A Companion to Byzantine Illustrated Manuscripts

644 Pages·2017·38.207 MB·English

by  Vasiliki Tsamakda

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A Companion to Byzantine Illustrated Manuscripts
© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2017 | doi 10.1163/9789004346239_001
ii
Brill’s Companions to the
Byzantine World
Managing Editor
Professor Dr. Wolfram Brandes
VOLUME 2
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/bcbw
iii
A Companion to Byzantine
Illustrated Manuscripts
Edited by
Vasiliki Tsamakda
LEIDEN | BOSTON
iv
Cover illustration: The decapitation of the holy martyr Clement, bishop of Ancyra and Agathangelus,
from W.521 “Imperial” Menologion, fol. 207v, second quarter of the 11th century CE, Constantinople
(Istanbul). The Walters Art Museum (Licensed for use under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCom-
mercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Access Rights). http://www.thedigitalwalters.org/Data/WaltersManus
cripts/html/W521/
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Tsamakda, Vasiliki, editor.
Title: A companion to Byzantine illustrated manuscripts / edited by Vasiliki
Tsamakda.
Description: Boston : Brill, 2017. | Series: Brill’s companions to the
Byzantine world ; volume 2 | Includes bibliographical references and
index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017014858 (print) | LCCN 2017021697 (ebook) | ISBN
9789004346239 (E-Book) | ISBN 9789004343184 (hardback : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Illumination of books and manuscripts, Byzantine.
Classification: LCC ND2930 (ebook) | LCC ND2930 .C66 2017 (print) | DDC
745.6/709495--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017014858
Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”. See and download: brill.com/brill-typeface.
issn 2212-7429
isbn 978-90-04-34318-4 (hardback)
isbn 978-90-04-34623-9 (e-book)
Copyright 2017 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Hes & De Graaf, Brill Nijhoff, Brill Rodopi and
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This book is printed on acid-free paper and produced in a sustainable manner.
ContentCsontents v
Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xi
List of Illustrations xii
Abbreviations xvii
Notes on Contributors xviii
part 1
Introduction
1 The Use and Function of Illustrated Books in Byzantine Society 3
Jean-Michel Spieser
2 The Study of Byzantine Illustrated Manuscripts since Kurt Weitzmann:
Art Historical Methods and Approaches 23
Ioli Kalavrezou and Courtney Tomaselli
3 Codicology and Palaeography 35
Sofia Kotzabassi
Part 2
Secular Manuscripts
4 Scientific, Medical and Technical Manuscripts 55
Stavros Lazaris
5 Historical Writings 114
Vasiliki Tsamakda
6 Homeric Epics 136
Maria Laura Tomea Gavazzoli
Romances and Novels
7 Barlaam and Ioasaph 149
Marina Toumpouri
vi Contents
8 The Alexander Romance 169
Nicolette S. Trahoulia
9 The Vatican Epithalamion 177
Cecily Hennessy
Part 3
Religious Manuscripts
10 The Complete Bible 185
Elisabeth Yota
The Old Testament
11 The Book of Genesis 197
Markos Giannoulis
12 The Joshua Roll 207
Vasiliki Tsamakda
13 The Octateuch 214
Mika Takiguchi
14 The Vatican Book of Kings (*Vat. gr. 333) 227
Ioli Kalavrezou
15 The Book of Job 236
Justine M. Andrews
16 The Prophet Book 246
Mika Takiguchi
The New Testament
17 New Testament Imagery 261
Annemarie Weyl Carr
18 Illustrated Byzantine Gospel Books 270
Kathleen Maxwell
Contents vii
Liturgical Books, Service Books
19 The Lectionary 287
Elisabeth Yota
20 Psalters and Books of Hours (Horologia) 300
Georgi R. Parpulov
21 Liturgical Scrolls 310
Vasileios Marinis
22 Synaxaria and Menologia 319
Nancy P. Ševčenko
23 The Akathistos Hymn 328
Elina Dobrynina
Homilies
24 The Homilies of Gregory of Nazianzus 351
Leslie Brubaker
25 The Homilies of John Chrysostom 366
Vasiliki Tsamakda
26 The Homilies of Iakovos of the Kokkinobaphou Monastery 382
Kallirroe Linardou
Various Theological Texts
27 The Christian Topography of Kosmas Indikopleustes 395
Maja Kominko
28 The Heavenly Ladder 407
Maria Evangelatou
29 Sacra Parallela (*Par. gr. 923) 418
Maria Evangelatou
viii Chapter 1
30 The Dogmatic Panoply 430
Georgi R. Parpulov
Contents General Bibliography 433
Contents v
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xi General Index 499
List of Illustrations xii
Abbreviations xvii
NPaortets 1on Contributors xviii Index of Manuscripts 511
Introduction
Chapter 1
The Use and Function of Illustrated Books in Byzantine Society 3 Illustrations 521
Jean-Michel Spieser 3
Chapter 2
The Study of Byzantine Illustrated Manuscripts since Kurt Weitzmann: Art Historical Methods and Approaches 23
Ioli Kalavrezou and Courtney Tomaselli 23
Chapter 3
Codicology and Palaeography 35
Sofia Kotzabassi 35
Part 2
Secular Manuscripts
Chapter 4
Scientific, Medical and Technical Manuscripts 55
Stavros Lazaris 55
Chapter 5
Historical Writings 114
Vasiliki Tsamakda 114
Chapter 6
Homeric Epics 136
Maria Laura Tomea Gavazzoli 136
Romances and Novels
Chapter 7
Barlaam and Ioasaph 149
Marina Toumpouri 149
Chapter 8
The Alexander Romance 169
Nicolette S. Trahoulia 169
Chapter 9
The Vatican Epithalamion 177
Cecily Hennessy 177
Part 3
Religious Manuscripts
Chapter 10
The Complete Bible 185
Elisabeth Yota 185
The Old Testament
Chapter 11
The Book of Genesis 197
Markos Giannoulis 197
Chapter 12
The Joshua Roll 207
Vasiliki Tsamakda 207
Chapter 13
The Octateuch 214
Mika Takiguchi 214
Chapter 14
The Vatican Book of Kings (*Vat. gr. 333) 227
Ioli Kalavrezou 227
Chapter 15
The Book of Job 236
Justine M. Andrews 236
Chapter 16
The Prophet Book 246
Mika Takiguchi 246
The New Testament
Chapter 17
New Testament Imagery 261
Annemarie Weyl Carr 261
Chapter 18
Illustrated Byzantine Gospel Books 270
Kathleen Maxwell 270
Liturgical Books, Service Books
Chapter 19
The Lectionary 287
Elisabeth Yota 287
Chapter 20
Psalters and Books of Hours (Horologia) 300
Georgi R. Parpulov 300
Chapter 21
Liturgical Scrolls 310
Vasileios Marinis 310
Chapter 22
Synaxaria and Menologia 319
Nancy P. Ševčenko 319
Chapter 23
The Akathistos Hymn 328
Elina Dobrynina 328
Homilies
Chapter 24 * 351
The Homilies of Gregory of Nazianzus
Leslie Brubaker 351
Chapter 25
The Homilies of John Chrysostom 366
Vasiliki Tsamakda 366
Chapter 26
The Homilies of Iakovos of the Kokkinobaphou Monastery 382
Kallirroe Linardou 382
Various Theological Texts
Chapter 27
The Christian Topography of Kosmas Indikopleustes 395
Maja Kominko 395
Chapter 28
The Heavenly Ladder 407
Maria Evangelatou 407
Chapter 29
Sacra Parallela (*Par. gr. 923) 418
Maria Evangelatou 418
Chapter 30
The Dogmatic Panoply 430
Georgi R. Parpulov 430
General Bibliography 433
General Index 499
Index of Manuscripts
Illustrations
Illustrations 522
PrefacePreface ix
Preface
Even if only a small percentage of the medieval Greeks could read and write,
books occupied a central place in Byzantine civilization. First, Christianity is a
religion of the book. Second, the historical importance of Byzantium lies not
only in its original contributions to art and science but also – as it is well known
– in its decisive role in preserving, studying and transmitting Graeco-Roman
culture. In this context manuscripts played an important part, so that Classical
science and literature are known primarily or in some cases only through
Byzantine copies. For more than ten centuries Byzantium maintained this
heri tage for future generations and saved it from loss.
The great majority of the books produced in Byzantium were not illustrated.
Those that were deserve special notice. Just like written texts, illustrations bear
witness to Byzantine material culture, imperial ideology and religious beliefs,
as well as to the development and spread of Byzantine art. In this sense illus-
trated books reflect the society that produced and used them. Being portable,
they could serve as diplomatic gifts or could be acquired by foreigners. In such
cases they became “emissaries” of Byzantine art and culture in Western Europe
and the Arabic world. Most of them are kept today in libraries outside the for-
mer Byzantine territories; quite a few remain unpublished.
This volume aims to provide an overview of Byzantine manuscript illustra-
tion. The kind of text accompanied by miniatures and the content of the
illustrated books was chosen as the criterion for its presentation and con-
sequently determined the structure of the volume. As a general rule only
manuscripts written in Greek – the official language of the Byzantine Empire
– will be discussed, but manuscripts written in other languages will be con-
sidered where necessary.
While chronological studies on the development of Byzantine book illumi-
nation already exist (e.g. the opulent publication of A. Džurova1), we lack a
comprehensive overview of the material divided in text categories, which
informs us about which texts were illustrated in Byzantium and how. Such
studies were undertaken in extensive form only for certain groups of illustrated
manuscripts, like the illustrated Homilies of Gregory of Nazianzus or the illu-
minated Psalters. There are, beside this, numerous investigations of single
manuscripts or of particular aspects of Byzantine book illumination. The pre-
sent volume aims thus to fill a gap and to provide experts and non-specialists
1 Džurova, A., Byzantinische Miniaturen: Schätze der Buchmalerei vom 4. bis zum 19 Jahrhundert,
Regensburg 2002.
x Preface
alike with comprehensive, up-to-date guidance. It considers the illustration as
a part of the book and not primarily or merely as art historical material.
The volume begins with three introductory chapters: an overview on the
state of research and current research problems as well as the perspectives for
future research, followed by an introduction to Codicology and Palaeography,
which are necessary methods and skills for the investigation of Byzantine book
illumination. The material is subsequently divided in two categories, secular
and religious illustrated manuscripts, each encompassing several chapters. As
readers will notice, only certain texts were illustrated in Byzantium and the
reasons for their decoration varied: illustrations could serve purely aesthetic
needs, they were useful for understanding or explaining the text, they offered
visual comments on the basis of the text or independently from it, and some
miniatures also added a layer of interpretation to the text. In general, the con-
tent of the text or the difference in content was decisive for the kind of
illustration and had certainly some impact on the form they took.
The chapters on the various groups of secular and theological illuminated
manuscripts provide basic information on the following aspects: the content
of each text and its author, if known; the possible role of the textual transmis-
sion for the assessment of its illumination; the illustration system(s), the
relationship between text and images, the date and provenance of the manu-
scripts; the origins and development of the illustrations and the question of
the overall “design”, which could vary from edition to edition; the function and
importance of the miniatures; the variables which could affect the illumina-
tion; the commissioner(s) and users of the illustrated books. An important
question is whether there was a distinct form of illustration for certain catego-
ries. Attention is also paid to the manifold relationship between the various
groups of illustrated manuscripts. The chapters also offer an overview on the
various scientific approaches and methods regarding each manuscript group
presented here and point to questions which still remain open.
Although it was not possible to consider all extant kinds of illustrated manu-
scripts, we do hope to have created a useful instrument for interested readers
and to inspire further scholarly discussion. It can serve as a point of reference
for those who would like to become better acquainted with this particular
branch of Byzantine culture.2
2 Manuscripts marked with an *asterisk are available in digitized form on the Internet. The
respective URL links are listed on the website Pinakes: Textes et manuscrits grecs (Institut de
recherche et d’histoire des textes, Paris) (last accessed 06.04.2017).