E05740: John Malalas in his Chronographia mentions the celebration of a festival of the *Apostles (S00084) at the locality known as the Periteichisma in Constantinople in 547. Written in Greek at Antioch (Syria) or Constantinople, in the mid-6th c.
‘In that indiction Menas, the archbishop of Constantinople, was admitted back to his see, and went to the festival of the Holy Apostles at the Periteichisma.’
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)
Language
Greek
Evidence not before
520
Evidence not after
570
Activity not before
547
Activity not after
547
Place of Evidence - Region
Constantinople and region
Syria with Phoenicia
Place of Evidence - City, village, etc
Constantinople
Antioch on the Orontes
Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Constantinople
Constantinople
Κωνσταντινούπολις
Konstantinoupolis
Constantinopolis
Constantinople
Istanbul
Antioch on the Orontes
Thabbora
Thabbora
Major author/Major anonymous work
John Malalas
Cult activities - Festivals
Saint’s feast
Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Ecclesiastics - bishops
Source
The Chronographia of John Malalas (c. 490–c. 570) is a Christian chronicle of universal history, from Adam to the death of Justinian I (565). It appears to have been composed in two parts, the earlier of which focuses on the history of Antioch and the East, ending in c. 528 or 532. The second part focuses on the urban history of Constantinople up to the death of Justinian. Malalas is likely to have pursued a career in the imperial administration at both Antioch and Constantinople, writing the two parts of his chronicle while living in these two cities.
Malalas was widely used as a source by Byzantine chroniclers and historians, including John of Ephesus, John of Antioch, Evagrius Scholasticus, the Paschal Chronicle, John of Nikiu, John of Damascus, Theophanes, George the Monk, pseudo-Symeon, Kedrenos, Zonaras, Theodore Skoutariotes, and Nikephoros Kallistou Xanthopoulos.
The text of the chronicle is preserved in a very fragmentary form, based on quotations in other sources (notably the Paschal Chronicle and Theophanes), and on a Slavonic translation which follows a more extensive version of the original text. It is believed that we now have about 90% of the text.
On the composition and manuscript tradition of the text, see Thurn 2000, and:
http://pinakes.irht.cnrs.fr/notices/oeuvre/1298/
Discussion
The location of this shrine is uncertain. The Periteichisma is thought to have lain between the Forum of Constantine and the Philoxenos Cistern (Binbirdirek). The term ἄθλησις used in this passage probably refers to the feast (Janin 1969, 50-51).
Bibliography
Text:
Dindorf, L., Ioannis Malalae Chronographia (Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae; Bonn, 1831).
Thurn, J., Ioannis Malalae Chronographia (Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae 35; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2000).
Translation:
Jeffreys, E., Jeffreys, M., and Scott, R., The Chronicle of John Malalas: A Translation (Sydney, 1986).
On Malalas:
Carrara, L., Meier, M., and Radtki-Jansen, C. (eds.), Die Weltchronik des Johannes Malalas. Quellenfragen (Malalas-Studien 2; Göttingen: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2017).
Jeffreys, E., Croke, B., and Scott, R. (eds.), Studies in John Malalas (Sydney, 1990).
Meier, M., Radtki-Jansen, C., and Schulz, F. (eds.), Die Weltchronik des Johannes Malalas: Autor, Werk, Überlieferung (Malalas-Studien 1; Göttingen: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2016).
Treadgold, W.T. The Early Byzantine Historians (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006), 235-256.
Further reading:
Janin, R., La géographie ecclésiastique de l'empire Byzantin. I 3: Les eglises et les monastères de la ville de Constantinople. 2nd ed. (Paris, 1969).