The Cult of Maria Regina in Early Medieval Rome

Authors

  • John Osborne Carleton University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5617/acta.5532

Keywords:

Iconography, Antiquity, Art history, History of the Church, Byzantine art, Mary Blessed Virgin Saint,

Abstract

The iconography of Mary bearing the crown and vestments of a Byzantine empress has long been associated with the arts of the city of Rome, where the overwhelming majority of early examples survive. From the eighth century onwards, this theme was exploited by the popes to reinforce their claims to independence from secular authority. But did they invent it? This paper supports the view that the iconography was initially developed at the imperial court in Constantinople in the first half of the sixth century, and that it first appeared in Rome in an “imperial” as opposed to “papal” context.

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Published

2017-09-21

How to Cite

Osborne, J. (2017) “The Cult of Maria Regina in Early Medieval Rome”, Acta ad archaeologiam et artium historiam pertinentia, 21(7 N.S.), pp. 95–106. doi: 10.5617/acta.5532.