Brad Hostetler
Associate Professor of Art History, Kenyon College
Phone: (740) 427-4743
Address: Department of Art History, Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio 43022
Phone: (740) 427-4743
Address: Department of Art History, Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio 43022
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The ring is exhibited at the Walters in the gallery of Early Byzantine art and is accessible on the Walters’ website. The only substantial publication on the ring is found in the 2011 book, The Medieval World: The Walters Art Museum, by Martina Bagnoli and Kathryn Gerry. This catalogue of nearly 150 objects serves as a guide to the medieval collections and an introduction to the material culture of the Middle Ages. The short entry on the ring erroneously states that the monogram is composed of Latin letters, which translate as “of Mark.” The Walters’ website corrects the first error, indicating that the monogram is composed of Greek letters, but maintains the reading “of Mark.” This research note demonstrates that the monogram identifies the wearer as “Akakios,” and then shows that the misattribution reflects the ways in which signet rings have been studied and presented in publications and museum exhibitions.
Numerous Middle Byzantine reliquaries survive or are known through textual descriptions, but there has not been a study that examines these objects as a group. This dissertation fills this gap, charting out a paradigm for understanding the forms and functions of these objects. I take as my focus those reliquaries inscribed with metrical inscriptions, or epigrams. These texts provide a great deal of information about reliquaries, and they served a variety of functions—as ex-voto prayers, as expressions of identity, as performative texts, and as descriptions of the objects that they accompany. I demonstrate that epigrams are also visual, functioning as but one part of the reliquaries’ complex visual programs in which word, image, and sacred matter converge, complement, and interact with each other. I examine the mechanisms of these interactions, revealing the messages they conveyed on behalf of the patrons and the ways in which reliquaries and epigrams functioned in the artistic and literary culture of Byzantium.
Chapter 1, “Introduction,” defines the critical terms of this dissertation, presents an overview of the scholarship, and outlines my methodological contributions. Chapters 2 and 3 introduce the reader to the forms and functions of reliquaries in the Middle Byzantine period, and are thus the foundation for the dissertation. Chapter 2 outlines the different types of reliquaries that were inscribed with epigrams. It presents aspects of their design and form, including imagery and the placement of the epigrams. Chapter 3 provides a brief historical survey of the various contexts in which reliquaries were used, from personal possessions to public veneration practices. Chapters 4–6 focus on epigrams. Chapter 4 examines the ways in which epigrams—both in content and placement—function to make relics visually and haptically accessible to the faithful. Chapter 5 explores the relationship between reliquary and metaphor. What are the ways in which the ekphrastic character of epigrams describes, interprets, and presents reliquaries for and to their owners? Chapter 6 situates reliquaries in the context of religious gift-giving by addressing the various ways in which a patron articulates his/her identity, connection with a holy figure, and what he/she hopes to receive in return. Chapter 7 presents my conclusions concerning the forms of reliquaries, relic accessibility, viewer interpretations, and patron motivations. The Appendices catalogue the 74 Middle Byzantine reliquaries inscribed with epigrams.
The case studies I present in these chapters demonstrate that Middle Byzantine reliquaries with epigrams are/were a complex system of texts, images, relics, and materials that interact with each other. I demonstrate that epigrams—in addition to being textual—have visual and spatial dimensions, wrapping the exterior, interior, front, back, and sides of reliquaries. They are dynamic texts that pulled the viewers in and taught them how to see, interpret, and handle the reliquaries, and how to access relics.
In Chapter One, I turn to the context with which votive is most often associated – sacred. With each object I consider whether it is or is not votive and how the inscription contributes to that identification. In Chapter Two I examine objects inscribed with boethei that were intended for use or display in a secular context. While the objects discussed in Chapter One can be identified as votive, those discussed in this chapter cannot be so labeled. What then does the inscription mean in a secular context? In Chapter Three I present one object as a case study. I examine aspects of its production including inscriptions, patronage, iconography and function to argue that identifying a votive object requires a multivalent analysis of all its components. I show that, in this case, the patrons created a unified program of text, iconography and relics to convey their hope for salvation through perpetual prayer. I demonstrate that when all of these components are considered, we find a more precise message than what is explicitly stated in the inscription itself."
Series: Sources for Byzantine Art History 3
In this book the beauty and meaning of Byzantine art and its aesthetics are for the first time made accessible through the original sources. More than 150 medieval texts are translated from nine medieval languages into English, with commentaries from over seventy leading scholars. These include theories of art, discussions of patronage and understandings of iconography, practical recipes for artistic supplies, expressions of devotion, and descriptions of cities. The volume reveals the cultural plurality and the interconnectivity of medieval Europe and the Mediterranean from the late eleventh to the early fourteenth centuries. The first part uncovers salient aspects of Byzantine artistic production and its aesthetic reception, while the second puts a spotlight on particular ways of expressing admiration and of interpreting of the visual.
for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies
INSCRIBING TEXTS
IN BYZANTIUM:
CONTINUITIES AND TRANSFORMATIONS
18-20 March 2016, Exeter College, Oxford
In spite of the striking abundance of extant primary material – over 4000 Greek texts produced in the period between the sixth and fifteenth centuries – Byzantine Epigraphy remains largely uncharted territory, with a reputation for being elusive and esoteric that obstinately persists. References to inscriptions in our texts show how ubiquitous and deeply engrained the epigraphic habit was in Byzantine society, and underscore the significance of epigraphy as an auxiliary discipline. The growing interest in material culture, including inscriptions, has opened new avenues of research and led to various explorations in the field of epigraphy, but what is urgently needed is a synthetic approach that incorporates literacy, built environment, social and political contexts, and human agency. The SPBS Symposium 2016 has invited specialists in the field to examine diverse epigraphic material in order to trace individual epigraphic habits, and outline overall inscriptional traditions. In addition to the customary format of panel papers and shorter communications, the Symposium will organise a round table, whose participants will lead a debate on the topics presented in the panel papers, and discuss the methodological questions of collection, presentation and interpretation of Byzantine inscriptional material.
The ring is exhibited at the Walters in the gallery of Early Byzantine art and is accessible on the Walters’ website. The only substantial publication on the ring is found in the 2011 book, The Medieval World: The Walters Art Museum, by Martina Bagnoli and Kathryn Gerry. This catalogue of nearly 150 objects serves as a guide to the medieval collections and an introduction to the material culture of the Middle Ages. The short entry on the ring erroneously states that the monogram is composed of Latin letters, which translate as “of Mark.” The Walters’ website corrects the first error, indicating that the monogram is composed of Greek letters, but maintains the reading “of Mark.” This research note demonstrates that the monogram identifies the wearer as “Akakios,” and then shows that the misattribution reflects the ways in which signet rings have been studied and presented in publications and museum exhibitions.
Numerous Middle Byzantine reliquaries survive or are known through textual descriptions, but there has not been a study that examines these objects as a group. This dissertation fills this gap, charting out a paradigm for understanding the forms and functions of these objects. I take as my focus those reliquaries inscribed with metrical inscriptions, or epigrams. These texts provide a great deal of information about reliquaries, and they served a variety of functions—as ex-voto prayers, as expressions of identity, as performative texts, and as descriptions of the objects that they accompany. I demonstrate that epigrams are also visual, functioning as but one part of the reliquaries’ complex visual programs in which word, image, and sacred matter converge, complement, and interact with each other. I examine the mechanisms of these interactions, revealing the messages they conveyed on behalf of the patrons and the ways in which reliquaries and epigrams functioned in the artistic and literary culture of Byzantium.
Chapter 1, “Introduction,” defines the critical terms of this dissertation, presents an overview of the scholarship, and outlines my methodological contributions. Chapters 2 and 3 introduce the reader to the forms and functions of reliquaries in the Middle Byzantine period, and are thus the foundation for the dissertation. Chapter 2 outlines the different types of reliquaries that were inscribed with epigrams. It presents aspects of their design and form, including imagery and the placement of the epigrams. Chapter 3 provides a brief historical survey of the various contexts in which reliquaries were used, from personal possessions to public veneration practices. Chapters 4–6 focus on epigrams. Chapter 4 examines the ways in which epigrams—both in content and placement—function to make relics visually and haptically accessible to the faithful. Chapter 5 explores the relationship between reliquary and metaphor. What are the ways in which the ekphrastic character of epigrams describes, interprets, and presents reliquaries for and to their owners? Chapter 6 situates reliquaries in the context of religious gift-giving by addressing the various ways in which a patron articulates his/her identity, connection with a holy figure, and what he/she hopes to receive in return. Chapter 7 presents my conclusions concerning the forms of reliquaries, relic accessibility, viewer interpretations, and patron motivations. The Appendices catalogue the 74 Middle Byzantine reliquaries inscribed with epigrams.
The case studies I present in these chapters demonstrate that Middle Byzantine reliquaries with epigrams are/were a complex system of texts, images, relics, and materials that interact with each other. I demonstrate that epigrams—in addition to being textual—have visual and spatial dimensions, wrapping the exterior, interior, front, back, and sides of reliquaries. They are dynamic texts that pulled the viewers in and taught them how to see, interpret, and handle the reliquaries, and how to access relics.
In Chapter One, I turn to the context with which votive is most often associated – sacred. With each object I consider whether it is or is not votive and how the inscription contributes to that identification. In Chapter Two I examine objects inscribed with boethei that were intended for use or display in a secular context. While the objects discussed in Chapter One can be identified as votive, those discussed in this chapter cannot be so labeled. What then does the inscription mean in a secular context? In Chapter Three I present one object as a case study. I examine aspects of its production including inscriptions, patronage, iconography and function to argue that identifying a votive object requires a multivalent analysis of all its components. I show that, in this case, the patrons created a unified program of text, iconography and relics to convey their hope for salvation through perpetual prayer. I demonstrate that when all of these components are considered, we find a more precise message than what is explicitly stated in the inscription itself."
Series: Sources for Byzantine Art History 3
In this book the beauty and meaning of Byzantine art and its aesthetics are for the first time made accessible through the original sources. More than 150 medieval texts are translated from nine medieval languages into English, with commentaries from over seventy leading scholars. These include theories of art, discussions of patronage and understandings of iconography, practical recipes for artistic supplies, expressions of devotion, and descriptions of cities. The volume reveals the cultural plurality and the interconnectivity of medieval Europe and the Mediterranean from the late eleventh to the early fourteenth centuries. The first part uncovers salient aspects of Byzantine artistic production and its aesthetic reception, while the second puts a spotlight on particular ways of expressing admiration and of interpreting of the visual.
for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies
INSCRIBING TEXTS
IN BYZANTIUM:
CONTINUITIES AND TRANSFORMATIONS
18-20 March 2016, Exeter College, Oxford
In spite of the striking abundance of extant primary material – over 4000 Greek texts produced in the period between the sixth and fifteenth centuries – Byzantine Epigraphy remains largely uncharted territory, with a reputation for being elusive and esoteric that obstinately persists. References to inscriptions in our texts show how ubiquitous and deeply engrained the epigraphic habit was in Byzantine society, and underscore the significance of epigraphy as an auxiliary discipline. The growing interest in material culture, including inscriptions, has opened new avenues of research and led to various explorations in the field of epigraphy, but what is urgently needed is a synthetic approach that incorporates literacy, built environment, social and political contexts, and human agency. The SPBS Symposium 2016 has invited specialists in the field to examine diverse epigraphic material in order to trace individual epigraphic habits, and outline overall inscriptional traditions. In addition to the customary format of panel papers and shorter communications, the Symposium will organise a round table, whose participants will lead a debate on the topics presented in the panel papers, and discuss the methodological questions of collection, presentation and interpretation of Byzantine inscriptional material.