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sagion (Gr. From Lat. "sagum," "mantle,"
"military uniform"): a short cloak worn by members
of the imperial court, the emperor wore one dyed in purple over
the skaramangion.
sakkos, sakkoi Gr., "sack"): Episcopal
garment originally derived from imperial costume. The sakkos
is a loose, poncho-like tunic created of a single rectangular
piece of fabric with a hole in the center for the head. After
the posterboard-like garment has been suspended around the bearer’s
neck, a series of bell-like buttons or ribbons running up the
its left and right sides are utilized to secure the front and
rear panels to one another. Originally sakkoi had quite
truncated sleeves, as is the case with the Major Sakkos
of Metropolitan Photios. The use of the sakkos was
a privilege bestowed by the Basileus upon individual patriarchs
as a sign of his personal favor. The first literary evidence
for the garment is found in the writings of Balsamon, Patriarch
of Antioch (ca. 1130–1140, dies after 1195). By the thirteenth
century; however, it was worn by all patriarchs and some metropolitans,
but only on Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. After the Fall
of Constantinople in 1453, the sakkos replaces the polystavrion
to become the Episcopal garment par excellence. See
(cat 177, 178).
schema (Gr., "form," "appearance"):
the habit or costume of a monk or nun, comprising of a long
dark tunic made out of cotton or wool and a sleeveless vest.
Over these garments was worn a voluminous dark cloak called
the mandyas (see cat 238, 239). Monastics wore a hood that
tightly covered the head, terminating in with lappets. A distinction
in costume was occasionally made between those who had been
professed into the greater schema, vows which bound the monastic
to a higher degree of asceticism; however, many monastic foundation
charters or typika do not discuss the differentiation of rank.
scriptorium, scriptoria: atelier creating manuscripts.
sebastokrator: Byzantine title typically bestowed
on the emperor’s sons and other relatives; awarded by
rulers of byzantium’s neighbors in imitation of imperial
usage.
Seljuq: Turkish Dynasty in Afghanistan, Persia,
Eastern Anatolia, Iraq, Syria and on the Arabian Peninsula 1038–1157
or 1194. Originally nomadic shepherds from the steppes of Central
Asia, the Seljuks adopted Islam around 960. The apogee of their
power occurred during the reigns of Arp Aslan and his son, Malik-Shah.
Arp Alsan would defeat Byzantine forces directly led by the
Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes at the Battle of Manzikert in 1070.
As a result of this rout, Byzantine Anatolia was opened up to
settlement of Turkish tribesmen.
senmurv: fantastic animal of Sassanian origin
resembling a phoenix.
sgrafitto: (It., "cut" or "scratched"):
technique in which patterns are incised through a layer of white
or cream-colored slip, into the underlying clay biscuit, thus
revealing the contrasting color (see cat 244).
Shahnamah: Persian national epic written by
Firdawsi, around 1010 C.E., literally "Book of Kings."
silver-gilt: silver to which is applied layer
of gold.
skaramangion (Gr., "from Kirman"):
a silk tunic with long sleeves, probably based upon a Persian
riding costume, worn belted by the emperor and other members
of the court; also the word for the silk cloth used to cover
the altar.
skete (from Gr., asketerios, "hermitage,"
"monastery"): a term denoting a small monastery; a
community of monks living outside of the parent monastery; a
monastic dependency.
skeuophylakion: Church treasury where relics,
chalices and other precious items were stored.
soros (Gr., "relic," "chest"):
reliquary chest. The term is closely related to two important
Marian relics treasured in Constantinople: the mantle of the
Virgin at the Blachernai Church, and the girdle of the Virgin,
housed at the Chalkopratia Church. Both relics were stored in
chapels, whose splendor mirrored those of small reliquary caskets,
hence the conflation of the term typically used for a small
chest for a large architectural structure.
spolia (Lat., "spoils, booty"): re-used
building materials such as columns and capitals taken from pre-existing
structures.
sticharion: priestly vestment common to all
ranks of the clergy from the Deacon to Patriarch; a full-length
chiton with sleeves, worn under all other vestments.
Strategos, strategoi (Gr., "General"):
General or military commander.
Staurotheke (Gr., "cross chest"):
reliquary container for one of the most sacred of relics, fragments
of Christ’s cross (see cat 325). Staurotheke were frequently
historiated, that is they combined an actual relic of the person
or event commemorated together with an explanatory image.
sudarium (Lat., "towel"): napkin,
facecloth.
suppendaneum (Lat., "footstool): shelf-like
board affixed to the foot of the cross to support Christ’s
feet; an honorific pedestal or podium shown in depictions of
Christ, the Virgin or saints.
synaxarion, see menalogion.
synodikon: liturgical document containing important
ecclesiastical rulings. The most famous is the example read
on the First Sunday of Lent, or Sunday of Orthodoxy, that commemorates
the reinstatement of the veneration of icons.
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