Rachel Rezabek: Comparing Islamic and Byzantine Calligraphy

The Islamic Empire and the Byzantine Empire were the most influential countries of their time. These empires had powerful militaries, strong leaders, and diverse cultures. Culture throughout both empires had many contrasts, however even more similarities were present. This is exceptionally true in the use of writing and calligraphy throughout the Islamic and Byzantine Empires. Calligraphy was used to make the various writings of the time period artistic as well as informative. The Blue Qur’an was one of the most well-known pieces of literature that utilized calligraphy in the Islamic Empire. The Jaharis Lectionary was known for the same in the Byzantine Empire. Calligraphy was utilized in both empires to portray religion and art at the same time.

As described in the Smithsonian’s Gallery Guide on the Arts of the Islamic World, calligraphy was one of the main forms of art that also contained religion during the Islamic Empire. Muhammad’s discoveries were documented in calligraphy so that the messages were “recorded and given visual form”. Calligraphy eventually became one of the trademarks of Islam.This is a folio that was contained in the Blue Qur’an from the Islamic Empire. It was created during the Fatmid Empire. This specific Qur’an is known for it’s unique indigo colored parchment decorated with gold and silver ink. The calligraphy used in this folio is angular kufic. This was one of the main pieces of calligraphy that was used to represent art and religion in the same piece.

In the Qantara Mediterranean Heritage Article about Calligraphy, it is described that in Byzantium calligraphy was used for various purposes. However, the most common uses included, “the art of fine writing concerned literary, diplomatic, scriptural, patristic, and liturgical texts.” The copying of ancient texts was a popular use of calligraphy. This was used in the Jaharis Lectionary. This is a folio from this which was created at the peak of Byzantium. It is composed of tempera, ink, and gold leaf on parchment. It is encased in a leather binding. The book contains the gospels, which are arranged in chronological order. It is written in perlschrift Greek. It was used to convey religion through artistic beauty.

1. The Islamic Empire utilized calligraphy in a variety of ways.
1. Education
1. whole Islamic culture was based on religion
2. calligraphy was used as the main form of writing in “schools”
1. schools were generally mosques
2. the Qur’an that was written in calligraphy was the main text that was studied
2. Writing
1. used for poetry
1. poets would write their poetry in calligraphy and display it in public t become well-known
2. most works that were once passed down by word of mouth were calligraphy so that they could be preserved
3. Art
1. “arabesque” art generally included some form of calligraphy
1. calligraphy would help to create the twisting pattern

2. The Byzantine Empire utilized calligraphy in a variety of other ways.
1. Science
1. Byzantine was the most advanced in science
2. most of the science documents were written in calligraphy
1. to give visual form to connect with the research
2. Education
1. the textbooks were written in calligraphy
2. students were expected to learn calligraphy

3. However, both empires mainly used calligraphy to combine religion art together.

1. Religious Texts
1. the Qur’an and the Bible were documented in calligraphy
1. this was to add art to the religious texts
2. this was said to make them more sacred (they were representations of god)
2. the religious texts that were used in schools were written in calligraphy
2. Religious Architecture
1. places of worship would include calligraphy as any form of writing on the structure
2. the calligraphy would generally be hidden
1. Hagia Sophia

Conclusion: The Islamic Empire and the Byzantine Empire both used calligraphy often. However, calligraphy was used the most often for portraying religion and art at the same time.

Bibliography

1. Knight, Justin. Middle Ages Primary Sources. United States of America: Gale Group, 2001. Print.

2. Knight, Judson. Middle Ages Almanac. United States of America: Gale Group, 2001. Print.