3. What was the Byzantine Empire like?

Constantino: Constantinople

Justinian & Theodora

Vocabulary  Byzantine Empire  Rich  Resist  Last: continue, goon, was extended  Constantinople  Justinian and Theodora  Rule  Rebuild  Leader  Nepotism  Code  Muslims  Conquer / reconquer  Turks / Ottomans  Icons  Iconoclastic  Domes

Activity  Exercise 1 page 10  Exercise 1 page 11

What were Byzantine religion and art like?  At the beginning the Byzantine Empire followed the traditions of Rome but after Justinian´s reign there were some changes:  Greek replaced Latin as the official language.  The Emperor (political power) decided the position of the most representative person (patriarch, bishop, priest) inside the Byzantine Church. *explain the diffetent with Rome.  In 1054 there was a schism between the Roman Catholic Church and the Byzantine Orthodox Church.

In 8th century the Emperor tried to prohibit the workship of holy images, called icons*. That period was called iconoclasm.  Icons (from the Greek) are sacred images representing the saints, Christ, and the Virgin, as well as narrative scenes such as Christ´s Crucifixion.  While today the term is most closely associated with wooden panel painting, in Byzantium icons could be crafted in all media, including marble, ivory, ceramic, gemstone, precious metal, textile, freco and mosaic.

Wood

Ivory

Gemstone

Mosaic

Iconoclasm  Iconoclasm literally means "image breaking" and refers to a recurring historical impulse to break or destroy images for religious or political reasons.  In the Byzantine world, Iconoclasm refers to a theological debate involving both the Byzantine Church and state.  During this period, imperial legislation prohibited the production and use of figural images; simultaneously, the cross was promoted as the most acceptable decorative form for Byzantine churches.

The source of debate  The Iconoclastic debate centered on the appropriate use of icons in religious veneration, and the precise relationship between the sacred personage and the image.  Fear that the viewer misdirected his veneration toward the image rather than to the holy person represented in the image lay to the heart of this controversy.

Schism, 1054

OrthodoxChurchToday

Activities  Exercise 2 page 11  Exercise 2 page17 

Art  The most representative constructions were:  Church with Greek-cross plan as Hagia Shopia or Saint Serge and Bacchus, both in Constantinople.  Big Domes covering roofs.  Mosaics covering walls and ceilings.

St. Serge and Bacchus

Hagia Sophia

Panoramic view

Domes

Pendentive : Inverted triangle used to hold the dome (Pechina)

Mosaic

 Activity 2 page 17 (onlyGermanicKingdoms and Byzantine Empire)