In defense of tall tales : Methodius of Constantinople's literary activity during his stay in Rome

Patriarch Methodius of Constantinople (d. 847) accepted the authenticity of hagiographical tall tales, which his contemporaries found hard to accept. Yet this was not a straightforward case of Wundersucht; it involved complex "proofs". Methodius did not content himself with copying the Passio of Marina but added scholia in the margins; these offered an allegorical interpretation of the battle between the martyr and the dragons. This allowed him to argue that the narrative improved the morals of listeners. In the case of Dionysius, he did not, like his contemporary Michael the Synkellos, discredit the posthumous head-carrying of the saint but even elaborated it, explaining how this miracle came to pass.