“My name is here presented more to be understood than to be read” said once a #Roman senator.
For my #EarlyMedievalPills, let’s explore what monograms can tell us about changes in political culture & social communication between late antiquity & #Carolingian times.
1/ Monogrammatic culture has its roots in the #classical world. Producers used monograms to mark mass-produced objects such as pottery. We also see them on Hellenistic coins. However, they didn’t encode the name of the issuing authority, but functioned as control marks.
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When visiting #Rome, tourists usually (and comprehensibly) focus on its #ancient remains. Today for the series #EarlyMedievalPills I'll take you through the #Carolingian city of Pope Paschal I (817-24) who, in only 7 years, left a permanent mark on #Roma's sacred topography 1/11 First I need to tell you about his family: he was the son of Bonosus and Theodora and he was very attached to his mother whom he wanted to be immortalised in the stunning #mosaics decorating that little jewel that is the Chapel of St Zeno in Santa Prassede #Roma 2/11