Časopis ARS 46 (2013) 1

Petr BALCÁREK

Několik poznámek k raně středověkým destičkám, nalezeným v okolí Nitry
[Some Remarks on Early Medieval Plaques Found near Nitra (Slovakia)]

(Resumé)

The aim of this paper is to highlight some aspects of two artistic objects which are well known in Slovak art-historiography and also to open the topic for further discussion.

The first object is one of the oldest works of Slovak art and it belongs to a set of gilded bronze plaques from the Old-Slavonic fort of Bojná near Nitra, which dates back to the beginning of the 9th century. The second object discussed here belongs to another set of plaques which make up what is to this day known as the Monomachos Crown, dating from the 10th to the 12th century, and which were found in Ivanka near Nitra more than a hundred years ago.

The two groups of objects are connected by their proximity to Nitra, the former capital and cultural centre in the territory of today's Slovakia. The relationship between these objects also provokes some questions which the author tries to formulate. The author believes that the current state of research on these subjects cannot lead to a definitive conclusion, and this article is intended simply to open the possibility of the further study of these two important art-historical objects.

The iconography of the Bojná plaques indicates clear Christian visual themes: archangels, Cherubim, Virgin Mary of the Orant type, and the figure of a hermit. The item discussed in this article has an inscription written in Latin majuscule — "MVAVS" — which was read by previous scholars as "the Archangel Michael". On the other hand, the figure of the archangel depicted on it was identified by various authors as Jesus Christ, as it has a cross nimbus, unique to the person of Christ. However, the author of this article considers the iconography of Christ as an archangel on this plaque to be a visual testimony of unorthodox, non mainstream Christianity, which had at that time been preserved mainly in the peripheral regions of the empire. In the study the theological views of non-Catholic Christian groups that considered Jesus Christ as an angel are summarized. Earlier research has shown that these heterodox groups, that can be considered to be monophysites or Arians, existed on the territory of the Lower Danube. From this it follows that there is a need for further research into these artefacts in terms of the theology and history of Christian dogma and hermeneutics, because the idea of Christ as an archangel without the signs of passion formed part of the heterodox theories of Christian soteriology.

The second example which the author has dealt with is a plaque from the so-called Monomachos Crown, which was found near Nitra more than one hundred years ago. In the scholarly literature several radical trends appear, ranging from those who completely reject the authenticity of the Ivanka plaques, determining them to be false (Nicolas Oikonomides), up to those who dispute the purpose of the plaques (such as for example Timothy Dawson). Nevertheless, there are still some scholars, for example Etele Kiss, who have retained the original theory, that the plaques are parts of a crown. The author of the present study also compares this plaque to two other similar objects, a plaque from Kiev (recently published in a Warsaw catalogue) and one from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, placing them into their historical context.

At the end of his study, the author summarizes the results obtained in this area of research and opens new questions and perspectives for further research.

English translation by P. Balcárek