| "This
most useful book is the product of a lecture series titled 'Sailing
to Byzantium: The Sacred Core of a Great Civilization' sponsored by
the Smithsonian Institution. . . . Each scholar writes with a clarity
sufficient for someone new to the subject while raising issues at
a level of sophistication and with a range of bibliography (and a
useful glossary) that provoke further study for the more engaged reader.
Consistent use of primary sources provides a vivid context for the
concepts surrounding the works discussed. . . . The particular virtue
of this book is the singular priority given to the church and its
art as an expression of the Orthodox liturgy conducted within the
sanctuary space, the essence of what unifies a vast and important
part of the world even after the political apogee of the empire itself."-Elizabeth
C. Parker, Church History
This easily accessible volume, which grew out of a series of lectures
presented at the Smithsonian Institution in 1991, aims to provide
a coherent introduction to Byzantine culture with a focus on the
interconnected realms of art and religion. The eight participants
have revised their lectures into chapters on Byzantine history,
theology, icons and icon theory, church architecture, monumental
painting, silver church furnishings, illustrated liturgical books,
and pilgrimage. In addition to presenting current research on this
range of topics, the chapters each contribute original scholarship
from authors who are recognized experts in their respective fields.
The introduction, by Linda Safran, deals with views and definitions
of Byzantium over the course of its long history and considers why
that civilization deserves our attention today. It underscores the
essential unifying role of the Orthodox religion in a vast and fluid
empire and clarifies how the experiential aspects of that religion-churches,
liturgy, church arts and imagery, religious travel-open a window
into Byzantine culture. Throughout the book, the past is made vivid
by considering what Byzantine believers heard and said and did,
as well as what they saw. The book's chapters are cross-referenced
and are complemented both by endnotes that cite primary and secondary
sources and by "Suggestions for Further Reading" that include English
and foreign-language references. There is no comparable art history
text that combines this high-caliber range of current scholarship
with more than 250 illustrations, including 16 pages of color plates,
to introduce Byzantine culture to a broad readership.Contributors
are Joseph Alchermes, Susan A. Boyd, Anna Kartsonis, Henry Maguire,
Robert Ousterhout, Eric D. Perl, Nancy Patterson Sevcenko, and Gary
Vikan. |
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