Character guide

Ioasaph

major

Also known as Saint Ioasaph, King Ioasaph, the learned Ioasaph, IX Ioasaph

Ioasaph grows up sealed inside a pleasure-palace built to keep him ignorant of suffering, yet the sight of human misery cracks his world open and sends him searching for a faith worth dying for. His conversion sets him against his own father, King Abenner, turning the throne room into a battlefield of love and conscience. When Barlaam finally departs, Ioasaph must decide whether to inherit a kingdom or follow his teacher into the desert — a choice that defines everything the story is reaching toward.

Barlaam

major

Also known as Quoth Barlaam, saintly Barlaam, the supposed Barlaam, father Barlaam, blessed Barlaam, Saint Barlaam, the famous and blessed Barlaam

Barlaam arrives at court disguised as a merchant of precious stones, but the treasure he offers is a faith that demands everything. He teaches through parables — the casket, the nightingale, the four coffers — each one a quiet blade aimed at Ioasaph's illusions. His tenderness with his spiritual son is matched by an unyielding asceticism; he refuses even a new cloak, and his coming death becomes the story's emotional hinge, transforming teacher into legacy.

Abenner

major

Also known as king Abenner, King Abenner

Abenner rules with the paranoid zeal of a man who has seen his own astrologers predict his son's betrayal, and he answers that prophecy with persecution, isolation, and a palace designed as a gilded cage. His cruelty toward Christians is matched only by his desperate love for Ioasaph, a love that curdles into rage when the boy embraces the faith he fears. Late in the story, a letter reveals a king who has begun to see his own blindness — making his arc one of the book's most surprising turns.

Theudas

supporting

Also known as Hereupon Theudas

Theudas is Abenner's chosen weapon in the war of ideas, a debater who knows how to flatter a court and twist a text. His confrontation with Nachor — who poses as Barlaam — becomes a public spectacle where the kingdom's philosophers are routed by a single disguised monk. His defeat matters less for what it costs him than for what it reveals: that the court's pagan learning cannot withstand a faith argued with humility and Scripture.

Nachor

supporting

Nachor agrees to impersonate Barlaam before Abenner's assembled court, a dangerous masquerade that could end in his death if discovered. He argues with such force that the philosophers fall silent and the king's own advisers begin to waver, planting seeds that will eventually crack the pagan establishment. His courage under disguise makes him one of the story's quiet heroes — a man whose willingness to be mistaken for someone else becomes the vehicle for truth.

Zardan

supporting

Zardan serves as Abenner's eyes and enforcer, the courtier who knows where the bodies are buried and who keeps the machinery of persecution running. He is the practical counterweight to the king's paranoia — less zealous, more administrative — and his presence reminds readers that cruelty in this world is often bureaucratic rather than theatrical. His suspicion of Barlaam's visits forces Ioasaph to choose between secrecy and confession, tightening the story's central noose.

Barachias

supporting

Also known as King Barachias

Barachias moves through the court as a man of rank and rare conviction, the one senator whose heart caught fire when a feigned Barlaam defended the faith before the philosophers. When Ioasaph begs him to take up the kingdom so he may depart, Barachias refuses with a sharp question: if kingship is a stumbling stone to your soul, why lay it in my path? His stubborn refusal forces the king to leave the crown by decree rather than persuasion, making him the hinge on which the realm's future turns.

Araches

supporting

Araches enters the story as a young man of royal blood drawn to Ioasaph's faith, becoming disciple and companion in the wilderness. He shares the old man Barlaam's final hours, weeping through the night-long farewell discourse and the prayer of commendation, unable to bear the parting. His devotion gives the narrative a witness to Ioasaph's teaching in action, showing that the king's conversion bears fruit in others who take up the same hard path.

Aristides

minor

Athenian philosopher whose apology for Christianity is quoted in the text.

John of Damascus

minor

Also known as St. John, St. John of Damascus, John

Traditional author of the Barlaam and Ioasaph legend.

David

minor

Also known as blessed David

Biblical king cited as an example of repentance and piety.

Paul

minor

Also known as blessed Paul, Paul the divine

Apostle whose writings are frequently quoted in the narrative.

Moses

minor

Biblical lawgiver referenced in Christian instruction.

Abraham

minor

Patriarch cited as a model of faith.

Adam

minor

First man, referenced in discussions of sin and redemption.

Lazarus

minor

Biblical figure raised from the dead, used as an example.

Esay

minor

Prophet Isaiah, quoted in Christian teachings.

H. Zotenberg

minor

Also known as Zotenberg

Modern editor or scholar cited in the endnotes.

Peter

minor

Apostle mentioned in teachings and parables.

Mary

minor

Mother of Jesus, mentioned in theological contexts.