The 20th annual Symposium will be held on Thursday, April 23, 2009.

Manipulative Monks and the Survival of St. Catherine’s at Mount Sinai
Towsley Lecture Hall/Norris 101, 2:30 PM

Chelsea  Grieve,   '10 33
   Majors: Art History, Anthropology
   Hometown: Millersburg, MI

Sponsor(s): Kara Morrow
Support:  

Abstract: 
Constructed on the orders of the Emperor Justinian in the early sixth century, St. Catherine’s Monastery at Mount Sinai contains the most pre-iconoclastic icons of the Byzantine world including the famous mosaic of the Transfiguration. Though the icons are crucial to the study of Byzantine iconography, how the monastery survived for so long in a region dominated by Islam has posed an interesting question. Geography is often the most cited reason for the survival; however, the monks at the monastery played an active role in keeping the monastery safe. Through a series of manipulative actions, the monks managed to protect the monastery from Muslim destruction thus preserving the icons for future study. These manipulative actions can be seen through both bi-lingual and tri-lingual texts contained within the monastery, The Letter of Protection (or the Ahtiname) given by the Prophet Muhammed during the 640 CE Arab conquest of Egypt, the relationship of the monks and Christianity to local Muslim Bedouins, and grand displays of wealth as are seen through the infamous mosaics and extensive decoration of the church.

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