Abstract

The Christogram, the sign combining the letters chi with a rho, an iota, or a cross, became extremely common in Early Christian art, in both the East and the West, where it was freighted with multiple and overlapping meanings, whether theological, imperial, or both. The Christogram’s capacity to create meaning through letters and words was elaborated upon in later medieval art in the West, in a way that had no counterparts in Byzantium. In the medieval West, the sign of the Chi Rho sometimes assumed the status of an intellectual puzzle, the solution of which could lead to spiritual understanding. There was nothing comparable in the art of Byzantium. Following the crisis of iconoclasm in the East, the type of Christogram that combined the chi or the cross with a rho, creating a loop at the top of the vertical bar, almost completely disappeared from the monumental decoration of Byzantine churches, even while other types survived. One major problem was that the rho made the Christogram resemble ring signs, which were ubiquitous in Eastern magic from antiquity to the end of the Middle Ages. The issue of magic had become particularly sensitive in the Byzantine Church as a result of the iconoclastic dispute, in which both sides, the supporters and the opponents of images, accused the other of sorcery. In the Byzantine East, the removal of the loop from the upright letter stripped the Christogram not only of its more overt magical associations but also of many possibilities for word-play and meaning that were exploited by artists in the West.

摘要

Christogram 是将字母 chi 与 rho、iota 或十字相结合的符号，在东西方的早期基督教艺术中变得极为普遍，它承载着多种重叠的含义，无论是神学的还是帝国的， 或两者。Christtogram 通过字母和文字创造意义的能力在后来的西方中世纪艺术中得到了详尽的阐述，其方式在拜占庭没有对应的方式。在中世纪的西方，Chi Rho 的标志有时具有智力谜题的地位，解决这个问题可能会导致精神上的理解。拜占庭的艺术无可比拟。在东方的偶像破坏危机之后，将 chi 或 cross 与 rho 相结合的 Christogram 类型在垂直条的顶部创建了一个环，几乎完全从拜占庭教堂的纪念性装饰中消失，即使其他类型幸存下来。一个主要问题是 rho 使 Christogram 类似于环状符号，这在从古代到中世纪末的东方魔法中无处不在。由于破坏圣像的争论，魔法问题在拜占庭教会变得特别敏感，在这场争论中，圣像的支持者和反对者都指责对方使用巫术。在东拜占庭，从直立字母中去除环圈不仅剥夺了 Christtogram 更明显的魔法联想，而且剥夺了西方艺术家利用的许多文字游戏和意义的可能性。一个主要问题是 rho 使 Christogram 类似于环状符号，这在从古代到中世纪末的东方魔法中无处不在。由于破坏圣像的争论，魔法问题在拜占庭教会变得特别敏感，在这场争论中，圣像的支持者和反对者都指责对方使用巫术。在东拜占庭，从直立字母中去除环圈不仅剥夺了 Christtogram 更明显的魔法联想，而且剥夺了西方艺术家利用的许多文字游戏和意义的可能性。一个主要问题是 rho 使 Christogram 类似于环状符号，这在从古代到中世纪末的东方魔法中无处不在。由于破坏圣像的争论，魔法问题在拜占庭教会变得特别敏感，在这场争论中，圣像的支持者和反对者都指责对方使用巫术。在东拜占庭，从直立字母中去除环圈不仅剥夺了 Christtogram 更明显的魔法联想，而且剥夺了西方艺术家利用的许多文字游戏和意义的可能性。图像的支持者和反对者双方都指责对方使用巫术。在东拜占庭，从直立字母中去除环圈不仅剥夺了 Christtogram 更明显的魔法联想，而且剥夺了西方艺术家利用的许多文字游戏和意义的可能性。图像的支持者和反对者双方都指责对方使用巫术。在东拜占庭，从直立字母中去除环圈不仅剥夺了 Christtogram 更明显的魔法联想，而且剥夺了西方艺术家利用的许多文字游戏和意义的可能性。