The Propylaic Function of the Eusebian Canon Tables in Late Antiquity

The canon tables devised by Eusebius at the end of the third century were a powerful concordance tool that changed how the Gospels could be read. Typically housed in elaborate decorative frames, the canon tables were also the first example of manuscript illumination proper to the Christian tradition...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Strøm-Olsen, Rolf (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press [2018]
In: Journal of early Christian studies
Year: 2018, Volume: 26, Issue: 3, Pages: 403-431
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Eusebius of Caesarea 260-339 / Gospels / Kanontafeln / Text arrangement / Architecture (Motif)
IxTheo Classification:CD Christianity and Culture
HC New Testament
KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Volltext (doi)
Parallel Edition:Non-electronic
Description
Summary:The canon tables devised by Eusebius at the end of the third century were a powerful concordance tool that changed how the Gospels could be read. Typically housed in elaborate decorative frames, the canon tables were also the first example of manuscript illumination proper to the Christian tradition itself. While long an object of scholarly interest, the question of why the canon tables were framed architectonically and what possible significance this had remains unexplored. Linking together the meaning of the tables for the Gospel text with the use of the aedicular form of the frames within a larger Judaeo- Christian tradition, this article argues that the intention behind the design was to stress how the canon tables served as a gateway into the Gospels that engaged the meaning of a Christian salvation made possible by the full witness of the Gospels themselves and served as a symbolic reference to the idea of passage through the physical church.
ISSN:1086-3184
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of early Christian studies
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1353/earl.2018.0039