Book contents
- Old Saint Peter's, Rome
- Series page
- Old Saint Peter's, Rome
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Plates
- Tables
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Saint Peter's and the city of Rome between Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages
- 2 From Constantine to Constans
- 3 Spoliain the fourth-century basilica
- 4 The Early Christian baptisteryof Saint Peter's
- 5 The representation of Old Saint Peter's basilica in theLiber Pontificalis
- 6 The mausoleum of Honorius
- 7 Popes, emperors and clergyat Old Saint Peter's from the fourth to the eighth century
- 8 Theearly liturgy of Saint Peter's and the Roman liturgical year
- 9 Interactions between liturgy and politics in Old Saint Peter's, 670–741
- 10 A reconstruction of the oratory of John VII (705–7)
- 11 Old Saint Peter's and the Iconoclastic Controversy
- 12 The Veronica, theVultus Christiand the veneration oficons in medieval Rome
- 13 The Carolingiansand the oratoryof Saint Peter the Shepherd
- 14 Plus Caesare Petrus
- 15 The Legendary of Saint Peter's basilica
- 16 The stucco crucifix of Saint Peter's reconsidered
- 17 Saint Peter's in the fifteenth century
- 18 Filarete's renovation of the Porta Argenteaat Old Saint Peter's
- 19 The altarof Saint Maurice and the invention of tradition in Saint Peter's
- 20 Epilogue. A hybrid history:
- Appendix Letter of the canons of Saint Peter's to Paul V concerning the demolition of the old basilica, 1605
- Bibliography
- Index
19 - The altarof Saint Maurice and the invention of tradition in Saint Peter's
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 December 2013
Book contents
- Old Saint Peter's, Rome
- Series page
- Old Saint Peter's, Rome
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Plates
- Tables
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Saint Peter's and the city of Rome between Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages
- 2 From Constantine to Constans
- 3 Spoliain the fourth-century basilica
- 4 The Early Christian baptisteryof Saint Peter's
- 5 The representation of Old Saint Peter's basilica in theLiber Pontificalis
- 6 The mausoleum of Honorius
- 7 Popes, emperors and clergyat Old Saint Peter's from the fourth to the eighth century
- 8 Theearly liturgy of Saint Peter's and the Roman liturgical year
- 9 Interactions between liturgy and politics in Old Saint Peter's, 670–741
- 10 A reconstruction of the oratory of John VII (705–7)
- 11 Old Saint Peter's and the Iconoclastic Controversy
- 12 The Veronica, theVultus Christiand the veneration oficons in medieval Rome
- 13 The Carolingiansand the oratoryof Saint Peter the Shepherd
- 14 Plus Caesare Petrus
- 15 The Legendary of Saint Peter's basilica
- 16 The stucco crucifix of Saint Peter's reconsidered
- 17 Saint Peter's in the fifteenth century
- 18 Filarete's renovation of the Porta Argenteaat Old Saint Peter's
- 19 The altarof Saint Maurice and the invention of tradition in Saint Peter's
- 20 Epilogue. A hybrid history:
- Appendix Letter of the canons of Saint Peter's to Paul V concerning the demolition of the old basilica, 1605
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
This chapter explores the development of the tradition around the altar of Saint Maurice that informed letter of canon of Emperor Constantine, and takes as its premise the idea that the basilica functioned as a material expression of evolving traditions and rituals. The manoeuvrings around its architecture, decor and furniture, offer important insights into the ways the liturgical life of Saint Peter's changed and how such changes were justified. Once established and mythologized in the coming centuries, the tradition of the altar of Saint Maurice was perpetuated. In many ways it offers an exemplar for the development of the basilica more generally. From the twelfth century, the imperial coronation ritual became reasonably solidified in the ceremonial texts. Saint Peter's might well be understood as a marble-clad materialization of tradition, its altars expressing the mutations, reconstructions and inventions that that tradition has undergone throughout its history.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Old Saint Peter's, Rome , pp. 371 - 385Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2013