Ravenna by Judith Herrin

Author:Judith Herrin
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2020-10-06T00:00:00+00:00

In contrast with the despised archbishop, Agnellus praised the exarch and patricius Theodore (Plate 55), a devoted Christian who gave three gold chalices to churches in Ravenna and built the monasterium (a chapel) of St Theodore the Deacon not far from the Chalchi gate, next to the church of St Martin the Confessor (that is, the church of Golden Heaven – S. Apollinare Nuovo – built by Theoderic). He also worked with the archbishop to transform what had been a synagogue of the Jews into the church of the blessed Apostle Paul near the Wandalaria gate in the south-east of the city. He commissioned a most precious purple altar cloth for the monastery of S. Maria ad Blachernas (where Agnellus was later abbot), and he and his wife, Agatha, were both buried there.41 And the exarch may have donated a ciborium to the church of S. Apollinare in Classe, if he is the person depicted on the mosaic there. The exarch’s benefactions, which compared so favourably with the actions of Archbishop Theodore, confirmed his serious responsibility for the city.

Although the seventh-century exarchs had sustained Ravenna and protected all the western provinces during the rebellion of Mizizios, the Ravennati reserved their greatest honour for Archbishop Maurus and his successor Reparatus, who had won independence, however temporary, from Roman control. And in the mosaic panel in S. Apollinare in Classe that commemorates the city’s privileges, they created a permanent record of this historic achievement. When admiring it today, one can sense the city’s determination that this particular moment would never be forgotten.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.