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3 - The Hand of God

from Part I - Heritage

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2020

Jaume Aurell
Affiliation:
Universidad de Navarra, Spain
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Summary

The third chapter examines the iconography of the ‘hand of God’ spread during the late Roman Empire from the mid-third century onwards, and in the context of interactions between pagan, Jewish and Christian cultures. This particular iconography leads directly to the idea of self-coronation – although still an iconographic rather than performative reality – since it conveys the emperor being crowned by a celestial hand from above, without priestly intervention. Numismatic sources emerge here as crucial evidence, particularly in the case of third- and fourth-century Roman emperors. The iconography of the emperor being crowned by the hand of God did not extend to early Byzantium, but survived in medieval art through the iconography of the king or emperor being crowned by Jesus Christ.

Type
Chapter
Information
Medieval Self-Coronations
The History and Symbolism of a Ritual
, pp. 85 - 95
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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  • The Hand of God
  • Jaume Aurell, Universidad de Navarra, Spain
  • Book: Medieval Self-Coronations
  • Online publication: 20 May 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108879279.004
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  • The Hand of God
  • Jaume Aurell, Universidad de Navarra, Spain
  • Book: Medieval Self-Coronations
  • Online publication: 20 May 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108879279.004
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Hand of God
  • Jaume Aurell, Universidad de Navarra, Spain
  • Book: Medieval Self-Coronations
  • Online publication: 20 May 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108879279.004
Available formats
×