Donate to Help Blog Running Costs
Top Posts
- Byzantine Herbs and Drugs – The Poison Aconite or Wolfsbane
- Twentieth Annual Runciman Lecture "Surgery in Byzantium" - 3 February 2011
- A Christmas visitor: the Byzantine emperor's trip to London in the winter of 1400–01
- Video
- Unlike art, icons are to be adored
- The music of Saint Kassiani or Kassia the nun
- Photographs
- Brothels, Baths and Babes: Prostitution in the Byzantine Holy Land
- Turkey: epic movie highlights Ottoman conquest
- The Siege: One of History's Most Important Recruitment Decisions
Pages
Useful Links
- 12 Byzantine Rulers podcast
- Anastasian Wall Research Community
- Anglo-Turkish Society
- Aquileia Forum Project
- Balkan Heritage Field School: Practical Archaeology
- Bettany Hughes' Website
- Byzantium 1200
- Byzantium 330-1453 Exhibition
- Coins of the Byzantine Empire
- Corner of Tenth Century Europe blog
- Hellenic-American Cultural Foundation
- History of Byzantium podcast
- Icons Explained – a Guide to Byzantine Icons
- Istanbul through my eyes
- King's College London – Byzantine Lectures
- Librivox: free audio books
- Make Mine Mosaic Blog
- Mani: A Guide and History
- Marissa's Medieval Musings
- Mike Duncan's Podcast: The History of Rome
- Mosaic Art Now Blog
- Mosaic Art Source Blog
- My Patrick Leigh Fermor Blog
- Norman Centuries podcast
- Omorphia Blog
- Oxford Byzantine Society
- Peter's travel blog incl Byzantine travel
- Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies
- The Byzantine Legacy
- The Other Side of Byzantium
- Tom's Twitter Page – follow me!
- Via Egnatia Caravan 2009 Review
- Via Egnatia Foundation
Categories
- Academic Papers (13)
- Bettany Hughes (10)
- Blog News & Updates (22)
- Books (28)
- Authentic Byzantine Books (3)
- Modern Books (25)
- Byzantine Events (74)
- Byzantine Medicine (3)
- Byzantine Travel (30)
- Byzantium in the News (56)
- Commentary & Politics (26)
- History (47)
- Icons (10)
- Istanbul (32)
- Music (18)
- Podcasts (20)
- Radio & TV Programmes (24)
- The Fall of Constantinople 1453 (35)
- Uncategorized (64)
- Via Egnatia (11)
- Video (33)
Byzantine Tags
- Albania
- Alexius Comnenus
- Anne of Savoy
- Archaeology
- artillery
- Basilica of San Vitale
- Bettany Hughes
- Black Sea
- Bosphorus
- Bulgaria
- Byzanitum
- Byzantine
- Byzantine history
- Byzantine medicine
- Byzantium
- Caesar
- Cantacuzenus
- capella romana
- Cappella Romana
- Constantine
- Constantinople
- Crusades
- Durres
- Dyrrachium
- Emperor
- Empress
- Fall of Constantinople
- Fourth Crusade
- G20
- Genoese
- Golden Horn
- Greece
- Greek Orthodox
- Hagia Sophia
- history
- icons
- islam
- Israel
- Istanbul
- Jerusalem
- John Julius Norwich
- Judith Herrin
- Justinian
- Kings College
- Macedonia
- medieval history
- Mehmet
- mosaic
- mosque
- Muslim
- naval battle
- navy
- Obama
- Orthodox
- Ottoman
- Ottomans
- Palaeologus
- Patriarch
- Pope
- Ravenna
- Recep Tayyip Erdogan
- religion
- Roman Empire
- Royal Academy
- Runciman
- Sicily
- Sultan
- syria
- Theodora
- Thessaloniki
- Turkey
- Turks
- Venetians
- Venice
- Via Egnatia
The Saintly Spirit of Father Christmas
The Charity of St Nicholas of Bari - about 1555-60, Attributed to Girolamo Macchietti
Cheery and chubby, Father Christmas towers over our annual festival. Yet St Nicholas, his Christian inspiration, was a far more intriguing character, says Alastair Sooke.
Nothing captures the commercialisation of Christmas quite as effectively as the history of Santa Claus. To illustrate the point, look at a wonderful 16th-century painting that hangs in Room 7 of the National Gallery in London. Most people who pass by it are unaware of its significance. But this panel, circa 1555-60, preserves a particularly pure element of the Christmas spirit.
The painting, attributed to the Tuscan mannerist Girolamo Macchietti, depicts the most important legend of St Nicholas of Myra.
… an excllent little article from the Daily Telegraph.
Rate this:
Share this:
Like this:
Related
About proverbs6to10
Interested in Byzantium and Patrick Leigh Fermor