{"version":2,"locale":"en","id":"story.boyana-church","hasFind":true,"slug":"boyana-church","url":"/en/stories/boyana-church/","topic":"Boyana Church","title":"The faces of Boyana","summary":"Two portrait pairs, a church model and bread on a painted table: a closer look at Boyana’s murals.","cover":{"title":"The faces of Boyana","subtitle":"Boyana Church and the paintings of 1259","hook":"Why do these faces look alive?","summary":"Two portrait pairs, a church model and bread on a painted table: a closer look at Boyana’s murals.","takeaway":"At Boyana, named donors and rulers appear among religious images; gestures and clothing reward close looking, while interpretations remain distinct from the inscription and visible evidence."},"sortYear":1259,"firstActivity":5,"epoch":{"id":"epoch.tsardom2","styleId":"tsardom2","sortOrder":3,"title":"Second Bulgarian Tsardom","dateLabel":"1185–1396","eraShort":"Second Tsardom","slug":"tsardom2","fill":"#86554A","ink":"#F6EEEA","raised":"#754A41","dark":"#805B59"},"epochId":"epoch.tsardom2","placeShort":"Boyana","date":"1259","image":{"alpha":false,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-boyana-exterior-480.b8b98199.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-boyana-exterior-960.b8b98199.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-boyana-exterior-1600.b8b98199.avif","w":1600}],"dominant":"#63624f","h":1200,"w":1600,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-boyana-exterior-960.b8b98199.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-boyana-exterior-960.b8b98199.webp","id":"asset.boyana.exterior","alt":"Brick facades, two domed parts and the stone base of Boyana Church among trees.","objectCaption":"Boyana Church","caption":"","kindLabel":"Photo","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"cover","credit":"Aleksander Dragnes · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons","license":"CC BY 2.0","attribution":"Source: Aleksander Dragnes / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 Processed image. Site today","attributionParts":[{"text":"Source: Aleksander Dragnes / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 Processed image. Site today","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boyana_Church_1.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0"},"scenes":[{"id":"boyana-church.s1-faces","number":1,"kind":"narrative","title":"Faces from 1259","body":"In 1259, artists in a church near Sofia painted people who were alive in their own time. Among them were Kaloyan and Desislava. Look at their faces, then their hands and clothes. These are named individuals within a religious painting programme. What makes their presence feel so tangible?\n\nThe National History Museum stresses the portrait character of the secular figures; UNESCO highlights vitality within the Byzantine canon. Their expressiveness works within a medieval tradition. It does not prove a break with that tradition. The date is not a guess based on style: the donor inscription in the narthex records the painting year in another calendar. The National History Museum dates the paintings to 1259. The church’s Bulgarian home page uses 1258/59; here we follow the museum’s dating. A donor helped support the church.","images":[{"src":"/assets/story-originals/boyana-donors.ae5e3dc7f0.jpg","w":400,"h":490,"webp":[],"avif":[],"nativeDisplayWidth":400,"alpha":false,"id":"asset.boyana.donors","alt":"Desislava on the left and Kaloyan on the right holding a church model; a mural dated to 1259 by the museum.","objectCaption":"Donor portraits","caption":"Kaloyan and Desislava, a mural dated to 1259 by the museum. Photographic reproduction of the original painting.","kindLabel":"Photo","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"contain","credit":"Anonymous medieval painter(s); reproduction uploaded by bg:Потребител:Kandi (photographer not identified) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons","license":"Public domain","attribution":"Source: Anonymous medieval painter(s); reproduction uploaded by bg:Потребител:Kandi (photographer not identified) / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain Processed image. Original mural","attributionParts":[{"text":"Source: Anonymous medieval painter(s); reproduction uploaded by bg:Потребител:Kandi (photographer not identified) / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain Processed image. Original mural","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kalojan_desislava.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Reuse_of_PD-Art_photographs","dominant":"#241B1A"}],"hotspots":[],"places":[],"map":null,"activity":null,"audio":{"durationSeconds":51.00595833333333,"source":"synthetic_tts","voice":"en_US-ljspeech-high","provider":"Piper","assetId":"audio.en.boyana-church.boyana-church.s1-faces","duration":51.115,"src":"/audio/en/boyana-church/s1-faces.373ab310.m4a"},"textRevised":false,"sources":[{"id":"src.boyana.museum"},{"id":"src.boyana.unesco"},{"id":"src.boyana.intro"},{"id":"src.boyana.kempgen"}]},{"id":"boyana-church.s2-building","number":2,"kind":"map","title":"A building growing westward","body":"Boyana Church stands in today’s Boyana district, at the foot of Vitosha. The map point marks the surviving building, not the boundaries of a medieval estate. Imagine approaching from east to west: this is the direction in which the church grew.\n\nUNESCO dates the oldest eastern part to the tenth–eleventh centuries; BYZART, to the late tenth or eleventh century. Kaloyan commissioned a western addition in the thirteenth century: early in UNESCO’s short English description, mid-century in BYZART. Below was the vestibule, also called the narthex; above was a family chapel dedicated to Saint Panteleimon. The final western extension is nineteenth-century: early in UNESCO’s account, mid-century in the National History Museum’s. The parts we see together today were not built at the same time. The church entered the World Heritage List in 1979.","images":[],"hotspots":[],"places":[{"note":"Boyana Church preserves murals from 1259, including the donor portraits of Kaloyan and Desislava.","precision":"exact","id":"place.boyana-church","name":"Boyana Church of St Nicholas and St Panteleimon","latitude":42.644669,"longitude":23.266189,"accuracy":"verified_point","radiusMeters":15,"sourceIds":["src.boyana.unesco"],"short":"Boyana 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The model can be read as a sign of the donation. His wife Desislava stands beside him. Her hand touches the cord of her cloak. Follow the gestures, then examine the decoration on the clothes.\n\nKaloyan’s title is sebastocrator. He is not the tsar in the other portrait. Researchers read the couple’s elaborate dress as signs of social standing. That is an interpretation of the image. The photograph lets us examine the painted faces, but cannot establish how closely they resembled the living people.","images":[{"src":"/assets/story-originals/boyana-donors.ae5e3dc7f0.jpg","w":400,"h":490,"webp":[],"avif":[],"nativeDisplayWidth":400,"alpha":false,"id":"asset.boyana.donors","alt":"Desislava on the left and Kaloyan on the right holding a church model; a mural dated to 1259 by the museum.","objectCaption":"Donor portraits","caption":"Kaloyan and Desislava, a mural dated to 1259 by the museum. Photographic reproduction of the original painting.","kindLabel":"Photo","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"contain","credit":"Anonymous medieval painter(s); reproduction uploaded by bg:Потребител:Kandi (photographer not identified) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons","license":"Public domain","attribution":"Source: Anonymous medieval painter(s); reproduction uploaded by bg:Потребител:Kandi (photographer not identified) / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain Processed image. Original mural","attributionParts":[{"text":"Source: Anonymous medieval painter(s); reproduction uploaded by bg:Потребител:Kandi (photographer not identified) / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain Processed image. Original mural","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kalojan_desislava.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Reuse_of_PD-Art_photographs","dominant":"#241B1A"}],"hotspots":[{"id":"h-boyana-kaloyan","x":0.71,"y":0.105,"title":"Kaloyan","body":"The sebastocrator is the male donor in this pair.","sourceIds":["src.boyana.byzart"],"certainty":"source_reported"},{"id":"h-boyana-model","x":0.92,"y":0.21,"title":"Church model","body":"Kaloyan holds a church model. It can be read as a sign of the donation; it is not an architectural drawing.","sourceIds":["src.boyana.byzart","src.boyana.commons"],"certainty":"source_reported"},{"id":"h-boyana-desislava","x":0.19,"y":0.14,"title":"Desislava","body":"Kaloyan’s wife. Her hand is at the cord of her cloak.","sourceIds":["src.boyana.byzart","src.boyana.guide"],"certainty":"source_reported"}],"places":[],"map":null,"activity":null,"audio":{"durationSeconds":31.443166666666666,"source":"synthetic_tts","voice":"en_US-ljspeech-high","provider":"Piper","assetId":"audio.en.boyana-church.boyana-church.s3-donors","duration":31.573,"src":"/audio/en/boyana-church/s3-donors.3f66e4e9.m4a"},"textRevised":false,"sources":[{"id":"src.boyana.byzart"},{"id":"src.boyana.guide"},{"id":"src.boyana.commons"}]},{"id":"boyana-church.s4-rulers","number":4,"kind":"artifact","title":"Facing them: the rulers","body":"Facing the donors are Tsar Konstantin Tih and Tsaritsa Irina. Your eye moves from their faces to crowns and richly decorated robes. Both couples occupy the same space, but their roles differ. Kaloyan and Desislava are the donors; Konstantin and Irina are the ruling couple.\n\nThe authors of the study on medieval patronage read clothing as a language of power, connected with Byzantine court insignia. A portrait can therefore tell us about the rank being displayed without revealing the sitter’s character. We do not know what Irina is thinking. We can see how she was chosen to be represented on the church wall.","images":[{"alpha":false,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-boyana-royal-480.1e976016.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-boyana-royal-960.1e976016.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-boyana-royal-1592.1e976016.avif","w":1592}],"dominant":"#6c5b50","h":2400,"w":1592,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-boyana-royal-960.1e976016.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-boyana-royal-960.1e976016.webp","id":"asset.boyana.royal","alt":"The tsar on the left and tsaritsa on the right, with crowns and decorated robes; a mural dated to 1259 by the museum.","objectCaption":"The tsar on the left and tsaritsa on the right, with crowns and decorated robes; a mural dated to 1259 by the museum.","caption":"","kindLabel":"Photo","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"contain","credit":"Unknown author (Commons metadata); medieval painter(s) anonymous · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons","license":"CC0","attribution":"Source: Unknown author (Commons metadata); medieval painter(s) anonymous / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 Processed image. Original mural","attributionParts":[{"text":"Source: Unknown author (Commons metadata); medieval painter(s) anonymous / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 Processed image. Original mural","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Цар_Константин_Асен_Тук_и_царица_Ирина.jpg","licenseUrl":"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en"}],"hotspots":[{"id":"h-boyana-konstantin","x":0.305,"y":0.17,"title":"Konstantin Tih","body":"The tsar stands on the left in this photograph; Kaloyan appears in the other portrait.","sourceIds":["src.boyana.byzart"],"certainty":"source_reported"},{"id":"h-boyana-irina","x":0.71,"y":0.17,"title":"Tsaritsa Irina","body":"Irina stands on the right in the ruling couple’s portrait.","sourceIds":["src.boyana.byzart"],"certainty":"source_reported"},{"id":"h-boyana-dress","x":0.69,"y":0.49,"title":"Clothing and rank","body":"Researchers interpret the decorated robes as signs of power and rank.","sourceIds":["src.boyana.byzart"],"certainty":"source_reported"}],"places":[],"map":null,"activity":null,"audio":{"durationSeconds":36.876625,"source":"synthetic_tts","voice":"en_US-ljspeech-high","provider":"Piper","assetId":"audio.en.boyana-church.boyana-church.s4-rulers","duration":36.992,"src":"/audio/en/boyana-church/s4-rulers.8c810765.m4a"},"textRevised":false,"sources":[{"id":"src.boyana.byzart"},{"id":"src.boyana.museum"},{"id":"src.boyana.guide"}]},{"id":"boyana-church.a1-donors","number":5,"kind":"activity","title":"Activity: donors and rulers","body":"","images":[{"src":"/assets/story-originals/boyana-donors.ae5e3dc7f0.jpg","w":400,"h":490,"webp":[],"avif":[],"nativeDisplayWidth":400,"alpha":false,"id":"asset.boyana.donors","alt":"Desislava on the left and Kaloyan on the right holding a church model; a mural dated to 1259 by the museum.","objectCaption":"Donor portraits","caption":"Kaloyan and Desislava, a mural dated to 1259 by the museum. Photographic reproduction of the original painting.","kindLabel":"Photo","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"contain","credit":"Anonymous medieval painter(s); reproduction uploaded by bg:Потребител:Kandi (photographer not identified) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons","license":"Public domain","attribution":"Source: Anonymous medieval painter(s); reproduction uploaded by bg:Потребител:Kandi (photographer not identified) / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain Processed image. Original mural","attributionParts":[{"text":"Source: Anonymous medieval painter(s); reproduction uploaded by bg:Потребител:Kandi (photographer not identified) / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain Processed image. Original mural","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kalojan_desislava.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Reuse_of_PD-Art_photographs","dominant":"#241B1A"}],"hotspots":[],"places":[],"map":null,"activity":{"id":"q.boyana.donors","kind":"single_choice","prompt":"Which pair is represented as donors in the portrait we examined?","sourceIds":["src.boyana.byzart","src.boyana.museum"],"items":[{"id":"opt-donors","label":"Kaloyan and Desislava"},{"id":"opt-rulers","label":"Konstantin Tih and Irina","whyWrong":"Konstantin and Irina are the ruling couple in the opposite portrait."},{"id":"opt-saints","label":"Saint Nicholas and Saint Panteleimon","whyWrong":"Nicholas and Panteleimon are saints associated with the church’s dedications, not this donor pair."}],"explanation":"Kaloyan and Desislava are the donor pair. Kaloyan holds the church model.","correctItemId":"opt-donors","sources":[{"id":"src.boyana.byzart"},{"id":"src.boyana.museum"}]},"audio":{"durationSeconds":4.984,"source":"synthetic_tts","voice":"en_US-ljspeech-high","provider":"Piper","assetId":"audio.en.boyana-church.boyana-church.a1-donors","duration":5.077,"src":"/audio/en/boyana-church/a1-donors.8d628e0e.m4a"},"textRevised":false,"sources":[{"id":"src.boyana.byzart"},{"id":"src.boyana.museum"}]},{"id":"boyana-church.s5-table","number":6,"kind":"narrative","title":"Bread on the table","body":"Food offers another way for the painted world to feel familiar. In the Last Supper the museum site identifies pieces of bread, turnips, spring onions and garlic. Christ is at the left end of the table; Judas, without a halo, reaches towards a tall bowl.\n\nThe site interprets this food as a customary Bulgarian spring meal of the thirteenth century. This is a proposed reading of the details, not a surviving menu. Painted bread cannot tell us its recipe. It does show how a religious subject can accommodate everyday objects. Faces are not the only place where the artists provide something concrete to examine.","images":[{"alpha":false,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-boyana-murals-480.ddfb5e5b.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-boyana-murals-960.ddfb5e5b.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-boyana-murals-1600.ddfb5e5b.avif","w":1600}],"dominant":"#766753","h":763,"w":1600,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-boyana-murals-960.ddfb5e5b.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-boyana-murals-960.ddfb5e5b.webp","id":"asset.boyana.murals","alt":"Overview towards the altar and painted walls of the nave; not a photograph of the Last Supper.","objectCaption":"Overview towards the altar and painted walls of the nave; not a photograph of the Last Supper.","caption":"","kindLabel":"Photo","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"cover","credit":"Interact-Bulgaria · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","attribution":"Source: Interact-Bulgaria / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Processed image. Site today","attributionParts":[{"text":"Source: Interact-Bulgaria / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Processed image. 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Its expressive faces do not require us to declare the beginning of the entire European Renaissance here. It is more useful to distinguish what we see, what the inscription says and what researchers interpret.\n\nThe church’s website uses “Boyana Master” as a collective name for a group of painters. Sources disagree on whether their names are established. In 1979 the church entered the World Heritage List. Choose a gesture, a face or a detail of clothing in the photographs. What can you see for yourself in your chosen detail, and what needs a source?","images":[{"alpha":false,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-boyana-exterior-480.b8b98199.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-boyana-exterior-960.b8b98199.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-boyana-exterior-1600.b8b98199.avif","w":1600}],"dominant":"#63624f","h":1200,"w":1600,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-boyana-exterior-960.b8b98199.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-boyana-exterior-960.b8b98199.webp","id":"asset.boyana.exterior","alt":"Brick facades, two domed parts and the stone base of Boyana Church among trees.","objectCaption":"Boyana Church","caption":"","kindLabel":"Photo","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"cover","credit":"Aleksander Dragnes · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons","license":"CC BY 2.0","attribution":"Source: Aleksander Dragnes / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 Processed image. Site today","attributionParts":[{"text":"Source: Aleksander Dragnes / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 Processed image. Site today","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boyana_Church_1.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0"}],"hotspots":[],"places":[],"map":null,"activity":null,"audio":{"durationSeconds":40.39445833333333,"source":"synthetic_tts","voice":"en_US-ljspeech-high","provider":"Piper","assetId":"audio.en.boyana-church.boyana-church.s6-looking","duration":40.491,"src":"/audio/en/boyana-church/s6-looking.9bcdfafa.m4a"},"textRevised":false,"sources":[{"id":"src.boyana.unesco"},{"id":"src.boyana.guide"},{"id":"src.boyana.visitors"},{"id":"src.boyana.museum"},{"id":"src.boyana.tourism"}]},{"id":"boyana-church.a3-matching","number":9,"kind":"activity","title":"Activity: match","body":"","images":[],"hotspots":[],"places":[],"map":null,"activity":{"id":"q.boyana.matching","kind":"matching","prompt":"Match each name or piece of evidence to its description.","sourceIds":["src.boyana.byzart","src.boyana.museum","src.boyana.guide","src.boyana.commons"],"items":[{"id":"m-kaloyan","label":"Kaloyan","pairedLabel":"Donor holding the church model"},{"id":"m-irina","label":"Irina","pairedLabel":"The tsaritsa beside Konstantin Tih"},{"id":"m-inscription","label":"Donor inscription","pairedLabel":"Dates the paintings"},{"id":"m-bread","label":"Pieces of bread","pairedLabel":"Detail of the Last Supper"}],"explanation":"Kaloyan holds the model; Irina belongs to the royal pair; the museum dates the paintings from the inscription; the bread belongs to the meal.","sources":[{"id":"src.boyana.byzart"},{"id":"src.boyana.museum"},{"id":"src.boyana.guide"},{"id":"src.boyana.commons"}],"columns":["Item","Description"]},"audio":{"durationSeconds":3.8578333333333332,"source":"synthetic_tts","voice":"en_US-ljspeech-high","provider":"Piper","assetId":"audio.en.boyana-church.boyana-church.a3-matching","duration":3.968,"src":"/audio/en/boyana-church/a3-matching.6f5ab7cf.m4a"},"textRevised":false,"sources":[{"id":"src.boyana.byzart"},{"id":"src.boyana.museum"},{"id":"src.boyana.guide"},{"id":"src.boyana.commons"}]}],"minutes":5,"sources":[{"year":2019,"url":"https://amsacta.unibo.it/6199/1/BYZART%202019%20def.pdf","institutionOrAuthor":"Emmanuel Moutafov; Margarita Kuyumdzhieva; Ivan Vanev; Alexander Kuyumdzhiev; Maya Zaharieva; Tereza Bacheva; Anna Shoyleva-Chomakova","id":"src.boyana.byzart","authors":["Emmanuel Moutafov","Margarita Kuyumdzhieva","Ivan Vanev","Alexander Kuyumdzhiev","Maya Zaharieva","Tereza Bacheva","Anna Shoyleva-Chomakova"],"title":"Visual testimonies of élite Patronage from the 13th to the 15th century in Bulgaria","container":"The Silk and the Blood. Images of Authority in Byzantine Art and Archaeology. Eds Isabella Baldini, Claudia Lamanna, Giulia Marsili, Lucia Maria Orlandi. Bologna: Università di Bologna, Dipartimento di Storia Culture Civiltà; ISBN 9788854970021","pages":"65–80; Boyana 66–69","doi":"10.6092/unibo/amsacta/6199","accessed":"2026-10-28","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","license":"CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 (book); research citation only, no book images redistributed","supports":{"en":"Eastern church late 10th/11th century, 12th-century renovation; mid-13th extension; 1259 inscription; donor and ruling portraits; family chapel; dress as insignia; Latin details and Constantinopolitan models as scholarly interpretation. Nicaean court contacts are explicitly an inference, not documented travel. p. 67: late 10th or 11th; mid-13th. pp. 68–69: clothing and Constantinopolitan models as scholarly readings."},"isPdf":true},{"year":null,"url":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Boyana_Church","institutionOrAuthor":"Wikimedia Commons contributors; individual creators recorded per asset","id":"src.boyana.commons","authors":["Wikimedia Commons contributors; individual creators recorded per asset"],"title":"Boyana Church: photographs","doi":"Not stated by source","accessed":"2026-10-28","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","license":"Per file: public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA; see asset metadata","supports":{"en":"Photograph identification and freely licensed media provenance, not sole support for historical claims. Exact per-file metadata, licence and downloads retained locally."},"container":""},{"year":2026,"url":"https://boyanachurch.info/2026/09/25/info-boyana/","institutionOrAuthor":"Национален исторически музей; Фондация „Балканско наследство“","id":"src.boyana.guide","authors":["Национален исторически музей","Фондация „Балканско наследство“"],"title":"БОЯНСКАТА ЦЪРКВА / THE BOYANA CHURCH","container":"boyanachurch.info","doi":"Not stated by source","accessed":"2026-10-28","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","license":"Copyright; bibliography and original paraphrase only","supports":{"en":"Collective name Boyana Master; donor interpretation; Last Supper identification and bread/turnip/onion/garlic details; St Nicholas narratives as legends. Contains an apparent error naming Irene’s father „Роман“; use scholarly Theodoros II Laskaris instead or omit parentage. Images CC BY-NC-ND excluded from media pack. Collective name Boyana Master for a group; final western extension in the first half of the 19th century."},"fieldLanguages":{"title":"bg"}},{"year":null,"url":"https://boyanachurch.info/","institutionOrAuthor":"Национален исторически музей; Фондация „Балканско наследство“","id":"src.boyana.intro","authors":["Национален исторически музей","Фондация „Балканско наследство“"],"title":"Боянската църква / Boyana church","container":"boyanachurch.info","doi":"Not stated by source","accessed":"2026-10-28","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","license":"Copyright; bibliography and original paraphrase only","supports":{"en":"1258/59 on Bulgarian page versus 1259 in its English version; portraits; 1927 protected status; parish church until 1954; museum branch since 2003. Project produced in 2021/22; page publication date not stated. Opening two paragraphs use 1258/59 for portraits and murals; S1 introduces this variant before the questions."},"fieldLanguages":{"title":"bg"}},{"year":2010,"url":"https://www.academia.edu/2500974/Remarks_on_the_Patrons_Inscription_of_the_Boyana_Church_Archive_version_with_more_ill","institutionOrAuthor":"Sebastian Kempgen","id":"src.boyana.kempgen","authors":["Sebastian Kempgen"],"title":"Remarks on the Patron’s Inscription of the Boyana Church: Reproductions and Unicode-based Wikipedia Representation","container":"Scripta & e-Scripta: The Journal of Interdisciplinary Mediaeval Studies. Sofia: Institute for Literature, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. ISSN 1312-238X","volume":"8–9","pages":"27–36","doi":"10.20378/irbo-2752 (2014 repository edition)","accessed":"2026-10-28","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","license":"CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 for repository edition; research citation only; no images redistributed","supports":{"en":"The date is represented in Early Cyrillic numeral signs, rather than literally as the modern number 1259. Used only for that distinction, not a new calendar conversion or a resolution of painter names."}},{"year":null,"url":"https://historymuseum.org/boyana-church/","institutionOrAuthor":"Национален исторически музей","id":"src.boyana.museum","authors":["Национален исторически музей"],"title":"Боянска църква „Св. Никола и св. Пантелеймон“","doi":"Not stated by source","accessed":"2026-10-28","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","license":"Copyright; bibliography and original paraphrase only","supports":{"en":"Building phases, Bulgarian donor inscription and 1259, narthex portraits, Nicholas cycle, dome Christ, distinct upper-chapel style, attribution to unknown painter and Tarnovo tradition, restoration in 2006, museum branch in 2003. The donor inscription underlies the museum’s dating to 1259; the western antechamber is mid-19th century; the painter is described as unknown."},"fieldLanguages":{"title":"bg"},"container":""},{"year":null,"url":"https://tourism.government.bg/en/tourist-destinations/2799/5762","institutionOrAuthor":"Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Bulgaria","id":"src.boyana.tourism","authors":["Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Bulgaria"],"title":"Boyana Church","doi":"Not stated by source","accessed":"2026-10-28","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","license":"Copyright; bibliography and original paraphrase only","supports":{"en":"Alternative attribution: painters Vasilie and Dimiter, names said to have emerged in restoration. Conflicts with museum/guide anonymity; no underlying conservation publication provided here. Used only to record unresolved attribution. Painters’ names claimed as revealed during restoration; disagreement with museum and guide remains unresolved."},"container":""},{"year":null,"url":"https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/42/","institutionOrAuthor":"UNESCO World Heritage Centre","id":"src.boyana.unesco","authors":["UNESCO World Heritage Centre"],"title":"Boyana Church (World Heritage List, no. 42bis)","doi":"Not stated by source","accessed":"2026-10-28","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","license":"Description: CC BY-SA IGO 3.0; other sections subject to UNESCO terms","supports":{"en":"Three construction phases; Byzantine canon and expressive figures; inscription on World Heritage List in 1979; conservation completion in 2008; site coordinates. English Description says 10th century and early 13th; Authenticity broadens earliest date to 10th–11th. Construction dating differs within the page: Authenticity 10th–11th; Description EN/FR 10th; addition early 13th in EN, mid-13th in FR; final extension early 19th."},"container":""},{"year":null,"url":"https://boyanachurch.info/en/visitors-information-en/","institutionOrAuthor":"Национален исторически музей; Фондация „Балканско наследство“","id":"src.boyana.visitors","authors":["Национален исторически музей","Фондация „Балканско наследство“"],"title":"Visitors Information","container":"boyanachurch.info","doi":"Not stated by source","accessed":"2026-10-28","accessedOn":"2026-10-28","license":"Copyright; bibliography and original paraphrase only","supports":{"en":"Preservation visit limits and photography prohibition; practical rules are time-sensitive, no fixed price/hours used in narrative."}}],"credits":[{"id":"asset.boyana.exterior","src":"/media/asset-boyana-exterior-960.b8b98199.webp","alt":"Brick facades, two domed parts and the stone base of Boyana Church among trees.","w":1600,"h":1200,"caption":"","kindLabel":"Photo","credit":"Aleksander Dragnes · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons","license":"CC BY 2.0","attribution":"Source: Aleksander Dragnes / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 Processed image. Site today","attributionParts":[{"text":"Source: Aleksander Dragnes / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 Processed image. Site today","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boyana_Church_1.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"}},{"id":"asset.boyana.donors","src":"/assets/story-originals/boyana-donors.ae5e3dc7f0.jpg","alt":"Desislava on the left and Kaloyan on the right holding a church model; a mural dated to 1259 by the museum.","w":400,"h":490,"caption":"Kaloyan and Desislava, a mural dated to 1259 by the museum. Photographic reproduction of the original painting.","kindLabel":"Photo","credit":"Anonymous medieval painter(s); reproduction uploaded by bg:Потребител:Kandi (photographer not identified) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons","license":"Public domain","attribution":"Source: Anonymous medieval painter(s); reproduction uploaded by bg:Потребител:Kandi (photographer not identified) / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain Processed image. Original mural","attributionParts":[{"text":"Source: Anonymous medieval painter(s); reproduction uploaded by bg:Потребител:Kandi (photographer not identified) / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain Processed image. Original mural","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kalojan_desislava.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Reuse_of_PD-Art_photographs","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"}},{"id":"asset.boyana.royal","src":"/media/asset-boyana-royal-960.1e976016.webp","alt":"The tsar on the left and tsaritsa on the right, with crowns and decorated robes; a mural dated to 1259 by the museum.","w":1592,"h":2400,"caption":"","kindLabel":"Photo","credit":"Unknown author (Commons metadata); medieval painter(s) anonymous · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons","license":"CC0","attribution":"Source: Unknown author (Commons metadata); medieval painter(s) anonymous / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 Processed image. Original mural","attributionParts":[{"text":"Source: Unknown author (Commons metadata); medieval painter(s) anonymous / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 Processed image. Original mural","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Цар_Константин_Асен_Тук_и_царица_Ирина.jpg","licenseUrl":"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"}},{"id":"asset.boyana.murals","src":"/media/asset-boyana-murals-960.ddfb5e5b.webp","alt":"Overview towards the altar and painted walls of the nave; not a photograph of the Last Supper.","w":1600,"h":763,"caption":"","kindLabel":"Photo","credit":"Interact-Bulgaria · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","attribution":"Source: Interact-Bulgaria / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Processed image. Site today","attributionParts":[{"text":"Source: Interact-Bulgaria / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Processed image. Site today","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boyana_Church_Mural_Paintings.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"}},{"id":"map-relief","src":"/assets/maps/relief@3x.jpg?v=075869a7dd","thumb":"/media/map/map-relief-2x-1024.4c826249.avif","alt":"Geographic context, without historical borders","w":3072,"h":1987,"caption":"","kindLabel":"Geographic context, without historical borders","visibleKind":"Geographic context, without historical borders","credit":"Tom Patterson · Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso · Public domain · Natural Earth","license":"Public domain","attribution":"Tom Patterson · Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso","attributionParts":null,"sourceUrl":"https://www.naturalearthdata.com/downloads/10m-raster-data/10m-gray-earth/","licenseUrl":"https://www.naturalearthdata.com/about/terms-of-use/","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"}}],"places":[{"note":"Boyana Church preserves murals from 1259, including the donor portraits of Kaloyan and Desislava.","precision":"exact","id":"place.boyana-church","name":"Boyana Church of St Nicholas and St Panteleimon","latitude":42.644669,"longitude":23.266189,"accuracy":"verified_point","radiusMeters":15,"sourceIds":["src.boyana.unesco"],"short":"Boyana Church","guideUrl":null,"slug":"boyana-church","url":"/en/map/#boyana-church"}],"find":{"id":"dig.boyana.donors","storyId":"story.boyana-church","assetId":"asset.boyana.donors","epochId":"epoch.tsardom2","dateFrom":1258,"dateTo":1259,"dateLabel":"1258–1259","title":"Boyana donors","description":"Mural of Kaloyan and Desislava, the church’s donors.","checked":true,"sourceIds":["src.boyana.museum","src.boyana.intro"],"ageOptions":[{"id":"correct","dateFrom":1258,"dateTo":1259,"isCorrect":true},{"id":"option-0","dateFrom":1158,"dateTo":1159,"isCorrect":false},{"id":"option-1","dateFrom":1358,"dateTo":1359,"isCorrect":false}],"image":{"src":"/assets/story-originals/boyana-donors.ae5e3dc7f0.jpg","w":400,"h":490,"webp":[],"avif":[],"nativeDisplayWidth":400,"alpha":false,"id":"asset.boyana.donors","alt":"Desislava on the left and Kaloyan on the right holding a church model; a mural dated to 1259 by the museum.","objectCaption":"Donor portraits","caption":"Kaloyan and Desislava, a mural dated to 1259 by the museum. Photographic reproduction of the original painting.","kindLabel":"Photo","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"contain","credit":"Anonymous medieval painter(s); reproduction uploaded by bg:Потребител:Kandi (photographer not identified) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons","license":"Public domain","attribution":"Source: Anonymous medieval painter(s); reproduction uploaded by bg:Потребител:Kandi (photographer not identified) / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain Processed image. Original mural","attributionParts":[{"text":"Source: Anonymous medieval painter(s); reproduction uploaded by bg:Потребител:Kandi (photographer not identified) / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain Processed image. Original mural","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kalojan_desislava.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Reuse_of_PD-Art_photographs","dominant":"#241B1A"}},"next":[{"storyId":"story.ivanovo-rock-churches","title":"Why is the tsar painted inside a cliff?","topic":"Ivanovo rock-hewn churches","eyebrow":"Ivanovo rock-hewn churches · Ivanovo","url":"/en/stories/ivanovo-rock-churches/","reason":"Compare the images and beliefs in another story.","image":{"alpha":true,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-ivr-donor-cutout-480.e113d78b.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-ivr-donor-cutout-960.e113d78b.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-ivr-donor-cutout-1382.e113d78b.avif","w":1382}],"dominant":"#af9474","h":2330,"w":1382,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-ivr-donor-cutout-960.e113d78b.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-ivr-donor-cutout-960.e113d78b.webp","id":"asset.ivr.donor-cutout","alt":"Extracted mural fragment with a royal donor; not a portable icon. Losses are preserved.","objectCaption":"Royal donor","caption":"The royal donor, usually identified as Ivan Alexander. A mural fragment on rock, not a separate icon. The depicted tsar’s identity is disputed.","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"contain","credit":"A. Nikolov · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons","license":"Public domain","attribution":"Photo: A. Nikolov; Wikimedia Commons; Public domain. The royal donor, usually identified as Ivan Alexander. A mural fragment on rock, not a separate icon. The depicted tsar’s identity is disputed. Cut-out detail; background removed.","attributionParts":[{"text":"Photo: ","lang":"en"},{"text":"A. Nikolov; Wikimedia Commons; Public domain. The royal donor, usually identified as Ivan Alexander. A mural fragment on rock, not a separate icon. The depicted tsar’s identity is disputed. Cut-out detail; background removed.","lang":"en"}],"sourceUrl":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tsar_John_Alexander_of_Bulgaria.jpg","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"},"minutes":3,"sceneCount":9},{"storyId":"story.ivan-alexander-gospels","title":"The tsar between the pages","topic":"The Gospels of Ivan Alexander","eyebrow":"The Gospels of Ivan Alexander · London","url":"/en/stories/ivan-alexander-gospels/","reason":"","image":{"alpha":true,"avif":[{"src":"/media/asset-tetra-cover-cutout-480.f4a95879.avif","w":480},{"src":"/media/asset-tetra-cover-cutout-960.f4a95879.avif","w":960},{"src":"/media/asset-tetra-cover-cutout-1314.f4a95879.avif","w":1314}],"dominant":"#83524c","h":1398,"w":1314,"webp":[{"src":"/media/asset-tetra-cover-cutout-960.f4a95879.webp","w":960}],"src":"/media/asset-tetra-cover-cutout-960.f4a95879.webp","id":"asset.tetra.cover-cutout","alt":"The manuscript's red binding; an isolated photographic detail, not the lost gilded cover.","objectCaption":"Upper binding cover","caption":"","kind":"photo","creditLabels":{"title":"Images","source":"Open source","full":"Full attribution"},"fit":"contain","credit":"Unspecified · CC0 · British Library via Wikimedia Commons","license":"CC0","attribution":"The surviving upper binding cover. British Library, Add MS 39627; via Wikimedia Commons, CC0. Cut-out detail; background removed.","attributionParts":[{"text":"The surviving upper binding cover. British Library, Add MS 39627; via Wikimedia Commons, CC0. 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