Seeing "the Veil of the Letter": The Gospel Book in Late Antiquity and Byzantium
Date of Award
Spring 2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
History of Art
First Advisor
Nelson, Robert
Abstract
The average Christian worshipper in late antiquity and Byzantium never saw inside the covers of the gospel book or read its text. Yet, congregations flocked to touch and kiss the holy book when it came near them, and representations of books filled their art commissions. How does one reconcile the gospel book’s simultaneous visual ubiquity and popularity with its textual inaccessibility? This dissertation surveys material and representative evidence to reconstruct the lay experience of the Gospels in late antiquity and Byzantium. From the fourth to tenth centuries, the physical gospel book transformed into a τύπος of Christ. Book covers, church furniture, architecture, and the elements of liturgical, conciliar, and legal ceremonies framed the Gospels in layers of paratext that constructed and conveyed its direct connection to divinity. At the same time, representations of books in private and public art gained agency and encouraged lay interaction and veneration. Depictions of Christ holding an open scroll in early Christian art identified him as the Logos and provided divine access, creating a precedent for Proto- Pantocrator icons of Christ holding a codex that emerged in the sixth century. By the period of Iconoclasm, representations of books aided the development of icons, and the physical Gospels became a defining standard for icon status and veneration. For the laity, late antique and Byzantine gospel books and their artistic representations acted as “the veil of the letter,” making God manifest without even being opened or read.
Recommended Citation
Connelly, Chelsea Alice, "Seeing "the Veil of the Letter": The Gospel Book in Late Antiquity and Byzantium" (2023). Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations. 930.
https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/gsas_dissertations/930
