Sacred Space in Byzantine Military Religion (original) (raw)
Related papers
A Companion to the Byzantine Culture of War, ca. 300-1204
A Companion to the Byzantine Culture of War, ca. 300-1204, 2018
Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper and produced in a sustainable manner. v Contents Contents Contents List of Illustrations vii Notes on Contributors viii x Introduction: Military Power in the Christian Roman Empire, ca. 300-1204 1 Yannis Stouraitis Part 1 The Mentality of War 1 The Imperial Theology of Victory 23 Paul Stephenson 2 State War Ethic and Popular Views on Warfare 59 Yannis Stouraitis 3 Civil War in the Christian Empire 92 Yannis Stouraitis 4 The Enemies of the Empire: Portrayed Images 124 Michael Grünbart 5 Warfare as Literary Narrative 160 Stamatina McGrath 6 Alternative Means of Conflict Resolution 196 Tilemachos Lounghis Part 2 Warfare as Socio-Political Praxis 7 Army Structure: Roman Continuity and Byzantine Change 229 Savvas Kyriakidis vi Contents 8 Byzantine Fronts and Strategies 300-1204 259
A Companion to the Byzantine Culture of War, ca. 300-1204, edited by Yannis Stouraitis (Brill 2018)
This collection of essays on the Byzantine culture of war in the period between the 4th and the 12th centuries offers a new critical approach to the study of warfare as a fundamental aspect of East Roman society and culture in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The book’s main goal is to provide a critical overview of current research as well as new insights into the role of military organization as a distinct form of social power in one of history’s more long-lived empires. The various chapters consider the political, ideological, practical, institutional and organizational aspects of Byzantine warfare and place it at the centre of the study of social and cultural history. Contributors are Salvatore Cosentino, Michael Grünbart, Savvas Kyriakidis, Tilemachos Lounghis, Christos Makrypoulias, Stamatina McGrath, Philip Rance, Paul Stephenson, Yannis Stouraitis, Denis Sullivan, and Georgios Theotokis.
The Creator of Sacred Space as a Phenomenon of Byzantine Culture
The Creator of Sacred Space as a Phenomenon of Byzantine Culture. In: In: L’artista a Bisanzio e nel mondo cristiano-orientale, ed. Michele Bacci, Pisa, 2007, p. 135-176, 2007
In this paper I shall argue that in our discussion of Byzantine artists and donors one might find some room for a specific group of makers – the creators of sacred spaces who were responsible for an entire project of sacred space realised in a particular church, or some other environment. This figure should not be identified with the artisan making concrete art objects like walls and vaults, sculptural decorations and paintings, liturgical vessels and textiles. Nor can his role be limited to financial support of the project. It is noteworthy that this form of activity had a very powerful artistic aspect as well. In a sense, the creator of sacred space is the artist, whose role seems comparable with the contemporary activity of film directors leading the efforts of various ‘artisans’. From this point of view, the creator of sacred space might be discussed in an art-historical context. At the same time, it seems important to emphasise that he belongs to a particular field of creativity, which has been recently named Hierotopy.
This thesis discusses the mingling of changes and continuities in the layout of mediaeval Constantinople through the lens of monastic buildings (both imperial and otherwise) and the urban worship of saints and the Theotokos; its chronological focus extends from the late ninth through the middle of the twelfth centuries. It further addresses the important changes that Evergetine monasticism elicited in imperial religiosity and the care of the dead in the court context.
God has sent the thunder: Ideological distinctives of middle Byzantine military manuals
Greek and Roman Military Manuals, J. Chlup and C. Whately (eds.), New York, 2020
The author examines the military manual of the Byzantine emperor Leo VI the Wise. It is a unique work of consolidation and innovation: while Leo's Tactics draws upon Earlier military texts, he also imbues it with Christian ideals - that is, he presents a Christianized general. This balance of imitation and innovation would appear to give a new lease of life to the military manual. These chapters appear to agree that one aspect of military thinking is the focus on how to conceptualize the enemy. Whereas the Greeks and romans considered themselves as superior fights to their foreign (barbarian) enemies, by the Byzantine period there appears to be a recognition that this was no longer the case. In this sense, Maurice and Leo balance between following the generic traditions of the military manual and creating texts that are relevant to the shifting realities of warfare in that period.