Acknowledgements
During my childhood, the first thing I saw waking up every day was a Central Asian carpet hanging on the wall beside my bed. It was replete with various geometric shapes and aniconic forms that were very distinct from the natural world and saturated with colours absent in my immediate surroundings. Every morning, my eyes browsed through this visual labyrinth and occasionally discovered new patterns and discerned silhouettes of unfamiliar things. This wall carpet with its interlacing lines and curves captivated my awakened imagination, and seemed infinite in the number of shapes and figures it revealed to my contemplative gaze. These early experiences of visual thinking no doubt contributed to my fascination with late antique and early medieval aniconic graphic devices, which constitute the main subject of this study.
The vast amount of surviving visual graphic evidence, most of which remains unknown outside highly specialized disciplines and some of which has not been studied at all, meant that it took much effort and external support to complete this book. The generous funding of the Research Council of Norway (grant no. 217925 for 2012–17) financially supported my research and writing throughout, whilst the highly supportive academic environment at the Department of Archaeology, Conservation, and History at the University of Oslo, which I joined in 2012, made my work on this project a highly productive process. My special thanks to my departmental fellow historians Klaus Nathaus and Veronique Pouillard for helping me to see my book project within a much broader perspective, and to Knut Ødegård and Alf Storrud for their genial assistance during my research trips to Rome and Istanbul. I also truly enjoyed the cordial atmosphere at the Norwegian Institute in Rome, my research base during various Italian trips, and I am grateful to Siri Sande, Anne Nicolaysen, and Manuela Michelloni for their unwavering support on those occasions.
Visiting fellowships at Balliol College, Oxford and at Clare Hall, Cambridge as well as a visiting membership at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton have greatly contributed to the successful completion of this book, by allowing me to write its various parts in vibrant and highly stimulating scholarly settings. I am filled with sincere gratitude to Lesley Abrams, Jonathan Shepard, Rosamond McKitterick, Anna Muthesius, Patrick Geary, Nicola di Cosmo, and Alan Stahl for their generous support and hospitality during those academic stays. I am also appreciative of companionship with other visiting historians and medievalists at the Institute for Advanced Study in the autumn of 2016; social interactions and conversations with most of them made my research stay there quite a unique experience. The latter membership provided me with access to visual resources at the Index of Christian Arts at Princeton University, and I am thankful to Catherine Fernandez for her expert guidance through its card database, which has yet to be fully digitized.
Acknowledgements
Writing a book navigating through the worlds of late antiquity, early Byzantium, and the early Middle Ages is a challenging task for a single author, and I have learnt many positive lessons from scholarly collaboration and the productive exchange of ideas within the Early Graphicacy network and during its conferences in Oslo, Rome, and Istanbul. I would like to express special thanks to Caroline Goodson, Henry Maguire, Patrick Geary, David Ganz, Larry Hurtado, Leslie Brubaker, Michelle Brown, Ben Tilghman, Michael Squire, Brigitte Bedos-Rezak, Beatrice Kitzinger, Richard Abdy, Jim Crow, and Chris Entwistle. I have also benefited from presenting preliminary thoughts and some sections of this book at the Earlier Middle Ages Seminar at the Institute of Historical Research in London, at the Oliver Smithies Lecture Series at Oxford University, the Materialität und Medialität des Geschriebenen Seminar at Heidelberg University, the Late Antique and Medieval Seminars at Cambridge University, the Making a Mark Conference at Brown University, and the Medieval Seminar at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. I am further greatly indebted to John Arnold for his valuable feedback on the book’s original design and to Henry Maguire, Michelle Brown, Celia Chazelle, Jinty Nelson, Rosamond McKitterick, Christoph Eger, Caroline Goodson, and anonymous readers at Oxford University Press for casting an expert eye on its earlier drafts or selected chapters and providing me with encouraging comments and constructive criticism.
This book relies on a substantial number of images to make its narrative accessible to readers, which necessitated the demanding task of acquiring relevant image permissions from different institutions in Europe and North America, and I am appreciative of the friendly efforts that Manuela Michelloni, Romy Wyche, and Alf Storrud invested in communicating on my behalf with relevant collections and authorities in Italy, France, and Turkey. I am also grateful to Svein Gullbekk and Alan Stahl for their cordial support and assistance in providing this book with the photos of relevant coins from their numismatic collections at the University of Oslo and Princeton University. Furthermore, I am beholden to those museums and libraries, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Arts in New York, the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, and the Herzog August Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel—to name just a few—that facilitate current visual and material turns in humanities by sharing images of their artefacts and manuscripts with researchers and the general public under unlimited Creative Commons licenses. I hope that more museums and libraries will choose this path of public service in the future.
Last but not least, I would like to thank Alice Hicklin and Albert Fenton for their assistance in styling my text in British English and checking its various technical aspects, as well as the editorial staff at Oxford University Press for their sterling work in bringing my manuscript to its final form.
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I. GRAPHIC SIGNS OF DIVINE AUTHORITY IN LATE ANTIQUITY
1. The Origins of Early Christian
2. Christograms as Signs of Authority in the Late Roman Empire
2.1 Lactantius and Constantine I’s Victorious Sign in 312
2.2 Eusebius and the Appropriation of the Chi-Rho as an Imperial Triumphant Symbol in the 320–40s
2.3 The Hierarchy of Christian Signs in the Visual Communication of Imperial Authority in the Second Half of the Fourth and Early Fifth Centuries
2.4 Christograms as Paradigmatic Christian Symbols at the Turn of the Fifth Century
3. The Sign of the Cross in Late Antiquity
3.1 The Early Symbolism of the Cross and the Origins of the Cult of the Holy Cross
3.2 The Sign of the Cross as a Late Antique Symbol of Authority
3.3 The Apotropaic Power of the Sign of the Cross in Late Antiquity
II. MONOGRAMMATIC CULTURE IN LATE ANTIQUITY
4. Monograms, Early Christians, and Late Antique Culture 109
4.1 Late Antique Epigraphic Culture and Monograms as Epigraphic Devices 112
4.2 The Calendar of 354 and Fourth-Century Roman Aristocratic Culture 118
4.3 Monograms as Protective and Intercessory Devices 124
4.4 The Contemplative Process Involved in Understanding Monograms and Late Antique Neoplatonism 127
5. Secular Monograms, Social Status, and Authority in the Late Roman World and Early Byzantium 131
5.1 The Numismatic Monogram of Theodosius II: Monograms as Signs of Imperial Authority in the Middle and Second Half of the Fifth Century 133
5.2 Monograms as Signs of Authority on Silverware, Weights, Bricks, and Consular Diptychs 138
5.3 Monograms as Visual Signs of Social Power, Noble Identity, and Elevated Status: Rings, Dress Accessories, and Luxury Objects 147
5.4 Monograms as a Symptomatic Feature of Late Antique paideia 154
6. Public Monuments and the Monogrammatic Display of Authority in the Post-Roman World 160
6.1 From Consular Diptychs to the Monumental Display of Authority: Juliana Aniana and St Polyeuktos (c.506–27) 160
6.2 Justinian I, Theodora, and a Defensive Response: Sts Sergius and Bacchus (c.527–32) 167
6.3 The Monogrammatic Display of Imperial Authority in Hagia Sophia (532–7) 175
6.4 Monumental Monograms and Early Medieval Bishops 186
III. GRAPHIC SIGNS OF AUTHORITY IN EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE
7. Monogrammatic Culture in Pre-Carolingian Europe 199
7.1 Monograms as Royal Signs of Authority 199
7.2 Monograms as Signs of Social Status and Episcopal Authority in Pre-Carolingian Europe 205
7.3 Invocational Graphic Devices in Pre-Carolingian Material and Manuscript Culture 216
7.4 Christograms and the Sign of the Cross in Pre-Carolingian Material and Manuscript Culture 223
7.5 Late Antique Monogrammatic Culture and the Origins of Monogrammatic Lettering 235
8. Monogrammatic Revival in the Carolingian World
8.1 Monogrammatic Initials in Carolingian Gospel-Books and Sacramentaries
8.2 Royal, Episcopal, and Papal Monograms as Signs of Authority in the Carolingian World
8.3 A Monogrammatic Revival in Carolingian Manuscript Culture and De inventione litterarum
9. The Power of the Cross and Cruciform Devices in the Carolingian World
9.1 The Bible of San Paolo fuori le mura and Cruciform Invocations in Carolingian Religious Manuscripts
9.2 The Sign of the Cross in Manuscript and Material Culture
9.3 Hrabanus Maurus’ In honorem sanctae crucis: The Sign of the Cross as the Main Organizing Principle of Carolingian Graphicacy
List of Figures
1.1. Tau-rho and christograms: chi-rho, iota-eta, and iota-chi.
1.2. Christian graphic signs on third-century gems, based on Spier, Late Antique and Early Christian Gems: a) the chi-rho (nos. 112–31); b–c) the chi-tau (nos. 134–5); d) a monogram comprising Χ, Ρ, Η, Τ, Υ (no. 133); e) a combination of a tau with an eight-armed star (no. 137).
1.3. Jeu 5 diagram in the Bruce Codex. Oxford, Bodleian Library, Bruce 96, p. 12 (above), and its graphic model (below).
1.4. Occult seals in the Bruce Codex, based on its edition in The Books of Jeu, ed. Schmidt: a) for the fifty-fifth treasury (p. 39); b) for the fifty-seventh treasury (p. 40); c) for the fifty-eighth treasury (p. 41); d) for the fifty-sixth treasury (p. 40); e) for the sixtieth treasury (p. 43).
1.5. Baptismal seals in the Bruce Codex, based on its edition in The Books of Jeu, ed. Schmidt: a) for baptism of water (p. 61); b) for baptism of fire (p. 63); c) for the baptism of the Holy Spirit (p. 65).
1.6. Votive plaques from Water Newton, Cambridgeshire. London, BrM. © The Trustees of the British Museum.
1.7. Magical text from Egypt, fourth century, P.Oslo I 1, c.7. Courtesy of the University of Oslo Library Papyrus Collection.
1.8. Fifth- or sixth-century bronze amulet, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, acc. no. 26119.
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33
37
38
38
40
43
46
2.1. Obverse of Constantine I’s silver coin-medallion (Ticinum, 315). The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, inv. no. OH-A-ДР-15266. 55
2.2. Dedication medallion in the basilica of Aquileia.
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2.3. Optatianus, Poem 8, in Wolfenbüttel, HAB, Cod. Guelf. 9 Aug. 4, fol. 11r. © HAB Wolfenbüttel <http://diglib.hab.de/mss/9-aug-4f/start.htm> 59
2.4. Optatianus, Poem 19, in Wolfenbüttel, HAB, Cod. Guelf. 9 Aug. 4, fol. 4r. © HAB Wolfenbüttel <http://diglib.hab.de/mss/9-aug-4f/start.htm>
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2.5. Copper coin of Constantine I (Constantinople, 327–8). London, BrM. © The Trustees of the British Museum. 61
2.6. Silver coin of Constantine II (Siscia, 337–40). Oslo University, Museum of Cultural History. 62
2.7. Gold glass with Sts Peter and Paul. New York, MMA, acc. no. 16.174.3. 64
2.8. Gold rings with chi-rhos, England, fourth century. London, BrM, reg. nos. 1983,1003.1 and 1984,1001.1. © The Trustees of the British Museum.
66
2.9. Mosaic from Hinton St Mary, England. London, BrM, reg. no. 1965,0409.1. © The Trustees of the British Museum. 67
2.10. Copper coin of Magnentius (Lyons, 352–3). Oslo University, Museum of Cultural History.
68
2.11. Semissis of Aelia Eudoxia (Constantinople, c.400). London, BrM, reg. no. 1839,0311.1. © The Trustees of the British Museum. 73
2.12. Tremissis of Aelia Eudocia (Constantinople, c.423–43). Princeton University Numismatic Collection, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Firestone Library. 73
2.13. Chi-rho on the eastern side of the Golden Gate, Constantinople. Photo by James Crow. 75
2.14. ‘Sarcophagus of Stilicho’, Church of Sant’Ambrogio, Milan. Norwegian Institute in Rome, H. P. L’Orange Photo Archive. 76
2.15. Frontal side of the Encolpion of Empress Maria (398–407). Paris, Musée du Louvre, acc. no. OA9523. Photo (C) RMN-Grand Palais (musée du Louvre)/Droits réservés. 78
2.16. Triple chi-rho from Albenga Baptistery. Graphic drawing. 79
3.1. Floor mosaic in the Basilica of Aquileia. 84
3.2. Solidus of Theodosius II (Constantinople, 420–2). Princeton University Numismatic Collection, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Firestone Library. 88
3.3. Nummus of Theodosius II, Ae4 (Antioch, 408–50). Oslo University, Museum of Cultural History. 90
3.4. Upper central side of the triumphant arch in Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome. 93
3.5. Central dome of the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna. 94
3.6. Tremissis of Anthemius (Milan or Rome, 467–72). Oslo University, Museum of Cultural History. 94
3.7. Gold crossbow brooch, second half of the fifth century. New York, MMA, acc. no. 1995.97. 95
3.8. Early Frankish ring with a cross, c.450–525. New York, MMA, acc. no. 17.192.229. 96
3.9. Solidus of Heraclius (Constantinople, 638–41). Princeton University Numismatic Collection, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Firestone Library. 97
3.10. Tremissis of Heraclius (Byzantine Spania, 610–21). Oslo University, Museum of Cultural History. 98
3.11. Early Byzantine gold pendant-cross. New York, MMA, acc. no. 2006.569. 100
3.12. Mould for an ankh amulet from the reign of Amenhotep III (c.1390–53 bc). New York, MMA, acc. no. 11.215.711. 101
3.13. Funerary stela with an ankh-cross from Akhmim, Egypt. New York, MMA, acc. no 10.176.29. 102
3.14. Late antique textual amulet from Egypt, fourth or fifth century, P.Oslo I 5. Courtesy of the University of Oslo Library Papyrus Collection. 103
3.15. Magical text from Egypt, fourth century, P.Oslo I 1, c.8. Courtesy of the University of Oslo Library Papyrus Collection. 104
4.1. Silver coin (four drachmas) of Alexander III with a monogram as a mintmark (Babylon, 325–3 bc). Princeton University Numismatic Collection, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Firestone Library. 110
4.2. Latin and Greek monograms of the Early Imperial period: a) monogram Vespasianus used as his countermark on the coins of Nero c.88–9; b) monogram Aurelius on late second- or early third-century balsamaria; c) on the second-century jasper gem from the Ashmolean Museum; d–g) Greek monograms on third-century eastern gems, based on Spier, Late Antique and Early Christian Gems, correspondingly nos. M12, M14, M1, M23. 110
4.3. Third- and fourth-century monograms from Roman catacombs: a) TP (ICUR, vol. 4, no. 10579); b) Πρῖμα? (ICUR, vol. 4, no. 10579); c) Ἀγάπη (ICUR, vol. 5, no. 15148.h); d) Avite (ICUR, vol. 5, no. 14752.c); e) Constans or Constantius (ICUR, vol. 5, no. 13277); f) Alethius (ICUR, vol. 3, no. 8748); g) Gaudentia (ICUR, vol. 5, no. 14752.a); h) Πάστωρ? (ICUR, vol. 1, no. 2058); i) Πρίσκος (ICUR, vol. 4, no. 10713.q). 112
4.4. Fourth- and fifth-century monograms from Roman catacombs: a) Agape (ICUR, vol. 7, no. 19427.c); b) Petronia? (ICUR, vol. 7, no. 17995); c) Rusticius and Rufilla (ICUR, vol. 9, no. 25792); d) Navira (ICUR, vol. 5, no. 14751); e) Eufentine? (ICUR, vol. 2, no. 6060); f) Annes (ICUR, vol. 9, no. 24236.a); g) Petrus in pace (ICUR, vol. 2, no. 4516); h) Palma et laurus. 114
4.5. Obverse of a late Roman contorniate with the Palma et laurus monogram in the field. London, BrM, reg. no. R.4814. © The Trustees of the British Museum. 116
4.6. Marble plaque with the Palma et laurus monogram and the symbol of the palm leaf accompanying on the inscription of Clodius Ablabius Reginus from the Flavian Amphitheatre in Rome, mid-fourth century. 117
4.7. Tabula of Eleuteria from Roman catacombs (a. 363). From ICUR, vol. 1, no. 1426.
117
4.8. Dedication page in the Calendar of 354, in Vatican City, Codex Vaticanus Barberini lat. 2154 (a. 1620). From Strzygowski, Die Calenderbilder, fig. III. 119
4.9. Late antique monograms: a–b) from Roman catacombs, Bonifatius (ICUR, vol. 3, no. 8332.e) and Leonis?, a. 386 (ICUR, vol. 8, no. 21609.c); c) from silver plates in the Esquiline Treasure, Rome; d) νικᾷ ἡ τύχη τῶν Πρασίνων monograms from Aphrodisias and Ephesos; e) monogram from a marble tombstone in Villareggia.
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4.10. Silver plate from the Esquiline Treasure. London, BrM, reg. no. 1866,1229.14. © The Trustees of the British Museum. 122
4.11. Acclamatory monogram from Aphrodisias, νικᾷ ἡ τύχη τῶν Πρασίνων. Photo by Ine Jacobs. 127
5.1. Consecratio panel, upper part. London, BrM, reg. no. 1857,1013.1. © The Trustees of the British Museum. 132
5.2. Copper coin of Theodosius II, Ae4 (Nicomedia, c.445–50). Oslo University, Museum of Cultural History. 134
5.3. Monogrammatic reverses of late Roman copper coins, Ae4: a) of Marcian (450–7); b) of Leo I (457–74); c) of Zeno (474–91); d) of Libius Severus (461–5). Oslo University, Museum of Cultural History, and Princeton University Numismatic Collection, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Firestone Library. 136
5.4. Pentanummis of Justin II and Sophia (Antioch, 565–78). Princeton University Numismatic Collection, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Firestone Library.
5.5. Late antique weights with monograms: a) copper-alloy weight, London, BrM, reg. no. OA.821. © The Trustees of the British Museum; b) early Byzantine glass weight, New York, MMA, acc. no. 81.10.148.
5.6. Monograms from early sixth-century consular diptychs: a) from the consular diptych of Clementinus (Constantinople, 513); b) from the consular diptych of Orestes (Rome, 530).
5.7. Diptych of Areobindus (Constantinople, 506). The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, inv. no. W-12.
5.8. Diptych of Areobindus (Constantinople, 506). Paris, Musée du Louvre, acc. no. 85-001669 EE. Photo (C) RMN-Grand Palais (musée du Louvre)/Daniel Arnaudet.
5.9. Late antique rings with monograms: a) gold ring of Khan Kubrat from Malaja Pereshchepina, The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, inv. no. W-1052; b) silver ring, Baltimore, WAM, acc. no. 57.2104.
5.10. Early Byzantine gold bracelet (c.500). New York, MMA, acc. no. 17.190.2054.
5.11. Monograms on sixth-century objects, graphic drawings: a) from Italy (c.500); b) from the Moselle area; c) crossbow fibula from Yenikape, Istanbul. Drawing by Arwa Darwich-Eger; d) the central medallion of the silver plate of kandidatos Nektarios from Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, mid-sixth century.
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140
143
145
146
148
149
150
5.12. Early Byzantine belt buckle, found in Hamas, Syria. Baltimore, WAM, acc. no. 57.545. 152
5.13. Early Byzantine silver plate (610–13). New York, MMA, acc. no. 52.25.2. 153
5.14. Late antique silver spoon. New York, MMA, acc. no. 2005.39.
5.15. Silver spoons from the Lampsakus Treasure, view from above. London, BrM © The Trustees of the British Museum.
5.16. Silver spoon from the Kaper Koraon Treasure, Baltimore, WAM, acc. no. 57.649.
6.1. Pilastri acritani outside San Marco, Venice.
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164
6.2. a–b) Ἁγίου Πολυεύκτου monograms on the pilastri acritani; c) undeciphered monogram on the pilastri acritani; d) monogram on a capital from St Polyeuktos, reused in the Papadopoli Gardens in Venice. 165
6.3. Monumental monograms from: a) Rome; b) Ravenna; c) Aphrodisias.
6.4. Sts Sergius and Bacchus, Istanbul, inner view.
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169
6.5. Monumental monograms on the ground level of Sts Sergius and Bacchus: a) southern bay; b–c) north-western bay; d) north-eastern bay; e–f) additional columns in southern bay. 171
6.6. ΒΑCΙΛΕΩC and ΙΟΥCΤΙΝΙΑΝΟΥ monograms on the gallery level of Sts Sergius and Bacchus: a–b) south-eastern side; c–d) southern side; e–f) south-western side; g–h) north-western side. 173
List of Figures
6.7. Monumental monograms on the gallery level of Sts Sergius and Bacchus: a–c) ΘΕΟΔΩΡΑC monograms; d) ΑΥΓΟΥCΤΑC monogram. 174
6.8. Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, inner view. 177
6.9. Imperial monograms in Hagia Sophia: a) ΒΑCΙΛΕΩC; b) ΙΟΥCΤΙΝΙΑΝΟΥ; c) ΑΥΓΟΥCΤΑC; d) ΘΕΟΔΩΡΑC. 178
6.10. Theodora’s monumental monograms: 1. in Sts Sergius and Bacchus; 2. in the southern side of Hagia Sophia (2a–c: ground floor; 2d–g: gallery); 3. in the northern side of Hagia Sophia (3a–e: ground floor; 3f–g: gallery); 4. in Hagia Irena; 5. on a capital from the Archaeological Museum of Istanbul, originally from Hebdoman; 6. in St John of Ephesos; 7. on bronze plaques in Hagia Sophia. 179
6.11. Fragment of a chancel screen with Constantine’s monogram reused in Hagia Irene, Istanbul. 181
6.12. Imperial monograms in Hagia Irene, Istanbul: a) ΒΑCΙΛΕΩC; b) ΙΟΥCΤΙΝΙΑΝΟΥ; c) ΑΥΓΟΥCΤΑC; d) ΘΕΟΔΩΡΑC. 184
6.13. Chancel screen in San Clemente, Rome. Norwegian Institute in Rome, H. P. L’Orange Photo Archive. 187
6.14. Monumental monograms in churches: a–b) Zvart’nots; c–d) San Vitale, Ravenna; e) Eufrasian Basilica, Poreč; f) Solin; g) Grado Baptistery; h) of Bishop Maximian from an impost fragment in Ravenna; i–j) Archiepiscopal Chapel, Ravenna. 189
6.15. Monogram of Bishop Elias on floor mosaic in the ‘Mausoleum of St Eufemia’, Grado Cathedral. 191
6.16. Monumental episcopal monograms in the mosaics of the Neonian Baptistery, Ravenna: a) of Bishop Neon; b–c) of Bishop Maximian. 193
6.17. Archiepiscopal Chapel, Ravenna. © Vanni Archive/Art Resource, NY. 194
7.1. a) Reverse of a quarter-siliqua with Theodoric’s monogram (Ravenna, 493–526), Oslo University, Museum of Cultural History; b) reverse of a half-siliqua with Athalaric’s monogram, Princeton University Numismatic Collection, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Firestone Library; c) reverse of a Lombard gold coin with Perctarit’s monogram, Oslo University, Museum of Cultural History. 201
7.2. Solidus of Theoderic in the name of Emperor Anastasius with a monogrammatic mintmark on the reverse (Rome, 491–516). London, BrM, reg. no. 1867,0101.1014. © The Trustees of the British Museum. 202
7.3. a) Theodebald’s numismatic monogram (548–55); b) design of the signet-ring of Bertildis (628–38); c) diplomatic monogram of Clovis II (654). 203
7.4. Merovingian ring, seventh century. New York, MMA, acc. no. 17.191.93. 206
7.5. Horse bit from Visigothic Spain. New York, MMA, acc. no. 47.100.24. 207
7.6. a) Theodemir’s monumental monogram from Pla de Nadal; b) monumental monograms from Santa María de Lara at Quintanilla de las Viñas; c) monumental monograms of Justinian II from the Land Wall of Constantinople. 209
List of Figures
7.7. Lower frontal part of Maximian’s throne, Ravenna. Norwegian Institute in Rome, H. P. L’Orange Photo Archive.
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7.8. Early Byzantine copper-alloy polycandelon. London, BrM, reg. no. 1994,0610.11. © The Trustees of the British Museum. 211
7.9. Monograms on early medieval objects from Italy: a) on the ‘Pegasus’ lamp from Crypta Balbi, Rome; b) on the strap-end from Castel Trosino, grave 126; c) on the strap-end from Castel Trosino, grave 9.
7.10. Copper-alloy belt buckle from Visigothic Spain, seventh century. New York, MMA, acc. no. 66.152.2.
7.11. a) Ostrogothic copper coin with the monogram of Ravenna, Oslo University, Museum of Cultural History; b) the reverse of a Merovingian silver coin from Clermont with the urban monogram ARV[ernum], Princeton University Numismatic Collection, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Firestone Library.
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7.12. Early graffito from late antique Aphrodisias. Photo by Angelos Chaniotis. 217
7.13. Early Byzantine gold pendant with the ΦΩΣ–ΖΩΗ monogram. New York, MMA, acc. no. 17.190.1660.
7.14. a) Ora pro me device from St Petersburg, National Library of Russia, Lat.Q.v.I.3, fol. 192r; b) Ora pro me device from Würzburg, UB, M.p.th.f.68, fol. 170v: c) Amen device from Wolfenbüttel, HAB, Cod. Guelf. 64 Weiss, fol. 67v; d) Θεοτόκε βοήθει monogram on the strap-end from Mersin, Cilicia; e) Θεοτοκε βοηθει τῶ σῶ δουλω device from early Byzantine seals; f) ΜΙΧΑΗΛ monogrammatic tattoo on a mummified body from et-Tereif, Sudan; g) Η ΑΓΙΑ ΜΑΡΙΑ monograms on icons from Mount Sinai.
7.15. Bottom of the ewer of Zenobios. New York, MMA, acc. no. 17.190.1704.
7.16. Sarcophagus of Bishop Theodorus from Ravenna, fifth century. Norwegian Institute in Rome, H. P. L’Orange Photo Archive.
7.17. Carmen figuratum of Venantius Fortunatus, late sixth century, from Venantius Fortunatus, Opera poetica, ed. Leo, p. 116.
7.18. Marble decoration in Sts Sergius and Bacchus, Istanbul.
7.19. Apse mosaic in San Vitale, Ravenna.
7.20. Mosaic from the presbytery of San Vitale.
7.21. Monogrammatic cross in Paris, BnF, Ms. lat. 10439, fol. 1v.
7.22. a–b) Reverse of copper and silver coins of Justinian I from Ravenna (c.555–65), Oslo University, Museum of Cultural History; c) reverse of a Merovingian tremissis (Veuves, c.620–40), Princeton University Numismatic Collection, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Firestone Library.
7.23. Monogrammatic initials and lettering from late antique manuscripts: a–b) Paris, BnF, Ms. lat. 12097, fols 89v and 97v; c–e) in the palimpsest from León, Archivio Cathedralico, Ms. 15; f) Paris, BnF, Ms. lat. 17226, fol. 91r; g) Uppsala, Universitetsbibliothek, Sign. DG.1.
7.24. Codex Valerianus, Munich, BSB, Clm. 6224, fol. 202r.
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List of Figures
7.25. Paris, BnF, Ms. lat. 1625, fol. 1v. 235
7.26. Christi initial in the Echternach Gospels, BnF, Ms. lat. 9389, fol. 19r. 238
7.27. LIBer generationis initial in the Echternach Gospels, BnF, Ms. lat. 9389, fol. 20r. 239
8.1. LIber generationis initial in Wolfenbüttel, HAB, Cod. Guelf. 16 Aug. 2°, fol. 5r. © HAB Wolfenbüttel <http://diglib.hab.de/mss/ 16-aug-2f/start.htm> 244
8.2. IN principio initial in London, BL, Egerton Ms. 768, fol. 63r. 245
8.3. Initials in St Gallen, SB, Cod. Sang. 348: a) Vere dignum (p. 367); b) Te igitur (p. 368). 248
8.4. Vere dignum initial in Berlin, SBB, Ms. Phill. 1667, fol. 103r. 250
8.5. Vere dignum and Te igitur initials in Autun, BM, Ms. 19 bis, fols 8v–9r. © IRHT.
251
8.6. Te igitur initial in Le Mans, BM, Ms. 77, fol. 9v–10r. © IRHT. 254
8.7. Inhabited initials in St Gallen, SB, Cod. Sang. 731: a) p. 113; b) p. 111. 258
8.8. Carolingian diplomatic monograms, based on DK: a) of Charlemagne; b) of Louis the Pious in Aquitaine (808–14); c) of Louis the Pious in Aachen (814–40); d) of Lothar I; e) of Pippin I of Aquitaine; f) of Odo; g) of Rudolf; h) of Louis IV; i) Lothar III.
260
8.9. Scribal colophon in Valenciennes, BM, Ms. 59, fol. 181v. © IRHT. 261
8.10. a) Monogram of Benedict of Aniane in Munich, BSB, Clm. 28118, fol. 18r; b) East Frankish diplomatic monograms in St Gallen, SB, Cod. Sang. 397, p. 51; c) monograms of Bishop Hanto in Munich, BSB, Clm. 23631, fol. 245r. 263
8.11. Introductory monograms in Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum, Ms. Ludwig II 1, fol. 3v.
8.12. a) Greek monogram of Charlemagne on Ravennate coins (792/3–814); b) monogram of Duke Sico on Beneventan coins; c) ROMA monogram on ninth-century papal coins; d) monogram of Pope Nicholas I (858–67) on papal coinage; e) epistolary monogram of Bishop John (a. 827/8) from ChLA, vol. 58, no. 14.
8.13. Fragmentary funerary epitaph of Bishop Lopicenus from Modena. Norwegian Institute in Rome, H. P. L’Orange Photo Archive.
8.14. Monograms of Pope Paschal I in Santa Prassede, Rome.
8.15. Monograms of Pope Leo IV on epigraphic tabula ansata from Civitavecchia (a. 854): a) left side; b) right side. Norwegian Institute in Rome, H. P. L’Orange Photo Archive.
8.16. Monogram of Bishop Handegis from the Cathedral of Pola. Norwegian Institute in Rome, H. P. L’Orange Photo Archive.
8.17. a) urban monogram (Dorobernia civitas) on the pennies of Canterbury during the episcopate of Archbishop Wulfred (805–32); b) urban monogram of London on pennies of Alfred the Great; c–d) box monograms from London, BL, Cotton Ms. Vespasian A. I., fols 153r–v; e) monogram of
266
267
268
269
270
271
List of Figures
Sendelenus from Lyons, BM, Ms. 452, fol. 276r; f) monogram of Martinus from Paris, BnF, Ms. lat. 1603, fol. 192r; g) monogrammatic initial of STORAX from Paris, BnF, Ms. lat. 9332, fol. 246v.
272
8.18. Marginal cruciform monograms in Paris, BnF, Ms. lat. 7906, fol. 80r. 274
8.19. Diagram with a central monogram in St Gallen, SB, Cod. Sang. 237, p. 63. 276
8.20. Scribal monograms from Vatican City, BAV, Reg. lat. 438, fol. 31v.
8.21. Preserved monogrammatic section of the De inventione litterarum in St Gallen, SB, Cod. Sang. 876, p. 281.
277
279
8.22. Monograms of the De inventione litterarum in the 1606 edition of Goldast. 280
8.23. Monogrammatic devices in Wolfenbüttel, HAB, Cod. Guelf. 14 Weiss.: a) monogrammatic initial and lettering on fol. 221r; b) monogrammatic initial on fol. 18r; c) monogrammatic initial on fol. 235r; d) the ΦΩΣ–ΖΩΗ monogram on fol. 23v; e) Solomon’s monogram and sign on fol. 247r. © HAB Wolfenbüttel <http://diglib.hab.de/mss/14-weiss/start.htm>
9.1. Cruciform devices from Carolingian manuscripts: a) Würzburg, UB, M.p.th.f.19, fol. 67v; b) Munich, BSB, Clm. 6329, fol. 192r; c) Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek, Msc. Patr. 61, fol. 103r; d) Rome, Abbazia di San Paolo f.l.m., Biblia, fol. 1r.
9.2. Two paired monograms on the ‘Beautiful Doors’ in Hagia Sophia, Istanbul: a) Χριστὲ βοηθει; b) Μιχαὴλ δεσπότῃ. Photo by Joe Glynias.
9.3. Te igitur in Paris, BnF, Ms. Nouv. Acq. lat. 1589, fol. 10r.
9.4. Cruciform liturgical monograms from Paris, BnF, Ms. lat. 12272, fol. 104v. Graphic drawing.
9.5. Cross page in Heidelberg, UB, Cod. Sal. X.12a, fol. 1v.
9.6. Graphic devices in Carolingian manuscripts: a) IHS XPS monogram from Tours manuscripts; b) IOHANNIS monogram from Paris, BnF, Ms. lat. 266, fol. 172r; c) cruciform device from Leiden, Universitetsbibliotheek, VLO.41, fol. 19v; d) crosses from Munich, BSB, Clm. 6270a, fol. 154r.
9.7. Technical signs in Schaffhausen, Stadtbibliothek, Ms. 78, fol. 1v.
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287
290
291
293
296
298
300
9.8. T–O map in Munich, BSB, Clm. 6250, fol. 208r. 301
9.9. Denier of Louis the Pious (Dorestad, 822–40). Oslo University, Museum of Cultural History. 302
9.10. Carmen figuratum of Joseph the Scot, from Iosephi Scotti carmina, VI, ed. Dümmler, p. 159. 305
9.11. Acrostic poem from Paris, BnF, Ms. lat. 12262, fol. 3r. Graphic drawing. 306
9.12. Poem 28 of In honorem sanctae crucis in Lyons, BM, Ms. 597, fol. 24v. © IRHT.
9.13. Poem 11 of In honorem sanctae crucis in Lyons, BM, Ms. 597, fol. 7v. © IRHT.
309
310
List of Charts
2.1. Chi-rhos and tau-rhos on datable Roman Christian inscriptions from the 320s to 430s (absolute numbers).
63
2.2. Chi-rhos and tau-rhos on datable Roman Christian inscriptions from the 320s to 430s (percentage). 63
2.3. Percentage of datable Roman Christian inscriptions with chi-rhos from the 320s to 400s. 64
2.4. The use of an alpha and omega with christograms on datable Roman Christian inscriptions from the 320s to 400s (absolute numbers).
2.5. The use of an alpha and omega with christograms on datable Roman Christian inscriptions from the 320s to 400s (percentage).
2.6. The use of crosses and tau-rhos on datable funerary inscriptions from Zoora from the 340s to the 490s.
69
69
71
2.7. The use of tau-rhos on datable funerary inscriptions from Zoora from the 340s to the 490s. 72
3.1. The use of crosses on datable late antique funerary inscriptions from Zoora (absolute numbers).
85
3.2. The use of crosses on datable late antique funerary inscriptions from Zoora (percentage). 85
6.1. The imperial ancestry of Anicius Olybrius Junior. 161
List of Diagrams
6.1. The plan of Sts Sergius and Bacchus. 170
6.2. The ground level of Hagia Sophia. 182
6.3. The gallery level of Hagia Sophia. 183
