Heavenly Sustenance in Patristic Texts and Byzantine Iconography: Nourished by the Word

Description

This book examines ideas of spiritual nourishment as maintained chiefly by Patristic theologians –those who lived in Byzantium. It shows how a particular type of Byzantine frescoes and icons illustrated the views of Patristic thinkers on the connections between the heavenly and the earthly worlds. The author explores the occurrence, and geographical distribution, of this new type of iconography that manifested itself in representations concerned with the human body, and argues that these were a reaction to docetist ideas. The volume also investigates the diffusion of saints’ cults and demonstrates that this took place on a North-South axis as their veneration began in Byzantium and gradually reached the northern part of Europe, and eventually the entirety of Christendom.  Preface and Acknowledgements Contents Abbreviations List of Figures Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: The Connection Between Heavenly Nurture and Biological Sustenance in the Ancient World 2.1 The Greco-Romans 2.2 Scripture and Patristics 2.2.1 Nourishment in General 2.2.2 Milk Nourishing Chapter 3: Other Faith Encounters and Instances of Milk Nourishment 3.1 Mystics and Milk 3.2 Martyrs and Milk Chapter 4: Anne’s Veneration as a Part of the Cult of the Saints Chapter 5: Patristic Texts About Saint Anne’s Role as an Intercessor with Regard to the Alleviation of People’s Barrenness and Healing in General: Proliferation of Her Cult 5.1 The Origin of St. Anne’s Cult and Its Dissemination in Europe and Beyond Chapter 6: St. Anne as the Prototype of a Saint Connected with Healing and Milk Nourishing: Introducing Various Additional Textual Sources, Including the Apocrypha 6.1 Selected Mainstream Christian Literature About Anne Breastfeeding Her Daughter 6.2 Apocryphal Texts About Anne Breastfeeding Her Daughter 6.2.1 The Protoevangelion 6.2.2 Pseudo-Matthew 6.2.3 Variant Texts 6.3 What These Apocryphal Sources Say About Anne’s Biography and the Events Leading to Mary’s Birth? 6.4 How the Apocryphal Sources Refer to Anne Breastfeeding the Infant Mary? Chapter 7: Anna Lactans/Galaktotrophousa Iconographic Motif Between the Twelfth and the Fourteenth Centuries 7.1 St. Anne Nursing in the Iconography Along the Via Egnatia Between the Twelfth and the Fourteenth Centuries Chapter 8: The Bogomils and Iconography 8.1 The Bogomils 8.2 Bogomils and Iconography Chapter 9: Conclusion Bibliography Index