•  
  •  

ScholarWorks > Arts & Sciences > Medieval Institute Publications > STUDIES_IN_ICONOGRAPHY > Vol. 47 ()

 

Abstract

In recent years, art historians have elucidated the fate of art in war by investigating looting, iconoclasm, and monument destruction. Yet how artworks actually inflicted harm has received scant attention, likely due to the commonplace belief that art stops where violence begins. This essay argues that the cross was integral to the production of violence in Byzantine warfare. From at least as early as the tenth century, Byzantine armies carried crosses into battle as standards, relics, and apotropaic devices. These crosses—as both symbols and material artifacts—contributed to Byzantine strategies of offense. When wielded in conjunction with liturgical rites and prayer, the cross prompted soldiers to comprehend territorial conflicts as a continuation of Christ’s cosmic struggle against Satan, defining enemies of the state as enemies of God. In this sense, crosses functioned as what the cultural theorist Elaine Scarry calls “framing language,” that is, the higher truths in whose name war is fought and which gives it meaning. By “framing” war as a fight for Christ, the cross encouraged soldiers to go forth and fight bravely. In addition to their operation as a cultural construct, crosses also bolstered morale through their perceived military efficacy. Byzantine armies believed in the power of the cross to both protect their bodies from harm and lead them to victory. Each triumph on the battlefield thus reaffirmed the power of the cross to influence the outcomes of battles, encouraging soldiers to act courageously in combat. Finally, the centrality of the cross made it a target for looting by enemies, who mobilized the cross to inflict harm on the Byzantine army. Far from incidental, crosses were deeply embedded in Byzantine warfare, calling on us to rethink the nature of artworks and salvific symbols in the production of violence.

Download

Share

COinS