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Film, Video Morphing Magi: An Armenian Menologium in Context

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Transcript: TEXT

About this Item

Title

  • Morphing Magi: An Armenian Menologium in Context

Summary

  • Between June 1 and July 15, 2022, the African and Middle Eastern Division (AMED) hosted seven renowned scholars in the AMED Reading Room, each for a two-week research residency. During their residencies, the scholars used the Library's collection to conduct in-depth research in religious studies in the division's responsible geographic areas. These topics range from food cultures and art in religion, religious beliefs in the context of slavery and colonialism, and comparisons of religious minorities, to religious freedom in constitutional systems. These presentations feature finding from the scholar's research residencies. ; ; The residencies and symposium are part of the Exploring Challenging Conversations project generously funded by a planning grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc. for the purpose of enhancing public awareness of cross-regional and intercultural religious understanding in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and their global diaspora. ; ; The Library of Congress (LOC) Lectionary (Call no. BX 127.A2 A7 1600z; MS Orien Nr. East 6004) is one of the gems of the LOC Collection of Armenian Rarities. The partial manuscript, consisting of six large folios with sumptuous illuminations, dates to the seventeenth century. The incipit pages and marginal illustrations replicate earlier medieval Armenian styles, while the two full-page illuminations of the Adoration of the Magi and the Resurrection incorporate early modern motifs, drawing upon images circulating in European prints. Of particular interest is the inclusion of a magus with a crowned turban, a rarity in Armenian illuminations. In earlier periods, a variety of headgear ranging from Crusader crowns to red fezzes was used in representations of the three kings. However, the use of a crowned turban finds echoes in images across Europe and the Mediterranean around the seventeenth century, where the motif is often used to signify an Ottoman ruler. The turbaned magus may also be a subtle reference to seventeenth-century European depictions of the magi, which employed North African models for Balthasar. Following a brief discussion of the manuscript as a whole, this presentation will focus on the Adoration of the Magi illumination, situating this image among the changing depictions of magi in medieval Armenian manuscripts, and conclude with the implications of the choice of clothing and complexion in the Library of Congress lectionary.

Names

  • Library of Congress
  • Library of Congress. African and Middle Eastern Division, sponsoring body

Created / Published

  • Washington, D.C. : Library of Congress, 2022-08-15.

Notes

  • -  Group name: Religious Practices, Transmission, and Literacies in Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. 6
  • -  Khatchig Mouradian, Whitney A. Kite.
  • -  Recorded on 2022-08-15.

Medium

  • 1 online resource

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2024698112

Online Format

  • video
  • image
  • online text

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Library Of Congress, and Sponsoring Body Library Of Congress. African And Middle Eastern Division. Morphing Magi: An Armenian Menologium in Context. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, -08-15, 2022. Video. https://www.loc.gov/item/2024698112/.

APA citation style:

Library Of Congress & Library Of Congress. African And Middle Eastern Division, S. B. (2022) Morphing Magi: An Armenian Menologium in Context. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, -08-15. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2024698112/.

MLA citation style:

Library Of Congress, and Sponsoring Body Library Of Congress. African And Middle Eastern Division. Morphing Magi: An Armenian Menologium in Context. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, -08-15, 2022. Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2024698112/>.