Memory is a subject that recently has attracted many scholars and readers not only in the general historical sciences, but also in the special field of art history. However, in this book, in which more than 130 papers given at the XXIXth International Congress of the History of Art (Amsterdam) 1996 have been compiled, Memory is also juxtaposed to its counterpart, Oblivion, thus generating extra excitement in the exchange of ideas. The papers are presented in eleven sections, each of which is devoted to a different aspect of memory and oblivion, ranging from purely material aspects of preservation, to social phenomena with regard to art collecting, from the memory of the art historian to workshop practices, from art in antiquity, to the newest media, from Buddhist iconography to the Berlin Wall. The book addresses readers in the field of history, history of art and psychology.

"Explores the Byzantine aesthetic of fugitive appearances by placing and filming art objects in spaces of changing light, and by uncovering the shifting appearances expressed in poetry, descriptions of art, and liturgical performance"--Provided by publisher.

The Life of Stephen the Younger is one of the rare sources for Byzantium in the ’Dark Ages’ and one of the key witnesses to the history of Iconoclasm. This book presents a new edition of the text, together with a French translation and commentary, and an important introduction. Stephen was a hermit, killed in 765 at the order of the emperor Constantine V; his Life was written in 809, some forty years after the 7th Ecumenical Council, Nicaea II, at which Orthodoxy was affirmed. Professor Auzépy shows how the Life reflects the politics of the era, both those of the patriarchate on which the author depended, and of the female monastery near which Stephen had lived, and transforms the probable victim of a failed political plot into a Christ-like figure martyred by a diabolic emperor. La Vie d’Etienne le Jeune est une des rares sources sur l’histoire de Byzance durant le Haut Moyen-Age et un témoignage majeur de la querelle iconoclaste. Cet ouvrage, comprenant une importante introduction, présente une nouvelle édition du texte, accompagnée d’une traduction française annotée. Etienne est un ermite qui fut assassiné en 765 sur l’ordre de l’empereur Constantin V. Sa Vie fut écrite en 809, une quarantaine d’années après le septième concile œcuménique de Nicée II, au cours duquel fut affirmé l’Orthodoxie. Le professeur Auzépy démontre comment la Vie reflète les enjeux politiques de cette époque, ceux du patriarcat dont l’auteur dépendait comme ceux du monastère de femmes auprès duquel Etienne a vécu, et comment la Vie transforme son héros, probablement mis à mort dans le cadre d’un complot, en une figure de saint moine martyrisé par un empereur diabolique. Winner of the "Prix Charles Diehl de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres 1999".

How and when, Herbert L. Kessler asks, was the Jewish prohibition against graven images transformed into a Christian imperative to picture God's invisibility once God had taken human form in the body of Jesus Christ?

The volume contains a critical review of data, results and open problems concerning the principal Greek and Coptic majuscule bookhands, based on previous research of the author, revised and updated to offer an overview of the different graphic phenomena. Although the various chapters address the history of different types of scripts (i.e. biblical majuscule, sloping poitend majuscule, liturgical majuscule, epigraphic and monumental scripts), their juxtaposition allows us to identify common issues of the comparative method of palaeography. From an overall critical assessment of these aspects the impossibility of applying a unique historical paradigm to interpret the formal expressions and the history of the different bookhands comes up, due to the fact that each script follows different paths. Particular attention is also devoted to the use of Greek majuscules in the writing of ancient Christian books. A modern and critical awareness of palaeographic method may help to place the individual witnesses in the context of the main graphic trends, in the social and cultural environments in which they developed, and in a more accurate chronological framework.

The Carolingian 'Renaissance' of the late eighth and ninth centuries, in what is now France, western Germany and northern Italy, transformed medieval European culture. At the same time it engendered a need to ensure that clergy, monks and laity embraced orthodox Christian doctrine. This book offers a fresh perspective on the period by examining transformations in a major current of thought as revealed through literature and artistic imagery: the doctrine of the Passion and the crucified Christ. The evidence of a range of literary sources is surveyed - liturgical texts, poetry, hagiography, letters, homilies, exegetical and moral tractates - but special attention is given to writings from the discussions and debates concerning artistic images, Adoptionism, predestination and the Eucharist.