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iconoclasm of Byzantium:*
background. Christian art & iconography became common as Christianity spread in the Roman Empire after 312 AD. Popular subjects included Jesus, narrative scenes from his life, scenes from the Old Testament, images of the Virgin Mary & saints. However even in the Early Church critics of such veneration voiced objections. Following Justinian’s reign (527–565) there was an increase in volume & quality of images & devotional practices in front of images became common. We see a proliferation of Christian iconography, images & poplar accounts of the saints. There are references to the power of individual images to channel divine power. The image takes on the attributions of the subject (the image bleeds).
7th century crisis. In the 7th century the Byzantine Empire came under threat. The Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602-28 was an exercise in futility; neither side won significant gains, both lay exhausted after the peace of 628. Consequently the Empire was vulnerable when in 634 the Islamic Rashidun Caliphate invaded Byzantium. Muslim forces swiftly conquered Byzantium holdings in the Levant, the Caucasus, Egypt & North Africa. Muslim armies now raied & conquered Byzantine Asia Minor & Africa, twice threatening Constantinople itself. Stability only returned after 718 with Byzantine forces secure behind the Taurus Mountains. In the face of this existential crisis the people of Byzantium turned to God. Relics & acheiropoieta (icons produced miraculously, images of Jesus or the Virgin Mary) were already seen as channels for grace. They were now joined by images of Christs, the virgin & saints, regarded as giving access to the divine. Prayers before such images were magnified in power. This practice was bottom up, a popular expression, organic. It was clearly predicted by the believer’s need for divine support in the face of crisis. It was not a change orchestrated by the Church.
However as the popularity of icon veneration grew, so too grew a counter movement, especially within the Orthodox Church. These were the iconoclasts or breakers of images. They believed images were idolatrous, & referred to the prohibitions on the worship of graven images in the Mosaic Law & aniconic statements by the Church Fathers (lost today). One theological issue revolved around the 2 natures of Jesus. Iconoclasts believed that icons could not represent both the divine and the human natures of the Messiah.
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The First Iconoclasm (726-787). In the summer of 726 a natural disaster (a large under-sea volcanic eruption in the Aegean) led to tsunamis & great loss of life. Emperor Leo III saw this as divine judgement & decided that the use of images had been the offence. He ordered the removal of an image of Christ, prominently placed over the Chalke Gate. Popular opposition prevented this however. In 730 Leo issued an edict forbidding veneration of religious images. He did not consult the Church & was surprised by the tide of popular opposition. Germanos I, the iconophile Patriarch of Constantinople, resigned; it is clear the Eastern Church was already divided. Most of the issues were practical (confusion among the laity, playing into the hands of the Jews & Muslims). No church council was called; no prominent patriarchs called for the removal of icons. Leo confiscated valuable church plate & materials but took no disciplinary action against iconophile bishops. His son & successor, Constantine V (741–775), was more extreme. He is rounded on in Byzantine texts, which conveniently ignore his success in battle. He faced treacherous attacks from iconophile within his own family. He summoned the Council of Hieria (754), which in near unanimity condemned the use of icons & the painting of living creatures or any Christian iconography. The emperor strongly endorsed this position. A theological storm arose between opposing parties, Constantine himself writing, opposing veneration. Many monasteries supported the iconoclast position, others became secret bastions of icon-support. Constantine moved against these monasteries, relics were thrown into the sea, invocation of saints was ended & monasteries in Constantinople were secularised. Many monks fled the Empire. In the West, Pope Gregory III condemned Leo's actions. In this controversy the West was clearly set against iconoclasm.
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Leo IV (775–80) tried to mediate. On his death his wife, Irene, took power as regent for her minor son, Constantine VI (780–97). She worked to restore the veneration of icons, choosing an iconophile as Patriarch of Constantinople. She summoned 2 church councils. The first (786) at Constantinople, was closed by opposing iconoclast soldiers. The 2nd, at Nicaea (787), reversed the decrees of the earlier councils & restored the veneration of icons reuniting the Eastern Church with Rome.
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The Second Iconoclasm (814-42). External factors influenced this revival. In a sereiw of military defeats, the Byzantines were humiliated by Bulgarian Khan Krum: Emperor Nikephoros I was killed & Emperor Michael I Rangabe was forced to abdicate. The new emperor Leo V interpreted this as divine displeasure, also he may have wanted to replicate the military success of the earlier iconoclast emperor Constantine V. Soon after his coronation he discussed reviving iconoclasm; he argued that iconophile emperors suffered death in battle while the iconoclasts survived. He appointed a commission of monks to investigate & come to a decision regarding veneration. They discovered the Council of Hieria. A debate broke out between the 2 parties & no decision was reached. Leo however now moved, he had the icon at the Chalke gate (which Leo III attempt to remove) taken down & replaced with a cross. In 815 iconoclasm was officially revived by a synod held at Hagias Sophia. His successor, Michael II (770-829), was a convinced iconoclast. In 824 he wrote to the Carolingian emperor Louis the Pious bemoaning image veneration in the Western church. He confirmed the decrees of the 754 Council. He was succeeded by his son & iconoclast, Theophilus (800-42). On his death his wife Theodora acted as regent for his minor heir, Michael III. She overrode her dead husband’s ecclesiastical policy. She had the iconoclast Patriarch deposed replacing him with an iconophile, summoned a council, & ended the controversy (843). Veneration, but not worship, of icons (images of Jesus Christ & saints) was restored and the iconoclastic clergy deposed.
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iconoclasm of Islam (7th century): *
Pre-Islamic Arabia was dominated by polytheism & animism. Gods or goddesses were protectors of individual tribes, their spirits associated with sacred trees, stones, springs & wells. The Kaaba shrine in Mecca was the site of an annual pilgrimage & housed 360 idols of tribal patron deities. Islam is monotheistic and both the Quran & Hadith condemn idolatry or polytheism. In 630, Muhammad marched on Mecca with 10,000 Muslim converts; he easily seized control of the city & declared an amnesty for past offences. Most Meccans converted, Muhammad proceeded to destroy all the statues of Arabian gods in & around the Kaaba. Throughout his conquest of Arabia, he ordered the destruction of pagan idols. The last city to hold out against the Muslims in Western Arabia was Taif; he only accepted their surrender when they agreed to convert to Islam & allowed men to destroy the statue of their goddess Allat.
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The Quran (compiled 644–56 AD), the Islamic holy book, does not explicitly prohibit the depiction of human figures; it merely condemns idolatry; interdictions of figurative representation are present in the Hadith. Because these readings relate to specific events in the life of Muhammad, they require interpretation. Sunni scholars from the 9th century saw in them categorical prohibitions against producing & using any representation of living beings. Aniconism is common among fundamentalist Sunni, Salafis & Wahhabis but less prevalent among liberal movements within Islam while Shia and mystical orders are also less stringent.
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iconoclasm of Protestant North: *
Switzerland, Germany. In 1523, spurred on by the Swiss reformer Zwingli, many of his followers viewed themselves as being involved in a spiritual community that in matters of faith should obey neither the visible Church nor lay authorities. Significant iconoclastic riots took place in Basel (in 1529), Zurich (1523), Copenhagen (1530), Münster (1534), Geneva (1535), Augsburg (1537).
the 17 Provinces. Especially significant was the Beeldenstorm (Great Iconoclasm or Iconoclastic Fury) of 1566 in the Spanish Netherlands. Urged on by Calvinists preachers, monastic statues were destroyed & many monasteries sacked. It marks the start of the revolution against the Spanish forces and the Catholic Church.
France. unofficial episodes of large scale destruction of art in churches by Huguenot Calvinists begun in 1560 (Rouen) but were often physically resisted & repulsed by Roman Catholic crowds. In 1562 riots broke out in Saintes and La Rochelle. Iconoclasm continued throughout the French Wars of Religion.
England. During the English Reformation, Henry VIII (urged on by reformers Latimer & Cranmer) began limited official action against religious images in the late 1530s. Under the guidance of Cranmer the young Edward VI issued Injunctions for Religious Reforms (1547); in 1550, Parliament passed laws for the abolition of certain books & images. In the English Civil War (1642-51), iconoclasm on the part of the Parliamentarians led to great damage to churches, windows, art & sculpture. Calvinism n Scotland led to iconoclast riots in 1559.
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Gothic thrust system: *
The most fundamental element of the Gothic style is the pointed arch. With the pointed arch the rib vault was born. Thrust was now channelled into the 4 corners of the vault (see illustration); this allowed the reduction in the size of the columns or piers supporting the arch. The massive Romanesque columns were replaced with slender, slim column.
This slimness was repeated in the upper levels of the nave, so that the gallery & clerestory (sections above the ground level arcade, a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level, to admit light & fresh air) do not overpower the ground arcade. The column continued all the way to the roof becoming part of the vault. The flying buttress was the 3rd element of the Gothic style, giving additional support to contain the thrust. Like the first 2 it allowed for upward design, ever greater height. It was a buttress composed of an arched structure extending from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, it conveys to the ground the lateral forces that push a wall outwards, (arising from stone vaulted ceilings). It is not in contact with the wall it supports (as a traditional buttress) & transmits the lateral forces across the span of intervening space between the wall and the pier; it is composed of 2 parts: (i) a massive pier, vertical block of masonry away from the wall and (ii) an arch bridging the span between pier & wall.
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The solution meant that that new ornamentation was developed for the vaulting ribs. The Early Gothic (Lancet style) from the 12th & 13th centuries developed into the Decorated (Rayonnant style) in the 14th century. The ribbed vaulting became more complicated & was crossed with complex webs (cross ribs & fan vaulting). The slender columns & lighter systems of thrust allowed for larger windows & hence more light. The ornate stonework that held the windows (tracery) became more florid. Finally Gothic cathedrals could strive for ever greater height. The following list shows height of nave in feet. The limit was reached with Beauvais.
Beauvais Cathedral France, 156 (started 1225)
Amiens Cathedral France, 139 (started 1220 )
Reims Cathedral France, 124 (started 1211)
Notre dame Cathedral Paris, 112 (started 1163)
Ely Cathedral, 105 (started 1083)
Durham Cathedral, 73 (started 1093)
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