Medieval graffiti

Few direct clues exist to the everyday lives and beliefs of ordinary Jews in antiquity. Prevailing perspectives on ancient Jewish life have been shaped largely by the voices of intellectual and social elites, preserved in the writings of Philo and Josephus and the rabbinic texts of the Mishnah and Talmud. Commissioned art, architecture, and formal inscriptions displayed on tombs and synagogues equally reflect the sensibilities of their influential patrons. The perspectives and sentiments of nonelite Jews, by contrast, have mostly disappeared from the historical record. Focusing on these forgotten Jews of antiquity, Writing on the Wall takes an unprecedented look at the vernacular inscriptions and drawings they left behind and sheds new light on the richness of their quotidian lives. Just like their neighbors throughout the eastern and southern Mediterranean, Mesopotamia, Arabia, and Egypt, ancient Jews scribbled and drew graffiti everyplace--in and around markets, hippodromes, theat...

Los conventos novohispanos poseían, desde el siglo XVI, espacios destinados como cárceles para encerrar a religiosos que violaran la Regla o las Constituciones. Estos lugares, conocidos como cárceles, son quizá de los más difíciles de identificar en la actualidad, por ello, su interés reside en saber dónde se encontraban y los aspectos sociales que rodeaban los castigos.
En el convento agustino de Valladolid de Michoacán, cabeza de la Provincia de San Nicolás de Tolentino, existió una cárcel que fue descubierta de manera circunstancial mientras se realizaban algunos trabajos de decoración de un corredor del claustro. Nuestro descubrimiento e importancia del mismo fue comunicado al entonces prior, fray Nicolás Morales, quien tuvo la disposición para que este espacio se conservara.
La cárcel del convento aún guarda muchos secretos, ocultos bajo capas de pintura que algún día serán develados y podremos obtener una mejor idea de la cotidianeidad de la vida de los frailes agustinos en los siglos XVII y XVIII.

This panel set out to explore the popular and scholarly literature on graffiti and street art, to assess what has been accomplished in these fields, and where scholarly research in the fields of criminology, criminal justice and allied social sciences and humanities must go to better understand these largely urban phenomena.

Един от значимите дялове на българската културна история
през Средновековието е народната култура. Тя се изразява в
разностранни елементи, като един от тях са графитите рисунки,
начертавани от хората в миналото по стените на храмове, в пещери
и върху разнообразни твърди повърхности. Настоящото съобщение
разглежда флората и фауната, видени през очите на обикновения
човек през Средновековието и отразени чрез графитите рисунки,
наскоро открити по стенописите на църквата „ Св. Георги"
(XI- XII в.) в Кюсте_ндuл. Рисунките, изобразяващи растителния и
:животинския свят, са групирани по следния начин : графити, изобразяващи
конници, графити, изобразяващи ;J/Cuвomнu, и графити на
растителни мотиви. След прегледа на десетки графити е устаиовено,
че тези uзображеиuя имат двуяка функция: от една страна,
показват старанието на нешколувания автор да се опита да предаде
реалистично и с всички детайли животните и растенията, а от
друга - вижда се, че графитите съдържат голяма семантика, като
в тях са вписвани редица магически символи, които били неизменна
част от народните вярвания през Средновековието.

The results of a non-invasive raking light and measured photographic survey of graffiti inscriptions and related markings located in the designated area in advance of the commencement of enabling works associated with the relocation of the organ loft. The purpose of the present survey was to record the location and details of the graffiti, and to assess their origin and the information presented by these inscriptions.

This article explores runic literacy in medieval Norway by focusing on the medieval use of runes in churches. The church as an arena of communication generates interaction and overlap between the public and the private, the authorized and unauthorized, the ceremonial and the casual. Runic inscriptions and other forms of graffiti occur both inside and outside Norwegian stave and stone churches. In this article they are examined with regard to their production, presence, and potential reception in the church setting. The functions and meanings of the runic inscriptions within the religious and social space of the church are brought to the fore. The corpus of church inscriptions contributes towards an enhanced understanding of runic textual practices in the Middle Ages.

The survey location sits within the historic city of Chichester; the Cathedral was constructed as a part of the urbanisation of Diocesan seats following the Norman conquests and later became the site of pilgrimage to St Richard, a former bishop of the Cathedral. A visual survey was undertaken at Chichester Cathedral to identify and record the pre-reformation graffiti marks present within the body of the cathedral church. Following this initial recording a total station was used to plot the locations of these marks, this confirmed the initial findings that much of the graffiti was clustered in specific locations. These points within the cathedral relate directly to the veneration of St Richard. It is the distribution of the graffiti marks at the entrance to the cathedral used by the pilgrims, at both veneration sites and at a single location between the two that marks out a probable route for the pilgrims to be moved round the cathedral. As a preliminary work this raises questions as to the likely distribution of marks at other pilgrimage sites, the nature of these marks within the medieval world and the implicit  permission granted in allowing such marks to be placed on the walls of the cathedral.

Whilst the study of church monuments is an extensive field, there is one area of study that has until recently seen relatively little scholarly attention, being the study of informal commemorative inscriptions recorded in graffiti. The recent establishment of large scale volunteer-led church graffiti surveys has documented numerous examples of these informal memorials across the whole of the UK, creating a new, and previously almost unknown, corpus of material for study. This article highlights a small selection of these recent discoveries, and offers some interpretation as to the motivation behind their creation.

Es una reflexión teórica y metodológica sobre el estudio de los grafitos antiguos, particularmente los medievales. Los grafitos pueden ser algo más que una anécdota o una simple curiosidad si se trabajan con las herramientas adecuadas y un punto de vista situado a medio camino entre la historia social, la de las mentalidades y la de la vida cotidiana.
Con ánimo de aportar una pequeña base reflexiva que habrá de irse falsando, pasaré revista a los intentos de definición más interesantes que se han ido haciendo, recogeré las primeras referencias que he podido documentar de grafitos como tal en español, con un rápido repaso al estado de la cuestión hasta 1990. Por último, reflexionaré sobre la función, características y clasificación posible de los grafitos. medievales, con un apunte sobre el grafito que asomará a partir del siglo XVI, que en algunos casos incorpora unas especificidades nuevas (o las retoma de la Antigüedad) que los asimila más a los grafiti contemporáneos y los separa de sus inmediatos predecesores.

Consecration crosses, sometimes referred to as ‘dedicatory’ or ‘dedication’ crosses, were created at the time when a church was newly built, and being consecrated for Christian worship. The act of consecration was undertaken by a bishop, who would anoint the new-built walls of the church with holy oil (chrism), twelve times outside, and twelve times inside. The sites so anointed were marked with a form of cross – most usually painted. Norfolk has one of the finest collections of surviving pre-reformation consecration crosses of any county in England, with over ninety extant examples being recorded at forty-six individual sites. This article examines the function and creation of the consecration crosses recorded in Norfolk churches, by comparing the surviving physical evidence with the written sources, and presents a summary of the survivals recorded to date, including their construction details, condition, form, and style.

Com este artigo pretendo dar a conhecer, de forma mais extensa, o vasto património disperso pelas paredes do Mosteiro de Santa Maria da Vitória, Batalha, vulgarmente chamado de grafitos históricos.
É examinada uma variedade de tipologias gravadas, incidindo nas que estão claramente associadas às traçarias, desenhos relacionados com a arquitectura. Esta análise permite uma nova reinterpretação dos espaços, usos e respectivas evoluções.

Creating a three-dimensional computer model of a subject using a process known as photogrammetry opens up many new possibilities when it comes to the study of churches and their contents. This article will look at using the technique to more clearly show incised lettering, graffiti, and decoration, show subjects fully that would be partly obscured in a conventional photograph, allow subjects to be seen that are hidden from normal view to both eye and camera, and to isolate subjects from their surroundings to better understand their construction or to measure their shape and form more accurately.

From the deep past on a human tried to testify his life, having left his remnants upon the Earth, striving to present his report  to his heavenly Lord and to preserve own heritage and memory. To realize the overmentioned, he used the icon and, after the disovery of writing, - the inscription, manuscript, then printed book, picture, electronic book.
Beside these a “modern” phenomenon has arisen that is known under the name of  “graffiti”. After the 60ies of 20th century it acquired negative approach and rating.
In the article the state of affairs is discussed when graffiti parallel to epigraphy not only fill in the gaps of historical information but also represent a part of religious practice. Sometimes they even save the monument, helping restore or reuse,  architectural, sacral, cultural functions of the monument by means of writing.
Facts are collected to prove that epigraphic inscriptions and graffiti are means primarily used to express the aspiration of people to leave memories of themselves and they had a common source, then one form was canonized and acquired formal quality and the second remained more random, informal mentioning, a sacral inscription. Both survived side by side in the earlier period, without concurring or opposing to each other, being comprehended as equal phenomena.

They say that every Englishman's home is his castle. However, for most of us our home tends to be on a much more modest scale - as it has been for the majority of the population throughout history. The study of historic buildings has told us a great deal about our relationship with the places in which we live. It has shown us how they evolved from the simple round-houses of the pre-Roman era, through the modest timber framed dwellings of the medieval period, all the way through to the brick, stone and concrete of the modern world. It has helped us follow the story of how the 'house' became a 'home'.
However, archaeology also tells us something else. Another part of the story. It appears that ever since mankind chose to live in one particular spot, ever since we began to build structures that we could call 'home', we have sought to protect them. Stout walls and thick doors have kept out the weather and mortal enemies, but throughout history people have also sought to protect their homes from the unseen enemies. They have attempted to keep their hearth and home safe from the forces of evil - the witches, demons and evil spirits that roamed the pre-modern world. The insubstantial evils that could bring misfortune, bad luck and, in extreme cases, the spirits of the dead, into the homes of the living.
Such protections have been sought throughout all periods of the past, and take many forms. From the simple inscribed 'witch marks' above a medieval fireplace, and the 'Hag Stones' hung above doorways, to the more grisly and macabre practice of ritually placing dead animals within the very fabric of the house. Today such objects are regularly uncovered and recorded by researchers, householders and even builders, but few people realise the full extent of the use of such charms and talisman by our ancestors. Whilst we may associate them with superstition, and tend to think of them as being something carried out by the lower classes, they are also to be found in the grandest of Tudor or Jacobean houses, and covering the walls of many medieval castles. It turns out that, when darkness fell, even the bravest of knights feared the night. What is perhaps more surprising still, is just how many of these strange practices continue to be carried out to this day...

Aunque el fenómeno del "graffiti" se suele asociar con la sociedad urbana actual, ya desde los comienzos de la Historia el hombre ha escrito y dibujado sobre los muros que se encontraban a su alcance. La mayoría de estos testimonios, llamados grafitos históricos, han desaparecido debido a la limpieza de las paredes o a agresivas restauraciones. Pero muchos otros han permanecido en templos, casas, castillos o tumbas, de forma muy discreta aunque a la vez a la vista de todos. La cantidad de información que proporcionan a los historiadores es incalculable, ya que ofrecen una visión espontánea de unos grupos sociales que, por lo general, no suelen ser protagonistas de los libros de Historia. En este volumen se presentan 18 estudios que permiten hacerse una idea de la riqueza de esta nueva disciplina.

Abarcan un amplio abanico geográfico tanto nacional (Navarra, Granada, Soria, Alicante, Burgos o Segovia) como internacional (Egipto, Italia, México o Paraguay), así como todas las épocas históricas, desde el antiguo Imperio romano, pasando por la cultura maya, la Edad Media, el México colonial, hasta la España moderna y contemporánea.

The Arabic graffiti of the early decades of Islam, in Arabia and in the Middle East, represent an inexhaustible source of information on the origins of Muslim society. Recent discoveries have revealed that among thousands of graffiti written by anonymous people some few inscriptions are mentioning the names of famous and well-known persons. Among them we find some caliphs who were the direct successors of the prophet Muḥammad like ʿUmar b. al-Ḫaṭṭāb and ʿUṯmān b. ʿAffān. Among the inscribers, we also have mentions of some Umayyad rulers and princes who left their names on the stones, as well as famous companions from the first generations of scholars who reported some traditions from the prophet. These texts are showing that Islamic graffiti are not only religious texts but they also have an historical and political weight particularly when we consider that some of them were engraved just before or during the first civil war (fitna).

Le Coran, nouvelles approches (éd. M. Azaiez et S. Mervin),  CNRS éditions, Paris, 2013, p. 99-124

"Il y a quelques années, nous avons entrepris une recherche sur les graffiti arabes , une recherche longue et passionnante dont nous pressentons qu'elle pourra intéresser non seulement les épigraphistes, mais aussi les historiens, sociologues des religions ou linguistes travaillant sur les deux premiers siècles de l'Hégire dans le contexte d'émergence de l'islam. En effet, en 1998, nous avions posé les premiers jalons d'une réflexion se fondant sur l'analyse des graffiti de Jordanie, réflexion à travers laquelle nous devinions la matière d'une orientation nouvelle en épigraphie arabe. Lors de cette première phase d'étude, nous avions limité notre approche à un nombre restreint de graffiti que nous avions analysés très globalement. La finalité était alors de montrer l'importance et la nécessité de mêler d'avantage l'épigraphie aux études sur le Coran, ces dernières ne devant plus se satisfaire des seuls travaux fondés sur la critique textuelle, religieuse, littéraire ou historique visant à mieux cerner le statut de l'écriture coranique. Le Coran, s'il demeure le fondement de la croyance des musulmans dans leur ensemble, n'en demeure pas moins un texte s'inscrivant dans un moment de l'histoire et en un lieu géographique connu des hommes : selon la tradition arabo musulmane, il fut l'objet d'une révélation divine durant le premier quart du VII e siècle de notre ère en Arabie occidentale. Cependant, il peut être soumis à une analyse visant à reconstituer les grandes étapes de son élaboration matérielle sans que celle-ci doive obligatoirement s'appuyer sur les sources historiographiques et hagiographiques islamiques dont on sait qu'elles sont tardives par rapport aux événements [...].
il peut aussi, au titre de la matérialité, s'étudier sur le terrain : sur les murs des monuments antiques ou arabes, sur les rochers le long des pistes, dans les steppes où les Arabes apposèrent librement des inscriptions. Ces travaux de terrain, de longues prospections visant à rassembler les graffiti dits " coraniques " , permettent de rappeler que le Coran n'est pas un corpus fermé et qu'au-delà de sa forme de prédilection-le livre-il peut être aussi voix (la psalmodie), art (la calligraphie) et donc pierre ! Ainsi, les graffiti gravés sur des rochers, des parois montagneuses ou monumentales, sont des textes libres et privés, laissés par des Arabes anonymes et jamais passés au crible de la censure linguistique, politique ou religieuse..."

This is the second edition of “The Unknown Temple of Hagia Sophia. Part I: Cyrillic and Glagolitic Graffiti Inscriptions”, First edition 2016. The main task of this second, enlarged and revised edition of my book is to present 94 Cyrillic and 1 Glagolitic inscriptions (85+1 in the first), which have been scratched in the galleries of the Church of "Hagia Sophia" at Constantinople. The vast majority of graffiti are concentrated in the second-story aisles or galleries.
The goal here is to present full catalogue of Cyrillic and Glagolitic graffiti-inscriptions for students and trained epigraphers. Each inscription is represented first with drawing, next in a form that approximates the appearance of the lettering on the original object, and then in an edited version with translation that will be more familiar and accessible to readers.
The book provides a clear analysis and attribution of each inscription. The latter is followed by a brief commentary that elucidates cultural and historical matters germane to the interpretation of the text, then draws attention to noteworthy features of language (palaeography and orthography), and orients the reader to the context of the message being conveyed. At the back of the book, there is a comprehensive vocabulary that glosses every word used in the inscriptions, along with notes that explain grammar. The book also provides palaeographic plates and schema with the exact location of the graffiti, as well as an extended English Summary.

While graffiti in sacred spaces are increasingly being studied, research into this group of sources in the context of castles has so far hardly gone beyond stand-alone studies. Graffiti have been found in crusader castles, castles in the Alpine region, especially in South Tyrol, castles north of the Alps, castles in France and England and Spanish castles. The 30 examples cited here are only the tip of the iceberg. There are three contexts where graffiti are more common than elsewhere and have been preserved: a) in and around castle chapels, b) prolonged forced imprisonment or guard duty and c) large halls. The better preservation of graffiti in castle chapels or their immediate surroundings confirms the general observation that graffiti on sacred buildings have a stronger chance of surviving. The graffiti motifs found in castles embody themes similar to those found in other contexts: depictions of coats of arms, I-was-here-graffiti, but depictions of fights or battles and texts such as Bible passages can also be observed especially in prisoner graffiti while, all in all, representations of ships are very frequent.

This is the first scholarly edition of ship graffiti from Hagia Sophia/Ayasofya. The main task of this book is to present 51 ship graffiti, which have been scratched in the side aisles on the first floor and galleries of Hagia Sophia/Ayasofya at Constantinople/Istanbul. The vast majority of graffiti are concentrated in the second-story aisles or galleries. The goal here is to present full catalogue of ship graffiti for wide public and trained scholars. Each ship is represented first with drawing and next with a photo in Appendix, as well as with clear analysis and attribution of each type. A full chapter is devoted to the context of ship graffiti that elucidates cultural and historical matters germane to their interpretation, and orients the reader to the message being conveyed. At the back of the book, there is a comprehensive vocabulary that glosses key nautical terms used in the text. The book also provides schemes with the exact location of the graffiti, as well as an extended English Summary.

Nel contributo verranno presentati i risultati preliminari di una ricerca che ha come obiettivo principale la costruzione di un corpus di epigrafi in lingua volgare prodotte nei secoli IX-XV e conservate in Italia nel periodo cruciale del passaggio dal tradizionale codice linguistico scritto latino a quello volgare. Luna Cacchioli si è occupata dell’Italia nord occidentale (Liguria, Piemonte, Lombardia), della fascia sud dell’Italia mediana (Lazio, Abruzzo e Molise) e dei primi sondaggi sulla Toscana e sulle testimonianze graffite; Alessandra Tiburzi si è occupata dell’Italia nord orientale (Trentino Alto Adige, Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia), dell’Italia mediana fascia nord (Emilia Romagna, Marche, Umbria) e dei primi sondaggi in Italia meridionale. Attraverso la presentazione di alcune testimonianze si proveranno ad affrontare problematiche linguistiche e formali che l’epigrafia medievale presenta nella delicata fase dell’affermazione di una nuova coscienza linguistica.

We report on the interpretation of a late medieval Eastern Mediterranean glazed ceramic vessel with sgraffito decoration depicting a sailing ship. The artefact represents a chance find that was recovered outside the excavation area of the Ropotamo underwater archaeological excavations on the Southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in 2017. Fragments of late medieval sgraffito-decorated ceramics with depictions of sailing ships are rare. Complete examples can be considered exceptional. The Ropotamo artefact is of particular interest due to the freehand execution of its decoration, which suggests some understanding of contemporary ship proportions and seafaring practices on behalf of the artisan. The specimen is analyzed against similar artefacts and discussed in the context of maritime graffiti from the Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean regions. The aim is to establish its potential for studying archaeological ceramics and evaluate the extent to which the decoration reflects aspects of Eastern Mediterranean maritime culture of the late Byzantine and early post-Byzantine periods. More research is required to appreciate the full potential of the Ropotamo artefact. A hypothesis for origin, dating and significance has been proposed. However, due to a shortage of published parallels, it may be subject to further refinements in the future in case more stratified similis are identified.

Estudio/Catalogo de la exposición del mismo nombre en el que se hace un análisis de las  piezas en las que la representación figurativa es el motivo decorativo  principal .
Se realiza un repaso de este motivo ornamental a lo largo del área musulmana y se centra fundamentalmente en el estudio de esta decoración en el mundo hispanomusulmán y  muy en especial en la Alhambra.
Se muestran piezas inéditas conservadas en el Museo de la Alhambra y en la Ciudad Palatina de la Alhambra que aprecen  en muy diferentes soluciones y estilos.
El estudio analiza  la evolución de la decoración figurativa bajo el periodo nazarí y su  influencia gótica , al igual que  su  influencia fuera del sultanato

The painted walls of the Bartoccini Tomb in Tarquinia are characterized by the presence of graffiti dating from the first half of the 13th century. Such evidence is related to a so far unknown Medieval frequentation of the Etruscan necropolis and to an extraordinary reuse and repurposing of an ancient painting. The crossed analy- sis of the alphabetic graffiti – short texts in Italian vernacular – and of the figurative ones – crosses and stars, largely spread all over the walls, as well as other symbols – allow the authors to conclude that: 1) the people who arranged such a peculiar corpus were members of the Templar order; 2) the sexual intercourses reported by the graffiti as happened in the tomb, associated with an oath, should be interpreted as part of a ritual; 3) the Templars chose this tomb taking into account its peculiar architectural and decorative features.

La récente découverte de deux nouvelles inscriptions arabes peintes nous invite à rouvrir le dossier épigraphique du bain de Quṣayr ʿAmra en Jordanie. En mai 2012, les restaurations des peintures dans la travée ouest de la salle d’audience ont permis de mettre à jour un texte mentionnant le prince omeyyade al-Walīd b. Yazīd (m. 744) ainsi qu’une tabula ansata contenant une formule de basmala. A la lumière de ces inscriptions, nous proposons un itinéraire épigraphique à Quṣayr ʿAmra, accompagné d’une analyse complète des textes se focalisant sur leur nature et leur raison d’être. Le formulaire et le bilinguisme (arabe et grec) sont également analysés par comparaison avec d’autres textes épigraphiques mentionnant des princes ou des califes omeyyades, trouvés dans la région. Le futur calife al-Walīd II fut-il vraiment le personnage marginal décrit par la tradition historiographique ? Quṣayr ʿAmra ne serait-il finalement que le rêve d’un prince en attente de pouvoir ?

The recent discovery of two painted Arabic inscriptions invites us to reopen the epigraphic folder of the bathhouse of Quṣayr ʿAmra in Jordan. In May 2012, the restoration of the paintings in the western aisle of the audience room allowed to read a text mentioning the Umayyad prince al-Walīd b. Yazīd (d. 744) and a tabula ansata containing a basmala formula. In the light of these new inscriptions, we propose an epigraphic itinerary in Quṣayr ʿAmra, coupled with a comprehensive analysis of all the texts, focusing on their nature and purpose. The form and the question of bilingualism (Arabic and Greek) are also analysed in comparison with other epigraphic texts mentioning princes or Umayyad caliphs, found in the region. The future caliph al-Walīd II, was he really the marginal character described by traditional Islamic historiography? Was Quṣayr ʿAmra the dream of a prince waiting for power?

This paper deals with graffito from the first half of the fifteenth century. The presence of such graffito in the building of mythic renown is important because it is a first-hand evidence of the pilgrim's visit to Hagia Sophia, where Fedor, Ivan and Kosmas were able to join the throng of worshipers in venerating the relics of the Lord's Passion. The inscriber was Kosmas, who would have had an opportunity to scratch his name and the names of his compatriots on a column in the north gallery of the church.

Very short notice about a possible reading of some recently discovered graffiti on a reused marble slab  in the abbey of San Caprasio in Aulla.
The scratched names could be pertaining to northern pilgrims at the end of the 10th cent. CE.

The article focuses solely on different theories of who carved the 42 runic inscriptions on the Nidaros Cathedral. Groups like masons, pilgrims and the glergy have been suggested, and the article takes a closer look at the evidence for these claims. My conclusion is that there are good indications that clergy and masons carved some of the inscriptions, but that the "accepted truth" that there are inscriptions carved by pilgrims there is based on very poor evidence.

This paper will present graffiti found on 13th century glazed pottery of Italian origin. The pottery was found during the underwater excavation of a medieval shipwreck in the Bay of Sudak, near the resort town of Novy Svet on the Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine.

Sommario -Il saggio di Giuseppe Piras [ruolo]propone la decriptazione e l'analisi critica di un'inedita testimonianza epigrafica presente all'esterno della chiesa di S. Maria de Orria Pithinna, ubicata nel territorio di Chiaramonti e sede, tra il XIII ed il XIV sec., di un priorato camaldolese. L'indagine a cui è stata sottoposta l'iscrizione, assegnabile al Trecento, ha consentito di individuare nel titulus l'importante attestazione dell'esistenza del sepulcrum di un Autedus al quale venne attribuito l'appellativo di sanctus. Attraverso la ricostruzione delle vicende dell'insediamento camaldolese e degli interventi architettonici operati sulla chiesa, si tenta di far luce infine sull'identità di questo personaggio, non altrimenti documentato, ed in merito all'esatta localizzazione del suo sepolcro o del luogo in cui furono riposte le sue spoglie.