So it was then that when I read Paul the Silentiary's description about the lighting and lampada of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople in the age of Justinian, I was not only personally interested, I felt I had to share it with our readers.
To accompany the text of Paul the Silentiary, I am including some examples of Byzantine lampada from this same period; these are the kind of lamps that Paul may have well seen in Hagia Sophia. Of course, for our purpose we need to imagine these lamps not as cold, lifeless pieces of metal, but rather we need to picture them suspended from great chains from the ceiling of Hagia Sophia, filled with oils (possibly fragrant oils), lit, warmly illuminating the gold tesserae of the mosaics and the polychrome revetments of the great church. Added to this would have been the sight and scent of the incense wafting heavenward, as well as the sounds of the Byzantine chant. It is a compelling image of what must have been a feast for the senses.
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| Byzantine Lampada, ca. 500-700 (Source) |
Paul the Silentiary on the Lamps and Illumination of Hagia Sophia
"But no words are sufficient to describe the illumination in the evening: you might say that some nocturnal sun filled the majestic temple with light. For the deep wisdom of our Emperors has stretched from the projecting stone cornice, on whose back is planted the foot of the temple's lofty dome, long twisted chains of beaten brass, linked in alternating curves by many hooks. [Paul is here describing the decorative chains that held the lampada] From many points on a long course these fall together to the ground, but before they reach the floor, their lofty path is checked and they form an even choir. And to each chain he has attached silver discs, suspended circle-wise in the air round the central confines of the church. Thus, descending from their lofty course, they float in a circle above the heads of men. The cunning craftsman has pierced the discs all over with his iron tool so that they may receive shafts of fire-wrought glass and provide pendent sources of light for men at night. [Paul is here describing a lamp called a 'polycandelon.' See below.]
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| Byzantine polycandelon of the 6th-7th cent. (Source) |
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| Byzantine 'polycandelon' from ca. 6th-7th century. Within the circular openings would have been placed glass vessels which would be filled with oil and a burning wick. (Source) |
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| Byzantine polycandelon of the 6th-8th century. (Source) |
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| Byzantine polycandelon in the form of a cross, made in Constantinople ca. the 6th century (Source) |
"Yet not from discs alone does the light shine at night, for in the [same] circle you will see, next to the discs, the shape of the lofty cross with many eyes upon it, and in its pierced back it holds luminous vessels. Thus hangs the circling choir of bright lights. You might say you were gazing on the effulgent stars of the heavenly Corona close to Arcturus and the head of Draco. Thus the evening light revolves round the temple, brightly shining. And in a smaller, inner circle you will find a second crown bearing lights along its rim, while in the very center another noble disc rises shining in the air, so that darkness is made to flee.
"By the aisles, too, next to the columns on either side, they have placed in sequence single lamps, one apart from the other, and they go through the whole length of the far-stretching church. Beneath each they have placed a silver vessel resembling a balance pan, and in the center of this rests a cup of burning oil. There is not, however, one equal level for all the lamps, but you will see some high, some low, in lovely curves of light as they glitter step-wise on their aerial path, suspended from twisted chains. In this manner does the twin-pointed Hyas shine, fixed in the parted forehead of Taurus. One may also see ships [i.e. a boat shaped lamp] of silver bearing a luminous freight; suspended, they sail through the bright air instead of the sea, fearing neither the south wind nor late-setting Botes.
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| A Byzantine boat lamp from the 4th-5th century, found in the collection of Dumbarton Oaks. (Source) |
"And down on the floor you will see elegant beams running between two-horned [supports] of iron, upon which extends a row of lights, servitors of the temple, connected by straight rods of red color. Some of these are on the floor [i.e. standing floor lamps], where the elegant columns have set their bases, while others are above the capitals following the long path of the walls. [i.e. hanging lamps between the columns/arcades]
"Neither has the base of the deep-bosomed dome been left without light, for along the projecting stone of the curved cornice the priest has lit single lamps attached to bronze stakes. Just as a king, cherishing his virgin daughter, might place round her neck a lovely chain glowing like fire with rubies set in gold, so has our Emperor fixed round the cornice a revolving circle of lights that run along the whole base.
"There is also on the silver columns [of the chancel screen], above their capitals, a narrow path of access for the lamplighters, a path full of light, glittering with bright clusters; these one might compare to the mountain-reared pine tree or to the cypress of tender foliage. Pointed at the summit, they are ringed by circles that gradually widen down to the lowest curve that surrounds the base of the trunk; and upon them have grown fiery flowers. Instead of a root, bows of silver have been affixed beneath these trees of flaming vegetation. And in the center of this beauteous grove, the form of the divine cross, studded with bright nails, blazes with light for mortal eyes.
"Countless other lights, hanging on twisted chains, does the church of ever-changing aspect contain within itself; some illumine the aisles, others the center or the east and west, others shed their bright flame at the summit. Thus the bright night smiles like the day and appears herself to be rosy-ankled. ..."
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| Byzantine lamp in the form of peacock, ca. 6th-7th cent. (Source) |
