Illustrating the Gospel of John: The Exegesis of John Chrysostom and Images of the Ancient of Days in Eleventh-Century Byzantine Manuscripts

• Autores: Gretchen Kreahling McKay
• Localización: Studies in iconography, ISSN 0148-1029, Nº. 31, 2010, págs. 51-68
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The use of the image of the Ancient of Days, an aged man with white hair and a beard, in the iconographic program of four illuminated 11th-century manuscripts that include verses of the Gospel of John, coincides with an intense interest in theologian John Chrysostom's writings. Of the more than a dozen Byzantine theologians who clarify the theological interpretation of the identity of the Ancient of Days, Chrysostom refers to the aged figure more frequently than any other theologian from the patristic or Byzantine period. The inclusion of the images of the Ancient of Days in these four illuminated manuscripts indicates a sophisticated understanding of theological issues on the part of the manuscripts' creators, and offers additional confirmation to the growing scholarly consensus that the 11th century witnessed an especially invigorated and energetic explosion of creativity in the manuscript arts. The notion of the Ancient of Days as a manifestation of Christ's preexistence appears to be at the core of the image's meaning in the 11th century.