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MONUMENTS
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MONUMENTS
OF
THE EARLY CHURCH
BY
WALTER LOWRIE, M.A.
LATE FELLOW OF THE AMERICAN SCHOOL OF CLASSICAL
STUDIES AT ROME
ION
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd.
1901
All rights reserved
THE NEW TOM
PUBLIC LIBRARY
296821B
A8T0B, LENOX AND
TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
B 1944 L
Copyright, 1901,
By the MACMILLAN COMPANY.
J. S. Cushing & Co. — Berwick & Smith
Norwood Mass. U.S.A.
c
PREFACE
<^A-
This volume is designed to give a general view of the monu-
ments of the early Church, comprising in its scope all branches
of Christian art and archaeology, and treating each of them as
completely as is possible within the limits of a handbook.
It is designed also, in behalf of students who may wish to
pursue the subject further, to provide a general introduction
to the archaeology of the early Christian period. To this end
it is hoped that the Bibliography will be found useful.
This book deals expressly with the monumental remains
of Christian antiquity, and only incidentally with the early
literature which illustrates the same period and the same
subjects. It gives a detailed exposition of many of the
most representative monuments, especially of those which
are reproduced in the accompanying illustrations. There is
included only so much of a more general nature as is neces-
sary to define the point of view from which the monuments
of early Christian art must be regarded, or to summarize the
historical inferences which may be drawn from them.
The author has confined himself scrupulously to the Avell-
defined and soundly assured results of this study, and has
endeavored to eliminate questions of a controversial character.
The period covered by this study extends from the second
to the sixth century inclusive. The interest of this period to
the secular student lies in the fact that it represents the last
phase of Gra^co-Roman art and civilization, and reveals at the
same time a new artistic impulse which, after remaining
dormant for centuries, was destined to germinate in another
soil and appear again in the more familiar art of the Middle
Ages. The religious interest of the period is of course still
vi PREFACE
greater, whether to those who trace back to it their religious
forms and customs through the medium of the Middle Ages,
or to those who refer for their inspiration more directly to the
early Church.
It is obvious that so compendious a work as this must rely
upon the conclusions of scholars who have devoted themselves
specially to one or another of the departments which are
herein treated. To speak only of writers still living, the
author is glad to express his obligation to Mgr. Joseph Wil-
pert for all that concerns early Christian painting, as also
in the matter of civil and ecclesiastical dress; to Professor
Orazio Marucchi for the latest study of the Roman catacombs;
to Professor G. Dehio for the study of the Christian basilicas ;
to M. Auguste Choisy for the analysis of Byzantine architec-
ture; to Dr. Heinrich Holtzinger for Christian architecture
in general; to Dr. R. Forrer for the study of textile art; and
to all who have kindly consented to the reproduction of their
illustrations. He is under obligation also to Mr. Charles R.
Morey, Fellow of the American School of Classical Studies in
Rome, for kind assistance in reading the proofs.
Princeton, N.J.,
April, 1901.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION
PAGE
Relation of Christian to Classic Art 1
Formal Decline of Art in the Early Christian Period ... 4
Attitude of the Church toward Art 5
Limits of the Early Christian Period 6
Classification of Monuments 7
Distribution of Monuments ........ 8
Relation to Literary Sources 11
History of the Study 17
II. CHRISTIAN CEMETERIES
^ General Description of the Catacombs ..... 23
Nomenclature 23
Plan 29
The Catacombs and the Arenaria • . 31
Exaggerated Idea of their Extent 32
Actual Location and Extent 33
The Fossors 36
The Catacombs and the Titles 37
The Christian Mode of Burial 40
Worship in the Catacombs 43
Constructions above Ground ....... 47
Public Character of the Catacombs 47
The Area and its Buildings 48
Surface Burial 50
The Agape 60
Legal Tenure of the Cemeteries 53
The Sepulchre in Roman Law 53
Private Tenure 54
Corporate Tenure — the Burial Societies 56
Inscriptions ........... 62
Epitaphs 63
The Poems of Damasus 74
History of the Catacombs after the Fourth Century . . 77
vii
viii TABLE OF COXTENTS
III. CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE
PAGE
Introduction 83
A. THE BASILICA
Meaning of the Name 89
Various Views of its Origin 91
A Deliberate Invention 91
Derived from the Civil Basilica 92
Earlier than Constantine 93
Derived from the Schola 94
Derived from the Private House 94
From the Palace Architecture 97
From the Common House .97
Origin in the Atrium of the Late Roman House ... 98
Peristyle and Atrium 98
Analogies with the Basilica 100
Fundamental Characteristics of the Basilica .... 101
Classical Elements 102
Internal Perspective 104
Description of the Basilica ....... 105
Plan 105
Vestibule 106
Nave 107
Columns and Capitals 108
Architrave and Archivolt 109
Pillars Ill
Galleries 112
Windows 113
Doors 115
Roof 116
Ceiling 117
Decoration 119
Presbyterium .......... 121
Transept 124
Prothesis and Diaconicon 126
Exterior 128
Facade 129
Syrian Architecture 130
TABLE OF CONTEXTS
IX
B. THE CENTRAL TYPE
PAGE
In General 131
Round or Polygonal Buildings 135
Simple Plan ........... 135
Composite Plan . . ........ 139
The Dome from a Square Base 147
Citoss-SHAPED Plan .......... 147
Oblong Plan 153
S. Sophia 153
C. FURNITURE OF THE CHURCH
Altar and Confessio
ClBORIUM .
Chancels .
iconostasis
Cathedra .
Ambons
Baptistery Furniture
159
167
168
170
172
174
175
D. POSITION AND SURROUNDINGS
Orientation 176
Atrium and Peribolos • • 178
Cantharus 179
Propylaion 180
Adjoining Buildings 182
i/ IV. PICTORIAL ART
Introduction 185
A. EARLY CHRISTIAN PAINTING
(Being the frescos of the catacombs and early Christian symbol-
ism in general.)
Introduction 187
(Technic, divisions of the subject, character and employment
of early Christian fresco. )
Early Christian Symbolism .......
193
X TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGB
Symbols of Deliverance ........ 198
The Orans 201
Old Testament Characters 204
Adam and Eve 204
Noah 205
Moses 206
Jonah 207
Abraham and Isaac 208
Daniel 209
Susanna 210
The Three Children and the Three Magi 211
The Miracles of Christ 213
Lazarus 213
The Blind Man 213
The Woman with the Issue 213
The Paralytic ' . . .214
The Multiplication of the Loaves 214
The Good Shepherd 214
The Celestial Banquet 221
The Eucharistic Banquet 223
The Fish 232
The Cross and the Monogram 236
The Virgin Mary 245
B. SCULPTURE
Introduction 247
Character of the Monuments 247
Sculpture in East and West 248
Themes New and Old 249
Portrait Types of Peter and Paul 251
Sarcophagi 252
In General 252
The Jonah Sarcophagus in the Lateran 256
The Sarcophagus from S. Paul's 257
Other Sarcophagi in the Lateran 263
Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus 264
The Similar Sarcophagus in the Lateran 265
The Sarcophagi of Ravenna 268
The Doors of S. Sabina at Rome ...... 270
The Crucifixion 276
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
Ivory Carving 279
In General 279
The Box at Brescia . . . „ 281
A Diptych at Florence 285
Cathedra of Maximianus 285
Gospel Cover from Murano 288
Statues 289
V C. MOSAICS
Introduction ........... 292
The Study limited to Church Decoration 292
Technic of Floor, Wall, and Ceiling Mosaics .... 293
The Constantinian Mosaics ........ 297
S. Costanza 297
The Churches of Rome, S. Peter's 300
The Vine Pattern 301
Themes of Apsidal Decoration ....... 302
The Apsidal Mosaic of S. Pudenziana 304
Apsidal Mosaics of the Fifth and Sixth Centuries . .311
S. Paul's, SS. Cosma and Damiano, S. Lorenzo, S. Vitale.
Historical Subjects 319
S. Maria Maggiore — Arch and Nave, S. ApoUinare Nuovo.
Mosaics of the Fifth Century at Ravenna .... 329
V
D. MINIATURES
Introduction 333
The Paris Psalter 335
The Joshua Roll 335
The Vienna Genesis 337
Codex Rossanensis 338
Cosmas Indikopleustes 339
The Cotton Bible and the Cambridge Evangeliar .... 339
V. THE MINOR ARTS
Eucharistic Vessels 343
Lamps 347
Censers 353
Divers Objects .,.......• '354
Medals, Amulets, Ampullse, Lead and Silver Objects.
xii TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
Glass 357
Engraved Glass, Cut Glass, vasa diatreta, Gold Glass.
The Textile Art 362
Lack of a Thorough Study of Classical Textiles .... 363
Account of the Discoveries in Egypt 364
Study of the Egyptian Finds 365
Execution, Material, Color.
Tapestry 370
Three Periods of Design . . 371
Early Classical Tapestry 371
Deterioration in the Fourth Century 373
The Byzantine Period, Christian Themes, etc. . . . 374
Importance of these Designs in Relation to Contemporary Art 377
Altar Cloths and Curtains 377
VI. CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL DRESS
In General 383
Subordinate Elements of Dress, — Head-dress, Foot-gear,
Breeches 386
The Tunic 389
The Dalmatic 394
The P^nula (Chasuble) 396
The Clamys 399
The Lacerna-Byrrus 400
The Toga 401
The Pallium and the Palliu»i Scarf 403
The Stole and the Maniple ....... 410
APPENDICES
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 415
INDEX 427
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FIG.
1.
of the so-called
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
S. Callistus
Plan of part of the catacomb of Domitilla .
Marucchi, Elements cV Archeologie Chretienne, Tome 2
A cubiculum in the catacomb of Callistus, one
sacrament chapels ....
Reber, Kunstgeschichte.
Capella greca in the catacomb of Priscilla .
Wilpert, Fractio Panis.
Section of the catacomb of Callistus .
De Rossi, Boma SoUerranea.
Crypt of S. Csecilia, catacomb of Callistus .
De Rossi, Roma SoUerranea.
A crypt in Cyrene
Garrucci, Storia deWArte.
Fresco of the arcosolium of the fossor Diogenes
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
A sarcophagus from the catacomb of Priscilla
Wilpert, Fractio Panis.
Lead coffin from Phoenicia ....
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
Papal crypt in S. Callistus, restored .
De Rossi, Boma Sotterranea.
An arcosolium in the catacomb of Cyriaca
Bull, crist.
Tombstone with graffito in Museo Kircheriano
Wilpert, Fractio Panis.
Fresco in a crypt in Cyrene
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
Decoration in stucco, ceiling of a crypt
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
An orans, detail of a fresco in S. Priscilla .
Wilpert, Gottgeiceihten Jungfranen.
Sarcophagus of Livia Primitiva .
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
xiii
PAGE
24
26
28
31
33
34
36
41
42
45
48
51
55
57
60
62
LIST OF ILLUSTBATIOXS
FIG.
17. Sarcophagus
GaiTucci, Storia delVArte.
18. Tombstone with graffito in the Lateran
Photograph.
19. Tombstone in the catacomb of Domitilla
Wilpert, Fractio Panis.
20. Fragment of the monument of Abercius
Wilpert, Fractio Panis.
21. Loculus of a martyr in S. Domitilla .
De Rossi, Bull, crist.
22. The martyrdom of S. Achilleus, stone relief
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
23. Inscription by Pope Damasus in the papal crypt
Grisar, Analecta.
24. Crypt of S. Januarius, Catacomb of Pretextatus
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
25. Plans of typical Greek and Roman houses
Dehio and v. Bezold, Baukunst.
26. Plans of basilicas
Dehio and v. Bezold, Baukunst.
27. Plans of basilicas
Dehio and v. Bezold, Baukunst.
28. Plans of basilicas
Dehio and v. Bezold, Baukunst.
29. Plan of old S. Peter's .
Reber, KunstgeschicJite.
30. View of old S. Peter's
Kraus, Geschichte der Kunst.
31. Church in Babuda, Syria .
De VogU6, Syrie Centrale.
32. Basilica in Turmanin, Syria, (fa9ade restored) .
De Vogu6, Syrie Centrale.
33. Basilica in Turmanin, Syria, (apsidal end)
De Vogu6, Syrie Centrale.
34. Basilica in Ruweha, Syria, (longitudinal section)
De Vogii^, Syrie Centrale.
35. Basilica in Kalb-Luseh, Syria, (section) .
De Vogii6, Syrie Centrale.
36. Cathedral of Torcello, (interior)
Holtzinger, Altchristliche Architektur.
37. S. Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, (interior) .
Liibke, Grundriss.
PAGE
63
64
68
70
71
74
75
76
99
102, 103
104, 105
107
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FIG.
38. S. Maria in Cosmedin, Rome, (interior restored)
Giovenale, S. Maria in Cosmedin.
39. Cathedral of Parenzo
Photograph.
40. Apse of the basilica Severiana, Naples
De Rossi, Bull, crist.
41. Restored basilica of S. Paul, Rome., (interior) ,
Photograph,
42. Stone windows , .
Various sources.
43. Plans of buildings of central type, simple plan .
Dehio and v. Bezold and others.
44. Plans of buildings of central type, composite plan
Dehio and v. Bezold and others.
45. Early Christian capitals
Holtzinger, Altchristliche Architektur.
46. Church of S. George, Ezra, Syria, (longitudinal section)
De Vogu6, Syrie Centrale.
47. Plans of Byzantine churches
Dehio and v. Bezold, Baukiinst.
48. S. Vitale, Ravenna, (interior)
Photograph,
49. The mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna, (exterior)
Photograph.
50. The mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna, (interior)
Photograph.
51. The church of S. Sophia, Constantinople, (interior)
Photograph.
52. Plans ol S. Sophia and the basilica of Maxentius
Dehio and v. Bezold, Baukunst.
53. The mausoleum of Theodoric, Ravenna
Liibke, Grundriss.
54. Altar from S. Qu^nin
De Fleury, La Messe.
55. Altar with confessio in S. Giorgio in Velabro, Rome
Holtzinger, Altchristliche Architektur.
56. Altar with fenestella in S. Alessandro, Rome .
De Fleury, La Messe.
57. Chancels of fourth and fifth centuries, Rome
Mazzanti, Scultura ornamentale.
58. Chancel in S. Clemente, Rome ....
De Fleury, La Messe.
125
127
128
130
135
138, 139
140, 141
144
xvi LIST OF ILLUSTBATIOXS
FIG.
59. Ambon in Thessalonica
De Fleury, La Messe.
60. Cantharus formerly in atrium of S. Peter's
De Rossi, Bull, crist.
61. Basilica with peribolos in Ruweha, Syria ....
De Vogii^, Syj'ie Centrale.
62. Complex of church buildings at el Barah, Syria
De Vogii^, Syrie Centrale.
6'3. Church of S. Simon Stylites, Kalat-Seman, Syria
De Vogu6, Syrie Centrale.
64. Orans in palla, fresco in S. Callistus
Wilpert, Gewamlung der Christen.
65. Orans in dalmatic, fresco in S. Callistus ....
Wilpert, Gewdndung der Christen.
66 Orans in girdled tunic, fresco in the catacomb of Thrason
Wilpert, Gewdndung der Christen.
67. The vindication of Susanna, fresco in S. Callistus
Wilpert, Sacramentscapellen.
68. The Epiphany, fresco in the catacomb of SS. Petrus and
Marcellinus
Wilpert, Ein Cyclus christologischer Gemdlde.
69. The Good Shepherd, ceiling fresco in the catacomb of SS.
Petrus and Marcellinus
Wilpert, Gewdndung der Christen.
70. Veneranda and S. Petronilla, fresco in S Domitilla .
Wilpert, Gewdndung.
71. Christ consecrating the Eucharist, fresco in one of the Sacra-
ment Chapels, S. Callistus
Wilpert, Sacramentscapellen.
72. Christ and the woman at the well of Samaria, fresco in one of
the Sacrament Chapels, S. Callistus ....
Wilpert, Sacramentscapellen.
73. Baptism and the Eucharist, fresco in one of the Sacrament
Chapels, S. Callistus
Wilpert, Sacramentscapellen.
74. "The breaking of bread,'' fresco in the Capella greca, S. Pris-
cilla
Wilpert, Fractio Panis.
75. The mystic fish, fresco in the crypt of Lucina . . . 230, 231
Marucchi, Elements cV Archeologie Chretienne.
76. Carved gems 233
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
LIST OF ILLUSTBATIONS xvii
"G- • PAGE
77. Carved gems 234
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
78. Carved rings 235
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
79. Coin of Apamea 237
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
80. Various forms of the cross and the Constantinian monogram . 238
81. Coins of Constantine 240, 241
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
82. Coins of Nepotianus and Galla Placidia .... 242, 243
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
83. Crux gemmata, fresco in the catacomb of Pontianus . . . 244
Kraus, Geschichte der Kunst.
84. The Virgin and Child, fresco in S. Priscilla .... 245
Wilpert, Gevmndung.
85. A virgin taking the veil, fresco in S. Priscilla .... 246
Wilpert, Gottgevjeihten Jungfrauen.
86. Lid of a sarcophagus in the Lateran 248
Photograph.
87. Lid of a sarcophagus in the Lateran 249
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
88. Fragment of a sarcophagus from S. Callistus .... 250
Bull, crist.
89. Lid of a sarcophagus in the Lateran 250
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
90. SS. Peter and Paul, bronze medal in the Vatican . . . 251
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
91. SS. Paul and Peter, bronze medal in the Vatican . . . 251
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
92. An orans, relief on a screen 253
Wilpert, Gottgeweihten Jungfrauen.
93. Sarcophagus in the Lateran Museum 254
Photograph.
94. Sarcophagus in the Lateran Museum 255
Photograph.
95. Sarcophagus from S. Paul's, now in the Lateran . . . 256
Photograph.
96. End of a sarcophagus in the Lateran Museum .... 257
Beissel, Bilder aus der Geschichte der Altch. Kunst.
97. Elijah, fragment of a sarcophagus in the Lateran . . . 258
Photograph.
xviii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FIG. PAGE
98. Sarcophagus in the Lateran Museum 260
Photograph.
99. Sarcophagus in the Lateran Museum 261
Photograph.
100. Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus 262
Bom. Quartalschrift.
101. Details of the sarcophagus of Junius Bassus . . . 264, 265
Beissel, Bilder aus der Geschichte dcr Altchr. Kunst.
102. Sarcophagus in the Lateran Museum 267
Photograph.
103. Sarcophagus of Theodore, Bishop of Ravenna .... 268
Photograph.
104. Sarcophagus in Ravenna 269
Photograph.
105. 106. Parts of the wooden doors of S. Sabina, Rome . . 270, 271
Photograph.
107. The Ascension, panel of the doors of S. Sabina . . . 274
Photograph.
108. The Crucifixion, panel of the doors of S. Sabina . . . 277
Grisar, Analecta.
109. Ivory box in the British Museum 279
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
110. Sculpture in ivory at Treves 280
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
111. Part of ivory box of Brescia 282
Photograph.
112. Part of ivory box of Brescia 283
Photograph.
113. Ivory diptych in Florence 284
Photograph.
114. Ivory cathedra of Maximianus at Ravenna .... 286
Photograph.
115. Details from the cathedra of Maximianus .... 287
Photograph.
116. Ivory Gospel cover, Ravenna 288
Photograph.
117. Statue of the Good Shepherd in the Lateran Museum . . 289
Photograph.
118. Statue of S. Hippolytus in the Lateran Museum . . .290
Photograph.
119. Bronze statue of S. Peter in the Vatican 291
Photograph.
LIST OF ILLUSTBATWXS xix
^^^' PAGE
120. Mosaic pavement of apse, Ancona 294
Bull, crist.
121. Section of mosaic pavement in Parenzo 295
Lohde.
122. Marble incrustation in S. Sabiua 296
De Rossi, Mosaici.
123. Inscription in mosaic, S. Sabina 296
De Rossi, Mosaici.
124. Portrait in mosaic, catacomb of Cyriaca 297
De Rossi, 3Iosaici.
125. Mosaic decoration of ring vault in S. Costanza . . 298, 299
De Rossi, Mosaici.
126. Sketch of the mosaics of the dome, S. Costanza . . . 300
Garrucci, Storia deWArte.
127. Apsidal mosaic in S. Pudenziana, Rome 306
De Rossi, Mosaici.
128. Plan of Jerusalem, part of mosaic pavement of a church at
Madaba, Palestine 307
Marucchi, in Nuovo Bull, crist.
129. Apsidal mosaic in SS. Cosma and Damiano, Rome . . . 312
De Rossi, 3Iosaici.
130. Mosaic of the arch of S. Lorenzo, Rome 313
De Rossi, Mosaici.
131. Mosaic in S. Apollinare in Classe 314
Photograph.
132. The sacrifices of Abel and Melchisedek, mosaic in S. Vitale,
Ravenna .......... 314
Photograph.
133. Abraham entertaining the angels, mosaic in S. Vitale . . 315
Photograph.
134. The Emperor Justinian carrying a votive paten, mosaic in
S. Vitale 316
Photograph.
135. The Empress Theodora carrying a votive chalice, mosaic in
S. Vitale 318
Photograph.
136. Mosaic of the arch of S. Maria Maggiore, Rome . . 320, 321
De Rossi, Jlosaici.
137. Mosaics in the nave of S. Maria Maggiore, Rome . . 322, 323
De Rossi, 3Iosaici.
138. Christ enthroned, with angels and saints, mosaic in S. Apolli-
nare Nuovo, Ravenna 324, 325
Photograph.
XX LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FIG. PAGE
139. Virgin and Child, with angels, Magi, and saints, mosaic in
S. Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna 326, 327
Photograph.
140. S. Luke, mosaic in S. Vitale, Ravenna 328
Photograph.
141. The Good Shepherd, mosaic in the mausoleum of Galla Pla-
cidia, Ravenna 330
Photograph.
142. S. Ursicinus, mosaic in S. Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna . 331
Photograph.
143. Palace of Theodoric, mosaic in S. Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna 332
Photograph.
144. Mosaic in S. George, Thessalonica 332
Texier and Pullen, V Architecture Byzantine.
145. Joshua and the Gibeonites, miniature from the Joshua Roll of
the Vatican 333
Grseven, in UArte.
146. Joshua and the men of Ai, miniature from the Joshua Roll of
the Vatican 334
Grgeven, in UArte.
147. Pharaoh's feast and Rebecca at the well, miniatures from the
Vienna Genesis 336, 337
Kartell and Wickoff, Die Wiener Genesis.
148. David, miniature from a Greek Psalter in Paris . . . 338
Kartell and Wickoff, Die Wiener Genesis.
149. Censers 346
De Fleury, La Messe.
150. Terra-cotta lamps . 348
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
151. Martyr exposed to a lion, terra-cotta lamp .... 349
Bull, crist.
152. Terra-cotta lamp in the form of a fish 350
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
153. Bronze lamp in the form of a basilica 350
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
154. Bronze lamp in the form of a sheep 351
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
155. Jonah under the gourd, bronze lamp 355
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
156. Lead cup with reliefs, from Carthage 356
Garrucci, St07'ia delVArte.
LIST OF ILLUSTBATIONS xxi
FIG- PAGE
157. Lead cup from Carthage, reliefs displayed , . . . 356
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
158. Metal ampulla in Monza 356
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
159. Bronze medal 357
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
160. Fragment of cut-glass vessel representing Biblical subjects . .358
Bidl. crist.
161. Silver box from Africa 360, 361
Bull, crist.
162. The Good Shepherd, three gold-glasses 362
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
163. Daniel and Bel, Adam and Eve, gold-glasses .... 363
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
164. Jonah, two gold-glasses 364
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
165. Fish under a gourd — Jonah as a type of Christ, a gold-glass . 365
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
166. Daniel and Bel,' gold-glass 365
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
167. Family portraits, gold-glasses 366
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
168. A cycle of miracles depicted on a gold-glass .... 367
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
169. Eepresentation of a master carpenter, a gold-glass . . . 368
Garrucci, Storia delVArte.
170. Segmenta, classical designs in tapestry 371
Forrer, Fruhcliristlichen Alterth'ibner.
171. The Church and the Empire united in the suppression of evil,
woven silk design 372
Forrer, Frilhchristlichen Alterthihner.
172. Virgin and Child, segmentum in tapestry .... 373
Forrer, Frilhchristlichen Alterthumer.
173. The eye, design in tapestry 374
Forrer, Frnhchristlichen Alterthumer.
174. The Egyptian cross, part of a clavus in tapestry . . . 374
Forrer, Frilhchristlichen Alterthumer.
175. Reconstruction of a curtain ....... 375
Swadoba, Archdologische Ehrengahe.
176. Curtain in the Victoria Albert Museum 376
Photograph.
LI^ST OF ILLUSTIiATIOXS
177. Part of a clavus in silk embroidery 378
Forrer, FrUhchristUchen AUerth'umer.
178. Details of a scarf in silk embroidery 379
Forrer, Fruhchristlichen AUerth'umer.
170. Portrait in tapestry 380
Forrer, FrUhchristUchen Alterth ibner.
180. Pope Sixtus I. and the Bishop Optatus, fresco in the catacomb
of Callistns 397
Wilpert, Un Capitolo della Storia del Vestiario.
181. Mosaic in the chapel of S. Venantius, Lateran Baptistery 404, 405
De Rossi, Mosaici.
182. Linen maniple from Achmim 412
Forrer, FrUhchristUchen Alterthumer.
MONUMENTS
OF THE EARLY CHURCH
A HANDBOOK OF CHRISTIAN
ARCHEOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
It would be but a bald definition of archaeology to say that
it is the study of ancient monuments. Like every other branch
of history its ultimate interest is not the documents with
which it deals, but the human story to which they bear wit-
ness. The story of many ancient peoples must be traced
chiefly, if not solely, in their monumental remains, and the
historian can ill afford to dispense with archaeology, be the
literary records never so plenty. Far from being the dullest
branch of history, archaeology is one of the most interesting,
for it serves to illuminate precisely the most intimate and
familiar aspects of ancient life, depicting them most vividly
and most concretely.
The archaeology of the early Christian period is not essen-
tially different from any other branch of the study, though it
is, of course, marked by problems and peculiarities quite its
own. The most distinctive peculiarity which need be noticed
is this, that it is not engaged with the totality of the monu-
ments of any people or of any period, but solely with those
which bear expressly the stamp of Christian inspiration.
Christianity was not conterminous with any race, and the
existence of the Church within the Empire did not signify
the propagation of foreign art and custom in the midst of
the regnant Classical civilization. -Already with the second
century — the period with which the monumental study of
Christianity begins — the gentile element was so thoroughly
predominant in the Church that we need not look for the tradi-
tions of Jewish custom except in matters most intimately
associated with religion. The Jew had no art to hand on to
the Christian, nor any architecture. The last temple at
Jerusalem was a Classic building, as the first had been a
Phoenician. Moreover, the Jew throughout the Empire was
B 1
2 INTBODUCTION
already as much of a cosmopolitan as he is to-day. A certain
aloofness from popular gentile life, prescribed by his religion
and his moral code, must not blind us to the thoroughness
of his tincture with classical civilization — he spoke in its
language, he thought in its philosophy, he clothed himself in
its dress. The emperors were not slow to recognize in the
Hellenistic Jew an apt exponent of the imperial ideal, and
they accorded him corresponding privileges. In the case of
the Jewish Christians, as we see already in the Apostolic age,
the ties of race and the barriers of racial exclnsiveness were
still further dissolved, and in the case of the gentile Christians
they did not exist at all — they stood apart from their fellow-
citizens only in matters which regarded religion and morality.
In general, one can hardly exaggerate the Roman's success
(building, indeed, in part upon the work of the Greek) in im-
pressing upon the world, not only the administrative regime
of the Empire, but the whole complex of Classical civilization :
it was in the fulness of time Christ came and the Apostles
preached. The Church was a phenomenon of the Empire, and
in time of persecution no less than in the era of triumph
belonged essentially to it. To say that the Church grew out
of the Grseco-Roman civilization (as though transcending it),
or grew up within it (as an isolated entity), would be mislead-
ing; the Church must be recognized as a very part of that
antique classical civilization, and only by inwardly appropriat-
ing — not by adoption but by natural inheritance — the funda-
mental terms of its life and thought, was it able in spirit to
transform it.
If one were bent upon the reconstruction in its totality of
Christian life in the Classical period, the monuments which
are reckoned to the part of Classical archaeology would con-
stitute data no less important than those which bear expressly
a Christian character. And though we must here make com-
plete abstraction of the common elements of Classical life,
we cannot ignore the fact that the art which was the most
distinctively Christian in spirit was none the less Classic in
form. It was simply inevitable that all forms of decorative
and pictorial art, of sculpture and architecture, should be
adopted by the Christian as he found them ready to his hand.
We see how thoroughly he belonged to his age when we
CLASSIC AND CHRISTIAN ART 3
note with how little scruple he accepted them. He was con-
cerned in the first instance only to eliminate such current
themes as were expressly idolatrous or immoral, or to select
such as could be given a Christian interpretation. This was
followed, of course, by the development of themes properly
Christian ; but even in this work the Christian artist could no
more divest himself of the formal traditions of Classic art —
nor had he any more reason to do so — than in using the
Classic languages he could dissociate himself from the fundar
mental modes of Classic thought.
There was no doubt also a formal progression upon the old
lines; but the antique traditions were so soon broken off in
the general collapse of Roman civilization that we are left
without any sound basis for the speculation as to whether, or
in how far. Christian art with a free and interrupted devel-
opment might finally have transcended the traditional forms.
This speculation, at any rate, does not concern us here. We
shall not trace the old traditions through the petrified forms
of Byzantine art, where they proved impotent for any scope
beyond symbolism and decoration. It shall be left to the
reader, with the monuments which are here put before him,
to reckon the influence of Classical Christian art upon art
Mediaeval : this influence is to be traced rather in the selec-
tion of themes and in the arrangement of scenes than in spirit
and technic. The Renascence, which returned for its inspira-
tion Classic art, had no relation whatever (except through the
Mediaeval tradition) with the Christian phase of that art ; its
monuments were already hidden or ignored.
This Classical Christian art proved no less adequate to the
expression of Christian themes, and deserves no less truly the
title of Christian art, than did any which was developed later
and on Christian soil. This art has long been completely un-
known, and not even yet is it popularly appreciated. Yet it
remains more intelligible to the modern mind, it stands closer
to us in sympathy, than does the art which stands nearer in
time, developed during the Middle Ages by men of our own
stock and under influences exclusively Christian. Classic art,
even in this its Christian phase, reflects, in its lucid ideal and
definite presentation, the moderation and balance which were
characteristic of Classical civilization and thought. There is
4 INTRODUCTION-
fundamentally but one art and one reason : not a Christian art
and a Christian reason. The proof that Christian theology was
expressed in forms of Greek philosophy has been accounted
to the discredit of the Church. On the contrary, it was the
signal advantage of Christianity that it could from the begin-
ning express itself in the forms of Greek art and in the terms
of Greek thought ; for it was true art and right reason. The
normal authority which we ascribe to the early age of the
Church is justified not only by the fact that it stood close to
the origin of the faith and constituted the first expression of
Christianity in the world, but also by the fact that it was the
expression of Classical culture. The pagan Classical age is one
against which many serious charges may be brought. One may
be by no means disposed to recognize the legitimacy of the
customs and theologies which sprang up on that soil. But one
can hardly refuse to recognize that it was an age which was
marked, as no other has been, by the general dissemination of
just criteria of reason. It is a matter of no slight advantage
that the philosophic claims of Christianity were first expressed
in the Greek language, and, therefore, in terms intelligible to
the world — in terms which then were comprehensible to dis-
ciples of Plato, of Aristotle, and of Zeno, and which remain
intelligible for all times.
One must recognize in early Christian art two qualities
which are not commonly thought of as compatible in the same
subject: it was an art at once nascent and decadent. In many
respects it was full grown when born, and its decline dates
from its beginning. The highest expression which art attained
in the Roman Empire was reached in the time of Trajan and
Hadrian. Its decline during the next two centuries is meas-
ured upon the Arch of Constantine by the difference between
the sculptured reliefs taken from the demolished Arch of
Trajan and those which the first Christian emperor had exe-
cuted expressly for his own monument. Within two centuries
more art lay almost prostrate. We have not, therefore, in the
case of Christian art, to look for the rude essays which we
associate with all beginning, the effort, with little skill, to
match the idea with the ap])ropriate form. On the other
hand, we cannot trace in it the keen progress upward which
THE CHURCH AXD ART 5
constitutes the special charm of the study of early periods of
art. Christian art began — so far as we can trace its monu-
ments — with the end of the first century, that is with the
most flourishing period of imperial art. It found its forms
furnished ready to hand. The earliest Christian artists were
technically the best; their skill declined with the general
collapse of Eoman art and culture.
The monuments reveal just such use and appreciation of art
in the Church as might be expected of gentiles who were bred
to a taste for it and found in their new religion no express
veto against it. Apart, however, from the extant monuments,
and relying solely upon the scant references in literature, one
would hardly form a just conception of the Christian employ-
ment of art in the second and third centuries. One might be
disposed rather to credit the opinion that the early Church
set its face resolutely against its religious use, and that the
artistic activity of the fourth century, to which the literature
as well as the monuments bear witness, was a sign of the
worldly corruption of the Church under imperial favor. This
view was so confidently held in Protestant circles, and espe-
cially in England, that for a long time credence was refused
to the discoveries of early Christian art in the Koman cata-
combs. It was a view which rested fundamentally upon a
strong religious prejudice ; but it seemed none the less to
have some justification in history. For it seemed not unrea-
sonable to presume that the Mosaic prohibition of pictorial
art must have been observed in the Church as it was in Islam,
there being the same reason for it in the keen struggle with
surrounding idolatry. And, in fact, the few literary references
to art which we have (in TertuUian, Clement of Alexandria,
and Irenseus), though they do not express a condemnation of
it, suggest distinctly the suspicion of its abuse.
The Spanish Synod of Elvira (306 a.d.), with its prohibition
of the pictorial representation of the divine Persons in the
churches (can. 36), has been taken for conclusive evidence of
the general attitude of the Chureh. Eusebius of Caesarea, —
in other respects no enemy of art, — writing, in reference to
a picture of Christ, to Constantia, sister of Constantine the
Great, suggests the scruple that strangers, seeing such repre-
sentations, might suppose that the Christians carry about their
6 IN TBODUC TION
god in a picture like the idolaters. It is likely that the same
fear of misunderstanding prompted the canon of Elvira ; and
for the faithful themselves there may have been no little dan-
ger in the painting of " that which is worshipped and adored "
upon the walls of the churches.
This utterance, however, does not represent the general atti-
tude of the Church, which continued with little or no scruple
(so far as monuments reveal) to employ pictorial art for the
representation of religious themes and of the divine Persons.
The monuments show us, too, that we have not to think of a
strict observance of the Second Commandment even on the
part of the Hellenistic Jews. One of the Jewish catacombs in
Rome contains decoration in fresco representing animal forms
such as are found in the Christian cemeteries. There is similar
decoration in the Jewish cemetery at Carthage ; and in Tunis
the mosaic pavement of a synagogue is entirely in Classic
design, with garlands, fishes, and birds. We may admit that
such Jewish Christian communities as the Ebionites probably
respected the mosaic prohibition. It is not unlikely that
among the Christians a severe sect like the Montanists held
aloof from art. There were voices raised against its religious
use, or abuse, both before and after the iconoclastic Eastern
emperors. But the enthusiasm with which art was cultivated
by the Catholic Church is sufficiently demonstrated by the
monuments themselves, or even by the examples which are
illustrated in this book.
It is from no point of view an easy matter to fix the limits
of the early Christian period, although the question is simpli-
fied when we regard it with exclusive reference to the history
of art, and recognize that the theme of our study is Classic art
as it was employed by Christians for the expression of Christian
ideals. From this point of view it is plain that early Chris-
tian art ends long before Mediaeval art begins. Between the
two there intervenes a period of about two centuries, a true
middle age, in which Classic- art was no longer and Mediaeval
art was not yet. It adds little to our information to follow
through this period the merely static survival of Classic forms
in the Byzantine Empire ; and it is in no sense germane to
our topic to study the purely barbaric art of the Anglo-Saxons,
LIMITS OF THE EARLY CHRISTIAN PERIOD 7
Celts, or Lombards. Practically, our study begins with the
earliest extant monuments of a strictly Christian character,
that is with the end of the first century, and it closes with the
development of Byzantine architecture before the end of the
sixth. It must be remarked, however, that no single depart-
ment of our study covers the whole of this period : each branch of
art had in some respects an independent history and a separate
fate, originating later or terminating earlier than the limiting
dates which are here assigned to early Christian art in general.
The precise limits of the period are of the less importance to
our present study because it is rather on the plane of descrip-
tion than of narrative, being interested not so much to trace
the origins of Classical Christian art, nor to follow its decay,
as to portray it in its perfection.
There is needed here, by way of introduction, no more than
the briefest survey of the various classes of monuments with
which w^e have to deal.
The early Christian painting which has been preserved to us
is found almost exclusively in the Roman catacombs : it there-
fore belongs to the earliest part of our period, and may be pre-
sumed to have a more or less immediate reference to death —
or rather to the Christian hopes which illuminated it. The
themes of later painting — especially in the decoration of the
churches — can be inferred from the mosaics. On the other
hand, light is thrown upon the study of the mosaics by the
latest branch of painting which we have to consider, namely,
the miniature illustrations of the Bible text. The catacombs
themselves, quite apart from the monuments of art which they
contain, constitute a testimony of the highest importance both
for the early age during which they were in practical use and
for the later in which they had become objects of veneration.
It lay obviously in the nature of the case that the art of sculp-
ture was not utilized as soon as painting for the representation
of Christian themes. It is represented principally by the
sarcophagi, which are most abundant for the fourth and fifth
centuries, and were produced until the seventh, when artis-
tic skill sank below the level demanded for figured work.
The same period is represented, and the same history of decline
is repeated, in ivory and metal work. In general the minor
8 INTRODUCTION
arts followed the Peace of the Church, but the manufacture
of gold-glass commenced toward the end of the third century.
The discoveries in Egyptian burying-grounds enable us to
follow the technic of the textile industry from the second
century to the Mahometan conquest; but there were no dis-
tinctively Christian designs till the age of the Church's pros-
perity. In architecture there remain but few monuments
earlier than the Constantinian age. The churches built during
the reign of Constantine have been destroyed or remodelled.
The following century, however, furnishes many complete
examples. With the reign of Justinian in the sixth century
there was prodigious activity in the building of churches, and
many edifices have been preserved. Specially notable in this
period is the development of the central type of architecture.
The history of mosaic art follows closely that of architecture,
of which it was the handmaid. The mosaic decoration has,
however, often been preserved when the strictly architectural
features of the church have been transformed out of all recog-
nition.
Such, in the most general terms, are the monuments which
we have to study. But it must be remembered that to the
archaeologist each monument has a many-sided interest ; a
mosiac painting, for instance, may be studied as a part of
church decoration, or as an example of pictorial art, or for its
illustration of ancient costume, of early church doctrine, or of
ecclesiastical use.
Local differences in art due to racial traditions can be but
barely noticed in this book. They have not as yet been suffi-
ciently studied ; in many cases where we might expect to note
them the monuments are too rare to furnish the necessary
evidence. In general the monuments do not allow us to forget
that they all belong — in spite of incidental peculiarities — to
the broadly disseminated culture of the Roman Empire.
It is in the East especially we might expect to notice the
influence of earlier art ; it is there, too, we might expect the
greater abundance of monuments; for it was the East —
especially Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt — which was the most
flourishing seat of Christianity in the third century and even
later. But, as a matter of fact, it is particularly in the East
DISTRIBUTION OF MONUMENTS 9
that the monuments have been either most completely destroyed
or least explored. Christian art in the East fell victim finally
to the iconoclastic spirit of Islam. Valuable monuments of
early architecture have been here and there preserved by their
adoption as mosques, particularly in Constantinople, Thessa-
lonica, and Jerusalem. But already pictured art had suffered
much from iconoclastic zeal in the Church itself. Many of the
pictures which are venerated in Italy as original portraits or
miraculous images {aclieiropoeta) of Christ and of the Virgin
belong to the Byzantine art of the seventh century and were,
doubtless, transported for preservation.
To this general destruction Syria forms an important excep-
tion, especially in view of its architectural remains. The con-
quest of Islam left the greater part of it a desert, and owing to
the admirable character of its masonry (and to the fact that
little or no wood was used) it furnishes the most numerous
and the most perfect examples of the domestic and ecclesiastical
architecture of the third and fourth centuries ; and not only in
its architecture, but in its carved reliefs, it bears witness to a
national Syrian school, which probably had a wider influence
than any other local art upon the surrounding peoples.
The Holy Land — especially Jerusalem and Bethlehem, but
in general the whole of Palestine — was a resort of pious pil-
grimage and the site of many churches of imperial foundation,
due first to Constantine and his mother Helena, and later to
Justinian. Scanty remains are still left of some of these
churches, though the Crusaders in their zeal for rebuilding
showed little respect for ancient monuments.
We might expect in Egypt a very strong influence upon art
from the ancient national traditions and the ancient monu-
ments. As a matter of fact, the Coptic churches have been
either so thoroughly destroyed or so fundamentally altered
that hardly more of the original than the ground plan can now
be descried and the textiles and small objects found in the
graves present very little which is distinctive.
Asia Minor has as yet been insufficiently explored. Archaeo-
logical study will naturally follow in the wake of the German
commercial exploitation of the country, and there is reason to
hope for finds of great importance. How much may survive
Mahometan occupation we see in the case of North Africa,
10 INTBODUCTION
where French colonization has brought to light many important
monuments of architecture, sculpture, and the minor arts.
But this brings us already to the West, where the monuments
are in general more common, or better known, and where de-
struction has been due chiefly to perverse activity in restora-
tion. On the borders of the Empire monuments belonging
strictly to our period are for the most part very scarce. In
England they are almost exclusively contined to mosaic pave-
ments, especially at Trempton and Horkstow. In Spain they
are represented chiefly by sarcophagi; in France by sarcophagi
(at Aries), by a few churches which are almost entirely rebuilt,
and by rare specimens of the minor arts. In Germany, Treves
is specially interesting for three cemeteries (one of them under
ground); numerous small objects and inscriptions have been
found also in the Rhine country. Outside of Italy it is the
northern coast of the Adriatic (Dalmatia and Istria), with its
purely Latin colonies, which proves the greatest activity in
artistic production, especially toward the sixth century. Here
are found architectural monuments which have lately been well
studied by scholars native to the region who are peculiarly
zealous for their classical traditions.
But it is Italy itself, and preeminently Rome and its vicinity,
which furnishes the greatest number of monuments — indeed,
the majority of all which have been found. In Rome the very
activity of ecclesiastical life, the fact that no period has been
altogether lacking in additions a.nd reconstructions, has con-
tributed to the destruction of the monuments ; but it has also
served to present an almost unbroken sequence representing
nearly every department of Christian art. If the monuments
of the Middle Ages (both early and late) have been almost
totally annihilated by the scorn of the Renascence for what it
counted an age of barbarism, the earlier monuments have fared
somewhat better. The student is, indeed, likely to be disap-
pointed at first, for what is left requires much patient hunting
out and piecing together; but, after all, there are sufficient
monuments in the way of architecture and mosaics to repre-
sent at least intelligibly the period of Byzantine influence, the
more strictly Roman style of the fifth century, and even
the Constantinian foundations- Sculpture is fully represented
throughout this period by sarcophagi, by the wooden doors of
LITER ABY SOURCES 11
S. Sabina, and by minor objects. For the earlier period it is
Rome alone, with its catacombs, which provides the key for
the appreciation of the development of Christian art, and of
the spirit with which it was employed by the Church.
Sicily is interesting for its cemeteries, especially the cata-
comb of S. Giovanni at Syracuse. Naples also has its primi-
tive catacomb of S. Gennaro, and in the Campagna there are
other cemeteries of less interest.
In the North, Milan furnishes sarcophagi, ivory carvings, and
churches of the sixth century (very much altered) ; and Ra-
venna, with its churches, mosaics, and sarcophagi, splendidly
testifies to the artistic interest and skill which marked both
the Gothic and the Byzantine rule at the turn of the fifth and
sixth centuries.
In enumerating the monuments which specially distinguish
each place and period, it has not been convenient to speak of
inscriptions, because they are to be found throughout the whole
field. It is, however, in Rome and Italy that they are by far
the most numerous ; the inscriptions of Gaul stand next in
importance. In the East they still, for the most part, await
discovery. All but a small fraction of our Christian inscrip-
tions are sepulchral.
It need not be said that the study of the early history of
the Church is not dependent solely upon monuments, nor that
the study of archaeology itself is chiefly illuminated by docu-
mentary evidence. It was not a barbarous, but a literary age ;
and whatever of the literature of the Church — or more espe-
cially its official records — may have been destroyed by perse-
cution, the stable basis of its history is still a literary one.
But the archaeological study of the monumental remains is
only the more fruitful for being less than indispensable; its
problems are more readily and more surely solved, since it
is hardl}^ ever left without some word of interpretation from
contemporary writers. The literary sources which contribute
to fix oiu' conceptions of Christian archaeology cannot, how-
ever, be mentioned in this work ; it is enough that we present
here the sources of monumental evidence. It goes without
saying that the works of the Fathers and the History of
Eusebius, for example, are indispensable for any study of our
12 INTBODUCTION
subject, and even for the appreciation of its monuments. The
comparatively few passages which may be quoted in this book
do not by any means reveal the extent to which the early
authors must be depended upon in formulating the conclusions
of this science.
But there is one class of writings which stands in so close
a relation to archaeological study, and is of so little importance
apart from it, that the student may need a special introduction,
if but a brief one.
It is necessary to pass over with a mere word a class of
documents which were of inestimable importance to de Rossi
and to earlier students for the location and exploration of the
catacombs, because the discovery to which they conduce has
been all but definitely accomplished. I refer to the Roman
martyrologies (the most important is that which is associated
with the name of S. Jerome), which are liturgical lists giving
the day of the annual celebration of the death, deposition,
or translation of the saints who were commemorated by the
Church, naming also the cemetery in which the body reposed.
It is the last item which gives to the martyrologies their topo-
graphical value in the work of locating the catacombs and
ascribing to them their x3roper names. The Lives of the
Saints had a like use, notwithstanding that of the few which
are strictly authentic none belong to Rome. It was de Rossi's
generous faith which enabled him to draw even from late tra-
ditions a profit which most of the scholars of his time would
have been too sceptical to look for. The results of his work
justified his belief, and he was able by monumental evidence
to reconstruct in some measure the genuine tradition contained
in the Lives with which he had to deal (e.g. that of S. Cecilia),
subjecting them to a criticism w^hich was impossible on purely
literary lines. Comparatively few of the Lives, of course,
could be subjected to this test, and for the most of them we
must remain without any such criteria for distinguishing the
false from the true. But in the proof that in the Lives which
have been accounted most hopelessly corrupt we may look for
some substantial basis of fact, lies one of the most important
general results of de Rossi's work, for it cannot but modify
the general sceptical attitude toward ecclesiastical tradition.
Another class of documents, the pilgrim Itineraries, proved
LITERARY SOURCES 13
of still more value for the topography of the catacombs. They
were intended in most cases, not only as a record of the pil-
grim's visit, but as a guide to others who might follow him ;
and it was with this view the pilgrims were so precise in de-
scribing the order and in marking the location of the monu-
ments which they visited.
In Kome the pilgrims were interested chiefly in the tombs
of the saints and the memorice which were erected over them,
all of which (with the exception of the house of the fourth-
century martyrs John and Paul) were without the walls. In
Palestine interest centred, of course, in the sites" connected
with our Lord's life and the Constantinian structures which
marked them. For Kome the itineraries are furnished us
exclusively by German and English pilgrims. There are two
in a Ms. of Salzburg : the first of them recounts a pilgrimage
made shortly after the pontificate of Honorius I. (625-638),
and the second belongs approximately to the same date.
About the end of the same century, but hardly less valuable
topographically, comes the Itinerary of William of Malmes-
bury; and early in the century following, one which was
found in a codex of the monastery of Einsiedeln.
Earlier and of still greater interest — though they describe
later monuments — are the accounts of pilgrimage to Palestine.
The itinerary of the pilgrims from Bordeaux to Jerusalem
(fifth century) has been long known. The Peregrinatio Silvice
(supposed to be S. Sylvia of Aquitaine) has been recently dis-
covered, and is the most interesting of its class. This is a
description by a lady of Southern Gaul of her visit to the
Holy Places of Palestine in the fourth century. It was writ-
ten for the instruction of her " sisters," that is, doubtless,
the members of her religious community. These itineraries
describe the Holy Land as it was embellished by the construc-
tions of Constantine ; there are two others of later date which
describe the buildings of Justinian. To this must be added
the description of the holy places of Palestine by the abbot
Adamnanus, of the early part of the eighth century.
Even more closely related to archgeology is the Roman Liber
Pontijicalis. It is a brief record of the official acts of the
popes, = — ceasing however to be brief when it reaches the popes
of the latter part of the sixth century. It was evidently not
14 INTBODUCTION
all of it written at one time ; the later lives at least were added
one by one by contemporary scribes. The first part of the
work, as Duchesne would have it, probably extended only to
the middle of the short rule of Silverius (536-537), and was
therefore composed by a contemporary writer. Some would
date the original composition a century later; but they would
not thereby seriously affect its value to the archseologist. For,
serious as are the historical blunders of the first part, it con-
tains one element which could have been derived only from the
official records of the Church, that is, the account of the con-
struction of churches by popes and emperors and of the gifts
which were made for their adornment. This is all given with
such precision of detail — with number, weight, and measure —
that it argues an author who, however ill equipped for the
task of an historian, had at his service official records which
extended back to the time of Constantine. Among the most
interesting notices are those of the gifts of that emperor.
The Liber Pontijicalis of Ravenna is the work of a single
author, the Abbot Agnellus, in the early part of the ninth cen-
tury. Agnellus had no such minute records at his disposal as
had the author of the Roman work, but on the other hand he
had a special talent for his task. He may be said to be the
first Christian archaeologist ; it was by the study of the monu-
ments of his city that he was able to piece out its history, and
the documents which assisted him in his labor were chiefly the
metrical inscriptions which were preserved in the churches.
The inscriptions which Agnellus records — in part dedica^
tory, in part descriptive of works of art — belong to a class of
documents more strictly literary than those we have hitherto
considered. The Christian poets, like the Greek, often chose
for their theme the famous work of some artist, and exhibited
their skill in its description.
This sort of poetry was current both in the East and in the
West, but with marked differences of type. In the East it fol-
lowed the Classical models. The Epigrams of Paulus Silentiarius
are copied after the Greek form, as is also his poem descriptive
of S. Sophia. This latter work was highly lauded by contem-
poraries, and it was claimed that a reader might get from it as
vivid an impression of the church as if he had actually seen
it. Procopius of Csesarea described in prose the buildings of
LITERARY SOURCES 15
Justinian, giving us a more exact and detailed account of the
building operations of that emperor than Eusebius gives us (in
his Life and Eulogy) of the churches of Constantine.
In the West, we have, first, the metrical inscriptions which
Pope Damasus (366-384) erected in the catacombs in honor of
the martyrs. They were frequently copied by the pilgrims,
and in that way many of them have been preserved to us,
though it seems that they never were gathered into one edition
as were the poems of Prudentius. They belong so properly
to our monumental study that they must be treated more at
length elsewhere, for in the exploration of the catacombs a
number of the original inscriptions have been brought to light.
With Prudentius, at the end of the fourth century, we come
to a type of descriptive poetry which belongs exclusively to
the West and constitutes a development altogether peculiar
to Christianity and highly significant of the spirit of Christian
art. It is the so-called titidus, a type of poetry which is related
to the Greek epigram, but at the same time sharply contrasted
with it. Classic art in its perfection strove after a purely
formal effect upon the beholder, that is to say, its chief inter-
est lay, not in its substantial import, but in its external form.
This aim was completely summed up in the expression of the
beautiful. Intimately related to the spirit of Greek art was the
Greek epigram, which sought in language a clever and pointed
expression of the effect which the work of art was intended to
produce. The epigram was often inscribed upon the base of a
statue, but the statue was none the less essentially independent
of it, for its effect was purely formal and it needed no inter-
preting word. On the other hand we see in Christian art a
spirit which was ever intent upon seeing behind the veil. In
Christian art from the very first — in its early symbolical
themes no less than in its later and more obviously didactic
development — it was not the form but the thought which
predominated; and the Christian work was characteristically
accompanied not by the epigram with its clever expression of
the formal effect, but by the title (tituhis) which summed up
no less tersely the substantial point of the narrative or dogma
which the picture would represent. The titidus was usually
inscribed under a picture, but it had precisely the same char-
acter when it was inscribed over a door, upon the altar, or
16 INTEODUCTIOX
referred to the whole church — in any case it was intended to
express the essential significance of the object. The titulus
had a long history in the Church, and it was continued finally
in a prose form quite through the Middle Ages, or until with
the Kenascence the interest in the formal effect of art became
predominant, and — it must also be said — art became better
able to tell its own tale.
In the Peristephanon of Prudentius we have descriptions of
the pictures of the Martyrium of S. Cassianus in Imola (the
ancient Forum Cornelii) and of the Martyrium of S. Hippolytus
at Rome near S. Lorenzo. In his Dittoclimon we see exempli-
fied a characteristic of Christian art which w^e shall have sev-
eral occasions to notice in the monuments. The name is com-
pounded of two Greek words (Strros — oxq) and means double
nutriment. The titles were evidently composed for actual in-
scription, and they represent a parallel series of pictures taken
from the Old and New Testaments. A similar typological
cycle from both the Old and the New Testaments is that of
Helpidius Eusticus of the sixth century.
Even more interesting are the poems of Paulinus of Nola
(353-431). In his letter to Sulpicius Severus of Primuliacum
in Gaul he rebukes his friend for his too friendly act in paint-
ing his (Paulinus's) portrait in the refectory together with that
of S. Martin, and he proposes the choice of two titles which
would obviate the sacrilege by pointing the contrast between
the saint and the sinner. The same letter contains dedications
for the baptistery and the basilica which his friend was build-
ing, and gives the tituli of his own church of S. Felix at Nola.
We have also from S. Paulinus a poem descriptive of the basil-
ica of S. Felix ; and another letter contains a poetical descrip-
tion of the basilica which he was building at Fundi.
We have literary record of the tituli of some of the churches
of North Italy of the fifth century : those ascribed to S. Am-
brose, and those referred falsely to Claudian. Also in Gaul for
the basilica of S. Martin at Tours (about 460), and for the
Cathedral of Tours as recorded by Venantius Fortunatus about
565. S. Gregory of Tours (-f 594), in his Historia Francorum,
gives a prose description of the basilica of S. Martin and of the
basilica of Namantius in Clermont.
The literature which has here been referred to as especially
HISTORY OF THE STUDY 17
illustrative of Christian archaeology can most of it be found in
the relative volumes of the Quellenschriften fiir Kunstgeschichte
(cf. Bibliography).
The history of the study of Christian archseology need be
given here only in the briefest terms : its present status is fairly
represented by the Bibliography which is given in the Appendix.
The beginnings of a truly monumental study of Christian
history are indissolubly associated with the exploration of the
Roman catacombs. In 1578 a general interest was awakened
by the accidental discovery of a single chamber of one of the
catacombs which had lain buried for centuries. This furnished
an impetus to study, and early in the seventeenth century two
Dutchmen, L'Heureux and de AVinghe, wrote works upon the
catacombs and upon early Christian art in general which showed
careful observation and a fairly just appreciation of the monu-
ments. These works would have constituted a hopeful begin-
ning for the study, if only they could have gained the attention
of scholars, but as a matter of fact they were not even pub-
lished.
The real beginning of the exploration and of the apprecia-
tion of the catacombs was made by Bosio, who after many dis-
coveries, after many years of familiarity with the catacombs
and a close and fruitful study of their contents, left his work
incomplete and unpublished at his death in 1614. It was pub-
lished, however, in 1632, under the title Roma Sotterranea,
by Severano and in a Latin edition by Aringhi in 1651-1659.
How great was Bosio's merit one can best judge from de Rossi's
frequent expressions of obligation to him. He had recognized
the right method for the study and exploration of the cata-
combs, and he only just failed to make the important discov-
eries which the world now owes to his successor de Rossi.
During the seventeenth century Christian archaeology con-
tinued to be chiefly occupied with the catacombs and their con-
tents, but without being able to avail itself of the impetus of
Bosio's work for new discovery. No substantial progress was
made in this line even in the eighteenth century, nor indeed
until the discoveries of de Rossi in our own time. For the
eighteenth century, however, the works of Boldetti and Bottari
served to keep alive an interest in the subject, and already by
18 INTRODUCTION
the end of the preceding century Ciampini had widened the
field by studying early mosaics and the churches of Constan-
tinian foundation. Up to the nineteenth century the field of
discovery was almost exclusively confined to Rome, and the
origin and significance of the catacombs and their contents
was a fertile ground of dispute between Roman Catholics and
Protestants.
With the nineteenth century the development of the study
has been significant in many respects. A real appreciation
of early Christian art was perhaps impossible before Classical
art itself was understood, that is before the development of
Classical archaeology. At all events, our study has followed
the development of that science and has had the advantage of
its well-established method. The field of investigation has at
the same time been broadened so that substantial contributions
are made from all sides and from many lands, though Rome,
as the chief storehouse of monuments, remains also the most
important centre of study. The study in this its later phase
has been marked not only by a scientific method, but by a
scientific spirit which has for the most j^art risen quite above
the interests of sectarian polemics.
It was through the work of Giovanni Battista de Rossi that
Christian arcliEeology first assumed its modern form and im-
portance : it was he who first made it a science. Equipped
with everything which was needed to furnish him for the
work, with solid learning, and with zeal and ingenuity no less re-
markable, he followed out a rigid method which led not only to
the discovery of the catacombs, but to a just appreciation of
their historical significance. It was a work of new discovery,
inasmuch as a great part of the limited region of the cata-
combs known to Bosio had been again lost track of. Even the
catacombs which were already known had not been correctly
identified by their ancient names ; they could not, therefore,
be brought into relation with the history and traditions of the
Church, and their testimony was almost exclusively limited
to the obvious facts which met the eye. There were defects
in Bosio's method which, small as they were, quite baffled his
pursuit; and for all his patient investigation he found none of
the sepulchres of the historically renowned heroes of the faith.
On principle he avoided all regions of the catacombs which
HISTORY OF THE STUDY 19
showed traces of late masonry and j^ainting : this seemed to
him an obvious sign that the region and its tombs must be of
late date. De Rossi, on the other hand, recognized that the
decoration and construction which belonged to a time when
the catacombs had ceased to be places of burial must indicate
the neighborhood of tombs which were venerated from the
fourth to the seventh century. It was at that time new stair-
ways were constructed and the corridors were enlarged to give
easy access to the historic chambers, which themselves were
amplified and decorated as an expression of the popular cult
which was accorded the martyrs.
In locating and distinguishing the catacombs, in assigning
to the different regions their date, and in prescribing the
method which must be followed in their study, de Rossi
accomplished an indispensable work which perhaps no one
else was fitted to do. This, however, was but the ground work ;
the most interesting part of his study, the important fruit
which he drew from it, consists in the lines of connection
which he traced — ingeniously combining many mere hints
into a sound argument — between the monuments of the cata-
combs and the general history of the Church and of the Em-
pire. His peculiar talent for the work is especially shown by
the genealogical puzzles which he unravelled, connecting the
different catacombs, or their individual tombs, with historical
families of Christian or pagan fame. Such arguments, how-
ever, are in their very nature so dependent upon minute de-
tail that not even a specimen can be presented in this book.
And in general it must be said that the soundness of de Rossi's
results, the accuracy of his method, and the candor of his
judgment, cannot be fairly judged except from his own works
in full — not even from the English condensation of his work
by Xorthcote and Brownlow. The disparagement and dis-
trust which de Rossi encountered in England and America
was due to a merely second-hand acquaintance with his work
which gave an inadequate idea of the cogency of his argu-
ments. In all that is fundamental to the study of the
catacombs his work deserves the highest confidence. The
catacombs have not yet been completely explored ; but what
remains may be discovered (it is chiefly a question of expense)
by the light which he has furnished. The four great volumes
20 IXTH OD UC TIOX
of Roma Sotterranea hardly represent the half of his published
studies of the subject. The studies and discoveries in the
catacombs since the date of that publication are about to be
edited by his surviving disciples as a continuation of lioiiia
Sotterranea.
As regards the frescos of the catacombs de Eossi's opinion
has less value. In the reproduction of the pictures he did not
avail himself of the accurate photo-mechanical processes which
were at his disposal, and his copyists were not always trust-
worthy. He himself lacked the keen appreciation of art
which is requisite in a critic, and even in the interpretation of
the subjects his judgment was often astray and has been cor-
rected by his disciples. This lack in de Eossi's work is com-
pletely supplied by Joseph Wilpert, who has already published
some works on the subject, and is about to give a complete
presentation of the pictures of the catacombs in a work which
for the accuracy of its reproductions of the frescos and for the
scholarly worth of the studies upon them is sure to be recog-
nized as the final work on the subject.
Marucchi, another of the immediate disciples of de Eossi, is
likewise engaged in carrying on his master's work ; two others
whose work was very important, Armellini and Stevenson,
have recently died.
But de Eossi's influence was not confined to the circle of his
personal scholars, nor to the department of study with which
his name is specially associated. Even in the study of the
catacombs he was obliged to deal with almost every subject
which interests the archaeology of the early Christian cen-
turies. The Eoman monuments which he discovered and
illustrated presented for the first time such a sequence as
made it possible to understand early Christian art in the
order of its development, and they constitute as it were a
standard scale for the judgment of the date and value of all
kindred objects wherever they may be found. De Eossi's
great work on the Christian mosaics of Eome is only a strik-
ing example of the breadth of his activity in this field. To
the study of almost every branch of Christian archaeology he
imparted a new impulse ; in some departments he first laid
the foundation. None of the scholars who have followed him
can fail to recognize their debt.
HISTORY OF THE STUDY 21
But fundamental as de Rossi's work was, it was only a symp-
tom of a general revival of the study of early Christian monu-
ments and art. Already by the end of the last century there
was an awakening to the worth of Mediaeval art, especially of
architecture ; and the interest gradually extended back to the
early period. In Italy and contemporary with de Rossi,
Raffaelle Garrucci planned a corpus of the monument of early
Christian art and carried it out very creditably. In France,
nearer the beginning of the century, Seroux d'Agincourt made
a similar publication of Christian monuments, covering less
completely a more extended period. Early Christian art
found in Raoul Eochette a sharp but mistaken critic who
stimulated research by the very temerity of his views. Tow-
ard the end of the century again, Eohault de Fleury labored
at the reproduction of Christian monuments, illustrating how-
ever only selected themes, and following them out through the
Middle Ages. His son, Georges de Fleury, is engaged in revis-
ing his father's work and in continuing it on the same lines.
Edmond le Blant, working under the inspiration of de Rossi,
not only furnished new material by the publication of the
inscriptions and sarcophagi of Gaul, but suggested new points
of view for the appreciation of early Christian art in general.
The abbe Duchesne has done valuable work in this field, though
he is better known for his liturgical studies. Franz Xaver
Kraus, though he has added nothing material to the study,
has done very much to popularize it among the Roman Catho-
lics of Germany.
Among German Protestants the first really monumental study
of the early Christian period begins with Ferdinand Piper,
who, quite independent of de Rossi, inaugurated in Berlin an
interesting museum of Christian antiquities, and in several
large works laid down a programme for the study which has had
great influence in Germany and some effect even in England
and America. Of the newer school Victor Schultze has been
the most prominent leader. He has done a considerable ser-
vice in stimulating interest and work in this field. A number
of students have devoted themselves to the study, and in gen-
eral the students of early Christian litearture have showed
appreciation of the importance of archaeology. The predomi-
nance of a polemic interest, and the zeal for novel interpreta-
22 INTB OD UC TION'
tions, has not affected favorably the value of their results.
Ficker has been editing a series of studies by younger
scholars: monographs which present a detailed account of a
limited theme and possess sometimes a certain value. Finally,
it is to Germany we owe the most solid as well as the most
numerous studies upon early Christian architecture ; G. Dehio
and H. Holtzinger are especially to be mentioned in this
connection.
It is natural that the British archaeologists should be chiefly
interested in the monuments which are furnished by their own
land — belonging to a period and a type quite distinct from the
Classical art we are here studying. But how generously the
Continental studies have been appreciated and utilized in Eng-
land, may be seen conspicuously in the production of Smith
and Cheetham's Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, and par-
ticularly in the fact that so many competent scholars could be
enlisted in the work.
With the widening of the field of discovery Koman scholar-
ship is losing something of the preponderance of authority
which it has hitherto enjoyed; and British and American ex-
plorers are among the first in exploiting the outlying regions
which may be expected to yield valuable monuments for our
study. For example, the Palestine Exploration has incident-
ally proved very valuable also for the discovery of Christian
monuments.
Strictly in the line of archaeology are the valuable researches
of Professor Ramsay, which are published in his Cities and
Bishoprics of Phrygia; and it is to be regretted that his geo-
graphical studies have too little relation to art to be noticed
in this book. In his St. Paul the Roman Citizen he shows
what may be done through archaeology to illuminate even the
history of the Apostles — a service which must be of special
interest to Protestant theology. He has brought to light,
however, a number of inscriptions of which we can take
cognizance, for among them is the most interesting of all
Christian epitaphs.
II
CHRISTIAN CEMETERIES
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ROMAN CATACOMBS
The word "catacomb" has a curious history and a very
doubtful etymology ; de Rossi takes it to be a hybrid word,
half Greek and half Latin, meaning " next the sepulchres " —
accubitorium is a late Latin word for tomb. The great number
of tombs on the via Appia is supposed to account for this
appellation, although they were so frequent along all the prin-
cipal roads that one hardly sees why this name should have
been used to distinguish one very limited region. But what-
ever was the original significance of the name, its further his-
tory is sufficiently clear. The word does not appear before
the end of the third century, and then not as the name of a
cemetery, but as a topographical designation {ad catacumbas) —
like many of the popular names for different quarters of the
suburbs {ad iwsiwi pileatuyn, ad clivum cucumeris, etc.) — for a
special region along the via Appia about the second mile from the
present walls. In process of time the name became expressly
associated with one of the cemeteries along that road, that of
S. Sebastian. This cemetery was one of the very few which
were known and accessible after the eighth century. With it
the pilgrims confused the traditions of the more important
cemeteries near the Appia, and in the ninth century the name
which was proper to this cemetery began to be employed for
all underground burying places indiscriminately.
The name which was original to, and distinctive of, the
Christian burial places was cemetery {coemeterium — kolixt]tyj-
ptov). It is sufficiently indicative of the Christian hope, for it
signifies a sleeping place. It denotes a whole congeries of
tombs rather than a single sepulchre, though it has this latter
meaning in the very rare instances of its pagan use. It was
23
24
CEMETERIES
equally apt to denote a surface buiying place or one beneath
the ground. There was no special designation for the whole
complex of the underground cemetery ; particular areas, espe-
cially the chambers which included the tomb of a martyr, were
called cryptce; ordinary chambers, c?(6/cf</a; the Classical name
hypogeum denoted especially an isolated and private sepulchral
chamber. The name ambidacrum is given by archaeologists to
the corridors, though there is no evidence of its ancient use.
Fig. 1. — Plan of part of the catacomb of Domitilla.
It is these narrow corridors or galleries, extending often to
great length and crossing at every angle, which are the charac-
teristic feature of the Roman catacombs, and give the impres-
sion not only of boundless extent, but of hopeless intricacy
(Fig. 1). In Rome the average width is less than a yard ; the
height is almost always above that of a man, and not infre-
quently very much greater. In the catacomb of S. Gennaro at
Naples the harder quality of the tufa permitted a very much
greater width (from three to ten yards), and the limestone in
NOMEX CLA TUBE 25
wliicli S. Giovanni at Syracuse is excavated permitted corridors
and cuhicula of a width which has no example in Rome.
■ It is along the walls of these corridors that the tombs were
excavated ; the name given them was sepulcrum or locus, though
the archaeologists have adopted the diminutive term localas.
The tomb is merely an oblong niche cut in the wall, just wide
and deep enough to receive the body. As the whole wall space
was utilized to tlie uttermost, the general appearance is that
of a series of shelves (Figs. 2, 4, 5). Graves were scimetimes
made under the floor itself. Odd spaces too short for adults
were often utilized for the loculi of children. The body was
sometimes embalmed in Oriental fashion ; but in general it was
simply clothed in a tunic and winding sheet, and covered with
a coating of plaster. This covering of plaster was probably
more effective than anything else in preserving the air of the
catacombs from contamination, though the locus itself was also
tightly sealed with a i:>late of stone (Fig. 18), or by several
tiles (Fig. 21). It was upon this covering the inscription was
cut or painted. In case there was no inscription some common
article belonging to the deceased or to his family was pressed
into the soft plaster and served to identify the tomb. A more
distinguished place of burial was afforded by the arcosolium
(Fig. 11), in which the opening was made, not from the side,
but from above, and usually under an arch. This style of
tomb permitted the burial of several bodies side by side ; such
a locus was described as bisomus, trisomus, etc., according as
there were places for two, three, or more bodies. The arch
and the wall above and below the tomb being plastered,
afforded room for painting, and apart from this there is rarely
any decoration in the corridors.
Here and there, generally in groups, there open out from
the corridors chambers of various size and shape {cuhicula),
which were designed as family burying places (Figs. 2, 5). In
general they were intended to be readily accessible ; the attach-
ments for the wooden doors are sometimes to be seen. But in
one case, at S. Domitilla, the entrance is by a hole at some
elevation from the ground, which was permanently closed by
a stone, after the likeriess of our Lord's tomb. These cham-
bers are of very various shape and size : square, rectangular,
polygonal. There is a very important round cubiculum,
26
CEMETERIES
cTuwiR'd by the sliat't of a lit/niiuiriuiK, in the region of S. Sotere
in S. Callistus. The ceiling is sometimes flat, sometimes domed.
The sepulchres — either the common locus or the arcosolium —
are excavated in the walls of the cubiculum in the same way as
in the corridors; or, if sarcophagi are used, they are ranged
against the walls or accommodated in niches.
Other crypts, though used likewise for burial, seem to have
been designed expressly for the celebration of Christian wor-
FiG. 2. — A cubiculum in the catacomb of Callistus, one of the so-called sacrament chapels.
Third century.
ship — particularly, one must suppose, of the eucharist. Not-
withstanding their limited size, they are rightly regarded as
subterranean chapels intended for a more or less public use.
They open generally with a broad entrance upon the corridor,
so that a number of worshippers might liave been accommodated
in the latter. The accommodation was sometimes still further
increased by a second chapel opening directly opposite the
principal one; it is supposed that this was occupied by the
women. An example of such a double chapel is the crypt of
Miltiades in S. Callistus ; it retains traces of the stone bench
which ran around the wall. One of the most ample and com-
NOMEN CLA T URE 27
plete of these subterranean basilicas is a crypt in the Ostrian
cemetery which is provided with a presbytery architecturally
separated from the nave, ending with an apse, an elevated seat
for the bishop, and a lower bench for the presbyters. Here
there are also lateral niches for the sacred utensils, and on
the other side of the corridor there is a corresponding chamber
for the women. The earliest of these chapels (ascribed to the
beginning of the second century), and the most interesting in
point of decoration, is the so-called Capella greca (Fig. 3) in
S. Priscilla. These crypts and chapels were nat infrequently
adorned architecturally with columns, capitals and cornices
worked in the tufa walls or done in marble ; but more com-
monly with painted decoration alone.
These early chapels, which are marked by great simplicity
in the means of decoration, must be distinguished from those
which were constructed after the peace of the church, when
the crypt of every famous martyr w^as transformed into a resort
for pilgrims and a place of public worship. To this end they
were sometimes enlarged (Fig. 5), often adorned with marble
and furnished with an episcopal chair, with altar and ciboriinn,
and with everything necessary for the celebration of the eu-
charist (Fig. 10). The neighboring corridors were enlarged and
strengthened with brickwork, and not infrequently a special
stairway was constructed to give ready access to the sacred
spot. With the increasing desire for burial near the saints —
ad martyres — corridors were cut and locuU accommodated on
all sides, so that the primitive aspect of the region was seri-
ously altered. This transformation of the historical crypts
was due above all to Pope Damascus, who embellished them
also with his metrical inscriptions.
Burial in the catacombs ceased in the year 410 with the in-
vasion of Alaric. This fact, which has been proved by de
Rossi, affords an important limit for the dating of both frescos
and inscriptions. The frescos which were added in the tifth,
sixth and seventh centuries adorn exclusively the tombs of
the martyrs, and they stand in sharp contrast with the more
primitive work. All of these signs of a late age in the recon-
struction and decoration of the martyrs' tombs led Bosio and
other early explorers to avoid the very regions which histori-
cally and artistically constitute the points of greatest interest,
28
CEMETERIES
and often prove to be the centre- of the original excavation.
The pilgrims have left records of their visits in the fjraffiti —
!
""T'""""^
r
-,^,...3
^•X
^0//L
Rli^^
,♦
' j^^^^^^^
(.■ .
j^k
^^^^
' /'^ /:)
j^^^^^M
'"''.'•'' d
Wf' '?lW
'^^^ «K
■ i
F ■ '^^
'■■J- -1
f . K
pt>^ \1
w.-m
\^
^
- 1"%
^^^H il^^l
. n ' '1
H ' -' '' '■
^^^^H ^ if ^* i3
^^^^^^H >- Ms ^ '^i^
^^
^^^■I' ^''flHI
^wL
y^MBpl
1 " » %%■ J^
^^Bir^* ^^^H^^Mfa^
L^^HBBHflfiHBiiLfi ^ ^9B'
■■
|^^^^^^^^^Bk^i^h| ^
Fig. 3. — The Capelhi greca in the catacomb of Priscilla. Middle of the second century.
names or exclamations scratched npon the plaster — which, are
often of great importance, and may serve even to identify the
crypts in which they are found.
FLAX 29
Many of the catacombs are quite simple in plan. Those at
Syracuse have ample and regular galleries flanked by large
cubicula; they are excavated on a single level, which lies only
slightly below the surface. Hardly more complex in construc-
tion is the catacomb of S. Gennaro at Naples. One broad corri-
dor runs from end to end of the hill under which the catacomb
is constructed ; close to it along its whole length runs a nar-
rower passage ; and from these there diverge at right angles
and at close intervals short galleries or cubicula. The smallest
of the Koman catacombs, that of S. Valentine, is even more
simple. It is excavated in a hill which is practically the ex-
tension of the Pincian along the via Flaminia. The galleries
were cut straight back from the steep hillside. The crypt of
S. Valentine (martyred in the reign of Claudius II., Gothicus)
opened directly upon the road, and behind it there was exca-
vated later a large chamber for religious services in honor of
the martyrs who were buried on the spot, and a few broad and
regular galleries for the accommodation of the tombs of those
wdio would be buried ad sanctos. On a higher level there is a
more extensive excavation, but one which is still quite simple
in plan : the low, narrow galleries cross one another usually at
right angles. One usually speaks of a descent into the cata-
combs, and an epitaph reveals that an early name for the
stairways was catabaticum (descent) ; but in this case one
must ascend along the face of the hill. And the case is by no
means unique, for the cemeteries were commonly excavated in
a hillside, or at least under a distinct rise of ground. This
choice was fixed -by the necessity of avoiding dampness and
serious inundation from rain water. It was therefore possible
to enter the cemeteries by a passage sloping gradually back
from the surface. The long steep stairs which descend directly
from above belong for the most part to the period after Con-
stantine and were constructed to furnish direct access to the
crypts of the martyrs.
But after all, for the Eoman catacombs simplicity of struc-
ture is the rare exception. Not only to one who is wandering
in their mazes, but even to one who studies their plan, they
seem involved in an inextricable confusion. This apparent
confusion is, however, explained, if not entirely resolved, when
one detects the fact that several cemeterial areas originally
30 CEMETERIES
distinct were later united in a single complex. The primary
excavation was probably obvious enough in plan ; the irregu-
larity of the galleries which meet at various angles was due
to the later necessity of utilizing all available space. For the
catacombs were not (according to the popular idea) illicit ex-
cavations, unknown to the law, and therefore unrestricted in
extent. They Avere distinctly circumscribed by the boundaries
of the superficial area allotted to them ; they were not free,
either in the earlier or the later period, to extend under neigh-
boring property whether public or private. Hence there were
express limitations to the agglomeration of separate cemeteries ;
the catacombs of Pretextatus and Callistus had only the via
Appia between them, but they were never joined in any way.
No less absolute were the natural restrictions; for the gal-
leries could be conveniently constructed only in a special qual-
ity of tufa, and in case the catacombs lay under the slopes of
different hills it was likely that communications could not be
made without descending to a level which would be frequently
inundated by water. There are obvious difficulties in the
strict observation underground of the legal limits imposed:
one knows little of the Eoman methods of mensuration ; but it
seems probable from the plans of the catacombs even as we
now have them that the first galleries along the level selected
were constructed all the way around the area which was at
the disposal of the cemetery. The limits were thus plainly
marked, and subsequent galleries ran roughly parallel to them.
The level was easily maintamecl by following the stratifications
of the tufa.
The impression of complexity in the Koman catacombs is
very greatly increased by the fact that they are seldom con-
fined to one level; in the catacomb of Callistus there are as
many as six different levels of excavation (Fig. 4). This, of
course, was prescribed by the necessity of utilizing all the
available room within the limits imposed by the superficial
area. But to this vertical extension of the excavation there
were also natural limits due to the water level and the nature
of the soil. The possibility of carrying out such excavations
as surprise us in the catacombs is due to the geological char-
acter of the Eoman campagna.
PLAN
31
The great plain which surrounds Rome is almost entirely
composed of a volcanic tufa — a mixture of pumice stone and
sand. It exhibits different characters according as these ele-
ments appear in various proportions ; but in general the differ-
ent sorts of tufa are sufficiently distinguished by three classes :
the lithoid tufa {peperino), which was employed for the wall
of Servius Tullius and is still used for construction ; the gran-
ular tufa; and the sand {pozzolana), which gives to Eoman
mortar and cement its tenacious character. It was in the
■51====- 1
Fig. 4. — Section of the catacomb of Callistus.
granular tufa the catacombs were excavated ; the lithoid pre-
sented insuperable difficulties to the excavation of narrow
passages, and in the sand a vertical wall could have been
maintained only by a facing of brick. This difference in the
character of the soil imposed natural limits to the extension of
the catacombs either laterally or vertically; and it explains
in part why the excavations on one level were more extensive
than on another, for not all qualities even of the granular tufa
were equally apt for the purpose.
We see from the above how unreasonable was the denial of
32 CEMETEIilES
the Christian orif^in of these huge excavations, or the opinion
that they are merely Roman sand pits (arenan'a) utilized by
the Christians ; for of the different sorts of tufa the granular
alone had no value as a material, and the Romans had, there-
fore, no object in quarrying it. The fact is that the literary
sources of history had not prepared us to accept such testi-
mony as the catacombs bore to the numerical and also to the
material and organized strength of the Church during the age
of persecution. It must be confessed that there was a certain
suggestion for the sand-pit theory in the fact that crypta are-
naria was not an uncommon designation for the underground
cemeteries. There was, of course, a certain similarity between
the two, but the differences also are very plainly marked. It
Avas a practical requisition that the galleries of the arenaria
should be broad enough for several laborers to work abreast, as
broad, in fact, as the safe support of the roof would allow : the
galleries of the catacombs on the contrary were broad enough
only for passage in single file. It is true, however, that arenor
ria are frequently found in connection with the cemeteries —
whether they were accidentally entered, or constructed on pur-
pose to provide room for the worthless material excavated
from the catacombs. It is evidently for this latter purpose
that the floors of the arenaria were often pierced by wells
which descended to the galleries of the catacomb which lay
below. For the removal of such material and for the provi-
sion of light and air the stairways were generally insufficient,
and perpendicular shafts (luminaria) were opened directly
from the surface and pierced sometimes through several floors
of the catacomb. There is no doubt that in times of acute
persecution — as for example in the third century when the
catacombs were confiscated and their ordinary entrances
watched — the Christians availed themselves of the arenaria
for secret access to their cemeteries, and, on occasion, for wor-
ship and refuge.
Equally at fault is the popular exaggeration of the extent
and significance of these Christian excavations. The idea is
still current in Italy amongst the x^f'oplt^- that the catacombs
surrounded the city with an uninterrupted network ; and that
they were connected by underground passages, on the one hand
EXAGGERATION OF THEIR EXTENT 83
with the basilicas within the walls, and on the other, with the
mountains and the coast. Underlying all such representations
is the notion that the whole system of excavation was
secret, that it was intended not only for purposes of burial,
but as a refuge for a hunted sect, as the ordinary place of
meeting and worship and even of abode. That such notions
conflict with the facts is evident from what has already been
said : it remains now to observe more in detail the actual ex-
Crj'pt of S. CfecUia, catacomb of Callistus. Third centur}-.
tent, the true use, and the legal status of the Christian ceme-
teries.
The location and distribution of the Roman catacombs was
determined in part by natural, in part by historical considera-
tions. As to the historical factor, Ave know only in general
that the cemeteries of the first, and even of the second century
must have been located within the suburban properties and
usually in connection with tlie family tombs of noble or
wealthy converts to the faith. Pagan tombs were built along
all the public roads which diverged from Rome ; but they were
especi?>Uy numerous and especially notable along the via
34
CEMETERIES
Appia, and it was along this road, or general!}' in this region,
that a number of the greatest of the Christian cemeteries were
located. The location of the Christian cemeteries in this region
may have been due in part to the popularity of burial along the
via xippia; but it is to be noted also that the Jewish colony was
from tlie first established in the corresponding quarter of the
city, and that Jewish catacombs have been found in this same
region. A considerable majority of the catacombs were located
along the roads which left the city on the southwest and west ;
Fig. 6. — a crypt in Cyrene.
that is, from the Aventine and Trastevere quarters, which
were the poorest and most crowded of the city. Along the
Appia were the cemeteries of Balbina, Callistus, Pretextatus,
and ad Catacumbas (S. Sebastian) ; on the via Ardeatina, the
whole complex which is represented by the cemetery of Domi-
tilla, the most extensive of all the catacombs ; on the via Osti-
ensis, the cemetery of Lucina (the burial place of S. Paul), as
well as those of Commodilla, of Thecla, and of Zeno ; on the
via Fortuensis, of Pontianus and of Pope Felix; on the via
Aurelia, the cemeteries of Pancratius, of Processiib^r.cl Mar-
ACTUAL LOCATIOX AXD EXTENT 35
tinianus, and of Calepodius. The Vatican cemetery, the bnrial
place of S. Peter, was on the via Cornelia, which, though it
was directed to the north, was in immediate communication
with the Trastevere. One must be careful, however, not to
exaggerate the predominance of the cemeteries which were
accessible from this side of the city. To the east of the
Appia we find on the via Latina three cemeteries which are
of but small importance ; on the via Labicana, the important
cemetery of Petrus and Marcellinus, and two others. On the
slope which faces the Sabine hills w^e find some of the most
important of the catacombs: on the via Tiburtina, that of
Cyriaca (S. Lorenzo), and on the opposite side of the road the
cemetery of Hippolytus; on the via Nomentana, the cemetery
of S. Agnes, and the Ostrian cemetery 5 on the via Salaria
nova the cemetery of Priscilla, and three of less importance;
and there are three also on the Salaria vetus. On the via
Flaminia there is only the third century cemetery of S. Valen-
tine. Of these cemeteries that of S. Callistus alone is com-
pletely excavated ; the sites of some are not precisely known ;
and the cemeteries of the Vatican and of Lucina have been
completely destroyed by the great basilicas wdiicli have been
erected over them in honor of the Apostles.
The Eoman law forbade burial within the walls of the city.
It was the Servian wall which marked the limit during the
period when most of the catacombs w^ere founded. The Aure-
lian wall was built about a mile beyond it, and the fact that
no Christian cemeteries are found within this circuit proves
that by the end of the first century the suburbs were too
closely inhabited to leave room for burial within the first mile.
The outside limit was determined by considerations of con-
venience, and as a matter of fact none of the Roman catacombs
are found beyond the third mile. Those which lie at a greater
distance belonged to the villages of the Campagna.
We have already seen in brief what were the natural re-
quirements to be sought in choosing the site of a catacomb ;
the conditions of a well-drained surface and of a proper quality
of tufa were so obvious that Michele Stefano de Rossi, who
brought to the aid of his brother's work his own knowledge as
geologist and engineer, was often able, by determining where
a catacomb ought to be, to discover w^iere it actually was. To
CEMETEBIES
Michele Stefano de Rossi is also due a careful computation of
the total length of the galleries of the catacombs ; it is founded
upon a calculation of the average development of the galleries
under a given square area of surface, and it gives as result
something over 550 miles. So great an extension of the gal-
leries was rendered possible by the several levels of excavation
which were worked at depths of from eight to twenty-five yards
beneath the surface.
THE FOSSORS
Such vast works as are represented by the Eoman catacombs
were not executed at haphazard ; they demanded some skilled
direction, not only for
the selection of sites,
but for the constant ex-
tension of the excava-
tion. And in fact the
excavators — fossores —
constituted a sort of
guild. To them was
committed the prepara-
tion of the dead for
burial, as well as their
actual interment ; but
to their office there
attached none of the
ignominy which made
contemptible the name
of those who performed
similar functions in the pagan community — the vespiUones.
On the contrary, they were proud of their title and inscribed
it upon their tombs as a mark of dignity and merit. In the
third century the fossors were actually reckoned among the
clergy as the lowest grade ; and in the fourth it appears (from
several inscriptions which speak of tombs bought from fossors)
that they had the general control of the cemeteries. On the
tombstones are often represented the tools of the fossor, and
in the frescos, the fossor at work (Fig. 7). How far the fos-
sors of the several cemeteries were united by their craft we
have no clear indication. It is to be noted, however, that the
Fig. 7. — Arcosolium of the fossor Diogenes, a fresco in
the catacomb of Callistus. Third century.
THE CATACOMBS AND THE TITLES 37
different catacombs, for all their similarity, are marked by
certain differences which indicate not only a separate history,
but an independent tradition in the style of decoration.
THE CATACOMBS AND THE TITLES
Besides the fossors, there must have been a higher authority
charged with the. general superintendence of the catacombs.
During the earliest x>eriod, while the cemeteries were still
private property and represented an extension of the family
tomb to include those who were of the same family in the
faith, we can only represent to ourselves that they were held
at the disposition of the noble owners. But when, with the
beginning of the third century, they became virtually, if not
legally, the corporate property of the Church, we cannot but
think of them in some strict relation to the regular ecclesiasti-
cal organization. And, in fact, Hippolytus, in his Philosophu-
mena, reports that about the year 197 the Koman Bishop
Zephyrinus appointed his deacon Callistus to the charge of
the ''cemetery." This is evidently the cemetery which still
bears the name of Callistus, though he himself was not buried
there ; and it is not difficult to see why this cemetery in par-
ticular should depend directly from the bishop, for it had
become — after the cemetery of the Vatican ceased to be used
for this purpose — the ordinary place of burial for the heads of
the Roman Church. We have evidence for the continuance
of this relation about a century later in an inscription which
recounts that a deacon of Marcellinus, with permission of that
pope, prepared for himself in the cemetery of Callistus a
double cuhiculam with arcosolia and lucernarium. On the other
hand, in the neighboring cemetery of Domitilla there was
found the following inscription : ALEXIVS ET CAPRIOLA
EECERVNT SE VIVI IVSSV AKCHELAI ET DVLCITI
PEESBB; that is to say, a certain husband and wife con-
structed this tomb in their lifetime with permission of the
Presbyters Archelaus and Dulcitus, who evidently exercised
the chief authority over this cemetery. They were probably
presbyters of the Titulus Fascioke, the parish church within
the walls, with which a number of epitaphs distinctly connect
this cemetery, the same church which has borne the name of
38 CEMETEBIES
SS. Nereus and Acliilleiis, since in the ninth century the
bodies of these saints were removed thither from the cemetery
of Domitilhi.
De Rossi has been able from inscriptions to establish the
connection between several of the cemeteries and particular
titles of the city, and the suggestion is obvious enough that
each parish church had its corresponding cemetery. This
arrangement may very well have been observed from the
beginning. Some of the titles are as old as the earliest use of
a private house for Christian worship. The Domus Ecdesice
took its special title from the name of the owner : — Domus or
Titulus Pudentis {Ecdesia Pudentiana as it was called later),
Praxedis, Equitli, etc. While the church was accommodated
in the house of a wealthy benefactor, the cemeteries may have
been excavated under his suburban villa, and the community
which worshipped in that title would naturally be the one to
use the cemetery associated with it.
In the Liber Pontijicalis it is recorded of Fabianus (shortly
after Callistus) : Hie regiones divisit diaconihxis et multas fdhri-
cas per coemeteria fieri iussit. Of the cemeterial buildings we
shall have to speak later ; as to the deacons, it is well known
that the Roman Church maintained the number seven, in imi-
tation of the " seven " who were originally appointed in Jerusa-
lem. By reason of the fewness of their number and their
close relation to the bishop they enjoyed an authority which
exceeded that of the presbyters, and the successor to the epis-
copate was usually taken from their number. The civil regions
of Rome were fourteen ; to each of the seven diaconal estab-
lishments, which were designed to administer to the temporal
wants of the Church, there must have been allotted two of the
civil regions. The titles of the city were twenty-five in num-
ber in the third centur}^ — -roughly tw^o of them to every civil
region. That they were charged not only with spiritual care
of the people and w^ith the more obvious parochial duties, but
with the administration of the cemeteries, we can infer from a
notice in the Liber Pontificcdis concerning Pope Marcellus, at
the very end of the period of persecution: XXV titulos in urbe
Pomana constituit quasi dioceses, propter baptisimim et po&niten-
tiam multorum qui convertebantur ex paganis, et propter sepul-
turas martyrum. " He instituted in the city of Rome
THE CATACOMBS AND THE TITLES 39
twenty-five titles as parishes, for the baptism and penitence
of the many who were converted from the pagans, and for the
burial of the martyrs." There are reckoned thirty-two public
cemeteries for Rome, — a number which precisely corresponds
with the sum of the twenty-tive titles and the seven deacon-
ries. It is not necessary to suppose a strict uniformity in the
distribution of the cemeteries, in such wise that the smallest
congregations had each one and the largest had no more ; but
there is sufficient proof of a general distribution amongst the
titles. Dionysius reorganized the cemeterial administration
(according to the Liber Pontijicalis) after Gallienus had revoked
the edict of his father which had prohibited meetings in the
cemeteries: Hie preshyteris ecdesias cUvisit et coemeteria et paro-
c/iias et dioceses constituit.
We learn that there were commonly two priests attached to
each title. Of these, one alone was the proper titular, and
the other his subordinate ; — as we learn from a letter of
S. Cyprian : Felix qui preshyterium suhministrabat sub Decimo.
The same system was maintained in Rome in the time of
Pope Damasus (as we learn from a passage by S. Ambrose, on
1 Tim. 3) : JNunc autem septem diaconos esse oportet et aliquantos
preshyteros ut bini sint per ecdesias — that there be two priests
for each church. This dual number of priests for each parish
is explained by the relation of the titular basilica to the
basilica which was connected with the cemetery. The number
of Roman churches early in the third century is indicated in a
passage of Optatus Milevitanus, in which he says that among
the forty or more basilicas the Donatists had no place where
they might meet. According to the testimony of Eusebius the
Roman Church had in the time of Cornelius forty-six priests
— a number which very well corresponds with the " forty or
more basilicas." Besides the twenty-five titles there were,
therefore, something like twenty-one cemeterial basilicas which
were in the charge of the parochial clergy, who took their
titles, however, not from the cemeteries, but from the basilicas
within the city. So much for the administration of the cata-
combs; the question of their legal tenure (a matter of even
greater interest) must be treated at large in another place.
The light which the study of the catacombs throws upon the
administration of the Roman Church has more than a merely
40 CEMETERIES
local interest, for from the lirst it was the Church in the Capi-
tol of the Empire which constituted the norm of ecclesiastical
government.
THE CHHISTIAN MODE OF BlIilAL
There is one (piestion wliich poses itself almost at the very
mention of the cata-combs : Why did the Christians resort to a
mode of burial so different from the prevalent custom of the
Graeco-Roman world ? There is certainly a problem here which
demands some explanation; but before all, one's first idea of
the singularity of the Christian mode of bui-ial must suffer
considerable reduction: all the catacombs are not Christian,
nor were all the Christian cemeteries subterranean. Even in
Rome the Vatican cemetery, which must have been used by
the Church since the burial of S. Peter, was chiefly on the sur-
face ; the nature of the rock did not admit of deep excavation,
the bodies were deposited in trenches after the same manner as
is customary to-day, or the sarcophagi were left exposed above
the surface of the soil. Throughout the Roman cemeteries,
burial on the surface rapidly overtook during the fourth
century, and by the beginning of the fifth it had quite super-
seded, burial in the catacombs.
In the East generally, where inhumation was commonly
practised, the Christian converts found in their creed no reason
to modify essentially the mode of interment or the type of
cemetery which was traditional to their particular race or
nation. In Egypt during the Roman rule the mode of burial
for pagan and Christian alike was of the simplest possible : the
body was merely buried in the dry sand, dressed in common
garb, and without sarcophagus, coffin, or shroud. In Syria,
according to national tradition, the character of the tombs was
very various. The commonest was a plain sarcophagus, all of
it buried except its rooflike lid, or a similar lid covering a
rock-hewn trench. But there were also chamber tombs hewn
in the rock and faced with a Greek porch or other architectural
ornament. The most characteristic Syrian type of sepulchre
was the tegurium, a pyramidal roof supported above a sarcopha-
gus by four pillars. In North Africa Christian burial was
always, so far as we know, in the surface soil. Surface ceme-
teries were not uncommon in Italy ; the most extensive remains
CHBISTIAN MODE OF BURIAL 41
are at Portogruaro (Julia Concordia) ; curious is the arrange-
ment of the great stone sarcophagi in groups of ten and twelve.
In the Northern countries the open air cemeteries greatly pre-
dominated,— in France, in the Khine country, in Dalmatia,
and in Istria. It would be going too far afield to describe the
various forms which the Christian tomb exhibits in different
lands. Such an account would almost constitute a treatise
upon ancient modes of sepulture, for the Christians generally
continued without scruple the customs of burial to which they
were used as gentiles.
r
L
J
Fig. S. — Sarcophagus in the catacomb of Priscilla. Second century.
On the other hand, catacombs are not confined to Kome and
Italy ; they are found in the Rhine country, e.g. at Cologne
and in other lands. Subterranean burial was probably
regarded as the most specifically Christian mode of interment.
It is particularly in the centres of Graeco-Roman civilization,
where cremation prevailed, that the Christian mode of burial
seems in sharpest contrast with gentile custom. There is no
doubt that the practice of inhumation was prescribed by the
new faith and obligatory upon all the faithful ; with a naive
conception of the doctrine of the Resurrection cremation seemed
irreconcilable. There was also a strong repulsion to burial
amongst heathen. It was therefore in the nature of the case
that Christians must be buried, and that they must be buried
together. As for the matter of burial, it was by no means
unknown even among the Romans. In the Laws of the Twelve
Tables burial and burning were both contemplated, and burial
was mentioned first. Some of the great Roman families — like
the Scipios — maintained the early tradition, burying their dead
in sarcophagi in the family crypt surmounted by a monument.
42
CEMETERIES
In the third century the custom of inhumation rapidly spread
— whether through the influence of Christian example, or
through the popular adoption of Oriental cults and fashions. .
From this period date the richly carved
pagan sarcophagi. Kome therefore pre-
served in some measure the traditions
of underground burial which were de-
rived immediately from the Etruscans.
The Etruscan tombs, with their numer-
ous chambers and their sculptured and
painted decoration, present a most strik-
ing analogy to the Christian catacombs.
But these tombs were derived in turn
from the Phoenician custom, which was
disseminated widely — and no doubt
especially in Judea — by this active
merchant people.
The nearest analogy to the Christian
catacombs is furnished by the under-
ground cemeteries of the Jews, which
have been discovered at Eome. One of
these on the via Appia is accessible to
the public and may conveniently be
visited along with the catacombs of
Callistus and Domitilla. One will notice
certain differences of construction, such
as distinguish even the different Chris-
tian catacombs from one another; but
there is the same arrangement of gal-
leries and culncida, the same method of
accommodating the tombs, the same
decoration in paint and plaster ; and
j^^ ^^ ^ ^ ^@1 in general, except for the presence of
"^^ Jewish formulas and symbols and for
the absence of Christian, one would see
no reason to distinguish them from
Christian cemeteries of the Roman type. They can none of
them claim so ancient a foundation as the Christian ; but they
suggest nevertheless, and plainly enough, that the origin of the
Christian mode of burial is to be sought in Jewish custom. It
Fig. 9. — Lead coffin from Saida,
Phoenicia. Fourth century.
WOE SHIP IX THE CATACOMBS 43
is not unreasonable to credit in particular a considerable influ-
ence to the memory of the rock-hewn tomb in which the body
of our Lord was laid.
We must recognize that the Christian catacombs w'hen com-
pared with ]3agan monuments of similar character present no
essential ditference of type : it is only by reason of their great
extent that they strike us as something altogether strange and
unparalleled. The original Christian hypogeuni (the nucleus of
all the catacombs) consisted in a group of crypts connected by*
short galleries, and its likeness to Etruscan and Oriental tombs
is so obvious that the question of origin need hardly be raised.
The w^ay of subterranean burial having once been struck out,
the subsequent complexity and extent followed as a matter of
course upon the rapid increase of the Church. De Eossi has
observed that no essential distinction can be drawn between the
Christian catacombs on the one hand, and Phoenician, Etruscan,
and Jewish tombs on the other ; except that in the former the
tombs were always sealed so as to permit visits to the cemetery,
while in the latter they were always open.
WORSHIP IX THE CATACOMBS
This single peculiarity of the Christian cemetery is to be
referred to the custom of holding religious services within the
crypts, not only at the time of the deposition of the body,
but on the anniversary of the death or burial. S. Augustine
says expressly that the eucharistic sacrifice was offered at the
tomb, and he mentions it in particular at the deposition of his
mother. Among the crypts of the catacombs there are many
which cannot but be recognized as veritable underground
chapels, which were evidently constructed expressly for wor-
ship, even though they were incidentally utilized for burial, or
primarily represented the tomb of a saint.
Mention has already been made of a chapel of the third cen-
tury in the Ostrian cemetery which presents substantially the
scheme of the church edifice as it appeared after the Peace of
the Church. There we see the apse and the apsidal arch, with
the episcopal chair in the centre and the presbyters' bench on
each side. We have to suppose that a wooden altar was
placed before the chair. The presbytery is distinctly sepa-
44 CEMETERIES
rated from the nave by the pillars which support the arch.
The chair carved in tufa is a peculiarity of the ostrianum, and
it is repeated there very frequently. In case there is no apse,
or the apse is occupied by a tomb of the arcosoUum type, the
chair is found beside the tomb (the stone covering of which
probably served for the holy table), or it is located at the
middle of the side waU. The arrangement of these chapels
seems to indicate that the custom of celebrating the Eucharist
was already substantially developed as it is at present ; that
the presbyter alone stood (or perhaps sat) at the holy table,
and the communicants approached it only at the moment of
communion.
In some of the earlier chapels, however, we seem to have a
witness to more primitive custom. For example, the so-called
capelJa greca (Fig. 3), which belongs to the beginning of the
second century, though it terminates in an apse and has two
deep lateral apses in the form of a transept, has no special
seat for the priest or bishop. One will hardly be inclined to
lay any stress upon the cross shape which the chapel actually
presents, for the apses are nothing more than broad tombs
ad arcosoUum, and there is no distinct place indicated for
altar, presbytery, or nave. Besides the rich decoration there
is only one thing which distinctly marks it as a place for
public worship ; that is, the tufa bench which runs along one
side and is practically continued on another by the surface of
the tomb under the central apse. One must imagine a wooden
table carried in upon occasion, and one cannot but see in this
whole disposition an arrangement for the seating of the com-
municants at the eucharistic table according to the earliest
Christian custom at the breaking of bread. And, in fact, on
the arch of the central apse, Wilpert has lately discovered, by
removing the calcarious deposit which covered the wall, an
eucharistic scene (Fig. 74) which may very well represent
what the artist himself had witnessed in this chapel (see
p. 227).
When the custom which we see portrayed in this picture had
to be abandoned on account of the multitude of communicants,
and the congregation could no longer sit about a common table,
it is natural to suppose that the priest retained his old position,
seated beside the tomb (as is indicated by the chairs of the
WORSHIP IX THE CATAC03IBS 45
Fig. 10. — Papal crypt in the catacomb of Callistus. Gestured a- it w a.s iu the
fourth century.
46 CEMETERIES '
ostn'a)un)i),Sind not standing, according to the later 'ashion, with
his back to the people. It has been commonly claimed, and
too readily allowed, that all the tombs ad arcosoUum were
expressly constructed, or at least commonly used, for the cele-
bration of the Eucharist. In olden time they were supposed
to be the mark of a martyr's grave. In view of the modern
practice which has reduced the altar of the church to a mere
shelf against the wall, this supposition seems natural enough.
But in an age when the primitive conception of the altar as the
common table was still preserved, when the very position of
the altar between the priest and the people still expressed
this idea, the eucharistic use of these so-called table tombs,
in the manner which is commonly supposed, is very far from
obvious. Furthermore, the frequent and practically private
Eucharists which this view implies are hardly to be recon-
ciled with the jealousy of the Koman bishop for his preroga-
tive as the proper dispenser of the Eucharist — a jealousy
which went so far that the consecration of the Eucharist was
not allowed even in the churches, without the presence of the
express mandate of the bishop, and the congregations were
obliged to wait for the consecrated elements which were car-
ried to them by the deacons from the episcopal altar. There
were doubtless " private services in the catacombs, — in the
family cubicula, and at the burial of the humblest disciple, —
but it is to be supposed that the services in the chapels, and more
particularly at the graves of the martyrs, had distinctly a public
character, and was representative of the whole Church, even
if but few worshippers could convene. The episcopal chair (for
example in such a chapel as that we have described in the
Ostrian cemetery) clearly implies the bishop's presence.
The catacombs were therefore used, and in a measure
expressly constructed, for public as well as for private wor-
ship. But the extent of their public use has been singularly
exaggerated, in clear contradiction to the witness of the monu-
ments themselves. It is popularly supposed that they were
a regular resort for the assembly of the Church during the
centuries of persecution. But as a matter of fact few of the
chapels could accommodate as many as fifty persons, and even
if we take account of the neighboring corridors and cubicula the
THE ABE A AND ITS BUILDINGS 47
number of worshippers could hardly exceed one hundred, while
the catacombs themselves prove that the membership of the
Roman Church in the third century was counted by the tens of
thousands. We shall see in another place that the pictured
decoration of the catacombs referred predominantly, if not
exclusively, to the themes which were associated with death
or rather with the Christian hope which illuminated it. And
it must be recognized that the religious services which were
ordinarily held in the subterranean chapels were expressly
associated with the funeral offices and with the memory of the
departed. One can, indeed, readily imagine that the catacombs
proved often a safe and welcome resort in seasons of severe
persecution when public worship may have been impossible
elsewhere, and there is good reason to credit the accounts of
such meetings, as they are reported in the lives of the saints,
though this use w^as doubtless exceptional.
COXSTRUCTIOXS ABOVE GROUND
The notion that the Church adopted subterranean burial to
protect the tombs from the desecration they must have suf-
fered had they been publicly known, or to hide from the state
the names or numbers of its members, rests upon a complete
ignorance of the sacred X->rotection which was accorded by the
Roman law to every sepulchre, and it stands opposed to the
fact that the catacombs were, in fact, not secret. The confisca-
tion of the Christian cemeteries under Valerian (258) and Dio-
cletian (303), and their subsequent restitution under Gallienus
and Maxentius, as well as the edict of Milan (313), which
restored to the Christians {" ad jus corporis eorum ") the
churches and cemeteries which belonged to them, proves that
the catacombs were not only known to the authorities, but also
clearly recognized as the corporate property of the Church.
Nor was there, indeed, any attempt to hide the catacombs ; the
original entrances (a number of which have been rediscovered)
faced the public roads, and each faqade doubtless bore an
inscription indicating the extent of the cemetery and the name
of the owner of the property.
The area must have been marked by distinct boundaries and
devoted to the cemeterial structures which Christian as well
48
CEMETERIES
as pagan custom required as adjuncts to the tomb. There is
nothing to inform us by what term the Christians in Rome dis-
tinguished the superficial area from their subterranean excava-
tions ; the word '^ cemeter}^ " referred equally to both. It is this
broad significance of the word which has given rise to the
notion that the Christians sometimes actually retired to live
in the catacombs. The LWer Fontijicalis, in the life of Libe-
rius, says : eoclem tempore (Constantius) misit et revocavit Libe-
lium (le ccemeterio beatce Agnes ubi sedebat; and in the life of
Fui. 11.
Boniface I., habitavit Bonifacius in ccemeterio sanctce Felicitatis
martiris via Salaria. By dwelling " in the cemetery " is evi-
dently meant, in some house connected with the cemeterial
chapels or basilicas, or perhaps in the villa under which the
cemetery may have been originally excavated.
In Africa the superficial cemetery was called an area. In
several places in Italy the name hortiis (garden) was applied
to the cemeteries, and this word is sufficiently suggestive of
the appearance of the place. The area was surrounded by a
hedge or wall, and it was planted with cypresses and en-
SURFACE BURIAL 49
livened with flowers as are the cemeteries of to-day. Traces
of tae wall have been discovered at S. Callistus, and the wall
about the cemetery of Cyriaca in agro Ver^no (which is the
present camjm santo of Rome) was adorned in part by porches
on its inner side. Even if these constructions are subsequent
to the Peace of the Church, they no doubt represent substan-
tially the early mode of marking the boundaries of the hortus.
Within the garden were constructed a number of buildings
for various uses. Among them were the cellcB or memorice
of the martyrs, which in some respects took the place of the
monumental tombs of the pagans. They were, however, in-
tended rather for use than for display ; and they were spe-
cially adapted for worship or for the celebration of the funeral
agape. Above the cemetery of Callistus two chapels of this
character still exist, and one of them has lately been restored.
They each have three apses, which was a common feature of
the cemeterial chapel. After the Peace of the Church, great
basilicas were erected above all the cemeteries, in honor of the
Apostles and martyrs who were buried below. Besides the
Apostolic basilicas, those of S. Lorenzo, S Sebastian, and S.
Agnes have alone been continuously in use ; but the basilica
of S. Petronilla has recently been discovered and restored, and
enough remains of others to mark at least their position and
plan.
The basilica erected in the fourth century in memory of S.
Valentine presents an interesting peculiarity : as the steepness
of the hill made it impossible to include the tomb of the saint
within the church, the body was removed and placed under
the altar of the church, which was built beneath the hill.
This is perhaps the only instance of the translation of a body
during the fourth century; so great scruple was felt about
disturbing the body of a saint that the cemeterial basilica had
often to be half buried in the earth (as is S. Agnes and S.
Petronilla), cutting through several floors of the catacomb in
order to accommodate the altar immediately above the tomb.
But the most striking peculiarity in this case is the imitation
catacomb constructed beneath the church. The tribune was
raised about four feet above the nave, and behind the front
wall of this platform there was constructed a narrow gallery
(like those of the catacombs, but lined with marble) which
50 CEMETERIES
might be entered at either end by a descent of a few steps
from the side aisles. In the middle of this corridor and di-
rectly beneath the altar was a small crypt in which reposed
the body of the martyr. This monument throws a most in-
teresting light upon the history of the crypt or eonfessio which
is so marked a feature of Italian churches (see p. 164).
With the reign of Constantine burial in the subterranean ceme-
teries began to grow less and less frequent, and with the invasion
of Alaric (410) it ceased altogether. The tombs which were
constructed in the surface soil were at Eome predominately
of a single type : a narrow trench lined with brick, and often
deep enough to contain ten bodies laid one above another and
separated by plates of stone. Such graves have been dis-
covered above many of the Eoman cemeteries : at S. Callistus
they may be seen grouped about the chapel of S. Sixtus.
From this it was an easy step to burial within the atrium of
the cemeterial basilicas ; and when, by reason of the barbarian
invasions, the surface cemeteries without the walls were ex-
posed to outrage, the city churches became the centres of new
cemeteries ; — and all the more readily because the city itself
was in large measure depopulated.
THE AGAPE
But to return again to the cemeteries of an earlier age,
before the Peace of the Church. The cemeterial gardens con-
tained not only buildings designed for a distinctly religious
use, but also halls for the agape, habitations for the curators,
fossors, etc. The pagan burying places contained (beside the
monument, or perhaps within it) rooms for various uses, and
chiefly the hall or schola for the funeral feasts, which were
celebrated annually and were provided for by an endowment
which was inalienable like the monument itself. The Christians,
too, had in the funeral agape a custom which demanded just
such rooms, and it is probable that the earliest buildings con-
nected with the catacombs were designed for this purpose. The
original vestibules (as for instance that of S. Priscilla) may very
well have served this use. The vestibule of the Flavian hypogeum
(S. Domitilla), belonging to the first century, constitutes, how-
ever, an unique instance of a room obviously constructed for the
THE AGAPE
51
agape. The large tridimum retains traces of the stone bench
which once surrounded it. A smaller room at the end is decorated
in fresco, and was occupied — we may suppose — by the family.
Adjoining it is the kitchen, in which were found various
utensils and large amphori3e for the wine. At the other end
is a well and a cistern. This hall is only in part underground ;
it is constructed of the finest brickwork, with an ornamental
faqade covering the approach to the cemetery, and it had
originally a richer front upon the road.
The Christian agape presents an interesting study, and one
link in its history is only to be explained by the monuments
of the catacombs.
The agape was the
earliest form in which
Christian charity was
manifested toward
the poor of the
Church; it was a
feast in which all,
rich and poor, shared
alike from the com-
mon stock. It was
originally the supper
which preceded the
Eucharist. Various
grave disorders, con-
nected with the agape, but especially the breach of the prin-
ciple of charity and brotherhood, obliged S. Paul to regu-
late the eucharistic practice of the Corinthian Church. We
may suppose that his settlement of the matter amounted to
a definite separation of the Eucharist from the agape, though
the change was not accomplished everywhere at the same
time. The agape continued to maintain its place as an or-
dinary feature of the celebration of the Lord's Day; but in
consequence of this separation, the Eucharist was celebrated
early in the morning and the agape in the evening. The
letter of Pliny to the Emperor Trajan about the Christians of
Bithynia helps us to realize how, under stress of the suspi-
cion of the Imperial authorities, the celebration of the agape
as an ordinary function of the Church had to be relinquished.
Fig. 12.
Tombstone with graffito, in the Museo
Kircheriano.
62 CEMETEBIES
And we can readily represent to ourselves how it might still
be legally continued as a funeral feast at the cemeteries, since
association for this object was permitted by Koman law. At
all events, the agape as we know it after the second century
had become distinctly a funeral feast, and it is not unlikel}^
that the pagan practice had some influence in determining its
form as well as insuring its continuance. Its similarity to
the Roman silicernium was, indeed, very great ; and it is not
to be wondered that j)agan writers drew attention to the fact.
The differences, however, were also well marked; and the
Christian apologists were prompt to point them out. S.
Augustine, in reply to Faustus the Manichean, says, " Our
agapes feed the poor " — a testimony which proves that the
feast had not lost its original character as a charity. By the
fifth century the refrkjeriam, which in the agape was provided
for the poor, was accounted a suffrage for the spiritual refn'ge-
rium of the departed in whose memory the feast was given. The
agapes which were celebrated on the feasts of the martyrs
were provided at the expense of the Church or by the offerings
of the devout. In the case of private persons an annual agape
was often established by a bequest of the deceased or celebrated
at the expense of his family.
We have seen that the custom was continued to the time of
S. Augustine ; but it suffered serious change in form, and was
attended by grave abuses which finally led to its abolition.
Julian the Apostate was obliged to acknowledge the moral dif-
ference between the pagan and the Christian custom. But S.
Augustine, referring to the agapes which were daily celebrated
in the atrium of S. Peter's, says that there were daily examples
of drunkenness ; and in another place he exclaims, " Now
drunkards persecute the martyrs with cups, whom then the
mad persecuted with stones." Nevertheless the feasting of the
poor was continued at S. Peter's, in a hall specially appropri-
ated to the purpose, till the destruction of the old basilica.
Probably by the end of the fifth century the agape had become
dissociated from the cemeteries, and again associated in a cer-
tain way with the Eucharist at the martyrs' festivals in the
basilicas. With this change it had quite lost its early form.
In Africa, in the time of S. Augustine, it was the custom upon
the festivals to deposit at the graves of the martyrs, or by their
LEGAL TENURE OF THE CEMETERIES 53
altars in the basilicas, gifts of bread, wine, and other food to be
distributed to the poor. His mother, S. Monica, at the first
festival which occurred after her arrival at Milan, went early in
the morning to the church with her basket filled with the pious
gifts she had been accustomed to offer in Africa, not knowing
that S. Ambrose had abolished the custom. The ostiarius for-
bade her entrance into the church ; '^ and henceforth," as S.
Augustine says, " she carried to the tombs of the martyrs, in-
stead of a basket of fruit, a heart full of pure desires." The
example of S. Ambrose was soon followed everywhere; but a
vestige of the agape still remains in the offerings in kind or
in money which is made for the poor at the celebration of the
Eucharist.
LECxAL TENURE OF THE CEMETERIES
The funeral agapes are closely connected with another ques-
tion of even deeper interest and of broader significance for the
understanding of the legal position and organization of the
Church during the centuries of persecution. That is, the ques-
tion as to the nature of the tenure of church property, which de
Eossi would solve — so far at least as the cemeteries are con-
cerned — by the hypothesis that the Church was organized, and
by law recognized, as a burial society, and as such enjoyed legal
protection at the same time that it was as a religious society
prohibited.
Before examining this theory it is well to take account of the
private tenure of church property, which probably continued till
the end of the second century. The Koman law, which sanc-
tioned the slaughter of the Christian martyrs, rigorously pro-
tected their tombs. jSTo formality was required, nor any priestly
consecration, to put a tomb under the protection of the law.
The legal maxim was : Religiosum locum unusquisque sua volun-
tate facit, clum mortuum infert in locum suum (" Each of his
own will constitutes a religious spot when he introduces in his
property a dead body "). The few square feet of ground which
covered the grave were by this mere act set apart from the rest
of the property as a locus religiosus, which might not be in any
wise alienated from the use to which it was dedicated. It was
not thereby constituted strictly a locus scicer, which demanded a
special consecration, but it was nevertheless placed under the
54 CEMETEBIES
tutelage of the Pontifex Maxiiniis, whose permission was re-
quired for any change in its disposition. The punishment
attached to violation of a sepulchre was deportation to an
island, or forced labor in the state mines, according to the social
rank of the offender. The same protection which was accorded
to the grave itself was extended to the monument which adorned
it, to the surrounding ground which was allotted to it, to the
buildings devoted to the funeral feasts, and to any other prop-
erty annexed to it for its maintenance. It was common to
indicate upon the cippi which marked the boundaries, or in the
inscription of the monument itself, the extent of the ground
which was devoted to the tomb. The formula was : in /route
ptedes XV in agro pedes XII — "along the road 15 feet, in
depth (in the field) 12 feet." The destination of the monu-
ment was also expressly stated in the inscription. For ex-
ample, sibi et suis — "for self and family " ; or, "for himself
and his freedmen " ; or, for those who stood in any given
relation to the proprietor. The tomb was commonly a family
monument; and, with the restrictions which have been noted,
it constituted a family pro^^erty for the burial of succeeding
generations.
It is easy to realize how a wealthy Christian, who gave his
house wdthin the city for the worship of the Church, might
receive the bodies of the early martyrs in his private tomb,
and without relinquishing his private tenure of the property
might allow it to be recognized as the burial-place for all the
brethren who worshipped in his house. Such w^as in fact the
tenure by which church property was held till about the begin-
ning of the third century. The great extent of the cemeteries
was not inconsistent with private ownership. The area attached
to pagan tombs was sometimes considerable, and the Christian
practice of subterranean excavation reduced the necessity for
great superficial extension. It is calculated that the primitive
nucleus of S. Callistus — that is the part attached to the crypt
of Lucina — lay under an area which measured only 100 feet in
fronte and 180 in agro ; and yet in this region t. ere can still
be counted 800 sepulchres.
It is not unlikely that some of the cemeteries may have been
held by private title throughout the whole period of pe/secution.
This supposition has been relied upon to explain the *:act that
Pill VAT E TENURE 55
aboi-t the end of the third century the cemetery of Callistus
suddenly ceased to be used as the burial-place of the popes,
who, beginning with Marcellinus, were buried instead in the
cemetery of Priscilla. Marcellinus suffered martyrdom in the
year 304, the year following the edict of Diocletian which con-
hscated the corporate property of the Churcli. The papal
cemetery of Callistus must have been the first to be struck by
this act, and burial in it must have been rendered at once im-
possible. On the other hand, one may readily conceive that
the cemetery of Priscilla may have continued to be held in
Fig. 13. — Fresco in a crypt in Cyrene.
private title by the family of Pudens, or by the Acilii Glabi-
riones, and was exempted from confiscation. There, at all
events, Marcellinus was buried, and other tombs dating from
the same period of confiscation have been discovered.
The primitive titles by which all the cemeteries were known
throughout the age of persecution Avere the personal or family
names of the original possessors ; it was not till after the
Peace of the Church that they were designated by the names
of the principal martyrs who were buried in them. A topo-
graphical designation was often employed for the catacombs,
and served to confuse still further their nomenclature. For
66 CEMETEBIES
example, the Coemeterium Poutiani (the name of the founder)
took the name of SS. Abdon and Sennen, or (the topographical
designation) ad ursuni pileatum; the primitive title of the cem-
etery in which S. Peter found burial is unknown, and the place
is best known even to-day by the topographical name in
Vaticano.
As long as the churches and cemeteries were held in private
title their legal status was perfectly obvious. Nor is there a,ny
problem raised by the undoubted fact that after the Peace of
the Church all ecclesiastical goods were recognized as the cor-
porate property of the Church and were held as such by the
bishop. But already during the age of persecution church
property had generally ceased to be held in private hands, as
is proved by the edicts of confiscation and by other evidence
which has been mentioned above. And it seems as if the ten-
ure of church property was then precisely the same as we
know it after the fourth century ; for when after confiscation it
was returned to the Church, the imperial edict designated the
bishops as the holders of it. The same state of affairs is
proved not only for Rome and Italy, but for the provinces;
and it commenced with the beginning of the third century. It
must be admitted that, under whatever fiction the property
was held, it was actually recognized by the State as the prop-
erty of the Church. This does indeed pose a very serious
problem : How was it possible that the State recognized the
Christian community as a legal entity and protected it in the
possession of its property, while the Church, as a religious in-
stitution, was prohibited, and even the individual profession of
Christianity was punished by death ? Whatever may be the
explanation, the fact itself cannot but put in a new light the
situation of the Church under the Empire ; and if the catacombs
furnish monumental proof of numerous martyrdoms and of
persecutions of which there is no other evidence, they also
serve to prove that the Church must have enjoyed long periods
of prosperity and of immunity from attack, during which,
though it remained in law an illicit religion, it was shielded
by the executive.
The hypothesis which de Rossi has proposed to account for
the legal status of the cemeteries has been so readily and so'
widely accepted that it requires a presentation at some length.
THE BURIAL SOCIETIES 57
In brief, however, it is simply this : that in order to obtain
legal protection in the possession of its property the Church
had itself recognized in law as a burial society. The position
of pagan burial societies under the Empire was remarkable,
indeed unique, and much has been learned about them from
inscriptions. The burial societies, as first organized toward
the end of the Eepublic, had a purely practical aim. The
Fig. 14. —Decoration in stucco, ceiling of a ciypt near the via Latiiia.
poorer classes, who were unable to provide a family tomb,
were obliged to resort to cooperation to insure a place for their
ashes and to meet the expense of the funeral. The members
of these societies paid monthly dues and were assured a niche
in the common columbarium. Special donations established
funeral feasts upon the anniversaries of the death of the bene-
factors. These organizations had sometimes a broader scope,
being practically mutual benefit societies; and, as they met
58 CEMETERIES
regularl}^ for the transaction of business and for the celebra-
tion of the funeral feasts, they must always have established
an important social bond between the memlDers. The member-
ship was composed of the slaves of a particular estate, of the
artisans of a particular trade, or of people who were associated
in some equally natural wa}^ Such societies were frequently
founded by the donation of a piece of ground, or of a tomb, on
the part of some wealthy benefactor. Before the second cen-
tury the burial societies had seldom any expressly religious
associations : they were designated by the name of the patron,
or by a description of their membership. But about the time
of Hadrian they began to assume a religious character, being
sometimes designated by the names of the particular divinities
to whose cult they were devoted.
The burial societies must be regarded as an instance of a
general tendency which was showed in the organization of
trade guilds and associations of various sorts among the poorer
classes. Such guilds became common in the latter years of the
Eepublic, and they greatly increased under the Empire and
with the growth of tyranny. The meetings of all such guilds
were at first liberally allowed ; but from the reign of Trajan
they were jealously regarded as possible centres of xDolitical
sedition, and the right of meeting {jus coeundi) was denied to
all save the funeral societies. Until the end of the second
century even this single exception extended only to the
burial societies of the Capital ; Septimius Severus permitted
them throughout the Empire. The members (sodales) were
allowed not only to organize for the purpose of procuring a
common burial-place; but — as a necessary means to this end
— to meet monthly within the city for the conduct of their busi-
ness and the collection of the monthly dues, which were depos-
ited in a common chest (area). The societies were governed
by their own statutes (lex collegii) under the public law. An
interesting set of statutes of this sort was discovered in 1816
at Lanuvium (Civita Lavinia). It is the constitution of a col-
legium of slaves established in the year 136. After naming the
date of foundation and the place of reunion, it fixes the monthly
dues (which like the offerings of the Christians were not only
in money but in kind), establishes fines and penalties (among
them the refusal of burial to such as had committed suicide,
THE BVRIAL SOCIETIES 59
and to such also as had not paid their dues), it gives even the
menu of the funeral feasts and a list of the dates upon which
they were regularly to be held. This ordo cmnarum is given
in the following form : —
VIII idits Marlias Ccesenni . . . patris.
*******
V leal. Dec. natali Antinoi.
*******
XIX Kal Ian natali Ccesenni Rujini patroni municipi.
If, as de Rossi remarks, we substitute for these names a Callis-
tus, an Agnes, a Csecilia, we have the primitive list of the
minor Christian festivals.
One cannot fail to observe how close in many respects was
the parallel between some of the practices of the Church and
those of the burial societies. De Rossi has drawn attention
to the coincidence between the language of Tertullian and the
rescript of Septimius Severus, " But it is permitted to the
poor to pay monthly dues, provided they meet but once a
month "; — so far the Digest (XLVIL 22, No. 1). In much
the same terms Tertullian {Apol. 39) saj^s of the Christians,
"Each one contributes his due upon a certain day of the
month, or as much as he will, if he is willing to give anything,
and if he is able."
The hypothesis of de Rossi seems to be confirmed by a
Christian inscription which was found in Algiers near the site
of the ancient Csesarea ]Mauritanea : —
AREAM AT (ad) SEPVLCRA CVLTOR YERBI CONTVLIT
ET CELLAM STRVXIT SVIS CVXCTIS SVMPTIBVS
ECLESI.E SANCT.E HAXC RELIQVIT MEMORIAM
SALVETE FRATRES PVRO CORDE ET SIMPLICI
EVELPIVS VOS SATOS SANCTO SPIRITV
ECLESIA FllATRVM HVXC EESTITVIT TITVLVM • M • A • I • SEV-
ERIANI C • V • EX IXG • ASTERI.
According to this, a Christian, Evelpius, " a worshipper of the
Word," had founded a sepulchral area, with a chapel icella)
60
CEMETEBIES
constructed within its limits, which he leaves to the "holy
Church." The inscription having been broken, the community
restored it. Ecdesia fratrum (" Church of the brethren ") might
then have been the name of the burial societ}^ which is sup-
posed to have stood for the Church ; or perhaps it was called
" ColIegiiDH cultoram Verhiy
Another argument is foinid in the so-called Philocalian
catalogue, which contains, among other things, the dates of the
burial of the Roman popes
from 254 to 354 — a list
wdiich seems to have been
derived from the same source
as the parallel catalogue of
the prefects of Rome, v/hich
must have been extracted
under Liberius from the Ar-
chives of the city. AVe know
that the burial societies, in
order to obtain legal recogni-
tion, had to present to the
authorities the name of their
presiding officer, which in
the case, of the Christian
communities was of course
the bishop. It has been
argued, therefore, that the
Archives preserved the names
of the bishops of Rome as
the presidents of the Chris-
tian burial society. It is not claimed that the Church through-
out the Empire was represented as a single society ; it is rather
supposed that the Christian community in each city constituted
a particular society (or perhaps several), and gave the authori-
ties no reason to suspect the ties which bound them together.
For the reason that this hypothesis has been so generally
accepted, and in particular because it has been made the
basis for the most fantastic attempts to derive the very organi-
zation of the Church from the norm of the collegia temu'orum,
it is necessary to call attention to the fact that it is still an
hypothesis, and that, plausible as it is, it is not definitely
Ihiul
THE BURIAL SOCIETIES 61
proved either by literary or monumental evidence. *So far as
the catacombs are concerned, they have hardly any bearing
upon the subject, except to suggest the problem which this
theory is intended to solve.
Duchesne objects to this theory that it is neither sufficiently
proven, nor in itself altogether plausible. He finds it easier to
believe that the Church was able through the tolerance of such
emperors as Commodus to possess its collective property in its
own name. He suggests that even if it could be established
that the registers of the prefecture had been consulted for
the consular dates of the " depositions " of the popes, it
would follow only that the prefecture recognized the Christian
community and its chiefs, and not that it recognized them
under the fiction of a burial society. " In order that the
churches could have been made to accept a fiction such as that
which would have transformed them officially into burial so-
cieties, it would have been necessary : 1st, that they "had been
willing, wdiich is neither proved nor easily reconcilable with
the horror of Tertullian ^ and of S. Cyprian- for this sort of
fraternity ; 2d, that the police had consented to ignore the fact
that the matter really concerned the Christian community.
This appears difficult enough. A burial society was an asso-
ciation of a rather small number of persons ; the church of a
great city, as of Eome, Alexandria, Antioch, and Carthage, must
have numbered in the third century thirty, forty, or fifty
thousand members. How can one imagine S. Fabian, S. Cyp-
rian, S. Dionysius of Alexandria, going to be registered at
the prefecture as head of a college of ' cnUores Verhi^ com-
posed of fifty thousand persons, associated with a view to
procuring decent burial? It seems more natural to believe
that if after the death of Marcus Aurelius the Christian
communities enjoyed long intervals of peace, if they succeeded
in possessing real property of a conspicuous nature and con-
siderable value, it is because they were tolerated and even
recognized, without any legal fiction, as churches, as religious
societies. Of legal fictions, of burial societies, of mysterious
titles, the documents give neither testimony nor suspicion." ^
1 Apol. 39. 2 Ep. cle Basilide et Martiali.
8 Les origines chretiennes, c. XXIII., § IV.
CEMETERIES
INSCRIPTIONS
To give an adequate account of early Christian epigraphy
within the limits of a half dozen pages is, of course, an impossible
task ; it amounts simply to dismissing the subject in the fewest
possible words. It is proposed to give here an account — only
in the most general terms, and with but few examples — of the
distinctive characteristics of Christian sepulchral inscriptions,
of the several classes into which they may be divided, and of
the sort of information one may expect to derive from their
study. For further and more detailed information one may
conveniently consult Marucchi's Elements cVArcheologie clireti-
enne, the first volume of which devotes a disproportionately
long section to this subject. The more fundamental sources
are given in the Bibliography.
Fig. 16. — Sarcophagus of Livia Primitiva, found in the Vatican cemetery, now in the
Louvre. Second century.
The first distinction which must be marked is that between
the original titles and epitaphs, and the later metrical inscrip-
tions with which Damasus and his imitators adorned the
tombs of the martyrs and signalized their deeds. Of the first
class it is convenient to distinguish between such as present
only the simplest data, a name, a date, or some merely conven-
tional formula; and such as, with richer content and more
characteristic form, throw light upon dogma, or upon the con-
ditions of the civil and religious life. The earliest Christian
epitaphs are very brief, and one can seldom derive from them
important inferences about ecclesiastical dogma or custom.
This characteristic brevity detracts considerably from their
importance as sources of information ; and the student needs
to be warned that early Christian epitaphs are commonly
appealed to far too loosely in proof of the prevalence of this
INSCBIFTIONS
63
or that doctrine or custom, as though it made no substantial
difference whether they were proved for the second, the third,
or the fourth century. We have to rely upon the inscriptions
of the early period for the proof of the existence of certain
customs; but when it is a question of dogma or ritual the very
point at issue is usually the ascertainment of the earliest date
to which they may be ascribed within this period, and epitaphs
wdiich cannot be securely assigned even to an approximate date
ought not to be used except in mere illustration of doctrines
and practices which are otherwise attested for the age in ques-
tion.
Most of the more elaborate inscriptions are late, but it does
not follow that all simple inscriptions are early, for brevity
was the rule throughout the history of the catacombs. It has
already been mentioned
that many tombs were
without name, and were
distinguished only by the
familiar possessions of
the deceased which were
pressed into the fresh
plaster. It was also in
the fresh plaster that the friends sometimes scratched the
date of the " deposition " of the body.
This custom of indicating the day of the month upon which
burial took place, and this name for the act of burial, — deposi-
tio, clejwsitus (KardOeaLs), Contracted, D., D.P., etc. — are peculiar
to Christian inscriptions, and characterize all but the very earli-
est. The word " deposition " expresses the hope which illumi-
nated the Christian burial ; it indicates the committal to the
earth of a treasure which shall be restored. The term of life
of the defunct was indicated according to pagan custom : Vixit
couus . . ., mensibus . . . , diebus . . . (V . A . . . M . . . D . . .).
From the third century this datum was often given with less pre-
cision: Vixit annisplus minvs ... (Q . VIX . AN .P.M. XXX).
The name was commonly accompanied by these formulas only ;
or also by the name of the person dedicating the monument, by
some affectionate epithet {Jilio didcissimo), or by some exclama-
tion denoting the Christian hope for the departed — in pace
{iv dprjvq), in Deo, in Cristo. Such exclamations were the
Fig. 17. — Sarcophagus from the Vatican cemetery.
64
CEMETERIES
earliest adjunct to the mere name which alone marks the tombs
of the most primitive period. They were expressed also by
the symbols of the dove, the anchor, the fish, and later by the
so-called Constantinian monogram.
The three names which were characteristic of Roman citizen-
ship {prcenomen, gentilitium, and cognomen) had begun to fall
into disuse with the end of the first century, and their pres-
ence upon Christian monuments denotes a very high antiquity.
T\iQ prcenomen was generally dropped, and still more commonly
a single name appears, sometimes of a strictly Roman charac-
ter, sometimes of Eastern, or barbarian derivation, denoting a
Jewish or perhaps a servile origin. Some of them are evidently
names taken in baptism, with a Christian signification or asso-
ciation. Petrus occurs several times in Rome in the second
Piv. FACEC
Fig. is. — Tumb^i.
ig the raising of Lazarus, in the Lateran
Museum.
century, PetronUla is associated by tradition with the first,
Paulus also occurs, and later Maria. Such names as Martyrius,
Adeodatus, Ecangelms, are evidently of Christian formation ;
so also are a considerable number of names expressing humility,
— as Projecticius, Fimus, Stercorius, — which one encounters
already by the end of the third century. The names Fides,
Spes, Agape, Eirene, etc., are very ancient ; and the name Lucina
— which probably denotes the illumination received in baptism
— is associated with the burial-place of S. Paul and with the
earliest nucleus of the cemetery of Callistus.
How much historical significance may lie in the simplest
inscriptions — even in a mere name — one can judge fairly
only by consulting de Rossi's own minute studies, which, for
all their subtlety, approve themselves anything but rash. It is
INSCRimONS 65
especially for the early period, in the case of purely Roman
names, and by reason of the rigorous system of personal and
family nomenclature which the Romans used, that sucli argu-
ments can be securely drawn. The very title of the cemetery
of Domitilla is sufficient to connect it with the imperial Flavian
family. Domitilla (feminine diminutive) was a common cog-
nomen in this family ; it corresponded to the masculine Domi-
tianus. It is known that in the first century a vast estate
{predi amarantkina — now corrupted to Tor Marancia),
in which this cemetery is situated, belonged to a branch of
this family. The cemetery itself brings the proof that it was,
as a matter of fact, to the Christian branch of the family it
belonged. A pagan stele was found there which records that
the family tomb which it marked was obtained EX IXDUL-
GENTIA FLAVLE DOMITILL.E. Another reads: FLA-
VIN DOMITILLfe divi VESPASIANI ^n^EPTIS EIVS
BENEFICIO HOC SEPVLCHRVm MEIS LIBERTIS LIB-
ERTABYS POsui. Among the Christian epitaphs of the
cemetery there are a number of names of the Flavian gens ;
for example : —
<^A. CABEINOC KAI TITIANH AAEA^OI.
That is, "Flavins Sabinus and Titiana, brother and sister."
All of this renders plausible the form in which de Rossi
completes a mere fragment which appears to have belonged
to the inscription placed over the entrance of the cemetery : —
Sepulc R V M
Flavi 0 R A^ ]M
At all events, there is no doubt that as early as the first cen-
tury this was the burial-place of the Christian members of the
imperial Flavian house. These mere names suffice to connect
this cemetery with the illustrious converts of the gens Flavia
whom the Church could already count within the Apostolic
age. It has been suspected, from the language in which
Tacitus describes him (mitem virum ahliorrenteni a sanguine
et cceclibus), that Titus Flavins Sabinus, elder brother of the
Emperor T. Flavins Vespasianus, was the first of the family
to be converted to Christianity. He was for the first time
Prsetor in 64 under Nero, and it is certain that as a duty of
F
66 CEMETERIES
his office he must have examined into the causes of the Chris-
tians who were executed for their religion. During the thirty
years of absolute peace and tranquillity which the Church
enjoyed after the death of Nero there is no mention of Chris-
tians of this name. The relation of the family to Christianity
becomes first publicly known by reason of the persecution of
Domitian, and it is attested by pagan as well as by Christian
historians. The first to fall a victim was the Consul Titus
Flavins Clemens, son of the above-mentioned T. Flavins Sabi-
nus and first cousin of the Emperor. While Clemens was
beheaded, his wife, Flavia Domitilla, niece of Domitian, and
another Flavia Domitilla, wdio was a niece of Clemens, were
exiled to the islands of Pandataria and Ponza. In expla-
nation of these harsh measures, it must be supposed that
Domitian considered the profession of this strange religion by
members of his own family a proof of political disaffection.
It suggests food for the imagination to reflect that but for this
outbreak of suspicion a Christian emperor might have occupied
the throne of the Csesars before the end of the first century ;
for it was the two sons of Clemens and Domitilla whom Domi-
tian had adopted as his successors, changing their names to
Vespasianus and Domitianus.
The memory of the Flavian converts and martyrs has been
preserved in the Church and hardly needed the confirmation
of the monuments. But another illustrious convert and martyr
of the first century is known as such only through inscriptions
discovered in the cemetery of Priscilla. Manius Acilius Gla-
brio, Consul in 91 with Trajan and head of one of the noblest
Roman families, was also put to death by Domitian. He was
made to fight with a bear or a lion, and, proving victorious in
this contest, was beheaded. Though no memory was preserved
in the Church that he died a Christian, yet the terms in which
Suetonins records the charge which was brought against him
and other members of consular and senatorial rank who suffered
with him {molitores rerinn novarum) has led several historians to
suspect that they were martyrs for the Faith. That the Acilii
Glabriones were Christians was put beyond a doubt in 1889
when, in the central and primitive region of the cemetery of
Priscilla, there was discovered an extensive and richly orna-
mented hypogeum which contained fifteen inscriptions in Latin
INSCJRIPriOXS 67
and Greek of members of this family. Originally there must
have been more, for the epitaph of the Consul himself is miss-
ing ; the very richness of the marble decoration specially marked
this crypt for destruction, and only fragments of the sarcophagi
and their inscriptions remain. One of them reads : —
aKIAIOC POY^INGC
^HCHC EN ©EO
Acilius Eufinus live in God — a sure sign of the Christian
character of the sepulchre. Another reads: —
M ACILIUS V . .
C . V .
et PKISCILLA C • •
Manius Acilius vir darissimus (et) Priscilla darissima (femina).
The title darissimus vir leaves no doubt that this personage
of senatorial rank belonged to the family of the consul
who was put to death under Domitian. The name Pris-
cilla suggests a relationship with the family of the senator
Pudens from whose wife Priscilla the cemetery took its nanle.
In this cemetery were likewise buried that Aquila and Pris-
cilla (Prisca) who were companions of S. Paul, and the site of
whose house upon the Aventine is marked by the church of
S. Prisca (contradion for Priscilla). Their common use of the
name Priscilla, together with the fact that both families were
buried in the same cemetery, suggests some close tie between
the family of the tent-maker upon the Aventine and the sena-
torial family of the Esquiline.
There is something to be learned from the very brevity
of the early inscriptions ; there is argument to be drawn from
their silence. During the first four centuries of the Church no
single mention is made of a slave, and but rarely of a freedman,
among the thousands of inscriptions of the catacombs —
justifying the Christian boast that master and slave recognized
their equality in the Church. In a later time the inscriptions
occasionally record the manumission of slaves in suffrage of the
departed.
In contrast to the pagan custom, even the noblest of the
Christians recounted none of the honors of their offices and
68
CEMETERIES
rank, except that the initials V. C. {vir darissimus), C. F.
(clarissima femina), were not uncommonly inscribed to indicate
membership in the senatorial order. The Christian attitude
was that of looking forward beyond the tomb, rather than
back over the course of earthly honor and success ; recessit
a sceculo became a familiar formula in the fourth century. In
the third and fourth centuries the profession of the defunct
was often mentioned in the inscription or indicated by pic-
turing the tools of his trade. We have in general in the
catacombs a thorough vindication of Tertullian's boast ^ that
tone in the catacomb of Douiitilla.
the Christians were to be found in every rank and in every
profession.
Nothing could be more simple than the epitaphs of the
Koman bishops in the papal crypt at S. Callistus. The earliest
which have been preserved in this cr3qjt are those of Anteros
(236) and Fabianus (250) : —
ANTEPnC • EIII (Anteros, bishop).
^ABIANOU . EIII . K/TP (Fabianus, bishop, martyr).
The inscriptions of this crypt prove that Greek was still the
official language of the Roman Church.
The next pope, Cornelius, was buried in a distant region of
the same cemetery, the very region, in fact which seems in
origin to have been the property of the Cornelii and the
1 Apol. 37.
lySCBIPTIOXS G9
Caecilii. This probably explains the fact that the epitaph of
this pope is not in the official language of the Church, but in
Latin : —
CORNELIVS • MARTYR
EP
The word "martyr " here is original ; on the epitaph of Fabianus,
however, it was a subsequent addition.
Most of the very early inscriptions in the Eoman catacombs
were in Greek, and the same language persisted here and there
to a comparatively late period. Greek inscriptions were some-
times written in Latin characters, and Latin sometimes in
Greek. The very general traits of Christian epigraphy which
can here be noticed serve as well for the Greek as for the Latin,
for the East as for the West. It seems not unlikely, however,
that early inscriptions in the Orient may have been more
elaborate than those of the same period which we know in
Rome. The earliest inscriptions of the East have not been pre-
served ; but the epitaph of Abercius (Fig. 20), which is trans-
lated in another place (p. 235), belongs to the middle of the
second century, and is one of the most elaborate and interest-
ing of all Christian inscriptions. It is inscribed upon a stele
of the common pagan form. The use of the stele or cijijjus was
not altogether rare in the Church, although the vast majority
of inscriptions are upon plaques of stone. Despite their pagan
significance, the initials D • M • {Dis manibus) are sometimes
found upon Christian tombs ; partly because the i^laques were
thus inscribed as they were bought at the shops, and partly,
perhaps, because they were so much the ordinary sign of a
tomb that their more specific significance was forgot. B. M.
(bonce memorice) was sometimes substituted in a later age.
In point of orthography de Rossi distinguishes two classes
of the primitive Roman inscriptions : those painted in red (in
Pompeian fashion), which are characteristic of S. Priscilla ;
and those cut in the stone, which are elsewhere almost univer-
sal. The orthography is for the most part careless, and after
the second century there begin to appear frequent mistakes
which reflect the popular pronunciation and the popular idiom.
Even in the concise terms of the early epitaphs there some-
times lies a clear testimony to early dogma. In the third cen-
j ^-r^
70 CEMETERIES
tury a greater fulness and variety appears. There are a number
of prayers, particularly in Greek, which suggest a liturgical
origin. Metrical inscriptions are rare until the fourth cen-
tury ; the earliest examples of them are commonly brief, and
show a dependence upon, if not an actual quotation from,
the Classical poets. But there are also inscriptions in quasi
versus, a variety of verse invented by Com-
--- luodian, a Christian poet of the third
century. It is not of much interest
\ to record that the inscriptions,
\ early and late, testify to belief in
God, in Christ as God, in the
\ Holy Spirit, and in the Resur-
4 rection ; it would be a matter
' t ' "' of startling consequence if
fr)/ they did not. Of more im-
_ portance are the references
^ ^ 'l^'^ ^ , to baptism, particularly
■ ^/l^'/-:SJ ' the baptism of infants;
^0,|vw~ " and to the widows and
T'H/^i'ir virgins of the Church.
But of all the dog-
f matic notices which are
I 'k -^ furnished by the inscrip-
u: ? .,.. '- ^ tions, none have so sym-
i./X7'()l pathetic an interest, and
none are likely to be ac-
^^r - . - ' ' united of so great importance.
Fig. 20. — Fragment of sepulchral stele ^S those wllich illustrate the
of Abercius, fouud in Hieropoiis, now custom of prayer to aiid for the
in the Vatican. Second century. , , , ^^r t • j • • i
departed. We may distinguish
three classes : those which contain a prayer for the peace of
the departed ; those which petition the prayers of the departed
in behalf of those who remain below — these two being fre-
quently combined ; and those which call upon all who read the
inscription to pray for the person whom it commemorates.
Such forms are found with comparative frequency after the
middle of the second century.
To another class belong the appeals for the intercession of
the martyrs. It was hardly before the fourth century that the
i
IXSCBIPTIOXS 71
martyrs were regarded as advocates before God for the souls of
the departed. For this period, however, the popularity of the
view is proved, not only by inscriptions, but by some of the
paintings of the catacombs which represent the soul introduced
into heaven by the saints, and the same theme appears later in
the mosaics of the basilicas. It is in this cult of the martyrs we
find the roots of the later doctrine of the saints ; in the offi-
cial recognition of martyrdom, and in the special efficacy which
was attributed to the martyr's intercession, we have the essen-
tial factors of the mediaeval doctrine. It was this conception
of the martyrs as advocates in the Judgment which made
i - - - - -- - __ _
Fig. 21. — Loculus of a martyr, closed with tiles, catacomb of Doraitilla.
burial near them seem so desirable. The following inscrip-
tions are of the fourth century : —
CVIQVE PRO VITAE SVAE TESTIMOXIO
SANCTI MARTYRES APVD DEVM ET CRISTVM
ERVNT ADVOCATI
(Cemetery of Cyriaca.)
DOMIXA BASILLA COM
MANDAMVS TIBI CRES
CENTIXVS ET MICINA
FILIA NOSTRA CRESCEN . . .
QVE VIXIT MENS X . ET DES. .
(Cemetery of Basilla.)
Domina {domiiius) was the title given to martyrs. The latter
inscription reads : " 0 lady Basilla, we commit to thee Crescen-
tinus, and our tiny daughter Crescen(tia) who lived 10 months
and . . . days."
72 CE31ETEBIES
Another, from Aqiiileia,
MARTYRES • SANCTF
IN . MENTE . IIAVITE
MARIA
reads, " Holy martyrs, remember Mary."
But to return to the earlier forms which regard all the faith-
ful departed without distinction : I have spoken of them as a
sympathetic subject of study, because they are so human, so
naive, and spring so promptly from the heart. The prayer for
a place of refreshment, of light and peace, of rest in God, in
behalf of the departed soul, was impossible from the stand-
point of the pagan, simply because the other world was not
conceived in such terms. To the Christian, on the other hand,
these were the ideas which were naturally associated with the
death of the believer ; and if there was nothing in the Chris-
tian teaching w^hich positively required such prayers, there
could at least be no more solid objection brought against them
than the claim that they were superfluous. AVhat more natu-
ral, however, than that the Christian hope for the dead should
at the very tomb itself be expressed as a prayer ? AVhat more
natural than that such prayers should appear upon the tomb-
stones before ever they were formulated in the liturgies, and
before the doctrine of a purgatory of pain had turned their
glad confidence into a tearful and doubtful supplication? The
simple exclamations we have here to record bear evidence of
being the fruit, not of any clear doctrinal conception, but of a
popular and natural fantasy.
. • vIBAS
IN PACE ET PETE
PRO NOBIS
" Live in peace ! and pray for us," reads an ancient inscrip-
tion in S. Domitilla. The following, of the fourth century,
gives the theological ground which justifies such a prayer to
the dead, "Pray for us because we know that thou art in
Christ": —
IXSCniPTIOXS 73
GENTIANVS FIDELIS IN PACE QYI VIX
IT ANNIS XXI MEXSS VIII DIES
XVI ET IN ORATIONES TVIS
ROGES PRO NOBIS QVIA SCIMUS TE IN CHRISTUM i
(Lat. mus. VIII. 15.)
That prayer for the dead was not associated with harrowing
doubt about their fate we see, for example, in an early Greek
inscription in S. Domitilla, which at the same time demands
the prayer of the departed in behalf of the surviving friends : —
ZHCAIC • EN . KO . KAI . EPOTA • YHEP • HMON.
^' Mayest thou live in the Lord ! and pray for us." This is
simply the realization of the communion of saints.
Of the third or fourth century is the following: —
ANATOLIVS FILIO BENEMERENTI FECIT
QVI VIXIT ANNIS VII MENSIS VII DIE
BVS XX ISPIRITVS TVVS BENE REQVIES
CAT IN DEO PETAS PRO SORORE TVA
(Lat. mus. VIII. 19.)
" Thy spirit rest in God : pray for thy sister.''
The demand for prayer in behalf of one's own soul seems to
manifest a too anxious solicitude about one's fate; but it is
found as early as the end of the second century in the epitaph
of the Phrygian bishop, Abercius, written by himself (page 234).
The following metrical inscription from S. Priseilla belongs
probably to the fourth century : —
EVCHARIS . EST • MATER • PIVS • ET • PATER • EST • • •
VOS • PRECOR . O FRATRES • ORARE • IIVC • QVANDO •
VENItis
ET . PRECIBVS . TOTIS • PATREM • NATVMQVE • ROGATIS
SIT • VESTRAE • MENTIS • AGAPES • CARAE • MEMINISSE
VT . DEVS • OMNIPOTENS • AGAPEN • IN • SAECVLA •
SERVET
1 The name of Christ is rei^resented hy the mouogram.
CEMETEIilES
There is unfortuiKitcly but little space left to treat of the
inscriptions with which Damasus adorned the tombs of the
martyrs. They deserve more attention than can here be given
theni. They are interesting, not only as a type of (christian
poetry which was admired by contemporaries and frequently
copied in succeeding centuries, and because of the beautiful
and characteristic letters in which they were cut ; but for the
fact that they reveal several pages
of the history of the martyrs which
but for them would be absolutely
unknown, that they testify clearly
to the character of the cult which
was rendered to the martyrs in
the fourth century, and that they
make it possible to identify in
each cemetery the position of the
most venerated tombs. There w^as
no cemetery at Kome which had
not at least one such inscription,
and still others were placed in the
cemeterial basilicas and chapels.
]\[ost of the original inscriptions
have totally perished, many of
them at the hands of the Goths ;
but the text of about forty of them
has been preserved through the
,, ,, , -„ , ,.,, copies made by the pilgrims. In
Fig. 22. — Martj-rdoin of S. Achilleus, ^ J l &
relief upon one of the columns which COUSCquenCe of tllis lucky preSCr-
supported the ciborium in thebasilica y^^^Q^ a mere fragment of the
of S. PetroniUa. Fourth century. ... ^
original marble suffices for the
restoration of the whole inscription and serves often to fix its
original location.
The accompanying illustration (Fig. 23) shows a marble
which S. Damasus i)laced at the end of the crypt of the popes
(Fig. 10) ; it is now restored to its original place and is almost
complete, although recomposed from one hundred and twenty-
five minute fragments into which it was broken. I give here
the translation, which must suffice for an example of Damasus's
poems : " Here, if you inquire, lies crowded together a throng
of the righteous, the venerable tombs hold the bodies of the
THE POEMS OF DAM ASUS
75
saints, their lofty spirits the i^alace of heaven took to itself.
Here the companions of Sixtus who bore trophies from the
enemy ; here a number of the leaders who ministered at the
altars of Christ ; here is placed the priest who lived in long
peace; here the holy confessors whom Greece sent; here
young men and boys, old men and their pure descendants,
who chose to keep their virgin modesty. Here, I confess, I
Damasus wished to deposit my body, but I feared to disturb
the holy ashes of the righteous." It is not unreasonable to
suppose that a "throng" of martyrs were often buried in a
single tomb, particularly such as suffered together in the same
CposiTvsiots ga
^XX>]
MX
•:siiVRBAPiok\-avi .;,
\ I:>^'TlSErbysOAS^K4j(EA ' I
^^TbllB^ RE (5:JrA^ELl I
AlbTQ^VIJ&CHQSX'" " *"- —
t Qy>lMPA<j:s)v^WD o
Fig. ■-':;. — An inscription by Pope Damasus in the papal crypt, catacomb of L'allistus
Fourth century.
persecution. In the case of such as were burned or thrown
to the beasts, often only very small portions of their bodies
could be recovered. Sixtus II. and his companions in martyr-
dom are here mentioned, although Damasus set up in this
same crypt a special inscription in his honor. Those "who-
ministered at the altars of Christ" are probably unnamed
deacons and presbyters ; and the " sacerdos " of the next verse
may refer to the Roman bishops who were buried here (using
the singular for the class), though de Rossi understands Mil-
tiades, who was the first pope to enjoy the peace given by
Constantine. The "confessors" from Greece are unknowTi,
but they may have been Hippolytus and his companions.
76
CEMETEBIES
The last lines seem intended as a rebuke to those who dis-
turbed the bodies of the martyrs in their zeal to be buried near
them.
Damasus was in fact buried in a little basilica connected
with the cemetery of Domitilla, in which he prepared also the
tombs of his mother and sister. For himself and for them he
composed inscriptions. This chapel has not yet been dis-
covered, but a small fragment of an inscription found near
the church of SS. Cosma e Damiano was recognized by de
Kossi as belonging to Damasus's inscription to his sister, the
Fig. 24. — Decoration of the ciypt of S. Januarius, catacomb of Praetextatus. Third
century.
text of which was known. This piece was again lost, and has
been rediscovered in the course of the excavation of the Forum.
It awakens surprise that it is not inscribed in the customary
Damasian letters ; but this is explained by the fact that the
sister died before Damasus became pope and before he had
•adopted the type of letter which is associated with his name.
De Rossi has traced the author of these beautiful letters,
which though frequently imitated in a later age were never
precisely copied. On the marble which contains the inscrip-
tion to S. Eusebius, discovered in S. Callistus, there is at each
end a line of smaller letters which read from top to bottom :
Damasis Pappm cidtor atqve amatot Furuis Dionysius Filocalus
sc7'ibsit — "Furius Dionysius Filocalus the reverer and lover of
AFTER THE FOURTH CENTURY 77
Pope Damasus wrote it." This famous personage was the
secretary of Damasus. In this inscription one is struck not
only by the false spelling, but by the character of the letters,
which in fact are only a distant imitation of the Damasian.
This is explained by the fact that the original inscription had
been broken, and was restored again about the end of the sixth
century, perhaps by Pope Vigilius ; it was then cut on the back
of an inscription of Caracalla.
The interesting inscription which has been translated above
is enough to show that Damasus was not a great poet; his
verses are not always regular, and he shows a lack of invention
in his frequent repetition of favorite words and phrases, many
of them taken from Virgil. But his style was accounted ele-
gant by Jerome {elegans in versibus scribendis), and he seems to
have been a conscientious historian. The historical researches
which he must have made about the martyrs were doubtless
facilitated by the fact that he was archivist of the Koman
church before he was made pope.
In the composition of metrical inscriptions Damasus had
imitators even among the popes. Many such inscriptions
were in dedication of basilicas ; some of them we shall have
occasion to notice in connection with the mosaics. Suffice it
to say here that with the end of the sixth century poverty and
ignorance had become so general that hardly any inscriptions
were produced, except the rude epitaphs of popes or of other
rulers.
HISTORY OF THE CATACOMBS AFTER THE FOURTH CENTURY
In the foregoing description of the Eoman catacombs, and in
the treatment of the i^roblems which they raise enough of their
history has been introduced to give a fair conception of the
earliest period, which illustrates specially the spirit of Chris-
tian brotherhood in the extension of the privilege of the family
sepulchre to all who were of the same family in the faith.
Enough has been said of the second period to reveal the extent
and character of Church organization in the third century;
enough also of the third period to illustrate the growing cult
of the martyrs. It only remains to give a brief account of the
last period of their history, which, though a long one, has little
78 CEMETEBIES
to register but the various stages of their abandonment till
their very sites became unknown.
De Eossi has proved that the custom of burying in the sur-
face cemeteries above the catacombs had made such progress
by the last quarter of the fourth century that only a third of
tiie burials were subterranean. The desire for burial near the
martyrs found a natural obstacle in the limits of the space
which could be utilized. A Roman epitaph of the year 381
speaks of a Christian who for her great merit obtained a sepul-
chre in the abode of the saints, which many desired but few
obtained : . . . quae pro tanta MERITA ACCEPIT sepulchrum
intra LIMIXA SANTORUM quod multi cuphi^ ET RARI
ACCIPIVN. From the year 400 to 409 there are almost no
inscriptions proving subterranean burial ; and with the capture
of the city by Alaric in 410 burial in the catacombs ceased
altogether. This date is memorable as well for ecclesiastical
as for political history. " In one single city the whole world
perished," exclaimed S. Jerome when the news of the fall of
Rome reached him in far-off Palestine. As the beginning
of the barbarian inroads which laid low the whole civilization
of the West, it has a special importance in the study of Chris-
tian art; in the history of the catacombs it marks the most
definite crisis. This did not, however, mark the abandonment
of the cemeteries above the catacombs, which must already
have reached a considerable size ; it was probably not till near
the end of the sixth century that the law of the Twelve Tables
forbidding burial within the walls ceased to be generally
regarded. By this time the population of Rome had so much
diminished that there remained no practical objection to intra-
mural cemeteries. Even to-day a considerable part of the area
within the Aurelian walls is occupied only by ruins or by vine-
yards ; in the sixth century the greater part of the city must
have been quite deserted, or at least left to the farmer. One
of the earliest of the cemeteries in the city was established on
the Esquiline near the church of S. Bibiana ; another near
S. Cosimato in Trastevere. Soon each of the parish churches
became the centre of a parochial burying-ground.
But to return to the beginning of the fifth century. The
disuse of the catacombs for burial by no means signified
their abandonment. The pious veneration of the martyrs'
AFTER THE FOURTH CENTURY 79
tombs is witnessed by frescos as late as the seventh century.
Lamps burned perpetually before the tombs of the most famous
saints, and pillars surmounted by a broad bowl of pottery or
glass for the floating wicks are still to be seen in the catacombs
and serve to designate the crypts which were once the resort
'of pilgrims. The descriptions which Jerome^ and Prudentius^
give of visits to the catacombs in the fourth century picture
them as they remained for three centuries more. Notwith-
standing the successive incursions of barbarians from the fifth
to the seventh century, the popes did their utmost to preserve
" the crown of martyrs " which encircled Eome. Pope Vigilus
(537-555) was especially active in restoring the inscriptions of
Damasus and in repairing other ravages which had been
wrought by the Goths. Of John III. (561-574), the Lihe?
Pontiftcalis records, amavit et restauravit ccemeteria sanctorum
martyrum. From the same source we learn that this pope
established out of the Lateran revenues a weekly gift of oil for
every cemetery, and laid again upon each of the urban titles
the obligation to send a priest every Lord's Day to the catar
combs for the celebration of the Eucharist — a custom which
was continued to the end of the seventh century.^ The seventh
century was the period of the great pilgrimages from the North
to which we owe the Itineraries. Pilgrimages had been com-
mon since the fourth century, but they were of a private char-
acter ; and it was not till the eighth century that the cult of
relics led to the violation of tombs and the desecration of the
bodies of the saints. Any mention which is made of relics
before that time refers to a more innocent custom, chiefly the
custom of carrying away some of the oil from the lamps which
burned before the tomb of a saint, though in general any object
— a handkerchief for instance — which was brought into con-
tact with the tomb acquired the properties of a relic, and such
relics were often carried to a great distance for the consecration
of a new church.
But the relics most usually carried away were little vials
(ampuUce) containing some of the oil from the lamp which
burned before the tomb of a saint. The traffic in the oil am-
2ndke was by no means confined to Rome ; it was a custom
1 In Ezech. 12 : 40. 3 xi&. Pont, in Sergio, I. 1.
2 Peresteph. XI.
80 ■ CEMETEEIES
almost universal. The ampullce were made of glass, clay, or
metal, ornamented witli Christian subjects in relief (see p. 355,
Fig. 54). The ampullce which were carried from the tomb
of S. Mennas in Egypt were spread by pilgrims all over the
world. But the most interesting collection is that which was
made in the time of Gregory the Great (590-604) by the
'' Abbot " John, who was sent to Rome by the Lombard Queen
Theodelinda to ask relics for her cathedral at Monza. John
executed his mission with care ; upon a parchment attached
to each vial he wrote the name of the saint from before whose
tomb the oil was taken, and made, besides, a list on parchment
of the whole collection. Originally there were moT-e than
seventy amjmlke in this collection; many of them are still
preserved in the cathedral ; and so likewise is the original
draft of the list, which, as it follows precisely the order in
which the tombs were visited, proved to be of the highest topo-
graphical value in the rediscovery of the catacombs.
The Eoman Church was more conservative than any of the
churches of the East in the respect which was shown to the
inviolability of the tomb and in the refusal to disturb the bodies
of the saints. It is certain that up to the middle of the seventh
century no bodies were transferred within the walls, for the
Itineraries mention SS. John and Paul (see p. 166) as the
only martyrs who were to be visited within the city : " In iirbe
Roma beatorum martyrum corpora Johannis et Pauli tantum
quiescunty Indeed the fifth and sixth centuries witnessed a
notable development of the buildings above the catacombs.
It was in this period that the greater basilicas (basilicce majo-
res) were erected over many of the tombs, sometimes incorporat-
ing the basilica ad corpus of Constantinian foundation. It
was in connection with these basilicas that the first transla-
tions occurred. Honorius I. (625-638) changed the position
of several of the tombs ; but only from the crypt underground
to the basilica above. With this period the Itineraries begin
to speak of the martyrs deorsum in distinction from those in
basilica sursum. The first bodies to be transferred within the
city were taken from the suburban towns : those of SS. Primus
and Eelicianus from Nomentum in 648, and those of Beatrice
and Faustinus from Porto in 682.
But with the eighth century the Campagna became so thor-
AFTER THE FOURTH CENTURY 81
oiighly deserted and so unsafe that even the basilicas could not
be preserved, and then began the wholesale translation of the
bodies of the saints to the basilicas of the city. In 757 Paul I.
transported a great multitude of relics to the church of S. Sil-
vestro in Capite, which he had just built on the site of his
family mansion. His successors, however, did not imitate
his example ; Hadrian I. endeavored on the contrary to restore
the suburban cemeteries. But Pascal I. effected the greatest
translation of martyrs' relics which was ever made, removing in
817 the bodies of no less than twenty-three hundred martyrs to
the church of S. Praxede. An inscription on marble in which
he commemorated this event is still preserved in the church ; it
gives the name of each martyr, the cemetery from which each
group was taken, and the part of the church in which they
were buried. Leo IV. so thoroughly completed this work that,
by the middle of the ninth century, the catacombs were totally
despoiled of the treasures which attracted pilgrims and wor-
shippers, and before long they had fallen not only into dilapi-
dation, but into oblivion. Those of S. Lawrence, S. Pancras.
S. Sebastian, and S. Valentine were the only ones which con-
tinued longer to be known and venerated, and that only be-
cause of the monasteries with which they were connected.
The translation of the relics of the saints was accompanied
by a ruthless destruction of the cemeteries which surpassed
anything they had ever suffered at the hands of Lombards,
Goths, or Vandals. But after all, the bodies of the saints
were saved by this official translation from a far worse viola-
tion to which they were already exposed at the hands of pri-
vate though licensed venders of relics. The names of several
of these relic-mongers have been preserved in history. One of
the most celebrated was the deacon Deusdona, who seems to
have had charge of the cemetery of SS. Pietro e Marcellino,
and who took advantage of his position to sell the bodies of
the martyrs in Germany. It was chiefly with the northern
countries that this commerce was carried on ; those who sought
relics were no longer satisfied as of old with simple memorials
carried from the tombs of the saints, they must have parts,
however minute, of their very bodies.
With the oblivion into which all but a few of the cemeteries
fell, there grew up the most hopeless confusion even in the
82 CEMETERIES
reminiscence of them. The great cemeteries of the via Ajjpia
and the via Ardeatina were popularly identified with the single
cemetery which remained accessible, that of S. Sebastian ; and
m.the same way those of the via Tiburtina were confused with
the cemetery of S. Lawrence (S. Cyriaca). It was this confu-
sion more than an3^thing else which baffled all attempts at
their rediscovery, till in our own time the puzzle was unrav-
elled by the genius of Giovanni Battista de Rossi.
Ill
CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE
What has been said in the Introduction (p. 1 seq.) about
the dependence of Christian upon Classic art is nowhere more
pertinent than in the case of Christian architecture. Early-
Christian architecture has often been accounted an original
and significant development of the nascent Christian civiliza-
tion. The architectural nmovations which have been ascribed
to the early Church have been reckoned to its credit or to its
discredit, according as one was minded to see in them a preg-
nant seed of subsequent architectural development, or merely
an unjustifiable and unintelligent employment of the constitu-
ent elements of Greek architecture. As a matter of fact the
Church deserves neither praise nor blame on this score ; from
a technical point of view it was responsible for no architectural
innovations ; it brought to the world a new conception of reli-
gion and a new impulse toward morality, but it brought no
new art teaching and no novel architecture. Christian archi-
tecture, more than any other province of art, was dependent
for its forms and for its methods upon Roman, Greek, and
Oriental traditions ; and it was regulated in its development
by two prime factors which were both of them extraneous to
Christianity : by the tendency, early noticeable in Rome, and
culminating about the end of the third century, to deal freely
with the constituent elements of Greek architecture without
reference to their original symbolism; and by the poverty of
means w^hich in the decline of the Roman Empire made monu-
mental architecture of the earlier Roman type (vaulted halls
of great area) impossible, and prescribed economic methods of
construction. We shall see subsequently to what extent the
shape, the construction, and the decoration of the Christian
house of worship were due to causes within the Church itself;
83
84 ARCHITECTURE
but such innovation as there was hardly involved any technical
development.
To speak at all of development in relation to early church
architecture is somewhat paradoxical, for — to judge by exist-
ing monuments — it seems as if it had rather been created.
This observation is true, at least, of the West and more par-
ticularly of the basilica. In the East, or under Eastern influ-
ence, there was one marked development, in the construction
of the dome upon a polygonal — more especially a quadrangu-
lar— base, a development which culminated under the reign
of Justinian in the construction of S. Sophia, combining the
dome with the oblong quadrangular plan of the basilica. In
the case of the so-called Christian basilica, there was no incon-
siderable variety within well-defined limits; but only such
variety as existed from the beginning. It seems as if the
Christian type of basilica sprang at once and fully developed
into existence with the Peace of the Church, as a product
of Constantine's zeal for church building. Such as it then
was in the earliest examples which are either recorded or pre-
served, such it remained without substantial change for a
period much longer than we are here obliged to study in con-
nection with any of the other arts. The same type prevailed
throughout the West from the fourth to the eighth century,
and in some regions for two centuries longer. So long a period
of arrested development it would be hard to parallel except in
the history of Egypt or China. This long permanence of the
basilica type proves the impotence of artistic invention which
prevailed after the decay of the Roman Empire ; but it proves
also the thorough fitness of this type for the need which it was
designed to satisfy. This observation is substantiated, by the
fact that the principal constituents of the basilica (the nave
with aisles, the transept, the projecting sanctuary, and the
clearstory) have been incorporated in every subsequent type
of church architecture.
The fact is, however, that the admirable appropriateness of
the basilica as it first comes to light in the buildings of Con-
stantine, and its substantial uniformity throughout the whole
Empire, suggest that it did not come suddenly into existence,
as the invention of an emperor or his architect, but that it
must have had a long, though unrecorded, development during
INTIi OD UCTOR Y 85
the centuries of persecution. What that history was, we can
only conjecture, lacking the explicit testimony of early monu-
ments ; the following section, however, will present the reasons
for believing that the general x^lan of the basilica was deter-
mined by the custom of worship in the private house. But,
whatever was the course of development during the age of
persecution, it is obvious that it must have been thoroughly
within the traditions of Roman architecture, for the erection
even of church buildings, previous to the fourth century, must
have been commonly in the hands of pagan artisans. Techni-
cally speaking, the preparatory development of the Christian
basilica is not a part of the history of Christian architecture,
but of Roman. We can, therefore, the more readily dispense
with a technical study of the architectural elements which
enter into the Christian basilica, and all the more because such
a treatment would comport neither with the character of this
handbook, nor with the space here at command.
The fact that the individual elements which enter into the
architectural complex, known as the basilica, were for the
most part of Greek origin, only serves to point the contrast
between Christian architecture and the Greek, to reveal the
gap which exists between, let us say, the Parthenon and S.
Paul's. It is the history of Roman architecture which bridges
this gap. It may be well to sketch here, in brief terms and
with special reference to the points immediately at issue, the
course of this development. The effort of Greek architecture
was concentrated upon a single task, the construction of the
temple. The scheme of the temple was almost invariable. In
base, it was rectangular and generally oblong. The Greek
cult demanded a single room of no very considerable dimen-
sions for the housing of the image. This room was easily fur-
nished through the roof with light and air ; it Avas adorned in
front, or on all sides, by a colonnade. The worshippers and the
altar both had their place without, and it was, therefore, on
the outside that the architectural decoration was chiefly
expended. The architectural scheme which was devised was
perfectly suitable for the object in view, and it was suitable for
hardly any other. Alexandria began the free application of
Greek forms to public buildings of various sorts, and Rome
carried on the same process with even greater freedom and
86 AliCIIITECTCIiE
witli greater resultant variety. In the construction of their
temples, the Romans adhered more or less strictly to the
principles of Greek architecture, which was well known in
Italy before Koman times. They added, indeed, the round
temple with circular colonnade, but even this was in keeping
with the Greek principles of construction. For all other uses
(in the construction of private or imperial palaces and villas,
of public halls of justice, and of public places of amusement,
such as baths, theatres, and amphitheatres) the Romans dealt
with the Greek forms exclusively in a decorative interest and
with little or no heed to the constructive s^^mbolism which the
Greeks always rigidly observed. This tendency culminated
with the decline of the Western Empire and particularly under
the reigns of Diocletian and Constantine ; and freedom in the
treatment of the elements of Greek architecture was therefore
the natural heritage of the Church in the fourth centur}'.
AVhatever regret the purist is disposed to feel at this de-
fection from strict architectural principle, and whatever blame
he is inclined to mete out to the architects of the late imperial
and the early Christian period must be diminished by the
reflection that with the Parthenon Greek architecture had
already reached its perfection, so that further progress along
the same lines was no longer possible ; that a more complex
civilization demanded an architectural solution for buildings
of a very different character; and that the combinations re-
sorted to resulted in forms which were noble in themselves
and were pregnant with all the developments which have
marked the history of European architecture. Roma.n archi-
tecture developed chiefly by the elaboration of one principle
which was unknown to the Greeks, and which had greater
architectural worth, or at least greater potentiality for variety
of application and for colossal construction, than any principle
emplo^'ed by them, namely, the j^rinciple of the arch — includ-
ing the vault and dome. The development of these elements
was the original contribution of Roman architecture, and the
further development of the dome — especially its adaptation
to a polygonal (most characteristically a quadrilateral) base
was the sole contribution of the early Christian period.
The Roman solution of the problem of the dome was inade-
quate, because it was not capable of universal application ; it
INTBODUCTOBY 87
demanded the unlimited resources and the colossal enginery of
the undivided Empire, and it depended in part upon the unique
quality of Konian cement. The Eonuxn vault and dome was
moulded upon a temporary wooden support in a concrete of
cement and stone; the character of the volcanic sand and
stone abundant about Rome {pozzolana and tufa) made great
thickness of concrete consistent with lightness ; and the wliole
mass solidified so thoroughly that it practically constituted a
monolith with almost no thrust. In the Byzantine Emjnre the
preparatory support of timber was commonly unavailable, and
the material of construction was brick, or in some regions hewn
stone. Under the constraint of building both vaults and domes
in free space and without support, brick was the material most
naturally employed. Various ingenious devices of construction
were resorted to, but they need not be enumerated here, inas-
much as they affected but little the appearance of the finished
work. It is very necessary to observe, however, that the whole
disposition of the building was conditioned by the necessity of
providing a nice sj^stem of counterbalances to meet the thrust of
the dome. The vault had a subordinate importance in early
Christian architecture, but it became the essential feature of
the Eomanesque, and was developed under a new inspiration
into the Gothic. The dome, on the other hand, was the most
characteristic feature of Byzantine architecture, and the domed
basilica represents the crowning and unsurpassed achievement
of the early Christian period.
The use of the vault and dome had from the beginning a
revolutionary effect upon Classic architecture, inasmuch as
it tended necessarily to transfer the architectural emphasis
from the outside of the building to the inside. In Christian
architecture this tendency was carried to its extreme; the
exterior form of the Byzantine domed churches was arbitrary,
and it commonly masked the interior disposition of the struc-
ture.
The type of building which we are accustomed to asso-
ciate expressly with the name " basilica," the type which was
all but universal in the West, and predominant even in the
East, made almost no use of the vault and none at all of the
dome (apart from the half dome of the apse) ; the feature which
has been accounted most characteristic of it is to be traced to
88 AnCUITECTUnE
the IJoman use of the arch. It was the employment of the
arch which first made it natural to supp(n-t a wall upon pillars,
or u})on an arcade with niched recesses. Characteristic of
Roman architecture was the use of the engaged column as a
mere ornament upon the face of a pillar. The engaged column
played no important part in early Christian architecture, but it
became of the highest importance in the development of the
Gothic and entered then for the first time into dynamic rela-
tion with the building. From the support of the wall by an
arcade it is a conceivable step — though it must be owned a
long one — to its support by a colonnade. This was a procedure
unknown to the Greek, and the step was not taken by the
Roman till the third century a.d. The colonnade was origi-
nally designed to support only the architrave, or beam, upon
which rested the timbers of the roof. In its earliest use for
the support of a wall the architrave was retained with arches
above it, either visible or disguised, to relieve its centre of
weight. In the final stage of the development the architrave
disappeared, and the arches rested immediately upon the capi-
tals, or upon broader blocks inserted' between. But though the
architrave disappeared, — so far as its practical purpose was
concerned, — the entablature was retained, being curved to
follow the course of the arch. This development has been
accounted the chief innovation of early Christian architecture,
but it had already been carried out on purely Roman monu-
ments, the best known of which is the palace of Diocletian at
Spoleto. This was anything but a solid method of construc-
tion, and it is open to criticism from many points of view; but
it must not be forgotten that we owe to it some of the most
graceful creations of early Christian, Mahometan, and Renas-
cence architecture.
Although the elements which enter into early Christian
architecture have thus to be traced back to Roman precedents,
the triumph of Christianity did involve a revolution even in the
sphere of architecture, for it again concentrated architectural
effort (as in Greece) upon the solution of one chief problem, the
church. Palaces and other secular buildings were of small im-
portance in comparison ; it was upon church construction that
the zeal of the secular powers as well as the religious was chiefly
intent. The Christian temple, unlike the Greek, was designed
THE BASILICA — Xame 89
to house and inspire a congregation gathered within it, not to
attract the gaze of worshippers without. It was, if so loose an
expression may be allowed, the Greek temple turned outside in.
Although w^e have to confess that early churcli architecture
owed so little to Christian invention, its claim to be called
Christian cannot reasonably be denied. It has often been
claimed for Gothic architecture that it is the only type which
can properly be called Christian ; and this designation is denied
to early church architecture on the ground that it is but a re-
flection, though faint and somewhat confused, of Classic forms.
Gothic architecture was unquestionably a most original devel-
opment of the Germanic spirit under the impulse of Chris-
tianity ; but, in a strict use of the term, no type of architecture
can lay claim to the name " Christian " ; Christianity has funda-
mentally nothing to do with it. The invidious comparison
ought not to be raised ; it derives its force from the mistaken
notion that the scheme of the Christian basilica was literally
copied from the Roman judicial basilica, — if indeed the halls
of justice were not bodily ceded to the Church. The compari-
son loses much of its point when it is reflected that even
Gothic architecture is derived from the Roman vault construc-
tion enlivened by the introduction of the Mahometan pointed
arch. The Christian basilica has been consecrated by centu-
ries of Christian worship ; it has not been surpassed, perhaps
hardly equalled, in point of suitability to the various require-
ments of the Church's service ; and if the origin of its most
characteristic features is to be traced back to the private house
and to the simple cult of the disciples who gathered there dur-
ing the age of persecution, no Christian monument is more
venerable, none more inseparably associated with the history
of the Church.
A. THE BASILICA
The word "basilica" denoted originally anything kingly or
lordly. Applied to a building, it suggested especially grandeur
of proportion. The civil basilicas which were built by the
emperors served not only as halls of justice, but for all the
uses — political, commercial, and social — for which we employ
our assembly halls, bourses, and market places. The greater
90 AliCHITECTURE
patricians of Rome had their private basilicas for social
gatherings and business of state. The term came to have a
signilicance almost as broad as our word " hall." Although many
of the basilicas, and particularly the most sumptuous of them,
had an oblong rectangular plan, and were divided longitudi-
nally by rows of columns or pillars, this was not true of all,
and even buildings which conformed to the general type ex-
hibited a radical divergence in the fact that the middle might
be either covered or uncovered. The name, in fact, did not
characterize a distinct type of building, nor did it specify any
particular employment of it. The choice of this name for the
Christian house of worship was doubtless due to its very
general and rather colorless use among the Romans; they
could employ it in intercourse with the heathen without sus-
picion, and yet for the faithful it must have had a deeper sig-
nificance, reminding them of the great King (/3a(n\ev<s) whose
house it was. The word "basilica" was radically synony-
mous with dominicum (house of the Lord), largely used in the
West for the church building, and with the corresponding
Greek word kyriakon, from which is derived our word " church."
The Christian use of the word denoted specifically a house of
worship, but it did not specify, any more than did the
heathen, a particular type of building. Domed and round
churches, as well as the oblong wooden-roofed buildings which
we are accustomed to associate exclusively with the name,
were anciently called basilicas. For example, Sulpicius
Serverus relates that Helena erected " basilicas " on the sites
of the Lord's Passion, of his Resurrection, and of his Ascen-
sion ; and yet the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and that
upon the Mount of Olives were round structures. That the
name came to be expressly associated with one type of church
building was altogether natural, inasmuch as this was the
original type, a type which was all but universal in the West,
which remained predominant even in the East, and became
absolutely normal for the church architecture of all subsequent
periods. Some modern writers would extend the name " basil-
ica " even to the Romanesque churches, which are similar to the
earlier type chiefly in ground plan. It is important to recog-
nize the kinship of these two styles, but for the sake of clear-
ness it is convenient to adhere to the narrower and more
THE BASILICA— Characteristics 91
popular use of the name " basilica," limiting it to the early
Christian period and excluding all round churches and all
domed and vaulted structures.
Expressed in the briefest terms, the characteristics of the
basilica are : an oblong rectangular ground plan divided longi-
tudinally into three or five aisles by rows of columns (or pillars)
which support a wooden roof, the roof above the middle aisle
(the nave) being raised so much above the side aisles that the
windows in its supporting walls admit air and light (constitut-
ing a clearstory) ; a half circular presbytery or sanctuary sur-
mounted by a half dome (the apse), projecting beyond the
rectangular plan, facing the nave, with which it corresponds
in width, and adjoining it either immediately, or with the in-
tervention of a transverse aisle (the transept) of the same
height as the nave.
The minor features of the basilica were subject to consider-
able variation according to the taste of the architect, or
to local exigencies and traditions ; there were occasional ex-
ceptions even to this general scheme, which will have to be
noticed in due place ; but the fixed elements of the basilical
scheme decidedly outweigh the variable, and the uniformity
of the basilica throughout the whole Empire is one of the
first and most significant facts which confront us in this
study.
The origin of this type of building has of late years been the
subject of much study and of much controversy ; as a conse-
quence, it is now possible to give, at least in general terms,
an account which will do justice to the various considerations
which have divided opinion. The minds of scholars were
once satisfied with a very easy solution which referred it to the
invention of one of the architects of the Emperor Constantine.
This notion was based at least upon the just observation that
the Christian basilica, as it first appears in the extensive
building operations of Constantine, appears at once in per-
fect completeness, neither needing nor receiving any architec-
tural improvement in the whole course of the four centuries
which followed. But this fact is rather a proof that the whole
of its development lay before Constantine, so that when the
Church emerged from persecution into the light of imperial
favor the tentative stages were already passed, the type of
92 ARCHITECTURE
building suited to its needs was already worked out and already
fixed. Creations so stable do not spring all at once into exist-
ence ; tins view, which must be emphatically rejected, is only
less absurd than the opinion, current only fifty years ago,
which ascribed the Cologne Cathedral, and the origin of Gothic
architecture in general, to the invention of some unknown
architect dwelling at Cologne.
Another view, which till recently was the dominant one,
ignores the peculiarity of the Christian building and considers
it merely a copy of the civil basilica. The theory is that with
the triumph of the Church a great number of the civil basilicas
were turned over to Christian use and thus established a tradi-
tional type of church architecture. In point of fact there is
no record of any civil basilica being made over to the Church,
and such an alienation of public property is on the face of it
far from probable if one reflects that they were needed for the
purposes of civil and social life after the triumph of the
Church just as much as they were before. It need hardly be
said that it is the identity of name which suggests this opin-
ion, and the account which has just been given of the pagan
and Christian use of the name " basilica " suffices to show how
little force there is in the suggestion. The theory is especially
weak in that it ignores the diversity of the civil basilicas, and
takes too little account of the most striking characteristic of
the Christian type, namely, its uniformity. Even if all the
elements which enter into the Christian basilica are to be
found here and there in the civil, it still remains to be ex-
plained when and how the Church selected and combined the
forms which peculiarly suited her use and fixed them in an
unalterable tradition.
This is not to say that there is no instruction to be got from
the comparison of the Christian with the pagan basilica ; there
was, as a matter of course, great similarity between buildings
which originated under the same architectural influences and
which were alike designed as halls of assembly. Whatever
account one may give of the origin of the type of building
which became fixed as the normal scheme of the Christian
house of worship, it cannot be supposed that the Christians
ignored the solutions which Roman architecture furnished
for problems which were substantially the same as their own.
THE BASILICA— Origin 93
It is sufficient to acknowledge thus in a general way a certain
dependence of the Christian basilica upon the pagan; the
attempt to carry out a detailed comparison is at any rate ren-
dered futile by the defectiveness of our knowledge of the
civil basilica. We know well only the greater basilicas of
Rome, and we know even them hardly well enough to deter-
mine with confidence the method of roofing and lighting, —
a crucial point when it is a question of comparison with the
Christian type. There is at least one feature of the Christian
basilica which, so far as we know, is without example in the
civil, that is, the transept. The transept, it is true, was only
an occasional feature of the basilica, but it has a characteristic
significance because it is specially prominent in the earliest
buildings and in the greatest ; as, for instance, S. Peter's, S.
Paul's, and S. Maria Maggiore. It has further to be noted
that, even in the case of features which were more or less
frequent in the civil basilica but invariable in the Christian
(as the aisles and the apsidal extension), we are prompted to
seek elsewhere for the conditions of development.
From whatever point we start, we come back to the necessity
of seeking the conclusive stages of the development of the
Christian basilica before the Peace of the Church. It is the
traditional misconception of the condition of the Church dur-
ing the first three centuries which explains the prevalent indis-
position to seek the origin of the basilica within that period.
The idea that throughout all of this period Christians were a
prey to almost unceasing persecutions, that they were under
the necessity of concealing the existence of their religion, or
at least their adherence to it, effectually excludes the notion
that they could then have been engaged in developing the
main lines of the church building, or, indeed, that they could
have had any church buildings in the strict sense of the word.
The account which has already been given in connection with
the catacombs (p. 53 seq.) of the corporate property of the
Church during the ages of persecution, and in particular of the
possession of numerous church edifices which were publicly
known and officially recognized as such, puts another light
upon the situation and not only leaves room for the supposi-
tion of such development as is here in question, but positively
demands it.
94 AliCHITECTURE
It must be confessed that the fact of a long preparatory
history of church architecture is far more soundly assured
than any of the particular theories which pretend to trace it
in detail. It is probable that there are extant no church
edifices earlier than the reign of Constantine ; the last and
greatest of the persecutions sufficiently accounts for their dis-
appearance. In the lack of monumental evidence we are
relegated to conjecture. Of the early subterranean chapels
of the catacombs the most we can say is that they seem to
point to a gradual development of the church edifice along
lines which lead directly to the form which appears in the
fourth century ; but they give us no information about its origin.
There may be mentioned by w^ay of example — and chiefly
because from a German source it has been popularized in Eng-
lish— the theory which would derive the basilica from the
school building (schola). This theory has hardly anything
in its favor except the suggestion of S. Paul's example at
Ephesus : •' disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus." ^
It is not unlikely that this precedent was frequently repeated,
but only as one of a variety of expedients to find a place for
Christian assembly. This theory breaks down utterly in view
of the fact that, little as we know of the ancient schola, it seems
to be probable that it did not conform to any settled type and
in no case very greatly resembled the basilica. A common,
and obviously a very convenient, disposition for the schoolroom
was an oblong rectangular plan with an apse or exedra at the
end; but it had no division into aisles by a colonnade, and had
consequently no clearstory ; the basilica, on the other hand,
was never without them.
Certainly the most attractive theory of the development of
the basilica which could be advanced is that which refers its
origin to the private house, and the Apostolic custom of gather-
ing there for worship. Whereas in the Holy Scriptures there
is but once reference made to the use of a school as a hall for
preaching, there is very frequent reference to worship — in
particular to the celebration of the Lord's Supper — in the
private house, and it is evident that even in the ajjostolic age
certain houses were distinguished as the habitual resort of the
Church.- We have every reason to believe that the Lord's
1 Acts xix. 9. 2 Rom. xvi. 3-5.
THE BASILICA — Origin 96
Supper was, during the Apostolic age, and indeed through the
first quarter of the second century, celebrated invariably in a pri-
vate house. This was altogether natural in the case of a sacra-
ment which was in its institution — still more obviously in its
prototype, the Passover — a household meal, and represented
the Church in terms of the family.
That the dwelling-house was the regular place for the celebra-
tion of the Eucharist throughout the first stadium of the devel-
opment of the Eucharistic cultus is especially important in
this connection, because the practices and ritual which centred
in the Eucharist have always been one of the chief factors
regulative of church architecture, and nowhere more obviously
than in the case of the basilica. We gather from Justin
Martyr's account of the celebration of the Euchari-st that, by
the middle of the second century, it had been separated from
the agape and united with the ordinary morning service of
exhortation and prayer. There is no reason to suppose that
it ceased to be celebrated in the private house, but Justin's
account seems to presume that a house which was used every
Sunday for an assembly of the Christians of the whole town,
and of the outlying districts, — if not for daily service, — must
have been set apart exclusively to the use of the Church.
From this time on we meet with the expressions domus dei,
domus columbce, or simply ecdesia, used by Christian authors
in such a way as leaves no doubt that they refer to houses con-
secrated exclusively to Christian worship.
The extension to the Church of the Roman institution of
patronage (see p. 54 seq.), which was so highly important
for the history of the catacombs, was presumably of no less
importance for the history of the house of worship. It enables
us to realize the relation of the wealthy disciple to the brethren
whom he accommodated in his dwelling, and to understand the
status of the property when it was relinquished to the exclusive
use of the Church.
A congregation which was accustomed to worship in the
chief room of a dwelling-house would be prompted to make
but few changes when the property was put exclusively at
their disposition, and even in the construction of a new build-
ing they would be likely to adhere to the familiar plan. We
may suppose that the earliest churches were either actually
96 ABCHITECTUBE
dwelling-houses which had been adapted and perhaps enlarged
for Christian worship, or new buiklings which preserved both
without and within substantially the appearance of the private
house. The forms of Christian worship — particularly in the
celebration of the Eucharist — were developed in the private
house, and they were not easily to be divorced from the archi-
tectural arrangement to which they had there been accommo-
dated. If we must recognize that the scheme of the basilica
was prescribed by the necessities of the Christian cultus, we
must recognize that the cultus was in turn determined in part
by the arrangement of the private house.
It is probable that the state of affairs just now sketched
broadly characterized the Church as late as the beginning of
the third century. So far we may reasonably claim to be on
historic ground; conjecture begins when we seek to bridge
the gap between the third and the fourth centuries. To state
the case briefly, at the end of the first century — probably at the
end of the second — we leave the Christians worshipping in the
private house ; early in the fourth we find them in the fully
developed basilica. There is here a strong presumption that
the peculiarities of the latter house of worship are to be traced
to the former ; that is to say, that the basilica is the product
of a continuous development out of the data furnished by the
Roman dwelling-house, under the concurrent influence of vari-
ous types of public architecture. The disparity in point of
size between the great basilicas and the ordinary dwelling-
house must not be allowed to weigh against this presumption,
for the scheme of the basilica was singularly independent of
size, and remained the same for very small buildings as for
very great. It may seem at first sight as though the disparity
were equally marked in point of architectural arrangement;
but as a matter of fact, there are numerous and very striking
analogies between the basilica and the atrium of the Roman
house. It is important to notice that the points of comparison
which may be instituted do not, either singly or altogether,
constitute a proof of an actual relation between the basilica
and the house; but they do constitute a highly interesting
corroboration of the presumption which is here posited, and
it is strictly in this light they must be estimated. The pre-
sumption that the basilica is in some way or another a devel-
THE BASILICA— Origin 97
opment from the dwelling-house is far stronger than the proof
of any particular theory designed to trace this development
along specific lines. This derivation of the basilica has been
for some time the dominant theory in Germany, and it has
rapidly come into favor elsewhere. The general proposition
is not to be prejudiced by the discrepancy of the theories
which refer now to this and now to that special part of the
dwelling as the seed of the basilica, nor by the instability
of certain overelaborate efforts to trace the derivation and
development in detail.
The first application of this theory was still fettered by the
accident of the name, and sought the origin of the Christian
basilica in the basilicas which, according to Yitruvius,^ were
attached to the palaces of the greater nobility, especially of
those who held a public magistracy, "because both public
councils and private judgments and decisions had often to
take place in their houses." With the possible exception of
the house but just now brought to light under the church of
S. Caecilia in Trastevere, the whole extent of Koman excava-
tions fails to reveal a single instance of such private basilicas
-2 as an adjunct of any but imperial palaces. It does not appear
',- from Vitruvius's account that it was an invariable feature even
0 of the greater houses, still less that it was characterized by any
"" uniform style of architecture. It was jjrecisely in respect to
palace and villa architecture that there was allowed the great-
est liberty of invention ; the one point, however, which most
broadly characterized it was the fact that it was vaulted archi-
tecture, — it stood, therefore, in the greatest conceivable con-
trast to the Christian basilica. Besides, the presumption which
we have raised in favor of the derivation of the basilica from
the private house of wealthy disciples by no means extends to
the palaces of the greater aristocracy. It is not conceivable
that any considerable number of such houses could have been
put at the disposition of the Church during the centuries of
persecution.
It is the ordinary dwelling of the well-to-do citizen, the typi-
cal Boman house, to which we must look as the customary
place of assembly for the early Clmrch ; it is only to such an
house we can hope to trace the history of the basilica. One of
OSi4 %nlutcctara, VI. b. il U iM
i'
DtP^-
98 ARCHITECTURE
the principal factors to be explained is the uniformity of the
church edifice throughout the Empire. This is not so much a
reflection of the corporate unity of the Church — for schismati-
cal bodies clung to the same type of church edifice — as it is an
evidence of a common origin in the dwelling-house, and of the
uniformity of the better class of dwelling-houses in all the chief
centres of Roman influence. It is not necessary to speak of
the Syrian or the Egyptian house, or of other national pecu-
liarities ; it is enough for our purpose that either the Greek or
the Roman type of dw'elling, or a combination of the two, was
common throughout the Empire. The large "upper room,"
which is frequently mentioned in the New Testament as the
place of meeting of the Church, was a peculiarity of Syrian
house architecture, and it has no relation to either the Greek
or Roman house.
In the Greek or Roman house there was respectively but one
room — the peristyle or the atrium — which could have served
for Christian assemblies. The Greek peristyle (Fig. 25, a) was
an open court surrounded on three sides by a covered colonnade
about which the various rooms for public or private use were
irregularly disposed. Opposite the doorw'ay, and opening in
full width upon the court, was a large covered room — the
prostas — which was marked by the presence of the altar and
hearth as the place of chief dignity and as the centre of the
family life. The atrium of the early Italian house (citrium
testiich'natiim) was very different : it also was a large rectangu-
lar room surrounded by small sleeping-chambers and work-
rooms ; but it was covered, together with the rest of the house,
by a single gable roof. It had its tahlimim, precisely corre-
sponding to the Greek prostas, but it had also a peculiarity in
two similar rooms — the alw, — which flanked the tablinumsind
opened at right angles to it, with their full width upon the atrium,
and extended in depth to the outer walls of the house. This
was originally a device for giving light to the women who worked
about the hearth in the depth of the atrium, which was but
poorly lighted by the door, and especially so when the front of
the house was occupied by shops. This device was effective
only in the case of an isolated house ; when the towns became
crowded and the houses immediately adjoined one another, the
windows could no longer be introduced in the alee, and light
THE BASILICA— Or
ujin
99
and air had to be introduced by giving up the gabled roof and
sloping it downward from all sides toward the atrium (atrium
tuscanicum, Fig. 25, h), till it ended, with a rectangular opening
above a great water basin (the compluvium). The alee, how-
ever, had become so incorporated with family customs — they
were in particular the place for the portraits of the family
ancestors — that they remained an established constituent of
the Koman house. This is of especial interest because it alone
seems to explain the transept of the Christian basilica, and to
explain also why this feature appears only in Rome, or in lands
directly under Roman influence.
^^^^^Ei^^SZ^^^^S^gy^
Fig. 25. — Plans of Greek and Roman houses.
a, Greek house : peristyle and prostas. &, Roman house : atrium, als, and tablinum.
c, Roman house : peristyle — atrium.
The old type of Roman house was with the beginning of the
Empire relegated exclusively to the country ; with it we have
nothing to do, since the propagation of the Christian faith was
confined almost exclusively to the great cities. We have here
to do especially with the atrium as it was embellished through
the influence of the Greek peristyle. The rich required a larger
house, and this was effected in either of two ways : by extend-
ing it in depth by the addition of a peristyle ; or by transform-
ing the atrium in imitation of the peristyle. The simplest
improvement of the atrium was effected by supporting the roof
by four columns at the corners of the impluvium; a more ele-
gant device was that of surrounding the impluvium with a
296821B
100 ARCHirECTUEE
colonnade on three or four sides. The latter arrangement per-
mitted the enlargement of the central open space to any extent
that might be desired, and the consequent multiplication of the
surrounding rooms. It is especially this type of house to which
we must refer the origin of the basilica. In the example here
given of it (Fig. 25, c) the alee are transposed from their proper
place, evidently on account of the exigencies of rebuilding in a
restricted space. The syncretism of the Empire made this
transformation very natural and very common in all large towns.
There is therefore very little substantial difference between the
theory of Victor Schultze, who derives the basilica from the
peristyle, and that of Dehio, who derives it from the atrium ;
the peristyle was in the East the only room available for Chris-
tian gatherings ; in the West the atrium transformed into a
peristyle was the most natural choice.
It only remains to point out some of the more striking anal-
ogies between the basilica and the chief room of the dwelling-
house. The tablinnm was, obviously, the place which would be
occupied by the presiding officers of the Church; by very
ancient tradition it was marked as the room not only of social
honor, but of a certain religious reverence. It cannot appear
strange that in the basilica this room assumed an apsidal form,
since this was a motive so exceedingly common in all Roman
architecture of a monumental character. Between the tabli-
num and the open part of the atrium stood an ornamental
stone table, the only reminder of the sacred hearth. It is a
very striking fact that this is precisely the position of the holy
table in the basilica ; when we take into account the similarity
of many of these tables with the most ancient altars (see Fig.
54), we can hardly fail to admit a close relation between them.
A peculiarity connected with early Christian worship — one
which had a great effect upon the architecture, inasmuch as it
exacted a strict adherence to th3 three-aisle scheme — was the
location of the faithful in the side aisles and transept, rather
than in the nave, which was more commodious, better provided
with light, and distinctly more convenient both for seeing and
hearing. Strange as this custom is, it seems to have its expla-
nation in the fact that the nave corresponds to the open court
of the atrium, which was unprotected from the weather and,
therefore, constituted the least desirable room. The choir was
THE BASILICA— Fundamental Traits 101
naturally grouped iu front of the altar ; when the whole room
came to be roofed their place was extended well down the
nave, the rest of wdiich was occupied by the catechumens.
We must suppose that in adapting the atrium to the use of
a church one of the first cares of the Christians would be to
roof it completely. Allowing for a provision of light and air
— the house, it must be remembered, was enclosed on both
sides by contiguous buildings — this could be accomplished
substantially in but one w^ay : by raising a roof above the cen-
tral aisle (the open court) high enough to admit light from the
sides, necessarily changing at the same time the slope of the
side roofs. This, which is the well-known and invariable solu-
tion of the basilicas for lighting and ventilation, may perhaps
have been already foreshadowed by its occasional use for the
protection of the private house against the cold ; at all events,
it was a device sufficiently frequent in Roman architecture,
and was probably resorted to in the case of some of the civil
basilicas.
The proportional lengthening of the plan in the development
of the basilica was due to the obvious conditions of this type
of structure : it might be extended to any desired length with-
out change of scheme, while very great extension in breadth
required an additional pair of colonnades. Purely artistic
considerations — the desire for horizontal lines of perspective
converging at the altar — worked as obviously in the same
direction. The omission of the colonnades on the short sides
of the basilica is one of the points which is not explained by
the architecture of the private house. It is to be remarked,
however, that in the peristyle there was usually no row of col-
umns in front of the p?'ostos, and that in the atrium of similar
form the same rule was frequently followed. Finally, in the
light brick construction of the Christian basilica, which was so
sharply in contrast to Roman usage in the construction of pub-
lic buildings, in the almost total absence of architectural deco-
ration on the exterior, and in the frequent lack of windows in
the side walls, it is not unreasonable to see a reminiscence of
its origin in the private house.
Hitherto our attention has been directed chiefly to the early
preparatory history of the basilica ; we have now to study it
in its complete development, as it appears immediately after
102
ABCHITECTUBE
tlie Peace of the Church in the buiklings of Constantine, and
as it remained till after the eighth century. Though we have
traced the general scheme of the basilica to an origin far back
in the age of persecution, it is not to be denied that the tri-
umph of the Church and the reign of Constantine did consti-
tute an epoch, and the most critical epoch, in its history. We
can hardly call it a turning-point, because the line of develop-
ment was not substantially deflected ; but it is unquestionable
that up to that time the church edifice must have been very
modest both in point of size and of decoration, and that it
a, Cathedral of Parenzo.
b, S. Pietro in Vincoli, Rome,
d, S. ApoUinare in Classe.
- Plans
Home.
assumed then, for the first time, monumental ^proportions and
a lavish wealth of decoration which enabled it to vie with the
temples of the Classical religion, which was still intrenched in
popular custom, and to attract and hold minds which were
unaffected by the deeper influences of Christianity. In this
final stage of its development the basilica naturally drew upon
all forms of Roman architecture and art which were compatible
with its general scheme.
Christian dependence upon Classical forms of architecture
was rendered more direct in certain details by the frequent
employment of fragments of disused buildings, — particularly
columns, capitals, architraves, and cornices. The adaptation to
a church use of pagan temples, or even civil buildings, was
THE BASILICA— Classical Forms
103
very seldom resorted to ; but the pillage of disused buildings
— a piece of vandalism which was begun by the Romans
themselves — was very common after the fourth century and
was carried on with immeasurable and increasing destruction
throughout the Middle Ages. Rome was, of course, the rich-
est field for such pillage, and the object of it was chiefly the
great store of marble which was there accumulated. The early
Christian period was advantageously distinguished by the fact
r
Ou
n
m
ri
rm
1
1
1
CD
□
u
LJ
of Basilicas.
e, S. Lorenzo, Rome. /, Basilica, in Suweda, Syria. g, Basilica Ursiana, Ravenna.
h, S. Paul's, Rome.
that it could appreciate the productions of Classic art and use
them in their original form, while in a later age they were
regarded simply as a quarry for rough materials.
The popular notion which ascribes to the early Church the
wanton destruction of ancient monuments out of a radical
opposition to art and a hatred of everything connected with
the pagan religion, is very far from being justified. As a mat-
ter of fact the temples were most of them in use in Rome long
after the recognition of Christianity as the religion of the
Empire, and when they w^ere finally closed they were long
kept in repair at the expense of the Christian state as the
chief glory of the city.
Almost all the individual forms which entered into the basil-
104
ABCHITECTUBE
ica were Classical, and although taken as a whole the basilica
violated the principles of classical construction by ignoring the
proper constructive symbolism of each part, it is nevertheless
true that one of its most important formative principles —
the horizontal perspective formed by parallel colonnades —
was thoroughly Classical in spirit. This principle was brought
to more forceful expression in Christian architecture because
it was brought into relation with a ruling religious idea.
Church architecture is necessarily internal architecture ; the
idea which has most fundamentally inspired it is the commun-
ion of saints — the Christian temple is the house of the congre-
gation. This communion was concretely represented by the
altar, which by ancient tradition was fixed between the clergy
r\_
^
a, S. Maria in Cosmedin, Rome. h, S. Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna.
Ravenna, d, S. Spirito, Ravenna.
1
Fig. 27. — Plans
c, S. Agata,
and the people, — that is, close to one end of the basilica and on
the middle axis, so that toward it the horizontal lines which
were emphasized by the long parallel colonnades seemed to
converge. In Gothic architecture this motive was modified
but not lost. There is certainly a difference to be observed in
this respect between the Gothic cathedral and the early basilica,
but not so blunt a contrast as is commonl}^ drawn ; for even in
the Gothic the perpendicular lines, strongly as they are marked,
remain subordinate to the horizontal. In the round churches,
and in domed churches of every description, there was a very
different architectural principle at work ; for there the princi-
pal axis was central and vertical. It seems hardly just to say
THE BASILICA— Plan
105
that the Christian cult could uot accommodate itself to this type
of church by transferring the liturgical centre to the principal
axis of the building — that is, by placing the altar in the mid-
dle of the room. But it certainly did not do so ; and as long
as the altar was kept near the periphery of the building there
was a discord between the perpendicular axis of the architec-
ture and the horizontal liturgical axis. We see from this why
it is that the scheme of the basilica has remained a normal and
regulative factor in church architecture, and why it must remain
so just so long as the altar retains its traditional position in the
17^
T\
r--t
1. J
of Basilicas.
«, Xenodochium of Pammachius, Porto. /, S. Maria Maggiore, Eome. g, Basilica
in Kalb-Luseh, Sj-ria.
building, and the Eucharist its same high dignity in the Church.
The most successful solution of domed architecture as applied
to the church adapted itself to this exigency by adopting sub-
stantially the ground plan of the basilica.
In plan, the basilica was marked by two principal divisions :
the great rectangular hall, which was the room of the laity, and
the apse, which was the place of the clergy. To this must be
added a vestibule, which in the East appears as a definite
architectural feature of the building (the narthex), while the
same purpose was served in the West by the adjoining portico
of the atrium (see p. 178). The vestibule was the place for
106 ARCHITECTURE
the penitents, of whom, as is well, known, there were many
grades. There were many grades and kinds also within the
church, each to be distinguished from the other, if not actually
divided. The catechumens, I suppose, were usually admitted
to the rear of the nave ; the faithful occupied the side aisles,
the men on the right side of the entrance and the women on
the left ; those who were held in chief honor in the congrega-
tion, as the widows and virgins, and those who on account of
their age or social position were entitled to peculiar regard,
had their place in the forward end of the aisles or in the tran-
sept; the different orders of the clergy were in turn distin-
guished among themselves, the bishop had his seat in the
middle of the apsidal circle, the presbyters were seated on
either side of him and at a lower level, the deacons stood near
the altar, and the inferior clergy had their place with the choir
in the nave. All of these minor divisions were not marked
architecturally, but generally only by chancels (p. 168) or cur-
tains (p. 377), yet even by this the effect of architectural
unity must have been seriously marred. Architecturally, even
the three principal divisions — between the clergy and the
laity and the unbaptized or excommunicate — were not dis-
tinctly enough marked, or rather the spaces which they
marked off became in time inadequate for the several classes
for which they were designed, so that both a part of the clergy
and a part of the unbaptized encroached upon the nave.
Fundamentally the basilica constituted a single room in
which priests and people gathered in common worship about
the common altar. According to a strict application of church
symbolism the unbaptized were not to be admitted within this
room ; a place was provided for them without the doors in the
atrium or in the narthex, an exception being made, however, in
favor of the catechumens. The atrium was a square open court
surrounded by a portico (Figs. 26, a and c, 27 e, 29, 30). With
the fifth century it became infrequent, particularly in the East ;
but even in case it was removed, the portico adjoining the church
was generally retained, or in rebuilding it was imitated, till late
in the Middle Ages (Figs. 26, h and e, 27, a). In the East this nar-
row vestibule was architecturally incorporated with the church
(Figs. 26,/, 27, fj, 31, 52), and was called the narthex. The nar-
thex, when attached to round or polygonal buildings (churches,
THE BASILICA — Nave
107
baptisteries, or mausoleums), terminated at each end in an apse
(Figs. 44, d, e, and 49). In Syria, where the atrium had never
been in use to hinder the effect of the faqade, the narthex
received an architectural solution (Fig. 32) which had a marked
influence- — through the Crusades — upon the mediaeval church
faqade in Europe. The vestibule opened into the church by at
least as many doors as there were aisles. We must suppose
that of the penitents only the " wallers " were kept here, for
the " hearers " could have heard the lections and the sermon
only in case they were admitted within the church.
The great body of the church, the room of the congregation,
was divided by colonnades into aisles, which were always odd
in number (three or five), as the colonnades were of course
-. r^i M
U'
Fig. 2S. — Plans of Basilicas.
a, Basilica of S. Reparatus, Orleansville, Africa. b, S. Agnese, Rome.
near Rome.
S. Sinforosa
even. The width of each of the side aisles was about half
that of the middle. The five-aisle system was rare, and was
only adapted to the greater basilicas ; even in this case the
united width of the two side aisles remained below that of the
middle. The width of the aisles was determined by technical
considerations, depending especially upon the strength of the
roof beams. The height of the basilica was insignificant in
proportion to its breadth ; the predominance of the horizontal
lines was thus thoroughly preserved. The total width of the
basilica very much exceeded its height; but of more impor-
tance for the interior effect was the fact that the height of
each aisle (including the nave) surpassed its breadth only by a
108 ARCIIirECTURE
small fraction — i to f . The height also was conditioned by
technical considerations, namely, by the strength of the colon-
nades "w'hich supported the walls. Thin and light as the brick
walls were, they had but an unstable support in the columns,
which were the characteristic and almost invariable feature of
the basilica.
This departure from Roman tradition — the adoption of the
column instead of the pillar as a wall support — we have traced to
its origin in the Roman house; and it is not difficult to detect
the influences which conduced to its perpetuation. In the first
place it effected a sufficient division of the room without too
much marring its unity or interfering with the transmission of
sight and sound ; another consideration was the artistic delight
which was felt in the form and material ; while by no means
least was the ease with which columns and capitals could be
procured from ruined buildings. For the Constantinian basil-
icas the columns were expressly made ; but later it became
common to use old columns, and those of different orders and
of different lengths were sometimes united in the same colon-
nade. The columns — except those which were taken from
ancient monuments — were rarely channelled; the skill to
make them was doubtless lacking, but there entered also into
consideration the effect of the rich glass mosaics which
covered the walls, for nothing harmonized so well with this
as the tone of the smooth polished marble and its broad reflec-
tion of the light.
The mosaic decoration had its effect also upon the capitals :
beautiful Classical capitals were sometimes employed in the
basilicas and even made expressly for them ; but the rich golds
and purples of the mosaics with their glints of reflected light
rendered somewhat vague and ineffective their sharp outlines,
and the tendency which culminated in the Byzantine capital
was toward a simple treatment in low relief, without detail, or
an intricate surface design deeply perforated so as to present
a broad effect of light and shade. A general change in the
shape of the capital was due to the disuse of the architrave
and the substitution of the arch (archivolt) resting directly
upon the capital. The corners of the Greek capitals were ill-
fitted to support this sort of pressure ; the Byzantine capital
assumed generally a very simple and solid shape, it was square
THE BASILICA— Capitals
109
at the top and tapered conically to meet the circular head of
the column. It presented therefore four smooth surfaces for
the low relief decoration which was the only type of stone
carrying then practised. When the wall was constructed of
stone the two arches which sprang from the capital demanded a
broader base, and in this case the capital had to be oblong with
bracket-like extensions on either side. One of the peculiarities
of Byzantine architecture, and one which was strictly limited
to it, grew out of this same necessity ; it consisted in interpos-
ing a sort of second capital as the
immediate support of the arch,
a nearly cubical block of stone
which was tapered slightly at the
bottom. This received a decora-
tion similar to that of the capital,
though generally less elaborate
(see Fig. 45).
The architrave fell more and
more into disuse after the fourth
century ; it lingered longest in
places like Rome, where the
people were accustomed to the
lines of Classic architecture, and
where, it may be added, this
member might be taken ready
made from disused buildings.
In S. Peter's, which was a ba-
silica of five aisles, the central
colonnades were surmounted by
the architrave, the second rows
by the archivolt; but it is doubtful if this arrangement dates
from the original construction. The architrave was used in
S. Maria Maggiore ; the archivolt, in S. Paul's. The archi-
traves in S. Lorenzo outside of Rome are taken from an
ancient monument. Even after its general disuse as the sup-
port of a wall, the architrave continued in general use for a
variety of purposes, and especially to bind together a row of
columns {cf. Figs. 36, 38).
The substitution of the archivolt in this connection did not
comport thoroughly with the horizontal principle of this archi-
FiG. 23. — Plan of old St. Peter's.
110
ARCHITECTURE
tecture ; but as the columns were very close together the arches
were insigniticaut, and at any rate the horizontal line was
strongly maintained by a cornice, if not also by a frieze. The
panels of mosaic, or fresco (Fig. 38), or still more signally the
procession of saints such as decorates the wall of S. ApoUinare
Nuovo at Kavenna (Fig. 37), conduced to the same effect.
Structurally there was not much to choose between these two
types, for if the architrave proved a poor support for the wall,
the thrust of the arches tended to dislocate the columns. The
arch had this advantage, however, that it permitted a greater
• The old basilica of S. Peter's, Rome.
interval between the columns, and consequently a freer pros-
pect from the aisles. This, as time went on, became of ever
greater importance, for ancient columns became rare and new
ones more difficult to make.
As a rule the interval between the columns was small in the
beginning and greater in the later period ; it is specially great
in the churches of Ravenna. This was carried no farther, how-
ever, than the limits prescribed by the dimensions of the Classi-
cal shaft. Further progress toward the unification of the room
of the congregation was possible only by the use of the pillar,
which, affording a more solid base, permitted the construction
of a broader arch.
THE BASILICA— Columns and Pillars
111
In the early Christian period the pillar was seldom substi-
tuted for the column except in Central Syria. Its use in Syria
was due in part to the lack of ancient columns to draw upon,
but still more to the fact that, no wood being available, the con-
struction was exclusively of stone, and consequently too heavy
to be supported upon columns of Classical proportions. In one
type of Syrian church three broad arches on either side of the
nave replaced the colonnade (Fig. 34). In one section of the
country, where wood was so scarce that even the roof had to
be made of stone, the pillars of the nave served as support for
great transverse arches which spanned each of the three aisles
at such close inter-
vals that plates of
stone could be laid
across from one to
another to form the
roof.
Even in Syria, how-
ever, most of the
churches conformed
to the common type.
Elsewhere pillars
were sparingly used,
and with evident dis-
dain. The only basili-
cas in the West which
are known to have been built with pillars are the basilica at
Orleansville (Fig. 28, a), S. Sinforosa (Fig. 28, c), the basilica
attached to the Xenodochium at Porto (Fig. 27, e) and the older
basilica of S. Felix at Xola for which S. Paulinus substituted
one with columns.^ They sometimes appear interchangeably
with the columns of the nave (Fig. 38), evidently to insure
greater stability ; in some cases at least they are the result of
rebuilding. In the case of a transept, pillars were always used
to support the arch which divided it from the nave. In the
later development of dome architecture pillars became the chief
structural support, while the column retained hardly more than
a decorative importance. In the basilicas the height of the
Fig. 31. — Church iu Babuda, S^iia.
1 Poem 28 : v. 200: nam steterant vasto de/ormlbus aymine pilis.
112
AliClIITECTUBE
architrave (or arcliivolt) varied from about ^^ to y^^ of the total
height of the clearstory Avail.
A peculiarity of the East was the construction of galleries
over the side aisles and opening upon the nave ; the walls above
them were in turn supported by lower arcades. This was ap-
parently a common feature of the civil basilicas, but in the
West at least it was not originally employed in the Christian.
Even in the East it was probably not used in the beginning;
-■^
Fig. 32. —Basilica in Turmanin, Syria (restoration of fafade).
at all events the Syrian and Palestinian churches almost with-
out exception have but one story. Elsewhere, however, the
two-story scheme became the rule in the course of the sixth
century, — especially in domed structures, where it was more
in keeping with the architectural lines of the building (Fig. 46).
As employed in the basilica it had a tendency to raise the line
of vision above the altar. The basilicas of Ravenna were in
this respect uninfluenced by Byzantine custom ; only the polyg-
onal church of S. Vitale was constructed with galleries. The
THE BASILICA — Windows 113
galleries which appear in E,oman basilicas (S. Lorenzo, S, Agnese,
S. Cecilia, and SS. Xereo eel Achilleo) belong to the period (sixth
to ninth centuries) during which Rome was subject to Byzan-
tine influence. The galleries were apportioned to the women,
and it seems probable that the stricter separation of the sexes
in the East was the chief reason for their employment.
Even in case a basilica was provided with galleries, the clear-
story walls rose still above them (with rare exceptions, which
were probably due to reconstruction), for the direct admission
of light to the nave. As a general rule, the windows corre-
sponded to the intercolumniations of the colonnade. They
became, therefore, less frequent as in the course of time the in-
tercolumniations were made greater ; but in any case they were
much more frequent than the taste of a later age demanded,
for it became the custom in the Middle Ages to wall up every
alternate window. The same intervals were observed in the
clearstory walls of the transept. There were generally three
windows in the facade, — or a double row of three, — and the
same under the gables of the transept. In the gables there
were commonly no windows, because of the flat ceiling of the
basilica. In Syria the window aperture was often rectangu-
lar ; but even there it was more commonly closed above by an
arch, and this was the almost invariable custom elsewhere. In
case windows were introduced in the walls of the aisles, they
were placed at much rarer intervals. It is remarked as a point
of contrast between the basilicas of Rome and of Ravenna,
that the former — at least the more notable of them — had no
windows in the side walls, as had the latter. The Roman basil-
icas were also without windows in the apse, while elsewhere,
especially in later constructions, they were usual, generally
to the number of three. This is probably to be connected
with the fact that the earliest and greatest basilicas of Rome,
which served as patterns for the rest, had the apse directed
toward the west, while later custom prescribed an easterly
direction (see p. 176).
Small window openings were sometimes closed only by shut-
ters, as a protection against cold or rain. Ancient stoue shutters,
moving upon hinges, are still preserved in Central Syria. But in
general the windows were closed by a latticework of metal,
or by thin plates of stone — often translucent marble or ala-
114
ARCIIirECTUIiE
baster — which were closely perforated with small apertures
composing a more or less ornamental pattern (Figs. 42, 153). A
window at Grado, which is here illustrated, exemplities a
method of making such plates at small expense, for, though
apparently of stone, it is actually of cement, and was formed
in a mould. The small apertures in the window plates were
sometimes filled with glass, clear or colored; or with some
translucent stone, as in the case of the early windows of S.
Lorenzo, which are incorporated with the mosaic of the trium-
phal arch (Fig. 130) ; but they were usually left open, allowing
ingress to air as well as light. The smallness of the aper-
FiG. 83. — Basilica in Turmanin, Syria
tures sufficed to protect the interior from rain, and they divided
the broad shafts of light into scattered beams, which were par-
ticularly favorable for the effect of the mosaics.
The basilicas were very clearly lighted in comparison to
most of the Gothic churches; the obstruction to the light
which was offered by the stone window plates was compen-
sated by the frequency of the windows, and still more by the
reflection on all sides, from the polished surfaces of marble and
from the bright glass mosaic, which at once increased and soft-
ened the light of the building. The cathedral of Monreale
near Palermo, though a late medieval building, gives a more
perfect notion than does any other monument of the effect of
early Christian decoration in marble and mosaic. In this
THE BASILICA — Doors 115
church one cannot but recognize that the effect woukl be en-
hanced if, for the broad windows of clear glass, there were sub-
stituted perforated marble plates of the ancient type. It must
be recognized, too, that colored glass, such as filled the windows
of the late Gothic churches, w^ould have interfered in some
measure with the definite color scheme of the mosaics. In
fact, the means resorted to for lighting the early churches was
far from being imperfect ; and not the least of its advantages
was that it insured purity or air and good ventilation without
causing strong draughts in the lower part of the church.
The introduction of windows in the lower wall of the apse
did not have a good effect. They would hardly have been used
except for the symbolical interest which attached to the rising
sun shining upon the morning Eucharist. The mosaics them-
selves are the proper illumination of the apse, and the play of
reflected light upon the rounded or spherical surfaces of the
apse is one of its singular attractions. This effect was enhanced
by the multitude of little lamps which often adorned the altar
room, but it could only be marred by direct shafts of light
piercing the wall.
The doors of the basilica were commonly limited to the fa-
cade. The middle door leading into the nave was greater than
those which flanked it, and the leaves of this door especially
were a favorite field for decoration. Notable are the carved
wood doors of S. Sabina in Rome (Figs. 105, 106) and of the
cloister of S. Catharine on Mt. Sinai. Bronze doors from Clas-
sical buildings were employed, as in the Lateran Baptistery
(from the Baths of Caracalla) and in the church of SS.
Cosma e Damiano (formerly Temple of Romulus). Bronze
doors, as they were made in the Christian period, commonly
consisted of thin plates of metal supported upon wood, as,
for instance, the doors of S. Sophia, which are still in part pre-
served. Such doors were generally decorated with a purely
architectural ornamentation. Honorius I. decorated the mid-
dle door of S. Peter's with 975 pounds of silver, and inscribed
a long Latin inscription upon each leaf. Richly ornamented
stone doors are found in Central Syria. Entrances upon the
sides of the church were not common except in Syria, since the
front alone of the church was usually free.
The roof of the basilica was of wood. The only exception
116
ARCHITECTURE
is constituted b}^ some of the Syrian churches above mentioned;
but the churches of Central Syria stand so thoroughly apart
and by themselves that they deserve a separate treatment and
a fuller one than can be given here. For adequate informa-
tion about this interesting architecture, one must refer to the
work of de Vogiie.^ In the basilicas, therefore, East and West,
— and in Syria wherever wood was to be had, — a low gable roof
surmounted the nave and transept, and a shed roof of the same
angle covered the aisles. The commonest covering for the roof
was, of course, terra-cotta tiles. At Ravenna colored glazed
tiles were sometimes employed, and patterns were formed by
them. The roof of great churches was often covered with lead,
but the noblest material for this purpose was bronze. Hono-
FiG. 84. — Longitudinal section of basilica in liuweha, 83-ria.
rius I. had the roof of S. Peter's covered with bronze tiles. ^
The bronze tiles of the Constantinian church of the Apostles at
Constantinople were gilt, so that in the sunlight they nearly
blinded the beholder.^
It is probable that in the basilicas of Central Syria the roof
and its supports were visible from below. That these basilicas
were not ceiled, but were open clear to the roof, is proved es-
pecially by the windows which appear in the gable, sometimes
a round window divided into four compartments by a cross, a
precursor of the rose window. It has been commonly sup-
posed that the basilicas of the West were often, if not regu-
larly, covered in the same way. This notion is due solely to
the fact that in the restorations which were undertaken in the
1 See Bibliography.
2 Lib. Pont., Vita Honor.
3 Eusebius, Vita Const. IV. 58.
THE BASILICA— Ceiling
117
IMiddle Ages the flat ceiling was not retained, because it was
no longer in keeping with the lines to which people had be-
come accustomed in Romanesque and Gothic churches. It
cannot be denied that this scheme was often rendered very-
attractive — as in S. Miniato and in the cathedral of iSIonreale
— by the rich designs in color with which the rafters were
painted. But there remains no doubt that the general rule
prescribed a flat ceiling for the ancient basil-
ica, as well above the aisles as above the
nave ; and it is probable that this rule
was subject to no other exce})tion
than that mentioned abo\ e
In this respect the aichi-
tecture of the basilica was
influenced, not only by
a Classic tradition,
but by two consid-
erations, the one
artistic and the
other practical,
which attached
themselves di-
rectly to the reli-
gious use of the
building. Artisti-
cally it was of great
importance that
the eye should not
be tempted to stray
up among the raf-
ters of the roof and
away from the apse and the altar, toward which all the chief
lines of the building led ; in maintaining the horizontal lines
of the basilica no feature had so decisive an influence as the
ceiling. Practically, it was of no less importance that the
building should be acoustically adapted to its use as an audi-
torium. No other established type of church building has
ever so thoroughly fulfilled this requirement, nor ever seri-
ously aimed to do so. The character of church worship in the
Middle Ages rendered this a question of minor consideration ;
Fig. 35. — Basilica in Kalb-Luseh, Syria.
118 ARCHITECTUIiE
but in the early period it was, as it has come to be again in the
Protestant churches, a matter of supreme importance. Even
for the intoning of the prayers and the chanting of the Psabns
a good acoustic quaUty was a desideratum, but besides that, it
must be remembered that the long lections and the sermon
constituted a very important part of the Eucharistic celebration
in the early Church. During the earlier part of our period the
bishop was accustomed to address the congregation from his
seat in the apse ; but in the course of the fifth century, the
great size of the basilicas, as well as the interposition of the ci-
borium between the cathedra and the nave, naturally prompted
the practice of preaching from one of the lectors' pulpits in the
body of the church.
The flat ceiling of the basilica was supported by heavy
beams extending from wall to wall and crossed at right angles
by longitudinal beams which formed with them square or
oblong spaces for deeply recessed panelling. It appears from
ancient texts that various styles of panelling were in use, but
that the most usual was the style traditional to the Greek
temple, known as lacunaria. The ceiling was richly decorated
in color and gold. Some ceilings are spoken of as entirely
covered with gold, and when gold was used it must of course
have dominated over any other decoration ; but it is obvious
that the effect of the gold would be enhanced by 'some contrast
in color, and in this case it is natural to suppose that the
beams would be principally decorated in gold and the recessed
panels in color — dark blue and red. Some of the descriptions
of early ceilings are very enthusiastic : Eusebius, describing
the Constantinian church of the Holy Sepulchre, says that the
golden ceiling reflected the whole temple as in a sea of light.
The numerous windows which were immediately under the
ceiling must have added much to its effect, and the ceiling
in turn must have contributed greatly to the lighting of the
whole building. Owing to the perishable material, no ancient
ceiling has been preserved. The Liher Pontificalis frequently
recounts the restoration of the ceiling timbers. But the res-
torations were often accomplished piecemeal, and they may be
supposed to have followed often the ancient pattern.
The decoration of the floor and walls is treated in the chap-
ter on Mosaic (page 295) ; it need be described here only so far
THE BA SIL ICA — Decor alio i
119
as is necessary in furnishing once for all a general impression
of the basilica. The floor, in accordance with Roman custom,
was finished in stone mosaic, predominantly in light-colored
marble. The side walls and the recess of the apse, up to or
above a man's height, were lined with colored marbles com-
posed in large geometrical patterns (opus sedUe). The rest of
the wall space was covered with mosaic pictures, which during
the early part of the fourth century were executed with natu-
ral stones, afterward with cubes of colored glass, in many
^-^y.^ K^>^X'>^'s:^//>^-v /
Fig. 36. — Cathedral of Torcello. Seventh century.
tints, but usually upon a background of purple or gold. Where
means failed for the execution of pictures in mosaic, they were
done in fresco, and in one way or another the whole surface of
the brick wall was covered and concealed, as the traditions
of Roman construction demanded. There was no effort to
represent in the decoration the structural purpose of the wall ;
above the cornice, or the frieze, the structural symbolism was
entirely ignored ; the wall was treated merely as a screen which
enclosed the room, with complete abstraction of the fact that
it actually supported the weight of the roof. In the Byzantine
domed architecture there was the same freedom in the treat-
ment of the wall merely as a field for pictorial decoration.
120 ARCHITECTURE
This has often been accounted a serious defect in early Chris-
tian architecture ; it stands in specially strong contrast to the
strictly organic treatment of the Gothic. This practice and
this conception of the wall were nevertheless thoroughly in
accord with Greek traditions, indeed with the early traditions
of the Aryan race. The wall, in fact, constitutes but a poor
support ; if it happen to serve as such, nothing better can be
done with it than to ignore the fact. The comparison with the
Gothic is not to the point, for in the developed style the wall
practically disappeared, or rather was represented by the col-
ored glass windows.
^lost of the wall space was portioned out into rectangular
fields convenient for the Biblical scenes or other religious
themes which were to be represented. There was no fixed
rule, such as obtained in later Byzantine times, for the location
in different parts of the church of the several themes which
were represented. But, in general, historical pictures (literal
Biblical illustrations) adorned the nave, while the great sym-
bolical subjects were in the neighborhood of the altar. The
half dome termination of the apse was invariably the place for
the principal theme ; its spherical surface was singularly favor-
able for the best effects of the lustrous glass mosaic. On the
curved but perpendicular wall below it there was often room
for another subject. As the height of the apse was consider-
ably less than that of the ceiling, and its breadth generally
less than that of the nave, it intersected the wall of the church
in a great arch (the apsidal arch) which provided a space hardly
less eligible for a single grand theme. It was under this arch
that the altar was located ; or, in case there was a transept,
under a second arch (the triumphal arch, according to a later
terminology), of the same height and similarly decorated, which
separated the transept from the nave. These two arches with
the apse formed one complex as seen from the nave ; the Apoc-
alyptic visions which adorned them are the very triumph of
the mosaic art. The apse and these neighboring arches con-
tributed most essentially to the total effect of the basilica; they
constituted the only variety which enlivened the monotonous
lines of its architecture ; it was at the triumphal arch the hor-
izontal lines were first broken, and the gaze which was irre-
sistibly drawn to the altar was then first bid to soar. This
THE BASILICA— The rreshyterium
121
complex of arch and apse, with the noble decoration which
adorned it, constituted the crowning glory of the basilica; it
deserves to be compared to the prospect which was enjoyed by
the Greek worshippers, who stood without and gazed beyond
the altar to the pediment of the temple.
Having already described the vestibule of the church and the
room of the congregation, it remains only to speak of the room
Fig. 37. — S. Apollinare Nuovo, Kavenua. Sixth centurj-.
of the clergy. This part of the church was known by various
names according as one or another aspect of it was present to
the mind. The name iweshyterium was given it as the place of
the higher clergy ; apsis, exedra, and concha refer to its form ;
bema refers to the fact that it was raised by several steps above
the floor of the church ; and tribunal (also tribuna), to its like-
ness to the platform occupied by the magistrates in the civil
122
ARCHITECTURE
basilica. A good deal that belongs to this topic has already
been anticipated incidentally in the course of the preceding
paragraphs ; still other subjects which one might expect to find
treated here must be postponed, so far as any detailed descrip-
Fig. 38. — S. Maria in Cosmedin, Eome. Eighth century (restoration).
tion is concerned, to a later page, — all, that is, which belongs
not so strictly to the architecture as to the furniture of the
church, as the altar and its ciborium, the chancels, the pulpits,
and the seats.
In this connection, however, attention needs to be called to
THE BASILICA— The Transept 123
the architectural importance of the ciboriiim, or canopy, which
surmounted the altar. The nearest analogy of the ciborium is
to be found in the temple-like structure which frequently sur-
mounted a tomb or covered a sarcophagus. The immediate
suggestion of its use was obviously the desire to do honor to
the altar by covering it, and by separating it ideally from the
rest of the building. But, besides this, with the construction of
great basilicas there arose an architectural necessity for this or
for some similar device. The altar, no matter what might be
the size of the church, retained always the same very limited
dimensions. Of itself, therefore, it was ill fitted to constitute
the architectural centre of a huge basilica ; it needed then, as
it has always needed, some architectural adjunct which might
vary in size with the proportions of the building, and serve even
in the greatest to mark the altar as the preeminent object of
regard, as the centre and explanation of the liturgical order of
the church. This was approximately the only solution which
was possible so long as the bishop's throne remained in the
middle of the apse and the celebrant faced the people from be-
hind the altar. The reredos of the Gothic church was another
solution under changed conditions. It can hardly be accounted
so successful a one, since it afforded only a background and not
a shrine for the altar, and was besides too closely incorporated
with it.
It is evident that in the original disposition of the basilica
the apse was intended to furnish sufficient room for all of the
higher clergy. How thoroughly traditional this feature was, is
proved by the tenacity with which it was conserved after it had
ceased to correspond to the growing importance of the clergy
and the increasing elaboration of the ritual. The room of the
clergy was clearly circumscribed, and therefore the more ex-
pressly limited, by the fact that the half-circular floor of the
apse was raised by two or three steps above that of the nave.
The altar was commonly raised a few steps higher and stood in
the middle of the chord of the apse ; on either side of it were
chancels which separated the room of the clergy from the rest
of the basilica.
If this space was not actually too small to accommodate the
number of clergy who might be present, it was still not large
enough to comport with their dignity, or to distinguish clearly
124 ABCHITECTUIiE
the different orders. The want of a greater space must have
been felt ah-eady before the end of the third century, that is,
before the construction of any of the basilicas which we know.
The fact that this want was not satisfied by any architectural
innovation, — such, for example, as a deepening of the apsidal
room after the manner of the Gothic choir, — but by the mere
makeshift of extending the chancels into the nave and across
the aisles, is attributed to the impotence of architectural inven-
tion in the early Christian period. But it must be observed
that, whereas the Gothic with its lofty pointed arches naturally
invited the construction of deeply recessed spaces beyond the
quadrangular plan, the lines of the basilica as distinctly for-
bade it. The round or polygonal churches which were con-
structed with dome and vault readily allowed of a deeply
recessed apse (Figs. 49, 50), but in the basilica it must have
destroyed the clear and noble effect of the half dome and arch,
which we have but just now had occasion to praise as its chief
architectural excellence.
The transept furnished an adequate solution for this need,
although it was not developed expressly to meet it, but was
derived, as we have seen, from a traditional feature of the Roman
house, and was therefore limited to Rome and to the lands
which were most directly under the influence of the Roman
Church. The transept was as a rule somewhat narrower than
the nave ; the only exception is the transept of the Lateran,
which is slightly wider. The lateral termination of the tran-
sept generally coincided with the Avail of the aisles, and there-
fore did not interrupt the quadrangular plan of the basilica.
The exceptional cases in which it extended slightly beyond this
line belong, however, to the oldest and most important of the
Roman basilicas, — S. Peter's, S. Paul's, and the Lateran (Figs.
26, h, 29), — and it was probably the great importance of these
churches which contributed, together with purely architectural
and symbolic considerations, to impress this scheme upon the
Gothic cathedral. In a church which was provided with a
transept, the altar was not located beneath the apsidal arch, but
on the line which separated the transept from the nave, beneath
the circus major, as it was called in the Liher Pontificalis. This
left between the altar and the apse ample space for the clergy,
and in its wings provided accommodation for the altars of the
THE BASILICA— rrothosis
125
jjrothesis, upon which the offerings of the people were bestowed
and from which the bread and wine for the Eucharist were
taken. The whole of the transept, or at least the part reserved
\ >
ik
Fk;. 39.- ( aiii.'h.^'. of I'arenzu. Sixth ceiitiu-y.
to the clergy, was raised like the floor of the apse, and sur-
rounded by chancels, sometimes also by rows of columns and
curtains.
126 ABCHITECTUBE
The altars of prothesis were obviously a necessary part of
the furniture of the church so long as the offerings of the
people were largely made in kind ; a mere reminiscence of them
is preserved in the credence upon which the Eucharistic ele-
ments are placed before they are carried to the altar. It
appears that one table of prothesis often sufficed ; but the
separation of the sexes to the one side and the other of the
church must as a rule have required one table at the end of
each aisle, or, in case there was a transept, in each of its wings.
The Liber Pontijicalis records the gift by Constantine to the
Lateran of " seven altars of purest silver weighing two hundred
pounds each." This has been relied upon as a proof of the plu-
rality of altars in that early age of the Church ; but these silver
altars were evidently nothing else than tables of prothesis, and
they correspond, as Duchesne points out, to the number of dea-
cons in the Koman Church. In case there was no transept, there
was room found for these tables and for the services connected
with them at each side of the apse at the extremities of the
aisles, and this room was set apart merely by means of chan-
cels and curtains. Remains of such chancels are still in place
in the ancient basilica of S. Reparatus in Orleans ville (Fig. 28, a).
In churches which were without the transept — as were
many of the Roman basilicas, and all those of Ravenna and of
the East — there was no means of enlarging the apsidal room
except by placing the altar some distance in front of the chord
of the apse, and extending the platform and chancels corre-
spondingly. But the Eastern Church found some compensa-
tion for the transept in the construction of two rooms which
projected beyond the quadrangular plan, flanking the apse on
either side and opening upon the side aisles (Figs. 26, d and/,
27, d, 33). Except in Central Syria the original shape of these
rooms cannot often be established with certainty, for few
parts of the church were liable to suffer so much from restora-
tion. One of the rooms, called the prothesis, was intended to
receive the offerings of the people ; the other, the diaconicon,
served, like the later sacristy, for keeping the church utensils
and the sacred and liturgical books. The diaconicon was used
for the vesting of the clergy, and to it the people also might
resort to study the Scriptures. The latter fact is indicated by
a titidus which Paulinus of Nola devised for the door : —
THE BASILICA — rrothcsis
127
SI QUEM SAXCTA TENET MEDITAXDI IX LEGE VOLUXTAS,
HIC POTERIT RESIDEXS SACRIS IX^TEXDERE LIBRIS.
In plan the two rooms were identical, but the prothesis opened
by a greater door into the church. There was sometimes a
direct communication between the diaconicon and the presby-
ter ium ; but in the East there was never such a communicBr
Fig. 40. —Apse of the basilica Severiana, Xaples. Fourth century.
tion in the case of the prothesis, for one of the most impres-
sive features of the Oriental ritual was the passage of the
priests carrying the Eucharistic elements through the body
of the church and in through the chancel doors to the presby-
terium. There was no rule to establish upon which side of
the church the prothesis and the diaconicon ought respectively
to be placed.
In the course of time, as offerings in kind fell out of use and
the other uses of the prothesis were conveniently served by the
128
ABCHITECTURE
diaconicon, which was commonly absorbed in a large sacristy,
both of the rooms were often transformed into chapels for the
side altars which came into use as a consequence of the cult of
relics.
In external appearance the basilica stands in very disadvan-
tageous contrast to all other types of Roman public architec-
ture. The building material was almost invariably of brick,
Fig. 41. — S. Paul's, Eome, interior as recently restored.
and the brick construction after the second century of the
Empire was of a very coarse character. Commonly as brick
was used by the Romans, it was accounted too base a material
to be exposed to view, and in all buildings of any pretension it
was covered with marble, or hewn stone, or at least with
plaster and paint. Although the Church followed this tradi-
tion so far as concerned the interior of the basilica, on the out-
side the bare brick wall was left exposed without any, or with
the very least, attempt at architectural decoration. The justice
THE BASILICA— Exterior' 129
of the principle, however, was acknowledged by the fact that
the faqade was sometimes decorated, like the interior, with
mosaic. It has to be remembered that, while the facade was
freely visible from the atrium, the rest of the basilica was
likely to be so completely surrounded by chapels, mausoleums,
hospices, and schools (Fig. oo) that the exterior finish of the
lower wall was not of prime importance ; and the wall of the
clearstory was to some extent enlivened by its close row of
windows. It was by slight mouldings around the windows that
the first step was made in Ravenna toward a decorative treat-
ment of the brickwork. In Eavenna and in the East the apse
was generally faced with a polygonal wall (Fig. 33) ; in Africa
the apse and the adjoining rooms were often masked by a
straight wall, — for a Syrian example see Fig. 61.
The best that can be said for the external appearance of the
basilica is that it gave a perfectly frank and lucid idea of the
interior disposition of the room. For the rest it revealed only
too plainly its derivation from a private style of architecture.
The lavish expenditure of costly decoration upon the interior
stands in contrast not only to the bareness of the exterior, but
to the exceeding cheapness of the construction. In the domed
type of architecture the walls had of course to be much thicker,
the construction was altogether much more costly, and even the
exterior could not but have a greater architectural interest and
variety. It was this type which continued the traditions of
Roman public architecture; but the exterior followed the
example of the basilica, and the bare brick walls had in some
respects a worse effect, because they were meaningless, and
masked the interior disposition of the building.
This rudeness was not altogether due to carelessness about
the exterior effect, for there was a distinct effort to make at
least the approach to the church — the facade, the atrium, and
its porch — as attractive and imposing as possible. It was pre-
cisely the faqade, however, which proved the most intractable
feature of the exterior. From outside the atrium only the low
gable and the clearstory wall were visible ; from within, the
case was not much better, for the portico with its close line of
slender columns could in no way be reconciled with the sheer
mass of the upper wall, unbroken save by a few windows. The
problem of the facade was to be solved only by incorporating
130
ARCHITECTURE
the vestibule or portico more closely with the church, as was
done with such signal effect in Central Syria.
But this brings us to another story : these churches of Cen-
tral Syria — most of them of the fourth or fifth century — stand
in the sharpest contrast to all other architecture of the early
Christian period. Looking at such a fagade as that which is
represented in Fig. 32, it is hard to believe that it is not at least
seven centuries later. In point of fact, we are compelled to
believe that the early Norman churches in the neighborhood of
the great crusading ports of Southern France and Apulia were
directly inspired by these Syrian basilicas. Syria, it must be
remembered, was one of the most flourishing centres of early
Christian life, and it was not only in close contact with Greek
(^
P^
ill
III!
nil
nil
m
m
Fig. 42. — Stone windows.
and Roman civilization, but it inherited more fully than any
other Christian land the traditions of Oriental art. It is
altogether likely that Syrian architecture had a marked influ-
ence upon all neighboring lands — except Palestine, where all
the great churches were due to the munificence of the Roman
or Byzantine emperors. At all events its free and strong
development of the theme which was presented by the basilica
was not surpassed till the advent of the Gothic. From a
decorative point of view the interior of the Syrian basilica
was far less effective than the more usual type which we have
been studying ; it lacked the rich pictorial mosaics, and relied
upon a strictly architectural decoration of the stone surface.
From an architectural point of view it was incomparably
stronger and more consistent, an advantage which was dis-
played even more conspicuously on the outside than within. It
THE CENTRAL TYPE— In General 131
is quite beyond our scope to do justice to the admirable char-
acter of its masonry and the detailed architectural decoration
which did so much to ennoble its appearance ; it is better
frankly to omit this theme than to give the impression that it
can be exhausted in a few words. But one word must be said
about the faqade, though it be only to direct attention to the
characteristic scheme which is exemplified in Fig. 32. It will
be seen that the chief features are : a free flight of steps lead-
ing through a broad arch into a vestibule, which is surmounted
by an open loggia and flanked by two gabled towers which
symmetrically balance the gable of the nave. The fundamental
characteristic of this scheme consists in the two towers which
mask the ends of the aisles and balance the clearstory ; when
this was given, all the rest was sufficiently obvious.
The church tower introduces a problem which is not alto-
gether explained. It is not sure at what date it was first used
for church bells ; it is probable that its original purpose was
defence. But whatever its purpose, it was common from the
fifth century both in the East and West ; and always, till late
in the Middle Ages, it maintained its isolated position (Fig. 30).
It was only in Syria that a pair of towers was employed, and
only there that they were brought into organic relation with
the faqade.
B. THE CENTRAL TYPE
In the endeavor to give a total impression of the decorative
as well as architectural effect of the basilica much has been
said which applies equally well to the Byzantine domed
churches. The ritual arrangements were the same in both
cases, as were also the principles of decoration. There is left
to consider merely the structural conditions and architectural
principles which distinguished the round, polygonal, or domed
structures, of various sorts, whether churches, baptisteries, or
mausoleums. Even upon this express topic it has been neces-
sary to anticipate incidentally a great deal which, having once
been said, need not be repeated here.
By the central type of architecture no definite scheme of con-
struction is indicated, but only the general principle of symmet-
rical — more strictly eurythmic — arrangement with reference
to a central perpendicular axis. This principle is exemplified
132 AB CHI TEC TUBE
as well in the round buildings Avliich consisted of concentric
colonnades covered by a conical roof (Fig. 44 a, b, and c), as in
those, whether polygonal or round, which were surmounted
by a dome. The dome, however, is the typical example of this
principle, and, wherever it is employed, it exercises a strong
centralizing effect. In the case of the mausoleum and the
baptistery the eurythmic symmetry could be strictly observed,
but it has already been remarked that, as applied to the church,
it encountered an opposing principle in the horizontal axis
which was exacted by the ritual, and in S. Sophia at Constanti-
nople we have what has been called a compromise, though it is
more properly a reconciliation, with the liturgical plan.
It is evident that, in turning from the study of the basilica
to the central structure, we pass from a definite and invariable
type to a congeries of types which were applied to divers uses
and were even more various in their character ; from a building
which had no history and only a modicum of architecture we
pass to the study of an intricate and original development on
purely architectural lines. It is quite out of the question to
treat here the many and important technical problems which
this study suggests ; for this the student must be referred
especially to Choisy, Histoire de V Architecture, Tome II. The
earliest Christian examples of this class of architecture are those
which were constructed at Rome, or by the Emperor Constan-
tine under purely Roman influence at Jerusalem. But the
development which we have to trace belongs exclusively to the
Byzantine Empire, where invention and progress were still
possible, owing not only to favorable political conditions and
immunity from barbarian attack, but also and chietiy to
the influence of the architectural traditions of the Orient. The
development of Byzantine architecture culminated before the
middle of the sixth century in the reign of Justinian, The
various stages of this development are marked by buildings of
a very high interest ; its culmination in S. Sophia at Constan-
tinople registers the highest limit attainable along these lines.
This building was never imitated, but alongside of it the archi-
tects of Justinian developed another type — the church of the
Apostles at Constantinople — which furnished the pattern for
subsequent Byzantine architecture (example, S. Mark's at
Venice). Justinian distinguished his reign not only by the devel-
THE CENTRAL TYPE— In General 133
opment of a distinct type of architecture, but by the great
number of buildings which he erected, in Jerusalem, in Constan-
tinople, and in many of the great cities of his Empire. In his
zeal and munificence as a builder of churches he has not been
equalled either before or since.
It must suffice to state here in the briefest terms the chief
innovations which characterized the development of Byzantine
architecture. It has already been stated that in Roman con-
struction the vault and dome consisted of a thick bed of concrete
which hardened into a monolith, exerting no lateral thrust, but
requiring a heavy wall for its siipport. The technic of Byzan-
tine construction was borrowed from the East ; the use of brick
made it possible to construct both vault and dome without the
cost of a temporary support and with far less expenditure of con-
structive material and of manual labor. This change of tech-
nic had a far-reaching effect npon the architecture. On the
one hand the comparative lightness of the dome permitted its
support upon a lighter wall; or, what amounts to the same
thing, the organic solution of the wall into a series of i)illars
(Fig. 47) which were connected above by arches, and gave free
prospect and passage into a surrounding room (Fig. 48). On
the other hand the lateral thrust which was developed required
a nice adjustment of buttresses and balances, which — according
to the traditions of ancient architecture — must be provided
ivithin the building and contribute to the interior space ; that
is to say, the thrust required the construction of a room, or
rooms, surrounding the central chamber, and the use of free
pillars made possible ready communication between the one
and the other.
The most thorough attainable continuity between the cen-
tral and the surrounding rooms was provided by reducing the
number of the supporting pillars to four (Fig. 52). This in-
troduced a square plan with which the round base of the dome
corresponded only at four points, and those the weakest for
support, namely, the centres of the four arches which con-
nected the pillars. This difficulty was solved by the penden-
tive, which was the most characteristic invention of Byzantine
architecture. The pendentive was a construction which filled
out the angles between the square (or polygonal) plan and the
circle of the dome : its surface formed a spherical triangle, one
i:U ABCIIirECTURE
sitle corresponding with the first course of the dome, the others
following the supporting arches and concentrating the thrust
upon the pillars (Fig. 51). The final development in dome
construction consisted in erecting above the pendentives a
cylindrical wall (the drum), which allowed room for window
apertures without opening them in the dome itself. It is the
dome with a drum which became the common type in later
Byzantine architecture, and which was universally employed
in the Renascence ; it contributed, however, more advantage-
ously to the exterior than to the interior effect of the building.
So much variety and invention entered into the develop-
ment of the ]>yzantine church that it is difficult clearly to trace
its course. It is impossible to reduce this course to a single
line of development ; for it is evident that there contributed
to its formation several distinct types which were contempora-
neously in use at the very beginning of Christian architecture ;
and it is evident, moreover, that even in the final development
these lines did not converge upon one point, but continued to
reveal their several origins by the constitution of three distinct
schemes — the polygonal, the cross-shaped, and the quadran-
gular. The influence which contributed to the formation of the
quadrangular scheme was obviously the basilica. As to the
equal-armed cross, that was an early and usual plan for a
mausoleum or memorial. The round and polygonal buildings
which date from the earliest period of Christian architecture
were likewise intended for mausoleums and memorial shrines,
and also for baptisteries. Throughout the fourth and fifth
centuries the employment of the central type for the church
proper — that is, the congregational house of worship — was
exceedingly rare ; it is reduced almost to the vanishing point
when we exclude the buildings which were originally intended
for mausoleums or memorials, and such as were directly imi-
tated from them.
Of the round and polygonal buildings we have to distinguish
two chief types according as the plan is simple or composite.
Among those of composite plan we must distinguish again,
with reference to the mode of roofing, between the buildings
which consisted merely of concentric colonnades surmounted by
a wooden roof, and those which were surmounted by a dome
(supported by pillars or columns) and a ring-vault.
THE CENTRAL TYPE— Simple Plan 135
ROUND OR POLYGONAL BUILDINGS
SIMPLE PLAN
The simplest case is a cylindrical wall surmounted by a
dome in the form of a half-sphere. The heavy dome construc-
tion of the Komans required a very thick supporting wall,
which for economy of building material, as well as for purely
artistic considerations, was broken by a series of niches. The
Pantheon at Rome is the most colossal and altogether the
noblest example of this type ; the wall surface is diversified by
eight great niches (including the door), alternately square and
semicircular, with another row of niches above; but it becomes
continuous again before it
meets the dome. Light is
admitted by a great opaon
in the centre of the dome.
The great magnitude of
the Pantheon made possi-
ble a special decorative
feature which consisted in
rows of columns in front ^
of the niches, but the Fig. 43. - Plans of b^ulldm^^s^of t^
application of the general ^^ ^^^^^^^^ baptistery, Eavenna. 6, S. George,
scheme was obviously Thessalonica. c, Arian baptistery, Eavenna.
quite independent of size.
Booms of this type were constructed by the Romans as ad-
juncts to palaces, but more commonly as bath rooms and mauso-
leums. The Christians employed them for the same purposes,
that is, as mausoleums and baptisteries. This type was mani-
festly appropriate to the mausoleum, not only on account of its
shape, but on account of its monumental solidity. While in
the construction of their churches the Christians showed a
strange indifference about the solidity and endurance of the
buildings, they seem to have shared the solicitude of the
pagans for the eternal perpetuation of their tombs. The two
round buildings which formerly adjoined S. Peter's (Fig. 30)
were of this type, adorned with eight square niches, and
they were probably constructed as mausoleums. One of them
was in the eighth century dedicated to S. Petronilla ; but it
13G ARCHITECTURE
was originally the mausoleum of the family of Theodosius, and
it is probable that the other, dedicated to S. Andrew, had
a like origin. Quite similar to these is S. George in Thessa-
lonica (Fig. 4.S, />). Doubtless this too was originally a mauso-
leum, either C'hristian or pagan ; for the presbyterium seems
evidently to have been a later addition, connected with the
building by breaking through one of the original niches.
Though such buildings were never constructed for use as
churches, they were obviously very appropriate as baptisteries.
The baptistery was essentially a bath room, and it naturally
assumed the shape which was common for public aud private
baths among the Romans. The pool or basin occupied the
centre, and there was sufficient room about it to accommodate
the candidates, with their sponsors and the clergy ; baptism,
being essentially a personal and private sacrament, did not
require the i)i*esence of the congregation. The altar had
properl}^ nothing to do with the baptistery, though in the East
it was occasionally accommodated in one of the niches, or an
exedra was even expressly constructed for it. Among the
Romans the pool was commonly octagonal, and this became
the almost invariable tradition in the Church. S. Ambrose
attempted to attach a symbolical significance to the octagonal
form ; ^ and the fact that this form has been perpetuated in the
mediaeval (and modern) fonts is perhaps to be traced back
ultimately to the Roman bath.
In the employment of deep niches in the thick wall (a con-
stantly recurring feature of Roman construction) there lay the
suggestion of a further development ; the niches had only to be
opened clear through the wall, and the central room was at once
put in communication with surrounding rooms or with a corridor.
This step was taken in the construction of the so-called temple
of Minerva Medica at Rome ; in this case ten niches open upon
a circular corridor. From the imperfection of its construction
the building is judged to be not earlier than the end of the
third century. Close as it seems to stand to the Byzantine
round church (Fig. 47), the relation was in fact not direct; the
line of Byzantine development passed through other forms
a.nd was influenced by other examples. Equally outside the
line of development is the great dome of the Baths of Cara-
1 Gruter, Thesaur. inscript., p. 11G6.
THE CEXTRAL TYPE — Simple Plan 137
calla, which was supported upon eight mighty piers ; this ex-
ample merely shows how natural was the deduction of the
Byzantine type.
The mausoleum of Theodoric at Ravenna (Fig. 53) is hardly
to be classed with any other Christian monument. It seems,
however, to be a product of Syrian architecture. It contains
two rooms, the lower of which is in the shape of a cross, while
the upper is round. Externally it is ten-sided, surrounded by
a platform which was originally covered, and it is surmounted
by a colossal monolith.
It must now be noticed that there were, strictly speaking,
no baptisteries with cylindrical walls such as we have been
considering. This type was expressly imitated in early Chris-
tian baptisteries, but under changed structural conditions which
modified the form of the room. One of the consequences
of the brick construction which was employed in Christian
architecture was a comparatively thin wall which did not
admit of deep niches between its two surfaces. If the tradi-
tional niche decoration was to be retained in use, it could be
accomplished only by the construction of apsidal additions
projecting beyond the wall. That the niches were to be re-
tained was practically assured by the fact that they were not
only the essential decorative feature of this style, but served
at the same time as buttresses to counteract the thrust which
was developed by the dome under the new type of construc-
tion. Illustration of this is furnished by the two baptisteries
of Ravenna. The plans (Fig. 43, a and c) show how the con-
struction of four semicircular niches, with intervening wall spaces
of equal width, transformed the interior into an octagon, while
the exterior in the one case closely approached the form of a
square, in the other suggests the form of a cross. It is evi-
dent that the construction of niches on the remaining four
sides would have given an unsightly form to the exterior.
The harmony of the interior was preserved by eight false
arches which covered not only the niches, but the intervening
walls, and rested upon engaged columns. The octagonal wall
was carried up considerably above the summit of the niches
in order to admit light beneath the dome. The diagonal
section of such a building gives substantially the profile of the
basilica, the high wall supporting the dome corresponding to
138
ARCHITECTURE
the clearstory ; while, on the other hand, it also presages the
drum of the developed Byzantine style.
This already leads us a step in the direction of the Byzan-
tine round church. It would only be necessar}^ to develop the
structural symbolism which was indicated by the false arches
and the columns which decorated the interior — that is to say,
to support the dome upon real pillars, do away with the wall,
and merely mark its place by rows of columns — and we should
have the central hall of SS. Sergius and Bacchus. A similar
plan, but with eight niches, would give the central hall of
S. Yitale (Fig. 47). What is lacking here, however, is the sur-
rounding room or corridor, which alone could furnish any sug-
FiG. 44.— Plans of buildings of
a, Mosque of Omar, Jerusalem. &, S. Stefano Eotondo, Eome. c, Church of the
Ascension, Jerusalem.
gestion or any reason for thus opening the niches. We have
therefore to consider the influence of two other classes of
buildings which were contemporaneous with the very begin-
nings of Christian architecture, and which served to accustom
the eye to the perspective effects of concentric rows of pillars
or columns. In this connection, however, we are already
brought a step nearer S. Yitale by the octagonal church which
Constantine constructed at Antioch. The account of Eusebius
seems to represent that it was surrounded by deep niches,
alternately square and semicircular, which were divided by
galleries into upper and lower stories.
THE CENTRAL TYPE— Composite Plan 139
COMPOSITE PLAN
This topic comprises two distinct early types of building,
besides the Byzantine polygonal type. The fundamental dis-
tinction between the two early types is that the first (Fig. 44,
a, b and c) was roofed with wood, the second (Fig. 44, d, e and/)
surmounted by dome and vault.
It cannot be claimed that the first type had any influence
upon the development of the Byzantine style beyond the merely
formal suggestion which was given by its concentric colonnades.
In all other respects it stands at the farthest remove from the
Byzantine style of construction, and in the closest relation to
d
the central type. Composite plan.
d, S. Costanza, Eome. e, Lateran Baptistery. /, S. George, Ezra.
the basilica. Its fundamental features were: a circular (or
polygonal) wall enclosing two or more concentric colonnades,
each of which — like the colonnades of the basilica — supported
a wall upon which rested the roof. The room within the cen-
tral colonnade was sometimes completely or partially uncov-
ered ; and in this case the roof of the surrounding aisles had the
shape of a truncated cone. In case the central room was cov-
ered, its walls were raised high above the aisles (like a clearstory)
for the admission of windows, and surmounted by a conical
roof. What has been said in reference to the basilica, about
technic of construction, about wall decoration, ceiling, floor,
columns, and arcades, applies equally here. Certain general
similarities of scheme between this type and the basilica will
also readily be noticed. But the attempt which has been made
140
ABCIIITECTURE
to deduce it directly from the basilica rests upon a too fanciful
comparison. On the other hand, it has not proved possible
to trace this type to any example of classical architecture,
unless it be the Marnion at Gaza. It emerges for the first time
in the reign of Constantine, and may therefore be ascribed, if
one will, to the Christian period, though hardly to any dis-
tinctive Christian influence. It seems more just to say that its
origin is explained by the free inventiveness, the almost wan-
ton liberty, which characterized Koman architecture at the
beginning of the fourth century.
But whatever its origin, this type of building has a peculiar
interest for Christian history, since it was employed by Con-
stantine in the erection of the first great shrines which marked
the holy places of Jerusalem. These buildings have all of
Fig. 45. — Early
them perished ; we know them only from the descriptions of
Eusebius and of mediaeval pilgrims, and from the imitations to
which churches of such fame naturally gave rise. The only
churches of this sort which exist are S. Stefano Rotondo at
Kome (Fig. 44, 6), of the middle of the fifth century, and
S. Angelo in Perugia, a reduced copy of it made about a cen-
tury later and now half destroyed. S. Stefano has long stood
as a riddle among the monuments of Roman architecture.
Dehio with some plausibility attributes its erection to Placidia,
and thus connects it with the church which her grand-
mother Eudoxia built at Jerusalem in honor of the proto-
martyr Stephen and as her own mausoleum. This history
brings it at once into relation with the memorial build-
ings of Constantinian foundation ; it also explains how this
type, which was expressly and appropriately designed for a
THE CENTRAL TYPE— Composite Plan
141
memorial, came, through the celebrity of Constantine's exam-
ple, to be copied for this use not only, but also for use as a
house of worship, for which it was quite unsuitable. That it
was not originally intended as a substitute for the basilica, nor
for the ordinary uses of church worship, is clearly shown by the
fact that Constantine was not content with the erection of round
shrines about the Holy Sepulchre and upon the spot whence
our Lord ascended, but adjoined to each of them a great
basilica. The round temples were doubtless used for private
devotions and for extraordinary religious celebrations, but their
most definite purpose was that of doing honor to a sacred spot
and protecting it from profanation. They had therefore practi-
cally the same intention as the Greek temenos, and the central
type was manifestly prescribed by this purpose.
In the year 326 Constantine erected the church of the Holy
Sepulchre at Jerusalem. The sepulchre itself was enclosed
Christian Capitals.
within the inner colonnade of a round church of the general
type just described. Eusebius gives a detailed but far from
clear description of it, though the chief traits are tolerably
well fixed. Its chief peculiarity was that it opened into a
huge five-aisled basilica. It is supposed that the outer wall of
the round building, after it had completed something more
than half a circle, met the extended walls of the basilica and
left therefore free communication between the two, equal to
the whole width of the basilica. The round building was cov-
ered with a wooden roof which left part of the inner circle
open to the sky. This shrine was most commonly called, not
the church of the Sepulchre, but the Anastasis — the Resur-
rection. It was the round church which properly constituted
the shrine ; the basilica was added to it to accommodate the
congregation. The whole edifice was destroyed in the year
142 ARCHITECTURE
G14, by Chosroes II. of Persia, and only the round building
was afterward restored. Together with other churches of
Palestine, it was described, early in the eighth century, by the
Scotch abbot, Adanmanus of lona, who merely recounts
what he had heard from the French pilgrim and bishop, Arcul-
phus. This building was a number of times destroyed and
restored, and finally the crusaders added again to it a rectan-
gular church. The building was conserved in substantially the
same form till a lire in the year 1808. The round church,
altered as it was by Byzantine reconstructions, exercised a great
influence upon late mediaeval architecture.
The Constantinian church of the Ascension on the Mount of
Olives has likewise suffered destruction, though Arculphus, at
the end of the seventh century, still saw it in its original state.
It likewise had a basilica annexed to it, but not in direct com-
munication. Its central room was likewise unroofed, — and
with manifest propriety, since it marked the spot whence our
Lord had ascended into the heavens. Dehio reconstructs it as
a round building like S. Stefano Kotondo (Fig. 44, h and c) ;
but he admits that it may originally have been octagonal,
as was the crusaders' restoration of it. This receives further
support from the fact that the mosque of Omar (Fig. 44, a) is
octagonal, and was probably imitated from it (cf. p. 310).
The mosque of Omar is not only a notable instance of this
style, but one of the most remarkable monuments of all time.
It was erected in the year 638, upon Mt. Moriah, on the site of
the Jewish Temple. Although it was founded by an Arabian
calif, to enshrine the rock from which Mahomet started for his
flight through the heavens, it has many claims to consideration
in a study of Christian architecture ; it would deserve it, if
merely for the fact that it was directly inspired by the Con-
stantinian temples, and is the only existing monument which
gives an adequate impression of the architectural possibilities
of this style. Much has been disputed about its origin. De
Vogue's solution is in all probability the correct one, that it
is a Byzantine building constructed by Byzantine architects,
though for a Mahometan ruler. It is not unlikely that the
roof was originally open at the centre — like the church of the
Ascension, which in its purpose it so closely resembled, and
which it may have followed as closely in pattern. About the
THE CENTBAL TYPE— Composite Plan 143
year 690, however, it was provided with a wooden dome of very
remarkable construction. In decoration it is only in the dome
that Arabic traits appear, the rest is purely Byzantine. In
1099 it came into the hands of the Christians, who founded
here the order of Knights Templars. Standing as it did upon
the platform of the Temple, it was popularly believed to be
actually a part of the ancient Temple of the Jews, and it fig-
ures as such in the Sposalizio of Raphael. Having been copied
in the first place from the churches of Constantine, it became
in turn the pattern for the churches built by the Templars in
Europe.
We have record of but one other round church in the neigh-
borhood of Jerusalem ; it was located in the Valley of Jehosha-
phat, and commemorated the spot where the Virgin Mary
remained between her death and her assumption. It is men-
tioned as early as the beginning of the fifth century.
Of the imitations which w^ere made in early times of this
type of memorial building, few have been preserved to us, or
even recorded. Beyond w^hat has already been said in regard
to S. Stefano Rotondo (Fig. 44, &), and S. Angelo of Perugia, it
need only be added that as these buildings were intended to be
used as houses of congregational worship they were constructed
with a clearstory and completely roofed. We learn from the
Life of S. Willebald^ that the church in which the Council of
Nicsea was held was similar to the church of the Ascension on
the Mount of Olives.
With the second type of round building, which we come now
to consider, we return again to the cupola and vault construc-
tion, and we approach, therefore, more closely the line of de-
velopment of Byzantine architecture. This type also emerges
with the very beginnings of Christian architecture under Con-
stantine. It seems, however, that it is to be referred directly
to more ancient models ; for though no classic buildings of the
sort have been preserved (except probably the baptistery at
Aix), the antiquarians of the Renascence saw and described
similar temples in the neighborhood of Rome. Constantine
erected two such monuments at Rome (Fig. 44, d and e) : one (S.
Costanza), the mausoleum of his sister Constantia; the other,
the baptistery of the Lateran. The scheme of both is essen-
^Acta SS. 0. S. B., saec. 3, P. II., p. 379.
144
ABCHITECTURE
tially the same, a central room formed by a circular or polyg-
oual colonnade which supports a dome, and a surrounding
corridor covered by a vault which serves as a buttress. The
cupola of S. Costanza is supported- by a circular colonnade
composed of twelve pairs of columns ; within this circle stood
the huge sarcophagus of porphyry which is now in the Vatican
Gallery. Both the cupola and the surrounding ring-vault were
originally covered with mosaics (Figs. 125, 120), but only those
of the vault have been preserved. The thick outer wall is
enlivened within by niches, and without it was originally sur-
rounded by an open colonnade. The baptistery is smaller and
its construction lighter ; both the colonnade and the external
wall are octagonal, — the character of the cupola was altered
in later times. This early building be-
came the normal type for Christian bap-
tisteries, and it remained so as long as a
separate building was required for this
use. It was obviously more appropriate
to its purpose than was the round build-
ing of simple plan, for
it not only provided a
larger room, but archi-
tecturally separated the
font from the assembly
room.
These early buildings
are obviously the direct prototype of a considerable class of
round churches ; for example, S. George at Ezra in Syria
(Figs. 44/, 46), built in 512, and the similar and contemporary
church at Bosra. In the case of these Syrian churches the
exigencies of stone construction account for the almost pointed
profile of the dome. It can hardly be doubted that the typical
Byzantine scheme (S. Vitale) was also strongly influenced by
this example, although one of its features — the semicircular
recesses and storied galleries — is to be referred more ex-
pressly to the development of the niche decoration v*^hich
we have already studied as a characteristic of the round build-
ing of simple plan.
It is certain at all events that we have now before us all of
the antique monuments which could have contributed to the
George, Ezra, Syria.
THE CENTRAL TYPE— Composite Plan
145
development of S. Vitale, — under the influence, it is always
necessary to remember, of distinctive Byzantine principles of
construction.
S. Vitale in Kavenna was erected during the reign of Jus-
tinian (begun in 526 and completed in 547). It would lead us
too far to give a description of the building, beyond the few
words which are necessary to render intelligible the plan and
the interior view which are given in Figs. 47 and 48. The
eight great pillars of the central room support an octagonal
drum which is surmounted by the dome. The construction of
the dome is peculiar : its core consists of terra-cotta pipes, fitted
a b
Fig. 47. —a, S. Vitale, Ravenna. 5, SS. Serglus and Bacchus, Constantinople.
the one into the other, and extended spirally from the bottom
to the top, — a construction which diminishes not only the
weight but the thrust. The arched window openings in the
drum serve to concentrate the weight upon the pillars, which
are supported by buttresses extending beyond the surrounding
corridor. The corridor is divided into an upper and a lower
gallery (both of them vaulted), and the buttresses are pierced
above and below by arches to permit free passage around the
galleries. Seven niches surmounted by a half-dome intersect
both the upper and the lower galleries ; but as the walls of the
niches are replaced by columns they permit free prospect from
the galleries into the central room. Finally, the presbyterium
and apse breaks the symmetry and completely interrupts the
146
AB CHI TEC TUBE
galleries, extending with its adjoining rooms beyond the oc-
tagonal perimeter. The scheme, which is carefully and conse-
quently thought out, is elaborate without being complicated;
the constructive purpose of the several parts is obvious, and
the eifect is therefore restful and harmonious.
Essentially the same constructive scheme is repeated in SS.
Sergius and Bacchus at Constantinople (Fig. 47), which was
built about the
same time. A
very different
effect is pro-
duced, however,
by a change in
a feature which
is almost purely
decorative, name-
ly, in the niches.
The niche oppo-
site the apse and
the central niche
on either side of
this line were
suppressed by
simply carrying
the row of col-
umns straight
across from pillar
to pillar, with the
consequence of
giving the room
a distinct longi-
tudinal direction,
and of permitting the inclusion of the whole room within a
quadrangular wall. This shows the strong tendency in the
Byzantine architecture of that time to accommodate the dome
to the longitudinal room which was required by the ritual.
S. Yitale, however, represents the consummation of the round
type of church; and before we follow the Byzantine develop-
ment upon other lines it is necessary to return again to the
earliest period of Christian architecture and trace the influence
of the cross-shaped plan.
Fig. 48. — Interior of S. Vitale, Eavenna. Sixth century.
THE CEyTRAL TYPE— Cross-shaped Plan 147
THE DOME ON A SQUARE BASE
CROSS-SHAPED PLAN
Like the so-called transept of the basilica, the earliest exam-
ples in Christian architecture of a cross-shaped plan are to be
referred to pagan prototypes, though in both cases the Chris-
tian symbolism furnished the suggestion which led to further
development. Cross-shaped chambers were sufficiently com-
mon in Roman architecture ; in the early Christian period they
w^ere commonly used as mausoleums or memorial chapels.
There were two such rooms connected with the Lateran bap-
tistery (one visible in Fig. 44 e) and a considerable number
among the chapels which lined the sides of S. Peter's (Fig. 29).
The type, however, which is most characteristic of Christian
architecture consists in an oblong room terminating in a group
of three apses united by a small dome. This was the usual
type for the memorial chapels which were erected above the
cemeteries. Two examples are preserved above the catacombs
of Callistus, and one is attached to the small basilica of
S. Sinforosa (Fig. 28, c). This so-called apsis tricJiora was
employed by Paulinus for the presbyterium of the basilica
which he built at I^ola, in honor of S. Felix. This use, how-
ever, was exceptional, and it is not possible to say what influ-
ence this traditional form may have had in stimulating the
development of a more distinctly marked cross plan.
There is at all events no doubt that this development was
due chiefly to the symbolical interest of the form, and that it
received a marked impulse from the discovery and veneration
of the wood of the cross. In the case of large buildings, the
application of a distinctly cross-shaped plan was practically so
inconvenient that it could be due only to a symbolic motive.
This scheme — two long and narrow halls intersecting one
another at right angles — was of all central plans the most
unsuitable to the Christian ritual ; and such churches were, as
a matter of fact, designed expressly as mausoleums or me-
mories. One of the greatest examples, and the best preserved,
is the shrine (Kalat-Seman), which was erected around the col-
umn of S. Simon Stylites in Central Syria. It must have
been built soon after 450. As may be seen from the plan
148
ARCHITECTURE
(Fig. 63), it consists of four great basilicas grouped in the
shape of a cross around a central court, in the midst of which
stands the column. The central court was uncovered, and
there was, therefore, no attempt at bringing the four separate
halls into a relation of close unity.
Most, if not all, the other churches of this type must, how-
ever, have been covered with a roof or dome at the intersec-
tion. Beyond the fact that it had the form of the Greek
Fig. 49. — Exterior.
The mausoleum of Galla
cross, nothing very clear is known about the church of the
Apostles, which Constantine built at Constantinople as a mau-
soleum for himself and his family. It is probable that S.
Ambrose took this as the model for the church which he built
in Milan in 382 (originally dedicated to the Apostles, after-
ward to S. Nazarius) ; and if so, it is only another instance
of the influence which famous memorial churches had upon
the congregational church, in spite of their unsuitableness for
this use. S. Nazario Grande at Milan was entirely rebuilt in
the eleventh century, though it retains, with modifications, the
cross form. S. Nazario e Celso at Ravenna, the mausoleum
THE CENTRAL TYPE— Cross-shaped Plan 149
of Galla Placidia (Figs. 49, 50), though of much smaller di-
mensions, is of the same type as the great church of S.
Ambrose. The four vaulted arms are connected at the centre
by a dome. The construction is poor, but the mosaic decora-
tion is of the richest. This chapel originally stood in connec-
tion with a greater church — likewise cross-shaped — which
was dedicated to the Holy Cross. S. Arculphus gives a plan
of a cross-shaped church surrounding the well of Jacob in
Fig. 50. — Interior.
Placidia, Ravenna. Fifth century.
Samaria. Finally, it may be mentioned that there are several
baptisteries of this shape.
The Greek cross as it appears in Byzantine architecture
takes a very different form : it is much less accentuated — that
is, the four arms have less longitudinal extension in propor-
tion to their breadth — and the angles which remain are par-
tially or altogether absorbed by massively constructed rooms
which serve as buttresses to the four central pillars. Within
and without, the building was thus compacted into the unity
of a single hall.
Different as this scheme is, it was not only potently influ-
150 ABCIIITECTURE
enced, but esseotially conditioned, by the less organic type
which has been described above. An ostensible proof of this
influence lies in the fact that Justinian, in rebuilding the Con-
stantinian church of the Apostles, in Byzantine style, adhered
to the form of the cross plan.^
But before considering the forms which the Byzantine
development actually took, it is necessary to note the elements
which the cross form of itself essentially contributed to the
solution of the problem presented by the use of the dome as
the prominent feature of church architecture, — that is, the
problem of harmonizing the vertical axis emphasized by the
dome, with the horizontal axis required by the ritual.
To show how strongly this necessity was felt, one need only
refer to the church of Irene at Constantinople, which reveals
an exclusive preoccupation with the longitudinal direction :
the side rooms are reduced to the width which was absolutely
required by the buttressing system ; the middle room is roofed
by two domes, two broad vaults, and the half-dome of the apse,
— with a result which is highly unsatisfactory, since the cen-
tral disposition is completely lost, the vertical axes of the two
domes are entirely ignored, and yet the longitudinal direction
which is strongly marked in the plan encounters an obstacle
in the ceiling.
The use of the cross form immediately introduced a factor
which was of great advantage from the point of view of the
ritual, namely, a square central room. The square room was
practically attained in SS. Sergius and Bacchus as a develop-
ment from S. Vitale. But the cross form, by reducing the
supports of the dome to four pillars, opened the central room
to the freest communication on four sides ; and the four arms
of the cross which were thus brought into the strictest unity
with the domiC balanced the importance of .its vertical axis
by two strongly marked horizontal axes which were in perfect
harmony with it. That is to say, the eurythmic symmetry de-
manded by the central disposition was maintained, and at the
same time the horizontal direction required by the ritual was
clearly indicated. It may be said that this solution provided
too much, since the transverse axis was not only not required
by the ritual, but was in some measure discordant with it.
1 Procopius : de sedific. Just. I. 4.
THE CEXTEAL TYPE — Cross-shaped Plan 151
But the evil had to be accepted with the good, and although
a compromise was possible by way of accentuating the impor-
tance of the longitudinal nave, the Byzantine architects kept
this well within bounds, and rarely gave to the nave a length
which was in marked disproportion to the transept.
The church of the Apostles which Justinian built to replace
the earlier edifice of Constantine has disappeared like its prede-
cessor. Procopius informs us that the longitudinal nave was
greater than the two arms, " as the pattern of the cross required."
He also informs us that the altar room and presbyterium were
located at the intersection of the cross ; and this is the only case
in which we have any hint of such an adaptation of the ritual
to the obvious requirement of the centralized plan. The long
description which Procopius gives fails to furnish all the data
we need for the reconstruction of the church ; but Choisy is
confident that we have close copies of it in two famous churches
of the eleventh and twelfth centuries respectively, — S. Mark's
at Venice and S. Front at Perigueux. Whether or not it may
be referred to the age of Justinian, this type deserves notice
as one of the most successful creations of Byzantine architec-
ture. Its main characteristics can be briefly described. It
is a system of five equal domes. The cross plan is strictly
adhered to, but not accentuated. The building is distributed
by heavy piers into five square rooms of equal dimensions, one
in the centre and four constituting the arms of the cross. Each
is surmounted by a dome, and there are thus three domes on
each axis, preserving the symmetry and marking clearly the cen-
tral disposition. The longitudinal nave is accentuated chiefly
by the addition of the apse and the narthex. It may be pre-
sumed that in the church of Justinian there were galleries ;
and though galleries were not used in the West, S. Mark's has
retained in their place, as a purely traditional and decorative
feature, a narrow passageway supported by colonnades. The
galleries were entirely dropped in S. Front, which was copied
directly, not from the church of Justinian, but from S. Mark's.
The system of five domes was applicable only to very great
churches. As most of the Byzantine churches of the Middle
Ages were of exceedingly minute dimensions, they adopted a
plan which was evidently derived from this, though it has only
one dome. It is the type which is represented by the great
152 AllCHlTECTUEE
majority of Oriental churches throughout the Middle Ages.
It was constituted by merely dispensing with so much of the
cross arms as was covered by the four domes. This reduced
all four arms to about the dimensions of the vaults which had
separated the domes one from the other. By this change the
breadth of the arms was made to exceed their length, and they
were distinctly subordinated to the greater central room. The
four piers of the dome, though they had a diminished weight
to support, retained their previous dimensions, and completely
filled out the small angular spaces of the cross plan, so that
the plan externally became rectangular. Even in the original
construction, the pillars had each been separated into four
shafts, and now, with a lighter weight to support, the shaft
facing the central room was often replaced by a column, by
which means four small corner rooms were practically added
to the hall, — or, what was of more importance, the short cross
arms were put into closer relation with the nave and altar
room. These four rooms were covered with spherical vaults,
which were later (in the tenth century) developed into as
many cupolas, one at each angle of the building. It became
the fashion also to crown the narthex with three cupolas. It
is this feature, namely the great number of cupolas, which
gives to late Byzantine churches the external effect with which
all are familiar. It may be remarked that the longitudinal
direction was generally emphasized by the extension of the
presbyterium ; this, however, was flanked by the two sacristies,
so that all but the apse was included in the rectangular plan.
The nave also was often emphasized, at the expense of the
cross plan and of fundamental principles of symmetry, by
rows of columns which separated it from the arms. This was
the only motive borrowed from S. Sophia, and it was adopted
with but little propriety. But this has already led us far be-
yond the limits of our period. It is a digression which proved
especially tempting, because, upon the basis of the sixth-cen-
tury development, it was possible in so few words to describe
a type of architecture which has characterized so long a period
of history, and characterizes to-day most of the churches of
the East.
THE CENTRAL TYPE— Oblong Plan 153
OBLOXG PLAN
Hagia Sophia, " the Holy Wisdom," was built by Justinian
in 537, upon the site of an ancient church of the same name
which probably dated back to the time of Constantine. The
names of the architects, Anthemius of Tralles and Isidor of
Miletus, deserve to be remembered. SS. Sergius and Bacchus
(Fig. 47) is usually taken to be the immediate prototype, or
rather the next preceding step in the development. One can
certainly note here a resemblance which is far closer than can
be accounted for merely by the common principles of Byzan-
tine construction. The resemblance is specially marked in the
main room by the use of semicircular niches in combination
with the straight colonnades of the side walls (Figs. 51, 52). The
room under the dome may be said to be merely an elongation
of the central room of SS. Sergius and Bacchus : that is approx-
imately a square, this an oblong rectangle twice as long as it
is broad. It becomes clear how essential this difference is
when we observe that in S. Sophia the main room has ceased
to be a central room surrounded by a corridor, and become in-
stead a middle nave flanked by two aisles. In both cases the
room was surrounded by eight piers ; but in S. Sophia the
dome itself was supported by only four of them. This tetra-
style arrangement permitted a resort to the cross plan ; and in
fact the buttressing system provided on either side of the
dome the rooms which might serve as the arms. This solution,
however, was entirely ignored, and the side arms were archi-
tecturally shut off from the nave by a two-storied colonnade on
each side. With this the central disposition and all effort
after eurythrnic symmetry were completely given up, notwith-
standing that the plan of the building, exclusive of the narthex,
was almost exactly square.
Dehio compares S. Sophia with the basilica of Maxentius,
which represents the type of vaulted construction commonly
used in the great Roman baths and in this instance applied to
the civil basilica. The comparison of the plans (Fig. 52) is
indeed sufficient to prove that, however important were the
elements derived from contemporary Byzantine construction, the
express aim of the architects was to adapt the essential fea-
ture of Byzantine architecture — the dome — to the funda-
154 ABCHITECTUIRE
mental scheme of the basilica. That the model which the
architects had in mind was expressly the Christian basilica is
shown also by the square atrium in front of the church. It
has already been said that the atrium was rarely used in the
East, and never in connection with the central type. This
combination of the two current types of church architecture
resulted in a type which differed equally from both; and it
was accomplished by a device so thoroughly original that it
Fig. 51. — Interior of S. Sophia, Constantinople. Sixth century.
becomes superfluous to trace more minutely its relations with
other types and earlier monuments.
With S. Sophia we are, strictly speaking, dealing no longer
with the central type of architecture, though it is obvious why
the subject must be treated under this head. In thus employ-
ing the dome to roof a hall of distinctly oblong proportions, its
centralizing influence was not ignored, — it was modified. It
was modified by the one device which is conceivably applicable
to the case : by supplementing the dome with two half-domes of
equal aperture at each end of the room. The two half-domes
THE CENTRAL TYPE — Oblonr/ Plan
155
were in a measure merged with the central dome by the spheri-
cal surfaces of the pendentives, and the effect of the whole
ceiling was practically that of a long elliptical dome : that is to
say, it no longer demanded an eurythmic symmetry; it de-
manded, on the contrary, a predominant emphasis upon the
horizontal axis which corresponded with the dimensions of the
room and comported with the ritual. The combination of these
various spherical surfaces in the ceiling required, however, a
corresponding variety in the plan of the room, and this was
furnished by the four niches and the apse. It is evident that
Fig. 52. — Plans of S. Sophia and of the basilica of Maxentius.
a perfectly regular plan, either rectangular or elliptical, would
not have harmonized so well with the ceiling.
The consistent execution of the programme required that the
dome should rest immediately upon the pendentives without
the intervention of a drum, and that it should be constructed
as flat as possible 5 it proved in fact too flat for stability.
The buttressing system was very elaborately thought out, and
with one exception it was thoroughly adequate. The half-
domes were each supported by four piers, two of which they
shared in common with the dome. They were amply buttressed
at one end by two niches and the apse ; at the other by the
corresponding pair of niches and a double narthex. The
15C ARCIIITECTUBE
half-domes in their turn constituted a most effectual support
upon two sides of the dome. The pendentives transmitted the
weight and part of the thrust of the dome to four mighty piers
which received the support of lateral buttresses of the full
width of the aisle. The one weakness lay in the fact that a
part of the lateral thrust of the dome had to be sustained by
the great arches which supported it on either side, and they
could oppose to it no resistance except such as was due to the
comparatively slight thickness (five yards) which comported
with their character. Twenty-two years after its building, a
part of the dome fell during an earthquake. The dome was
then immediately repaired, and from that time on the church
has undergone frequent restorations, which, while leaving the
nave substantially unchanged, have nearly transformed the
exterior. The necessities of the case required a breach of
one of the principles of Byzantine architecture, the erection of
four huge external contreforts which rose high above the aisles,
and were applied directly to the lateral support of the great
arches.
The construction of S. Sophia was not only original, but
bold. It was the first time so great a dome had been erected
upon four piers ; and the chief structural peculiarities of the
building were not only without example in the past, but have
remained without imitation since. lN"otwithstanding the resto-
rations which it required, the fact that the building has en-
dured for more than thirteen centuries is proof that the work
was feasibly and strongly conceived. It was undoubtedly the
culminating triumph of the Classical age of Byzantine archi-
tecture, though other types, the by-products of the same age,
were found more available as patterns for a later time and for
a decaying empire.
Originally, the decoration and furnishings of S. Sophia were
the most splendid that have ever been lavished upon a Chris-
tian church, and the effect of the building doubtless justified
the enthusiasm of its panegyrists. The golden altar, the pres-
bytery, and the choir are now replaced by the inferior glories
of the Moslem mosque ; even the mosaics, so far as thej^ repre-
sented distinctively Christian subjects, have been for the most
part either destroyed or covered up. What remains, however,
suffices for the imagination ; and this is fortunately a type of
THE CEXTRAL TYPE— Oblong Plan
157
builcing which does not, like the basilica, depend for its
effect chiefly upon its decoration.
Upon entering the buikling, the sombre light of the double
vestibule serves to enhance the luminous splendors of the vast
nave. Thanks to the disposition of the half-dome which
spreads upward from above the entrance, the eye discovers at
once the great cupola in its whole extent. At the same time
the entire system of the vaults of the nave — the various
Fig. 53. — Mausoleum of Theodoric, Eavenna. Sixth century.
spherical surfaces so apt for mosaic decoration — is frankly
exposed to view. In the i^rospect of the nave the double
colonnades on either side serve to give something of the
appearance and effect of the basilica. The numerous details
fall naturally into three great divisions which are framed by
the arches above. For all the elaboration, the governing lines
produce an impression of simplicity, and the details are re-
quired to enhance one's appreciation of the vast size. The
great dome has an aperture of nearly one hundred feet, the
dimension of the half-domes and arches is the same; yet
without the lateral colonnades nothing would indicate the
158 Ali C HIT EC T UBE
extraordinary sweep of the arches above them; they are
needed to give the scale and to spare S. Sophia the question-
able praise which has been given S. Peter's, — that there is
nothing to intimate that it is huge.
The illumination is unusually generous ; windows are pierced
freely, not only in the high side walls, but in the half-domes,
in the apse, and in the niches, while the crown of windows
which illuminates the whole circumference of the dome seems
to isolate it, as though it were suspended in the air. The
four pillars which support the pendentives are hid behind the
lateral galleries ; one sees no more of them than the angle, but
that suffices to reveal the presence of the mass of the buttress
and to assure the eye. The work astonishes, yet at the first
glance it explains itself. Never has stability and daring, the
eclat of color and purity of lines, never has the genius of Rome
and that of the Orient, been associated in a more astonishing
and a more harmonious whole.
The preceding paragraph follows the language of Choisy
almost closely enough to deserve inverted commas. I will
here quote from him still more closely a sentence which
applies to Byzantine architecture in general. After speaking
of the simple geometrical relations which are to be traced in
the monuments of this art, he adds ^ : "It is not only the feel-
ing of unity which one experiences at the view of a Byzantine
interior, but also a sort of tranquillity and calm w^hich is
nothing else than the full satisfaction of the mind before a
work where all the combinations of equilibrium are clearly
apparent. The buildings of our Gothic architecture awaken a
sort of inquietude and uneasiness which is due above all to the
fact that the buttressing organs are projected outside; from
within one does not at first view take account of the equilib-
rium. Quite different is the effect of the Byzantine construc-
tions : the eye embraces at one glance the vault which covers
the building and the contreforts which support it; it sees
nothing which does not explain itself; it is the clearness of
the art of Greece itself."
^ Hist. deV Arch. II., p. 34.
FURNITUBE— The Altar
159
C. FURNITURE OF THE CHURCH
ALTAR AND COXFESSIO
The preceding sections have several times furnished occa-
sion to remark upon the central importance of the altar for the
architecture as well as for the ritual of the church. In itself
nothing could be more simple than this important piece of
furniture. It was, as it was also commonly called, a table.
In shape it was copied after patterns which were familiar in
secular use ; it consisted of a rectangular and only slightly
oblong top supported by one, four, or occasionally five, legs.
The Holy Table of the Church had as little resemblance to a
Fig. 54. — Altar of the fifth centur}-, from S. Qut-nin, France.
pagan altar as the basilica had to a temple, or the statue of
the Good Shepherd to an idol. We can well understand how
the Eomans could make and the Christians admit the reproach
that they had " no altars, no temples, no images."
This simple and natural shape the altar retained universally
till well into the fifth century. The early altar was not so
high and by no means so long as has been common in the West
since the Middle Ages. From the beginning, stone as well as
wooden altars were employed ; the one stood in relation with
the tables of the triclinium, the other with the ornamental
stone table of the atrium.
The use of wooden altars is proved by early texts, and it is
due only to the perishableness of the material that none have
160 ARCHITECTUBE
survived. A wooden chest, decorated merely with a single
cross upon the front, is venerated in the Lateran as the altar
of S. Peter ; but it can date no earlier than the age when the
altar began to be used as a holder of relics. It is not men-
tioned before the eleventh century.
Gradually the Church came to discriminate in favor of altars
of stone; this was very obviously on account of their more
monumental character and greater durability. An edict pur-
porting to be of Sylvester I. which forbids the use of wooden
altars can hardly be regarded as genuine, since it rests solely
upon the testimony of the Breviarium Romanum (eleventh cen-
tury). Such a prohibition is, however, proved for Gaul at
least by the twenty-sixth canon of the Council of Epaon (517);
but the rule must have suffered occasional exceptions even
after this period. Thanks to the durableness of the material,
several stone altars of the fifth century have been preserved,
at least in part. The altar illustrated in Fig. 54 is from South-
ern France (S. Quenin, now at Vaison) ; it is ornamented with
the eucharistic vine, while in the middle are two doves which
approach the monogram of Christ. A similar altar plate from
S. Marcel (Ardeche), now in the museum of S. Germain, rep-
resents six sheep on each side departing from the towns of
Bethlehem and Jerusalem and approaching the monogram.
An altar from Auriol in the south of France has on the front
twelve doves and the monogram, and on the sides tendrils of
the vine. This table is noteworthy for the fact that it is sup-
ported by a single stout pedestal. An altar which Galla
Placidia found in S. Giovanni Evangelista in Eavenna was
supported upon five legs, which were later supplanted by plates
of stone when the altar assumed the form of a chest; the
original legs have been in part preserved. Likewise of the
fifth century, and perhaps earlier than any of these examples,
are the mosaics of the cupola of the Orthodox Baptistery in
Ravenna (S, Giovanni in fonte). They represent a stone altar
of the simple table form supported upon four round legs or
columns. Four times the design is repeated around the base
of the dome, and on each altar rests an open book bearing the
name of one of the Gospels. The custom of leaving the Gos-
pels upon the altar finds witness elsewhere.
The change of form which the altar underwent in the sixth
FUBNITURE—The Altar
161
century was due exclusively to the cult of relics, or rather to the
new form that cult then took of enclosing the relics icithin the
altar. In treating of the catacombs it has been shown that
the Eucharist w^as early brought into close relation with the
tombs of the martyrs ; that it was celebrated either in the
martyr's crypt and upon his tomb, or in a chapel directly above
it. The great basilicas which Constantine and later emperors
built above the tombs of the Apostles and martyrs were in
thorough keeping with early traditions, and they were repeated
everywhere throughout the Christian world. It was accounted
a matter of prime importance that the altar be brought into
' 'illlillillllllll,'llj'
':•. '' ■ w ' ■ '^
il," ^^-^ r
'"'"'■ •"'" L-
k. w
,i;:i^i" v./lliil.
iHMiiM.. "i::i
__J':ilil'_:Si"'ii
ig
l«Sil;li tf ^^^
Fig. 55. — Altar with confessio, S. Giorgio in Velabro, Kome.
the closest possible relation with the tomb, or be located at
least directly above it. To accomplish this end, hillsides were
excavated and whole galleries of the catacombs were cut away.
Many tombs had to be destroyed in reaching the grave of the
martyr; but his resting-place was scrupulously respected,
and except in the rarest cases the body was not moved
even the few feet which might be required to bring it
into the desired relation to the church, all considerations of
convenience were subordinated to the aim of bringing the
church to the body. In the most favorable case the floor of
the presbyterium was brought to a level with the top of the
tomb (sarcophagus, loculus, cubiculum, or whatever it might
be) ; and since the altar stood usually upon the edge of a plat-
162
ARCHITECTUBE
form which was raised by a few steps above the floor of the
church, an opening in the wall of the platform beneath the
altar afforded a view of the relics. The chamber surrounding
the tomb, and the shaft or gallery through which it was put
in relation with the altar, is called the confessio.
No part of the ancient churches has suffered more than the
confessio from the pious zeal of reconstructors. Though no
early example has remained unaltered, there are several medi-
aeval constructions, like S. Giorgio in Velabro (Fig. bo), which
WWiSiWBl!
wm&
ii
Fig. 56. — Altar with fenestella confessionis, in S. Alessandro, Rome. Fifth century.
exhibit substantially the early scheme. The opening into the
confessio was closed by a grating of stone or metal — t\\Q fenes-
tella confessionis — which allowed the worshippers a glimpse
of the tomb. It is evident that this arrangement required no
change in the table form of the altar. In the case, however,
that the presbyterium was not raised above the level of the
church, the fenestella had sometimes to be inserted between
the legs of the altar, as in S. Alessandro at Rome (Fig. 5Q).
This example furnishes an excellent illustration of a typical
fenestella of an early and Classical pattern. The fenestella
was provided with an orifice large enough to admit an arm ;
FURNITURE— Tlie Altar 163
small objects, particularly handkerchiefs, introduced here and
brought in contact with the sacred tomb acquired the charac-
ter of relics (branclea, ixdliola). Any mention of the exporta-
tion of relics during the first five centuries must be understood
to refer exclusively to such as these. This orifice was closed
by costly doors — often of silver or gold — which were secured
by a lock. The key itself was sometimes given as a relic ;
and de Rossi calls attention to the fact that in Italy keys are
still given to children as amulets.
The bodies of both of the Apostles S. Peter and S. Paul lay
deep beneath the floors of their respective basilicas, and were
brought into relation with the altar by a vertical shaft similar
to the luminaria of the catacombs. In the case of S. Peter's
the shaft was twice interrupted by perforated plates, which
were extended across it, — here called cataractce. Objects de-
posited upon the lower plate gained extraordinary value as
relics. This is proved by the request of Justinian. He had first
begged portions of the bodies of the two Apostles for a church
which he was building in their honor at Constantinople. When
this request had been denied him by Pope Hormisdas, on the
ground that the custom of separating the bodies of the saints
was one unknown to the Romans, he asked that his relics
might if it were possible be placed upon the lower plate
{ad cataractam secmiclam). Constantine had surrounded the
tombs of both the Apostles with cubical cases of wood covered
with gold crosses in the form of the monogram of Christ, and
since that time they had been rendered entirely inaccessible.
Constantine himself, however, followed a different plan in
the construction of the confessio of S. Lawrence. In this case
likewise the tomb and its cubiculum lay deep below the floor
of the basilica, but it was rendered accessible by two stairways
(gracilis ascensionis et clescensionis), which were doubtless entered
at the corners of the apse. The grave itself Constantine sur-
rounded with an apse, ornamented below with porphyry and
covered above, in the half-dome, with silver; silver chancels
enclosed it, and before it burned a gold lamp of ten wicks, a
silver corona with fifty dolphins (lamps), and two bronze candela-
bra. In front of the tomb of the martyr was the instrument
of his passion, a gridiron plated with silver. This confessio is
already in this text called a crypt, but it was provided with
164 AR CHI TE C T Uli E
no altar besides that of the basilica above, nor did it serve as a
model for later crypt constructions. On the contrary, the
arrangement accorded so little with the early ideals that in the
reconstruction of the basilica (probably by Leopardus about
the end of the fourth century) the floor was sunk in order to
bring the altar into closer relation with the grave.
It has been explained (p. 50) how the body of S. Valentine
was made accessible by a gallery constructed in imitation of
those of the catacombs. The type of gallery or crypt which
was typical of later constructions is represented in the church
of S. Pancrazio near Rome, and was probably due to Pope
Honorius I. (625-638). It is a semicircular passage, entered
at the corners of the apse and following its foundation wall ;
from the middle of this half-circle a straight horizontal gallery
leads to the tomb. There are several examples of this type
at Ravenna, and elsewhere in early churches, but it is doubtful
whether they antedate the instance mentioned above. From
this it is evidently but a short step to the excavation of a
single large chamber under the presbyterium — the type of
crypt which became characteristic of the Romanesque churches.
Such a crypt often appears in mediaeval reconstructions or imi-
tations of ancient basilicas, with the consequence that the
presbyterium is raised high above the nave.
In this connection may be mentioned a custom which occa-
sionally introduced a novelty in the construction of the apse.
It sometimes happened that a memorial basilica could not be
built immediately above the tomb of the martyr, because the
ground was already occupied by a venerable chapel which
the builder scrupled to destroy. In this case the apse of
the basilica was constructed upon a tangent to the apse of the
earlier shrine, and a window was opened at the point where
they met. A perforated stone window plate (transenna) here
took the place of the fenestella, and enabled the worshippers
in the greater church to glance beyond the altar and enjoy a
glimpse of the martyr's chapel. An instance of this arrange-
ment is the basilica of S. Sinforosa near Rome (Fig. 28, c).
Paulinus of Nola elaborated this idea in the construction
of the new basilica of S. Felix. He opened arcades of three
arches in the apses of both basilicas, leaving between them a
covered court which served as entrance hall to the buildings.
FURNITURE- The Altar 165
The arcades were closed by transenna?, but Paulinus claimed
that through them the worsliippers in the new church could
participate in the mass which was celebrated over the tomb of
the martyr. This example seems to have led to numerous
imitations. We have a contemporary instance of this con-
struction in the recently discovered apse of the Basilica
Severiana in Naples (Fig. 40). It seems to have been employed
also with a merely decorative purpose in cases where there
was no question of a martyrs tomb. S. Maria Maggiore, as
reconstructed by Sixtus III. (432-440), seems to have had an
apse which was put in communication with a surrounding
gallery by means of such an arcade. At least this seems
necessary to explain a curious reference which the Liber
PontificaUs makes to this church in the life of Paschal I.,
where it is said that at the celebration of the mass the women
stood behind the seat of the pontiff, so that he could say
nothing to his assistants without being overheard by them.
The room behind the apse seems in this case to have been
used as a matroneum. An arcaded apse of this sort is illus-
trated by a bronze lamp of the fifth century (Fig. 153.)
It was naturally about the confessio and the altar that the
costliest decoration was expended. There is frequent mention
in the Liber PontificaUs of gifts of silver for the decoration
of a confessio. Sixtus III. (432-440) persuaded the Emperor
Valentinian to place as a votive offering above the confessio
of S. Peter <'a golden image with twelve doors and twelve
Apostles and the Saviour adorned with precious gems." We
have to understand that this was designed in relief with the
Apostles and the Saviour framed in as many arcaded niches.
The design was common upon the sarcophagi. Symmachus
(498-514) placed the same design in silver above the confessio
of S. Paul. Precisely where such a relief might be phaced is
not clear from the mere notice that it was above the confessio ;
it may have been attached to the perpendicular wall below
the altar ; but it is equally likely that it was in front of the
altar and between its legs, constituting the earliest example
of an antipendium. Less is said than one might expect about
costly materials being employed for the altar. Nothing is
said about the grea,t altar of the Lateran, though seven silver
altars of prothesis are mentioned. It may be that reverence
166 AECHITECTUBE
for the traditional form of the altar served to perpetuate the
use of stone, and the use of altar cloths had doubtless some-
thing to do with it. However, altars of precious metal are
occasionally mentioned : for example, the altar which Con-
stantine gave to S. Peters was of silver plated with gold and
adorned with four hundred gems, weighing altogether 350
pounds. Justinian gave a gold altar to the church of S.
Sophia.
Whatever influence the early confessio may have had upon
the shape of the altar, it was conflned to the memorial churches
without the city. It will be remembered that within the city
limits burial was forbidden, and the congregational churches,
the titles, were therefore without the confessio. The preserva-
tion of relics of a specially sacred character, such as the wood
of the Holy Cross for which Constantine built the basilica of
S. Croce, may have required the construction of an imitation
confessio. Secondary relics such as have been described
above needed no such elaborate care ; at the most they were
deposited in a cavity made in the plate of the altar, and they
led to no change in its form.
The next stage in the development of the altar was due to
the custom, which grew rapidly during the sixth century, of
translating the bodies of the martyrs and depositing them
within the churches of the city; — except in Rome, where no
translations were made until after the middle of the eighth cen-
tury. This often led to the construction of a true confessio or
crypt ; but more commonly the relics were deposited immedi-
ately beneath the plate of the altar. The reconstruction of the
altar which this required was at first not very radical. The
relics were enclosed within a stone cippus which closely imi-
tated the heathen pattern. That is to say, it was a block of
stone, roughly cubical in dimension, hollow within, and orna-
mented on the front by a doorway, like a miniature tomb. This
was placed beneath the altar and constituted its chief supj^ort,
though as its lateral dimension was smaller than that of the
altar it did not entirely do away with the table legs. There
are a number of examples of sixth-century altars of this char-
acter at Ravenna and elsewhere. In S. Giovanni Evangelista
at Ravenna such a confessio was placed under an earlier table
altar, and the space which intervened between it and the legs
FUBXITUBE— The Cihorium 167
of the table was enclosed with plates of marble. This leads
directly to the final step, in which the altar was enclosed on all
four sides by plates of stone and became a mere chest for the
preservation of relics. It was not till the Middle Ages that it
became customary to enclose a sarcophagus, or a fully extended
body, within the altar, with a consequent lateral extension
which corresponded to the length of the human figure.
The custom of erecting more than one altar in the church
grew out of the cult of relics. Such altars came into use about
the beginning of the fifth century, at first in side chapels, later
in the church itself and even in the nave.
THE CIBORIUM
To protect and dignify the altar (see p. 104) a roof of square
plan supported by four columns was often erected over it.
The name ciborium — to be derived from Kift^ptov a cup, — is
explained by the form of roof which was commonly given it in
the Orient : a cupola, like an inverted cup (Fig. 144). In the
West, however, a steep conical or pyramidal roof seems to have
been more common. The four supporting columns were placed
at a sufficient distance from the altar to permit free passage
around it. They were surmounted either by architraves upon
which the roof directly rested, or by arches which were filled
out at the corners so as to form a horizontal base for the roof.
The character of the arch is illustrated by Fig. 39, but the
roof generally rose very much higher than in this example.
No ciboriums of the early period have been preserved entire,
and they are but scantily illustrated in Christian art. We have
evidence enough, however, chiefly in the way of descriptions,
to establish securely the general traits as they have been given
above. The earliest ciboriums we know date from the ninth
century, and they still adhere to the ancient type. It was not
till about the twelfth century that any novelty was introduced ;
at that time it became the fashion in Italy to support the roof
above the architraves upon rows of colonnettes, giving it a much
lighter and more graceful appearance than the earlier form
could boast. In the early period the material was of wood,
stone, bronze, or silver. It must suffice to mention a few of the
most notable examples.
168 ABCIIITECTUBE
The Liber Pontijicalis describes the ciborium which Constan-
tine presented to the Lateran. The roof was of silver and
weighed 2025 lbs. It is to be presumed that it was supported
upon marble columns, and it is probably to be restored like the
ciborium in Fig. 39; but the account is engrossed with the
decoration and gives no hint of the fundamental form. In
front was an image of the Saviour seated, iive feet in height
and weighing 120 pounds. There were then the twelve Apostles,
likewise five feet in height, and weighing 90 pounds each.
As symmetry requires, there were doubtless two Apostles at
each side of the Saviour, and four upon each of the adjoining
sides of the ciborium. On the opposite side, facing the apse,
the Saviour was again represented, seated upon a throne, and
at each side of him two angels holding rods in their hands.
The roof was ceiled with gold. For the lamps which adorned
it see p. 351.
This work of art was carried away by the hordes of Alaric in
410 ; but Sixtus III. (432-440) persuaded the Emperor Valen-
tinian to erect a new ciborium, of which we know only that it
was likewise of silver and weighed nearly as much as the old.
In the Basilica Ursiana in Ravenna the Bishop Victor (539-
546) replaced an old wooden ciborium by one of silver weighing
two thousand pounds, — presumably through the generosity of
Justinian. In S. Sophia the columns as well as the roof of the
ciborium were of silver; it is described at length and with
enthusiasm by Paulus Silentiarius. This work had the fortune
to endure till the thirteenth century.
THE CHAXCELS
Cancellus was the Latin word which was commonly used for
the low screens which marked the separation of the presbyterium
and choir from the rest of the church. In a later time the
name came to be applied to the presbyterium itself — the chan-
cel. Very few chancels of the early period have been preserved
in place ; we get, however, a clear idea of the normal arrange-
ment in S. Clemente at Rome, where the sixth-century screens
(Fig. 58) of the choir and presbyterium were simply removed
from the lower church and set up in the twelfth-century church
above. We get an equally good idea of the arrangement of
FUBNITURE— Chanceh
1G9
choir and presbyteriiun in S. Maria in Cosmedin at Rome
(eighth century), where the marble chancels which had been
employed for the pavement, or for other uses equally foreign
to their purpose, have been judiciously restored to their original
position (Fig. 38). A glance at the illustration will prove more
satisfactory than a long description. In this case it will be
noticed that the presbyterium extends some distance into the
nave, and a few steps lead from the middle of it into the choir.
In other cases, as in S. Clemente, the chancels of the presby-
terium coincided with the chord of the apse, and the altar stood
upon a line with them; the approaches had therefore to be
lE^OT
Flu. u
. __l'tb rriituriL-, iL _•":.. -iructud frum I'l
oratory of Equizio aud in S. Lorenzo, Koine.
constructed on either side of the altar. In the illustration it
will be noticed that the chancels of the presbyterium are sur-
mounted by a light colonnade for the support of curtains.
The choir too was sometimes provided with such a colonnade
about its entire circumference. Here, as in S. Clemente, there
are two ambons, or pulpits, at the sides of the choir. They
were used for the singers and lectors, and later for the preacher ;
they differed in dignity and use, as they differed in form.
A very great number of ancient chancels, or fragments of
them, have lately been brought to light in Rome ; they had
been contemptuously employed in the ^liddle Ages for wall
and floor decoration. These finds inform us as completely as
170
ARCHITECTURE
we could wish about the form of the early Christian chancels,
whether they were of stone, wood, or metal. During the
fourth and fifth centuries they adhered closely to the patterns
which had been long current in Kome, — that is to say, they
were usually stiff geometrical designs in openwork, following
the technic of metal. Fig. 57 shows a reconstruction of two
chancels of this period from fragments found at Home in the
oratory of Equizio and in the church of S. Lorenzo. From
the sixth to the ninth century the chancels received a new
|i|"!-'.'- '.■■i*!ll.l'!
o / /J; •
Fig. 5S. — Chancel in S. Clemente, Rome. Sixth century.
type of decoration, and became the chief field for such stone
carving as was still practised, — that is, for the conventional
designs in low relief which were copied from contemporary
textile patterns (see p. 377). No other stone chancels have
been preserved ; but wooden ones are also recorded, and so
are also chancels of bronze and silver. The most elaborate
of all were doubtless the silver chancels which decorated the
church of S. Sophia. Constantine employed chancels of gilded
bronze in the church of the Apostles at Constantinople.
THE COLOXNADE IX FROXT OF THE PRESBYTERIUM
A row of four or six great columns sometimes adorned the
presbyterium. Their object seems to have been similar to that
of the ciborium, to add dignity to the chief room of the church.
They were not originally intended to mark the limits of the
presbyterium, for they did not always coincide with it ; still
less were they designed for the support of curtains, or in any
way to hide the altar from the people. It is probable that
the earliest examples were simply decorative, and were not
even connected by an architrave. It is from this ornamental
FUnXITUEE- TJie Iconostasis 171
feature, however, that we have to trace the rood-screen of the
Gothic churches on the one hand, and the iconostasis ^ of the
Greek on the other.
In the round church of the Anastasis at Jerusalem Constan-
tine erected twelve columns, corresponding to the number of
the Apostles. From the notice that their capitals were sur-
mounted by huge silver craters we are led to suppose that they
were not connected by an architrave. AVhere they were placed
or how they were arranged — whether in a circle or semicircle
— does not appear.
We are, on the other hand, very clearly informed about both
the character and the arrangement of the six white marble
columns which (according to the Liber Pontijicalis) Constantine
brought from Greece and erected in the church of S. Peter.
They are described as cohimnas vitineas, which alludes to their
adornment with traceries of the vine, with birds and flowers —
an example of the decadent taste of the age. Notwithstand-
ing this account of their origin, there grew up in the jNIiddle
Ages a tradition that they were taken from the Temple at
Jerusalem. It is mainly due to this tradition that they were
preserved in the rebuilding of S. Peter's, some of them are
employed to decorate the niches of the piers high up under the
dome, and one is venerated in a side chapel where it can con-
veniently be studied. It is due to this tradition also that we
have the familiar representation of them in Raphael's tapestry
which pictures the healing of the impotent man at the door of
the Temple. The position which these columns originally
occupied in S. Peter's is exhibited in the well-known fresco
(probably by Giulio Romano) in the Sala di Constantino in
the Vatican. They stood in a row across the front of the
presbyterium, at some distance behind the triumphal arch.
This was probably their original position ; but it is likely that
originally they were not connected by an architrave ; it seems
at least as if the free position would comport better with
Classical traditions. But at all events they were provided
with an architrave as early as the time of Sergius III. (687-
701) ; and Gregory III. (731-741) added another row of six
1 The iconostasis is a solid screen of considerable height which separates
the presbyterium from the nave. It is adorned with sacred pictures and
pierced by a central door.
172 ARCHITECTURE
columns, fashioned in imitation of them and placed behind
them.
A single colonnade of six columns is preserved in the cathe-
dral of Torcello (Fig. oi^) ; in this case, however, the choir as
well as the presbyterium is included behind it. The horizontal
beam which connected the columns offered a surface which was
sometimes decorated like a frieze ; it served as a support for
lamps and chandeliers, and, after the seventh century, for large
images, — images of silver happen to be mentioned most fre-
quently. It is easy to see how the iconostasis was developed
from this form. In the illustration above alluded to, it will be
noticed that, between the chancels and the architrave, there is
but little open space left ; that too, it must be remembered, was
often covered by curtains (see p. 378). As the Oriental
Church permitted no images carved in the round, it was natu-
rally disposed to make the most of the field which the screen
offered for pictorial representations.
THE CATHEDRA
About the seating arrangements of the churches there is very
little to be said. There are a few examples of a simple stone
bench within the choir; more frequently the seat of the pres-
byters has been preserved, and that too was a stone bench con-
structed in a semicircle around the wall of the apse. Whatever
dignity or adornment it had, it must have received from rich
cushions and wall hangings.
The presbyters' bench was interrupted in the middle by the
cathedra or throne of the bishop. To give the greater distinc-
tion to this seat, a niche was sometimes constructed for it in
the apsidal wall (as in S. Balbina at E-ome), it was sometimes
surmounted by a baldachino of stone (as at Grado), and it was
generally raised several steps higher than the benches which
flanked it on either side. The cathedra itself w^as a chair of
dignity, such as the Roman senators used on public occasions.
Many of the earliest examples which we know were actually
taken from pagan buildings, or at least bought in the public
shops; it is especially the finest and the most graceful of them
which are most obviously not of Christian origin. During the
first five centuries one type of cathedra seems to have been all
FURNITUBE — The Cathedra 173
but universal : a solid arm-chair with high rounded back carved
out of a single block of marble. The famous statue of S. Hip-
polytus furnishes an early example of such a cathedra ; in the
illustration (Fig. 118) it is seen, unfortunately, only in face.
Later the cathedra was often constructed upon the sjwt, built
up of large blocks of stone. The decoration was generally of
a simple character, and rarely of any great interest from the
point of view of Christian art. For distinction, as well as for
comfort, the cathedra must have relied largely upon its tex-
tile coverings, and in particular its cushion and stool.
The singular importance of the cathedra lay in the fact, that
it was not only the bishop's seat, but also his pulpit. For
it was the invariable custom in the Church, as it had been
among the Jews, for the preacher or teacher to address the
congregation from his seat. It will readily be understood that
the traditional position of the cathedra, at the back of the apse,
was not well chosen as a point whence the congregation of a
great basilica might be addressed. The interposition of the
ciborium, or of a colonnade in front of the presbyterium, ren-
dered the position still more unsuitable. It is related that S.
Chrysostom preached from the lectors' ambon in the nave, in
order that he might be heard. It is probable that the bishop
often used a portable cathedra which might be placed — at
least during the sermon — near the chancels of the presby-
terium. Such seems to have been the use of the ivory cathe-
dra (Fig. 114) of Bishop Maximianus of Eavenna (546-556).
The fact that it is sculptured behind, as well as before, proves
that it was not intended to be set against the wall.
The chair which is venerated in Kome as the cathedra of S.
Peter is a portable chair of wood {sedia gestatoria), of pagan
origin, decorated with ivory reliefs representing mythological
subjects. The history of the chair is unknown. It is in a
ruinous condition, and was long ago enclosed in a heavy sup-
porting frame.
The position of the congregation during the sermon was less
uniform than that of the Bishop. In prayer they commonly
stood with outstretched hands ; kneeling was a more unusual,
and distinctly a penitential, attitude. In certain regions, par-
ticularly in Africa and in Gaul, it remained the custom, at least
as late as the fifth century, to stand during both the sermon
174
ARCHITECTURE
and the lections. In such cases it is evident that no seats were
required for the people. On the other hand, we have proof, as
early as the middle of the second century, that it was the more,
general custom of the Church to sit during the sermon. Seats,
therefore, must have been provided for the people. The char-
acter of the mosaic floor proves that they were not a stationary
part of the church furniture ; but nothing more precise is to be
learned about their character.
THE AMBON
While the bishop preached from the cathedra within the
limits of the presbyterium, the lector read the Scriptures from
a pulpit erected outside the presbyterium
and nearer the people. From the fact
that it was ascended by a flight of
;teps, the pulpit received the name
amhon (ava/Satveiv) ; or from its
shape and elevation it was
called " the tower," wvp-
yo?. The ambon stood
sometimes on the mid-
dle axis of the nave,
sometimes to one side
of it. Two ambons were
frequently used to dis-
tinguish the Gospel from
the lections which were taken from the Old Testament and the
Epistles. In this case, they flanked the choir or the presbyte-
rium on either side, and were distinguished from one another
by difference in size and ornamentation. The lectern of the
Epistle ambon commonly faced the altar ; that of the Gospel
faced directly across the nave. The position of the two am-
bons, relative to the altar, was not fixed ; the Gospel was read
now from the right side, now from the left (see Fig. 38). The
paschal candlestick, which seems to have come into use about
the sixth century, stood beside the Gospel ambon. In shape
the ambon was commonly round or octagonal (Fig. 59) with a
solid balustrade, and with an approach of some half-dozen
steps upon one or both sides. The double flight of stairs was
Fig. 59. — Ambon in Thessalonica. Fifth century,
FUBNITURE—of the Baptistery 175
probably required for the singers, some of whom stood upon
the ambon or its steps during the chants. At S. Sophia there
was a single ambon in the middle of the nave. It was ap-
proached from the presbyterium by a raised passage, o-wAeas,
across which the clergy could move without hindrance from
the crowd. This ambon was so great that the singers found
room beneath it ; above, it was crowned by a row of columns
bearing lamps.
FURNITURE OF THE BAPTISTERY
The arrangement of the baptistery requires but brief notice.
A flight of steps descended into the round or polygonal font
{piscina or fons), which was sunk beneath the level of the floor,
and sometimes raised also somewhat above it by a breastwork
of stone. The font was surrounded by a row of columns which
supported curtains to insure the most perfect privacy and
decency during the immersion. The columns were united
occasionally by archivolts, more frequently by architraves.
The architraves were sometimes adorned by metrical inscrip-
tions; the eight distiches in the Lateran baptistery are as-
cribed to Sixtus III. In the Lateran baptistery Constantine
constructed a font of porphyry, covering with silver the out-
side of the breastwork, and the inside as far as the water line.
In the middle of the font he erected a porphyry column sup-
porting a golden viol ("where the candle is") weighing 52
pounds ; there also incense was burnt at Easter time. Upon
the rim of the font and pouring water into it was a golden
lamb weighing 30 pounds. On the right of this a silver image
of the Saviour five feet high and weighing 170 pounds. On
the left a similar statue of John the Baptist, bearing the in-
scription : BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD, BEHOLD HIM WHO TAK-
ETH AWAY THE SINS OF THE WORLD. There wcrc besidcs
this seven silver harts of 80 pounds each, likewise pouring
water into the font. There is mentioned also a censor of gold,
weighing 15 pounds, and adorned with 49 emeralds.^
1 Lib. Pont., — in vit. Sylvestri.
176 ABCHITECTUBE
D. POSITION AND SURROUNDINGS OF THE CHURCH
ORIENTATION
The Christians adopted for the orientation of their churches
the direction precisely opposite to that of the pagan temples ;
that is, it was the apsidal end and not the front which was
directed toward the east. From the earliest period of church
building there was a disposition to give to the apse an easterly
direction ; this direction may even be said to have been pre-
scribed, and a rule to this effect actually occurs as early as the
middle of the third century in the A]r)Ostolic Constitutions}
Athanasius regarded it as an Apostolic ordinance that the
church must face the east. Until the beginning of the
Middle Ages, however, the rule was so far from being scrupu-
lously observed that it suffered almost as many exceptions as
it could boast instances. The direction of the street or the
nature of the ground often interfered with a strict compliance
with this rule, or even completely reversed the direction. The
variety in the direction of the churches is specially great in
Rome ; nearly every point of the compass is there represented.
S. Peter's has the apse on the west end, and it was evidently
obliged to take this direction on account of the position of the
Apostle's tomb with reference to the Vatican Hill. The first
basilica built over the tomb of S. Paul had likewise its apse at
the west end, and without any apparent reason. The greater
basilica which supplanted it in 389 reversed the direction and
complied with the rule. The direction of the street may ac-
count for the easterly position of the entrance in the case of
S. Sebastiano and of SS. Nereo and Achilleo on the via Appia,
and of S. Clemente and S. Maria in Dominica within the city.
The Lateran basilica has the same direction, though the reason
is not obvious. The westerly position of the apse seems to have
been deliberately chosen in the case of S. Lorenzo fuori le
mura. Some of the most important churches in Rome were
directed toward various odd points of the compass, probably
on account of the direction of the ancient streets. S. Maria
Maggiore, S. Prassede, and S. Prudentiana are directed toward
the northwest; S. Marco toward the north; S. Sabina, north
1 Book II., c. 57.
POSITION Ay D SU R ROUXD IX GS— Orientation 177
east; and S. Agnese and S. Saba, southeast. The great ba-
silica at Tyre, built in the beginning of the fourth century, was
intentionally directed with its entrance toward the east, and
its builder, Paulinus, constructed a high door expressly to
admit the rays of the rising sun. The great basilica attached
to the Anastasis in Jerusalem had likewise its entrance toward
the east. The basilica of S. Felix at Nola had the apse at the
west end ; but Paulinus acknowledges that this was contrary
to "the more usual custom," and he explains it by the neces-
sity of bringing it into relation with the apse of the ancient
chapel of the saint. Socrates relates that the chief church at
Antioch had " an inverted direction " inasmuch as the altar was
at the west end.
Turning from the exceptions to the rule, it is to be noted
that in Ravenna, and in general wherever Byzantine influence
was felt, the easterly direction of the apse was almost as
strictly observed as it came to be in the Middle Ages. It
was, however, very rarely that the church lay exactly east
and west ; there was a declination greater or less to one side
or the other. It is a question whether this variety was due
simply to accidental causes, the direction of the street, etc., or
is to be referred to a symbolical purpose. The attempt has
been made to prove the latter opinion by showing that the
direction was chosen with reference to the point where the
sun rose upon the date of the chief feast of the church in
question, or upon one of the turning points of the year. The
proof is too ingenious and too uncertain ; but it is hardly open
to doubt that it was not the true east but the position of
the rising sun which imposed the direction. It has been
remarked that in Ravenna, where the apse was at the east end,
it was pierced by windows, whereas in Rome, where the chief
churches had the apse at the west end, it was without them.
The numerous exceptions to the rule of the eastern apse
have been taken to prove that the earlier rule in the West
required the entrance, not the apse, to face the east, and that
the custom which later became universal had its origin in the
Orient. But when it is remarked that the most notable in-
stances of this supposed Western rule are confined to churches
which were built by Constantine or presumably under his in-
fluence—the Lateran, S. Peter's, S. Paul's, S. Lorenzo, the
178 ARCHITECTURE
Anastasis, the basilicas in Tyre and Antioch — it seems likely
that this easterly direction of the entrance was a particular
fancy of that emperor's. That C'onstantine may have had a
strong prejudice upon a subject like this is not improbable, for
it is known that even after he was converted to Christianity
he retained many traces of his earlier sun worship.
ATRIUM AND PERIBOLOS
With exception of the memorial shrines which were erected
over the tombs of the martyrs, the early Christian churches
were almost invariably within the cities. As Christianity was,
for a long time, confined almost exclusively to the greater cen-
tres of civilization, the churches had, for the most part, to be
content with such scanty room as could be provided in densely
populated towns. Like the private houses from which they
traced their origin, the basilicas were commonly crowded in
between surrounding buildings ; or, even if more room was at
their disposal, it was filled up with chapels, hospices, schools,
and the whole complex of buildings which were required as
adjuncts to the church. The effort was made, however, to se-
cure a free space in front of the church, a quadrangular court
paved with marble and surrounded on all four sides by porti-
cos (Figs. 27, e, 29, 30). This was known by various names,
in the West most commonly as the atrium or quadriporticus.
The atrium was an almost invariable feature of the early basil-
icas in the West ; in the East it was less commonly employed,
and apparently as an imitation of the Western custom ; after
the fifth century it became everywhere less common, and only
in rare cases was it imitated in the IMiddle Ages. The atrium
provided a dignified entrance to the basilica, and at the same
time protected it from the noise of the public streets. It was
used for the instruction of the catechumens, for the feeding of
the poor, and, doubtless, for many other of the purposes for
which a cloister and court might serve. When burial within
the city became customary it was the atrium which first pro-
vided room for it. The atrium itself was sometimes com-
pletely surrounded by subordinate buildings which the more
effectually secluded the church. One may raise the query
whether an atrium surrounded by buildings of either secular
POSITION AND SURROUNDINGS— Atrhn
170
or ecclesiastical use would not be an apt provision for the
requirements of our modern life in great cities, where the old-
fashioned churchyard is out of the question, and the noise of
the streets is more than ever discomforting.
In the middle of this court there was as a rule a fountain of
running water (the canthanis) for the symbolical purification
of those who were about to enter the church. The washing
was generally confined to the hands. This custom had its
suggestion not only in the Old Testament and in the Jewish
use, but in a practice which was invariably associated with the
Classical temple. The symbolism was in itself so obvious that
it hardly depended upon example
or suggestion. These early foun-
tains with their pure running water
were vastly superior, from an aes-
thetic as well as an hygienic point
of view, to the holy water basins of
the Middle Ages. The fountain
was generally provided with spring
water by an aqueduct. No spring
water being available for his basilica
at iSTola, Paulinus depended upon
rain water, which he collected from
the roof of the church. He de-
scribes this arrangement in one of
his poems, and he glories in it as an
example of humble reliance upon
God's provision. Even in view of a dearth of water, he could
console himself with the handsome appearance of the fountain
and its ornaments. The fountain must have taken very various
forms. The basin was commonly surrounded by a balustrade
of sculptured marble ; it was very frequently surmounted by
an ornamental roof supported upon columns.
The most interesting ancient cantharus of which we have
any notice was that which adorned the atrium of S. Peter's.
It was erected by Symmachus (498-514) in substitution of an
earlier and simpler one. The cantharus of Symmachus endured
throughout the Middle Ages, but with the rebuilding of S.
Peter's was brutally destroyed. The huge bronze pine cone
which formed the centre of the fountain, and two of the bronze
Fig. 60. — Bronze cantharus formerly
in the atrium of b. Peter's.
180 ARCHITECTUBE
peacocks which adorned the roof, are preserved in one of the
courtyards of the Vatican Palace. It is supposed that the pea-
cocks were taken from the mausoleum of Hadrian (Castel S.
Angelo), and it is not unlikely that the cone too adorned tlie
summit of that monument. Figure 60 gives a rough represen-
tation of this cantharus as it was shortly before its destruction.
It is from a sketch of one of the earliest of Christian archaeolo-
gists, the Dutchman, Philip de AVinghe ; valuable as it is, it
does not accurately correspond with the descriptions we have
of this interesting monument. According to the descriptions,
the roof was of gilded bronze ; the peacocks, the four dolphins
at the corners, and the great cone were all likewise gilded.
Eight porphyry columns supported the roof, and between them
were marble chancels, each with two griffins carved upon it.
A great fountain of water issued from the cone and played
over its surface, falling into a square basin.
"Where the atrium was lacking, as was generally the case in
the Orient, the fountain — and in this case it must have been a
smaller one — was placed in the vestibule. Figure 135 repre-
sents close by the church door a small basin upon a high
pedestal, which was not unlike the holy water basin of the
Middle Ages, except that it was supplied with running water.
Very rarely in the West, but more frequently in the Eastern
provinces of the Empire, the church stood in the midst of a
great court surrounded by a wall — the peribolos. The direct
suggestion of the peribolos was the temenos which surrounded
the Greek temple. A number of churches which were built
upon the sites of ancient temples retained as a decoration the
temenos which had surrounded the shrine. In the simplest
case it was a mere wall (Fig. 61), but it was often adorned
within by porticos. In any case it characterized only such
churches as had considerable pretension to magnificence. A
whole complex of church buildings was often included within
its circuit; in many cases the wall m,ay have been needed for
defence.
One of the most important symbolical motives in church
architecture is the broad and inviting doorway. This motive
was first adequately developed in Gothic architecture ; in the
early period it was only the Central Syrian churches which
expressed it in the design of the faqade. The motive, however,
POSITIOX AND SUEROUXDINGS— Prophylaon 181
was by no means ignored by tlie early Cliurcli ; but the i)res-
ence of an atrium or peribolos required that the symbolical
importance of the door be given its chief expression, not at the
entrance of the church itself, but of the church precincts. The
entrance of the atrium was in fact given very great importance,
and like the propylos of the ancient temple, it constituted a
building by itself, projecting beyond the walls of the precinct.
The high doorway
which P a u 1 i n u s
built as an entrance
to the peribolos of
his church in Tyre
was designed not
only to admit the
rays of the rising
sun, but to allow
those who passed
before it a glimpse
of the interior. The
pious builder hoped
by the striking ele-
gance of the door-
way to attract the
adherents of the old
religions and induce
them to enter the
church. A number
of notable doorways
are mentioned in
early Christian literature, but excej)t for mere vestiges of the
foundations none of them have been preserved. The propylos
of S. Peter's, as represented in Fig. 30, was a two-storied build-
ing with three doors, but it is not possible to decide how much
of that structure may have been due to medieeval reconstruc-
tion. It appears, however, that the doorway usually comprised
three entrances, as in this case.
Fig. 61. — Basilica Avith peribolos in Euweha, Syria.
182
AUCIIirECTUnE
Ai),l<HMX(J BUILDINGS
The baptistery belonged only to the ehurch of the bishop.
It Avas never placed directly in connection with the church
building, though it often adjoined the atrium. It had there-
fore a separate entrance and vestibule, and like the church it
was frequently surrounded by chapels or oratories. A frequent
adjunct of the l)aptistery was a hall where the candidates
¥\u. (;■_>.
.'onij)le\
uikliiig>5 at El Barab, Sjria.
received confirmation (consignatio) immediately after baptism
and before entering the church.
It has already been remarked a number of times that the
early churches were frequently surrounded by chapels. This
is illustrated by the plan and the prospect of S. Peter's (Figs.
29, 30). The chapels on the south of this church opened
directly into the side aisle ; those on the north were separated
from it by a narrow passage. The chapels or cubicnla served
two purposes; they were either used as mausoleums before
burial in the churches was allowed, or else as places of retire-
ment for pious meditation and the reading of the Scriptures.
POSITION AXI) SUnHOUyDIXGS— TJic Tower 183
An interesting adjunct of the church was the tower. Various
were the uses to which the tower was put, and it is uncertain
which use may have constituted the original or chief sugges-
tion for its employment. It was only in Syria that towers
were employed in pairs and brought into architectural relation
with the church (Fig. 32). The}^ were used there for the stair-
ways which ascended to the upper galleries of the church ; and
they served as places of refuge in regions where there was
Fig. 63. — Memorial church of S. Simon Stj-lites, Kalat-Seman, Syria.
danger of sudden attack. In the West only a solitary tower
was used, and it was never a part of the architectural scheme.
The towers were either square or round in plan, and were di-
vided into about a half-dozen low stories. The tower, however,
was by no means a general necessity, and the majority of the
churches remained without it. It is probable that in the West
they were from the beginning employed for hanging bells;
but the date of the introduction of church bells is as undeter-
mined as that of the construction of towers. The ancient
towers which remain in Rome and Eavenna are of mediaeval
184 AUCIIITECTUUE
construction in the upper part, and even the bases give no cer-
tain clew to their date.
Several of the Syrian sites afford good examples of the com-
plex of ecclesiastical buildings which often surrounded the
church (Fig. 02). Jfoiiasteria seems to have been the name
given to small chapels built in the vicinity of a greater church,
particularly if they took the form of little basilicas. Next to
the chapels the most important adjuncts of the church v/ere
the hospices for pilgrims or for the poor, hospitals, schools,
baths, and the dwellings of the clergy. The hospice, or xeno-
(1ocJii((m, of Pammachius at Porto (Fig. 27, e) shows an orderly
disposition of the buildings which was quite uncommon. It
was chiefly in the case of the later monastic settlements in un-
cultivated and pagan lands that the whole complex of church
buildings could readily be conformed to an ideal plan. The
early buildings were, however, often very magnificently con-
structed, and they included rooms for a very great variety of
purposes. Particularly impressive is the description of Con-
stantine's church of the Apostles at Constantinople.^
1 Eusebius, Vit. Const. IV. 59.
IV
PICTORIAL ART
Early Christian pictorial art is here treated under three
chief heads : Painting, Sculpture, and Mosaic. The early Chris-
tian painting which we have to consider is limited almost exclu-
sively to the frescos of the Koman catacombs (early Bible
miniatures are treated apart) ; the sculpture includes numerous
sarcophagi, a few rare statues, and some interesting reliefs in
wood and ivory; the mosaics par excellence are those which
adorn the walls of the churches. One would hardly propose
any other division than this, and yet it must be confessed that
a classification of pictorial art which is based on the method
of execution ceases to have any great importance when, as in
the early Christian period, the content or thought of a picture
predominates over the interests which attach to mere technic,
to the greater or less success of execution, or to the medium
even in which the work is wrought. This division, therefore,
obvious as it is, cannot be adhered to strictly and exclusively ;
it is crossed here and there by a classification according to sub-
jects, which requires sometimes the tracing of a single theme
through all three branches of art.
This familiar and obvious division can, however, be the more
reasonably retained, because it corresponds in a measure with
three epochs of early Christian art, which were marked by the
development of their own peculiar themes. Christian art of
the second and third centuries is represented almost solely by
the frescos of the catacombs, and the study of early Christian
painting is chiefly concerned with this period, notwithstanding
the fact that there are numerous catacomb frescos of the
fourth century, and occasional examples of the art of every
century down to the Middle Ages. The beginnings of Chris-
tian sculpture are to be traced back to the third century ; but
it was in the fourth century that it received its characteristic
185
180 nCTOniAL ABT
development, and within the fourth and fifth are included
almost all of the monuments which we have to study. Chris-
tian mosaic art was in its chief lines already developed in the
fourth century ; but it is to the fifth and sixth that the great
majority of the monuments belong. The themes which were
represented in the inosaics differed substantially from those
which were current even in contemporary painting and sculp-
ture. For the decoration of the church there was developed a
new range of subjects, which were in part symbolical, and yet
different from those which originated in sepulchral decoration ;
in \YAYt historical, and reflecting directly the examples of Scrip-
tural illustration which were furnished by the Bible minia-
tures. It will be seen, therefore, that in following freely the
division which is here chosen, it will be possible to take account
of the divisions which refer to time and to those also which
are based upon a classification of subjects.
There is another difficulty of method, which is due solely to
the limited space at our disposal for the treatment of so large
a subject. It is not possible here to allude to all even of the
important monuments of early Christian art ; it is possible to
present only a representative selection of them. There is per-
haps sufficient space for a general critique of early Christian
art; but with this there would not be space enough for a
liberal illustration of it by concrete examples. Inasmuch as
the chief claim of archaeology upon popular attention lies in
the fact that it furnishes the most concrete material of history,
it seems well in this instance to rest satisfied with what has
been said in the Introduction in the way of a general account
of the conditions and development of early Christian art, and
to add here only so much of a theoretical nature as may be
necessary for the appreciation of the point of view, and for the
intelligent apprehension of the individual monuments. This
chapter will therefore be mainly occupied with the task of
describing a few of the most notable and representative monu-
ments of early Christian art in the spheres of painting, sculp-
ture, mosaic, and miniature. It is necessary, however, to
explain somewhat at length the character of early Christian
symbolism, and to treat with some degree of completeness a
few of the principal subjects of early symbolic art — as, for
example, the Good Shepherd and the fish.
PAIXTING — Introductory 187
Sc far as concerns the frescos of the Roman catacombs, the
treatment is of necessity incomplete. The reproductions
which have hitherto been made of the paintings of the cata-
combs are far from being exact or faithful. The opinions and
theories which have been founded upon them reflect the same
defects; much of the instruction which the art of the cata-
combs is capable of furnishing has not yet been brought to
light, and some of the pictures which are best known are
the theme of conflicting theories. Now, however, Monsignor
Wilpert has ready for immediate publication a great work, the
fruit of long labor, which is at once a complete study of all the
paintings of the Roman catacombs in the spirit of the most
candid and painstaking research, and a perfect illustration of
them by means of the most exact processes of reproduction.
This work will itself reveal much that is new ; but, what is of
still greater importance, it will put in the hands of all students
the material for independent study. While expecting the
publication of this book one would indeed be rash to venture
beyond the commonplaces of this subject. For the illustra-
tions of this section I have relied exclusively upon the pictures
which Monsignor Wilpert has already published in several
preliminary works.
A. EARLY CHRISTIAN PAINTING
BEING THE FRESCOS OF THE CATACOMBS, AND EARLY
CHRISTIAN SYMBOLISM IN GENERAL
Almost all that need be said about the technic of early Chris-
tian painting — and indeed of sculpture too — is told in one
word, when it is said that it passed by no single step beyond
the formulas of Classical art, and that it followed that art in
its rapid decline after the second century. Inasmuch, however,
as the frescos of the Roman catacombs are almost the only
examples preserved to us of the painting of the second and
third centuries, it is in them chiefly that we have to trace the
successive steps of the decline of this art. It may be that we
derive from the catacombs an exaggerated idea of the impo-
tence of late Classic art, for it must be observed that the
execution of the catacomb frescos was from first to last exceed-
188 riCrOlUAL ART
iiigly sketchy, as was natural in the case of a decoration in-
tended for small sepulchral chambers which were rarely visited
and were visible only by artificial light. At the same time,,
rapid execution reveals perhaps as well as more studied work
the training of the artist. The mere decoration of the cata-
combs demanded no more than a rough conventional design;
the religious interest was satisfied with the bare indication of
u well-known theme. In the later period the artist was con-
tent to fulfil the bare requirements ; the artist of the earlier
period rejoiced in picturesqueness of detail, in grace and natu-
ralness of execution, the spontaneous expression of his skill.
The decline in skill was so uniform and so uninterrupted that
it enables one to determine approximately the date of most of
the pictures. Hand in hand with this there went a growing
carelessness even in the preparation of the plaster upon which
the picture was to be painted, — as indeed in all the mechanical
arts of building. The first impression of the paintings of the
catacombs is rather one of uniformity, because in the general
devastation the best are often reduced to the same state as the
worst, and because, moreover, the color scheme is in all sub-
stantially the same — yellow, red, and green upon a white
ground. But the farther one goes back the more careful were
the color gradations ; in the third and fourth centuries there was
less and less attempt at gradation from one color or shade to
another, and in later pictures which approach the Middle Ages
the different parts of the figure were marked by the rude device
of tracing with a line of black.
But all of this is of more interest to one who v.'ould follow
the decline of Classic art than to us who are pursuing the rise
and progress of the Christian. Of so little interest from our
point of view are the technical formalities of execution, that
some of the best-preserved pictures are of less importance than
others which are now to be traced only by the help of the
artist's preliminary outlines which were scratched in the fresh
plaster. Many of the subjects which were represented in fresco
were reproduced in the rude graffiti which were scratched upon
the tombstones or upon the walls, and the manifest imperfec-
tion of this type of art hardly diminishes its interest. It will
appear more plainly as we proceed that in early Christian art
the substance was accounted of more importance than the
PAINTING — Introductory 189
form .; it is still more obviously true that our interest in these
early monuments of art centres in the artist's purpose and
thought rather than in the comparative success of his execution.
The history of Christian art, if we regard art solely with
reference to its form, is divided into three periods. The first
and second centuries represent the best period of Classical art
under the Roman Empire. This, however, was but a faint
retlection of Greek art of the best period ; it will be remem-
bered that the artists in Rome were for the most part Greeks
working under Roman influence and catering expressly to
Roman taste. What was true of Rome in general was espe-
cially true of the Christian community, which was thoroughly
cosmopolitan in its constitution and actually used the Greek
tongue as its official language. The third and fourth centuries
were a period of steady decline. The following centuries wit-
ness no check to this decadence, albeit they are characterized
by a new feature, a certain stiffness and conventionality which
was obviously due to a reaction from the side of the mosaic
art, which was then fully developed in the decoration of the
basilicas.
But if we turn rather to its material than to its formal
aspects, we get another division of the history of early Chris-
tian art which is at once more definitely marked and more
fundamental. To speak only of the first four centuries, we
have first to consider a period, extending to some time in the
early part of the second century, during which there was no
Christian art properly so called, and the decoration employed
by Christians was merely a selection of the more innocent
themes of pagan art, to some of which a Christian symbolical
sense might be attached. By the middle of the second century,
however, we find an art as truly religious, as truly Christian,
as any which was ever developed, and none the less Christian
because it was couched in Classic form. It dealt already with
a wide range of Biblical subjects, which, without any consider-
able extension, remained the staple of Christian art throughout
the third century. There was from the first a typical fixity in
the mode of representing these subjects, which did not inter-
fere, however, with a rather astonishing liberty in certain other
respects. The order of time in which these subjects emerged,
and their relative popularity, can rarely be determined with
100 nCTORIAL ABT
precision, and at all events it constitutes a study far too
minute to be pursued here. It is sufficient for us here to regard
them as a whole, and to note that they do actually display an
unity of type which is due to the fact that they are stamped,
expressed, and permeated by a certain mystic symbolism which
was in many respects peculiar to the age of persecution, and
seems to have lost its interest for the Church with the very
beginning of triumph and prosperity. As a consequence of
this, many of the subjects which were most familiar in the
third century disappeared in the fourth, or were reproduced,
especially in the sculpture of the sarcophagi, merely through
the force of formal tradition.
AVith the fourth century, therefore, begins the third period
of Christian art. It was characterized by a new type of sym-
bolism which comported with the new trend of thought which
was initiated by the triumph of the Church, as well as by a
new use of art as it emerged from the catacombs and was
employed for the decoration of the churches. It was a sym-
bolism at once more obvious and more formally dogmatic than
that of the older type ; it may be said to be less profoundly
religious and more ecclesiastical. During this period, how^ever,
symbolism no longer constituted the predominant, nor even
the principal, interest of Christian art; it was supplanted by a
purely didactic and historical treatment which dealt chiefly in
the description of Biblical scenes. But what is peculiar to the
development of the fourth and fifth centuries belongs primarily
to the arts of mosaic and sculpture and will be treated under
those heads. We have here to deal chiefly with the art which
is represented by the early frescos of the catacombs, or more
generally with the whole range of Christian symbolism a,s it
was expressed during the age of persecution.
Inasmuch as early Christian painting is represented almost
solely by the frescos of the catacombs, and more particularly
the catacombs of Rome, we must take into consideration the
query, whether, and to what extent, it is the expression of
merely local traditions, and how far it was expressly designed
for and limited to the use of sepulchral decoration.
Even as between one catacomb and another one may mark
differences which are expressed both in formal treatment and
in a preference for one or another group of subjects. They
PAINTING — Introductory IQl
were evidently due to the individuality of the artists who were
employed. But these differences do not go very deep, the
range of subjects was after all so limited, each theme was
repeated over and over again so many times and with so much
similarity of treatment, even among the small minority of
Koman frescos which have been preserved, that we have rea-
son probably to mourn no absolute loss of a new and singular
theme among that great majority in Rome and elsewhere which
have been destroyed. We learn from literary sources that the
same symbolism was current throughout the Church, and it is
not only the uniformity of art throughout the Empire, but still
more the wonderful unity which bound together the Christian
communities during the second and third centuries, which
leads us to believe that the art of the Roman catacombs was
the art of the Church.
We shall see that the themes which are represented in the
art of the catacombs were in the main chosen with express
reference to the purpose which they actually served, that is,
as decoration appropriate to the grave. There is no reason
to suppose that these same subjects were employed in the
decoration of private houses, nor that beside this another
cycle of Christian art was developed for the decoration of
the earliest basilicas. We may, on the contrary, be quite
sure that in point of decoration the house of a Christian dif-
fered from that of a pagan in no other respect than in the
exclusion of the indecencies of Classic art. Even in the
fourth century no new domestic decoration was developed;
at the most — as in the house of SS. Giovanni e Paolo in
Rome — the conventional Classic decoration was eked out by a
few of the traditional pictures of the catacombs. As for the
decoration of the basilicas, it appears very evident that it was
first developed in the fourth century. Even the mosaic decora-
tion of S. Costanza was hardly more than a selection from
among the gracious and innocent themes of Classic art. It is
more closely related to certain of the catacomb frescos of about
the end of the first century — as in the earliest cubicula in
S. Gennaro at Naples and the vestibule of S. Domitilla at
Rome — than it is to any of later date. The earliest frescos of
the catacombs, those which antedate the creation of a distinc-
tive Christian art, have therefore a peculiar interest, inasmuch
102 nCTOniAL ART
as they may be taken to represent the character of decoration
\vhi(.'h the Christians preferred for their houses and for the
early basilicas which were developed from them. These early
frescos of the catacombs, like the mosaics of S. Costanza (Figs.
125, 126), reproduce with a merely decorative interest birds,
fishes, and beasts, trees, garlands, and flowers, ornamental fig-
ures and busts, cupids and victories, and many mythological
figures which were of too common a use to suggest expressly
the pagan religion to which they traced their origin. Of these
subjects there were some which gained a special popularity,
because it was possible to attach to them a Christian symbol-
ism ; such, for example, were the vine, the dove, the peacock,
the fish, and the fisherman, and even such mythological figures
as Psyche and Orpheus.
But we must pass over this theme, we must confine our-
selves here to that class of pictures which is beyond all doubt
the most interesting, those, namely, which are distinctly sym-
bolical, or at least religious, in character. There was a time
when all the pictures of the catacombs were symbolically in-
terpreted ; there has lately, on the other hand, been much
controversial zeal displayed in the attempt to reduce the
symbolical to the fewest possible number of instances. If we
dwell here almost exclusively upon religious and symbolical
pictures, it is simply on account of their superior interest,
and it is not to be taken as a sign that we would ignore the
fact that there are others, beside the purely decorative themes
just noticed, which have no religious reference at all. It is
beyond a doubt that there are many purely genre pictures,
representing especially the professional or domestic life of the
deceased; it is true, too, that such pictures often throw an
interesting light upon early manners and customs. It is only
for lack of room that they must be dismissed with this bare
notice, along with many subjects of an expressly religious
character which cannot well be included under a few general
heads which we can here study with some degree of com-
pleteness.
Before we pass to the study of any special themes it is
necessary to consider the character of early Christian symbol-
ism in general.
PAIXTIXG — Symbolism 193
EARLY CHRISTIAN SYMBOLISM
It would hardly be necessary to discuss early Christian sym-
bolism as a topic by itself and apart from the monuments
which expressly illustrate its character, if it had not become
a point of controversy more zealously contended than any
other in the whole field of early Christian archaeology, if the
symbolical element in the art of the catacombs had not been
fantastically exaggerated by some and unduly minimized by
others. The point at issue, however, is not whether early
Christian art was symbolical or not ; but how far the symbol-
ism extended, and what precisely was its character.
From Bosio down, the archaeologists have commonly carried
to so fanciful an extreme the symbolical interpretation of the
pictures of the catacombs as to justify a sharp reaction. The
reaction proves hardly less extreme, but it may be hoped that
the controversy has now expired, leaving a substantial unanim-
ity of opinion upon the principal points at issue. It may be
remarked that de Rossi himself was not altogether a safe
guide in matters pertaining to art, and his own immediate
disciples have been prompt to make the needed retrenchments
upon his teaching on this subject. A group of German Prot-
estant writers who have lately attacked the Roman archaeolo-
gists with some violence for their exaggerated interpretations
of Christian art in the interest of Roman dogma, have perhaps
had a sobering influence u^^on recent studies, though they
were not justified in confusing all Roman archaeologists with
the extremists, and they were unfortunate in transforming
the question into a doctrinal and denominational issue. It
is of no interest to us to follow the history of the contro-
versy, it is enough to state its results as affording a sound
basis for our own interpretation of early art.
It must not be supposed that unanimous agreement is pos-
sible upon all the subjects of early Christian art, for in many
instances the interpretation must be acknowledged to be at the
best uncertain. It is not to be hoped that all will confine
themselves to a fair interpretation of symbols which may be so
easily wrested to the pious purpose of supporting the faith.
But neither uncertainties of interpretation nor differences of
opinion must be allowed to prejudice the fact that some sym-
194 PICTORIAL ABT
bolisiii was actuall}- intended by the artists and understood
by those for whom they worked. It is of the nature of the
pictorial symbol to be somewhat vague ; therein lies its chief
advantage over the more definite forms of speech, its suitable-
ness for the expression of themes — particularly religious
notions — whi(^h evade the grasp of logical definition. It
expresses, therefore, nothing with the definiteness of dogma,
but in the freer terms of popular thought.
It is equally of the nature of the symbol that it is capable
of more than one interpretation, that it attracts to itself an
aggregation of kindred suggestions whereby it is progressively
enriched. It has been sought to throw contempt upon any
symbolical interpretation of Christian art by showing that the
early writers attached divers significations to the same symbol.
"What this does prove is not that the art of the catacombs was
not symbolical, but that it was subject, even in early times, to
various interpretations. It does serve, however, as a caution
against an arbitrary attribution of a fanciful and purely sub-
jective symbolism to the early age of the Church. One is at
perfect liberty for one's own delectation to attach whatever
meaning one chooses to any symbol, ancient or modern ; but it is
altogether fallacious upon this ground to attribute to the early
age of the Church doctrines and religious conceptions which are
not indubitably expressed by the symbol, or in some other way
clearly proven to have been current at that time.
It must be acknowledged that some of the Eoman archseolo-
gists have extravagantly erred against this principle. From
the pictures of the catacombs there is not so much to be learned
about the dogmas of the early Church as has been supposed.
They are chiefly interesting for the side lights which they
throw upon the popular religious point of view and upon re-
ligious or ecclesiastical practices. The fundamental error of
the interpreters lay in supposing that the art of the catacombs
had a didactic purpose, that it was intended, like the historical
pictures of the basilicas, for the instruction of the ignorant and
unlettered. This idea is refuted by the very form of these
pictures, which, if they are symbolical, are on that very ac-
count capable of expressing only that which was already
familiar. It is equally inconsistent with the place where they
were executed: for the cubicula of the catacombs were not
PAINTING — Symbolism 195
places of frequent, far less of public, resort. We must recog-
nize the probability that the pictures of the catacombs were
appropriate to the place, and that their symbolism had refer-
ence predominantly to the hopes which illumined the prospect
of death.
It has been claimed that the decoration of the catacombs
was strictly superintended by the clergy, that the hand of the
artist was guided by the theologian ; and it is sought thus to
justify, not only the discovery of a definite dogmatic import
in the single symbol, but the concatenation of the separate
pictures of a single cubiculum or arcosolium into a complex
system of theological ideas. But there is no reason for attrib-
uting to the early age of the Church the pedantic direction of
art which is first proved in the case of the Byzantine Church
in the eighth century. It is true that in the fifth century the
bishoj)s often personally directed the pictorial decoration of
their churches, but the absence of any literary reference to
Christian art during the first three centuries seems to prove
that the ecclesiastical leaders had but little interest in it, that
it grew up, therefore, in response to a popular demand and
for the expression of popular ideas. Early Christian art is all
the more important on this account, for we already know from
their writings what the ecclesiastical leaders thought, and we
desire very much to learn what notions were current among
the people. We shall find that early Christian symbolism had
a deep and mystical import, but that it by no means consti-
tuted a learned and technical system. One must be on one's
guard against weaving into a system any series of pictures
which happen to be painted upon the same wall or in the
same chamber ; they must be presumed to be separate unless
they are connected by some range of ideas at once obvious and
simple. A deeply thought out connection may, however, un-
doubtedly be traced in a number of instances, and especially
in the so-called Sacrament Chapels of the catacomb of
Callistns.
The proof that early Christian art was in fact symbolical
is at once clearly displayed when we ask ourselves the ques-
tion. Why do we find a monotonous repetition of an exceedingly
narrow choice of Biblical subjects, to the total neglect of hosts
of others which were no less important, no less familiar in
106 picToniAL Airr
Christican instruction, no less dramatic and picturesque?
There is no possible answer, except that their choice was de-
termined by symbolical considerations. The symbolical em-
ployment of art by the early Church is rendered antecedently
probable by two considerations : first, by the fact that Koman
art had, by the beginning of the second century and under the
influence of Oriental cul^s, assumed largely a symbolical char-
acter, especially in the decoration of sarcophagi; second, by
the common use in the Church of allegorical interpretations of
Scripture. Alexandria, whose influence was paramount in the
field of allegory, is likely to have had a leading part in fixing
the character of the symbolism of Christian art.
The character of this symbolism is best shown by the study
of particular instances. What it is necessary to remark here
is the effect Avhich the exclusive symbolic interest had upon
the execution of art. It is to this we have to attribute the
absence of picturesque traits, indifference to such realistic
effects as even late Roman art was able to compass, and
carelessness about literal agreement with the terms of the
Scriptural account. The subjects dealt with were familiar to
all ; the artist could afford to abbreviate description, and in
depicting the chief dramatic moment he relied upon the im-
agination of the beholder to supply the whole scene. A man
floating in a chest served to recall the story of Noah as an
instance of divine deliverance. Christ touching with a rod a
basket of bread recalled the miraculous multiplication of the
loaves and symbolized the Eucharist. The story of Jonah was
commonly represented in three scenes ; but even when it was
abbreviated to one, that quite sufliced for the purpose of the
symbolism. The artists could not have been ignorant that
according to S. John's Gospel the face of Lazarus was covered
with a napkin and his tomb was closed by a stone door; yet
he is invariably represented with imcovered face standing
under an open tegurium; — for some reason or another this
mode of representation was adopted, and since everybody
understood its meaning, the artist had no need to seek a more
accurate expression. No one could suppose that the ark of
Noah was a cubical chest too small to contain a single person ;
but that was the traditional form, it demanded very little
room, and the symbolism which was involved was as well
PAINTING — Symbolism 197
expressed by that as it would have been had the artist
stretched his invention to depict a boat which was capable
of containing all the beasts of the field and all the fowls of
the air.
All of this is precisely what might be expected if the situa-
tion be fully taken into view. The beginnings of pictorial art
have always been symbolical, at least in the sense that more is
suggested than a rude art is able to depict. All art is apt to
strive toward the attainment of realistic representation, or, in
other words, toward illusion. But with this attainment it at
once loses a certain power which lay in its early suggestion.
The crude wooden idols of archaic Greek art and the black
Byzantine Madonnas of the seventh century were worshipped
with a religious ardor which no marble of Praxiteles, nor any
canvas of Eaphael, ever evoked. The archaic smile of the early
Greek image might suggest a divine benignity ; the perfect art
of Greece could represent all that is gracious and noble in the
human countenance, but by its very perfection it closed the way
to all ulterior suggestion. Eeligious art is fundamentally sym-
bolical, at least in the sense that it relies upon suggestion,
because it deals with things which cannot be depicted. Chris-
tian art was predominantly symbolical until the Kenascence ; it
cannot be denied that with the skill it then attained it lost
much of its religious character. In this case the value of early
crude suggestion was in a measure offset by the power of depict-
ing the human face as it was moulded and inspired by Chris-
tian motives and by the Christian life.
At the commencement of the Christian period Classical art
was, indeed, unable to express this lofty moral ideal — life had
only begun to furnish the models for it. But it was very well
able to depict with striking realism the common objects of na-
ture and the common scenes of life. Only a little earlier the
artists had boasted of their skill to delude the eye. If Chris-
tian art did not take full advantage of the skill Avhich was
actually at its command, this was due to the fact that it was
intent upon other things, upon the expression of conceptions
for which mere skill of hand availed nothing. It was bound
to ignore the possibilities of realism, of the descriptive and
picturesque in art, and to rely upon suggestion and symbol.
When early Christjian painting and SQVJ.pture displays a care
198 ricToniAL aut
for artistic symiiietiy, fur picturesque detail, for realistic pre-
cision, it is the spontaneous expression of the artistic instinct
which demanded its rights ; all this was not required of the
artist, and it is not to be wondered that it was often lacking.
From this it will be apparent why it was that Christianity in-
terjmsed no obstacle to the decline of Classic art : it put no
premium upon artistic skill ; it subordinated technical excel-
lence to the interest of the religious symbol.
SYMBOLS OF DIVINE DELIVERAXCE
In the introduction to his Etude sur les sarcoj^hages Chretiens
de la ville d' Aries, Le Blant had the credit of suggesting a theory
which has been very promptly and very widely accepted by
students of Christian archaeology. The theory was suggested
expressly to account for the subjects which were sculptured
upon the sarcophagi, but it applies quite as well to the frescos
of the catacombs. It has the advantage of explaining many
of the themes of early Christian art from a single point of
view, and of referring them to a distinctly funereal symbolism,
which expressed the Christian trust in the divine might which
was able to deliver the soul even from death and the grave.
Starting with the observation that the phraseology of many
early epitaphs seemed to be derived from the liturgy of the
Church, the suggestion lay very near that the pictorial themes
also might have been inspired from the same source. It proved,
in fact, very easy to show a relation between the themes of
Christian sepulchral art and the funeral liturgies, which is alto-
gether too complete and too precise to be fortuitous. Le Blant
referred especially to the prayers in the Eoman Breviary which
commend the soul to God in the hour of death.^ After a long
litany come the following supplications : —
Receive, O Lord, thy servant into the place of salvation which he may
hope of thy mercy.
Deliver, O Lord, the soul of thy servant from the pains of hell, etc.
Deliver, O Lord, his soul as thou didst deliver Enoch and Elijah from
the common death of the world.
Deliver, O Lord, his soul as thou didst deliver Noah from the deluge.
1 Ordo comniendationis animse, quando infirmus est in extremis.
PAIXTIXfi — SymhnU nf Deliverance 199
Deliver, 0 Lord, his soul as tliou didst deliver Isaac from sacrifice and
from the hand of his father Abraham.
And so the prayer continues with the same formuLa, men-
tioning the deliverance of Daniel from the den of lions, of the
Three Children from the burning fiery furnace and from the
hand of the wicked king, Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees,
Job from his sufferings, Lot from Sodom and from the flame
of fire, Moses from the hand of Pharaoh, king of the Egyptians,
Susanna from false accusation, David from the hand of King:
Saul and from the hand of Goliath, Peter and Paul from prison,
and Thecla from horrible torture.
It is remarkable that among these examples of signal divine
deliverance there are very few subjects which are not repre-
sented in early Christian art, and they are such as did not lend
themselves to pictorial treatment — as the deliverance of Enoch
and the departure of Abraham from Ur. On the other hand,
this list includes almost all of the Old Testament subjects
which were employed in sepulchral art. Many of these sub-
jects are repeated in other prayers which are connected with
the Roman funeral liturgies, and it is to be remarked that
Lazarus and Jonah, omitted here, are elsewhere added to the
list. They are here omitted, one may suppose, because they
are most expressly types of the resurrection, whereas this is
a prayer for deliverance from bodily death. It has to be ac-
knowledged that these prayers are not to be traced to any texts
which are earlier than the ninth century, and although in sub-
stance they doubtless are very much earlier, it would be rash to
refer them to a date as early as the fourth century, and still
more so to suppose that they served as the text for the earliest
examples of Christian art in the second century. They are, in
fact, to be regarded rather as a concurrent witness with the
art of the catacombs to the strength of a type of thought which
was exceedingly familiar in early Christian literature and is to
be traced back to the second century.
This theory was put upon a much broader and a sounder
basis by Victor Schultze, who sought out analogies even more
complete in early Christian literature, and proved the broad
currency of the argument which was drawn from signal ex-
amples of divine deliverance and from the miracles of Christ,
in proof of the power of God to deliver the soul from sin and
200 piCToniAL Anr
Iroiu (loath. He shows also that the Scriptures themselves
oftt'ii furnish the hint which marks some of these subjects as
t\ i)ical of the deliverance of the soul from death, and he notes
tiiat the hxnguage of tlie Psalter obviously encouraged this
mode of thought. Le Blant himself referred to an engraved
glass cup of the fifth century found at Podgoritza (see p. 357),
which groups togetlier a considerable number of these subjects
and accompanies some of them by inscriptions which seem like
an echo of these ancient prayers. Schultze quotes as the
Classical example a passage from the AjwstoUc Constitutions:^
'' He who raised Lazarus on the fourth day and the daughter
of Jairus and the son of the widow, and rose also himself; who
after three days brought forth Jonah living and unharmed
from the belly of the whale, and the three children from the
furnace of Babylon, and Daniel from the mouth of lions, shall
not lack i)Ower to raise us also. He who raised the paralytic,
and healed him who had the withered hand, and restored the
lacking faculty to him who was born blind, the same shall
raise us also. He who with five loaves and two fishes fed five
thousand and had twelve baskets over, and who changed the
water into wine, and who sent the stater which he took out of
the mouth of the fish to those who demanded tribute by the
hand of me Peter, the same shall also raise the dead." ^
In these texts there are included the majority of the subjects
whicli were commonly employed in the adornment of the cata-
combs and of the sarcophagi, and there can be no doubt that it
was this argument of deliverance from death by the almighty
power of God which accounts for the selection of these signal
instances of deliverance and their monotonous repetition in early
( 'hristian art. The relation of these scriptural instances to
the personal hope for departed friends is sometimes made very
obvious by the substitution of the figure of the departed in the
place of the Biblical character. As an epitome of this whole
series of representations we must regard the orans, the female
figure with arms outstretched in prayer, which symbolized the
soul of the deceased. One is left to wonder why the capital
instance of this whole argument — the resurrection of Christ,
1 Book V. 7.
- For other texts quoted by Sdiultze the student is referred to his ArchdolO'
gische studien, p. 15 seq., and ArchUologie der altchristlichen Kunst, p. 181.
PAIXTIXa — Tlie Orans 201
wlii3h the Scriptures treat as the most immediate proof of the
resurrection of his followers — appeared so rarely in early
Christian art, and not at all until the fourth century. It is
to be noted that some of these subjects appear first on the
sarcophagi.
This theory must not, however, be held to account for all
of the symbolical art of the catacombs, nor must we suppose
that this art had all of it a funereal reference. The subjects
even of the cycle which we have just considered had some of
them, in addition, a very different symbolical import. It is
not to be doubted, for example, that the multiplication of the
loaves was also a symbol of the Eucharist. On the other
hand, there were many subjects quite outside this cycle which
from different points of view brought their own contributions
to the symbolism of the tomb. Such was the figure of the
Good Shepherd, a many-sided symbol in which the funereal
reference was at least incidental. Such, too, were most of
the symbols which Christian art inherited from the pagan.
Orpheus, the peacock, the phoenix, the dolphin, etc., were
already, in Classic art, employed as sepulchral symbols and
connected by mythology with the fate of the soul after death.
We have now to consider in detail the artistic expression
of the more important subjects included in the cycle of divine
deliverance and miracle. It will be convenient to study here,
once for all, the expression which was given them in sculpture
as well as in painting.
THE ORANS
The name orans, or orant, designates a figure in the attitude
of prayer, with arms outstretched in the manner which was
common to both Jews and Gentiles, and was accounted by the
Church particularly significant, because it recalled the position
of the Saviour upon the cross. Portraits of the departed were,
in the art of the catacombs, generally represented in this atti-
tude (Figs. 85, 124). We can readily understand why the Old
Testament characters which are taken as examples of divine
deliverance were also commonly represented in the posture of
prayer. The Scripture itself furnished the suggestion, record-
ing the prayer of Jonah and the song of the Three Children.
202
PICTOFIAL APT
Noah, iii>on liis deliverance, immediately offered a sacrifice of
tliaiiksgiviiig; and the attitude of prayer was no less appropri-
ate to Isaac delivered from sacrifice, to Daniel among the
lions, and to Susanna accused by the elders.
But though we may apply the name ''orans" in a general
sense to portraits of the deceased and to representations of
Biblical characters, it is used more specifically to denote the
artistic symbol of the souls of the faithful departed. It is not
always possible to draw a sharp
line of distinction between the
portrait orans and this symbolical
abstraction. Whole families, men
and women and children, were
sometimes portrayed in this pos-
ture upon the wall of the tomb
where their bodies reposed. Even
where there was no attempt at a
portrait, the distinction of sex
was sometimes observed. But the
great majority of orants were quite
impersonal in their traits, and
equally so, whether they consti-
tuted part of the adornment of the
ceiling, and represented the dis-
embodied soul in general, or were
brought into immediate relation
with a particular tomb. The proof
of the symbolical character of the
orans lies in the fact that it was
generally represented by a female figure, without regard to the
sex of the deceased. So, for example, we find often a female
figure painted above a tomb when the inscription denotes a
man. An early lead medal in the Vatican Museum represents
the martyrdom of S. Lawrence and depicts a female figure ris-
ing from the body of the saint to receive the martyr's croAvn.
In the Acts of SS. Petrus and Marcellinus : " The executioner
testified that he saw their souls issue from their bodies in the
form of young virgins, who were adorned with gold and gems
and clad in shining garments, and were carried to heaven by
the hand of angels." It is impossible with any candor to
Fig. &4. — Orans in palla, fresco in th
crypt of Lucina. Second century.
PAINTIXG-The Orans
203
deny the symbolical significance of the orans. The attitude
of prayer comported with the situation of the soul at the
moment of death: it represented at once thanksgiving for
deliverance from death, and supplication of God's merciful
judgment. The purely abstract symbol was not a development
out of the portrait orans, for it appears among the earliest
types of Christian art. Upon the ceiling of the crypt of
Fig. 65. — Orans with dalmatic and veil, catacomb of Callistus. Third century.
Lucina, which was decorated early in the second century, an
orans of a thoroughly hieratic type (Fig. 64) is twice repre-
sented, alternating with the figure of the Good Shepherd. In
this case, the figure is clothed in the palla. But it is the
posture and sex, not the costume, which denotes the orans.
The costume, in fact, varied, and it registers the changes of
female fashion in dress, from century to century (Figs. 64, Q5,
^%). It will readily be seen that 'the Old Testament heroes of
204
nCTOBIAL ABT
deliverance who were represented in this posture, were thereby
brought into relation with this symbolism, and their signifi-
cance as types of the resurrec-
tion was made more abundantly
IJ[K^ - .iV I plain.
■ i^^a' '^?'^^^1 The orans of the catacomb
fc ^" Jm ^ ^^''1 frescos was reproduced in the
sculptures of the sarcophagi.
This symbol had no doubt its
influence upon the mediaeval
representation of the soul as
a diminutive body issuing from
the mouth of the dying to be re-
ceived by angels, or by demons,
as the case demanded.
OLD TESTAMENT CHARACTERS
It must be borne in mind that
we have here to do solely with
the Old Testament characters
who were regarded as types of
deliverance from death. But
though we have this symbolism
j^rimarily in view, we shall not
neglect to consider other sym-
bolical notions which were asso-
ciated with these same subjects.
It is doubtful whether Adam and Eve properly belong to
this cycle, or what precisely their significance may be in Chris-
tian art. They appeared very early in the catacombs of S.
Gennaro at Naples, where they were associated with the myth-
ological decoration of an early crypt. But at Kome the sub-
ject did not become popular till the fourth century, after
which time it was employed very frequently upon the sar-
cophagi and upon the gold-glasses. The creation of man is
represented but three times ; the best-known example is upon a
sarcophagus in the Lateran (Fig. 95). The theme commonly
chosen is the temptation : in the midst is the tree with the
serpent coiled about it, and on either hand stand Adam and
Fig. CO. — Orans with pirdlcd tunic and
veil, fresco in the catacomb of Thrason.
Fourth century.
PAINTING — Noah 205
Eve, endeavoring to hide their nakedness with a leaf. Very
commonly the man and woman are accompanied by the sym-
bols of their respective labor : a sheaf of wheat represents the
work of the husbandman, a lamb signifies the woman's w^ork of
weaving (Fig. 100). In some cases (Figs. 95, 98) the figure of
Christ appears between them, allotting to each their labor.
Eve appears sometimes upon the gold-glasses with hair richly
dressed, and wearing bracelets and arm bands (Fig. 163).
Several sarcophagi represent the exclusion from paradise.
The subject of Noah appeared as early as the end of the
first century, and it was frequently employed in the art of the
catacombs during the second and third. The earliest instance
is in the vestibule of the catacomb of Domitilla, where, how-
ever, the only vestige of the picture which remains is the dove
bearing the olive branch.
The subject was so simple in its treatment, and it was re-
peated with so little variation, that it requires few words of
description. The representation is in the highest degree ab-
breviated: Noah stands alone and in the posture of an orans
in a small cubical chest which floats upon the waves, while the
dove flies toward him with the olive branch. In only one
instance, a sarcophagus in Treves, is the whole family repre-
sented in the ark, with various birds and beasts. Sometimes a
lad, or even a female orans, appears in the place of Noah, more
clearly indicating the typical character of the subject.
It is very curious that the ark is represented in this same
form on a coin of Septimius Severus stamped in Apamea in
Phrygia (Fig. 79). In this case Noah and his wife are twice
depicted, at one moment receiving the dove in the ark, in
another standing upon the land and offering a prayer of thanks-
giving for deliverance. It has been shown that there was a
strong Jewish colony in this town, and the fact that it lay
under the shadow of Mt. Ararat suggested this theme.
It is not unlikely that the form which is here given to the
ark was suggested by some prototype in Classical art, perhaps
by the chest in which Danae and Perseus were set adrift.
There is nothing in the monuments themselves to indicate
whether any other symbolism was intended beyond that which
we have traced. But it is not to be forgotten that in the first
Epistle of S. Peter the ark is treated as a symbol of baptism,
206 PICTOBML ABT
and that Tertullian, elaborating this figure, made the ark a sym-
bol of the Church.
The dove and the olive branch — or the olive branch alone —
became a still more abbreviated symbol of deliverance and of
peace.
AVehave seenthat Moses' deliverance from the hand of Pharaoh
was one of the subjects which appears in the liturgies as a type
of the resurrection. There is evidently no single dramatic in-
cident which expressed this deliverance ; various episodes of
Moses' life, however, were frequently depicted in fresco and
sculpture. His colloquy with God at the burning bush was
conventionally abbreviated almost beyond recognition; even
the bush was dispensed with, and Moses appears with one foot
raised upon a rock bending over to take off his shoe. Thib,
according to Wilpert, stands for the believer who prepares
after death to appear before the presence of God. Especially
common on the sarcophagi was the scene in which Moses re-
ceives the tables of the Law from a hand stretched out of a
cloud. Most frequent of all, and especially in the art of the
catacombs, was the striking of water from the rock. The mode
of representation was practically the same in painting and in
sculpture ; it is illustrated in Fig. 96, and at the lower right-
hand corner of two sarcophagi which are shown in Figs. 95 and
98. On the sarcophagi this subject often balanced the resur-
rection of Lazarus. This was doubtless due chiefly to the
desire for symmetry ; but it can hardly be doubted that Moses
was regarded as a type of Christ, as the water also was a sym-
bol of baptism.
It is claimed by Koman archaeologists that in the fourth
century Moses was represented with the facial traits which
were traditionally ascribed to Peter. A gold-glass in the Vati-
can which represents the striking of water from the rock is
inscribed with the name Petrus. The artisans who made such
wares frequently fell into error in attaching names to the
subjects which they represented ; but as this is not the only
instance in which the name of Peter is attached to the figure
of Moses, it is probable that a parallel was sometimes drawn
between the chief of the Apostles and the chief figure of Jew-
ish history.
No subject was so popular in the art of the catacombs as the
PAIXTING — Jo nah 207
story of Jonah. It not only furnished the most striking sym-
bol of the resurrection, and one which Christ himself appealed
to, but it provided the best field for the exercise of the artist's
fantasy. There are about forty instances of it among the paint-
ings, and it was repeated also in sculpture, although in the
latter case it presented manifest difficulties. The artistic ex-
pression of this theme was subject to a good deal of variety in
detail, but the sarcophagus illustrated in Fig. 9-4 shows sub-
stantially the mode in which it was treated both in fresco and
in sculpture (see also Fig. 164).
The story was represented in three scenes: the first was
that in which the prophet was cast out of the ship into the
mouth of the sea monster; in the second he is cast up by
the monster upon the land ; and in the third he reposes under
the gourd. It will be observed that the monster is not a fish,
but one of the fabulous dragons which were common in Roman
art ; it is probably most closely related to the dragon from
which Andromeda was delivered. This theme, too, was some-
times abbreviated by dropping one or more of the three scenes ;
or space was economized, as in Fig. 98, by crowding the scenes
so together that Jonah is spit out by the monster directly under
the gourd. It is remarkable, however, that the scene which is
generally retained and often quite alone (Fig. 155) is that in
which the prophet rests under the gourd. It is evident that
this was the most essential feature of the symbolism, and we
have therefore to recognize that the original significance of the
gourd, according to the text, was neglected, and the naked fig-
ure of Jonah reposing under its shade was regarded as a sym-
bol of the soul in the joy of paradise after being delivered from
the dangers and the pains of death. It is to be remarked that
even under the gourd Jonah is always rei^resented naked. That
he should be so represented when cast into the sea was alto-
gether natural, but the story furnishes no reason for it in the
case of his sleep under the gourd, since that followed upon his
successful preaching to the jSTinevites. It seems probable that
the nakedness was in this case altogether in the interest of the
symbol, to represent the ideal state of bliss in paradise. The
posture suggests Endymion.
When one considers the great number of nude or half-nude
figures in Classic art, one cannot but be struck with their rarity
208 PICTORIAL ART
among the Christian monuments. There was certainly no rigid
scruple against the art of the nude, but there was as little pre-
dilection for it. Eve was the only nude female figure known
to early Christian art. Susanna was represented clothed,
not surprised at her bath, as the artists of the Renascence de-
lighted to depict her. Daniel was generally, though not always,
naked ; Adam and Jonah were always so. We have to add to
this, occasional pictures of Tobias, or of a fisherman, several
representations of Isaac sacrificed, and of the vision of Ezekiel,
one of the martyrdom of Isaiah, one of Christ baptized, and
two of Christ upon the cross. These rare representations of
the nude are interesting, especially in sculpture, as affording a
gauge of the technical capacity of art ; they prove what it was
still capable of in the fourth century, and how utterly impotent
it had become by the fifth.
A subject equally familiar in the catacombs and on the sar-
cophagi was the sacrifice of Isaac. The moment commonly
represented is that in which Abraham stands ready with a
knife to slay his son, who with hands bound kneels upon or
beside an altar. A hand from heaven arrests the act, and the
ram appears to replace the sacrifice. The mode in which this
subject was represented is shown in the upper left-hand corner
of the sarcophagus of Junius Bassus (Fig. 100). It was very
often balanced by the receiving of the Law, as in Fig. 99. This,
we have seen, was one of the symbols of deliverance. It is
well known that the subject was also regarded as typical of
the sacrifice of Christ, but how far this idea was associated
with the artistic expression of the theme we have no means
of knowing. It seems, however, that this must have been in
the mind of the artist who in the third century represented
this theme in connection with the Eucharistic symbols in the
Sacrament Chapels of S. Callistus, and it certainly was in-
tended in the sixth-century mosaic of S. Vitale (Fig. 133).
Still more common was the subject of Daniel among the
lions. It appears for the first time at the end of the first
century in the vestibule of S. Domitilla. The picture repre-
sents a young man clad in a short tunic, with arms extended
in prayer and eyes raised to heaven, while a lion approaches
on either side. With this early example, the form was already
fixed, as it appears constantly in the frescos and in sculpture
PAINTING — Daniel 209
(Figs. 95, 98, 99, 100), — only, as was remarked above, the figure of
Daniel was commonly naked. Generally the prophet Habakkuk
appears at his side offering him bread, — a whole loaf, not bread
broken into pottage, as the story has it. As the loaf is often
marked with the cross (Fig. 98), it seems evident that it had a
mystic reference to the Eucharist. The great popularity of
this subject was probably due to the fact that it represented
the fate of so many Christian martyrs. The manner in which
the martyrs were exposed to the beasts in the Koman amphi-
theatre sometimes influenced the mode in which the subject of
Daniel was depicted. It is not certain whether the clay lamp
illustrated in Fig. 151 represents Daniel or a Christian mar-
tyr ; but it is evident that it represents realistically the man-
ner in which Christians were actually exposed to the lions. In
Fig. 160, which illustrates a fragment of a cut-glass vase of
the early part of the fourth century, there appears at the right
a part of just such a platform as is shown in the previous fig-
ure ; and the intention here is evidently to represent Daniel,
for Habakkuk appears above, while on the left is the sacrifice
of Isaac, and below the Israelites marching through the desert
with their eyes fixed upon the cloud of fire.
Another scene in which Daniel frequently appears is that in
which he slew the dragon (Figs. 163, 166). The dragon is
represented in a form similar to the serpent which tempted Eve.
One may readily notice how closely some of the other exam-
ples of deliverance correspond with forms of martyrdom which
were actually suffered by the Christians. It was only in this
indirect way that scenes of Christian martyrdom were depicted,
for in the first three centuries there were no express represen-
tations of such themes. Scenes of pain and of horror were
altogether foreign to the spirit of early Christian art. AVe
shall have occasion to notice later that representations of our
Lord's Passion do not appear before the fifth century and were
altogether exceedingly rare throughout the early period. The
earliest representation of a martyrdom belongs to the latter
part of the fourth century; it is found on a fragment of one of
the columns of the ciborium of the basilica of SS. Nereus and
Achilleus (Fig. 22). It represents Achilleus standing with
hands bound behind him ready to receive upon his neck the
executioner's sword. In the background is the cross sur-
210
PICT OBI AL ABT
mounted by the crown. Another scene was painted about the
same time in the house of SS. Giovanni e Paolo in Rome : three
martyrs are kneeling blindfold upon the ground, while the
executioners stand behind ready to strike with the sword.
Beside these there are almost no other such scenes within our
period.
Closely related to Daniel were the stories of Susanna
and of the Three Children in the furnace. Susanna was
often represented standing like an orans between the two
accusing elders.
^^ — '■ " ^^ — ^""'^^fe^.' ' Sometimes Dan-
iel appears as
judge and deliv-
erer (Fig. 67). In
the Capella greca '
in S. Priscilla the
story is depicted
with u n u s u a 1
dramatic interest
and in several
scenes. In the
cemetery of Pre-
textatus there
is a painting
which represents
a lamb between
two wolves, and
the inscription
informs us that we have before us Susanna and the elders.
Far more frequent both in the frescos and on the sarcophagi
w^ere the Three Children of Babylon. They are commonly
represented standing in the attitude of prayer amidst the
flames of a furnace which is fed below by an attendant.
Sometimes a fourth person, evidently the Lord, appears in
their midst. They are always clothed in the Phrygian cos-
tume, which was used in Roman art to denote the inhabitants
of the extreme Orient. This was probably the suggestion
which led to their association with the Three Magi from the
East who followed the star to Bethlehem, for they also we i'e
represented in the same costume.
Fig. 67. — Susanna and the eldt-rs judged by Daniel, fresco
the catacomb of Callistus. Second century.
PAINTING— The Magi
211
This brings before us a curious, but characteristic trait of
early Christian symbolism; for these two subjects were not
only compared, but in a certain sense confused, in art. This
appears in many instances upon the sarcophagi, and always in
substantially the form which is illustrated in Fig. 89. In this
case the Three Children are represented in the act of refusing
to worship the image of Nebuchadnezzar. On the other side
the Magi, similarly clad, offer their gifts to the infant Jesus.
It will be noticed that the Three Children turning away from
the image are pointing to a star, and are thus brought into still
Fig. 68. — Visit of the Magi, fresco in the eatacomb of Petrus and Mairi'llinus. Third
century.
closer relation with the Magi. One point of connection was
doubtless the refusal of the Magi to listen to Herod's com-
mand. But besides this there was a deeper thought, for Neb-
uchadnezzar was regarded as the type of the persecuting
emperors, and it will be seen how admirably balanced these
two subjects are when it is remembered that it was the refusal
to worship the emperor instead of Christ which was the Chris-
tians' chief offence against the State, and the cause of the
majority of martyrdoms. The star to which the Three Chil-
dren point represents the true worship as opposed to idolatry,
for it is the symbol of Christ. The star was conventionally
represented by three lines intersecting at equal angles, and in
this figure the Christians saw at once a symbol of the cross
212 PIC TOE I AL ART
and the iuitial letters of the name 'It^o-o?? Xpto-rds. This form of
monogram appears long before Constantine, and we may sup-
pose that the Constantinian monogram was suggested by it.
On one sarcophagus the star to which the Three Children point
has the form of the Constantinian monogram.
It is not unlikely that the number of the Magi was fixed
chiefly with reference to this association. This is at least
more probable than that it was due to the number of gifts
which they bore — gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The sub-
ject of the Magi was a very common one in the catacombs as
well as in sculpture and mosaic. The number three appears
in the earliest instance — the CapeUa greca in S. Priscilla
(Fig. 3). But very commonly an even number of Magi were
represented for the sake of symmetry — two (Fig. 68), four, or
in one instance six. The number three became definitely fixed
in the fourth century, and it was invariable on the sarcophagi
and in the mosaics (Fig. 139). In Fig. 86 the wise men and a
shepherd appear together at the manger, where the ox and the
ass which are mentioned in an apocryphal Gospel have also
their place. It is as an incident to the story of the Magi
that we have the earliest representations of the Virgin and
Child. It is probable that this subject was then understood, as
it certainly was later, to represent the calling of the Gentiles.
There were no other Old Testament subjects so frequently
depicted as those which we have just studied. Lack of space
prohibits the particular consideration of more of them here,
though some will be noticed incidentally as they appear in
sculpture. David with his sling appears in but one fresco, Job
is seldom represented in the catacombs, only once the transla-
tion of Elijah, though several times on sarcophagi (Fig. 97).
Tobias with his fish is represented graphically in the catacomb
of Thrason ; on the other hand the vision of Ezekiel, which
was peculiarly appropriate to sepulchral decoration, does not
appear at all in the catacombs, and only a few times on the
sarcophagi. This very nearly exhausts the types of deliver-
ance so far as they were drawn from the Old Testament. We
have now to consider the miracles of Christ from this same
point of view.
PAINTING — curacies of Christ 213
THE MIRACLES OF CHRIST
In the art of the catacombs a somewhat arbitrary selection
was made of the miracles of Christ ; some themes were re-
peated again and again, while others found only here and
there a chance notice. It must suffice to notice here the
subjects which were the most common, and, important as they
were, they require but few words of description. It is neces-
sary here again to rely for illustrations chiefly upon the sar-
cophagi ; the scenes were treated with equal simplicity and with
like abbreviation in the frescos.
The raising of Lazarus was the most important of these
subjects, since it most directly testiiied to the power of God
to raise the dead at the resurrection. The form is always
substantially the same (Figs. 18 and 95, upper right-hand cor-
ner) : Lazarus wrapped like a mummy stands erect in the
entrance of a temple-like tomb, and Christ stretches toward
him the rod which symbolizes his power. It is to be observed
that in almost all of the representations of his miracles Christ,
like Moses, carries a magic wand or rod. Since the motive
was a symbolical and not an historical one, this miracle stood
for others of like character. The raising of the widow's son
does not appear in the art of the catacombs. As the artists
were interested (especially in the case of the sarcophagi) in
crowding as many subjects as possible in a small space, a
specimen of each kind of miracle sufficed.
So it was in the case of the healing of the blind. Christ is
represented placing his finger upon the eyes of a single blind
man (Fig. 98), but which particular act of healing this was the
artist had no interest in specifying. According to a well-
established principle of Classic art, subordinate personages,
such as those who were craving Christ's assistance, were repre-
sented in minute proportions, and the blind men look conse-
quently like little children. Christ's gesture in healing the
blind man has been sometimes misunderstood, and the scene
has been misinterpreted as a representation of Christ blessing
little children, — a subject which, strange as it may appear,
never occurs in early Christian art.
A female figure, often exceedingly minute, crouching at the
feet of Christ and touching his garment or his hand, is the
214 nCTOBIAL ABT
woman who was liealed of an issue of blood (Figs. 95, 96).
Ivjually simple, but more distinctly characterized, was the
tigure of the paralytic. It was very common both in the
frescos and on the sarcophagi, but there happens to be no
illustration of it in this book, except on a gold-glass (Fig. 168),
which groups together a number of the subjects which we
have just been studying.^ To represent this miracle nothing
more was necessary than the iigiire of a man carrying his bed.
There is nothing to denote whether it was the man healed at
Capernaum, or him of the pool Bethesda; it probably was
intended to represent both at once. The multiplication of
the loaves and fishes was in the catacombs represented in
various ways which we shall have occasion to study later;
on the sarcophagi the treatment is stereotyped : Christ stretches
out his rod over the baskets, or he touches with his hands the
bread and fishes which are presented to him by t"wo Apostles
(Fig. 95). In the transformation of the water into wine he
touches with his rod the waterpots (Fig. 95). These two
miracles had more especially a relation to the Eucharist, and
they will be noticed again in another place.
In Fig. 72 Christ is represented with the Samaritan woman
at the well ; and the same scene is several times reproduced
in fresco and in sculpture.
THE GOOD SHEPHERD
There w^ere various myths current in early times, and com-
monly believed, about miraculous portraits of Christ. There
was, in the first place, the napkin with the impression of his
own face which our Lord himself was supposed to have sent
to Abgar, king of Edessa. Closely related to that was the
Veronica portrait, about which there were divers traditions.
As no one any longer supposes that these were actual portraits,
their sole interest lies in the proof that the effort was actually
made in early times to produce an ideal representation of the
face of Christ. In the loss of these pictures it remains im-
possible to determine whether or not they had any influence
in the determination of the type of head which was commonly
1 After the paralytic comes Moses striking the rock, then the sacrifice of
Isaac, Adam and Eve, and the raising of Lazarus.
PAINTING— The Good Shepherd 21o
represented in the fifth century. The presumption is that
they had not, and that there was no fixed tradition to hamper
the artists in the expression of their own ideal, for this varied
freely, and was marked by three distinct types which belong
to the fourth, the fifth, and the sixth centuries respectively.
Historically attested are the images of Christ (made of glass,
gold, or silver) which one of the Gnostic sects venerated along
with images of the jDhilosophers Pythagoras, Plato, and Aris-
totle. And it is known that the Emperor Alexander Severus
placed in his lararium and honored with sacrifice the images
— probably medallions — of Christ, of Abraham, and of Or-
pheus. In neither of these cases is there any suspicion of a
portrait. Of more importance is Eusebius's account of the
bronze statue in Csesarea Philippi. It represented the standing
figure of a man clothed in the pallium and stretching out his
hand to a woman who kneeled at his feet. There is no doubt
that at the beginning of the fourth century this was regarded
as a representation of the Lord, and that it was believed to
have been erected out of gratitude to him by the woman whom
he had healed of an issue of blood. This derivation of the
statue is commonly rejected by historians, and it is explained
rather as the statue of an emperor receiving the submission
of a province. But it is difficult to believe that Eusebius, who
himself saw the statue, could have failed to detect in it so
common a theme of Eoman art as the statue of an emperor.
The statue was removed from its public position by Maxi-
minus Daza out of hatred to Christianity, and was finally
destroyed by Julian. It is hardly to be thought that these
emperors could have mistaken its true character, if it were
actually of pagan origin ; and there must remain at least the
suspicion that the tradition was correct.
When we turn from mythical or historical accounts to the exist-
ing monuments of early art, the spirit in which the early Church
regarded the representations of Christ seems obvious and un-
equivocal. There were not only no representations which had any
suggestion of realism or of portraiture, but till the middle of
the fourth century not even an idealistic conception seems to
have been so much as attempted. In the earliest cases in which
our Lord appears he is depicted as an infant in the arms of
his mother, and it is evident that he appears only as an inci-
216
riCTOBIAL AliT
dent to the scene — as in the visit of the Magi, etc. It may be
said, too, that in the representations of the miracles his pres-
ence was eqnally incidental ; it Avas reqnired to determine the
subject, just as the presence of God in the Old Testament won-
ders was symbolized by the hand stretched from heaven. In
this case the artists implicitly intimated that they had no in-
tention of representing Christ as he actually was, or as the
Church might like to conceive him. They represented him
Fig. C9. — The Guoil ^hLiiLtid, fresco decoration of a ceiling in the catacomb of Petrus and
Marcellinus. Third century.
under the figure of a very young man, beardless, and without
any such marked personal traits as were early ascribed to
Peter and Paul. The figure of Christ is, in fact, to be distin-
guished only by the situation in which he is represented —
the performance of his miracles — and by the pallium, in which
generally only he and the Apostles and Moses were clad.
But beside these incidental expressions it is evident that the
Church did desire an artistic representation of Christ, and that
this was attained in the symbolical figure of the Good Shep-
PAINTING — The Good Shepherd 217
herd. This, it is well known, was one of the commonest fig-
ures in early Christian art ; and from the second to the fourth
century it was beyond comparison the most favorite represen-
tation of Christ. It appears for the first time in the early part
of the second century in the crypt of Lucina ; and later very fre-
quently in frescos, on sarcophagi, and as an independent statue,
upon gold-glass, upon rings, upon medals, and in almost every
branch of art. ISTothing could have comported better than this
symbol with the spirit of early Christian art, and the mode in
which it was treated was highly characteristic. When this
subject is represented in our modern art the character of the
shepherd is but a slender disguise; it may be denoted by noth-
ing more than by the fact that he carries a lamb and has the
shepherd's crook, while for the rest it is the ideal face and
figure with which we are accustomed to depict Jesus in all the
scenes of his earthly life. There was nothing like this in the
art of the catacombs; the symbol was frankly carried out, — it
was a symbol and no whit more. The insufficiency of art to
portray in realistic terms the figure of the God-man was clearly
recognized, as we have seen, and this feeling was frankly ex-
pressed by a form of representation which could not even sug-
gest the idea of a physical likeness. AVhat was represented
in the catacombs was just such a shepherd as might be seen
in the campagna about Rome, a beardless lad of some sixteen
years, clad in the short sleeveless tunic of the laborer, with
his right shoulder bare, sometimes with feet and legs bare also,
sometimes with shoes and stout leggins. There was a perfect
realism about the representation, and yet at the same time a
certain idyllic graciousness — it has been not unjustly called an
hieratic trait — which distinguishes it from the same subject
as it appeared in pagan art. The statue in the Lateran is alto-
gether the finest example of the Good Shepherd (Fig. 117) : with
both hands he holds a sheep upon his shoulders ; one shoulder
is quite bare, for he wears the tunica exomis, which is girded
up to the knees, as it commonly was ; at his side he carries the
shepherd's scrip. The gold-glasses which are given in Fig. 162
show common varieties of the subject, and illustrate different
ways of holding the sheep. They exhibit also the short cape
which seems to have been a familiar feature of the shepherd's
attire. In two instances the shepherd has leggins; in one,
218 PICTOBIAL ART
the feet and legs are bare. The head is always bare. As here,
so also in the other art of the catacombs (Figs. 12, 13, 14, 16, 17,
G9), the figure was often balanced by two or more sheep at the
shepherd's feet. It will be noticed that in one of these gold-
glasses the shepherd is not pictured carrying back the wounded
sheep to the fold, but is sitting and tending his flock. Repre-
sentations of the shepherd tending his flock occur some twenty
times in the catacombs, in frescos and graffiti. In Fig. 19, for
example, he is represented with his shepherd's staff in his
hand, seated under a tree and playing upon the pipes, while
the single sheep in the scene looks attentively up at him.
Nothing could be plainer than this symbolism, nothing more
gracious and touching. This whole range of meaning was
expressed by our Lord himself,^ and it was appreciated in its
fullest extent in early art. But there can be no doubt that, in
the catacombs and upon the sarcophagi, the figure of the Good
Shepherd had especially a sepulchral reference. It represented,
of course, the faithful care of the divine Shepherd in seeking
the souls which had strayed into sin, and bearing them back
to his Church ; but it also represented his power to bear aloft
to his heavenly kingdom the soul which was wounded, weary,
and bruised with the struggle here below. This was suggested
by the familiar words of the Twenty-third Psalm : '^ Though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear
no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they com-
fort me." And this reference is expressed plainly in many of
the prayers of the Church, for example, in " the prayer after
burial " of the Gelasian Sacramentary : " Let us pray God to
grant that the deceased, carried upon the shoulders of the
Good Shepherd, may enjoy the fellowship of the saints."
A somewhat different symbolism is expressed by the pictures
which represent the shepherd playing upon the syrinx and
herding the sheep. It was not the parable of the Lost Sheep
which was reflected in this theme, but the richer symbolism
which was expressed by the speech recorded in S. John's Gos-
pel, according to which the shepherd protects his sheep from
the wolf, so that they can safely go in and out and find pas-
ture ; he calls them by name and they know his voice and fol-
low him, but a stranger will they not follow, for they know
1 John X. 1-27 ; xxi. 15-17 ; Matt. xv. 24; Luke xv. 4, 5.
PAINTING— llie Good Shepherd 219
not the voice of strangers. It is this image which is expressed
in the epitaph of Abercius (see p. 235). The fiihiess with
which the Church appropriated this symbolism is strikingly
shown by the fact that the figure of Orpheus was occasionally
represented in place of the Good Shepherd. That the repre-
sentation of Orpheus was not an unthinking repetition of a
subject which was common in pagan art, is placed beyond a
doubt by the fact that it occurs in the central medallion of the
ceiling, that is, in the j)lace which was especially appropriated
to the Good Shepherd. It will be remembered that Orpheus
too was a shepherd. In the catacombs, as in Classic art, he
is represented in Phrygian costume ; he sits surrounded by his
sheep, or by various birds and beasts, which listen attentively
to the music of his lyre. It is impossible not to recognize that
it was the intention of those early artists to associate with the
Good Shepherd the loftiest moral myth which was known to
the pagan world, to represent under the figure of Orpheus the
compelling music of Christ's voice, which drew all men after
him and closed their ears to the song of the Sirens. It must be
remarked that the scene of Orpheus and the Sirens does not
occur in early Christian art, though that other fable of Ulysses
binding himself to the mast is represented several times upon
the sarcophagi (Fig. 88). But this was not the only nor the
most express symbolism which gave the figure of Orpheus a
place in the decoration of the Christian cemetery. In Classic
art, also, Orpheus belonged to the funereal cycle, for it was
fabled that through the power of his music he alone had been
able to penetrate into the lower world and lead up from Hades
a human soul.
The symbolism which was attached to the sheep was a very
simple one in the early centuries. Of the sheep which was
carried upon the shoulder of the Good Shepherd enough has
been said. The fact that it is sometimes a kid instead of a
lamb is probably not significant. It is not till the fourth cen-
tury that Christ is represented dividing the sheep from the
goats (Fig. 87). The sheep which he tends and feeds represent
either his flock on earth, or faithful souls in heaven. The lat-
ter sense is expressed by several paintings in which behind
the sheep the figures of the blessed dead are represented in
the posture of prayer. In the cripta delle pecorelle in S. Callis-
220 PICTOBIAL ART
tus the Good Shepherd is represented surrounded by a number
of sheep, and in the midst of them stand two men who stretch
out tlieir hands to drink of the water which abundantly flows
from the rock on either side. Here the shepherd is depicted
refreshing the souls in heaven with the water of life. On a
sarcophagus in the Lateran the Good Shepherd is surrounded
by twelve sheep, and behind each of them stands an Apostle.
After the fourth century the twelve sheep were very com-
monly used to represent the Apostles, especially in the mosaics ;
but the symbolism of the Good Shepherd rapidly fell out of
favor and was replaced by the mystic lamb of the Apocalypse.
In the mausoleum of Galla Placidia there is a mosaic of the
fifth century which again represents the Good Shepherd (Fig.
141), but in a manner which reminds one of our modern art.
It is no longer properly a shepherd, but an idealized figure of
Christ adorned with the nimbus, and carrying a cross. It is
strange to note how early and how completely the old symbol-
ism disappeared, never to be revived again in Christian art.'
But before leaving this subject we have still to trace another
trait of symbolism which was associated with the Good Shep-
herd in its earliest representations. I refer to the milk with
which the shepherd nourishes his sheep. This was represented
by the jug or pail which he carries sometimes at his side (Fig.
78). The importance of this apparently trivial detail is shown
by the fact that the sheep and the pail of milk sometimes
appear apart from the shepherd. In the crypt of Lucina two
sheep are represented on either side of a rustic altar of stone
on which rests the jug of milk and the shepherd's staff. There
are somewhat similar representations in the catacomb of Domi-
tilla and in the house of SS. Giovanni e Paolo. This is so
delicate a symbol, and it is so remote from the terms of modern
thought, that its sense could hardly have been understood but
for an explanation which is furnished in the Acts of S. Per-
petua, which was written in the early years of the third cen-
tury. It describes a vision of the saint in these words: ^'I
mounted and beheld a garden of vast extent, and in the midst
of this garden a man seated, having white hair and the dress
of a shepherd, milking sheep : and standing round about him
thousands of men clothed in white. And he raised his head
and looked at me, and said to me: Thou art welcome, my
PAINTING— The Celestial Banquet 221
daughter. Aud lie called me and he gave me some of the warm
milk which he had just drawn, and I received it with folded
hands and I ate it : and all about me said, Amen. And at the
sound of the voice I awaked, with an indescribable taste of
sweet in my mouth." From this it is evident that the jug of
milk carried by the Good Shepherd is a mystic symbol of the
Eucharist.
The favorite representations of heaven or of paradise dur-
ing the first three centuries, as we see from the vision of
S. Perpetua, were in terms of the pastoral symbol. The olive
tree serves here to denote the celestial garden, as the palm
tree does in the art of the following centuries.
THE CELESTIAL BANQUET
A more definite representation of the refreshment of the
soul in heaven was given by the pictures of the celestial ban-
quet. The idea was obviously suggested by many of our
Lord's sayings, and its representation in Christian art was
perhaps facilitated by the fact that it had been a favorite
theme in some of the pagan religions. The earliest example is
in the vestibule of S. Domitilla. It represents two persons
seated before a small table upon which fish and bread are dis-
played ; an attendant stands ready to minister to them. The
whole is so realistic that it might be taken for a scene of
everyday life — perhaps for a funeral agape — were it not for
the mystic fish upon the table. Most of these scenes belong
to a single region of the catacomb of SS. Pietro e Marcellino,
and are probably to be dated about the end of the third cen-
tury. There are five of these pictures still discernible, and
they have a striking similarity which proves either the hand
of the same artist or at least a common influence. They rep-
resent a family feast in which parents and children are seated
about a semicircular table in front of which is a tripod bearing
the mystic fish. Above the figures of two of the party are in-
scribed the commands which they are supposed to be address-
ing to the two maid-servants, " Peace, bring me warm water,"
"Love, fill my glass" (irexe da calda ; agape misce
mi), a painting of the same period in an arcosolium of the
Ostrian cemetery represents the parable of the Wise Virgins.
222 PICTORIAL ART
The scene is divided in two by an orans : on the right -are the
live Virgins holding lighted torches; on the left they all
appear seated at the marriage feast. The same parable is
represented again in the fourth-century fresco of the cemetery
of Cyriaca. In this case Christ with the nimbus appears in
the middle ; on the left are five Virgins with lighted torches,
while the five others on the right have their torches lowered
Fig. 70. — Yeneranda introduced into paradise by S. Petronilla, fresco in the catacomb of
Domitilla. Fourth centur}\
and extinguished. It is probable that both paintings marked
the tombs of consecrated virgins.
The introduction into heaven through the kind offices of a
saintly " advocate " was sometimes represented in the third
century; it became a more common theme in the fourth, and
was perpetuated in the apsidal mosaics of the basilicas. A
picture of the fourth century in the catacomb of Domitilla
(Fig. 70) represents a certain Veneranda introduced into
PAIXriXG— The Eucharistic Banquet 223
paradise by S. Petronilla, whose tomb was near this spot. At
the feet of the saint is a box containing the rolls of the Scrip-
ture; above it is an open book.
THE EUCHARISTIC BANQUET
The miraculous multiplication of the loaves and fishes was pic-
tured very frequently in the catacombs, but in very various ways.
This theme owed its great popularity to the fact that it stood
as a symbol of the Eucharist, — a symbol which was suggested
by Christ himself in the address which S. John reports after
the miracle. A third-century fresco in the cripta clelle pecorelle
in S. Callistus represents it in the same manner as was com-
mon on the sarcophagi : Christ stretches out his hands to bless
the loaves and fishes which are presented to him by two
Apostles; on the ground stand six baskets filled with the
fragments which remained. The figure of Christ has here
been destroyed in order to construct a niche for a lamp, but his
position and gesture were evidently the same as in Fig. 95
and on other sarcophagi. The gesture is important, for it
is doubtless the same as that which was commonly used in
the consecration of the Eucharist. In a picture of the latter
part of the second century in one of the Sacrament Chapels of
S. Callistus (Fig. 71) Christ is represented with right arm and
shoulder bare — that is, clad in the philosopher's mantle —
stretching his hand toward the bread and fish which are sup-
ported upon a tripod. An orans standing by clearly expresses
the soul which has departed from this world comforted with
the Eucharist and confident in the almighty power of Christ.
There were very many ways in which this subject was
abbreviated ; it became a mere hieroglyph as it was treated in
the graffiti of the gravestones ; the five loaves and the two
fishes alone sufficed to represent at once the miracle and the
sacrament. A second-century sarcophagus of travertine in the
catacomb of S. Priscilla is adorned simply with five loaves on
one side of the epitaph and an anchor on the other. Two fish
and five loaves appear upon a tombstone which is preserved
at Modena ; a similar monument is preserved in the Kircherian
museum at Rome ; and one of the tiles covering a loculus in
S. Priscilla has upon it two loaves moulded in mortar, — evi-
224
PICTORIAL ART
dently a fragment of this same theme. On this last monument
and on the epitaph at Modena the breads are marked with a
cross, as they are also in several frescos which represent the
seven baskets. On the sarcophagus above mentioned and on
the Roman epitaph they are marked by three lines crossing
each other obliquely, which was a current symbol of the cross.
Two terra-cotta lamps from Salona which represent the same
Fig. 71. — Fut.-cu of tho third century, in one of the Sacrament Chapels, catacomb of C.nl-
listus. Christ, clad in the philosopher's pallium, consecrates the fish and bread (symbol
of the Eucharist) ; an orans stands beside the tripod.
theme have the breads marked with the Constantinian mono-
gram.
But we must postpone other abbreviations of this theme till
we come to consider the symbol of the fish. We are here
engaged with the scenes which represent the banquet of the
multitude. The most notable examples are in the Sacrament
Chapels of S. Callistus. These so-called chapels are in reality
ordinary cubicula which are notable only for the subtilty of
their symbolical frescos. The name is due to the fashion
which till lately has been prevalent of interpreting these
frescos as symbols of all the seven sacraments of the Roman
PAINTING— The Encharistic Banquet
225
Church. It is now recognized that only baptism and the
Eucharist are there expressed, and these subjects appear so
often in the catacombs that they constitute no reason for giv-
ing so distinctive a name to these chambers. There are six
cubicula usually reckoned to this group ; Wilpert ascribes the
first three of them to the same artist and to the latter part of
:%».
Fig. 72.
it CJKifn'ls in tlic catacon
11. Fr.-.-(,'(, ;:,
Third centurv.
the second century; and the others, which are on a higher
level, to the century following.
The chief interest lies in the first group, and it is to be regret-
ted that we cannot study in detail the numerous subjects which
appear on their walls and ceilings, nor trace the deeply planned
scheme which connects them. The scheme of decoration is
substantially the same in all three chambers, in each the sym-
Q
226
riCTOBIAL ART
II
bols of baptism and of the Eucharist are represented. In the
third chamber is represented Christ's miracle, the multiplica-
tion of the loaves and
fishes (Fig. 71), and to
the left of it the feed-
ing of the multitude, a
theme which was thor-
oughly conventionalized
in early Christian art.
As the whole multitude
could not be pictured,
it sufficed to represent
seven men seated at a
table upon which were
placed the loaves and
fishes, and about which
were arranged the seven
baskets. The same scene
was depicted in the first
chamber. In both these
cases, and in all others
where this subject is
represented, the men are
clad in tunics. But in
the second c h a m. b e r,
with but slight change
of treatment, a different
subject was represented,
the meal of the seven
disciples at the sea of
Tiberias, when after his
resurrection the Lord
met them and put before
them bread and fish. In
this representation (Fig.
73) the seven baskets are
naturally omitted, and
the disciples, as fisher-
men, are depicted naked.
It may be that the num-
PAINTING— The Eucharistic Banquet 227
ber of the disciples on this occasion accounts for the appear-
ance of just seven figures in all similar representations of
banquets. In this illustration, alongside of the fishermen at
table, there is represented the apostolic fisherman drawing a
fish out of the mystic water w^iich Moses strikes from the rock.
In this way the symbol of baptism is brought into connection
with the symbol of the Eucharist. In the same chamber the
baptism of a disciple is expressly represented; in the third
chamber we have the baptism of Christ in the Jordan, and out
of the w^ater thus sanctified by Clirist, the fisherman is repre-
sented drawing his fish.
It is here possible only to allude to another banquet which
was employed as a symbol of the Eucharist, namely the wed-
ding feast at Cana where Christ turned the water into wine.
The symbol is a very obvious one.
It is to be presumed that the artist who decorated these
chambers was acquainted with the symbolism of the fish, which
was so popular in that age. But it must be observed that the
pictures themselves do not prove it, nor do the briefer symbols
of this miracle w^hich we have considered above. All of the
pictures of the fish which we have hitherto considered are
based upon the scriptural account, and are sufficiently ex-
plained by it. We see that the fish symbol, even if it was
originally suggested by the famous acrostic, must have been
profoundly influenced by the artistic employment of the themes
which we have just studied.
We have now to consider a picture to which Wilpert gives
the name Fractio Panis — " The Breaking of Bread." It adorns
the wall above one of the great arcosolia in the Capella greca
in the catacomb of S. Priscilla, and like the rest of the decora-
tion of that crypt it belongs to the first decades of the second
century. It will be seen that in its general scheme this pic-
ture (Fig. 74) resembles those which we have just studied;
there are seven persons seated at a table upon which are two
plates with the five loaves and the two fishes. On the wall
space at each side the seven baskets are depicted (Fig. 3).
These, however, are the only symbolical traits; for the rest,
it was evidently intended for a realistic representation of the
Lord's Supper as it was celebrated in the catacombs, a^ "'' ' ^^ ^
cially in this very crypt. It is not the meal of the s ^^ ^
228
PICT Oil I AL ABT
ciples, for we can distinguish that the third figure from the
right represents a woman. Nor is it the feast of the multi-
PAINTING —The EucJiaristic Banquet 229
tude, for there also only men are represented. We can dimly
descry upon the table a simple mug with two handles, which
is highly interesting as an illustration of the practical style of
chalice which was used in the catacombs, but still more so
because it establishes beyond a doubt that this picture was
intended as a representation of the Eucharist. The five men
who face the beholder are clad in the tunic ; the man who is rep-
resented in profile is distinguished by a beard and wears, appar-
ently, both tunic and pallium, which was the dress ascribed in
early art to ecclesiastical personages of rank. Whether he is
bishop or presbyter, there can be no doubt that he is the presi-
dent of this feast, and in fact he is depicted graphically in the
very act of breaking with some show of force a large loaf
of bread. The picture, therefore, represents the solemn act
which gave to this feast the name which was so often used in
the New Testament — "the breaking of bread."
There are realistic traits in this picture which suggest very
strongly the probability that the artist intended to represent
the Eucharist as he had actually seen it celebrated in the cata-
combs. It is in itself quite probable that even after the early
custom of sitting around a common table had become impos-
sible in the churches, it was still observed among the small
groups of people who gathered in the cemeteries to commemo-
rate their dead. The stone bench "along the wall of this crypt
(Fig. 3) and the apse-like arcosolium at the end prove that it
was expressly intended as a place of worship, and more par-
ticularly for the celebration of the Eucharist. It is obvious
that the chief tomb was beneath the apse, yet notwithstanding
the place was broad enough for several bodies, the grave which
is actually excavated there is hardly large enough for a year-old
child. Wilpert supposes very reasonably that this small cavity
contained the scanty relics of a martyr. At all events, it is the
stone which covered this tomb which must have been used as
the altar, and as the proper position of the bishop was at the
back of the apse, we have in this an explanation of the curious
fact that the feet of the bishop are upon a level with the
chalice.
Of the rest of the decoration of this crypt, though it is
among the most complete and interesting in the catacombs, we
can stop to remark only that the representations which we find
230
PICTORIAL ABT
here of Daniel and Susanna, and of the resurrection of Lazarus,
prove that in the first decades of the second century the last
chapters of the Book of Daniel were regarded as Scripture, and
that the artist was acquainted with the Gospel of S. John.
In the civil museum at Leghorn there is an ivory pyx from
Carthage, of about the fourth century, which, among other sub-
jects, represents the feeding of the multitude. Christ is seated,
and he stretches out his hands to bless the bread and fishes
which are brought to him. On either side Apostles are hurry-
ing away, carrying in the lap of their robes the miraculous food
to the hungry multitude. In the early Church the deacons
Fig. 75. — Fragment of a fresco of the middle of the second centur\', in the crypt of Lucina,
containing loaves of bread
carried the consecrated bread to the congregation, and it is evi-
dent that the artist wished to point the comparison between the
service of the Apostles upon this occasion and that of the
deacons in the Church.
Of about the same age as the Fractio Panis is the fresco rep-
resenting the two fish (Fig. 75) in the crypt of Lucina, the
oldest part of the catacomb of Callistus. These interesting
figures are only a remnant of a larger composition, which was
originally painted between them, and is now destroyed. There
can be no doubt that it represented the Eucharistic banquet
under one or another of the forms which we have already
studied. But how complete is the symbolism of these two ter-
PAINTING — The Eucharistic Banquet 231
minal figures alone ! Beside each fish is placed a basket full
of bread, and through the wicker work of the basket one can
detect by its red color a glass of wine. The baskets, like the
fish, were an abbreviation of the miraculous feeding of the
multitude, but the wine was added expressly with reference to
the Eucharist. It is known that glass chalices were in use ;
it may be that the basket too had not merely a symbolical sug-
gestion. It seems as if Jerome were commenting on this
picture when, mentioning the meanest utensils which could be
used for the Eucharist, he says : " jSTo one is so rich as he who
carries the body of Christ in a wicker basket, and his blood in
catacomb of Callistus. It symbolizes the Eucharist, representing two fish, -svlth baskets
and a glass of mne.
a cup of glass." The symbolism of the fish comes to clearer
expression in this picture : the fish is Christ, it is he who offers
this food, and the food he offers is himself. This picture and
the Fractio Panis are the earliest monuments in which the fish
occurs.
We have not far to seek for the association of ideas which
made these symbols of the Eucharist so popular in Christian
cemeteries. Christ himself said, " He that eatetli my flesh and
drinketh my blood hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at
the last day." Eternal life and the Eucharist are two ideas
which for the Church are inseparable. In the short liturgy in
the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles the Eucharist is expressly
232 PICTORIAL AliT
regarded as the nourisliment for eternal life, and this idea is
often associated with it in early Christian literature. S. Igna-
tius calls the Eucharist '' the medicament of immortality, the
antidote of death," and Clement of Alexandria, " the provender
of eternal life."
THE FISH
We have already traced the fish symbol in its connection
with the feeding of the multitude. But, whatever its origin, it
is certain that the symbol ow^ed its popularity chiefly to the
famous acrostic which formed the Greek word for fish —
IX0Y2 — out of the initial letters of the five w^ords which de-
scribed the title of our Lord, 'Ir/o-oi)? Xpio-ro? 0eoii 'Yto's '^wrrjp
(Jesus Christ Son of God Saviour). This made of the fish —
whether pictured or written — a mystic symbol of Christ him-
self. We do not know definitely when or where this acrostic
was invented. But it is probable that it w^as current in the
early years of the second century, and that in all the symbolical
representations of the Eucharist wdiich we have studied we
have to read this deeper meaning, and recognize the suggestion,
that the food which Christ provides for his Church is Himself.
Prosper of Aquitaine speaks of Christ as " giving himself as
food to the disciples by the seashore, and offering himself to the
whole world as Ichthus" The earliest case in which the fish
occurs in connection with the anchor — the symbol of hope —
is on the sarcophagus of Livia Primitiva (Fig. 16), about the
middle of the second century. Toward the end of the second
century it became common to represent two fishes, one on each
side of the anchor, for the sake of symmetry, and perhaps with
a reminiscence of the two fishes of the miracle. This formed the
hieroglyph for the epitaph which was so common in the early
centui-ies, spp:s in christo — hope on Christ.
The fish appears during the first four centuries in a very
great variety of forms and upon all sorts of monuments, not
only in cemeterial art, but upon amulets, carved stones, and
rings. Clement of Alexandria counselled Christians, if they
were to wear rings, to wear them upon the little finger of the
left hand where they would not impede one's labor, and to
engrave upon them the Christian symbols, the fish and the
dove, the anchor, the lyre, and the ship. The fish often appears
PAINTIXa—The Fish
233
in the form of the dolphin, and the frequency of this form is
due to the fact that the dolphin was a common decorative fea-
ture in Classic art. It was regarded as an animal especially
friendly to man, and it gained a sepulchral symbolism from the
fable that it carried the souls of the departed to the islands of
the blessed. In Classical art hardly any subject was more com-
mon than scenes of fishing, which were employed in a purely
decorative interest. Similar scenes repeated in Christian art
were undoubtedly regarded as symbolical (Fig. 126). We have
seen that the common fisherman stood for the apostolic fisher
of men, for the fish represented not only Christ, but his disci-
ples as well. Tertullian says : " We little fish, after the image
of our Ichthus Jesus Christ, are born in the water, nor other-
wise than swimming in the water are we safe." We see from
Fig. 76. —Carved gems of the second or third century.
this that the fish symbolized baptism, and we have to read this
meaning in the picture of the fisherman in the Sacrament
Chapels. It was not only the fish cooked and served upon the
table which symbolized Christ, but the live fish swimming about
in the water. Speaking of the multitude who were fed with
the five loaves and the two fishes, Paulinus of Nola says of
Christ that " he himself is the true bread and the fish of living
water" — 2xuus ipse verus et aquce vivce pisds Christus. An
early carved gem (Fig. 76) represents a ship, the symbol of the
Church, supported by the fish, and with the doves of peace
perched upon its mast and stern. It further represents, as a
typical parallel to this, Christ supporting Peter upon the
water. The gem which is placed beside this in the illustration
groups together many of the elements of early symbolism.
The perch which supports the dove represents the cross;
234 PICTORIAL ART
between that and the Good Shepherd the cross is again repre-
sented by the mast of a ship, and on the other side by the
anchor with two fish beside it, the cross appearing again in
the letter X below ; with the three other letters which are
scattered about (the I above the anchor, the C inverted,
and the 0 without the cross-bar) we spell the word IXOYC
(" fish "). In Fig. 77 we have four representations of this
symbol. In Fig. 78 we have the Ichthus, the Good Shepherd,
the anchor, and the ship. Figure 165 is a curious bit of sym-
bolism ; instead of Jonah, who was the type of Christ and the
Eesurrection, we see the fish resting under the gourd.
The whole of this symbolism is summed up in an epitaph of
the third or fourth century of a certain Pectorius of Autun.
The epitaph begins with, a metrical composition which, was
probably much older. It is an acrostic, the first letter of each
line forming the word Ichthus. " Divine race of the heavenly
Ichthus, receive with pious heart among mortals the immortal
Fig. 7T. — Early Christian seals or carved gems, —the fish s3'mbol.
spring of divinely cleansing waters ; refresh your soul, my
friend, with the perennial waters of the wisdom which maketh
rich; receive the delicious food of the Saviour of saints; eat,
hungry one, holding Ichthus in thy two hands."
Of far higher importance for the illustration of this symbol,
and indeed of the whole character of early symbolism, is the
famous metrical epitaph of .Abercius of Hieropolis, which both
Lightfoot and de Rossi reckoned among the most important of
early Christian inscriptions. Abercius has been identified as
the bishop of Hieropolis, a small town in Phrygia. He lived
in the latter part of the second century, and the journey to
Rome which he mentions was probably made in the time of
the Antonines. The inscription was known only in manuscript
till Dr. Ramsay, in his first expedition to Phrygia, discovered
the monument of a certain Alexander, dated in the year 216,
which repeated several lines of the inscription of his fellow-
PAINTIXG— The Fish
235
citizen Abercius. On his second journey he was fortunate
enough to find two large fragments of the monument of Aber-
cius himself, and they are now in the Vatican. The stone was
nearly cubical in shape — the common form of the funeral stele
— ^and the inscription was engraved on three sides. One of
the fragments is illustrated in Fig. 20. It reads as follows :
" I, a citizen of an elect city, in my lifetime have erected this
monument, to have where to place my body when time shall
require it.
"My name is Abercius, a disciple of the holy Shepherd
who feeds his sheep upon the hills and plains, who has great
Fig.
rS. — Early Christian seals and rings, — the cross, the fish, the shepherd, the anchor,
and the ship.
eyes which see through all, who taught me the sure learning
of life, and sent me to Rome to see the royal city and the
queen clad in a golden robe and with golden shoes. There I
saw a people who had the gleaming seal. I saw also the plains
of Syria and all cities, Nisibis, beyond the Euphrates. Every-
where I found fellow-believers, Paul . . . ; everywhere was
Faith my guide, and gave me everywhere for food the Ichthus
from the spring, the great, the pure, which the spotless Virgin
caught and ever puts before the Friends to eat; she has also
delicious wine, and she offers wine mixed with water together
236 PICTORIAL ART
with bread. I, Abercius, dictated this to be written in my
presence, and in fact in the seventy-second year of my life.
Let every sharer in my confession who understands this pray
for Abercius.
" No man may lay another in my grave ; but if it be done, he
must pay to the Roman treasury two thousand gold pieces, and
to my dear native city Hieropolis a thousand gold pieces."
Abercius recognized that the mystic symbolism of his inscrip-
tion would be understood only by fellow-believers. The enig-
matical character of his language is due partly to the fact that
he speaks of baptism and the Eucharist, which were the sub-
jects chiefly guarded by the secret discipline of the Church in
the second century. From what we have already studied we
can recognize the appropriateness of this mention of the
Eucharist in an epitaph, its relation to eternal life and the
resurrection. But it was also connected very naturally with
the account of his journey, for it was the custom to offer the
Eucharist to a visiting bishop in sign of communion with him
and with his church. Faith was his guide, for without that
the Eucharist could not be received. He speaks of Christ as
the fish, and having begun with the S3'mbol he carries it out by
referring to the Virgin Mother as one who caught the fish. He
speaks of her also, strangely enough, as the one who offers
this food to the "friends." Under the figure of the queen
clad in gold he refers to the Eoman Church. The Christian
people of Rome had " the gleaming seal " ; it is well known
that baptism was commonly spoken of under the figure of a
seal. It is very interesting to observe that already in that age
he found everywhere fellow-believers, everywhere recognition
of the unity of the Church in the communion of the Eucharist,
which was celebrated everywhere in substantially the same
way, and particularly by the use of wine mixed with water.
THE CKOSS AXD THE MOXOGRAM
Never has the sign of the cross been held in higher estima-
tion than it was in the first centuries of the Church. Some
of the early Christian writers dwelt at length upon the reli-
gious symbolism involved in the cross ; the}^ traced it in the
commonest objects, in the letter T, in the mast and yards of
PAINTING— The Cross
237
the ship, in the crosspiece of the anchor, in the trophy, in the
attitude of prayer, and they sought out more remote analogies
in the very constitution of nature itself. We have already
had occasion to note the presence of the dissimulated cross, as
it is called, on early monuments. Besides this, it is well known
how frequently this sign was used as a gesture, not only in
ecclesiastical functions, but in private life. In the latter half
of the second century, to judge from Tertullian's account, this
gesture was employed more commonly than in any subsequent
period. He says, " At every action which we begin, in coming
in and going out, when we clothe ourselves, or put on our shoes,
when we bathe, when we seat ourselves at table, at lamplight-
FiG. 79.
A coin of Apamea, Phrygia, representing Noah and the aric, reign of Septimius
Severus.
ing, on going to bed, we trace on the forehead the sign of the
cross."
With all this it cannot but strike us with astonishment that
an undisguised representation of the cross is rarely found in
early Christian art. De Rossi could point to but one instance
before the time of Constantine, and it remained exceedingly
rare for more than a century after that. The only explanation
that can be given of this fact is that the early Christians felt
a particular distaste for the representation of the instrument
which was still commonly in use, like our gallows, for the pun-
ishment of felons, as they showed in general a reluctance to
depict our Lord's humiliation and passion. We can under-
stand very well to what ridicule the public use of the cross
would have exposed them. We have indeed a striking instance
of pagan ridicule, in the crucifix with the ass's head from the
238 PICTOBIAL ABT
Talatine, which was rudely scratched on the wall of the pages'
quarters attached to one of the imperial palaces. In front of
the crucifix is a figure in the attitude of adoration, and the
inscription reads, "Alexamenos adores God." The picture
belongs to the end of the second century, and strangely enough
it is the earliest representation of the crucifixion.
Since the cross does not appear even upon Christian monu-
ments of the second and third centuries, it is futile to follow
those who attempt to trace it to a pre-Christian origin. There
were in use, among almost all peoples, religious symbols which
had a more or less close likeness to the cross. The analogy is
for the most part very easily explained, for the cross is the cos-
mic symbol of the four quarters of the earth or of the universe.
The Christians saw in these pagan symbols a mystic presage
of the Gospel, but the only one of which they made any use
during the second and third centuries was the swastica (Fig.
Fig, 80. — Various forms of the
80, a), an ancient Oriental symbol, which was commonly used
in the West for purely decorative purposes. The fossor repre-
sented in Fig. 7 has the corners of his tunic ornamented with
it, and it was used not infrequently in the early tapestries.
The so-called Xile key (Fig. 80, 7c), which was one of the most
ancient religious symbols of Egypt, was sometimes employed
on Egyptian tapestries after the fifth century (Figs. 174, 175).
The Christians found in it a special appropriateness because it
was the Egyptian symbol of life, and it is well known that, of
all the various notions which attached themselves to the Chris-
tian cross, none were so common, nor so fundamental, as that
which regarded it as the tree of life. This notion appears early
iu Christian art. In a fresco of the fourth century in S. Callis-
tus the cross, still dissimulated, is represented under the figure
of a green tree with two horizontal branches under which there
stand two doves. The triumphal cross, as it was depicted in the
mosaics of the basilicas after the eighth century, was not only
studded with jewels, but bourgeoning with flowers. The cross
which is painted in the vestibule of the cemetery of Pontianus
PAINTIXG — The Cross 239
(Fig. 83) is evidently cox^ied from the art of the basilicas. It is
quite possible that the Egyptian symbol had an additional inter-
est from the fact that it combined the cross and the wreath,
which — like the crown with ns — represented the triumph
which followed martyrdom. The wreath appears above the
cross in Fig. 22, but it was more common for the cross to be
framed within the wreath, and it must not be supposed that
this was done in a purely decorative interest. The Constan-
tinian monogram was usually framed in this way, and that, too,
it must be remembered, was regarded as a representation of the
cross. In Fig. 175 the monogram is framed in the circle of
the Nile key.
The equal-armed cross appears not infrequently upon coins
before the Christian period, but merely as a monetary sign. It
is probably due to this fact that it appears upon Constantinian
coins (Fig. 81, a) before it was common elsewhere.
Constantinian monogram and the cross.
There is reason to believe that the Constantinian monogram
owed its origin in part to a pagan religious symbol, the sun-
wheel. The three forms in which the Constantinian monogram
or cross is represented are shown in Fig. 80, d, e, and /; of
these the first was the earliest and the most common. It was
commonly surrounded by a circle or wreath. The sun-wheel
is represented in the last figure of the same illustration ; it was
drawn perhaps as frequently with but three intersecting lines,
like the earliest monogram without the loop of the letter P.
The supposition that there was a connection between these two
symbols does not rest chiefly upon their formal likeness, but
upon the proofs which are gathered from one side and another
to the effect that Constantine, before the vision which turned
him to Christianity, was interested in the sun-worship of the
Mithras cult, and continued to confuse the ideas of the two
religions. It will be remembered that of all the pagan reli-
gions, it was the Mithras cult which competed most seriously
with Christianity, and that, as a matter of fact, very curious
analogies were to be traced between the two. One of these
240
PICTOBIAL ABT
points of likeness was the fact that, as worshippers of the sun,
they observed the same feast day as the Christians. Constan-
tine's edict forbidding the transaction of public business upon
Sunday seems to reflect the Mithraic mode of speech rather
than the Christian, for he calls it " the ancient and venerable
day of the sun." One of Constantine's coins (Fig. 81, a) repre-
sents the sun standing between two stars, one of which is in the
shape of the cross. The inscription reads : Soli invicto comiti.
The title invictus (unconquered) given to the sun was peculiar
to the Mithraic cult ; it alludes to the principal festival of that
religion — from which we derive our Christmas — when at the
winter solstice the sun proves himself unconquered by the
winter and begins to renew his power. A little later, on a
Fig. 81. —Four coins of
coin of Nepotianus (Fig. 82, 6), the monogram is represented
between two stars and would seem to stand for the sun.
About the sign which Constantine saw in the sky there is
some confusion, because it is not well understood that the mono-
gram was actually intended to represent the cross, and that
whenever during the Constantinian age a monument is spoken
of as a cross, it may generally be presumed to be in the shape
of the monogram. When it is said that Constantine saw a cross
in the sky, it is evidently the monogram that is meant, for the
monogram was undoubtedly intended to represent what he had
seen. There is very strong probability that what he saw was
connected in some way with the sun — some unusual and strik-
ing effect of the sun's rays — and the chief enigma which
remains is, how he came to associate this portent with a Chris-
tianity which made of its cross so great a secret.
No one has been able to suggest a satisfactory account of the
word laharum, which was used to denote the military standards
adorned with the Constantinian cross. In no other way was
the official adoption of the Christian religion so plainly marked
PAINTIXa—The Cross
241
as in the use of the Christian emblem for the standards of the
army. The standards of the different legions were distin-
guished from one another. Several varieties of them are illus-
trated upon the coins of Constantine (Fig. 81, b, c, and d). The
hrst one here illustrated shows the monogram surmounting a
banner upon which are three dots, which represent the por-
traits of the emperor and his sons. In the second instance the
imperial portraits are arranged in a vertical order along the
staff, and it is not the monogram, but the equal-armed cross
which is framed above. On the third coin the monogram
appears in a similar frame. On a coin of Nepotianus the
figure of Rome is represented holding the globe of the world,
which is surmounted by the monogram. In Fig. 81, h, the
Constantine the Great.
staff of the standard transfixes a serpent. This represents
Christ treading upon the serpent, or more generally Christi-
anit}^ triumphing over iniquity. One of the rings illustrated
in Fig. 78 represents a serpent coiled about the base of the
cross; but notwithstanding its great similarity in form to the
preceding, it seems to represent a different idea. The two
doves which accompany the serpent and the word salus written
beneath suggest the bronze serpent of Moses. AVe have Con-
stantine's idea expressed again, and more fully, in two pictures
woven in silk (Fig. 171). This monument comes from Achmim
in Egypt, and it is ascribed to the fifth or sixth century.
Above is represented the imperial eagle, attacking an evil
beast; below, Christ slaying the dragon. Christ holds his
cross in his left hand, and in his right a spear which is
marked with a cross at its handle. The dragon is represented
as a crocodile, after analogies in Egyptian art. The picture
plainly represents the Empire and the Church united in the
suppression of evil. It is strange to find upon so ancient a
monument the expression of an idea which was destined to
242
PICT OBI AL ART
become at once the greatest and the most disturbing ideal of
European history.
The Constantinian symbol was very early accompanied by
the letters Alpha and Omega, so that this sign came to signify
not only Christ's Name and his Passion, but his Divinity.
In Fig. 103 one may see two different types of the mono-
gram with these two letters ; the third type of the monogram,
without the letters, appears in Fig. 104. On a lead sarcoph-
agus from Phoenicia (Fig. 9) the monogram is surrounded by
the letters of the word Ichthus. In the Christian Museum of
the Vatican, there is a large representation of the monogram in
ivory, framed in a horseshoe instead of the wreath.
From the very introduction of this emblem it became at
once exceedingly common throughout the Empire, and it
serves as one of the readiest marks for distinguishing the date
Fig. 82. — Coins of Nepotianus,
of early Christian monuments. Strange to say, it almost as
quickly passed out of use. It is rare to find it in Rome later
than the fatal year 410. It was from the first a symbol of
triumph, and it ill befitted the sad condition of Eome after its
capture by the Goths. The cross then came into use in its
realistic form, and the type of monogram W'hich most closely re-
sembled this (Fig. 80, /) remained latest in use. In the Orient,
on the other hand, the original monogram survived much longer.
The supposition that Constantine merely adopted a symbol
which was already common among the Christians finds no
support in the monuments, for there is nothing to show that
before his time these two letters w^ere ever combined as an
emblem of Christ. They do appear, however, though very
rarely, as an abbreviation. The name Jesus was sometimes
abbreviated by writing only the first two letters, IH. Like-
wise, the two initials of the name Jesus Christ, IX , were com-
PAINTING— The Cross
243
bined as in Fig. 80, b ; and Fig. 80, c shows how the first two
letters of the name Christ were occasionally combined. The
important distinction which has to be made is, that these signs
were never used alone, but only in the course of an inscription
and as a true abbreviation. There is, how^ever, a difference
between the abbreviation and the monogram (Fig. 80, c and d)
which is not generally remarked: in the abbreviation the
letter X stands upright, in the Constantinian monogram it lies
on its side, and the figure has, therefore, greater symmetry.
About the fifth century there came about a change in the form
of the monogram concerning which no adequate explanation has
been offered. Instead of completing the letter Bho (P), the
loop was not brought around to meet the staff, but terminated
instead in an outward curve, so that the figure was not unlike
a shepherd's crook. It has been supposed that this was in-
Eudoxia, and Galla Placidia.
tended to represent the Eoman letter R, which corresponded to
the Greek P ; but this purpose was certainly not very clearly
indicated, and it does not explain the fact that this form occurs
most frequently upon monuments of Greek-speaking lands.
When we come to consider the undisguised cross, if we may
so call it, we cannot but feel surprise that even the discovery
of the true cross did not, in any noticeable degree, encourage
the use of this symbol in art. It remained very rare till the
fifth century. It must be understood that it was only the
equal-armed cross (Fig. 80, g) which was in use either in East
or West. The name, Greek cross, is a complete misnomer, so
far as the early period is concerned ; it indicates a distinction
which was not marked before the Middle Ages. De Vogue
suggests that the earliest example of the so-called Latin cross
(Fig. 80, Ji) is perhaps one which he found carved over the
door of a fourth-centurv Svrian dwelling ; at all events its use
244
nCTORIAL ART
was rare before the fifth century, and the mosaic in S. Puden-
tiaua (Fig. 127) is one of the few examples we can point to.
The equal-armed cross, it must be observed, was not a
strictly realistic representation of the instrument of our Lord's
Passion, for a cross of that shape was probably never actually
used. There is no doubt that the cross as commonly used had
the shape of the ■patihulum (Fig. 80, i). An upright stake with
a transverse bar above it was all that was practically required.
Just because it was the ordinary instrument of punishment it
was very rarely represented in Chris-
tian art, although, as we have seen,
objects of similar form, like the let-
ter Tjwere taken as symbols of it.
In the case of our Lord's crucifixion
a short staff must have been nailed
above the patibulum to support the
superscription, and this, of course,
gives us the Latin cross. The cross
upon which S. Andrew is fabled to
have suffered has the form of the
letter X (Fig. 80, j). Such a cross
was undoubtedly used, but it is
rarely depicted upon Christian mon-
uments. The common use of the
Latin cross dates from the sixth
century. It is specially noticeable
on the monuments of the Arian
Gothic rule at Ravenna. It seems
to have grown out of the use of pro-
cessional crosses and the representa-
tions of the cross in the form of a staff which were already
common in the fifth century (Fig. 110). Such a cross is carried
by Christ himself (Figs. 109, 141), and by Apostles and saints
(Fig. l.SO) ; and it was the special attribute of S. Peter (Fig.
104). It is evident that there was no intention of realism in
this elongation of the staff ; but it is probable that it was from
this that the mediaeval artists got the idea that in our Lord's
crucifixion he was elevated high above the ground, a conception
which by no means corresponds with the representations of
the crucifixion in early Christian art (see p. 276).
Fig. 83. — Crur (lemmnia, fresco in
the catacomb of Pontianus. Eighth
century.
PAIXTIXG—The Virgin Mary
245
THE VIRGIN" MARY
Attention has already been drawn to the pictures which
represent the Virgin in connection with the visit of the ]\[af]:i.
Other scenes in which the Virgin occurs are rare in the cata-
combs. There is a very much damaged fresco in the catacomb
of Priscilla which is supposed to represent the Annunciation.
The instance is doubtful, though the fact that the figure which
is taken to represent
4
the angel is without
wings is no proof
against it, for angels
were not represented
with wings during
the first three centu-
ries. It may be re-
marked, in passing,
that many of the
early winged angels
follow closely the
type of victories. A
distinctively Chris-
tian type of angel
was developed in the
mosaics of the basil-
icas (Figs. '138, 139),
but winged figures
first became really
popular in the crude
Lombard art of the
early Middle Ages.
The Annunciation
is represented on the arch of S. Maria Maggiore, and upon the
end of a fifth century sarcophagus in Ravenna. In the latter
case the Virgin is represented spinning, according to one of
the apochryphal accounts. On the other side of the same
sarcophagus is represented her meeting w4th Elizabeth.
Fig. 84 illustrates a very interesting fresco in S. Priscilla of
about the middle of the second century. It is sadly damaged,
yet it is still notable for the grace of its composition ; it sug-
FiG. S4. — Virgin and Child, with a prophet, who points
to a star, fresco in the catacomb of Priscilla. Middle
of the second century.
246
PICTORIAL ABT
gests one of Raphael's ^ladoiiiias, and prompts the curious
reflection that in the long interval between that unknown
l)ainter Tind the Italian artists of the early Renascence there
SCULPTURE— Introductory ' 247
was, perhaps, no one who could draw such a group. It will be
noticed that the man, who is clad in the philosopher's pallium,
is pointing to a star. It is not perfectly clear what the picture
represents, but the man is commonly taken to be a prophet
foretelling the birth of Christ, and he is identified as Isaiah or
as Balaam.
Another highly interesting picture is illustrated in Fig. 85 ;
it is from the same cemetery, but it belongs to the following
century. The woman standing in the middle in the posture of
the orans represents, it is supposed, a consecrated virgin who
was buried in this tomb. It is supposed with good reason that
the scene in the background, at the left, represents her conse-
cration to the virginal life. The virgin holds the veil in her
hand, while the bishop, who sits in his cathedra and is assisted
by his deacon, admonishes her by pointing to the Blessed Vir-
gin as the pattern of her life.
B. SCULPTURE
Christian sculpture hardly existed before the fourth century.
The gloom of the catacombs was not favorable to it ; and, be-
sides, carved sarcophagi were articles of luxury which were
v/ithin the means of few Christians, and were to be acquired
only in pagan shops. The nearest approach to sculpture which
we commonly find are designs engraved on stone — graffiti- —
which might be wrought upon the spot ; or statues and reliefs
which represented themes, the Christian meaning of which was
hidden (like the Good Shepherd), and which might, therefore,
be executed in the public studios. With the fourth century,
the public recognition of Christianity, the increased wealth of
the Church, and above all the growing custom of burial above
ground encouraged the use of sculptured sarcophagi. The
sarcophagi constituted the chief exponent of Christian art in
sculpture, though there are numerous examples of reliefs in
ivory (chiefly diptychs. Gospel covers, and boxes for the pres-
ervation of relics), and we have the record of important works
in gold and silver (in relief and in the round) which once orna-
mented the basilicas.
With the first emergence of Christian sculpture in the fourth
century, the art was already at a low ebb. It is probable that
248 PICTORIAL ART
the attitude of the Eastern churches was from the beginning
hostile to sculpture. The iconoclastic spirit which was ulti-
mately destined to become an important factor in the definitive
separation of the East and West was very early manifested,
and it is not likely that we have lost many important monu-
ments of sculpture (sarcophagi, etc.) among the ruined and
unexplored cities of the Orient. In Central Syria, where the
architectural monuments are so admirably preserved, we find
almost no statuary and but few figured reliefs; the art of
sculpture was there almost entirely confined to decorative
designs in low relief. In Constantinople figures in low relief
were at all times permitted without offence, and a fair skill
was preserved in ivory carving and in bronze moulding until
the Middle Ages.
In the West the monuments do not lead us to suppose that
the art was discouraged by religious opposition ; but there the
^;^
Ht^H
Fig. 86, — Lid ut li .^air..j,hai:u,> ii> lilt- Lairruii Mii.Mi.i:, ,■■ 1 ,.i:,i.hany
— three Magi and a shepherd visiting the infant Jesus.
social conditions were unfavorable to its development or pres-
ervation. We see from the clumsy reliefs of the arch of Con-
stantine how little necessity there is to attribute the decadence
of art to Christian indifference. If imperial patronage could
accomplish nothing better, we have rather reason for a-stonish-
ment that even private monuments of a later date sometimes
exhibit greater skill. Statues in the round were very rare.
From the literary records we have to judge that they were
more often executed in gold and silver than in stone. And it
may very well be that the costliness of the material was meant
to compensate for rudeness of form. The art decayed rapidly
in the fifth century, and it is useless to expect any good exam-
ples of it later than the sixth. Rude repetitions of early sar-
cophagi and ivories were, however, made from time to time,
carrying down to the Middle Ages, if not the technic, at least
SCULPT UBE — Introductor
249
some of the general artistic motives of the early period. We
have to consider chiefly the Roman school of scnlpture. In
the West the provincial peculiarities of style were too slight
to be worthy of mention in so general a treatment. We see
from the sarcophagi that in Africa the art of sculpture fol-
lowed closely the Roman traditions. The same is true of the
sculptural school of Provence, of which Aries was the centre ;
other parts of Gaul which had less close relations with Rome
show greater divergence, especially in the choice of subjects.
In Ravenna the arts of sculpture and mosaic enjoyed a revival
which lasted from the middle of the fifth to the middle of the
sixth century. This requires special notice. We can, however,
take no account of the crude beginnings of art among the Lom-
bards, Celts, and Goths.
The themes which were developed in the art of the cata-
combs were, for the most part, perpetuated upon the sarcoph-
FlG.
Lid of a sarcophagus in the Lateran Museum. Christ dividing the sheep fi-om
the goats.
agi, where their sepulchral symbolism was equally in place;
even in other monuments, in which the interest was wholly
historical, the force of the tradition was clearly apparent. At
the same time, in the decoration both of sarcophagi and of
other monuments, the range of subjects was very much ex-
tended. This was chiefly due to the historical and didactic
interest which then began to make itself felt in Christian art.
This new interest reflected the character of the religious in-
struction of that period, as represented by the Biblical com-
mentaries and homilies which then began to form the stock of
ecclesiastical literature. These new themes of art are too vari-
ous to be readily classified, and they can be noticed only inci-
dentally in the course of the description of some of the most
notable monuments. Here it is necessary to mention only the
fact that to our Lord's miracles, and to the other scenes in which
he was represented in the early art of the catacombs, there
250
nCTOniAL ABT
were added several scenes connected with his Passion. Christ
appears also in certain symbolical representations which were
new to the art of the fourth century and very different from
the funereal themes which we have been studying. These new
themes constituted what may be called an ecclesiastical sym-
bolism: they represent Christ enthroned in the midst of his
Fig. 88. — Fragment of a sarcophagus from the catacomb of Callistus. Ulysses and the Sirens.
Apostles, committing to them, as the official representatives of
the Church, his Gospel and his Law ; or receiving the homage
of saints and martyrs who come to lay their crowns before him.
These themes belong properly to the decoration of the basilicas,
and they will be studied more particularly under the head of mo-
FiG. 89. — Lid of a sarcophagus. Fourth century. The Three Children refusing to worship
the image of Nebuchadnezzar : the star proves that they represent likewise the three
Magi refusing to obey Herod ; at the right the Magi offer their gifts to Jesus.
saics. They were, however, not improperly reproduced upon the
sarcophagi, since their eschatological reference was very plain.
One of the minor characteristics of the art of the fourth
century was an interest in portraiture, of w^hich there are hardly
any examples earlier. Almost all of the portraits in the cata-
combs belong to that century, and the portrait busts which
were common on the sarcophagi still exhibit something of the
Roman genius for this branch of art. In the century follow-
ing there was commenced in the basilica of S. Paul the in-
teresting series of portraits or idealizations of the bishops
of Rome, and a century later this example was followed at
Ravenna in a series of portraits of the bishops of that city.
SCULPTURE — Introductory
251
Fio. 90. — Bronze medal, SS.
Peter and Paul. Fourth
century.
We may consider here, for lack of a more appropriate place,
the distinctive treatment which was accorded in art to the two
chief Apostles, Peter and Paid. Apart
from the ideal representations of Christ
which were developed after the fourth
century, there was no attempt at' individ-
ualizing any of the Biblical characters
except S. Peter and S. Paul. They alone
of the Apostles had been in Rome, and
there is certainly not excluded the possi-
bility that a reminiscence of their personal
appearance may have been preserved. It
is evident, however, that the frequency
with which these two Apostles are repre-
sented together, constituted a practical necessity for distinguish-
ing them, which did not exist in the case of other characters.
On the sarcophagi alone they are represented some twenty-four
times, with or without
the rest of the Twelve,
on either side of the en-
throned Christ. In the
same way they are fre-
quently depicted in the
mosaics. On the gold-
glasses, only these two
Apostles were generally
represented. It was nec-
essary in all these cases
to distinguish them by
their facial types. They
were distinguished till a
comparatively late date
by no conventional at-
tributes: S. Peter did
not carry the cross, nor
the key, till the fifth century; S. Paul was not given the
sword till the tenth. There was, however, a general, though
not invariable, convention of representing Paul on the right
and Peter on the left of Christ.
In all of the representations the two Apostles are plainly
Fig. 91. — Bronze medal, SS. Paul and Peter. Third
century.
252 PICTOBIAL ART
distiuguislied by very different physical types, which became
thoroughly fixed in early Christian art, and have been substan-
tially retained through all subsequent developments. These
characterizations of the Apostles were so uniformly followed,
and may be traced back to so early a date, as to suggest the
possibility that they originated in veritable portraits. An ad-
mirable bronze medal (Fig. 91), now in the Christian Museum
of the Vatican, represents the heads of the two Apostles with
extraordinary vigor, and with the evident intention of either
repeating or creating a portrait type. It was found early in
the eighteenth century by Boldetti in the catacomb of Domi-
tilla. De Rossi ascribes it to the second century, and at all
events it is hardly to be put later than the third. Another
bronze medal (Fig. 90) in the Vatican illustrates the cruder
representations of the fourth century ; this elongated type of
face was especially common on the gold-glasses. In the better
specimens of sculpture and mosaic the portraits of the Apos-
tles closely approach the type of the earlier medal. If these
are not actually portraits of Peter and Paul, they are cer-
tainly very admirable idealizations. There is great vigor,
albeit a certain physical coarseness, in the round head of
Peter set upon a thick neck. This Apostle is further distin-
guished from B. Paul by his short, curly locks and close-clipped
beard. Paul's is the intellectual head : a high straight fore-
head, made more prominent by his baldness, and a great frontal
angle. The most serious objection one can raise to these por-
traits is that they are not Jewish types. But they are highly
interesting even as idealizations, and all the more so because
they constitute the most striking instance of the continuous
influence of early Christian ideals in art.
SARCOPHAGI
Even after the Peace of the Church, Christians were often
satisfied to procure their sarcophagi from pagan shops ; it was
enough if the decoration were of a neutral character, or that
it had at least no express associations with paganism. It is
to be observed, moreover, that the decoration even of the Chris-
tian sarcophagi Avas more strongly influenced by the Classical
traditions than was any other branch of Christian art. The
SCULPTURE— Sarcophagi
253
artisans, it would appear, must often have been strangely con-
fused between their old and their new religion. It must be
remembered, however, that many figures which had originally
a definite religious significance were so constantly employed as
mere elements of decoration that they lost their expressly pagan
significance for the popular consciousness. There are very
few sarcophagi on which one has not to remark the influence
of the Classical models : in the cupids or victories which sup-
port the epitaph or the portraits of the deceased, in the ^ledusa
heads, in the huge masks which compose the corners of the lid,
in the Dioscuri, in the genii which represent the seasons, or
hold an inverted torch, in the person-
ifications of the heavens, the winds,
the rivers, the sea, and the moun-
tains, in the marine monsters, in
the Tritons blowing the shell, in the
lions devouring some animal, in the
griffons, the mythical guardians of
the tomb, or in the scenes of the
chase and of rustic life.
The Classical tradition is no less
apparent in the constant effort after
symmetry and an harmonious group-
ing of the composition. Some have
attempted to trace a doctrinal sym-
bolism in the arrangement of the
subjects upon the sarcophagi ; but it
must be confessed that in general the desire for symmetry was
the ruling motive in the composition, and next to that we have
to rank the zeal to crowd as many subjects as possible into a
small field — a procedure which was sadly subversive of classic
taste. Finally, it is to be remarked that the Christian sar-
cophagi, like the Classic, were usually embellished by color or
gilding, though the traces of it have generally quite disap-
peared.
Even ornamental sarco^ihagi did not require a figured deco-
ration over the whole front. Very many of them were orna-
mented by undulating channels (Fig. 16), called strigils, from
their likeness to the instrument with which the athletes
scraped the oil and sand from their bodies after exercise in
Fig. 92.
An orans. Relief on a
screen.
254
PICTORIAL AFT
the gymnasium. Other conventional patterns were borrowed
from the designs which were common for chancels (Fig. 92).
Room was usually left in the middle of the field for the repre-
sentation of an orans, or a Good Shepherd, or merely for the
inscription.
Perhaps the most ancient of the strictly Christian sarcoph-
agi is that of Livia Primitiva (Fig. 16), which was found near
the tomb of S, Peter, and belongs probably to the second cen-
tury. The Good Shepherd, the fish, and the anchor which
decorate it are not sculptured in relief, but merely engraved
upon the surface. Figure 93 illustrates an early sarcophagus
which is to be ascribed with probability to the third century, or
Fig. 93. — ^ai\;uiiiiagu> lu lilt- Latt-rau Mu^l-uui. iuini ct-muo. 1 ht- Guoti Slit-pberd
repeated three times in the midst of a vintage of genii.
not later than the early years of the fourth. There is nothing
distinctively Christian in the design, and it may very well have
been made by a pagan artist. Of the three shepherds which
appear on it, the middle one is bearded. As in this instance,
the figure of the Good Shepherd often served to introduce
scenes of rustic life, for which Classical art furnished ready
models. Here we have a vintage gathered b}'' genii, a common
scene in pagan art, and one which was capable of interpre-
tation in a Christian sense. This became a favorite theme
in the reign of Constantine. The great porphyry sarcophagus
of Constantia (now in the Vatican Museum) has a decora-
tion of this character, though of much less lively and graceful
design; and the same theme is repeated in a very charming
manner in the mosaics which adorned the ceiling of her
mausoleum (Fig. 125). Of all Christian sarcophagi the most
SCULPTUBE—Sarcoiyhagi 255
thoroughly Classical, both in execution and design, are two
of the third century in the Lateran Museum, which are num-
bered respectively 1G3 and 181 in that collection. The first
is divided laterally into three sections. In the middle stands
a defunct matron between SS. Peter and Paul ; at both ends
is represented the Good Shepherd carrying a lamb on his
shoulders. In the second there is no division into compart-
ments ; at the ends are seated a man and a woman, each
accompanied by two other persons of the same sex repre-
senting the company of the saints in paradise, and both of
them are looking toward the Good Shepherd, who occupies
the middle of the composition.
Fig. 94. — Sarcophagus in the Lateran Museum. Fourth centurj\ Two fishermen, three
scenes from the story of Jonah, Noah in the ark, the raising of Lazarus, the water from
the rock, Moses assailed bj' the Hebrews, the Good Shepherd.
It was very rarely that the artists were content to adorn a
sarcophagus with a single theme. The crossing of the Red Sea
lent itself most readily to this purpose; and many of the
details of the representation recall the scenes of combat which
appear upon pagan tombs. It is most commonly upon the lids
that we find the representation of a single subject; and owing
to this, the composition of the lid is often more graceful than
that of the sarcophagus itself. In the Roman type the lid was
nearly flat, or with a low gable at the end, and it left a narrow
field in front for sculpture. A number of lids containing one
or two subjects are illustrated in Figs. 86-89. The fewer sub-
jects the artist attempted to include in his design, the nearer
it was likely to approach the grace of the pagan prototypes.
But it early became the custom to crowd the subjects so closely
together that the general effect was very much impaired.
256
PICTORIAL ABT
The three scenes, for example, which illustrate the story of
Jonah might very well have been allowed to occupy the whole
field. But we see in Fig. 94 how the artist has utilized
every inch of space for additional symbols. He takes advan-
tage of the water which was needed for Jonah's sea to repre-
sent various sorts of fish, and two fishermen, each accompanied
by a naked lad. Behind the monster he depicts Xoah floating
Fig. 95. —Sarcophagus in the Lateran Museum, formerly in S. Paul's. Fourth or fifth
century. The Holy Trinity and the creation of man. the Logos between Adam and Eve,
the miracle at Cana, multiplication of the loaves and fishes, raising of Lazarus, the Epiph-
any, healing of the blind, Daniel among the hons fed by Habakkuk, the denial of Peter,
arrest of Moses (Peter), Moses (Peter) striking the rock.
in his ark and receiving the olive branch from the dove. He
takes advantage of the grassy slope upon which Jonah reclines
beneath his gourd to represent a pastoral scene, the Good
Shepherd gathering his sheep into the fold — which is here
depicted in the form of a church. The wind and the sun are
represented by human figures as in Classical prototypes. The
subject would seem to defy the principle of symmetry, but in
this composition there is striking proof of the strength of this
tendency. One will notice that admirable balance is combined
with variety in the central portion of the field ; at the ends,
the symmetry is more pronounced ; below, the two fishermen
balance one another ; and above, the ecclesiastical fold is set
over against the temple-like tomb of Lazarus.
SCULPTURE— Surcnphriiii
257
The figure kneeling at the foot of Christ in this ilhistration
represents the woman whom he healed of the issue of blood.
It is not improbable that this figure, which occurs very fre-
quently, stands generally for the Canaanitish woman, for ^lary
Magdalene, and for all the women in whom the Lord showed
his grace and power; just as the figure of the blind man
epitomizes all his Avorks of healing upon men. The next
Fig. 96. —End of a sarcophagus in the Lateran Museum. Fourth century. Moses with the
tables of the Law, the water from the rock, the woman with the issue, churches of Jeru-
salem in background.
scene is that of Moses striking the rock, to which the thirsty
Hebrews rush to drink. The last is Moses assaulted by the
Hebrews.
We note in the above instance a division of the field into
two zones — a principle which was usually carried out much
more rigidly in order to allow of the representation of the
greatest possible number of figures.
The common arrangement is well illustrated in Fig. 9r>, a
sarcophagus of the fourth century, which was once in S. l^aul's
258
PICTOniAL ABT
and is now in the Lateran Museum. We see here that the
effort after symmetry has resulted in a monotonous uniformity.
The attitude of the individual figures is good, but the general
effect is impaired by crowding. In this case the faces are very
roughly finished. It may be noticed, by the way, that the
busts of the deceased couple are only blocked out, and that the
lid has received neither carving nor inscription. We have in
this an intimation of the fact that the sarcophagi were not gen-
erally made to order, but selected out of the general stock of
a studio, ready made except for the inscription and portraits
which had to be added after the purchase. In this case, for
Fig. 97. — Fragment of a sarcophagus in the Lateran Museum. Fourth century. Elijah
giving his mantle to Elisha, the sons of the prophets and the bear.
some reason or another, neither the portraits nor the inscription
were executed.
The centre of the composition is plainly marked by the shell,
which contains the busts of the deceased, and is supported
by two little cupids ; and belov*^, by the group of Daniel between
the lions, to whom Habakkuk offers a loaf of bread. The fig-
ures which here and elsewhere appear in the background have
no significance, and are added only to fill out the space. There
is in this case an unusually strict symmetry of arrangement
between the upper and the lower zone. Moses striking the
rock corresponds to the raising of Lazarus. At the other end
God is seated upon a throne, — or rather a cathedra velata, —
and below, seated upon a similar cathedra (without a covering),
SCULPTURE— Sarcophagi 259
the Virgin and Child receive the adoration of the Magi. The
figure behind the Virgin may be taken to be Joseph. Above, a
similar figure stands behind the throne of God and another in
front of it. These figures must be taken to represent the Trin-
ity, although the subject is absolutely unique in Christian art.
They might be supposed to be merely accessory figures designed
to fill up the background, like those which we have already
noticed, were it not that the front figure is cooperating with
God by laying his hand upon the head of Eve who has just
been formed. This evidently represents the Holy Spirit, and
symbolizes the breathing into man the breath ("spirit") of
life. Just as in Christ's attitude in blessing the loaves and
fishes we see the gesture which was used in the consecration of
the eucharistic elements, so here we see the gesture which was
used in the Church in confirmation, in ordination, or in any
bestowal of spiritual gifts. Representations of God the Father
are exceedingly infrequent in early Christian art, and they are
almost exclusively confined to the rare scenes which depict the
creation of man. We have absolutely no other representation
of the Holy Ghost, except under the symbol of the dove. The
scene next in order is a more common one : Christ, the Logos,
standing between Adam and Eve and apportioning to them
their respective labors — represented by the sheep and the
sheaf of wheat. This scene symbolizes also the promise of
redemption which was made to our first parents. The fall is
represented by the serpent coiled about the tree. Christ is
here represented beardless and young, with long locks, just as
he appears in the scenes which represent his earthly life, and
in contrast to the aged bearded persons who represent the
Trinity in the first scene. Next in order come the symbols of
the Eucharist : the turning of the water into wine, and the
multiplication of the loaves and fishes. Immediately asso-
ciated with this is the raising of Lazarus, the symbol of the
resurrection. At the feet of Christ kneels the woman with an
issue.
Next to the Magi is the healing of the blind man, then
Daniel, and then Christ foretelling to Peter his denial. The
cock clearly designates this scene. The gesture which Peter
makes with his hand to his chin indicated perplexity ; Pilate's
attitude of mind is commonly expressed in the same way.
260
PICTOBIAL ART
Christ's gesture in this scene is that which is commonly called
the Roman benediction, with the fourth and little finger closed
and the others open. The position of the fingers is the same
in the act of creation and in the healing of the blind. But in
this instance we see that it is not a gesture of blessing, but
simply the accompaniment of his address. We learn, in fact,
from Christian and pagan monuments, that this was the com-
monest gesture in oratory, and it was, therefore, quite naturally,
though only incidentally, used in the address of benediction.
]\Iany of the ancient pictures of Christ — particularly in the
mosaics — have been taken to represent him in the act of bene-
diction when they really denote simply the gesture of address.
Fii.. '.!>. — SarcuphafTUS in the Laleraii Mu-^mii. luurth century. The raising of Lazarus,
multiplication of the loaves and fishes, sacrifice of Isaac, healing of the blind, denial of
Peter, the Logos between Adam and Eve, Moses taking off his shoes, the woman with
the issue, the miracle of Cana, Jonah, Daniel between the lions, arrest of Moses, water
from the rock.
The so-called Greek benediction, in which the thumb and third
finger are crossed in the palm and the other three fingers
open, was likewise a common gesture in oratory, and it was
only in the course of the Middle Ages that it became dis-
tinctive of the Eastern Church and confined to the act of
benediction.
It is strange that the fall of Peter was represented so often
upon Koman monuments. The special interest of this scene
probably lay in the fact that it afforded a justification of the
Catholic practice — hotly contested by certain sectarians — of
readmitting to the Church through penance those who had
lapsed by the denial of their religion in order to escape martyr-
SCULPTUBE — Sarcophagi
261
dom. This cannot be intended, at all events, as a derogation
of Peter's primacy, which was generally recognized in the fourth
century and is here very characteristically expressed in the
following scenes. These scenes represent Moses assaulted by
the rebellious Hebrews, and finally satisfying their demands by
striking water from the rock. The Hebrews are here as usual
distinguished by their flat caps and their pantaloons. But it
is claimed that Moses in these two instances represents Peter,
and it is remarked that the faces of these three figures precisely
correspond. The argument from mere resemblance is but a
Fig. 99. — Sarcophagus in the Lateran Museum. Fourth century. The rai.sin^^ ul' Lazarus,
denial of Peter, Moses receiving the Law, sacrifice of Isaac, Christ before Pilate, the water
from the rock, Daniel between the lions, an obscure subject, the paralytic carrying his
bed, healing of the blind, multipHcation of the loaves and fishes.
weak one in this case, where the execution is so rough and all
the figures are so much alike ; but we have already seen that
Peter is elsewhere expressly identified with Moses striking the
rock, and the only adequate explanation we can suggest for the
frequent repetition of the Hebrews' assault upon Moses is that
it represents at the same time the arrest of Peter at Kome.
The Scriptures do not record that the Hebrews ever took vio-
lent hold of Moses. On the other hand it is evident that the
arrest of Peter, which is represented in Fig. 100 (second sub-
ject from the left above), closely corresponds with this scene.
It will be remembered that Christ foretold to Peter not only
his denial but his martyrdom, saying," When thou art old, thou
2r>2
PICTOIilAL ABT
slnlt stretch forth thy liaiuls, and another shall gird thee, and
curry thee whither thou wouldest not." There is marked ap-
SCULPTURE— Sarcophagi 263
propriateness in representing here the martyrdom of Peter with
which he atoned for his deniah In the next scene, as the offi-
cial representative of the Church, as the rock upon which it
was founded, he refreshes the world with the floods of baptism
which flow from that other rock, which is Christ.
Reviewing briefly the principal ideas of this sarcophagus,
we have : the divine Trinity, the creation of man, his fall and
the promise of the Redeemer; the sacrament of the Eucharist
and the resurrection, the calling of the Gentiles, and the con-
stitution of the Apostolic Church which renews the sinful
race thi-ough baptism.
It must be confessed that no other sarcophagus shows so
profound a connection of ideas. It is certain that the artists
themselves had often no conception of the deeper ideas which
underlay the themes which they repeated, and we are usually
left in doubt w^hether there is any intelligent connection to be
traced between the subjects which are closely strung together,
or whether the arrangement is due wholly to hazard.
Figure 98 illustrates a sarcophagus which is closely related
to the preceding; it is very much better executed, but the
arrangement seems to be entirely arbitrary and unreflecting.
It will be sufficient to enumerate briefly the subjects : the
raising of Lazarus, the multiplication of the loaves, the sacri-
fice of Isaac, the healing of the blind, Peter's denial, the Logos
between Adam and Eve, Moses taking off his shoes, the woman
with the issue, the water pots of Cana, the three incidents of
Jonah's story in one composite scene, Daniel among the lions
(Habakkuk offers him a loaf marked with the cross), the*
assault upon Moses, the water from the rock. It will be
noticed how many accessory personages appear in the back-
ground.
In Fig. 99 the figures are more freely spaced and much
better disposed. It is necessary here to mention only the
subjects which have not appeared in the preceding illustra-
tions. It may be remarked that Moses receiving the Law and
Abraham sacrificing his son are often represented, as here, on
either side of the busts of the deceased. This enabled the
artist to utilize the small angles above the shell for the hand
of God which intervenes in both of these cases. It was usually
by a mere hand or arm stretched from a cloud that the pres-
264 PICTOniAL ABT
ence of God was represented, and the artist was relieved of the
necessity of depicting the deity in hmnan form. This symbol
evidently reflects the familiar language of the Psalms: "the
hand of God," "the arm of the Lord." The scene below the
busts has not been adequately explained. It seems to repre-
sent a prophet reading a roll, which a Jew would take from
him, while another is spying upon him through the branches
of a tree. Next to this on the right is the paralytic carrying
his bed. In the upper right-hand corner we have a scene
which appears first in the art of the sarcophagi ; it represents
Christ before Pilate. Christ stands in the background accom-
panied by a soldier. In front stands a servant pouring water
from a pitcher — the basin has been broken off the small table
upon which it stood. Pilate is represented w^ashing his hands
of " the blood of this just person." Pilate himself is seated
with an assessor upon the judgment seat; he has an air of
Fig. 101. — Details from the sarcophagus of Junius Bassus. Christ, in the form of a lamb,
multiplying the loaves,
great perplexity and indecision. The Gospels make no men-
tion of the presence of an assessor; it is simply taken for
granted by the artists, because it was customary in Roman
judicial procedure.
A decided improvement upon the type of sarcophagus we
have just been studying is effected by separating the different
subjects by a row of columns, arcades, or niches. This is
illustrated by the celebrated sarcophagus of Junius Bassus
(Fig. 100), a Prefect of Rome who died in the year 350. In
point of execution it is the noblest of all Christian sarcophagi ;
the illustration is necessarily imperfect because the sarcopha-
gus stands in the crypt of the Vatican and in a position where
it is difficult to photograph it. The first scene is one wdth
which we are alread}^ familiar — the sacrifice of Isaac. The
next represents the arrest of S. Peter ; it is clearly identified
by the traditional tj^pe of the Apostle. At the lower corner
to the right is the scene which corresponds to this, S. Paul led
SCULPTURE — Sarcopharji 265
to his execution. The high reeds which appear in the back-
ground of this scene very well correspond with the swampy
character of the region about the Tre Fontane where S. Paul
Y>^as beheaded. The two compartments above represent Christ
before Pilate. He also, like Peter, is conducted by two sol-
diers, but he is not bound, and they do him no violence. It is
evident that even when the Church began to represent these
scenes connected with Christ's Passion there w^as still a great
reluctance about depicting him in any humiliating position.
He was still represented in the gracious aspect of a young and
beardless youth, and usually with long curly locks. The type
was evidently derived from the pictures of the Good Shepherd.
Here, as always, he stands freely and majestically before Pilate,
who himself seems to feel condemned by his prisoner.
On another sarcophagus in the Lateran of about the same date,
this and other scenes of Christ's Passion are represented in the
appears among the Three Children in the furnace, Christ striking water from the rock,
baptized by John in the Jordan.
same spirit. A soldier places the crown of thorns upon his
head as though he were crowning an emperor, and the way of
the cross is represented by a scene in which a soldier and Simon
the Cyrenean alone appear. This stands in the strongest con-
trast to the spirit of Mediaeval art and of the Mediaeval religion
which delighted in scenes of horror and strove especially to
stir the feelings by depicting vividly every detail of Christ's
sufferings. It is not till later that we shall have occasion to
mention the crucifixion, but on this sarcophagus it is sym-
bolized by a bare cross, upon the arms of which are perched
two doves supporting a great wreath or crown which frames
the triumphant monogram. Below the cross sleep the two sol-
diers who guarded the tomb. In this we have symbolized at
once the crucifixion, the burial, the resurrection, and the ascen-
sion.
But to return to the sarcophagus of Junius Bassus ; in the
middle of the composition we have, below, Christ's triumphal
266 PICTORIAL ART
entry into Jerusalem; one man is casting his garment in the
way, and another is breaking off the bough of a tree. Above,
Christ sits enthroned above the heavens, giving the charge of
his Church to the two Apostles. Heaven is here personified as
in Classic art, by an old man holding his garment above his
head. It only remains to mention the scene in the left-hand
corner; it represents Job upon the ash heap, his wife is offer-
ing him a loaf of bread on the end of a stick, while she holds
her garment over her nose.
The niches of the lower zone are admirably designed ; every
alternate niche is finished above in the form of a shell ; this
ornament was common in Classic architecture ; but here the
design is unusual, for it passes by insensible gradations into
the wings and head of a dove. In the six spandrels between
the niches an unique and very interesting series of symbols is
introduced. Four of the subjects are illustrated on a larger
scale in Fig. 101. They represent Christ under the figure of
the lamb: in the first he is joining three other lambs in the
fiery furnace ; in the second he is striking with his rod the
water from the rock, the well of living waters with which he
refreshes his disciples ; in the third, he is baptized by John in
the Jordan; two other niches contain the raising of Lazarus
and the receiving of the Law.
This is the first time we have encountered this new trait of
symbolism, according to which Christ is no longer the shepherd
but the sheep. This symbolism belonged first and foremost to
the apsidal mosaics of the basilicas, which in this, as in most
other respects, were inspired by the Apocalypse. The mystic
lamb — the agnus dei — stands upon the mount out of which
issue the four streams of paradise, which are the four Gospels.
He is often accompanied by twelve lambs representing the
Apostles, issuing from the towns of Jerusalem and Bethlehem
(Fig. 129). This symbol gained a firm hold in the fourth cen-
tury, and it no doubt had an influence in supplanting the Good
Shepherd. It was not till the fifth century that the lamb was
represented with the nimbus and the cross.
A similar sarcophagus of about the same date as that of
Junius Bassus is illustrated in Fig. 102. By the reduction of
the colonnade to a single story and by the diminution of the
number of figures it* gains much, both in beauty and in clear-
SCULPTUBE - Sarcophagi
267
ness of meaning. The greater number of subjects on the sar-
cophagus of Junius Bassus embarrass one's judgment; here
where there are but three themes the meaning is clear, and we
see that Abraham's sacrifice of his son typifies the Passion of
Christ, and for this reason is placed opposite the judgment of
Pilate, while the central subject depicts Christ after his resur-
rection. With this clearly established, we are bound to read
back the same meaning into the other sarcophagus, with a pre-
sumption that its other scenes, too, were thoughtfully chosen.
And in fact, it is sufficiently clear that the scenes which repre-
sent the martyrdom of S. Peter and of S. Paul have their place
there as illustrations of suffering in likeness to that of Christ,
Fig. 102. —Sarcophagus in the Latoran Museum. Fourth century. Sacrifice uf L-aac,
Christ, enthroned, giving the new Law to his Apostles, Christ before Pilate.
while Daniel typifies both martyrdom and deliverance. Christ's
triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the way to his Passion is
evidently compared with his glory in the Jerusalem which is
above. Job is often represented by the Fathers as a type of
Christ for his suffering and patience. Adam and Eve typify
the fall which required redemption. It may be that it is as
the just man Job is here represented, in contrast to the first
parents who brought sin into the world.
Very common are the sarcophagi upon which Christ is rep-
resented enthroned between the Apostles, although, as it has
been said, this theme belongs especially to the art of the basili-
cas. Sometimes all twelve of the Apostles appear, either in a
close row, or divided by niches. Sometimes from under the
feet of Christ there gush the four streams of paradise.
It remains only to remark the peculiarities of the fifth cen-
208
nCTOlUAL AliT
turv sarc()])hagi of Kaveniia (Figs. 103, 104). They are dis-
tiiiguislioil by their rounded lids, which are frequently decorated
Fio. K
^arcul-liii^^us of Tlu-ml<
.]. ..f K.
Filth century.
by crosses or monograms. It may also be observed that they
are more frequently decorated at the ends than are the Koman
sarcophagi. The aim in general is more expressly decorative,
and they are consequently never overcrowded with figures.
The principle of symmetry comes out here more strongly than
ever, both in the strictly ornamental and in the figured de-
signs. The subjects which belong to the early cycle of the
catacombs never appear ; in their stead are either historical
sul)jects or the symbolical themes of tlie basilicas. Figure
104 repeats a theme which is common for the apse, or for the
apsidal arch. It represents again Christ enthroned between
the Apostles, but with a difference which belongs to the fifth
century. S. Peter approaches with his key and cross, and S.
Paul on the right hand receives from Christ a roll which
sym])olizes his commission as Apostle, or, it may be, his
reception of the new Law. It is well known that in the fourth
century, if not earlier, the Gospel came to be regarded as the
new Law, and it is not unlikely that the scenes which repre-
sent S. Paul receiving a roll from the hand of Christ were
intended to express a parallel to the reception of the Law of
the Old Covenant by ^Moses. On this sarcophagus, besides the
chief Apostles, two others stand acclaiming Christ, and two
martyrs hasten to lay their crowns at his feet. The crowns,
SCULPT URE — Sarcoph agi 269
the roll which S. Paul holds, the cross and the key of S. Peter,
are carried in napkins. It was customary in the Church to
veil one's hands, either with a nai)kiu or with the skirts of one's
Fig. 104. — Sarcophagus in Eaveiiua. rifth centuiy. Christ, enthroned, giving the Law to
Peter and Paul, two Apostles hailing him, two mart}-rs offering their crowns.
garment, in holding any sacred object. The custom was de-
rived from pagan usage ; the edicts of the emperor, for example,
were thus received.
Note. — The first volume of Venturi's important work, Storia delV Arte
italiana, was unfortunately issued too late to permit the incorporation of any
of its valuable suggestions in the text of this volume. But there is one
monument which demands some mention, and deserves far more attention
than can be given it in this note. I refer to the two front columns of the
ciborium of S. Mark's, in Venice, which, since Venturi's convincing vindica-
tion of their antiquity, must be accounted among the most important monu-
ments of early Christian sculpture. Each column is covered with figures
representing stories from the Gospels. The figures are disposed in nine zones,
between which runs an inscription. In each zone are nine figures, separated
by colonettes surmounted by archivolts, after the manner which was common
on the sarcophagi. It is mainly on account of the character of the inscription
tliat this monument has been ascribed to a late period of the Middle Ages.
Tlie inscription, however, is not contemporary with the carving; it is proved
to be an addition of a later age by the fact that it does not always designate
correctly the events depicted. When this is recognized, the monument is seen
at once in its proper relation to early Christian art. Venturi as^^ribes it to
the early part of the sixth century. It is not unlikely that it originated in
Istria. It was evidently the work of a skilful cutter of sarcophagi. It may
be accounted the last important work of early Christian sculpture in stone.
It is interesting, moreover, for the many traits it derives from the apocry-
phal Gospels, and for its proof of the influence of the pseudo-Dionysius upon
pictorial art, though Ave have here only the first steps toward a discrimina-
tion between the different classes of angelic beings.
270
PICTORIAL ART
THE DOORS OF S. SABINA
Of early sculpture in wood it is perfectly natural that only
very few, and for the most part only unimportant examples have
been preserved. But there is one exception, — the cypress wood
doors of the church
of S. Sabina upon
the Aventine at
Eome (Figs. 105-
108) ; and this ex-
ception constitutes
one of the most val-
uable monuments
of early Christian
art. This church,
as the mosaic in-
scription informs
us (Fig. 123), was
built in the begin-
ning of the fifth
century (under
Celestine I.) by a
presbyter of Rome
of Illyrian birth
by the name of
Peter. It is proba^
ble that the carved
panels of the doors
date fro m the
foundation of the
church. The bor-
der is later, and of
a different wood.
Only a part of each
of the leaves is
shown in Figs.
lOo, 106, and that
Fig. 10.5. — Some of the panels on the left side of the wooden . p , ^-a^\T
doorsofS. Sabina, Pwome. Fifth century. The Ascension, IS, UniOrtUnateiy,
a .symbolical rejiresentation of the Church, the denial of qh -^oo Small a
Peter, Habakkuk carried bv the angel to Babylon, crossing -, ,
the Ked Sea, the ascent of Elijah. SCale tO glVC any
SCULPTURE — Doors of S. Sahina
271
adequate" idea of the subjects treated. Origiually there Avere
twenty-eight carved panels, twelve of them large and sixteen
small. Of these only eight of the large and ten of the small
ones are left, while the other spaces are blank. The pan-
els which remain
have suffered
some damage, as
well as some un-
fortunate restora-
tions which are
difficult to detect
on account of the
thick varnish with
wdiich the whole
door has been cov-
ered. The wonder
is, however, that
so much should
be preserved and
in so good a con-
dition. Although
it is the main door
of the church, it
happens to be pro-
tected by a vesti-
bule. Many of
the carvings are
executed with
great spirit and
show remarkable
invention. Many
of the themes ap-
pear here for the
first time, and
several of those
which are old ap-
pear here in a
new form. This
monument may
have had an influ-
FiG. 106. — Some of the panels on the right side of the
wooden doors of S. Sabina. Miracles of Christ, miracles of
Moses in the desert, Christ appearing to Thomas, to the
women in the garden, the call of Moses, a symbolical rep-
resentation of the Empire.
272 PICTOBJAL AET
eiiee iipun the moulded designs of the bronze doors which
became the fashion in the early Middle Ages; but so far as
we know it seems to stand as much apart from succeeding art
as from all which went before.
The originality of these carvings is so great that there is
serious dithculty in interpreting them, and inasmuch as there
is uncertainty about some, we may content ourselves with the
consideration of a few of the most interesting.
Too man}- of the panels have been lost to permit us to judge
securely whether they did originally, as is commonly supposed,
constitute one of those parallels between the Old and the New
Testament (a dittochaeon, so-called) of which we have literary
record (see p. 16) but no example among extant monuments
of the early period. The j^anels have undoubtedly been trans-
posed out of the original order, but between some of them
there is parallelism striking enough to assure us that they
must once have been placed side by side, and in other cases
the missing complement is clearly suggested. It is difficult,
however, to believe that the parallel was consistently carried
through ; the three small panels, for instance, which depict
our Lord's appearances after his resurrection could hardly have
been matched out of the Old Testament.
The series, as we now have it, begins with the history of
Moses. On one large panel is represented his call; below, he
is tending the flock of Jethro; above, he is taking off his
shoes in the presence of the angel who speaks to him out of
the burning bush ; and at the top he is receiving his commis-
sion from God. On another large panel is represented the
departure from Egypt : Moses pleads with Pharaoh and changes
his rod into a serpent; the Israelites pass through the Ked
Sea, in which Pharaoh's host is engulfed, and march after
the pillar of fire. The miracles of Moses are represented on a
large panel in four sections : Moses stands above, talking with
God ; below, are two scenes representing in each case three
persons around a table, commonly interpreted as the feeding
with manna and with the quails ; at the bottom Moses strikes
the rock. To this evidently enough corresponds the panel
which represents three of the miracles of Christ: the turn-
ing of water into wine, the multiplication of the loaves, and
a subject which is interpreted as the healing of the blind
.S' CULPT UE E — Doo rs of S. Sa h ina 273
man. The ascension of Elijah is very admirably represented
on a large panel : the prophet, mounting in the chariot, is re-
ceived by an angel ; below, Elisha receives his mantle, v^^hile
two " sons of the prophets " throw themselves upon the
ground in terror. To this corresponds the ascension of Christ,
who is received into the clouds by three angels, while the
Apostles are left gazing up in amazement. Of other Old
Testament scenes we have only a single small panel left ; it
represents the angel transporting to Babylon the prophet
Habakkuk by a lock of his hair^ — a subject which suggests
the loss of other representations connected with the story of
Daniel, probably Susanna and the Three Children. To this
last subject there corresponds the familiar parallel of the Magi
on a small panel. One small panel is supposed to represent
the Transfiguration.
It is certain that other scenes relating to Christ's life have
been lost, but there is fortunately preserved to us the end of
the series, from the judgment before Pilate to the glorification
of Christ in heaven. A number of these subjects appear here
for the first time, and have therefore a very extraordinary
interest. A small panel represents Pilate washing his hands,
while Christ departs for Calvary, with Simon bearing the cross.
Another small panel represents Christ before Caiaphas — a sub-
ject which is new to us. The denial of Peter is represented by
itself. The Crucifixion is represented on a small panel, and so
far as we know this is the first time it appears in Christian art.
We have perhaps to suppose that a representation of the Resur-
rection has been lost. But we have on three small panels, the
appearance of the angel to the two women at the tomb, Christ
appearing to two women in a garden, and to the disciples in
the upper room — probably to Thomas. Behind the head of the
risen Christ is a nimbus formed by the monogram between the
letters A and Q. This perhaps explains the origin of the rayed
nimbus.
The theme which is altogether the most striking of the
whole series (a conception as admirable as it is novel) is
represented on a larger scale in Fig. 107. In the upper part of
the composition stands Christ in triumphal attitude. He
stretches forth his right hand with a gesture which expresses
1 Daniel xiv. 32-35.
T
274
nCTOUIAL ART
at once address and command ; in his left he holds an open
scroll upon which are the letters of the word IX®YC. He has
the sinii)le niml)us, and on each side of him are inscribed the
letters A and O.
The figure of Christ
is framed in a great
wreath which is
sui)ported by the
four s^nnbols of the
Evangelists. The
Saviour is here rep-
resented above the
sun, the moon, the
stars, and the vault
of heaven ; below
stands a veiled
woman in the atti-
tude of prayer, the
personification of
the Church mili-
tant, and above her
head the two Apos-
tles hold a wreath
in which is framed
the cross. The of-
fice of the Apostles
is to hold before
the eyes of the
Church Christ's
cross, as the exam-
ple for her life and
as the only way
through which she
can receive the
crown. But we
notice here a strange feature : the staff of the cross is elon-
gated upward, tapering like a tongue of flame. It points
straight to a star, but it points on beyond this, above the
heavens, to the divine Ichthus, Jesus Christ Son of God and
Saviour, who is glorified by the Evangelists, the Ali)ha and
Fk;. kit. — a panel from the doors of S. Sabina. Tlie
Ajiostk-s (liri-ctinj,' the ^,'aze of the e'hurch to Christ in the
heavens.
SCULPTURE — Doors of St. Sabina lib
Omega, forever elevated above the heavens, but remaining for-
ever the only teacher, the only Lord of his Church, which
prayerfully gazes up to him through the cross.
There remains but one other composition to consider ; it is
the large panel at the lower right-hand corner of the riglit leaf
as shown in Fig. 106. This has been taken to represent the
appearance of the angel to Zacharias in the temple; but one
can see at a glance how poorly it corresponds to the Biblical
account of this event; and as this is a subject nowhere else
represented in early Christian art, we have the less reason to
expect it here. The cross plainly indicates a Christian build-
ing, and the person who stands in front of this palace, basilica,
or church (whichever it may be) is not a priest, nor an ecclesias-
tic, for he wears the paludamentum, which was the dress of the
emperor or of imperial officers. The preceding panel repre-
sented the Church ; it seems as if this were designed as a par-
allel to it, representing the Empire. This collocation of ideas
was very familiar in that age (see p. 241) ; the Church and
the Empire were regarded as the two inseparable constituents
of Christendom. The introduction of an angel in this connec-
tion is certainly a very striking fact, but it is not out of keep-
ing with the ideas of that age. The Christian emperor as
the protector of the Church was under the special tutelage of
heaven. In this case the angel is not represented as address-
ing the emperor, but as furnishing him with celestial escort.
The figures below, divided into two groups, represent the
multitude acclaiming the emperor. The higher group repre-
sents the nobles, clad in the toga contabulata ; the lower repre-
sents the plebs, clad in the pcenula. This scene has great
likeness to the acdamatio upon the arch of Constantine ; the
emperor, the nobles, and the plebs are in both cases clothed in
precisely the same w^ay. The theme is a symbolical one, and
we need not, therefore, think of any particular emperor, but
only of the imperial office in general.
One cannot he struck with the novelty of the themes which
we encounter upon the doors of S. Sabina. This monument is
in many respects unique, but it stands out here in stronger con-
trast because we have passed at one step from the art of the
catacombs and of the sarcophagi with its sepulchral symbolism,
to the art of the basilicas with its broader range of interest, its
276 PICTORIAL ART
more varied choice of subjects, and its expressly didactic aim.
We see that Christian symbolism did not here come suddenly to
a stop, though it changed its form and became more expressive.
It dealt henceforth less in hieroglyphic emblems, and more in
the lofty spiritual similitudes which were inspired by the Scrip-
ture itself, in particular with the symbols of the church and of
the heavenly Jerusalem which were drawn from the Ajjoca-
lypse. Whether it was symbolical or historical, the art of the
basilicas was always frankly didactic. It was the historical
interest, however, which chiefly contributed to enlarge the
range of Christian art. The monuments which we have still
to study, whether in sculpture, or in mosaic, or in miniature,
introduced many more themes than we can conveniently deal
with. We have now come to a point where the products of
Christian art can no longer be conveniently grouped under a
half-dozen heads.
THE CRUCIFIXION
The Crucifixion scene on the doors of S. Sabina (Fig. 108)
demands a special consideration, in order that we may insti-
tute a comparison with the very few other monuments of the
same sort which are to be found among the remains of early
Christian art. This theme has for us an interest altogether
out of proportion to the rarity of its occurrence in early art,
for in the art of the Middle Ages it became, we may surely
say, the principal theme, and one is curious to see what expres-
sion was given to it in the early age.
Most important of all is the fact that the subject was never
represented before the fifth century, and one who objects to it
now may enjoy the confidence that he is in harmony with the
sentiment and tradition of four centuries and more of the
Catholic Church. There is no reason to suppose that earlier
monuments existed of which we no longer have the trace, for
the earliest reference in literature to a picture of the Crucifix-
ion is in the middle of the sixth century, and it is not till
the very end of that century there is mention of a carved
image of it — this in an account by Gregory of Tours, to the
effect that in a church at Narbonne there was a crucifix which
gave offence on account of its nakedness.
Though the Crucifixion on the door of S. Sabina is the earli-
SCULPTUPiE— The Crucifixion
277
est we know, one can hardly say that it is the beginning of a
line of development; the subject was so rare for at least a cen-
tury after, that no tradition was established. It is certainly
treated in an unique way in this monument. The background
represents the wall of Jerusalem, and denotes that the Cruci-
fixion was without the city. Christ is placed between the two
thieves, who are represented much smaller than he. They are
all three naked but for the scantiest loin cloth. Curiously
'^m&TM'-m
Fig. 108. — A panel from the doors of S. Sabina. The Crucilixion.
enough, there is no cross, though the hands of all are nailed
to small blocks of wood. The feet are not nailed. There must
have been some reason for merely hinting at the cross in this
way, but it is puzzling to account for it.
It may have something to do with another strange feature
which we have to observe, namely, the position of the arms ;
they all three stand in the position of the orans. One cannot
readily suppose that this position was given them for lack of
room, nor that there was any trait of realism in it. It is
strange, on the other hand, to find Christ represented as an
278 nCTOBIAL ART
orans, and the same attitude ascribed to both tliieves. The
posture of the orans suggested especially the petition of the
soul for God's forgiveness and mercy. Christ is not commonly
represented in tliis attitude; a rare if not the solitary excep-
tion is constituted by one of the representations of his baptism
in the catacomb of S. Callistus. It is expressly mentioned
that Christ prayed when he was baptized, and it may be that
here his prayer from the cross is symbolized in this attitude.
There is very little further we need remark in this picture.
The figures are exceedingly ill-drawn ; Christ has long hair
and a beard, and his eyes are open. It is a characteristic
trait of the early pictures of the Crucifixion (up to the twelfth
century) that they represent Christ alive. The artists had not
left so far behind them the cheerful traditions of earlier art
that they could take delight in the harrowing suggestions of
this subject.
A fresco of the Crucifixion was found in the house of SS.
Giovanni e Paolo, and it, too, is supposed to belong to the fifth
century. If so, it is our earliest painting of the subject; but
unfortunately it was in a seriously damaged state when first
excavated, and it has now almost entirely disappeared.
The next representation of this subject is on an ivory box
in the l^ritish Museum (Fig. 109). This box can hardly be
placed later than the fifth century, but we may note a certain
advance upon the type represented by the doors of S. Sabina,
especially in the introduction of some of the features which
became traditional in later art. Christ is young and beardless,
he has the nimbus, and the superscription REX lUD {ceoruni)
appears above the cross. He is again naked but for the loin
cloth, his eyes are open, and his feet are neither nailed nor
bound. His arms, however, are stretched out horizontally, as
in all the jMediteval representations. This position strictly de-
mands a sui)i)ort for the feet, the supx>edaneum, which appears
in later representations and even in the earliest of all, the cru-
cifix of the Palatine (p. 237). In the crucifix of S. Sabina,
the suppedaneum may be indicated by the border of the panel.
Such a support is however lacking here, though the body is
raised some distance above the ground. The two thieves do
not ai)pear in this representation, but beneath the cross stand
S. John and the Virgin. Near by, Judas hangs from a tree,
SC ULPTURE — Icories
279
with liis big bag of niouey spilt out beneath him ; on the other
side is a Jew, who still reviles Christ.
The three other subjects which are represented on this box
are also interesting. This is the earliest monument on which
Christ is represented carrying his cross; he goes out from
the presence of Pilate and passes Peter, who has just denied
him and sits crouched over a brazier. The two soldiers sleep-
1
\m^^^^^^\
Fig. 1U9. — An ivory box in the British Museum. Fourth or lillh century. Christ leaves
the praetorium bearing his cross, the denial of Peter, the Crucifixion, Judas' death, the
two women at the open tomb, Christ convincing Thomas.
in g before the empty tomb is the subject of another panel; and the
last represents Thomas thrusting his finger into Christ's side.
A representation of the Crucifixion in tapestry is illustrated in
Fig, 178. Christ is here clothed in a long garment. The sun
and moon appear on either side. The work belongs to the sixth
or seventh century.
IVORY CARVING
It is quite natural that more examples should have been pre-
served of carving upon ivory than of any other class of monu-
280
PICrORIAL ART
z g
rt S
S £■ 2
SCULPTURE — Ivories 281
ments except sarcophagi. It is equally natural that we should
hud works of rare delicacy of treatment among them. Only a
few examples can here be mentioned or illustrated, and it is
not necessary to pause to discuss the technic of this art. It
followed the decline of all other branches of early art ; but it
served perhaps more than any other except Biblical miniatures
to carry down the traditions of Classic art to the Middle Ages.
There is no century which is not represented at least by rude
copies of early models. The ivories of the early period are
most of them to be ascribed to Rome, Milan, Ravenna, or Con-
stantinople. This affords at least a general classification and
marks certain differences in style. The first three names stand
also for a chronological order ; after the capture of Rome in
410 Milan became the seat of government and the centre of arts
in Italy, to be superseded in the West only by Ravenna. It
will be instructive to describe in detail two of the most impor-
tant ivories in order to show how rapidly the range of subjects
was extended after the Peace of the Church.
The first is the celebrated box preserved at Brescia (Figs. Ill,
112). This box is in fragments ; the five decorated sides are
now laid together in the shape of a cross. The work is attrib-
uted to the fourth century, and the execution is far more per-
fect than one might expect even at that date. No other
example of early Christian art can equal it in point of artistic
beauty and skill. The aim of the artist is more exclusively
decorative than in the case of any work we have hitherto con-
sidered. He has chosen what themes he pleased out of the
early cycle, and he has freely invented new ones to match the
spaces he had to fill, grouping them as proved most convenient.
We must suppose that for the historical scenes he already
found some patterns in Biblical miniatures or in mosaics.
We may notice in the first place that around the rim of the
box were disposed medallions of Christ and fourteen Apostles.
The head of Christ is just above the lock of the box ; he is
represented as a lad, and several of the Apostles are not much
older. The narrow friezes at the bottom and top of each panel
contain subjects from the Old Testament ; the larger fields rep-
resent chiefly subjects from the life of Christ. At the top
(Fig. Ill) is Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, the betrayal
of Judas, and the denial of Peter, Christ before Annas and
Tr^frj&^^
JV
T,^
Fig. 111.— Top and t -,..... ... . i, . i. ! i i L.iitury. The large
Helds contain subjects from the JS'cw 'Itstament; the border:-, subject^ from the Old;
the medallions represent Christ and the Apostles.
^' CULPT UH E — Ivories
283
Caiaphas, and before Pilate. The large field below represents
Christ with two disciples beside some lake or river, the hand
of God extended from heaven in witness to his Son ; and then
the history of Ananias and Sapphira. Following again the his-
tory of Christ, we have the healing of the woman with the
issue, Christ instructing the disciples in the upper room (or
preaching in the synagogue at Nazareth), Christ as the Good
Shepherd defending the sheep while the hireling fleeth. In
Fig. 112 we go back to earlier episodes : the raising of Peter's
Fig. 112. — The two ends of the box at Brcieia.
wife's mother, the healing of the blind man, and the raising of
Lazarus.
The Old Testament story begins with the lower frieze at the
right of this same plate : Jacob's dream (represented by an
angel climbing a ladder), Jacob wrestling with the angel, Jacob
watering the flocks of Eachel. In the frieze above we have
Moses taking off his shoes ; and on the other side his reception of
the Law ; in the middle there are represented the Three Chil-
dren in the furnace — in the background are four more figures,
representing the moment when the angel joined them. The
story of Moses is continued below at the left with the worship
of the Golden Calf, and a banquet in which five persons are
seated at a table on which are loaves and a fish — probably
the manna as a symbol of the Eucharist. Above is David slay-
284
nCrOEIAL ART
iiig CJoliath, the prophet who was slain by the lion (represented
as\ mum my), and the hand of Jeroboam dried up as he put it
forth from the altar. The uppermost frieze in Fig. Ill repre-
sents an orans, Jonah under the gourd, and Daniel feeding
the dragon. The next below returns to the story of Moses :
Fig. ll:i — l\niv diptvch in b'lureiitc. iiun (.•.•ntury. .^. Paul uiMiuiui.i; iiis disciples,
S. Paul at Malta, shaking' the vii)i'r from his hand, Publius and his father, the sick brought
to S. Paul for healing, Adam in Eden.
Moses found among the bulrushes, the slaying of the Egyptian,
another banquet of five persons — probably the Passover. On
the border to the right is Judas hung upon a tree : on the other
side, a tower, the symbol of the Church or the New Jerusalem,
according to one of the visions of Hernias. Below, Jonah and
the monster ; on the border, the fish and the cock ; and at the
SC ULPT UEE — Ivories 285
bottcm, Susanna surprised at her bath, the judgment of Daniel,
and Daniel among the lions. On this small box there are in
all forty -one subjects besides the fifteen medallions ; a con-
siderable number of them appear here for the first time.
It must suffice to give one example of the fifth century ivo-
ries,— a diptych at Florence (Fig. 113) which belongs perhaps
to the school of Milan. One side represents S. Paul as teacher,
seated upon a chair among his disciples. Below is the scene
at Malta where he casts off the serpent from his hand into the
fire. Publius is dressed like a Eoman official, but his father
appears in the garb of the " barbarians " of the place. At the
bottom, the father of Publius whom Paul had healed of a
fever directs other sick folk to him. This work is well exe-
cuted for its time, but we can distinctly enough note the
decadence which marks the half century or so which inter-
vened between this and the box of Brescia. The other side of
the diptych, however, is thoroughly Classic in its traits, and
this is doubtless to be attributed to the fact that the artist
had some Classic model for this theme.
The revival of art at Eavenna furnishes us with a number
of ivories. The most noteworthy is the ivory cathedra of
Maximianus (Fig. 114,), bishop of Ravenna, before the middle of
the sixth century. Its most admirable feature is the vine pat-
tern which adorns the front and is employed with somewhat
less delicacy for all the borders. The vine springs from a vase
guarded by two lions and is continued on the upper frieze;
it is gracefully enlivened by all sorts of birds and beasts. In
the midst of it is the monogram of MAXIMIANOS EP
(iscopos) — a form of puzzle which was especially popular in
that age. The five figures in front represent the Baptist and
the four Evangelists. In the conventionality of the drapery,
and in a certain exaggeration of the attitudes, we have a sug-
gestion of the traits which were to become so prominent in
later Byzantine art. It is not unlikely that the front of the
chair was executed by Byzantine artists. Another hand
appears, however, in the historical subjects which adorn it.
The back contained twenty-four scenes from the life of the
Virgin and of C/hrist ; some of them have been lost, and still
others are scattered in various public and private collections.
No scenes of the Passion were represented ; the scenes from
286
PICT OBI AL ART
Fig. 114. — Ivory cathedra of Maxiiniamis, bishop of Ravenna. About 550 a.d. John the
Baptist and the four Evangelists,
SCULPTURE — Ivo ries
287
the life of the Virgin show the influence of the apocryphal Gos-
pels on early art, and present for the first time some of the
subjects which were to become popular in the Middle Ages.
mm
ivi
^
^
r
Fig. 115. -The story of Joseph ; example of carving on the back of the cathedra of
Maximianus.
On the sides the story of Joseph is related in ten scenes. Two
of them are illustrated in Fig. 115 : in the lower scene Joseph
is let down into the well while his brothers stain his coat with
blood; above, Jacob tears his hair at the sight of Joseph's
288
nCTORlAL ART
bloody coat. These figures show great rudeness of execution,
but at the same time a certain barbarous vigor which looks
more like the forceful beginnings of a new art than the de-
F^^
m
^^KlUK- ,.ijlipU|ijl|^lU
W^^
Fk;. 11(1.- I\niy (iu-prl i.ivri- I'ldiii Miiriiiu), now at Ravenna. -i\il; ir seventh century.
Christ enihrDiuMl auiidst the Apostles, the Three Children iu the luniace, the story of
Jonah, the healing of the blind, the raising of Lazarus, healing of a demoniac, healing of
the paralytic.
cadence of an old. They suggest the reflection that many
hopeful revivals of art must have been rendered abortive by
the frequent supervention of political calamities.
A Gospel cover from Murano (Fig. 116), now at Ravenna,
SCULPTUBE — Statuary
289
illustrates the irretrievable decadence of the seventh century,
and at the same time the perpetuation of the old themes. One
will recognize at once the healing of the blind man, of the
demoniac, of the paralytic, and the raising of Lazarus. Christ's
rod has assumed the form of the cross; it is the sceptre of
the early European kings. In the centre Christ is enthroned
between the Apostles. Below are the Three Children in the
furnace; an angel enters and stills the flames with the cross.
At the bottom we have the story of Jonah.
Note. — There is plausible proof that the so-called cathedra of IMaximianus
at Ravenna is the same which is mentioned in the chronicle of John the
Deacon as a gift from the Doge Pietro Orseolo to the Emperor Otto III. during
his residence in that city. If such is the case, both the date and the origin of
the chair are undetermined by historical evidence. On account of the excel-
lence of its workmanship, Veuturi prefers to ascribe it to the early part of the
fifth century, and he
suggests that it may
have been made for a
IMaximianus who was
Bishop of Constantino-
ple at that time. He
argues, moreover, from
the image of S. John the
Baptist, which adorns
the front of it, that it
may have been designed
originally for a baptis-
tery.
STATUARY
From the great
rarity of the monu-
ments of early
Christian statuary
which have been
preserved to us, we
may judge that
throughout this pe-
riod and in all parts
of the Church the
Fig. Ill
-Statue of the Good She]>lier(l, in tlu
Museum. Probably third century.
prejudice against
images was chiefly
directed against this branch of art. It was a tradition inher-
ited from the Jews, it was strongly enforced by the Old Testa-
290
nCTOniAL AllT
ment, and it doubtless corresponded with a real danger of idol-
atrous misconception on the part of Gentile converts. We have
several times had occasion to notice the statues of precious
metal whicli Constantine and others erected in the basilicas.
Owing to the value of their material none of these have been
preserved to us. It is
X)robal)le that before
Constantine there were
no religious statues ex-
cept those of the Good
Shepherd.
Figure 117 illustrates
a statue of the Good
Shepherd belonging to
the third century, found
in the catacomb of C al-
ii stus ; it is altogether
the most gracious repre-
sentation of this symbol
which exists, though a
number have been found
at Rome and even in the
Orient.
In the Metropolitan
Museum in jSTew York
there is a representation
of the story of Jonah,
executed in marble on
an unusually large scale,
partly in relief and
partly in the round — a
style of treatment which
is without parallel in
early Christian art. This monument was found near the site
of ancient Tarsus, and it belongs to the third or fourth
century.
There could at no time have been any objection, on religious
grounds, to portrait statues. The statue of Ilippolytus (Fig.
118) was undoubtedly executed during the very first years of
the third century, that is, immediately after his death. On one
Fig. lis. — Statue of S. Hipixjlytus, in the Lateran
Museum. First years of the tiiinl century.
SCULPT URE — Statuary
291
side of his cathedra is engraved his computation of the Easter
cycle, which soon after his death was discovered to be errone-
ous, and after that woukl hardly have been commemorated
with such honor. On the other side is engraved a list of his
works. The head and shoulders are restored, the remainder is
antique, and it com-
pares well with the best
monuments of Roman
art.
Of greater interest
is the famous bronze
statue of S. Peter (Fig.
119) which is now wor-
shipped in the Vatican.
The chair, and, of
course, the nimbus, are
modern ; the rest is
antique. Peter, like
Hippolytus, wears the
pallium ; it is not so
gracefully disposed,
but it nevertheless in-
dicates an age when
this garment was still
understood. The atti-
tude is stiff but noble,
and it appears as
though the artist in-
tended to give an im-
pression of hieratic
dignity. The severity
is evidently inten-
tional; it is marked
especially by the rigidity of the neck, by the deep lines of the
face, and by the stiffness of the right arm.
The earliest record that we have of this work is in the last
quarter of the fifteenth century, and this fact has left room for
the most divergent hypotheses concerning its origin. One
tradition represents that it was the statue of Jupiter Capito-
linus, and that by the addition of the keys and the substitution
Fig. 119. - I!i
\ atican.
I'r()t):il)lv Mxlh
itury.
2U2 ruroiuM. Airr
of the hoad it wjis cliani^od into an image of S. Peter, by Leo
the Great, ahont tlic middle of the fifth century. This view is
no hunger hehl ; on grounds of style it is impossible; that it
was originally a Christian work is,i)roved by the fact that both
the keys and the head are integral i)arts of the statue. Many
have lately accepted the view that it is a work of the early
Kemusc^Mice (thirteenth century), perhaps by Arnolfo di Canibio.
The vigor of the statue is supposed to indicate the rude virility
of anew art rather than the decadence of an old. But no statue
of the Renascence can be compared with this for genuine
understanding of the Classic dress, and the work is rather to
be attributed to the end of the fifth, or the beginning of the
sixth, century. It exhibits, it must be confessed, a skill which
we should not expect in any artist of that time.
A marble statue of S. Peter in the crypt of the Vatican is
almost equally a subject of dispute. The attitude is closely
similar, but it is not a copy of the above. Here, again, opin-
ions differ as to whether it is an original Christian work, or an
adai)tation of a consular statue.
C. MOSAICS
In taking up the subject of Christian mosaics we have to do
almost exclusively with the decoration of the basilicas.
This is not to say that the Christians made no use of mo-
saics elsewhere. Figure 124, for instance, illustrates a portrait
mosaic of the first half of the fourth century, found in the cat-
acomb of Cyriaca, and now in the Chigi library. Earlier mosa-
ics, employed for simple decorative patterns, are also found in
the catacombs ; in Africa it was customary, in the fourth
century, to adorn the covers of sarcophagi with mosaic; and
this art was of course made use of for the floors and walls of
the Christian houses, as it was for the pagan. In the case of
floor mosaics, however, we have seldom to think of any ex-
pressly Christian designs; and the rare instances of cemeterial
mosaics are for the most part a mere reflection of the decora-
tion of the churches.
It is not to be su])posed, ou the other hand, that the basilicas
were never decorated in fresco instead of mosaic. It is aston-
ishing that in an age of material decline the Church should
3I0SAICS — Introductory 293
have adopted the most costly means of decoration that has ever
been employed, and that so great a number of churches received
mosaic decoration. We may say that mosaic painting was the
rule, and that the rule required every bit of wall to be covered
by mosaic incrustation of one sort or another. It is evident,
too, that the great symbolical themes which adorned the apse
could not have been developed except as the expression of this
art. It is certain that without it we should have been left in
ignorance of the character of church decoration in the early
period. But we are compelled to suppose that poorer churches,
and those which lay at a distance from the great centres of
culture, had to content themselves with an execution in fresco
in imitation of the mosaics of the metropolitan basilicas.
The mosaic art is, roughly speaking, contemporary with the
Christian period. It need not be said, however, that the first
stage of its development had nothing whatever to do with
Christianity and was exclusively under Classical influence.
It was as a covering for the floor that mosaics were first in-
troduced and most commonly used. They were constructed of
small cubes of marble of various colors, though very commonly
limited to white and black. Geometrical designs predominated,
representations of birds and beasts and intricate floral devices
were common, and one need not be reminded of the elaborate
pictorial compositions which were executed with the most
consummate skill. Mosaics were more rarely employed for wall
and ceiling, and it was generally the simpler designs in black
and white which were used. For the lower walls particularly
the Romans under the Empire employed incrustations of
marble cut in blocks of various sizes and shapes and arranged
in purely conventional patterns. It is not important for our
purpose to distinguish the different kinds of stone mosaic in
use among the Eomans. The great variety and the sheer
amount of costly foreign marble which was brought to Rome
during the first three centuries almost exceeds belief. It
formed a mine which has not yet been exhausted.
About the end of the third century glass mosaic came into
use. The cubes for this work were readily obtained, and in
just the color and dimension required, by drawing a mass of
colored glass paste into long pencils which were then chopped
into small sections. By this means it was possible also to
204
PICTOniAL AItT
attain the rich effects in gokl which are so prominent a feature
of most of the Christian mosaics. To achieve this the cubes
had simply to be covered with gokl leaf protected by a film of
glass.
This glass mosaic was occasionally used by the Romans for
the deconitiori of niches and small wall surfaces; but it did
Fio. r.'O. — Apsidal pavement in Ancona. Fourth or fifth century.
not tend to snpersede the frescos and stucco reliefs which were
the traditional decoration of Roman walls and ceilings. It
was first in the Constantinian age and in the decoration of the
Chri-stian basilicas that it supplanted painting and received the
high development of which it was capable. Figured mosaics
in stone were employed occasionally for wall decoration even
in the fourth century, but mosaic in glass w^as then the char-
acteristic type, and it very soon became the exclusive one.
This may very well be called a Christian art, for, though its
3I0SAICS — Introdnctortj
295
begiiiiiiugs lay outside of Christian influence, it attained in the
Church a development which is altogether without comparison
in pagan times. In this it was the only great technical art
which received any new impetus and development from the
Church; and it constitutes altogether the noblest, as it was
also the most monumental, expression of Christian art. It is
the art which shows most fully the impress of the Christian
spirit. Notwithstanding the retention of innumerable decora-
tive elements which w^ere traditional in the Classical mosaics,
the art of the basilicas dealt substantially in new themes and
attained a nobility and grandeur
of expression which is altogether
without parallel in the art of
Greece or Rome.
The floor mosaics are a subject
of minor interest. They followed
very closely their Roman proto-
types, with the incidental intro-
duction of Christian emblems, —
as the vine in an apsidal pave-
ment at Ancona (Fig. 120), and
the fish in the purely conven-
tional design of the pavement at
Parenzo (Fig. 121). Inscriptions
in the pavement were not uncom-
mon, and sometimes the names
of those who had contributed to
the expenses of the work were
commemorated in it. In another
place we shall have occasion to refer to a curious mosaic floor
in a sixth century church at jNIadaba in Palestine, which repre-
sents a map of the Holy Land, with the cities of Bethlehem
and Jerusalem (Fig. 128) on a larger scale. Very few early
pavements are preserved; in Italy especially they were some-
what contemptuously destroyed to make way for the Cosmati
work which was popular in the twelfth century.
The marble incrustation of the walls followed closely the
Classical models. The general character may readily be under-
stood from a single example which is very perfectly preserved
in the church of S. Sabina at Rome (Fig. 122). In this case
Fig. 1-21. — Section of mosaic pave-
ment in the cathedral of Parenzo.
Sixth centurv.
206
PICTORIAL ART
the work adorns the wall space just above the colonnade. It
was more conmionly employed for the lower walls of the aisles
and of the aps(\
AVe may mention in this connection mosaic inscriptions, since
they do not belong to pictorial art. Figure 123 illustrates the
.>^NT~-
:Z3
dedicatory inscription — a metrical tituhis — of S. Sabina. It
is especially interesting on account of the two female figures,
under which one reads, EOLESIA EX CIRCVMCISIONE',
and ECLESIA EX GENTIBUS. Over these personifications
»m\ \n ! iinr ■ 7\ , 1 1 1 i ii ju i il u i n w<it'i»M(<wcM^'^^
POSTOLK: VMGVfVICAELE 5TINVS H AB hKfc
I'T N TOTOf V LG ER £ TKP I S G O P V S OR B I
tEMlR AR] S FVNDAVITPRESBYTERVR Bf*
RICA DEC V. NTH P E TK VS VI R NOMINETAN R
MVSABEXORTVCRHISTINVTRITVS INAVIi^
W^tRI BVS L( AC.y PLESSIBIPA:/PERQVIB C»' '"'^■'^^•^
RAESENTISFVC iENSMERVITSPERAREF
Fig. 123. — Dedicatory tilulux in mosaic, S. Sabina. Fifth century.
of the Church from the circumcision and the Church from
among the gentiles, the figures of the Apostles Peter and Paul
were originally represented, and above these were the symbols
of the Evangelists. This inscription is on the wall opposite
the apse. More common are inscriptions under the apsidal
MOSAICS — Constantinian Period
297
mosaic, or upon the arch. The historical compositions of the
nave were often accompanied by an explanatory inscription, or
" title," in mosaic.
THE CONSTANTINIAN MOSAICS
The mosaics with which Constantine ornamented the tem-
ples of his new faith represent a period of transition ; they
Fig. 124. — Portrait mosaic from the
itaooinb of Cyriaca, now in the C'higi Palace,
century.
contain numerous elements drawn from Classic art and from
the early Christian cycle, but they appear at the same time to
have struck out very definitely upon the lines which charac-
terized all subsequent developments of apsidal decoration. The
transitional style is best represented by S. Costanza; but it
must be borne in mind, as an explanation of the character of
the subjects, that |^js ^T^a^ _ a_ mausoleum and 'not>^^(jlMLirch.
298
PICTORIAL ART
We have already had occasion to compare the mosaics of the
ring-vault (Fig. 1-.")) with the earliest decoration of the cata-
combs. They were divided into eleven compartments, with
only six substantially different designs, all of them of a purely
decorative character.
The rest of the decoration has almost completely disap-
peared ; we know it only from drawings by d'Ollanda, and by
the detailed description which Ugonio gave of it after a visit
to the mausoleum in the year 1594. The walls, including the
drum of the dome, were
superbly adorned with
precious marbles. Figure
126 shows a drawing of
part of the mosaic of the
dome, which must have
been one of the most
graceful compositions of
which we have any rec-
ord. The river which
was continued around
the base of the de-
sign was enlivened
by all sorts of
aquatic birds, and
by cupids sailing
about on rafts and
boats, a theme which
was very common
in pagan villas and
baths, and which
was continued in Christian mosaics down to the Renascence.
The lower zone of the mosaic was divided into twelve com-
partments by as many caryatids, which, by a graceful transi-
tion, terminated in a cluster of acanthus stems, supporting in
turn smaller caryatids, which framed more compartments, and
finally interlaced at the center of the dome. The subjects
which were depicted in these compartments were partly oblit-
erated even in Ugonio's time, but he has described nine of the
larger ones, of which the first four are included in our draw-
ing. They were : Tobias and his fish, the elders accusing
Fig. 125. — Mosaic decoration of two sections of the I'ing-;
MOSAICS— ConstanUnian Period
299
which was more distinctive of the age of Constautine
Susanna, the judgment of Daniel, the sacrifice of Cain and
Abel, ]\Ioses striking the rock, Elijah and the priests of Baal,
and the sacrifice of Abraham.
So far, all of this decoration might equally well have ap-
peared in the earlier art of the catacombs. But it seems that
in the fifteen niches by which the wall was broken, and in a
small spherical vault which interrupted the ring-vault just op-
posite the entrance, there was employed a type of decoration
The
decoration of thirteen of
. ——«««««..,——— — /• the niches seems to have
;^V\K\~\S^^gv,NSy,N:KKX^XgvX^ been very simple, to
judge by the traces
which are found in one
f them of stars upon a
hite ground surround-
ing the Constantinian
monogram. But the
two large lateral
niches still possess
mosaics which pre-
sent some of the
principal features
of the apsidal
decoration of the
basilicas. It is
certain that they
have been atro-
ciously disfigured
by successive res-
torations, so that one can base no judgment upon their style,
nor be altogether confident in attributing them to Constautine.
But it seems unlikely that such decoration could have been
added to the mausoleum after his time. One of these mosaics
represents God the Father, w4th the simple nimbus, seated upon
the globe of the world in the midst of ten palms, which repre-
sent heaven, giving the law to :\Ioses. It appears that God the
Father was more frequently represented in the Constantinian
age than afterward ; and this observation agrees very well with
thd barely disguised paganism of that emperor's religion. The
,-aull of the Mausoleum
Fourth century.
300
PICTORIAL AliT
corresponding mosaic represents Christ standing upon the mys-
tic mountain, from wliich flow the four streams of paradise;
two sheep approach him on each side from the towns of Jeru-
salem and Bethlehem, beside which grow tw^o palms. The two
chief Apostles also approach Christ, and Peter receives from
him the new law. Though a comparison was often thus
drawn between the old and the new Law, we see here that the
fundamental distinction betw^een them was also recognized, for
upon the scroll which the Lord hands to Peter is inscribed
Tg;rv/iv7>'^i^ >.:>>> vg^; Mi j-ijyMo^>^vwjr^i;v^jVJ,i.>A-^)Y^srM^^)i::M^.JMm'^^
Fig. 1'2G. — Mosaic of fourth century, decorating: the dome of S. Costanza. After a drawing
by d"011anda.
DOMINUS PACEM DAT —the new law comes in the guise
of a gift, not of a requisition. According to Ugonio the mosaic
of the spherical vault represented Christ seated in the midst of
the Apostles, with a female figure on either side, and below, the
agnusdel accompanied by the sheep.
We are left in a good deal of obscurity a,bout the mosaics
with which Constantine decorated the churches of Rome. They
are merely mentioned in the Liber Pontijicalis and first de-
scribed in documents of a much later age. We do not know
how early the fa(^ade of the Vatican basilica received its mo-
saic decoration. At the time of its destruction it had tliT-ee
zones of figures : Christ between the Virgin and S. Peter, ax3-
MOSAICS — Constantinian Period 301
compauied by the symbols of the four Evangelists ; then the
Evangelists themselves between the windows ; and below, the
four and twenty elders holding np their crowns to Christ.
The upper part of this composition is known to have under-
gone numerous changes. In a restoration by Leo I. the agmis
dei was depicted in the place afterward occupied by Christ in
the centre of the picture. It is not certain that any part of
the composition can be referred to the time of Constantine.
There is more probability that the apsidal mosaics were
substantially of Constantinian origin. These venerable monu-
ments perished with the reconstruction of the church and are
only known from ancient descriptions. In the apse Christ w^as
seated upon a throne between SS. Peter and Paul. Palms
framed the scene above, and at the bottom was the divine
Lamb upon the mountain, toward which moved the twelve
sheep from the towns of Bethlehem and Jerusalem. On the
triumphal arch Christ had on his left S. Peter and on his
right the Emperor Constantine — offering perhaps the model
of his church.
A thick acanthus stem, prolonged in regular convolutions
like the vine, and bearing vine leaves, was a favorite type of
decoration under Constantine. It adorned the sarcophagus of
his sister; and it received in the following century a very
characteristic and beautiful application in the decoration of
the apse. It may be suspected that this design originated in
the time of Constantine, though there are actually no existent
examples of it in mosaic earlier than the end of the fourth
century. The earliest example is in one of the apses of what
was once the vestibule of the Lateran baptistery, now the
chapel of S. Venantius. One who has once seen it w^ill not
easily forget the effect of the large and supple convolutions
of rich foliage against the luminous purple background. An
admirable example of this type is to be seen in the apse of
S. Maria ]\Iaggiore : the central part of this decoration is cer-
tainly due to the early Eenascence, but it is not unlikely that
the vine pattern was ancient and was distorted to make room
for the figure of the Virgin. Another well-known example is
the apse of S. Clemente, which is likewise a late work.
302 nCTOBIAL ART
THEMES OF THE APSIDAL DECORATION
^lore characteristic of the apsidal decoration, and far more
common, was the grand symbolical theme which represented
Christ enthroned in the glory of the new Jerusalem, and the
whole range of subjects which naturally accompanied this.
All of these subjects may be considered as a whole, because,
though they are not all represented upon any one monument,
nor even upon the rare monuments which are preserved to us
from any one period, there is reason to suppose that they were
all developed early in the fourth century, and it is certain at
least that the fundamental principles of apsidal decoration
were then thoroughly established upon lines which did not suf-
fer any essential change throughout the early period, and which
are to be traced even through the Middle Ages. The idea
which determined their character was the desire to direct the
mind to the divine object of Christian worship and enable the
worshippers below to realize in vivid terms their communion
with the saints in heaven, or to depict the adoration of the
saints and angels in heaven as the counterpart of the worship
of the Church on earth.
These representations, as is natural, were chiefly inspired by
the Apocalypse, which represented the New Jerusalem, the
Church triumphant in heaven, as at once the pattern and the
reflection of the Church militant. It is interesting to note
this unquestioning reliance upon the Apocalypse at a time
when its canonicity was seriously questioned in influential
quarters. The centre of the composition is always Christ,
enthroned in glory among his holy angels, among his Apostles,
among his saints and martyrs. The Apocalypse furnished the
form for all of these themes ; it suggested the four and twenty
elders who laid their crowns at Christ's feet, the four angelic
beasts which symbolized the Evangelists, the martyrs beneath
the altar, the four rivers of paradise which issued from beneath
the throne, and the divine Lamb which is represented on a
throne, before which is the book with the seven seals and on
each side the seven candlesticks. It is from the earlier pas-
toral symbolism we have to derive the twelve sheep which
issue from the towns of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The sym-
bols of the Trinity are completed by the hand of God which
V
3I0SAICS — Apsidal Decoration 303
appears out of the cloud at the summit of the apse, holding the
crown of eternal recompense, and by the dove which rains
influence upon the Church. The cross also appears, not the
symbol of suffering and humiliation, but the cross triumphal,
the tree of life which was in the midst of the garden. All of
these subjects — Apostles, Evangelists, martyrs, the sacrificial
Lamb, the cross, the dove — served to connect the scene with
the Church on earth. This connection was rendered still more
real by historic martyrs, designated by name or by their sym-
bols, approaching to offer their crowns to Christ ; and by the
figure of the founder of the church, who though still living is
represented in the midst of the heavenly company, offering a
small model of his church, the symbol of the gift which he
dedicates here below.
This decoration was generally confined to the apse, and to the
apsidal, or the triumphal arch. The nave w^as chiefly utilized
for historical scenes illustrative of the Biblical narrative. But
the figures of Evangelists, Apostles, and Prophets, were often
depicted in the spaces between the window^s ; and in S. ApoUi-
nare ISTuovo at Ravenna a continuous composition like a broad
frieze connected the whole of the nave with the symbolical
theme of the apse, displaying in long line the martyrs — vir-
gins and matrons on one side, and men on the other — offering
their crowns to Christ and to the Virgin.
In the poetical titulus wdiich he composed for the apse of the
basilica of S. Felix at Nola, S. Paulinus furnishes us with a
profound commentary upon apsidal decoration in general.
"The Trinity gleams in its full mystery: Christ is repre-
sented in the form of a lamb ; the voice of the Father
thunders from heaven ; and, through the dove, the Holy Spirit
is poured out. The cross is encompassed by a circle of light
as by a crown. The crown of this crown are the Apostles
themselves, who are represented by a choir of doves. The
divine unity of the Trinity is summarized in Christ. The
Trinity has at the same time its own emblems : God is repre-
sented by the Paternal voice, and by the Spirit ; the cross and
the lamb denote the Holy Victim. The purple background and
the palms indicate royalty and triumph. Upon the rock He
stands who is the Rock of the Church, from which flow the four
murmuring springs, the Evangelists, living rivers of Christ."
304 PICTORIAL ART
In contrast to the profound symbolism of the apse, the
walls of the nave were decorated with hunting and fishing
scenes; Paulinus confesses that he had here to stoop to the
tastes of the people.
The technic of mosaic was admirably adapted to the repre-
sentation of such grand symbolical themes as have just been
described. The execution of Biblical scenes was not always
so fortunate ; they must often have been copied directly from
miniatures, and the multiplication of details and the effort after
realism seriously interfered with the clear effect required. In
general, it may be said, however, that there was very little dis-
position to strive after realistic illusion, or to imitate the tech-
nic of painting. Particularly after the fourth century, we
notice a striking boldness of treatment, which was due in part
to incapacity for fine designing and minute gradations in color ;
but it was a defect which proved in many ways to the advan-
tage of the art. Nothing, in fact, was more important than
simple design and strong relief. The figures were hardly
more than outlined, and yet they stood out against the gold
or purple background with a plastic grace and force. It is
only by a tour de force that this art can be made to portray in
realistic terms the objects which meet the eye ; its true force
lies in its suggestion ; it translates everything into an atmos-
phere which is clearly superhuman ; it was adapted, as no
other art was, to the suggestion of the heavenly themes which
can by no means be depicted.
But above all, and always, this art was supremely decora-
tive. It was unrivalled for its wealth of color, and for its
glinting reflections of light, as from the surface of rippled
water. For all the emphasis which is given to the sacred
themes which alone we have space to consider, it must not be
forgot that the purely decorative elements which were carried
down by an unbroken tradition from Classic art constituted at
all times an important feature of Christian mosaics.
APSIDAL MOSAIC OF S. PUDEXZIANA
When we come to trace out, in the monuments which have
been preserved to us, the general principles of apsidal decora-
tion which we have sketched above, it must be remembered
\
MOSAICS— S. Pmlenziana 305
that they are preserved only in part, here the mosaic of an
apse, there of an arch, each of them perhaps mutilated, and we
must piece these fragments together if we would imagine the
total effect of such decoration. It need hardly be said that
it is still more rare to find a monument which gives any idea
of the whole decoration of the church, nave as well as apse,
historical and symbolical themes alike.
The oldest, and altogether the noblest of the apsidal mosaics
is that which decorates the church which is supposed to be
built on the property, perhaps above the house, of the senator
Pudens, whom tradition represents as the host and friend of
S. Peter, who was likely the Pudens referred to by S. Paul.
Whatever may have been the date of the original foundation
of the church, it is known to have been rebuilt, or at least
remodelled, in the time of Siricius (384-399). At that time
a certain Leopardus, who was titular presbyter of the church,
dedicated the mosaic, which is illustrated in Fig. 127. The
dedicatory inscription of Leopardus perished in 1588, — in a
transformation of the church which irreparably mutilated the
apse, cutting off completely the lower zone, and suppressing a
wide strip around the whole circumference of the mosaic.
The mosaic has also suffered restoration; but, with all, it
retains most of its original traits, and puts before us more
than one subject of singular interest.
In the centre of the composition Christ is seated upon the
rich cushions of a throne of gold studded with gems. His
vesture likewise is of gold, and he has a simple golden nim-
bus. Above him is Blount Calvary, with its triumphal cross
of gold adorned with jewels. Christ is in the attitude of
the teacher, making a gesture of proclamation with his right
hand, while in his left he holds an open book, on which
is inscribed domixus coxservator ecclesi^ pudextiax.e.
There is no doubt that the church was originally called by the
name of Pudens ; the feminine adjective which is used in the
inscription explains how there arose the popular notion that
the church was dedicated to S. Pudentiana, who was one of
the daughters of the senator. The women who approach Christ
with their crowns may be the senator's two daughters, Praxede
and Pudentiana ; but it is equally likely that they are personi-
fications of the Church of the circumcision and the Church of
306
PICTOUIAL ABT
MOSAICS — S. Pudenziana
307
the Gentiles, like the hgures which we saw in the church of
S. Sabina. S. Paul is on the right hand of Christ, and S.
Peter on the left, as inscriptions beneath them signify. The
figures of the remaining Apostles have been very much cur-
tailed, and one on each side has been entirely cut off, by the
vandalism which has been mentioned. The Apostles occupy
a lower bench which corresponds exactly to the position of the
presbyters with relation to the bishop's cathedra. A small
bit of the mosaic beneath the throne of Christ is still pre-
served (not shown in this picture) ; it represents the divine
Fig. 12S. — Plan of Jerusalem. Part of a map of Palestine, executed in colored marble for
the pavement of a sixth-century church at Madaba, Palestine.
Lamb with the nimbus, standing upon the mountain, and above
him the dove shedding down the beams of inspiration. AVe
have to suppose that the part of the lower zone, which has
been destroyed represented the twelve sheep, issuing from the
sacred cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. And we may sup-
pose, too, that the symbols of the Trinity were completed by
the hand of God, holding the crown above the cross. The four
symbols of the Evangelists have a grandeur which has seldom
been excelled.
This is the only apsidal mosaic which has been preserved
to us from the fourth century. Its style of execution is very
far superior to any others which we have. With what has
already been said, the essential significance of the picture is
308 PIC TO HIM. ART
very clear. It remains tmly to eall attention to the buildings
whieh form the baekground. They have an appearance of
realism which contrasts strongly with the merely imaginary
and impossible architectural creations which appear in later
mosaics. l)e Rossi sujii)oscd, therefore, that they may have
represented well-known buildings of ancient Rome.
A better suggestion has lately been made, and one which
puts the whole symbolism of the picture in a new and interest-
ing light. This suggestion was due to the discovery, in a small
church at Madaba in Palestine, of a mosaic floor which repre-
sents with various colored marbles the map of the Holy Land,
with the cities of Bethlehem and Jerusalem on a larger scale.
Figure 128 gives, on a small scale and without the assistance of
the colors, an idea of the panorama map of Jerusalem. It will
be noticed that it does not adhere strictly to any one S3^stem,
either to perspective or to plan. It is a curious production,
but it is of very great interest for the topography of Jeru-
salem in the middle of the sixth century.
This map was expressly designed to show the sites of the
churches of Jerusalem as they appeared after Justinian had
completed his colossal work of church construction. Those
who are learned in the topography of Jerusalem claim to
recognize most of these sites. As our present purpose is a
comparison with the mosaic of S. Pudenziana, we are spe-
cially interested in the aspect of the city at the end of the
fourth century, that is, particularly with the shrines of Con-
stantinian foundation.
The walls are here represented as they were extended after
the time of Constantine to include the shrines which that
emperor erected upon iNIount Calvary in memory of the Lord's
Passion and Resurrection. The principal topographical fea-
ture of the city is the broad street, flanked by covered colon-
nades, which intersects it from north to south. This street
starts at the north from a great square in the middle of which
stands a column. The neighboring gate flanked by two towers
is now called the gate of Damascus, but the Arabian name,
Bah-pl-'amud (gate of the column), preserves a reminiscence
of the column, although it has now disappeared. The three
small gates at the other end of the street lead toward the
southwest to Mount Zion, and toward the southeast to the base
MOSAICS— S. Pndcnziana 309
of ^loimt ]\[oriali. The building marked B just outside gate
IX. corresponds to the basilica erected by Justinian on the
site of the Cenacolo on jMount Zion, called JIater ecdesiarum.
Above this a sort of tower, marked C, is supposed to repre-
sent the basilica of the Presentation, which was greatly en-
larged by Justinian and is now a mosque. Gate II., the only
one on the west, is the Joppa gate. On the eastern side of
the city and parallel to the main thoroughfare is another long
street with a colonnade on only one side. From about the
middle of it a street proceeds directly east to gate IV. It is
supposed that the arch of the Ecce homo, seen by S. Anthony
in the sixth century, was located at the entrance to this street ;
and directly opposite is the building which is taken to be the
Prsetorium. Gate III., which stands next toward the south,
was the porta aurea. It was the gate of ingress to the Temple
of Solomon, which was located at a little distance to the south-
west. The road which issued from it led to the ]\Iount of
Olives, where Constantine built the church of the Ascension.
The group of buildings in which we are chiefly interested
is that which lies just west of the middle of the main street
and covers Mount Calvary. These buildings are all ascribed
to Constantine. The enumeration of them which is given by
Eusebius and S. Silvia corresponds very well with the map.
A great flight of steps (mentioned by several early pilgrims)
leads up from the street to the basilica (the ]\Iartyrium) which
was erected upon the site of the Crucifixion. The basilica is
plainly distinguished by its three doors and gable roof. Be-
hind it, and half hidden by it, is the round church of the
Anastasis with which it was connected. The accounts speak,
in no very clear terms, of an " atrium " which included the
spot where the Holy Cross was discovered. This appears to
be indicated by the quadrangle which is intersected by a cross.
Turning without more ado to the explanation of the mosaic,
the first and most striking point of comparison is the colon-
nade. It appears as if the artist intended to represent the
Lord enthroned in the midst of Jerusalem — the new and
heavenly Jerusalem, be it understood, but represented in
terms of the Christian city as it then was. Surely no better
place could have been chosen for the throne of Christ than the
middle of the main street, in front of the imposing colonnade
310 PIC rO RIAL ART
and the stairway which led u}) to C.'alvary. If we suppose
that Christ is represented facing the east, we have in its true
position behind him the rugged top of Calvary surmounted by
the cross. It is significant that this is the first representation
we have of the cross as an element of prime importance in a
picture. We have to note that the symbolical and topographi-
cal interest of the artist conflict at this point. For it is evi-
dent that he wished to represent the buildings which covered
Calvary, but was unable strictly to combine this aim with his
representation of the cross. He locates them, however, approxi-
mately in the right position and at the just elevation, the
Anastasis at the left and the Martyrium partly behind the
mountain. The crenelated walls of the city appear at intervals
in the background.
On the right there is a similar group, a polygonal church,
apparently with an attached basilica which is in the same way
partly hidden behind the mountain. This suggests the church
of the Ascension, which was, we have reason to believe (p.
142), a polygonal building. This was located on the Mount
of Olives, and its introduction here would, of course, be a
violent departure from the topographical arrangement. But
the composition is preeminently a symbolical one, and in
introducing into the picture representations of the chief
churches of Jerusalem the artist was under no necessity of
cumbering himself about topographical accuracy. AVe can
well understand, on the other hand, why he should wish to
group about Calvary the great Constantinian shrines which
commemorated the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, and the
Ascension. It is to be remarked that the building which is
here taken to be the church of the Ascension has its roof tilted
forward as though expressly to display the opening in the
centre of it which was one of the most significant character-
istics of the building.
There is another monument in Rome which is supposed to
represent these same churches. It is the relief on the end of
a sarcophagus in the Lateran (Fig. 96) which represents Moses
striking the rock, and Christ healing the woman with the issue.
Jerusalem was not the scene of either of these events ; but it
is not in itself improbable that Jerusalem was taken as an
artistic background to represent in a general way the Holy
3I0SAICS—S. FanVs 311
Land. At any rate we have here, apparently, two basilicas,
and attached to them two round churches. In this case, it
must be confessed, we have no polygonal building, and the
basilicas are without clearstories.
APSIDAL MOSAICS OF THE FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURIES
Of the mosaic decoration of S. Paul's, which was executed
under Leo I., toward the middle of the fifth century, there
remains only the triumphal arch, and that is almost entirely
the work of the restorers after the fire which destroyed the
church. The original theme, however, is preserved. In the
centre is the bust of the Saviour surrounded by a great nim-
bus. Close by are two adoring angels, and below are the four-
and-twenty elders offering him their crowns. The symbols of
the Evangelists are disposed in a row at the top. The inscrip-
tion above reads : —
THEODOSIUS CEPIT, PERFECIT ONORIUS AULAM
DOCTORIS MUNDI SACRATAM CORPORE PAULI.
There are other fifth-century mosaics in Rome which deserve
attention, but in this place, where we are following the charac-
teristic theme of apsidal decoration, we have to descend to the
sixth century for the next monument. The apsidal mosaic of
SS. Cosma and Damiano (Fig. 129) was executed under Felix
IV. (526-530). This work shows the influence upon art of
that new race, the Gothic barbarians of the North, which had
already become dominant in political affairs. The faces are
of a type never found in classic art ; they have a certain
almost savage forcefulness, which, together with the colossal
size of the figures and the statuesque majesty with which they
stand out against the dark blue background, produces an effect
which cannot readily be forgot. Christ stands upon a shim-
mering path of cloud ; out of the rosy clouds above his head
the hand of God was originally extended with the crown of
recompense (now destroyed by a window opening). Christ
alone has the nimbus ; he wears a white tunic and pallium
stiffly embroidered with gold ; the right hand is stretched out
with a gesture of proclamation, the left holds a scroll. The
312
nCTOlilAL ART
face of Christ i)resents a type which we have not hitherto
seen ; his hair falls beneath his shoulders, he wears a full
beard; the face is longer and older than usual, and has an ex-
pression which is severe without being harsh. The face of S.
Paul, who stands on the right, is also more characteristically
marked than usual. The two Apostles are presenting to Christ
the physicians Cosmas and Damianus, martyrs of Media and
patrons of this church. At the right is the figure of S, Theo-
FiG. 129. — Apsidal mosaic of SS. Cosma niid Duniian.i. i:oiii^-. Sixth century. Christ
stands upon the clouds of lu-aven, Peter and Paul introduce the Median martyrs, Cosmas
and Daniianus, patrons of the church, together with S. Theodore and Felix IV., the
founder of the church.
dore, likewise offering his crown to Christ; and on the left is
represented Pope Felix (restored) offering the model of the
church which he here dedicates. On either side are the tra-
ditional palms ; upon one of them is perched the jjhoenix, the
bird of immortality, with a rayed nimbus about its head. This
figure, which is hardly visible in the illustration, is close to
the right hand of Christ. Below is represented the Lamb with
the nimbus, standing upon the mountain. The four streams
are here named: Geon, Fyson, Tigris, Eufrata. The twelve
sheep issue as usual from Bethlehem and Jerusalem.
The arch above, which has unfortunately been largely de-
MOSAICS— S. Lorenzo
313
stroy 3d, represented Apocalyptic scenes ; in the centr
lion with azure ground represented the mystic Lamb
an altar and sur-
mounted by a cross,
with the book of
the seven seals at
.his feet; on each
side are the lighted
candlesticks ; four
angel s approach
him through the
clouds ; and finally
there were the sym-
bols of the Evangel-
ists — two of which
have been de-
stroyed. Of the
four-and-twenty
elders who stood
below nothing re-
mains but two arms
extending their
crowns.
A half century
later, under Pela-
gius II. (579-590),
was executed the
mosaic decoration
of S. Lorenzo. Of
this nothing is left
but the mosaic of
the arch (Fig. 130).
On the right hand
of Christ are S.
Peter, S. Lawrence,
Pelagius offering
the model of the
church which he
had restored, and
the town of Jerusa-
lem ; on the left,
■e a
lyin
medal-
g upon
:]14
PICTOniAL ART
S. Taul, 8. Stephen, S. Jlippolytus, and finally the town of
Bethlehem. The position of the Apostles is here the reverse
Fig. 131. — Mosaic in S. Apollinarein Classe, near Eavenna. ^oventh century. A repre-
sentation of the Christian altar, with the sacrifices of Abel, Melchizedek, and Abraham.
of the usual order; it is Paul who usualh^ stands on the
right, and Peter on the left. Bethlehem is always on the side
Fig. l:3'2. — Mosaic in S. Yitale, Ravenna. Sixth century. A representation of the Chris-
tian altar with the sacrifices of Abel aiid Melchizedek.
of S. Paul, and Jerusalem on that of S. Peter; for they repre-
sent respectively the Churches of the Gentiles and of the
MOSAICS— S. Vltale 315
Jews, — Bethlehem being the town to which the Magi came
bearing the homage of the Gentiles. Above these towns are
tvro windows of alabaster and glass, which had been used in
the earlier building and were incorporated here simply as a
decoration. All of the figures except Pelagius have the nim-
bus ; the nimbus of Christ has the cross inscribed in it. Christ
is seated upon the globe of the world, but his figure corre-
sponds ill with the dignity of his position. We have here
what is perhaps the earliest example of an ascetic representa-
tion of Christ ; it is marked by the thin face and pointed beard,
as well as by the sombre coloring of his garments. This re-
flects the rapid progress of monasticism in the West during
the sixth century.
One other example of apsidal decoration must suffice ; that
takes us to Ravenna and introduces us to the style of decora-
tion which was appropriate to the enlarged apsidal room of the
domed churches. The church of S. Yitale was built and its
decoration completed during the reign of Justinian. It repre-
sents, therefore, Byzantine art in the latest phase of its devel-
opment within the period which we have here to study. We
see, however, that it was not yet differentiated from the art of
the AYest, except by its purer preservation of Classical style.
It retained a suppleness of form and a richness of ornamenta-
tion which are not to be found for more than a century previ-
FiG. 133. — Mosaic in S. Vitale, Eavenna. Sixth cintiiry. Abraham entertaining the
angels, the sacritiee of Isaac.
ous in the mosaics of Rome. The great dome of this church
is without mosaic decoration ; it is only the presbyterium we
3ir.
PICTORIAL AFT
MOSAICS — S. Vitale 317
have to study. It will be remembered that the presbyterium
of this church was deeply recessed. On the arch which sepa-
ra,ted it from the main room were the medallions of the twelve
Apostles and of SS. Gervasius and Protasius, and in the mid-
dle the medallion of Christ. The great vault of the presbyte-
rium is adorned with green foliage upon a ground of gold, and
by four admirable angels supporting with outstretched arms a
medallion in which is represented the divine Lamb, the symbol
of the Eucharistic sacrifice. On the walls immediately below
we have a decoration which is of secondary importance, but
highly interesting for its style : angels supporting the mono-
gram of Christ, the figures of Isaiah and Jeremiah, scenes from
the life of Moses, and the four Evangelists with their symbols
(Fig. 140). Below is represented a theme which we have not
hitherto encountered, though it is one which is very appropri-
ate for the altar room: in two lunettes are grouped together
the Old Testament types of the Eucharist. One (Fig. 133)
represents Abraham's three angelic guests; they are seated
under the oak of Mamre at a plain wooden table without a
cloth, upon which are three loaves marked with the cross.
The patriarch has his loins girded to serve them, and carries
on a platter the calf which he has killed ; Sarah stands listen-
ing in the doorway. On the other side of the table Abraham
is about to sacrifice his son Isaac ; he is stopped by the hand
of God, and the lamb which was to be the substitute stands at
his feet. In this instance he is clothed in the white tunic and
pallium ; in the former instance in a short tunic of dark color.
The ox^posite lunette (Fig. 132) more expressly represents the
typical application to the Eucharist by depicting in the middle
the Christian altar. It is a stone table supported upon four
legs, and covered first with a heavy woollen cloth of dark color,
and above with a white linen cloth fringed at the edge and
adorned with the customary embroidery. Upon it stands the
chalice and two loaves. Melchizedek offers up to God a simi-
lar loaf. He wears slioes, a loose tunic with a broad border
and a sash,, and a long mantle which is fastened at the breast
— it was the dress of Oriental kings. His palace appears in
the background. On the other side Abel, in the dress of a
shepherd, issues from his simple cabin and presents his lamb
as an acceptable sacrifice to God.
318
riCTOJUAL ART
This theme was represented again, about a century later, in
very similar fashion in S. ApoUinare in Classe (Fig. 131).
MOSAICS— Historical Subjects 319
Here we have Abel, Abraham, and Melchizedek all grouped
about the altar, which in this case is supported upon five legs
and has only the linen cover.
But to return to S. Vitale. It is in the apse we have the
most marked expression of Greek or Byzantine art. Christ,
young and beardless, is seated upon the globe of the world ; in
his left hand is a book, and with his right he holds out the
crown of recompense to his followers. On each side stands a
majestic angel, with black hair bound with a white fillet.
Beyond on the right stands S. Vitale dressed like an officer
of the court, and on the left is the Bishop Ecclesius offering
the model of the church.
Flanking the apse on each side are two compositions which
have nothing in common with the themes which we have
studied. On the left (Fig. 134) the Emperor Justinian is
represented carrying a votive paten as a gift to the church.
He is preceded by his clergy, one deacon carrying a censer,
another the book of the gospels, while the bishop holds a
cross ; there follow officers of the court and soldiers. On the
right (Fig. 135) is the Empress Theodora with her courtiers
and ladies ; she is carrying as her gift a large chalice, and is
just on the point of entering the door of the church.
HISTORICAL SUBJECTS
It must not be supposed that all apsidal mosaics were sym-
bolical and Apocalyptic, nor on the other hand that symbolical
subjects were confined to the apse. We have the most famous
example of an historical treatment on the great arch of S. Maria
Maggiore at Rome (Fig. 136). The character of the mosaic was
peculiarly appropriate to this church, for it was the earliest and
the greatest basilica in the West to be dedicated to the Virgin,
and it was closely associated with the story of Jesus' birth by
the fact that it had under its floor a crypt in imitation of the
cave and manger of the church at Bethlehem.
The mosaic of the arch is due to Sixtus III. (432--440). The
inscription at the summit reads briefly : SIXTUS EPISCOPUS
PLEIVI DEI — "Sixtus, the bishop, to the people of God."
Above the inscription (not shown in the illustration) there is a
mere compendium of the Apocalyptic decoration : a medallion
820
nCTOBIAL AJRT
with gold ground frames a jewelled throne with rich cushions
upon which is placed a wreath and a cross ; on each side are
the two Apostles and the symbols of the Evangelists. At the
0?
^
Fig. 136. — Apsidal
Maggiore, Kome. First
The Virgin seated, accom-
ippears to Joseph, the pre-
M-it of the Magi, a miracle
'•luiirhter of the innocents, the
Uij: liom Bethlehem and Jerusalem.
i>
1^
'n?7m:JK
\ery bottom of the arch we
Iiave the towns of Jerusalem
and Bethlehem with their sheep ;
the rest of the arch is given up to
an historical composition in three
zones representing the story of Mary
and the infancy of Jesus, accord-
ing to apocr3q3hal as well as the
canonical Gospels. It is supposed that
this mosaic was intended as a com-
memoration of the council of Ephesus,
which was a triumph for the Roman
Church, and which, in defining the doc-
trine of our Lord's Person, vindicated at
the same time the name Mother of God
for the Virgin, and gave an impetus to representations of her
story in art.
Beginning at the left and with the uppermost zone : Mary
richly attired is seated spinning before her house ; the dove
and the angel Gabriel at once descend toward her, and in the
MOSAICS— S. Maria Jlar/giore
321
next instant Gabriel is represented standing before her and
delivering his message. On the other side of the Virgin are
the two angels whom God sent to be her guard ; they appear
aroli of S Mai-Ki
half of lifth century,
panicd by anpel^, an anpcl
sentation at the Temple, the
Efrypt (apocrj i)hal '<()uiTe),
Magi before Ilerod, the bheep is>
again at the right consulting
with Joseph before announenig
the pregnancy of Mary. Joseph
stands in an attitude of hesitation
in front of a small temple. Follow-
ing the same zone: the tAvo angels
accompany Mary and the infant to the
Temple for the Presentation ; another
angel guides Joseph. They are already
in the court of the Temple, as is indicated
by the colonnade behind ; Anna and
Simeon hasten toward them ; a group ol
priests stand in front of the Temple, upon
the porch of which doves are feeding.
Farther to the right it is supposed that
the flight into Egypt was represented, of which only the
figure of an angel and part of that of the Virgin are visible.
The mosaic has been partially destroyed on both sides, but
more particularly on this. The next zone represents the adora-
tion of the Magi : the infant Jesus is seated upon a great throne ;
o22
riCTORIAL ART
he has a nimbus surmounted by a small cross, and above him
is the star. Four angels stand behind him, and on each side
of the throne two women, one young and the other old — per-
haps Mary and the nurse. Only two of the Magi appear, but
the other was probably represented at the other side and has
been cut off with the mutilation of the mosaic. On the other
side is represented a scene taken from one of the apocryphal
Gospels, according to which on the arrival of the Divine Infant
at a certain town
in Egypt all the
idols fell down,
and the people
and their king
came out and
worshipped him.
The Nile is in-
dicated in the
picture by a blue
streak in the
background. The
next zone repre-
sents on one side
the massacre of
the innocent s,
and on the other
the Magi ' before
Herod. An Ori-
ental influence is
shown in this
mosaic by the ex-
travagant richness of the costumes and architecture. Mary
is dressed like an empress, and her humble home at Nazareth
is a palace.
It is probable that the mosaics which adorn the nave of this
church belong to the preceding century, — that is to the first
foundation of the church by Liberius. They are arranged in
small contiguous compartments above the straight epistyle on
each side of the central aisle, and also on the wall above the
door. There were originally forty compartments, of which six
were destroyed by the arches which were constructed before
»- ■ .^ • -
■'^a
ym
'"v'V
1
0m^' -^^ '
bi.5. -
/
-' - M
Yu.. 137.
The capture of Jericho.
Specimens of the historical mosaics above the
3I0SAICS—S. Maria JIaggiore
323
two side chapels, while others have been replaced by modern
paintings or mosaics. On the left hand are depicted episodes
in the history of the patriarchs ; on the right the story of
Closes and Joshua. Figure 137 represents two of the subjects :
the fall of Jericho, and Joshua commanding the sun to stand
still. Both of these subjects have a high dramatic interest;
but very often the choice seems to have been made without
reference to the
importance of the
theme, or to its
dramatic possibili-
ties. The artist
seems to have
})icked out his sub-
jects at random
from an illustrated
Bible. It was the
fashion of the early
miniatures to fol-
low closely the nar-
rative, with an
illustration for the
principal theme of
every page. Many
of these mosaics
are quite incompre-
hensible without a
minute acquaint-
ance wdth the Pen-
tateuch. Their
chief interest lies in the fact that they give us an idea of the
character of the earliest illustrated Bibles. They suggest
interesting comparisons with some of the early miniature
manuscripts, particularly with the Joshua Roll of the Vatican.
Above these ancient mosaics, between the windows of the
clearstory wall, there was once represented a procession of
martyrs with the instruments of their torture under their feet.
For the next, indeed for the only other example of a series
of Biblical illustrations which has been preserved to us from
among the many which once adorned the naves of the churches,
Joshua commanding the sun.
nave of S. Maria Maggiore, Rome. Fourth century.
324
nCTOBIAL AET
we must turn to the church of S. Apollinare Nuovo at Eavenna,
(Fig. 37). This church is a monument of the Gothic rule, and
though the decoration was executed by the Greek or Roman
artists who were naturall}- attracted to the seat of government,
it affords a striking testimony to Theodoric's enlightened pat-
ronage of art. It was erected about the year 500 as the Arian
cathedral, and when in the year 570 it was reconsecrated for
Catholic worship, it is not likely that the mosaic decoration
suffered any addition or any change. In later times the apsi-
FiG. 13S. — Part of a long mosaic frieze on the right wall of the nave of S. Apollinare Niiovo,
enthroned between
dal mosaics have been barbarously superseded by modern
stucco and paint; but we have still in the nave the most
complete example of church decoration which has been pre-
served to us from the early period. It is not unlike the deco-
ration of S. Maria Maggiore, only the relations are reversed ; the
Biblical illustrations, which deal exclusively with the life of
Christ, are arranged in small compartments above each of the
windows, and the procession of saints constitutes a continuous
frieze immediately above the colonnade. Between the windows
stand the white-robed figures of Apostles and prophets.
Nothing could be more effective or more appropriate for the
MOSAICS— S. Apollinare Nuovo
325
decoration of the clearstory wall than the long procession of
martyrs which issue from the cities of Classis and Kavenna,
and approach on the one side the enthroned Christ, and on
the other the infant Jesus and his Mother. On the left, the
women's side of the church, is a long line of twenty-two female
martyrs led by the Three IMagi (Fig. 139) to the Virgin and
Child, who are enthroned between four angels. The martyrs
are all clothed alike in a white stola and in a rich palla em-
broidered with gold and pearls ; their brows are encircled by
Ravenna. Sixth century. A procession of martyrs offering their crowns to Christ, who is
four angels.
a coronet from which depends a long white veil, with one
corner of which they veil their hands in carrying the crown
which they come to lay at the feet of Christ. They march in
close rank, barely separated from one another by palms and
lilies ; they are distinguished only by the names which are
written above them, S. Agnes alone is accompanied by her
attribute, the lamb. This composition, as well as that which
represents twenty-six male figures on the other side of the
nave, has been criticised for its monotony; but this, which
might well be accounted a defect in any other place, is here
thoroughly in keeping with the monotonous line of columns
326 nCTOBIAL ABT
below, and conspires with tlieni to carry the eye on to the
centre of worship in tlie apse. The procession of male mar-
tyrs (Fig. lo8), on the right side of the nave, approaches Christ
enthroned between four angels ; the martyrs are here also dis-
tinguished only by their names ; they carry their crowns in
the lap of the xjallium, and they are separated by palms. The
nimbus of the martyrs consists of a circle of light, that of the
Fig. 189. — Part of a long mosaic frieze on the left wall of the nave of S. Apolllnare Nuovo,
Ingr their crowns to the
angels and of the Virgin is a solid disk ; in the nimbus of Christ
is inscribed the cross.
The picture of Christ, with oval face and pointed beard, is
exceedingly interesting ; it is here for the first time that we
see depicted the ty])e which characterized most of the subse-
quent representations. It is an admirable idealization, combin-
ing harmoniously the traits of gentleness and majesty. The
mediaeval representations fell distinctly below it, they err by
an exaggeration of the traits of harshness or of suffering; it
was not till the Eenascence that this early attempt at the
idealization of the God-man was again equalled.
Important as this mosaic is for its decorative effect, it is far
surpassed in iconographical interest by the small panels next
3I0SAICS—S. Apollinare Nuovo 327
the roof which represent scenes from the life of Christ. On
the left hand are represented the miracles and the parables of
Christ in thirteen panels ; on the right, thirteen episodes of
his Passion. It is not possible to describe in detail this impor-
tant series; a bare list of the subjects treated is, however, not
without interest, since it is the most complete illustration of
the life of Christ which we have in early Christian art: 1,
Ravenna. Sixth century. A procession of female martyrs, k'd by tlie three Magi, offer-
infant Christ and the Virgin.
the healing of the paralytic (Matt. ix. 2-7) ; 2, the healing of
one possessed (Luke viii. 27-32); 3, the healing of the paralytic
of Capernaum (Mark ii. 3-12) ; 4, the separation of the sheep
from the goats (Matt. xxvi. 33); 5, the widow's mite (Mark xii.
42) ; 6, the Pharisee and the publican at the Temple (Luke
xviii. 10-14) ; 7, the resurrection of Lazarus (John xi. 38^4) ;
8, Jesus and the Samaritan woman (John iv. 7) ; 9, the woman
with the issue of blood (IVIatt. ix. 20-22) ; 10, the healing of
two blind men (Matt. ix. 27-30); 11, the miraculous draught
of fishes (Luke v. 6) ; 12, the multiplication of the five loaves
and the two fishes (Matt. xiv. 15-21) ; 13, the multiplication
of the seven loaves and the few fishes (Matt. xv. 32-38) ;
14, the Last Supper (Matt. xxvi. 20) ; 15, Jesus on the Mount of
828
FICTOniAL ART
Olives (.Matt. xxvi. 39) ; 10, tlio kiss of Judas (Matt. xxvi. 49);
17, the arrest of Jesus (j\Iatt. xxvi. 50) ; 18, Jesus before Caia-
plias (Matt. xxvi. 64) ; 19, the prediction of Peter's denial (Matt.
xxvi. 34) ; 20, the denial of Peter (Matt. xxvi. 69) ; 21, Judas
returning the thirty pieces of silver (Matt, xxvii. 3) ; 22, Jesus
before Pilate (Matt, xxvii. 11);
23, the way to Calvary (Matt.
xxvii. 32) ; 24, the women at
the sepulchre (Matt, xxviii. 5) ;
25, Jesus appearing to the
Apostles (Matt, xxviii. 17) :
26, Jesus appearing to the two
disciples on the road to Em-
niaus (Luke xxiv. 15).
There are a number of sub-
jects in this list, particularly
in the latter series, which here
emerge for the first time in
Christian art. From the list
itself it is evident, and still
more from the mode of repre-
sentation, that the interest is
purely an historical and di-
dactic one; this series is an
example of the '• Bible of the
Poor," designed to instruct
the illiterate in the principal
facts of the Gospel history.
Whether or not these pictures
were copied from Biblical
miniatures, they are very dif-
ferent in point of execution
form the historical series in S. Maria Maggiore ; the composi-
tions are better adapted to the mosaic art; even though the
panels are of smaller dimensions and are placed at a greater
distance from the eye, they are more readily intelligible;
the figures stand out in statuesque boldness, and the details
are duly subordinated. Many of the pictures, especially of
the first series, are plainly influenced by the types which were
current in Christian sculpture. A single disciple, as upon the
Fig. 140. — S. Luke, mosaic in S. Viu
Ravenna. Sixth century.
MOSAICS— S. Giovanniin Fonte 329
sarcophagi, usually accompanies Christ in the scenes which rep-
resent his miracles. This is not a representation of S. Peter,
nor of any one of the Apostles who were most constantly in
his company, but, by a principle which was well recognized in
Classical art, the single tigure stands syncretically for the whole
company of the Apostles. This device w^as here of great im-
portance, for it enabled the artist to depict the scenes with
greater clearness and simplicity, and to represent the principal
figures distinctly and in large proportions. The fact that half
the subjects here refer to the Lord's Passion cannot be taken
to prove a greater interest in this theme, but they show that
the early reluctance to represent it in art was passing away.
Even here, however, it is to be noticed that the subjects which
represent our Lord's physical agony — the scourging, the scof-
fing, the crucifixion — are not depicted.
Of the w^hole decoration of the church nothing is so thor-
oughly classical as the figures of prophets and Apostles
between the windows. We could wish that other works of
Theodoric's able artists were preserved to us, particularly
those which once adorned his palace. The palace is depicted
in one of the mosaics in this church (Fig. 143) ; but its decora-
tion of marble and mosaic was carried away by Charlemagne
to decorate his imperial residence at Aix-la-Chapelle.
MOSAICS OF THE FIFTH CEXTURY AT EAVEXISrA
A great number of churches at Ravenna received elaborate
mosaic decoration during the Grothic rule, but only fragments
have been preserved. Pairly complete are the mosaics of the
Arian baptistery (S. Maria in Cosmedin), but they are nothing
more than a rude imitation of the magnificent decoration of the
Orthodox baptistery (S. Giovanni in Fonte), erected in the early
years of the fifth century under the Empress Galla Placidia.
In this beautiful monument the marble incrustations of the
lower walls have been lost, but the mosaics are fairly well pre-
served ; they are very finely designed, and they have a special
interest in the fact that they constitute one of the few examples
we have of the early decoration of a dome, another being
8. George in Thessalonica, the mosaics of which (Fig. 144)
have ■ been ascribed to the time of Justinian, but are possi-
830
piCTOBTAL Anr
bly mucli later. Above the first order of arcades are
eight admirable figures of prophets ; they are surrounded by
a graceful foliage design, and with their shining white gar-
ments they stand out in strong contrast against the dark
blue ground. Similar figures in stucco appear above in the
niches which alternate with the windows. At the top of these
niches are small fields of mosaic which represent a variety
of subjects, some of them taken from the earliest cycle of the
catacombs. The mosaics of the dome consist of two concentric
zones surrounding a central medallion. The first zone repeats
Fig. 141. — The Good Shepherd, mosaic in the mausoleum of Galla Placldia, Eavenna.
Fifth centuiy.
four times the same theme : an ornamental arcade, in the midst
of which is an altar supporting an open Gospel, and on each
side a rich throne. Alternating with this and four times re-
peated is a large throne in a niche. The second and broader
zone represents the Twelve Apostles marching with their crowns
in their hands. The central medallion contains an admirabh
representation of the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan.
Another monument of the same age is (Fig. 50) the mauso-
leum of Galla Placidia (SS. Nazario e Celso), which still contains
the sarcophagus of that empress, as well as that of Constan-
tius III., her second husband, and of her brother Honorius.
It is a building of rude construction, but on account of the
complete preservation of its mosaics its decorative effect is
MOSAICS— Tomb of GaIJa Plandla
331
very rich, and it gives a more striking impression than any
other ancient monument of the decorative capacities of the
mosaic art. The decoration is simjjle and the effect is due
chiefly to the richness of the color ; the walls are covered with
plain slabs of polished marble ; the mosaics of the vault are
executed in a purely conventional pattern ; only the end walls
are decorated with figured
designs. Figure 141 repre-
sents the Good Shepherd in
the midst of his flock. This
theme reminds us that we
have here again a case of
sepulchral decoration ; but
how different it is from the
Good Shepherd of the cata-
combs ! It is still the youth-
ful, beardless type of Christ
which is here represented;
but here he is clothed in
imperial purple, his head
is surrounded by the nimbus,
and his shepherd's rod is the
cross. Opposite this is a rep-
resentation of S. Lawrence:
with a cross upon his
shoulder and an open book
in his hand he joyfully
hastens to his martyrdom,
which is represented by a
fiery gridiron. An open cup-
board containing books, above
which one can read the names
of the four Gospels, suggests
his faith and his courage.
In S. Vitale we have already studied the chief example of
the mosaics of the Exarchate which superseded the Gothic
kingdom. The last mosaics of Ravenna were those of S. Apol-
linare in Classe, which were begun in the sixth century, but
not finished until the latter part of the seventh. This was an
age of full decadence, and it lies beyond the limits which we
Fig. 142. —S. Ursicinus, bishop of Ravenna,
mosaic in S. Apollinare in L'lasse. 6ixia
century.
the source whence he derived
332
Pier OB I AL ABT
have set for our study. The apsidal mosaics repeat the Apoca-
lyptic themes with which we have become familiar, but with
variations which prove a decadence in thought as well as in
Fig. 143. — Palace of Thoodoric, mosaic in S. Apollinare Nuovo, Kavenna. Sixth century.
Fir.. 144. —Mosaic
drawn ; before it,
paenula.
S. Georg-e. Thessalonica. An altar and ciborium, with curtain
the attitude of i)rayer, stand a man and a \%oman clad in the
MIXIATUBES 333
ski!.l. The most interesting feature of the decoration of this
church is the series of medallion portraits of the bishops of
Ravenna, which are arranged in long line above the colonnade.
They are an imitation of the portraits of the popes at S. Paul's
at Rome. Figure 142 represents one of the bishops which are
depicted between the windows of the apsidal wall. This, like
the seventh-century mosaic in the Lateran baptistery (Fig.
181), is illustrated here more expressly as an example of the
costume of the period.
D. MINIATURES
It is only quite lately that the subject of early Biblical min-
iatures has received serious attention, and there is yet a good
Fig. 145. — Miniature from the Joshua Eoll of the Vatican. Fifth centur}\ Joshua and
ambassadors of Gibeon, in two scenes.
deal of difference of opinion about the date and origin of the
earliest illustrated manuscripts. The art of miniature illustra-
tion was practised before the Christian era, and even after
the fourth century it continued to be employed for Classical
authors as well as for the Bible and ecclesiastical books. In
a sense it may be called, however, a Christian art, for it first
came into general use in the fourth century as applied to the
Bible. The substitution of the codex for the roll was largely
due to the use of the Christian Scriptures as books of reference,
and this change in itself must have served to encourage, or at
least facilitate, the illustration of manuscripts. The develop-
ment of this art was, however, more positively due to the
growing interest in the interpretation of the Biblical text. It
is not likely that in the early period the whole Bible was ever
334
riCTOBIAL ABT
illustrated ; at all events we have examples only of particular
sections of the Scriptures, as, for instance, the Pentateuch and
the Gospels.
The art of Biblical miniature painting has a history of a thou-
sand years, and in all of that long period it suffered less change
than any other art. Nevertheless, the early miniature paint-
ing was distinguished in many ways from that which prevailed
during the Middle Ages. The aim of the latter was chiefly
decorative, and it was closely incorporated with the text; the
Fig. 146. — Miniature from the Jo.shua Koll of the Vatican.
men of Ai.
Fifth century. Joshua and the
illustrations were incidental to the embellishment of a title-
page, of an initial letter, or of the margin. Of the early illus-
trated manuscripts none so closely approaches this mode of
treatment as the Gospel codex executed by a Syrian monk.
Rabulas, in the sixth century. In particular, the architectural
decoration which frames the Eusebian Canons, which are incor-
porated in this codex, seems to be the model of many of the
decorative manuscripts of the Middle Ages. There is, in fact,
good reason to suppose that the manuscripts which were copied
and illuminated in the schools of Charlemagne, and which set
the fashion for all later work, were directly derived from
Syrian originals.
MINIATUBES 835
In general, however, the early miniatures were separated
from the text, although they constituted a continuous comment
upon it. Their aim was strictly illustrative, and it is worthy
of remark that, notwithstanding the prevalence of allegorical
interpretation, the pictorial illustrations of the Bible clung
closely to the natural and historical sense of the story.
The determination of the date of the early miniatures is
embarrassed by the fact that they were more readily, and in
fact more frequently, copied than any other class of early
monuments. We have, for example, in Fig. 148 an illustra-
tion from a Greek psalter in Paris which is proved by the text
to belong to the eleventh century, while the miniatures are
strikingly Classical in style, and are doubtless accurately
copied from originals of the fourth or fifth century. The
illustration here given represents in idyllic fashion the royal
shepherd and psalmist, David. At his side is a female figure
personifying " Harmony " ; below is represented " Mount Beth-
lehem" under the figure of an aged man. Such allegorical
personifications were common in Classical art, but still more
frequently employed in Byzantine, and they may be taken,
perhaps, to indicate a Byzantine origin for these miniatures.
The Vienna Genesis and the Joshua Roll of the Vatican may
be taken to represent the earliest type of Biblical miniatures.
The first belongs to the fourth or fifth century, the latter prob-
ably to the fifth. But even if their date were placed lower,
their importance would remain substantially the same, and
they could only be understood as copies of a manuscript of
very early date.
The Joshua manuscript is the only instance we have of an
illustrated roll ; the form serves to explain the close relation
of the illustrations to the text, particularly the fact that they
constitute a running accompaniment of the narrative and
reflect its most minute incidents. The roll contains twenty-
three illustrations ; one cannot say separate illustrations, for
they are not framed apart, but are so closely continuous that
they constitute, as it were, a moving picture. For example,
in Fig. 145 we have the story of Joshua's dealings with the
men of Gibeon (Josh. ix. 3-27). Above at the left are the
fraudulent ambassadors starting out with their old sacks and
rent wine-skins and battered raiment, as though they had
336 PICTOBIAL ABT
journeyed from a far country (vv. 3-5). Below they are pre-
senting themselves to Joshua and the men of Israel (vv. 5-15) ;
the city of Gibeon is personified above by the reclining figure
with the horn of plenty. Between this and the next scene
there is an interval of three days ; Joshua and the host have
already reached the city of Gibeon (which appears on the
right), and discovered the fraud of the ambassadors; he calls
them before him and decrees the perpetual servitude of the
The diverse fortune of Pharaoh's butler and baker.
Fig. U7. — Miniatures from the Vienna
Gibeonites to the Children of Israel (vv. 16-27). J^igure
146 represents the return of Joshua's messengers from Ai
(Josh. vii. 3).
The illustration of a codex was manifestly more convenient ;
the miniatures might occupy a whole page, or be placed below
the text, but in any case they constituted each of them a dis-
tinct and separate subject, and the artist was at liberty to
select from the narrative such themes as pleased his fancy or
suited his talent.
The mosaics illustrating Genesis and Joshua in S. Maria
Maggiore remind one of the Joshua Roll, but they are distin-
MIXIATURES
337
guislied from it by the fact that they are framed in separate
panels and each scene developed for itself. They follow the
incidents of the narrative as closely and as undiscriminatingly
as the Joshua E-oll, but they could only have been copied from
the miniatures of a codex.
The Vienna Genesis is an example of an illustrated codex
which shows a characteristic selection on the T)art of the artist.
It contains forty-eight pictures upon twenty-six leaves, and the
artist has selected pleasing and idyllic themes to the exclusion
Eebecca at the well — the well personified In Classic fashion bj' a female figur
Genesis. Fourth or fifth century.
of all scenes of stir and strife. The traditions of Classic art
are especially marked in this work, as one may see from the
two illustrations which are here given (Fig. 147). The first
represents the contrasted fates of Pharaoh's butler and baker
(Gen. xl. 20-22) : the monarch reclines at table in the place
of honor with three members of his court; behind stands
an officer, while in front musicians are playing, and the fortu-
nate butler, restored to favor, approaches to serve him. Out-
side, in fulfilment of Joseph's prediction, the baker is hanged
upon a tree and the birds devour his flesh. The second illus-
tration represents the meeting of Rebecca and Eliezer at the
338
PICTOniAL ART
well (Gen. xxiv. 10-18). The well is personified by the half-
naked woman with a water jar. A colonnaded walk extends
from the city of Nahor to the well, and aloni;- it Krl)oc'(\a is
Fig. us. — David i)layiiif,' the harp : from a Grork Psaltor in Paris. Elovoiith centui-y copy
of fourth century orifrinal.
approachino; ; in the next moment she is offering water from
her jar to Eliezer.
If the art of miniature influenced the early mosaics, it was no
less influenced in turn by them, and this influence became more
and more marked after the sixth century. It is perhaps to be
traced in the Rabulas Codex above mentioned. It is very
clearly marked in the Codex Rossanensis of the sixth century.
MINIATURES 339
It is especially observable in the forty figures of prophets
which adorn this codex ; and in the eighteen pictures from the
New Testament it appears, not only in a certain simplicity of
treatment which belongs to the mosaic art, but in the lofty
idealistic conception of Christ. The influence of the mosaics
is even more clear in the strange work called The Christian
Topography of Cosmas Indikopleustes (Indian traveller). The
author had made journeys as a merchant to distant parts of the
earth, and he composed his book as a monk in one of the mon-
asteries on Sinai in the year 547. It is an attempt to derive
from Biblical sources a Christian physical geography, in oppo-
sition to the Ptolemaic system. Its Biblical illustrations are
introduced in a purely allegorical interest; they are represen-
tations of patriarchs, kings, and prophets, regarded as types of
Christ. It is a production of high artistic worth.
The Cotton Bible in the British Museum is to be compared
with the Vienna Genesis, but it appears to be of very much
later date. A certain rudeness of execution suggests barbarian
influence, and though doubtless copied from older patterns, it
is probably not earlier than the sixth century. From the Cotton
Bible, or its original, were copied many of the mosaics in S.
Mark's at Venice. The Cambridge Evangeliar belongs, per-
haps, to the same century, but it stands in closer relation to
the art of the Middle Ages.
THE MINOR ARTS
The pictorial element of art has been already expressly stud-
ied ill the last chapter ; but it still remains for us to consider
the purely decorative element, and in some measure to study
over again pictorial art in its decorative aspect.
It is not art in its highest phases, but art in its merely deco-
rative uses — in the production of dress, utensils, furniture, in
short, the whole paraphernalia of public and private life —
which represents in the most vivid and intimate terms the
civilization of a people or of an epoch. It is not the rare
artistic genius, but the common artistic taste, which reveals the
tone of any civilization. To realize the character of Christian
civilization in the Classic period, one must piece together innu-
merable minute studies of the common articles of use and
luxury which gave color to public and private life. This con-
stitutes at once the most interesting and the most difficult labor
of archaeology, for it supposes not only the summing up of the
great mass of archaeological results, but a rare imaginative con-
struction of them.
Such a task is by no means to be undertaken here : to speak
of "the Christian civilization within the Classical period" is to
imply that in all material aspects the Christian civilization was
identical with the Classical, and the portrayal of the familiar
aspects of home and public life must be frankly left to Classi-
cal archaeology. The patrician house of the martyrs John and
Paul on the Caelian hill proves how thoroughly the Christian
life of the fourth century was expressed in the terms of the
Classical culture. The decoration of the house was in the
main just what one might expect to find in the home of a
pagan; even the decoration which was borrowed from Chris-
tian cemeterial art was employed in a purely Classical fashion.
In the following centuries there was a marked decline in
340
INTB OD UC TIOX 341
Classical taste and in the means of gratifying it ; the unbri-
dled gorgeousness of Oriental decoration inliuenced most of the
decorative arts, even in Rome and the Western provinces, and
supplanted the Greek ideals of simplicity, measure, and refine-
ment of form and color.
As was to be expected in the general decline of the arts,
hardly any new technical process marks the development of
Christian civilization, — except in the Byzantine Empire, and
during a period which is excluded from the scope of this hand-
book. The textile industry constitutes a marked exception, and
it is consequently treated somewhat at length at the end of this
chapter, while a whole chapter is devoted to Christian dress.
An industry of minor importance is that which is repre-
sented by the gold-glass, a technic which produced figured
designs upon glass by means of gold-leaf. As this seems to
have been almost exclusively a Christian product, it may be
reckoned especially to our province.
For the rest, it must suffice here to mention objects which
are distinctly ecclesiastical, or at least distinctly religious, in
use or decoration. The character and costliness of church
decoration is highly significant of the Christian reverence for
the house of w^orship. The particular items of church furni-
ture illustrate various liturgical practices, and they commonly
serve to explain the development of our modern ecclesiastical
utensils and adornment. In the chapter on Architecture we
have already considered the stationary and strictly architec-
tural elements of church furniture. We have now to speak,
not of the altar, but of the embroidered altar cloths and of the
Eucharistic vessels ; not of the cathedra, the chancels, and the
ciborium, but of the hangings which decorated them, or served
to mark more distinctly the divisions of the church; of the
lamps which illuminated the edifice, of the crowns and other
votive offerings which embellished it, and, in the last place, of
the ecclesiastical vestments.
Here more than in any other part of our study we are left
to the testimony of literary sources. It is but natural that
very few such monuments have survived ; the textiles were in
themselves perishable, and works of art in gold and silver
were a standing temptation to the cupidity of plunderers, or
to the exigencies of the owners. Enough, however, has been
342 MIXOn AliTS
left to furnish helpful analogies for the reconstruction of the
various articles of church furniture which are mentioned in
the texts. Reconstructions have often been attempted of the
works of art which are dryly enumerated by the Roman
Liber Pont(ficaUs, or described with poetic fervor by Paulinus
of Nola and Procopius. The drawings })ublished by de Fleury
m La Messe may be mentioned as especially successful.
Truly astonishing are the accounts of the rich gifts pre-
sented by emperors and popes to the great basilicas of Rome,
of Constantinople, and of the Holy Land. Such accounts have
met with no little scepticism; but the sources are reliable,
and a just appreciation of the wealth which was concentrated
at Rome during the Empire suffices to render them credible.
Notwithstanding the partition of the Empire and the terrible
calamities which overtook the Eternal City, it remains in some
sort a mystery how that great hoard of gold and silver was
finally dispersed and actually lost to Europe. Xow that it is
gone, there remains nothing which brings home to us so
vividly the wealth of Imperial Rome as the countless store of
precious marbles, fetched from every corner of the earth, and
found to-day, not only amid the ruins of public buildings, but
strewn over the whole Campagna, and wherever a Roman
nobleman had his seat. The monuments not only substantiate
the literary picture of the luxury of the Empire, but they
prove that the wealth was not concentrated solely in the
hands of the state or of the emperor. This distribution of
imperial ^vealth in private holdings constituted a reservoir
which could not suddenly be exhausted. Rome still remained
rich after the seat of Empire was transferred to the East ;
time after time she paid her ransom in gold and silver; until
the Middle Ages there appeared always to be enough gold
to replace, after pillage, the decoration of the tombs of the
Apostles, and the furniture of the churches. In Rome it was
the cathedral of the bishop (the Lateran), and the memorial
basilicas of the two Apostles, which were the recipients of the
most costly donations. It must be remembered that the
churches and the church ceremonies replaced the temples and
the civic pomps upon which Rome had been accustomed to
lavish treasure. The ascetic trend which was so strong in the
fifth and sixth centuries was influential in simplifying the
EUCHABISTIC VESSELS 343
private lives of inaiiy wealthy Christians, but it evidently had
little or no tendency to check the lavish decoration of the
house of God. In Constantinople and Ravenna the building
and decoration of churches, like the management of church
'tfairs, constituted one of the absorbing interests of the civil
tiers. In the Holy Land the pious example of Constantine
1 I Helena was followed by other emperors, notably by Jus-
tinian. Other churches, the objects of civil or provincial
pride, must have vied with these imperial foundations; and
the lesser churches, in proportion to their means, with a less
perfect art and less noble materials, must have followed the
lead and fashion of the greater.
EUCHARISTIO VESSELS
Thoroughly in accord with the simplicity of our Lord's
institution, the simplest vessels, the commonest cup and dish,
were deemed sufficient for the celebration of the Eucharist.
Vessels of glass, of the baser metals, or even of wood, were, in
fact, used by poor churches till late in the Middle Ages.
Figure 75 represents the Eucharistic bread in a basket and
the Eucharistic wine in a cup of glass. The basket is here
symbolical, it represents Christ's miraculous multiplication of
the loaves ; but it seems to have been put occasionally to the
use which is here illustrated. S. Jerome says, "Xo one is so
rich as he who carries the body of Christ in a basket of osiers
and his blood in a cup of glass." At the same time these words
imply that vessels of so mean a character were not the rule.
It was natural that simplicity should not be scorned, but it
was equally natural that Christians should express their sense
of the dignity of the sacrament by providing worthier vessels
according to their means ; and the provision of gold and silver
vessels must have been easier for the Church in the early
period (notwithstanding persecution) than it came to be in
the Middle Ages. Golden chalices and patens (sometimes
adorned with gems) are, in fact, mentioned very early. Glass,
however, seems to have been in very common use in the early
period for the paten as well as the chalice ; the fine effect and
great popularity of gold leaf decoration upon glass doubtless
encouraged the use of this material.
344 311 y OB AETS
Tlie earliest chalice represented in Christian art is the simple
two-handled mug Adiich is dimly to be descried in Fig. 74.
It appears to have been a very common vessel indeed, but in
shape it was thoroughly practical. On the other hand, the
vessel which appears upon the altar in two mosaics of Ravenna
(Figs. 131, 132) is purely ornamental, and seems to meet none
of the requirements of practical use, though it was this form
of vase — the Classical ccuttharas — which figured commonly,
indeed almost invariably, as the symbol of the Eucharist.
Such a vase appears very frequently in Christian art, espe-
cially in the low reliefs in stone from the sixth to the ninth
century, and in tapestry designs of the same period. Its sym-
bolic signilicance is plainly marked by the vine which springs
out of it, by the two harts which approach it on either side
panting to quench their thirst with the water of life, and by the
peacocks which symbolize its potency for immortality. It has
accordingly been supposed — notwithstanding the difficulty of
drinking out of such a vase — that this was the common shape
of the Eucharistic chalice during the early period. The can-
tharus may very well have constituted a part of the altar
furniture ; either as a crater for mixing the wine and water, or
as a pitcher for the reception of the whole of the consecrated
wine, symbolizing the unity of the cup even when the wine
was administered in several chalices. There is good reason,
however, to doubt that it was ever used directly in administer-
ing the wine to the people ; and its frequent employment as
a symbol seems to be explained by the fact that it was a con-
ventional decorative motive which the Church borrowed from
ancient art and to which it attached its own meaning. The
representations in which this vase figures in Christian art are
plainly fashioned after an ancient Oriental design which was
current in Classical times. This design originally represented
the sacred Assyrian tree and its animal guardians ; in Christian
art the symbolic vine was substituted for the Assyrian Tree of
Life, the vase in which it grew was elevated to the chief
motive, and instead of the griffins, the panthers or the lions
which guarded it, the gentler animals, representing the Chris-
tian disciples, approached it to drink. The popularity of this
design is due to the fact that it was a common pattern of tex-
tile stuffs (which were always inspired by the East), and that
EUCHARISTIC VESSELS 345
the textile embroideries afforded the only models which were
generally available for decorative art at the beginning of the
Middle Ages. The ornamental cantharus was therefore a tra-
ditional motive which was simply left unaltered in Christian
art.
At all events, the earliest chalices which have survived were
substantially of the same form as our own, to which also the ear-
liest realistic representations in pictorial art agree. In general
terms, it was a bowl supported by a slender stem upon a flat
base. The most notable point of difference from the modern
chalice was its greater size. Both size and shape may be seen
in the mosaic (Fig. 135) which represents the Empress Theo-
dora bearing a votive chalice adorned with pearls and other
stones, to the church of S. Vitale. It is to be noted that this
mosaic is of the same date as those which represent the can-
tharus upon the altar. The parallel mosaic (Fig. 134) repre-
sents Justinian carrying the votive paten. It will be seen that
the ancient paten was much larger than the type to which we
are now accustomed. All of the Eucharistic vessels had to be
of a considerable size, for throughout the early Christian period
it was customary for all the Christians who were present to com-
mune, and it is evident, too, that the consumption was greater
than at present. The paten here represented is a great flat
bowl, and this shape appears to have been universal till late in
the Middle Ages.
In Fig. 71 there is no paten represented, unless it be by the
plate upon which the fish lies. In that picture the bishop is
depicted in the act of breaking, with some effort, a large
flat loaf. The size and character of the bread used in early
times was various. It may be that the large flat loaf w^as always
in use in the East as it is to-day. Small loaves, such as are
represented in Fig. 75, appear invariably in the representations
of Christ's miracle. They commonly appear (as in Fig. 101)
marked with the cross, and just such little Eucharistic breads
are represented — in graffito or in relief — upon several tomb-
stones in the catacombs (Fig. 8). These small rolls were
apparently the commonest form for Eucharistic breads during
the first four centuries in Rome. They were not unlike our
ordinary breakfast rolls ; it was in fact just such bread as the
Romans commonly used, and the cross was merely the acci-
346
MIXOR AliTS
dental result of folding up the corners to make it round.
Though this cross was not contined to Eucharistic use, it was
undoubtedly regarded as symbolical by the Christians, and
probably suggested the custom of stamping the Eucharistic
loaf expressly with numerous crosses and with various sym-
bolical devices, — a custom which prevailed, at least in the
East, as early as the sixth century. The loaves which are
represented in Fig. 133 appear to be intentionally marked with
the cross ; those of Figs. 131, 132, are of a very elaborate pattern.
Fig. 149. — Censers of fifth and bLvth centuiietj.
The size of both paten and chalice may be roughly estimated
from the weight, which the Liber Pontificalis is always more
careful to give than it is to describe the artistic execution. For
example, among the gifts which Constantine presented to the
Lateran, there were, according to this text, '^ 7 patens of gold
weighing each 30 pounds ; 16 patens of silver weighing each
30 pounds." Of the chalices, the text distinguishes " 40 minor
chalices of purest gold weighing each 1 pound," from " 50
minor ministerial chalices weighing each 2 pounds," without
mentioning any greater chalices. The chalices given to S.
Peter were, however, of greater size and value. There were " 3
golden chalices with emeralds and jacinths, each having 45
LAMPS 347
gems and weighing 12 pounds." There were, besides, "20 sil-
ver chalices each w^eighing 10 pounds." In this case the paten,
too, was more costly : " a golden paten with a tower ( ! ), of
purest gold, with a dove, adorned with emeralds, and jacinths,
and 215 pearls, weighing 30 pounds ; 5 patens of silver weigh-
ing each 15 pounds." This must suffice by Tvay of example ; the
use of jewelled chalices was by no means confined to imperial
foundations, nor even to metropolitan churches. Patens were
used also to hold consecrated oil, for Constantine presented to
the church at Ostia a single patenam argenteam chrismalem
weighing ten pounds. They probably served also to receive the
donations of the people on the tables of prothesis. The men-
tion of the golden patens presented to the Lateran follows
im.mediately upon the mention of the seven silver altars of pro-
thesis, and the same number is probably to be understood in
the case of the patens. At all events, there were seven golden
scyphoi (broad-mouthed mixing vessels) each weighing ten
pounds, which could only have served for the reception of the
wine (and oil) offered by the people. The scypjlms seems to
have been a necessary element of the church furniture ; there
were also in the Lateran twenty silver scyphoi of fifteen pounds
each. There is mentioned " a single scyphus of coral, adorned
on all sides with gems and lined with gold." This weighed
twenty pounds and three ounces, was probably shaped like the
cantharus of Figs. 131, 132, and was designed for the great
altar, to hold the Eucharistic wine which was poured thence
into the " calices ministeriales.^^ The ama (or amula), a narrow-
necked pitcher, was equally indispensable, and must have served
to hold the wine and the water which were to be mixed at the
Eucharist, perhaps also for the water with which the priest
washed his hands. In the Lateran there were " 2 amas of pur-
est gold, weighing each 50 pounds and holding 3 medemni"
(about 35 gallons) ; and " 20 silver amas, each weighing 10
pounds and holding a single medemnus^^ (about 11^ gallons).
LAMPS
No class of Christian antiquities is represented by such an
abundance of examples as the cheap clay lamps ornamented
with the Constantinian monogram, or by some distinctively
348
MIX OB A UTS
Christian symbol or scene. The ordinary shape of the clay
lamp is shown in Figs. 150, 151. It was simply the common
Classical lamp, and it is distinguished as Christian solely by
the themes which decorate it ; the great majority of the lamps
found in the catacombs are distinguished by no such mark.
They were objects of the meanest value and consequently pro-
duced in the greatest abundance; the stamped designs which
decorated them hardly added to their expense. Their preserva-
tion in such number is therefore readily accounted for, given a
Fig. 150. — Terra-cotta lamps with Christian sj-mbols.
material which was at once valueless and incorruptible. Their
chief interest lies in the ocular proof which they furnish of the
prevalent custom of ornamenting the commonest household
utensils with Christian devices. Ornamental boxes, which from
the religious character of their decoration have been supposed
to be intended for the reservation of the host or for the con-
servation of relics, are quite as likely intended for a lady's
jewels or some other domestic use. It is recognized that scrip-
tural scenes embroidered upon garments do not prove a sacred
use. One of the wine jars found in the cellar of the house of
SS. John and Paul on the Caelian is marked by the Christian
manufacturer with the Constantinian monogram. This is
LAMPS 349
merely by way of example, to draw attention to a marked trait
of early Christian life ; people did not show shyness about
their religion. Christian devices do not, however, appear upon
clay lamps till near the end of the third century, and then but
rarely. They are most common in the fifth. But even after the
peace of the Church the great majority of the lamps used by
Christians were still deco- ^^
rated with subjects which
had no religious signifi-
cance, taken from common
life, or even from pagan
myths.
Much more rare, but at
the same time more inter-
esting, are the bronze
lamps of Christian origin.
The forms which they
assumed are meagrely il-
lustrated by Figs. 152,
153, and 154. It is to be
presumed that lamps of
this sort were for the "^"^^^^^^^ •*"
most part intended merely ^^1^^^^^ ^^^
for household use. They ^^^»h. *^
show the elaborate art,
or artifice, which was em-
ployed to adapt Christian ^^^- 151 — Terra-cotta lamp representing a martyr
J 1 1 IT, exposed to a lion.
themes and symbols to
decorative ends ; and they help us in some measure to picture
the great chandeliers of gold and silver which decorated the
churches.
It is, however, a far cry from these little bronze lamps to
the costly works of art which have perished and are commem-
orated only by the texts. No other elements of early church
decoration and furnishing give such an impression of luxury
and magnificence as the devices for artificial illumination which
are described in early texts. It is by no means easy to re-
construct the various forms of chandelier which are briefly
enumerated in the TJhp.r Ponfifimlh. The names by which
they are denoted give no certain idea of their character, and
350
JllXOli AETS
Fig. 152. — Terra-cotta lamp.
the Classical analogies — e.g. the bronze and silver chandeliers
found at Pompeii — represent only very inadequately the more
sumptuous works which are here indicated. Of the great co-
)'ona with its pendent lamps which illuminated the church of
S. Felix at Nola, Paulinus gives an enthusiastic and detailed
description ; yet the reconstructions of it are insecure and con-
tradictory. This corona
apparently encircled a
great cross, and both sup-
ported pendent lamps.
A fresco in the cata-
combs (Fig. 83) shows
how the cross was used
in the fifth century to
support lamps or candles. In the fourth century, when the
cross was not yet represented in realistic form, the Constan-
tinian monogram was used in the same way, as is shown by
a monument preserved in the Vatican Museum. Lamps in the
form of a fish must have been more common than existing monu-
ments would lead us to suppose (see the clay fish represented in
Fig. 152) ; many of the pendent lamps which Constantine pre-
sented to the Lateran were in the
form of the dolphin. Astonishing is
the number of lamps which Constan-
tine presented to the Lateran basilica.
There were no less than 174 chande-
liers and candlesticks of the
most various sorts. De
Fleury has reckoned that
altogether they furnished
8730 separate lights. The
ideal of the ancients was
not the attainment of the maximum power of illumination, but
the impression of beauty produced by an arrangement of various
sorts of lamps and various qualities of flame. By the sheer
intensity of artificial light one can turn the night into day
and outdo the sun ; by an artistic arrangement of small lamps
and candles which are barely sufficient to overcome the dark-
ness, one can rival the beauty of the starry heavens.
The lamps given to the Lateran {Basilica Constantiniana) are
Fig. 153.
Bronze lamp in form of a basilica.
Fifth century.
LAMPS
351
thus enumerated by the Liber Pontificalis : "A chandelier
(farus) of purest gold which hung under the ciborium (fasti-
dium, see p. 157) with 50 dolphins of purest gold, weighing 50
pounds, with chains which weighed 25 pounds." This was
probably in the shape of a great crown, from which the single
lamps (the dolphins) were suspended. Under the four arches
of the ciborium there hung " 4 crowns of purest gold, with 20
dolphins, weighing
each 15 pounds."
"A chandelier
(farus cantharus) of
purest gold before
the altar, in which
burned genuine
nard, w^ith 80 dol-
phins, weighing 30
pounds. A silver
chandelier (far its
cantharus) with 20
dolphins, where
there burned genu-
ine nard." Farus
denotes in general
a chandelier ; the
farus cantharus
seems to have been
either an upright
lamp-holder resting
upon the floor, or some sort of corona suspended from the
ceiling. One must picture a great cantharus with many wicks,
or one great flame, surrounded by a crown which supportec'
the pendent lamps. In the nave of the Lateran there were
45 such lamps of silver (without mention of pendants) each
weighing 30 pounds. The cantharus could obviously be used
alone ; a pendent lamp of this sort was later called biitro. The
gabatha was a dish-shaped lamp for floating wicks. In the
right aisle of the basilica there were 40 silver chandeliers each
weighing 20 pounds, and in the left, 25 of the same weight.
In the nave (in gremio) of the basilica there were also " 50
silver chandeliers for holding candles (cantara cirostata) each
Fig. 154. — Bronze lamp.
352 JIIXOB ABTS
weighing 20 pounds." AYliether they stood upon the floor, or
hung from the ceiling, is not stated; nor whether they sup-
ported one or more candles. At all events, there were seven
candelabra which did certainly rest upon the floor, one in front
of each of seven altars (see p. 126). They were of copper
inlaid with reliefs in silver representing the prophets, they
were ten feet high, and they weighed each three hundred'
pounds. Mentioned in this connection, and apparently de-
signed to contain oil for the lamps, are " 3 measures {Metretas)
of purest silver, weighing each 300 pounds and holding more
than 115 gallons (medemnos X)."
It will be noticed that, while both candles and lamps were
used, the lamps had the preference, and they only were used
in the immediate neighborhood of the altar. This distinction
holds good for all of the early period. On the altar itself
there were no lights ; as the celebrant faced the people, they
would have been an incumbrance. About the tenth cen-
tury the candle carried by the acolyte was sometimes placed
temporarily on the altar for the convenience of the celebrant
(his position with respect to the people having been changed) ;
but it was not till later that it became a permanent feature of
the altar furniture. The altar was nevertheless brightly illu-
minated, and plainly marked as the centre of attention, by the
lamps which hung from the ciborium. In the Lateran, as we
have seen, there were at least one hundred and thirty lights
pendent from the ciborium (supposing each dolphin bore but
one wick), and one hundred lamps burned in front of the altar,
in the nave. Not to speak of the beauty of the olive oil light
itself, the artistic possibilities of small pendent lamps are
far superior to any effect which can be produced by the
modern candles upon the reredos.
A silver box of the fifth century from Xumidia (Fig. 161)
bears upon its lid the representation of an orans between two
tall candlesticks. This is interesting, not only as a rare illus-
tration of an ancient candlestick, but because it reveals the
symbolical meaning which was attached to lights in the early
Church. Lights represented the glories of paradise ; the orans
— which perhaps stands for some saint whose relics were
treasured in this box — is thus pictured in bliss. This mean-
ing is further exj^ressed by the mountain upon which she
CENSEES 353
stands, and out of which gush the four rivers of paradise.
Candles or torches were for the Christians, as for the pa-
gans, an invariable accompaniment of funeral processions.
This was a perfectly natural use, since Classical custom
encouraged burial at night; and it was even more strictly-
necessary in the case of the Christians, who buried in the
catacombs. With less reason the use was extended to all
religious processions, whether by day or night. They were
doubtless carried in the litany processions which became so
common in the fifth century, and portable lights must from
this time on have been the common accompaniment of pro-
cessions in the churches. Candles are carried by courtiers or
civil officials in a procession which conveys some relic to the
cathedral of Treves, as depicted in an ivory carving of the
fifth century (Fig. 110).
It may be mentioned here that costly crowns, w^hich were
merely decorative and supported no lamps, were a common
form of votive offering after the fifth century.
CEXSERS
Another custom which w^as originally associated with pro-
cessions, in particular with funeral processions, was the use of
incense. How early incense may have been used by the
Church it is not possible to fix with precision; the monu-
ments in particular have very little evidence to offer on the
subject. But the fact that so little is said of it even after the
date at which it is known to have been in use, proves at once
how naturally it must have been adopted as an obvious con-
comitant of the funeral, and how little signiiicance must have
been attached to it in relation to worship. In connection with
funerals its utilitarian convenience is especially obvious, and
as a matter of fact it seems to have been thus used by the
pagans without any symbolical reference. It had also, how-
ever, among the pagans a distinctly religious use, and it is
difficult to suppose that it could have been regarded as a fea-
ture of Christian worship as long as pagan customs remained a
lively menace to the Church or even a vivid recollection. On
the other hand, the high regard showed for incense in the
Scriptures, and its use in Jewish worship, must have tended to
2a
354 MIX OB AETS
overcome such scruple. At all eveuts, it was used in the
churches as early as the fourth century, though apparently
on aesthetic grounds, like the burning of scented nard in the
lamps. Constantine presented to S. Peter's " a censer (tymia-
materhim) of purest gold, adorned on all sides with gems to
the number of 60, weighing 15 pounds," — it is hardly to
be decided whether this was a swinging censer or a station-
ary one. It is clear that the use of censers, like the use of
portable lights, passed from funerals to processions of all sorts,
and so finally to processions within the church. Censers are
not carried in the procession which is represented in Fig.
110, but they are swung by the on-lookers from the windows
of the palace. A censer is carried by a deacon (Fig. 134) in
the procession which Justinian makes to S. Vital e. This
censer is represented on a larger scale in Fig. 149. The
second figure on this plate reproduces the shape of the censers
which appear in Fig. 110 ; the third figure represents a bronze
censer preserved at Mannheim; it is probably of the same
date. There are no earlier representations of censers in Chris-
tian art.
DIVERS OBJECTS
One of the subjects which properly belongs to this chapter
— that of rings and carved stones — it has been found conven-
ient to treat in relation to Christian symbolism m general
(p. 234). Work in ivory, so far as it belongs to pictorial
art, has been considered in the previous chapter ; for the rest,
the small objects in ivory found in the tombs have no artistic,
and but small archaeological, interest. Coins with Christian
emblems have already been mentioned (p. 239), as well as two
medals representing the heads of the chief Apostles (p. 251,
Figs. 90, 91).
Medals of devotion decorated with Christian symbols con-
stitute the only class of amulets which have any artistic inter-
est. Their likeness to the bidke of the pagans is sufficiently
obvious. They early came into use, together with other forms
of amulets, and their use increased rapidly after the peace of
the Church. Figure 159 represents a bronze medal, which is not
later than the fourth century ; the subjects which appear on it
belong to the earliest cycle of Christian art. In the midst is
DIVERS OBJECTS
355
the Good Shepherd; above, Adam and Eve; then Jonah under
his gourd, the sacrifice of Isaac, Moses striking the rock, the
two other Jonah scenes, Susanna, Daniel, and Noah.
The use of oil amjmUce has been described in another place
(p. 80) ; the ampidlce themselves are invariably very rude
productions in terra-cotta, metal, or glass, but they are usually
ornamented and have a
considerable iconograph-
ical interest. They are
only less numerous than
Christian lamps. In-
comparably the most
common are those which
were brought by pil-
grims from the tomb of
S. Mennas, near Alex-
andria, and are found all
over Europe. They bear
an image of the saint
between two kneeling
camels — suggested by
the legend that a camel
of his own accord drew
the bier of S. Mennas to
the tomb. The ampidlce
usually bore the image
and symbols of the saint
from whose tomb the oil
was taken. Figure 158
represents a metal am-
pulla of the sixth century from Monza, which contained oil from
the holy places of Jerusalem, and is, therefore, decorated with
scenes representing the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, and the
Ascension.
The lead coffin illustrated in Fig. 9 is a good example of a
common sort of metal work of the fourth century. A fifth
century reliquary from Numidia, illustrated by Fig. 161, is
an example of a higher class of work ; it is the more rare
because it is of silver; its decoration is borrowed from the
mosaics of the basilicas. A lead cup from Carthage (Figs.
Fig. 155. —Bronze lamp, Jonah under the gourd.
356
MINOR ARTS
Fig. 156. — Lead cup from ancient
Carthaj^e. Fifth century. A mix-
ture of Christian and pagan designs.
156, 157) of the same or the follow-
ing century is interesting chiefly as
an illustration of the mingling of
Christian and pagan subjects, which
witnesses to the impotence of de-
cadent art to cut itself loose from
earlier models. In this case the
decoration consists of small plaques
of lead soldered upon the cup.
Work in enamel, executed in very
various ways, was common in
Greece, but fell out of favor in the
(^m\ w^m^\mwwm \?\mmm.m^:^(^^^'
Fig. 157. — Designs of the above cup displayed.
Roman period (probably because figured glasswork was pre-
ferred) ; and Christian examples of it are rare and of slight
Fig. 155. — Metal ampulla in Monza. Sixth century
GLASS
357
Fig. 159. — Bronze medal of the fourth
century, with Christian symbols.
importance till the Byzantine revival, which lies beyond our
limits. In the fifth century began the use of small crosses as
amulets ; processional crosses came
into use about the same time; the
altar cross was not used within our
period.
GLASS
Early Christian glass technic de-
mands special attention. The in-
dustry was closely contemporary
with Christianity and made rapid
progress during the first centuries.
Glass was a rarity in the time of
Augustus, but the quantity which
was found in the catacombs proves that it had become fairly
abundant by the fourth century. It is not necessary, how-
ever, to speak of the plain glass vessels, which were of course
the most abundant ; and only a w^ord need be said about the cut
and engraved glass.
The simplest decoration upon glass was made by tracing
patterns in line with a point — graffiti on glass. This w^as
usually freehand work, rapidly and carelessly executed. The
scenes which serve for this decoration are taken from Classical
mythology, from everyday life, or from among the common
subjects of Christian art. One of the most interesting exam-
ples of this art — though barbarously rude in workmanship —
is a cup found in Podgoritza in Albania, and now in the Mu-
seum of Saint Petersburg. Its interest lies in the fact that it
brings together most of the important scenes wdiich constitute
the early Biblical cycle of the catacombs.
A very much superior technic consisted in deep cutting and
modelling with the wheel. The patterns used were seldom
merely conventional; the work, therefore, required great skill,
and there are no good examples of it after the third century.
When the designs were cut on the inside of the glass they were
sometimes lined with a color, or with gold-leaf, giving the effect
of enamel. Cut sufficiently deep from the outer surface, they
gave a charming effect of transparency. An example x)i this
latter sort is given by Fig. 160, which represents a fragment
358
2nyOE ABTS
of a cylindrical vase of the shape which the Romans called
miliaria ; it belongs to the early part of the fourth century, and
it evidently represented a considerable number of Biblical sub-
jects,— the three subjects which are preserved are distinctly
original both in selection and execu-
tion.
The most elaborate and most beau-
tiful products of the glass industry
were what is called the vasa diatretaj
carved in relief through superim-
posed layers of differently colored
glass, with the effect of a cameo.
The most perfect specimen of this art
is the Portland vase in the British
Museum. In the Christian period
this refined art produced only works
of minor importance; the difficulty
of the technic, particularly the dan-
ger of shattering one of the layers of
glass, gave rise to imitations which
were made by soldering upon the
surface small figures already cut out
of colored glass. A beautiful glass
of this sort was found in a cemetery
at Treves ; on a white ground tinged
with light blue of varying intensity
there is a row of fish and two rows
of marine shell-fish. Whether this
was properly of Christian or of pagan
manufacture, the Christian interpreta-
tion of the design is evident enough.
It is, however, the so-called gold-
glass which is most expressly —
indeed, almost exclusively — associ-
ated with Christian art. It seems
to have had its origin about the middle of the third century,
and the art was hardly continued beyond the fourth. Most
of the examples preserved have been found in the Roman
catacombs, where it was the fashion to press them (merely as
a mark of identification) upon the fresh plaster which closed
Fig. 160. — Fragment of a cut-glass
vessel of the fourth century.
Vestiges of the sacrifice of Isaac,
Daniel among the lions, the Isra-
elites following the pillar of fire.
GLASS 359
the loculus. The hardening of the plaster preserved them, or
preserved at least the round plate which formed the bottom of
the glass, and which Avas the held principally used for decora-
tion. It is rare that a whole glass of this sort has been pre-
served, and it has been a matter of dispute to what sort of
vessel these round plates appertained. They were commonly
of two sorts : a deep saucer, and a tall cup or drinking glass,
probably in matched pairs. It is doubtful wdiether the
glasses found in the catacombs w^ere whole when they were
attached to the plaster, and not rather mere fragments which
had already served their term of use in the household, and
were no longer serviceable except as marks of identification.
It is certain, at any rate, that very small disks (Figs. 165, 1G6)
which were soldered on to the glass, and constituted almost
the sole decoration emj^loyed for the broad margin of saucers,
were also used as charms or ornaments, for they have been
found surrounded by a band of gold, in order that they might
be suspended from the neck. The drinking glasses were
chiefly ornamented at the bottom. The technic consisted
in engraving upon a gold-leaf attached to the glass, and after-
w^ards protecting it by a glass film. The engraving was exe-
cuted with a point, commonly in mere outline, but sometimes
wdth a careful shading and modelling, which was occasionally
enhanced by the use of colors. The finest specimens, however,
w^ere designed by minute dots, as in a mezzotint engraving.
This seems to have been a local Eoman art practised in
pagan shops (perhaps even in Jewish) before it w^as adopted
by Christianity. There are, in fact, a number of glasses which
represent mythological subjects or purely pagan themes, and
the Jewish origin of others is clearly proved by representations
of the seven-branched candlesticks and of the Ark of the Cov-
enant. Christian themes are, however, much more numerous
and more varied, and it is evident that these glasses were manu-
factured in Christian shops before the time of Constantine.
As this art flourished before as well as after the Peace of the
Church, it represented subjects Avhich belonged to both the
earlier and the later cycle, borrowing, on the one hand, from
the catacomb frescos, and, on the other, from the mosaics of
the basilicas. The Good Shepherd Avas frequently represented
at the bottom of a drinking glass (Fig. 162). Tertullian refers
360
MINOB ABTS
reproachfully to the use of Eucharistic chalices in which was
painted the image of the Good Shepherd ; ^ and though we
have no reason to suppose that this art of gold-glass was so
ancient, a similar style of decoration must evidently have been
in use, and notwithstanding this gold-glass ware never presents
the form proper to the chalice, the suggestion that vessels so
decorated were used for the Eucharist is too natural to be put
aside. The subjects are predominantly religious. A common
device for the decoration of a cup was manifestly copied from
Fig. ICl. —Silver box from Africa. Fourth or fifth century. On the lid, an orans between
harts slaking their thirst at the four streams of Paradise (the
the ceiling decoration of the catacombs ; it consists of a central
medallion surrounded by radiating compartments which con-
tain representations of Old and New Testament miracles. In
Eig. 168 the subjects are crowded together, and the divisions
are barely marked; this seems to reflect the influence of the
sarcophagi. The imitation of the mosaics was not less close ;
in this case there was a horizontal division, the scene above
rerpresenting the half dome of the apse, that below, the wall.
The religious subjects which appear upon the gold-glasses have
been sufliciently noticed under Pictorial Art.
There appears, however, upon the gold-glasses another range
1 De Pudicitia, 7, 10.
GLASS
361
of subjects — partly religious and partly secular — which is far
more characteristic of them, and which seems to indicate their
use. Genre pictures, which were rare in the catacombs, were
especially common upon the gold-glasses. The commonest
themes were representations of a married pair, or of a family
group (Fig. 167), accompanied usually by the names of the
couple, and almost always by a toast. Pie zeses (drink ! live !)
was the usual toast; zeses — a mere transliteration from the
Greek — was more common than the Latin vivas. A married
;:«*^^
jn
■m^^mf^^m
two candlesticks ; on one side, tlie Agnus Dei and the Apostolic sheep ; on the other, two
Gospels), which spring from beneath the monogram of Christ.
couple, greeted with this toast, appears in the midst of the
religious scenes depicted in Fig. 168. A similar toast {Dig-
nitas amicorum pie zeses) was inscribed about the picture of
Adam and Eve in Fig. 163. In this case Eve is adorned
with bracelets, a necklace, and an artificial head-dress ; it is
probable that this scene was commonly, though not very aptl}^,
chosen to represent married felicity. A toast in Greek appears
also upon the third glass representing the Good Shepherd, in
Fig. 162, and from innumerable examples of the same sort
it is evident that the religious as well as the secular represen-
tations were meant to adorn the glasses which were used for mere
family feasts. They were doubtless prepared as gifts for wed-
362
MINOR ARTS
dings, birthdays, and all sorts of family festivals. A common
toast was, " Take a crown, drink, and live." Crowns of leaves
or flowers were commonly used at Christian feasts, notwith-
standing their pagan associations. Figure 1G7 represents a
small* figure placing wreaths upon the heads of a husband and
wife; such a tigure is sometimes designated by name in the
inscription as Christus. Figure 169 hails with a toast an over-
seer, "Dsedalius, your hope [is in Christ]. Drink. Live."
The commonest subjects of all are the images of popular
Eoman saints. Maria appears frequently between Petrus and
Paulus ; and among the Roman martyrs — the Apostles excepted
— Agnes was by far the most popular. Eighty out of the three
Fig. 162. — Fragments of three gold -glasses of the third or fourth century. The Good Shep-
herd in the different attitudes.
hundred glasses published by Garrucci contain representations
of SS. Peter and Paul. When we think of the Christian
agapes, and above all of the anniversary feasts in memory of
the martyrs, we can realize how many occasions of a more or
less religious nature the Christians had to use drinking glasses,
and we can understand the selection of such ornament.
THE TEXTILE ART
Of all the arts, it is the textile which stands in the closest
and most necessary relation to human life. It is a matter of
course that in Classical and in early Christian literature there
are innumerable references to it ; there are names denoting the
texture and color of textile stuff, descriptions more or less
detailed of its decoration, and indications of its use. But
TEXTILE ART
363
such fabrics were among the most perishable of all the mate-
rials used in the arts; and without the preservation of the
stuffs themselves, the names, familiar and clear as they were
to the ancients, are almost without significance to us, and the
descriptions hardly avail to describe them. What significance
are we to attach, for instance, to the many names denoting
various shades of " purple " ; or to the terms descriptive of
different qualities of silk ; or to the accounts of figured stuffs,
when we do not know by what method of embroidery they
were executed, or whether it was by embroidery at all ? Long
and fruitless study has proved how thoroughly, impossible it is
Fig. 163. — Fragments of two gold-glasses. Daniel slaying Bel, Adam and Eve.
to come to any clear idea about these matters so long as monu-
mental evidence is entirely lacking. Painted representations
of clothing, hangings, etc., have constituted until lately almost
the only sort of monumental evidence which threw any light
upon Classic textiles ; and considering the character of most of
the paintings which have been preserved to us, and the ruinous
condition in which they have been transmitted, that evidence
is very far from being complete or even reliable. Lately, how-
ever, there have been discovered in Egypt almost inexhaustible
treasures of textile stuffs ; and the examples which are now
distributed among most of the great museums of the world are
probably sufficient to illustrate every term which is used in
this connection in Classic and early Christian literature. Un-
fortunately, the value of this great store of information is still
304
MIX on AIITS
only potential ; the study of its relation to Classical literature,
or to Classical art and life, has hardly yet been begun. This
chapter is the poorer for the lack of such a study, which is
here referred to as a rewarding subject of investigation.
These Egyptian tinds, however, bear upon their very face,
and quite apart from their relation to Classical texts, a clear
witness to almost all phases of this important art, as it was
practised from the third century to the seventh. Any one
who is acquainted with the art of weaving can detect by an
inspection of these fabrics the technical processes which were
employed in tliG manufacture of them ; but the most important
evidence which they offer is quite
on the surface and is obvious to
Fig. 164. — Fragments of two gold-glasses. The story of Jonah.
the mere layman. They show at a glance the material, the
texture, the quality, the colors, and the forms, which character-
ized ancient textiles. They serve in particular to put vividly
before us the character of one of the most important features
of the decoration of the churches : the curtains, altar cover-
ings, etc. It is this consideration especially which concerns us
here; but it will be necessary first to describe generally and
briefly the character of these finds, and it may be well also to
give some account of their discovery and study.
The first finds were made as early as the beginning of this
century in the neighborhood of Sakkarah ; in 1801 a tunic came
into the possession of the Louvre, and other textiles from the
same source were later collected in Turin, and in the British
Museum. There was, however, no methodical exploration of
TEXTILE ABT 365
the site, and it is only within the last fifteen years that an
overwhelming abundance of material has been furnished by
the burial-ground of Achniim. Achmim (a name variously
transliterated), in upper Egypt on the right bank of the Nile,
was the ancient Egyptian Chemmis — in Ptolemaic times Pan-
opolis — renowned for its sculptors and masons as well as for its
linen weaving. This site has already been exhausted ; unfor-
tunately not by intelligent exploration, but by indiscriminate
pillage by the Arabs, who not only took no thought to pre-
serve intact the contents of separate graves, but were com-
monly indifferent to the preservation of individual garments in
their integrity. They frequently contented themselves with
stripping off the colored embroideries and silks for which they
were confident of finding a market. This was perhaps one of
the richest sites, but it is by no means the only one ; a few
Fig. 165. Fig. 166.
other burying-grounds have already been explored with some
success. Particularly worthy of note are the explorations of
the burying-ground of Antinoe, begun in 1897 by the Musee
Guimet of Paris, and completed in 1898 with the cooperation
of the Chamber of Commerce of Lyons. These excavations
were very fruitful, and they were of course conducted under
the best scientific direction. The finds of the year 1898 were
exhibited for a month in Paris, and then divided between the
two subscribing parties. They illustrate very well the Classical
textiles, and are a good basis for comparison with modern
products ; but they are not very rich in distinctively Christian
patterns.
These Egyptian finds have been studied in a slight mono-
graph by Gerspach, director of the Gobelins. His professional
judgment upon the technic of the art — upon the processes of
weaving, dyeing, and embroidery — is of course especially valu-
able. They have been studied from a much broader and more
306
MIS on ARTS
thoroughly archaeological point of view by Dr. R. Forrer; his
numerous works (the most important of which are named
in the Bibliography) are profusely illustrated, chiefly in color.
Forrer's works refer almost exclusively to his own collection,
which is a thoroughly representative one and forms an excel-
lent basis for study. It has a special interest for our purpose,
because it is the collection richest in distinctively Christian
embroideries.
These excavations reveal a very simple mode of burial, which
remained the same from the third to the seventh century. The
body, after the slightest process of embalming, was clothed in
the best garments, bound to a cypress bed, and without coffin
or shroud buried at a depth of some five feet in the dry sand.
Fig. 167. — Fragnaents of two gold-glasses. Family groups.
The textiles which are found in these graves are therefore
almost exclusively garments; properly studied they would fur-
nish a complete picture of the dress of all classes throughout
this long period. In continuation of the pagan custom, minor
objects of various sorts were placed in the graves; they some-
times denote the profession of the defunct. One cannot but
marvel at the perfect preservation of all the various textiles
found in these graves ; it is due merely to the exceeding dry-
ness of the sand. Whether they be of linen, cotton, silk, or
wool, they are many of them still sound and fit for use, pre-
serving their color as well as their texture. Parts have often
been disintegrated by the corruption of the body ; dj^ed woollen
threads of certain colors (particularly red) have been neatly
eaten out by worms ; but the greatest destruction was left to
be wrought by the Arab excavators.
TEXTILE ABT 367
Gerspach affirms upon the evidence of these finds that ahnost
every product known to modern textile art was produced in
great perfection by the ancients. To quote this judgment,
which is strikingly borne out by the facts, is sufficient excuse
for not attempting here either to describe or to enumerate the
various kinds of fabrics which are now brought to light. An
Fig. 16S. — Gold-glasses. Healing of the paralytic, l•ai.■^ing of Lazarus, Adam and Eve, the
sacrifice of Isaac, the water from the rock.
overwhelming proportion of the material is of linen or cotton.
A colder country might naturally be expected to show a greater
proportion of woollen garments ; even here, however, the weight
and warmth of the woollen garments was sometimes extraordi-
nary, and the linen was frequently woven like Turkish towel-
ing (rough only on one side, however), producing tunics and
palliums of considerable warmth. The curtain illustrated in
368
3IIX0n ARTS
Fig. 17G is of this texture. Cotton is sometimes woven in
the manner of Canton flannel ; or, with the same mode of
weaving, a warmer garment and a more beautiful surface was
produced by a woof of line glossy wool. For great warmth
and protection against rain — one can hardly account for such
garments in Egypt — a pure felt was used, or a felt beaten into
Fig.
A gold-glass. Inscribed upon it is a toast to a certain Daedalius, apparently a
superintendent or owner of a carpenter shop.
a hea^'y woollen texture. Light textures were, however, the
rule, though they have rarely been so well preserved. Linen
was woven with great regularity and sometimes with exceeding
fineness ; very light cotton tunics were common ; and even
light transparent woollen fabrics were made, to be used as
veils, for example.
Silk was from first to last exceedingly rare; even among
strictly decorative stuffs it exists only in the proportion of
TEXTILE ART 369
about one to one hundred. How rare it actually was under the
Koman Empire we can judge from the mention of two tunics
of half silk {suhsericus) given to Claudius by Valerian and
Gallienus. Elagabalus (218-222) was the first to wear clothes
of pure silk (liolo serious). At a later time, however, silk cer-
tainly became much more common in Rome than the cemetery
of a provincial Egyptian town would give any idea of. As
we find it there, it was mainly employed in small patches
(segmenta) for the adornment of commoner fabrics. In the
third and fourth centuries it was generally in solid colors, or
with a changeable surface (evidently, therefore, dyed in the
thread) ; the ancients were sufficiently delighted by the natural
sheen of the material. It is not unlikely that such silk was
woven in the extreme Orient ; it was always too thin for any
but mere decorative purposes. The Egyptian weavers resorted
to various devices for economizing this rare substance. In the
case of a light woollen veil in Forrer's collection, the border is
decorated by threads of silk shot through the woollen mesh.
Another device resorted to consisted in winding linen threads
with fine strands of silk, so that when woven they gave on
both sides the effects of pure silk fabric. It is probable that
in these two methods we have the distinction which the
Romans marked by subsericus and tramosericus, though it is
not easy to determine which was which. The Romans made a
further distinction between sericus and Uolosericus.
Patterns woven in silk became common later — perhaps as
early as the fourth century. The silk was sometimes woven
in the shape of a davus with round or lanceolate finial, all
ready to be attached to the garment. A piece of such a davus
(probably fifth century) is shown in Eig. 171. The figures
are in cream-white, the natural color of the silk, against a
silver-gray ground. Silk embroidery (Figs. 172, 177-179) did
not come into common use till the fifth century and under
Byzantine influence.
Linen was rarely dyed, and it was frequently unbleached.
The dyeing of cotton was more common ; it was dyed especially
a brick-red with tannin and iron. In the later period it was
also printed in patterns. It was of course the wool which was
most frequently and most richly dyed, always, however, in
solid colors except where it was adorned with embroideries.
2b
370 . MIXOn ABTS
It is well known that the pallium, like the toga, was usually
white, and decorated only at the corners; palliums both of
cotton and of wool woven in broad stripes of bright colors
appear among our finds, but this was hardly a general fashion,
as this garment fell into disuse too early to be seriously
affected by the growing taste for striking effects in colors.
Women continued to use the palla much later, and it came to
be decorated over its whole surface with a diapered pattern.
The dalmatic was frequently adorned in the same way. The
psenula, on the other hand, was always of a solid color,
usually dyed in some shade of " purple," though the natural
chestnut-brown of some of the Caucasian wools was also
retained. Its sole decoration was a fringe.
The richest dyes, however, were not commonly lavished upon
the whole piece of cloth ; the choicest products of the dyers'
craft appear only in the small patches of tapestry or embroidery
(davus, segmentum, gammadia, paragauda) which showed like
gems against the meaner fabric which they decorated. It has
to be remarked as a peculiarity of the ancient use of textiles in
decoration that the commonest fabrics (plain linen or wool)
were used where we should expect the richest; for instance,
for the curtains of palaces and churches. The whole was
given character by the borders {paragaudoi) and segmenta of
tapestry or silk which adorned it.
TAPESTRY
The chief interest of this study centres in the decorative
patches above mentioned ; they were necessarily costly and
had often considerable artistic worth. The most surprising
revelation of these Egyptian finds is the fact that this decora-
tion was commonly not wrought in any of the stitches which
are classed as embroidery, but in tapestry. The tapestry was
always in wool upon a linen backing; it was wrought precisely
like the early Flemish tapestries and the modern Gobelins,
upon an upright frame worked from behind. As used upon a
linen garment, this decoration could be woven into the fabric ;
upon cotton and wool it was always applique, as it was also
frequently upon linen. Lasting longer than the cloth which it
ornamented, it could readily be transferred to a new, garment.
TAPESTRY
371
In considering either the colors or the patterns of these
tapestries, we have to note a marked difference between the
Classical and the Byzantine periods, with the fourth century as
a period of transition. It need hardly be said that all distinc-
tively Christian designs belong to the later period.
Nothing reveals more clearly the refinement of Classical
taste than moderation in the use of color ; it was not variety of
color which was prized, but the sheer beauty of a single dye.
Comparison with the best Gobelin dyes shows that the ancient
colors, even after fourteen hundred years, are less readily faded
by the sun. In the early period the tapestries were almost always
Fig. 170. — Segmenta lor the adornment of a garment from Achmim, Classical designs in
tapestry current from the second to the fourth century.
wrought in a single color, in one of the numerous shades classed
as purple, — varying from dark carmine red, reddish brown, vio-
let to dark blue or black, — some of which, as is well known,
were more peculiarly prized and valuable. The pattern was
pricked out by white linen thread ; it was always quite intri-
cate, though the general effect was simple. The designs were
for the most part geometrical, combined with conventionalized
vegetable forms; animal figures were introduced within the
frame of the main design. Figure 170 is the only illustration
here given of Classical segmenta. More ambitious pieces often
represented a mythological scene. These pieces are some-
times remarkable for accuracy of design ; various colors were
372
MINOR ARTS
sometimes used in elaborately figured tapestries, but always
with great sobriety. It was the segmentum, rather than the
narrow clavus, which gave scope for artistic treatment. In
general outline the segmenta were generally square or round ;
but various shapes were used, and for the centre of a cover
or curtain a star-shaped figure, com-
posed of superimposed squares, was
especially common. The way in
which these pieces were employed
in the decoration of garments is
described in the following chapter.
Their use upon curtains, table
covers, etc., was similar, and is
very simply described ; they were
generally placed only in the centre
;ind at the corners. Figure 176
represents a curtain of about the
third century — plain tapestry of
l)rown purple wool upon linen.
The angular figures which here
decorate the corners are very com-
mon ; they were called gammadice
from their resemblance to the
Greek gamma. Segmenta in the
shape of a cross, or with the design
of the Constantinian monogram,
were often used in the Christian
period upon garments, curtains,
and altar cloths. The letters
which are frequently represented
in early art as decorating the cor-
ners of the pallium were doubtless
executed in tapestry applique; it is
useless to seek in them any signifi-
cance beyond the mere purpose of adornment. Figure 175 shows
a more elaborate curtain of an expressly Christian design ; it
betrays a later period, which demanded a decoration covering
more or less completely the whole surface. The curtains rep-
resented in the fifth-century mosaics of Kavenna (Figs. 135,
143) are decorated by segmenta, but at close intervals over the
Fig. 171. —A piece of figured silk
from Achmim. About sixth cen-
tury. The eagle slaying an evil
beast, Christ slaying the dragon (a
crocodile), — sym bolizing the
Church and the Empire united in
the suppression of evil.
TAPE STB Y
373
whole surface ; on the other hand, Figs. 131, 132, and 142
repeat the simpler Classical design.
Classical simplicity in the use of the segmentum and its kin-
dred forms endured, in fact, throughout the whole period with
which we have to deal. The change which we have to note is
chiefly in the tapestry itself. In the fourth century there was
some deterioration in color, but still more in point of accuracy
of design. The same patterns were followed, but with an
increasing coarseness in the execution of the geometrical
designs, and hardness and conventionality in the treatment
of animal forms. The de-
cadent taste of the fifth
and following centuries
found compensation for
crudeness of design in a
lavish use of colors; not
only were there a great
variety of new colors em-
ployed, but they were
used in vivid combina-
tions. This was undoubt-
edly the effect of Oriental
influence, which made it-
self felt even before the
formation of the Byzan-
tine Empire. Side by Fig. 1T2. — Segmentum in tapestry from Achmim.
side with the traditional ^^°^^ seventh century, virgin and Child with an
Classical patterns there
came into common use designs of purely Oriental character,
evidently copied from imported fabrics, but in various ways
modified to suit the requirements of Classic art, or adapted
to the expression of Christian symbolism. The sacred tree
of Assyria with its animal guardians is only an example of
such expressly Oriental motives (see p. 344). It was at the
same time and under the same influence that the custom gained
currency of decorating the whole surface with small patterns.
For this a great variety of devices were employed ; but none
were more common than the four designs which were to become
so popular in tenth-century Byzantine stuffs, as they were also
on the textiles used in Western Europe after the Crusades,
MINOB ARTS
Fig. 173. — Tapestry from Achmim,
Symbol of the divine omniscience.
and which we now naturally associate with our playing cards :
that is, the lozenge, the heart, the trefoil, and the leaf, — or
diamonds, hearts, clubs, and spades. These figures had, it is
true, no special point of contact
with Christian symbolism, but
they were so commonly used in
the sixth century that a combina-
tion of them would have seemed
by no means out of place in eccle-
siastical embroidery.
It was hardly before the fifth
century that Biblical scenes were
represented upon the tapestries as
we find them in Egypt. As early as the fourth century,
however, literary sources refer to such works, and Asterius,
Bishop of Amasea, rebuked wealthy Christians for adorning
their clothes with pictures of Christ and his disciples, and with
scenes representing his miracles.
It is not till the eighth century
that the Liber Pontijicalis expressly
notices such scenes. By the time
the representation of Christian
themes in tapestry had become
common, the art was so far de-
cayed that the designs are con-
fused, and often hardly intelligible,
the effect depending chiefly upon
the brightness of the colors. It
helped the case somewhat that at
about the same time (fifth cen-
tury) silk embroidery became com-
mon (in Chinese flat stitch — what
the Eomans called feather stitch);
there are many interesting exam-
ples of it (Figs. 172, 177, and 178),
but none which can be called truly artistic. Figure 178 repre-
sents an unique object in Forrer's collection, which is interest-
ing quite apart from the technic of the silk embroideries which
adorn it. It is a narrow scarf of fine linen, nearly two and a
half yards long, adorned with nine silk embroideries, and twelve
of a clavus in tapestry.
part
TAPE ST R Y
375
patches (crosses, squares, and lozenges) of plain silk, all of them
applique. Forrer takes it to be an episcopal pallium of the
sixth century. It may belong quite as well to the seventh cen-
tury, and it is hard to believe that it was actually intended for
a pallium, which, even in the East, has never had any other orna-
ment than crosses.
L. ? ?.?.._ J.. ? .J V
* * ♦ •«• ♦ -f 1
It might, perhaps,
have been a stole ;
and, at all events,
the religious subjects
which decorate it
suggest an ecclesias-
tical use. The three
examples which are
here given of these
embroideries repre-
sent the raising of
Lazarus, the Cruci-
fixion, and Mary
Magdalene with the
angel at the tomb.
They are worked
upon a reddish black
ground in carmine
red, golden yellow,
light blue, white, and
green. Of the other
six pieces, two repre-
sent angels, others,
Christ enthroned,
Christ as an orans.
Christ instructing a
Fig. 175. — Reconstruction of a curtain — woollen tapestry
on a linen ground. Fourth to sixth century.
disciple, Christ heal-
ing the blind man. Other Christian scenes which Forrer enu-
merates in his collection are: Joseph the patriarch (of special
interest to the Egyptians), Elijah ascending in the chariot, the
messengers carrying the grapes of Eshcol, Daniel among the
lions, and the sacrifice of Isaac, from the Old Testament; and
from the New, the Annunciation, the meeting of JNIary with
Elisabeth (Fig. 177), Mary holding the child Jesus (Fig. 172),
376
MIXOR ABTS
the Magi (very frequent), the flight into Egypt, Christ healing
the paralytic, the raising of Lazarus, the entrance into Jerusa-
lem, the Resurrection, and the Good Shepherd. Grants and
saints are frequently figured. The commonest animal symbols
are the fish, the dove, the lamb, the hart, the hare, the fowl,
and the peacock.
^^ IS but rarely found
in the Egyptian
graves. It was,
however, a very an-
cient art ; it was
much used in Rome
under the Empire,
and just subse-
quent to our period
it was in frequent
use in the decora-
tion of the greater
basilicas. In par-
ticular, the cross
which ornamented
the centre of the
altar cloth — that
is, of the frontal —
was often worked
in gold, and some-
times embellished
with pearls. Early
gold embroidery
(as we learn from
the few fragments
which have been
preserved) was wrought with fine threads of pure gold ; later,
recourse was had to the method which is now common — wrap-
ping a stout linen thread with strips of parchment or paper
coated with gold-leaf. Gne gets an idea of the rich and heavy
character of Roman embroidery in gold from the representa-
tions of the toga picta upon the consular diptychs.
The special interest of all these textile designs lies in the
Fig. 1T6.
Curtain in the Victoria Albert Museum, Lon-
don. Perhaps third century.
CUBTAIXS AXD ALTAR CLOTHS 377
fact that they do not represent merely the local traditions and
the local art of a little town in Upper Egypt, but the cosmo-
politan art and custom of the Empire (see p. 2). There is
hardly anything which reveals more clearly the unity of cus-
tom under the Empire than the fact that the same garments
were worn and the same patterns prevailed in the heart of the
Empire and in its extremest provinces. The factories of
Achmim were doubtless intended to supply more than a local
trade; they must have received orders from Kome, and with
the orders the Classical patterns which were to be executed.
It is this which explains the uniformity of textile work
throughout the Empire, and the subversion — as we see in the
case of Egypt — of the traditions of local art. Among all the
Egyptian textiles there is hardly anything of a purely Egyp-
tian character. The Oriental patterns which were later intro-
duced were no less cosmopolitan, for Oriental fashions gained
acceptance everywhere.
Not v/ith standing its decline in taste and execution, textile
embroidery in all its branches had a rapid material expansion
in the fifth and sixth centuries ; in the decay — the extinction
almost ^ of other branches of pictorial art, designs in tapestry
were more commonly used and more broadly disseminated than
ever, and they constituted the only patterns which were sure to
be at hand in all parts of the Empire to guide the artisans who
were engaged in the production of the conventional low reliefs
in stone, which, from the fifth to the ninth century, were the
commonest monumental expression of decorative art. The in-
spiration and origin of these stone reliefs has long been sought,
and from various quarters. It is a notable fact that almost
every one of these low-relief designs which is not distinctly
derived from an architectural motive can be matched by textile
patterns either of Classical or of Oriental origin ; and their
inspiration from this source can hardly now be questioned.
ALTAR CLOTHS AND CHURCH CURTAINS
The foregoing may give an idea of the nature of the textile
stuffs which were employed in the decoration of the churches.
Figures 131, 132, 142, and 143 show that Classical patterns were
the rule for curtains and altar cloths even as late as the sixth
378
MIXOn ABTS
century. When we read of Biblical scenes depicted upon them,
we have to recognize that they must, in general, have been, like
those found in Egypt, of small compass, constituting mere de-
tails of the decoration. It remains merely to describe the
manner of the employment of curtains and coverings in the
churches.
In Classical times textile fabrics had as large a use in the
furnishing of the private house as they have with us, and their
use in the basilicas is mainly to be explained
by the customs of private life. They were
used in the houses for cushions and stools, as
coverings for seats, for tables and for the
wall, as curtains for the street doors, and as
canopies to shield the atrium from the sun.
But beside this, curtains were generally used
instead of doors within the house, and also
between the columns of the colonnade which
shielded the sides of the atrium. All of these
uses were repeated in the church : there was
the stool and cushion for the cathedra of the
bishop, coverings for the seats of the clergy,
and for the wall behind them, coverings for
the altar and for the tables, curtains for the
doors of the church and of the sacristies; and,
most important of all, the curtains which were
hung between the nave and the aisles, before
the presbytery, and around the ciborium. This
lavish use of curtains was doubtless encouraged
by the fact that they were common among the
Eomans as well for public as for private use,
and were, in particular, an important feature
of the decoration of the temples. The Liher
Pontificalis clearly enough indicates both the
lavishness of their employment, and the man-
ner of their use, in the Roman basilicas during the eighth and
ninth centuries. Though the employment of hangings seems to
have had a considerable development a,bout this time, the use
was by no means new. Quite the same use of them is proved
for the fifth century by the Charta Cornutiana (see below),
which has the additional interest of describing the furnishing,
Fig. 177. — Part of
a clavus in silk
embroidery, from
Achmim. Sev-
enth century.
CURTAINS AXD ALTAR CLOTHS 379
not of a metropolitan basilica, but of a country church. The
use of hangings must, in fact, have been fairly well fixed as
early as the fourth century; it corresponded to the requirements
of the liturgies of that period. They became so necessary an
accessory of church worship, of the Eucharistic service espe-
cially, that it is to be wondered that the Western Church was
ultimately able so completely to dispense with them, and with
the elaborate divisions between different classes of worshippers
which they marked. The credit of discarding all of this para-
phernalia, as well as for the abbreviation and simplification of
Fig. 178. — Some details of a scarf (stole ?) of the seventh century. Linen with silk
embroidery and patches of silk applique. The raising of Lazarus, the Crucifixion, Mary
Magdalene at the sepulchre.
the Mass itself, is not due (as is lightly asserted) to the " prac-
tical genius of Eome," which had fallen completely under the
sway of Oriental custom, but to the Northern peoples, particu-
larly the Franks, to whom is due the character of Mediccval
civilization, and from whom Kome herself had finally to bor-
row the very text of her liturgy.
The Charta Cornutiana above mentioned is a document of
very great interest to Christian archaeology.^ It is a deed of
gift drawn up in the year 471 in favor of a village church in
the neighborhood of Tivoli, near Eome. The donor, Flavins
Valila, called Theodorius, bestows a piece of ground, silver
utensils to the weight of about 541 Roman pounds, bronze
1 Printed by Duchesne in the introduction to the Liber Pontificalis.
380
MIXOB ABTS
chandeliers, and three sets of curtains (of silk, half silk, and
linen), for high festivals, ordinary feasts, and week days. The
Charta Cornittiana distinguishes covers and hangings. The
covers {jxillea, mafortes) were used upon the altar, upon
the graves of the saints, and upon the tables. The hangings
(vela) were used for all the purposes above enumerated. The
various colors of " purple " (including green and a yellowish
or whitish purple) are distinguished with a precision which
argues a Classic refine-
ment of taste hardly
to be expected in that
age.
There are no ancient
m 0 n u m e n t s which
show so clearly the
character of the early
altar coverings as the
sixth and seventh cen-
tury mosaics of Ra-
venna, represented by
T^igs. 131 and 132. The
altar here is a table
standing upon four
legs ; it is covered on
all sides by a white
linen cloth, of which
only the top and front
are decorated. Figure
132 (sixth century) de-
picts a heavier and darker cover under the linen. The deco-
ration is precisely such as we have found among the Egyptian
textiles ; it corresponds closely to that of the curtain illustrated
in Fig. 176, and to a table cover from Egypt which is pre-
served in the museum at Vienna. We may see in these textile
designs the origin of many of the stone reliefs of the subse-
quent period ; for when the altar assumed a box form, by the
insertion of plates of stone between the legs, the design com-
mon upon the altar covers was transferred to the stone, and
this simple decoration was just as naturally extended to the
screens of the choir and presbytery (Fig. 58).
Fig. 179. — Portrait in tapestry, from Achmiiii
sixth century.
About
CUBTAINS AND ALTAR CLOTHS 381
Of far more importance are the curtains. The use of cur-
tains at the doors (Fig. 135) is a matter which requires little
comment. On the other hand, their use between the columns
of the ciborium (Fig. 144), to hide from the people the most
solemn acts of the Eucharistic celebration, appears strange to
us, though it was thoroughly in keeping with the early ritual.
The practice must have been all but universal, and probably as
early as the fourth century. At all events, the earliest ciboria
which have been preserved show arrangements for attaching
curtain rods.
But this was only a single feature of an elaborate system for
excluding the different ranks of the clergy and of the people
from direct participation in the highest functions of the
liturgy. In many churches of the fifth century which have
preserved their ancient columns, one can still see the holes in
the columns of the nave (on the nave side and above nine feet
from the floor) for the insertion of curtain rods. Their posi-
tion on the nave side was due to the tact that it was in the
aisles the need of room was most felt, for it was there the
laity stood, the men on the right and the women on the left.
The fact that the aisles rather than the nave was allotted to the
people is one of the indications that the church in the house
was the pattern of the basilica, for the nave corresponds to the
open and unprotected atrium. The use of curtains in this place
seems likewise to reflect the custom of the private house. In
the front of the nave, occupying about half of it, the choir and
lectors — that is, the inferior clergy — had their place, which
was architecturally marked by screens. Before them, across
the whole front of the presbytery, was another row of curtains,
depending from the columns which surmounted the balustrade
of the sanctuary. Behind the choir was the place allotted to
the various classes of catechumens, and still farther back, in
the vestibule or without the door, were the penitents. We
have to suppose, therefore, that another curtain was stretched
across the nave in front of the catechumens, and that this was
closed earlier than any of the others — unless we are to sup-
pose that they had a position of greater dignity and privilege
than even the baptized members of the church ! This division
of the nave is in some churches indicated by pillars which
interrupt the lateral colonnades in front of and behind the choir
382 MIX OB ARTS
(Fig. 38). At a later period of the service we have to suppose
that the curtains of the aisles were allowed to fall, cutting off
the faithful from a view of the altar — a free space between
the curtains and the architrave or arch still admitted light
to the aisles. Afterward were closed the curtains which sepa-
rated the choir from the sanctuary, and finally, the curtains of
the ciborium. The way in which the curtains were hung —
more particularly the way in which they were drawn — is very
wtII illustrated hj Fig. 143. In situations where freedom of
passage was not required, they were simply knotted in the
middle ; in the doorways they were double and were drawn to
each side by cords. In Fig. 143 a single curtain in a door-
way is first knotted and then fastened to the door post.
Something of this mystery in ritual is still maintained in the
Eastern Church ; the Armenians nse a curtain which is drawn
across the front of the presbytery at the beginning of the
Canon ; in the Greek and Eussian churches the curtain is re-
placed by the iconostasis, with curtains to close the central
door.
Among the textile furnishings of the church no mention has
been made of carpets, simply because there is no mention made
of them in early texts. The mosaic floor amply satisfied all
requirements of adornment.
VI
CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL DRESS
This chapter has to do with the ordinary civil dress of the
Christians during the first six centuries, as well as with the
dress which toward the end of this period distinguished in
some measure the clergy from the people, and which, persist-
ing without essential change throughout all the changes in
popular fashions of dress, became the distinctive liturgical garb
of the Middle Ages. Ecclesiastical vestments cannot be under-
stood apart from the study of the common elements of Koman
civil dress out of which they sprung, and the traditions of
which they continued. The two subjects are bound together
still more closely by the fact that the distinction between the
clergy and the people on the one hand, and between the
different ranks of the clergy on the other, hardly became
marked in the dress before the sixth century, and that not
even then, nor for a long while to come, was the everyday
dress of the clergy distinguished from that which they wore
in the ministrations of the Church.
The Romans were accustomed to mark certain distinctions
in rank by variety in dress, that is, by some special cut or
adornment of the simple and universal constituents of Classic
dress, rather than by the exclusive use of a particular garment.
With the increasing luxury of the Empire, and with the
change and variety of the fashions which were introduced, the
early distinctions became more and more difficult to observe.
But this very development of new types of dress, and the gen-
eral introduction in the third century of Oriental garments
which were entirely foreign to Roman use, constituted the
basis for new and more thoroughgoing distinctions between the
different ranks and professions. The law tried in various
ways, and for the most part in vain, to regulate the use of new
and foreign garments ; and finally the sumptuary law of the
383
384 DBESS
year 382 prescribed minutely the garments which might be
worn by different classes, both indoors and out.
The Christians, of course, wore the same dress as the pagans.
And as for the officers of the Church, there is no reason to sup-
pose that they were distinguished from the people by any
essential difference in dress until the middle, or more prob-
ably the end, of the fifth century. We have to suppose
merely that the higher clergy, and especially the bishops,
adopted in general a style of dress which comported with their
social dignity.
However, by the end of the fifth century, under the influ-
ence of the Byzantine spirit of minute classification w^hich
prescribed a uniform for almost all classes in the Empire,
clerical dress became distinctly and permanently fixed in its
chief lines, marking the distinctions between the different
orders of the clergy as well as between clergy and people. It
became then such as w^e see it in the mosaics of the middle of
the sixth century in Eavenna, and in those of a century later
in the Lateran baptistery in Rome.
It must not be supposed, however, that this was a distinc-
tively sacred dress, appropriated exclusively to priestly minis-
trations in the Church: it was the uniform of a particular
class in the community — the clergy — who were thus distin-
guished just in the same way as were the courtiers, the soldiers,
and other officers of the Empire w^ho are represented on the
same monuments. And though the clerical dress was then
fixed upon lines which have been maintained without essential
change to the present day, it was not at first so>.thoroughly dis-
tinctive as one might suppose ; for it is clear that the chief
garments of which it was composed — ^^ that is, the tunic, the
psenula, and the dalmatic — were still, and for a long time
continued to be, in common use. It must have been m.erely
minor differences of shape, the conservation of an antique
fashion, w^hich marked the distinction of clerical dress at the
end of the period which we have to study. It does not lie
within the scope of this handbook to follow the modifications
of this dress through the Middle Ages, still less to note the
additions which were made to it. Such as we find the clerical
dress at the end of our period, such it reipained without sub-
stantial change. This persistence of the Classical mode of
ly GEXEIiAL 885
dress is an interesting proof of the force of religious conser-
vatism. Changes there nndoubtedly were, but not so much in
the form of the garments as in the whole conception of the
significance of ecclesiastical vestments. They became more
distinctive as the fashion of civil life adopted an entirely dif-
ferent costume. They acquired a new and sacred significance
as the clergy themselves adopted for ordinary use a costume
more consonant with the fashion of the times, and relegated
the traditional dress exclusively to the sacred functions of the
Church. And with this, as they ceased to be virtual garments
for protection against rain and cold, their shape in some degree
was altered, and their material and the character of their
adornment were adapted to the new situation.
Such, in the most general terms, is the account of the origin
and development of ecclesiastical vestments. The origin of
every vestment of the Church was a perfectly natural and his-
torical one. The symbolical explanations which from the
ninth century were commonly given of them — of their very
colors, fringes, and ornaments — have nothing whatever to do
with their actual development. Such symbolism was, from the
first, not only very elaborate and forced, but very various and
contradictory : it was a case in which every one felt at liberty
to please himself. But the explanations of the archaeologist
have commonly been hardly more to the point. There is no
branch of Christian archaeology in which there has reigned so
much error, so much confusion and contradiction, as in the his-
tory of vestments. As a starting-point, the ecclesiastical vest-
ments are thoroughly known in the form which they had
assumed by the end of the Middle Ages. The error which has
foiled most attempts to trace them back to their origins has
been due, in part to a blind reliance upon the mediaeval expla-
nation and valuation of them, and in part to the preconceived
notion that they are all alike to be traced back to primitive
custom and to a primitive discrimination between religious and
secular dress, or, as it used to be claimed, to the dress of the
Jewish priesthood. But even when the problem has been
approached with a fair appreciation of its terms, a detailed
explanation of the origin of each vestment remained impos-
sible as long as the testimony of the monuments, at least
those of the early period, was all but ignored, and even the
2c
386 DUESS
common elements of Classical dress were but vaguely under-
stood.
Wilpert^ is the first who has made serious use of one of the
most important sources of information upon our study, the
paintings of the catacombs. They enable us to follow the his-
tory of dress from the beginning of the Christian period down
to the Middle Ages. Their testimony is the more valuable be-
cause pagan paintings are so rare for the second, third, and
fourth centuries. It is supplemented, however, even for this
period, by both pagan and Christian sculpture; for a latter
period, by the mosaics ; and for the period which lies just be-
yond the range of our study, by the miniatures of liturgical
manuscripts. The rich store of textiles lately found in Egypt,
which has already been described in the previous chapter, is
another source of information which is by itself sufficient to
put before us an almost complete picture of the dress common
in the Empire from the second to the seventh century. What has
already been said on this score will serve to give an idea of the
material, texture, color, and still more definitely of the adorn-
ment, of the several garments which we have now to study in
detail.
Before taking up in detail the principal garments of the Clas-
sical period which explain the origin of the liturgical vestments
of the Church, it is necessary to devote a few words to several
important but subordinate elements of dress, both Classic and
barbaric, which are represented on the monuments illustrated
in this book.
It is well known that, according to Greek and Eoman custom,
men commonly wore no head-dress. In the act of sacrifice they
covered the head with the border of the pallium or toga, and in
the same way, perhaps, they protected themselves against the
rain. It w^as only those who were especially exposed to the
sun — as fishermen, farm laborers, and messengers — who wore
a broad-brimmed hat (2:)etasus) such as that with which Mercury
is represented. A mere skullcap is worn by the fisherman on
a sarcophagus in the Lateran (Fig. 94).
A head-dress of some sort was, however, worn by most of
the barbarian peoples to the north and to the east of the Em-
iln his Capitolo di storia del vestkirio, and Die Geioandung der Christen,
to which the present chapter is much indebted.
IX GENERAL 387
pire. On the Christian sarcophagi, in scenes from Xew and
Old Testament alike, the Jews are distinguished by a close-fit-
ting brimless cap (Figs. 95, 99). The same sort of cap was worn
by some of the races of the North of Europe, and by two fos-
sors as represented in frescos of the catacombs. This was the
pilleus (ttiAos), made of felt, leather, or wool, and used by those
who were exposed to stress of weather, or by old men. S. Je-
rome, in thanking Paulinus of Antioch for the gift of such a cap,
speaks of it as intended to warm his aged head.^
For mere protection against the weather, nothing more was
required than the hood which w^as attached both to t\\Q pwniila
and to the birrus. It is from this latter garment the monkish
costume was probably derived — therefore also the academic
gown and hood.
The most notable head-dress of ancient times was the Phryg-
ian cap. Something similar, but rather formless and without
decoration, was worn by the Dacians and Germans, as they are
represented upon Roman monuments. The real Phrygian cap
was conventionally used in Koman art to represent the costume
of the extreme Orient. The Three Children and the Magi are
therefore always represented in Phrygian garb (Figs. 68, 86,
89), as Daniel also often is. The Phrygian cap has a special
interest in the history of ecclesiastical vestments ; for, though
no cap appears within our period as a part of the clerical dress,
and though the development of a bonnet as the special insig-
nium of the bishop belongs to the Middle Ages, it is from this
pattern all such head-gear was derived, whether it be the epis-
copal mitre, the papal tiara, or the doge's hat.
For v/omen, on the other hand, it was as much required by
Grseco-Roman custom that they should appear with head cov-
ered, as it was that men should be bareheaded. In early times
the woman covered her head simply with the border of the
palla. For greater convenience the veil was later introduced.
There are a number of veils among the finds at Achmim which
accord perfectly with the representations in the frescos of the
catacombs (Figs. 15, 65, 66, 68, 70, 84, 124, 139). The veil
was a rectangular cloth, — those from Achmim are of wool
very lightly woven, — broad enough to cover the top and back
of the head, and long enough to hang down for some distance
!£"/). 85, Migne XXII. 754.
388 DUESS
in front of the shoulders on each side. The veil was properly
the sign of the matron, but already in the third century it was
used in the Church in the ceremony of dedicating a Christian
virgin to God (Fig. 85). Among the pictures of the catacombs
which represent a veiled woman it is usually impossible to
decide whether the artist would designate the deceased as a
matron or as a dedicated virgin ; the inscriptions, which alone
could indicate, have for the most part been destroyed.
The Classical foot-gear is seldom represented with enough
precision either on Christian or pagan monuments to give an
adequate idea of its character. The distinction most readily
noticed is that between the sandal (solea, o-avSoAtov) which went
commonly with the pallium, and the shoe (calceus) which went
specially with the toga and denoted the dignity of the Eoman
citizen. For women, modesty strictly prescribed the shoe. It
has never been possible to understand the distinctions between
the many different kinds of shoe which were in use and which
are referred to in Latin literature, till the recent finds in
Egypt (particularly the excavations which were conducted at
Antinoe at the expense of the Musee Guimet of Paris and the
Chamber of Commerce of Lyons), which have brought to light
a great number of shoes of all periods, and illustrate unexpect-
edly the perfection of ancient leather work. These finds have
not yet been seriously studied, and at all events they cannot
detain us here. That other sorts of foot covering were common
among the lower classes we see in the pictures of the Good
Shepherd, who is represented with long heavy stockings which
serve at the same time as shoes, or else with leggins made of
a narrow band of cloth wound about the lower leg and fastened
beneath the knee (Figs. 69, 162).
An article of apparel which must always be understood as
accompanying the Classical dress was the breech-cloth (cinctus,
irepL^oyfia), or the loin cloth (ventrale, KoiXtoSeo-juos)- Without at
least such a garment, the law forbade any appearance in public ;
and when it is reported that certain martyrs were thrown naked
to the wild beasts, it is still to be presumed that this garment was
retained. The first garment was the more scanty, and was the
same for men and for women. The clothing of the Baptist is
limited to this in one of the pictures of the Sacrament Chapels,
as is that of Daniel in several frescos of the fourth century.
THE TUXIC 389
The ventrale was a broad band of cloth so adjusted that the
ends hung down before. In Classic art it was mostly attributed
to fishermen ; Tobias wears it in a fresco in the cemetery of
Thrason.^ Christ also wears it in some of the representations
of the crucifixion (Figs. 108, 109).
The Romans expressly associated trousers (hraccce) with the
costume of the barbarians. Very loose trousers tied at the
ankle were worn by the Germanic tribes as represented on
the Roman monuments. The Jews were represented on the
Christian sarcophagi in a similar garment (Figs. 95, 99). A
close-fitting pantaloon reaching to the ankle was a peculiarity
of the Phrygian costume (Figs. 68, 86, 89, 139). But notwith-
standing the prejudice against this article of. dress, it became
common in Rome in the third century, and was worn even by
the emperors ; at the end of the fourth a special law of Arca-
dius and Honorius prohibited its use within the city. Though
this barbarous garment is the precursor of modern male attire,
it needs no more notice here, as it has no relation to the devel-
opment of ecclesiastical dress.
THE TUNIC
The composition of ancient dress is fundamentally a very
simple matter. Out of an oblong piece of cloth, preferably of
wool, taken just as it comes from the loom, and without any
cutting, ripping, or stitching, one can reproduce completely
the ancient costume, which was substantially the same for
both men and women. The only fundamental distinction to
be drawn is that between the under and the outer garment,
and they both are formed from such a piece of cloth merely by
a different manner of applying it and attaching it to the body.
The under garment was closely fitting and securely attached,
— later it came to be sewed. The outer garment was merely
thrown about the body. They may be called respectively
shirt and cloak — the most general terms to designate them in
Greek were evSv/xa and e7rt/?A>//xa, or xf-Ti^v and lixdrLov.'
This describes as aptly the early Roman dress as the Greek.
1 Garrucci, Storia, II. tav. 73, 2.
2 Alex. Conze, Lie Antike Gewandung, in Teirichs Blatter/. Kunstgeiverbe,
1875, p. t)2 seq.
390 DliESS
Its application to the toga and pallium is at once evident ; it
is not so clear that it accounts for the different forms of the
tunic or shirt. But, in fact, in its original form, the tunic
(tunica, x'-t^^) "^^'^s merely such a strip of cloth as has been
described, of a width corresponding to the height of the per-
son or the style of the garment (that is as it ended at or below
the knee), and of a length just sufficient to wrap once around
the body below the arms ; — what is here called the length was
of course the smallest dimension in the case of the tunica
talaris. It might be fastened by two fibulae above the shoulders,
and again under the right arm, that is, on the side where the
two extreme edges met. Substitute for the pins permanent
stitches, and the garment had distinctly the form of a shirt
without sleeves. The tunic of the laboring classes, particularly
of slaves, commonly omitted one of these fastenings, leaving
the right shoulder bare and the arm free. Such a garment was
called tunica exoniis (e^tu/u-i's) ; it is represented in the catacombs
as the dress of the fossors, and of the Good Shepherd in the
earliest pictures (Figs. 19, 117, cf. 131, 132). The tunic was
usually girdled (tunica cincta), and if the girdle might for con-
venience be laid aside in the house, respectability required that
it be worn in public. In this matter, however, custom differed ;
the un girdled tunic was the common habit in Africa, and was
used sometimes in Rome under the Empire, where almost e/ery
foreign custom was represented. The tunica latickivia, worn by
senators, was properly ungirdled. The girdled tunic was both
larger and longer than the ungirdled, to allow for the laps and
folds, which must be arranged with much nicety — especially
having a care that the clavus descend straight. The length of
the tunic was regulated by the girdle ; it must reach in front
a little below the knees, and behind as far as the calves of the
leg. Soldiers wore it shorter, and women longer, — down to
the ankles (Figs. 7, 12, 66, 132, 133, 169).
The tunic was the indoor garment of the Roman ; by itself
it answered very well the practical requirements of dress, and
to appear with it in public was counted, not indecent, but
merely undignified. It took the place at once of our shirt and
coat. It was usually of wool ; or in Southern countries of linen,
as in a later period it came to be frequently in Rome itself.
Under it was commonly worn (besides a loin cloth or short
THE TUXIC 391
hose; a second timic, or undershirt, of linen. S. Augustine,
it is especially noted, wore a woollen undershirt. Augustus,
with a still greater solicitude for his health, clothed himself
in winter with a heavy toga, four tunics, an undershirt, a
woollen chest cloth, short hose, and leggins. This was an
abnormal case ; but it shows, nevertheless, that the need of
clothing was much more strongly felt by the Romans than the
multitude of naked and half-naked statues would lead one to
suppose.
- Linen tunics were seldom colored, as the material does not
readily take a dye. Those which are found in Egypt are com-
monly unbleached. We learn from literary references that it
was the linen tunic especially which was adopted in the minis-
trations of the Church, at least by the fourth century. But
whether of linen or of wool, it w^as commonly pure white. This
color is the natural symbol of purity and light, and the New
Testament itself expressly associates it with the dress of the
saints in heaven. In the catacomb frescos, however, this sym-
bolism is observed only in the case of the male figures, or more
strictly the sacred personages, who were clad in pallium and
tunic. In other cases the tunics are usually painted a yellowish
or reddish brown, of a lighter shade, but of substantially the
same coloring, as the dalmatic and the paenula. Far more exact
and reliable information about the actual color of the garments
is to be derived from the Egyptian finds. As has been said,
most of the tunics found in Egypt were of linen ; but even the
w^oollen ones were in shades light enough to mark a strong con-
trast with the purple decorations, that is, with the clavus or
with the border. The finest coloring is found in the tapestry
decorations of the garments ; the garments themselves were
frequently of the natural color — yellow or brown — of the
finer wools. During the Roman period the dyed garments,
like the tapestry, were almost always in one or another of the
various shades which were known as purple — dark carmine
red, dark reddish brown, or shades which ran from violet to
dark blue. By the fourth century, the Oriental luxury in color
prevailed over the refined classic taste with the introduction of
countless shades and combinations. Though the garment was
still usually of one solid color, the tunic and dalmatic were not
infrequently embroidered all over, or stamped, with flowers or
392 DEESS
conventional designs. The purple toga embroidered with gold
was the special insignium of the consul.
But the characteristic decoration of the tunic, and later of
the dalmatic, was the clavus — a strip which crossed each
shoulder and descended both before and behind as far as the
bottom of the garment. Already in the previous chapter
enough has been said of the character of the embroidery, or
rather tapestry, which constituted the clavus (p. 372). It is
well known that the narrow clavus was worn by knights, and
the broad clavus by senators ; but these distinctions of rank
could hardly have been rigidly observed in the Christian
period, for the narrow clavus at least was the usual adornment
of the tunics which are found in Egypt, and after the fourth
century female characters are frequently represented in the
art of the catacombs with the broad clavus. For the first three
centuries, too, it was invariably of purple ; so that even this
color did not mark very definitely distinctions of rank. The
form of clavus which we find most commonly on the Egyptian
textiles, instead of extending to the seam, ended with some
appropriate terminal ornament about the middle of the gar-
ment. Still later it became even shorter; it took in fact an
entirely different character, extending barely to the breast, and
terminating with a round or leaf-shaped finial. In this orna-
ment we have the so-called loruni, which represented the straps
for the support of the soldier's cuirass ; it was, therefore, used
only on male garments, and, like our shoulder straps, was a
sign of rank, different grades being distinguished by the num-
ber of the stripes (tunicce monolores, cUlores, trilores, etc.). The
dalmatic, which later came into fashion and covered the tunic,
was simply a different variety of the same garment, and the
characteristic decoration of the tunic, which was no longer visi-
ble, was readily transferred to it. In revenge, the tunic became
more richly ornamented at the borders, which were still visi-
ble ; that is, about the neck, about the wrists, and at the bottom.
The segmentum (Figs. 170, 172, 179, 181), was a round, square,
or irregular. figure in tapestry applied at the lower corners of
the tunic (afterward to the dalmatic) and above the shoulders.
The segmentum, in this form or in the shape of a letter, con-
stituted the only ornament of the pallium ; it was used only
at the four corners (Figs. 135, 138). These ornaments have
THE TUNIC 393
an interest in the history of church vestments only as they
survived as the decoration of the dalmatic ; the tunic as it was
worn in the sixth century was often figured all over with a
small design regularly repeated, but it retained none of its
earlier characteristic adornment except the embroidered border.
Under the Empire the tunic was generally worn with sleeves,
usually loose and covering no more than the upper arm. The
tight, long sleeves reaching to the wrist was an Oriental fash-
ion (therefore worn by the Magi, etc.. Figs. 68, 95, 132). It
was regarded as effeminate by the Romans, but it came, never-
theless, into common use before the third century. To the long
sleeves there usually corresponded the long tunic (tunica talaris),
reaching to the ankles. This was likewise accounted effemi-
nate by the Romans at the end of the Republic, as it was prop-
erly the woman's dress ; but despite this contempt it was
represented as the garment of gods and heroes, and under the
Empire it seems to have been accounted a dress of special dig-
nity. This was so at all events in the fourth century, for on
the arch of Constantine the Emperor and his court are repre-
sented in the long tunic, while the short tunic is the dress of
the people. In the second-century fresco in S. Priscilla which
represents the Breaking of Bread the bishop or presbyter wears
under the pallium the tunica talaris with long sleeves (Fig. 74);
and the famous statue of S. Hippolytus (Fig. 118), which was
executed at the beginning of the third, reproduces the same
dress. The tunic, substantially with the same form and with the
same decoration, was the dress alike of pagan and Christian, of
clergy and laity ; but to judge by the above instances it would
seem as if the tunic of the higher clergy may very early have
been differentiated from the common dress in the single re-
spect that it was longer. Long it certainly was for all the
clergy alike after the fourth century (Figs. 134, 142), for the
long tunic was then the dress of the better classes. This was
the form it retained during the Byzantine period, and it suf-
fered no modification till late in the jNIiddle Ages.
Both literary references and the mosaics represent that the
tunic which was worn in the ministrations of the Church —
whether of linen or of wool — was commonly white. The name
"alb" (alba, — tunica alba) it bore from an early time, though
it was only in the late Middle Ages that the adjective quite
394 DBESS
superseded the noun. Though S. Jerome writes that " the holy
religion has one dress for divine service and another for every-
day use," he cannot be supposed to intend any difference in
form. This is proved, quite apart from the monuments, by the
rules which it was found necessary to make till well into the
Middle Ages against the use of the everyday tunic in the ser-
vices of the Church, as well as against the use of the liturgical
tunic apart from such services. The difference must have been
a very slight one, much like that between our Sunday and our
workday clothes. In fact Jerome himself declares explicitly
how he would have the difference understood, when he says in
the same connection : " that we ought not to enter the holy of
holies with everyday clothes, but with a clean conscience and
with clean clothes to administer the sacraments of the Lord." ^
THE DALMATIC
The dalmatic (dalmatica, haXixaTLKrj) is substantially nothing
more than a particular variety of the ungirdled tunic. It was
not, however, one of the original Koman garments, but, as its
name indicates, a foreign importation. The Dalmatians were
in Classical times, as they are now, famous for the rich and
skilful decoration of their garments. It is interesting to ob-
serve that they have preserved the same technic of figured tap-
estry which we have studied in connection with the Egyptian
textiles. The dalmatic was, therefore, from the first a richly
ornamented garment ; it not only took over the characteristic
ornaments of the tunic, but its whole surface was frequently
woven or embroidered in design. The tunic which was espe-
cially associated with the dalmatic was the long-sleeved tunica
talaris. The dalmatic as it was worn by men extended barely
below the knees, leaving visible the bottom of the tunic ; its
large neck opening and short loose sleeves left also the sleeves
and collar of the tunic visible, so that both garments can be
recognized at once in pictorial representations. The woman's
dalmatic reached to the ankles (Fig. 15), and after the fourth
century even to the ground ; the sleeves were larger and some-
times fringed. Just as in the case of the tunic, the male cos-
tume was finally assimilated to the female, not only in length,
^InEzech. 13:44.
THE DALMATIC 395
but in the exaggerated largeness of the sleeves. It is this late
form of dalmatic which is represented as the clerical dress in
the mosaics of the sixth and seventh centuries, and such it
remained throughout the Middle Ages (Figs. 134, 142, 181).
The one feature of the dalmatic which was not subject to
change was the purple clavus, which extended both before and
behind as far as the seam. The clerical dalmatic was usually
white.
The dalmatic came into use in Rome about the end of
the second century ; it is specially remarked that Commodus
appeared with it in public, and the imperial example must
soon have found many imitators. It was particularly well
adapted for the rich decoration which became the fashion of
dress in the third century, for, though distinctly an outer gar-
ment, to be laid aside in the house, it was by no means a storm
coat ; over it could be worn in cold or wet weather the toga,
the pallium, the psenula, or the lacerna. So, for instance, on
the consular diptychs the toga i)icta is worn over a richly
embroidered dalmatic ; and in the episcopal dress the dalmatic
was worn under the paenula. The earliest example of the
latter is furnished by the figure of S. Ambrose in a mosaic in
Milan, which must have been executed immediately after his
death (397), and which is the earliest representation of a bishop
which exists. We have later examples in the mosaics of
Eavenna (Figs. 134, 142, cf. 181) and in the fresco at the
tomb of Pope Cornelius (Fig. 180).
The dalmatic might be of linen or of wool. The material
perhaps varied with the season, but to judge by the garments
preserved in Egypt it was much more commonly of linen,
which was often woven heavy enough even for a cold climate.
Tn the case of a linen garment the figured decoration in tapes-
try was woven into the cloth itself, whereas upon a woollen
garment it was merely applique.
The earliest monuments which picture the dalmatic as the
dress of the deacons are the mosaics of Ravenna of the middle
of the sixth century. It is probable that it was much earlier
appropriated to this order. The Liher Pontificalis ascribes to
Sylvester the regulation that deacons should wear the dalmatic
in the church. This testimony is not of much force, though it
is not inherently improbable. In the Life of S. Ccesarius of
300 DBESS
Aries it is related that on the occasion of the visit of the
saint to Rome there was given to him by Pope Symmachus
(498-519) the privilege of wearing the pallium, and to his
deacons that of wearing the dalmatic, as was the custom in the
lloman Church. From this it appears that at the latest about
the turn of the fifth and sixth centuries the dalmatic was worn
by the deacons of Rome, and the monuments above referred to
prove that it must very soon after this have been generally
adopted. We have seen that it was also worn by bishops ; in
this case it was somewhat shorter and more nearly after the
early pattern. So general was its use by the bishops that
S. Isidor of Seville actually calls it the "priestly tunic"
(twiica sacerdotalis Candida cum clavis ex 'pur2')urd). The word
sacerdotalis may here possibly include presbyters. Walfried
Strabo relates that in his time the dalmatic was worn even by
" some priests," but this could only have been by way of
exception and in the case of persons who occupied posts of
special dignity.
P^XULA CHASUBLE
Between the forms of shirt which we have already studied
and the different forms of mantle which we have still to con-
sider, stands the pceyiula (^aivoAiys, i^evoXyjq, <^atvdAtov, — later
casida, chasuble). It presents a somewhat striking contrast to
the early type of classical dress ; it seems probable, however,
that it was not a foreign importation, but a development out
of some common garment of the laboring classes. It was dis-
tinctly an outer garment, or more expressly a storm cloak. It
was made of heavy woollen cloth — more rarely of leather.
Originally it may have been, like the pallium or the early toga,
a rectangular blanket ; but, instead of being wrapped about the
body, the head was thrust through a hole in the middle of it,
and the body was snugly covered up as under a little cabin
(casida). It was commonly broad enough to cover the shoul-
ders, and- long enough to reach below the knees before and
behind. It was manifestly a most' practical rain cloak, and
precisely such a mantle is now commonly worn by tourists in
the Alps. A number of paenulas of this form have been found
in the graves of Achmim ; and the same form, but with con-
siderable variety in respect both to width and length, is repre-
PuEX ULA — CIIA S UBLE
897
sented on some of the classical monuments. This type is
similar to the " fiddle-back " chasuble of the late Roman use,
or still more closely to the Benedictine scapular. But the form
used by the
clergy after
the fifth cen-
tury — and we
may suppose
that it was the
same which
was common
to all the
higher classes
— had a much
more dignified
appearance.
It was round
or elliptical in
shape, falling
down on each
side well over
the arms, the
same shape, in
fine, which
was used in
the Church
throughout
the Middle
Ages.
The Roman
monuments
represent nu-
merous varie-
ties of the
psenula which
need not be
particularly described here, since they have no relation to the
specifically clerical type. The various cuts of p^enula which
are represented as the soldiers' dress may have been distinctive
of different regiments. The paenula commonly worn by the
Yi(, \^(\. — Pope "^ "^i\tiis and the Bishop Optatus (clothed in longf-
sloeved tunic, dalmatic ]».i nula, and sacred pallium), fresco above
the tomb of Pope Coinehuh, in fe. Calhstus. Sixth century.
398 DRESS
lower classes in the fourth century barely covered the shoulders,
and narrowed to a point at the bottom. A type which Wilpert
calls the " baroque " paenula is witnessed to in ancient times
only by the frescos of the catacombs ; it is very long and full
behind, but the front part is reduced to a small triangle which
barel}^ covers the breast. Curiously enough, a similar form ap-
pears to have been in use, at least occasionally, in the eleventh
century, for it is represented in a picture of this date in the
lower church of S. Clement. The Koman monuments lead one
to suppose that the paenula was ordinarily provided with a
hood (cucuUus). This was a natural adjunct to a rain cloak;
and it is equally natural that the Egyptian psenula is without
it. Even after the garment became a mere liturgical symbol,
a vestige of the hood was preserved in the adornment — just
as it is on the cope.
The paenula was ahvays dark in color ; the paintings of the
catacombs, the mosaics, and literary references agree in showing
that it was usually a chestnut-brown. The Egyptian paenulas
are commonly brown or purple. It was usually of a solid color
and without ornament, though the narrow rectangular form was
occasionally adorned 'with the clavus.
The psenula must have come into common use before the be-
ginning of the Christian era. It was, at first, not a garment
for ordinary use, but expressly for rain and for travel. It is
not strange therefore to find that it was worn by S. Paui,^ who
was always on a journey. We learn from the author of the book
De Oratorihus that about the middle of the first century it was
something quite new for it to be worn instead of the toga by
advocates in the forum. Not even the zeal for the conservation
of the old customs could hinder its popular adoption, and by
the fourth century it had superseded for all practical uses the
toga and the pallium. The sumptuary law of 382 permits its
use even by senators, though in the conduct of all public busi-
ness they must still wear the official toga. The pgenula of the
clergy could have differed at the most only in cut from that
worn by the people.
It was certainly the full, round paenula which was worn in
the church and out of which was developed the Eucharistic
vestment, as we see in the mosaic portrait of S. Ambrose (cf.
12 Tim. iv. 13.
THE CHLAMYS 399
p. 395). We have a still more weighty testimony in the in-
cident which is related by Sulpicius Severus ^ about S. Martin
of Tours (t 397). This is the familiar story of the beggar to whom
S. Martin gave his shirt. But, besides illustrating the charity
of the saint, it informs us that he was accustomed to celebrate
the Eucharist in a tunic and amplubalus — that is, the broad
round psenula. What is actually related is, " The saint, with-
out the poor man seeing it, drew out his tunic from under the
amphibalus and sent him away clothed." Such a feat could
have been accomplished secretly only under a mantle of this
sort, and it is evident that it could be accomplished at all only
in case the tunic were fastened above the shoulders by means
of pins, according to the earlier fashion (see p. 390). That
this was the shape of the psenula in the sixth and seventh cen-
turies is abundantly clear even from the examples Avhich are
furnished in this book of the paintings of the catacombs (Fig.
180), and from the mosaics of Ravenna (Figs. 134, 142) and the
Lateran Baptistery (Fig. 181).
The paenula was worn by women as well as by men (Fig.
144).
THE CHLAMYS
Before describing the characteristic Classical mantles, the
pallium and the toga, which it will be necessary to discuss at
greater length, it is well to dispose of the two Oriental mantles
which were introduced into Rome in imperial times : In the
first place, of the chlamys, a Phrygian cloak, which is frequently \
represented on the Christian monuments, though it never formed
a part of the ecclesiastical dress. In the second place, of the
lacerna or birrus, which is but rarely represented on our monu-
ments, though it finally, in an advanced period of the Middle
Ages, developed into an ecclesiastical vestment — namely, the
cope.
The chlamys (xXaixvq, sarprm, paludamentum) was distinguished
from the pallium merely by its smaller size and by the manner
in which it was worn : namely, by bringing together two cor-
ners of the oblong piece of cloth over the right shoulder and
fastening them there by means of a clasp-pin. It was espe-
cially a soldiers' cloak ; and this explains the fact that it
i Dialog. 2, 1.
400 DBESS
•was with a scarlet " chlamys " ^ the Saviour was clad by the
mocking soldiers ; — it was precisely the garment which the
soldiers might be expected to have at hand. But the chlamys
was also used in civil life (Fig. 169), and it survived, though
in a much longer form, in the Byzantine court dress (Figs.
134, 181). It was originally an Oriental (Phrygian) garment,
and therefore appears in the representations of the Magi (Figs.
68, 89) and of Orpheus. As a soldiers' cloak, it is worn by
the Israelites in some of the later frescos which depict the
miracles in the wilderness.
The long chlamys — called paZ«(:?a??ie7i^?t??i — was worn, not
only by courtiers, but by the emperor, the purple color being
distinctive of the latter (Fig. 134). The large square patch on
the front of it was called the tahlion. This garment was worn
by no women except the empress.
LACERXA BIRRUS
Another foreign mantle, the lacerna, was introduced from
Asia into the Roman army by Lucullus. It was worn by army
officers for storm or travel ; it appears even to have been worn
outside the toga as a dust or rain cloak. But in spite of such
use it was distinctly an article of luxury, and it was regarded
often as a sign of reprehensible elegance in dress. We know
that it was a woollen garment of dark color but peculiarly light
in weight ; it was fringed at the bottom, and in the West it
was sometimes provided with a hood. Unlike the chlamys, it
was fastened, not at the shoulder, but in front of the breast by
a strap with two buttons, or by a round breastpin ; that is, it
was worn just as a shawl is, and the Persian shawl was prob-
ably the pattern and origin of it. So worn, it descended below
the hips, though in later use it came to be very considerably
lengthened. The only certain representation of the lacerna in
the catacombs is a sixth-century fresco in the cemetery of
Pontianus. It adorns the tomb of the Persian saints, Abdon
and Sennen, and it represents the saints in their national cos-
tume. It is also worn by Melchizedec in two of the mosaics at
Ravenna (Figs. 131, 132).
The lacerna is sometimes identified with the birrus. Though
1 Matt. 27 : 2.S.
THE TOGA 401
they must have had the same form, they probably did not have
the same origin. The birrus was a heavy winter garment, and it
is likely that it was always provided with a hood. With the
decay of the Western Empire such shawls naturally ceased to
be imported from the far East ; as they became articles of home
manufacture the difference between the lacerna and birrus must
have disappeared, and the first garment must have lost its
character of exotic luxury. It is only thus one can explain the
fact that such a garment became later a very mean dress in-
deed, and is represented in mediaeval miniatures as the habit
of monks and nuns. It had another history in the Church,
however, for it was developed in the Middle Ages into an
ecclesiastical vestment, the cope {cappa, i^^uviale). As the
name pluviale indicates, it was a rain cloak, as the chasuble
also was in the beginning. It could not have come into use
as an ecclesiastical vestment till the psenula (chasuble) had
ceased to be a practical garment, and no longer furnished suffi-
cient protection against the cold and inclement weather which
might be encountered during the processions and other func-
tions held out of doors. This development lies, however,
entirely beyond our period. There are no pictorial representa-
tions of the cope in ecclesiastical use earlier than the eleventh
century. It retained its fringe till the fourteenth century ; a
mere vestige of the hood it still retains in its conventional
decoration.
THE TOGA
The characteristic outer garment of the Eoman was the toga.
It was the distinctive dress of the Koman citizen, and stood
for the exclusive privilege of the- ruling class ; whereas the
pallium, which was the dress of all peoples of Greek stock, and
was in use throughout the East wherever the Greek culture
was felt, represented the cosmopolitan aspect of the Empire.
It is probable that the toga was originally, like the pallium, a
mere rectangular strip of white woollen cloth used just as it
came from the loom. Under the Empire, however, when the
mode of arranging the toga became a matter of serious impor-
tance and w^as accounted almost a fine art, its cut varied con-
siderably with the fashion. Under the early Empire it seems
to have had the form of an ellipse, from eight to ten feet in its
2d
402 DBESS
smaller diameter and nearly twice as much in its greater.
Before it was put on it was folded double along its greater axis ;
then one end was thrown from behind over the left shoulder,
and allowed to fall in front almost to the ground. The length
which remained behind, equal to about twice the human height,
Avas drawn from under the right arm in front of the body and
again thrown over the left shoulder, where it was fastened by
the nodus. The real labor, however, began at this point, in
arranging the folds of the sinus and adjusting the whole gar-
ment according to the mode.
Dignified as this garment was, it was very far from being
practical, and it was no doubt the cumbrousness of the toga
which prompted the use of the dalmatic and the paenula.
Even in the second century it seems to have gone out of com-
mon use in Italy outside of Kome. By the fourth century it
was no longer worn by the people, nor even by the magistrates
except in the exercise of public functions. At the end of this
century it was prescribed as the public dress of the senators ;
at a later period its use was limited to the consul, and with the
last consul it disappeared. The toga which survived the
fourth century was, therefore, not the plain white garment of
the people, but the jy^^^texta of the senators, which was dis-
tinguished by a broad purple border, and the late consular toga,
which was made entirely of purple silk heavily embroidered
in gold.
During the course of this history the toga underwent very
marked changes. It is supposed that in the second century it
was cut in the form of a half circle, though without any strik-
ing change in the mode in which it was worn. But already by
the beginning of the third century it was subjected to a system
of plaiting or folding {contabulatio) which quite altered its
character. This change began with an artificial folding of
the part of the toga which was drawn across the breast, so that
it was made to assume the appearance of a mere flat band
(tabula) of barely a foot in width (Fig. 98). This contabulatio
was finally extended to the end which hung down before the
left shoulder, and indeed to the whole course which the toga
originally followed, so that the body was not clothed, but
merely wrapped once about with a narrow band. The result
w^as that it had to be wrapped around once again, unfolded
THE PALLIUM 403
and in its natural fulness, and the end, instead of being thrown
again over the left shoulder reposed upon the left forearm.
Such a development was favored by the fact that the toga was
no longer practically required as an outer garment, since the
dalmatic, or even the ptenula, was worn under it.
Such is the form the toga had assumed as we see it on the
reliefs of the arch of Constantine, or more clearly on the early
consular diptychs. The latest diptychs represent a further
change in the mode of wearing it, which was probably due to
the exceeding stiffness of the embroidery in gold and precious
stones which decorated the so-called toga j^icta of the consuls.
When with the last consul it ceased to be worn in the West,
it survived in the Byzantine court as one of the imperial in-
signia, the loriim. This, however, was nothing more than a
vestige of the original toga, a mere scarf thrown across the
shoulders.
It would be altogether aside from our purpose to describe in
more detail the last developments of the toga, for it is a gar-
ment which has but slight claim upon our notice in this con-
nection. Though it was, of course, worn by many Christians
in Eome, it was never a distinctively Christian dress, and has
no relation to any of the ecclesiastical vestments. In the pic-
tures of the catacombs the toga has hitherto been recognized
in but one instance. This fact is doubtless surprising, but it
is explained by what is said in the next section about the
pallium and the preference of the Christians for it. The brief
remarks which have been here dedicated to the toga have been
made expressly for the purpose of illustrating the fashion of
the contabulatio, which was applied also to other garments, and
explains — according to Wilpert — the origin of the sacred
pallium of the bishops and the stole of the priests and deacons.
THE PALLIUM
While the toga was the badge of the Roman citizen, the
pallium represented the cosmopolitan aspect of the Empire.
Though originally it was the distinctive Greek mantle, its use
was finally disseminated as broadly as the Greek civilization ;
and, worn without the tunic, it became especially the badge of
learning and philosophy. It was, therefore, clearly more apt
404
DRESS
than the toga, the badge of national privilege, to express the
cosmopolitan spirit of Christianity ; and the fact that it was
worn by Christ and his Apostles, and in a certain sense
sanctified by such use, constituted, no doubt, an additional
explanation of the Christian preference for it. In comparison
Two soldiers in tunic and paludamentum (adorned with the tablion), S. Astcrius, priest, in
dark tunic and paenula, S. Anastasius (cleric?) in white tunic and yellow pallium.
Fig. 181. — Mosaic in the Chapel of S. Yenantius, Lateran
to the toga it was a very simple garment; convenience and
utility are bound to count for something even in the question
of dress, and it is therefore not strange that the pallium partly
superseded the toga even in Rome itself. On the other hand,
the still greater convenience of the dalmatic and the paenula
accounts for the subsequent disappearance of both toga and
THE PALLIUM
405
par.iiim, or rather their transformation into mere ornaments
and insignia.
The pallium, like the toga, was a woollen garment, usually
white. It was without decoration, except at the four corners,
which were ornamented by designs in tapestry. The pallium
S. Maurus, bishop, in white tunic and dalmatic, dark paenula, and sacred pallium ; S. Sep-
timus, deacon, in white tunic and dalmatic, again two soldiers, or courtiers.
Baptistery. Middle of the seventh century.
was merely a rectangular piece of cloth, three times as long as
broad, and it was wrapped about the body in a very simple
and natural manner. It was commonly worn as follows : one-
third of the stuff hung down in front of the left shoulder to
the knee and enveloped the upper arm ; the remaining two-
thirds was drawn across the back, under the right arm, and
406 DliESS
across the front (enveloping the whole body to the ankles), and
again thrown over the left shoulder, where it had to be fastened
with a pin, or simply over the left fore arm (Figs. 96, 118, 119,
140).
The pallium was commonly worn over the tunic, but the
philosophers expressed the simplicity of their life by wearing it
without a tunic, leaving the right shoulder bare after the man-
ner of the tunica exomis. It was so worn by Justin Martyr and
several other Christian teachers, and it is occasionally attrib-
uted in the pictures of the catacombs to sacred persons ; namely,
to :Moses (Fig. 73), Isaiah (Fig. 84), and Christ (Fig 71).
The high estimation in w^hich the pallium was held by the
Church is sufficiently indicated by Tertullian's remarkable
tractate, De Pcdlio. Half in earnest and half in jest, with his
characteristic exaggeration, he exalts the superiority of the
pallium at the expense of the toga. Whereas the toga was
worn by all sorts of evil men, the pallium clothes especially
men of learning — " Every liberal study is covered by my four
angles," he makes the pallium boast. He addresses himself to
his Carthaginian fellow-citizens without distinction of religion,
and it is only at the end that he gives expression to his Chris-
tian profession in bestowing upon the pallium the last meed of
praise: "Rejoice, 0 pallium, and be glad, a better philosophy
has taken thee into her service since thou hast begun to
clothe the Christians."
Still more significant of the Christian preference for the pal-
lium, and of its prevalence in the Church, is the fact that the
toga is but once represented among all the pictures of the cata-
combs, whereas the pallium appears very frequently from the
beginning of the second century until the fourth, and was
employed by the artists in representing Biblical and sacred
characters, even after it had ceased to be actually used in com-
mon life. In the catacomb paintings Christ and the Apostles
are always represented with the pallium, Moses usually is, and
frequently Abraham. It is the usual dress of Biblical charac-
ters, with the exception of those which symbolize the faithful
departed (Daniel, Noah, Job, etc.). The pallium represented
official dignity in the Church, and was not ascribed in Christian
art to the ordinary layman.
The woman's mantle was not essentially different from the
THE SACRED PALLIUM 407
man's ; the imlla was similar to the pallium, but of a lighter
texture. In Classical times the border of the pall a was drawn
over the head for a veil. The veiling of the woman's head
was no less prescribed by Christian custom, but in Christian
times a separate veil-cloth was commonly used. Wilpert shows
that the palla was affected by the fashion of contahulatio in
much the same way as the toga. This is proved by a number
of Roman statues, and the first stage of the process (which
affected only the end which depended in front) is illustrated
by the dress of Yeneranda in Fig. 70.
THE PALLIUM SCARF
Between the ancient Greek pallium and the collar which is
worn by Roman archbishops there would seem to be nothing
in common but the name. The name, however, naturally sug-
gests that there was a substantial relation between them, and
Wilpert's first and most fundamental contribution to the study
of ecclesiastical dress consists in the proof that the pallium
scarf was derived from the pallium mantle. To judge fairly
Wilpert's position one must refer to his own statement of the
case in Un capitolo di storia del vestiario ; only a brief ab-
stract of his argument can be given here. A number of links
in the chain of monumental evidence are lacking, and the prop-
osition is therefore incapable of rigid demonstration ; but Wil-
pert's presentation of the case is conclusive enough to insure
general assent.
Wilpert was not led into this theory merely by the sugges-
tion which was furnished by the common name. His studies
in the catacombs led him to the discovery of the high and al-
most sacred estimation in which the pallium was held in the
early centuries of the Church, as evidenced by Christian art.
This raised the presumption that the garment which had been
appropriated in a peculiar manner as the Christian dress> which
had been worn by Christ and his Apostles, and was attributed
in Christian art only to the most sacred Biblical characters,
would not be lightly discarded. From a practical point of
view, however, it had been rendered superfluous by the intro-
duction of the wide psenula. The fashion of contabidcdio which
transformed the palla and the toga suggests the means by which
408 DBESS
the pallium also might have been retained in its place of honor,
though serving a merely emblematic use. In fact, given the
prevalence of this fashion, and supposing that there was a dis-
position to retain the pallium in addition to the paenula, it
could only have ended by becoming just such a scarf as we
find in use in the sixth century. That is to say, it could only
be worn as pallium contahulatum over the paenula. This had
as a consequence a slight alteration in the manner in which it
was worn ; as the broad paenula did not permit the pallium
contahulatum to be passed under the right arm, it had to be car-
ried across the right shoulder. It lay, therefore, across both
shoulders, and it is very aptly called by the Greeks oj/xo<^opioi/.
The pallium scarf was worn in the following manner : the man-
tle being folded into a strip, one end was thrown from behind
over the left shoulder, so that about a third was allowed to
hang down before ; another third was carried in a deep curved
line across the back to the right shoulder, and thence in a sim-
ilar curve across the breast to the left shoulder, allowing the
remaining third to hang straight down the back. In order to
hold it all in place it had to be fastened to the paenula by
three pins — at the back and front and upon the left shoulder.
A further confirmation of the close relation between the
mantle and the scarf consists in the fact that the latter has
always been made of the same common material, namely, white
wool ; and that till the seventh century its sole decoration con-
sisted in two black crosses at its extremities. The two crosses
correspond exactly to the conventional decoration in tapestry
which was applied to the four corners of the mantle — only
two of them would of course be visible when the mantle was
folded. It has already been remarked that letters very often
appear as a decoration for the corners of the pallium. In the
catacomb of Thrason there is a fresco of the fourth century
representing Moses with a pallium which is decorated at the
corner by a cross. One may reasonably suppose that after the
fourth century the cross must have been very commonly used
in this way. Wilpert has shown by experiment that a light
woollen pallium may readily be folded in the form of a scarf
with precisely the effect which it has in the representations of
the sixth century.
The episcopal pallium is represented in its original form in
THE SACBED PALLIUM 409
the cemeterial fresco of the middle of the sixth century which
is given in Fig. 180. It is several times represented in the
same form upon the mosaics of Ravenna, and when in the case
of these mosaics the crosses are multiplied beyond the original
number, the anacronism must be ascribed to the restorer.
During the seventh century the pallium ceased to be folded
and became a mere strip of cloth of single thickness. It also
suffered a marked change in the manner in which it was worn.
To avoid the necessity of pinning it to the dress, it was made
simply in the form of a circle with long pendants before and
behind. It was ornamented at the same time with more
numerous crosses. Late in the Middle Ages the pendants were
so much curtailed that only a vestige of them remained. Yet,
notwithstanding such fundamental changes, the Roman pallium
remains a signal example of the persistence of ancient custom,
for not only is it still made of white wool and ornamented
solely with crosses, but — without any consciousness of the
reason — it is made with a double thickness above the left
shoulder, over which the original mantle was twice thrown.
The Oriental pallium, which has remained nearer to the original
in form, has departed farther from it in material and decora-
tion ; its material is generally silk, and though it is still orna-
mented solely with crosses, it is covered with them from end
to end.
The earliest reference to the episcopal pallium is by
S. Isidor of Pelusium (f 440), who already finds in it the symbol
of the spiritual authority and watchfulness which the bishop,
in imitation of the Good Shepherd, exercises over his flock.
He informs us also that at the Eucharist, when the moment
came for reading the Gospel, the bishop was accustomed to lay
aside the pallium, as then the Lord himself, the chief shepherd,
spoke directly to his people. This symbolical interpretation,
and still more the liturgical practice which is here instanced,
presuppose that the pallium must have been in use for at least
a considerable time. Wilpert supposes that the Christian use
of such a scarf influenced the sumptuary law of 382, which
prescribed a ijallium discolor (evidently a mere scarf) as the
badge of civil ofi&cials.
S. Isidor speaks of the pallium as a badge common to all
bishops, — as indeed it was in the East. In the West it has
410 DRESS
been regarded since an early time as a distinction which could
be conferred solely by the Pope, and since the ninth century
it has been limited to metropolitans. It is doubtful, however,
whether even in the West it represented originally a distinc-
tion of the Roman bishops, and not rather a usurpation of
common rights.
THE STOLE AND THE MAXIPLE
The fashion of contabulatio furnishes again the explanation
of the development of the stole and maniple, as ornamental
insignia of othce, from the towel or napkin which was the
natural adjunct of the practical and somewhat material service
which characterized the office of deacon. Here again the
Christian monuments fail to furnish any illustration of the
unfolded towel upon the shoulder of the deacon, or of the stages
of development between that and the narrow band of cloth as
we know it to-day. On the other hand, pagan monuments
offer sufficiently full illustration of such a towel borne upon
the left shoulder of camilli (youths who ministered at the
sacrifices) and delicati (table servants), and of the contabulatio
which this mantele or Unteum underwent, notwithstanding its
strictly practical purpose. A considerable number of these
monuments are reproduced and studied in Wilpert's work.
{Un capitolo cli storia del vestiario, Pt. II.) They present a
striking analogy to the stole ; they reveal that the Unteum,
which during the early period of the Empire was on one side
rough (yillosum — perhaps like Turkish towelling), was later
made of fine linen, which permitted it to be neatly folded,
though it never quite lost its practical utility, as did the stole.
Such a towel was evidently demanded by the deacon's service,
which in the early period was of a far more material character
than it is to-da3^ Part of the support of the clergy consisted
in offerings in kind, which were received by the deacon, and
out of which he had to separate the bread and the wine for the
Eucharist. At the Eucharist itself the utensils which had to
be cleaned were much larger, as the consumption was much
greater than at i)resent, and then as now the deacon had to
reach the celebrant the water and towel for the washing of his
hands. The fashion of contabulatio sufficiently explains the
development of the scarf from the towel, and like the towel it
STOLE AND MAXIPLE 411
continued to be worn, in all churches except the Eoman, upon
the left shoulder. Already by the end of the fourth century
it seems to have become a mere liturgical distinction, for the
council of Laodicea forbade its use to subdeacons and the
inferior clergy, notwithstanding that the more menial parts of
the deacons' service had actually been devolved upon the sub-
deacons. As a matter of fact, a special cloth suitable to his
service was provided also for the subdeacon. A miniature of
the tenth century in the pontifical of Archbishop Landulfus of
Beneventum represents the ordination of subdeacons, who
receive from the bishop the chalice and paten, and from the
archdeacon a pitcher and bowl. The accompanying rubric
states that they also receive from the archdeacon what the
picture fails to represent, namely, a napkin {manutergium).
The name stole, which was not used within our period and
can hardly be said to have been in general use before the elev-
enth century, has done more than anything else to obscure the
origin of this vestment. Its proper title is orarium, a name
which was merely transliterated into Greek (copaptov). It is de-
rived, not from orare (to pray), but from os (the mouth) ; it is a
name therefore which obviously indicates the character of this
towel. The two earliest church writers who mention this vest-
ment are S. Isidor of Pelusium (Ejj. I. 136) and the author of
the sermon (ascribed to S. Chrysostom) Inparaholam dejiliopro-
cligo. They both call it 666v7], linteum, which corresponds to
our towel. It was worn by deacons upon the left shoulder ;
the one likens it to the towel with which our Saviour washed
the Apostles' feet, the other sees in it a likeness to the angel's
wings.
The stole worn by presbyters and bishops had another origin,
and one which explains the different modes in which it was
worn. It also was called orarium by the Latins, but by the
Greeks, more significantly, Tre.piTpaxrjXLov, iirLTpaxyXi-ov. Unlike
the linteum, it was of white wool or colored silk ; it naturally
took the form of a scarf, and it must originally have been worn,
as it is to-day, around the neck and under the chasuble, for it
was properly a neck-cloth. One must remember that the dal-
matic and the psenula had apertures too broad to afford any
protection to the neck, and that even the tunic was without a
collar. It is evident that it must often have been necessary to
412
DBESS
protect the neck from the cohl, and it appears, too, that a sense
of decency, or at least of dignity, prescribed that the neck be
covered. A neck-scarf was not an uncommon'element of dress
about the end of the Empire, and from that is
derived the ovarium of presbyters and bishops.
AVhen the deacon's orariiim had become a mere
ornamental scarf, it differed from that of the
presbyter only in the mode in which it was
worn, and consequently in the ordination of
priests it was only necessary to alter its posi-
tion. The earliest representation of the epis-
copal stole is offered by a mosaic of the first
half of the sixth century at Ravenna. Presby-
ters generally wore the stole in the same manner
as the bishops ; the practice of crossing it upon
the breast is ancient, but did not come into gen-
eral use till a late period.
The monuments prove that the commoner
mode of carrying the serving towel was upon
the left shoulder; but that was manifestly not
the only way it could be carried, and the monu-
ments also show it carried over the forearm.
This very natural diversity in the mode of carry-
ing the napkin or towel explains the origin of
the maniple, which was at first worn exclusively
by the Roman deacons, afterward extended to
the superior orders, and finally came into general
use throughout the West. The Roman deacons
did not wear the stole till the Middle Ages ; they
had in the dalmatic a dress which sufficiently
distinguished their office. But for their practical
ministry they needed the orariiwi no less than
the deacons of other churches, and they actually
carried it, according to a disposition which may
have been purely accidental, not upon the shoul-
der, but upon the forearm. The Liber Pontiji-
ccdis recounts that Sylvester (314-335) prescribed
Mani- that the deacons in the church must cover the
pie (or stole) of jgft, hand (or forearm) with the pallium linosti-
linen from Ach- /. / -^ a--i
mim. mum — evidently a napkin or towel. A similar
Fig. 1S2.
STOLE AND MAXIPLE 413
order is ascribed to Zosimus (417-418). Whatever bishop may
have fixed this custom, whatever negligence on the part of the
deacons may have occasioned such an order, or whatever may
have been the reason for the designation of this particular
mode, the fact of importance is that the Koman deacons bore
the orarium upon the left forearm or in the hand, and this
explains the fact that no single monument represents them
carrying it, like other deacons, upon the shoulder.
The name, the manner in which it was carried, and the use
of the iKillium linostimum unite in proving that it had nothing
in common with the mappa with which the Emperor and the
higher officials gave the sign for the games. For the first cen-
turies we must distinguish it also from the mappa in the sense
of our handkerchief, — a distinction which must, however, have
early disappeared. The older Roman Ordines call it mappula
and sestace ; the mediaeval liturgists, commonly sudarium
(sweat cloth), which corresponds rather to our handkerchief
than to the napkin, and already supposes a change in the pur-
pose and employment of the palUnm linostimum. When it had
once become a sort of handkerchief it was naturally no longer
limited to the deacons ; documents of the ninth and tenth cen-
turies represent it in the hands of the Pope, of the bishops,
priests, and subdeacons.
The sudarium retained its practical purpose longer than the
stole. It also, however, was folded, and finally became a mere
strip, changing at the same time its material, though it was not
till the twelfth century that it ceased everywhere to be more
than a mere badge.
In the East, where the deacons have always worn the orarium
u|x>n the shoulder, the maniple naturally never came into use.
But anciently an embroidered handkerchief, iyx^tptov, w^as car-
ried at the girdle.
•'^
APPENDICES
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
ANCIENT TEXTS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE CHRISTIAN
MONUMENTS
The most valuable discussion of the bearing of this whole class of liter-
ature upon archseology is found in the first volume of de Rossi : Boma
Sotterranea (see below); — in particular the text and a critical valuation
of the pilgrims' itineraries and kindred documents bearing upon Roman
topography and chronology. This is briefly recapitulated (with omission
of the texts) in Northcote and Brownlow's condensation of de Rossi's
work.
Duchesne: Liher PontiJicaUs, 2 vols., fol., Paris, 1886-92; the first
volume discusses the archaeological value, not only of this text, but of
many kindred documents. Origines du Culte Chretien, by the same
author, especially the second edition, 8vo, Paris, 1898, reproduces and
comments upon many apposite texts — not all of them merely liturgical.
A different class of documents, of more strictly literary character —
including especially poetical descriptions of monuments — is treated at
length in the first volume of Garrucci : Storia delV Arte cristiana (see
below). Many of these texts are presented conveniently in the 8vo vol-
umes of the series of QneUenschrifteii fiir Kunstgeschichte u. s. lo. ; —
especially in Uxger : Quellen der byzantischen Kunstgeschichte, No. XII.
of the series, Vienna, 1878. Richter : the same title, but dealing exclu-
sively with Constantinople, No. VIIL of the Neue Folge, 1897. Vox
ScHLOSSER : QiteUenhuch ziir Kunstgeschichte des abendldndischen Jlittel-
alters, Neue Folge, VII., 1896. MOntz: Les Sources de Varcheologie
chretienne {Melanges de VEcole fran(^aise de Borne, 1888) gives a con-
venient conspectus of this class of literature.
Liher Pontificalis Ecclesice Baveimce, ed. Bacchini, Modena, 1708.
Inscriptions
De Rossi : Inscriptiones christiance iirbis Bonue, 3 vols., fol., Rome,
1861-88. A summary of the same by Northcote : Epitaphs of the Cata-
combs, 8vo, London, 1878. Edm. le Blant : Inscriptions chretiennes de
415
416 APPENDICES
la Gaitle, 2 vols., fol,, Paris, 1856 ; Nouveau Rucueil des Inscriptions
chretiennes de he Gmde, 1 vol., Paris, 1802. By the same author : Manuel
d^ Epigraphie chretienne d'apres les marbres de la Gaule, 12ino, Paris, 1869.
These volumes, besides giving the text of the inscriptions, provide a gen-
eral introduction to the subject, and a discussion of the bearing of the in-
scriptions upon history and art.
Many early Christian inscriptions of the West are included in the Cor-
pus Inscr. Lat. Christian inscriptions in Greek, belonging to both East
and West, are included between the Nos. 8606 and 9893 in Vol. IV. fasc.
2 of BocKH : Corpus Inscr. Grcecarum. A separate volume has been
planned for the Christian inscriptions in Latin, under the auspices of the
French School at Rome, and in Greek, under the French School at Athens.
Krat's has collected the Christian inscriptions of the Rhine province ;
Alimer and Terrebasse, those of Vienne ; Kunstle, in the Tubinger
theologische Quartalschrift, 1885, has commented upon those of North
Africa. The poems of S. Damasus have been lately published by Ihm :
Damasi Epigrammata (Anthologies Latince Supplementa), 8vo, 1895.
FOR THE HISTORY OF THE STUDY OF CHRISTIAN
MONUMENTS
It will suffice to refer to Bosio : Roma Sotterranea, fol., ed. of Severano.
Rome, 1632 ; ed. of Aringhi, Rome, 1651. Boldetti : Osservazioni sopra
i cimiteri dei S8. martiri., etc., 2 vols., fol., Rome, 1720. Bottari : Scul-
ture e pitture sagre^ etc., 3 vols., fol., Rome, 1737-54. Ciampini: Vetera
monumenta, etc., 3 vols., fol., Rome, 1747. D'Agincourt : Histoire de
V Art par les Monuments, 6 vols., fol., Paris, 1823 ; German ed., 1840.
FUNDAMENTAL AND GENERAL WORKS
Works of Giovanni Battista de Rossi
Occupying the first place in importance is his Boma Sotterranea, 4 vols.,
fol., Rome, 1864-77. The early part of this work was abridged by de
RiCHEMONT : Les Nouvelles Etudes sur les Catacombes, Paris, 1870. The
same work was much more admirably done in English by Nortkcote and
Browxlow : Boma Sotterranea^ 1 vol., 8vo, London, 1870 ; and this was
immediately translated into French by Allard, into German by Kraus,
and into Swedish by Centerwall — unfortunately before the English
authors, following the progress of de Rossi's work, had brought out a
second edition, much enlarged, in 2 vols., 1878-79.
De Rossi's work was uncompleted at his death, in 1894, and supple-
mentary volumes were planned by his brother, M. S. de Rossi, and
SELECT BIBLIOGBAPHY 417
his immediate scholars, Armellini, Stevenson, and Marucchi. The first
three of these scholars have died in the midst of their labor, but the first
volume is promised within a year. Besides gathering up the scattered re-
sults of de Rossi's work (as contained especially in the BuUettino iV arche-
ologia ci-istiana, which he started in 1863, and of which, until his death, he
was editor and chief contributor), it is to include all the later results of
exploration and study. In connection with this work, though in sepa-
rate volumes (with a German as well as an Italian edition), Wilpert will
furnish a complete and entirely original publication of the frescos of the
Roman catacombs, with an exhaustive study of them. His accurate re-
productions will put for the first time before the student who cannot be in
Rome, or, being there, cannot study the pictures at first hand, the data
for an independent judgment of the art of the catacombs.
Another work of de Rossi's, dealing with another period and another
sphere, is Musaici cristiani e saggi dei pavimenti delle chiese di Roma
anteriore al secolo XV. ^ begun in 1870 and issued in several sections in
folio, Rome. His Inscriptiones have been noted above ; his scattered
works cannot be cited here — two years before his death there was pub-
lished a list of them including 195 numbers. The importance of his
work cannot be overestimated ; in his study of the catacombs themselves
he was obliged to deal, and he dealt in a luminous manner, with almost
evei-y department of early Christian art ; by his rigorous method he laid
the foundation for the study ; and his conclusions, with unimportant
reservations, which are for the most part noticed by his own scholars, are
universally accepted.
Encyclopaedia
Martigxt : Dictionnaire des antiqidtes ckretiennes, 2d ed., Paris, 1877,
3d ed., 1889. Smith and Cheetham : Dictionary of Christian Antiquities,
2 vols., London, 1875-93, Kraus (Franz Xaver): Beal-Encyklopddie
der christlichen Alterthumer, 2 vols., Freiburg im Breisgau, 1882-86. Of
these, the English publication is the most worthy, the French is the least
valuable.
Under this class we may perhaps still refer to the great work of Bing-
ham : Antiquities of the Christian Church, 8 vols., 4to, London, 1708-22,
2d ed., 1726, Latin ed., 1724, new Eng. ed., Oxford, 1870, 9 vols. Though
as good as ignoring the monuments, its convenient classification of a
wealth of literary references gives it a lasting value. We see, however,
how greatly these same subjects are illuminated by a study of the monu-
ments, when we turn to the work of Adgusti : Denkimirdigkeiten aus der
christlichen Archdologie, 12 vols., 4to, Leipsic, 1817 seq., and Handbuch
der christlichen Archi'iologic, 3 vols., 8vo, Leipsic, 1830-37 ; — though even
these works are not strictly in line with modern monumental study.
2e
418 APPENDICES
Current Reviews
Much of the current literature is to be sought in reviews of a general
character, dealing with history, archaeology, architecture, or art. Only .
such can be mentioned here as are devoted expressly, either in whole or
in part, to Christian archaeology.
Revue de VArt Chretien, Lille and Paris, since 1857 ; UArte, Rome,
since 1897 ; Bullettino di archeologia cristiana, Rome, since 1863, now
under the name of Nuovo Bullettino ; Bomische Quartalschrift fiir christ-
liche Alterthumskunde, Rome, since 1887.
Introduction
Boma Sotterranea is by all means the most practical introduction to
this subject. The first volume of Garrucci's Storia (mentioned below),
in which he treats of the " Teoria'''' of early Christian art, deserves far
more appreciation than it receives from those who turn to his volumes
chiefly for the illustrations. But of introductions in the stricter sense, the
most considerable is the work of Ferd. Piper : Einleitung in die monu-
nientale Theologie, 1 (large) vol., 8vo, Gotha, 1867. This work lays down
an elaborate theoretical programme for the study of the subject ; it has
had a great influence in Germany, and it deserves attention, though the
student is likely to find it too abstract.
Of the introductions which are constructed upon the same lines as this
present handbook (in that they cover schematically the whole range of
the study) those which deserve mention are the following : —
Recsexs : Elements de V Archeologie chretienne, 2 vols., 8vo, Louvain,
2d ed., 1885-86. It is much used in Roman Catholic schools, but it does
not cover the subject with even formal completeness, and in the treatment
of the early period especially it shows a great lack of critical discrimination.
A. Perate : U Archeologie chretienne, 12mo, Paris, 1892 (Bibliotheque
de Venseignement des Beaux-Arts). He was the first to accomplish the
task which is attempted in this present handbook ; and, within the limits
set him by the series in which it appears, he accomplished it admirably.
The book is, in the first place, readable, and being written con amove, it
cannot fail to interest. But beneath the simplicity of the exposition there
is — what is less readily noticed — a thorough grasp of the subject, and
the clearest distribution of the material. It is a charming book, by far
the most popular that has been written on the subject, yet it proves a
sound knowledge and a rare critical faculty.
Victor Schcltze : Archdologie der aUrhrisilichen Kunst, 8vo, Munich,
1895. This is a more laborious work than the above, and less charming,
but by reason of its copious notes and references it may prove more use-
ful to students.
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 419
Franz Xaver Kraus : Geschichte der christlichen Kiinst, 2 vols., 4to,
Freiburg im Breisgau, 1896-97. It is the first volume only which concerns
our period. This work is devised upon a larger scale than either of the
above ; but it is less handy and less exact.
Mariano Armellini : Lezioni di Archeologia cristiana, 8vo, Rome,
1898, being a posthumous publication of his lectures, without illustrations
and badly planned.
Orazio jMarucchi : Elements d'Archeologie chretienne, 3 vols., 8vo,
Rome and Paris, 1890 — the third volume has not yet appeared. This is
not only the most recent but the most valuable work of this class. The
author's life-long occupation with the monuments of early Christian Rome
enables him to speak with authority, and he has also the talent of clear
arrangement and exposition. The work is, however, restricted to Roman
antiquities ; the second volume is a topographical guide to the Roman
catacombs ; the third is to be a guide to the principal churches of Rome ;
and the first is more than one-third of it allotted to two themes (Roman
inscriptions and the relation of Church and State during the first four
centuries), — a disproportion which is to be regretted, because it excludes
subjects more proper to an introduction and prohibits the book from ful-
filling altogether the expectation which is suggested by its title. The cita-
tion of the itineraries is handy.
C. W. Bexxett : Christian Archceology, 8vo, Cincinnati, 1888, is the
only work in English which need be mentioned under this head.
Miscellaneous
Only a few works can conveniently be cited under this vague title : —
Two collections of essays published in honor of de Rossi's seventieth
birthday in 1892 — Melanges de rEcole frangaise de Borne, and Archdolo-
gische Ehrengabe (de Waal, editor) ; Stephan Beissel : Bilder aus der
Geschichte der altchristlichen Kunst und Liturgie in Italien, 8vo, Frei-
burg im Breisgau, 1899 ; and, finally, Grisar : Analecta Bomana, Rome,
4to, 1899. This last valuable and interesting work gathers up a number
of the author's occasional articles, and, with another volume which is
soon to appear, constitutes a supplement to his Geschichte Boms und der
Pdpste im Mittelalter (a work which makes the largest use of archseologl-
cal sources), 3 vols., 8vo, Rome, 1899-1900 ; also in Italian.
THE CATACOMBS
As the principal works dealing with the catacombs have already been
mentioned, it remains to cite here only a few works such as have little or
no bearing beyond this subject. It must be remembered that, so far at
420 APPENDICES
least as the Roman catacombs are concerned, none of these can have
any vahie independent of de Rossi's work ; it is, therefore, of the less
consequence that some of the least worthy productions are here omitted.
Pekret : Les Catacombes de Borne, 6 vols., fol., Paris, 1855, — edition de
luxe, but the text is insignificant and the plates fantastic. Roller : Les
Catacombes de Pome, Paris, 2 vols., fol., 1881; — provided with pretty
photographic reproductions, which, however, are not accurate enough to
afford a sound basis for study. Victor Schultze : Die Katakomben,
8vo, Leipsic, 1882. Marriott : The Testimony of the Catacombs, 8vo,
London, 1870, — an attack upon the work of Northcote and Brownlow.
Scott: The Catacombs at Bome, 12mo, 1st ed., London, 1860, 2d ed.
1873, — a well-conceived set of lectures to working-men, on the early
Christian period, as illustrated by the catacombs. Armellini : Le cata-
combe romane, 8vo, Rome, 1880 ; and Gli antichi cimiteri cristiani di
Boma e (f Italia, 8vo, Rome, 1893.
ARCHITECTURE
There is but one book which covers the whole subject of early Christian
architecture, and deals with it exclusively, H. Holtzinger: Die alt-
christliche Architektur, 8vo, Stuttgart, 1889 ; 2d part, 1899. The book is
an admirable one. It is especially to be commended for its citation of the
references in early Christian literature, and for the completeness with
which it discusses all the questions subsidiary to church architecture ;
as, for example, the exterior adjuncts of the church edifice, and the
interior furnishings required by the cultus. See also the general works
of Schultze and of Kraus, above mentioned ; they both treat the subject
of architecture at considerable length.
Dehio and von Bezold : Die kirchliche Baukunst des Abendlandes, 2
vols., 8vo, and several volumes of plates in folio, Stuttgart, 1884-99. The
patient and prolonged labor of the authors has collected a mass of
material which renders their book quite indispensable. It is only the
first book of their first volume, and a part of the first Lieferiuuj of plates,
which concerns our period. Their limitation to Western architecture
explains their preoccupation with the development of the basilical type.
Other works which deal with the development of the basilica may be
cited without comment, although they represent divers conflicting theories.
Zesterman : Die antiken und die christlichen Basiliken, Leipsic, 1847.
Mesmer : Ueber den Ursprumj, die Entwicklung, und Bedeutung der
Basilika in der christUche Baukunst, Leipsic, 1854.
Weingartner : Ursprung und Entwicklung des christlichen Kirchen-
gebdudes, Leipsic, 1858.
SELECT niBLIOGBAPHY 421
MoTHE.s : Die Basil ike iifuvm bid dot Christen der ersten Jahrhunderte^
Leipsic, I860.
Riciiter: Der Ursprung der abendldnd. Kirchengebdude, Vienna,
1878.
ScHULTZE : the same title ; in the Cliristliche Kunstblatt, 1882.
Laxge : Hans und Halle, Leipsic, 1885.
G. B, Browx : From Schola to Cathedral, Edinburg, 188G.
Crostarosa : Le basilche cristiaue, Rome, 1892.
KiRSCH : Das ehristl. Kultusgebdiide im Alterthume, Cologne, 1893.
G. Clausse : Basiliques et Jlosdiqites chretiennes, 2 vols., 4to, Paris,
1893.
The volume on early Christian architecture furnished by Essenwein
for Durm's series of handbooks on Die Baustile, has been rewritten for
the same series by Holtzinger.
Auguste Choisy : Histoire de V Architecture, 2 vols., 8vo, Paris, 1899.
In this general work it is only the first part of the second volume which
deals with our period. Throughout the whole of it, the author's keen
perception and clear exposition of fundamental architectural morphology
is almost beyond praise. Treating the development of architectural
forms throughout the whole historic period, he dwells naturally with pre-
dilection upon the one substantially original motive which is to be credited
to the early Christian period — the Byzantine dome construction.
Other works which deal specially with Byzantine architecture are : —
CoucHARD : Eglises byzantines en Grece, 1 vol., fol., Paris, 1842;
Voyage en Grece, 1 vol., fol., Paris, 1847.
Salzexberg : Altchrislliche Baudenkmdler Constantinopels, 1 vol.,
fol., Berlin, 1855.
De Yogle : Les Eglises de la Terre Sainte, Paris, 1860.
Texier and Pullan : V Architecture byzantine, 1 vol., fol. (French
and English editions), London, 1864.
CnoisY : L'art de batir chez les Byzantines, 1 vol., fol., Paris, 1883.
GossET : Les Ciipoles d" Orient et d' Occident, 1 vol., fol., Paris, 1889.
Representing special regions, we have, in the first place, the unique and
indispensable work of —
De Vogue : Syrie Centrale, 1 vol., 4to, of text and one of plates, Paris,
1865-77.
Vox Qcast : Altchristliche Baniuerke von Bavenna, fol., Berlin, 1842.
ScHWARZE : Untersuchungen uber die dtissere Entwicklung der african-
ischen Kirche, mil besonderer Verwertung der archdologischen Funde,
Gottingen, 1892.
Butler : Ancient Coptic Churches of Egypt, 2 vols., 8vo, Oxford, 1884.
Jackson : Dalmatia, the Quarnero, and Istria, 3 vols., 8vo, London,
1887.
422 AFPEXDICES
Armkllini : Le Chiese di Homa, 8vo, Rome, 2d ed., 1891.
MuLLOOLY: Saint Clement^ Svo, Rome, 1878.
Padre Germano : La Casa dei SS. Giovanni e Paolo, 8vo, Rome,
1894.
WiELAxn : Ein Ausflug ins altchristUche Africa, 8vo, Stuttgart and
Vienna, 1900.
Barnes : Sf. Peter in Pome, 8vo, London, 1900.
J. Rohault DE Flecry : Saint Pierre, 4to, Paris, 1899.
Ricci : Ravenna e i suoi dintorni, Ravenna, 1897.
PICTORIAL ART
In General, with Special Reference to Painting, Interpretation,
and Iconography
Raff. Garrucci: Storia delV Arte cristiana, 6 vols., fol., Rome,
1873-81. This great work, which covers the entire field of early Christian
pictorial art, is the product of learning as well as labor. On account of
its illustrations, it must remain quite indispensable to the student of this
subject till the same ground has been covered with equal completeness by
photographic reproductions.
Rohault DE Fleury: La Messe, 8 vols., fol., Paris, 1883-89; UEvan-
gile, fol., Tours, 1874. These volumes, though dealing neither so exclu-
sively nor so completely with the monuments of our period, constitute a
valuable storehouse of illustration.
On a very different plane are the works of Wilpert, which are limited
in scope to the study and reproduction of the paintings of the catacombs.
His books are mentioned here among those of a more general character,
because those which have yet appeared are but the introduction to a
greater work (to come out as a continuation of de Rossi's — see above),
which will cover completely the art of the catacombs. His admirable pho-
tographic reproductions of the frescos are matched by the value of his
studies upon them, Avhich are at once the most solid and the most illu-
minating which have been published. No study of the subject should be
thought of without reference to these works. The author enjoys the
advantage — more rare in the case of those who write on this subject than
one would suppose — of direct acquaintance with the monuments, — and
not only that, but a long and exclusive devotion to their study. The
more considerable of his works which remain to be mentioned under this
topic are : Principienfragen der christlichen ArcMiologie, small vol., 4to,
1889 ; Die Katakomhengemdlde und Hire alten Copien, 1891 ; Ein ajclns
christologischer Gemalde aus der Katakomhe der heiligen Petrus iind
Marcellinus, 1891 ; Die gottgeweihten Jungfrauen, 1892 ; Fractio Pants
SELECT BIBLIOGBAPRY 423
1895; Frenclied., 1890; — all in small folio, published at Freiburg im
Breisgau. Die Malereieu der Sacramentscapellen, 4to, 1897.
A. Venturi : iSturia deW Arte Ualiana, Vol. I., large 8vo, Milan, 1901.
Five more volumes are to follow, but it is the first only which concerns
our period, dealing with Christian art from its origin to the time of Jus-
tinian. It is the most complete, the most luminous, and the most author-
itative work which has yet been published on this subject, and it will
prove especially valuable to those who are interested in tracing the influ-
ence of early Christian art through the Middle Ages. The work is richly
illustrated.
F. R. Salmon : Histoire de VArt Chretien aux dix premier Siecles,
Paris, 1891, a sumptuous book, though but sparely and poorly illus-
trated, with a treatment which is readable but not fundamental. Cutts :
History of Christian Art, 12mo, London, 1893, — an excellent popular
treatment, published by the Society for the Propagation of Christian
Knowledge. Didrox : Inconographie chretienne, 2 vols., 8vo, Paris,
1843 (also Eng. ed., Bohn's Library, London, 1886). Like Mrs. Jameson,
in her deservedly popular handbooks, this author touches the early period
only as a point of departure. Likewise, Hclme : Symbolism in Christian
Art, London, 1892, has not set himself to understand the peculiarity of
the early period.
Raoul RocHETTE : Sur VOrigine des types imitatifs qui constituent
Vart du Chi'istianisme, Paris, 1834. This author, by the publication of
certain startling propositions (untenable, at least in their original form),
had the credit of starting an instructive discussion on the origin of early
art forms. Ferd. Piper : Mythologie und Symbolik der christlichen
Kunst, 2 vols., 8vo, AYeimar, 1847. This work has had a strong influ-
ence upon the whole school of German Protestant writers. Muntz :
Etudes siir V histoire de la peinture e de V iconographie chretiennes, Svo,
Paris, 1886. Detzel: Christliche Ikonographie, 8vo, Paris, 1894. The
last two are excellent books. J. Rorailly Allex : Christian Symbolism
in Great Britain and Ireland, 8vo, London, 1887. Margaret Stokes :
Early Christian Art in Ireland, London, 1888 ; and Jos. Axdersox :
Early Christian Times in Scotland, Edinburgh, 1891. No other books
on Celtic art are mentioned, because they do not properly belong to our
subject.
The following monographs may be mentioned without comment : —
Hasexclever : Der altchristliche (rm6erscAm?<c^', 8vo,Braunschw.,1886.
Becker : Die Wandgemalde der r'omische Katakomben, Svo, 1888.
Achelis : Das Symbol des Fishes, 8vo, Marburg, 1888.
MiTius : Jonas auf den Denkmdlern des christlichen AUerthums, 8vo,
Freiburg im Breisgau, 1897.
Vopel : Die altchristliche Goldgldser, 8vo, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1899.
424 APPENDICES
LiELL : Die DarsteUuiujen der allerseligsten Junyfrau auf den Kunst-
denkmdlern der Katakomben, 8vo, 1887.
FicKER : Darstellung der Aj)ostel in der christlichen Kiinst^ 8vo, Leip-
sic, 1887.
ScHMU) : Die Darstelhuig der Gehurt Christi in der hildenden Kunst,
8vo, Stuttgart, 1890.
Palmer : Earlt/ Christian Symbolism^ fol., 1885 — mostly plates, which
are inaccurate ; text worthless.
Farrar: Christ in Art, 8vo, 1895 — uncritical.
Kaufmaxx : Die Auferstehungsglaube in altchrist. Kunst, fol., 1900.
ZocKLER : The Cross of Christ, Eng. trans., 8vo, 1877.
Seymolr : The Cross in Tradition, History, and Art, 8vo, 1898.
R. FoRRER ij MiJLLER: Kreuz und Kreuzigung Christi in ihrer Kun-
stentioicklung, 4to, Strassburg in Elsass, 1894.
Sculpture
Le Blaxt : Les Sarcophages de la ville d'* Aries, 1 vol., fol., Paris, 1878 ;
Les Sarcophages inedits de la Gaide, 1 vol., fol., Paris, 1886, Both of
these are most valuable works, as well for the text (which deals also with
the general problems of Christian art), as for the illustrations.
Grousset : Etude des Sarcophages Chretiens de Borne, Paris, 1885.
FicKER : Die altchristliche Bildwerke im christlichen Iluseurn des Later-
alis, 12mo, Leipsic, 1890 — a handy catalogue.
KoNDAKOFF : Lcs Sculpturcs de la Porte de Sainte Sabine (Beviie arche-
ologique), 1877.
Berthier : La Porte de Sainte Sabine, 4to, Freiburg im Schweiz, 1890.
For the same subject, see in Grisar's Analecta (above mentioned).
WiEGAXD : Das altchristliche Haiiptportal an der Kirche der hi. Sabina,
Trier, 1900.
Westwood : A Descriptive Catalogue of the Fictile Ivories in the South
Kensington Museum, London, 1876.
Maskell : Description of the Ivories in the South Kensington Museum,
London, 1872.
Stuhlfacth : Die altchristliche Elfenbeinplastic, Freiburg in Breisgau,
1896.
Mazzanti : La Scultura ornamentale romana nei bassi tempi, 4to,
Rome, 1896.
Zimmerman : Oberitalisches Plastic in fr'uhen und hohen Mittelalter,
4to, 1897.
Cattaneo : U Architettura dal secolo VI. al mille circa, 8vo, Venice,
1889. English trans., London, 1890 (also in French). This work, not-
withstanding its title, has much the same scope as the last two.
De Waal: Der Sarcophag des Junius Bassus, fol., Rome, 1900.
SELECT BIBLIOUnAPIIY 425
Mosaic
De Rossi : Musaici cristiani e mygi dci pavimenli delle chiese di Roma
nnteriori al secolo XV., Rome, issued in several folio sections, beginning
with 1870.
Gerspach: La Mosaiqne, Vnris, 18t)l {Bibliothe'pie de VEnseignement
dcs Beaux- Arts).
Appell : Christian Mosaic Pictures, London, 1877.
Richter: Die Mosaiken von Ravenna, Vienna, 1878.
DiEHL : Ravenne, 4to, Paris, 1886.
AiNALOV : Mosaiken der IV. u. V. Jalirhunderts, 8vo, 1895.
Miniatures
Kartell and Wickoff : Die Wiener Genesis, 1 vol., fol., Vienna, 1895,
— an admirable comparative study, which must serve as the foundation
for the study of early miniatures.
Strzygowski : Die luilenderhilder des Chronographen, Berlin, 1888.
Hans Graeven: R Rotolo di Josua (in L'Arte, 1898, pp. 221-23).
Beissel : Vaticanische 3Iiniaturen, 4to, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1893.
Gebhardt and Harnack : Evangeliorum codex purpureus Rossanensis,
Leipsic, 1880.
Haseloff: Codex purpureus Rossanensis, Leipsic, 1898.
MiDDLETOx: Illuminated 3Ianuscripts of Classical and Mediaeval
Times, Cambridge, 1892.
Byzantine Art
Bayet: U Art Byzantin, Paris, 1883 (Bibliotheque de V Enseignement
des Beaux- Arts) ; Recherches pour servir « Vhistoire de la peinture et de
la sculpture chretienne en Orient avant les Iconoclastes, Paris, 1879.
Kon'dakoff: Histoire de Part byzantin considere principalment dans
les miniatures. 2 vols,, 4to, Paris, 1886-91.
Strzygowski : Byzautische Denkmdler ; Der Elschmiadzin-Evangeliar,
1 vol., fol., Vienna, 1891 ; Byzantische Wasserbehalter von Konstantino-
pel, 1 vol., fol., 1893. Numerous works of the same author are to be
found in the reviews of Byzantine art.
THE MINOR ARTS
Gerspacii : La Verrerie, 1885; Les Tapisseries coptes — both in the
Bibliotheque de V Enseignement des Beaux-Arts. Paris.
RiEGL : Die iigyptischen Textilfunde im k. k. ostreichischen Museum,
Vienna, 1889.
426 APrEXDICES
FoHREu: Die Graber- nml Textilfunde von Achmim-PanopoUs, 4to,
1891 ; Die r'omischen und byzantiiiischen Seidentextilieii aus dem Grliher-
fi'lde ran A. P., 4to, 1801; Die fr'dhchristlichen Alterthumer aus dem
Irraherfehle v<>u A- P., 4to, 18iW ; Die Zeugdrucke der byzantinischen, ro-
manischen, (jothischen und spiHcrn Kumytcpochcn, 4to, 1894.
Tlie works of this author, with their abundant illustrations, give a most
satisfactory account of the early textiles (third to sixth century) which
have lately been found in such great quantity and in such perfect preserva-
tion in several Egyptian burial-grounds. They are published in Strass-
burg in Elsass.
Karabacek : Katalofj der Th. Graff' schen Funde in Aegypten, Vienna,
1883.
Al. RiEGL : Die agyptische Textilfunde im k. k. osterr. Museum,
Vienna, 1889.
VESTIARY
Marriott: Vestiarium Christianum, 8vo, London, 1868, — a learned
English work which, like all others of its time, fails to understand the
first stage of the development.
Braux : Die priesterlichen Gev'dnder des Abendlandes, Freiburg im
Breisgau, 1898 ; Die pontijicalen Gevxinder des Abendlandes, 1898.
Grisar : Cap. XII. of his Analecta Bomana, Rome, 1899.
WiLPERT : Die Gewdndung der Christen in den ersten Jalirhunderten^
Cologne, 1898 ; Un capitolo di storia del vestiario, fol., Part I., 1898 ;
Part II., 1899, Rome.
This last work of Wilpert's has for the first time put the study of the
origins of distinctive ecclesiastical vestments upon a sound archaeological
basis.
CE.H' ATIOIM
INDEX '
Abel, 299, 317.
Abercius iuscription, 234 seq.
Abraham, 208, 317.
Acanthus, 254, 298.
Acilii Glabriones, 60.
Adam and Eve, 204 seq., 259.
Adamnauus, 142.
Africa, 9.
Agape, 50 seq.
d'Agiucourt, 21.
Agnellus, 14.
Aisles, 107.
Alb {tunica a/&«),393.
Altar, 46, 105, 123, 126, 159 seg.
cloths, 377 seq.
Ama, or amula, 347.
Ambon, 174.
Auihulacrum, 24.
Amphihalns,Wi{S; see Chasuble.
Ampula, 79, 355.
Ananias and Saphira, 283.
A}iastasis, church of, 141, 171, 177 seq.,
309 seq.
Anchor, 64.
Angels, 269 note, 321 seq., 326.
Annas and Caiaphas, 282.
Annunciation, 245.
Antiniie (Egypt), textiles, 365.
xVntioch, Constantinian church, 138,
177 seq.
Apocalypse, 302.
Apocryphal Gospels, influence of, 287,
320.
Apostles, 267, 303, 307.
Apse (apsis), 121, 123.
Apsis trichora, 147.
Arch, 88.
apsidal and triumphal, 120, 124.
Archaeology, history of Christian, 17
seq.
Architecture. 83 565.,- cf. Contents, pp.
viii. and ix.
Architrave and archivolt, Wd seq.
Archulphus, 142.
Arcosolinm, 25.
Arcus major, 124.
Area, 47 seq.
Arenarium, 32.
Armellini, 20.
Ascension, 237.
church of, 142, 310.
Asia Minor, 9.
Atrium, of private house, 98.
of basilica, 105, 106, 178.
Auriol (France) , altar, 160.
A-w, 242, 236 seq.; see Monogram.
Banquet, see Celestial, and Eucharis-
tic Banquet.
Baptism, symbols of, 227; see Fish.
of Jesus, 330.
Baptisteries, 136, 137, 175.
Basilica, Christian, 87, 88, 89 seq.; cf.
Contents, p. viii.
civil, 92.
of Maxentius, 153.
private, 97.
Bema, 121.
Benediction, gesture of, 260.
Bethlehem, symbol of, 314.
Birr us, 400.
le Blant, 21.
Bosio, 17, 18.
Braccas, 389.
Brandea, 163.
Breech-cloth, 389.
1 N.B. The Table of Contents, pp. vii.-xii., is itself a topical index; it has
been arranged with great care to this end, and in many cases it will be found
more convenient for reference than the alphabetical index, which is not de-
signed to supplant it.
427
428
I XI) EX
Burial, 40 scq., .'>»!<).
on the surface, 78.
societies. 57 .srr/.
(^aiu ami Abel, 2H0.
Calcens, ;i8.S.
ConceUuj^, see Chancels.
Candles, ;i.-)2, :jr..s.
Canopy, see Cihon'uin.
Cant/nirus, a fountain, 170 seq.
a chalice, see Eueharistic Vessels.
a lamp, 351.
Cap, 387.
Capella greca, 44, 227 seq.
Capitals, 108 seq.
Catabaticum, 29.
Catacombs, 23 seq. ,• see Cemeteries.
Cataracta, l(j2.
Cathedra, 172 seq.
Ceiling, 110 seq.
Celestial banquet, 221 seq.
Cella,^\).
Cemeterial chapels, 49.
Cemeteries, 23 seq. ; cf. Contents, p.
vii.
individual, see under Rome, etc.
Censers, 353 seq.
Chalice, see Eueharistic Vessels.
Chancels, KkS.
Chapels, 49, 182.
in the catacombs, 2(5 seq., 43 seq.
Charta cornutiana, 379.
Chasuble (casula), 31K3 seq.
Cheetham, 22.
Chlamys (x^afjLvs), 399 seq.
Choir, 168 seq.
Churches, in general, 89 seq.; see
Basilica.
Byzantine, 147 seq.
round, 135 seq. ; cf. Contents, p. ix.
individual, see under Rome, etc.
Ciboi'ium, 123, 167.
Clnctus, 388.
Cippus, 166 ; see Stele.
Claims, 3()9, 372, 392.
Clearstory, 113.
Clermont, basilica of Namantius, 16.
Cuimeterlum, 23.
Coins, 205, 240 seq.
Collegia teuuloruin, 60.
Cologne, cemetery, 41.
Colonnade in front of altar, 170 seq.
Color of textiles, .'.71, 373.
Columns, 108.
Concha, 121 ; see Apse.
Confessio, 50, 162 seq.
Constantinian monogram, 236 seq.,
299.
Constantinople,
Irene, church of, 150.
SS. Apostles. 132, 148, 150 seq.
SS. Sergius and Bacchus, 138, 146.
S. Sophia, 15, 132, 152 seq., 166, 168,
170, 175.
Contabulatio, 402 seq., 407 .se</., 410
seq.
Cope (cai^pa), 399, 401.
Cross, representations of, 2136 seq.
as a gesture, 237.
dissimulated, 23(5.
Cross-shaped churches, 147 seq.
Crown (corona), 350, 351,353.
Crucifixion, 176 seq.
Cublculum, 24 seq.
Curtains, 377 seq.
Dalmatia and Istria, 10.
Dalmatic, 394 seq.
Damasus, 15.
inscriptions of, 74 seq.
Daniel, 208 seq.
David, 212, 283.
Decadence of art, 4 seq., 188, 248.
Dehio, 22.
Depositio, 63.
Diaco)iico)i, 126, 128.
DittochiBon, 16,272.
Dome, 86, 87; and cf. Contents, p.
ix.
Dominiciun, 90.
Doors, 114.
of S. Sabina,270.s^9.
Dove, 64, 303.
Dress, 383; cf. Contents, p. xil.
Duchesne, 14, 21.
Dyeing, 369 seq.
iyx^lpi-op, 413.
Egypt, 10.
Elders, the four and twenty, 311,
Elijah, 212, 299.
England, 10.
Entablature, curved, 88.
Etruscan tombs, 42.
IXDEX
429
Eiiobarist, 4r>, 44, 40, oO, ol, 94 scq.,
105, 2")!), ;U7.
Eucharistic banquet, 223 seq.
breads, 224, 34»i.
vessels, 343 seq.
Eusebius, 15.
Evangelists, 285, 303.
Ezekiel, 212.
Ezra (Syria), Church of S. George, 144.
Facade, 129.
Far us, a51.
FetiesteUa, 1G2.
Ficker, 22.
Fish symbol, 230, 231, 232 seq.
Flavian gens, 05.
de Fleury, 21.
Fons, 175.
Forrer, 3(50.
Fossores, 36.
Fountain, 179 seq.
Fractio Panis, 227 seq.
France, 10.
Funeral agape, 50 seq.
Gabatha, 351.
Galleries of churches, 112.
of catacombs, 24.
Gammadia , 372.
Garrucci, 21.
Genre subjects, 301.
Germany, 10,
Gesture of benediction, 2(50.
of consecration, 259.
of ordination, 259.
Gethsemane, 281.
Girdle, 390.
Glass, 357.
cut and engraved, 357.
God the Father, 299.
Gold embroidery, 370.
Gold-glass, 3.58 seq.
Good Shepherd, 214 seq., 290, 331.
Grado, cathedral, 172.
Gratfitti, on glass, 357.
on plaster, 2.S.
on stone, 188, 247.
Gregory of Tours, 1(5.
Habakkuk, 209.
Hand of God, 264.
Hat, 380.
Head-dress, 3S0 seq.
Helpidius Kusticus, 1(3.
I'Heureux, 17.
Hippolytus, 290.
Holtzinger, 22.
Holy Gliost, 259, 303.
Hood, 387, 398.
Ilortus, 48.
House, Greek and Roman private, 97
seq .
Christian private, 191.
Hypofjeum, 24, 43.
Ichthus, 232.
Ieonosta.us,Vl\, 382.
Imola, Martyrium of Cassiauus, 1(5.
Inhumation, 40.
Inscription of Abercius, 234 seq.
Inscriptions, (52 seq.
of Damasus, 74 seq.
Isaac, 208.
Istria, see Dalmatia.
Italy, 10, 11.
Itineraries, 12, 13.
Ivories, 278, 279 seq. ; cf. Contents,
p. xi.
Jacob, 283, 287.
Jerusalem, symbols of, 314.
Church of S. Stephen, 140.
Church of the Ascension, 90, 142,
310.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Au-
astasis), 90, 141, 171, 177 seq.,
m'■^seq.
Church of the Martyrium, 90, 309
seq.
Church of the Virgin in the Valley
of Jehoshaphat, 143.
Mosque of Omar, 142.
Job, 2(57.
John the Baptist, 285.
Jonah. 20(5 .sc(7., 290.
Joseph, 287.
Joshua, 323, 3;Ui.
Judas, 278, 284.
Junius Bassus, sarcophagus, 2(54 seq.
Justinian, 319.
Kalat-Seman (Syria) , 147 seq.
Kraus, 21.
Kyriakon, 90.
430
INDEX
lAibarum, 240.
Lace mo, 4(X).
Laciinaria, 118.
Lamb, as symbitl of Christ, 2()G, 'Mo.
Lamps, ."UT seq.
S. Laurence, 'SSI.
Lazarus, 2i;i.
Lead objects, 3o().
Legal status of Christian cemeteries,
53 seq.
Leggins, 388.
Liber PontificaUs, of Ravenna, 14.
of Rome, 13 seq.
Linteian, 410.
Lives of the Saints, 12.
Livia Primativa, sarcophagus, 254.
Locus {loculus), 25.
Loin-cloth, see Breech-cloth.
Lord's Supper, see Eucharist.
Lorum, Byzantine, 403.
Roman, 392.
Luminariuin, 32.
Madaba (Palestine), floor mosaic, 348.
Mafortes, 'M).
Magi, 210 seq.
Maniple, 412 seq.
Mantele, 410.
Maniiterriium, 411.
Map of Jerusalem, 308.
Mappa, 413.
Mappula, 413.
Marble incrustation, 295.
S. Marcel (France), altar, 160.
Martyrdom, representations of, 209.
Marty rologies, 12.
Martyrs, 27, 71 seq., 78.
Marucchi, 20.
Mary the Virgin, 245 seq., 320 seq.
Medals, 3.54.
Melchizedek, 317.
Memoria, 13, 49.
Metrical inscriptions, 70.
Milan, SS. Nazario e Celso, 148.
Miniatures, 333 seq.; of. Contents.
p. xi.
Miracles of Christ, 213 seq.
of Old Testament, 198 seq.
Mitre, 387.
Moyiasterium, 184.
Monogram, Constantiuian, 230 seq.
Mouza, 80.
Mosaics, 118 .se^., 292 seq.; cf. Con-
tents, p. xi.
Moses, 206, 272, 283.
Multiplication of loaves and fishes,
214.
Names, 64.
Naples, Basilica Severiana, 165.
Catacomb of S. Gennaro, 24, 29.
Narthex, 105, 107.
Nicea, church, 143.
Niche, 136.
Nile key, 238.
Noah, 206.
Nodus, 402.
Nola, Church of S. Felix, 16, 111, 147,
164, 177, 179.
lamps, 350.
mosaics, ;303.
Northcote and Brownlow, 19.
Nude figures, 207 seq.
u}fjLO<p6piov^ 408.
Opus sectile, 119.
Or cms, 201 seq.
Oraritim (cipdpioi'), 411.
Orientation, 176 seq.
Orleans ville, S. Reparatus, 111, 126.
Psenula (0aii'6\'>7s), 396 se(7.
Pagan themes in Christian art, 101.
Palestine, 9.
Palla, 407.
Pa<7eo,380.
Palliola, 163.
Pallium, 403 seq.
scarf, 407 seq.
Palucl amentum, 400.
Parenzo, cathedral pavement, 295.
Passion of Christ, 273.
Paten, see Eucharistic Vessels.
Patenam chrismalem, 347.
Patihulum,2A^.
Paul,25l5e9.,264, 268, 285.
Paulinus of Nola, 16.
Tyre, 177, 181.
Paulus Silentiarius, 14.
Peperino, 31.
Periholos, 180.
irepi^cjfxa, :^88.
Personification, 335, 338.
of the Church, 296, 300, 305.
IXDEX
431
Periiiria, S. Angelo, 140, 143.
Petasiis, 38().
Peter, 20(), 2G0 seq., 268, 291.
Peter's wife's mother, 283.
Philocalian catalogue, 60.
Philocalus, 76.
Phrygian cap, 387.
Pilate 259, 264, 265, 273.
Pilgrimages, 79
Pillars, 111.
Pilleas, 387.
Piper, Ferdinand, 21.
Piscina, 175.
Pluviale, 401.
Porto, Xenodochium, 111, 148.
Portogruaro, cemetery, 41.
Portraits of Christ, 214 seq., 326.
of Peter and Paul, 251 seq.
of S. Ambrose, 395.
Portraiture, 250, 292.
Pozzolana, 31.
Prayers to and for the dead, 72.
Presbyterium, 121.
Private house, decoration of, 191.
Procopius, 14.
Prophets, 324, 330.
Propylaon, 180.
Prostas, 98.
Prothesis, 125 seq.
Prudentius, 15.
Pulpit {TTvpyoi), see Ambon.
Purple, 371, 391
Ramsay, 22.
Ravenna, churches.
Basilica Ursiana, 168.
mausoleum of Galla Placidia, 149,
3dO seq.
mausoleum of Theodoric, 137.
S. ApoUinare in Classe, mosaics,
118, 331, 333.
S. Apollinare Nuovo, 110 ; mosaics,
324 seq.
S. Croce, 147.
S.Giovanni in fonte (Orthodox bap-
tistery) , 137 ; mosaics, 160, 329.
S. Maria in Cosmedin (Arian bap-
tistery), 137; mosaics, 329.
S. Vitale, 112, 138, 145; mosaics,
315 seq.
Refriyerium, 52.
Relics, 79 seq., 163.
Rivers of paradise, 298, 300, 303.
Rochet te, Raoul, 21.
Roman law, protecting tombs, 53.
Rome, cemeteries,
Jewish, 42.
Ostrianum, 27, 43.
S. Agnese, 48.
S. Callisto, 30, 54, 147.
S. Cyriaca (S. Lorenzo), 49, 81.
S. Domitilla, 50, 65 seq.
S. Felicitas,48.
S. Hippolytus, 16.
S. Pancrazio, 81.
SS. Pietro e Marcellino, 81.
S. Priscilla, 44, 50, 55, 66 seq.
S. Sebastiano {ad cataciimbas),
23, 81.
S. Valentino, 29, 49, 81.
Vaticano, 40.
Rome, churches,
Lateran baptistery, 144, 147 ; mo-
saics, 301.
S. Agnese, 49, 113, 177.
S. Alessandro, 162.
S. Balbina, 172.
S. Caicilia, 97, 113.
S. Clemente, 168, 176.
S. Costanza, 143 seq. ; mosaics, 297
seq.
S. Georgio in Velabro, 162.
S. Giovanni in Laterauo, 115. 124,
168,176; vessels, 346 se^.; lamps,
350 seq .
S. Maria in Cosmedin, 169.
S. Maria Maggiore, 109, 165, 176;
mosaics, 301, 319 seq.
vS. Pancrazio, 164.
S. Paolo, 109, 124, 165, 176 seq.;
mosaics, 301, 319 seq.
S. Pietro in Vaticano, 109, 116, 124,
147, 165 seq., 171, 17(i seq.; mo-
saics, 300 seq.; Eucharistic ves-
sels, S46 seq.
S. Petronilla, 49, 113, 176,
S. Prassede, 81, 176.
S. Prisca, 67.
S. Pudenziana, 38, 176 ; mosaics,
.'UM seq.
S. vSabina, 115, 170 seq., 176; doors,
270 seq.; mosaics, 295 seq.
S. Sebastiano, 49, 176.
S. Sinforosa, 111, 147, 164.
\r.2
INDEX
KoMK, ohm-ches,
S. Stefano. 140, 142 scq.
8. Valentino, 4H, 1()4.
SS. Cosma e Dainiano, 115; mo-
saics, oil.
SS. Giovanni e Paolo, 13, 80.
SS. Nereo ed Achilleo (S. Petro-
nilla),49, 113, 170.
Roof, 115 seq.
de Rossi, Giovanni Battista, 12, 18 seq.
M. S.,3().
Sacrament Chapels (S. Callistns),
224.
Sacraments, see Baptism and Euchar-
ist.
Sar/um, 3iH) seq.
Saints, 27, 71 seq., 78 .se^.
Samaria, church at Jacob's "Well, 14V>.
Sandals, 388.
Sarcophagus, 40, 249, 252 seq.
Sceptre, 289.
Schola, \n.
Schultze, Victor, 21.
Sculpture, 247 seq. ; cf. Contents,
p. X.
Scijphos, ^47.
Segment am, 372, 392.
Sestace, 413.
Sheep, symbols of the faithful and of
the Apostles, 219 seq.
Shoes, 388.
Sicily, 11.
Silk, 369.
Simon the Cyrenean, 273.
Sinus, 402.
Solea, 388.
Spain, 10.
Statues, 108, 289 seq.
Stele, 69; fiee Cippus.
Stevenson, 20.
Stole, 410 .se^.
Stucco, 294.
Sudarium, 413.
Suppedanewn, 278.
Susanna, 210.
Swastica, 238.
Symbolism, 193 seq., 250.
Symmetry, 253.
Syracuse, catacomb of S. Giovanni,
11, 25.
Syria, Central, 9, 110, 130 seq.
Tablinum, 100.
Tapestry, 370 seq. ; cf. Contents, p. xii.
Tef/arium, 40.
Textiles, 302 seq. ; cf. Contents, p. xii.
Theodora, 319.
Theodoric, mausoleum, 137.
Thessalonica, S. George. i;>().
Three Children of Babylon, 210.
Titles (ecclesiastical), 37 seq.
Titulus (poetical), 15 seq., 303.
Tobias, 212, 298.
Toga, 401 seq.
Topographical names of catacombs,
55.
Torcello, cathedral, 172.
Towers, 183 .^eq.
Transenna, 104.
Transept, 93, 124.
Translation of relics, 81.
Trench tombs, .50.
Treves, cemetery, 10.
Tribuna, tribunal, 121.
Triclinium, 51.
Trinity, 259, 303.
Trousers, 389.
Tufa, 31.
Tunic {tunica talaris, exomis, cincta),
3f»0 seq.
Tyre, basilica, 177 seq., 181.
Vaison (France), altar, 100.
Vasa diatreta, 358.
Vault, 80, 87.
Veil. 387.
Ventrale, 388.
Vintage scenes — vine symbol, 254.
Virgin, .see Mary.
Virgins, consecrated, 247.
de Vogiie', 110.
Wedding at Cana, 227.
AVilport, 17.
Windows, 113 seq.
de Winghe, 17.
Worship in the catacombs, 43 seq.
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