The Glories of Byzantium. A talk by Jane Angelini for the Arts Society Ashdown Forest

Byzantium played an important role as a link in the great chain of world history. With its roots in the Ancient World of Greece and Rome, the Byzantine period, AD 330 to 1453, spanned the medieval centuries. While much of the West was in deep decline, Byzantium, mistress of the Mediterranean and centre of Christendom, was a symbol of wealth, power and cultural ascendancy.
It was here in the eastern Mediterranean that Christianity took root and spread, giving us the architectural forms and imagery that are still part of the faith. We look at mosaics, frescoes and icons, opulent liturgical vessels in gold and enamel, silks, ivories, manuscripts and the centrally planned domed churches, designed as microcosms of the Universe.
Jane Angelini is a freelance lecturer for the Arts Society and other arts organisations. She speaks several foreign languages and has translated a number of works of Russian literature for Penguin Books and the OUP. She created St James’s Art Tours and ran it successfully for almost 25 years. She and her husband run an art gallery in St James’s which specialises in 20th century art.