Title | Materiality and Materialism of Middle Byzantine Gospel Lectionaries (Eleventh-Twelfth Centuries CE) |
Publication Type | Thesis |
Year of Publication | 2022 |
Authors | Kopta, Joseph R. |
Advisor | Bolman, E. (n2001008388) |
Institution | Temple |
Language | English |
Keywords | Eleventh to Fourteenth Century; Southern Europe and Mediterranean |
Abstract | Materiality and considerations of color in medieval art have been the subject of a growing number of studies in recent years, but have tended to address architecture, monumental works of art such as mosaics, or metalworking. Scholars working on western medieval manuscripts have shown how much can be done with technical art history in this arena, but to date, the study of manuscript materials and their meanings with respect to the Byzantine world have been lacking. This dissertation resituates the understanding of Middle Byzantine (East Medieval Roman) manuscript production from the eleventh and twelfth centuries CE, employing a cross-disciplinary approach that synthesizes traditional codicological analysis with new technologies that identify precise materials and techniques. In particular, this work explores Middle Byzantine manuscript materiality along two perspectives. First, it investigates modes of manufacture, identifying materials and techniques of Middle Byzantine manuscripts themselves, especially in the Lectionary of Katherine Komnena and the Dumbarton Oaks Lectionary. Secondly, it analyzes the meanings and understandings of those materials along liturgical, monastic, and scientific-intellectual contexts in the manuscripts' specific use in Middle Byzantine milieus. In each case, the focus is Middle Byzantine, Greek-language Gospel Lectionaries traceable to the Rite of Constantinople. These lavishly illuminated books played important roles in Christian liturgical contexts, and provide an opportunity to explore what Byzantines thought about the natural world. |
Addendum | 10/22/2022 |