POLITICS AND THE SUBLIME   Subtle points come to the fore in this inscription commemorating the decoration of the Church of the Holy Virgin in Studenica, in 1208/9. St. Sava, belittling his own role, honors here the efforts of his ruling brothers and father, and in it emphasizes their ties to a decesaed Byzantine emperor based on a defunct marriage and court appointment. At a time manifested by the sacking of Constantinople by the Crusaders, when king Stefan Prvovencani was prompted to seek political and family ties in the West, Sava's message appears as a counterbalance to a policy he did not approve of, and eventually, had reversed.