Jerusalemite Proskynetaria: Orthodox descriptions of the Holy Land from the 17th-18th centuries
Pilgrims visiting Jerusalem during the 17th-19th centuries used to buy religious souvenirs that belonged to two different written and artistic genres, both of which are known as proskynetarion (pl. proskynetaria). The first genre consists of illustrated manuscripts that describe the Holy Places in Jerusalem and in the Holy Land. A large number of copies of the illuminated manuscripts survived, bearing witness to the popularity of this genre. All of these were produced as booklets, and all carry the same text with minor variations. Most of them are in Greek but there are others in Russian, ancient Slavic, Serbian and even in Italian.
The second genre includes large icons depicting churches and sacred places in the Holy Land. Items of both genres were probably drawn and written in Jerusalem and its vicinity, by members of the Orthodox Patriarchate. These souvenirs were bought by pilgrims in Jerusalem who took them back home with them, thus disseminating them throughout the Orthodox world. The research project concentrates on the first genre but will try also to pour light on the inter-relations between the two.
The main aim of this research is to investigate thoroughly the Proskynetaria manuscripts from various aspects regarding their content and art, their development and the inter-relations between the two groups of Orthodox pilgrims’ souvenirs – the booklets on one hand and the icons on the other.
This research project will hopefully lead to a book. Several articles have already been published.