Pinakes | Πίνακες

Résumé :

Ms Taphou 52 is the only known example of an illuminated Greek grammar in Byzantium and is considered to be the dedication copy for the patron, the sebastokratorissa Irene, wife of Andronikos Komnenos. The codex is decorated with three large headpieces, several headbands and twenty-five historiated initials and one composition at the end of a chapter. Three initials differ from the others because they depict an image that manifests the exact meaning of the word that follows. The aim of this paper is to show that they convey special meanings related to the nature of the text and to its patron Irene.