Approaches to Byzantine Architecture and its Decoration

Mark J. Johnson is professor of medieval art and architectural history at Brigham Young University, USA; Robert Ousterhout is professor and graduate chair in the Department of the History of Art at the University of Pennsylvania, USA; Amy Papalexandrou is an independent scholar and lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin, USA

• Contents: A tribute to Slobodan Æurèiæ, scholar and friend, Svetlana Popovic; Introduction: approaches to Byzantine architecture and the contribution of Slobodan Curcic, Mark J. Johnson, Robert Ousterhout and Amy Papalexandrou; Part I The Meanings of Architecture: Polis/Arsinoë in late antiquity: a Cypriot town and its sacred sites, Amy Papalexandrou; The syntax of spolia in Byzantine Thessalonike, Ludovico V. Geymonat; Church building and miracles in Norman Italy: texts and topoi, Mark J. Johnson; Armenia and the borders of medieval art, Christina Maranci. Part II The Fabrics of Buildings: Change in Byzantine architecture, Marina Mihaljevic; Prolegomena for the study of royal entrances in Byzantine churches: the case of Marko's monastery, Ida Sinkevic; The rose window: a feature of Byzantine architecture?, Jelena Trkulja. Part III The Contexts and Contents of Buildings: Between the mountain and the lake: tower, folklore, and monastery at Agios Vasileios near Thessalonike, Nikolas Bakirtzis; Life in a late Byzantine tower: examples from Northern Greece, Jelena Bogdanovic; Imperial and aristocratic funerary panel portraits in the middle and late Byzantine periods, Katherine Marsengill; Man or metaphor? Manuel Panselinos and the Protaton frescoes, Matthew J. Milliner. Part IV The Afterlife of Buildings: Two Byzantine churches of Silivri/Selymbria, Robert Ousterhout; Interpreting medieval architecture through renovations: the roof of the old basilica of San Paolo fuori le Mura in Rome, Nicola Camerlenghi; The edifices of the new Justinian: Catherine the Great regaining Byzantium, Asen Kirin; Bibliography of published writings; Index.

'... the editors have done an admirable job in pulling together from disparate sources a coherent collection of essays that provides much food for thought. Beyond the specific issues dealt with in each contribution, the book is a valuable overview of many current and traditional methodological approaches...' Bryn Mawr Classical Review '... this volume offers important new materials from the Byzantine provinces as well as in Constantinople. It is also a fitting tribute to Professor Slobodan Curcic.' Mediaevistik 'It is papers such as [Christina Maranci's], and Ida Sinkevic's contribution on royal entrances in 14th-century Macedonian churches ... which most intrigued the reviewer, presenting exciting, but relatively little known material.' Medieval Archaeology