Next to Photius and Michael Cerularius, Nicholas I is probably the most prominent of the patriarchs of Constantinople. He was the central figure in the “tetragamy” affair, the conflict over Leo VI’s fourth marriage, which divided the Church for nearly a century and resulted in Nicholas’s temporary deposition. He was also a major influence in both the domestic and foreign politics of the Eastern Empire throughout the first quarter of the tenth century. His correspondence with the Papal court and with Bulgarian, Caucasian, and Arab provinces, as well as with his own clergy, is a historical source of the first importance, collected in Nicholas I, Patriarch of Constantinople: Letters.

This volume is supplemented by Nicholas I, Patriarch of Constantinople: Miscellaneous Writings (CFHB XX, DOT VI).

Miscellaneous Writings is a supplement to Nicholas I, Patriarch of Constantinople: Letters. The two volumes together contain all the extant writings of a great Byzantine churchman, politician, and author of the first quarter of the tenth century.

Besides a few stray letters not preserved by the regular manuscript tradition, the Miscellaneous Writings include eight patriarchal documents, including the Tome of Union of 920; a brief but impressive sermon on the capture of Thessalonica in 904; extracts from a pamphlet on the famous controversy around Leo VI’s fourth marriage; and five hymns, three of which are attested as written by the patriarch, while the remaining two should more probably be assigned to a namesake.