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- Arentzen, Thomas, docent, 1976-
(author)
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A Venture into Dark Mariology
- 2023
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The Akathistos is a mysterious piece of poetry and probably the most important Marian song of the Byzantine realm. Apart from the fact that nobody knows who wrote it and when, it has a peculiar constitution: As opposed to much kontakion hymnography, it lacks a narrative development; instead it depends on flourishing imagery which slings itself out in intertwining scrolls. Thus it appears as a spatially oriented composition. At the same time, the Akathistos – despite later iconographic domestication of its otherwise wild and sprawling metaphorical growth – confronts us with perplexing images and unimaginable spaces. Having discussed such tensions, I will venture into what I call the “dark mariology” of the hymn and explore how the salutations’ obscure imagery associates the Theotokos with landscapes and fields – where the Logos incarnates into more-than-human flesh – and downplays her human forms in ways that yield an earthier and more dispersed Marian imagination.
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- Arentzen, Thomas, 1976-, et al.
(author)
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Byzantine Tree Life : Christianity and the Arboreal Imagination
- 2021
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Book (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This book examines the many ways Byzantines lived with their trees. It takes seriously theological and hagiographic tree engagement as expressions of that culture’s deep involvement—and even fascination—with the arboreal. These pages tap into the current attention paid to plants in a wide range of scholarship, an attention that involves the philosophy of plant life as well as scientific discoveries of how communicative trees may be, and how they defend themselves. Considering writings on and images of trees from Late Antiquity and medieval Byzantium sympathetically, the book argues for an arboreal imagination at the root of human aspirations to know and draw close to the divine.
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- Arentzen, Thomas, 1976-
(author)
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Dissolving with Lazarus : Late Ancient Liturgical Bodies in Pieces
- 2017
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In: Studia Theologica. - 0039-338X .- 1502-7791. ; 71:2, s. 173-198
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The day before Palm Sunday, early Christians celebrated the biblical figure of Lazarus. This article surveys late ancient liturgical compositions for this feast. It explores the way in which the authors described the disintegration and reintegration of Lazarus’ body. His death and reinvigoration surely point towards the resurrection of Christ; yet the detailed and morbid displays which these liturgical texts create suggest that the authors worked with more complex pallets. I argue that we should resist the temptation of a simplistic reading of the Byzantine liturgical past. Scholars are currently rediscovering the subtleties of Byzantine literary composition, but religious texts are still largely viewed as simple, didactic and naïve. Lazarus actually appears as a grotesquely dynamic corpse. At the same time his body is just as ordinary and human as any of the people who heard the macabre stories. He was them. This makes the liturgical works into texts about the churchgoers’ decay. I suggest that the authors projected the chilling imagery of dissolving bodies with an aim similar to that of modern writers of grotesque literature; it speaks to the ambivalent awareness of human mortality. The homilists and hymnographers addressed the abject embodied experiences of their congregation.
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- Arentzen, Thomas, docent, 1976-
(author)
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Er naturen religiøs?
- 2023
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Other publication (pop. science, debate, etc.)abstract
- I tidlig kristen litteratur kan vi lese om trær som bøyer seg i ærbødighet for det hellige. Er trær noe mer enn bare ved? Hva har vi mistet på veien dit vi er i dag? Hvis alt skapt har en verdi i seg selv, kan vi da forholde oss til andre arter slik vi har gjort de siste århundrene? Må vi begynne å se på stammer, sopp og spirer med et nytt blikk? Og er dette blikket noe vi kan ha til felles, på tvers av ulike religioner?
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| 17. |
- Arentzen, Thomas, docent, 1976-
(author)
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Finding Myself in Harlot Stories
- 2022
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Byzantine sung poetry had a thing for the “sinful woman” (Luke 7), whom it took to be a prostitute, a woman devoted to sex. Romanos the Melodist, a migrant of Syrian origin, and Kassia, one of history’s first female composers, created version where traditional gender roles remain intact— subversively. These songs contain explicit lyrics. Tripping on the biblical text, they slip into corporeal encounters where characters recognize themselves in biblical harlots, poets see themselves in textual harlotry, and the reader finds her- or himself written into the transgressive narratives. Who am I? I am her.
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- Arentzen, Thomas, 1976-
(author)
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Fromme trær i tidlig kristendom
- 2020
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In: Svensk teologisk kvartalskrift. - 0039-6761. ; 96:2, s. 119-132
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- It is often claimed that in Christian tradition trees and plants are reduced to passive material created for human exploitation, that the only important living creatures are Adam and Eve. But could such a view have less to do with Christianity as a religion and more to do with Cartesian notions in Western modernity? Earlier Christians undoubtedly exhibited a fascination with trees that exceeded a mere interest in the wood of the Cross or typologies thereof. According to literature produced by pre-modern Christians, they interacted actively with the arboreal realm, and trees interacted with them. The same body of literature suggests a sense of affinity between human beings and wooden beings. Exploring diverse texts about trees from the first Christian millennium, the article demonstrates that many Christians ascribed agency to plants. Trees could behave and communicate in various ways, those studied here were pious and acted with devotion in relation to the holy.
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| 20. |
- Arentzen, Thomas, 1976-
(author)
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Holy Arousal
- 2019
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Other publication (pop. science, debate, etc.)
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- Arentzen, Thomas, 1976-, et al.
(author)
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Introduction
- 2019
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In: The Reception of the Virgin in Byzantium. - Cambridge : Cambridge University Press. - 9781108476287 ; , s. 1-13
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)
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| 27. |
- Arentzen, Thomas, docent, 1976-
(author)
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Istanbuls træer åbner for det hellige
- 2023
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In: Tørst. - 1891-8832. ; :¨1, s. 12-16
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Other publication (pop. science, debate, etc.)abstract
- Kan træer have en form for bevidsthed? Kan de handle på eget initiativ?Thomas Arentzen er ekspert indenfor tidlig kristen poesi og litteratur og har forsket i de tidlige kristnes opfattelse af træer. Sidste efterår var Arentzen i Istanbul. Her mødte han træer, som har stået på hellige steder i hundredvis af år.
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| 28. |
- Arentzen, Thomas, docent, 1976-
(author)
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Istanbuls trær åpner for det hellige
- 2023
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In: Tørst. - : Areopagos Norge. - 1891-8832. ; :1, s. 12-16
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Journal article (pop. science, debate, etc.)
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| 29. |
- Arentzen, Thomas, 1976-
(author)
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Kassia gjenoppdaget
- 2021
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In: Segl. - : St. Olavs forlag. - 1893-8728. ; 2021, s. 179-182
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Journal article (pop. science, debate, etc.)abstract
- Det niende århundre er en omtumlende tid for mange østromere. Det engang så enorme riket har gradvis krympet og er på størrelse med det moderne Tyrkia og deler av Hellas. Abbasidekalifatet ruver i øst. I vest har paven kronet Karl den store til «romernes keiser». Keiserinne Irene har gjenåpnet Konstantinopels kirker for de hellige bildene og innsatt ikonforsvareren Theodor som abbed i det innflydelsesrike Studios-klosteret. Etter kort tid setter imidlertid en ny billedstorm (ikonoklasme) inn idet keiser Leo V sammenkaller til kirkemøte (år 815) i Konstantinopel. Det skorter hverken på spenninger eller konflikter. Ikke desto mindre går den religiøse diktningen inn i en blomstringstid.
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| 30. |
- Arentzen, Thomas, 1976-
(author)
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Kjødets teologi : Romanos Meloden
- 2015
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In: Gud er alltid større. - : Novus Forlag. - 9788270998319 ; , s. 223-239
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)
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| 31. |
- Arentzen, Thomas, 1976-
(author)
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Kroppens sånger
- 2014
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In: Pilgrim. - 1400-0830. ; 21:2, s. 44-47
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Journal article (pop. science, debate, etc.)
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| 32. |
- Arentzen, Thomas, docent, 1976-
(author)
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Landscape Theology : Exploring the Outfields of the Telemarkian Dream Song
- 2020
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In: Landscapes: The Journal of the International Centre for Landscape and Language. - 1448-0778. ; 10:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The article explores the Norwegian ‘national ballad’ Draumkvæde (the Dream Song) in Maren Ramskeid’s version. This work has traditionally been interpreted as a folklore adaptation of medieval visionary literature such as the Vision of Tundale, related to Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. The ballad, however, lacks demons and devils and infernal torture – it is even almost completely devoid of human beings. Instead it tells of a corporeal encounter with an imagined natural landscape. This dreamscape of the song is intimately intertwined with the local terrain of the singer. Maren Ramskeid engaged her own landscape in Telemark, the article argues, to decentre the canonized Christian text and the cultivated Christian building. Speaking an oral outdoor theology, she destabilized the heaven–hell dualism and envisioned a mythological landscape where nature turns dangerously and painfully on those who do not abide by its unwritten norms, but where all are eventually saved by a final judgement in a place called Broksvalin.
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| 33. |
- Arentzen, Thomas, 1976-
(author)
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Livnende stoff, elementers lengsel : En nymaterialistisk inngang til Elias Blix’ dåpssalme (145)
- 2021
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In: SANG. - 2597-0518. ; :1-2, s. 57-67
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- As the father of Lutheran hymns in the Norwegian Nynorsk language, Elias Blix (1836-1902) looms in the Scandinavian country’s songculture, and his compositions remain popular, both inside and outsidethe church. Blix lent significant space to the more-than-human in his poetry, expressing the Christian gospel in the changing of seasonsor the budding of plants. This article explores a baptismal hymn from a new-materialist perspective. It demonstrates how the poet cast the initiation rite as a dynamic, erotic dance between the two elements of water and spirit/breath/air. With what one might call an ecocentric sensibility, Blix adumbrated a Christian understanding that decenters the human, as baptismal transformation unfolds with the agency of the elements.
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| 34. |
- Arentzen, Thomas, 1976-
(author)
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Mary Retold
- 2019
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In: Ancient Jew Review.
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)
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| 36. |
- Arentzen, Thomas, 1976-, et al.
(author)
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Prolog
- 2019
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In: Patristica Nordica Annuaria. - 2001-2365. ; 34, s. 3-4
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)
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| 37. |
- Arentzen, Thomas, 1976-, et al.
(author)
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Prolog
- 2020
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In: Patristica Nordica Annuaria. - Lund. - 2001-2365. ; 35, s. 3-4
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)
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| 45. |
- Arentzen, Thomas, 1976-
(author)
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Romanos Meloden: "Julhymn 2"
- 2021
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In: Mariologi. - Skellefteå : Artos & Norma bokförlag. - 9789177771838 ; , s. 177-188
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Book chapter (pop. science, debate, etc.)
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| 46. |
- Arentzen, Thomas, docent, 1976-, et al.
(author)
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Rubenson on the Move : A Biographical Journey
- 2020
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In: Wisdom on the Move: Late Antique Traditions in Multicultural Conversation. - Leiden : Brill Academic Publishers. - 9789004430693 - 9789004430747 ; , s. 247-250
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)
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| 47. |
- Arentzen, Thomas, 1976-
(author)
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Sex and the City : Intercourse in Holy Week
- 2020
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In: Journal of early Christian studies (Print). - : Project Muse. - 1067-6341 .- 1086-3184. ; 28:1, s. 115-147
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The last days before Easter are called Holy Week or Passion Week in most Christian calendars. The early history of these pre-paschal days is, however, obscure, and their historiography leaves much to be desired. This is particularlytrue of Holy Week observance in late ancient Constantinople. Was there even something that could be called a Holy Week in the imperial capital? The relative silence of liturgical handbooks regarding these days have led some liturgical scholars to give a negative answer to that question. This article revisits the problem, but approaches it from a different angle: What do hymns written for the week before the celebration of the resurrection tell us? Focusing on Monday to Wednesday, the present study demonstrates that singers and congregations intoned remarkable and dramatic songs between Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday. Yet, rather than bewailing the imminent crucifixion or praising the resurrection, the hymnographers labored to read existential struggles of life and death in the sexual bodies of the congregated late ancientcity dwellers.
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- Arentzen, Thomas, docent, 1976-
(author)
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Songs about Women : [by] Romanos the Melodist
- 2024
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Book (peer-reviewed)abstract
- At a time when Christianity was becoming the dominant religion in the Byzantine Roman Empire, Romanos the Melodist (ca. 485–565) was a composer of songs for festivals and rituals in late antique Constantinople. Most of his songs include dramatic dialogues or monologues woven with imagery from ordinary life, and his name became inseparably tied to the kontakion, a genre of dramatic hymn. Later Byzantine religious poets enthusiastically praised his creative virtuosity and a legend claimed that Romanos’s inspiration came directly from the Virgin Mary herself.Songs about Women contains eighteen works related to the liturgical calendar that feature important female characters, many portrayed as models for Christian life. They appear as heroines and villains, saints and sinners, often as transgressive and bold. Romanos’s songs offer intriguing perspectives on gender ideals and women’s roles in the early Byzantine world.This edition presents a new translation of the Byzantine Greek texts into English.
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