‘And there was born in Antioch a child with a single eye’ (Bar Hebraeus, Cron. 25b 24-29)

Abstract

In the present article we analyze a textual reference on the birth of a child with physical malformations in Bar Hebraeusʼ Chronography, the relationship with the descriptions of the Antichrist, and its comparison with previous versions of this legend gathered by Patriarch Michael the Syrian and monk Theophanes Confessor. Our aim is to show the relationship between the three accounts and the possible source used by the two Syriac authors.