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IMC 2004: Sessions

Session 514: The Cultures and Contexts of the Madrid Skylitzes, I: Clash or Merger in the Visual Evidence?

Tuesday 13 July 2004, 09.00-10.30

Sponsor:AHRB Centre for Byzantine Cultural History / Skylitzes Project
Organisers:Bente Bjørnholt, AHRB Centre for Byzantine Cultural History, University of Sussex
Margaret E. Mullett, Institute of Byzantine Studies, Queen's University, Belfast / AHRC Centre for Byzantine Cultural History
Moderator/Chair:Margaret E. Mullett, Institute of Byzantine Studies, Queen's University, Belfast / AHRC Centre for Byzantine Cultural History
Paper 514-aArchitecture as Symbol, Architecture as Place: Conceptual Differentials in Secular Miniatures from the 12th Century
(Language: English)
Christine Havice, School of Art, Kent State University, Ohio
Index terms: Art History - Painting, Byzantine Studies, Manuscripts and Palaeography
Paper 514-bConfronting the Turban: Modes of Representing Muslims in the Madrid Skylitzes and the Cantigas of Alfonso X
(Language: English)
Elena Boeck, Yale University
Index terms: Byzantine Studies, Islamic & Arabic Studies, Manuscripts and Palaeography, Mentalities
Paper 514-cThe Capture of Byzantine Culture in the Madrid Skylitzes
(Language: English)
Bente Bjørnholt, AHRB Centre for Byzantine Cultural History, University of Sussex
Index terms: Art History - Painting, Byzantine Studies, Manuscripts and Palaeography
Abstract

The illustrated manuscript of the Chronicle of the Byzantine official John Skylitzes (Bibl.nac.vitr.26-2) in Madrid was produced in Norman Sicily in the 12th century. The text does not betray the Sicilian origins of this copy of the Chronicle, but the images which follow the narrative in the text relate very clearly to Latin, Byzantine and Islamic visual cultures. Four linked sessions will contextualise the manuscript in terms of art, narrative and milieu as well as the wider context of the meeting of cultures. This first session will explore the presence and dynamics of the images in the manuscript, assessing boundaries, application and meaning.