Romanos the Melodist

Lore & Background

Romanos the Melodist, a Byzantine hymnographer and composer of the sixth century, is a foundational figure in Byzantine music, often called "the Pindar of rhythmic poetry." He was born in Emesa, Syria, in the late fifth century to a Jewish family and was baptized as a boy. After moving to Berytus (Beirut), he was ordained a deacon at the Church of the Resurrection, later settling in Constantinople, where he died and was buried in the Church of the Virgin. According to legend, Romanos initially lacked skill as a reader or singer; during an All-Night Vigil around 518, his poor reading of psalter verses led to ridicule. Humiliated, he fell asleep in a choir stall, where the Theotokos appeared, commanding him to eat a scroll. Upon waking, he chanted the Kontakion of the Nativity extemporaneously, astonishing all with its theology and his clear voice. This event is considered the origin of the kontakion, a term derived from the shaft of a scroll. Romanos is credited with composing over 1,000 hymns, though only about 60 of the 89 surviving attributed works are accepted as genuine. His style employs an elevated but popular Atticized Greek with Semiticisms, vivid imagery, metaphors, and dramatization. His kontakia are versified sermons with metrically identical stanzas, a common refrain, and an acrostic, often featuring dialogue—as in his Nativity masterpiece, where the Mother of God converses with the Magi. This hymn was sung annually at the imperial banquet until the twelfth century. Romanos is also linked to the Akathist Hymn, though most scholars now doubt his authorship. He is the patron saint of music in the Eastern Orthodox Church, celebrated on 1 October, and is commemorated by the Armenian Apostolic Church, despite his post-Chalcedonian era.

Reader's Guide

Romanos the Melodist is significant as the central early figure in Byzantine music and the foremost composer of kontakia—versified sermons set to music. His style uses an Atticized literary koine with Semiticisms, arresting imagery, and vivid dramatization. His Kontakion of the Nativity remained a masterpiece sung annually at the imperial banquet until the 12th century. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, he is the patron saint of music, celebrated on 1 October; the Armenian Apostolic Church also commemorates him, despite his post-Chalcedonian date. His works survive in manuscripts from the 11th century, with earlier papyri from the 6th–8th centuries. He has been credited with the Akathist Hymn, though most recent scholarship disputes this.

Did You Know?

• Romanos was born to a Jewish family in Emesa, Syria, and baptized as a young boy.
• According to legend, the Theotokos appeared to him in a dream and commanded him to eat a scroll, after which he sang his first kontakion.
• The earliest manuscripts of his works date from the 11th century, but two papyri date to the 6th–7th centuries.
• He is the patron saint of music in the Eastern Orthodox Church, celebrated on 1 October.