Das späte Byzanz zwischen
Machtlosigkeit und kultureller Blüte (1204-1461), ed. by A. BERGER, S. MARIEV, G. PRINZING and A.
RIEHLE, Berlin-Boston, 2016 (Byzantinisches Archiv, 31), pp. 125-147.
45. Cf. RHOBY, Byzantinische Epigramme auf Fresken und Mosaiken cit. (nota 39); RHOBY,
Byzantinische Epigramme auf Stein cit. (nota 8).
 THE GREEK INSCRIPTIONS OF NORMAN-STAUFIAN APULIA 405

Of different metrical and prosodic quality (in comparison with the

Carpignano epigrams) are the verse inscriptions which date toward the
end of our time range: the (now lost) epigram (no. 55) from the monastery
of San Michele Arcangelo in Monopoli (on the coast between Bari and
Brindisi) and the two epigrams (nos. 56, 57) from the famous Santa
Maria di Cerrate near Squinzano (between Brindisi and Lecce) serve as
examples. They date to the years 1268/69 and 1269 respectively, i.e.
exactly to the end of Staufian rule in Apulia.
The monastery of the Archangel Michael in Monopoli was a metochion
of the famous monastery San Nicola di Casole near Otranto. Due to its
rich library and the activities of the above-mentioned Nicholas-Nektarios
from Otranto, towards the end of the twelfth and in the first decades of
the thirteenth century it was a very learned center 46. The twelve-verse
epigram (no. 55) reports in a highly elaborated poetical style the activities of
the abbot Nikodemos (perhaps a former student of Nicholas-Nektarios) 47
inter alia the creation of the facilities of the wine business and the
digging of a well. At the end of the epigram, the monastery’s monks are
asked to pray for Nikodemos for the forgiveness of his sins. The learned
character of the epigram is especially testified by the verses 7-10 that are
entirely devoted to the mention of the date (6777 = a. 1268/69):
eºtouv trécontov e‘xákiv ciliádov,
aºlloiv e‘katòn e‘pákiv metrouménoiv,
toútoiv dekákiv e‘ptà sumplhrouménoiv.
10 e‘ptà sùn au’toîv a’kribøv prosqhtéon.

The phenomenon of providing the date given in verse shape is also

attested elsewhere, i.e. in other metrical Byzantine inscriptions from the
early tenth onwards, both in Asia Minor and Greece 48. It is also employed
in seven inscriptional epigrams dating between the years 1136/37 and
1150/51 found in Norman Sicily, especially in Palermo 49. In the case of

46. Th. KÖLZER, Zur Geschichte des Klosters S. Nicola di Casole, in « Quellen und Forschungen
aus italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken », 65 (1985), pp. 418-426.
47. RHOBY, Byzantinische Epigramme auf Stein cit. (nota 8), pp. 429-430.
48. Cf. A. RHOBY, “When the year ran through six times of thousands ...”: The Date in (Inscriptional)
Byzantine Epigrams, in “Pour une poétique de Byzance”. Hommage à Vassilis Katsaros, ed. by St.
EFTHYMIADIS, Ch. MESSIS, P. ODORICO and I. POLEMIS, Paris, 2015 (Dossiers byzantins, 16), pp.
223-242.
49. Ibid., pp. 240-241 (nos. 4-10).
406 ANDREAS RHOBY

the epigram from Monopoli, it testifies to the fact that the epigram’s
author was familiar with this kind of playing with verses. Since it is also
used in Latin inscriptions in Southern Italy 50, he must have known this
phenomenon from these testimonies. But he also may have known it
from manuscripts in which it sometimes occurs in the scribes’ colophons 51.
Interestingly enough, a certain Drosos, a minor poet from Salento, who
flourished at the beginning of the fourteenth century, also employs the
device of metrical dating 52. Drosos might have known this play with
numerals from inscriptions, or it was the other way round, namely that
he came across it in manuscripts he consulted. Whatever the case, one
can see the mutual influence of manuscripts and inscriptions 53.
Professional poets are also behind the epigrams (nos. 56, 57) in the
famous Santa Maria di Cerrate church near Squinzano. Being incised in
the architrave of the church’s ciborium, they mention the abbot Symeon
and the craftsman and priest Taphouros.
Inscription no. 56:
Púkasma terpnòv tñv trapézhv K(urío)u
o√per kateskeúaze Tafoûv qúthv
kópoiv Sumeœn toû proestøtov tóde.
o‘røn, qe<a>tá, dóxan u‘yístwı néme
5 e’x ouƒ káteisin a’gaqøn pâsa dósiv.

Gracious protection of the altar of the Lord, which the priest Taphouros
constructed thanks to the expense of the abbot Symeon; when you see it,
beholder, give glory to the Highest, from whom all good things come.

50. Ibid., pp. 238-239.

51. P. G. NIKOLOPOULOS, ¢Emmetrov dälwsiv toû crónou ei’v toùv kolofønav ceirográfwn kwdíkwn,
in « Athena », 84 (2012), pp. 195-265; RHOBY, “When the year ran through six times of thousands ...”
cit. (nota 48), pp. 223-225.
52. A. ACCONICA LONGO and A. JACOB, Une anthologie salentine du XIVe siècle: le Vaticanus gr.
1276, in « Rivista di Studi Bizantini e Neoellenici », n.s. 17-19 (1980-1982), pp. 149-228, at pp.
162, 166, 189-191; A. JACOB, Une bibliothèque mediévale de terre d’Otranto (Parisinus gr. 549), in
« Rivista di Studi Bizantini e Neoellenici », n.s. 22-23 (1985-1986), pp. 285-315, at pp. 287-288;
D. R. REINSCH, Einige Verse aus dem Kreis des Drosos aus Aradeo (Salento) im Parisinus gr. 2062, in
Alethes philia. Studi in onore di Giancarlo Prato, ed. by. M. D’AGOSTINO and P. DEGNI, Spoleto,
2010, pp. 575-586; RHOBY, “When the year ran through six times of thousands ...” cit. (nota 48), p.
234.
53. On this issue, see A. RHOBY, Inscriptions and Manuscripts in Byzantium: A Fruitful
Symbiosis?, in Scrittura epigrafica e scrittura libraria: fra Oriente e Occidente, ed. by M. MANIACI and P.
ORSINI, Cassino, 2015 (Studi e ricerche del Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia, 11), pp. 15-44.
 THE GREEK INSCRIPTIONS OF NORMAN-STAUFIAN APULIA 407

Inscription no. 57:

Doúlouv tréfe trapézhı (kaì) stoâı sképe,
tòn Sumeån te ktätora r‘akend[ú]thn,
Tafoûron au¥ deímanta tòn xésthn, Qeé. a’män.
e’n eºtei ,vyoz’, mhnì Martío, ’indiktoiåniv ib’.

Nourish the servants at your table and protect them under your Stoa, and
Symeon, the rag-wearing patron, as well as he who constructed it, Taphouros,
the engraver. Amen. In the year 6777, in the month of March in the twelfth
indiction 54.
A third metrical inscription, a metrical epitaph (no. 25) reused on
the west façade of the church, dates to the year 1197/98. These verses
are of good metrical and prosodic quality and are, therefore, absolutely
comparable to similar inscriptions which were created in the Byzantine
mainland.
All three epigrams testify to the thriving and prosperous Greek culture
at this monastery which flourished in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Verse inscriptions were, of course, of very high value, and it was a chal-
lenge to have them composed. Only few patrons could afford to hire a
poet who could at least compose simple dodecasyllabic verses. Throughout
the Byzantine Empire we know of inscriptions in which the attempt to
create verses is very visible. Such epigraphs contain some parts which
are metrical, whereas the rest is unpretentious prose. Such an inscription
was also produced in twelfth-century Apulia.
A stone fragment, now in the Museo provinciale ‘Sigismondo Castro-
mediano’ at Lecce, bears an incised inscription (no. 32), which, despite
its fragmentary condition, can be identified as an invocation to God. It is
originally from Roca Vecchia, a location on the coast southeast of Lecce.
The text, which was partly reconstructed by André Jacob, reads as follows:
’I(hsoû)v C(ristò)v u‘(iò)[v] [Q(eo)]û nhkâ. K(úri)e ’I(hso)û C(rist)è o‘ Q(eó)v mou o‘
prwsdéxamenov toû telónou tœn ste[n]agm[òn k]aì [tñv] pó[rnhv] tà [dák]rua
p[rósdexai] ka’moûtoû[a‘]martoloûBashläou <tæn déhsin> tñdunámh toûthmíou sou
st(au)roû sképe froúr[h] fúlate tòn sœn (i‘)[k]éthn Kalorítzi [p]té{i}santa
polà e’n bíw.

Jesus Christ, Son of God, conquers. Lord Jesus Christ, my God, who
receives the lament of the publican (= Luke 18:13) and the tears of the prostitute
(= Luke 7:38) receive the prayer of my sinner Basil with the strength of your

54. English translation by L. Safran, with adaptations.

408 ANDREAS RHOBY

venerable cross. Protect, shelter, guard your suppliant Kaloritzis who has sinned
a lot in his life 55.
As correctly discovered by Jacob, the part starting with sképe forms
two Byzantine dodecasyllables. In normalized orthography they read:
Sképe, froúrei, fúlatte tòn sòn ‘ikéthn
Kalorítzh ptaísanta pollà e’n bíwı.

The phrase Sképe, froúrei, fúlatte is also attested in inscriptions

from Greece: we find it in a cave on the island of Tinos in the form
çAgie Stéfane, sképe, froúr[ei], fúlate tòn doûlón sou Basíleion
aºrconta ... 56. Even more striking is the parallel found in an epigram
from the middle of the eleventh century attached to the church of the
Panagia Protothroni on the island of Naxos. The first two verses read:
Q(eotó)ke, déspoina kaì m(ät)hr tou K(urío)u
sképe, froúrei, fúlate toù(v) soù(v) oi’[ké]tav 57.

In variations, this phrase is also attested elsewhere, i.e. in other

inscriptions and also in manuscripts (some of them even of Southern
Italian origin) 58, and on lead seals 59. The phrase has its origin in
Byzantine liturgy: it is used in the so-called megalynaria of the Orthros of
the service of the day of Hypapante (Presentation of Jesus at the Temple):
Qeotóke h‘ e’lpív, pántwn tøn Cristianøn, sképe, froúrei, fúlatte, toùv
e’lpízontav ei’v sé ... 60.

55. My translation.
56. D. FEISSEL, Inscriptions byzantines de Ténos, in « Bulletin de correspondance hellénique »,
104 (1980), pp. 477-518: p. 483, no. 2.
57. RHOBY, Byzantinische Epigramme auf Stein cit. (nota 8), p. 313, no. GR95.
58. Cf. G. PALLIS, Inscriptions on Middle Byzantine Marble Templon Screens, in « Byzantinische
Zeitschrift », 106 (2013), pp. 761-810, at p. 771; A. JACOB, La grotte de San Cristoforo à Torre
dell’Orso (Lecce) et ses inscriptions byzantines, in « Atti della Pontificia Accademia Romana di
Archeologia », ser. III, Rendiconti 86 (2013-2014), pp. 513-536, at pp. 521-522.
59. A.-K. WASSILIOU-SEIBT, Corpus der byzantinischen Siegel mit metrischen Legenden, Teil 2:
Siegellegenden von Ny bis inclusive Sphragis, Vienna, 2016 (Wiener Byzantinistische Studien, 28/2),
pp. 284-285, nos. 1954, 1955.
60. Mhnaîon toû Febrouaríou. ¢Ekdosiv tñv ’Apostolikñv Diakonív tñv ’Ekklhsíav tñv ‘Elládov,
Athens, 1972, p. 19 (cf. PALLIS, Inscriptions on Middle Byzantine Marble Templon Screens cit. [nota
58], p. 771, n. 30); see also JACOB, La grotte de San Cristoforo cit. (nota 58), pp. 521 and 526, n. 39.
 THE GREEK INSCRIPTIONS OF NORMAN-STAUFIAN APULIA 409

The use of a phrase taken from liturgy was not random. It is an intentio-
nal device to underline the divine content and strengthen the supplicant’s,
in our case Kaloritzis’, prayer for salvation.
In the period in question, especially the twelfth and the thirteenth
centuries, most of the preserved evidence is from Southern Apulia, espe-
cially from the modern province of Lecce 61. Evidence from farther
north is scarce, which, however, differs from the period when Apulia
was still under Byzantine rule. Inscriptions from Bari and its neighborhood
testify to this argument 62. The aforementioned epigram (no. 55) from
Monopoli, from the (now lost) monastery of San Michele Arcangelo, is
an exception to the rule because it transmits a highly elaborated verse
inscription in a place which is located north of the region from which
most of the presented materials stem.
Unfortunately, a considerable number of Greek stone inscriptions,
which are now preserved in the Museo ‘Sigismondo Castromediano’ at
Lecce or in other collections, cannot be located anymore.
I will end my brief overview of the production of Greek inscriptions in
Apulia under Norman and Staufian rule with such an inscription that is
of unknown origin.
The inscription (no. 9) in question is a graffito incised into a fragmented
stone block (52/53 cm high, 22 cm wide), which now belongs to the Uni-
versity of Lecce, Institute of Classical Archaeology. Its original location is
unknown, but it was later reused in the Castle of Soleto (south of Lecce). A
diplomatic transcription of the inscription’s text is due to André Jacob,
who also dated it to the late eleventh century 63; comparison can also be
made with another inscription (no. 13) from Soleto, namely a now lost
epitaph of an Armenian called Asotes who died in 1109. The text of no.
9 runs as follows:
’Egénisen u(i‘ò)n u‘mîn {ke} u’v teìv ke’ h’ou[n]äou u‘méraı Sábaton {Sábabaton}.
Eu’fránqhti Zacaría (kaì) ’Elusabèl metá sou o√ti (kaì) metà gîrav (kaì) metà
nékrosh melôn téxasa [t]òn profíthn (kaì) pródromon toû K(urío)u.

61. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit. (nota 1), p. 39.

62. On these inscriptions, see GUILLOU, Recueil des inscriptions grecques médiévales d’Italie cit.
(nota 8), no. 145 and RHOBY, Byzantinische Epigramme auf Stein cit. (nota 8), nos. IT1, IT2.
63. A. JACOB, Notes sur quelques inscriptions byzantines du Salento méridional (Soleto, Alessano,
Vaste, Apigliano), in « Mélanges de l’École française de Rome », 95/1 (1983), pp. 65-88, at pp.
66-68.
410 ANDREAS RHOBY

A son is born to us on Saturday, June 25th. Rejoice, Zachariah, and

Elizabel with you, because despite age and bodily decrepitude she has brought
into the world the prophet and precursor of the Lord.
This text, which also consists of vernacular elements and spoken
language (u’v teìv ke’ h’ou[n]äou = ei’v tìv ke’ ’Iou[n]íou); nékrosh),
reports the birth of a son on a Saturday, June 25th (possible years might
be 1092 or 1098). Neither the son’s name nor the names of the parents
are mentioned. However, mention is made of the biblical story of
Zacharias and Elisabeth, the parents of John the Forerunner, who was
born due to divine intervention although his mother was already very
old (Luke 1, 5-25). This might also be a hint that the unidentified
parents were already of advanced age when their son was born.
The inscription’s composer, perhaps the father of the newly born
son, was familiar with phrases that occur in hymnography: Eu’fránqhti
Zacaría is an address to Zacharias which is also attested elsewhere, as is
the whole phrase. Hymns for June 24th, the feast day of John the
Forerunner, run as follows (passages used in the Soleto inscription are
underlined): ’Akouétwsan steîrai kaì u‘mneítwsan tòn qeón. ’idoù gàr
’Elisábet e’kboâı: «metà gñráv mou ui‘òn kaì metà nékrwsin meløn eºscon tòn
pródromon. Eu’fraínou, Zacaría, kaì a’gállou nûn e’n qeøı. ’idoù gàr
’Elisábet malouceî metà gñrav ui‘òn kaì metà nékrwsin meløn Cristoû tòn
pródromon 64. A connection to this hymnal passage might be given by
the fact that this text is mainly based on manuscripts from Italy, namely
the Grottaferrata monastery 65. Some of these manuscripts date to the
eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Whether the inscription indeed refers to the birth of a son at all
cannot be proven. It might be merely a text celebrating the feast day of
St. John the Forerunner. Whatever the case, the inscription is a good
testimony for the reception of hymns chanted in the church.

64. A. ACCONCIA LONGO, Analecta Hymnica Graeca e codicibus eruta Italiae inferioris, pt. X:
Canones Iunii, Rome, 1972, p. 206, ll. 742-753 (XVI, ode 9). See also, JACOB, Notes sur quelques
inscriptions byzantines du Salento méridional cit. (nota 63), p. 70.
65. ACCONCIA LONGO, Analecta Hymnica Graeca e codicibus eruta Italiae inferioris cit. (nota 64),
pp. V-VIII.
 THE GREEK INSCRIPTIONS OF NORMAN-STAUFIAN APULIA 411

4. CONCLUSION

The preserved Greek inscriptions of the late eleventh, the twelfth

and the thirteenth centuries offer many insights into the continuation of
Greek culture at a time when Byzantine control of the region and direct
influence had long been over. They testify to the active church life and
to the coexistence of both Latin- and Greek-speaking populations.
Additional aspects are still worth studying, especially the inscriptions’
language 66 and their paleography with a specific focus on the interaction of
Latin and Greek script 67.

66. E.g., SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit. (nota 1), nos. 66.G (= no. 74): boäqou; 72.A (= no.
78): Mné(s)q[iti]; 94.A (= no. 46): Mnästhth; 114.H (= no. 77): Memnäsq...; 143.A (= no. 48):
zougráf[ou]; 143.D (= no. 51): boéqei.
67. On this issue very briefly, W. KOCH, Inschriftenpaläographie des abendländischen Mittelalters
und der früheren Neuzeit. Früh- und Hochmittelalter. Mit CD-ROM, Vienna and Munich, 2007,
pp. 174-181.
412 ANDREAS RHOBY

APPENDIX: CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF GREEK INSCRIPTIONS OF APULIA UNDER

NORMAN AND STAUFIAN RULE, BETWEEN 1071 AND 1268/69 (WITH THE
68
MOST RECENT BIBLIOGRAPHY) .

nn. 7-8, 11, 25, 55-58, 71 = metrical

n. 32 = semi-metrical

1. a. 1075: origin unknown (now Bari, Museo Nicolaiano): ed. GUILLOU, Recueil des
inscriptions grecques médiévales d’Italie cit., no. 146 (epitaph)
2. a. 1076/77: Casaranello, Santa Maria della Croce; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval
Salento cit., no. 33.K (epitaph) 69
3. a. 1088/89: Casaranello, Santa Maria della Croce; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval
Salento cit., no. 33.K (epitaph) 70
4. a. 1094/95: Casaranello, Santa Maria della Croce; ed. A. JACOB, Deux épitaphes
byzantines inédites de Terre d’Otranto, in Studi in onore di Michele D’Elia, Matera,
1996, pp. 166-172, at p. 169; SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no. 33.I (epitaph)
5. a. 1096/97: near Squinzano, Santa Maria di Cerrate; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval
Salento cit., no. 114A (epitaph)
6. a. 1098/99: Casaranello, Santa Maria della Croce; ed. JACOB, Deux épitaphes
byzantines inédites de Terre d’Otranto cit, p. 169; SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit.,
no. 33.J (epitaph)
7. s. XI (late): Carpignano Salentino, Santa Cristina; ed. JACOB, L’inscription métrique
de l’enfeu de Carpignano cit.; RHOBY, Byzantinische Epigramme auf Fresken und
Mosaiken cit., no. 186; SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no. 32.J; L. SAFRAN, La
mise-en-page dei testi pubblici nel Salento medievale, in « Rudiae. Ricerche sul mondo
classico », n.s. 3 (s.c. 26) (2017), pp. 271-290, at p. 276 (epitaph)
8. s. XI (late): Carpignano Salentino, Santa Cristina; ed. JACOB, L’inscription métrique
de l’enfeu de Carpignano cit.; RHOBY, Byzantinische Epigramme auf Fresken und
Mosaiken cit., no. 187; SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no. 32.J; J. SAFRAN, La
mise-en-page cit., p. 276 (epitaph)
9. s. XI (late): origin unknown (reused in castle of Soleto, now University of Lecce,
Institute of Classical Archaeology); ed. JACOB, Notes sur quelques inscriptions
byzantines du Salento méridional cit., pp. 66-71; GUILLOU, Recueil des inscriptions
grecques médiévales d’Italie cit., no. 149; M. BERGER and A. JACOB, La chiesa di S.
Stefano a Soleto. Tradizioni byzantine e cultura tardogotica, Lecce, 2007, p. 9; SAFRAN,
The Medieval Salento cit., no. 112 (mention of a birth)

68. Not included are minor Greek inscriptions on scrolls of saints etc.
69. One word only: apoqane (sic).
70. One word only: apoqane (sic).
 THE GREEK INSCRIPTIONS OF NORMAN-STAUFIAN APULIA 413

10. s. XI-XII: Ruffano (now Lecce, Museo Castromediano); ed. GUILLOU, Recueil des
inscriptions grecques médiévales d’Italie cit., no. 150; A. JACOB, L’anthroponymie
grecque du Salento méridionale, in « Mélanges de l’École française de Rome »,
107/2 (1995), pp. 361-379, at p. 366; SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no. 105
(invocation for a deceased)
11. s. XI-XII (?): Apigliano (now University of Lecce, Museo storico-artistico); ed.
SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no. 5; RHOBY, Byzantinische Epigramme auf Stein
cit., no. IT7; A. JACOB, Epigrammes byzantines de l’Italie méridionale gravées sur pierre.
Quelques observations sur un ouvrage récent, in « Rivista di Studi Bizantini e
Neoellenici », n.s. 51 (2014), pp. 175-215, at pp. 189-194 (epitaph)
12. s. XI-XIV: Nociglia, Santa Maria de Itri; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit.,
no. 80.A (commemoration)
13. a. 1109: Soleto (formerly collection of Giuseppe Manca); ed. JACOB, Notes sur
quelques inscriptions byzantines du Salento méridional cit., pp. 71-74; GUILLOU, Recueil
des inscriptions grecques médiévales d’Italie cit., no. 174; BERGER and JACOB, La chiesa
di S. Stefano a Soleto cit., p. 10; SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no. 111 (epitaph)
14. a. 1117: Quattro Macine (near Giuggianello) (now Lecce, Museo
Castromediano); ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no. 98 (epitaph)
15. a. 1126/27: Casaranello, Santa Maria della Croce; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval
Salento cit., no. 33.H (date [of a lost epitaph?])
16. a. 1130: Alessano (now Lecce, Museo Castromediano); ed. JACOB, Notes sur
quelques inscriptions byzantines du Salento méridional cit., pp. 74-78; GUILLOU, Recueil
des inscriptions grecques médiévales d’Italie cit., no. 152; SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento
cit., no. 2.A (epitaph)
17. a. 1135: origin unknown (now Taranto, Museo Archeologico): ed. GUILLOU,
Recueil des inscriptions grecques médiévales d’Italie cit., no. 176; JACOB, Notes sur
quelques inscriptions byzantines du Salento méridional cit., p. 82; SAFRAN, The Medieval
Salento cit., no. 137.A (epitaph)
18. a. 1135: near Borgagne (lost Greek text, transcribed in Italian); ed. JACOB, Deux
épitaphes byzantines inédites de Terre d’Otranto cit, p. 169, n. 23; SAFRAN, The
Medieval Salento cit., no. 15 (epitaph)
19. a. 1143: Vaste (now Lecce, Museo Castromediano); ed. JACOB, Notes sur quelques
inscriptions byzantines du Salento méridional cit., pp. 83-85; A. JACOB, Vaste en Terre
d’Otranto et ses inscriptions, in « Aevum », 71/2 (1997), pp. 243-271, at pp. 253-255;
SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no. 155.A (epitaph)
20. a. 1148/49: Fulcignano, destroyed church of the Virgin; ed. A. JACOB, Une
fondation d’hôpital à Andrano en Terre d’Otranto, in « Mélanges de l’École française
de Rome », 93/2 (1981), pp. 683-693, at p. 691; SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit.,
no. 46 (dedicatory/building inscription)
21. a. 1152?: Santa Maria di Aurio, Basilica (near Lecce); ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval
Salento cit., no. 60.A (date [of a lost epitaph?])
414 ANDREAS RHOBY

22. a. 1174/75: Quattro Macine (near Giuggianello) (now University of Lecce,

Laboratorio di archeologia medievale); ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no.
99.A (epitaph)
23. a. 1176/77: Castro, castle; ed. A. JACOB, L’épitaphe du hiéromoine Antoine à Castro
en Terre d’Otranto, in « Nea Rhome », 12 (2015), pp. 129-136, at p. 135 (epitaph)
24. a. 1196: near San Vito dei Normanni, San Biagio; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval
Salento cit., no. 109.A (dedicatory/building inscription)
25. a. 1197/98: near Squinzano, Santa Maria di Cerrate; ed. A. JACOB, L’épitaphe
métrique du prêtre Jean à Cerrate, in « Nea Rhome », 10 (2013), pp. 139-154;
SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no. 114.B; RHOBY, Byzantinische Epigramme auf
Stein cit., no. IT34; JACOB, Epigrammes byzantines de l’Italie méridionale gravées sur
pierre cit., pp. 175-179; SAFRAN, La mise-en-page cit., p. 279 (epitaph)
26. s. XII (a. 1152?): origin unknown (now Taranto, Museo Archeologico); ed.
GUILLOU, Recueil des inscriptions grecques médiévales d’Italie cit., no. 177 (epitaph);
SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no. 138.A (epitaph)
27. s. XII (a. 1152?): origin unknown (now Taranto, Museo Archeologico); ed.
SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no. 138.B (tetragram)
28. s. XII: Santa Maria di Aurio, Basilica (near Lecce); ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval
Salento cit., no. 60.E (invocation?)
29. s. XII: Santa Maria di Aurio, Basilica (near Lecce); ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval
Salento cit., no. 60.B (function unknown)
30. s. XII: Santa Maria di Aurio, Basilica (near Lecce); ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval
Salento cit., no. 60.C (function unknown)
31. s. XII: Santa Maria di Aurio, Basilica (near Lecce); ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval
Salento cit., no. 60.D (function unknown)
32. s. XII: Roca Vecchia (now Lecce, Museo Castromediano); ed. GUILLOU, Recueil
des inscriptions grecques médiévales d’Italie cit., p. 153; SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento
cit., no. 104; JACOB, La grotte de San Cristoforo cit., pp. 527-528 (invocation [with
metrical ending])
33. s. XII: origin unknown (now Lecce, Museo Castromediano); ed. GUILLOU,
Recueil des inscriptions grecques médiévales d’Italie cit., no. 154 (function unknown)
34. s. XII: origin unknown (now Lecce, Museo Castromediano); ed. GUILLOU,
Recueil des inscriptions grecques médiévales d’Italie cit., no. 155 (epitaph)
35. s. XII (?): Cerfignano, found in fill of Chiesa dell’Immacolata; ed. SAFRAN, The
Medieval Salento cit., no. 40.A (tetragram)
36. s. XII (?): Cerfignano, found in fill of Chiesa dell’Immacolata; ed. SAFRAN, The
Medieval Salento cit., no. 40.B (epitaph)
37. s. XII (?): Valle delle Memorie, San Nicola (near Otranto); ed. SAFRAN, The
Medieval Salento cit., no. 88.A (commemoration)
38. s. XII (?): Poggiardo, Santa Maria degli Angeli; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento
cit., no. 97.A (commemoration)
 THE GREEK INSCRIPTIONS OF NORMAN-STAUFIAN APULIA 415

39. s. XII (?): Poggiardo, Santa Maria degli Angeli; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento
cit., no. 97.B (date)
40. s. XII (?): origin unknown (now Lecce, Museo Castromediano); ed. SAFRAN, The
Medieval Salento cit., no. 158; JACOB, La grotte de San Cristoforo cit., p. 533
(invocation)
41. s. XII (?): origin unknown (now Lecce, Museo Castromediano); ed. GUILLOU,
Recueil des inscriptions grecques médiévales d’Italie cit., no. 156; SAFRAN, The Medieval
Salento cit., no. 160 (invocation?)
42. s. XII-XIII: Palagianello, Sant’Andrea; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no.
89.A (commemoration)
43. s. XII-XIII: origin unknown (now Lecce, Museo Castromediano); ed. GUILLOU,
Recueil des inscriptions grecques médiévales d’Italie cit., no. 157 (function unknown)
44. s. XII-XIV: Massafra, Santa Marina; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no.
67.A (commemoration)
45. s. XII-XIV: Palagianello, Santi Eremiti; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no.
91.A (commemoration)
46. s. XII-XIV: Palagianello, Santa Lucia; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no.
94.A (commemoration)
47. s. XII-XIV: Palagianello, Santa Lucia; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no.
94.H (commemoration)
48. s. XII-XIV: Taranto, Santa Chiara alle Petrose; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento
cit., no. 143.A (devotional inscription)
49. s. XII-XIV: Taranto, Santa Chiara alle Petrose; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento
cit., no. 143.B (commemoration)
50. s. XII-XIV: Taranto, Santa Chiara alle Petrose; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento
cit., no. 143.C (invocation)
51. s. XII-XIV: Taranto, Santa Chiara alle Petrose; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento
cit., no. 143.D (invocation)
52. s. XII-XIV: Taranto, Santa Chiara alle Petrose; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento
cit., no. 143.E (invocation)
53. s. XII-XIV: Uggiano la Chiesa, Sant’Angelo (in Valle dell’Idro); ed. SAFRAN, The
Medieval Salento cit., no. 153.A (commemoration)
54. a. 1238: near Cavallino (lost, drawing extant in Lecce, Biblioteca provinciale); ed.
A. JACOB, Iscrizioni bizantine di Cavallino, in Caballino, Capone, 1984, pp. 241-246,
at pp. 245-246; A. JACOB, Inscriptions byzantines datées de la Province de Lecce, in
« Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rendiconti della Classe di Scienze morali,
storiche e filologiche », ser. 8, 37 (1982), pp. 41-62, at pp. 54-55; SAFRAN, The
Medieval Salento cit., no. 37 (epitaph)
55. a. 1268/69: Monopoli, monastery of San Michele Arcangelo (now lost); ed.
GUILLOU, Recueil des inscriptions grecques médiévales d’Italie cit., no. 165; RHOBY,
Byzantinische Epigramme auf Stein cit., no. IT9 (dedicatory/building inscription)
416 ANDREAS RHOBY

56. a. 1269: near Squinzano, Santa Maria di Cerrate; ed. GUILLOU, Recueil des
inscriptions grecques médiévales d’Italie cit., no. 171; SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit.,
no. 114.C; RHOBY, Byzantinische Epigramme auf Stein cit., no. IT35; JACOB,
Epigrammes byzantines de l’Italie méridionale gravées sur pierre cit., pp. 179-182
(dedicatory/building inscription)
57. a. 1269: near Squinzano, Santa Maria di Cerrate; ed. GUILLOU, Recueil des
inscriptions grecques médiévales d’Italie cit., no. 169; A. JACOB, Le ciborium du prêtre
Taphouros à Sainte-Marie de Cerrate et sa dédicace, in Cavalieri alla conquista del Sud.
Studi sull’Italia normanna in memoria di Léon-Robert Ménager, ed. by E. CUOZZO and
J.-M. MARTIN, Rome and Bari, 1998, pp. 117-133; SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento
cit., no. 114.C; RHOBY, Byzantinische Epigramme auf Stein cit., no. IT36
(invocation)
58. s. XIII (before 1268/69): Gallipoli, Sant’Agata; ed. GUILLOU, Recueil des inscriptions
grecques médiévales d’Italie cit., no. 147; SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no. 49;
RHOBY, Byzantinische Epigramme auf Stein cit., no. IT4; JACOB, Epigrammes
byzantines de l’Italie méridionale gravées sur pierre cit., pp. 183-188
(dedicatory/building inscription)
59. s. XIII: Massafra, San Giovanni; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no. 64.A
(invocation)
60. s. XIII: Massafra, San Marco; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no. 66.F
(invocation)
61. s. XIII: Massafra/Crispiano, San Posidonio; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit.,
no. 71.A (invocation)
62. s. XIII: Mottola, Santa Margherita; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no.
75.pg (function unknown)
63. s. XIII: San Vito dei Normanni, Cripta di San Giovanni: SAFRAN, The Medieval
Salento cit., 163 (tetragram)
64. s. XIII: Taranto, Chiesa del Redentore; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no.
142.A (commemoration)
65. s. XIII (late): near Gallipoli, San Mauro, ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., 163
(tetragram)
66. s. XIII?: Faggiano, San Nicola; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no. 45.A
(function unknown)
67. s. XIII?: Miggiano, Santa Marina; SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., p. 288, fig.
73.A.1 (tetragram)
68. s. XIII?: Miggiano, Santa Marina; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no. 73.B
(label of a depicted person)
69. s. XIII?: Nardo, Santa Maria dell’Alto; ed. GUILLOU, Recueil des inscriptions grecques
médiévales d’Italie cit., no. 166; SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no. 79.C
(invocation)
 THE GREEK INSCRIPTIONS OF NORMAN-STAUFIAN APULIA 417

70. s. XIII?: Nardo, Santa Maria dell’Alto; ed. GUILLOU, Recueil des inscriptions grecques
médiévales d’Italie cit., no. 167; SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no. 79.D
(invocation)
71. s. XIII/XIV: Quattro Macine (near Giugianello) (now Lecce, Museo
Castromediano); ed. GUILLOU, Recueil des inscriptions grecques médiévales d’Italie cit.,
no. 158; SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no. 100.A; RHOBY, Byzantinische
Epigramme auf Stein cit., no. IT6; JACOB, Epigrammes byzantines de l’Italie
méridionale gravées sur pierre cit., pp. 194-199 (invocation for a deceased?)
72. s. XIII/XIV: Crispiano, Santi Crispo e Crispiniano; ed. A. JACOB, Un nouvelle
Amen isopséphique en Terre d’Otranto, in « Rivista di Studi Bizantini e
Neoellenici », n.s. 26 (1989), pp. 187-195, at p. 190; SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento
cit., no. 44.A (invocation)
73. s. XIII/XIV: Massafra, San Marco; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no. 66.F
(commemoration)
74. s. XIII/XIV: Massafra, San Marco; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no. 66.G
(invocation)
75. s. XIII/XIV: origin unknown (now Lecce, Museo Castromediano); ed.
GUILLOU, Recueil des inscriptions grecques médiévales d’Italie cit., no. 159 (epitaph?)
76. s. XIII/XIV?: San Cataldo (now Lecce, Museo Castromediano); ed. GUILLOU,
Recueil des inscriptions grecques médiévales d’Italie cit., no. 160; SAFRAN, The Medieval
Salento cit., no. 107 (epitaph)
77. s. XIII/XIV?: near Squinzano, Santa Maria di Cerrate; ed. GUILLOU, Recueil des
inscriptions grecques médiévales d’Italie cit., no. 170; SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit.,
no. 114.H (commemoration)
78. late medieval: Mesagne, San Lorenzo; ed. SAFRAN, The Medieval Salento cit., no.
72.A (commemoration)