Robes and Honor : The Medieval World of Investiture

Robes and Honor is a fascinating exploration of the possible common origin and subsequent developments of investiture across medieval Christianity and medieval Islam. The ceremony in all of its cultural variety was much more than the public adoption of a high-value textile as symbol of office; within a culture, robing established a personal link 'from the hand' of the giver - king, pope, head of a sect, ambassador - to the receiver - noble, general, official, nun, or acolyte. This volume challenges current thinking on religious and regional boundaries of 'cultures,' raises semiotic issues about imagined communities, and addresses problems of kingship. Cover 1 Half-Title 2 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Series Editor's Foreword 8 Acknowledgments 10 Illustrations 12 Chapter 1 A World of Investiture 16 PART ONE THE BEGINNINGS: 100 CE-500 CE 35 Chapter 2 Silk, Robes, and Relations Between Early Chinese Dynasties and Nomads Beyond the Great Wall 36 Chapter 3 Sasanian Splendor: The Appurtenances of Royalty 48 PART TWO EARLY MEDIEVAL DEVELOPMENT AND SPREAD: CA. 500 CE-CA. 1000 CE 70 Chapter 4 Threads of Authority: The Virgin Mary's Veil in the Middle Ages 71 Chapter 5 The King's New Clothes: Royal and Episcopal Regalia in the Frankish Empire 106 Chapter 6 Robes of Honor in 'Abbasid Baghdad During the Eighth to Eleventh Centuries 147 Chapter 7 Robing, Power, and Legitimacy in Armenia and Georgia 157 Chapter 8 From Baghdad to Bukhara, from Ghazna to Delhi: The khil'a Ceremony in the Transmission of Kingly Pomp and Circumstance 203 PART THREE THE LATER MIDDLE AGES: CA. 1000 CE-CA. 1500 CE 233 Chapter 9 Robes of Honor in Fa timid Egypt 234 Chapter 10 The Mantle of Roger II of Sicily 249 Chapter 11 The Robe of Simplicity: Initiation, Robing, and Veiling of Nuns in the Middle Ages 262 Chapter 12 The Sufi Robe (Khirqa) as a Vehicle of Spiritual Authority 282 Chapter 13 The Regal Significance of the Dalmatic: The Robes of le sacre as Represented in Sculpture of Northern Mid-Twelfth-Century France 297 Chapter 14 Robing in the Mongolian Empire 311 Chapter 15 From Papal Red to Cardinal Purple: Evolution and Change of Robes at the Papal Court from Innocent III to Leo X, 1216-1521 320 Chapter 16 Robing and Its Significance in English Mystery Plays 337 Chapter 17 Robing Ceremonials in Late Marnluk Egypt: Hallowed Traditions, Shifting Protocols 357 Chapter 18 Robes, Kings, and Semiotic Ambiguity 382 Contributors 389 Index 392 Front Matter....Pages i-xiv A World of Investiture....Pages 1-19 Front Matter....Pages 21-21 Silk, Robes, and Relations Between Early Chinese Dynasties and Nomads Beyond the Great Wall....Pages 23-34 Sasanian Splendor: The Appurtenances of Royalty....Pages 35-56 Front Matter....Pages 57-57 Threads of Authority: The Virgin Mary’s Veil in the Middle Ages....Pages 59-93 The King’s New Clothes: Royal and Episcopal Regalia in the Frankish Empire....Pages 95-135 Robes of Honor in ‘Abbasid Baghdad During the Eighth to Eleventh Centuries....Pages 137-146 Robing, Power, and Legitimacy in Armenia and Georgia....Pages 147-192 From Baghdad to Bukhara, from Ghazna to Delhi: The Khil‘a Ceremony in the Transmission of Kingly Pomp and Circumstance....Pages 193-222 Front Matter....Pages 223-223 Robes of Honor in Fatimid Egypt....Pages 225-239 The Mantle of Roger II of Sicily....Pages 241-253 The Robe of Simplicity: Initiation, Robing, and Veiling of Nuns in the Middle Ages....Pages 255-274 The Sufi Robe (Khirqa) as a Vehicle of Spiritual Authority....Pages 275-289 The Regal Significance of the Dalmatic: The Robes of Le Sacre as Represented in Sculpture of Northern Mid-Twelfth-Century France....Pages 291-304 Robing in the Mongolian Empire....Pages 305-313 From Papal Red to Cardinal Purple: Evolution and Change of Robes at the Papal Court from Innocent III to Leo X, 1216–1521....Pages 315-331 Robing and Its Significance in English Mystery Plays....Pages 333-352 Robing Ceremonials in Late Mamluk Egypt: Hallowed Traditions, Shifting Protocols....Pages 353-377 Robes, Kings, and Semiotic Ambiguity....Pages 379-385 Back Matter....Pages 387-394