Mosaics of Byzantium: Blue Throw Pillow - This design was inspired by Byzantine mosaics in churches, especially San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy. Available on Amazon.
Das Perikopenbuch Heinrichs II. ( München, Bayrische Staatsbibliothek)
Die Pergamenthandschrift umfasst 206 Blätter im Format 42,5 x 32 cm.
Das Perikopenbuch Heinrichs II. ist ein Werk der ottonischen Buchmalerei und zählt zu den Hauptwerken dieser Epoche. Das Perikopenbuch entstand vermutlich um 1007-1012 im Kloster Reichenau im Auftrag Heinrichs II. für den Bamberger Dom anlässlich dessen Weihe.
Der Buchschmuck besteht aus 28 ganzseitigen Miniaturen, 10 Zierseiten und 184 Großinitialen. Der Einband ist vorn mit einer goldgerahmten karolingischen Elfenbeinschnitzerei der Kreuzigung verziert.
The Pericopes of Henry II (Munich, Bavarian State Library)
The Pericopes of Henry II is a luxurious medieval illuminated manuscript made for Henry II, the last Ottonian Holy Roman Emperor, made c. 1002 – 1012 AD. The manuscript, which is lavishly illuminated, is a product of the Liuthar circle of illuminators, who were working in the Benedictine Abbey of Reichenau, which housed a scriptorium and artists’ workshop that has a claim to having been the largest and artistically most influential in Europe during the late 10th and early 11th centuries.
Scan by Snow White
Texts from Wikipedia (German and English version respectively)
17th century byzantine influenced Sicilian icon of Virgin Mary and child, by Antonio Filocamo; Mother of God, Gorgoepikoos "She who is Quick to Hear" in greek
AD 1149, Sicilian tombstone from Palermo Zisa palace; the inscription is written in 4 languages, Hebrew, Latin, Arabic and Greek, demonstrating in the best way the multicultural legacy of Sicily, which is located in the crossroads of many cultures. The byzantine style cross in the middle, with the standard abbreviated greek inscription IC XC NI KA, Jesus Christ, conquers.
The Lycurgus Cup, dichroic glass and metal cup, Late Roman, 4th century AD.
This extraordinary cup is the only complete example of a very special type of glass, known as dichroic, which changes colour when held up to the light. The opaque green cup turns to a glowing translucent red when light is shone through it. The glass contains tiny amounts of colloidal gold and silver, which give it these unusual optical properties. The scene on the cup depicts an episode from the myth of Lycurgus, a king of the Thracians (around 800 BC). A man of violent temper, he attacked Dionysos and one of his maenads, Ambrosia. Ambrosia called out to Mother Earth, who transformed her into a vine. She then coiled herself about the king, and held him captive. It has been thought that the theme of this myth - the triumph of Dionysos over Lycurgus - might have been chosen to refer to a contemporary political event, the defeat of the emperor Licinius (reigned AD 308-24) by Constantine in AD 324. - britishmuseum.
TheΤροπάριοντης Κασσιανής (Tropárion tis Kassianís, Hymn of Kassia) is a Greek Orthodox Chant performed in the evening of Holy Tuesday.
Kassia or Kassianí is a saint venerated by the Orthodox Church as well as the Latin and Eastern Catholic Church. Kassiani was a Byzantine Greek composer, hymnographer and poet. A famous legend is associated with her.
Kassiani, Classics Illustrated.
Kassiani was born around 807 in Constantinople into a wealthy family and she was well known for her exceptional beauty and intellect. She participated in the “bride show” organized for young Emperor Theóphilos, who was of Phrygian (Cappadocian) Greek descent. Theophilos was enraptured by her beauty. He stopped in front of her and offered her a golden apple, according to the custom, while saying: «Ὡς ἂρα διά γυναικός ἐρρύη τὰ φαῦλα» (Os ára ðiá yinekós eríi ta fávla), “So, through a woman the baser things come forth”, meaning Eve’s sin. Kassiani did not touch the apple and responded promptly: «Ἀλλά καὶ διά γυναικός πηγάζει τά κρείττω» (Alá ke ðiá yinekós piɣázi ta kríto), ¨But also through a woman the most excellent things spring¨, meaning the Christ being born to Mary. Of course, a commoner answering back to an emperor, let alone a woman, was not exactly well accepted in the Byzantine etiquette. Theophilos, outwitted in front of his whole court, turned and gave the apple to another girl, the modest Theodora, who was of Armenian descent.
The emperor Theophilos chooses his empress A.D. 829-Val Cameron Prinsep (1838-1904)
Little is historically confirmed about Kassiani until 843, when she founded a monastery west of Constantinople but she had become a nun before that. According to some sources, she chose the monastic life after her heartbreak, while others argue Kassiani was primarily interested in religious studies and other intellectual endeavours, which she could pursue much more easily in a monastery than as a regular woman in the Byzantine society. Kassiani wrote many hymns still used in the Byzantine liturgy. She also composed the music to accompany her spiritual poetry. 261 works of secular literature are also attributed to her, covering themes such as ethical ideals and weaknesses, social structures, femininity and the defense of women’s rights.
Emperor Theophilos was a fierce iconoclast. He persecuted supporters of the veneration of icons and Kassiani did not escape the imperial policy. She was scourged with a lash. Yet she remained outspoken, saying at some point: “I hate silence when it is time to speak.” Ironically, Empress Theodora was also against the Iconoclasm and she restored the veneration of icons when her emperor husband died.
Theodora is also venerated as a saint.
According to tradition, Theophilos regretted rejecting Kassiani because of his wounded ego. When he sensed his death was near, he visited her monastery in order to see her one last time. (Theophilos died young, aged 30, from illness.) Kassiani was in her cell, composing one of her hymns. She heard the imperial carriage stopping at the yard and understood. Panicked, she hid herself inside a closet in order to not be tempted to break her monastic vow. Theophilos entered the seemingly empty cell and saw her writings. He sat down, read the unfinished hymn and then added a line of his own. The line attributed to him is this one:
Transliteration: On en to paraðísso Éva to ðilinón, króton tis ossín ihithíssa, to phóvo ekrívi.
Translation: In the paradise at sunset, Eve heard the thump of these (feet) and hid herself in fear.
Emperor Theophilos.
It is thus said that Theophilos understood Kassiani was hiding in the closet. However, he respected her wish to not be seen / tempted and left without a word. Kassiani got out and read what the emperor had written. She kept his addition and finished the hymn with three more lines. The hymn is about the woman caught in adultery and saved by Jesus and not about Mary Magdalene as it is often believed. The hymn is easily recognized by its opening line:
Κύριε, ἡ ἐν πολλαῖς ἁμαρτίαις περιπεσοῦσα γυνή…
Transliteration: Kýrie, e en polés amartíes peripessússa yiní…
Translation: Lord, the woman that fell into much sin…
and it is the one chanted today according to the traditions of the Greek Orthodox Easter.
