On the Unusual Inscription of the Meteora Epitaphios, or Where Were the Epitaphioi Kept
On the Unusual Inscription of the Meteora Epitaphios, or Where Were the Epitaphioi Kept

Summary/Abstract: This article examines the Meteora epitaphios as both a liturgical object and a funerary medium, focusing on the absence of the donor’s name in its inscription. Situating the textile within late Byzantine devotional and funerary practices, it argues that some epitaphioi were kept on tombs outside the services of Holy Week. The article proposes that its commissioner belonged to the highest ranks of royal dignity, most plausibly the monk Joasaph (formerly Jovan Uroš), whose burial at Meteora provides a coherent context for the textile’s function and inscription.

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