Il Tetravangelo Pal. 5 di Parma. Il programma iconografico e un’ipotesi sulla destinazione originaria del manoscritto

This article examines the miniatures in the Komnenian Parma Gospels (Ms. Pal. 5) – an extraordinary example of Constantinopolitan book production of the second half of the eleventh century – specifically focusing on the headpiece representing the Maiestas Domini (f. 5r) and on the Christological scenes (ff. 91v-92v). The iconographic analysis allows proposing a new hypothesis on the original context in which the manuscript was conceived and produced. The emphasis placed on St. Peter seems to indicate that the manuscript was made for a Constantinopolitan foundation dedicated to this saint: perhaps the St. Peter oratory, directly connected to Hagia Sophia. This hypothesis seems to be confirmed by the relevance given to the imperial portraits, which represent Constantine with his mother Helen. Additionally, the oldest ownership note mentions Michael Autoreianos, chartophylax of Hagia Sophia between 1199 and 1208, as the earliest known owner of the manuscript.