There are some things you never forget: the first time you rode a bicycle; your wedding day; the birth of a child. And the day doing a PhD finally seems to make sense.
For me, that came mercifully early on in my career as a young graduate student. I had spent two days looking at a document that I had quickly concluded was unbelievably dull: a typikon (or a foundation grant) establishing a monastery in Bulgaria in the early 1080s. The monastery was founded by Gregory Pakourianos, a leading Byzantine general who was one of the most senior figures in the empire at the time.
For me, that came mercifully early on in my career as a young graduate student. I had spent two days looking at a document that I had quickly concluded was unbelievably dull: a typikon (or a foundation grant) establishing a monastery in Bulgaria in the early 1080s. The monastery was founded by Gregory Pakourianos, a leading Byzantine general who was one of the most senior figures in the empire at the time.
Perfectly acceptable: my first office Such texts have none of the racy anecdotes or hushed gossip of the juiciest medieval texts - and not surprisingly so, for they were drawn up by the same type of humourless lawyer who draws up wills and deeds today. You get the idea: pedantic, comprehensive. And more than 70 pages long.
As I was all but giving up the will to live, I realised that every now and again, amid the stock phrases of legalese setting out to cover every eventuality, you could just catch the voice of the settlor - that is, the individual whose generous donation was being used to found and endow an important new religious institution. You can pick out the bugbears and things that annoyed him, and almost feel the unease of the person drafting the deed to include them.
Monks at the monastery at Bachkovo, near Philippopolis (modern Plovdiv) shall be forbidden to have any food in their own cells: eating and drinking in secret is despicable and the work of the devil. That is Gregory's voice. I am totally opposed to any choice of food or drink at meal time. That is him too. Who knows why he had formed these views - perhaps he had been brought up by stern parents (the fact that he talks elsewhere of how lucky he was to grow up eating 'all kinds of fruit and vegetables which we valued dearly since childhood' hints that he was grateful for his daily bread and had good table manners).
Then back to the voices of the lawyers, covering point after point in generic, turgid Greek to set out what happened when the head abbot died, who was responsible for what and going into the sort of detail that forces you to stare out of the window until you suddenly think of something you want to add.
Monks at the monastery at Bachkovo, near Philippopolis (modern Plovdiv) shall be forbidden to have any food in their own cells: eating and drinking in secret is despicable and the work of the devil. That is Gregory's voice. I am totally opposed to any choice of food or drink at meal time. That is him too. Who knows why he had formed these views - perhaps he had been brought up by stern parents (the fact that he talks elsewhere of how lucky he was to grow up eating 'all kinds of fruit and vegetables which we valued dearly since childhood' hints that he was grateful for his daily bread and had good table manners).
Then back to the voices of the lawyers, covering point after point in generic, turgid Greek to set out what happened when the head abbot died, who was responsible for what and going into the sort of detail that forces you to stare out of the window until you suddenly think of something you want to add.
Bachkovo monastery, founded in 1083 I sat a little straighter as I realised this document was not quite as dry as I'd thought. And then I began to winkle extra pieces of information from it about Gregory's life and achievements. I hit the jackpot when I worked out that there were important military campaigns and major victories referred to in the grant, which did not appear in any other primary source, and which had ever been identified before.
They formed the basis of the first scholarly article I ever published. One of those things you always remember, in other words. I
They formed the basis of the first scholarly article I ever published. One of those things you always remember, in other words. I
It was a blast from the past, and a nice surprise, I thought, to find the monastery, splashed across the Bulgarian daily Труд. I was curious to see what had brought the monastery to national attention.
The 'hegoumenos' (Bul: 'Igumen') or chief abbot of the monastery had been removed from his position.
The 'hegoumenos' (Bul: 'Igumen') or chief abbot of the monastery had been removed from his position.
Bishop Boris in his day wear
My mind whirred back to think of the regulations of which he might have fallen foul. Would it be marvellous to find that clauses written 930 years ago were still being properly followed ? If so, Gregory's legal team would have been thrilled. I read on, wondering, naively, if perhaps he had smuggled food or drink into his well-appointed cell where he prayed.
Bishop Boris with two of his four lady friends t turned out that he had done rather more than that. Bishop Boris had been removed from his position after being filmed having sexual intercourse - not with one, or two or even three women. But with four. he had been enjoying orgies with a bunch of Bulgarian lovelies, while also indulging his love of fine wines. In the eyes of the Bulgarian church, this made him 'unworthy of his position.'
Although you would be forgiven for thinking that Gregory Pakourianos would be spinning in his grave, Bishop Boris might just have been doing what the head of the monastery was ordered to do. Certainly that's what he should be claiming. For if he'd spent as long studying the foundation grant as I have, he would know that the founder had ordered that the monks whose livelihood he was paying for be 'free from all constraints.'
He could point too at the fact that Gregory had specificially commanded that the head of the monastery should 'show his love in equal measure both to young and to old.' And as for the wine, well, Gregory had never said quality was the problem: he had simply insisted that there should be no choice. So what if Chateau Lafitte was on the table, in other words; just so long as there was no Puligny-Montrachet there too.
He could point too at the fact that Gregory had specificially commanded that the head of the monastery should 'show his love in equal measure both to young and to old.' And as for the wine, well, Gregory had never said quality was the problem: he had simply insisted that there should be no choice. So what if Chateau Lafitte was on the table, in other words; just so long as there was no Puligny-Montrachet there too.
If you only have one choice, choose wisely And so perhaps, in fact, Bishop Boris had studied the text closely after all.
You can almost hear the 11th century lawyers laughing to themselves now. 70 pages, they'd be saying, is not long enough if you want to be really clear about your intentions. Gregory should have let them
You can almost hear the 11th century lawyers laughing to themselves now. 70 pages, they'd be saying, is not long enough if you want to be really clear about your intentions. Gregory should have let them
RSS Feed