A conversation with Leslie Brubaker on the first period of Byzantine iconoclasm (ca. 730 to 787 AD). What was the problem with religious icons? What did the “Isaurian” emperors Leon III and Konstantinos V try to do about it, and why? A great deal of what we used to know, largely by following pro-icon sources, has come undone in the latest research.
A conversation with Leslie Brubaker on the first period of Byzantine iconoclasm (ca. 730 to 787 AD). What was the problem with religious icons? What did the “Isaurian” emperors Leon III and Konstantinos V try to do about it, and why? A great deal of what we used to know, largely by following pro-icon sources, has come undone in the latest research.
Leslie Brubaker is Professor Emerita of Byzantine Art History at the University of Birmingham. Click here to view her university webpage. This conversation is inspired by Leslie’s book Inventing Byzantine Iconoclasm (Bristol Classical Press, 2012).
Byzantium & Friends is hosted by Anthony Kaldellis, a Professor at the University of Chicago. You can follow him on his personal website.
You can listen to more episodes of Byzantium & Friends through Podbean, Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Top Image: Byzantine Icon with the Crucifixion, from the mid-10th century – image courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Related Posts
Subscribe to Medievalverse