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Spolia and textual reincarnations: a reassessment of the Hagia Sophia's history
A study of literary representations of buildings leads to intersections of comparative literature and art history. This article uses two concepts from spolia studies, "reincarnation" and "afterlife" to argue that the forms that a building adopts in literature can be considered textual reincarnations. It analyzes, as a case study, descriptions of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople/Istanbul in literary works from authors such as Paul the Silentiary (d. 575-580), Taşlıcalı Yahya Bey (d. 1582), and Edmondo de Amicis (1846-1908). The history seen through the Hagia Sophia's textual reincarnations constitutes an alternative to its mainstream history, which has often considered its conversions to a mosque and a museum as the sole turning points. Although they may have no overt connections to the building's original architectural structure, textual reincarnations of a building can still provide crucial insights into its reception in everchanging contexts. The first section of this article will provide definitions of the terms spolia, afterlife, and reincarnation in art history scholarship and discuss various ways in which critics can employ these concepts for comparative literature. The second section analyzes textual representations of Hagia Sophia as a case study, since different political entities with diverse ideological visions have wanted to lay a claim on the building. Sometimes the Hagia Sophia is described as a wonder of nature that can undergo no spoliation; at other times, it is described as a person who defends Islam. It can also be reincarnated as a monument that gives information about earlier cultures and time periods. Each reincarnation can be studied as a new afterlife and avatar of the Hagia Sophia – a new reception of the building in a new context – to reassess our understanding of the Hagia Sophia’s history. Such a reassessment can help art historians to move beyond the current historiography that often studies the church, mosque, and museum phases of the building separately. ; https://digilib.phil.muni.cz/handle/11222.digilib/144339
Spolia and textual reincarnations: a reassessment of the Hagia Sophia's history
A study of literary representations of buildings leads to intersections of comparative literature and art history. This article uses two concepts from spolia studies, "reincarnation" and "afterlife" to argue that the forms that a building adopts in literature can be considered textual reincarnations. It analyzes, as a case study, descriptions of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople/Istanbul in literary works from authors such as Paul the Silentiary (d. 575-580), Taşlıcalı Yahya Bey (d. 1582), and Edmondo de Amicis (1846-1908). The history seen through the Hagia Sophia's textual reincarnations constitutes an alternative to its mainstream history, which has often considered its conversions to a mosque and a museum as the sole turning points. Although they may have no overt connections to the building's original architectural structure, textual reincarnations of a building can still provide crucial insights into its reception in everchanging contexts. The first section of this article will provide definitions of the terms spolia, afterlife, and reincarnation in art history scholarship and discuss various ways in which critics can employ these concepts for comparative literature. The second section analyzes textual representations of Hagia Sophia as a case study, since different political entities with diverse ideological visions have wanted to lay a claim on the building. Sometimes the Hagia Sophia is described as a wonder of nature that can undergo no spoliation; at other times, it is described as a person who defends Islam. It can also be reincarnated as a monument that gives information about earlier cultures and time periods. Each reincarnation can be studied as a new afterlife and avatar of the Hagia Sophia – a new reception of the building in a new context – to reassess our understanding of the Hagia Sophia’s history. Such a reassessment can help art historians to move beyond the current historiography that often studies the church, mosque, and museum phases of the building separately. ; https://digilib.phil.muni.cz/handle/11222.digilib/144339
Spolia and textual reincarnations: a reassessment of the Hagia Sophia's history
C. Ceyhun Arslan (author) / C. Ceyhun Arslan
2021-10-04
oai:zenodo.org:5707352
Convivium: Exchanges and Interactions in the Arts of Medieval Europe, Byzantium, and the Mediterranean 8(Supplementum 2) 60-75
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
DDC:
720
Gravimetric examination of Hagia Sophia's subsurface structure
| Online Contents | 1996
| British Library Conference Proceedings | 2001