Rome Re-Imagined: Twelfth-Century Jews, Christians and Muslims Encounter the Eternal City

by Brill, Stefano Riccioni (Editor)

Overview

For nearly a century, the concept of a twelfth-century renaissance has been integral to our understanding of the medieval Latin West. At the heart of any notion of renaissance is a Rome of the mind’s eye. This collection places Rome into the larger context of multilingual imaginations to reveal that Rome was both an object of fascination and contestation across the Mediterranean world. In Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Latin, and Persian, in art, inscriptions, geographies, ritual practice, and itineraries, Rome was both held up as ideal and challenged as an authoritative center. These constructions of Rome could be deployed for renewal and reform, or to enhance or challenge papal or imperial authority because of the imaginative force of the ancient city.
Contributors are Herbert L. Kessler, Louis I. Hamilton, Stefano Riccioni, Marie-Thérèse Champagne, Ra‘anan S. Boustan, Emily Albu, Irene A. O’Daly, and Mario Casari

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789004225282
Publisher:	Brill Academic Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	06/21/2012
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Louis Hamilton, Ph.D. (2000) in History, Fordham University; LMS (2007), Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, Toronto; is Associate Professor, Drew University, and the author of A Sacred City: Consecrating Churches and Reforming Society in Eleventh-Century Italy (Manchester, 2010).
Stefano Riccioni, Ph.D. (2004) in Art History, University of Rome "La Sapienza", LMS (2009), PIMS of Toronto, is Researcher at Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. He has published a book on the mosaic of S. Clemente in Rome (Spoleto 2006).

Table of Contents

Note from the Publisher 1

Introduction: Rome Re-imagined Herbert L. Kessler 3

Articles

The Rituals of Renaissance: Liturgy and Mythic History in The Marvels of Rome Louis I. Hamilton 5

Rewriting Antiquity, Renewing Rome. The Identity of the Eternal City through Visual Art, Monumental Inscriptions and the Mirabilia Stefano Riccioni 27

Walking in the Shadows of the Past: The Jewish Experience of Rome in the Twelfth Century Marie Thérèse Champagne Ra'anan S. Boustan 52

Viewing Rome from the Roman Empires Emily Albu 83

An Assessment of the Political Symbolism of the City of Rome in the Writings of John of Salisbury Irene A. O'Daly 100

Decoding the Labyrinth: Rome in Arabic and Persian Medieval Literature Mario Casari 122

Conclusion: An Imagined City Louis I. Hamilton Stefano Riccioni 154

Index i