Praising Mary's Girdle: The Encomium BHG 1146M Attributed to Michael the Monk and Synkellos

The girdle of the Virgin, which was kept in the Chalkoprateia church, was one of the most prominent relics in Constantinople. It was praised in encomia by Patriarch Germanus and the synkellos and later patriarch Euthymius. This article focuses on a third text, which dates to the early tenth century and is attributed to the synkellos Michael. It offers an analysis of the content, the Greek text and an English translation.