Papers by Sebnem Donbekci
Is Byzantine Studies a Colonialist Discipline? Toward a Critical Historiography, 2023
This chapter delves into the intricate challenges and developments of Byzantine Studies in Turkey... more This chapter delves into the intricate challenges and developments of Byzantine Studies in Turkey, framed by broader political dynamics and academic isolation. It explores the marginalization of Byzantine heritage and scholarship in Turkey, impacting the integration of this field within both national and international academic contexts. The narrative unfolds against the backdrop of significant events, including the controversial transformation of Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque and the relocation of the International Congress of Byzantine Studies (ICBS) from Istanbul to Venice and Padua. These developments exemplify the ongoing struggle for the recognition and advancement of Byzantine Studies in Turkey.
Bizans Doneminde Anadolu / Anatolia in the Byzantine Period, 2021
This contribution explores the extensive role of monumental painting within Byzantine churches ac... more This contribution explores the extensive role of monumental painting within Byzantine churches across Anatolia, focusing on the portrayal of saints in both narrative and iconic formats. The rich tapestry of Byzantine religious artwork served not only aesthetic and liturgical purposes but also acted as a didactic tool for the congregants, many of whom were illiterate. These paintings, ranging from grand mosaics to intricate frescoes, encapsulated the doctrines of Christianity and depicted biblical scenes, thus reinforcing the theological and ideological stances of the time.
The study delves into specific examples highlighting the hierarchical placement of celestial figures and the liturgical significance of these artworks in church rituals. Additionally, the article examines the cultural and social implications of these paintings, revealing insights into the local patronage and community identities that influenced which saints and scenes were depicted. The narrative cycles and iconography of saints, such as St. Nicholas and the Holy Family, are discussed to illustrate their role in fostering communal ties and spiritual devotion among the Byzantine populace.
The findings underscore the dual function of these paintings: they were both expressions of divine worship and reflections of the societal values and concerns of the Byzantine people in Anatolia. Through an analytical lens, this article contributes to our understanding of the intersection between art, religion, and society in Byzantine Anatolia.
İstanbul Araştırmaları Yıllığı No.5, 2016
This paper examines the Saint Francis fresco cycle located in the Kalenderhane Mosque in Istanbul... more This paper examines the Saint Francis fresco cycle located in the Kalenderhane Mosque in Istanbul, formerly a Byzantine church and part of the Theotokos Kyriotissa monastic complex. Discovered in 1967, these frescoes are notable as they date back to the mid-13th century, shortly after the canonization of Saint Francis in 1228 and before the Byzantine recapture of Constantinople in 1261. Representing a unique instance of Latin artistic activity during their occupation following the Fourth Crusade, these frescoes provide a rare glimpse into the hybrid cultural expressions that emerged in the Mediterranean post-Crusade period. The study highlights the significant impact of these frescoes, not only as artworks but as reflections of the socio-religious dynamics of their time, blending Eastern and Western Christian iconographic elements amidst the broader dialogues between the Orthodox and Catholic churches.
Thesis Chapters by Sebnem Donbekci
Unpublished Master's Thesis, 2016
The Fourth Crusade marked one of the most dramatic moments of Byzantine history: the occupation o... more The Fourth Crusade marked one of the most dramatic moments of Byzantine history: the occupation of Constantinople in 1204. However, there is one surviving example of the artistic activity of the Latins from this period of plunder and destruction: the fresco cycle of Saint Francis. The cycle was discovered at the Kalenderhane Mosque, a former Byzantine church and part of the monastic complex of Theotokos (Mother of God) Kyriotissa, in 1967 after being sealed and hidden in an annexed chapel for seven centuries. The frescoes portraying Francis’s life were painted shortly after the canonization of the saint in 1228 and prior to the reconquest of 1261. They are regarded
as the earliest depictions of Francis’s life on fresco.
The cycle is an intriguing example of the hybrid works of art that emerged in the post-Crusade Mediterranean. Existing scholarship mainly focuses on four aspects of the cycle: establishing its historical setting and patronage; identifying its scenes; exploring its stylistic associations with other works of art; and interpreting the choice of Byzantine vita icon format. The notable ensemble of various Eastern and Western components in the program, a less discussed and researched aspect of the cycle, is commonly considered to reflect the thirteenth-century climate of the ongoing negotiations for the
union of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.
The fresco cycle is definitely a product of the Franciscans’ purposeful experimentation in the broader context of the commitment of the order to the communion of the churches and missionary activity in the Eastern Mediterranean. However, this thesis argues that the joint presence of Eastern and Western elements and some overlooked particularities of its iconography may also lead to a different reading. This new interpretation of the cycle goes beyond the attempt of the mendicant order to legitimize the sainthood of their recently canonized founder and requires an in-depth reconsideration of its context. This study aims to look beyond the visible and decipher the cycle in light of the ongoing
negotiations of power and ideology in the post-Crusade Mediterranean.
Congresses/Seminars by Sebnem Donbekci
Sixth International Sevgi Gönül Byzantine Studies Symposium 22-24 June, 2023
The early years of the Turkish Republic witnessed an increasing interest in the humanities, and e... more The early years of the Turkish Republic witnessed an increasing interest in the humanities, and especially in history and archaeology. This interest was initially tied up with the ideological needs of the nation-state, as expressed in the Turkish History Thesis. However, the discipline of archaeology also provided proof of the achievements and progress of the young republic and thus became, itself, a symbol of modernity. The establishment of the Faculty of Languages, History and Geography at Ankara University and the Turkish students sent abroad to be educated in history and archaeology were among the efforts of the new state to foster these disciplines, although these efforts were not extended to Byzantinology. Despite the support, or at least tacit approval, provided to foreign scholars as well as Turkish museologists such as Arif Müfid Mansel (1905–1975) and Aziz Ogan (1888–1956), to conduct archaeological research on Byzantine monuments, as well as the ambitious step to convert Hagia Sophia into a museum following the restoration of its mosaics by the Byzantine Institute, institutional efforts to establish Byzantine studies as an academic discipline were lacking in this period.
The attempt to disconnect the Byzantine past of its territories from the identity of the new nation-state might well explain the unwillingness to develop Byzantine studies as an academic discipline in Turkey in this period. Indeed, even today Byzantium occupies an ambiguous position in the Turkish historical consciousness. Nevertheless, during the tremulous years of World War II, Semavi Eyice (1922–2018) emerged through his own efforts as a leading Byzantinist despite the absence of an institutional setup. Eyice completed his art history education under the tutelage of foreign scholars abroad and at Istanbul University where he started to teach after his graduation and founded the chair of Byzantine art in 1963. Yet, only with the arrival of several other pioneering intellectual and organizational founding figures could Byzantine studies truly develop as an academic discipline in Turkey.
In this paper, the emergence and development of Byzantinology as an academic discipline in Turkey will be examined through the lens of neo-Kuhnian developmental models, which emphasize the wider social context of scientific knowledge production along with its immediate scientific context. Although the term “academic discipline” has become a technical term for the organization of learning and the systematic production of new knowledge, academic disciplines are, above all, multi-dimensional socio-communicative networks of knowledge production. My paper will focus on the pioneering Turkish scholars, who ventured into uncharted territory and carved out a place for Byzantine studies in Turkish academia with their intellectual and organizational leadership: Semavi Eyice, Ebru Parman (1947–), Yıldız Ötüken (1945–2020), Doğan Kuban (1926–2021), Metin Ahunbay (1935–2014), and Melek Delilbaşı (1947–2022). I will attempt to analyze the cognitive and social aspects of group formation and transformation among researchers throughout the developmental stages of the discipline and identify the pivotal roles these scholars played in the institutionalization of Byzantine studies in Turkey using personal testimonies and empirical data.
24th International Congress of Byzantine Studies Byzantium – Bridge Between Worlds Venice and Padua, 22-27 August 2022
In Painted Sources for Female Piety in Medieval Byzantium, Sharon Gerstel uses the representation... more In Painted Sources for Female Piety in Medieval Byzantium, Sharon Gerstel uses the representation of female saints to reveal the participation of women in the life of the Church, an uncharted territory in textual sources. Byzantine Cappadocia also lacks textual sources yet preserves an abundance of material remains. In the light of the recent scholarship that redefines Cappadocia as a thriving medieval community, this paper attempts to extend Gerstel’s study to Cappadocian churches and gathers a corpus of nearly 300 images of holy women. By analyzing the selection of the female saints included in the decorative program of more than eighty monuments and their arrangement within the church, it aims to explore the beliefs, fears, wants and the role of the women that once lived in Cappadocia.
24th International Congress of Byzantine Studies Byzantium – Bridge Between Worlds Venice and Padua, 22-27 August 2022
A virtual community (VC) is a group of individuals who pursue mutual interests and purposes and a... more A virtual community (VC) is a group of individuals who pursue mutual interests and purposes and are interested in building relationships and interaction by using information technology as their primary means. This paper will examine the use of VCs in Byzantine studies and how they can foster engagement and participation among scholars and students working in this field. A VC initiated and collectively ran by a group of graduate students with the goal of becoming the ”meeting point” for Byzantinists in Turkey, Bizantolog.org, will be presented as a case study to share lessons learned and discuss opportunities for increased cooperation and collaboration among Byzantinists by the use of VCs. The discussion will also include how VCs can contribute to academic resilience during stressed times.
54th International Congress on Medieval Studies May 9–12, 2019
Two decades ago, in her article, “Painted Sources for Female Piety in Medieval Byzantium”, Sharon... more Two decades ago, in her article, “Painted Sources for Female Piety in Medieval Byzantium”, Sharon Gerstel argued that the representation of female saints in the painting programs of Byzantine churches provided an important source for the study of women and their ritual patterns in Byzantium. Through a detailed analysis of seventy medieval churches in modern-day Greece, Gerstel convincingly demonstrated that holy women were depicted in the spaces physically occupied by women and used for female devotional practices. The dispersed locations of these churches, in cities and rural areas alike, and the ensuing multiplicity of their function along with the diversity of congregation, provided the means for contextualizing the participation of women in the life of the Church, an uncharted territory in textual sources.
Byzantine Cappadocia, a region that preserves an abundance of material remains, also lacks textual sources, which could have provided a narrative for this puzzling landscape. In his recent book, Visualizing Community, Robert Ousterhout embarked on a mission to write the cultural history of the region by zooming out from the details accumulated by scholars of Cappadocian studies heretofore and by focusing on the bigger picture of settlement and society. Ousterhout’s compelling arguments redefine Byzantine Cappadocia as a thriving medieval community and challenge the common perception of the region as a land of caves and cones, populated mainly by monks and ascetics.
This new reading of Byzantine Cappadocia begs for a recontextualizing of its material culture. A significant portion of the more than one thousand rock-cut churches and chapels retain their painted decoration and among the multitude of holy figures depicted in these monuments, female saints are by no means uncommon. In the light of recent scholarship on the cultural and social history of the region, this paper attempts to extend Gerstel’s analysis to the thirteenth-century images of female saints in Cappadocia in order to visualize the women that once lived there.
IV. FORUM KUNST DES MITTELALTERS / FORUM MEDIEVAL ART 360° – Places, Boundaries, Global Perspectives BERLIN and BRANDENBURG 20.-23.09.2017
International Conference Mendicant Orders in the Eastern Mediterranean: Art, Architecture and Material Culture (13th-16th c.) Nafplion (Greece), 19-23 April 2017
The excavations carried by Cecil L. Striker and Doğan Kuban in the nineteen sixties and seventies... more The excavations carried by Cecil L. Striker and Doğan Kuban in the nineteen sixties and seventies revealed that the Kalenderhane Mosque was part of the monastic complex of the Virgin Kyriotissa. The vita cycle of Saint Francis and some other finds suggest that the church was used as a Catholic Church during the Latin occupation. The mysterious cycle of Saint Francis has attracted scholarly attention since its discovery. Scholarship mainly focuses on four aspects of the cycle: establishing its historical setting, patronage and dating; identifying the scenes in the cycle and their links to contemporary and later mural and panel paintings and cycles of Saint Francis; stylistic associations of the cycle with other works of art and, in particular, with a group of thirteenth-century Crusader manuscripts; and, lastly, the choice of Byzantine vita format for the fresco cycle.
The ensemble of various Eastern and Western components in the program is a less discussed and researched aspect of the cycle. It is commonly considered to reflect the mid-thirteenth-century climate of the ongoing negotiations for the union of the Greek Orthodox Church and Latin Catholic Church. The quite unusual importance attributed to Greek Church Fathers, depicted twice the size of the central figure of Francis and in a prominent location framing the cycle, is generally interpreted as a reference to the identification of the common origins of the Latin Church and Greek Church and the parallels between Franciscan spirituality and Byzantine monasticism.
However, in this paper, I will argue that the joint presence of Western and Eastern elements and some overlooked particularities of its iconographic program may also lead to a different reading. This new interpretation of the Saint Francis cycle goes far beyond the attempt of the mendicant order to legitimize the sainthood of their recently canonized founder and requires reconsideration of its context against the backdrop of the ongoing negotiations of power and ideology in the post-Crusades Mediterranean.
23rd International Congress of Byzantine Studies, Belgrade, 22-27 August 2016
Byzantine Studies Alive! International Conference, Radboud University Nijmegen, 16-17 June 2016
The fresco cycle of Saint Francis of Assisi was discovered at the Kalenderhane Mosque in Constant... more The fresco cycle of Saint Francis of Assisi was discovered at the Kalenderhane Mosque in Constantinople in 1967 after being sealed in an annexed chapel for centuries. It is both the earliest preserved fresco cycle of Francis’s life and the only surviving artistic example from the period of Latin occupation. The cycle represents the complexity of the cultural interplay in the Mediterranean. This paper will attempt to explore the role of the fresco cycle of Saint Francis in the artistic interchange between East and West through a critical evaluation of the mobility and selective appropriation of themes, formats, and styles.
Trends and Turning-Points: Constructing the Late Antique and Byzantine World (c. 300 - c. 1500), Oxford, 26-27 February 2016, 2016
by Francesca Dell'Acqua, Associate Prof., History of Medieval and Byzantine Art, Anna C Kelley, Ivan Marić, Julie Boeten, Sien De Groot, Charbel Nassif, Carl Dixon, Sebnem Donbekci, Alasdair Grant, Michael Burling, Christina Armoni, Alex MacFarlane, Marcus Spencer-Brown, and Alex M Feldman 17th Annual Postgraduate Colloquium of the Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies... more 17th Annual Postgraduate Colloquium of the Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies 4 June, 2016
European Research Institute, University of Birmingham
Edited Book by Sebnem Donbekci
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Papers by Sebnem Donbekci
The study delves into specific examples highlighting the hierarchical placement of celestial figures and the liturgical significance of these artworks in church rituals. Additionally, the article examines the cultural and social implications of these paintings, revealing insights into the local patronage and community identities that influenced which saints and scenes were depicted. The narrative cycles and iconography of saints, such as St. Nicholas and the Holy Family, are discussed to illustrate their role in fostering communal ties and spiritual devotion among the Byzantine populace.
The findings underscore the dual function of these paintings: they were both expressions of divine worship and reflections of the societal values and concerns of the Byzantine people in Anatolia. Through an analytical lens, this article contributes to our understanding of the intersection between art, religion, and society in Byzantine Anatolia.
Thesis Chapters by Sebnem Donbekci
as the earliest depictions of Francis’s life on fresco.
The cycle is an intriguing example of the hybrid works of art that emerged in the post-Crusade Mediterranean. Existing scholarship mainly focuses on four aspects of the cycle: establishing its historical setting and patronage; identifying its scenes; exploring its stylistic associations with other works of art; and interpreting the choice of Byzantine vita icon format. The notable ensemble of various Eastern and Western components in the program, a less discussed and researched aspect of the cycle, is commonly considered to reflect the thirteenth-century climate of the ongoing negotiations for the
union of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.
The fresco cycle is definitely a product of the Franciscans’ purposeful experimentation in the broader context of the commitment of the order to the communion of the churches and missionary activity in the Eastern Mediterranean. However, this thesis argues that the joint presence of Eastern and Western elements and some overlooked particularities of its iconography may also lead to a different reading. This new interpretation of the cycle goes beyond the attempt of the mendicant order to legitimize the sainthood of their recently canonized founder and requires an in-depth reconsideration of its context. This study aims to look beyond the visible and decipher the cycle in light of the ongoing
negotiations of power and ideology in the post-Crusade Mediterranean.
Congresses/Seminars by Sebnem Donbekci
The attempt to disconnect the Byzantine past of its territories from the identity of the new nation-state might well explain the unwillingness to develop Byzantine studies as an academic discipline in Turkey in this period. Indeed, even today Byzantium occupies an ambiguous position in the Turkish historical consciousness. Nevertheless, during the tremulous years of World War II, Semavi Eyice (1922–2018) emerged through his own efforts as a leading Byzantinist despite the absence of an institutional setup. Eyice completed his art history education under the tutelage of foreign scholars abroad and at Istanbul University where he started to teach after his graduation and founded the chair of Byzantine art in 1963. Yet, only with the arrival of several other pioneering intellectual and organizational founding figures could Byzantine studies truly develop as an academic discipline in Turkey.
In this paper, the emergence and development of Byzantinology as an academic discipline in Turkey will be examined through the lens of neo-Kuhnian developmental models, which emphasize the wider social context of scientific knowledge production along with its immediate scientific context. Although the term “academic discipline” has become a technical term for the organization of learning and the systematic production of new knowledge, academic disciplines are, above all, multi-dimensional socio-communicative networks of knowledge production. My paper will focus on the pioneering Turkish scholars, who ventured into uncharted territory and carved out a place for Byzantine studies in Turkish academia with their intellectual and organizational leadership: Semavi Eyice, Ebru Parman (1947–), Yıldız Ötüken (1945–2020), Doğan Kuban (1926–2021), Metin Ahunbay (1935–2014), and Melek Delilbaşı (1947–2022). I will attempt to analyze the cognitive and social aspects of group formation and transformation among researchers throughout the developmental stages of the discipline and identify the pivotal roles these scholars played in the institutionalization of Byzantine studies in Turkey using personal testimonies and empirical data.
Byzantine Cappadocia, a region that preserves an abundance of material remains, also lacks textual sources, which could have provided a narrative for this puzzling landscape. In his recent book, Visualizing Community, Robert Ousterhout embarked on a mission to write the cultural history of the region by zooming out from the details accumulated by scholars of Cappadocian studies heretofore and by focusing on the bigger picture of settlement and society. Ousterhout’s compelling arguments redefine Byzantine Cappadocia as a thriving medieval community and challenge the common perception of the region as a land of caves and cones, populated mainly by monks and ascetics.
This new reading of Byzantine Cappadocia begs for a recontextualizing of its material culture. A significant portion of the more than one thousand rock-cut churches and chapels retain their painted decoration and among the multitude of holy figures depicted in these monuments, female saints are by no means uncommon. In the light of recent scholarship on the cultural and social history of the region, this paper attempts to extend Gerstel’s analysis to the thirteenth-century images of female saints in Cappadocia in order to visualize the women that once lived there.
The ensemble of various Eastern and Western components in the program is a less discussed and researched aspect of the cycle. It is commonly considered to reflect the mid-thirteenth-century climate of the ongoing negotiations for the union of the Greek Orthodox Church and Latin Catholic Church. The quite unusual importance attributed to Greek Church Fathers, depicted twice the size of the central figure of Francis and in a prominent location framing the cycle, is generally interpreted as a reference to the identification of the common origins of the Latin Church and Greek Church and the parallels between Franciscan spirituality and Byzantine monasticism.
However, in this paper, I will argue that the joint presence of Western and Eastern elements and some overlooked particularities of its iconographic program may also lead to a different reading. This new interpretation of the Saint Francis cycle goes far beyond the attempt of the mendicant order to legitimize the sainthood of their recently canonized founder and requires reconsideration of its context against the backdrop of the ongoing negotiations of power and ideology in the post-Crusades Mediterranean.
European Research Institute, University of Birmingham
Edited Book by Sebnem Donbekci
The study delves into specific examples highlighting the hierarchical placement of celestial figures and the liturgical significance of these artworks in church rituals. Additionally, the article examines the cultural and social implications of these paintings, revealing insights into the local patronage and community identities that influenced which saints and scenes were depicted. The narrative cycles and iconography of saints, such as St. Nicholas and the Holy Family, are discussed to illustrate their role in fostering communal ties and spiritual devotion among the Byzantine populace.
The findings underscore the dual function of these paintings: they were both expressions of divine worship and reflections of the societal values and concerns of the Byzantine people in Anatolia. Through an analytical lens, this article contributes to our understanding of the intersection between art, religion, and society in Byzantine Anatolia.
as the earliest depictions of Francis’s life on fresco.
The cycle is an intriguing example of the hybrid works of art that emerged in the post-Crusade Mediterranean. Existing scholarship mainly focuses on four aspects of the cycle: establishing its historical setting and patronage; identifying its scenes; exploring its stylistic associations with other works of art; and interpreting the choice of Byzantine vita icon format. The notable ensemble of various Eastern and Western components in the program, a less discussed and researched aspect of the cycle, is commonly considered to reflect the thirteenth-century climate of the ongoing negotiations for the
union of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.
The fresco cycle is definitely a product of the Franciscans’ purposeful experimentation in the broader context of the commitment of the order to the communion of the churches and missionary activity in the Eastern Mediterranean. However, this thesis argues that the joint presence of Eastern and Western elements and some overlooked particularities of its iconography may also lead to a different reading. This new interpretation of the cycle goes beyond the attempt of the mendicant order to legitimize the sainthood of their recently canonized founder and requires an in-depth reconsideration of its context. This study aims to look beyond the visible and decipher the cycle in light of the ongoing
negotiations of power and ideology in the post-Crusade Mediterranean.
The attempt to disconnect the Byzantine past of its territories from the identity of the new nation-state might well explain the unwillingness to develop Byzantine studies as an academic discipline in Turkey in this period. Indeed, even today Byzantium occupies an ambiguous position in the Turkish historical consciousness. Nevertheless, during the tremulous years of World War II, Semavi Eyice (1922–2018) emerged through his own efforts as a leading Byzantinist despite the absence of an institutional setup. Eyice completed his art history education under the tutelage of foreign scholars abroad and at Istanbul University where he started to teach after his graduation and founded the chair of Byzantine art in 1963. Yet, only with the arrival of several other pioneering intellectual and organizational founding figures could Byzantine studies truly develop as an academic discipline in Turkey.
In this paper, the emergence and development of Byzantinology as an academic discipline in Turkey will be examined through the lens of neo-Kuhnian developmental models, which emphasize the wider social context of scientific knowledge production along with its immediate scientific context. Although the term “academic discipline” has become a technical term for the organization of learning and the systematic production of new knowledge, academic disciplines are, above all, multi-dimensional socio-communicative networks of knowledge production. My paper will focus on the pioneering Turkish scholars, who ventured into uncharted territory and carved out a place for Byzantine studies in Turkish academia with their intellectual and organizational leadership: Semavi Eyice, Ebru Parman (1947–), Yıldız Ötüken (1945–2020), Doğan Kuban (1926–2021), Metin Ahunbay (1935–2014), and Melek Delilbaşı (1947–2022). I will attempt to analyze the cognitive and social aspects of group formation and transformation among researchers throughout the developmental stages of the discipline and identify the pivotal roles these scholars played in the institutionalization of Byzantine studies in Turkey using personal testimonies and empirical data.
Byzantine Cappadocia, a region that preserves an abundance of material remains, also lacks textual sources, which could have provided a narrative for this puzzling landscape. In his recent book, Visualizing Community, Robert Ousterhout embarked on a mission to write the cultural history of the region by zooming out from the details accumulated by scholars of Cappadocian studies heretofore and by focusing on the bigger picture of settlement and society. Ousterhout’s compelling arguments redefine Byzantine Cappadocia as a thriving medieval community and challenge the common perception of the region as a land of caves and cones, populated mainly by monks and ascetics.
This new reading of Byzantine Cappadocia begs for a recontextualizing of its material culture. A significant portion of the more than one thousand rock-cut churches and chapels retain their painted decoration and among the multitude of holy figures depicted in these monuments, female saints are by no means uncommon. In the light of recent scholarship on the cultural and social history of the region, this paper attempts to extend Gerstel’s analysis to the thirteenth-century images of female saints in Cappadocia in order to visualize the women that once lived there.
The ensemble of various Eastern and Western components in the program is a less discussed and researched aspect of the cycle. It is commonly considered to reflect the mid-thirteenth-century climate of the ongoing negotiations for the union of the Greek Orthodox Church and Latin Catholic Church. The quite unusual importance attributed to Greek Church Fathers, depicted twice the size of the central figure of Francis and in a prominent location framing the cycle, is generally interpreted as a reference to the identification of the common origins of the Latin Church and Greek Church and the parallels between Franciscan spirituality and Byzantine monasticism.
However, in this paper, I will argue that the joint presence of Western and Eastern elements and some overlooked particularities of its iconographic program may also lead to a different reading. This new interpretation of the Saint Francis cycle goes far beyond the attempt of the mendicant order to legitimize the sainthood of their recently canonized founder and requires reconsideration of its context against the backdrop of the ongoing negotiations of power and ideology in the post-Crusades Mediterranean.
European Research Institute, University of Birmingham