This volume presents the latest historical, theological and site-specific developments in the study of the Image of Edessa, shedding new light onto various different aspects of the icon. Experts from Russia, Spain, Australia, Georgia, Italy and the United Kingdom bring their latest findings together in order to reach a deeper understanding of this fascinating object.
The Image of Edessa, also later known as the Mandylion, was a relic of Christ, a cloth imprinted with his features which he had used to wipe his face, and subsequently used to cure King Agbar of Edessa, the first Christian ruler. This book collects and provides parallel translations of all the available written evidence for the image, along with detailed analysis of the history of the image. Guscin deftly seperates fact from legend, for while the story of King Agbar is certainly mythical, an image of some sort did definitely exist by the mid tenth century when it was translated to Constantinople.
The Image of Edessa was an image of Christ, which, according to tradition, was of miraculous origin. It was taken from Edessa to Constantinople in 944, and disappeared from known history in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. It generated, however, a vast amount of literature and hundreds of copies in churches all over the Byzantine world. This book is a study of the literature, paintings, icons and other aspects related to the Image of Edessa. It examines how it was used as a tool to express Christ’s humanity and for various other purposes, and how some of the related literature became completely decontextualised and used as a magical charm, especially in the West.
According to legend, the Mandylion was an image of Christ’s face imprinted on a towel, kept in Edessa. This acheiopoieton image (“not made by human hands”) disappeared in the eighteenth century. The first records of another acheiropoieton relic appeared in mid-fourteenth century France: a long linen bearing the image of Jesus’ corpse, known nowadays as the Holy Shroud of Turin. Some believe the Mandylion and the Shroud to be the same object, first kept in Edessa, later translated to Constantinople, France and Italy. Andrea Nicolotti traces back the legend of the Edessean image in history and art, focusing especially on elements that could prove its identity with the Shroud, concluding that the Mandylion and the Shroud are two distinct objects.
The studies reprinted here deal with the Byzantine empire between the 9th and 11th centuries, with a focus on the period of the Macedonian dynasty, and include four translated into English for this volume. They reflect both historical and prosopographical concerns, but Professor Markopoulos's principle interest is in the analysis of literary works and texts. This he combines with the examination of the ideological context of the period, as shaped in the reigns of Basil I and Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos, and the investigation of gender issues and other approaches. The close analysis of the texts shows how, after the close of Iconoclasm, new styles of writing and new attitudes towards the writing of history emerged, for instance in the use of mythological themes, which exemplify the changing intellectual concerns of the time.
In this book the beauty and meaning of Byzantine art and its aesthetics are for the first time made accessible through the original sources. More than 150 medieval texts are translated from nine medieval languages into English, with commentaries from over seventy leading scholars. These include theories of art, discussions of patronage and understandings of iconography, practical recipes for artistic supplies, expressions of devotion, and descriptions of cities. The volume reveals the cultural plurality and the interconnectivity of medieval Europe and the Mediterranean from the late eleventh to the early fourteenth centuries. The first part uncovers salient aspects of Byzantine artistic production and its aesthetic reception, while the second puts a spotlight on particular ways of expressing admiration and of interpreting of the visual.
An expansive compilation of New Testament apocrypha in English translation, featuring fascinating but heretofore unpublished texts. New Testament Apocrypha, vol. 3, continues to unearth the vast diversity of Christian Scripture outside of the traditional canon. This new collection encompasses a broad range of languages—Greek, Church Slavic, Old English, Coptic, and more—and spans centuries, from the formation of the canonical New Testament to the high Middle Ages. The selections here represent some of the least studied apocryphal texts, many of which have not previously received an English translation or a critical edition. Notable newly edited and translated selections include The Martyrdom of Zechariah, The Decapitation of John the Forerunner, The Birth of John, The Revelation about the Lord’s Prayer, and The Dialogue of Mary and Christ on the Departure of the Soul. Each text is accompanied by a robust introduction, bibliography, and notes. Scholars of apocrypha, Scripture, and hagiography from a breadth of disciplines will find this an indispensable reference for their research and teaching. Contributors: Carson Bay, Mark Glen Bilby, Rick Brannan, Christian H. Bull, Slavomir Čéplö, Alexander D’Alisera, J. Gregory Given, Nathan J. Hardy, Brandon W. Hawk, Stephen C. E. Hopkins, Alexander Kocar, Brent Landau, Jacob A. Lollar, Christine Luckritz Marquis, Ivan Miroshnikov, Tobias Nicklas, Samuel Osborn, Stephen Pelle, Bradley Rice, Julia A. Snyder, Janet E. Spittler, James Toma, Péter Tóth, Sarah Veale, J. Edward Walters, Charles D. Wright, Lorne R. Zelyck
Jesus was a king of Edessa 600 pages of gnosis. Colour Images. This is the book that the Catholic Church has been dreading for the last 1700 years. This is the book that will end Christianity as we know it. And this is not advertising hyperbole, this really is the end of the Christian fairytale. We now know who Jesus was. Visit his city, see the ruins of his citadel, gaze upon his statue, handle his coins. In reality, Jesus was a son of King Abgarus of Edessa, a king with a small realm, a large treasury, and even bigger ambitions. Thus Jesus' true history undermines much of the biblical fairystory that the gospel authors crafted, and so Christianity will never be the same again. The jacket image shows Jesus wearing his Crown of Thorns, the ceremonial crown of the Edessan monarchy. We suggest that readers start with 'Cleopatra to Christ' and then 'King Jesus'. The wait before arriving at the last episode in the trilogy will be worthwhile, for if a book could be valued on its 'eureka moments' then this final book would be priceless. The 'King Jesus Trilogy' Latest version v12.1 2024 Book three of the King Jesus Trilogy (in four parts). Followed by 'The Grail Cypher'. .
