A growing economy and increased patronage produced important new works of art and architecture following the Iconoclastic period.
843–1204 C.E.
Beginner's guide
The Middle Byzantine period spans from the end of Iconoclasm in 843 to the sack of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204.
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Mobility and reuse: the Romanos chalices and the chalice with hares
Three chalices show the important roles that materiality, ornament, and craftsmanship could play in an object’s cross-cultural mobility, reuse, and preservation through the centuries.
Cross-cultural artistic interaction in the Middle Byzantine period
The Byzantines were in persistent communication with a diverse range of other societies.
The Melisende Psalter
This medieval manuscript combined the arts of western Europe and the Byzantine Empire for the crusader queen Melisende of Jerusalem.
The Cappella Palatina
Drawing from both Christian and Islamic artistic traditions, the Norman King Roger II built the Cappella Palatina to be his dazzling palace chapel and royal ceremonial hall
The visual culture of Norman Sicily
The Norman Kings who ruled Sicily in the twelfth century drew from Byzantine, Islamic, and Romanesque art to present themselves as legitimate Christian rulers.
A work in progress: Middle Byzantine mosaics in Hagia Sophia
The Byzantines kept adding mosaics to Hagia Sophia for centuries after it was first built, reflecting recent controversies, monetary donations, and even imperial marriages.
Middle Byzantine secular art
These fantastic beasts, heroes, and pseudo-texts show that not all Byzantine art was sacred.
Book illumination in the Eastern Mediterranean
Elisabeth Yota surveys some of the evidence for the production of illuminated manuscripts outside of the imperial capital of Constantinople
Illuminating the Psalms in Byzantium
Byzantine book illumination was at its most ambitious and innovative in the decorated psalters produced between the 9th and 11th centuries
Illuminated Greek Gospel-books
Kathleen Maxwell describes some of the remarkable illuminated copies of the Gospels to be found in the British Library’s collections.
A Byzantine vision of Paradise — The Harbaville Triptych
This ivory triptych was an object of prayer and a vision of paradise for Byzantine viewers following iconoclasm
Byzantine frescoes at Saint Panteleimon, Nerezi
You've heard of Byzantium's golden mosaics, but what about its dramatic frescoes?
