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The Eclectic Visual Culture of Medieval Moldavia
Series: - Visualising the Middle Ages, Volume: 15
Author:
Medieval Moldavia – which was located within present-day northeastern Romania and the Republic of Moldova – developed a bold and eclectic visual culture beginning in the 15th century. Within this networked Carpathian Mountain region, art and architecture reflect the creativity and diversity of the cultural landscapes of Eastern Europe.
Moldavian objects and monuments – ranging from fortified monasteries and churches enveloped in fresco cycles to silk embroideries, delicately carved woodwork and metalwork, as well as manuscripts gifted to Mount Athos and other Christian centers – negotiate the complex issues of patronage and community in the region. The works attest to processes of cultural contact and translation, revealing how Western medieval, Byzantine, and Slavic traditions were mediated in Moldavian contexts in the post-Byzantine period.
Moldavian objects and monuments – ranging from fortified monasteries and churches enveloped in fresco cycles to silk embroideries, delicately carved woodwork and metalwork, as well as manuscripts gifted to Mount Athos and other Christian centers – negotiate the complex issues of patronage and community in the region. The works attest to processes of cultural contact and translation, revealing how Western medieval, Byzantine, and Slavic traditions were mediated in Moldavian contexts in the post-Byzantine period.
Alice Isabella Sullivan, Ph.D. (University of Michigan, 2017) is Assistant Professor of Medieval Art and Architecture and Director of Graduate Studies at Tufts University, specializing in the artistic production of Eastern Europe and the Byzantine-Slavic cultural spheres. She is the co-founder of North of Byzantium, Mapping Eastern Europe, and the Sinai Digital Archive project.
Acknowledgments
List of Figures
Notes on Sources, Dates, Translations, and Transliterations
Table of Key Monuments
Introduction
1 Changing Landscapes
1 Moldavia and the Ottoman Empire
2 Defensive Landscape
3 Sacred Landscape
4 Fortified Monasteries
5 Projects beyond Moldavia
2 Ideologies and Temporalities
1 Shifting Identities
2 Votive Images, Intercessors, and Rituals
3 Alter Constantinus
4 New Struggles and Ambitions
3 Patterns of Patronage
1 Patronage of Mount Athos
2 Reasons for Patronage
3 Counter-gifts and Holy Relics
4 Workshops and Scriptoria
4 Sacred Spaces
1 Transitions and Transformations
2 Peter’s Ecclesiastical Projects
3 Byzantine-Slavic Forms
4 Gothic Elements
5 Stylistic Pluralism
5 Images and Rituals
1 Mural Cycles in the Naos and Altar
2 The Visual and Spatial Orchestration of the Divine Liturgy
3 Preparatory Spaces and the Path to Salvation
4 Exterior Images and Ambulatory Processions
6 Burials and Memory
1 The Moldavian Gropniță
2 Burials apud ecclesiam
3 The Graves and Their Props
4 Social and Symbolic Explanations
5 Spiritual and Eschatological Dimensions
7 Traditions and Transformations
1 The Patronage of the Movilă Brothers
2 Transformations in the Local Visual Culture
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
List of Figures
Notes on Sources, Dates, Translations, and Transliterations
Table of Key Monuments
Introduction
1 Changing Landscapes
1 Moldavia and the Ottoman Empire
2 Defensive Landscape
3 Sacred Landscape
4 Fortified Monasteries
5 Projects beyond Moldavia
2 Ideologies and Temporalities
1 Shifting Identities
2 Votive Images, Intercessors, and Rituals
3 Alter Constantinus
4 New Struggles and Ambitions
3 Patterns of Patronage
1 Patronage of Mount Athos
2 Reasons for Patronage
3 Counter-gifts and Holy Relics
4 Workshops and Scriptoria
4 Sacred Spaces
1 Transitions and Transformations
2 Peter’s Ecclesiastical Projects
3 Byzantine-Slavic Forms
4 Gothic Elements
5 Stylistic Pluralism
5 Images and Rituals
1 Mural Cycles in the Naos and Altar
2 The Visual and Spatial Orchestration of the Divine Liturgy
3 Preparatory Spaces and the Path to Salvation
4 Exterior Images and Ambulatory Processions
6 Burials and Memory
1 The Moldavian Gropniță
2 Burials apud ecclesiam
3 The Graves and Their Props
4 Social and Symbolic Explanations
5 Spiritual and Eschatological Dimensions
7 Traditions and Transformations
1 The Patronage of the Movilă Brothers
2 Transformations in the Local Visual Culture
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
Medievalists, Byzantinists, and early modern researchers interested in the history, art, and culture of Eastern Europe, cultural interactions between the Latin, Greek, and Slavic traditions, as well as Eastern Christian art, architecture, and visual culture in the post-Byzantine period.