Understanding the Genesis of a Multi-Layered Byzantine Manuscript. The Illuminated Copy of Elias of Crete’s Commentary on Gregory Nazianzen (Basel, UB, AN I 8)

Macé, Caroline; Andrist, Patrick

doi:10.1553/joeb70s289

Cited by 1 publication

(4 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The different titles of Or. 9 provided in Byzantine manuscripts represent varying traditions regarding as to whom this discourse was directed and who performed the consecration of Gregory as Bishop of Sasima 206 . The title of this homily in the codex Basiliensis accords with the iconography of the frontispiece in that it explicitly names Basil the Great as the consecrating bishop.…”

Section: Frontispiece To or 3 (F Nv / F 331'v): To Those Who In The B...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…13, Gregory merely alludes to the consecration of a new pastor without providing his name or specifying the location 216 . However, the names of both the bishop (Eulalius) and his see (Doara) are also provided elsewhere at least from the 12 th century on 217 .…”

Section: Frontispiece To or 13 (F Pr / F 342'r): Invocation Published...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…13 of an (unnamed) enemy of Basil the Great ( § 3) 220 . This enemy is identified by Elias as Anthimus, and it seems likely that the individual who added the label to the miniature derived it from the Commentary 221 .…”

Section: Frontispiece To or 13 (F Pr / F 342'r): Invocation Published...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…gr. 1219 in the West 309 . In light of Emperor Manuel's ambitions to reunite the Churches 310 , one should recall that, centuries later, John of Ragusa purchased the Basel codex specifically for use at the Council of Basel, which pursued the same aim.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Celebrating Orthodoxy: Miniatures for Gregory the Theologian’s “Unread” Orations (Ms. Basiliensis AN I 8)

Krause¹

2019

Jahrbuch d. österr. Byzantinistik

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ms. AN I 8 in the University Library of Basel contains the second part of the Commentary on the so-called "unread" orations of Saint Gregory of Nazianzus composed by Elias the metropolitan of Crete presumably around 1120, a text that was rarely copied in Byzantium. This essay examines the hitherto little-studied miniatures that were added to the codex, two author portraits and fourteen illustrative frontispieces. Stylistic and especially iconographic evidence suggests that the book's miniatures were commissioned during the reign of Emperor Manuel I Comnenus (1143-1180), most likely in or after 1166 when Manuel assembled a Church Council in the Great Palace of Constantinople which dealt with the interpretation of Christ's phrase "My Father is greater than I" (John 14:28). The essay presents the first detailed analysis of the iconography of the miniatures in light of the theological writings contained in the volume. Painted at a time of intense doctrinal debates, I argue that these images first and foremost serve to celebrate Gregory as a religious leader and teacher of lasting authority in matters of Byzantine Orthodox theology. Codicological analysis reveals a complex production scenario and suggests that at least the frontispieces were added to the book as an afterthought; furthermore, it can be demonstrated that these paintings were not originally intended for the present volume but likely for another copy of the same text. Yet it seems that all sixteen miniatures were created within a short period of time by one and the same workshop comprising a large number of painters, who collaborated on what appears to have been a commission of highly unusual character. complete collection, i.e., the full set of his forty-four orations (plus select further writings) 20 , and over seventy additional manuscripts contain the collection of the "unread" orations 21 . Importantly, the latter works include Gregory's esteemed Theological Orations, delivered at Constantinople in 380, which by the Early Byzantine period had earned him the honorary title "the Theologian." 22 They are found in the Basel codex as well, at the very beginning.Commentaries on Gregory's "unread" orations earlier than that of Elias do exist, and many manuscripts are equipped with abundant marginal scholia 23 . In addition, details about Gregory's life and the historical circumstances in which his writings originated were known from other writings, especially his lengthy autobiographical poem and the Vita drawn up by Gregory the Presbyter in the seventh century 24 . In Elias' Commentary, the text of Gregory's discourses is split up into sections (lemmata), so that citations from the homilies alternate with sections of the commentary, which are significantly longer. In ms. Basil. AN I 8, the lemmata are written in vermillion red ink, while the commentary sections are rendered in black ink.Given the paucity of surviving manuscripts containing Elias' expositions, it is very unlikely that the text circulated widely in Byzantium. What is now the Basel codex thu...

show abstract

Section: Frontispiece To or 3 (F Nv / F 331'v): To Those Who In The B...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Frontispiece To or 13 (F Pr / F 342'r): Invocation Published...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Frontispiece To or 13 (F Pr / F 342'r): Invocation Published...mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Celebrating Orthodoxy: Miniatures for Gregory the Theologian’s “Unread” Orations (Ms. Basiliensis AN I 8)

Krause¹

2019

Jahrbuch d. österr. Byzantinistik

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Understanding the Genesis of a Multi-Layered Byzantine Manuscript. The Illuminated Copy of Elias of Crete’s Commentary on Gregory Nazianzen (Basel, UB, AN I 8)

Cited by 1 publication

References 0 publications

Celebrating Orthodoxy: Miniatures for Gregory the Theologian’s “Unread” Orations (Ms. Basiliensis AN I 8)

Celebrating Orthodoxy: Miniatures for Gregory the Theologian’s “Unread” Orations (Ms. Basiliensis AN I 8)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About