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6 The Ravenna Mosaics

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Byzantium
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616The Ravenna MosaicsIn the apse of San Vitale the image of this same Maximin andof the emperor and empress are beautifully created in mosaic.Agnellus,Book of the Pontiffs of the Church of Ravenna,early ninth centuryThe mosaics in Ravenna were my first and most exciting introductionto Byzantine art. During the Second World War they had been dam-aged by allied bombardment, but after1945copies of these sixth-century masterpieces were sent round Europe to raise funds for theirrestoration. My mother had seen that exhibition and was keen to visitthe originals; I was learning Italian at school and we both thoughtthat Ravenna should be the focus of our summer holiday. So off wewent from Milan in a rented Fiat Cinquecento to see the mosaic panelsthat commemorate Justinian and Theodora. Only later did I wonderwhy portraits of the rulers of Byzantium who never went to Ravennaflanked the approach to the altar in the church of San Vitale. Why arethey there?In89 bc, Ravenna, a small city on the Adriatic coast of Italy, wasconquered by the Romans, who made it the capital of the Italianprovince of Flaminia et Picenum. The well-fortified site had a secureharbour at Classis, with important maritime links throughout theMediterranean, which drew it to the attention of Emperor Honorius(395–423), who ruled the western half of the empire while his brotherArcadius ruled the East (395–408). Like most fourth-centuryemperors, Honorius did not live in Rome, but had his imperial resi-dence and court at Milan. In402he decided to move from Milan toconquered by the Romans. Later it became the capital of the Italian
© 2020 Princeton University Press, Princeton

616The Ravenna MosaicsIn the apse of San Vitale the image of this same Maximin andof the emperor and empress are beautifully created in mosaic.Agnellus,Book of the Pontiffs of the Church of Ravenna,early ninth centuryThe mosaics in Ravenna were my first and most exciting introductionto Byzantine art. During the Second World War they had been dam-aged by allied bombardment, but after1945copies of these sixth-century masterpieces were sent round Europe to raise funds for theirrestoration. My mother had seen that exhibition and was keen to visitthe originals; I was learning Italian at school and we both thoughtthat Ravenna should be the focus of our summer holiday. So off wewent from Milan in a rented Fiat Cinquecento to see the mosaic panelsthat commemorate Justinian and Theodora. Only later did I wonderwhy portraits of the rulers of Byzantium who never went to Ravennaflanked the approach to the altar in the church of San Vitale. Why arethey there?In89 bc, Ravenna, a small city on the Adriatic coast of Italy, wasconquered by the Romans, who made it the capital of the Italianprovince of Flaminia et Picenum. The well-fortified site had a secureharbour at Classis, with important maritime links throughout theMediterranean, which drew it to the attention of Emperor Honorius(395–423), who ruled the western half of the empire while his brotherArcadius ruled the East (395–408). Like most fourth-centuryemperors, Honorius did not live in Rome, but had his imperial resi-dence and court at Milan. In402he decided to move from Milan toconquered by the Romans. Later it became the capital of the Italian
© 2020 Princeton University Press, Princeton

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. List of Illustrations ix
  4. List of Maps xii
  5. Introduction: A Different History of Byzantium xiii
  6. I. Foundations of Byzantium
  7. 1 The City of Constantine 3
  8. 2 Constantinople, the Largest City in Christendom 12
  9. 3 The East Roman Empire 22
  10. 4 Greek Orthodoxy 33
  11. 5 The Church of Hagia Sophia 50
  12. 6 The Ravenna Mosaics 61
  13. 7 Roman Law 70
  14. II. The Transition from Ancient to Medieval
  15. 8 The Bulwark Against Islam 83
  16. 9 Icons, a New Christian Art Form 98
  17. 10 Iconoclasm and Icon Veneration 105
  18. 11 A Literate and Articulate Society 119
  19. 12 Saints Cyril and Methodios, ‘Apostles to the Slavs’ 131
  20. III. Byzantium Becomes a Medieval State
  21. 13 Greek Fire 141
  22. 14 The Byzantine Economy 148
  23. 15 Eunuchs 160
  24. 16 The Imperial Court 170
  25. 17 Imperial Children, ‘Born in the Purple’ 185
  26. 18 Mount Athos 192
  27. 19 Venice and the Fork 203
  28. 20 Basil II, ‘The Bulgar-Slayer’ 212
  29. 21 Eleventh-Century Crisis 220
  30. 22 Anna Komnene 232
  31. 23 A Cosmopolitan Society 242
  32. IV Varieties of Byzantium
  33. 24 The Fulcrum of the Crusades 255
  34. 25 The Towers of Trebizond, Arta, Nicaea and Thessalonike 266
  35. 26 Rebels and Patrons 281
  36. 27 ‘Better the Turkish Turban than the Papal Tiara’ 299
  37. 28 The Siege of 1453 310
  38. Conclusion: The Greatness and Legacy of Byzantium 321
  39. Further Reading 339
  40. List of Emperors Named in the Text 354
  41. Chronology 357
  42. Maps 363
  43. Acknowledgements 375
  44. Index 377
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https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400832736-009

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. List of Illustrations ix
  4. List of Maps xii
  5. Introduction: A Different History of Byzantium xiii
  6. I. Foundations of Byzantium
  7. 1 The City of Constantine 3
  8. 2 Constantinople, the Largest City in Christendom 12
  9. 3 The East Roman Empire 22
  10. 4 Greek Orthodoxy 33
  11. 5 The Church of Hagia Sophia 50
  12. 6 The Ravenna Mosaics 61
  13. 7 Roman Law 70
  14. II. The Transition from Ancient to Medieval
  15. 8 The Bulwark Against Islam 83
  16. 9 Icons, a New Christian Art Form 98
  17. 10 Iconoclasm and Icon Veneration 105
  18. 11 A Literate and Articulate Society 119
  19. 12 Saints Cyril and Methodios, ‘Apostles to the Slavs’ 131
  20. III. Byzantium Becomes a Medieval State
  21. 13 Greek Fire 141
  22. 14 The Byzantine Economy 148
  23. 15 Eunuchs 160
  24. 16 The Imperial Court 170
  25. 17 Imperial Children, ‘Born in the Purple’ 185
  26. 18 Mount Athos 192
  27. 19 Venice and the Fork 203
  28. 20 Basil II, ‘The Bulgar-Slayer’ 212
  29. 21 Eleventh-Century Crisis 220
  30. 22 Anna Komnene 232
  31. 23 A Cosmopolitan Society 242
  32. IV Varieties of Byzantium
  33. 24 The Fulcrum of the Crusades 255
  34. 25 The Towers of Trebizond, Arta, Nicaea and Thessalonike 266
  35. 26 Rebels and Patrons 281
  36. 27 ‘Better the Turkish Turban than the Papal Tiara’ 299
  37. 28 The Siege of 1453 310
  38. Conclusion: The Greatness and Legacy of Byzantium 321
  39. Further Reading 339
  40. List of Emperors Named in the Text 354
  41. Chronology 357
  42. Maps 363
  43. Acknowledgements 375
  44. Index 377
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