Papers by Sarah C. Simmons
Athanor, Jun 2014
I thank my advisor, Lynn Jones, for her guidance and dedication through this paper's evolution. I... more I thank my advisor, Lynn Jones, for her guidance and dedication through this paper's evolution. I extend my appreciation to John Cotsonis and his generosity in providing access to his work. I also thank Brad Hostetler and Christopher Timm at Florida State University and the graduate students at the Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman, and Modern Greek studies at the University of Birmingham for their questions and suggestions.
Talks by Sarah C. Simmons
Jaroslav I (1019-1054), the Grand Prince of Rus’, claimed the Kievan throne by means of a civil w... more Jaroslav I (1019-1054), the Grand Prince of Rus’, claimed the Kievan throne by means of a civil war. Jaroslav constructed his palatine church, Saint Sophia in Kiev, within one year of his victory. The decoration of the church provided an opportunity for the prince to assert his claim to power. I argue that the fresco programs of the four subsidiary chapels of Kiev Sophia convey a cohesive message of Jaroslav’s legitimacy and authority. I suggest that the frescoes of Kiev Sophia are not a slavish imitation of Byzantine Church decoration, but a nuanced integration of Byzantine visual vocabulary into a new visual program promoting Jaroslav’s authority.
I have considered the ways in which the frescoes in the adjacent south chapels assert the Prince’s legitimacy by aggrandizing his dynastic lineage. In this paper I expand my discussion to include the northern chapels dedicated to St. George and Sts. Peter and Paul. While the decorative programs of the southern chapels convey Jaroslav’s dynastic legitimacy, I argue that the northern chapels present Jaroslav’s authority as a military and ecclesiastical leader to the Rus’ court. This paper considers how Rus’ ceremonial traditions and homiletic rhetoric supported Jaroslav’s visual expression of power in Kiev Sophia.
Current scholarship acknowledges the continuation of certain aspects of local Rus’ iconography but continues to approach Kievan Rus’ as a peripheral state that imitated the visual and ceremonial languages of Constantinople. I suggest that this approach ignores the agency of the Kievan rulers in their reception and reinterpretation of Byzantine visual language.
The influence of Byzantine culture in Kievan Rus’ after its conversion to Christianity is apparen... more The influence of Byzantine culture in Kievan Rus’ after its conversion to Christianity is apparent in the appropriation of imperial costume and regalia, church decoration, and architecture. Current scholarship, while acknowledging the continuation of certain aspects of local iconography, approaches Kievan Rus’ as a peripheral state that imitated the visual and ceremonial languages of Constantinople. I suggest that this approach ignores the agency of the Kievan rulers in their reception and reinterpretation of Byzantine visual language. I focus on the fresco program of the south-eastern chapels in the church of Saint Sophia in Kiev in order to demonstrate the transmission, appropriation, and adaptation of Byzantine iconography. I demonstrate how the decorative program of these chapels function to convey a message of legitimacy of its patron, the Grand Prince Jaroslav I, who ruled from 1019 to 1054. I argue that Jaroslav did not slavishly imitate Byzantine Church decoration to convey his political ideology, but rather appropriated and adapted Byzantine visual vocabulary to construct a new visual narrative promoting his dynastic legacy. This study is a part of a larger project that considers the decorative program of the four subsidiary chapels as a unified message conveying Jaroslav’s legitimacy and authority.
"I examine the construction of individual political identity in the post-Iconoclastic society of ... more "I examine the construction of individual political identity in the post-Iconoclastic society of ninth-century Constantinople. I present, as a case study, Photios’ patriarchal seals that depict the icon type of the Hodegetria. I argue that Photios used this iconography to create a patriarchal, visual “tradition” to condemn the reputation of his opponent and advance his own political career.
The Triumph of Orthodoxy initiated a significant shift in the society of ninth-century Constantinople. After falling from power, the Iconoclasts risked social and political exile if they did not repent and align themselves with the new Iconophile regime. I suggest that Photios used this conflict to his personal advantage. I argue that Photios appropriated the iconography of the Hodegetria as an Iconophile symbol to create a visual identity for two effects: first, to promote himself as an Iconophile leader and, second, to launch a visual campaign that framed his patriarchal predecessor and political opponent, Ignatios, as an impious Iconoclast.
Scholarship has limited the influence of the Iconoclast Controversy in Byzantine art and politics to the period immediately following 843. My analysis expands the period affected by the end of Iconoclasm and questions how images reflect and perpetuate this ongoing political and social tension.
"
"I examine the relationship between liturgy, the Patriarch Photios’s Homily 17, and the apse mosa... more "I examine the relationship between liturgy, the Patriarch Photios’s Homily 17, and the apse mosaic of Hagia Sophia within the political context of ninth-century Constantinople. I argue that Photios created and employed his own liturgical identity as a “God Bearer,” or Theotokos, to politically oppose the imperial mimesis of Christ.
The Emperor Michael III and Photios participated in the Divine Liturgy in Hagia Sophia on Holy Saturday, 867. Photios delivered his homily, which dedicated the apse mosaic of the Theotokos and Christ Child. Scholarship has recognized that the iconography of the Theotokos was appropriated as an Iconophile emblem during the Iconoclastic Controversy and that Homily 17 reflects this ideology. I argue that Homily 17 must also be understood within its liturgical context. Photios’s rhetoric emphasizes the Theotokos as the human vessel for Christ’s incarnation. I suggest this rhetoric functions to render himself as a Theotokos, the one who bears the blood and body of Christ for his congregation. The proximity of Photios’s performance of the Eucharist below the apse mosaic manifests and reinforces his symbolic identity as a “God Bearer.”
Hagia Sophia is thus a stage wherein patriarchal and imperial symbolic identities are played out within the liturgical performances. My analysis of the liturgy of the Great Church provides a new interpretive model for understanding the ongoing Iconoclastic Controversy in Byzantine politics and art."
MA Thesis by Sarah C. Simmons
In this paper, I suggest that the Byzantine Patriarch Photios (r. 858-867, 877-886) used the comp... more In this paper, I suggest that the Byzantine Patriarch Photios (r. 858-867, 877-886) used the composition of the apse mosaic of the Theotokos and Christ-Child and its relationship to the light within Hagia Sophia to his political advantage. I propose that on Holy Saturday, 867, Photios attempted to counteract political threats through his Homily 17, which dedicated the apse mosaic, the first figural image installed in Hagia Sophia after the end of Iconoclasm. In Byzantine liturgy, the emperor played a ceremonial role as the embodiment of Christ, an idea that was widely propagated, for example, by images of Christ on imperial coins. I argue that Photios emphasized his own ceremonial role as a “God Bearer” and appropriated the image of the Theotokos as his own opposing political symbol. With the dedication of the Theotokos image, Photios garnered the visual language needed to oppose imperial authority and created an opportunity to assert his Iconophile polemic.
Homily 17 is a result of the continuation of the Iconoclast controversy that persisted since the so-called Truimph of Orthodoxy in 843. Through Photios’s dedication of the apse image and its relationship to Hagia Sophia’s liturgy, the apse
mosaic became a performative image.
In addition to the convergence of ceremonial liturgy, Photios’s polemic sermon, and the political setting of Hagia Sophia, the play of light on the apse mosaic created an opportunity for the Patriarch to publicly assert his power. Rico Franses discusses how the effect of light on Hagia Sophia’s apse image of the Theotokos and Christ Child conveys Orthodox theology to the church’s congregation. He explains that the changing light in Hagia Sophia, as the sun rises and lowers, and the effect of the reflected light on the gold tessarae illuminate either the Theotokos or the Christ Child. I propose that Photios took advantage of Hagia Sophia’s unique light effect in order to emphasize the Theotokos and his own ceremonial role as a “God Bearer” over the Christ-Child in the political rhetoric of Homily 17 and the liturgy of Hagia Sophia.
Uploads
Papers by Sarah C. Simmons
Talks by Sarah C. Simmons
I have considered the ways in which the frescoes in the adjacent south chapels assert the Prince’s legitimacy by aggrandizing his dynastic lineage. In this paper I expand my discussion to include the northern chapels dedicated to St. George and Sts. Peter and Paul. While the decorative programs of the southern chapels convey Jaroslav’s dynastic legitimacy, I argue that the northern chapels present Jaroslav’s authority as a military and ecclesiastical leader to the Rus’ court. This paper considers how Rus’ ceremonial traditions and homiletic rhetoric supported Jaroslav’s visual expression of power in Kiev Sophia.
Current scholarship acknowledges the continuation of certain aspects of local Rus’ iconography but continues to approach Kievan Rus’ as a peripheral state that imitated the visual and ceremonial languages of Constantinople. I suggest that this approach ignores the agency of the Kievan rulers in their reception and reinterpretation of Byzantine visual language.
The Triumph of Orthodoxy initiated a significant shift in the society of ninth-century Constantinople. After falling from power, the Iconoclasts risked social and political exile if they did not repent and align themselves with the new Iconophile regime. I suggest that Photios used this conflict to his personal advantage. I argue that Photios appropriated the iconography of the Hodegetria as an Iconophile symbol to create a visual identity for two effects: first, to promote himself as an Iconophile leader and, second, to launch a visual campaign that framed his patriarchal predecessor and political opponent, Ignatios, as an impious Iconoclast.
Scholarship has limited the influence of the Iconoclast Controversy in Byzantine art and politics to the period immediately following 843. My analysis expands the period affected by the end of Iconoclasm and questions how images reflect and perpetuate this ongoing political and social tension.
"
The Emperor Michael III and Photios participated in the Divine Liturgy in Hagia Sophia on Holy Saturday, 867. Photios delivered his homily, which dedicated the apse mosaic of the Theotokos and Christ Child. Scholarship has recognized that the iconography of the Theotokos was appropriated as an Iconophile emblem during the Iconoclastic Controversy and that Homily 17 reflects this ideology. I argue that Homily 17 must also be understood within its liturgical context. Photios’s rhetoric emphasizes the Theotokos as the human vessel for Christ’s incarnation. I suggest this rhetoric functions to render himself as a Theotokos, the one who bears the blood and body of Christ for his congregation. The proximity of Photios’s performance of the Eucharist below the apse mosaic manifests and reinforces his symbolic identity as a “God Bearer.”
Hagia Sophia is thus a stage wherein patriarchal and imperial symbolic identities are played out within the liturgical performances. My analysis of the liturgy of the Great Church provides a new interpretive model for understanding the ongoing Iconoclastic Controversy in Byzantine politics and art."
MA Thesis by Sarah C. Simmons
Homily 17 is a result of the continuation of the Iconoclast controversy that persisted since the so-called Truimph of Orthodoxy in 843. Through Photios’s dedication of the apse image and its relationship to Hagia Sophia’s liturgy, the apse
mosaic became a performative image.
In addition to the convergence of ceremonial liturgy, Photios’s polemic sermon, and the political setting of Hagia Sophia, the play of light on the apse mosaic created an opportunity for the Patriarch to publicly assert his power. Rico Franses discusses how the effect of light on Hagia Sophia’s apse image of the Theotokos and Christ Child conveys Orthodox theology to the church’s congregation. He explains that the changing light in Hagia Sophia, as the sun rises and lowers, and the effect of the reflected light on the gold tessarae illuminate either the Theotokos or the Christ Child. I propose that Photios took advantage of Hagia Sophia’s unique light effect in order to emphasize the Theotokos and his own ceremonial role as a “God Bearer” over the Christ-Child in the political rhetoric of Homily 17 and the liturgy of Hagia Sophia.
I have considered the ways in which the frescoes in the adjacent south chapels assert the Prince’s legitimacy by aggrandizing his dynastic lineage. In this paper I expand my discussion to include the northern chapels dedicated to St. George and Sts. Peter and Paul. While the decorative programs of the southern chapels convey Jaroslav’s dynastic legitimacy, I argue that the northern chapels present Jaroslav’s authority as a military and ecclesiastical leader to the Rus’ court. This paper considers how Rus’ ceremonial traditions and homiletic rhetoric supported Jaroslav’s visual expression of power in Kiev Sophia.
Current scholarship acknowledges the continuation of certain aspects of local Rus’ iconography but continues to approach Kievan Rus’ as a peripheral state that imitated the visual and ceremonial languages of Constantinople. I suggest that this approach ignores the agency of the Kievan rulers in their reception and reinterpretation of Byzantine visual language.
The Triumph of Orthodoxy initiated a significant shift in the society of ninth-century Constantinople. After falling from power, the Iconoclasts risked social and political exile if they did not repent and align themselves with the new Iconophile regime. I suggest that Photios used this conflict to his personal advantage. I argue that Photios appropriated the iconography of the Hodegetria as an Iconophile symbol to create a visual identity for two effects: first, to promote himself as an Iconophile leader and, second, to launch a visual campaign that framed his patriarchal predecessor and political opponent, Ignatios, as an impious Iconoclast.
Scholarship has limited the influence of the Iconoclast Controversy in Byzantine art and politics to the period immediately following 843. My analysis expands the period affected by the end of Iconoclasm and questions how images reflect and perpetuate this ongoing political and social tension.
"
The Emperor Michael III and Photios participated in the Divine Liturgy in Hagia Sophia on Holy Saturday, 867. Photios delivered his homily, which dedicated the apse mosaic of the Theotokos and Christ Child. Scholarship has recognized that the iconography of the Theotokos was appropriated as an Iconophile emblem during the Iconoclastic Controversy and that Homily 17 reflects this ideology. I argue that Homily 17 must also be understood within its liturgical context. Photios’s rhetoric emphasizes the Theotokos as the human vessel for Christ’s incarnation. I suggest this rhetoric functions to render himself as a Theotokos, the one who bears the blood and body of Christ for his congregation. The proximity of Photios’s performance of the Eucharist below the apse mosaic manifests and reinforces his symbolic identity as a “God Bearer.”
Hagia Sophia is thus a stage wherein patriarchal and imperial symbolic identities are played out within the liturgical performances. My analysis of the liturgy of the Great Church provides a new interpretive model for understanding the ongoing Iconoclastic Controversy in Byzantine politics and art."
Homily 17 is a result of the continuation of the Iconoclast controversy that persisted since the so-called Truimph of Orthodoxy in 843. Through Photios’s dedication of the apse image and its relationship to Hagia Sophia’s liturgy, the apse
mosaic became a performative image.
In addition to the convergence of ceremonial liturgy, Photios’s polemic sermon, and the political setting of Hagia Sophia, the play of light on the apse mosaic created an opportunity for the Patriarch to publicly assert his power. Rico Franses discusses how the effect of light on Hagia Sophia’s apse image of the Theotokos and Christ Child conveys Orthodox theology to the church’s congregation. He explains that the changing light in Hagia Sophia, as the sun rises and lowers, and the effect of the reflected light on the gold tessarae illuminate either the Theotokos or the Christ Child. I propose that Photios took advantage of Hagia Sophia’s unique light effect in order to emphasize the Theotokos and his own ceremonial role as a “God Bearer” over the Christ-Child in the political rhetoric of Homily 17 and the liturgy of Hagia Sophia.