The Monastery Tou Libos: Architecture, Sculpture, and Liturgical Planning in Middle and Late Byzantine Constantinople

The monastery tou Libos is one of the most important imperial foundations to survive in Constantinople. The earlier church, dedicated to Theotokos Panachrantos, was erected in the early tenth century by Constantine Lips, a high military official of the imperial army. At the end of the thirteenth century, a second church, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, was added alongside it by the dowager empress Theodora, widow of Michael VIII Palaiologos. Finally, an outer ambulatory enveloping the two churches along the west and south sides, was added shortly after the completion of Saint John. Although its importance has long been recognized by scholars, the monaster tou Libos remains relatively unknown, lacking a monograph. Previous scholarship on the monument has been limited and focused on the details at the expense of the whole, whereas key aspects of the architecture have never been satisfactorily addressed. This dissertation is the first systematic attempt to provide a comprehensive analysis of the monastery, taking into account its history, architecture, decoration, and liturgical planning, an aspect often underplayed by architectural historians. In combining all these aspects, this study aims to establish the importance of the monastery tou Libos within the context of the middle and late Byzantine art and architecture.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Art History

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Marinis, Vasileios

Contributors dc:contributor

• Robert Ousterhout

• History, Church

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI3182324

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/87371