‎Estelle Ingrand-Varenne, Cl ment Dussart (eds)‎
‎Writing in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Inscription and Graffiti in a Multilingual and Multigraphic Perspective‎

‎, Brepols, 2026 Hardback, Pages: 272, Size:216 x 280 mm, Illustrations:60 b/w, 140 col., Language: English. ISBN 9782503619798.‎

Reference : 70459

‎Summary The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is an exceptional epigraphic site. A major restoration campaign (2013-2020) and the recent bibliography dedicated to the building allow us to question hundreds of inscriptions and graffiti which appear on the mosaics, paintings, and walls of this shrine built on the presumed birthplace of Christ. The site exhibits a graphic symphony-if not cacophony-in Latin, Greek, Arabic, Syriac, Armenian, Georgian, Slavic, and Rus scripts, made by pilgrims and travellers as well as the authorities and the different religious communities over the centuries. The goal of this book, which gathers epigraphists from different backgrounds, as well as historians, art historians, and restorers, is to approach those writings from a variety of perspectives. Which typologies of graphic acts are uncovered and can we escape from the labels 'graffiti' and 'inscriptions'? What purpose do they serve? With which materials and using which techniques where they created, and by whom? Where were they located in the complex of the Church, which includes the caves, the cloister, and the monastic buildings? This study explores the stratigraphy of the writings and offers several plans detailing their distribution, revealing a new chapter in the history of the building, in its use by pilgrims. It highlights the various actors in epigraphic communication and the interactions between these graphic acts in the different writings and languages. All these inscriptions and graffiti enable us to build a comprehensive picture of the rich heritage offered by this unique holy site. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction: The Epigraphic Landscape of the Nativity Church Complex in Bethlehem ESTELLE INGRAND-VARENNE and CL MENT DUSSART The Discovery and the Conservation of Graffiti on the Columns of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem: The Voice of the Restorers MARCELLO PIACENTI Part I. Source, Transmission, and Interpretation of the Twelfth-Century Inscriptions Quotation and Glorification: Bethlehem's Conciliar Texts in Local Context MEGAN BOOMER From Abraham to Christ: A Family Tree on the Scale of the Church and its Epigraphic Exegesis ESTELLE INGRAND-VARENNE Typographical Transcription of the Inscriptions from the Holy Land: Francesco Quaresmio and the Publishing Adventure of the Historica, Theologica et Moralis Terr Sanct Elucidatio D LIA PR TEUX Part II. Acts of Writing and Representation Towards a Periodization of Graffiti (Seventh to Sixteenth Centuries) CARLO TEDESCHI How is Graffiti Done? Scratching, Incising, and Engraving Stone in Bethlehem THIERRY GR GOR Portraits, Graffiti, and Tattoos: Visual Indicators of Individual Piety on the Columns and Walls of the Nativity Church in Bethlehem MICHELE BACCI Part III. New Reading and Contextualization of Inscriptions and Graffiti The Greek Graffiti in the Grotto of the Bathing RACHAEL HELEN BANES The Earliest Graffiti in Latin Characters in the Church of the Nativity CL MENT DUSSART The Arabic Inscriptions of the Basilica of the Nativity: Inventory and Research Perspectives ANNA LAGARON Armenian Inscriptions and Graffiti of the Nativity Church in Bethlehem KHACHIK A. HARUTYUNYAN Ancient Georgian Inscriptions in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and 'Bethlehems' in Georgia GIORGI GAGOSHIDZE East Slavic Inscriptions in the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem YURIY A. ARTAMONOV, ALEXEY A. GIPPIUS, and ILYA V. ZAYTSEV *** Conclusion: Between Graphic Symphony and Cacophony CL MENT DUSSART and ESTELLE INGRAND-VARENNE‎