Byzantine is the term commonly used since the
19th century to refer to the Greek-speaking
Roman Empire of the Middle Ages centered in
the capital city of Constantinople. During much
of its history, it was known to many of its
Western contemporaries as the Empire of the
Greeks, due to the dominance of the Greek
language and culture. However, it is important to
remember that the Byzantines referred to
themselves as simply as the Roman Empire. As
the Byzantine era is a period largely fabricated by
historians, there is no clear consensus on exactly
when the Byzantine age begins; although many
consider the reign of Emperor Constantine the
Great, who moved the imperial capital to the
glorious city of Byzantium, renamed
Constantinople and nicknamed the “New Rome,”
to be the beginning. Others consider the reign
of Theodosius I (379-395), when Christianity
officially supplanted the pagan beliefs, to be the
true beginning. And yet other scholars date the
start of the Byzantine age to the era when
division between the east and western halves of
the empire became permanent. Regardless of
when it began, the Byzantine Empire continued
to carry the mantle of Greek and Roman Classical
cultures throughout the Medieval era and into
the early Renaissance, creating a golden age of
Christian culture that today continues to endure
in the rights and rituals of the Eastern Orthodox
Church.
This bronze icon depicts Saint Michael, the
archangel, rendered in low relief. He stands
wearing an embroidered robe, his feathered
wings splayed outwards behind him. In one hand
he hold a spear, in the other a globe symbolizing
the Orbis Mundi. The stylization of the figure
reveals that the ancient sculptor was more
concerned with depicting the spiritual weight of
the subject as opposed to the natural
appearance of things that so concerned artists in
the Classical era before it and the Renaissance
era that was yet to come.
- (FJ.9003)
|
