art and architecture, Byzantine 63ars moriendi (the art of dying)The art of dying, prac-
ticed to prevent despair and gain salvation at the moment
of death, was taught in various manuals. The church had
always formulated models for such a “good death.” The
graphic death scenes in saints’ lives were intended to
show how it was best done. By the end of the Middle
Ages these models for a good death were preached to the
faithful laity.
From the 13th century onward, motivated by a
greater pastoral concern for the faithful, the church began
to show more interest in helping all of the sick and dying.
Sermons hammered on the theme that death must be
expected at any moment and in every place. Between the
14th and early 15th century, new genres of treatises began
to appear. One example was the Medicine of the Soulor
Science of Dying Well,written about 1403 by John GER-
SON. This exemplary and typical work discussed the
exhortations and encouragements to the sick, the ques-
tions to ask them, the prayers to recite, and advice for
those assisting the dying. It was a guide for clerics for
their ministry to the dying.
Books called the Art of Dyingwere written in the ver-
nacular and illustrated with graphic woodcuts, and
appeared in great numbers from the mid-15th century
onward. Their texts offered advice on resisting the “temp-
tations” of the devil at the moment of death. The wood-
cuts depicted the dying person on his or her deathbed,
supported on one side by the VIRGINMARY, the heavenly
court of angels, and his or her personal guardian angel.
On the other side on the bed lurked Satan and his horde
of demons. Both sides were shown vying for possession
of the soul of the dying. These Art of Dyingbooks were
designed to show the art of dying well and to scare the
faithful into living better lives while awaiting death.
Further reading:Mary Catherine O’Connor, The Art
of Dying Well: The Development of the Ars Moriendi(New
York: Columbia University Press, 1942); Nancy Lee Beaty,
The Craft of Dying: A Study in the Literary Tradition of the
Ars Moriendi in England(New Haven, Conn.: Yale Univer-
sity Press, 1970).
ars notaria SeeNOTARIES AND NOTARIATE.
ars poetica andartes poeticae These were manuals
or treatises that teach the art of writing, especially
poetry. Having few theoretical proscriptions, the authors
were generally aware that rules cannot substitute for the
writer’s lack of vision. ARISTOTLE’s Poeticswas translated
by WILLIAM OFMOERBEKEin 1278, but was ignored, and
its title given to a commentary by IBNRUSHD. Horace’s
Ars Poeticawas well known. The audiences for these
treatises were the schools and court poets. The treatises
were written by clerics for clerics to teach how to com-
pose literary works in verse or prose. Their sources were
Horace and the Rhetoric attributed to Cicero, with
advice including the method to begin a poem, the pro-
cedures for its full development, techniques to elaborate
thoughts by figures and tropes, and the way to write
verses in a classical manner, including rhyming and
metrics.
Further reading:Paul Maurice Clogan, ed., Medieval
Poetics(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976);
Patrick S. Diehl, The Medieval European Religious Lyric:
An Ars Poetica(Berkeley: University of California Press,
1985); Donald Kelly, The Arts of Poetry and Prose(Turn-
hout: Brepols, 1991).ars praedicandi (the art of preaching)These were edu-
cational tracts written for preachers to explain
different procedures and forms for composing SERMONS
for different audiences. In FRANCE, among the first was a
treatise written by ALAN OFLILLEabout 1200. About 200
of these works from before 1500 survive. In the 14th and
15th centuries, technical advice prevailed, dominated by
Scholastic methods and newer rhetorical styles.
Further reading:Alan of Lille, The Art of Preaching,
trans. Gillian R. Evans (Kalamazoo, Mich.: Cistercian
Publications, 1981); J. J. Murphy, ed., Three Medieval
Rhetorical Arts(Berkeley: University of California Press,
1971), 109–215; Marianne C. Briscoe, Artes Praedicandi
(Turnhout: Brepols, 1992).art and architecture, Byzantine Byzantine art was
intimately tied to the political, military, and religious his-
tory of the empire. The hieratic styles and triumphs of
JUSTINIAN’Sreign were followed by a period of devastating
wars with the Persians and the Muslims, which coincided
with ICONOCLASM. The territorial conquests of the MACE-
DONIAN emperors were contemporary with an artistic
renaissance, and an elaborate art developed under the
KOMNENOI. After the LATINEMPIREand occupation of
CONSTANTINOPLEin 1204, the return of the PALAIOLOGI
generated an artistic and cultural renaissance glorifying
the Greek past.ICONOCLASM AND ITS AFTERMATH
Iconoclasm, in force from 726 to 843 except during a
brief return to the use of images in worship between 787
and 815, was opposed to figurative representations,
replacing them with compositions dominated by the
motif of the cross. The iconoclast polemic and its formu-
lation of the doctrine of religious images provided the
roots of an iconography that stressed the themes of
Christ’s Incarnation and dual nature. This change can be
explained by a renewal of interest in the cultural heritage
of the past, which coincided with a political and eco-
nomic recovery of the empire. Imperial ideology, founded
on the divine origin of power, was transmitted by means
of iconographical themes such as the symbolic Crowning
by Christ.