ACADEMIA ROMÂNĂ – FILIALA CLUJ-NAPOCA
INSTITUTUL DE ISTORIE „GEORGE BARIŢIU”
DIN CLUJ-NAPOCA
Şcoala de studii universitare doctorale
Aurel ROBU
(arhidiacon Anastasie)
ERMINIILE CA IZVOR ISTORIC
TEZĂ DE DOCTORAT
(ABSTRACT)
Conducător ştiinţific:
Prof. dr. Nicolae EDROIU,
membru corespondent al Academiei Române
CLUJ-NAPOCA, 2012
ABSTRACT KEYWORDS: erminia (gre. ερμηνεία); Erminia Byzantine painting; treaty of
painting; painting technology; books for painting; иконописный подлинник, Illustrated
Hronograph; iconographic source; Menologion (gre. Μηνολογίων); mural painting;
iconography; historical source.
FOREWORD
The present study entitled “Erminia as a historical source” develops a new idea
not only in form and content but also by the issue addressed, its particular note being given
by its main objective and its way of achievement. Without claiming to be an encyclopedic
synthesis of the Painting Erminias – a more ambitious and also very hard to achieve project
– the thesis aims, on the one hand, at enumerating exhaustively all the historical written
resources, which, in extenso, may be called Erminias. On the other hand, the present study
aims at underlining the potential internal and external factors which prove the existence of
the Erminias as a historical source.
Before presenting the collection of historical resources as a Catalogue of Erminias,
the problem of the nomenclature and terminology used was reiterated and re-analyzed. A
clear delimitation was made among the different meanings of the same word borrowed into
Romanian – ἑρμηνεία, and also a short presentation of the causes which generated the
appearance of the different semantic terminology, which caused subjective confusion in the
understanding, receiving and spreading of this important Greek word.
At the end of the introductive chapter the most important works published were
listed emphasizing the diverse meanings which Erminia can get either as a manuscript
or/and as a written work. It is exactly this multiple meaning of the Erminia that was
debated in the last part of the beginning chapter, where we explained its domains of
understanding: lato and stricto sensu; these domains of understanding are taken as
reference points for all the historical investigations we carried on for this scientific study.
The thesis is structured into two parts, nine annexes and an Erminia project attached
at the end of the work, consisting of drawings, sketches and text. The first part, designed as
a catalogue of Erminias, has six chapters, each one of them reflecting a specific category of
Erminias: “The notebooks of models”, “Erminias”, “Podlinnics” (rus. иконописный
подлинник),
“Illustrated
Hronographs”,
“The
Notebooks
with
models
for
iconographers and goldsmiths” and “The western painting treatises”. The second part,
called “Erminia as a historical source”, includes two chapters: “Erminia as a historical
source” and “The artistic origins of the mural painting from Moldavia during the 15th and
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ABSTRACT th
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centuries (post quem Lujeni – ante quem 1601/1606)”. The thesis ends with the
sections Conclusions and Bibliography.
The annexes of the thesis are structured in the following typological order: Annex I
– Contents; Annex II – Case studies; Annex III – Facsimiles; Annex IV – Compared
iconography; Annex V – Illustrations; Annex VI – Tables; Annex VII – Images; Annex
VIII – The catalogue of the filigree; Annex IX – Maps. At the end of these nine annexes is
attached the case of the contemporary Erminia project (drawings and text).
FIRST PART. THE CATALOGUE OF THE ERMINIAS
CHAPTER I. THE NOTEBOOK OF MODELS
A special category of Erminias are “The notebook of models” or “Collections with
models” (albums or cases with models, sources, drafts, etc.). These types of works have an
illustrative character, most of them being especially historical sources – from Byzantine
and post-Byzantine period – additional to epical and descriptive texts. The presence of
some “remnants” even from the Antiquity proves beyond any doubt that they were the
main means used in the practical and artistic activities of painters, drafters, architects and,
in a contemporary terminology, plastic artists.
This artistic genre or this ensemble of collections has four categories: 1. The
ancient notebooks of models; 2. The Byzantium notebooks of models; 3. The Western
notebooks of models; 4. The Post-Byzantine notebooks of models. There are two other
classes of sources similar to these: 1. Podlinnicele; 2. The Notebooks with models for
iconographers and goldsmiths.
Based on the information published in the literature, from the first four categories of
notebooks a total number of 49 were identified, out of which we did not investigate an
ancient Greek fragment – Pap. gr. Oxy 2331, from the Bodleian Library, Oxford – due to
the lack of documentary material. A statistic of these known and researched historical
sources could be seen in the “Caietele de modele – Statistica” chart.
The ancient notebooks, as well as the Byzantine and post-Byzantine notebooks, are
fewer than the Western ones, the sum of the first three categories not reaching half of the
latter category; but if we were to exclude the sources with profane models, they would be
comparatively equal. From the ancient notebooks preserved till today, five are cited in the
literature: 1. The fragment Pap. gr. Oxy 2331 from the Bodleian Library, Oxford; 2. The
fragment from Paris (Suppl. gr. 1294); 3. The papyri collection P. 13557; 4. The papyri
collection P. 13558; 5. The papyri collection P. 9922-26 and 13275.
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ABSTRACT The Byzantine notebooks are relatively few. Their number is relative because there
are many illuminated manuscripts which, in a large sense, could be included in the same
category; for instance from the category of the Menologions – according to L.M.
EVSEEVA’s research – at least 18 more could be considered as sources of models.
Nevertheless the most important notebooks are:
1. Theodoretus Manuscript – known as „Commento ai XII Profeti minori”, is a
theological work, decorated with miniatures and dated – after Pasini – to the 9th
century.
2. Joshua Roll. Presented as a roll, the Manuscript Joshua Roll is one of the few samples
of miniature art from Constantinople from the last centuries of the first millennium.
Kurt Weitzmann dates its completion during the reign of Constantine VII
Porphyrogennetos (913 – 959), himself an artist who did miniature art.
3. The Menologion of Basil II. Considered one of the most famous Byzantine
manuscripts, this Menologion was commissioned by/for Emperor Basil II (976 – 1025).
Specialists unanimously agree that the codex was made in Constantinople around 985.
4. The imperial Menologion. One of the Constantinople manuscripts made in the 11th
century, a masterpiece which includes hagiographic texts from the Church Synaxarion,
accompanied with illustrations resembling those from the Menologion of Basil II.
5. The Menologion of Demetrius Palaeologus. The codex comes from the Byzantine
Empire being made and decorated with miniatures in Thessalonica for Demetrius I
Palaeologus, despot of Thessalonica during 1322-1340. Today the Menologion is
preserved in the “Greek manuscripts at Oxford” collection from The Bodleian Library,
University of Oxford, call number: „MS. Gr. th. f. 1”.
The following part, the third, selectively analyses, thirteen notebooks with western
models which have a theme related with the notebooks with iconographic Byzantine and
post – Byzantine models, that is: 1. The Manuscript from Vercelli; 2. The Psalter from
Utrecht; 3. Prudentius’s Illustrated Psychomachie; 4. The Manuscript from Einsiedeln; 5.
The Manuscript from Liège; 6. The Adémar de Chabannes’ Manuscript; 7. The books of
homilies from Monte Cassino (Cod. 98 şi 99); 8. The Sheet from Freiburg; 9. The model
book from Wolfenbüttel; 10. The Codex from Normandia; 11.The Viennese Codex 507; 12.
The Villard de Honnecourt’s Notebook; 13. The Roll from Vercelli. The subchapter is
preceded by a short introduction presenting the conclusions of renowned scientists (Otto
DEMUS, Hugo BUCHTHAL, Kurt WEITZMANN, Sirarpie Der NERSESSIAN and
Robert SCHELLER) about the origin of the notebooks with models and about the way they
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ABSTRACT were used by iconographers. The role of the historical sources as fundamental references
for achieving some western works of mural and miniature art is underlined through some
illustrations. Together with the 13 notebooks, three more sources are mentioned: “The
sheet with models from Vatican” (Cod. Lat. 1976 kept at the Apostolic Library from
Vatican, Rome), “The Page from Synaxarion – December” (Codex 553, f. 1, 16th century,
Yale University Library) and “The Greek book of models” (Add. Ms. 43868, 18th century;
British Museum).
The fourth and last subchapter presents the six notebooks with post-Byzantine
models, as follows: 1. “The Greek – Gregorian Manuscript OI-58” from 1497, made at
Iviron Monastery, Mount Athos, preserved at the National Library of Russia from Sankt
Petersburg; 2. “The Armenian book with models” (The Manuscript no. 1434, made by
Armenian calligraphers at Constantinople, could be found in 1968 in the library of the
„mékhitaristes” fathers from Venice); 3. “Anthivolon «Athos 1»” (a fragment of a Case
with models, 16th century, Simonopetra Monastery, Athos). 4. “Anthivolon «Athos 2»” (a
fragment of a Case with models, 16th
century, Dyonisiou Monastery, Athos); 5.
“Anthivolon «Athos 3»” fragment of a Case with models, 17th
century, Dyonisiou
Monastery, Athos); 6. “Anthivolon «Athos 4»” fragment of a Case with models, 17th
century, Dyonisiou Monastery, Athos).
CHAPTER II. THE ERMINIAS
At a systemic look, the concept of post-Byzantine art refers everywhere in the
scientific works to a literary spirituality which addressed during the end of 19th century a
phenomenon of the Christian art known as The Erminias. The phenomenon surfaced every
time the evolution of Byzantine painting after the falling of Constantinople was brought
into discussion. In the context of the decadent theological and artistic metamorphoses of
the Eastern iconography from the 16th century and developed especially in the 17th century,
the Erminias have been and are still seen as some normative interventions from the Church
with the aim of regulating church painting art with its double significance: iconographic
and technological. Despite this fact, the codification of the Erminias appears in the middle
of the 9th century, as a work elaborated in synergy by the imperial and church authorities
and it is gradually developed in the monastic and laical environments until the 19th century.
This progress is emphasized by the existence of 90 Erminias known today, whose
classification was made in the present catalogue in alphabetical order of the countries
which detain such samples, and for each country after the chronological criterion of their
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ABSTRACT appearance. The number of these Erminias, reported by countries, is illustrated in the
“Statistica Erminiilor” chart.
The present study, based on the work of our predecessors: A. PAPADOPOULOSKERAMEUS, Vasile GRECU, Asen VASSILIEV, Atanas ŞARENKOV, Axinia
DŽUROVA, Ivan BENTCHEV, Emmanuel MOUTAFOV, Milorad MEDIĆ and others,
solves in an exhaustive manner the current problem of the Erminias, clearly specifying
their existence and their number in countries such as Bulgaria, France, Greece, Israel and
Romania.
CHAPTER III. PODLINNICS
Unlike the Greek descriptive Erminia, The Russian Podlinnic has an iconographic
content structured according to the Church calendar, resembling that of the illustrated
Menologion which it actually reproduces. As a consequence the greatest part of the
illustrations from Podlinnics refers to the celebrations and Saints from the Church year in
Constantinople and it repeats the specific characteristics of the Byzantine painting style.
Although the oldest collection of Podlinnics is dated by the Russian specialists after 1551,
their iconographic – descriptive references reflect the older Byzantine tradition, from the
Palaeologus dynasty.
Chart: The statistic of the Podlinnics – 1 item
The determination of the existence and exact number of the Podlinnics in Russia is
a very difficult task, being hindered by a large dispersal of the old Podlinnics albums, first,
in private collections (18th century) and then in centralized collections of the Soviet state,
in cultural centers (libraries, museums, memorial houses). The situation is different in
Romania and Mount Athos, their number being smaller – as seen in the chart above – in
comparison with those from Russia.
Among the most famous collections of Russian Podlinnics one can enumerate: The
Podlinnic „Siisk”, The Podlinnic „Stroganov”, The Podlinnic „Bolşakov”, „The Zagorsk
Calendar”, The Icon Calendar „a la Vieille Russie”, The Collection of Ivan and Feodor
Kalikin Brothers, The Collection of prorises from The Library of the Academy of Sciences
[rus. БАН ], A.M. Postnikov Collection, M. and I. Tiulin Collection and V.P. Gurianov
Album.
In Romania, we discovered a descriptive Podlinnic at the Central University
Library – Mihai Eminescu from Iaşi; it is the Slavic Manuscript No. 283. The three
Athonite Podlinnics were discovered by the Bulgarian Scientist Asen VASSILIEV.
According to him, a Podlinnic was found at the Zografu Monastery (№ 217, unity / section
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ABSTRACT II. Б. 17), together with another one printed in Moscow (1869); the third one, dated 1867,
is at the Panteleimon Monastery (№ 147 / 1902).
CHAPTER IV. ILLUSTRATED HRONOGRAPHS
Other categories of historical sources similar to the Erminias are the illustrated
hronographs. There are three of them and they appear only in Romania. The first is made
by Hierarch Antim Ivireanul (1709) and offered to Constantin Brâncoveanu. Consequently,
the manuscript is owned by various private people and, finally, enters into the possession
of the Institute of Manuscripts of the National Library of Ukraine in the name of V.I.
Vernadskogo. The second copy, as a roll, is made by Priest Flor (1760), the manuscript
being kept at the Library of the Romanian Academy. The last illustrated hronograph made
by C. Petrescu (1847) is exhibited at the Cernica Monastery, near Bucharest.
CHAPTER
V.
THE
NOTEBOOKS
WITH
MODELS
FOR
ICONOGRAPHERS AND GOLDSMITHS
A complete research of the Erminias cannot exclude “The Notebooks with
drawings” or “The Notebooks with models” of the icon painters and of workshop sketches
made for practical reasons. The content of these Erminias, more illustrative and poorer in
descriptive explanations, consists of reproductions of older paintings and illustrations from
the manuscripts. Next to these graphical resources there are personal creations of the
crafters (sketches, drafts, and anatomic studies), models chosen from engravings or cut-out
engravings glued on blank pages or on the pages containing unimportant drawings from
the “Notebook of models”. Even if these “Notebooks with models” differ in structure from
the Erminias, however, through their graphic models, they illustrate and explain in images,
some iconographic scenes described in the epical works of this type. In this way, as the
related Russian Podlinnics, they complement the classic versions of the Byzantine and post
Byzantine Erminias. Fourteen works of this kind were discovered in Bulgaria and seven in
Romania, but one disappeared during the 1977 earthquake (The painter Grigorie’s
notebook).
CHAPTER VI. THE WESTERN PAINTING TREATISES
To this day, in the South-Eastern Europe, some Romanian and Bulgarian scientists
wrote about these treatises: A. VASSILIEV (1976), A. ŞARENKOV (1992), E.
MOUTAFOV (2001); Ştefan CRUDU (1962), Victor I. STOICHIŢĂ (1977) and Mihail
MIHALCU (1984 şi 2009). Following a cross check analysis of the number of the albums
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ABSTRACT registered by the Bulgarian scientists, 46 samples were discovered, 16 of which are
included in this catalogue.
Although through their nature, they are related with the technological parts of
Erminias, the content of these historical sources go often beyond the scope of the
iconographic technology. Despite this fact, the Western painting albums may be
considered, in extenso, pseudo scientific and narrative descriptive works, real Erminias.
PART II. THE ERMINIA AS A HISTORICAL SOURCE
CHAPTER I. THE ERMINIA AS A HISTORICAL SOURCE
After a short classification of the Erminias, as potential historical sources, an
analysis of the types of historical information drawn from the Erminias follows. Two
categories of information are analyzed and discussed. The first class of information was
gathered from the Holy Bible and from some published works: encyclopedias,
technological treatises and western painting notebooks. The second includes three types of
information discovered during the in situ research. Based on the internal and external
critiques of the investigated manuscripts, the filigrees of Erminias, their subsequent notes
and a case study were selected – such as “The forgiveness book” from the manuscript №
214 of Daniel (1674), preserved in the Library of the Greek Patriarchy from Jerusalem.
CHAPTER II. THE ARTISTIC ORIGINS OF THE MURAL PAINTING
FROM MOLDAVIA DURING THE 15TH AND 16TH CENTURIES (POST QUEM
LUJENI – ANTE QUEM 1601/1606)
The chapter develops firstly the filiations of the mural painting during the 15th16th centuries, identifying some possible routes of circulation of sources and
iconographical models from the Balkans to Moldavia. Secondly, four categories of
historical sources are presented, sources which could have served, together with the literary
ones, as Erminias for the mural painters from Moldavia during the 15th-17th centuries.
These are: “the illuminated manuscripts”, “wood icons”, “card embroideries” and “mural
ensembles”.
FINAL CONCLUSIONS
The results obtained during personal investigations and bibliographical research,
allowed the examination of an impressive number of manuscripts (48 notebooks with
models, 91 Erminias, 14 Podlinnics, 3 illustrated Hronographs, 20 Notebooks with models
for iconographers and goldsmiths and 16 technological treatises – a total of 192 sources)
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ABSTRACT and the completion of a sketch of a new Erminia clearly demonstrate that the proposed
objective was indeed reached.
The problem of the Erminias from Bulgaria, France, Greece, Israel, and Romania
was clarified, identifying some hitherto unknown sources for the Romanian lands.
Contributions were made to the complex problem of the “Podlinnics” and the
“Technological treatises” from the East and the West, as well as to the “Notebooks with
models for iconographers and goldsmiths”, six works of this type being identified and
explored: two from Tryavna, Bulgaria, and four from Sibiu and Cluj-Napoca. These
contributions sketch a vast synoptic picture of the encyclopedic phenomenon known as the
Erminias, demonstrating that Erminia, regarded as a whole, is a “historical source”.
As well, the present study proposed the introduction, among the auxiliary sciences
of History, of a new historical discipline, related to biblical hermeneutics, called
Erminology. This discipline would study the Erminias and those historical written and
unwritten sources which have an explanatory character. Using the methods and the means
offered by the auxiliary sciences of History, it could eventually provide a vast
encyclopedia of the Byzantine and Post-Byzantine arts, something that waits to be solved.
Drd. Aurel ROBU (Archdeacon Anastasie)
1 August 2012
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