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Sticks and Stones: Byzantine Material Culture1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 January 2016

Michael Grünbart  and
Dionysios Stathakopoulos
Michael Grünbart
Affiliation:
University of Vienna
Dionysios Stathakopoulos
Affiliation:
University of Vienna
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Extract

Suddenly last summer, research on Byzantine Material Culture, la belle aux bois dormant, was awakened from a prolonged siesta. In the 20th International Congress of Byzantine Studies held in Paris two papers were given in an attempt to chart out the progress made in this particular field in the past decades. T. Kolias assembled the various projects undertaken by individuals or institutions dealing with the different aspects of Byzantine daily life and material culture. M. Mundell Mango focused more on the archaeological evidence at hand and illustrated through the examples of architecture and industrial products how these could be used to detect and explain the interaction between centre and periphery. Just two weeks later, in September 2001 a conference entitled ‘Material Culture and Well-Being in Byzantium (400-1453)’ was organised in Cambridge. A number of suggestions were made during the conference, as for example to initiate a website to host a continuously updateable bibliography and to act as a forum of scholarly exchange in the numerous fields covered by research on material culture.

Type
Critical Study
Information
Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies , Volume 26 , 2002 , pp. 298 - 327
Copyright
Copyright © The Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies, University of Birmingham 2002

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Footnotes

1

Part I and Part II, sections 1 and 4 were written by D. Stathakopoulos, Part II, sections 2 and 3 by M. Grünbart. We would like to thank Prof. E. Kislinger, E. Wegner and S. Lochner for their helpful suggestions.

References

2. Kolias, T., ‘Alltagsleben und materielle Kultur in Byzanz’, in XXe Congrès Internationale des Études Byzantines. Pré-Actes I. Séances Plénières (Paris 2001) 335–344 Google Scholar.

3. Mango, M. Mundell, ‘The Centre in and beyond the Periphery: Material Culture in the early Byzantine Empire’, in Pré-Actes I (as in n. 2) 202–208 Google Scholar.

4. Acts to be published in the series Byzantina Vindobonensia in Vienna (eds. A. Muthesius and E. Kislinger).

5. As defined by the Summer Institute in Materials Science and Material Culture (SIMSMC) at MIT: http://web.mit.edu/materialculture/www/structure.html

6. Pesez, J.-M., ‘Histoire de la culture matérielle’, in Goff, J. Le, ed., La Nouvelle Histoire (Historiques 47. Paris 21988) 194 Google Scholar.

7. On problems connected with the concept of everyday life see Tenfelde, K., ‘Kommentar’, in Mensch und Objekt im Mittelalter und in der frühen Neuzeit (Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Realienkunde des Mittelalters und der frühen Neuzeit 1. Vienna 1990) 445–452 Google Scholar.

8. See the discussion in: Köpstein, H., ‘Realienkunde - Materielle Kultur - Alltagsleben in Byzanz: Zu Termini und Forschungsgegenstand’, Medium Aevum Quotidianum Newsletter 9 (1987) 6-25Google Scholar, esp. 7-15.

9. Cf. For example Kreidl (1979) and James (1996) in Bibliography: Technology.

10. For a first approach to this truly important problem see Kislinger, E., ‘Notizen zur Realienkunde aus byzantinistischer Sicht’, Medium Aevum Quotidianum, Newsletter 9 (1987) 26-33Google Scholar, esp. 31ff and Schreiner, P., ‘Drei Kulturen in Byzanz: Kaiser und Hof - Volk - Kleriker und Mönche’, in Stiegemann, C., ed., Das Licht aus dem Osten: Kult und Alltag im byzantinischen Reich vom 4. bis 15. Jahrhundert (Mainz 2001) 2-18Google Scholar.

11. Schiffer, M. B., ‘Formation processes of the historical and archaeological records’, in Kingery, W. D., ed., Learning from things: Method and theory of material culture studies (Washington and London 1996) 75 Google Scholar.

12. The case of ceramics, the single most widely available type of object from the Byzantine times can suffice to illustrate this point. It is only in 1930 with David Talbot Rice’s Byzantine Glazed Pottery (Oxford 1930)Google Scholar that a basis was established for the dating and classification of such objects. This system has reached a satisfactory standard in the last quarter of the 20th century, moving away from mere art-historical dating of motifs to combining the former with coin-dating, stratigraphy and above all laboratory analysis (clay-provenance). For an outline of this see the excellent survey by Dark, K., Byzantine Pottery (Stroud 2001)Google Scholar.

13. In a perfect world this would mean that an object is recorded with its measures, an analysis of its raw material and accompanied by a good, clear photograph.

14. M. S. Tite, ‘Dating, provenance, and usage in material culture studies’, in Learning from Things (as n. 11) 256.

15. See e.g. G. Hirsch Nachfolger, Munich (four or five times a year auction-catalogues, Nr. 221 in May 2002), Münz Zentrum Rheinland, Cologne (Nr. 110 in May 2002, with several minor objects from Byzantine times) and the Classical Numismatic Group based in London and Lancaster. Auction-catalogues are partly mentioned and annotated in the bibliography of BZ, section 7.1 (Ausstellungen, Sammlungen, Galerien, Antiquariate).

16. ‘Auctions 1991-1996’, in Oikonomides, N., ed., Studies in Byzantine Sigillography 6 (Washington D.C. 1999) 115–159 Google Scholar.

17. Brunner, K., ‘Realienkunde als Mentalitätsgeschichte’, Historische Anthropologie 6 (1998) 160–165 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

18. An effort to overcome such shortcomings was undertaken in the short-lived project ‘Arbeiten zur Byzantinischen Realienkunde’ in Cologne; cf. its only publication: Schreiner, P. and Weiβ, G., Die byzantinischen Privaturkunden (Probedruck). (Cologne 1983)Google Scholar. Furthermore cf. Pesez, ‘Histoire’ (as in n. 6) 216-217.

19. Cf. a sketch by D. Talbot Rice depicting late Byzantine pottery as pictured in the frescos of the Monasteries of Mount Athos, in K. Dark, Byzantine Pottery (as in n. 12) fig. 2, p. 9.

20. See the recent: Tsamakda, B., ‘The miniatures of the Madrid Skylitzes’, in Tselikas, A., ed., Joannis Scylitzae Synopsis Historiarum: Codex Matritensis Graecus Vitr. 26-2, Facsimile Edition (Athens 2000) 143–149 Google Scholar, with further references.

21. The history of the study of material culture has been excellently highlighted by J.-M. Pesez, (as in n. 6) 191-227.

22. This was certainly the scientific paradigm followed by Koukoules (and most Greek ethnographers, at least up to fairly recent times); cf. below. On the possibilities and limitations of such applications see Kislinger, E., ‘Aspekte der realienkundlichen Quellenauswertung’, JOB 32/3 (1982) 469–473 Google Scholar and Weiss, G., ‘Beobachtungen zur Sozialgeschichte von Byzanz’, Südostforschungen 34 (1975) 3-25Google Scholar.

23. H. Köpstein, ‘Realienkunde’ (as in n. 8) 22, n. 60.

24. Cf. Pesez (as in n. 6) 191-192.

25. For an overview of such works see H. Köpstein, ‘Realienkunde’ (as in n. 8) 20-21 and Jastrebickaja, A. L., ‘Alltäglichkeit, Volkskultur und materielle Kultur in der sowjetischen Mediävistik’, in Mensch und Objekt (as in n. 7) 127–155 Google Scholar, with a bibliography of 87 relevant studies.

26. Köpstein, ‘Realienkunde’ (as in n. 8), 22, n. 60.

27. Pesez, J. M., ‘Culture matérielle at archéologie médiévale’, in Mensch und Objekt (as in n. 7) 41 Google Scholar ff

28. Pesez, ‘Histoire’ (as in n. 6) 197-200.

29. For an overview see Klonder, A., ‘Geschichte der materiellen Kultur des Mittelalters und der Frühneuzeit. Theorie - Methoden - Forschungsbilanz’, in Mensch und Objekt (as in n. 7) 23-35Google Scholar.

30. A simple survey of the entries under the keywords ‘material culture’ in the Library of Congress will suffice to illustrate this trend. They have been arranged according to year of publication and number of publications: 1960: 0; 1965: 3; 1970: 14; 1975: 11; 1980: 31; 1985: 56; 1990: 72; 1995: 102; 1996: 78; 1997: 68; 1998: 55; 1999: 64; 2000: 54; 2001: 42.

31. See http://www.imareal.oeaw.ac.at/

32. A detailed description of the program is given by Schuh, G. Jaritz-B., ‘Das Bilderdatenbank-Projekt REAL’, History & Computing 1 (1991) 21-23Google Scholar; Jaritz, G., ‘Medieval image databases: Aspects of cooperation and exchange’, Literary and Linguistic Computing 6/1 (1991) 15-19CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

33. Most of them have specific topics e.g. vol. 38 (1998): History of Daily Life: The Variety of Approaches.

34. Βυζανπνών βίος και πολιπσμός, 6 vols in 9 parts (Athens 1948-1955).

35. Mango, C., ‘Daily life in Byzantium’, JOB 31/1 (= Akten des XVI. Internationalen Byzantinistenkongresses) (1981) 338 Google Scholar.

36. Hörandner, W., ‘Byzanz’, in Bernath, M., ed., Historische Bücherkunde Südosteuropa, Band I, Mittelalter, Teil 1 (Südosteuropäische Arbeiten 76/1. Munich 1978) 407–408 Google Scholar.

37. Published in JÖB 31/1 (1981) 335-375 and 32/3 (1982) 421-585.

38. Köpstein, H., ‘Gebrauchsgegenstände des Alltags in archäologischen und literarischen Quellen: Ein Orientierungsversuch’, in JOB 31/1 (1981) 355–375 Google Scholar and Kislinger, E., ‘Aspekte der realienkundlichen Quellenauswertung’, JOB 32/3 (1982) 469–478 Google Scholar.

39. H. Köpstein, ‘Realienkunde’ (as in n. 8) and E. Kislinger, ‘Notizen’ (as in n. 10).

40. The source-groups were also divided among both projects; Vienna: literature, rhetorics, hagiography, romances, vernacular texts, military treatises, dream books, Geoponika; Cologne: legal documents, letters, archaeology (grave sites).

41. For example (in Bibliography: Food) Kislinger (1984); Kolias (1984). The material collected in Vienna, both the cards with excerpted data and the modern scholarly work on this subject are available for further research at the Institute for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies; furthermore the special library of the Institute collects all relevant publications.

42. Weiβ, G., Byzanz. Kritischer Forschungs- und Literaturbericht 1968-1985 (Historische Zeitschrift Sonderheft 14. Munich 1986) 202–206 Google Scholar; 245.

43. Schreiner, P., Byzanz (Oldenbourg Grundriß der Geschichte 22. Munich 1986, 2nd edition 1994)Google Scholar. In the first edition material culture formed a single category together with art, whereas the titles that actually referred to the former were extremely few. This was changed in the second edition.

44. This bibliography can be now conveniently searched with the use of the recent CD-ROM Byzantinische Zeitschrift Bibliographie [Vols. 84/85 (1991/92) -93 (2000); and Suppl. I-III], Programmiert und Bearbeitet von R. Hiβ (Munich and Leipzig 2001).

45. Kazhdan, A.P., Talbot, A.-M. et al., eds., Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, 3 vols. (Oxford 1991)Google Scholar.

46. Krause, J.-U., Mylonopoulos, J. and Cengia, R., eds., Schichten – Konflikte – religiöse Gruppen – materielle Kultur (Heidelberger Althistorische Beiträge und Epigraphische Studien 26 = Bibliographie zur römischen Sozialgeschichte 2. Stuttgart 1998)Google Scholar.

47. See Heron and Evershed (1993), Biers and McGovern (1990) and Michel, McGovern and Badler (1993).

48. Cf. Bryant and Murry in Bass and van Doorninck (1982: 327-331); van Dooming (1989); Giinsenin and Hatcher (1997);

49. See Kislinger (1982, 1984 and 1986-87) and now the Dumbarton Oaks Hagiography database (at http://www.doaks.org/Hagio.html) with which a large number of texts can be searched according to categories as: agriculture, apiculture, animals, diet, fishing, viniculture and many more.

50. See Karpozelos (1984 and 1995).

51. See now Thomas, J. and Hero, A. Constantinides, eds., (2001) Byzantine Monastic Foundation Documents, vol 5, Appendix B: The Regulation of Diet in the Byzantine Monastic Foundation Documents (Washington, D.C.) 1696-1716Google Scholar.

52. For example, Tsabare, I., ed., (1987) #О Πουλολόγος (Athens)Google Scholar.

53. See Romano, R., ‘Il calendario dietetico di Ierofilo’, Atti della Accademia Pontaniana, n.s. 47 (1998 [1999]) 197–222 Google Scholar.

54. Ptochoprodromos, ed. Eideneier, H. (Neograeca Medii Aevi 5. Cologne 1991)Google Scholar; see esp. the Glossary with all food and drink names on pp. 235-270.

55. See Weber (1980).

56. Cf.Parani, M., Reconstructing the reality of images: Byzantine material culture and religious iconography (11th - 15th centuries), Phil., D., University of Oxford (Oxford 2001)Google Scholar; also The city of My stras (Bibliography House and Household) 93, 95.

57. Homo Edens: Regimi, Miti e Pratiche del’ Alimentazione nella Civiltà del Mediteranno: 1. Homo Edens (Milan 1989); 2. Storie del vino (Milan 1991); 3. Letture d’Acqua (Padova 1994); 4. Nel nome del pane (Trent 1995).

58. On this Foundation see: http://www.etba.gr/etba/pti/pti_g.html. Of the eight conferences held so far, six have been already published in Athens: Ιστορία του ελληνικον κρασιού (1992); О артос ημων. Από то σιτάρι ото ψωμί (1994); Ελιά και λάδι (1996); #Αμπελοοινική ιστορία στο χώρο της Μακεδονίας και της вракцс (1998); H μέλισσα και та προϊόντα njc (2000); Τεχνοννωσία στη Λαπνοκρατούμενη Ελλάδα (2001).

59. A first, but little documented and all in all unsatisfactory effort constitutes Motsias (1998).

60. See Koder (1993: 85ff).

61. One of the most recent publications (with illustrative photographs) on this medieval centre is The City of Mystras (2001).

62. Next volume (expected in 2003): Hild, F. and Hellenkemper, G., Lykien und Pamphylien (Tabula Imperil Byzantini 8)Google Scholar. The introduction to Historical Geography by Koder, J. is available again (Der Lebensraum der Byzantiner, 2.ed. Vienna 2001)Google Scholar. Further information see http://www.oeaw.ac.at/tib

63. Constantinople, Great Palace: Jobst, W., Neue Forschungen und Restaurierungen im byzantinischen Kaiserpalast von Istanbul (Vienna 1999)Google Scholar; Church of Saint Polyeuktos: Harrison, R.M., Excavations at Sarachane in Istanbul. Vol. 1: The Excavations, Structures, Architectural Decoration, Small Finds, Coins Bones and Molluscs (Princeton 1992)Google Scholar; Vol. 2: Hayes, J., The Pottery. (Princeton 1986)Google Scholar. Corinth: Davidson, G.R., The Minor Objects (Corinth: results of excavations conducted by the American school of classical studies at Athens 12. Cambridge, Mass. 1952)Google Scholar; Pergamon: Rheidt (1991); Anemurion: e.g. Lightfoot, C.S:, ‘The Amorium project: the 1996 excavation season’, DOP 52 (1998) 323–336 Google Scholar. Regularly annotations of archaeological reports should be consulted in the bibliography of BZ.

64. See Müller-Wiener, W., Bildlexikon zur Topographie Istanbuls, Byzantion, Konstantinupolis, Istanbul bis zum Beginn des 17. Jahrhunderts (Tübingen 1977)Google Scholar; Die Häfen von Byzantion, Konstantinupolis, Istanbul (Tübingen 1994); Berger (1982), Necipoglu (2001).

65. Oikonomides (1990), Kidonopoulos (1994), Schreiner (1997).

66. The Madaba map centenary 1897-1997: travelling through the Byzantine Umayyad period (Collectio maior, Stadium Biblicum Franciscanum 40. Jerusalem 1999).

67. Some aspects were discussed at a Dumbarton Oaks Symposium (1989), most of the contributions were published in DOP 44 (1990).

68. The first introduction into Byzantine archaeology appeared in 1994 by Zanini, E., Introduzione all’archeologia bizantina (Studi superiore NIS 228. Rome 1994)Google Scholar.

69. Rheidt (1990: 199). After this article the author published an exemplary report (Rheidt 1991).

70. Spieser (1996); for a typology of Byzantine cooking ware see Bakirtzis (1989).

71. An example of a wooden door from 3-4th century Egypt is published by Dauterman Maguire (1989) Nr. 29. Its technology — a pair of pivots was fitted into sockets in the lintel and threshold of the door frame — is the same as in Roman times and Byzantine doors seem to be constructed in a similar manner.

72. Vikan, G., ‘Security in Byzantium: Keys’, JOB 32/3 (1982) 503–511 Google Scholar, He discusses technology of locks and keys, which are preserved in the Menil Collection in Houston, Texas (more than 120 items).

73. Littlewood, A., ed., Byzantine Garden Culture (Washington, D.C. 2002)Google Scholar.

74. Vann, R. Lindley, ‘Byzantine Street Construction at Caesarea Maritima’, in City, Town and Countryside in the Early Byzantine Era (Boulder 1982) 165–198 Google Scholar. — Belke, K., ‘Roads and Travel in Macedonia and Thrace in the middle and late Byzantine Period’, in Macrides, R., ed., Travel in the Byzantine World (Aldershot 2002) 73-90Google Scholar (based on written sources). Hild, F. Das byzantinische Straςensystem in Kappadokien (Vienna 1977)Google Scholar.

75. This detail should be added to the conclusions of Schreiner (1997), a well is mentioned in nearly every household.

76. Çeçen (1992).

77. Eustathii Thessalonicensis opera minora, ree. Wirth, P. (CFHB 33. Berlin 2000), Nr. 17 Google Scholar.

78. City ofMystras (2001: 51).

79. Stephens Crawford (1990: 8).

80. Foss (1996: IV 13ff).

81. For types of shops see e.g. Koder, J., Das Eparchenbuch Leons des Weisen (CFHB 33. Vienna 1991)Google Scholar.

82. Berger (1982).

83. Dauterman Maguire (1989). ‘Everday life’ has become a topic of growing importance for the organisers of exhibitions (e.g. Wamser, L., ed., Rom und Byzanz, archäologische Kostbarkeiten aus Bayern [Munich 1998]Google Scholar or Licht aus dem Osten [as in n. 10]).

84. Schreiner (1997).

85. Palmer (1993: 403-410).

86. E.g. Kramer (1998).

87. Saliou (1996); Tourptsoglou-Stephanidou (1998)

88. Gardner, J.F. and Wiedemann, Th., The Roman Household. A Sourcebook (London 1991)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

89. Ierusalimskaja (1996).

90. Martiniani-Reber (2000), City of My stras (2001) see below.

91. See Dauterman Maguire (1989).

92. Brubaker (1997:33); Muthesius (1997); comments by Brubaker and Haldon (2001)

93. Thierry (1966).

94. Verpeaux, J., ed., Traité des offices (Paris 1966)Google Scholar.

95. Piltz (1994).

96. ‘Tuchproduktion und Tuchproduzenten in Thessalonike und in anderen Städten und Regionen des späten Byzanz’, Byzantiaka 9 (1989) 49-86

97. Kühnel (1992).

98. Kazhdan and Wharton Epstein (1985: 74ff).

99. See Russell (1982), who presents several types of buckles found at the site of Anemurium (up to the 7th century) and emphasises on the significance of contextual research; on the other hand Kazhdan and Wharton Epstein (1985: 76) base their comment only on written sources and conclude: ‘It is not clear whether trousers were in continual use from Late Roman times.’

100. City of Mystras (2001, Nr. 9). The technique of making spherical buttons was very common from the 13th to 15th centuries. See also Waldbaum, J. C., Metalwork from Sardis: The Finds through 1974 (Archaeological Exploration of Sardis, Monograph 8. Cambridge, Mass. 1983) Nr. 762–783 Google Scholar, 799.

101. City of Mystras (2001: Nr. 8, 11).

102. e.g. Veglery, G. Zacos-A., Byzantine Lead Seals I. Plates (Basel 1972) Nrr. 438eGoogle Scholar, 616, 1171, 1755, 1776, 2227, 2311, 2328, 2364, 2503b, 2582, 2640, 2671A, 2714.

103. City of Mystras (2001) Nr. 4: female leather shoes

104. City of Mystras (2001) Nr. 6.

105. Kalamara (1995: 35ff).

106. To give an overview of Byzantine jewellery / decoration is impossible, because pieces ranging from simple bronze rings to golden seal-rings are presented in nearly every exhibition catalogue and if one skims trhough an auction catalogue, he will get drowned in an ocean of ‘precious’ objects.

107. Caseau (1994).

108. City ofMystras (2001, Nr. 3); hairstyle: Korre, Ai. G., ‘Κορώνη - Παραμπυκια - Φλόκος’, EEBS 41 (1974) 128-35Google Scholar; Stout (1996).

109. Maltezou (1986), Philips (1992).

110. ODB (as in n. 45) III 2020-2021.

111. See for example lonas (2000).

112. See Brett (1954); Trilling (1997).

113. See Garidis, M., Études sur le Jugement Dernier post-byzantin du Xve á la f in du XIXe siècle: Iconographie-esthétique (Thessalonike 1985) 82-117Google Scholar.

114. See also the publications of the Foundation of ETBA (as in n. 58).