Books by Anne McClanan
Griffinology: The Griffin's Place in Myth, History, and Art, 2024
Griffinology is a fascinating exploration of the mythical creature’s many depictions in human cul... more Griffinology is a fascinating exploration of the mythical creature’s many depictions in human culture. Drawing on a wealth of historical and literary sources, this book shows how the griffin has captured the imagination of people for over five thousand years, representing power, transcendence, and even divinity. It explores the history and symbolism of griffins in art, from their appearances in ancient Egyptian magic wands to medieval bestiaries, and from medieval coats of arms to modern corporate logos. The use of the griffin as a symbol of power and protection is surveyed throughout history and into modern times, such as in the Harry Potter series. Beautifully illustrated, this book should appeal to all those interested in monsters, magic, and the mystical, as well as art and history.
Why do people attack monuments and other public objects charged with authority by the societies t... more Why do people attack monuments and other public objects charged with authority by the societies that produced them? What do open assaults on images and artworks mean? Iconoclasm, the principled destruction of images, has recurred throughout human history as theory and practice. This book contains seven historical studies of the changing causes and meanings of iconoclasm and the radical transformations in the function of images it has brought about in societies around the world, from Ancient Egypt to Islamic India and Revolutionary Mexico, as well as Medieval and Reformation Europe. Scholars of art history, history and archaeology explore shifting definitions of art and the forms of representation in delineating varied forms of 'iconoclasm'.
This interdisciplinary anthology takes as its starting point the belief that, as the material gro... more This interdisciplinary anthology takes as its starting point the belief that, as the material grounds of lived experience, material culture provides an avenue of historical access to women's lives, extending beyond the reaches of textual evidence. Studies here range from utilitarian tools used in Late Roman abortion to sacred, magical or ritual objects associated with sex, procreation, and marriage in the Renaissance. Together the essays demonstrate the complex relationship between language and object, and explore the ways in which objects become forms of communication in their own right, transmitting both rather specific messages and more generalized social and cultural values.
Book abstract:
Sardis was home to one of the earliest known Christian communities, appearing amon... more Book abstract:
Sardis was home to one of the earliest known Christian communities, appearing among the Seven Churches of Asia in the mid-first century AD. Between 1962 and 1973, the Archaeological Exploration of Sardis excavated two superimposed churches at the ancient site, one early Christian, one Byzantine. This richly illustrated volume documents the architecture and history of these buildings from the fourth to the sixteenth century.
The early Christian church, an aisled basilica with narthex and atrium, both decorated with floor mosaics, had a long and complicated history, starting in the fourth century and continuing into the ninth century. Built over its remains is a Byzantine church dating to the little-known Lascarid period, when Constantinople had fallen to the Fourth Crusade and western Asia Minor was home to an independent Christian empire. This building’s standing remains, scattered domes, and vaulting fragments support the reconstruction of an inscribed-cross church with six columns and five domes, enriched on the exterior by a variety of brick and terracotta decoration. Together, these buildings cast new light on a millennium of Christian worship at Sardis, from the first official recognition of Christianity until the end of the Byzantine era.
This book reconsiders a wide array of images of Byzantine empresses on media as diverse as bronze... more This book reconsiders a wide array of images of Byzantine empresses on media as diverse as bronze coins and gold mosaic from the fifth through to the seventh centuries A.D. The representations have often been viewed in terms of individual personas, but strong typological currents frame their medieval context. Empress Theodora, the target of political pornography, has consumed the bulk of past interest, but even her representations fit these patterns. Methodological tools from fields as disparate as numismatics as well as cultural and gender studies help clarify the broader cultural significance of female imperial representation and patronage at this time.
Papers by Anne McClanan
Riggisberger Berichte, 23: Animals in Text and Textile Storytelling in the Medieval World, 2019
The material culture of sex, procreation, and marriage in premodern Europe, 2002
Entries I authored: “Emperor Bust Weight,” “Head of a Youth with a Wreath,” “Empress Bust Weight,... more Entries I authored: “Emperor Bust Weight,” “Head of a Youth with a Wreath,” “Empress Bust Weight,” “Female Bust Weight,” “Minerva Bust Weight,” “Seated Figure of a Musician,” and “Steelyard Weight Overview.”
Book Reviews by Anne McClanan
One of Reorienting the East's core insights emerges from this middle section and is elaborated in... more One of Reorienting the East's core insights emerges from this middle section and is elaborated in the third section (" Encountering the Other "), which deals with alterity. Here Jacobs observes that early modern Italian Jewish portraits of Muslims turn negative and tend to diverge from medieval idealizations. He invokes alterity again in the conclusion: " These Jewish travelers' engagement with Christianity determined their construction of the Islamic world " (211). In each case Jacobs pays careful attention to the texts' polemical resonances, which are chiefly anti-Christian, by drawing our attention to the word choice of the original language of the text. Jacobs's arrangement of his materials thus has the effect of affording the reader an understanding of the divergent conceptual orientations of these travelers' narratives and of how their rhetorical strategies differed because they were directed toward different audiences; it also reinforces the central theme of the texts' messy instability. The only critique this reader might offer, and it is relatively minor, is that Jacobs's treatment of some of the material occasionally requires him to move very quickly over a text or traveler, sacrificing depth and leaving the reader wishing for a more extended discussion that could grapple with the important interpretations of a particular author. Two literary figures whose profiles diverge from nearly all the other authors represented in the book should suffice as examples: Reorienting the East devotes a subheading segment to the twelfth-century pilgrim poet Judah Halevi, arguably one of the most famous and significant of the cohort of travelers examined in the book. Jacobs dedicates all of four pages (59–62) to Halevi (he is also mentioned elsewhere in brief) even as Jacobs takes issue with, or bypasses engaging with, other contemporary interpretations of his life and work. Similarly, Reorienting the East barely touches upon the Judeo-Arabic " travelogue " and its Hebrew language counterparts by Judah al-Ḥarizi, a twelfth-to thirteenth-century literary intellectual from Toledo who spent his later years in the Muslim East. Al-Ḥarizi is merely referenced on several occasions to illustrate a larger set of issues of interest to Jacobs. As medievalists endeavor to forge connections with scholars working in the traditional humanistic disciplines, Jacobs's Reorienting the East stands out as a model for how we might go about our research and present our work.
2Byzantinists Videos by Anne McClanan
Guest Blog Posts by Anne McClanan
This guest blog post discusses leading student research projects that culminate in creating OERs,... more This guest blog post discusses leading student research projects that culminate in creating OERs, in particular new Wikipedia entries.
This post recounts an ongoing digital humanities project, Medieval Portland, that connects commun... more This post recounts an ongoing digital humanities project, Medieval Portland, that connects community-based learning with a hands-on engagement with the historical past and its material culture.
This guest post overviews various ways art historians have deployed game-based learning strategie... more This guest post overviews various ways art historians have deployed game-based learning strategies in online learning.
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Books by Anne McClanan
Sardis was home to one of the earliest known Christian communities, appearing among the Seven Churches of Asia in the mid-first century AD. Between 1962 and 1973, the Archaeological Exploration of Sardis excavated two superimposed churches at the ancient site, one early Christian, one Byzantine. This richly illustrated volume documents the architecture and history of these buildings from the fourth to the sixteenth century.
The early Christian church, an aisled basilica with narthex and atrium, both decorated with floor mosaics, had a long and complicated history, starting in the fourth century and continuing into the ninth century. Built over its remains is a Byzantine church dating to the little-known Lascarid period, when Constantinople had fallen to the Fourth Crusade and western Asia Minor was home to an independent Christian empire. This building’s standing remains, scattered domes, and vaulting fragments support the reconstruction of an inscribed-cross church with six columns and five domes, enriched on the exterior by a variety of brick and terracotta decoration. Together, these buildings cast new light on a millennium of Christian worship at Sardis, from the first official recognition of Christianity until the end of the Byzantine era.
Papers by Anne McClanan
Book Reviews by Anne McClanan
2Byzantinists Videos by Anne McClanan
Guest Blog Posts by Anne McClanan
Sardis was home to one of the earliest known Christian communities, appearing among the Seven Churches of Asia in the mid-first century AD. Between 1962 and 1973, the Archaeological Exploration of Sardis excavated two superimposed churches at the ancient site, one early Christian, one Byzantine. This richly illustrated volume documents the architecture and history of these buildings from the fourth to the sixteenth century.
The early Christian church, an aisled basilica with narthex and atrium, both decorated with floor mosaics, had a long and complicated history, starting in the fourth century and continuing into the ninth century. Built over its remains is a Byzantine church dating to the little-known Lascarid period, when Constantinople had fallen to the Fourth Crusade and western Asia Minor was home to an independent Christian empire. This building’s standing remains, scattered domes, and vaulting fragments support the reconstruction of an inscribed-cross church with six columns and five domes, enriched on the exterior by a variety of brick and terracotta decoration. Together, these buildings cast new light on a millennium of Christian worship at Sardis, from the first official recognition of Christianity until the end of the Byzantine era.