Byzantium in the Iconoclast Era (ca 680–850): The Sources: An Annotated Survey (Birmingham Byzantine and Ottoman Studies)

Description

Iconoclasm, the debate about the legitimacy of religious art that began in Byzantium around 730 and continued for nearly 120 years, has long held a firm grip on the historical imagination. Byzantium in the Iconoclast Era is the first book in English to survey the original sources crucial for a modern understanding of this most elusive and fascinating period in medieval history. It is also the first book in any language to cover both the written and the visual evidence from this period, a combination of particular importance to the iconoclasm debate. The authors, an art historian and a historian who both specialise in the period, have worked together to provide a comprehensive overview of the visual and the written materials that together help clarify the complex issues of iconoclasm in Byzantium. Cover Half Title Original Title Title Copyright Contents Acknowledgements Abbreviations and Frequently Cited Works Illustrations Introduction PART I MATERIAL CULTURE 1 The Architecture of Iconoclasm Buildings Mosaics and Frescoes Beyond the Empire: The Christian Monuments of Syria and Palestine 2 Manuscripts Dated Greek Manuscripts, 700-850 Undated Greek Manuscripts with Decoration Documentary Evidence: Polemical Pamphlets? 3 Icons The Evidence from Mount Sinai The Icons Icons of Questionable Association with Iconoclasm The Evidence from Texts Conclusions 4 Sculpture (Non-Architecturai) Sculpture in the Round: Textual Evidence Ivories 5 Textiles Introduction Silks Known from Written Evidence Preserved Representational Byzantine Silks Conclusions 6 Metalwork 7 Coins and Numismatics Coins and the Economy Coins: The Material Evidence 8 Sigillography Seals and their Value Seals: The Material Evidence 9 Epigraphy 10 Archaeology 11 Historical Geography PART II THE WRITTEN SOURCES 12 Historiography and Chronography Introduction Byzantine Texts Historical and Chronicle Literature in Other Languages 13 Hagiography and Related Writing Hagiography: Sources and Genre Individual Lives 14 Acts of Ecclesiastical Councils 15 Theological and Polemical Writings: Letters, Treatises, Homiletic Literature, Hymnography Individual Texts and Authors Other Individual Writers Anonymous Works Anti-Jewish and Anti-Heretical Writings Apocalyptic Writing 16 Letters 17 Legal Texts and Literature 18 Records, Official and Unofficial Documents, Works of Reference State Documents Military Treatises Notitiae Episcopatuum Itineraries and 'Geographical' Literature Lexicographical and Bibliographical Literature 19 Non-Liturgical Verse and Epigrammatic Literature Index