Writingin the Nativity Church of Bethlehem (original) (raw)
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Close examination of the apse painting of Christ in Glory in the Pancarlık church in Cappadocia, Turkey, from the ninth or tenth century, reveals the important role of painted inscriptions in this program. The prominent central epigraph has been published previously, but with uncertainty about the reading of damaged letters. With the text of this inscription here confirmed , its significance becomes clear. The epigraph mentions " great fear, " which proves key to interpreting the apse program and the intended viewer response. It can be related to two other Cappadocian inscriptions, heretofore read incorrectly and not connected with the Pancarlık example. I propose that this group of rhythmic but nonmetrical inscriptions represents a local, oral tradition, an element of popular piety generally lost to scholars. The Pancarlık apse inscription draws on this tradition but transforms it to heighten its impact on the viewer. I also present additional dipinti from the apse, including one in an unusual mirror-image script. Together with the Christ in Glory in the apse, the painted inscriptions are active agents that create a space for personal reflection and emotional response by well-educated ecclesiastics and barely literate laypersons alike; it does not require extensive theological or exegetical knowledge. The Pancarlık church therefore encourages us to explore the sophisticated use of words and images in a non-Constantinopolitan context as well as the opportunities for viewer response to a middle Byzantine painted program.
In this paper author presented – on selected examples – Latin inscriptions from the Renaissance period as a part of Dubrovnik's rich heritage. The inscriptions are found on public buildings and religious objects. A highlight in the Dubrovnik area is found in the Franciscan monastery of Slano – an inscription carved in Gothic epigraphic letters. Its mixture of Gothic and Renaissance elements marks a crossroad of old traditions and new developments in monumental lettering. In the city of Dubrovnik itself there is an inscription on the south side of the portico of the Rector's Palace in praise of the god Aesculapius which was carved in humanistic capital letters. It reflects new intellectual currents of humanism which rely on the ancient tradition of Epidaurus as the predecessor of Dubrovnik where Asclepius (Eskulap) was born according to tradition. In the 1443-1444s the famous Italian humanist Ciriaco di Filippo de Pizzicolli d'Ancona (Kyriacus Anconitanus, 1391-1452) was living in Dubrovnik who composed the inscriptions on the porch of the Rector's Palace and on the fountain leaving his humanistic „signature“ on the sculpture decoration of the Rector's Palace. The intention of this paper is to analyze the inscriptions, i.e. to make a transcription, to resolve the abbreviations and to contextualize them.
Medieval Latin Inscriptions in Constantinople
Materials for the Study of Late Antique and Medieval Greek and Latin Inscriptions in Istanbul. A Revised and Expanded Booklet, 2020
Materials for the Study of Late Antique and Medieval Greek and Latin Inscriptions in Istanbul. A Revised and Expanded Booklet. Prepared by I. Toth and A. Rhoby, Oxford and Vienna, 2020, p. 97-106 https://doi.org/10.1553/Inscriptions\_in\_Istanbul
Inscriptions and the Epigraphic Habit. The Epigraphic Cultures of Greece, Rome, and Beyond
2023
Inscriptions are a major feature of the Greek and Roman worlds, as inhabitants around the Mediterranean chose to commit text to stone and other materials. How did the epigraphic habit vary across time and space? Once adopted, how was the epigraphic habit variously expressed? The chapters of this volume analyze the epigraphic cultures of regions, cities, and communities through both large-scale analyses and detailed studies. From curse tablets in Britain to multilingual communities in Judaea-Palestine, from Greece to Rome to the Black Sea, and across nearly a millennium, the epigraphic outputs of cities and individuals underscore a collective understanding of the value of inscribed texts.