Saint Agnes of Rome, the Pope and the “Purpuresque Pavo”: Memory Issues of the Apse Mosaic of Santa Agnese fuori le mura (625-638) - Archive ouverte HAL Accéder directement au contenu
Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2018

Saint Agnes of Rome, the Pope and the “Purpuresque Pavo”: Memory Issues of the Apse Mosaic of Santa Agnese fuori le mura (625-638)

Résumé

The theme of memory is at the heart of apse mosaic of Santa Agnese fuori le mura. It’s a visual discourse about a roman martyr linked to the founder of new basilica and the “purpuresque pavo”. With the offering of this mosaics, the pope Honorius honours Saint Agnes’s memory. Honorius reaches to blend in a complex system of commemoration. Some close links are forged between the pope and the roman martyr. A true locus memoriae was established on the Via Nomentana since the middle of the IVth century. In the dedicatory inscription, the “purpuresque pavo” reminds the sacrifice of Christ, the martyrdom of Saint Agnes and the resurrection of the Elect. Thus, Honorius left an indelible mark in Rome and in the memory of the faithful joined together inside the basilica. Both popes highlighted, the phoenix and his alter ego, the “purpuresque pavo”, are the witnesses of the apparition of Agnes, who brings the light into the apse and who brings hope for salvation. These mosaics show a kind of appropriation of Saint Agnes’s memory by the pope Honorius. Honorius is placed, as close as possible, to the Saint, in order to approach Christ. These mosaics take an active role into the commemoration of the sacrifice of Saint Agnes through visual and textual elements. These elements make use of memory. The revival of the visual formula with a figure holding a model of the church, the allusion to the pope Symmachus and the mention of the peacock-phoenix – if it may be called that – are the instruments of the ecclesiological discourse based on recollection. According to Mary Carruthers, the memory is close to inventio like a mental sequencing of different elements, which are classified in a structure. This mnemonic structure can be used to elaborate a new discourse.
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hal-03639187 , version 1 (12-04-2022)

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  • HAL Id : hal-03639187 , version 1

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Raphaël Demès. Saint Agnes of Rome, the Pope and the “Purpuresque Pavo”: Memory Issues of the Apse Mosaic of Santa Agnese fuori le mura (625-638). 53rd International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, Western Michigan University, May 2018, Kalamazoo, United States. ⟨hal-03639187⟩
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