Eroticism of the Byzantine Tale "Callimachus and Chrysorrhoe" in the comparative perspective

Размещено на http://www.allbest.ru

Размещено на http://www.allbest.ru

Introduction

The history of researches in a field of Byzantine Romances has undergone a few significant stages where the first one might be comprehended as a stage of neglect. The Byzantine novels were thought to be vernacular literature without any specific structure or value. The romances were only seen as distorted patterns of Greek romances, and no advanced publication in Greek was made. Nevertheless, this approach is not relevant these days; a clear structure has been analysed, and elitism of such texts is being proved because they were circulating and even written at court. Sophistication of these texts contribute to their popularity among modern Byzantinists. Additional interest was provoked since modern Greek studies perceive them as beginnings of Modern Greek literature, so they are now included in studies of Modern Greek philology.

The popularity of such texts has been always fluctuating. In early 20th century Charles Diehl and Bury published two works on what they called Romances of Chivalry of Byzantium, but then these texts were not analysed for a few decades. Later, in the second half of the 20th century, after a proclamation of their status as noble and publication of sophisticated editions, researchers of many countries wrote articles with their discoveries in the field (among them Beck (Germany), Cupane (Italy), Alexidze, Kazhdan (USSR), Agapitos, Apostolopoulos (Greece)). In 1989, Roderick Beaton publishes a book The Medieval Greek romances in collaboration with Cambridge University Press, which got fiercely criticized by Agapitos and Smith. Apart from few statements, Agapitos and Smith debate with the majority of conclusions made by their colleague. Such a phenomenon shows how vague the situation in the field still was. After two decades of close analysis, a number of scientific papers has declined and interest to the romances seemed to almost disappear. However, in 2010s, particularly in 2016 and in 2019, Cambridge University Press and Boston and Leiden Press have published two books containing various articles, indicating a raising interest again. At the same time, there are a few Byzantinists (Cupane, Agapitos) who never cease to find deeper meanings in the romances which were considered at first some coincidental literature. Their conclusions are dominating in academia and new names rarely appear.

Some topics in the researches are constantly discussed and do not have any space for imagination left (for example, Gardens in love story telling), meanwhile some points have never been considered and, therefore, need to be analysed. For example, every time we may read that connections to literature of the Eastern neighbours should be taken into consideration. Unfortunately, there are some limitations which cannot be crossed right now. However, in the current work we are going to cross a border between vernacular romances and hagiography as well as borders between literature and reality. The relevance of our work is a new angle we are going to apply to erotic scenes in the Byzantine Tale Callimachus and Chrysorrhoe (quoted as CaC from this point).

The Byzantine Tales are divided into 2 mains groups, Comnenian Romances (XI-XII cc.) and Palaiologan Romances (XIII-XIV cc.). The twelfth century became a century of fictional literature in Byzantium. A number of texts is increasing, genres are various, but at the same time only 30% of texts are hagiography. A new phenomenon of sponsorship in a field of literature is spreading, poetry dominates over prose. An interest to Greek texts lead to occurrence of controversial texts, including parodies and love romances based on Ancient heritage. Philology is in its blossom, and many educated personas try to preserve ancient word legacy. This period is named Comnenian Restoration, and it has a few significant differences from the second stage of the fictional progress, precisely named `Palaiologan Romances'. A question of dichotomy of these two stages have been withdrawn, and a continuation was introduced into a scientific field instead of a break between two stages. Still, there are some differences in structure and content. For example, Palaiologan romances include a `contemporary-historical setting', show some Latin customs and is overall influenced by the West, add some folklore motives, present fully developed `Art of Love', etc. The difference in these two stages is also shown through the terms applicable for them. Thus, Comnenian texts are often called novels (as well as Greek Novels) since they follow ancient patterns in a higher degree than texts of Palaiologan period. On the contrary, Palaiologan fiction carries a name of `romances' or `romances of chivalry'.

CaC written presumably in 1310-1340s belongs to the second group of romances. There is another peculiarity of the period which makes it tricky to define a timeframe of the romances, namely all these works are anonymous (in contrast to the first period where the names of authors are known).

Therefore, we should introduce another writer of the period, Manuel Philes who played a great role in a history of CaC. He was a Byzantine poet at the same period as the romance was written. He is extremely important for CaC since his Epigram retells a plot of one Byzantine romance (he names neither its title nor protagonists). This storyline given by Philes looks very similar to the plotline of CaC. Still, there are some differences in sequences which lead to researchers' confusion. We have a few answers to the issue: a. there are mistakes in the Philes' epigram; b. errors occur in a single surviving manuscript of the romance; c. another tale with the same story existed at the moment. Personally, I incline to argue that Philes wrote about CaC, and some deviations in manuscripts are not an exception but rather a rule. During rewriting, scribers make some errors. One more peculiarity about Philes's epigram is his allegorical reading of the text. Sincerely or not, Philes thinks that Chrysorrhoe is a representation of a soul, and an adventure of Callimachus is his path to save his soul for God.

We aim to select erotic scenes as a subject of our analyse and put them in a context. An appearance of such content became possible since philology and literature have emancipated from orthodox mores. Ancient novels reemerged in cultural life of Byzantium. A shift in the attitude and mores led to a change in perception of gender and sexuality. At the same time, such sexual and sensitive elements did not appear unexpectedly in the desert of puritanism. Byzantium exported texts with erotic plots and depictions of sexual pleasures and also produced them itself (in historiography, for example - historians never fail to include these explicit anecdotes). However, romances as texts where love adventures were a main part of a narrative was a new phenomenon. Interestingly, some researchers suggest that this change influenced only a part of a society, and such revealing stories were circulating in a narrow educated public only, while larger public has an access exclusively to discreet romantic scenes.

According to Cupane, Palaiologan romances put a love affair in the centre of their stories. The authors reduce all the adventure parts and `the only adventure worth telling is the experience of love'. The relationships between protagonists become a key topic, and simultaneously, an importance of sexual fulfilment and tensions between a male and a female get evident. They are all united under the name of Дй?гзмб ?сщфйк?н - a love story - focusing mainly on relationships between protagonists. At the same time, Eros - a god of love - gives a name for erotic (sexual) in European languages. Obviously, in the current work we consider a modern meaning of the word leaving behind all the romantic connotations.

A brief retelling of the plot of CaC may prove that love adventures were a key topic for the late Byzantine authors. In the beginning, a king refuses to divide his kingdom in three parts and wants his three sons to prove themselves. Thus, they depart for adventures. Probably, the next part has been lost, since Philes tells about few battles but in only one existing manuscript there is no single word about such adventures. Later, they arrive to a castle and two brothers do not dare approach it. Callimachus enters the castle alone and finds a girl hanged with her hair. She complains of her misfortune, orders him to kill a dragon who is torturing her and so does Callimachus. They fall in love, have some kind of a wedding ceremony and have their first sexual intercourse in a bath. They enjoy happiness for some time, but a foreign prince comes and sees Chrysorrhoe. A witch suggests to help him and brings an appleto Callimachus which kills the protagonist. Chrysorrhoe is kidnapped. Callimachus's brothers see in a dream that their brother is dead and come to rescue him. The same apple can kill and resurrect, therefore, Callimachus is brought to life again. He is looking for Chrysorrhoe, finds her, pretends to be a gardener, gives her a sign with a ring that he is nearby. She orders to build a tent for her, and Chrysorrhoe and Callimachus enjoy their time indoors till three eunuchs know the truth. The foreign prince comes and judges. Nevertheless, Callimachus manages to protect their rights and they safely depart to the castle where they met.

As we may notice, that is true that any adventures but love adventures are totally missing. Once a character should act (according to rules of the genre), something magical happens which solves his/her problems easily without any time needed. It seems a little naпve when an apple which kills also saves (and it is left next to the corpse); or when the prince who kidnaps Chrysorrhoe returns his victim after a short monologue of Callimachus saying that Chrysorrhoe does not belong to him. On the contrary, erotic scenes are told spaciously.

A definition of a word eroticism may vary. Under this term, we will include not only scenes where sexual intercourses are shown directly (to the extent it was allowed by Christian culture) but also the parts where sexual desires are implied. A main reason to unite scenes under the title of eroticism will be their connection to intersexual relationships. Scenes of CaC are full of different kinds of pleasures including sadistic one, and I think it is even more revealing than in other romances.

The current work includes four sequences of the romance: i. The scene with a suspended Chrysorrhoe; ii. The scene in a bath; iii. The scene in a tent; iv. A metaphor of a vintner. Besides these chapters dedicated to eroticism of the romance, the work also has a concluding chapter about Eros as a character in the narrative.

As it was mentioned, the main sources of the Palaiologan romances are considered to be Greek novels of late Antiquity, Medieval European literature (especially French allegories, realities and terms) or literature of neighbouring countries (so called interculturality of the period), and later - other romances of the Comnenian and Palaiologan periods (external links between texts are profound and frequent). Yiavis states that a potential reader should know the pattern and recognise it, despite various combinations, blends and paraphrasing. Skill of an author is not creating something completely new but alluding to authorities and restructuring in order to get a new text.

Our aim is to answer the question - if a medieval Byzantine literature was a repetition of itself, where could the author of CaC find some unexpected scenes? Should we consider all these scenes an allusion to textual authorities (probably, lost after the Fall) or his inspiration? If it was his own ideas, should we reassess a figure of an author and his role in the Byzantine society and construct it anew? Does this romance re-establish our understanding of this medieval culture or not? How should we understand `tradition' and `legacy' in this context and is this word suitable for a tale?

We are going to apply various methods to the text according to our needs. Undoubtedly, we cannot miss the philological and comparative methods; in addition to them, we will use visual materials which are available for us to analyse a link between some scenes and a myth about Andromeda; in the same part we will apply an approach of social history of French philosopher, historian of ideas and social theorist Michael Foucault (1926-1984) who wrote a book Discipline and Punish about an evolution of prosecution and its procedures; it will be valuable for our understanding of a scene of dragon's tortures. Moreover, following steps of an American anthropologist Clifford Geertz (1926-2006), we will attempt to understand an appearance of a tent with methods of thick descriptions and analyse what a tent meant in the Byzantine society. In some cases, we will refer to conclusions of gender studies and ecocritism which is extremely popular in the field of byzantine romances.

1. A Scene with a bound Chrysorrhoe

Since we go chronologically through the romance narrative, we start with one of the most mysterious scenes in the romance which occurs at the first encounter of Chrysorrhoe and Callimachus. Striking as it is, I believe this episode was overlooked by researchers and not explained carefully and accurately. The dominant explanation given by Cupane, the major researcher in the field, does not consider an episode as a whole and ignores some relevant turns of the plot. I will propose a new group of texts as a source for the unique and controversial part of first acquaintance of the protagonists. An introduction of these texts might define a new point in analysis of this sequence, thus, this chapter will be lengthier than any else.

The sequence starts with a long ?кцсбуйт which was a necessary part of the genre; longs passages aim to agitate imagination of a read who is not able to attend the narrative. An admiration is given through the eyes of the protagonist. Callimachus is observing a castle and its features before an arrival to a room of a dragon, a beholder of the Dragon Castle. After narrator's emotional precautions about the misery we are about to see, Callimachus finally meets a girl hanged with her hair:

449. ?н м?у? г?с, ?лл? рпл?н ? л?гпт р?нпн ?чей,

?к ф?н фсйч?н ?кс?мбфп к?сз мемпнщм?нз

- Убле?ей мпх ф?н б?уизуйн, убле?ей мпх ф?т цс?нбт -

?к ф?н фсйч?н -б? цс?нзмбн рбс?лпгпн ф?т ф?чзт -

?к ф?н фсйч?н ?кс?мбфп к?сз - уйг? ф? л?г?,

?дп? уйг?, меф? некс?т кбсд?бт фп?фп гс?цщ -

?к ф?н фсйч?н ?кс?мбфп к?сз м? ф?н чбс?фщнЁ

449. Because in the middle - but this speech makes a great suffering -

With hair, a single girl was hanged -

It disturbs my feelings, disturbs my heart -

With hair - oh, an insane trick of the destiny -

With hair, the girl was hanged - I cannot tell,

And I do not tell, I write with a dead heart -

With hair, a girl who had many pleasures was hanged.

There is no scene like this in any other survived romance, therefore, its source is discussed. The prevalent theory proposed by Cupane gives a comparison of the scene to a similar myth about Andromeda and Perseus.

Briefly retelling the myth, Andromeda is bound on a shore in a sea and Perseus saves her from a dragon. Such a borrowing, according to the article, might have had a few sources, either visual or literary ones.

No pictorial representations of Andromeda made in the Byzantine Empire survived to the present moment but we may refer to written sources. So Parasteseis Syntomoi Chronikai written in VIII-IX cc. describes sculptures of the myth in the bath of Konstantiana. However, it must have been gone by the time the tale was written. Other visual sources are not mentioned. An attempt to find a visual source seems to be in vain for us, too because non-religious art of Byzantium is not well documented. Even though, we cannot suggest any Byzantine samples, in our pursuit for the truth, we may look at typical Greek depictions of the myth. In a mosaic of the 2/3 c. held by Hatay Archaeology Museum (catalogue number Antakaya 849a) we may see a gracious Andromeda holding a Perseus's hand. In contrary to him, she is totally dressed. A snake with a duck beak ( so was a dragon presented) is lying near her feet. She is not chained anymore but we may see a chain on a seashore (refer to an attachment I). Another mosaic which is not clearly dated and kept in Gazientep Museum of Archaeology (Attachment III) follows the same patterns with a dressed Andromeda and naked Perseus. In his hands he holds a head of a dragon who had a snake's body. This dragon is still a beast but it gains human parts. In the third mosaic of the same period (Bardo National Museum, III c.) the presentation is quite different. Here both Andromeda and Perseus are naked, and a man with horns is laying near their feet instead of a non-human in the previous mosaic (Attachment II). This depiction is more corresponding to the romance. Still, it does not have any sign of Andromeda's humiliation, and her chain is not even shown. Some pictures on ceramics have survived as well. So, one vase displayed at Moscow Pushkinskiy Museum of Fine Arts dates back to 4 c. BC and shows a beautiful Andromeda who is bound to a shore in a very gracious posture while Perseus tries to kill a dragon who looks in accordance to modern representations of the four-padded beast (Attachment IV). There are some examples beside these ones but all of them have the same pattern. The survived depictions of Andromeda do not allow to imagine that these visual materials could have somehow agitated a sadistic erotic vision. A viewer may say that they are mainly quite humble and modest without any specific sexual link. What is even more important, the depictions do not put Andromeda in a slavery position. The intentions of the artists is to show Andromeda chained and captured but not enslaved. Andromeda is fully in her power standing straight in front of the saviour. It does not remind much of the scene cited above. Andromeda never appears as hanged with her hair and in a miserable position. Andromeda is untouched by the dragon and full of grace.

Thus, we must withdraw visual elements as a source for CaC's author. Cupane herself admits that the literary sources are more probable predecessors of the scene. On the contrary to visual depictions, the literary sources are multiple. Cupane mentions following texts: Appollodorus' Bibliotheca, ekphrasis of a painting in a Leucippe and Clitophon, scholia on Lycophron's Alexandra by Tzetzes. This points at the wide expansion of the myth to the cultural life of the Byzantine society. Texts about Andromeda are numerous, and the knowledge can be obtained from any of them. Moreover, myths were told to children instead of fairy tales which were thought to be useless. So, we may conclude that no written source is necessary to actually believe that a myth of Andromeda was spread.

Nevertheless, as the main source, Cupane states Ovid and his Metamorphosis:

672. quam simul ad duras religatam bracchia cautes

vidit Abantiades, nisi quod levis aura capillos

moverat et tepido manabant lumina fletu,

marmoreum ratus esset opus; trahit inscius ignes

et stupet et visae correptus imagine formae

paene suas quatere est oblitus in aere pennas.

As soon as Perseus saw her there bound by the arms to a rough cliff--save that her hair gently stirred in the breeze, and the warm tears were trickling down her cheeks, he would have thought her a marble statue--he took fire unwitting, and stood dumb. Smitten by the sight of the beauty he sees, he almost forgot to move his wings in the air.

There are reasons to believe that this text could not stay unknown to the author who was highly likely to be an imperial family member. Maximus Planudes (c.1260-c.1305) presumably translated Ovid a little bit earlier than CaC was written, thus it could have been in vogue in Constantinople.

First of all, Andromeda is more emotional here than in any pictorial depictions. Her tears show her weakness. We may argue that a textual representation allows an ancient author to represent Andromeda in a more vulnerable posture and, therefore, it reminds to a greater extent of CaC. Still, there is a huge difference between a crying sad lady represented by the myth and a despaired woman shown in the Byzantine tale.

Secondly, the Ovid's plot itself supports this genealogy advocated by Cupane. Certain similarities are crucial for her theory, particularly a rival is a dragon in both cases of Andromeda and Chrysorrhoe. However, we should withdraw this argument as a proving point, since these two cases are not that unique. Many texts include a dragon as an antihero. Even a brief look at evil beasts allows a reader to draw a conclusion that a snake looking as a man has been always a sign of danger and too highly spread to be a sign of a direct borrowing of any kind.

Moreover, a word `dragon' is broadly defined in Greek speaking cultures. On the one hand, there is a dragon as he is presented in the mosaics mentioned above and in a passage from Ovid. The Andromeda's rival is a real beast as, for example, a dragon of St. George. Its human nature has not appeared yet, and we see only an animal who fights people. On the other hand, a dragon in the byzantine tale CaC is not a clear figure. He cannot be only a beast, since he tries to marry Chrysorrhoe. His actions suggest that his body is human alike if he is theoretically able to fulfil his sexual desires with Chrysorrhoe or punish her. Maybe, he is a continuation of a dragon from another tale (Digenis Akrites, lines 55-60, Book 6) who was able to change shape and appearance being both a beast and a human. In an oral source of a fairy tale a dragon is able to take human form and wants to marry a woman. Byzantine Greek Dictionaries of Kriaras and Dimitrakos support the idea that a dragon was more like an ogre in a glossary of the period. Therefore, we may say that by the moment, the dragon in CaC cannot be the same rival as in the ancient text. Additionally, the Ovid's dragon is only a tool to conduct others' revenge, whilst the Byzantine Dragon is a thinking creature acting for himself. Andromeda is being punished by jealous women and a dragon does not interact with her. Its goal is only to harm her and it is debatable if the beast has consciousness or common sense. The dragon in the Byzantine romance is an initiator of the punishment being violent toward Chrysorrhoe because of her refusal. He has some mental capabilities which allow him even to negotiate with her and threaten the girl.

Cupane constructs some other connections between Ovid and the Byzantine tale which look tiny details. For example, both Callimachus and Perseus are stunned at the view of the bound girls. Both saviours perceive them as a work of art, marmoreum opus and жщпгс?цзмб.

Even though, there is no reason to doubt that a myth of Andromeda was well known and circulated in the Byzantine society, still the similarities are vague and did not seem convincing when the current paper was started. There are some crucial differences which I would underline as evidences that this myth could not be a single source of inspiration. Overall, a motif of a hanged woman in Greek novels is not rare because it is a simple way to show a girl lacking a saviour and being in a danger. But personally, I would rather pay attention to the intentions and ideas behind the depiction of a violent scene as well as to visible similarities. The theory of Cupane wonderful as it is does not explain and totally ignores the tortures which play a key role in the narrative sequence:

507. Лбв?н фй ке?менпн ?ке? лерф?н лхг?дет о?лпн

?н?фбоен ?рйрпл? ф?н ксембм?нзн к?сзн

м?чсй рпд?н, ?к кпсхц?т ?т ?ксщн ф?н дбкф?лщн.

Having brought some willow-like twig laying there,

He slashed the hanging girl with all his power

From head to feet, to points of fingers.

To a modern reader, this scene is full of sadistic pleasure and reminds of atypical sexual scenes. But what was this scene for a regular Byzantine reader? Cupane argues that a repetition of the same words and anaphora create a special speech, and it is one of signs that this tale could have been read aloud, too. However, it seems like an author `who is not able to tell' repeats the same scene a few times and enjoys the cruelty of the say.

Callimachus's attitude is predominantly pity but he also observes Chrysorrhoe with first signs of interest and love linked to sexual desires.

464. ?ке?нпт м?н, ф?т к?сзт ф?т рбси?нпх

Фпуб?фбт вл?рщн ч?сйфбт кб? ф? фпуп?фпн к?ллпт,

?уфбфп вл?рщн ?фен?т, кбсд?бт ?неур?фп,

?уфбфп вл?рщн, м? лбл?н, ?р? дйрлп? фп? фс?рпх ґ

ф? к?ллпт ?оерл?ффефп, ф?н р?нпн ухнер?ней.

And he seeing such pleasures and

Such beauty of the virgin girl

Stayed there, observing with tension, with a captured heart,

Stayed there observing and not talking for two reasons.

He was stricken by the beauty and empathised her pain.

This scene is not solely a torture; it is created for sadistic voyeurism as well, and we may defend this point of view after accepting Callimachis as a regular Byzantine reader/viewer. His attitude is not only misery or pity but also attraction and first signs of love. The theory about Andromeda does not explain this sequence at all.

Firstly, we would love to theorize the part of torture. As far as we know, the first researcher who applied an approach of Foucault's Discipline and Punish to the byzantine texts was Constantinou. She used his method to analyse Procopius's Secret History, saying that Theodora, a wife of Justinian, followed the patterns of torture as they are shown by Foucault. Particularly, Theodora acted in a way that caused a greater fear and her punishment was a ritual. Her actions in their structure were similar to those tortures conducted later in France, what means the a mechanism of torturing never changed. Consequently, we find it interesting to check if the same approach is applicable to CaC and we may find the same elements in this sequence.

The tortures and painful punishments are disappearing at the moment they cease to be public performances (Ch. I). Theatralization of the process is necessary till a viewer is present and can see the pain (Ch. I). A figure of the viewer, according to Foucault, is somehow more relevant for a torture than a punisher or a punished person. A torture points not only at a victim but also at a potential victim. Therefore, feelings of Callimachus and the narrator are described in a lengthy and decorated way, and readers' feelings must be central.

The punishment aims not only to frighten a person who knows that the punishment is inevitable and always caused by his/her fault or mistake but also to weaken a victim. The torture of Chrysorrhoe is repetitive and will continue till the agreement of Chrysorrhoe. A fear is an essential part of the torture, and ritualization forces to think about the torture when the victim is not being tortured. The torture should always follow the same patterns (Ch.I). so does the dragon who strikes Chrysorrhoe again and again with pauses in between.

Torture is an art of sustaining life (Ch.2) since a victim should stay alive as long as the prosecutor has not reached his purpose. It might explain a following scene where Chrysorrhoe is fed and a dragon serves her some water. In contrary to a previous torture, there should be a treat which will alleviate the sufferings of the victim. The torture will end if no relief follows in order to escape death of the victim. Punishment serves as a sign of power alike (Ch.2). The dragon who is a beholder of the castle refreshes his status every time Chrysorrhoe is beaten.

The Foucault's theory perfectly fits the sequence in CaC. The first idea for analysing the scene was to go beyond its literary context and to investigate real cases of punishing people in Byzantium. Different kinds of tortures and physical punishments have been found, including different kind of injuries. Interestingly, women were among categories which could be tortured in contrary to noble men but together with other deviated groups. However, this idea of torturing women in late Medieval time is yet to be investigated. What is more famous and seems to be a historical and literary source for such a scene is the persecution of Christians by the Diocletian when women were severely tortured. Based on the real witnesses of the tortures, these martyrdoms create a great layer of saint texts in the Byzantine Empire. By the time, CaC was written, such martyrdoms were rewritten, and their initial sources became unfamiliar since adaptations and metaphrases were in higher demand. Over centuries, these martyrdoms were modified, and for late Byzantium there were predominantly literature.

The exact pattern of the torture was found cited from one of the martyrdom. Saint women used to be stripped naked, hung up by their hair and beaten. The exact same row of actions is conducted by a fictional dragon, and there is no great difference between real circumstances given as a `general torture' and the episode of CaC which we analyse. For example, Marina of Antioch was tortured on the bench (which was a lacking detail so far) for not accepting a pagan's proposal (in the tale, Chrysorhoe does not want to marry the dragon). She is keeping her virginity for God whilst Chrysorrhoe keeps hers for Callimachus, as a reader knows. The similarities between scenes are so convincing that the source must be accepted. Moreover, Constantinou argues that for torturers in the late Antiquity, these tortures were voyeuristic pleasures as well, sadistic sexual fulfilments of their desires. Nakedness serve for a two-fold purpose, sexual pleasure of viewers and shame of a woman.

These stories are connected directly to tortures and sexual repressions behind the scenes. They might not be described as modest or innocent.

There is no need to highlight parallels to the scene with Chrysorrhoe which are obvious.

Interestingly, we know that Chrysorrhoe is naked only at the end of the episode:

Вл?рейт ?ресйк?лхрфпн ф? фбрейн?н мпх у?мб,

Кб? рс?фпн ц?спн, ук?рбупн ?р? ф?н ?мбф?щн

You are seeing my uncovered and bruised body,

At the beginning, bring and hide it under the clothes.

Before that sentence at the very end of the episode, the author never mentions her nakedness. We remember that visuality was significant for medieval society, so ignorance of such a detail may lead only to one possible conclusion. I believe that Byzantine readers comprehend that she is naked from the very beginning. The unnecessity of mentioning it seems a proof to argue that it was obvious as taken from a pattern where a woman should be naked. So are female martyrs who were always tortured without their clothes on. The spectators of the act should have been pleased by the view and free their sexual restrains.

Additionally, we should state that none of the texts above should have been direct sources for the author of CaC. These stories are only topoi of the female martyrdoms which must have been known to an educated court man or even to a peasant. Such texts were read aloud in the churches and also read and rewritten during the late Medieval time.

As well as saint females don't suffer from tortures Chrysorrhoe still stays beautiful and attractive. In the first case, female saints show their braveness, divine nature and truth of their new religion, God helps them to overcome any corporeal sufferings and stay untouched. In the second case, it is unclear what exactly makes Chrysorhoe invulnerable. First of all, an explanation given from the point of view of literary theory according to Bakhtin says that there is no such thing as time in Greek romance (and in Byzantine romance as well). Nothing changes, and the world is frozen when there is no action shown to a reader. The body of Callimachus is not deteriorating either after his death and its discovery by his brothers and the body of Chrysorrhoe sustains its perfection. Secondly, from the point of view of the author, the body of Chrysorrhoe may stay in its original form because it should attract a protagonist, her beauty and youth are the first things to be noticed and appreciated by Callimachus. Her body also shows her noble origin. The characters, either males or females, should be always beautiful, or symmetrically decent. Finally, it is reasonable for the dragon who intends to keep her desirable and pretty for himself).

Accepting the theory of such genealogy, we should admit that the author completely changes a function of saints' tortures. We may suggest that he evidently crosses a line in applying familiar Christian story to an erotic context. Copying some features of female saints, he might have been on the edge between acceptable and inappropriate. However, to evaluate such an adaptation of a martyrdom's pattern to an erotic context, we must put this phenomenon in a context.

Apparently, Byzantium was not that strict in terms of chastity as we might think. Presence of multiple erotic scenes in different historical works proves that eroticism penetrated an everyday life in Byzantium; among the examples, the most famous is Procopius's Anekdota. Saints' Vitas did not fail to illuminate sexual scenes as either. We may conclude that Byzantium could have been flexible in terms of religion and acceptance, and there was nothing unnatural in borrowing and mixing two isolated genres. As well as there was `a sexual pleasure' in Vitas, there might have been a modified interpretation of quite impressive and memorable scenes of martyrdoms.

Yet, we must admit that the meaning of the scene is completely changed comparing to martyrdoms. First if all, Chrysorrhoe's sufferings are placed in a context where tortures serve not as a proof of religious faith, but rather as a fidelity to her virginity and feelings, therefore, she becomes a perfect lover rather than a perfect Christian. Secondly, the protagonist is a new hero stricken with love in the scene whereas a topic of love is completely absent in the martyrdoms. Martyrdoms can have only rivals (such as a dragon in the case) who want to accomplish their erotic plan.

Still, I think, it might be a source unconsciously. Even though the characters vary in their beliefs and goals, their sufferings are shown in the same way. Maybe, the author took a recognizable or impressive pattern and put it in another context without analysing it that carefully. At least, martyrdoms were impressive and often read. In his article, Kazhdan says that an idea of chastity and sexual restrain was totally changed in romances. However, as we may see, there can be other relationship than just a controversy between two, as we might think, opposite genres. They can also interact and influence. Perhaps, we should not separate these types of literature and finally look at all the texts as products of the same culture. It also leads to a new term genre fluidity which will be discussed in the last chapter.

Peculiarities of the first encounter of the protagonists are not limited by this scene of tortures. Another absorbing fact is a clear presence of strong will of Chrysorrhoe shown by her actions. At first, now knowing a purpose of Callimachus' arrival, she says:

Е?чбсйуф? ф?н ф?чзн мпх, уц?ое ме, ук?фщу? ме.

Please my destiny, stab me, kill me.

Chrysorrhoe thinks that he was sent by Ф?чз, a Destiny who is not a row of actions which are doomed to be made but a Goddess. She constantly endangers main characters because of her emotions and feelings, among which envy and jealousy are the major ones. Therefore, Chrysorrhoe does not know what she should expect from a stranger and asks for a little favour to kill her because she is giving in a struggle with a powerful Goddess.

As it was said in the introduction, Cupane unites the tales of the period under the name of `chivalry romances' which means that the Byzantine tales adopted patterns of the Western texts and apply to new characters. Nevertheless, even though the Byzantines had definitely taken some narrative details, it does not seem like they transform old patterns strongly. For example, in CaC Chrysorhoe is not a Beautiful Lady known by the French novelists.

Chrysrhoe is being humiliated at the first encounter of the protagonists. Her depiction lacks some grace and honour expected from a French Lady and she begs for death. Callimachus who should have controlled the situation stops and looks at her instead of immediate help. Later on, Chrysorrhoe herself finds a way to survive and gives orders Callimachus who is passive and hiding under the clothes:

Л?гей рс?т ф?н ксхрф?менпн «?ниспре, ж?т ?н ц?вщй,

?р?ибнет ; м? цпвзи?т, м?ллпн ?ндс?жпх рл?пн.

?оелие фп?нхн м? цпвп?, ?н ?ущт ?рйрн?зйт

ф?н ?фбум?н мпх ф?н рплл?н кб? ц?вщй фп? изс?пх.

She says to a hidden man: Man, are you living in fear?

Did you die? Don't be afraid, be brave.

Go out now without fear, take a breath

From my numerous tortures and a fear of the beast.

She is the one who is choosing the course of actions, instigates and set a murder of the dragon into motion. She knows exactly where to take a weapon and how to kill a dragon. Moreover, Callimachus is being manipulated. He is not a knight for one more reason. Under the clothes and hidden from the sight of the dragon, he is waiting for a moment where the dragon will be sleeping. His actions as reasonable as they are definitely not chivalry like. He is attacking someone who cannot protect himself. It might be excused in case if a dragon is thought here to be more like a monster than a man. Killing a sleeping beast is allowed; killing a sleeping man can cause some accuses.

Nevertheless, the author does not seem to care about an image of Callimachus. An idea of chivalry taken from the West has not been well implanted into the Byzantine soil. The tale took only a surface of the Western culture and is not interested in its implications. We may argue that actually the Byzantines did not really get the idea of an honourable life and death.

It would be definitely an exaggeration to say that Chrysorrhoe's will which is depicted in the scene is taken from the saints' lives too. Although female saints have shown decisiveness, it is more likely that here It might be rooted in real life where women have gained their place and were more present than in European area, consequently, she is not that passive.

The status of women in Byzantium differ from one in Europe. Still, gender studies undoubtedly put them in an inferior position to men but their presence in Byzantium was higher than in contemporary Europe. They even had some rights for the property what was unusual for West at the time. Interesting cases of women's decisiveness are shown in martyrdoms which have been mentioned above and also in folklore.

Meraklis tells several interesting fairy tales where a role of a Byzantine woman might be evaluated almost as an independent actor. But the most interesting one for us is a fairy tale where a sequence of events reminds of CaC. A princess does not want to marry a dragon and he decides to dry a river in the neighborhood. Once she agrees and marries him, during the night she kills him. This storyline is practically the same as in CaC where the dragon uses the same method of chantage but cannot get what he wants. Chrysorrhoe does not agree but finds a way to kill him. We may conclude that this story might have been known to the author. Even though in CaC Callimachus himself kills a dragon, we may notice an important role of Chrysorhoe in his action. Might it be that an impulse given by the fairy tale and intention of a heroine in the fairy tale was kept in the romance?

The scene definitely evokes many questions and issues. As extraordinary as it is, it must be rooted in many sources. According to Yiavis, theory about readers' recognition and literary topoi, there is no space for author's imagination, yet he could have united and mixed different patterns in a unique and fancy way. That was the way in which Byzantine authors could be innovative, they were following authorities but a final version of a text was a unique product built on basements of multiple sources in a never existing before combination . Personally, I think we do not have some vital sources to realise in which context this scene could have appeared. However, almost all details noticed in the sequence were found elsewhere.

For the first time, we also notice Eros in the scene who cannot touch a dragon's heart. However, his figure will be discussed in one of next chapters.

2. An Erotic Bath

Naturally, after a mutual sexual interest and a rescue the characters should fulfil their sexual excitement in a very picturesque place. This rule of the genre cannot be broken.

To create a picturesque place, the author writes a long ekphrasis to describe a bath in a garden where this important plotline will take place. Ekphrasises take as much space as a narration about love between characters. It might even interrupt a narrating sequence. For example, in a scene with the hanged Chrysorrhoe a narrator breaks a continuation of the first monologue of Callimachus and Chrysorrhoe to describe a bed of a dragon, and only then a narrator returns to the action and the first appearance of the dragon. Visuality and visionary impressions are the necessary parts of the romances.

As it was said before, gardens are a usual setting for love-making. In the late period of the Byzantine literature, space of the garden is supplemented with various constructions and buildings, including pavilions, tents and bathes. In CaC, two different sequences have a bath and then a tent in a garden where Callimachus and Chrysorrhoe enjoy their sexual intercourses.

A tradition of love-making in a bath situated in a garden is represented in many texts, including one example in Antiquity and multiple scenes in the Medieval Ages (Digenis, or Hysmine and Hysminias). Before romances include a bath as a place of love, the bath had already got a connotation to erotic adventures. They are described in Anthologia Palatina, a collection of diverse poetry. The bath was linked to hedonistic motives and Venus, Eros, and Graces joined these parties. We may notice obvious similarities between romances and Anthologia. A repetition of the same pattern proves the theory that romances are paraphrasing of texts which were already in existence.

Interestingly, we first know about the bath before we get to know Chrysorrhoe. Callimachus investigates the bath in solitude, but we may state that he probably does not enter it without Chrysorhoe. We read that it was possible to overlook the whole bath looking through windows because the whole bath was made of mirrors, and the interior was reflected in many planes.

312. ?н?кб г?с рбс?кхцет ?к фп? лпхфсп? ф?н и?сбн,

е?т ф?н кби?срфзн ?влерет кб? ф? лпхфс?н ?и?сейт...

Because if you leaned over the door of the bath,

Looked at a mirror and observed a bath…

Consequently, he first discovers the interior together with Chrysorrhoe who also becomes his guide to sexual relationship and love. So, we may conclude that the bath is a representation of love itself. Entering this sacral space Callimachus not only experiences sexual enjoyment for the fist time but he also undergoes a custom of initiation. As well as Chrysorrhoe is transformed from an injured girl, he becomes another person, a grown up and a lover. Eros and Graces together with Aphrodite join the couple in the bath to greet them in their new stage of existence, precisely as lovers.

The Erotic Bath is a pivotal point in the narration. It is time when protagonists pronounce oaths and fulfil their sexual desires for the first time. After this, the characters should part, and the next stage of the adventure begins. It is a logical conclusion of the first part of double-structured Byzantine tales.

One of peculiarities which were described by Agapitos is a real presence of Eros and Aphrodite. They are not abstract figures but rather real characters taking part in the love event. Graces bathe with Chrysorrhoe, Eros attests the couple's promises and Aphrodite enjoys the moment together with Callimachus and Chrysorhoe. We may state that it is not a single case where Eros is not a metaphor but flesh and blood. As well as Tyche is a real character in the narrative, Eros, Graces and Aphrodite join the bath. We have a right to say that actually there is nobody who would be only a projection or an idea. The laws of CaC suggest that in the realm of the tale heroes are non-fictional and everything is true; the realm is penetrated by mythological figures who are not a metaphor but as living as protagonists. The animals depicted in the bath are also real and can sing and fly (in contrast to Leo's bath where they were just pictures).

For a moment, the characters are not in solitude in the castle which ceases to be a Dragon Castle and transforms into a Golden Castle. Funnily, it might be compared to a castle from Disney's Beast and Beauty. Every ornament is a living creature and a building itself is about to change once the evil is gone. A sexual scene concludes all these changes.

Finally, we may conclude that the whole bath scene is full of magic. It should affect an imagination of a reader with a full range of senses and feelings including sight and scent. A reader should experience the bath as if he was there together with protagonists.

Characters of the Byzantine tales are in a position between lovers and moral princes. This double functions contradict each other and cannot be combined. It leads to some interesting modifications of the narrative. So, even though sexual scenes are not approved by Christian authorities and the Christian dogma does not interfere the narrative consequence directly, there are some allusions to a wedding process which can justify such corporeal “sins”. Eros unites them and listens to their vows instead of God in the Church.

During the whole scene, the author does not fail to remind us of the previous chapter. Finally, we understand that Chrysorhoe was injured by the dragon but her wounds and bruises play only a role of a foreplay in the scene: Callimachus massages her cuts and heals her body, then turning to her soul. Agapitos thinks that the West influenced this episode and relationship servant/mistress was taken from the French literature.

We may analyse the bath here from two points of view. Firstly, as an element and topos in the Byzantine tales what we have done so far. Secondly, as a real part of the Byzantine lifestyle.

Unfortunately, it is challenging to recreate a real view of baths in Constantinople, a city where the tale was written, since none of them survived. Cupane refers to a few pictorial representations of the bath which might give an idea how the bath was constructed.

Obviously, a real bath as space did not have any real animals and was not covered by trees. These details are definitely connected to a miraculous atmosphere of the tale. However, some details appeared to be close to reality.

One of the depictions is a censer from the 12th century held in Venice. It represents a nice bath in a form of a church with crosses on the top. It is built with a few domes which were an ordinary architectural decision for bathes. It is decorated with animals and some floral ornaments which probably give us an idea how it could have looked inside. Berger adds that some depictions of air, earth, stars, sea, personifications, gardens and erotic scenes (sic!) might be noticed in early baths or also some Christian motives and crosses in the late period. If we take this bath as a sample of the bathes of the late Byzantine period, we may conclude that that is how we should imagine the bath in CaC with a few modifications, particularly instead of the middle layer we should picture windows.

Another depiction of the bath is an icon of 40 Martyrs of Sebastia. (13-14th cc) which is said to be a drawn representation of the same bath. We may notice that there were almost no ornaments outside so a censor may either depict ornaments of the interior or have some imaginative decorations. We clearly see that instead of windows there was a hole. Berger states that mirrors were hanged in the bath (however, one of few proves is a description in CaC). Mirrors are invisible in survived art pieces.

The general construction of the bath, nevertheless, is described quite closely to the reality.

But what functions does a bath in the late Byzantine period perform? This question must be asked next. A social value of the bath has dramatically decreased since the Roman times. As it was mentioned before, public bathes were associated with some erotic adventures. They were mixed but work in different days for different sexes and were closed during the weekends and different religious celebrations. More or less, they were frivolous. After the forth Crusade till the Fall almost all the baths were in a private household, so it stops being public and gain more intimacy and solitude.

To sum up this part of our analysis, the bath was not a joyful and sinful place only in the romances. A reputation of a bath as a place of love and broken rules existed in the Byzantine mentality. This pattern was not a rare occasion in the Byzantine tales but it was rooted in the real circumstances.