Introduction

Summary

During the Middle Ages, miracles played a crucial role in theology and propaganda, mirroring the needs, struggles, and desires of every social class. During the political upheaval and religious fervor of the late Byzantine period, written and visual accounts of miracles – comprising New Testament narratives, healings performed by saints, and newer miracles – start proliferating in mural decorations and in historiographical, hagiographical, and poetic texts. Building on the underexplored corpus of visual depictions of Christ’s miracles as recounted in the New Testament, this book argues that miracle iconography offers important evidence of the political imperatives of its patrons, the spiritual needs of its audience, and the overall construction of divinity in the early Palaiologan period.