Book Series Byzantioς. Studies in Byzantine History and Civilization, vol. 11

Discipuli dona ferentes

Glimpses of Byzantium in Honour of Marlia Mundell Mango

Tassos Papacostas, Maria Parani (eds)

  • Pages: 486 p.
  • Size:156 x 234 mm
  • Illustrations:111 b/w, 4 tables b/w.
  • Language(s):English
  • Publication Year:2017

  • € 105,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE
  • ISBN: 978-2-503-57585-8
  • Paperback
  • Available
  • € 105,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE
  • ISBN: 978-2-503-57586-5
  • E-book
  • Available


From sailing down the Euphrates to hunting with cheetahs in Constantinople, the studies collected in this volume offer engaging and often challenging new perspectives on aspects of Byzantine art and archaeology in honour of Marlia Mundell Mango.

Review(s)

"Και οι 12 συμβολές που παρουσιάζουν τις σύγχρονες κατευθύνσεις της έρευνας στην αρχαιολογία και στον υλικό πολιτισμό, χαρακτηρίζονται από πρωτότυπη έρευνα, πολλαπλές οπτικές θεώρησης και καλή τεκμηρίωση. Οι προβληματισμοί που αναφύονται είναι ενδεικτικοί για την πρόοδο και τη διαλεκτική σκέψη που προκαλεί πάντα η σοβαρή επιστημονική έρευνα. Οι συμβολές των συγγραφέων και η προσεγμένη επιστημονική επιμέλεια αποτελούν τιμή και ευφρόσυνο δώρο στη δασκάλα Marlia Mundell Mango από τους μαθητές της: …discipuli dona ferentes." (Sophia Kalopissi-Verti, in Bulletin of the Christian Archaeological Society, D/LTH, 2018, p. 464)

“The research papers presented in the volume address cutting-edge questions on spatial structures and the environment; launch also new approaches on the pathogenesis of populations and elucidate various aspects of art works within the boundaries of Byzantium and in areas adjacent to its border zones, thus putting forward a range of advanced interpretations on research issues that refer to Byzantine material life and the contacts forged with neighboring cultures in the West and the East.” (Maria Leontsini, in Byzantina Symmeikta, 28, 2018, p. 445)

BIO

Tassos Papacostas, D.Phil. (2000, Oxford University) is Lecturer in Byzantine material culture at the Department of Classics, King's College London. His current research and recent publications focus on aspects of archaeology and architecture from Late Antiquity to the early modern period, primarily on Cyprus.

Maria Parani, D.Phil. (2000, Oxford University), is Associate Professor of Byzantine and post-Byzantine art and archaeology at the Department of History and Archaeology of the University of Cyprus. Her research interests comprise daily life in Byzantium and the exploration of alternative sources for the study of Byzantine material culture to supplement archaeological data, as well as Byzantine imperial ceremonial and interregional exchange in the field of court culture.

Summary

In recognition and celebration of the achievements of Marlia (Maria Cordelia) Mundell Mango as a researcher and as a teacher, twelve of her doctoral students offer her this volume of collected essays, showcasing recent research in Byzantine archaeology and material culture studies. The essays are divided into three sections. The first comprises studies on Byzantine economy, shipping, road networks, production and trade from Late Antiquity down to the time of the Crusades. The studies in the second part discuss facets of the material culture and the lifestyle especially of the upper social strata in the Byzantine Empire, while those of the final section explore aspects of artistic creativity in the lands of the empire. Taken together, these diverse studies offer ‘glimpses’ into the Byzantine economy and trade, lifestyle and religion, ideology and identity, artistic creativity and its impact beyond the Byzantine frontier, illustrating a variety of methodological approaches and pointing towards new directions for future research. Their wide chronological, geographic and thematic coverage is in itself a tribute to Marlia Mango’s breadth of knowledge and a reflection of her far-ranging research interests.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction, Acknowledgements, Publications of Marlia Mundell Mango

OF PEOPLE, ANIMALS, GOODS AND THE NETWORKS THAT LINKED THEM

Alkividais Ginalis, The Pelion Peninsula: Byzantine Port Networks along Inhospitable Coastlines
Marlena Whiting, A River Runs Through It: The Role of the Tigris and Euphrates in Transport and Communication in Late Antiquity
Tassos Papacostas, Reconstructing the Road Network of the Byzantine Periphery: Medieval Cyprus as Paradigm
Michael Decker, Animal and Zoonotic Diseases in the Ancient and Late Antique Mediterranean: Three Case Studies
J. Eric Cooper, The Possibility of Sericulture in Byzantine Cappadocia

OF DAILY LIFE AND ITS PARAPHERNALIA

Yvonne Petrina, Late Antique Diadems: The Extant Material
Maria Parani, Medieval Byzantine Furniture
Anthousa Papagiannaki, Experiencing the Exotic: Cheetahs in Medieval Byzantium

OF ART AND IDENTITY

Elif Keser-Kayaalp, The Monastery of Mor Barsawmo in the Tur Abdin: Artistic Continuities and Encounters
Georges Kazan, What’s in a Name? Constantinople’s Lost ‘Golden Gate’ Reconsidered
Simon Davies, The Imperial Image in Middle Byzantine Sculpture: Some Lesser-Known Marble Relief Fragments from Constantinople
Natalija Ristovska, Medieval Byzantium in the Context of Artistic Interchange between East and West: The Illuminating Example of the Inlaid Brass Door at Saint Paul Outside-the-Walls in Rome

Abstracts, List of Contributors, Index