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B ede, iconoclasm and the T emple of S olomon
Author(s) -
Darby Peter
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
early medieval europe
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.1
H-Index - 24
eISSN - 1468-0254
pISSN - 0963-9462
DOI - 10.1111/emed.12024
Subject(s) - iconoclasm , reign , art , painting , relevance (law) , history , art history , political science , law , politics
In B ede's lifetime ( c .673–735) the churches at W earmouth‐ J arrow were richly decorated with panel paintings from Rome. This essay examines the significance that those paintings held for B ede and his community, and it reveals the strategies that B ede employed to defend them in his commentary on the T emple of S olomon ( D e templo ), which was written after images had become a contentious issue in B yzantium during the reign of E mperor L eo III (714–41). This has important implications for our understanding of B ede's place in the intellectual landscape of early eighth‐century E urope, and it shows the ambitious nature and topical relevance of his mature exegetical programme.