Moscow Akathistos
Commonly known today as the Byzantine Empire, the surviving eastern half of the Roman Empire nearly collapsed in the year 626 as it was attacked on all sides by Persians, Avars, and their Slavic allies, culminating in an epic siege. Constantinopleβs defenders, inspired by an icon of the Virgin Mary that was paraded daily along the cityβs defensive walls, were able to resist despite being vastly outnumbered. The Empire was saved and endured for another 800+ years. It was believed on both sides that this was the result of divine intervention, or in other words the answering of a prayer that is now one of the oldest dedicated to the Virgin Mary in Christianity: the Akathistos Hymnos. This is preserved in only two medieval copies, one of which is kept in Moscow: the so-called Moscow Akathistos from the Hodegon Scriptorium in Constantinople.
Moscow Akathistos
This 14th century manuscript contains the famous Akathistos Hymnos. Consisting of 24 strophes, it is one of the early Christian prayers to the Virgin Mary. It was written in Constantinople by an anonymous author in the year 626 as a call for protection from the Avars and Persians, who were besieging Constantinople. An unexpected storm destroyed the fleet of the besieging armies, robbing them of supplies and resulting in their eventual defeat. This miracle was attributed to the Theotokos, a title for the Virgin Mary in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, and was commemorated with a yearly feast day. Akathistos translates to βunseated hymnβ and refers to the fact that all are expected to stand during the chanting of the hymn, except for the old and infirm. The Moscow Akathistos is one of only two surviving medieval manuscripts of the hymn. Aside from its historic content, the manuscript is adorned with 24-half page miniatures boasting a gorgeous color palette dominated by deep blues, light greens, and luminous reds backed by brilliantly burnished gold backgrounds. Furthermore, the text is adorned with incredibly detailed initials with animal figures and other decorative elements. The adornment of this rare manuscript stands firmly in the accomplished tradition of Byzantine illumination.
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- Akathistos de MoscΓΊ
Moskauer Akathistos
Codex Mosquensis - Size / Format
- 156 pages / 24.0 Γ 17.4 cm
- Origin
- Turkey
- Date
- Late 14th century
- Epochs
- Style
- Genre
- Language
- Script
- Greek Minuscule
- Illustrations
- 24 fascinating mid-size miniatures and 23 historiated initials on gold background
- Artist / School
- Joasaph of Hodegon
John Rhosos - Previous Owners
- Hodegon Monastery
Czar Alexis MikhailoviΔ
Moscow Akathistos
Presentation in the Temple
This extraordinary miniature is presented before a splendidly burnished gold background, one of the hallmarks of Byzantine illumination, and contrasts with the dark and somber color palette. Simeon, the high priest of the temple, stands to the right of the altar and hands the baby Jesus back to the Virgin Mary. The scene is reduced to just the three most important figures with the temple represented by a simple baldachin or canopy supported by four columns that covers the altar.
Moscow Akathistos
Adoration of the Theotokos
Literally meaning βGod-bearerβ in Greek, Theotokos is the title used in the Eastern Christian tradition for the Virgin Mary. First appearing in the 3rd century, the title became official in the year 431 by decree of the Council of Ephesus. It was this devotion to the Virgin Mary that helped to stiffen the morale of the defenders of Constantinople during the siege of 626.
This miniature is unusual in that the figures are depicted with remarkably naturalistic poses as opposed to the stiff, iconic style typical of Byzantine illumination and exhibits artistic influences from Latin Europe. As the baby Jesus rests in his crib, the Virgin Mary strikes a surprisingly casual pose and gets some much-needed rest on top of a large red cushion.
#1 Akathistos de MoscΓΊ
Language: Spanish
The commentary volume features a translation of the original text.
(1,000β¬ - 3,000β¬)
- Treatises / Secular Books
- Apocalypses / Beatus
- Astronomy / Astrology
- Bestiaries
- Bibles / Gospels
- Chronicles / History / Law
- Geography / Maps
- Saints' Lives
- Islam / Oriental
- Judaism / Hebrew
- Single Leaf Collections
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Literature / Poetry
- Liturgical Manuscripts
- Medicine / Botany / Alchemy
- Music
- Mythology / Prophecies
- Psalters
- Other Religious Books
- Games / Hunting
- Private Devotion Books
- Other Genres
- Afghanistan
- Armenia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Colombia
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Egypt
- Ethiopia
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- India
- Iran
- Iraq
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Lebanon
- Luxembourg
- Mexico
- Morocco
- Netherlands
- Palestine
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- Russia
- Serbia
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Syria
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Uzbekistan
- Aboca Museum
- Ajuntament de Valencia
- Akademie Verlag
- Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA)
- Aldo Ausilio Editore - Bottega dβErasmo
- Alecto Historical Editions
- Alkuin Verlag
- Almqvist & Wiksell
- Amilcare Pizzi
- Andreas & Andreas Verlagsbuchhandlung
- Archa 90
- Archiv Verlag
- Archivi Edizioni
- Arnold Verlag
- ARS
- Ars Magna
- ArtCodex
- AyN Ediciones
- Azimuth Editions
- Badenia Verlag
- BΓ€renreiter-Verlag
- Belser Verlag
- Belser Verlag / WK Wertkontor
- Benziger Verlag
- Bernardinum Wydawnictwo
- BiblioGemma
- Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Vaticanstadt, Vaticanstadt)
- Bibliotheca Palatina Faksimile Verlag
- Bibliotheca Rara
- Boydell & Brewer
- Bramante Edizioni
- Bredius Genootschap
- Brepols Publishers
- British Library
- C. Weckesser
- Caixa Catalunya
- Canesi
- CAPSA, Ars Scriptoria
- Caratzas Brothers, Publishers
- Carus Verlag
- Casamassima Libri
- Chavane Verlag
- Christian BrandstΓ€tter Verlag
- Circulo Cientifico
- Club BibliΓ³filo Versol
- Club du Livre
- CM Editores
- Collegium Graphicum
- Collezione Apocrifa Da Vinci
- ComissaΜo Nacional para as ComemoracΜ§oΜes dos Descobrimentos Portugueses
- Coron Verlag
- Corvina
- CTHS
- D. S. Brewer
- Damon
- De Agostini/UTET
- De Nederlandsche Boekhandel
- De Schutter
- Deuschle & Stemmle
- Deutscher Verlag fΓΌr Kunstwissenschaft
- DIAMM
- Droz
- E. Schreiber Graphische Kunstanstalten
- Ediciones Boreal
- Ediciones Grial
- Ediclube
- Ediçáes Inapa
- Edilan
- Editalia
- Edition Deuschle
- Edition Georg Popp
- Edition Leipzig
- Edition Libri Illustri
- Editiones Reales Sitios S. L.
- Γditions de l'Oiseau Lyre
- Editions Medicina Rara
- Editorial Casariego
- Editorial Mintzoa
- Editrice Antenore
- Editrice Velar
- Edizioni Edison
- Egeria, S.L.
- Eikon Editores
- Electa
- Emery Walker Limited
- Enciclopèdia Catalana
- Eos-Verlag
- Ephesus Publishing
- Eugrammia Press
- Extraordinary Editions
- Fackelverlag
- Facsimila Art & Edition
- Facsimile Editions Ltd.
- Facsimilia Art & Edition Ebert KG
- Faksimile Verlag
- Feuermann Verlag
- Folger Shakespeare Library
- Franco Cosimo Panini Editore
- Friedrich Wittig Verlag
- FundaciΓ³n Hullera Vasco-Leonesa
- G. Braziller
- Gabriele Mazzotta Editore
- Gebr. Mann Verlag
- Gesellschaft fΓΌr graphische Industrie
- Getty Research Institute
- Giovanni Domenico de Rossi
- Giunti Editore
- Graffiti
- Grafica European Center of Fine Arts
- Guido Pressler
- Guillermo Blazquez
- Gustav Kiepenheuer
- H. N. Abrams
- Harrassowitz
- Helikon
- Hendrickson Publishers
- Henning Oppermann
- Herder Verlag
- Hes & De Graaf Publishers
- Hoepli
- Hortus Deliciarum
- Houghton Library
- Hugo Schmidt Verlag
- Idion Verlag
- Il Bulino, edizioni d'arte
- ILte
- Imago
- Insel Verlag
- Instituto Nacional de AntropologΓa e Historia
- Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana - Treccani
- Istituto Ellenico di Studi Bizantini e Postbizantini
- Istituto Geografico De Agostini
- Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato
- Italarte Art Establishments
- J. Thorbecke
- Jan Thorbecke Verlag
- Johnson Reprint Corporation
- Josef Stocker
- Josef Stocker-Schmid
- Jugoslavija
- Karl W. Hiersemann
- Kasper Straube
- Kaydeda Ediciones
- Kindler Verlag / Coron Verlag
- Kodansha International Ltd.
- Konrad KΓΆlbl Verlag
- Kurt Wolff Verlag
- La Liberia dello Stato
- La Linea Editrice
- La Meta Editore
- Lambert Schneider
- Landeskreditbank Baden-WΓΌrttemberg
- Leo S. Olschki
- Les Incunables
- Library of Congress
- Libreria Musicale Italiana
- Lichtdruck
- Lito Immagine Editore
- Lumen Artis
- Lund Humphries
- M. Moleiro Editor
- Maison des Sciences de l'homme et de la socieΜteΜ de Poitiers
- Manuscriptum
- Martinus Nijhoff
- Maruzen-Yushodo Co. Ltd.
- MASA
- McGraw-Hill
- Militos
- Millennium Liber
- MΓΌller & Schindler
- Nahar and Steimatzky
- National Library of Wales
- Neri Pozza
- Nova Charta
- Oceanum Verlag
- Odeon
- Orbis Mediaevalis
- Orbis Pictus
- Γsterreichische Staatsdruckerei
- Oxford University Press
- Pageant Books
- Parzellers Buchverlag
- Patrimonio Ediciones
- Pattloch Verlag
- PIAF
- Pieper Verlag
- Plon-Nourrit et cie
- Prestel Verlag
- Princeton University Press
- Prisma Verlag
- Priuli & Verlucca, editori
- Pro Sport Verlag
- PropylΓ€en Verlag
- Pytheas Books
- Quaternio Verlag Luzern
- Reales Sitios
- Recht-Verlag
- Reichert Verlag
- Reichsdruckerei
- Riehn & Reusch
- Roberto Vattori Editore
- Rosenkilde and Bagger
- Roxburghe Club
- Salerno Editrice
- Sarajevo Svjetlost
- SchΓΆck ArtPrint Kft.
- Scolar Press
- Scrinium
- Scripta Maneant
- Scriptorium
- SiloΓ©, arte y bibliofilia
- SISMEL - Edizioni del Galluzzo
- Sociedad Mexicana de AntropologΓa
- Soncin Publishing
- Sorli Ediciones
- Stainer and Bell
- Studer
- Styria Verlag
- Sumptibus Pragopress
- Szegedi TudomΓ nyegyetem
- Taberna Libraria
- Tarshish Books
- Taschen
- Tempus Libri
- Testimonio CompaΓ±Γa Editorial
- Thames and Hudson
- The Clear Vue Publishing Partnership Limited
- The Facsimile Codex
- The Folio Society
- The Marquess of Normanby
- The Richard III and Yorkist History Trust
- Tip.Le.Co
- TouchArt
- TREC Publishing House
- TRI Publishing Co.
- Trident Editore
- Typis Regiae Officinae Polygraphicae
- Union Verlag Berlin
- Universidad de Granada
- University of California Press
- University of Chicago Press
- Urs Graf
- Vallecchi
- Van Wijnen
- VCH, Acta Humaniora
- VDI Verlag
- VEB Deutscher Verlag fΓΌr Musik
- Verlag Anton Pustet / Andreas Verlag
- Verlag der MΓΌnchner Drucke
- Verlag fΓΌr Regionalgeschichte
- Verlag Styria
- Vicent Garcia Editores
- W. Turnowsky
- Waanders Printers
- Wiener Mechitharisten-Congregation (Wien, Γsterreich)
- Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft
- Wydawnictwo Dolnoslaskie
- Xuntanza Editorial
- ZakΕad Narodowy
- Zollikofer AG