Visual reconstruction of De Ceremoniis Book 1, ch43, page 7-9

Annotations:

1. The original text says “When they all agree on the investiture of the caesar, the rulers signal to the praipositos and he says, ‘If you please,’ and they pray.”The original description is very short, so I added some dialogue and ceremonial actions to make the transition easier to understand in the comic. I also added “Lord, have mercy” for the part where “they pray.” I chose this because “Lord, have mercy” (Kyrie eleison) is a very common and fundamental prayer in the Orthodox tradition. For example, one Orthodox parish describes it as a prayer asking the Lord to “show us your healing love.” (source: https://www.st-marymagdalene.org/parish-blog/2021/2/2/lord-have-mercy )

2. Before “the court goes out,” I also added another line for the praipositos to make the transition between the scenes clearer. In this scene, the emperor himself does not speak. He only signals to the praipositos, who then speaks on his behalf.

3.At this point, although I have followed the original text and added appropriate dialogue and transitional actions to make the sequence flow smoothly, I feel that a second layer of translation may eventually be necessary to make the content of the De Ceremoniis more accessible and easier for a general audience to understand.

4.I’m considering the following question as I continue working on my visual reconstructions:

In non-religious imperial ceremonies, how was liturgical practice incorporated, at what points did it occur, who participated in it, and what functions did it serve?

It’s something I may keep in mind as a guiding question as I work through the ceremonies.