| 'Abbasid dynasty |
The Arabic family, descended from 'Abbas (uncle of Muhammad), which
ruled the Arab empire from 749 to 1258 and had its capital at Baghdad.
Rival Muslim leaders helped to weaken the power of the 'Abbasid, who fled
to Egypt after they were finally overthrown in 1258 by the Mongols. |
| Anastasis |
(Greek, "resurrection") This is the
representation of Christ bursting the gates of hell and releasing Old Testament
figures said to have believed in him. One of the festival icons, it is
also the Easter image of the Orthodox Church. |
| Apocrypha |
(Greek, "hidden things") These are
works that in their title, form, and contents resemble books of the Old
and New Testaments, but that are not accepted as true biblical books. |
| Apse |
A part of a building projecting outward, usually
semicircular in shape. When it is part of a church, it is located at the
eastern end. |
| Ascension |
Part of the Festival icons, this is the image
of Christ going up to heaven with the apostles as witnesses. It follows
the account of the Ascension in Acts 1:11. |
| Augustus (Augusta) |
Title of the Roman emperor (empress), used first
by Julius Caesar (27 b.c.-a.d. 14) |
| Baldachin |
Architectural canopy supported by slender columns
marking and enclosing a specific spot in the church, usually the altar. |
| Battle of the Milvian Bridge |
Constantine's crucial victory over his rival
for the Roman Empire, Maxentius, in 312, won under the sign of the Christian
cross, which paved the way for the Roman Empire to become Christianized. |
| Canon tables |
This is an introductory index system of the Gospels
that had been invented by Eusebios (ca. 260-339/40) of Caesarea in Palestine;
canon tables were frequently decorated in medieval Gospel books. Eusebios
was a historian of the church and he became bishop of Caesarea between
313 and 315. |
| Chasuble |
A long sleeveless outer garment, worn by the
celebrant at the Mass. Its color varies with the season or occasion. |
| Chi Rho |
First two Greek letters in the name Christ, used
as a monogram. |
| Cloison |
(French, "cell") The compartment made
by wire or strips of gold soldered onto a metal plaque, to be filled with
glass paste. See cloisonné enamel in part 3 for its use. |
| Copts |
Term used to refer to Christianized Egyptians;
it stems from the Arabic word Qibt, itself derived from the Greek Aigyptioi. |
| Crusade |
The nine Crusades were wars undertaken by European
Christians between the eleventh and the thirteenth century to recover the
Holy Land, particularly the city of Jerusalem, from Islam. The first four
were the most significant. The First Crusade occurred between 1095 and
1099 and ended with the Christians capturing Jerusalem and establishing
a Latin kingdom. The Second Crusade lasted from 1147 to 1149 and attempted
to stop Islamic conquests in the Latin kingdom, but failed. The Third Crusade
(1189-92) failed to recapture Jerusalem, which had been lost to Islamic
forces in 1187, but a truce was arranged so that Christian pilgrims could
visit Christ's tomb in Jerusalem. The Fourth Crusade (1202-4) pillaged
Constantinople in 1204. |
| Deesis |
(Greek, "entreaty") The representation
of Christ flanked by the intercessory figures of the Virgin and Saint John
the Baptist. |
| Ecumenical Councils |
The Ecumenical Councils were official meetings
of high church officials in various cities to settle matters of doctrine
and heresy. Only the first seven were recognized as valid by the medieval
Byzantine church. These were the councils of Nicaea (325), Constantinople
(381), Ephesus (431), Chalcedon (451), Constantinople (553), Constantinople
again (680), and Nicaea (787). |
| Festival icons |
Based on the Twelve Great Feasts or other holy
days of the litugical year of the Orthodox church, these images recorded
episodes from the lives of Christ and the Virgin.
From the eleventh century onward the Great Feasts included six feasts with
a fixed date in the calendar: the Annunciation (whose icon showed Gabriel
approaching Mary to announce that she would bear a child), the Nativity
(whose icon showed Mary, Joseph, and Christ in a manger, while below Christ
is bathed by midwives), Epiphany (whose icon showed the baptism of Christ
by John the Baptist), Hypapante (whose icon showed Mary and Joseph presenting
Christ in the Temple, with Simeon nearby), the Transfiguration (whose icon
showed Christ in a halo of glory between Elijah and Moses, with the apostles
Peter, James, and John crouching below), and the Dormition of the Virgin
(whose icon showed the Koimesis, that is, Mary on a bed surrounded by mourning
apostles with Christ holding her soul). There were also six feasts that
moved in date from year to year: Lazarus Saturday (whose icon showed the
raising of Lazarus), Palm Sunday (whose icon showed Christ on a donkey
entering Jerusalem), Good Friday (whose icon showed the crucifixion of
Christ), Easter (whose icon showed the Anastasis, or Christ bursting into
hell), Ascension Sunday (whose icon showed Christ surrounded by angels
and apostles), and Pentecost (whose icon showed Mary and the Apostles gathered
for the coming of the Holy Spirit). |
| Great Schism |
Formal rupture in 1054 between the differing
Latin and Greek branches of Christianity. |
| Grisaille |
Monochromatic painting in shades of grey. |
| Holy Spirit |
According to the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit,
sent by God, is the divine principle of activity in the world. For Christians
the Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity, which is three aspects of God,
consisting of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Able to bestow gifts on
individuals, especially the gift of prophecy, the Holy Spirit aided in
the conception of Jesus (Matt. 1:18-20); descended to Jesus at his baptism
(Matt. 3:16; Mark 1:10; John 1:32); and came down to Mary and the apostles
at Pentecost and enabled them to speak in foreign languages (Acts 2). |
| Icon |
(Greek, "image") This is any image
of a sacred personage or sacred scene; the term now is usually used to
refer to a representation on a portable panel. |
| Iconoclastic controversy |
A movement in the Eastern Empire, headed by the
emperor, that denied the holiness of religious images. During the eighth
and early ninth centuries the use of such images was prohibited, but icons
were restored to worship by 843. |
| Iconography |
Subject matter in works of art, including its
symbolism. |
| Iconostasis |
(Greek, "stand for image") A partition
with doors and tiers of icons that now separates the sanctuary from the
nave in Eastern churches. |
| Khan |
(Turkic, "supreme leader") Title used
conventionally to denote a pre-Christian ruler of Bulgaria. |
| Koimesis |
(Greek, "falling asleep") A scene not
found in the Bible that shows Mary asleep in death on a bed, surrounded
by the Apostles, her soul in the form of a baby being held by Christ. It
became one of the festival icons in the eleventh century. |
| Liturgy |
In Byzantium this term referred specifically
to the Eucharistic rite, often called the Divine Liturgy, of which there
were two Constantinopolitan formulasÑone ascribed to John Chrysostom,
the other to Basil the Great. |
Loros
(pl. loroi) |
A long scarf, especially the jeweled one worn
on festive occasions by the emperor or empress and, rarely, by certain
dignitaries; archangels attending Christ are often shown wearing loroi. |
| Mandorla |
Italian, "almond") The almond-shaped
field of radiance and splendor that entirely surrounds a holy personage,
such as the Virgin Mary, or Christ in a Last Judgement scene. |
| Orans |
(Latin, "praying") Early Christian
posture of prayer, which consists of a figure standing with arms outstretched.
It was rarely used in the Middle Byzantine period except for certain images
of the Virgin. |
| Pantokrator |
(Greek, "all-sovereign") The best-known
image of this is that of Christ, bearded and represented frontally, blessing
with his right hand while he holds the Gospels in his left; a bust of Christ
Pantokrator often formed the center of Byzantine dome decoration. |
| Patriarchates |
Communities of Christians headed by a patriarch,
a title derived from the revered male head of clans of the Jews. In the
early Christian church three patriarchates existed: Alexandria, Antioch,
and Rome; later, Constantinople and Jerusalem were added. |
| Pendulia |
Jeweled ornaments hanging from the sides of a
crown. |
| Pentecost |
(Greek, "fifty") A Jewish annual harvest
festival that came forty-nine days after Passover. During the first observance
of Pentecost after the death of Jesus of Nazareth, the Holy Spirit came
upon all believers in an upper room of a house in which they were staying
and enabled them to speak in foreign languages (Acts 2). The image became
part of the festival icons. |
| Proedros |
"First," used in titles of officials
of the empire. |
| Pyxis |
(Greek, "box") In medieval Greek this
is the general term for a small box; it often refers to a cylindrical ivory
box made from elephant tusk. |
| Relic |
A part of the body or an object associated with
a holy person; relics were kept in special containers, called reliquaries,
which were used for the veneration of the saints. |
| Repoussé |
A process of raising decoration in relief on
a metal surface by hammering from within. |
| Rinceau |
Continuous decorative scroll of vines, leaves,
plants. |
| Sassanian Empire of Persia |
Last dynasty of native rulers to reign in Persia
(ca. 226-ca. 640); its capital was Ctesiphon (Iraq). The name derives from
Sassan, an ancestor of the dynasty. Frequently at war with ancient Rome
and later with Byantium, the Sassanids were finally overthrown by the Arabs. |
| See |
The position or district of a bishop or archbishop. |
| Senmurv |
Persian mythological beast, often represented
as a combination of a bird and either a dog or a lion. |
| Solidus |
Standard unit of gold coinage, weighing about
4.54 grams. |
| Tablion |
Badge of office in the form of a richly woven
or embroidered patch of cloth applied to garments. |
| Templon |
The screen separating the santuary from the nave
in a Byzantine church. |
| Templon epistyle |
The top beam of the Byzantine templon, or sanctuary
screen. |
| Tessera (pl. tesserae) |
Cut and smoothed cube of marble, glass, or other
material used in making mosaics. |
| Umayyad dynasty |
This dynasty headed the Arab empire from 661
to 750; its capital was at Damascus. The 'Abbasid dynasty then took power. |
| Virgin Hodegetria |
This image shows the Virgin holding the Christ
child, usually in her left arm, while she points to him with her right
hand. Christ makes a blessing gesture. By legend this image was supposed
to have come from Palestine, where it came to be the image of choice in
Byzantium's most elite circles. It also came to stand for the divine protection
of the emperor and his capital city, and had much the same meaning to the
Tuscan city-states in Italy. A famous icon of the Virgin Hodegetria was
kept in the Hodegon Monastery in Constantinople and was paraded out in
times of danger to protect the city. |
