Petr Balcárek, The Czech Lands and Byzantium: Byzantine Art-Historical Perspectives, Faculty of Arts, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic. Supervisor: Jan Bouzek, Charles University, Prague.
The theme of the present study is the Czech Lands and Byzantium, Byzantine Art-Historical Perspectives, and I look at the Byzantine influence on art in the Czech Republic from the 4th–5th centuries up to the 16th century.
This theme has not yet been reflected in any synthetic study in Czech literature. Several articles related to similar themes have been published in the periodical Byzantinoslavica, but only on particular subjects and on a limited scale. There is a study which touches on this problem about the Czech Middle Ages and the Ancient World written by Jan Bažant, who published it as Umění českého středověku a antika (The Art of the Czech Middle Ages and the Ancient World, Prague 2000), but it covers only certain aspects of this theme and uses a different method.
In recent years, the question of Byzantine influence in the Czech Lands and in Central Europe has been placed in a new light, as, for example, at the great exhibition Central Europe Around the Year 1000 (2000, Budapest, Krakow, Berlin, Mannheim, Prague, Bratislava) or at the recent Byzantine exhibition in Munich: Die Welt von Byzanz – Europas östliches Erbe (2005). Such events show that Byzantine or Eastern influences were more significant than it was supposed in the past.
The method used in the present work is that of acculturation, as it was promoted at the 12th International Congress of Historians in Vienna in 1965 and which has so far been successfully used by leading historians and art historians (in Slovakia and Czech Republic, e.g. Alexander Avenarius, Rudolf Chadraba). This study includes the new achievements of research in the field of Byzantine and Eastern cultural influences in Central Europe, with a focus on material culture – except architecture.
In the first part of this work, Byzantine influences before the time of the Great Moravian Empire (up to the 9th century), which were transmitted partly via the Carpathians, are explored.
The period of the Great Moravian Empire has, in the last one hundred years, been very much the object of research and disputes among scholars from the historical, literary, liturgical, theological and even archaeological point of view (for example Carolingian or Adriatic influences on church architecture, mainly rotundas etc). It may be surprising that art in the period of the Great Moravian Empire has not been looked at from the Byzantine point of view, mainly because only minor art has survived intact in these lands. That is why mainly minor art (arts and crafts, jewellery, crosses, decorations, etc) is dealt with in this work. A study related to this theme is L. Niederle’s now outdated Příspěvky k vývoji byzantských šperků ze IV.–X. století – Contributions to the History of Byzantine Jewellery between 4th and 10th Centuries, Prague, 1930).
The 12th and 13th centuries reflect Byzantine influences which could be found all over Western Europe. They entered Czech Art mainly from Germany as Saschische Zackenstil, in illuminated manuscripts, stone sculptures, reliefs etc. The present book looks at Byzantine iconographic sources and at stylistic links in the above-mentioned works of art.
This second part focuses on art at the time of the consolidation of the Czech principalities, the influence of Byzantium in Romanesque and, later on, in Gothic art. Luxury objects were brought from the East to Czech princes’ courts in Prague, Olomouc and Brno, mainly silk objects and others (horns, gems, etc). The study deals with Byzantine influences which entered Czech Art mainly from Germany, Italy or the Balkans; also with Byzantine or ancient iconographic sources and stylistic links in the above-mentioned works of art.
The main revival of Byzantine ideas in art started at the imperial court of the Luxembourg dynasty, and was especially promoted by Emperor Charles IV. He made Prague his main seat. His cultural activities were connected with those of previous great emperors, as for example of the first Christian emperor Constantine the Great. Under his rule, there was a great revival of classical and Byzantine ideas in art (the mosaics at the cathedral of St. Vitus, artistic decorations at the castle Karlštejn, decorations at the Monastery Na Slovanech in Prague etc). He was one of the leading supporters of a culture which promoted the conservative type of Byzantine Madonnas painted on wooden panels.
Previous studies have focused on western elements, especially German, in Czech art, or, in the case of emperor Charles IV’s art, on influences from Italy or France. Except for the work of Karel Stejskal or Rudolf Chadraba, who look at Czech art from a broader perspective, i.e. Byzantine or Oriental (Persian), there are no serious studies focusing on Byzantine dimensions of Czech art.
In conclusion, the present study is a contribution to the revival of Czech Byzantine studies, once of international prestige, and will also open the way towards a better understanding of the material and spiritual culture of our country and of Eastern and Central Europe.
Key Words
Czech Lands and Byzantium, Influence of Byzantium, Art, Minor Art, Material Culture, History of Art 4th-16th centuries.
Abstract
This study is meant to achieve a comparative, synthetic research of Byzantine and Eastern influences on material culture in the Czech Lands in the period of the Byzantine empire (4th-16th centuries), by using the method of acculturation. In Czech literature there are only few studies dealing with this particular theme and on a limited scale. Broad, synthetic studies exist in countries like Germany, Italy, etc., but they are missing in the Czech Lands. The present research intends to continue the once highly valued tradition of Byzantine studies in formerly Czechoslovakia and also to contribute to a better understanding of the culture of the Czech Lands and of East and Central European countries at large.
Nikolaos G. Chrissis, Crusading in Romania: A Study of Byzantine-Western Relations and Attitudes, 1204 – 1282, Royal Holloway, University of London. Supervisor: Dr Jonathan Harris.
This thesis examines the way the Crusade was applied in Romania (i.e. the lands formerly constituting the Byzantine empire) after 1204, and the impact it had on Byzantine-western relations during this period. The focus is on the way the papacy deployed crusading mechanisms (i.e. crusade preaching, indulgences and other crusader privileges, commutation and redemption of vows, tithes, etc.), for the defence of the Latin states which were set up in Byzantine lands after the conquest of Constantinople by the army of the Fourth Crusade. The formation and development of this papal policy is reconstructed through a detailed examination of the extant papal registers. This sizeable core of materials is supplemented with evidence from other contemporary (documentary and literary) sources, Latin and Greek, in order to assess the impact this policy had and the way it was perceived by contemporaries. The evolution of the Crusade in Romania is examined in five chapters, corresponding to five consecutive phases: i) the introduction of crusading mechanisms in the aftermath of 1204 by Innocent III, and the reasons behind this development; ii) the continuation and consolidation of this practice under Honorius III; iii) the apogee of the Crusade in Romania, through the persistent and far-reaching efforts of Gregory IX in the 1230s; iv) the gradual retrenchment of crusading policy in Romania to the point of its effective abandonment before the Latin Empire’s fall (1261); and v) the revival and transformation of crusading efforts for Latin Romania, after the Greek reconquest of Constantinople, under the overwhelming influence of Charles I of Anjou, until the Sicilian Vespers and the collapse of Angevin designs (1282). Although the Crusade in Romania has hitherto been mostly neglected by crusade specialists and Byzantinists alike, its importance for Byzantine-western interaction in the thirteenth century emerges as paramount. It was a recurrent and central feature of contemporary local policies (papal, Latin and Byzantine). Furthermore, its repeated application against the Greeks contributed to the institutionalisation of Greco-Latin hostility.
Greg Fisher, Between Empires. Ghassanids, Lakhmids and Others in Middle Eastern Borderlands, 400-600 AD, Keble College, Oxford. Supersior: Professor Dame Averil Cameron
Fotini Kondyli, Late Byzantine Burial Sites in the Northern Aegean; their archaeology and distribution patterns, University of Birmingham. Supervisor: Dr Archie Dunn
This PhD thesis deals with the study of Late Byzantine site function and distribution, factors influencing sites’ location, economic activities of rural sites, communication and trade routes as well as the formation of fortification networks on the islands of Lemnos and Thasos in the Northern Aegean. The fieldwork undertaken as part of this thesis focused not only on the identification and study of settlements but also of other sites such as forts, monastic estates and activity loci on the two islands. During the four seasons of fieldwork for Lemnos and two seasons for Thasos more than 140 reported sites of habitation and human activity have been recorded. Further, a suitable methodological framework that integrated archaeology with primary sources, ethnography and spatial analysis with GIS was chosen, in order to develop a holistic understanding of economy, the use of space and societal change in the North Aegean during the Late Byzantine period. Finally the survey data of this project have being compared with results from multi-period projects conducted in Greece in order to develop a synthetic understanding of the development of rural settlements and their distribution in the Eastern Mediterranean during the 13th-15th c.
Dmitri Tolstoy-Miloslavsky, Manuel I Komnenos and Italy: Byzantine Foreign Policy, 1135-80 Royal Holloway, University of London. Supervisor: Dr Jonathan Harris. Awarded PhD April 2008.
Georgios C. Liakopoulos, A Study of the Early Ottoman Peloponnese in the Light of an annotated editio princeps of the TT10-1/14662 Ottoman Taxation Cadastre (ca. 1460-1463) Hellenic Institute, Royal Holloway, University of London. Supervisor: † Julian Chrysostomides. External advisor: Metin Berke
The thesis explores geographic, economic and demographic aspects of the Peloponnese in the first years of the Ottoman conquest (1460), on the basis of an annotated editio princeps of the first Ottoman taxation cadastre of the province of the Peloponnese (Defter-i Livā’-ı Mora), compiled sometime between ca. 1460-1463. So far, no complete edition of the text has appeared. Numbering 284 pages this cadastre was split into two parts in the recent past, and is now preserved in Istanbul (TT10, Prime Ministry Ottoman Archives) and Sofia (1/14662, St. Cyril & Methodius National Library of Bulgaria). The study comprises two Parts (I-II), in two volumes respectively. Part I contains an Introduction, three Chapters (1-3) and a Conclusion. The Introduction presents the aims, scope and methodology adopted, followed by a survey of previous scholarship conducted on the subject, and a brief historical examination of the late Byzantine Peloponnese and its conquest by the Ottomans. It concludes with a brief codicological and palaeographical description of the cadastre. Chapter 1 is devoted to the historical geography of the Peloponnese. All place-names mentioned in the cadastre are listed in the sequence they appear therein, accompanied by topographic and linguistic notes. This is followed by a set of digital maps of the Early Ottoman Peloponnese using GIS (Geographical Information Systems). Chapter 2 is a demographical investigation of the cadastre, including the settlement patterns, the density of population and its categorisation into urban/rural, sedentary/nomadic, concentrating in particular on the influx and settlement of the second largest ethnic group in the peninsula after the Greeks, namely the Albanians. Chapter 3 explores the economy and administration of the province concentrating on the Ottoman tīmār system and the economic mechanisms. A detailed presentation of the level of agricultural production, types of crops, livestock, fishing, commerce, industrial development, etc. is illustrated with tables and charts. The Conclusion summarises the findings of the research and suggests areas for further investigation. Part II comprises a diplomatic edition of the transcribed Ottoman text, preceded by a note on the principles and conventions adopted in the edition. The thesis closes with a full bibliography followed by selected samples of facsimiles of the cadastre.
Benjamin Moulet, Évêques, pouvoir et société à Byzance (début du viiie – milieu du xie siècle). Territoires, communautés et individus dans la société provinciale de l’Empire byzantin, Paris. Supervisor: Professor Michel Kaplan
The episcopate is an essential structure of the middle-Byzantine Church; however, it remains little known. Although sources are limited, its history and evolution can still be reconstructed, as a large portion of the iconoclastic and post-iconoclastic hagiography deals with metropolitans and bishops. The sources reveal the strong connection between bishops and the inhabitants of the cities under their responsibility, especially when the population considers them as saints. Numerous epistolary, ecclesiastic and sigillographic documents issued by bishops themselves partially unveil the realities of the Episcopal group and the provincial society that bishops represent to the central authorities. The bishop also serves as relay of both imperial and patriarchal wills to the provinces of the Empire. Competing with local authorities, the bishop thus tries to impose his own influence in its spatial, social, religious and symbolic dimensions.
Both collective and individual approaches of the episcopate make the social realities of the Empire more understandable, as it becomes more and more focused on its capital city while its peripheries gradually move away, which documentation seems to imply. Regional studies, but also studies focused on social groups established across the whole Empire, are the fundamentals of a decentred history of the Byzantine Empire. This is especially true since social groups such as bishops claim the specificity of their regions and their links to a provincial society that represents the cornerstone of the Empire.
This thesis can be consulted in the Centre de Recherches d’Histoire et Civilisation Byzantines et du Proche Orient médiéval in the Sorbonne.
Charles A. Stewart, The Domes of Heaven: The Domed Basilicas of Cyprus, Ph.D., Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. Supervisor: Professor W. Eugene Kleinbauer
Since 1974 study of Cypriot monuments was impeded by travel restrictions between northern and southern areas. Scholars were consigned to use photographs, second-hand descriptions, or memory in their architectural analysis of the northern churches. Fortunately in 2003 travel restrictions were eased, allowing for the re-evaluation of the island’s multiple-domed basilicas.
Around the year 477 the Apostle Barnabas’ relics were discovered by the Archbishop Anthemios of Salamis-Constantia in Cyprus. This led the Emperor Zeno to bestow autocephaly on the Cypriot Church. Cultural autonomy provided its clergy with a sense of pride and freedom that was not shared by other Mediterranean islands. Then in 649 the Arabs invaded. From 680 until 965, the Byzantine Empire and the Arab Caliphate of Damascus divided tribute from the Cypriot population. This arrangement effectively made the island a neutral state and practically independent. During these centuries five churches were rebuilt, but with radically different designs than previous structures—they were vaulted with a series of multiple domes. This thesis is a comprehensive study of these monuments with three objectives: (1) to provide a complete architectural analysis; (2) to place these monuments in their cultural and historical context by assessing primary and secondary literature, and archaeological reports; and (3) to explain the symbolic importance that this new design conveyed.
It is argued that the multiple-domed church was a peculiar local development. The three-domed nave was first implemented at the cathedral of Agios Epiphanios at Salamis-Constantia. The new design became the symbol of the Church of Cyprus which exercised great power in the neutral state. Other churches followed the cathedral’s plan, such as Agia Paraskevi (Geroskipou). Eventually the most prestigious church of the island, Agios Barnabas was remodelled in this new fashion. Standing close to Agios Epiphanios (less than 2 km west), the Apostle’s church would be the largest domed structure ever built on the island. These two domed churches—the first and last examples of this type—embodied the Cypriot motto that “Barnabas the Apostle is our foundation; Epiphanius the Great is our governor.”
If this hypothesis is correct, then it sheds new light regarding architectural development in the Eastern Mediterranean during the Iconoclasm. The archbishopric of Salamis-Constantia was an innovative centre, influencing its local hinterland. At a time when the Empire was weakened by external forces and internal disputes, Cypriots were able to experiment with alternative forms of ecclesiastic structures.
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