Description
Book SynopsisThis book is about the Christ Pantokrator, an imposing monumental complex serving monastic, dynastic, medical and social purposes in Constantinople, founded by Emperor John II Komnenos and Empress Piroska-Eirene in 1118. Now called the Zeyrek Mosque, the second largest Byzantine religious edifice after Hagia Sophia still standing in Istanbul represents the most remarkable architectural and the most ambitious social project of the Komnenian dynasty. This volume approaches the Pantokrator from a special perspective, focusing on its co-founder, Empress Piroska-Eirene, the daughter of the Hungarian king Ladislaus I. This particular vantage point enables its authors to explore not only the architecture, the monastic and medical functions of the complex, but also Hungarian-Byzantine relations, the cultural and religious history of early medieval Hungary, imperial representation, personal faith and dynastic holiness. Piroska's wedding with John Komnenos came to be perceived as a union of East and West. The life of the Empress, a "sainted ruler," and her memory in early Árpádian Hungary and Komnenian Byzantium are discussed in the context of women and power, monastic foundations, architectural innovations, and spiritual models.
Trade Review"The central figure, uniting all the essays, is Empress Eirene, daughter of the Hungarian King Ladislaus and Adelaide of Rheinfelde. The authors of the volume aim to highlight the personality of Eirene, empress and saint, by analysing both her activity and the historical background in which she lived. The book offers a fresh perspective on several important subjects of Byzantine and Hungarian history, which continue to inspire discussions and contain unsolved enigmas." https://doi.org/10.5325/hiperboreea.10.1.0105 -- Andrei Prohin * Hiperboreea *
"Zborník štúdií je zameraný predovšetkým na osobnosť príslušníčky arpádovskej dynastie Pirošky (cca 1088-1134), ktorá je známa pod svojim gréckym menom Irena ako manželka neskoršieho byzantského cisára Jána II. Komnena. Práca si najmä všíma konštantínopolský kláštor Pantokrator, ktorý založil tento cisársky pár. Celkovo sa jedná o 13 štúdií, bohato doplnených o obrazové či mapové prílohy. Predložený zborník prichádza s novými poznatkami a s novým pohľadom na osobnosť arpádovskej princeznej a neskoršej byzantskej cisárovnej a kláštoru Pantokrator, ktorý založila s pomocou svojho manžela. Ako Robert Ousterhout hodnotí v závere, veľa zostáva nezodpovedaného, Piroškino dielo pretrvalo. Hoci práca obsahuje niekoľko drobných omylov či preklepov, čitateľovi poskytuje naozaj vydarený náhľad do byzantského sveta." https://www.recensio.net/rezensionen/zeitschriften/cesky-casopis-historicky/2020/1/ReviewMonograph552125179/@@generate-pdf-recension?language=de -- Peter Bučko * Český časopis historický *
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Marianne Saghy, Preface Marianne Saghy, Greek Monasteries in Early Arpadian Hungary Bela Zsolt Szakacs, What did Piroska see at Home? New Trends in Art and Architecture in the Kingdom of Hungary around 1100 Attila Barany, Diplomatic Relations between Hungary and Byzantium in the Eleventh-Twelfth Centuries Michael Jeffreys, Piroska-Eirene and the Komnenian Dynasty Roberta Franchi, Komnenian Empresses: From Powerful Mothers to Pious Wives Maximilian Lau, Piroska-Eirene, First Western Empress of Byzantium: Power and Perception Christopher Mielke, The Many Faces of Piroska-Eirene in Visual and Material Culture Elif Demirtiken, Imperial Women and Religious Foundations in Constantinople Tyler Wolford, To Each According to their Need: Medical and Charitable Institutions in the Pantokrator Monastery Robert Ousterhout, Piroska and the Pantokrator: Reassessing the Architectural Evidence Etele Kiss, Piroska-Eirene and the Holy Theotokos Roman Shlyakhtin, "A New Mixture of Two Powers:" Nicholas Kallikles and Theodore Prodromos on Empress Eirene Foteini Spingou, Ritual and Politics in the Pantokrator: A Lament in Two Acts for Eirene's Son Robert Ousterhout, Postface Appendix 1 Synaxarion Appendix 2 Theodoros Prodromos, Epitaph of Empress Eirene Appendix 3 Nicholas Kallikles, On the tomb of the Despina
