Brave as a Lion, Fierce like a Griffin: Heraldic Devices and Aristocratic Identity in the Frescoes of St. Panteleimon, Nerezi

From the mid-twelfth century onward, armorial devices became almost ubiquitous in western Europe. Byzantium, however, is widely believed to have had no role in the development of heraldry, which is considered a foreign custom introduced to the empire only in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade. The received narrative of heraldry's late adoption in Byzantium is called into question by the analysis of evidence predating the crusaders' conquest, particularly the striking depiction of two warrior saints in the church of St. Panteleimon at Nerezi, whose frescoes were commissioned by Alexios Angelos Komnenos in 1164. These holy figures, identifiable as Saints Demetrius and Theodore the Recruit, bear distinctively heraldic animals, a lion and a griffin, on their almond-shaped shields, reflecting closely the coeval development of the first coats of arms in northern France and England. I argue that the implications of this artistic choice are twofold. First, the heraldic charges are novel features that reinforce the political message conveyed by Nerezi's program as a whole, declaring the patron's allegiance to his relative, the emperor Manuel I Komnenos, who is evoked through the juxtaposition of the lion and the griffin, figures that were traditionally associated with imperial power, and the saints who acted as the emperor's personal protectors. More importantly, they allow us to observe up close a shift in the mentality of the Komnenian aristocracy, with its increased focus on values such as martial prowess—to be shown either in battle or on the tournament field—and noble descent. Thus, they provide us with an additional lens to understand the aesthetic preferences and shared aspirations of the high nobility at a pivotal moment in the (re)definition of aristocratic identity in Byzantium.