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Style and Civilisation
BYZANTINE style and civilization
paperbound edition
- GenresHistoryArtNonfiction
Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
73 people want to read
About the author
Steven Runciman
44 books236 followersA King's Scholar at Eton College, he was an exact contemporary and close friend of George Orwell. While there, they both studied French under Aldous Huxley. In 1921 he entered Trinity College, Cambridge as a history scholar and studied under J.B. Bury, becoming, as Runciman later commented, "his first, and only, student." At first the reclusive Bury tried to brush him off; then, when Runciman mentioned that he could read Russian, Bury gave him a stack of Bulgarian articles to edit, and so their relationship began. His work on the Byzantine Empire earned him a fellowship at Trinity in 1927.
After receiving a large inheritance from his grandfather, Runciman resigned his fellowship in 1938 and began travelling widely. From 1942 to 1945 he was Professor of Byzantine Art and History at Istanbul University, in Turkey, where he began the research on the Crusades which would lead to his best known work, the History of the Crusades (three volumes appearing in 1951, 1952, and 1954).
Most of Runciman's historical works deal with Byzantium and her medieval neighbours between Sicily and Syria; one exception is The White Rajahs, published in 1960, which tells the story of Sarawak, an independent nation founded on the northern coast of Borneo in 1841 by the Englishman James Brooke, and ruled by the Brooke family for more than a century.
After receiving a large inheritance from his grandfather, Runciman resigned his fellowship in 1938 and began travelling widely. From 1942 to 1945 he was Professor of Byzantine Art and History at Istanbul University, in Turkey, where he began the research on the Crusades which would lead to his best known work, the History of the Crusades (three volumes appearing in 1951, 1952, and 1954).
Most of Runciman's historical works deal with Byzantium and her medieval neighbours between Sicily and Syria; one exception is The White Rajahs, published in 1960, which tells the story of Sarawak, an independent nation founded on the northern coast of Borneo in 1841 by the Englishman James Brooke, and ruled by the Brooke family for more than a century.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 13, 2013
If I was to rate this book purely on writing, I would have to go five stars. Rarely have I seen an overview of anything that was as scholarly yet readable. If you don't mind focusing on the writing, this is a great perusal of the principals of Byzantine civilization as seen through its architecture, mosaics, ivory work, inlay, icons, etc. Though, Runciman's style reflects his eccentric English personality as he is willing to generalize based on his biases, he seems so well informed I don't doubt he's telling the truth.
Unfortunately, because it is a paperback, and because it was written almost 40 years ago, the illustration, which were chosen as well as any reader could want, are not only in black and white but sometimes quite blurry.
What would be genuinely fantastic is if this book were revised by a sympathetic Byzantine scholar--Runciman died 12 years ago--and published with proper color prints so that the reader could see these carefully chosen examples of Byzantine brilliance in full color. Shouldn't the reader enjoy this art presented in a manner that would have bring tears to the eyes of the Neo-Platonic thinkers that guided so many of the principals behind these exquisite examples?
Unfortunately, because it is a paperback, and because it was written almost 40 years ago, the illustration, which were chosen as well as any reader could want, are not only in black and white but sometimes quite blurry.
What would be genuinely fantastic is if this book were revised by a sympathetic Byzantine scholar--Runciman died 12 years ago--and published with proper color prints so that the reader could see these carefully chosen examples of Byzantine brilliance in full color. Shouldn't the reader enjoy this art presented in a manner that would have bring tears to the eyes of the Neo-Platonic thinkers that guided so many of the principals behind these exquisite examples?
September 17, 2022
Una síntesis brillante de un historiador eminente, escrita en un estilo vibrante, que sirve de pórtico al estudio del arte bizantino como fruto de una civilización singular. Algunos puntos de vista están sujetos a revisión por la historiografia más reciente (y por eso le falta una estrella) pero sigue valiendo la pena. El autor no alcanza el nivel de "Vísperas Sicilianas" o "Historia de las Cruzadas", si bien el formato aquí es más asequible.
March 16, 2022
‘But it is true that the basic notion of the Empire remained the same. It was the Kingdom of God on earth, the pale reflection of the Kingdom of God in Heaven, earthbound because of its sins, but always with an ideal it should try to imitate.'
Steven Runciman was an ardent partisan of the ‘Eastern Roman’ Byzantine Empire (395AD-1453AD), as well as its leading historian for many years. He controversially took its side (and therefore the side of Eastern Orthodox Christianity) against the western Crusaders who abused it - whom he regarded as barbarians possessing ‘faith without wisdom’. ‘Byzantine Style and Civilisation’ is a short book dealing with, as the name suggests, the sumptuous visual artistic legacy of the Empire. In that sense it suffers from not being a large edition ‘coffee table’ book full of colour imprints. All the images in my edition are black and white - so you miss the glowing quality of the holy images in the Church of Saint Sophia. Runciman makes the point, however, that
'Byzantine art was essentially a religious art. Byzantine theory dismissed as inadequate the Aristotelian notion that the object of art was to please the senses. It was essentially based on the concept of the image being the shadow of the original.’
The point of Byzantine art was to put you in mystic contact with Christ and the Saints (with the Emperor benefiting from the association). It makes sense therefore that Empire had a major dispute over whether religious icons should be venerated, or destroyed, because they attempt to represent the Divine. From this book I learned that the opposite term for ‘iconoclasts’ (those who want to destroy icons) is ‘iconodule’ (those who want to venerate icons). At various times the iconoclasts took control of the Empire, but their views - though influential - were not decisive.
‘Byzantine Style and Civilisation’ is best treated as a companion to Runciman’s other work such as his three volume history of the Crusades. It’s also worth pointing out that Runciman has a number of Islamophobic asides. He views Islam as essentially warlike, and criticises its artistic style of abstract representation. Had the iconoclasts triumphed in Byzantium, Runciman fears their art would have been closer to that of Islam - which he would not like!
Steven Runciman was an ardent partisan of the ‘Eastern Roman’ Byzantine Empire (395AD-1453AD), as well as its leading historian for many years. He controversially took its side (and therefore the side of Eastern Orthodox Christianity) against the western Crusaders who abused it - whom he regarded as barbarians possessing ‘faith without wisdom’. ‘Byzantine Style and Civilisation’ is a short book dealing with, as the name suggests, the sumptuous visual artistic legacy of the Empire. In that sense it suffers from not being a large edition ‘coffee table’ book full of colour imprints. All the images in my edition are black and white - so you miss the glowing quality of the holy images in the Church of Saint Sophia. Runciman makes the point, however, that
'Byzantine art was essentially a religious art. Byzantine theory dismissed as inadequate the Aristotelian notion that the object of art was to please the senses. It was essentially based on the concept of the image being the shadow of the original.’
The point of Byzantine art was to put you in mystic contact with Christ and the Saints (with the Emperor benefiting from the association). It makes sense therefore that Empire had a major dispute over whether religious icons should be venerated, or destroyed, because they attempt to represent the Divine. From this book I learned that the opposite term for ‘iconoclasts’ (those who want to destroy icons) is ‘iconodule’ (those who want to venerate icons). At various times the iconoclasts took control of the Empire, but their views - though influential - were not decisive.
‘Byzantine Style and Civilisation’ is best treated as a companion to Runciman’s other work such as his three volume history of the Crusades. It’s also worth pointing out that Runciman has a number of Islamophobic asides. He views Islam as essentially warlike, and criticises its artistic style of abstract representation. Had the iconoclasts triumphed in Byzantium, Runciman fears their art would have been closer to that of Islam - which he would not like!
June 16, 2024
In our world of fake relativism - which actually means that history is judged by the degree to which it pleases secular liberalism - it is a really welcome change to read a book in which the historian is such an unashamed partisan of his subject. It may be true that, as another author says, the Empire as the microcosm on Earth of God's kingdom was always more vision than reality; but what a beautiful vision. This is the big Idea that made Europe and the West, and it has not entirely faded away even yet in spite of all our attempts at cultural and spiritual self-destruction.
It's true that the book would benefit from a new, larger edition with colour pictures. But there are plenty of books with the pictures*; what's important here is the thought.
*This is a good one, cheaply available (in Britain anyway): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
It's true that the book would benefit from a new, larger edition with colour pictures. But there are plenty of books with the pictures*; what's important here is the thought.
*This is a good one, cheaply available (in Britain anyway): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
December 26, 2018
Fantastic journey through Byzantine art with the unique style of Mr Runciman. It lacks a little bit of more details in some parts but it's nevertheless an outstanding work.
July 5, 2008
It's Steven Runciman. It's fantastic! The reason it only gets 3 stars is because it's so short and this edition just has no quality pictures. How can anyone write a book on 1000 years of culture and keep it under 200 pages? Runciman can and make it a darling springboard for the endlessly fascinating world of Byzantium. If you get a copy that has enough proper illustrations.
November 3, 2016
This introduction to the arts of the Byzantine era is quite enjoyable, though it starts to sag a little around the second half. Still, Runciman more than meets the challenge of making interesting 1,000 years of art without individual personalities.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews