Multimediality was not invented yesterday: in premodern cultures any or all forms of cultural expression were used at will. Narratives were written, painted, sculpted, inscribed, and sung. However, their composition, function, and utilization have conventionally been explored through field- and media-specific methodologies. In contrast, this book seeks to combine the research of art historians, philologists, codicologists, and musicologists to study the interface of the different media of cultural expression and their impact on compositional processes in later Byzantium. The chapters gathered here analyze media-specific potential and limitations and their use for concrete narrative goals across different fields of study. At the same time, compositional processes are explored through a broad perspective and with a multidisciplinary approach. How were media combined? What were their media-specific limitations and potential? How were they considered for specific narrative goals? To answer these and other questions, we combine methods from different disciplines and thereby contribute toward bridging the methodological gaps that separate various scholarly approaches to the study of medieval culture. In pursuing this approach, our focus is on the concept of intermediality. We argue that intermedial compositional processes can explain an artwork’s production and that the rich evidence from Late Byzantium can prove this. More specifically, the chapters gathered here show: that painted cycles should be studied as a product of the interaction between literary narratives and visual art—not just as a mere visualization of a text; that illuminated and notated manuscripts ought to be examined as compositions across media and as evidence for varied liturgical and devotional practices; and that icons and murals need to be seen as constituent elements of sacred space. By embracing an intermedial approach across disciplines, analyzing the sung, the written, and the painted, this volume offers a comprehensive examination of how diverse cultural expressions intertwine to shape narratives, emphasizing the significance of intermediality in understanding the intricate production of cultural artifacts within Late Byzantium.

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Sung, Written, Painted: New Approaches to the Akathistos Hymn

  • Jon C. Cubas Díaz

摘要

Multimediality was not invented yesterday: in premodern cultures any or all forms of cultural expression were used at will. Narratives were written, painted, sculpted, inscribed, and sung. However, their composition, function, and utilization have conventionally been explored through field- and media-specific methodologies. In contrast, this book seeks to combine the research of art historians, philologists, codicologists, and musicologists to study the interface of the different media of cultural expression and their impact on compositional processes in later Byzantium. The chapters gathered here analyze media-specific potential and limitations and their use for concrete narrative goals across different fields of study. At the same time, compositional processes are explored through a broad perspective and with a multidisciplinary approach. How were media combined? What were their media-specific limitations and potential? How were they considered for specific narrative goals? To answer these and other questions, we combine methods from different disciplines and thereby contribute toward bridging the methodological gaps that separate various scholarly approaches to the study of medieval culture. In pursuing this approach, our focus is on the concept of intermediality. We argue that intermedial compositional processes can explain an artwork’s production and that the rich evidence from Late Byzantium can prove this. More specifically, the chapters gathered here show: that painted cycles should be studied as a product of the interaction between literary narratives and visual art—not just as a mere visualization of a text; that illuminated and notated manuscripts ought to be examined as compositions across media and as evidence for varied liturgical and devotional practices; and that icons and murals need to be seen as constituent elements of sacred space. By embracing an intermedial approach across disciplines, analyzing the sung, the written, and the painted, this volume offers a comprehensive examination of how diverse cultural expressions intertwine to shape narratives, emphasizing the significance of intermediality in understanding the intricate production of cultural artifacts within Late Byzantium.