The self-inflicted wounds of John the Grammarian: suffering and deception at the twilight of the iconomachy

In a series of related accounts, sources of the ninth and tenth centuries allege that the final iconoclast patriarch, John the Grammarian, wounded himself with a knife once the restoration of the icons was imminent, either in a failed suicide attempt or to defame his iconodule adversaries. However, the accounts are inconsistent, contradictory, and acknowledge that contemporary rumour claimed that John had been attacked. This article examines these accounts, concluding that John’s wounds were likely not self-inflicted, and, while regime actors were conceivably responsible, a definitive conclusion is elusive.