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Report, Twenty-fourth Annual Byzantine Studies Conference At the University of Kentucky, Lexington on 5-8 November 1998 some one hundred and fifty scholars and postgraduate students from the United States (plus one or two international participants) gathered to enjoy the annual conference showcasing Byzantine studies in North America. Judging from the breadth of the papers offered and from the quality of those delivered by the postgraduate students and young scholars in particular, Late Antique and Byzantine studies are not only alive and well on that continent, but thriving.
The conference opened with a plenary session (Showcasing Byzantium) reflecting on recent Byzantine exhibits in galleries in the US and Canada. Helen Evans, curator at the Metropolitan Museum, gave a fascinating and entertaining behind the scenes account of the politics of staging the acclaimed exhibition The Glory of Byzantium. She assures us that, despite the challenges of collating, curating and mounting such an ambitious show, a third Byzantine exhibition is in the planning. Helen Saradi detailed the opening of the new Gallery of Byzantine Art at the Royal Ontario Museum, while Sheila Campbell made some general reflections on The Politics of Byzantine Exhibitions. She suggested that careful consultation and planning beforehand could do much to mitigate the reactions of local ethnic communities.
After a much needed coffee break, the conference moved into parallel sessions. In the session New Evidence for Byzantine Art and Archaeology, Ann Terry and Henry Maguire joined forces to present a preliminary report regarding recent fieldwork on the wall mosaics at the Cathedral of Eufrasius in Porec. Discussion centred on the relationship between the original sixth century mosaics and subsequent phases of restoration. Chuck Morss followed with a paper focussing on the date of the Great Palace Mosaic in Constantinople according to stylistic criteria. He concludes that the mosaic dates to the sixth century and, while it may have been designed by an imperial workshop in the first half of the century, was probably completed by Palestinian artists between 550 and 580 AD. Joel Walker, incorporating the results of archaeological work in the seasons 1996-1998 at "Kileseler", near modern 'Tahirler, fifteen kms southwest of Beypazari in Central Anatolia, gave a paper in which he concluded that, although some questions remain, the site can be identified as ancient Sykeon. Robert Ousterhout concluded the session with an examination of the decoration found in the ninth century church currently known as the Fatih Camii in Trilye, located on the south shore of the Sea of Marmora.
In the parallel session titled: The Private Sphere in Byzantium, papers dealt with a variety of issues. Stephanie Smith presented a stimulating paper on the purpose and context of the numerous decorated gold glass fragments of the mid to late fourth century found embedded in the concrete walls of the catacombs of Rome. Geoffrey Nathan followed with an entertaining paper on the view of the slave presented in the dramatic comedy, the Querolus, and its relationship to the life of the slave in Late Antiquity. With his paper Adaptation and Antiquarianism in the Proto-Byzantine City Michael Milojevic shifted the focus from the domestic sphere to the urban space. His particular interest was the conversion of temples and secular buildings for Christian use. Concluding the session, Veronica Kalas presented an interpretation of three newly discovered rock-cut complexes of the middle Byzantine period in the Peristrema Valley, Western Cappadocia, as manor houses owned and operated by the local, landed elite.
After lunch, the two parallel sessions offered papers grouped around the themes of Patronage and Style and Legitimations of Power. In the first session, Marie Spiro examined the iconography of the works executed by an itinerant mosaic workshop that traveled through Central Greece and the Peloponnesos in the first half of the sixth century. Christina Maranci followed with a paper on the role of artistic patrons in mediaeval Armenia, with particular attention to the church of Zvart`noc`, in which she suggests that Nerses' "philhellenistic" patronage of this church had more to do with political reasons than religious affiliation. Laura Hebert, speaking on Middle Byzantine architecture and sculpture in Aphrodisias, pointed towards a means for establishing a much needed chronological "measuring stick" for Byzantine archaeology in this area of Asia Minor. George Stricevic concluded with an examination of the katholikon of the Chilandari monastery on Mt Athos and the building phase which took place at this site in 1198.
In the parallel session, Areti Papanastasiou argued that the ivory casket decorated with scenes from the life of David at the Palazzo Venezia in Rome is not a ninth century but a tenth century work. The emperor and empress depicted on the lid are better identified as John I Tzimiskes and Theodora (daughter of Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos). Sarah Brooks, in her examination of the frescoed portrait of the Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas and four imperial family members in the "Pigeon House Church", Cavusin, Cappadocia (c.963-969), connected the gesture of the imperial couple with the linking of hands in traditional marriage iconography and with the liturgical function of the north sanctuary and its rock-cut altar. In her paper on the multivalency of the mosaic The Virgin and Child Enthroned between Emperors in the southwest vestibule of Hagia Sophia, Kathleen Schowalter suggested that the mosaic promotes a vision of the dynastic and divine legitimacy of the Emperor Basil II, as well as projecting for the viewer the past, present and future taxis of the empire under Basil II and his dynasty. Dimiter Angelov continued with theme with his examination of the imperial ideology of the Byzantine empire in exile as portrayed in the four orations of Niketas Choniates, Jacob of Ohrid and Theodore II Laskaris to the emperors Theodore I Laskaris and John III Doukas Vatatzes. Robert Hallman concluded with a lively paper on the Nachleben of the Alexander Romance in fourteenth century Anatolia, arguing that its validation of political and blood alliance with rivals and its promotion of Persian defeat suited the political and social climate of the time.
The final sessions for the day concentrated on Images of Author and Audience and Identity and Status in Late Antiquity. The first session included papers by Derek Krueger on verbal and visual portraits of biblical authors; Joyce Kubiski on a reappraisal of the Mount Athos Gospel Book (Staur. Ms. 43); Glenn Peers on the frontispiece of Sinai cod. 339; and Alfred Büchler on the naming of narrative images. Amy Papalexandrou concluded with a stimulating paper on Byzantine monuments and their inscriptions, in which she argued that the inscriptions found on walls and floors were read aloud, thus adding to the devotional life of the participant and empowering the inscription in ways hitherto little contemplated. The parallel session included papers by Hanna Witte Orr on the scenes from the life of Constantine in the wallpaintings of the church at Karm al-Ahbariya in Egypt; Grace Evans on the programme of the Mausoleum of Constans I, found within the complex of the villa of Centcelles, Spain; and Lea Stirling on Ausonius, the poem (Epicedion) which he inscribed beneath a portrait of his father, and its implications for the reading of Late Antique portraiture. Thomas Brauch concluded with a paper eliciting the career of Sophronius prior to his appointment as magister officiorum and arguing that the offices which he held in the 360s help to explain the continued prominence of Sophronius during the reigns of Valens and Theodosius I.
Saturday began with a significant session on Byzantine Urbanism held in honour of Alexander Kazhdan. Papers by Wolf Liebeschuetz on the concept of "decline" with special reference to the sixth century; Joseph Patrich and Kenneth Holum on the excavations at Caesarea Palaestinae and Byzantine-Islamic transition; and Eric Ivison on the Middle Byzantine city and the role of the state in the revival of urban life, produced much stimulating debate. In the parallel session, devoted to Ways of Seeing, Georgia Frank provided insight into notions of blindness and sight in relation to the one-eyed man; while Diana Hilvers, discussing the Rossano Gospels and their depiction of Christ in assembly with his apostles (usually dated to the sixth century), argued that the literal images presented in the codex identify it rather with anthropomorphite controversy and the Syro-Palestinian realm of the 390s. In her paper Iconoclasm in Eighth Century Palestine, Jennifer Ball proceeded to examine the motivations and identity of the incoclasts of this region and period. Liliana Simeonova concluded with a paper on the function of public pagan sculpture in tenth century Constantinople as apotropaic talismans.
The two sessions which followed the mid-morning coffee break concentrated on the themes Economic Centres and the Distribution of Goods and Lay Spirituality. In the first session, Carol Meyer gave an account of Bir Umm Fawakhir in the central eastern desert of Egypt, near the Wadi Hammamat, now identified as a 5th-6th century Byzatine/Coptic gold-mining town. The quality of the remains provides a special opportunity to study an entire community at a time when gold was urgently needed in the empire for a variety of purposes. Scott Moore's paper on the role of Cyprus in the Byzantine economy presented an analysis based on the substantial ceramic material escavated in Cyprus dating from the fourth to seventh centuries. In the final papers of the session D.M. Danis and Christine Powell presented preliminary findings and analyses relating to the domestic coarsewares and amphoras found in association with a ninth century shipwreck exacavated near Bozburun, Turkey.
In the parallel session, Jackie Maxwell presented a lively paper on John Chrysostom's audience at Antioch in which she argued that the laity developed their own views about spirituality which were not always in accord with those of their preacher. In my own paper on the degree to which women were present in the audience of late fourth century preachers, I argued that Ramsay MacMullen's pessimistic view was overly cautious and that not only did women probably attend regular synaxes in reasonable numbers, but that in some locations the majority of the women may have been ascetics. Jennifer Hevelone-Harper followed with an exploration of the fluid nature of the boundaries between lay and monastic spirituality at sixth century Gaza. Kevin Uhalde concluded with a re-examination of the current thinking regarding private penance and purgatory in the early fifth century West in relation to private spirituality and the swearing of oaths.
Sessions resumed after a congenial annual meeting and business lunch with Orientalism and Nationalism in Byzantine Scholarship and Byzantium and Italy: Interaction and Exchange. In the first session Maria Georgopoulou went "hunting" for orientals among the hunt scenes depicted on luxury objects in middle to late Byzantium. The questions of "Sassanian" origin, the foreignness of such depictions and the intention behind the production of such images all received attention. The following three papers by Walter Kaegi, Peta Milich and George Majeska examined different aspects of orientalism in contemporary scholarship and racial stereotyping in Byzantine sources. In the parallel session Frank Clover examined the Carmina 1-2 of Merobaudes and the dedicatory inscription of the church of St John the Evangelist at Ravenna in relation to the birth of Eudocia, daughter of Valentinian III and Licinia Eudoxia. Chris Havice presented a stimulating paper on the Madrid Skylitzes, the stages of its production and its probable Norman Sicilian origins. In her paper on the lions depicted on the "coronation" mantle of Roger II Fatima Mahdi drew a parallel with as-Sufi's Book of Fixed Stars, supporting the argument that they evoke the constellation Leo and have a talismanic role. Cecily Hilsdale concluded with a paper on the pallio embroidered with the life of St Lawrence associated with the treaty between the Genoese and Byzantines in March 1261 and its status as an object of exchange. As such, she argues that it should be viewed neither as Eastern nor Western but as an item encoded with the expectations and obligations of both parties involved.
The final sessions for the day Byzantine Scholars and Popular Religious Sentiments provided a variety of interesting papers. In the first session John Langdon, John Erickson, Alice-Mary Talbot and Robert Hewsen paid tribute to the recent giants of Byzantine studies in the United States Milton Anastos, John Meyendorff, Alexander Kazhdan and Cyril Toumanoff. Entertaining anecdotes and stories attesting to their intellectual rigour and endeavours abounded. In the parallel session Béatrice Caseau opened with a detailed account of the change in eucharistic practices in the Byzantine world between the sixth and twelfth centuries. Central to her thesis is the argument that the laity themselves demanded less direct contact with the eucharist. Patrick Viscuso followed with a survey of late Byzantine canon law in relation to the dissolution of marriage and the expectations directed towards clergy versus laity. George Demacopoulos, on the Council of Florence and its reception in Constantinople 1440-1453, argued that the poor reception of the Council is best viewed as a phenomenon of popular religious solidarity. In the final paper of this session Marios Philippides argued that in the 16th century the patriarchate of Constantinople embarked on a campaign to prove that the grant of privileges to the church under Sultan Mehmed II Fatih was grounded in historical reality. This campaign, he argues, gave rise to the legend of the "surrender" of Constantinople to Mehmed II in 1453.
After a very enjoyable banquet at the Headley-Whitney Estate on the Saturday evening, sessions resumed on Sunday morning with three parallel offerings: The Byzantine Literary Tradition: ... in Honor of Robert Browning, The Byzantine Economy and Defining Heresy. In the first session Edwin Floyd spoke on "Homeric and Hesiodic allusions in Cometas, On Lazarus (Anth. Pal. 15.40)"; John Duffy discussed "The Story of a Tale in George the Monk: The Jewish Boy Legend"; Elizabeth Fisher examined Ignatios the Deacon's life of Nikeophoros in relation to Nikephoros' education and the influence of Aristotle; and Jane Baun concluded with an offering on the relationship between Bulgarian translations of aprocryphal literature and Bogomilism, with special reference to the Apocalypse of Anastasia (Slovo Nastasiya Chernorizitsya). In the second session Peter Lampinen examined Byzantine mint practice in the 6th-7th century, with particular reference to the minor coinage and the issue of autonomy versus centralisation. Leonora Neville gave a lively paper on the Dölger Treatise on Taxation as a source for social history. Charles Brand, on Did Byzantium Have a Free Market?, concludes that there was greater scope for private enterprise in the 11th-12th centuries than is usually recognised. Camilla MacKay concluded with an extrapolation of the probable Byzantine situation with regard to the public post, roadside settlements and taxation from Roman and Ottoman sources. This situation appears to have changed in the Middle Byzantine period when payment in kind was commuted to cash and settlement next to the major roads of the post will have become desirable as a means of securing income. In the third session, Christopher Furhmann examined Catholic Consolidation and Donatist Decline, 347 to 361, Michael Gaddis reflected on The Sanctification of Resistance: The Politics of Martyrdom in the Century after Constantine and Ralph Mathisen discussed the development of Latin Libri Canonum in the 5th-6th centuries.
The final sessions of the conference centred upon The Alexander Romance: Text and Tradition and Definitions of Space and Regional Identity in Early Byzantium. In the first session Steven Bowman examined the 11th century Hebrew translation of the Alexander Romance of Ps. Callisthenes from Greek, comparing it to the Armenian and various Greek versions. Lucine Barsamian explored the vision of Alexander presented in the Armenian tradition, particularly in the Qafiyas appended by Armenian clerics to the prose text of the Alexander Romance. Peter Cowe concluded with an analysis of the 14th century redaction of the Alexander Romance by Khachatur Kecharets'i. In the parallel session Noel Lenski examined the Persian Peace struck between Jovian and Shapur II in 363, arguing for both compromise and continuity on the empire's eastern frontier. Linda Jones Hall presented a paper in which she argued that the study of Greek and Latin at Berytus in the first six centuries had a "heroizing" influence upon Phoenician ethnicity and that this had consequences for the creation of distinctive provincial identities. Hugh Elton, in a lively and entertaining paper, presented the case for contemporary definitions of Isaurians in the sixth century and the problems involved in arriving at any understanding of how they defined themselves. In the final paper, Timothy Gregory examined the view of the landscape presented in The Buildings of Procopius, arguing that Procopius' use of natural forms to describe architecture may provide an important insight into how he viewed the world of the sixth century.
This intense and stimulating annual event is well worth attending, if you have the chance. The next conference will be held at the University of Maryland, College Park on 4-7 November. The theme will be Twenty-Five Years of the Byzantine Studies Conference. It is to be hoped that many of the papers from this year's event will shortly make it into publication.
Wendy Mayer, Australian Catholic University
Report, Elites in Late Antiquity Conference
Presided over by the efficient and engaging Claudia Rapp and Michele Salzman, both of the University of California, and supported generously by the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at UCLA, some hundred or more scholars, students and interested lay persons gathered at UCLA on 12-14 February, 1999 for a stimulating weekend of papers and discussion on the problems associated with engaging the elites of Late Antiquity.
Papers presented by a range of mature and younger scholars considered the problems of Elite Realities and Mentalities, Ecclesiastical Elites, Elitism in Art and Literature and Challenges to Elite Awareness. The conference was opened by Peter Brown, doyen of Late Antiquity, who gave a lengthy and stimulating reflection on the history of the study of Late Antique elites against the background of the course of the second half of the twentieth century. In particular, he pointed out how investigation has moved from the exclusive (study of the senatorial aristocracy alone) to the inclusive (plus military; broader understandings of the term) and argued that it will not be complete until the existence of a growing middle class in late Roman society is acknowledged. The next step is to approach linking the top with the sub-elites and population at large. Examining the connection between wealth, poverty and the care of the poor in Late Antiquity, as Brown is in the process of doing in his latest book, is one possible approach. John Matthews, whose magisterial work on Western Aristocracies and the Imperial Court had done much to promote study of the elites within society in 1975 and who was to conclude and wrap up the discussion with a paper on the Roman Empire and the Proliferation of Elites, was unable to exit the East Coast due to a combination of the American Airlines strike and a major snowstorm. His paper, faxed to the organisers on the morning of the last day, was read by his former student, Hugh Elton. Like all good conferences exploring a problematic issue we came away asking: "What the heck is an elite, anyway?", and feeling more confused than ever. A selection of the papers will be published as a special issue of the journal Arethusa in October 2000.
The present conference grew out of the 1997 event at Berkeley, a combined meeting of the southern and northern Californian Late Antiquity Seminar groups (LARES and PENATES), which focused on the changing view of Peter Brown's Holy Man (see papers in JECS 6,3 [1998]). It has been resolved amongst the UC late antiquarians that the event now formally enter the academic calendar as a biennial conference focused on a specific issue current in the field. The next eagerly awaited gathering will take place in Summer 2001 at UC Santa Barbara. Watch this space.
Wendy Mayer, Australian Catholic University
The St. Petersburg Society for Byzantine and Slavic Studies
The St.Petersburg Society for Byzantine and Slavic Studies was founded in 1993 as a creative alliance of scholars which is supposed to promote their professional activities in the field of Byzantine and Slavic antiquities. It aims at consolidating its members and at coordinating their creative intentions to integrate this field of knowledge consecutively beyond all the interdisciplinary boundaries. Such an integration is considered to accord best with modern scientific criteria as well as the public mission of scholarship in Russia today.
The Society publishes two periodicals, the annual BYZANTINOROSSICA and the serial SUBSIDIA BYZANTINOROSSICA (see under Reviews and Resources below). Each volume of BYZANTINOROSSICA consists of three parts, including articles, communications, and reviews. As a rule, articles are focused on one of the most significant problems. The SUBSIDIA BYZANTINOROSSICA is a monographic series meant for publishing individual studies and editions of sources.
Address:
198097 St.Petersburg, pr.Stachek, d.34, kv. 56
Constantin C. Akentiev, Chairman of the Society
tel + 7 (812) 186-7700
fax + 7 (812) 312-2136 / Box 27
e-mail: byzros@infopro.spb.su