Cecily Hennessy | Independent Scholar (original) (raw)

Papers by Cecily Hennessy

‘Winchester’s Holy Sepulchre Chapel and Byzantium: Iconographic Transregionalism?’, in The Regional and Transregional in Romanesque Europe, British Archaeological Association,, 2021

It is widely recognised that Byzantine iconography is present in the 12th-century paintings of th... more It is widely recognised that Byzantine iconography is present in the 12th-century paintings of the Holy Sepulchre Chapel at Winchester Cathedral. This paper argues that in the painting of the Entombment/Lamentation on the east wall, Christ is not being placed into the sarcophagus, which is some distance below but rests on a red stone while his body is anointed for burial. It is argued that features of this representation are dependent on events in Constantinople. The stone on which Christ’s body was embalmed, known as the lithos, was brought from Ephesus to Constantinople by Emperor Manuel I (1143–80) in 1169–70. It was placed in the Chapel of our Lady of the Pharos and ten years later was moved to the Komnenian mausoleum at the Pantokrator monastery, and Manuel was buried next to it. After this time, the red stone itself is shown in Byzantine Lamentation scenes, with Christ laying on it. This paper proposes that this significant imperial and religious event, having influenced Byzantine iconography, was incorporated into the paintings in the chapel in Winchester. This leads to the question of who the patron may have been who is associated with this swift movement of iconographic influence. It is proposed that Henry the Lion (1142–80, d. 1195), who visited Constantinople in 1172, is a likely contender.

Byzantine Studies Conference: Abstracts of Papers, Notre Dame 2001., 2001

Please see page 53

Approaches to the Byzantine Family, Leslie Brubaker and Shaun Tougher (eds), Aldershot, 2013, 207-231., 2013

Tomb and Temple: Reimagining the Sacred Buildings of Jerusalem, Eric Fernie and Robin Griffith-Jones (eds.), Woodbridge, 2018, 2018

Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies, ed. E. Jeffreys, with R. Cormack and J. Haldon, Oxford University Press, 2008., 2008

in Under the Influence: The Concept of Influence and the Study of Illuminated Manuscripts, J. Lowden and A. Bovey (eds), Brepols, 2008, 97-109., 2008

Please note this has a couple of editorial errors made post submission

Electronic British Library Journal, 2017, study 4, 2017

The rebuilding in 1040-48 of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,the holiest site in Jerusalem, is ... more The rebuilding in 1040-48 of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,the holiest site in Jerusalem, is one of the most important events in medieval religious and political history. Its recognition in the Theodore Psalter, as marked in the illuminations on folios 128r and 36r, is therefore of considerable importance. The themes of Sion, Constantinople and Heavenly Jerusalem have been well established in the interpretation of the marginal psalters. This new evidence, suggesting that the rebuilding of the church was both acknowledged and celebrated in one of the most prestigious Byzantine manuscripts of the time, makes an important addition to prior analysis and to the understanding of Byzantine thinking in the mid-eleventh century.

Byzantinoslavica 74 (2016), 26-43, 2016

This paper examines the patronage of Galla Placidia (388–450), the daughter of the Byzantine empe... more This paper examines the patronage of Galla Placidia (388–450), the daughter of the Byzantine emperor, Theodosios the Great (347–95). She ruled with her son, Valentinian III (419–455), the emperor in the West, and led a powerful but complex life, in terms of both family and political connections. As a patroness of the arts in the fifth century, she was outstanding. Galla, by tradition, is said to have built the so-called ‘mausoleum of Galla Placidia’ in Ravenna as a place of burial for herself or for her first son, who died very young. Through comparisons with other buildings of the time, including the Holy Apostles in Constantinople, and a review of the chapel’s iconography, it will be argued that the ‘mausoleum’ is a saint’s martyrium probably commissioned by Galla, the dedication of which was an elevated Christian honour. Subsequent ages, contrary to the evidence of fifth- century imperial burials, promoted myths about Galla’s patronage to enhance the empress’ identity and to promote Ravenna’s position.

Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, 30 (2006), 115-150, 2006

Cod. gr. 1851 is composed of four bifolia, which contain the partial text of a poem and seven ill... more Cod. gr. 1851 is composed of four bifolia, which contain the partial text of a poem and seven illuminations. The protagonists described in the poem are a Byzantine emperor, his youthful son, his daughter and a young foreign princess to whom the son is betrothed. Comparisons with other examples of imperial dress lead to the conclusion that the illustrations in the manuscript are probably fourteenth-century. I propose that the groom was Andronikos IV, who married, in 1356, aged eight, Maria, the nine-year-old daughter of the tsar of Bulgaria, Ivan Alexander. This marriage raises issues of children's roles at court and the nature of books made for them. A manuscript, now in the Vatican Library, cod. gr. 1851, commonly known as the Vatican epithalamion, contains the partial text of a poem and seven illuminations. 1 It is composed of four bifolia and measures 230 by 175 mm. The characters featured in the poem and illustrated in the miniatures include a Byzantine emperor, his youthful son, his daughter and a foreign princess to whom the son is betrothed.

Coming of Age. Adolescence and Society in Byzantium, Millenium Studies, Despoina Ariantzi (ed.), Berlin, 2017

The aim of this paper is to explore how adolescents are shown in imagery derived from apocryphal ... more The aim of this paper is to explore how adolescents are shown in imagery derived from apocryphal writings.To set this in context, first, it discusses approaches to interpreting adolescence; second, it looks at some of the complexities of defining adolescence , at a brief survey of legal issues and at areas of responsibility; third, it turns to pictorial representation and reviews how adolescence is depicted in contexts other than apocryphal ones, both biblical and historical. Finally, it focuses on a selection of imagery related to the Virgin, Christ, and their family from apocryphal stories not included in the canonical texts. Anthropologists have often analysed adolescence as a period of preparation for adulthood, seeing it in adult terms, yet a more recent trend is to focus on the agency of youth and to assess the cultural practice of youth apart from its adult framework.² In a related way, in terms of viewing images, one can focus on the agency of the young and attempt to understand an image from the perspective of the children and adolescents depicted. Yet how should the terms child and adolescent be defined or used and how should the identification of a child or an adolescent be undertaken? The terms are applied in a broad sense to refer to those people who have not reached maturity, yet when does this occur and what conditions identify it? How are such stages in life depicted? Is it possible to visually distinguish a child from an adolescent or an adult, or to differentiate an adolescent from an adult? It is only generally with datable portraiture that one can calculate the age of the child or adolescent depicted and, in most cases, one is left to rely on inferred information to establish age. When some identification of adolescence is achieved then the image can be interpreted through an understanding of the historical setting, with the aim of focusing on the standpoint of youth. Contemporary definitions of childhood and adulthood differ, geographically and in a range of contexts, and similarly classifications of stages in life in Byzantium appear to have fluctuated and to have had various readings.

Proceedings of the 7th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (three volumes), eds J. Curtis, R. Matthews, A. Fletcher, C. Gatz, M. Seymour, St J. Simpson & J.N. Tubb, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2012

An octagonal structure, now beneath a hotel in Istanbul, appears to be the chapel of Saint Jacob,... more An octagonal structure, now beneath a hotel in Istanbul, appears to be the chapel of Saint Jacob, which is recorded in the Patria as being built by the Byzantine emperor Justin II (565-578) and his wife Sophia. Cyril Mango identified the chapel and photographed two then-visible fragments of paintings which he dated to the late thirteenth or early fourteenth century. When published in 1970, the paintings were considered to have disappeared; however, they are still extant along with others apparently not visible at that time. This paper considers the cycle of paintings in relation to the Church of the Theotokos Chalkoprateia, one of the most important churches in Constantinople. The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to fragmentary late byzantine wall paintings in istanbul which had been thought to be lost, but do in fact survive.

PhD Thesis, 2001

PhD Thesis, Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London, 2001

Books by Cecily Hennessy

Painting in Cappadocia: A Guide to the Sites and Byzantine Church Decoration, 2013

Art historian, Cecily Hennessy, explores medieval Byzantine wall paintings in churches cut out of... more Art historian, Cecily Hennessy, explores medieval Byzantine wall paintings in churches cut out of the beautiful landscape of central Turkey. Many of these were decorated by local artists, sometimes monks, or by the finest artists brought from other centres, such as Constantinople. This book is designed for both intrigued visitors and for those looking for art-historical information and understanding. It serves as a travel guide to the most important painted churches with numerous colour illustrations, plans and maps. It also encourages close examination of the painting, its meaning and its style and execution and provides background knowledge of Byzantine artistic and cultural practice.

Early Christian and Medieval Rome: A Guide to the Art and Architecture, 2017

Early Christian and Medieval Rome looks at the fascinating art and architecture in Rome dating fr... more Early Christian and Medieval Rome looks at the fascinating art and architecture in Rome dating from between about 300 and 1300. In the fourth and fifth centuries, Rome was the most important city in the west for the early development of buildings for Christian use and of imagery employed by both the Church authorities and by the practising Christians. Many Christians still had links with traditional Roman religions and with Judaism. It remained the most prestigious centre in the west in the following centuries, despite political upheavals. With the papacy established at its heart, patronage and artistic production prospered, with high points in the ninth and again in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

Images of Children in Byzantium, 2008

This book covers a subject that has never previously been addressed, and yet it is both a fascina... more This book covers a subject that has never previously been addressed, and yet it is both a fascinating and a provocative one: the representation of children in Byzantium. The visual material is extensive, intriguing and striking, and the historical context is crucially important to our understanding of Byzantine culture, social history and artistic output. The imagery explored is drawn from the fourth to the fifteenth centuries and encompasses media from manuscripts to mosaics and enamel. Part of the allure of this subject is that people do not associate childhood with Byzantium. Ernst Gombrich commented, 'who could find it easy, after a visit to Ravenna and its solemn mosaics, to think of noisy children in Byzantium?'. However, in Byzantium, patrons of art were often young, such as emperors who acceded to the throne as teenagers, and makers of art, sculptors, mosaicists, painters often began their training at an early age. How did this affect the creation, promotion and production of art? The study questions the definitions and perceptions of childhood, focusing on topics such as the family, saintly children and those associated with imperial power. Cecily Hennessy demonstrates that children are featured often in visual imagery and in key locations, indicating that they played a central role in Byzantine life, something which has previously been overlooked or ignored. In tackling this new subject she reveals important aspects of childhood, youth, and by extension adulthood in Byzantine society and raises issues that are also applicable to the present and to other historical contexts.