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Published by Media
Ecclesiastica,
October
24, 2005
The
"Menologion": The Game Is Open for
Book-Hunters
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The
«Menologion of the Emperor Vasilios II», which
is a masterpiece of illustrated Greek
manuscripts, will be published in November. The
publication will be a great event in the history
of relations between Orthodox and Catholic
Churches, but also a unique challenge for all
the bibliophiles or book-hunters.
For the first time after the Schism, the
Churches of Athens and Rome are working on a
common project: they are co-publishers of an old
byzantine manuscript. The Menologion is
published by the Vatican Library, the official
publishing house of the Church of Greece
Apostoliki Diakonia, and the Spanish Testimonio,
a publishing house dedicated to reproductions of
old manuscripts, founded by the eminent engraver
César Olmos.
The "Menologion" belongs to the
Collection of Greek Manuscripts in the Apostolic
Vatican Library and has been listed in their
register as Vaticanus Graecus 1613. Commissioned
by the emperor Vasilios II (976-1025), it
represents a culmination of experience and a
composition of the artistic trends of the
Constantinople court circa year 1000.
The manuscript, the only one that has been
rescued of the two original volumes, contains
the first six months of the Byzantine liturgical
year, from September through to February. Its
luxurious edition that was made for the last
great emperor of the Macedonian dynasty, every
short text, dedicated to the Saint or the feast
of that day and condensed into a mere 16 rows,
is accompanied by a miniature illustration.
The new edition of "Menologion", is
accompanied by a volume containing highly
important studies on the manuscript, the art
history of its era and the art of byzantine
miniatures.
THE
MENOLOGION (BOOK OF SAINTS) OF THE EMPEROR
VASILIOS II
(Vat. gr. 1613)
Joint
Publishers:
APOSTOLIKI DIAKONIA OF THE CHURCH OF GREECE
APOSTOLIC VATICAN LIBRARY
SPANISH PUBLISHING HOUSE «TESTIMONIO»
 The
so-called «Menologion of the emperor Vasilios
II», which is considered the most prominent
masterpiece of illustrated Greek manuscripts that
has ever reached us, comprises an imperative point
of reference for the study of Byzantine miniature
paintings of the 10th to 11th centuries. It
belongs to the collection of Greek manuscripts in
the Apostolic Vatican Library and is listed in
their register as Vaticanus Graecus 1613.
Commissioned by the emperor Vasilios II
(976-1025), it represents a culmination of
experience and a composition of the artistic
trends of the Constantinople court circa year
1000.
This manuscript -the only one to be rescued of the
two original volumes- contains in its present form
the first six months that are the first months of
the Byzantine liturgical year, from September
through to February, with a very abbreviated text
syntax, purposely designed for this manuscript,
which is essentially a "Book of Saints",
a liturgical book of the Orthodox Church
containing abridged information on the Saint or
the feast-day commemorated, that is normally read
in the morning during the Matins Service.
In this exquisite, luxurious edition that was made
for the last great emperor of the Macedon dynasty,
every short text that is dedicated to the Saint or
the feast of that day and condensed into a mere 16
rows, is accompanied by a miniature illustration
that portrays the respective commemoration, in the
space remaining at the end of every page of the
manuscript. We thus see unfolding before our very
eyes a long series of holy images, mainly icons of
Saints, Martyrs, Confessors, Hierarchs and
Ascetics, all portrayed standing in dignified
solemnity, with backgrounds depicting
architectural monuments, landscapes, or a certain
significant moment of their life or their
martyrdom.
The exceptional number of illustrated scenes
transforms this Codex into an unusual, illustrated
catalogue. Given that for almost every day of the
year the manuscript portrays more than one
liturgical commemoration, the overall preserved
miniature illustrations thus amounts to 430.
Among the reasons that make this valuable
manuscript interesting -unique to the history of
Byzantine Miniature painting- is that one can
discern next to every illustration the name of the
hagiographer that painted it. This once, Byzantine
Art has come out of the broader anonymity that is
attributed to its natural humility, thus allowing
us to identify, beyond the general accession to
the Constantinopolitan artistic trends of that
era, the personal characteristics of each of the
eight artists that are involved in this work:
Pantoleon, Georgios, Michael the Younger, Michael
of Vlachernae, Simeon, Simeon of Vlachernae, Menas
and Nestor, who are guided by the one that appears
to be the most prominent iconographer of his time,
Pantoleon, a name that has also been acknowledged
by contemporary sources.
Almost one century after the publishing of the
unique, full, black-and-white version, Il
Menologio di Basilio II - cod. Vaticano Greco
1613, Torino, Bocca 1907 [Codices e Vaticanis
selecti, 8], a new, identical replica of the Codex
that comprises an heirloom of our Nation and an
ecumenical cultural inheritance, now produced by
state-of-the-art typographical techniques, has
come to assist in the scientific studies of
Hagiology, the History of Art, and not only! It
also provides an ideal opportunity to revise and
to study in depth- in the volume with the
commentaries accompanying the replica- the
numerous and to this day grey areas that shadowed
all research on the manuscript, whose worldwide
fame did not always find the appropriate, critical
attention.
The identical replica of the "Book of
Saints" is accompanied by a scientific volume
containing the following studies:
Introduction
1.
The era of Vasilios II: history (Evangelos Chrysos).
2.
The era of Vasilios II: civilization (Vasilios
Katsaros).
3.
Trends of Byzantine Miniature painting towards the
end of the 10th century and the beginning of the
11th (Panayiotis Vokotopoulos).
The
Menologion of Vasilios II
1.
A specialized Book of Saints: description of the
feast-day cycles and analysis of texts (Andrea
Luzzi)
2.
An eloquent dedication: the introductory poem with
its Byzantine 12-syllable rimes (Augusta Acconcia
Longo)
3.
The Menologion as a book: a codical and
paleographic analysis (Francesco D' Aiuto)
4.
The eight Miniaturist painters and their
characteristics: the human form, the architectural
depth and the landscape (Anna Zakharova)
5.
The relation of the «Book of Psalms of
Vasilios II» (Marc. gr. Z. 17) to other
illustrated codices of the era (Antonio Jacobini)
6.
The relation to the remaining manuscripts of the «Imperial
Menologion» of Michael IV the Paflagonian
(Nancy Patterson Ševčenko)
7.
From Constantinople to Rome: elements of the «external»
history of the Vat. gr. 1613 (Leandro Ventura)
8.
The Menologion during the 17th and 18th century: a
scientific study and the history of art (Simona
Moretti)
9.
The latter-day restorations of miniature paintings
(Anna Zakharova)
10.
The oldest (Legat. Vat. gr. 1613) bookbinding of
the Menologion and the most recent (Constantine
Houlis).
Descriptions
of the miniature illustrations
Bibliography:
Αlessia A. Aletta -Massimo Ceresa
ORDER
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PRESENTATION
EVENT FOR THE
"MENOLOGION"
OF THE EMPEROR VASILIOS II
The
Apostoliki Diakonia of the Church of Greece
is exceptionally honored to
invite You
to the presentation of the facsimile edition of
THE
«MENOLOGION»
OF THE EMPEROR VASILIOS II
(Codex
Vaticanus Graecus 1613)
that will take place on Wednesday, 16th
November 2005,
18:00 hrs, at the Byzantine Museum of Athens.
P R O G R A M M E
Address, by His Eminence the Bishop of Fanarion
Mr. Agathangelos, General Director of the
Apostoliki Diakonia
Address, by the Reverend Mr. Raffaele Farina,
Director of the Vatican Library
Presentation of the work by:
Esteemed Professor
Mr. Evangelos Chrysos,
Director of the Center of Byzantine Research
Esteemed Professor
Mr. Francesco D' Aiuto,
Vatican Library Researcher
Greeting, by His Excellence the Cardinal
Mr. Jean-Luis Tauran, President of the Vatican
Library
Greeting, by His Beatitude the Archbishop οf Athens and
All Greece, Mr. Christodoulos.
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