Old Saint Peter's, Rome (British School at Rome Studies)

Cambridge University Press
Edition: 1st Edition, 11/7/2013
EAN 9781107041646, ISBN10: 1107041643

Hardcover, 512 pages, 25.2 x 18.2 x 2.8 cm
Language: English

St Peter's Basilica in Rome is arguably the most important church in Western Christendom, and is among the most significant buildings anywhere in the world. However, the church that is visible today is a youthful upstart, only four hundred years old compared to the twelve-hundred-year-old church whose site it occupies. A very small proportion of the original is now extant, entirely covered over by the new basilica, but enough survives to make reconstruction of the first St Peter's possible and much new evidence has been uncovered in the past thirty years. This is the first full study of the older church, from its late antique construction to Renaissance destruction, in its historical context. An international team of historians, art historians, archaeologists and liturgists explores aspects of the basilica's history, from its physical fabric to the activities that took place within its walls and its relationship with the city of Rome.

Introduction
1. St Peter's and the city of Rome between Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages Paolo Liverani
2. From Constantine to Constans
the chronology of the construction of St Peter's Basilica Richard Gem
3. Spolia in the fourth-century basilica Lex Bosman
4. The early Christian Baptistery of St Peter's Olof Brandt
5. The representation of Old St Peter's Basilica in the Liber Pontificalis Rosamond McKitterick
6. The Mausoleum of Honorius
late Roman imperial Christianity and the city of Rome in the fifth century Meaghan McEvoy
7. Popes, emperors and clergy at Old St Peter's from the fourth to the eighth century Alan Thacker
8. The Roman liturgical year and the early liturgy of St Peter's Peter Jeffery
9. Interactions between liturgy and politics in Old St Peter's, 670–741
John the Archcantor, Sergius I and Gregory III Éamonn Ó Carragáin
10. A reconstruction of the Oratory of John VII (705–707) Antonella Ballardini and Paola Pogliani
11. Old St Peter's and the Iconoclastic Controversy Charles McClendon
12. The Veronica, the Vultus Christi, and the veneration of icons in medieval Rome Ann van Dijk
13. The Carolingians and the Oratory of Saint Peter the Shepherd Joanna Story
14. Plus Caesare Petrus
the Vatican Obelisk and the approach to St Peter's John Osborne
15. The legendary of St Peter's Basilica
hagiographic traditions and innovations in the late eleventh century Carmela Vircillo Franklin
16. The stucco crucifix of Saint Peter's reconsidered
textual sources and visual evidence for the Renaissance copy of a medieval silver crucifix Katharina Christa Schüppel
17. St Peter's in the fifteenth century
Paul II, the archpriests and the case for continuity Carol M. Richardson
18. Filarete's renovation of the Porta Argentea at Old St Peter's Robert Glass
19. The altar of Saint Maurice and the invention of tradition in Saint Peter's Catherine Fletcher
Epilogue. A hybrid history
the antique basilica with a modern dome Bram Kempers
Appendix. Letter of the Canons of St Peter's to Paul V concerning the demolition of the old basilica, 1605 Carol M. Richardson and Joanna Story.

'… impressive and interesting …' The Times Literary Supplement

'Although this book has been written for experts, it will not fail those who are eager to know more about the first church of Christendom.' The Art Newspaper

'This elegantly conceived volume adds considerably to our knowledge and understanding of one of the most remarkable buildings to have been constructed over the last two millennia … the book amply and illuminatingly demonstrates that an old and long-vanished building can still remain a powerful resource for historical research of the highest significance.' David Hemsoll, History Today