06 — Sources and History
The historian’s section: how the Miracula Sancti Demetrii, for all that they are devotional miracle-collections, constitute one of the richest narrative sources for the history of the early-Byzantine Balkans — the Avar and Slav migrations, the sieges, the life of a great provincial city — and how a critical reader handles them; and the underlying methodological task that runs through the whole guide, the separation of the slender martyr-core from the thick civic-protector cult. These files make explicit the source-criticism that the rest of the collection applies.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Great Martyr; the Myrrh-Streamer)
This section steps back to consider the evidence as evidence. The Miracula are read here for what they reveal about Balkan history — and for the source-critical care their use demands, since they are theology before they are chronicle. And the recurring discipline of the whole collection — distinguishing what can be said of the martyr from what belongs to the cult of the patron — is set out directly, drawing the threads of Sections 01–05 together.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| The Miracula as History | How the Miracula are a major source for the Avar-Slav penetration of the Balkans and the social history of Thessaloniki; what they reveal (sieges, demography, plague, administration); Lemerle’s source-critical handling; their limits as theological documents. |
| Martyr and Civic Patron | The methodological core: separating the historical martyr-core from the civic-protector cult; how a local martyr became a poliouchos; what each layer of evidence can and cannot support; the honest balance. |
See Also
- The Miracula — the document itself
- The Defender Against the Sieges — the narratives read as history
- From Sirmium to Thessaloniki — the origin question that frames the martyr-core
- The Byzantine Church — the wider imperial history
References
- Lemerle, Paul. Les plus anciens recueils des miracles de saint Démétrius. 2 vols. Paris: CNRS, 1979–1981.
- Skedros, James C. Saint Demetrios of Thessaloniki: Civic Patron and Divine Protector. Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 1999.
- Curta, Florin. The Making of the Slavs: History and Archaeology of the Lower Danube Region, c. 500–700. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.