Byzantine Religious Culture

Alice-Mary Talbot has profoundly influenced Byzantine Studies in America and Europe, focusing her scholarship upon the social context of Byzantine religious practices. As Director of Byzantine Studies at Dumbarton Oaks and as editor of Dumbarton Oaks Papers, she touched the professional lives of senior and junior Byzantinists alike. This collection of twenty-five articles from scholars associated with her at various stages in her career compasses such varied disciplines as art history, social history, literature, epigraphy, numismatics and sigillography; contributions are grouped in three related sections: Women, Icons and Images, and finally Texts, Practices, Spaces. Illustrated with both b/w and color images, the volume is at once a varied and a coherent tribute to this extraordinary scholar. Contributors are Alexander Alexakis, Simon Bendall, Annemarie Weyl Carr, John Duffy, Stephanos Efthymiadis, Elizabeth A. Fisher, Jaroslav Folda, Sharon E. J. Gerstel, Michael Grunbart, Susan Ashbrook Harvey, Angela Constantinides Hero, Michel Kaplan, Paul Magdalino, Henry Maguire, Maria Mavroudi, Stamatina McGrath, Cecile Morrisson, John Nesbitt, Arietta Papaconstantinou, Stratis Papaioannou, Manolis Patedakis, Brigitte Pitarakis, Claudia Rapp, Nancy Patterson Sevcenko, Brooke Shilling, Paul Stephenson and Denis Sullivan.

Review:

Alice-Mary Talbot is a Byzantine scholar who certainly deserves a Festschrift such as this rich offering...The number of articles assigned to each section varies somewhat, but their quality is of a consistently high standard...This a rich and varied book that will interest Byzantinists in a multitude of disciplines...The individual articles are rewarding to read from both informative and interpretative points of view; their attention to detail-both in text and footnotes-and overall vision is, almost without exception, exemplary. Mary B. Cunningham, Speculum 89:2 (April 2014), 548-560 '...The volume is smartly organized according to three themes related its honoree's own scholarly interests in the social context of Byzantine religion ... There are multiple plate images throughout, which exemplify a first-rate publication. Both the editors and the publisher are to be commended for this attractive volume... It is rare that a volume of collected essays is so cohesive. It is even more rare that one is as important to its field as this one. Just like the Byzantine texts and images under investigation, this book will serve many needs and speak to its readers in different ways. ... But more than anything, this volume simply offers a stellar assortment of the world's leading Byzantinists and presents, more than any other volume that comes to mind, the new directions in Byzantine research. George E. Demacopoulos, Fordham University, TMR 12.12.03