medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Dennis Martin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>Brown ...cites Plotinus in Porphyry's biography as an illustration of this
phenomenon outside Christian circles, to indicate that it was something in the
air, not merely a Christian phenomenon. ...he argues that these patterns were
called into question in the later 2nd and early-mid 3rd centuries.
for another take on this complex phenomenon, see the opening chapter ("The
Origins of Medieval Style" or something like that) in Ernst Kitzinger's fine
_Byzantine art in the making: main lines of stylistic development in
Mediterranean art, 3rd-7th century_ (Harvard University Press, 1977).
clearly there was, indeed, "something in the air" and getting a grip on it
requires a viewing through all the windows we can muster (and the willingness
to Mix Multiple Metaphors shamelessly is crucial).
the stylistic transformation/abandonment of the "Classical Canon" in the Later
Empire is an amazingly complex and profound psychic "event" and i've never
seen it examined in such detail and with such clarity and perceptiveness as it
is in Kitzinger's book.
best to all from here,
christopher
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