Byzantine religious manuscripts were commissioned by people from many levels of society. Several contain portraits of their commissioners, represented together with a holy figure. An analysis of these scenes, examining features such as the holy figures represented and their specific iconographic meaning, and the relation of mortal to divine, reveals many facets of Byzantine art, religion and society. This analysis indicates a major distinction between portraits representing the emperor, and those depicting all other patrons. Non-imperial portraits show deep personal devotion and piety. The manuscripts in which they occur were commissioned to honour the holy figure, and many request salvation in return. Imperial commissions, on the other hand, were not votive gifts. Their portraits stress the public, political, and occasionally religious role of the emperor as the elected of God upon earth, and head of state. These portraits are thus highly informative of several aspects of Byzantine life.

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