Byzantine head reliquaries and their perception in the West after 1204 : a case study of the reliquary of St. Anastasios the Persian in Aachen and related objects / Mabi Angar.

Author
Angar, Mabi, 1975- [Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/​Created
Wiesbaden : Harrassowitz Verlag, 2017.
Description
xv, 332 pages : 80 illustrations (some color) ; 25 cm.

Availability

Available Online

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Firestone Library - Classics Collection BX2333 .A54 2017 Browse related items Request
    Marquand Library - Remote Storage (ReCAP): Marquand Library Use OnlyBX2333 .A54 2017 Browse related items Request

      Details

      Subject(s)
      Series
      Summary note
      This study centers around Byzantine head relics and their receptacles. The first part discusses the so-called Reliquary of St. Anastasios the Persian, a silverwork in the shape of a centralized, domed church that was probably made in Antioch, but was later housed in Aachen Cathedral. The object is commonly considered a Byzantine vessel for the Eucharist that was later reworked to become a reliquary for the head of St. Anastasios in its new Western context. This study closely examines the life and cult of this particular saint in Byzantium and Aachen by considering the object?s typology and contextualizing relations between Antioch and Constantinople in the late 10th century that have been largely overlooked, shedding light on the handling of sacred objects and confiscation measures under Basil II. The second part of the study concerns the veneration of Byzantine head relics in Constantinople and, more specifically, head relics that were transferred to the West in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade. A discussion of Latin, post-1204 sources which affected medieval and modern perceptions of Byzantine relic veneration counters a bias against Byzantine sacred goldsmith work discernable in scholarship of the mid-20th century. Together with appendices on the anatomical nomenclature of the human skull, skull-chalices, and selected sacred objects made of precious metal related to relic veneration and the Eucharist, this study aims to reconstruct head reliquary types. It also seeks to refute the claim in art history that simple caskets that can easily be opened were commonly used as reliquaries of Byzantine body relics.
      Notes
      Revised thesis (doctoral), Universität Köln, 2012.
      Bibliographic references
      Includes bibliographical references (pages 209-245) and index.
      Contents
      • Part I. 1. The Aachen Reliquary of St. Anastasios the Persian ; 2. The Cult of St. Anastasios the Persian in Byzantium ; 3. The Cult of St. Anastasios the Persian in Aachen ; 4. Typology and Function ; 5. The Policy of Confiscation under Basil II
      • Part II. 6. The Veneration of Head Relics in Constantinople ; 7. Western Recipient Institutions in Possession of Byzantine Head Relics after 1204 ; 8. Othering Orthodox Piety: The Impact of Post-1204 Sources on Medieval and Modern Perceptions of Byzantine Modes of Relic Veneration
      • Appendices. A. Anatomical Nomenclature of the Human Skull ; B. Skulls as Drinking Devices ; C. Selected Objects
      • Conclusion
      • Fazit [in German].
      ISBN
      • 9783447107327 ((hbk.))
      • 3447107324 ((hd. bd.))
      • 9783447107006
      • 3447107006
      LCCN
      2017376391
      OCLC
      983776126
      International Article Number
      • 9783447107327
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